


Unknown Legends

by The_Wizard_of_Words



Category: RWBY, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Character Death, Crossover, Dialogue Heavy, Emotional Exhausting, F/M, Major fight scenes, Massive Story, Minor Redemption Arc, Next Generation, One million plus words, Plot Divergent, Post Majora's Mask, Pre-Season 3 RWBY, World combining, future Link, long story, passing on the torch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2020-07-23 04:40:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 52
Words: 1,213,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20002468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Wizard_of_Words/pseuds/The_Wizard_of_Words
Summary: In a land he doesn't know, he is surrounded by things he can't understand. Rules, Government, Weapons, Schooling, even their Goals. Where monsters rule the wilds, the kingdoms are separated by towering walls, and crafts and fly through the sky. They are all unknowns, but so is he to them. Link, and the memories of his friends. But there is one common rule between their world and his.The Unknown has the Advantage.So he will remain just that as long as he can. Unknown intent. Unknown powers. Unknown purpose. Unknown to everything, even their legends.





	1. Stranger in a Strange Land

**Author's Note:**

> If you are enjoying this story, and I want to see where it goes or ask me questions, try and jump on my Discord to talk with everyone else. You won't be alone, I promise.
> 
> discord.gg/fgeV4ra

The Forever Fall Forest was a place of mystery. Lauded for its ethereal appearance, feared for its roaming beasts, but never given anything less than praise. The dreamer found such sights to see in the red petal forest, imagining a world beyond the one he or she stood in. Such ideas for the thinker, conjuring a hundred and one reasons for the trees to never bare their branches, the leaves to never flood the ground, and for the beasts to never tire in the woods. It was a place for many visits, by tourists and Hunters alike, a place full of wonder and danger.

It was a place where the strong would see their flaws, reflected by the petals around them. It was a place where the weak could see their strength, blessed by the trees that never tired of their shedding. It was a place where the impossibilities of reality found their refuge, with the Grimm Beasts roaming endlessly yet life continuing just as easily. In the Forever Fall Forest, near anything could happen, so anything could change.

So it was of no consequence when the eternally falling leaves began to sway, finding themselves trapped in a sudden wind. It was not a gentle breeze sifting through the trees, but a vortex, a cyclone, that sudden grew and formed within the red forest. The leaves, spun about far faster than their normal graceful allowed, some tearing to pieces with others flying above the trees they fell from. Like a cannon into water, or an axe through wood, the wind destroyed the little peace the forest leaves had.

But then just as quickly as the vortex had come, it ended. And just as quickly, the leaves began to fall again, headless to any change that may have come. The trees continued to shed their leaves, the same blood-red greeneries that betrayed the laws of nature. And in the distance, far from the vortex that had come and gone, Grimm continued to end, sifting and searching for emotions of pain.

So no one noticed the new figure standing in the Forever Fall. The figure that stood to its tallest, head tilted down and arms curled up, holding a precious item to its lips. The figure was as still as the trees, green clothes waving like the red leaves. Blonde hair fell down from beneath a green hat, long and pointed, covering blue eyes that were hung in a half gaze.

Slowly, the figure retracted the item, staring at its light as if in adoration for the first time. An ocarina, carefully carved and blue in covered, yet free of any paint. Made from what could not be described in words, etched with a metal band upon its windpipe, and further detailed with a small trio of golden triangles. The figure let out a small breath of air before placing the item away, letting it vanish from sight.

"Whoa, where are we?" The figure turned slightly to see a fairy above him, dark in color with wings glassy and transparent. The fairy was glowing, like a floating ball of light, ringing as it twirled about the figure. "Everything's so… red."

"It's a forest Tael, we've seen them before." The figure turned to see another fairy now, far lighter in color than the aforementioned one. This fairy had the same glowing appearance, hiding its true body beneath the bright light, with wings just as glassy allowing it to float just as easily. "But the red's new. Think the trees are bleeding?"

"Don't say that, sis!" The other fairy whined, ringing lightly in the air. "That would mean that they were in pain, bleeding like that!" As if to demonstrate the point, the dark light creature flew across a few of the falling leaves. They waved at his approach, but made not a word of complaint. "It'd be like they're crying…"

"Alright, calm down, calm down." The lighter fairy half cajoled half soothed, flying over to her brother, leaves parting lightly as she passed. They touched one another, lights mixing into a soothing gray. Though their aura was blinding enough to leave their forms hidden, it was no stretch of the mind to see one embracing the other. "Geeze, the trees are alright, just something new to see. It's alright."

"Sorry Tatl," the younger fairy whined, though making no move to leave the embrace. Rather, the elder of the two rung lightly before making a return.

"You don't need to apologize," Tael's sister spoke easily, the falling leaves avoiding the floating fairies. "Just gotta relax, okay. The trees aren't in pain, we're just somewhere new, but we're altogether, alright?" The dark fairy's wings dropped, the only physical sign that he was heading his sister's words.

"Yeah, alright." Tael rang like a small bell, transparent wings shaking as he assumingly corrected himself. "I'm good. It's just… the most we had to deal with before were poisonous swamps and dry canyons. This just seems… different."

"Not bad though," his sister spoke on, the two splitting their embrace. The elder ball of light twirled amongst the falling leaves, a few of the red petals flipping to avoid her small wind. She rang at each one. "Kinda cool to watch. Think there's a song that goes with it? Like, a forest song or something? I don't know, feels like there should be something."

The fairy floated down to the figure in green, still standing in the small patch of land they had appeared in. The figure had blue eyes gazing upwards, looking at the fairy that floated down to them. The petals were headless of the figure, standing still in the small clearing of trees. Tatl twirled about the green clad figure, stopping only when she was staring into blue eyes. The figure stared back into her bright luminescence, used to the glow.

"Got any ideas, Link?" Tatl asked, bobbing lightly as she spoke.

The green figure raised a hand to his chin, lightly gripping it as his eyes looked upwards. He stared beyond the canopy of the trees, through the falling red leaves and the branches of trees that never showed. Link had a soft smile as he watched them move. But then, after a pregnant silence, he shook his head, shrugging his shoulders in dismissal of their ideas. Tatl rang in annoyance.

"Oh c'mon, you grew up in the forest. Don't you have _something_? I mean, really?" Her small tirade earned only small laughter from Link, his eyes lightly shutting at his friend's usual antics. Tael floating down next to him, floating above Link's shoulder as they watched Tatl ring with annoyance, her transparent wings vibrating. "That's just stupid! It's like saying I don't know any games to play. It's all we do!"

"Well, you did help save the world before… twice…" Tael spoke meekly from Link's shoulder. The green clad Hylian nodded towards the younger fairy, small still just as present. Tatl, however, was less amused.

"Those were special circumstances and you know that," she pitifully defended. "Besides, we're here now to get away from that." The sudden shift in topics was enough for Link to lose the small but still smile he had. "We got things to do here, things to find and people to see, I think. Who are we looking for again?" She directed the question towards the pair.

"Uh, what did he tell us?" Tatl asked aloud, voice betraying his nerviness. "Three of threes, right? Mind, body, and soul?" Tatl rang aloud at her brothers words, something clicking. Link only felt himself nodding at the words.

"Yeah, that's right!" The elder fairy agreed. "He said that we had to look for them in a place where they were forgotten. So here we are… now we just have to… look for them…" Tatl's voice fell with each word, becoming progressively quieter and quieter. Link only stared at her, silent as he always was. It was Tael that spoke up for his sister.

"So… where do we start?"

A roar was his answer.

In hardly a moment's time, Link spun on his heel, tall posture shifting into a practiced crouch. In the same motion, his right arm drew forth a crystal shield, red and gleaming with light. He placed it between himself and the noise, preparing himself for any sudden assault. His left drew forth a sword from its sheath, etched with ruby red diamonds. He held it behind his body, in a strong grip and flexed arm, already prepared to deliver a vicious blow. Both glowed with a faint light, their strength obvious to even the untrained. It took little time for either Link or his fairies to see the source of the noise.

A great black beast, standing easily to twice Link's height. It had an open maw, drool pouring from its impressive jaw and to the red leaves coating the forest floor. Fur thick as a trees bark was lined across its hide, interrupted only occasionally by large protrusions of white. To Link's trained eye, they almost appeared to be bone. But even those were not the most striking part about the figure. It was not its size, its mass, or its nightmarish shape.

It was the mask it adorned.

The white and red lined mask that hung from its snout. It was an unnatural item, a thing the beast wore like its face. It hide poorly the red eyes of the creature, alight and beady, staring at the young green clad figure with menacing intent. Link's position did not waver, neither did his shield or sword falter.

"Whoa!" Tael shouted, quickly flying behind Link in a panic. The Hylian could feel the dark light fairy shivering behind him. He kept his own blue eyes on the dark beast, hearing it growl with his sharp ears. "W-What is that? A-A wolfo? No no, a… a what?"

"No idea," Tatl answered her brother. Though she did not flee like her younger sibling, she was not keen to fly around the thing so readily. "But it doesn't look too bright, screaming like that before it attacked." Her senses worked, body ringing as she looked the creature over from a distance, no further away than Link stood battle ready. When she started to speak again, it was only too obvious to whom she was speaking to.

"It's got a lot of muscle, and those bony things aren't going to be easy to cut. But the rest of it should be like butter with a sword. Just gotta watch out for it to attack." Link nodded at her words, heeding her advice as he had countless times before. The grip on his sword tightened, the light aura it gave of flickering briefly.

The creature seemed to sense the green-clothed warrior's intent, growling as it fell into a low crouch. Even with majority of its body against the ground, impressive claws digging at the leaf covered forest floor, it still stood taller than Link. The warrior found no reason to be intimidated by such a fact.

He tilted his blade, seeing ahead of what would come. The beast would strike, a strong and vicious blow that would leave no time to counter should he chose to block. But it would leave the creature wide open, the beast likely assuming it would knock the green clothed figure away. That would be his opportunity to strike. A slice across the neck, maybe a draw down his exposed stomach, either would be possible for Link.

And as expected, the creature drew back one of its mighty claws, angled and beating away the falling leaves as it did so. Link gripped his shield tightly, already positioning his feet for a quick escape. Tael shivered behind him, Tatl hovering close above him, the beast let its claw begin to fall.

It stopped mid strike.

Link stared at it, confused and wary. His shield was now positioned towards the swing, aware that if it moved it would be too quick for him to dodge, his window of opportunity forgone in place of curiosity. He watched the beast's red eyes… watching as they lost track of him. Beneath the monster's white mask, the beady eyes began to dull, their focus fade, and fierceness dim. Link had seen it often enough to recognize what was happening. Life was leaving the creature.

No sooner did the thought pass by Link's mind than did the black monstrosity fall to the ground. It made an audible boom as it hit the red-leaf covered floor, its weight forcing many of the already fallen petals to flitter about once more, settling faster than before. Link didn't lower his shield, but he judged the beast as far less of a threat than before. Tatl spoke as much.

"What was that?" The yellow fairy asked critically. "Did it die of fright or something? Decide to have a nap before dinner? What?" She flew in front of the white mask, staring through the sockets at the fading red beneath. They were now almost as dark as the coat of the creature. "Or is it seriously dead? I mean, I'm not complaining, but what the heck?" Tatl flew back to Link, stopping in front of him as she had done many times before. "Did you do something? Anything? Like cast a spell or throw a knife?"

Link stared past Tatl to the dark creature, his blonde brow furrowed in thought as well. His shield was now relaxed against his arm, his sword held in much the same manner. Tael flew out from behind him, cautiously, staring at the fallen beast as a child would.

"Well… I don't mind," the dark fairy honestly spoke. "As long as it's dead. That's good, right?" Link didn't respond, eyes still focused on the creature. He began to walk towards, steps full of caution, but pace far from slow. Tatl, however, felt no hesitation in answering her brother.

"Well, duh, of course it's good!" Her sister critically noted. "We're alive, it's not, and we can keep moving forward. What's more there to think of, right Link?" The warrior didn't respond. He was too busy inspecting the fallen monstrosity. "Link, what's up?"

The warrior did not answer her. He was staring down at the back of the beast, the long white spines of the creature more than strong enough of a hold for him to climb on. His sharp blue eyes were looking towards the creature, lightly brushing away the red leaves that fell in his way. He saw nothing that he had not already noticed. A light coating but dark colored fur, now confirmed to be bony protrusions along its hide, a mask that seemed as set on its face as Link's own face, but nothing that would tell why it had died. Not at first.

It was small, almost unnoticed by even his eyes, but a bit of focus made it obvious. Putting his shield and sword to their homes on his back, crouching down soon after. His fingerless gloves pushed away the fur of the beast, feeling for something, anything that he could tell didn't belong. He noticed it from above, but kneeling down atop of the creature, it become more obvious.

There was a hole in the back of its head. Small, just large enough for him to fit the base of his thumb into, but no larger than that. It was pierced deep enough into the beast for Link to feel the vulnerable inside, whatever they were, beyond any protection of bone or muscle. But he could not feel any tool for the job, neither shaft nor arrow head. It bemused him.

"Link," Tatl's voice came again. He turned to her this time, looking up from the beast he stood on. The light fairy had flown over to him again. "What happened to it?" He only shrugged in response, unsure himself. The wound that finished the beast was obvious, but the tool that made it was a mystery. He retracted his gloved hand, certain there was nothing else to find.

He jumped from its back, landing on the ground with little effort. He turned back to it, staring at the honestly intimidating white mask. The red eyes that once sat beneath it were already faded to darkness, a color matching the creature's thin fur, a clear sign that it was dead.

"Look," Tael spoke up, more in awe than notice. Even with a dark light illuminating him, it was still too bright to spot and hand the fairy may have used to point towards the object of interest. It was of little need, however. It was obvious already to Link and Tatl what was so interesting, at least to the youngest among them.

Thin wisps of smoke were beginning to rise off the beast, dissipating into the air near as quickly as they formed. They appeared almost like the remains of the fire, but Link was not fooled. It became obvious after only a moment's notice that the beast was dissolving, returning to whatever void it came from. Little different than many of the monster he had slain before, though far slower to leave than those of his past.

"Think we should get moving?" Tatl suddenly spoke up, taking attention away from the dead monstrosity. "I mean, yeah it's big and dead, but something killed it without us seeing it, and I don't want to be next on the hit-list." The words had no apparent effect on the green clad warrior. They did, however, have an almost immediate clout on the fairy's younger brother.

"W-Wait, you mean… w-we might be in danger? Like, our life is going t-to end danger!" Link's sharp ears picked up Tatl's sigh easily. That, and the way her wings sagged made it painfully obvious she was more annoyed by her brother's antics. Repetition had that result on most things.

"Tael, we're fine." She spoke matter-of-factly as she flew to her brother's side. The dark fairy was quick to embrace the shining ball of light. Neither moved away. "I'm here, Link's here, and nothing else is here. Don't worry. Besides, if anything really wanted to hurt us, we'd have at least heard it by now."

"Hello!"

The suddenness of the feminine voice had an immediate impact on the three.

Both of the fairies began to shake, likely out of surprise. Their transparent wings shook as quickly as their illuminating bodies. Link turned as well, hands on his sword and shield, though remaining undrawn. His eyes were furrowed, searching the leaf falling forest for the owner of the voice. Trained blue eyes saw past the many petals, ignoring the stiff shapes of the trees. The two put aside, the speaker became obvious.

She was running towards them, waving with one of her hands in the air. It was a she, assumingly, her short stature, thin frame, and high voice were all rather clear signs. But where it not enough, she also wore a black dress, frilled at the ends with red laces. Boots of equal design were on her jogging feet, reaching easily to her knees, and black in color with red laces. A long red hood and cape also hung from her neck, but was only partially seen due to the girl's quick approach.

The long red scythe she held, however, was a bit easier to see. It put any trepidation the black beast had to shame.

Link finally drew his crystal sword and shield at the sight of the weapon, so large that it dwarfed the girl that carried it. A long sharp crescent blade, guarded by metal that was red as blood; it sat on an equally crimson rod, stretching the length of the girl that held it. Only the angle that it was titled at kept it from dragging across the leaf-covered ground.

Various objects hung from the scythe, some obvious and some less so. The counterbalance to the blade was easy to spot by Link's sharp blue eyes, hanging from the opposite side of the intimidating crescent. The sharp tip at the opposite end of the pole served as clear a purpose as the blade itself. The odd pumps, weights, and what appeared to be boxes lining the frame of the scythe, however, were not things Link had seen on a weapon such as this before.

The green clad warrior gripped his shield a bit tighter, putting it between himself and the girl, already near approach. He felt Tatl and Tael fly behind him, both as skeptical of the child as he was. He put the falling leaves of the forest aside as the girl stopped in front of him.

"Whoa hey, no need to worry," the girl was quick to speak, her silver eyes flashing towards his drawn weapons. "No need to get those out, seriously. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I mean, that Ursa Major was really close to you." The girl motioned towards the fallen beast, majority of it faded away already, only little wisps of smoke remaining of the creature's existence.

Link eyed her critically, assuming she was the one to kill the beast. He had few ideas for how she could manage such a feat with a weapon such as hers. The girl, however, saw him staring at it. He did not miss the clear delight that shown in her eyes.

"Oh! Curious about my baby here?" The girl pulled the scythe in front of her, flipping it around with masterful grace. Link didn't budge in his posture, but he could feel his fairy friends shiver behind him, if only lightly so. "This here Crescent Rose, an HCSS, High-Caliber Sniper Rifle capable of firing Dust .50 caliber rounds over 20 times per minute without over-heating. Built for easy storage and transportation, so I can carry it wherever I want!" It almost unnerved Link how she beamed about her weapon. He would swear later he saw stars twinkling behind her.

She didn't appear too threatening; were the weapon gone Link rationalized that she wouldn't be at all. She was a good head shorter than him, appeared free of any scars of battle, and spoke as if they were meeting in a tavern. But… she did kill the beast, or so she said. He pointed his sword at her weapon, Crescent Rose, lightly lowering his shield as he did so. She followed his direction, her silver eyes looking from one to the other. Then, when he pointed back at himself, he could see the fear in her eyes. She was poor to conceal her emotions, at least.

"What!?" She all but shrieked, the forest nearly shaking with her voice. Link, himself, flinched lightly at the loud question. "You thought I was going to… when I was running me… Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, _NO_! Her head was shaking rapidly left and right, the black bob cut that was her hair thrashing at the speed.

With a dexterity that gave Link pause, the girl rapidly began to fold her weapon away. The shaft pulling in on itself; the blade sliding into the red guard around it; the counter balance falling into the pole; everything fell into place until only a small red box remained, held in the girls hands by an equally blood red pole. She shifted the… sheathed weapon behind her back, to the space between her black dress and red robe. Her hands immediately lifted up as she finished.

"See? Non-threatening, completely safe. No reason to think anything suspicious of me." That was suspicious, but the girl appeared to realize it. "No, wait, that sounds worse! Um… this, okay, I got it!" She straightened herself out, putting her open palms above her chest, just beneath the nape of her neck.

"My name is Ruby Rose. I'm a student at Beacon, Huntress in training, and first year team leader of RWBY." That was something.

Link let out a small breath of air. He smiled as he did so, concluding that this girl was truly no threat. Skilled perhaps, as she still claimed to have slain the creature in a way he knew not possible, but not after his life. He spun his crystal sword about his hand, stopping when the tip sat in its sheath. He let it slide down as he clicked his shield back into its holster. He stood to his tallest as well, looking down at her with a grin. She seemed to return it.

"Okay, so, I'll take that as you trust me?" He nodded towards her, amused at her clear sign of relief, sagging arms and torso curling over towards ground. "Oh thank the Dust, I thought I made a huge mistake." Just as quickly as her relief, the girl straightened herself up, puffing out her chest, perhaps in some show of bravado. Link couldn't be sure.

"Alright, now, new meetings. I told you who I was, but now who are you?" It was dizzying, really, how quickly the girl went from worried about a ruined relationship to critical and analyzing. Her silver eyes were screwed in a way that emphasized some form of analysis, tilting her head back as she did so. "You have a sword and shield like Jaune, but clearly more elaborate than his. But you also have blonde hair like Jaune. And blue eyes like Jaune… and you look about as tall as Jaune…" Her head fell to the side as her words turned inwards.

"Would you… happen to be related to Jaune?" Link honestly shook his head from side to side, green hat swaying with the force. He was rather confident any name she spoke he would know little of. He was used to being the stranger in strange lands. "Huh. Well, you might want to look out for him. You two look a lot alike. But then who are you? Are you a Hunter with that sword? Maybe a merchant looking to collect the sap of the trees. Could you be lost? I mean, this is a dangerous part of the Foreverfall Forest."

"What's the Foreverfall?" It was Tatl that spoke. Ruby did not know that. Her silver eyes were alight in some form of wonder.

"Wow!" she spoke aloud, blinking lightly. "You have a really high voice. Are… are you a girl?" She spoke with a bit of hesitation.

Link could not suppress his chuckles of laughter.

One of his gloved hands rose to his face, gripping his jaw as if to stifle the amusement. It had little effect. He shook his head from left to right, the memories of his numerous gender confusions coming to the fore front of his mind. This was, however, the first time someone confused him for female based upon his fairy's voice.

"Oh, I guess not." Ruby concluded. "I mean, you wouldn't find it that funny otherwise. I mean even, most guys would be insulted but… maybe you hear that a lot, with a voice that high." Link felt his laughter return doubly.

"Okay, yeah, no, that's not him talking." Link heard the ringing of the fairies as they flew from behind his back, light and dark bodies glowing as they hung in the air above him. Ruby Rose, Huntress in training, blinked as she stared up at them. It was not an act that was missed by the observant fairies.

"Impressed, huh?" Tatl spoke in a tone of clear mirth. "Can't say you shouldn't be. I'm Tatl, and this is my brother Tael." The darker of the fairies hovered lightly, bobbing in the air a bit longer, perhaps in the form of a bow. It was hard for Link to tell, given how small they were. "The big guy you're talking to is Link and, for that other question, guess you could call us lost."

Ruby didn't say a word in response. Instead, she only continued to stare at the fairies, hovering in midair with their translucent wings and illuminating bodies. Link attributed the expression on her face as memorized, like one would act upon seeing an object of their desire. That did not sit well with Link. It was, unfortunately, a correct feeling on his part.

No sooner did he have the thought than did Ruby grab Tatl out of the air. The fairy gave a frightened yelp as she found herself caught by the girl's small hands, held like some sort of doll. Her brother was quick to yell as well. Ruby, however, was either heedless of their fright or too entranced by the fairy she was holding. Likely both.

* * *

"Oh my gosh! You're actually a fairy! I've never seen a fairy before! I thought you only existed in fairy tales! Wait, do you have tails? I can't tell with all that light." Ruby's thumbs reached into the bright illumination of Tatl, past the translucent wings that hung from the creature. She felt something soft, supple, and fragile.

Then she felt something hard, stiff, and unforgiving. That feeling, however, was focused on her upper arm. She turned in time to see Link glaring at her, his sharp blues suddenly a humbling sight. Ruby let out a grimace as he tightened his grip, her hand already feeling numb. She released her hand immediately, the fairy flying up and out of her grip. At the sight, and objections Ruby had at the actions of Link were left on the roadside. He did not, however, let go of her arm.

"How _rude_ of you!" Tatl yelled as she flew into Ruby's face, the young girl assaulted by the bright light that literally beat at her forehead. It was mostly painless, like being hit with a pillow. It was still enough to make the grip the green-clad warrior had on her a bit more uncomfortable, however. "Here I am introducing myself and you have the nerve to just… suddenly up and grab me like that! Seriously, what were you thinking!?"

"I-I wasn't!" Ruby quickly admitted, her free hand gripping Link's, trying to remove the steel-like grasp. She didn't even get his glove to move. "Can you please let go?" She asked him, silver eyes pleading up to him. "You're like… really strong. A-And it hurts."

"How do you think being felt up by some teenage girl feels?!" The bright colored fairy yelled at her again, earning Ruby's attention, albeit pained. "I mean c'mon! We are lost here and you were just about to offer us help, but then you basically try and kidnap me?"

"N-No!" Ruby shouted back in defense at that. "I-I was just curious, really! I grew up with fairy tales, all the time! Fairies are supposed to be kind, and gentle, and soft, and wise. I-I just thought… I wasn't thinking!"

"Well, can't say you're wrong there," Tatl said back in a tone that oozed disdain. Ruby would have been hurt, were her arm not taking the majority of that front. She bit her lip, wondering what she could say. She looked back up at Link, the Jaune-look-alike suddenly far more intimidating that her blonde friend likely ever could be. Was she… was she going to be hurt by them?

"Wait Link, you can stop now," a new voice suddenly spoke up, though Link's lips didn't move. Ruby turned to see the dark colored fairy floating in between them. It was impossible for her to judge the direction the ball was facing. "I mean… she did scare Tatl, but she was just curious. We act like that a lot. She didn't mean it, really! She just said that like four times." Ruby didn't know the exact number herself.

She did, however feel Link release his grip on her.

She immediately put her free hand around her arm, grimacing as she touched it. It would likely bruise, the blood beneath her skin being stifled for too long, but no real damage that would hinder her. She looked back up to see the fairy floating towards her. Ruby took a step back, the consequences of touching a fairy already too clear in her mind.

"Um, I'm sorry about my sister, a-and how Link acted," the dark fairy responded, Tael if Ruby recalled correctly. She hoped she did, as forgetting his name would be pretty ungrateful. "We're just… a little protective of one another. A-And my sister and I are small, especially compared to you. That makes us fragile, in a sense. So… can you forgive Link for that? I mean, he really is a nice guy, I promise! He did save me and my sister before."

Ruby looked past Tael, to Link who was still looking at her. The small glee he had at her confusion for his gender was gone, replaced only with what she thought was close to an empty canvas. That was how Yang had described a statue once to her at least, and the green-clad man looked every bit the part.

"U-Uh, yeah," she spoke, a little hesitantly. "It was my fault anyways. Just… well, I've been called grabby since I was little. But back then I was grabby _and_ crabby." She giggled at her own joke, hoping to earn some sort of humor.

To her fortune, the dark fairy did laugh with her, ringing like a bell as he did so. It sounded nice to Ruby, letting what little unease she still had melt away, bit by bit.

"So um… do you know where we are?" Tael asked her, his voice full of embarrassment; or was it curiosity? Ruby couldn't be sure. She did, however, know the answer to his question.

"Yeah, you're in the Forever Fall Forest, FF for short!" Ruby said the words with more cheer than Tael had been expecting. "I was here training against some of the Grimm. With the tournament postponed and all, there's a lot more free time. I didn't want to get rusty, so I thought that killing a few of them would be a good way to stay in shape! Made sure to stay close to Beacon though."

"O-Okay, um…" Tael suddenly found himself a lot more intimidated with the rush of information being thrown at him. This wasn't his strong suit, talking that was, especially not to strangers. Fortunately, his sister more than made up for that flaw.

"Alright, loads of more questions," Tatl spoke aloud as she flew to Ruby, lightly pushing her brother aside. "Go wait next to the hired muscle, Tael. I got this." Link spoke not a word either for or against the statement.

"So," the light fairy spoke again, earning Ruby's immediate attention. The young Huntress felt like she was about to be scolded by Goodwitch, given the tone of the ringing fairy. "Sounds like we're not far from wherever you stay at, is that right?" Ruby nodded her head in affirmation. "Cool, so does that mean you can take us there?" Ruby was more hesitant to answer that.

Her silver eyes looked from Tatl, to Tael, to Link, then back. Each one was gazing at her patiently, but she could only see the eyes of one of the three, and he looked more curious than dangerous. The sore spot on her arm, however, told her he was far from that. She was still curious about those weapons of his…

"Well," she started out. "Beacon is supposed to be restricted; safety, security and all that." Ruby spoke the words as if she didn't believe them, or didn't care about them. "So bringing strangers in from the forest would be kinda hard, especially after the attacks and all."

"Attacks?" Tatl asked curiously, flowing with the conversation as easily as she did fly through the air. "Who attacked who?" At the nearly insulted expression Ruby gave her, Tatl scoffed. "Oh c'mon, do we look like we're from around here? None of us even know the name of this forest, and given how weird it is, I'm sure that's rare enough." Ruby pouted her lower lip and nodded. There was truth to that.

"I guess, but the attacks were like all over the news. Tournament postponed until the coliseum's safety could be secured, White Fang threats, that's not exactly stuff people can just ignore, especially now." Tatl didn't miss the way the girl's voice dropped as she spoke, clearly loathing the words she spoke. That wasn't something to push.

"Okay, but just for a little more reference, don't have a clue what the White Fang is or what tournament you're talking about. And, just to make sure you know, don't know anything about Beacon or Grimm either. Think you mentioned something about Dust, but unless you were talking about cleaning, that's news too." The fairy's words made Ruby stare at the creature little differently than when she had first lain eyes on her. It made Tatl a bit nervous, not prepared to be handled roughly by the small girl again. Fortunately, it appeared that the youth was able to control herself.

"I-I…" She tried and fail to speak aloud, not knowing what to say. "You don't… not even Dust? Then… where are you from?" Her eyes looked from the fairies to Link, the darker of the two floating balls lightly hiding behind the much taller green-clothed figure. Ruby stared at him for a bit longer, noticing something about him she didn't before.

He had green clothes; that she knew. He had unique weapons; that she knew as well. He had a strong gaze and what appeared to be a strong sense of loyalty; that she picked up on more from his handling of her. But what she just noticed now were what hung from the sides of his head. Specifically, growing from them.

"And you're a Faunus," She lightly pointed at him, motioning towards his ears. Link blinked at the title, not having heard it before. He raised one of his hands to his ears, feeling down the long point he was so accustomed to. He heard Tael ring next to him, sounding just as confused as he was. Ruby seemed to see the confusion in his gaze. "Wait… you don't even know what a Faunus is even?" It was hard to tell if she was insulted or shocked, both was more likely.

"Where we're from, he's called a Hylian," Tatl spoke matter-of-factly to Ruby, floating above the girl's pointing hand. She retracted it as the fairy approached. "Care to tell us what the rest of those things you mentioned are?"

"Uh…" Ruby let out, thinking about what to start with, eyes looked about the Forever Fall as if to find an answer. She saw one rather quickly. "Well, _that's_ a Grimm," she waved her hand towards the fallen black beast, nearly nothing remaining of it now. "Don't suppose you have a name for that?"

"Nah," Tatl let out easily. "We just call them monsters, lots of different kinds though. Ya got wolfos, dodongos, keese, chu chus, and couple of rare ones too, but you probably wouldn't know their names."

"Oh, okay," Ruby started to nod her head, seeing where this was going. She couldn't tell from the fairy's bright light, but she appeared to be seeing the pattern as well. The red hooded girl began to smile at the realization. "So like, you must come from some far off place, right? Like, did you sail here, or fly… Oh! Or did you use magic?"

It was only too obvious that the girl's eagerness and curiosity were returning in spades, her trepidation from her earlier actions near forgotten. It was enough for Tatl to back away in the air, trying to put herself higher above the ground, further out of the girl's reach. It only made her look like a love-sick puppy staring up at her, stars shimmering in her silver eyes.

"We uh…" Tatl started, unsure of what to say to that. This was, however, where her brother excelled.

"We came from an island, far off the shore." Tael spoke easily, flying to the spot his sister had vacated. The red leaves bothered him little as he flew forwards. "It was a magical island, called Hyrule. We're here on a journey, looking for a friend of ours. She left a long time ago, and we thought that maybe she found somewhere else to live. Honestly, none of know anything about this place or anywhere else but Hyrule."

"Really?" Ruby asked, lightly sucking in a gasp. A part of her couldn't believe what the fairy was saying. That was what made it all the more exciting to hear. "That sounds amazing, but really dangerous. I mean, that's really awesome! But… like… don't you have someone who can help you?"

"Well, we're not entirely unprepared." Tael admitted, his wings drooping as he admitted the feeling. "I mean, I'll admit I can't fight, at all, ever." Every word he spoke made him droop closer and closer to the ground. Ruby almost felt the small fairy's pain. "B-But Link is _really_ good at fighting!" The fairy perked up immediately, flying over to his green-clad friend.

Link blinked, suddenly finding himself the center of the conversation. Tael flew around him, the dark fairy leaving a trail of light behind him as he did so. He was used to such acts, the sibling fairies doing the dance often, usually as a sign of their connection to him. Ruby, however, new to fairies entirely, was mesmerized by the sight.

"Link's like one of the best fighters in all of Hyrule! No one can beat him with a sword and shield, a-and he can learn how to use any weapon like _really_ fast, too! He's slain just about every kind of monster in Hyrule at least once, sometimes twice!" Link began to blush a red that rivaled the hood Ruby wore. His left hand scratched at his forehead, either not enjoying the praise or feeling light headed from it. Ruby only quirked her head.

He was strong, as his grip on her was proof of, but the Huntress in training found it difficult that he would be able to kill a lot of Grimm with only a sword and shield. They were effective, as her years at Signal Academy had taught her the evolution of weapons. It helped that she was a prodigy with their design as well. But that only told her that mankind's improvement against fighting Grimm jumped bounds when they were able to channel dust through their weapons effectively. Swords and Shields didn't really do that. That was unless…

"So, you're a Hunter then?" She asked aloud, walking up to the blushing Faunus. Link blinked back at her, confused by the term. She saw it immediately. "Sorry, it means, um… you kill Grimm, or monsters, to keep other people safe, right?" At the explanation, Link nodded lightly, smiling as he did so. Ruby smiled in return.

"He's probably one of the best 'Hunters' you'll ever meet," Tatl spoke up now, flying around Ruby as she did so. The girl only squeaked lightly, head trying to keep track of the small ball of light. "Most of the things Link's had to kill were monsters most other people couldn't take. He's as serious as a sword mid-swing, if you catch my drift." Ruby wasn't sure if she did, but she hoped she assumed correctly.

"Well, that's great!" She cheered at the confirmation, earning another confused blink from Link. The dark and light fairy siblings joined him on either side of his head, each ringing with their own bells of confusion. "It means that I can probably bring you to Beacon then! I mean, yeah you're not a student, or from Vale, or the country even, but if anyone can help you out, there's gotta be someone at Beacon who can. It's not like you're going to get much further just walking through the forest."

The trio were quiet for a moment, but stopped when Tatl flew next to Link's long ear, whispering into it. Only a moment later did Tael join her, making for a gray light source hovering aside the Faunus. Ruby stared, watching as the green-clad warrior stared at the two from his side. She knew he still had her in his sights, a cautionary act, one that she had been trained to do when confronted with multiple Grimm. Maybe he really was a Hunter.

"Okay!" Tatl suddenly spoke up, shaking Ruby from any reverie she had. "We'll go with you to this Beacon place. But just so we're clear, we're going because you say someone there might be able to help us. If anything goes south, we're gone, got it?" Ruby got it, but she didn't want to accept it.

"Wait, what?" She asked, raising her hands as if suddenly threatened. She felt that way at least. "No one at Beacon is going to hurt you! I mean, yeah, classes can get out of hand sometimes, but it's really a safe place. Safe enough that most of the military doesn't even bother parking there cause of all the Hunters."

"I only got half of what you said, but I'm just gonna assume you're honestly trying to help us out, that right?" Ruby nodded her head, hoping to make that clear. "Well, it's better than nothing." That hit a small nerve with Ruby.

"Hey! I know I was rude before, but that doesn't give you the excuse to keep being rude to me!" Ruby pouted her lips as she finished, putting her hands on her hips as she glared at the ball of light. Behind Tatl, she could see Link staring at her, blinking with what appeared to be a bit of surprise. The dark fairy beside him, however, just wilted.

"Until you prove that you're gonna help us, it kinda does actually!" Tatl fired back, bouncing off of Ruby's head. The Huntress-in-training was more prepared for the blow this time, however, causing the fairy to bounce back painlessly. She watched as the eldest of the fairy siblings began to shake, her translucent wings rising as well. Judging by the quick series of bell rings she was making, she sounded upset. Ruby took a small amount of pleasure in that. Maybe Weiss was wearing off on her.

That was when Link finally intervened.

Ruby watched him approach, her eyes keeping their glare on the light illuminated fairy. He walked towards them with his hands raised, lips parted but not uttering a word. It took little time for him to get between the pair of them, forcing the crimson dressed girl to straighten herself, else she put her head against his back.

He was facing the eldest of the fairy siblings, making motions with his hands as the little ball of light rang in pitches high and low, flying about his face. He made no motion to move away from her, likely used to her antics. Ruby looked behind them just long enough to see Tael approaching as well, but far slower than their green-clad companion.

"U-Um," the dark fairy spoke when he was finally close enough, his wings telling Ruby that he was talking to her. She hoped she was imagining them correctly. "I know my sister can be… rude sometimes, but she's really a nice person. That means, um, _I_ mean, I hope you can forgive her. We are a little lost, so she's not in her best of moods. So um, can you forgive her?" Ruby watched the younger of the fairies for a moment, before a small grin took over her face.

"Yeah, I guess I can, but only because you asked nicely." Ruby extended her finger out towards the dark fairy, though not daring to poke at him. She didn't want to get both siblings against her. Plus, the fairy seemed as skittish as Jaune. That wasn't to forget Link looked like her fellow leader in near every detail, all the way down to height and eye-color. She would really have to introduce them, maybe switch clothes and play guess who. She giggled at the ideas.

"Th-Thank you," Tael spoke kindly, wings extending outwards in what Ruby could only assume was some sort of bow. It must have been hard with people only being able to see your wings. "You're, um… you're very nice for a stranger."

"Eh, it's like my friend says, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." Ruby couldn't hide the giggle that came from her lips, quoting her blonde friend when his supposed doppelganger was just in front of him. Speaking of, Link had turned back to face her, looking back down at her with a small smile on his face. Not a smirk, but a gentle curve of his lips, nothing mocking or insinuating about it. He looked behind himself, motioning with his head.

"Fine," she heard Tatl let out in a tone that oozed of disappointment. The yellow fairy flew out, from behind the green clad blonde, stopping only when she was beside her brother. She looked up at the young girl, wings moving only to keep her in the air. "I'm sorry for being rude to you and I would really appreciate your help."

Ruby beamed.

"Oh that's alright, it's all in the past, literally." Ruby giggled lightly again before raising her hands. She gripped Link by the shoulders, looking into his blue eyes with her own silver ones. He didn't appear as unnerved by her contact as his fairy friends did, but he did blink at her in a bit of confusion. "So are you ready to go to Beacon?" She asked in a falsely critical tone. "Home to some of the greatest Hunters in training?"

He shrugged in response, nodding his head. Ruby smiled bright enough to show all her teeth.

"Well then let's go!"

She turned around and began to pull Link behind her, the green-clad warrior stumbling momentarily before joining behind her, hunched over to make up for their difference in height. Behind them, the two fairies followed, easily keeping pace even with the ever falling red leaves.

* * *

He sighed, an action that was becoming frequent in number. It was not something he was proud of. Usually a sigh indicated some sort of lack of energy or disappointment. Neither were good qualities for a man of his position. Lifting his favorite mug to his lips, he drank from it again, hoping the caffeinated beverage inside would give him the energy to fight back next time.

As another slow sigh left his lips, he knew it was not the case.

His hand moved up to adjust the small spectacles across his nose, pushing them until they sat more comfortable along his bridge, still behind the silver hair that lightly hang down over his eyes. Their emerald lenses turned the blue skyline of Beacon a majestic cyan, something he often found easing to his nerves to watch. Many a time he could recall the simple sight of Vale surrounded in such a peaceful and regal color to be able to settle any worrying matters of his mind. It was easy to see the world as more peaceful when it was made of brighter hues. But now that was no longer the case.

The green scarf held around his neck seemed tighter as the reminders of the present came back. Where he would stare out and see hope for tomorrow, he saw only disappointments for his past, decisions he had made and fell through any faith he had. Terrorist attacks increasing, White Fang numbers rising, Vytal Tournament postponed, civilians scared, and worse of all, students whispering. Whispers were rumors, and often times very little was more damning than a rumor wound up to great portions.

He sighed again.

"You once told me that sighing was a sign of old age." The voice was one he recognized very well, from a woman he entrusted many of his secrets to. He let a small smile take his lips, pleased that it was different from the depressive frown he had worn for the past few hours. He turned around, looking to see his companion walking towards him, Scroll in hand and riding crop in the other.

"Glynda," he returned with a small raise of his mug, bowing his head lightly. The woman repeated the action, without a mug, however. "It is good to see you. But shouldn't you be preparing the students for their sparring tomorrow? I hear Cardin has a lot of ground to cover with his team."

His longtime partner and friend had little patience for his words. A pity, really. Students seemed to enjoy it. Glynda Goodwitch, however, with a white low-cut blouse and long blonde hair, was the very definition of law-abiding. Even her lavender cape, long and hanging just past her knees, moved only as the wind and gravity commanded it. All despite being worn by a woman capable of extreme telekinesis.

"Those preparations were finished an hour and a half ago," his partner returned easily, tapping something on the pad in her hand, maybe a reminder to send him notifications about such events. He certainly hoped not, but he knew better. "I came here to inquire why you are the boundaries of Beacon and not up in your office. Don't say the view is superior from here, but I can know well enough that it is not." He had to chuckle at that, her superior knowledge of him and his habits.

"Just, reminiscing I suppose," he simply said, gaze turning back to the city across the water, illuminated by the sky and sun. "Decisions I should have made, actions I shouldn't have done, the past in general. And don't say it, I know how bad a habit it is."

"I was going to comment that I expected you to be planning your next move, not worrying over your last." Glynda returned his words as easily as he had hers. She took the few extra steps necessary to be by his side, staring across the same body of water to the same city across the way. "But you give yourself too little credit." Those words made him turn.

"Really?" He asked in an amused tone, not used to this rare sight before him. "Do go on." He sipped at the dark beverage in his mug as the woman beside him sighed deeply.

"Perhaps you could not prevent the actions that occurred, but your decisions reduced the possible damage to a minimum most people tend to ignore." She tapped a few items on her pad, outside of his sight. "The army tends to show enough force to make the enemies worried, but don't consider how the people are usually wary of such actions. Most of the politicians and council don't even believe a problem exists until it had blown down their door and started eating their food. You, however, took the middle ground."

"It is a habit of mine, isn't it?" He spoke the rhetorical question as he turned his gaze back to the school. To him, it was the embodiment of the 'middle ground."

Beacon. It was one of the most prestigious schools in the entire world for aspiring Hunters and Huntresses. Applications from across the globe coming to his desk every day, from schools as close as Signal to as far away as Atlas. It stood proudly tall, between the badlands where Grimm roamed and the bustling town of Vale where humans lived. A sign, if ever there were one, of those would want to defend the good from the bad.

It was a middle road, to him at least. Training Hunters to fight against the Grimm rather than forcing a marching order. Allowing civility and fun to be the major part of the students' lives, not drills and tactic trainings. But it also allowed constant reminders of the threats just over the horizons, rather than hiding them beneath neon lights and eternal festivities. There was little ignorance to be had at his school, and that was an achievement in itself.

But one achievement was all it was, and one he had succeeded in long ago. Now Ozpin was faced with the failures of the present, similar decisions leading to different outcomes. Remembering the definition of insanity, it brought a chuckle to his lips.

"Expecting change with similar methods," he chuckled at the words, knowing that they made his friend scowl at him briefly. That was a game he enjoyed to play. "It's hard to see the events of late any other way with the Vytal Festival postponed."

"That is only temporary, and no matter what your actions, the festival would have been delayed," Glynda returned easily, it was a habit of hers. "You can I can both agree that delaying the festival is one of the wiser moves the Military has made, ensuring safety without a blatant show of arms."

"That remains to be seen," Ozpin noted again, eyes swerving toward Vale. "They hope to protect the coliseum, but I can't help but imagine they hope to turn it into some flying fortress of power." He chuckled at his own words, imagining the Council ruling from the cloud tops with barrels aiming down. It truthfully wasn't far different than where they already were.

"I'm being serious Ozpin." She returned in a cold tone. "Or do you believe that I would be following you as I am did I think you were making the wrong decisions?" He blinked once before turning towards her.

She was staring at him with a hard gaze, one she often wore. Her lips were puckered, drawn in a small frown, sitting beneath her sharp green eyes. The lavender of her cape swayed behind her, cut into the shape of arrows she seemed so eager to wear. He looked back at her, for once, unable to think of a proper response. He settled for simply looking at her, hoping she would glance away first. He really should have known better.

There was no denying in any facet of the word that Glynda was loyal to him. A friend since their younger years, a comrade of arms that he was proud to call a partner. She was the embodiment of duty and civility, one who would conquer the unruly truth before even thinking of settling for a comforting lie. Were there any words he could trust, they would be hers. He was just able to stop another sigh from escaping his lips.

It was at that time that he saw something else nearly escape his vision.

From just behind Glynda, an airship was docking. Not a strictly unusual sight, except that he knew of no scheduled times for one to be appearing now. His partner turned to see what had captured his vision, taking note of the ship the same way he had. She began tapping on her pad again, likely looking up an inquiry as to who was on the vessel.

The question was quickly answered, as one Ruby Rose jumped from the door, lifting her hands into the air in a small cheer. It was enough to make Ozpin smile. A Huntress though she was, in training or not, she was still a child, and small acts like that only made it all the more obvious. It was a wonder that Qrow had been able to teach her so well at such a young age.

All musings about the young Huntress vanished, however, when she motioned for someone else inside the air ship. Her arms were making loops, encouraging someone else to come forward. Perhaps it was her sister, or more likely Jaune Arc, as the young team JNPR leader needed a bit of help following his rides on mobile devices.

Those thoughts died as well when another figure came forward, appearing far more curious than pained.

By appearance alone and at a distance, Ruby's companion did appear to look strikingly similar to one Jaune Arc, at least to Ozpin, but there were enough significant differences to make it clear they were not the same. Jaune did not often wear a garb of green nor a pointed hat. He did not have his sword and shield attached to his back. He did not have a couple balls of lighting floating about himself. And, if there was ever one significant detail, Jaune Arc was not a Faunus, which the long pointed ears of Ruby's companion clearly indicated he was. And if all of that was not enough, Jaune had been to his school enough to not be so impressed in the sight as this boy clearly was.

The slack jaw and wide gaze of this new Faunus was a clear a sign of surprise and wonder that Ozpin had ever seen. It was true he had seen the expression often, especially amongst new students or potential attendees. The prestigious name of Beacon and size of the school were not things easily looked over. He turned to ask Glynda if she was aware of who the individual was, but found her now longer there. Ozpin turned, quickly finding where she was.

Glynda was moving towards the pair before Ozpin, her high heels clicking across the stone and shoulders squared. For one who criticized the military so easily, she took up the posture and stance of a soldier very quickly. From the distance, Ozpin saw Ruby notice Glynda, nearly jumping at the teacher's approach. The figure next to her, wearing an impressive emerald green, only look a bit more curious. He had a good taste in color, if nothing else, Ozpin concluded before making his way to the pair.

"Um, hello Professor Goodwitch," Ruby meekly addressed the approaching blonde, waving her hand from side to side in a weak greeting. The taller woman spoke not a word, instead making her way in a beeline for the mysterious figure beside the girl. Ruby noticed it quickly. "W-Wait! This is a friend I just made! He got lost in the Foreverfall and I told him someone here could probably help him!"

"Ruby Rose," Ozpin heard his partner address critically, a tone most assumed was her natural voice by now. "Are you to tell me you brought a complete stranger to Beacon, during a time of heightened security, simply because he said he was lost?" The girl shrunk under the woman's gaze, forcing Glynda to turn head to the mysterious Faunus, who was looking at her with a curious expression and blinking eyes. "And who are you?" The figure blinked again, as if unsure of how to answer. He raised his hands, motioning towards himself then Ruby, likely trying to draw some sort of conclusion with his motions. Ozpin chuckled lightly. He knew Glynda would have none of that. "Speak up!" The professor ordered, her riding crop singing through the air at the command. That was when something truly unexpected happened.

The small balls of lights talked.

"Hey, back off!" The high voice cried out, ringing like bells. Ozpin stared at the floating light ball, noticing now the translucent wings that seemed to nearly vibrate around it. Said ball flew into Glynda's face, all but completely obscuring the woman's vision. "We're just following little red hood over here. You got a problem with that!?"

"Wait, sis!" The other more darkly colored ball of light spoke up then, flying next to his assumed sibling. He pushed against her, light and dark lights turning a soothing gray as they hovered inches away from Professor Goodwitch's face. Ozpin likely sipped at his coffee as he watched the exchange. "I-I'm really sorry about my sister. We were just lost a-and Ruby said we could come here for help. If we have to leave, we can, promise! J-Just don't like… hurt us or anything…"

"Hmph," Glynda snorted out as she waved her hand in front of her face, forcing the small balls of light to take flight away from her. Ozpin crooked a brow as he noticed the emerald colored figure furrow his own. He was defensive about those objects. Interesting. "I don't know who or what you are, but you need to have secured permission before setting foot on Beacon. I suggest securing a means of transport back to Vale promptly."

"What's Vale?" The younger and darker of the two lights asked, earning a chuckle from Ozpin, still standing on the sideline. Lost in deed. "S-Sorry, but we're not from around here… or near here… or like… anywhere."

"How very convenient," Glynda noted, her face twisting into a condemning scowl. She turned said expression on Ruby, who appeared to be shrinking into her red hood and cape. "And I suppose you have a valid reason for bringing them here, Ms. Rose?"

"U-Uh, yeah!" The girl spoke up, doing her utmost to appear confident. "His name's Link, a-and he's from some island place called Hyrule. He's never heard of Vale, or Foreverfall, or Beacon, or any place around here. He also calls everything different, like Hunters and Grimm and Dust are different for him and stuff… B-But he's looking for his friend! So I thought that someone here might be able to… ya know… help him." Ozpin saw his window.

"And I believe that is an excellent idea, Ms. Rose." All eyes turned to him as he finally spoke for the first time. He made a small show of his can and mug, holding himself high in both poise and dignity. Best to let actions speak more than his words. "Helping a young man such as this is what it means to be a Huntress, and you have shown good judgement in bringing him here. What's more, saying to hail from an island of no record. At the very least it is deeply intriguing." Ruby beamed at the headmaster. Glynda did not.

"Excuse me Ozpin," said woman returned. "But I believe that the police in Vale are more qualified to deal with a lost child than we are." Stifled laughter brought her attention back to the floating balls of light. Specifically, the light colored feminine one that was now twisting in the air, as if spinning. "And what is so funny to you?"

"You calling Link a child, duh!" The ball of light didn't even try to hide it. "If you think he's a child, then that makes you toddlers. No wait, that's too kind, babies!" Ozpin was fortunate to see Link appearing nervous by the ball of light's antics, hands raised as if debating to pluck them from the air. It was with just as much fortune that Glynda did as well.

"You may want to have a repairman do maintenance on those drones of yours," the professor supplied to Link, earning a bemused expression from the Faunus, ears dropping at the command. Ruby, however, seemed to pick up what he did not.

"No, wait, professor, that's why I know Link is telling the truth, or a good part of it, or more than a good lie," she rambled as she got her superior's attention. "Those aren't machines! Those are _real_ fairies!" Ozpin took a slow sip of his coffee, enjoying this exchange more and more with every passing word.

"Fairies?" Glynda returned in question, looking at the pair of flying objects. One appeared to be taking pride in the title, ringing loudly with translucent wings flared. The other seemed to bow, as if embarrassed. They acted human enough, at least to Ozpin, but even he was skeptical of seeing the creatures of fairy tales. Skeptical, but not disbelieving.

He watched Glynda reach a hand up, presuming to grasp at one of the floating balls. Ozpin noticed out of the crook of his eyes a frightened expression on Ruby, earning his curiosity. That wonder was settled in the next moment.

Link, the now name green garbed Faunus, grabbed Glynda's hand, stopping her.

Ozpin stopped sipping his coffee, staring at what he was sure was a dead man. Ruby apparently had a similar expression, her hands cupped over her face, perhaps to hide her slack jaw. The pair of opposing colored fairies were ringing, both flying behind Link's head. Link, however, only glared at Glynda, his blue eyes suddenly far sharper than before. Glynda, however, had a green gaze full of just as much venom.

"Release my hand, now," the Huntress ordered in a low tone. Ozpin watched as his partner tightened the grip on her crop, the leather beneath letting out a small cry at the strain. Link, however, appeared determined not to let go until… Ozpin wasn't sure what he was waiting for. What he did know, however, was that it was time to intervene again.

"Right, why don't we settle down?" He spoke easily as he waved his cane in front of the two, forcing Link to step back, thereby releasing Glynda's hand. The professor rubbed her appendage in a way that looked as if it was sore. Intriguing indeed. "I believe this was just a poor form of communication on both of our parts. Why don't we mediate that, hmm?"

He smiled as he looked towards Link, the green garbed Faunus looking up to him. It became obvious now how short the boy was, likely barley scrapping below six feet if he was lucky, but more likely a good five foot eight. Short, but he knew better than to judge based upon appearance. Said boy looked up at him with a curious expression, not uttering a word.

"Ruby?" A new voice spoke up, earning a few twist of the heads.

Ozpin was one of the first to see a fellow member of team RWBY approaching. Garbed in tin materials of black and white, all complimenting the slit girl's slit golden eyes, Blake Belladonna was figure that exuded experience. With high heel boots clicking across the pavement, long strands of dark hair waving in the wind, and, of course, she was still wearing her now signature black bow on her head. The headmaster knew well what lay beneath the thin material, but he was more interested now in the way the girl's golden eyes stared at Link's ears. He smiled lightly at the small exchange.

"Blake! I'm so glad you're here!" Ruby spoke her teammate's name with cheer. The quietest member of the group had only a moment's time before her young leader grabbed her arm, pulling her forward. She stumbled lightly before catching herself. "You won't believe what happened! I was in the Foreverfall practicing with Crescent Rose when I suddenly saw an Ursa Major trying to attack Link here, so I shot at it and then I met him and he's a Faunus who's from some far off land! He's got magical fairies and other Grimm that he just calls monsters and… and well he needs our help but I'm not sure how to help him yet."

"A problem I am sure we will mediate," Ozpin decided to interject. He enjoyed watching conversations often, but he knew the importance of time. There were enough clocks in his office to prove it. "Ms. Belladonna," he spoke as he nodded towards the Faunus in hiding. "I'd like you to meet Link, a young Faunus we have just met." Link blinked lightly before facing the new girl, who stood only just under his own height. He smiled at her, easily so, bowing towards her. Blake stopped, confused momentarily, before bowing in response. They both rose, Link smiling friendly at her.

Ozpin, the ever-observant headmaster, could see the gears turning in the young girl's sharp eyes. Though only a few years Ruby's senior, Blake had seen far more cruelty in the world than he ever would wish upon a soul. It replaced trust with caution, joy with trepidation, and hope with fear. He loathed the last most of all.

"It is… a pleasure to meet you," Blake spoke uneasily, not sure of what to think of the new Faunus. Given her history, Ozpin was far to blame her. "But what is going on?"

"I was hoping that Link would explain that, as so far we have heard only testimony from Ms. Rose and his two fairy companions." Ozpin nodded politely at the two fairies, both ringing at their addressing. He saw the dark fairy quickly fly into the brightly colored one, perhaps to stifle a comment she was close to screaming. It seemed plausible, if not likely. "So, Link, may you perhaps tell us why you are here?" Link looked at him for a moment, eyes looking up to the two fairies. Ozpin followed his gaze, but was quick to hold up a hand to the pair.

"I apologize, but I would like to hear from Link why he is here. I appreciate the companionship, truly, but he can only go so far with saying so little." He lowered his hand, both fairies remaining quiet out of respect. Perhaps there was more civility to the lighter colored one than he thought. The dark did not surprise him. "So, Link," he looked back to the emerald colored Faunus. "Can you tell us why you are here?"

He watched Link's mouth move, hands making small motions as he spoke, but he heard not a word.

Ozpin's face quickly fell into a frown, thinking he was being mocked by the sword bearing Faunus. He looked to his side to see Glynda carrying a similar expression, the usual visage of annoyance that came so easily and naturally to her. Ruby appeared just as confused, head tilted and lips slightly parted. Blake… Blake appeared to be listening? Truly fascinating.

"A noble goal," the dark girl spoke. Yes, definitely listening, Ozpin concluded.

"Wait, what?" Ruby asked as she faced her teammate. "What's noble? What happened? I didn't hear anything! Is there something wrong with my ears? I made sure to wear my guards before I shot Crescent Rose!" The young girl put her fingers to her ears, twisting them back and forth. Ozpin had a far more likely theory.

"Ms. Belladonna," he started, earning the bow-adorned girl's attention. "May you please inform us what Link said?" She blinked for a moment, unsure as to why. Link also looked towards her, almost expectantly. She nodded before continuing.

"He said he left his home to search for a friend that left him a long time ago," she began, looking towards Link as he spoke. He smiled softly and nodded, confirming the words. It was also confirmation of Ozpin's unspoken assumption about Link's ability to speak and be heard. "She was someone who had helped him through an important part of his life, but was forced to leave for a reason he doesn't know. Now that there is peace in his land, he wants to look for her, but decided to leave his home to do so."

"Extraordinary," Ozpin muttered softly, a smile of his own across his lips. He took a slow gulp of coffee from his mug, letting the others muse upon the word. Thoughts gave conversation, and he hated to be the only one talking. "I'll be the first to confirm that you may have been the only one to hear anything Link spoke, Ms. Belladonna."

"I… thought as much, but I don't know why." She quickly began to defend herself, holding up her hands as if in said defense. "He was just… quiet is all." Ozpin hide his growing smile behind his mug, letting the aroma of the slowly vanishing liquid fill his lungs. He noticed the fairies above ringing next to one another, likely carrying their own quiet conversation. He was sure at least one was as observant as him.

"Yes, quiet," the headmaster repeated. "So quiet that we couldn't hear a word. I wonder why that is."

"It's because you all have such short ears." It appeared that Tatl finally broke her vow of silence, no matter how short it was. It earned a few confused brows from the group, but only a nod from Ozpin, who had thought as much. He could not tell for the hearing of these fairies, but he knew little to nothing of them. Stories had more information than he did. "Seriously, all your ears are so short and stubby. Reminds me of the Gerudo almost, but at least they knew how to listen. Good thing dark and brooding over here knows how to pay attention." The headmaster saw the Faunus in hiding blush at the name, likely more insulted than complimented. Tael, the dark fairy as Ozpin reminded himself, seemed to wilt at his sister's words. It was likely a form of embarrassment as well.

"I am not familiar with the term Gerudo, but I suspect it is similar to your interpretation of our word for Faunus," Ozpin returned to the fairy easily, hoping to move this conversation into the territory of fruition. They were already very close. "So, may I ask what you call yourself?" He asked the question towards Link, who silently moved his lips again. Ozpin found humor in that, speaking so softly he needed the sharpest of ears to hear him.

"A Hylian?" Blake spoke the word he spoke. "That's your term for a faunus?" Link shrugged in response, the green garb he wore rising and falling with the action. He appeared rather passive of the situation. Ozpin wasn't quite sure how to see that yet. It could be to their benefit, easily accepting what was around him, or a negative, hiding his true motives carefully. He hoped for the former.

"Hylians are the native people to the kingdom of Hyrule." It was the darker fairy that spoke this time, earning a confused look from Blake. Ozpin noticed Glynda pout her lips as she crossed her arms, lightly poking at her pad as Tael spoke. "They're said to have long ears to allow them to hear the goddesses, the length usually being assigned to those of royalty. Gerudo are… Gerudo are a race of thieves of the desert, all female but with ears shorter than those of Hylians. It's said in tales that they lost their long ears to the desert sands, whipping them away." Ozpin made note of the goddesses, a religion of his land doubtlessly.

"So you claim to hail from a kingdom of all Faunus?" Glynda asked the question with ease, something that Ozpin was sure not many could do. There was a lot of weight to such an insinuation, a kingdom free of any prejudice against the Faunus people, sitting out there in water, yet to be found. He sipped his coffee in thought of it. Link looked unready to agree to the term, waving his head lightly as he shifted his shoulders. With a shrug again, he nodded. Perhaps he was used to being unheard, given how little he attempted to speak. "Interesting. Only four kingdoms have been established throughout Remnant over the course of the eons of Dust's discovery. A new land is not impossible, but it is highly improbable."

"Oh no, it's real," the golden fairy spoke up again. Ozpin was starting to relate her to the head of the small trio. Though, by mere observation of sight, Link was clearly the muscle of them. "Trust me on that one. We've been all around it, from the high mountains of Snow Head to the low plains of the Gerudo Valley. Right now, it's more real than this training ground of yours." Ozpin hid his smile behind his mug. This creature, this fairy, he found appeal in it. It was interesting and forthcoming.

"That's… that sound incredible." Ozpin held no surprise at the amount of awe Blake had in her voice. He shifted his eyes to see the hidden Faunus staring at Link, her curious gaze now one of wonder. "You… you left a kingdom full of faunus…" The headmaster saw the next question coming a mile away. "Where is it? Can you take me to it? I'd… I-I'd like to see a place where Faunus live like that."

"Blake…" Ruby spoke from aside her teammate. There wasn't reprimand in the young girl's tone, more like sympathy. Ruby Rose was an empathetic leader if ever there was one. Ozpin half suspected the B of RWBY didn't even notice her folded hands, imitating a prayer of sorts.

Attention turned to Link, seemingly awaiting confirmation of such a task. Instead, however, they saw only the blonde Faunus put a hand behind his head, beneath the sharp green cap he wore. He scratched at it, pushing the brim of his hat down and over his eyes. A thin line was drawn over his lips. Tatl flew up to him, hovering beside his head. She made contact with him, and Ozpin noticed the small inclination he made towards here.

"We can't…" It was Tael to answer, sounding pitiful in tone. That never came with good reason.

"Why?" Blake was quick to return. "Is it about protecting your home? I-I assure that I can keep secrets well. No one will ever know where it is." Ozpin knew she was just as honest with such an examination of herself. The dark fairy, however, only shook in the air, almost sadly.

"No it's… w-we don't know where it is." A pregnant pause followed the statement. "Remember how we said we were lost? Like, actually lost?" Ruby nodded up to him, not enjoying where this was going. "There was a storm out in the ocean. It… it threw us off. We lost our map, our compass… even the sail. We… we have no idea how to get back."

A sad tale indeed, Ozpin recognized, earning at least a pause from Glynda as she tapped on her pad, likely noting all the details of this meeting. He watched Link carefully, however, noticing how he avoided contact with any of them, focusing only on the light fairy against his cheek. It could be seen as a sign of regret, knowing one so young would never return home. But another… well, everyone had a tell. He couldn't be sure which it was yet.

"Oh." It was all the response that came from Blake. Ruby was far more detailed.

"I'm… I'm so sorry to hear that," the young team leader spoke as kindly as she could, but Ozpin could nearly hear the constraint in her voice. "I-I mean, you must be very brave to still want to find your friend. Maybe… maybe we can help you find your way home! Like, we can find your friend then help you find your home! That'll work, right?"

Link looked up at her, pulling back the brim of his hat to do so. He looked at her for a moment before adopting what Ozpin could only describe as a side-ways grin, one full of acceptance, thanks, but more than anything else, consolation. That was not what he would expect from an individual told only recently he would never be able to return home. But again, he was not sure if it was because of an exceptional level of acceptance, or something else… He sipped is coffee in thought.

"Be that as it may, there is little we can do for you here," Glynda made herself known with her words, her own green eyes focused on the screen in her arms. Ozpin had given up long ago attempting to read the device as she wrote on it. The machinations of the mind were easier to understand than Glynda's writing patterns. "This is a school dedicated to the training of Hunters and Huntresses, dedicated to defending the lives from the threats of the natural and ill-natural world. There is little to nothing we can do for helping you locate a friend you have lost."

Ozpin made it a point to keep his mug against his lips, hiding his reaction as he observed the expressions of the others. Ruby looked pained, as he suspected she would, one to quickly connect and empathize with others. Blake appeared the same, but was far gentler with hers, settling with a short sigh. He half suspected she was still regretting not seeing this kingdom Link supposedly hailed from. The fairies drooped a little, but spoke not a word. It was Link that surprised him.

He gave the same sad smile, then nodded.

No arguments against it, no action to try and change the professor's mind, only calm acceptance, sad as it was. That was a significant point. Where many others given even a chance to stay at his school, humility aside, they would do their utmost to make any excuse to do so. Link's quick denial for such an act meant again, one of two things. He either truly did not care for his school or he did not know about it. They were not exclusive, but neither gave room for a supposed liar or spy to worm his way in.

"Perhaps you're speaking too quickly, Glynda," Ozpin spoke now, lowering his mug as he did so. He gave them a moment to adjust to him, again letting a few thoughts form in their minds. "It may be beyond our current boundaries of operations to assist you in searching for a friend Link, but I see no reason to simply throw you from our grounds and wish you luck. Tell me, how skilled are you with that sword?" His can lifted and pointed towards the jeweled object on Link's back.

Link looked behind himself briefly before raising his hand. He slowly withdrew the items, wisely at that. A quick display could easily be seen as a show of force. He was used to suspicion, at the very least. But with sword and shield drawn, Ozpin was suddenly much more critical of tools.

Though made of metal and well-shaped at that, they appeared to be encrusted with gems and Dust to a degree that he was not used to. A simple piece of decoration in the past, loaded and unloaded as need be, those were the common uses for such material. Link's weapons appeared to be loaded over and out with the material, shining with the sun's light like holy relics. Ozpin half suspected they were.

"Like them?" He heard Tatl say in a sort of sing-song voice. The light fairy flew around the objects Link held, coating them in a trail of luminescent dust. The headmaster had to admit, it gave a very ethereal feel to them. "Meet the Magical Sword and Shield. Forged and enchanted long ago during the time of the First Hero of Hyrule. The blade is enchanted to never lose its edge no matter what it is beaten against. It can channel magic as well as any rod or staff. The shield is able to block just about anything between heavy hammers and balls of fire. No luck getting through his defense." Magic… likely their term for Dust. It made sense they had different words for the same thing. Sharing a language was blessing enough.

Ozpin noted silently Glynda typing out on her keypad, likely snapping a few pictures with her ever-present mini-drones while taking down the fairies words. Ruby, however, had sparkles in her eyes. The weapon enthusiast that she was, it hardly surprised him. It was actually Link that earned the title for oddest expression at that moment. Rather than appearing humbled or proud for the weapons he carried, he appeared almost… embarrassed. Perhaps that wasn't the right words, maybe uneasy or something close to it. Interesting nonetheless.

"And as for his skill," Tatl went on, laughing a little before she did so. It almost unnerved the headmaster, almost. "Link's been called the greatest swordsman in all of Hyrule. Before we left, there was no one who could take him on in a fair fight, and even unfair ones he'd come out on top. Take on a whole cave full of monsters and come out without a bead of sweat, but some new treasure to boot." Ozpin smiled as the fairy finished.

"That sounds quite amazing," he admitted aloud, honest with his words. "Then, perhaps, we may be able to strike a deal of sorts." While the children around him appeared between confused and curious, with brows furrowed and lips puckered, Glynda only gave him a warning glare. He saw Link return his weapons to their sheath, likely uncomfortable holding them out amongst others. That was normal.

"Ozpin," Glynda spoke his name darkly. "Remember what we talked about. It was only minutes ago, so I won't believe you've already forgotten." He doubted she'd ever let him forget a single conversation they had shared, if he was being asked under oath.

"Link," he spoke the Faunus's name again, watching as he stiffened as if expecting orders. Ozpin briefly wondered what his role was in this kingdom he hailed from. "While we are not able to readily help you find your friend now; that does not mean we lack the resources to do so. In fact, it is likely we are more capable of this than the authorities in Vale at the moment. However, we cannot allow someone incapable of fighting the Grimm onto Beacon. It is a policy that we all abide by. A practical tradition really, given our purpose and standing in the world. So, here is my offer." He took a slow sip of the mug he was waving before. Then, lifting his cane, he pointed it towards Link. He noticed with a small amount of glee the way Link tensed at the action. Caution.

"If you can slay a Grimm of my choosing before night's fall, I'll allow you stay on my campus." Ozpin could feel the joy emanating from Ruby as readily as he felt the rage roll off Glynda. It was weird ground to stand on. Link, however, didn't appear ready to jump on the offer. Rather, he lifted one of his hands to his chin, as if in thought.

Both fairies flew down to him, floating by one of his long ears. He made small motions with his head as they doubtlessly spoke, whispering to him a voice already softer than a warm spring's breeze. He smirked lightly at that.

"Ms. Belladonna," he called lightly to Blake. The girl turned to him. "Would you happen to tell me what they are saying?" There was obvious hesitation on her part, likely seeing the fellow Faunus as more potential ally. However, it appeared that the actions of her former comrades had allowed Ozpin's request to win out.

"They're talking about if it's a good idea. Tatl, the light one, keeps saying it's better than nothing, and her brother is agreeing. But…" She bit her lip with one of her fangs before she went on. "But it sounds like Link is actual the more cautious. He… I think he's saying he wants to be alone." Now that was surprising.

If there was any doubt left Ozpin had that Link was truly a foreign Faunus, it was gone now.

"Alright," Tatl spoke up, flying away from Link and up to Ozpin. The headmaster stared at the ball of light as it floated in front of him. "We'll do it, but on one condition." Ozpin felt himself smile, even as he could nearly feel Glynda imagine his skin being peeled away.

"And that is?" The fairy rung lightly before speaking, lightly her way of clearing her throat.

"Link's an equal while he's here." That… was not what Ozpin was expecting. His brows rose questioningly at the statement. He didn't have to look to know that the others present had similar expressions. "That means no special treatment _or_ unfair treatment. He's not some new kid to pick on or war hero to drool over. We're just looking for his friend and you're helping us find a place to start. Simple as that."

Ozpin looked over to Glynda, who appeared to have tapped out the message already. She was nodding at the pad, thought with a scowl on her features. She did not, however, have a word of reprimand for them. That was quite the turnaround. Perhaps that condition was to ease the burden her? Yes, it would but… what purpose did it serve Link? Was that how he was treated back at Hyrule? But which one then, the prince or the pauper? It was not something he could simply ask.

He looked towards Blake, noting how she nodded approvingly at the statement. With her arms crossed and a smile across her lips, it was the fastest he had seen anyone gain the young student's trust, let alone approval. Ruby seemed all that and doubly so, likely for she was given the same kind of attention, being the junior of near everyone by at least two years. Link looked at Ozpin, but not expectantly. It was as if… he had already made a decision, no matter what the headmaster decided. It made the headmaster smile.

Perhaps he had made errors when it came to his school in the past, but that didn't mean he should pass on new opportunities in the present.

"Very well," he spoke to the fairy, extending his hand outwards towards Link. "I accept." Link smiled back at him, gripping his hand with a firm shake. Ozpin noted immediately the strength behind it, higher than he initially thought for someone of Link's stature. That was, again, a thought he filed away for later.

"This is highly irregular Ozpin," Glynda scolded again from the side, but he noted that the flare he expected form her was gone. Perhaps she was just as interested in the outcome of this test as he was. "Usually new entries to Beacon must perform an evaluation test, and only then after completing a test of competency." He chuckled at her usual demeanor. "Sad as his tale may be, it isn't ethically possible to allow every case such as his to be admitted."

"That's why we're doing the test," Ozpin countered lightly, the cheer in his voice unchanging as he answered his partner. "That aside, I doubt there are any other cases like Link here, isn't that right?" He grinned lightly towards the green clad Faunus, raising his mug to lips as he did so. The warrior didn't blink as he gazed back at him.

"Well that's awesome!" Ruby shattered the tense atmosphere with her usual cheer. She jumped in front of Link, her hands clasped to her chest with a beaming smile aimed up at him. He blinked as he looked back at her, clearly unused to the level of energy the child had. "That means you can actually be a student here Link! You can have breakfast with us, go to class with us, do training with us, have lunch with us, watch movies with us, go to Vale with us, and then have dinner with us! Can't sleep with us though, four in a room is crowded enough." Ozpin chuckled as Link looked at her with a bemused expression, complete with a light blush. It appeared he wasn't ignorant of the insinuations either.

"Please forgive Ruby," Blake spoke up instead, putting a hand on Link's shoulder. He turned to her, not appearing offended by the gesture in the least. She smiled at him for it. "But I would like to see you enter the school as well. Your home… I'd like to hear about it."

"You seem pretty eager to talk about that," Tatl flew up to her as she spoke, causing the dark girl to pull her hand away. "Can't say I blame you for being curious about Link. He is an amazing guy. But you seem _pretty_ interested in just Hyrule. Why is that?" Ozpin hid his smile well behind his mug, even as Blake appeared to have her stomach drop to the earth.

"S-She's just a history buff!" Ozpin had little surprise to see the young team leader jumping to her friend's rescue. "I mean, like, she's read almost every book about faunus in the school and Vale, always looking for something new to do and stuff like that. I-It's just a hobby for her, really!" The red cloaked girl nearly bounded as she spoke. She was not the most skilled liar.

"Whoa, whoa, take it easy Red," Tatl followed up, with a new nick-name for the young girl at that. It made Ruby blink. "I was just asking. Geez, no reason to act like I'm gonna burn down the town or something." The fairy rang as she flew away from the duo of girls, circling about link with a trail of gold, before settling in front of Glynda.

While it was obvious to the headmaster that his partner was glaring at the fairy, her own fingers resting above her pad, he could only assume Tatl was doing the same. Given the stiffness of the fairy's wings, it was a likely expression, though the blinding amount of light she gave off did make it rather difficult to judge.

"So, um…" Ozpin turned his attention back to Link, only to find Tael floating up to him. He assumed it was a meeker version of flight, given that the fairy moved at only a fraction of his sister's speed, wings drooping as he did so. "What kind of monster are we fighting? Y-You said Grimm, but Ruby said Grimm are monsters, but like, are they all the same or… what?" An interesting deduction.

"Though Grimm all have similar hunger and needs, they vary about as readily as you and I," Ozpin spoke plainly and honestly to the fairy. He hoped his good nature would ease any discomfort in the floating companion. "It is interesting that you call them simply monsters, but I suppose that is hardly the most interesting difference we have found. But besides that, I am getting away from myself."

He waved his cane as he spoke, metaphorically brushing away his rogue thoughts. Ozpin turned his attention back to Link, who looked at him expectantly, arms crossed and eyes forward.

"You came from the Foreverfall Forest, is that correct?" He watched Link glance to Ruby, who vigorously nodded her head. Link returned the expression to Ozpin. "Well, there is another woods call the Emerald Forest. I believe you will find it closer to your typical trek through wooded lands, with trees of green and grounds covered with light foliage and dirt. However, it is also home to a few more impressive species of Grimm." He gave another moment of silence to gauge Link's reaction. Not a muscle on his face had twitched. He was poised, if nothing else.

"Of those numbers, there is an impressive beast called the Nevermore." He heard a light gasp from Ruby, the memory of the monster that required her team's cooperative effort to slay still fresh in her mind. Link gave her only a glance before looking back towards the headmaster. "It is a Grimm with wing spans longer than the ship your rode in on, flying to deathly heights, and capable of catastrophic damage. It is among one of the more deadly forms of Grimm, especially to the untrained. If you can slay a beast such as this, I will allow you to stay on my campus, with the condition Tatl has specified." The fairy rung at the agreement.

It took not a moment for Link to nod his head. Ozpin made careful note of the Faunus's smile. It was much more confident now than it was before. Interesting in all ways.

"Alright!" Tatl finally let out, flying away from Glynda and back around Link. She stopped when she hovered over his right shoulder, the green-clad warrior grinning at her as she lightly bounced against his cheek. It was clear to see it was out of affection. "Looks like we got a monster to slay, just like old times!"

"Nearly, but I have a stipulation of my own," Glynda let out, earning the collective attention. She tapped at her keypad, giving Link a meaningful glare. He only appeared confused by it. "The test as specified is meant to be a solo mission, done to prove your individual worth for the school."

Ozpin raised his mug to hide his frown of disapproval. He knew well where this was going.

"As such, Tatl and Tael will wait here." The reaction was instantaneous.

"Wait, _what!?_ " The lightly illuminated fairy let out, flying back over to Glynda in a blink of an eye. She rang like a child was shaking a bell, loud and unfaltering. "You seriously expect us to just split up like that! No way! Isn't happening!"

"It will if you want this test to proceed," Glynda continued, unfaltering in the fairy's presence. "Normally Huntresses and Hunters in training must work together to complete these tasks, but the deal was set only for Link's admittance into Beacon." Ozpin was only partially surprised by his partner's actions.

He should have seen it coming, in all honesty. She was not one to simply act from the sideline, especially while her rules were being circumvented for the sake of curiosity. That was his fault, Ozpin supposed. What was worse, he knew there was little way to stop it, aside from another rule. He knew better than most that no such rule existed.

"Th-Then what about us?" Tael asked the question now. The headmaster deduced the fairy's tone as being on the verge of tears. "D-Does that mean we can't stay here? No matter what? A-Are we gonna have to leave Link?" The fairy flew back to said warrior, landing on his shoulder and shaking lightly.

That was when Ozpin noted Link's expression. It was hard, focused, like that of a Hunter seeing his prey. The blue eyes that were looking about in curiosity now focused on Glynda with a deathly stare. It was beneficial to no one.

"Now now, that is not the case," Ozpin quickly amended. "The rules at stipulated in such a manner in order to prevent harm to non-competitors. Rest assured that should Link pass this test, I will in no way force you or your sister to leave his side." He saw Tael visibly sag at the words, likely out of relief. Tatl did not.

"We've been through _hundreds_ of fights with Link before! You think this is any different?!" She flew at Ozpin with those words, lightly kicking his glass frames as she approached. He leaned back to adjust them, avoiding blindness with the intensity of the fairy's light.

"Not at all," he admitted, doing his utmost to hide his smirk as he spoke next. "I am only trying to treat Link as fairly as I would any other student. No restrictions or handouts being offered."

The fairy froze at his words. _Check_.

"It is?" The simple question came from Blake and Ozpin moved his spectacled gaze to see her. She was looking towards Link with a curious expression. The conclusion to be made was simple enough. It was only made more obvious when Link nodded towards her.

He lifted his hand up towards his shoulder, touching at the dark fairy that rest there. Tael rung as contact was made; Link's finger was being hidden beneath the dark light of the fairy. Ozpin watched as Link brought his hand back up to his gaze, likely making eye-contact with the younger of the sibling fairies. More mute conversation was shared between them, only the fairies light rings being heard. Ozpin sipped his coffee, watching Blake as the conversation proceeded. She saw it easily enough.

"Words of confidence," she spoke simply. "Promising he'll come back."

"He better come back!" Tatl shouted as she flew up to Link. This time, however, the green-clad Faunus had to move his head back as the fairy bounced against his forehead. He didn't lose his comforting smile, even as the brighter of the fairies rang loudly in front of him. "I'm trusting you on this cause you seem so confident. But mark my words Link, you get yourself hurt or lost without me and I'll be sure to chase you to whatever new world you find yourself stumbling into!" Ozpin felt himself grin as Link laughed at the fairy's comments. Companions indeed.

"Don't worry about him being lost," Glynda spoke again, her eyes on the pad as she spoke. "The test is strictly a feasibility test for his skills as a Hunter, not a navigator. Ruby and Blake will accompany him to the forest and locating the Nevermore. They will not, however, help with its fight." She made very clear eye contact with both girls as she finished her statement, silently forcing an order upon them. Ozpin knew that look well, terrifyingly so.

"Sounds good to me!" Ruby cheered exuberantly, arms held up and out into the air. She was nearly bouncing in front of Link, the Faunus looking back at her with amused confusion. "I can't wait to see you in action! I'm sure you're gonna be all like _slice and dice_ and all _BAM BAM_ against it!" Ozpin didn't need sharp ears to hear Blake laughing humorously at her young superior's mindset. She ruffled Ruby's hair, earning a puff of annoyance from the crimson colored leader.

"Perhaps we should leave now then?" She suggested earnestly to Ruby before facing Link. Her fellow Faunus blinked at her once before opening his mouth. He nodded in understanding, turning to look at the sun as he did so. Ozpin supposed it was the constant presence of his bright companions that allowed him to stare into celestial orb so easily. "Alright, the forest isn't far. C'mon." She motioned with her hand, already turning as she did.

Link nodded towards her before looking towards his fairy companions. Ozpin observed him make more mute conversation, the subtlest twitches of his lips accompanied by the fairies' ringing. It was odd, to be sure, but such a thing was a wonder to see. He only hoped that Link would prove Tatl's boasts of his skills. If he did… there might yet still be something he could do for Vale.

"Just be safe, okay?" Her heard Tatl finally speak, lightly bouncing off of the green-clad Faunus's head. It only made him grin before offering a quick nod. Then, without another word, he began walking towards Ruby and Blake, the two girls waiting patiently for him. Ozpin sipped his cup as he took his place beside them.

He watched Ruby, quick to jump up next to Link. She was talking to him, as much was obvious by the attention she was being given by the green-clad warrior. The headmaster hoped the team leader knew better than to ask questions, as only Blake would be able to hear the responses.

"So how long is this going to take?" He turned his attention back to the ball of light beside him, floating between him and Glynda. Tatl's younger brother Tael was immediately next to her, turning their shared light and dark light into a soothing gray. He supposed that was them embracing. It was almost annoying how many assumptions were needed for things he could not see. "Cause you know, I'm not a fan of this, being split up and all."

"Link does not seem to mind," Glynda spoke cold as ever to the fairy, typing away at her pad. She was likely now assigning drones to spy on the test as it occurred. It was logical, if predictable, to Ozpin. "Perhaps until he is finished with this examination you can mimic his mindset."

"Yeah, sure, I'll do that." The sarcasm in Tatl's voice could have drowned a man. "Right after you take a page out of Big Green's book here and actually crack a smile." Ironically at that, Ozpin felt himself smile at the comment, doubly so when Glynda furrowed her brow at the fairy. At least he wouldn't be bored with them.

Before they took more than step towards his office, the professor turned a hard glare towards him, an expression he was very well aware of, but not too keen to be at this end of. He stopped, waiting for her to approach. She did so with haste.

"Are you sure this is wise, Ozpin?" She asked critically, voice in a low whisper. "In the midst of the White Fang panic, bringing a new student that has all the signs of a spy?"

"He is too far and away an anomaly to possible be any tool of the White Fang," Ozpin easily countered. "They would not risk well-trained agents on such ludicrous grounds, no. If nothing else, those same agents would not offer to so easily leave, least of all while they don't know we're listening. Link is odd, far more unique than any student I have seen through these grounds, but a member of the White Fang? That I cannot see him to be."

"And what of anything else?" Glynda posed in return. "We can already confirm humans are working with the White Fang. Perhaps Link is a mole for a pro-human group. Perhaps he is a lone agent with a vendetta. We do not know what he is."

"And we cannot know until he is here to stay." The words were spoken harsher than he intended.

Unfortunate. Most unfortunate.

"Believe me, Glynda," Ozpin slowly sighed as he finished. He loathed to think of the darker truth of Remnant. "Though I would prefer to never have to make special cases or bends of the rules, we live in a world where our enemies see their own code as mere guidelines to their end game. In truth, I do believe Link. I believe him and his fairy companions. And it is because of that faith that we must have him at Beacon."

"I do not understand." He could always count on his partner to speak honestly and bluntly. He was much the opposite, preferring truth riddled in hints and mystery. Now was not to speak in such a way. Not to someone he needed to understand his motives now.

"If Link truly is a Faunus of foreign lands, and if he truly is as strong as his fairies make him out to be, it would be too easy and too damning for the wrong group to turn him into a weapon."

Nothing more had to be said of the matter.

"Now, perhaps we should gather the remainder of Ruby Roses' team," Ozpin suggested. "I am sure them meeting our new fairy friends will prevent a great many of issues."

* * *

"I said I was sorry!" Weiss would hear none of what the dark overly bright mini-drone had to say. "I-It was an accident, I promise. The door was open a-and I thought I could come in."

"You're an overly eager and improperly programed droid!" Weiss shouted back at the mini-drone. It rang with her words, translucent wings shirking at her voice. Excellent voice recognition software, deplorable tracking algorithms. "You violated our privacy in the worst of ways!"

"B-But I didn't even mean to do it!" It shouted back almost desperately. Weiss could only sneer at the cowardly machine. "I couldn't… I really didn't mean anything by it."

"Aw, now we aren't good enough for the Peeping Tom?" Yang took charge of scolding the dark mini-drone. Scolding with her usual brand of teasing mixed in. It had the same effect on the mini-drone, assumingly by its outwards reaction. It was satisfactory. "Here I was hoping you'd at least be eager to try again, but it turns out you regret what you saw."

"Y-Yeah, I do b-because I didn't mean to scare you, or insult you, or… o-or anything else." Its speech programming was horribly inefficient, stuttering like some broken records. Whose ever they were, they needed better upkeep of their products, right after Weiss trashed them for their perverse nature. "I-I really didn't mean anything by it, at all, honest!"

"Whatever your intentions were, they are secondary to what you actually did," Weiss corrected the defective machine. "And what you have done is thoroughly shame me and my teammate, make us have to follow behind the headmaster and professor to meeting, and keep in your company for infinitely longer than I would ever wish to."

"Oh back off princess!" Weiss felt herself groan as the other imperfect mini-drone flew front and center. It rang with an unlawfully loud ring, making her ears strain as much as her patience. "You already knocked my brother across the room and the only thing keeping me from doing the same to you is knowing that it'll probably ruin Link's chances of staying at your stupid Academy."

Oh yes, Link, this now mysterious faunus benefactor that Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch have seemingly given an unorthodox test to, in some vain hope that the barbaric and uneducated individual would have any luck of entering their school. His companions, these poorly designed floating machines, being requested to remain behind to prevent any tampering with the testing parameters.

A wise move on Ms. Goodwitch's part, unsurprising given the professor's prodigious history, it ensured that whatever the Faunus's abilities, they were his own and not the hand of some trickery. Given these mini-drones and their attitudes, Weiss already found herself loathe to understand how a foreign barbarian had managed to talk his way in with the headmaster far enough to even gain chance at this test.

It all made only an unfortunate amount of sense when her partner's name came to the front.

"I believe that my height, training, and stature are more than enough to prevent you from sending me anywhere," Weiss addressed the golden ball of light, determine to squint through the veil to see the mechanics beneath. She could not. "And be aware that I am not doing the same to you is the agreement to follow Ms. Goodwitch's and Ozpin's orders." She saw this mini-drones wings flare with the words.

"Oh is that how you want to play it?" She asked, her golden light damningly bright. "Just stomp around and act all high and mighty without knowing a thing about us? You're a real piece of work and I'm saying that after seeing monsters rip though villages." Weiss could feel her lungs fill with a scream.

"Sis, sh-she's right," the darker of the robot's cut in. "I-I should have waited or… done something else. I only made things worse by j-just flying into their room. B-But don't make her made. We don't want her to get mad at Link." The breath she had taken in was slowly released. It was difficult to scream at even robots that recognized their shortcomings.

"Oh come off it Tael, you didn't do jack wrong," the golden mini-drone, unfortunately, kept it up. "I'm gonna keep blaming these two for having a door half way open, that Triple B women telling us they were a kind bunch, only to have you get thrown across the room like a Deku Nut!"

"Eh, so we forgot to close the door," Yang took in again. "Doesn't exactly give you a lot of right to just fly into our room. That's what makes you a Peeping Tom, trying to catch a glimpse of the girls while we were 'exposed'." Weiss was well aware she was not one of the 'girls' Yang was referring to, not while she handled her chest like some sort of cushion. Her point, however still stood.

"Now I'm _really_ starting to wonder on why we need you two here!" Tatl began to shout again. "Ruby Rose may have been grabby, that Blake girl asking one too many questions, but you two are just insult after insult and I'm about ready to just call it quits!"

"Sis!" The darker drone cut in again. Must have been a recursive function on his part. "You know that'll disappoint Link, a-and he promised he'd come back so... we should keep our promise that we'll stay." They appeared loyal to their master. Good thing that was still functional.

A blessed pocket of silence came following the malfunctioning drone's words. It gave time for Weiss to appreciate where they were, marching through Beacon grounds towards Ozpin's office. The CCTS was already behind them, The Emerald Tower well within eye-shot. It thankfully wouldn't be long before they reached it and would be able to receive more than the usual cryptic reasoning of their headmaster.

Dust bless him for his ability to manage a school of hunters in training against Grimm, but would it truly be such a bother to simply spell out the purpose of some of their actions? Weiss felt herself scoff to herself, easily conjuring the innumerable excuses that could be made in justification of the loose answer. Training, higher level thinking, and preparation being the three that came first and foremost to her mind. Patience was next, after she was reminded of the malfunctioning drones she was stuck with.

She let out a controlled sigh. It didn't matter in the long run. The drones were preferable, in truth, to some loose student making their way into their dorm. Yang would have to be properly criticized later for her inability to command a door to shut, but that was the furthest this incident would reach at most, with any amount of luck. Given the events of the day thus far, she felt she was entitled to that much at least.

Besides, she could see Ozpin waiting for them ahead.

"I've see you've made it," he spoke to them with his mug raised, cane in opposite hand. "I'm glad to see you are all properly dressed now. Apologies for the sudden interruption before." Weiss turned her head to hide her flush. Ozpin was the headmaster, he deserved respect.

"It's cool," Yang started. "Wasn't you who barged into the room anyway. 'Least you knocked instead of getting a look at the knockers." And now no amount of tilting her head could hide Weiss's growing flush. At least now there was an appropriate target.

"Yang!" She bellowed out. "I _appreciate_ your ability to take every situation in stride, but can you please have some amount of _decency?_ " The smile she got in return said there would be none. So much for her well due luck.

"Can we please hurry this up?" The golden mini-drone let out. "You said we could see Link from wherever we're going and I think that's far more important than whatever these two teens have to argue about." It was only the presence of Ms. Goodwitch and Ozpin that kept from slapping the drone out of the air like her 'brother'.

"Of course," Ozpin returned. Of course he was calm. He'd be calm in the face of an Ancient Grimm. "Please follow us. I have an intuition you do not have in Hyrule what we are about to show you." Weiss had the utmost confidence they did not.

"Yeah yeah, heard it all before. _'What you see you will never believe', 'Gaze in awe at the power of Time.'_ " the golden mini-drone was mocking, _mocking_ the headmaster. "Why don't you actually show us this amazing technology?"

"Sis," The darker of the two whined now. A terrifying parallel between him and Ruby shot to Weiss mind. She batted it away with precision. "You know that's not fair, a-and they're being kind to us. Give them a chance, for Link, please?"

Weiss heard the two communicate in rings for a moment, maybe some high frequency channel communication or low byte information transfer. It didn't matter which, the end result was that Weiss, and likely everyone else, couldn't hear what they were saying. That didn't mean they stopped moving.

The group stepped into the metallic elevator of the headmaster's tower, Weiss doing her utmost to leave room for her professor and said headmaster. Yang, predictably, felt the need to stretch along the wall. Neither Ozpin nor Professor Goodwitch seemed to pay her any mind. The 'fairies' hardly took up any room at all, at worst only making the small structure too bright.

It didn't matter. In a short amount of time, Weiss would watch this 'Link' perform his test, likely fail, and then they would all be on their way. Such was reality.

* * *

Blake often thought of herself as a realist, never as the dreamer.

She saw the hopelessness in a situation before most others, knowing practically the odds of defeat over those of victory. She was aware of the limitations of man and Faunus alike, both physically and mentally, never assuming either could do more. She didn't believe mankind would turn around and embrace the Faunus any more than she thought Faunus would forgive them for the terrible actions of the past.

To think otherwise drifted too far into the territory of optimism. She was told by Ruby, as a jest, that it was a nice place to visit. Hoping and believing every day that the most impossible of situations would come true, never stopping to worry about failure, always moving towards that mythical ground called success. Such a mindset was bordered closely by cynicism. Those that thought that nothing was possible, everything being forbidden. No hope for a future, no chance of success, no reason to dream, only waiting pitifully until the end. Blake belonged to neither of them.

She saw success in many actions, but just as often she saw failure. She had dreams she longed to see made reality, but she knew the impossibility of their parts. Such were the thoughts of a realist, and those thoughts, that recognition, is what allowed her to survive as long as she had.

But now here came Link.

A Faunus dressed unlike many she had seen before, hailing from a land that only he and his fairy companions knew. A land where Faunus ruled, where they were hailed as rulers and royalty for the same traits that were damned in Vale. A far off mystical kingdom, untouched by the terrors that man forced upon her kind. It was too impossible to believe, she knew this as a realist.

And yet, his very companions were proof that it was more than a tale. Fairies, the things from stories told to children at night, flying about them with ease. Ruby had told her with a blushing face about how she had grabbed the lighter of the two, Tatl. She felt that it was no android or robot, felt it to be as alive as they were, and knew from Link's defensive nature that he valued their safety. If they were real, then this kingdom, Hyrule very well could be as well.

The realist in her said it was impossible, but looking at Link, she wanted to dare to chase the dream of the optimist.

She wanted to see his kingdom, walk the streets he did, speak to the people he lived with, converse and bow to a ruler who was a Faunus like her. No reason to hide under a bow, no reason to attack wearing a mask, no reason to be anything but what she was. Those were dreams; realists didn't have dreams.

"Blake, Blake!" The sudden shouting of her name drew the dark girl from her reverie. She blinked towards the person calling her name, holding no surprise to see Ruby staring at her, eyes screwed as she bent over her. "You okay there? You looked like you were ready to pass out."

"I'm fine," she replied easily, and it was honestly. "I was simply… thinking about his kingdom." She motioned towards Link with her hand, the green-clad warrior sitting in his seat patiently. He twisted his head at her mentioning of him, his curiosity peaked. Ruby looked at him as well, donning an equally confused expression.

A small rumble shook the bullhead that were in, momentarily making Blake rise. Ruby, however, let out a yelp as she tumbled forward, her position compromised. She splayed out the floor, looking up at Blake with an expression of cheer. Blake returned it, though subdued in size. Her leader really was a child, but one full of skill and loyalty. She looked back up towards Link, seeing him blink as he gazed forward with an expression of clear confusion.

"Turbulence," Blake said simply, earning his attention. His blue eyes fixed on her, showing easily enough that he did not understand. "It's a change in air flow or pressure at given altitudes. Since we're moving through it, it forces the bullhead to shake." Link's expression didn't even flinch. She gave a short sigh before elaborating. "It's like hitting a wave with a ship."

Now his head bobbed up and down in understanding. He turned his attention to the side, looking out the back of the bullhead. It was easy for Blake's sharp eyes to see his gaze relax, enjoying what he saw. She turned to look as well.

Her eyes met the canopy of the Emerald Forest. Every hue of green shining off of the leaves, reflecting the warm rays of the sun. The woods would have been a paradise were they not home to so many Grimm, powerful ones at that. Blake recalled her first journey through them, when she met Yang and took the actions that landed her with her first true group of friends. It brought a smile to her lips.

"Now what are you thinking about?" Blake's grin fell as she looked back down at Ruby. The crimson garbed girl was pointing one of her hands up at her, the rest of her flat against the hard steel of the bullhead. "And don't say nothing, because I know you don't smile like that unless you're thinking of something."

"I wasn't going to," Blake answered easily and honestly. "I was thinking of the forest, of how this was where we made our team. It was where I was partnered with your sister, you were partnered with Weiss, and we started everything." She couldn't help but smile now as Ruby all but beamed up at her. "Isn't that worth smiling about?"

"Duh! Of course it is!" The girl spun on the ground, having little difficulty maintaining her balance as the ship continued to fly. It wouldn't be long before the reached their destination now. "This is, like, where it all began! I mean, yeah, it began way back when I decided to be a Huntress and Uncle Qrow started to train me and you were trying to help the Whi-"

Ruby stopped talking as Blake held her hand over the girl's mouth. She heard muffled grunts of confusion vibrate over her fingers, the young girl protesting the muffling. Blake didn't answer her. Instead, she turned her golden gaze over to Link, who was now looking at them with a dubious expression. Thankfully for Blake, Ruby picked up quickly.

"It's nothing," Blake answered his unspoken question. "Just a part of my past I'd rather not speak of. I hope you do not mind." It was as honest as she could allow herself to be. She would not lie to a fellow Faunus, especially one that hailed from a kingdom like Hyrule, but… he was still a stranger.

She was only partially surprised when his curious gaze turned into a warm smile, muscles relaxing up his cheeks as he focused his blue eyes upon her. He nodded towards her, one of understanding. There was only one-way Blake was aware of that someone could understand, and that alone spoke volumes for Link's past. Any questions she may have had for Link, however, were cut short as the bullhead began to slow.

Blake felt herself pull in her seat, the momentum of the craft descending in altitude just as quickly as he slowed in velocity. She stood up, gripping Gambol Shroud on the back of her hip. This may have been a test for Link, but that did not mean she was any safer through inaction. Ruby was standing next to her quickly, as her semblance so often allowed her to do. Link was quick to join them.

"The Nevermore doesn't perch often," Blake told him carefully, making sure she had his eye contact when she did. "It flies high in the sky and tends to impale its prey before it descends. You'll have to find a way to lure it down before you can slay it. Do you understand?" Link gave her a confident grin. Blake returned it. "Then I wish you luck, Link of Hyrule."

"Yeah, me too!" Ruby spoke loudly as she gripped his arm, stars in her eyes as she looked up at him. "I wanna spend a lot of time talking to you later, so you better be able to kill this thing, alright?" He nodded towards her, blonde bangs lightly mixing with her dark locks, given the lack of space Ruby had left between the two.

"Alright, let's go." Blake moved to the open back of the bullhead, jumping from the low height they hung from. It was a short fall, a dozen feet at best, but still enough to cause pain for the untrained. She landed gracefully, the subtlest of her feline features aiding her. She heard the grace impact beside her Ruby's light frame doing her favors from the jump. She heard a much heavier impact just behind her. She turned to see Link, rising to his full height. The bullhead was quick to depart above them, leaving them alone in the woods.

Blake gave him one more critical eye, looking him over as he stood there, staring past them and into the woods. He was short for most of the males they were around, just barely above her own height. His blue eyes were sharper now than they were in the bullhead, the eyes of a Hunter looking for prey. His ears were no different, but she knew he was using them as any Faunus would, listening for the uneven sounds of the forest.

He began to walk forwards, past them with a gaze that never lingered. It took little time for him to move into the foliage of the trees, the canopy shading him from above. Blake looked at Ruby, who nodded towards her as well. The pair moved behind him at a distance, each holding their weapons ready for any kind of strike.

"So what do you think is going to happen?" Ruby asked as the followed the Faunus, their pace a mild walk at best. "I mean, Tatl was really confident Link could do this, but how?" Blake shrugged her shoulders, focusing more on the green-clad warrior in front of her. Though she paid attention to his minor movements, kept record of his form, she found herself more often coming back to his ears.

He carefully stepped over a log, all which remained of the corpse of a tree. Despite the chainmail he wore, he made hardly a sound, settling over the light vegetation on the other side. He placed his hand on a tree, looking about the forest at the same time, eyes always half drawn. Carefully, he brushed a branch away, ducking beneath instead of pushing harshly against it. The forest, large as it was, hardly noticed his presence.

"Bla-a-ake," her leader whined beside her. It earned a low sigh from the feline Faunus, shutting her eyes to remember just who her leader was.

"I think he's tracking it now," Blake honestly to Ruby, though never taking her golden gaze off of Link. "He knows how to move through the woods, leaving a weak path behind him. It's the best way for a predator to move. Plus, he knows it's a bird, so he's not looking for things like broken twigs." She watched him carefully, his ears twitching lightly, head moving towards a far off sound. It made her grin with pride.

"So then, what's he looking for?" Ruby asked the question in a whisper, either catching on to the sensitivity of sounds or being polite to the tracker. Either were possible for the young Huntress.

"Sounds," Blake replied knowingly. "He's using his ears to listen. He's not afraid to let his Faunus heritage guide him." She really was proud of him.

"You mean like you?" Ruby whispered the words again, even lighter than before.

Link turned to look at them.

Both girls froze, staring at the green-clad warrior who had also stopped his trek. He was staring at them, his soft eyes looking at them with a mixture of confusion, a perhaps a bit of interest. Blake clenched her teeth, trying to decide on what was a more appropriate emotion to feel, betrayal or anger. Her fist clenched at her side to the point that her muscles cramped. Looked like anger.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry," Ruby was professing the apology repeatedly in a whisper, ducking into her red hood in a pitiful attempt to hide. Blake couldn't think of what to say to her. Link only continued to stare at them. What was he going to do, ask her what she meant? Accuse her for hiding from him? Slowly, however, Link drew his sword. That was not what she was expecting.

"Link," she spoke his name imploringly. "I understand you may be upset, but…" her voice trailed off as she focused on him, or more specifically, his eyes. They were looking towards her, but they weren't looking at her. In fact, the longer she stared, the more she began to notice his detachment from her and Ruby. It was looking beyond them, his seeing only what he sought. Blake turned around as well.

She came nose to nose with a beowolf.

In all of a blink of an eye, she stabbed upwards with Gambol Shroud, instantly killing the beast with a low whine. It was only after that when Ruby caught on.

"Whoa!" The younger leader let out, startled more by the action of her teammate than the kill. Just as quickly, however, she recovered, her instincts as a Huntress coming on full force. She pulled at the rod that was Crescent Rose, letting it unfold to its full length, kneeling down upon the floor of the forest. Blake was beside her in a moment, pulling her weapon free of the wolf.

The faunus-in-hiding let her golden eyes scan the trees around them, watching with some small amount of disdain as Grimm began to peak out from behind the massive columns of trees. Nearly all were beowolves, a fact that surprised Blake little. They were the most likely of Grimm to hunt in packs, the most communicative by far. Blake bit her lip in annoyance, not noticing them until they were literally on top of them. It only served to remind her that Link had.

"Blake," she heard Ruby ask her name lightly, earning only a quick glance of the Faunus's golden eyes. She couldn't afford to look away from the Grimm for long. Their numbers were already over a dozen, and the forest seemed content to allow more to grow form its woodwork. "Do… do you think we should help Link fight them?"

That was actually an excellent question.

Blake spared a longer glance to her fellow Faunus, turning to see him in a defensive crouch. His feet slowly drew over the light ground cover of the forest, twisting in place to keep an eye on the Grimm that surrounded them. His red crystal shield was held in front of him, always between him and a Beowulf, his sword extended to his side, a different kind of guard. He never allowed himself a movement that complicated his stance.

"It is up to you," Blake responded honestly. "I believe we both would like to help him." She felt the girl nod, making the action vigorously enough to be felt through the air. "But it is a question if Goodwitch will see that as compromising his test." The whine that came from Ruby was just as easy to read.

"That's not fair though." She was sure her leader would have stomped her foot in a pout were they not being circled by dark beasts. Blake was counting to high twenties now, though by favor none of them appeared to be any older than a few years in age. "We at least had partners for our test."

"But it was a test assigned by Professor Goodwitch and Ozpin, as is this," Blake corrected easily. "We cannot risk Link's dismissal from Beacon simply because we wanted to help." She hated the words she spoke, she truly did. To her, it felt like turning a back on a member of her kind.

"Do… well… b-but what if we… no… hng!" Even with her feline ears wrapped beneath the dark bow on her head, Blake could hear her leader's teeth grind annoyance. In honesty, she wasn't far behind, but she knew better than to express negative emotions before the Grimm. "F-Fine, but we're gonna help him if anything goes wrong at all! Promise, right!"

"You are my leader Ruby," Blake spoke with a hint of amusement to her voice, though never turning away from the ever-emerging beowolves. There were easily over thirty now. Where were they all coming from? She wasn't aware there were any packs of such size in the Emerald Forest. "Though I do urge you to make a decision soon."

"Y-Yeah," Ruby hesitantly replied, gripping her weapon until her knuckles turned white. Her cape billowed as she turned to and fro, likely deciding vigorously on what to do. It was always difficult to choose between wants and needs.

She did, however, come to a decision.

"Link!" She called the Faunus's name. Blake offered only a quick glance to see the swordsman turn towards her, shield to his right and sword raised before him. His stance was still solid on the ground, neither foot out of place. "We… We gotta let you fight these guys alone! So that Goodwitch doesn't say we helped you! We'll be right here though! So don't let anything happen to you, okay!?" She pointed her scythe to the air as she spoke, likely indicating the higher canopy of the trees. Blake nodded, naming it a fine place to observe Link without interfering.

Not a moment later did the crimson leader jump into the trees, rose petals following her ascent. Blake watched her, flexing in a nervous fashion. She was sure the beowolves would charge upon such a quick motion, their growls evident that they were close to doing so. It was not a wise move to think without moving, not in front of the Grimm.

She stopped only long enough to see Link give her a wondering look, likely out of confusion for their departure. But just as quickly was it replaced with a relaxed smile, out of place between his sword and shield, framed by the dark figures of the Grimm. But Blake, nonetheless, silently hoping that he delivered everything his fairy had promised.

Blake jumped to a nearby tree's large trunk, burying Gambol Shroud in it. A moment later, she fired it, sending her up into the canopy. Her body twirled lithely around a large branch, stopping only when she felt her heels securely on top of the protruding limb. She held her dark weapon to her side, unsure if the beowolves would follow her, the same for Ruby.

Yet they still did not. Looking down, her sharp eyes saw only a few offer her glances of curiosity, but the vast majority focusing on Link, no solo and alone upon the ground. Their collective bravery must have grown, for they began to circle him with haste. Blake swallowed on a ball in her throat.

"If… If he gets hit once, we're jumping in" Blake heard Ruby whisper behind her. She didn't bother to wonder when the girl had made it next to her, already well aware that Ruby was far faster on her feet than the feline Faunus ever would be. "There are too many Grimm to risk it, and the woods… we can't be sure how many there are. So no chances, okay?" Even if it was spoken with a youthful form of fear, Blake could appreciate the wisdom in the words.

"Agreed," she nodded, focusing her eyes on Link.

Her fellow Faunus was standing now, no longer crouched upon the ground, likely realizing the situation he was in. His ears twitched as often as his eyes moved, counting and sizing up the monsters that surrounded him. Blake watched him spin the sword in his hands, gripping and ungrasping the handle of his shield. Then she saw something unique.

Link stilled, leaning back as he shut his eyes. Confusion took her momentarily, until she saw his chest expanding, the clearest sign she had that he was taking in a deep breath of air. He held it for a moment, releasing it as easily as he had taken it in. When it was gone, he smiled. Blake knew what that meant.

He was ready and the Grimm knew it.

* * *

Weiss was never one for dishonesty, at least not when it came to opinions. Lying about such things was tactless and needless, as it portrayed no falsity of information and protected no lives. It gave unfair judgment of situations and likely jeopardized people.

As her father had told her, you should never lie about the situation of a battlefield, the capability of an employee, or the state of your own mind. Her honesty of such things often had her labeled with terms of social isolation and superiority, Ice Queen being far from the first time such a title was given to her. And yet, she did not change.

Her opinions may have changed, and by consequence her words, but she never changed her method of speaking, no matter how many poisonous eyes she may have been given. So, it certainly didn't stop her now.

"He's going to die."

She said the sentence tactlessly, her eyes on the screen with her arms folded in front of her. She didn't need to turn to know the fairies were soured by her words.

"Excuse me!?" She heard the now _painfully_ familiar yellow fairy screech at her. "What kind of stupid, stuck-up, broad of a princess says that?!" Weiss could hear the mini-drone ringing like chime with every word she yelled. She responded to the short tirade with a finger in her ear, mockingly assessing the damage the obnoxious ball of light had done.

"An intelligent one, and far more so than you if you can't see the situation he's in." She nodded her head towards the screen. It adjusted every so often, taking a different angle of the green-clad Faunus, holding gem encrusted weapons again Grimm that now numbered near forty. "He is using inadequate weapons against a large herd of beowolves within their own territory. They are going to have superior knowledge of the layout of the forest and use it accordingly amongst each other. In combination with their pack size, he is at a severe disadvantage."

"Very good Ms. Schnee," Goodwitch complimented her from the side. The white-haired heiress did not even attempt to hide her satisfied grin, titling her nose into the air for good measure. "Your assessment of the situation is valid on all accounts, except for one." Her smile faltered.

She turned towards her blonde professor, seeing the green eyed woman taping on her pad, raising her eyes only to see the screen projecting the image of the Emerald Forest. She didn't once face Weiss. Neither did she speak on about the detail the heiress had supposedly made. Her once confident smirk was now a confused frown.

"What am I missing, professor?" She asked the trained Huntress with carefully concealed agitation. If there was ever one thing her upbringing had taught her, it was hiding her emotions, especially upon her words.

Goodwitch's hard glare told her that she had made a mistake.

"You are not accounting for Link's abilities." The answer came from the headmaster, sitting behind his desk. Weiss turned to him, only to see his expression hidden behind a mug of coffee. She could only assume he was grinning as he drank the hot beverage.

"H-He's right," Weiss turned now to the other drone, darker in color than his elder 'sibling'. All the turning and spinning was making the young Schnee dizzy. "Link grew up the forest, f-for most of his life. The Kokiri, the one's he grew up with… they taught him how to listen to the woods, move in them, fight in them, everything."

"What does everything entail?" Weiss asked, confident that a bit of force in her words would earn further answers. He rang lightly at her question, backing up in mid-air. It was the most obvious sign she had that he was intimidated by her. This time, she hid her satisfactory smirk.

"The place he grew up in, L-Link that is, was called the Lost Woods." Weiss saw Yang put her hands on hips, raising her eye brows as she listened to the fairy talk. She could only assume that the headmaster and professor behind her were doing much of the same. "I-It was called that because anyone who traveled into them were lost forever, unable to find their way out. A-And those that were lost…" the malfunctioning robot went silent for a moment, dipping in the air lowly. Weiss attributed to the action to someone taking a deep breath of air, preparing themselves. "Those that were lost became monsters of the woods, losing their soul forever."

"Whoa, that's kinda creepy." Despite her words, Weiss could only describe Yang's tone of voice as excited, perhaps a bit envious. The blonde was a thrill seeker if ever there was one, and this seemed to be the very definition of playing chicken. "So like he grew in a forest of the dead? That's cool."

"Wow. No," Tatl flew up the buxom blonde, floating in front of her as trails of dust fell from her. Weiss wondered for not the first time if the fairy's shimmering trail could be harvested in some way. It would be a unique was to collect and harvest more Dust.

Then again, it was unlikely it was dust at all.

"Growing up in the Lost Woods was not cool for Link," Tatl spoke on. "We weren't there, but he told us that every day he was warned about what would happen, living with the idea that if he took one wrong step, he would lose his life forever. You think that's cool?" Yang, to her credit, didn't appear to be losing any face.

"Can't be much different than living in a forest filled with Grimm," she countered, putting on a smirk that Weiss dared to call signature now. "Wanna guess where me and Ruby grew up?"

"Probably with someone to take care of you, right?" Tatl fired right back. Silence returned from Yang, for a reason Weiss was very well aware of. "Yeah, Link didn't have those. Instead, he survived by doing two things. One, always paying attention, never seeing anything in just one way. He looked at a tree, and he saw a ladder, a bridge, a swing, and even a house." He sounded practical, but Weiss could not imagine living in a tree even if her life was dependent on it.

"And the second one?" The heiress found herself asking, her brows furrowed as well. Tatl turned to face her, wings being the only indication of her doing so. The luminescent drone let the silence hang for a moment, kept away only by the light rings she and her brother made. When she did speak, it was an uncharacteristic few words.

"Never show your fears."

* * *

Blake watched the first beowolf charge, predictably from behind Link. She had her own hand gripped into the bark of the branch she stood on, watching with grit teeth as it approached. Specifically, she did so because her golden eyes didn't see any change in Link. The Grimm was close to him, closer with every moment, but he still stood with a relaxed posture, a small grin facing away from the beowolf.

When the monster finally jumped, rearing back its claw for deathly strike, Blake found the nails of her hands dragging down the bark of the tree up. She heard Ruby pull in a gasp of air, likely lining up a shot with Crescent Rose. But she was thankful to see it was unnecessary.

With what could have only been practiced ease, Link swung his blade backwards, the dust encrusted steel stabbing into the head of the pouncing beowolf, killing it instantly. Its arms fell at its sides, held up only by Link's impaled weapon. It was good, a great strike, but he need to repeat such an act a few dozen times for this fight to be over.

But judging by the roar of the Grimm around him, Link was going to have to do a lot more than that. Blake tensed against the branch she stood on, readying herself to pounce the moment something went wrong.

Another beowolf charged at Link from the side, this one with jaws open and ready to bite through him. Instead of striking it, he side-stepped the dark beast letting it pass by him as harmlessly as the wind. Another was going in for a strike as well, at the same time as beast that had just tried to bite into him. Blake watched, impressed, as Link use the momentum of his deft dodge to impale his blade into the beast's skull, splitting it like butter. It fell dead on the ground. That was when they began to charge in mass.

The dozens of beowolves roared together, each one making the other sound that much more terrifying, more nightmarish. Their claws dug into the green earth as they charged forwards, their full weight going into their attacks. Others were leaping off of the trees, trying to tackle Link from every angle they could. Red eyes were fixed on the warrior in green, jaws drooling with idea of a meal, and throats bellowing with promises of death.

Blake was both humored and curious to see Link completely unperturbed by the significant threat.

He raised his shield at the first beowolf to reach him, angling the red steel to push the creature off in the direction of his choice. It worked. By Blake's eye the dark beast's claw swung wide of Link, leaving nothing to stop the warrior's sword from piercing into the monster's chest. It wasn't enough to kill it, however, but Link appeared to know that. He twisted his footing, turning his back to face the Grimm he impaled. A moment later, he swung the blade forward, ripping it up the Grimm's torso, over his head, and then down the arm of another beowolf. The beast he injured howled in pain, drowned out by the furious cries of its brethren. The monster Link impaled first was already dead.

Link started to jump then. First to the side, narrowly avoiding the descent of the beowolves that jumped from the tree trunks above. Then it was forwards, rolling across the ground as another Grimm jumped from the side, its claws indenting where Link stood a moment before. His shield blocked another, spinning with the force it gave to barely avoid the jaw of another beowolf, this one jumping from atop its pack to get to Link.

Blake found her tense grip on the branch strengthening with every move he made. There were too many Grimm in too disadvantageous a space. This wasn't an open plain where he could divide them up. This was a forest, where the beowolves could attack from any angle, high or low, leaving little room for Link to escape to.

She watched him strike again, letting out a grunt of effort as the red steel of his blade impaled itself into the throat of another Grimm, and its howl silenced as blood flowed from the wound. Link didn't stop, pulling the sword and swinging with the back of pommel. It slammed into the mask of another beowolf, cracking the bony encasing with the force, making the creature retreat in pain. That was when Link surprised her.

He jumped backwards, flipping over the Grimm he had injured, rolling over its body like it was nothing but a log, disregarding the clear intent it had to kill him. When his feet hit the ground again, he put his shield against the injured Grimm, effectively immobilizing it. The rest of the wolves joined in mass to tackle him, their injured companion anything but brethren when it stood between them and a meal. Blake heard Ruby suck in a breath, nervously. Blake herself, however, only watched his sword. It was glowing.

She blinked her eyes the few moments the speed of the battle would allow, ensuring that she was not merely tricked by the little light that peaked through the canopy above. But for every subsequent flash of her eyes, it appeared the light was becoming brighter. She didn't have much more time to think on it. With a high battle cry, Link sliced his sword in front of him, essentially cutting the beowolf he had injured in half. That was the unremarkable part.

What was amazing was the beam of light that came from the sword.

Blake watched, silently captivated as the glowing slash of his sword flew through the air, cutting every Grimm it came into contact with, reducing the intimidating herd into dismembered parts or mortally wounded beasts. It sang as it flew, like metal ringing upon impact. Only now, it didn't dull with time. She heard Ruby give an excited gasp from beside her, nearly bouncing on the tree branch with delight. Her hidden feline ears also heard the girl's exuberant whispering, very likely muttering the 'awesomeness' of Link. Blake, this time, was hard to disagree.

The Grimm seemed to see the larger threat that Link was now, those that were not injured by his flying slash or impaled by his red steel backing off. They growled lowly to one another, communicating in a tongue no one present understood. Link pulled his sword back to his side, holding his shield in front of him. His eyes shifted, ears twitching, both counting the number of the monsters left. Blake already knew the number, thirty-one. He still had work to do. Fortunately, he knew it.

She saw his sword pointing skywards again, held up as he crouched behind his shield. Then she heard a ringing come through the forest, low at first, but slowly increasing in volume. Blake looked to Ruby judging her quickly to see if she heard what she did. The young teen's focused gaze on Link said she didn't. Blake looked down just in time to see her fellow Faunus's next move.

He ran towards a collection of Grimm, the bunch huddling between several trees as an impromptu defense. They barked at him as he charged, though not running to meet him. That was bad. She knew what they were doing, trying to tempt him to sink his blade into one of the thick tree trunks, limiting his movement.

Beowolves were much smarter as a pack. Either Link didn't know or didn't care. To his benefit, it was the latter. Link swung his blade as he had before, Blake expecting it to fire another of the magical slashes. It did not. Instead, Link only held the blade tighter, quickly adjusting his feet, altering his movement, and doing something Blake knew Ruby was gleeful to see.

Link spun with his sword. He made a literal Spin Attack with his blade.

He looked like a top almost, spinning towards the group of Grimm with a speed that normally didn't befit such an attack. The beowolves were just as unprepared for the strike, whining amongst one another as they again attempted to back away, harder against the trees that were their defense. Those trees did little to nothing.

Link's sword, spinning with him, sliced through the thick tree trunks with all the strength of an axe and speed of the wind. He continued through them, slicing and dicing the dark monsters that hid behind them, not stopping. He only did when he was a good distance away, easily twice his own body length beyond, by Blake's quick numbers. Her calculations were interrupted when she saw the aftermath of his attack.

With a groan, one of the forest giants fell over, crying all the way to the emerald floor.

The Grimm on the ground scurried away, avoiding the falling monstrosity. It hit the floor with a dull boom, shaking everything else around it. Blake heard Ruby 'eep' as she gripped the tree tighter. Blake reached a hand for her leader's shoulder, holding her in place. She heard her offer a thanks, to which she replied with a nod. Keeping her eyes focused downwards, she was glad she didn't take her eyes off of Link.

As expected, the monsters behind the trees were dead, cut into halves, thirds, and quarters by the unorthodox attack the green-clad Faunus had done. With the strength to slice through the tree as he had done, she was anything but surprised. What did catch her attention was what he did next. Specifically, how he sheathed his sword. It was quick, in the midst of a sprint forwards, but she could tell his main weapon was definitely put away. She couldn't think of why.

That was until he grabbed the other tree he had sliced through, still standing thanks to its impressively large width. Blake nodded in understanding, seeing the many Grimm that were still scurrying away from the other tree, not to mention the few that had been caught by its fall. He was going to push it onto the others.

She was only half right, Blake soon found out.

To push the tree over required placing palms against the trunk, pushing forwards with the usually superior leg muscles, feet usually secured to the ground. The trunk and arms were reserved for holding the force in place, but usually lacked any significant strength when compared to a person's lower extremities. Link, once again, either didn't know or didn't care. And, once again, it was the later.

Blake watched as he dug his fingers into the trunk of the tree, squatting just beside it. It took her a full moment to realize he was not trying to push it, but lift it. She questioned his sanity for the first time, her evidence being the Grimm that were now rapidly approaching him, likely communicating the image of him still and now unarmed. Blake felt her legs tense again, preparing to jump.

Said muscles drooped when Link managed to lift the forest giant above his head.

She watched, captivated and awe-struck, as the green-clad warrior lifted what was easily hundreds of tons of solid wood and bark over his head, giving out a low growl of effort on his part. The tree above made much the same sound, clearly not used to being moved in such away. The Grimm around him were the stillest things in the forest now, suddenly very mindful of the threat their prey now carried. Blake heard Ruby mutter a 'wow' next to her, the sight likely taking a lot of energy out of her. Link's gloves, which Blake now identified as gauntlets given their slick golden and metallic exterior, were glowing little differently than his sword had before. What was more, Blake's equally golden eyes now noticed the red jewel on of his gauntlets shimmering.

The large tree held above Link's head began to groan again, the only sign it gave before it started to fall, all by Link's command. Teeth grit with the effort, Blake watched as Link forced his arms down, letting the massive weight of bark and wood come tumbling down. The beowolves ran where they could, but the terrain of the Emerald forest was now working against them, too many trees blocking their already few means of escape.

With the same dull boom as before, the tree came crashing down, the forest shivering at the impact. Blake felt bark come up at her fingers. She looked at the destruction; the broken claws, arms, and necks that protruded from beneath the fallen giant. She followed it all the way back to the base, seeing Link taking out his weapons again, looking unfazed by the effort.

The number of beowolves was lower now for sure, but the numbers were still in the double digits. Now, however, the feline Faunus had little doubt that Link could handle it. She looked to Ruby, seeing her young leader gripping the tree with just as much strength, letting her lean over how ever far she could. Blake was right, there were stars in the young teen's eyes.

Blake looked back down to see Link charging at another small pack of Grimm, now knowing that the numbers were on his side, the advantage his to hold. As soon as he was in reach of the beowolves, he sliced forward, aiming for the one closest to his left. He missed, swinging too early. It took Blake a moment to realize that was the intention. The Grimm had back pedaled to avoid the blow, only to find itself against a tree. Link moved forward without restraint.

His previous swing had carried him around, turning into a full circle at only a fraction of the speed his previous Spin Attack had mustered. He did, however, now use the carried strength to his advantage. Link sliced upwards, jumping with the strike, letting out another battle cry as he did so. The strength of his arms, sharpness of his blade, and lack of defense on the Grimm made for a brutal scene. He sliced the beowolf cleanly in two, both halves traveling to opposite sides of the forest. Link still hung in the air, hovering.

From his place in the air, he sliced downwards, sword glowing as it had the first time he had impressed half of team RWBY above. And just as before, beams of light, arcs from his sword, came out. Each one tore into the hides of the Grimm, mercilessly turning them into ribbons. Once, twice, thrice, quarce, then quince. His airtime was done, feet hitting the light emerald colored vegetation on the ground. The beowolves he struck out at hit the ground as well, each with missing limbs or heads, but all dead.

It was fortunate Link didn't let his advantage give him over-confidence. No sooner did he land than did he twist backwards, raising his shield at the same time. A particularly wise beowolf had struck out at him, hoping to hit him in the midst of his offense. It instead found the red jewel of the red shield and no ground to gain. As he had before, Link altered the angle of his shield slightly, forcing the wolf to slide off if it in the worst way. Link stabbed forwards to finish the unfortunate beast.

That left only one beowolf as far as Blake's feline ears and golden eyes could see. Her instincts were good and she knew that number to be final. Judging by Link's glare at the lone creature, his sword pulled free of the last beast he slain and shield held forwards, he realized the same as well. The Grimm growled at him, clearly thinking better than striking out at the Faunus that had so easily killed his pack. Link appeared unprepared to allow it to escape, shaking its head at the creature as if in a silent command. Blake didn't know if Grimm could feel fear, but judging by the way the creature shifted on its hind legs, claws moving over the ground as if attempting to flee, she suspected it felt something akin to it.

But then it made up its mind, seeing it chance of survival to be higher in fight than flight. That action alone proved to Blake the beast was no older than a few years at best. Link stood still as it charged, roaring with every stride it made, tearing up the ground with its claws. He waited for it, shield at the ready and sword behind him.

When it was close enough, arm pulled back to strike, Link jumped.

It wasn't an impressive height, far lower than either Ruby or Blake could pounce and with less time at that, but it was high enough to pass over the beowolf, the creature striking at only air. Fortunately, Link's intention was not to dodge. With brutal accuracy, Link stabbed his sword downwards with a battle cry, decimating the beowolf's head with the strike. It was dead instantly, head literally cleaved in two, both ends still attached to the creature's neck, uselessly.

"That was awesome," Blake heard Ruby whisper next to her. The Faunus had a suspicion that if she were to look at her young leader, she'd see stars dancing out of the young girl's eyes. "I mean, he just killed all of them like it was nothing! You think we could convince Ms. Goodwitch to let him in for that?" Blake, unfortunately, had to shake her head at the comment.

"You and I both know, Ruby, that Ms. Goodwitch would sooner break her scroll than bend the rules in such a way." The disappointed whine that came from Ruby reminded Blake too much of an injured dog. She looked over at her leader, the crimson-donned girl predictably wearing an expression that matched. If she was a Faunus, she was she her ears would be drooping.

"But this is a good thing," Ruby marched on, just like Blake knew she would. "It means Tatl was telling the truth about him, or at least a lot of it. I mean, I don't think Jaune could have done all of that, right?" Blake couldn't hide her mirthful smile. She was fortunate to see that Ruby couldn't hide her blush. "Yeah, that was a bad comparison." Blake chuckled lightly, ruffling the girl's head affectionately. It was an odd quirk she had picked up from her blonde partner, but one she enjoyed committing, especially when Ruby futilely beat of the older girl's hand.

"Come on," she spoke with amusement as she took her hand off of the younger girl's dark hair. She heard Ruby huff in annoyance. "Let's see how Link is doing." She jumped off of the tree, feeling the air rush past her as she quickly made it to the ground. Her feline half allowed her to land gracefully, legs extending out to soften the blow, hands touching down to reduce the stress.

She stood slowly, stalking towards Link with her arms at her sides. Her fellow Faunus was cleaning his blade, slicing the gemmed weapon through the air before quickly stopping it, letting momentum carry wet blood off the weapon. He repeated the action twice before spinning it in his hand, lifting it above his head. When the tip sat at the hole of his sheath, he released it, letting it fall down and back into its home with a satisfying _shink_.

His shield was reattached with much less flare, a simply twist and click on his back. He turned to face the pair, Blake well aware that Ruby had come up from behind her, the stars likely still in her eyes. Blake offered him only a smile, still more than she gave the random stranger. Though he was still only slightly beyond that, only the broad details about him being known, he did enough to prove he was a tribute to the Faunus race. That was plenty enough for her.

"You're really good!" Ruby cheered for him, quickly approaching his side.

Blake saw the tell-tale sign of the young girl's rose petals, the only sign she had before Ruby was just beside Link. The dark girl hid her chuckle of amusement, brought on by Link's suddenly shocked expression. He tumbled back slightly by the sudden appearance of the young girl. Blake mused that it was some sort of initiation, to be startled by Ruby's semblance.

"I mean, like, Pyrrha and Jaune are the only other Hunters I know that use swords, but you're like just as good as Pyrrha with yours. You look like Jaune, like a lot, but you're like Pyrrha with how you fight. But then you picked up that tree and slammed it down, it was like watching a wrestling match! Oh! But you're little attack when you spun, a-and the way you're sword shot out dust when you struck. That easily makes it a Class-2 bladed type. I thought it was Class-1, you know, because it was just a sword, but you were hiding yours like a pro!" Blake often forget Ruby was a weapon expert, until she started talking about it.

She watched the young fifteen year old stare up at Link, her expression shifting seamlessly from excited to bemused, complete with her putting a hand to her chin and leaning into Link, comically so. The Faunus didn't seem to understand the gesture, talking steps back to avoid being pushed over. He was blinking at her, turning his gaze to Blake in the confusion. She only slightly shook her head, waiting to see what he would do. But then, Ruby decided to talk again.

"Are you their son from the future?"

Of all the things Blake thought Ruby could ask, that was far and away the last on her list. The feline Faunus blinked, slowly, her jaw open and muscles slack. Link seemed to mimic her expression, though with an added twist of his head, still backing away from the girl who so readily invaded his space.

"Yeah I know it sounds silly, but I mean, you look almost just like Jaune, but Pyrrha is like one of the best sword users out there. I mean, yeah, she uses Milo more as a spear, but still. It's kinda hard not to see." Blake watched Link look towards, his expression far more pleading than it was before. She nodded this time, knowing this was a little beyond even her leader's normal behavior.

"Ruby," she spoke the young girl's name. "I think you may be… reaching a little." She chose the word carefully as the silver-eyed youth looked back at her. "Time travel isn't possible and there are few more important things to worry about now." The young girl puckered her lips in childish annoyance, huffing as she lowered her head. It was her sign of defeat.

"However," Blake began again, turning her attention to Link. He blinked his cerulean eyes at her attention. "I would like to hear about your training when this is done. Especially in regards to those skills you used." She offered him her smile again, her golden eyes focused on his. "I'm sure you have as many questions for us as we do for you."

She watched his gaze shift from her to Ruby, face still, caught with the expression of curiosity. Perhaps it was closer to though, with his head straightened and eyes shifting with thought. She didn't miss his ears slightly bob, not with her sharp eyes. It took only a moment later for him to sigh, looking up to her a lop-sided grin.

Not a moment later did a loud squall roar above them.

Blake knew it would, as all Nevermore did. They were birds of prey, seeing anything that occupied the sky as a potential challenger, little different then beowolves amongst foreign packs. She turned her eyes to the sky, seeing the great bird above them.

It appeared little different than the first one she had killed, with the aid of Ruby and the rest of her team. Its wings were easily long enough to wrap around the bullhead they had flown in own, body long enough to dwarf any of them individually. Sharp talons hung beneath it, pulled against its body as it sailed in the air. It would have been majestic were it not a Grimm.

"So what are ya gonna do?" Blake heard Ruby ask. She turned to see Link eyeing the bird as well, a hand to his chin. At least he didn't look afraid. "Are you going to try and kill something? Give it some bait before you jump on it? Or are you gonna try and make it attack you? That's what me and Weiss did, don't recommend it. Oh! Or you could try and catch it in the air, but… that seems kinda hard."

"Ruby," Blake spoke the girl's name softly. "Maybe you should let him decide. It is his test." The girl looked frightened for a moment, likely remembering Goodwitch's unveiled threat towards their interference. Any words she had to say, however were left unspoken.

Link was moving already, past them and into the forest. His head was craned, following the bird as he did. It was smart, Blake realized, as he couldn't very well plan to kill something he didn't see. Ruby and Blake followed him into the foliage of the woods. The first thing Blake noted was that he was slow. Not troubling so, but enough so that he would be the dead weight on any team in charge of tracking and capturing. His footfalls were heavy, gait swing slow, and overall likely bogged down with weight. Chainmail would do that.

"What do you think he's gonna do?" Ruby, poorly, whispered to Blake, neither of the girls having to strain themselves to keep up with the green-clad Faunus. "He's gotta do something, or I'm never gonna be able to help him find his friend!" It didn't bother Blake for a moment the reason for Ruby's worry. It was simply what optimists tended to worry about.

"He's still thinking," Blake concluded, watching Link's gaze switch from the Nevermore high above to the trees that they passed, none of them in a hurry. The bird, however, was gaining ground away from them. "But he has to think faster than that."

They emptied out into another small clearing; fall smaller than the one the bullhead had dropped them off in. It was only enough to allow a small view of the sky, and the Nevermore's tail feathers just peaking from one of the edges. Ruby watched the bird, biting her lip in worry. Blake watched Link.

He was biting his own lip, likely out of thought. His knuckles twitched at his sides, each digit moving as if to grab something different. She wasn't sure why. Maybe that was his method of thinking. Maybe… but Blake didn't honestly think so.

It wasn't how he appeared when he faced the beowolves before. Then, he had a more sure appearance, eyes looking for new things and ears listening for any signs. Now, however, he did none of that. He was more vacant in his gaze, as far as her golden eyes could tell, looking into the sky only because it was the direction his head was aimed. Neither did his ears twitch at the bellowing caws of the Nevermore; instead drooping downwards, almost as if in regret.

"Link?" She heard Ruby say his name, the urgency in his voice clear. Just as clear was her reason for it. "Link, you if your gonna do something, please do it. I mean, you've been awesome so far, but you gotta get that Nevermore. I know you can do it!" Blake was well aware that Ruby possessed no such information. It was just optimist talking again.

She watched her fellow Faunus, watched Link, lower his head. He was scowling at something, scowling at the ground with his eyes shut and teeth set in a hard grind. Even his fists were clenched. His every action now only brought upon more confusion. But then, just as she had the thought, Link decided to act.

He stood to his tallest again, taking a deep breath as he had before, just before fighting the pack of beowolves. That was good. That meant he was getting ready for something. But unlike before, he didn't have a small grin to his lips. That was bad, for most other people at least.

Then, slowly, she watched Link reach into the folds of his tunic.

He was pulling out an item; that was good. It would be difficult for him to attract the Nevermore with only his sword and shield. When he produced it, however, her opinion changed entirely.

It was a mask.

She stared at it, shocked, confused. She expected a grappling tool of some kind, daggers if need be, preferably a gun, but no. All her fellow Faunus had was a mask. A mask that reminded her too much of what she was running away from.

"Link?" She heard Ruby question his name again. He turned to the younger girl, mask still grasped in his hand. "What's that for?" There was no room for confusion for what she was referring to.

The mask was elegant, if Blake were to be honest. It appeared to be made of porcelain, completely smooth and free of blemish. It had hollow sockets for the eyes, oval shaped to fit over a face, and long yellow feathers rising over the top of it. The mask itself was completely yellow, a beak over where the mouth should be. She saw simple yet perfectly drawn blue lines rising up from the corners of the eyes, disappearing into the feathers above.

But it was still a mask. And everything that Blake now hated wore masks. She nearly hissed at it.

Link, however, pulled it towards himself.

He held it beneath him, grasping the sides with both hands turned towards him. His blond bangs hid most of his face, hiding whatever his eyes were showing. But Blake's own golden gaze was sharp enough to see the smile that curled at his lips, a gentle one, one that she now questioned. It took only the Faunus looking up for Blake to realize she had misjudged him again.

There was no reverie or joy in his eyes, no mad glint for evil deeds. There was no sharp gaze of a warrior, of any kind of freedom fighter or self-proclaimed savior. There was only one expression Blake could use to summarize what she saw, and it made her stop.

Peace. He felt amity while holding the mask.

He spun it in his grasp, turning it so the immaculate side faced the duo of team RWBY again. He held it proudly, as one would the memorabilia of a happier time. He gazed at Ruby for a moment, making the melancholy in his gaze clear, before turning to her. Instead of offering her his gaze, Link gave Blake a word, a word he knew she would hear. It was one she almost knew he would say.

_'A Friend'_

Link put on the mask.

Then he started to scream.

Blake jumped back, completely unprepared for the cry of pain Link gave off. A quick gasp tore through her throat as a yelp of surprise came from Ruby. She watched, horror stricken, as Link clenched his hands against the mask on his face, holding tightly as he continued to yell. His cries were echoing, their volume growing. Blake pulled her hands to the top of her head, the shrill pitch making her ears pain.

"Link!" She heard Ruby scream. She was running for him, Blake didn't need to look to know that, going to help someone she so quickly called a friend. "Link! Take it-" But twice within an hour, Ruby was stopped by the actions of another. This time, however, nothing physical gripped her.

A blinding light poured from Link, blinding Blake eyes as he screams muted her ears. She was stuck in a state of numbness, a terrifying state of lost senses. She couldn't hear anything, not even Link's cries. She couldn't see anything, the light too bright to make out even the arms in front of her face.

But then, with a dull ring, it faded. Blake released a breath of air she wasn't aware she was holding, relieved to be able to hear again, eyes blinking away tears as well. She lowered her arms slowly, careful as if Link would begin to scream again. They fell away, allowing her to focus her golden eyes on the faunus that now so completely baffled her.

He was no longer there. Or rather, something else now stood in his place.

Blake's jaw fell as her neck craned upwards, staring at the creature that was now before. It towered over her, dwarfing her in height. It was coated in feathers, running down the figures form, each blade appearing as long as Blake's own forearm. Each one was colored at their respective tips, green upon gold, one fading gently into the other. They ran down far enough that the last set billowed across the ground. It was only a tangential thought, but Blake thought the feathers made the figure appear to wear a robe.

She gazed at the figure's head again, watching it as it gazed back down at her. Long feathers came from the back of its head, stretching down the figure's back as if hair, colored in vibrant hues of green that Blake had not seen before, not even in the Emerald Forest. They matched well with the jade markings that ran up the figure's face. Its face was what Blake focused on most.

It had the sharpest of blue eyes, looking down at her with an expression she couldn't read. It had a beak, making it incredibly difficult for Blake to tell if the figure was giving an expression at all. The muscles of its face were hidden beneath its feathers, making it even more difficult to tell what it was thinking. But thought Blake could pinpoint easily all the mysteries of the creature, there was one similarity she could not move around.

Its face was that of the mask Link had donned. The same color, the same beak, and the same feathers flowing over its head. Blake swallowed on nothing, unsure of what to do.

"Do not worry. It is still me."

Blake fell to the ground at the voice, her muscles refusing to work. She stared up at the figure, slack jawed and golden eyes wide enough to rival the sun. The figure giggled at her lightly, ducking its long beak into the folds of its feathers, an expression the feline Faunus had seen birds do often, though then as a means for warmth. This was not that.

"L-Link?" She heard Ruby ask from aside her. Her young leader didn't appear to be faring any better than she was. The figure turned its avian head towards the younger girl, eyes sharp yet full of an empathy that Blake hadn't seen before. It looked almost… abject. Its beak opened, perhaps to respond Ruby's call.

A loud caw from above, however, silenced any words that would have been said.

Blake felt the Nevermore's challenging call rumble through her, near no different to the first time she had fought such a creature. She looked up, managing to avert her gaze from the newly appeared, golden, avian figure to see a familiar dark one high above. Its great wings beat against the sky, gliding it through the air as the clouds dissipated beneath its force.

"Please hold," the creature before her spoke again, earning Blake's attention. It was staring up into the sky as well, as focused on the avian monstrosity high above. "I will not be long."

"Long for-" Blake cut off her own question, for the avian figure exploded.

No… that wasn't the right term, but the hidden-faunus could think of few other words to properly describe it. The robe of feathers the creature wore unfolded in a glorious fashion, faster than she thought something of such size could move, every blade moving elegantly with one another. She was blinded with hues of gold and green momentarily, the colors weaving together like water. When the figure stopped, her robe was open, showing what truly lay beneath.

Her robe of feathers had become a magnificent pair of wings, stretching well past the small clearing's allowance. Coverts of feathers fell from them, each one longer than the next, ending only when the primary blades fell far enough to nearly drag on the ground. The light shined off of them, turning the already golden figure into a beacon. The only relief Blake had was the clothes it wore, hiding what were doubtlessly more feathers beneath. Clothes that appeared so much like Link's. A green dress not far in design from Link's tunic.

Then, with a flash it was gone.

Blake looked skyward, catching the golden figure soar into the blue. It became nothing but a dot in the sky exceedingly quickly, a testament to its wings and proof of its strength. It was only when the figure was gone that Blake was aware of her deep breathing, heavy breaths that forced her chest to rise and fall. She licked her lips, feeling the bumps of her tongue roll over the thin layer of skin.

"What…" She looked over to see Ruby, standing with Crescent Rose. She wasn't aware when the young girl had drawn the weapon, likely though when Link started to scream in pain. Ruby was leaning on her weapon like a stilt, the only reason she wasn't on the ground like Blake was. "What was that?"

Blake had no answer.

* * *

"That… was not what I expected." It was one of the highest forms of praise Glynda had ever given.

She stared at the screen mutely, her fingers hovering over her data pad, her attention utterly detached from the device. Her Emerald gaze was transfixed on the screen, on her mini-drones that now seemed unable to fly fast enough to catch up with the rapidly departing figure of the Nevermore and newly appeared golden bird.

"What in all manners of Dust was that!?" Ms. Schnee, it predictably appeared, was much more vocal in volume with her surprise. Though one of her hands aimed at the screen, pointing at is as if it were a blemish upon Remnant, her eyes were fixed coldly on the blonde fairy hovering high in air above her. Glynda offered it a small glance, noting that the lazy way it pirouetted through the air gave it only one kind of appearance. Arrogant.

"Oh, that?" Tatl replied easily, her voice as mockingly curious as any language would allow. "Nothing too major, just a simple trick that Link learned a long time ago. Still a little sour that Link proved you wrong? A little worried that he's doing what you can never do?" Glynda was mindful enough to know there was not truly steam rising from Ms. Schnee's alabaster hair… but the similarities were uncanny. She made note of it in the meeting cliff-notes of her data pad.

"Sis…" she heard Tael droningly call to his sibling. "Don't lie like that." Said sister fairy rung highly, likely a little offset that her brother of all people called her out. But her wings drooped just as quickly, shaking left and right as if straightening herself. Her darker brother never appeared to do more than float next to her.

"Fine. It's actually a pretty big deal," Tatl admitted with an utterly detached tone. It was quite the reversal from her teasing just a sentence prior. "It's… it's like asking the biggest favor from a friend, and said friend agreeing to do so without hesitation. You're glad, and you accept, but… it's still a huge deal. Point is though, it's not my story to tell _how_ he did it."

"Yeah, and why not?" Glynda was honestly a little surprised to hear Ms. Xia Long calling out the fairy now. Putting aside the irony of the term, it wasn't like the brawler to start a fight, not without flirting or threats from the opposing party. "You've seem pretty keen on telling us just about everything else about him. Why is this suddenly so bad to talk about? Can't talk about something unless you're gonna brag about it?"

"H-Hey, that's not fair," Tael, weakly, argued against the blonde. Glynda tapped on her pad, noting that the darker fairy was defensive upon insults issued towards his sister, but lacked authority to his tone. If he had any more words to say, however, there were stopped by his sister, flying into his side. Their mixed lights made the lulling dark and harsh light into a soothing gray. She made note of that, too.

"I'm not talking about it," Tatl began, her tone lower than before, lacking the argumentative tone she seemed content to eternally adopt. "For the same that you probably don't want to talk about why you and your sister having different last names, _Xio Long_."

Glynda hesitated over her pad, noting the speed at which Ms. Xia Long's eyes flared red, teeth grimaced as well. The fairy wasn't done, however, turning her body and wings towards Ms. Schnee. "Or where you got that pretty little scar from." Ms. Schnee seemed to turn into her namesake, an Ice Queen, before scowling at the fairy with the heat of the sun. It was quite the switch.

"That is enough," Ozpin finally spoke up, waving his cane from across the desk he sat at. Eyes turned to him, but only briefly. Glynda didn't move hers. She was used to any tactic he may ploy in the following exchange. "I believe the more immediate matter at hand is how Link intends to use this… new item."

Silently, the rest turned back to the screen, seeing Glynda's mini-drones still flying at their fullest speed to catch up with the avian figures, the large black Nevermore against the speedy nimble golden figure. They were circling one another, neither flying forwards to gain distance any more.

From what they could see, the Nevermore was cawing loudly as it challenged the golden intruder, masked beak opening and screaming across the sky. Its long wings seemed to sharpen, the large blades that were its feathers fully prepared to launch forward without a moment's hesitation. The golden figure did not a thing, at least not a thing that mini-drones could possibly see.

But amidst the tension of the room, focused upon the aerial fight, Glynda heard something else. Her drones were quite versatile, able to perform many different functions, but never to hear a sound. It was a poor truth in their design, but to capture video and stream it to her pad too much from the small and nigh-unseeable drones. Too much information would destroy them. But with her own ears, she could hear much of what happened in the room. It is why she heard the dark fairy speak.

"She's not an item." Glynda made careful note of that.

* * *

Link knew this was a Nevermore. Elrora agreed with his thoughts.

He hadn't seen a monster like it before, but he knew enough about the creatures of madness to know it was a threat. Coupled with the words Ruby and Blake had told him, Link knew this was the monstrosity he was mean to kill. Elrora knew by its flight it was a monster meant to rule the skies. Kill this, and Link would have a place to stay, people to talk to, and a perhaps a source of reprieve. Those were all important things to have if he was going to search this strange land, for his companions in the very least.

Elrora pushed her wings, feeling her feathers catch at the air and propel her forwards. She whispered to Link on what to do, asking him on how to strike. She could fly without equal, but she was a chick when it came to battle. Linke was the master of combat. For now, they were the same.

They sky was clear, making mobility less of an issue. Little headwind interfered with the ascent towards the beast. Its size was its disadvantage, making flight around it simple, if a bit acrobatic. Link remembered Blake's words of warning well, the creature's sharp feathers like blades, its mask strong, talons more so. Even with Elrora's help, her memories to aid him, a blow from a creature of such size would be detrimental.

Her strength, however, meant Link would need only one careful strike to fell the beast. Elrora promised him as much, and he entrusted them with his life. Using her instincts, imprinted well into her mind, he increased his speed.

The air was colder the higher Elrora ascended, making the feathers that weren't propelling him forward grip his body tighter. He knew they would, knew from his friend's memories. She promised him they would be okay, that the chill of the air was no more dangerous than the heat of the sun. He knew she was right.

In little time Elrora was just beside the Nevermore, her eyes staring harshly into the large creature's red orbs. It looked little different than the first of these monsters Link had faced, the large creature Ruby had called an Ursa. This bird was larger than that beast, and it flew through the air with the same ease as a Watarara did. But Elrora was smaller, lighter, faster, and very likely smarter. All were the greatest advantages to have in the air.

The monster yelled at him, screeching the air in what could be seen as a promise for death. No sooner did it do so than did it descend, falling through the sky like a dropped rock, wings stuck to its sides. Link followed behind it carefully at a distance, unaware of the monster's intent. Its size was the problem, as a single smack of one of its wings would make flight difficult. Elrora agreed, her memories showing many monster she had taken from the air, though none like the Nevermore, one so like herself.

The black beast turned in midair, its underbelly facing upwards to the sky, its red eyes focusing on the golden figure that was Link. It gave another squawk to him, either a challenge or a warning, he could not tell, neither could the memories of Elrora. What they both knew was the way the creature folded back its wings, feathers extending outwards as its muscles extended. Blake's warnings came to his mind.

Now was the time to act.

Elrora ducked her wings, diving down like falling arrows towards the creature. She spun with the force, her memories telling Link that this would make them faster, sharper, and more importantly, deadlier. All were good when striking first. Link was close to the great avian now, closing the gap with a speed that clearly startled the monster. It gave another screech, faster than the first, more terrified. It was for good reason.

He heard the air rush as the Nevermore flapped its wings towards him. Feathers began to fly at him. They were longer than Elrora's, sharp as a newly forged sword, and moving at the same speed he was, in the opposite direction.

All of that mattered little when Link was already upon the creature's neck.

A moment later, he was beyond it, the force of the impact already moving past him.

Elrora's memories told Link to extend the wings, to let the air catch him before the ground met them. They were still so high, but he did not ignore his friend's words. He did so, finding his speed plummet as his altitude settled, the force of the sudden breaking doing little to him, the form of his friend far more than used to the act.

The creature rushed past them, a massive wound upon its neck and red eyes already dulling. Link knew it was dead, already far before it would hit the Emerald Forest below. Elrora knew if it was not, the impact would do the job. Creatures of the air, monster or not, were not heavy in mass. But they kept their distance, well aware of the instinct of many monsters to kill its killer in their final moments. Link would offer no such chance. Instead, as the large black avian fell to the forest below, Elrora and Link both appreciated the scope of the woods from above.

It was a large forest, carrying over most of his vision and settling into the horizon before he saw any patch of land, aside from the odd small clearing. The canopy was tall and thick, hiding much of the sun that wished to feed the trees below the line. Elrora knew this after seeing it from above and below. Link knew she was right. He turned with Elrora's tail-feathers, seeing the large structure of Beacon in the distance, the castle that Ruby and Blake called him.

Beacon, Link repeated the name in his own memories, Elrora having no memory or thought of the place. It was both harshly familiar and completely foreign. The way it towered over a city in the distance, collected only the strongest of individuals, shined with a green light like its namesake… it all seemed to hauntingly familiar to Hyrule Castle, a place he also once called home.

Elrora shook her head at the thought.

Link looked back down, seeing the creature impact the forest far below. The canopy of the trees did little to soften the fall of the might beast, its weight greater than the trees could endure. But it was surely dead now, no monster able to survive the fall of its own weight, not from such a height. Elrora could not think of any creature in history that could have done so.

Her descent was quick, but with no intention to cause further harm. The forest was already partially ruined by the fall of the mighty beast, and he had no desire to continue the act. Link wished now only to prove that he was a warrior, aided by skills and friends alike. Elrora was more than happy to aid. She flapped her wings as she neared the black bird, seeing the red eyes behind the creature's white mask already a dull crimson red, soon to be taken as absolute darkness. Dead indeed.

Elrora's talons settled on the corpse of the great monster, flexing to secure a patch of it to stand on. It was not the greatest of perches, but it was far suited for the display. If this test was like the hunts of Hyrule, searching for game in the Lost Woods, Link would be better seen atop the creature than beside it. Elrora was the one who would find surer footing. Link could only know, however, once the two girls found him.

They would come soon, Link knew this. If not to see if he was alright, then to judge what he had done. Elrora agreed that younglings were keen to see the aftermath of a hunt.

So far the girls were nice to him, kind with words and actions, offering the exchange of information and services for his own efforts, efforts so far that had been labeled a test. It was among some of his easier exploits if he were to be honest, a thing he always was. Elrora chuckled inwardly at the ease of the notion.

The young girl Link had met first, Ruby, he could already tell he enjoyed her company, and she did his. She reminded him much of Saria, in both size and appearance, though exchanging the red for green and silver for blue. Ruby just as honest as his childhood friend, something he was hoping he was right about. She reminded Elrora of her child, of the boy that refused to let limitations keep him from his future. Elrora whispered that Link was right to be friendly with her.

Link wondered briefly of Blake, of the dark girl that wore a bow of the same color. She was not an enigma to him, but neither was she easy to read. Her every action seemed to be that of someone in hiding, concealing her emotions for fear that they would be used against her. Elrora agreed, her memories telling him of the Watarara of the past who had done much the same. But they were not sneaky, they were injured, not in their body, but of their mind. Link knew of those warriors as well.

Link nodded at the thought, thanking Elrora for the information. Link could not be sure, but he knew that Elrora… showing her had done something to Blake and Ruby. Both of the girls were excited upon seeing his swordsmanship, appreciating the strength he had. Blake seemed to emphasize often his heritage to it, 'Faunus' as she was keen to call him. Perhaps she was one as well, appreciating another of her race who had strength. It was not a possibility he could easily throw away. Elrora, however, no sign she was anything but a dark-haired Gerudo.

But her aghast expression at his Elrora's mask, the sharpness of her golden eyes. They were not the expressions that offered peace. They were the same Link would give to many foes of the past, many insignias he now deplored. This was all thought though, and Link knew that. All he could do now was wait. Elrora would not let him wait alone.

Link was thankful to her, and so, Link decided to let the memories of his friend speak. Elrora, the former queen, was more than willing to do so.

It was the least she could do for the hero of her people.

* * *

"Almost there, almost there, almost there," Ruby chanted the phrase repeatedly. For every leap she took in her gait, semblance pushing her forward, she repeated the phrase. She was barreling through the forest, dodging easily the stray limbs and branches that protruded from the large trunks of the trees around her, making her way to the site of the Nevermore's crash.

Ruby pumped her arms to move faster, pushing to make herself to the Nevermore as quickly as she could. She trees were a blurred as she past, the greens of the forest blending together. She didn't care. She only had one destination on her mind.

The deeper she made it into the Emerald Forest, the closer she came to where the Nevermore went down, the quieter it became. Ruby thought at first it might have been just her focusing on Link… focusing on whatever it was that had brought down the giant bird. But the further she went in the less she heard. For every fallen log she jumped, she heard less bird cries. For every tree she rounded, she heard fewer twigs snapping.

It didn't take long before the air was near silent, broken only by the air that rushed past her ears, semblance pushing her forward. She knew the emerald green of the forest was going to be dribbled with red, her petals leaving a clear a trail as any for where she was and where she was going. She didn't care, not really. She only needed to make sure her friend was okay.

Then, all at once, she came into a clearing.

Just as quickly, Ruby had to raise her arms, the sun blinding her. Without a canopy above the clearing, there was nothing to filter the bright rays of light. She let out a quick grimace of pain, eyes constricting to block out the numerous rays. White spots came and left her vision as her silver eyes adjusted. Slowly, she lowered her arms, squinting to see into the clearing.

At first, all she could see were the blurred shapes and colors, nothing more detailed than a cloud. She could see a lot of green in the distance, doubtlessly where the Emerald Forest continued on, the edge of the clearing. In front, she saw almost just as much black, a dark void that seemed utterly and completely out of place in the forest. But she also saw a small ball of gold, atop the darkness.

And as Ruby's eyes adjusted, it became only too clear what she was looking at.

The Nevermore was dead on the ground. Its head was sliced cleanly off, beak still opened as if it were letting out a cry. Its wings were bent horribly, the crash likely doing that damage to it. Dark blood seeped out onto the green of the forest floor, making a horrible contrast of color. It was, however, near definite proof that the deed was done. And atop the Nevermore was its slayer.

Ruby eyed the golden creature for not the first time. And yet, she felt just as marveled as before. A distance thought told her it was because it was because it was a pretty bird twice her own size, something that she almost desperately wanted to snuggle up and sleep against like a pillow. But the leader in her, hardened by fights with the White Fang and team combatants, told her it was the obvious. Specifically, how it was perched over the Nevermore like the Hunter that it was.

Ruby dully made out the tapping of feet behind her, doubtlessly Blake approaching. It was easy to hear when the rest of the forest was quite as the dead. She heard those same foot falls slow as they came to rest beside her. Never once did the crimson wearing leader look to confirm her thoughts. The bird… she was too captivating.

Even with the dark wisps of smoke rising from the dead Nevermore, the yellow of the bird appeared to shin like gold, stopped only by the lime tips of the feathers and green dress it wore. It looked into the sky, eyes shut as if in thought. But then, slowly, it lowered its gaze, staring back down at Ruby. Their eyes met for a moment, the creature showing nothing but empathy and kindness in the gaze. With just as much speed, its head turned slight, looking at whom Ruby assumed to be Blake. It expression didn't change.

"Who are you?"

Ruby felt as if she were talking to same famed Hunter as she asked the question. She wasn't convinced she wasn't. The creature giggled lightly, ducking its beak into this chest again. With its wings unfolded, it ducked into the cleavage of its chest, into the emerald dress it wore. She watched as the avian curved her beak, showing a smile towards the two.

Then it bowed, lowly, standing atop the corpse of a Nevermore, a kill that it had made hundreds of feet in the air, without showing so much as even a breath of effort for the deed. One wing folded behind its back, allowing its distal feathers to fold down its talon-like legs. The other held itself over its chest, giving again the appearance that the creature was wearing a robe of feathers.

"My name is Elrora," it spoke with kindness. "I am the past queen of the Watarara Tribe, Immigrants of Hyrule and natives to no land. In memory, that is who I am."

The creature stood to its tallest again, its beak still curved in a gentle smile, eyes showing the same amount of kindness. Ruby saw Blake tighten her grip on Gambol Shroud, unsure of what to do. Just as quickly, she saw Elrora, the now named avian, slack her smile. The hard material of her beak managed to fall into a disappointed frown. Kindness didn't flow from the blue eyes then. Sadness did.

"You're scared," the Watarara spoke simply, conclusively. "And I understand why. The magic that has brought me here is not common upon my land. I am sure it is lost in yours." Ruby felt her heart twist.

"I-It's not that!" Ruby answered earnestly, quickly making her way in front of Blake. "She's just… well… we don't know what's going on, a-and you, or Link, put on a mask to make this happen. Masks are what… the Grimm where masks, and they're monsters." Ruby watched as Elrora's beak opened and closed, nodding slowly in understanding. That was good, right?

"I see," she spoke easily, her voice smooth as the air she flew in on. "I am a reminder to that painful past." Again the queen bowed, halving her height as she addressed the girls. "I offer you my apologies then. In no way did I hope to stir unpleasant thoughts. I merely thought this was the most effective way to deal with a monster of the sky. I beg your forgiveness for my actions." Yeah, that was _really_ good.

Ruby turned around to face Blake, letting her silver eyes give the hiding-faunus a pleading look, complete with a bit lip and tears at the corner of her gaze. Blake shook on her already uneven ground, eyes clouding as she looked from her team leader to the enigma behind her. With a slow breath, she withdrew her hand from her weapon, earning a relieved sigh from Ruby.

"You're forgiven," Blake spoke to Elrora, looking past Ruby to do so. "You had no way of knowing." The golden bird rose again, her smile thankful with eyes full of simple joy. "But now I have to ask a question, if you're going to answer."

The queen bowed her head, one that Ruby immediately remembered Link doing, a dozen times before. Maybe… maybe he really was in there… somehow.

"How are you here now? When Link put on that mask, why did you suddenly appear? Are you his semblance or something?" The annoyance on Blake's voice was as clear as the curiosity. But those were good questions. Ruby looked back to Elrora, the bird, and saw that she was standing again, her wings wrapped about her body. She was wearing the robes of feathers, reflecting gold, as the beast beneath her dissipated into darkness.

"It is a fair question," she spoke, nodding her head with shut eyes. But before she spoke on, she jumped from the corpse she stood on, landing with grace upon the ground. Only her feathers billowed as she landed, the rest of the forest undisturbed. "What you see, what I am now, is but a collection of memories, emotions, and things I have left behind to this world. Left for the changing winds… as my soul ascended for the Forever Sky."

Ruby wasn't the wisest of Huntresses, let alone in training. It usually came back to her age, being two years the junior of even the youngest member of the first year class. It was something she was reminded of constantly, but something she worked just as hard to improve on. Her age usually meant small words of gossip would be lost on her, conversations that would make Yang giggle or Weiss grimace only make her tilt her head in confusion. This felt like one of those conversations, to her at least.

She left behind her memories and emotions, for the winds she said. The crimson wearing girl knew well enough that no winds were ever entirely constant, so that meant she left on Remnant. That made sense. But… her soul ascended for this… Forever Sky? That was… oh… oooooh.

"Y-You're dead?" Her voice shook as she asked the question, suddenly much more fearful of the supposed ghost in front of her. She could see Blake give her a curious eye, only before turning back towards the tall avian that stood before them. The rising smoke of the slain Nevermore did little to make offer her a kind light to stand in. Neither did melancholy smile.

"Yes," Elrora answered. It made Ruby's eyes bug. "My soul has gone, but my body remains. But I… Link… offered me peace in my final moments." Ruby didn't understand at all.

"What does that mean?" Blake asked beside her, her patience clearly being eroded much faster than the team leader's. Ruby hoped it was because she afraid for Link, that would make sense. Blake always did care about other Faunus. But… something told her she was wrong, that it was something else. "Did he kill you? Did he do something to… hurt you?"

Ruby couldn't remember a time where she was so thankful for seeing such a pained expression on someone. Elrora had pulled her head, her beak twisting into an aghast frown. Her avian eyes were wide, focused on Blake with came across only as disbelief. That was good… right?

"Link did nothing to harm me," Elrora began, voice firm. She sounded honest at least, to Ruby. "He saved my son when he was lost. He guided our people to the Immigrant Winds. He saved my people in our time of need. But I could not be saved, not by what had claimed me."

Her head turned towards, her figure hunching as her head waved left and right. But the movement was stiff, forced, not… not what Ruby had seen others do before. Something was wrong, she could feel it. She took a step forward, leaning down to get a better look of Elrora, to see if she was alright. Maybe it would be better to ask.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked carefully, very carefully. She wasn't scared of Elrora, couldn't be. She was just a giant golden bird that was kept in a mask… able to outfly a Nevermore, and cut through it like paper… and was looking actually kinda sad.

Ruby felt feathers surround her, slowly. It took her a second to realize that the avian was surrounding her, encapsulating her with her wing. But where she normally would have felt a jolt of fear at such an action, she felt only warmth. It took her just as long to figure out why. Link, Elrora, whoever, was wrapping her in a tight hug.

"I'm well, at least as well as I can be in strange lands, flying in a strange sky," Elrora spoke with a peaceful voice. She sounded really calm, something Ruby was starting to get a little jealous of. But… it was a good thing she was calm. "I thank you for your concern, young one. But I am well."

The crimson leader of team RWBY listened intently to Elrora, her body taking long deep breaths. The feathers along her back began to pull away, the creature rising up as she released Ruby from the quick embrace she had wrapped her in. The smile across Elrora's beak was clear.

"Thank you," the golden bird replied. "I apologize deeply and immensely for my previous actions. I just… believed Elrora was best suited for the sky." Was that Link talking? That was actually pretty weird. "It is difficult for me to think of any other more suited to duel a monster in the air." Ruby smiled up at her, empathy to her gaze.

"How did Link help you?" She turned, almost in shock, as Blake as the question. She stared at her teammate, silver eyes looking into Blake's golden ones. Ruby had tears in her gaze still, even as her eyes bulged in shock. Blake had no emotion in her, eyes slit and focused upon the avian creature. Gambol Shroud was still gripped tightly in her hands.

"Blake!" Ruby yelled at her teammate with reprimand. "Now isn't a good time for that! We still gotta get back to Beacon and-" She was stopped by a large hand on her shoulder. It was a very large hand, part of a much larger wing.

"It is alright, Ruby," Elrora spoke from above and behind her, causing Ruby to spin again, crimson cape billowing at the action. "Blake has every reason to be suspicious of me. Link's actions can just as easily be seen as cruel as they are kind."

Elrora focused her gaze on Blake, her beak betraying no emotion of scorn or hate. There was only pity in her blue eyes, as far as Ruby could see. She knew that was all there was.

"I was dying when Link found me," Elrora spoke, her voice addressing the faunus-in-hiding. "He had saved my son from a fall in the skies, leading my people to the Immigrant Winds. Those winds, which chances through lands over decades, were our means to see new lands, to find new homes. If we had lost them, my people would have died into nothing. Link risked his life to find these currents, allowing my people to find their way home." Just as Elrora betrayed little emotion when she spoke to Blake, so too did the darkly dressed team member speak.

"And what of you?" She asked with a nod of her head. "You keep saying your soul is gone, your memories behind, but what did Link do to you?"

"He saved my soul," Elrora replied, saying the weighty phrase with what felt like practiced ease. It made Ruby stifle a ball in her throat.

The great bird didn't speak for a time, instead turning her head to the sky. Ruby did the same, wondering if she had seen something. But all her silver eyes witnessed was the endless blue that she had come to known. Clouds high above, tree leaves much further down, but nothing warranting a longing gaze. Nothing as far as she could see.

"I had searched for the winds before Link had found my people," Elrora spoke on. "But in my search, I was taken by a monster, one that rend my wings from my body and tore into me like a corpse. I knew I was dying before it had even struck its second blow."

Ruby felt herself bunch a few of the long feathers of the bird with her fist, gripping the creature. Elrora looked down to her with a somber expression. Ruby hated it.

"But Link found me before the final blow was thrown. With a great hammer, he destroyed the beast. But he could not save me. It was a fact he and I both knew well. I was… I was in pain, mourning. I would not see my people again, our journey to our homes, or even my son grow."

Finally, after all of the responses, Ruby saw Blake stiffen at the last one given. The bow-wearing girl, lowered her weapon slightly, lips relaxing as her eyes softened, all only by a hair's width.

"One of my last memories, of me to her, were the tears she had, mourning for others as she passed, asking only for peace of mind. Even amongst her final moments, she was a queen, thinking of her people above herself. My near to last memory is of him pulling out a small instrument, blue in color, hollow, and full of holes." Ruby continued to stare at Elrora, listening intently to the story.

She didn't think of it as anything less than a most precious secret. It deserved her full attention. The silence from Blake, she assumed, meant the same.

"Then he played a song." The small perk of joy in the bird's voice was impossible to miss, especially amongst the silence of the woods. "It was simple, a slow melody that didn't befit my people, we so used to singing songs of grand pitch and volume. But… it carried upon the still air as if wind, moving through wounds like a caring mother's touch. It brought forth my last memory."

Ruby leant against Elrora, looking up with her neck craned, as absorbed into the story as she was into the golden feathers of the queen. She didn't look back, but Ruby hoped she knew Blake well enough to guess that she had put her weapon away. Or, at the very least, no longer held it in defense. She was usually right about those things. Elrora took in a long breath of air before speaking again.

"My memory was a dream, but it was one that I am glad to have," she began, her beak undoubtedly curving upwards as she spoke. "I was flying in the air, high above the lands below, riding a wind that my people would have spent their lives searching for. Yet, I was not their leader then. None followed me and none flew before me. Rather, I was above, looking at them below. Below me, yet still in the air with me. They flew with all the grace that befit our people, the young to elderly all flying through the sky with the ease and grace of a cloud upon gentle air. The wind… it lifted them up, their wings were strong and helped them forward. But they had a new leader, one that was not me, yet one that brought tears to my eyes to see."

"My son, Rouru," the queen spoke with love in her voice. "He was no longer the young chick I had last seen him to be. He was… he was taller than me, with a wingspan that would have put my own to disgrace. His feathers were of the sun, his stained colors that of the setting moon. He ruled the sky of day and night, and led our people to prosperity. He was king, a king that my people followed not for lineage, but for belief. They believed in him, and for it, they were strong. And all the while, Link's music played."

Her eyes shut as she finished speaking, looking skyward still.

"Then I felt the winds beneath me strengthen, and I felt myself being lifted to the Forever Sky." Elrora's eyes opened slowly, her smile fading with the same speed. "My soul left peacefully, content with what I had seen. I left behind all that the music had taken from me; my regrets, my sadness, and my fears."

The queen looked down now, facing Blake with unreadable expression. Ruby looked, then back, then up again, only to turn towards Blake once more. She wasn't afraid, as she was happy to see she was correct before, Blake's weapons at her side in a relaxed arm, her gaze open and lined with empathy.

"The mask," Elrora began again, "It is my… it is what she left behind. There was no body, no corpse, nothing to show the passing of her life. I had given her peace, and in return, I sealed all that she was within the mask, letting her soul be free." The queen, or perhaps Link, bowed again, causing a small 'eep' to escape Ruby. She ducked out and away from the golden bird, afraid she'd be crushed by the much larger figure.

"I apologize again for giving you discomfort with my display. But I can assure you that was not my intention." Blake had not a word of response, and the genuflected bird didn't even twitch. "Elrora… she was my friend, and I dislike having to borrow her strength for such tasks. But she promised me, implored me, to use her strength for when it was needed, her token of thanks for freeing her from her misery."

The Watarara Queen stood again, towering over them with her height. She offered a somber expression to the pair, a look that showed empathy and sadness. Ruby could only see regret. Then she watched her hands raise, carrying her massive wings up with her. They settled on her face, grasping at the feathers lining the edges of her features. Gently, with a breath of air, she pulled.

Ruby let out a small yelp as light suddenly blinded her.

It was obvious where it came from and just as obvious what caused it, but the speed at which it happened left her eyes pained, no different than when she had run into the sun. Her arms covered her gaze instantly, though she still stall spots of white with her eyes firmly shut and concealed. But then just as quickly as it had come, the light was gone.

Ruby still saw spots of light, blinking them away painfully with her arms slowly falling. She moved her hands to her eyes, rubbing them painfully to get the few remaining white spots out of her vision. Shaking her head, staring forward intently, she saw what she expected, and still what immensely surprised her.

Link was there again, the same Faunus she had met in the forest only this morning. The same green clothes, the same crystal sword and shield, the same hair, and the same eyes. And in his hands he had the same mask he had pulled out before, following the attack of the beowolves and just preceding the chase of the Nevermore. With hollow eyes and long feathers, Ruby now understood why Link held the mask so close. It was only made painfully more obvious by the longing gaze he gave the mask.

He pocketed the item away, putting it inside his tunic, and as far as Ruby could tell, seemingly out of sight. She watched him take a deep breath of air, ears lightly rising and falling. His eyes were shut, listening. Sound was returning to the Emerald Forest.

Ruby knew, without a doubt, there was going to be a lot to talk about back at Beacon.


	2. Quid Pro Quo

"Wait here, Link."

It was far from the first time he had heard those words. He was under no illusion he would never hear them again. He heard them spoken often in Hyrule, and just as often in the surrounding kingdoms.

Sometimes they were spoken so that the other party could finish an activity. He remembered the old maiden of Kakariko Village finishing the fabled blue potion, muttering the same words. But he remembered just as well the guardians of the Royal Families saying those things, fetching the parties with whom he had to speak. Then, in a few rare times, he was told those same words while a meeting was held, a meeting without his say.

Standing outside the improbably tall tower of Beacon, alight with emerald colors and spinning gears, Link knew the reason for those words know was most definitely the latter of the three.

He was stopped shortly after coming back in the odd ship, the one that sailed on the wind. Ruby and Blake had uttered barely a word to him all the way back. He honestly expected as much. Ruby saw him as a kind of oddity, one that she was hoping would shine the way she was expecting. It made sense that the colors he truly showed irked her into silence. Refusal of contact was likely next.

Blake was the odder of the two, but no less surprising in her silence. Quieter before, but utterly silent now, she had avoided so much as eye contact with him, at least as long as Link looked towards her. He wondered why that was. She spoke to him as an equal, but not in the sense of skill. Her words so often came back to his Hylian lineage, a Faunus as she was often to name, that it was odd for her to suddenly stop. He shrugged his shoulders, knowing it was not his place to think of a reason why.

It was when they arrived and met with Goodwitch, the tall woman with emerald eyes of steel, he was told to wait outside the tower, alone. Again, it was not surprising, not given his actions and now with the words she had spoken. They were all very familiar with swords and magic, though by names he did not recognize.

But to take the form of another, to bear the face of his lost friends…

Link shook his head. He knew their actions were right, at least wise. He wouldn't trust a stranger who so easily changed shape. It made little sense that they would as well. For now though, he could only wait, staring up at the clock tower that pecked away at the minutes. Tatl and Tael were up there still, the former likely screaming and the latter doing his best to speak clearly. He smiled.

They were his friends, friends he could depend on. He knew that they would do what he needed, pushing him only when he had no other reason to move. Tatl was best at that. Her brother, he told some of the best stories to Link, other times telling others stories about Link. It was a funny irony to the emerald-clad warrior.

But instead of laughing, he sighed. He lowered his heard, realizing the futility of watching a pot boil. They would come back eventually, sooner or later as it was. If nothing else, he had to wait for the fairy siblings to come swooping down at any moment. He knew they would, either with cheers or threats. Link briefly thought it would be both, given their special dynamic of speaking.

Link's back hit the side of the building, his body slumping until he was leaning against the tall tower behind him. He faced the rest of this… campus, as Goodwitch had called it. It seemed more like a courtyard than anything else, complete with the light foliage of a garden but dotted with important buildings for work and study. He was far from saying which one was for what.

But again, that mattered little now. For now, all he had to do was pass the time. And that, thankfully, was a skill he had learned all on his own. Link reached behind himself, pulling out a possession he both prized and cherished.

The Ocarina of Time, symbol of the Royal Family Messenger.

The title made him sigh, memories of better days skipping through his mind. He lightly brushed them away. He brought the ocarina to his lips, holding the mouthpiece steady as he positioned his fingers about the holes.

Gently breathing, he began to play to play the song of his friend.

* * *

"So we're letting him in, right?" Yang said the words with all the grace she was known for. None. Fortunately for the buxom blonde, there was a new addition to the small party who seemed to practice an equal amount of tact.

"You better," Tatl spoke as she nodded towards Yang, her translucent wings waving with a high ring. "He did exactly as you asked, killed a Nevermore by himself way before the end of the day. Link's finished his side of the deal, are you gonna try and weasel your way out of yours?" The last question was posed to Ozpin, who Yang noticed had his hands folded over his desk, his head ducking just beneath them.

It was almost an unnerving sight by itself, only because the blonde brawler was so used to the headmaster walking with a coffee mug in hand, grinning with a smile caught between mischievous and benevolent. It was only the latter half that she trusted, the former she thought was just kinda cool. Right now, however, she was pretty sure he had no smile. Goodwitch didn't at least.

"In Link's own words," Goodwitch began to speak to the bright colored fairy. "He borrowed the strength of his friend when he knew his own was not sufficient. I might also want to add he said those words with the help of his friend as well. His friend, whom I have made careful not of, is also deceased for reasons unknown."

"Oh that's bull!" Tatl fired back, to Yang's utter amusement. The elbow in her side told her she must have grinned. She gave Ruby a harsh glare anyways. "First off, Elrora died from a Molgera biting her wing off. If you're colorful little tool could remind you, she also said that as well, nothing really unknown about it. Second of all, getting help from a friend like that is no different than saying you're not allowed to train with anyone else. We might not have been her for long, but I've heard enough talk about partners and teams to know that you guys _preach_ cooperation."

"True," Goodwitch spoke back easily. "But Link spoke that he borrowed the memories and body of this… Watarara Queen. That is well and beyond simple encouragement or training exercises."

"To you maybe, but that's far and away what it is to Link!" The fairy was ringing in Goodwitch's face now. Yang felt another elbow in her gut, this one from Blake. She stuck her tongue out at the hiding Faunus. "Elrora traded Link her body and memories for peace, which Link gave her. You might also recall this in your cute little device, but with how high your nose is stuck in the air, I'm surprised you're able to read it at all."

Yang couldn't help it now. She snickered.

Instantaneously, three pairs of elbows shot into her gut. Now she yelped.

"Yang!" Her sister whispered harshly to her, fingers clenched at her side. "Please calm down!"

"Sorry, sorry," she waved her partner off, her other hand rubbing at the sore spot in her gut. Brawler though she was, that didn't mean Yang's team was inferior to her in strength. Still, she hoped it didn't bruise. Good looks was part of her charm, and distraction technique.

"Is there a problem, Ms. Xia Long, Ms. Belladonna?" The inquiry came from Glynda Goodwitch, staring at the two from across her data pad. Even Tatl had diverted her attention away to stare at the group. Yang put her lower lip between her teeth. This was not a good place. Rocks and hard places offered more padding than Glynda's temper and the earth a good few hundred feet below.

"Nah, nothing's wrong," she waved off, hand pushing against the air as she spoke. "I just… well, okay, I am kind of confused."

"Yang, what are you doing?" The blonde gave a glance sideways to see her sister looking up at her, pleading like a dog freshly kicked. The look made her want to kick whoever made up that look. Seriously, always did more damage than good. She put a hand on her sister's head, rubbing away the expression and replacing it with muffled protests.

"See, here's the thing," Yang began to speak again, addressing the fairies and professor plus headmaster. "It looks like the big trouble is that Link used a 'friend's' help to complete the test, but said friend has kinda kicked the bucket, no offense or anything." When no objections were raised, she continued. "But as far as I could tell, he just put on a mask and got cracking. Yeah, bonus points for being just about the weirdest thing I've seen to date, but it's not that much higher than Professor Oobleck launching Zwei like a cannonball at mechs." She chuckled lightly at the memory, or the retelling that Ruby had given her once they were all safe at Beacon. She laughed alone, not unusual given her jokes. "Okay, look, if the big deal is that we're thinking his masks are his literal friends, why don't we just clarify that they're not? I mean, not like the dead are helping Link, right?"

"But they are." Yang almost missed the timid voice that spoke up. She wasn't alone, as far as the blonde could tell. She turned her head to see the darker of the two fairies, Tael the peeper, title assigned by hers-truly.

"He gave a mediocre explanation of exactly what that meant in the forest," Weiss finally spoke up, putting her hands on her hips and approaching the dark fairy, the latter shirking away as she did so. Leave it to the Ice Queen to feel pride in scaring a fly. "Maybe you would care to give us a bit more detail on this mask of his. What exactly is it?"

"Th-They are-" He was stopped almost immediately.

"Wait, 'they'?" Yang looked to see her sister asking the question seriously, leaning over fall enough that by all rights she should have tumbled over. "You mean he has more masks than just Elrora's?" Yang knew her sister well enough to hear the excitement in her voice. Oh yeah, there was definitely the eager Ruby sitting comfortably in that voice, it was just buried beneath a pile of doubt and worry.

Before Tael could answer, Tatl flew into him. They rang together, quickly and against one another. Likely another conversation that was spoken either too quickly or too lightly for Yang to hear it. She had only seen it once before, but she already loathed it. She did, however, see Blake blink next to her, hands tightening as they spoke. She'd have to ask about that later. Later, for sure.

"Um… yeah, there are." Tael nervously spoke again, his sister flittering around him protectively. Yang couldn't help but see a little of herself in the golden ball of light. A little, but clearly she was the bigger woman. She smirked at her joke, but promptly lost it when the darker of the two fairies continued to speak. "He, Link I mean, he's… he met a lot of people who needed his help. None of them… well, all of them wanted to help him, for Link helping them I mean."

"And what is the number of these 'masks' he has?" Goodwitch asked the question now, typing out on her pad before letting her hand hover. Yang realized she was preparing for the answer.

"E-"

"Nine," Tatl spoke up, interrupting her brother. The two rang at one another, likely another conversation that Yang couldn't hear, before the elder of the two continued to speak. "He has nine. He has nine masks because he helped nine people on their deathbeds."

"Nine." She'd never admit it aloud, but Yang got a chill with the voice Blake used. Her partner had a knack for being creepy when she wanted to be. Still, she had to wonder if masks were that big a deal to her. Must have been more of that past she hated to talk about. "And who, pray tell, do these masks belong to."

"Some of his closest friends," The Peeper answered back easier than Yang though the dark fairy capable of. He waved lightly in the air, swinging back and forth as if in thought. It likely was. "A Goron Hero, a Zora Warrior, a Watarara Queen, a Shiekah Guardian, a Hylian ranch hand, a Gerudo Chief, a Kokiri Sage, a Witch's goodness, and even a Spirit's Regret."

His swaying stopped, listing off the ten people for whom the ten masks came. Yang honestly wanted to see these things, hearing about them only doing so little justice. Blake, however, Yang could tell wanted to break them. She could hold her back though, hopefully.

"And how many of them appreciated Link's 'help'? Kind of hard for the dead to talk against you." Yang thought she was used to Weiss tactless questions. Clearly the princess was upping her game. Yang's fairy double rang loudly at the accusation, flying into the alabaster Huntress's face.

"How _dare_ you!" The fairy all but screeched into the young girl's face. "Do you have _any_ idea what Link risked to help them!? Do you know what they are to him?!" Weiss's expression flickered from proud to worried, clearly seeing the line she crossed. Yang saw her sister raising a hand to help her partner, but she put up her own to stop her younger kin. She only shook her head when Ruby gave her a confused look. Sometimes harsh lessons had to be learned with harsh words.

"No, bu-" Weiss was given no chance to defend herself, Tatl clearly on a mission.

"They are his friends!" The golden fairy continued to shout, ringing with every word she screamed. "Every time he puts on one of their masks, _every time_ , he lives their entire lives! You wanna know why he screamed, why he always screams? It's cause he was literally becoming all that they were, up to and _including_ their death!"

Yang felt her mouth dry at thought. She felt Ruby shake next to her as well, shivering against the hand Yang still had on her shoulder. She gripped it tightly.

"That's… but why does he-" Once more, Weiss wasn't even given time to ask her question. It was kinda obvious where it was going, at least in Yang's personal opinion. No time to speak it though when Tatl was giving the Schnee heiress an earful.

"Why does he use them at all?" The fairy laughed as she asked the question. Yang figured she was used to hearing it. From whom, she had no idea. "Cause Link's a lot of things. Stupid is pretty high on the list, foolish right beneath it." That wasn't what Yang was expecting. Clearly not others as well, judging by the few tilted heads and screwed eyes she saw.

"But he's brave." Yang turned to see the darker fairy speaking, Tael hovering beside his sister. "Link… nothing really scares him. It doesn't matter if it's exploring the depths of a volcano… or the bottom of a monster infested lake. To Link, there is never anything to be afraid of." That sounded pretty stupid to Yang alright.

"Perhaps we are getting off track." The buxom blonde and her team turned slightly to see Ozpin finally speak up, setting his arms across his desk as he stared at the group in his office. He took a deep breath, likely still thinking as he spoke. Yang couldn't deal with that. She always preferred to just throw out there what she thought. No need to be clever. "I believe the question at the moment is not Link's character, but of his means to complete the task set before him."

The headmaster stood up, picking up his cane as he did so. Seven pairs of eyes watched him round the desk, at least Yang assumed it was that number. She couldn't be too sure about how the fairies watched anything. It must have been hard with how bright they were.

"Ruby and Blake," he spoke her teammates names, grabbing the attention. "Link did explicitly tell you that this… mask of his was the aid of a friend, correct?" Yang looked to her partner, watching the dark suck in a deep breath of air with eyes closed. Poor girl, must have been torn, another Faunus looking to get into Beacon, but one that also enjoyed wearing masks. Talk about bad luck.

"Yes," Blake spoke up finally, nodding her head. "If not even by his own words, he transitioned frequently in his speech between his own mindset and that of Elrora." Really bad luck.

"B-But it was him in control!" Yang was anything but surprised when she heard her little sister fire back quickly. "I-I mean he did say that Elrora is gone, and he was just using her memories to help him! That's not the same as getting a friend's help, is it?"

"I'm goin' with my sis on this one," Yang decided to speak up. She wrapped her younger sibling in a one-arm hug, dragging the smaller teen close. She 'eeped' in response. "All I'm hearin' is that Link used a bit of advice and information from his bird friend to get the job done. Isn't that like the whole purpose of school and stuff?" She heard Ozpin chuckle, all the sign she needed to put on her own triumphant grin. But, unfortunately, Goodwitch made sure it was short lived.

"If it were memories alone, then I would have little issue. Ms. Rose and Ms. Belladonna also shared as much with him regarding the Nevermore." Yang felt her sister shift in her grasp, but she saw Blake scoff and turn away. What was with that? They really needed to talk later. "The issue is that he borrowed their forms as well, their skills which are not his own and he was unable to retain. Disturbing implications of such a transformation aside, that is little different than if your teammates assisted him."

"And both of you are insist that these masks are not merely tools, correct?" Yang didn't need to look to know that Ozpin was talking to the fairies. They rang lightly against one another, the shared light momentarily turning into a nice gray. She preferred the gold, personally, no biasness at all.

"That ain't gonna happen," Tatl spoke up, though with some clearly restrained fury. "We're not gonna just throw the masks away and say they're just things. They… they're all Link's got of his friends. They remind him of who they were, what they meant to him. Sorry, but those aren't just things, there are his friends, or all that's left of them."

"Then for failing to abide by the rules set for the examination, Link has failed his entrance exam into Beacon." It surprised Yang sometimes, just how cruel Goodwitch could make herself sound. Added a little too much irony to the name.

"Does… Does that mean he has to leave?" Yang felt a familiar part of her heart get tugged by her sister's tone of voice. It was the same one she used when she found out that they were going to separate schools for the first time. It wasn't good for her health to hear. Fortunately, it looked like Ozpin wasn't too fond of it either.

"Not quite yet," the headmaster spoke with a few taps of his cane, emphasizing his words. "I feel that this is less of a violation of the rules and more of a… miscommunication of the boundaries."

"Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse to bend or break them, headmaster." Yang was wrong before, Goodwitch could sound outright _evil_ with the right words. She almost shivered as the professor spoke.

"And I have no reason to say you are wrong, Glynda," Ozpin held up his hands at her words. Looks like even the headmaster was wary of the Wicked Witch of Beacon. "But I find it a bit too harsh to deny Link entrance to the school on a technicality, especially one that could easily be attributed to his status as a foreign member of society, foreign in the strongest sense of the word."

"Then… what does that mean?" Just as before, Yang heard hopeful tunes playing across her sister's voice. While her pity may be a leading cause of manic depression, her hope and joy was just as liable to cause diabetes. "Does Link have to take the test again?"

"Hardly," she heard Weiss speak up. "It serves little purpose to have any individual take the same test twice, especially after you have offered them the answers." The princess finished her little lesson with a flick of her hand, moving her long braid over her shoulders and out of her eye-sight. "Although, a new test wouldn't be far out of the question, would it?" That… wait, what?

"Excellent deduction again," Ozpin congratulated the alabaster member of the team. "Those were my thoughts exactly. It only has to be clear that Link must rely on his own abilities and not those of his friends. Is that possible for him?" The final question was posed for the fairy siblings.

"Does a moblin stink like your professor's attitude?" Yang had no idea what that meant.

"Y-Yes," The Peeper followed his sister, clearly uncomfortable with the metaphor she made. Yang would have to ask them about it later, hopefully. "Yes, Link… he can handle it. Promise, just… let us talk to him, okay?"

"But of course," Ozpin offered with a nod of his head. "Right now you are guests on my campus, and I hope you will soon be residents. Please do not presume to think I am keeping you anywhere. I only wish to have these discussions in private, as gossip can be a cruel tool, especially among the young." Leave it to the headmaster of a school of teenagers to know the importance of privacy. Made a lot of sense to Yang actually.

"Awesome!" Tatl, let out, ringing in the air as she ascended upwards. She spun about while doing so, like she was running up a slide. "We just gotta get Link to kick another monster's butt, then we can _finally_ start working on something useful."

"He will not be hunting another Grimm." That one got even Yang by surprise.

"I beg your pardon?" Weiss, of all people, asked incredulously. "Forgive me professor, but I believe that the proper test for the Beacon entrance exam merits a test of cunning and strength. Grimm have always been used for the entrance exam, the school records show it."

"But not for re-tests, of which I can only name two on file in the school's history." Goodwitch never raised her emerald eyes from the data pad as she typed. That irked Yang in a way she didn't like to admit. "Though rare, there is a set-test offered to re-entries to Beacon, outside of the usual year-lapse." Yang didn't miss the glare she gave the headmaster. He seemed either utterly passive to it, or unknowing. The former seemed a bit more likely.

"So what does he have to do?" Yang finally heard her partner speak up. She was the mysterious member of the group, ninja in all but name. Goodwitch didn't answer immediately, however. Instead, she continued to tap and scroll through her pad, likely looking up the impertinent information. Details and all those other fun things.

"Ah," she spoke lightly, indicating her find. "Re-entries to Beacon may pass a supplementary examination when given permission by an administrative head." Ozpin bowed as the sentence, making Yang chuckle in an all but subtle manner. "If the prospective student is able to best a currently attending student at Beacon, he or she may gain entrance to the school. The student must be chosen by an authority different than the one who requested the examinee's re-entry. Limitations of the match are to the discretion of the judge, but is concluded when either the current or prospective student reach's a dangerous aura level."

Goodwitch looked up from her pad, eye betraying no emotion or appearance of displeasure. Actually, to Yang, she looked rather pleased. She was used to that meaning a fairly bad thing. Ozpin's thin line of a smile didn't help

"So he still has a chance then?" Yang looked to see Blake asking the rhetorical question. It was followed quickly by a say. It almost sounded like one of relief. "That's good." Definitely relief.

"What the hell Blake?" Yang whispered to her partner, finally releasing her sister from the side-ways hug she had wrapped her in. "You were like ready to curse Link's name all of a few minutes ago. What changed?" Now, almost humorously, Blake gave her a confused look.

"What?" She asked honestly in return. "I do want Link to be admitted into Beacon. He is a capable warrior and a hails from a land I'd love to hear more about. And…" her golden eyes looked to the fairies before she spoke on. Yang didn't miss it. "I am glad that we have clarified the meaning of those masks."

Oh yeah, definitely that ever-so mysterious past.

"Almost everything in my past has worn a mask." The sudden admittance nearly made Yang shake her head. She did anyways, if only to make sure she hadn't asked the question aloud in the few times she'd thought of hit. Blake's eyes on hers, however, said she hadn't. It was just more of people reading her like a book. "The White Fang, Adam, protests, police, even the military. Everything that has ever tried to hurt me at one point or another has worn a mask. Forgive me if I don't like them."

"I hesitate to say this, but I suppose you are fortuned by the experience they apparently inflict upon Link." Yang turned to see Weiss addressing the dark member of their group. Truthfully the tall blonde loved looking at the two when they talked. It was like a pair of chess pieces arguing. "But I suppose it is improper to spite a blessing and ask for a curse." Absolutely none of that made sense, none.

"Wait, what just happened?" Yang asked, her head swiveling between the two. Ruby, right beside her, mimicked the action. Yang and Weiss looked to them both, grinning like the cats they loved to be. Only one was literally half-feline, however.

"I believe Ms. Schnee is pleased to see that Link has another chance to enter Beacon," Goodwitch clarified from beyond the two. The fairies were dancing over her shoulders. Yang presumed they were looking at potential matches for Link. Probably. "The sentiment that it also causes no harm to Ms. Belladonna mentally is another reason for her thanks."

"So you do want him here, Weiss?" Ruby eagerly asked her partner, breaking away from Yang to ask the question. Yang couldn't see her younger sis's eyes, but she knew there were stars dancing in them. "I mean, I do too, but you were really against it before." The Schnee heiress huffed at the comment.

"I was not against his entry," she defended. "I was opposed to an unqualified individual entering Beacon through questionable means. However, it appears that there have been attempts in the past using the same method, so I can hardly call it unjustified. He truly is very skilled with a blade, not to mention _exceptionally_ strong." Yang had to nod her head at that. Even she was strained to lift and throw a tree like that. Still, cool to watch.

"I am glad to see there are no votes against Link entering the Academy," Ozpin spoke for the group again. Now he had a coffee mug, again. How does he drink all that and not bounce off the walls? Must be all the thinking. "Well, aside from his reassessment, correct?"

"That is correct," Goodwitch spoke in response, though without ever looking at the headmaster. Seriously, last time Yang tried that, her dad told her she was dumb and rude. "And I believe that we may already have a match to observe Link's skills." Well that was good; pretty fast, too.

"Really?" Ozpin asked, raising a curious brow at the professor. "And who might you have in mind."

"Well, see, when you say who, you mean one person," Tatl spoke over Goodwitch's shoulder. That almost made Yang snicker, the speed at which the two went from bickering to agreement. Kinda reminded her of a couple of people. "Buuuuut, it looks like Link's gonna be takin on one of your oh-so-special teams." Wait, hold on.

"Um, what?" Yang asked aloud. She put a pinky to her ear, scrapping out anything that might have been blocking the channel. Her hair did get in the way sometimes. "Um, sorry, must have missed something, but it sounded you said Link was fighting a team."

"He is." Goodwitch responded, easily as ever. "According to both Tatl and Tael here, we have come to an agreed conclusion that the swiftest way to prove Link's admittance into Beacon through the re-admission procedures will be to fight a first-year team, of moderate standing of course."

"S-Sorry," Tael of all people spoke. Yang watched as he his translucent wings dropped mid-speech. "B-But it just seemed the most appropriate…"

"Appropriate?" Weiss repeated with a huff. Yang saw Blake cross her arms, clearly annoyed. "Ms. Goodwitch, I appreciate the thoroughness in your work, but don't you believe this is excessive?"

"Not at all." Yang was seriously beginning to wonder how she could talk about these kinds of things without any emotion. Must have been painful on some level. "As said, another figure of authority within Beacon is allowed to choose the match for the prospective student. Link demonstrated exceptional abilities within the Emerald Forest. As such, a match with a single student would be unfair."

"But having a single Faunus go up against a team of Hunters is alright?" Blake fired back easily. Yang held her tongue. She really wanted to say 'the kitty has claws.' Blake would have maimed her if she did say that.

"H-Hey, i-it's more than that." Once again, the Peeper spoke up when Yang least expected it, at least as much as she could for the little guy. "I-I mean, Link's already about to fight a team back in the garden, s-so…"

"He's what?" Ruby asked from aside Yang. That was all she did from there. A moment later and in a flash of petals, the youngest member of team RWBY was peering over Goodwitch's shoulder, spying on her pad. She put her hands to her lips, probably in shock maybe in horror. Either way, it wasn't an expression that Yang enjoyed her sister wearing.

"Wait, what's going on?" Weiss spoke up now, a tone of concern in her voice. She was staring at her partner, concerned as evident on her face as it was in her voice. Ruby gave her an empathetic look in response.

"It appears that Link is demonstrating an excellent form of self-control." Yang had to turn to see Ozpin, who was now looking over the professor's shoulder as well. He sipped his coffee as if he were just watching the morning news. Yang, however, knew that whatever they were watching was a bit more extreme than a weather update. "Glynda, you may want place this on the upper screen again. If my presumptions are correct, and you agree to the manner in which this has been set up, we may have Link's re-admission test already prepared."

"I was already working out the details with Tatl and Tael," Goodwitch spoke without ever offering an eye to the headmaster. "I will need to be present in order for the test to be sanctioned, but this otherwise meets all of the pre-set criteria." As she spoke, her hand made more sweeping motions over the pad, causing the screen above to flicker lightly.

When it came to life, it showed Link. It showed Link beneath the Emerald Tower, standing in front of an approaching team Yang was quickly starting to loathe.

"Is that… CRDL?" Blake nearly hissed at the screen, golden eyes focused on the screen as if it were prey.

This time, Yang could not help herself.

"Looks like the kitty's got claws," She snickered at her words, pulling her hand up to lightly knock her partner. She was rewarded with glare that would have made steel boil. "Whoa, easy there." Yang held up her hands in defense. She couldn't lose the smile if she tried.

"But what's happening?" Weiss asked incredulously. Hands on the flares hips of her dress and lips puckered, she looked every bit ready to pout. "I can assume the most despicable team at Beacon is making trouble again for another Faunus, but surely this meets the criteria more for faculty intervention than student testing."

"Okay, I missed a few words in there, but let me make it simple for you," Tatl spoke up as she few over to the Schnee Heiress. "Link was waiting for us, like Triple B over here asked. The other team came up making fun of him. Link isn't saying a word back. And now, thanks to a bit of convenience and a little more of coincidence, Link's is going to have your headmaster's approval to beat them half to death."

"He won't kill them, sis…" Tael spoke again from behind his sister. His wings were drooping again. Yang honestly thought that a little odd, a pervert with a part of him always drooping. Strike that, it was freaking hilarious. "But… yeah, he doesn't like bullies."

"So, he's like a hero?" Ruby asked next, staring at the screen only to quickly turn back to the fairies. She had her hands clasped over her chest. "Saving the damsel from monsters?" Yang couldn't tell if she was hopeful or excited. Knowing her sister, it was probably equal parts both.

"Don't be silly, Ruby." Weiss spoke to her partner. "A hero is a manufactured term to describe and individual who has-"

"You bet he's a hero!" Tatl interrupted Weiss in the best of ways, at least in Yang's opinion. She and her sister's partners raised brows at the golden fairy, more critical than confused she guessed. "What? You think he got to be called the greatest swordsman in Hyrule by just winning a few contests? What good is that? Doesn't matter how good you are with a weapon if all you can fight is other people. Monsters _rarely_ come at you unless their twice your size and three times as strong." Words of wisdom. Yang really wanted to talk to Tatl later. She was sure they would be able to have a good time.

"But… h-he really is a hero." The darker of the two spoke up again. Finally, Yang saw his translucent wings perk. Good to know what he enjoyed. She held no surprise to see stars dancing around her sister's eyes. The silver made it easy to see. "Link… he's killed monsters that have threatened Hyrule for centuries, evil things that were sealed away, breaking free only by convenience. A dragon in the depths of a mountain, a spider that feasts on forest giants, soldiers of the dead brought forth to kill the living. They were all monsters that had lived for centuries, easily, some longer! But, Link fought all of them and won."

"He was made a hero because he killed a few impressive beasts?" Weiss could not keep her mouth shut. "Sorry to disappoint, but a Huntress does not accept praise for completing tasks set before her. It is a part of our sworn duty to protect those around us from the Grimm, so he-"

"- Was ten."

That derailed any words the Schnee was going to say. Come to think of it, Yang was having a pretty hard time thinking after that as well.

"Ten?" Ozpin repeated the number now, clearly showing a bit of surprise of his own. Yang looked at him briefly, coffee mug lowered and staring at the golden ball of light. "He accomplished the slaying of these elder Grimm… ancient monsters… when he was ten? Interesting."

"Like I said," Tatl continued briefly. "He's a hero. Age doesn't matter to him. Monsters were hurting people, he had a sword, and he had more courage than an entire army, so he fought them. But more importantly, he won."

Yang wasn't sure how to respond. She hated that.

Yeah, it was great, awesome even, having someone fighting Grimm like that when they were barely talking, but… geez, didn't that seem a little dangerous? Then again, she reasoned, he was from a different land. Maybe she was biased… the beowolves of her forest back home still sitting wrong to her. She had to remember to thank Uncle Qrow again next time she saw him. That, and buy Ruby that stuffed dog she wanted.

The buxom blonde looked over at her partner, a little curious how the fellow Faunus would appreciate hearing about this guy's heroics. She wasn't disappointed, not with the pointed smile and positively glowing look her eyes had. Seriously, Yang thought, put her in a dark room and she'll light it up. Weiss was… different. By Yang's quick judgement, she looked more ready flip a table than give praise. Ruby wasn't far off from the rest of their team, but far closer to Blake than Weiss. If Yang put Blake in a dark room right now, she'd glow. If same sister threw her younger counterpart into the air, she'd probably float there like cloud nine. Would be fun to try later.

"Ah, it appears they are nearly ready." Those words got to Yang.

She looked back up at the screen, an action she was sure the rest of her team repeated. And, sure enough, she saw the same downright cowardly team standing amongst each other, facing a single Faunus, one which Yang had a new level of respect for. But between them stood Goodwitch typing on her pad as if it were a lifeline of sorts. There wasn't a word she could hear, but just by the look of it, she was going to make good on her word and have Link fight that team of losers.

Yang was glad. She had faith Link would turn the match into a sanctioned slaughter.

"Perhaps it would be better to watch the match in person." Ozpin mused, already walking to the elevator. "It has been sometime since I've actively sought out a student's match." His cane tapped across his glass floor as he moved past the team and fairies.

The group looked amongst themselves only briefly before running to join him.

* * *

"Seriously, who're you supposed to be?" Link stared up at the tall boy, towering over him.

He was easily several heads length taller than Link was, seemingly built of muscle and pride. An oddly cruel was drawn over his lips, out of place given the rather cheerful nature of the Academy so far. It was foolish to not call his frame imposing, made grander by his crossed arms and titled head.

"Are you even allowed to be here, Faunus brat?" Faunus? Oh, that was what Ruby had referred to him as. It was the term these Gerudo used for the Hylians. A bit confusing, but nothing Link couldn't wrap his head around. "Your kind's been causing a lot of trouble recently."

"Can say that again," a much smaller boy said next to the imposing boy. Where the first boy was tall and imposing, if seemingly a bit slow, this smaller boy was his opposite. An oddly gruff haircut, missing sleeves, and likely just beneath Link in height. His grin looked undeserved. "Pretty big crime breaking into Beacon. But actin' like you aren't doin' a thing wrong? That's just insulting."

Link only noted the two boys behind the first two when the chuckled, despite no jokes being made. He was far from unused to such acts though. It was common across all of Hyrule, prevalent in power gaps. Simply, bullying. A shame, really, that these children assumed they were his better.

He pocketed his Ocarina, keeping his eyes on the boys in front of him. It was unfortunate he was sitting down. Experience taught him that trying to stand would only result in them pushing him back down. It wasn't even worth entertaining the idea that he could talk to them. They wouldn't listen to him.

"Quiet one, huh?" The tallest of the boy spoke again. It was rather obvious he was the leader of the others, in some fashion. "Guess that makes sense. Can't expect every criminal to be the talkative type." Criminal now, huh? It was odd to be called that without reason.

"You think we should throw him out ourselves?" The gruff boy spoke again, blonde Mohawk waving with the action. He appeared rather excited by his own question, wide grin and beaming eyes. "We'd double up our training and show we're the real deal." By that admission, it wasn't difficult to see they were in bad standing.

"I'm game for that. Beats training on dummies."

"Me, too. It'll be fun fighting for real."

Both of the boys behind the tall one spoke up one after the other. Their grins were full of a sense of pride Link could not see. Their posture showed little experience in battle. They're mannerisms showed little respect for others. And even worse, it appeared that they wholly depended upon the tall red-head before making a decision. It was odd, seeing Gerudos behaving so weakly, males at that.

"Well, guess that means we're gonna have to take you out, huh? Bein' the good students that we are." Link doubted both parts of the boy's speech. "You know what this means? You got no hope and no way out."

"Way out of what, Mr. Winchester?" Link followed the voice to see the Gerudo woman from before approaching.

He turned to see the professor marching towards them, metallic pad in her hand and green eyes sharper than any sword. She glared at the boys, who all retreated back into a single group, though not moving away. Link adopted a small grin as he saw the group of boys shy away at her. His previous assumptions of her strength were clearly spot on. Power naturally bred fear.

"Just a disagreement we had, professor," the boy, Mr. Winchester as he was called, replied easily to Ms. Goodwitch's inquiry. It was almost amazing how easily the boy lied. Almost, but little else surprised Link now. "Don't know who this fella is, but he was looking pretty suspicious, so we thought the best thing to do was figure out who he was. Can't have weird people like this fella on campus, right?"

It was wondrous, almost, how easily the boy turned his actions into that of appearing pious. The sneer he had on his face had shifted into a calm smile very quickly, fast enough to make Link believe it was a practiced motion. That, or he had a natural talent for lying about his actions. The boys around him seemed rather keen to agree to his words.

The Gerudo woman, Glynda if Link remembered correctly, looked towards him, expression unchanging. He didn't bother to speak, knowing she couldn't hear him. Focused in all the wrong areas to do so. But if she was here, it was unlikely he was trapped. As such, Link rose to his feet in the silence.

"This… 'fella', is Link. He is a prospective student, looking to attend Beacon Academy," Ms. Goodwitch easily listed off to the group of bullies. Link watched the boys' collective attention shift towards him and back again. It was difficult to tell if they were fuller of surprise or apprehension. Saria would know, Impa as well. "There was an unexpected complication during his initial testing. As such, he is being offered a chance for re-admittance, set forward by Ozpin and agreed by me."

"Lucky faunus," The head of the team spoke, crossing his arms as he did so. "So I guess that means we'll have to watch him take this test then? Probably gonna realize just how hard it is to be at this school." The gruff boy behind Cardin grinned at the words. Link hadn't a clue why.

"Perhaps," Goodwitch answered easily. "However, the test may very well settle this… issue you appear to have regarding Link." Link shifted at that statement. He didn't know what said issue was. Perhaps it was the name, Faunus, or merely his instrument. Then again, bullies rarely needed a reason to commit their acts.

"Yeah, how's that?" It was almost impossible to tell if it was curiosity, annoyance, or eagerness that was most apparent in the leader's voice. Link wished he knew his name beyond Mr. Winchester.

"If Link is able to defeat a current student at Beacon, of my choosing, he is admitted into the Academy." Link did his best to not show a grateful smile at the statement. Humility aside, that would not be a too difficult a task. "Pass and failure will be judged by me. This test has been conducted only thrice before, but the headmaster has approved all aspects to it."

"Huh, sounds like he's a _really_ lucky guy," Winchester emphasized. He barked with laughter, like a dog being told of a treat. If he was a dog, then the boys surrounding him where hyenas, laughing at some unheard joke. "So who's gonna be lucky enough to get the beat down on him?"

"You. Or, to be more precise, you and your team."

Link failed to hide his grin. This was almost good enough to make him believe in fate once more. He _wanted_ to fight them. He was doing this because he wanted to. Link wanted to fight them because, no matter how strong a bully may be, their credibility was nothing once they were weaker than a peer. If he was to a student, the same as this boy, then his defeat would be a precious stone to stand on.

The boy must have seen his grin, or taken note of some confident aura Link was giving. It was obvious by the quick twisting of the boy's lips, turning into an annoyed scowl. It was one that was worn by many politicians and captains who had bargained and cheated their way to the top. It was an expression that no one deserved to wear. The boy, Mr. Winchester, dropped it quickly. A fool that he was, he was smart enough to at least know the consequences of his appearance.

"Are you serious about this?" Mr. Winchester asked. The good nature of his tone sounded to have died down. A little, not a lot, but enough to show it was a façade, at least to Link. He doubted Glynda was any less perceptive. "I'm pretty sure him takin' on all of us is a pretty bad idea."

"It was agreed upon by all parties, including Ozpin himself." All parties doubtlessly meant Tatl and Tael. He'd have to thank them when he saw the fairies again. Maybe if he was able to find a spring nearby, he could enjoy the night with them. He'd have to ask the Green Man, Ozpin, if there was one. "Your disdain aside, I must still state the conditions for the match, merits for defeat, and restrictions you must be aware of."'

"Is it at least the same as combat practice?" Cardin asked the question about as smoothly as an ocean in a hailstorm. The look the blonde Gerudo woman gave him offered no respite. It did make Link grin though. Perhaps Tael was right to trust these people, for now at least.

"Perhaps you aren't aware, Mr. Winchester, but Link is not a full-time student at the Academy. He already passed his last test, but due to unfortunate miscommunications, it was required to be revoked. The purpose of this test is to both allow a second attempt without such a problem. Is that clear?" It was to Link, so hopefully it was for the boy that at least attended this Academy.

"Clear as crystal," he responded. That was all the warning he gave before he hefted a large mace off his back. It practically made a boom when he set it against his other hand. Link blinked at the sight.

He honestly had not seen a tool like it before. Similar, without doubt, as the long shaft attached to the pronged end of a mace was a popular design amongst the Darknuts and Salford Lords of Hyrule's darkest dungeons. What he did not recognize was the way it appeared.

It unfolded itself, extended from end to end and growing in length. The spikes had jutted out moments before the boy had slammed the weapon into the earth, creating what was doubtlessly supposed to be a threatening thud. Link was more focused on the design of the weapon than any weight it had.

"Good. Thank you Cardin. Now Link," Glynda spoke, turning her attention to the Hylian. It jerked Link from his musings of the weapons. "There are normally no restrictions in terms of abilities you are allowed to use. All weapons, semblances, and forms of Dust are perfectly allowed within the match. In your case, however, you may not ask your 'friends' for help. Do you understand?" How could he not?

He gave a sure nod, staring her in the eyes. If she was as honorable as she appeared, it would be enough. It thankfully was.

"Excellent," she began. "I will call a victor when one of three conditions are met. One party forfeits, is knocked unconscious, or reaches critical levels of aura. There is no time limit to the length of the match, but I do ask you keep this within the boundaries of the garden. No entering the headmaster's tower or the nearby offices. Leaving the boundaries or entering any buildings will be considered forfeiting the match. Now, please prepare."

With those words, Goodwitch turned around, likely to walk to some unspecified boundary. The team of boys exchanged looks with one another. Or, more accurately, they looked towards the large boy, Cardin as his name was now known. The grip on his mace was taught, his muscles tight and prepared to swing, but even a bully knew better than to act in front of their superiors.

"This is gonna be fun," he sneered at Link, likely once he was sure Glynda was out of ear-shot. Gerudo had bad hearing, so the distance made sense. His words were like a sign for the other boys around him, all preparing their weapons now. Theirs were simpler, swords and daggers that came from sheaths. "Can't wait to see what that green suit you're wearing looks like red." If he was honestly curious, Link could oblige him.

But the boy turned, the rest of his group with him. They were swinging their weapons as they moved, testing their swing and loosening their muscles. It all poor form, but better they did that then assume they were ready cold. Link had the advantage of fighting monsters only scant hours ago. This would be nothing in comparison.

"Link!" The call of his name made him turn. He saw a familiar shade of red run running towards him, or more specifically barreling towards him at unrealistic speeds. Not a moment later did said blur slam into the Hylian, earning an expulsion of air for the effort. "I'm so sorry you have to take this re-test! I thought for sure that you would be all set for Beacon, but Ms. Goodwitch said that Elrora counted as a friend's help so now you have to fight them and I'm sorry that you have to-" Ruby stopped when Link placed his hand on her head.

He smiled down at her, chuckling lightly as he ruffled her hair. Link could tell the girl fought away the action, hand brushing away at his. She needed more muscle to succeed. But Link relented, letting his arm fall as Ruby positioned herself a little further away. But not a moment later did a new individual speak up.

"So, you're Link." Link turned to see another blonde Gerudo walking towards them, but far more wild than Glynda.

She was taller than Ruby, clothed scantily, and showing off muscles that easily signified her choice of combat. Muscles like hers were meant for beating, not swinging or lifting. Simply, she was a brawler. The grin she had made her a confident one. He watched the brawler walk up, matching him in height, maybe overtaking him by a small margin.

"Good to finally meet ya! Being honest though, I saw your show on the big screen up in Ozpin's office, but still, whole other kind of experience meeting you face-to-face." The brawler held out her hand to Link, open for him to take. Carefully, Link moved his own hand to grasp her, flexing around it when he did so. Her grin broadened at the action. "Strong grip, that's great!"

"He lifted a tree, Yang. I'm sure he's going to have a stiff handshake." They had seen that? Interesting. But more curious was the voice who had spoken.

Link looked towards Ruby now, seeing another girl standing by her. They matched in height, but was gowned in white that matched a winter's new snowfall. An unfortunate scar marred her otherwise porcelain features, covered in make-up that made her appear more elegant than either of the girls by her. Perhaps she was of royalty, or at least of a royal family.

"Don't worry, I'm on your side here." The alabaster girl explained with a wave of her hand. Why would he think she was not? "From what we've been hearing, you are a highly successful Hunter back from your home land. Having you barred from Beacon due to a technicality would be an insult to anyone's skills." That was… good, Link supposed. He still did not know her name.

"Link!" Said Hylian felt his lips pull. He knew that voice.

His head turned in time to see two fairies buzz around him, the pale and dark duet of siblings flying around him. His eyes trailed one than the other, grin still broadening with thanks to see them again. Any amount of time away from them was far too long. Link lifted his hands, holding them in front of his face like a perch. Tatl and Tael took the places easily.

"Thank Time you got through that, huh?" Tatl spoke first unsurprisingly. "Didn't expect these guys to get so uptight over you having a little back up." Link did not either. But it was hardly a shocker. Merely unexpected.

"Y-Yeah," the Tael responded uneasily. "Not really worked out yet… b-but we're close. I-I mean, you just have to beat these guys and we're all set. It'll be a win-win, right. You get into Beacon, and, well, you stop those kids from… um, making trouble for you, right?" Link gave the dark fairy a kind smile. The more he spoke, the better he would become. That was important.

The fairies rang in his hands, their warmth gentle and welcome even through his leathery gauntlet. They were not apart for long, but that didn't mean the reunion had to be anything less than heartfelt.

"Heh, looks like we gotta a party starting here," Link heard the blonde speak, Yang if the alabaster girl was honest. He looked up from his fairy friends, trying to see what the boxer had meant. The answer became almost instantaneously obvious.

Children, coming by the dozens, were lining up around the group. Each one wore the Academy uniform, likely approaching from their lessons. Their hands were pointing towards them, talking to each other as they came closer the Green Tower, looking to see who this new and oddly dressed Hylian was, doubtlessly. The Unknown was often the source of much attention.

The well-dressed students had given a wide berth to the area Link stood in, turning it into a sort of ring. However, despite their number, Glynda seemed to pay no mind to them, only occasionally swatting her hand in a motion for the students to stay back. Perhaps this was a usual event? No, she was merely focused and disciplined. Academies were commonly led by the most skilled and well-versed of Knights.

Given their numbers now, Link was prone to kick himself for his lack of attention. How had he not noticed their numbers before they had arrived? They were talking in a volume that was all but as loud as a Dodongo's approach. It was a shame to the Kokiri that raised him, ignoring the sound as if he ignored the forest. But… how did they even know something was happening here?

"This was you're doing, wasn't it Yang?" The question surprised Link, but she saw the alabaster girl turn towards the blonde brawler, said girl grinning mischievously with a hand in her long mane. Ruby and Blake looked at her curiously. It momentarily surprised Link that he just realized Blake was present. Perhaps he was more exhausted than he thought.

"Ya got me Weiss," she responded easily, like a child knowing they wouldn't be punished. Reaching into her satchel along her waist, she produced some clear glass, smaller than the pad Glynda held. She flipped it between her fingers, showing off the tool. Link would need to learn of the device. It looked… convenient. "Figured the best way to spread the word about Link is to show of what he can do. I mean c'mon, who wants to talk tell the same story a hundred times over." Link could feel Tael blush in his hand.

"Ms. Xia Long," Glynda spoke up now, approaching the fellow blonde. Their matching hair style did not appear to foster goodwill, not by the glare the taller of the two was giving. "I appreciate your desire to be efficient with distributing information, but I refuse to believe you are immature enough to not realize the poor ethics of making a prospective student's test public." Link felt his grin pull at his lips. So that was the issue. Odd, it was the opposite when he needed to duel Impa…

"Well… here's the thing," Yang began to poorly demonstrate. "There's something you should know about me. I'm not exactly the most… mature student on campus."

"Your actions have clearly demonstrated that," Goodwitch fire back easily, making the buxom brawler shiver. "Though it is too late now to excuse the students, and any announcement of privacy will only bolster the desire to see the match. If there is ever any one skill you students have, its ingenuity to get what you want." Once more, Yang averted her eyes from the professor, rubbing the back of her head through her golden hair.

Link turned his attention to the crowd again, letting a slow breath of air through his nose. There were so many of them now, more than he thought would normally show up for a simple duel. What had Yang told them? Was there more to this than he was aware of? Possible, but Tatl would have told him such swiftly if there was.

It was difficult to hear through the cacophony the children made, their numbers likely in the high dozens by now, but there were a few words he heard repeated, from different directions in the crowd. 'Jaune', 'look-a-like', 'unfair', 'fairies', and 'bet'. Link could only assume they were associating him with another one of their numbers. Similar appearances were likely given the likely dozen of them that populated the yard. The fairies was no wonder as well. The betting… he was just as familiar with. There was little doubt what those bets were.

" **Everyone!** "

The voice earned Link's immediate attention. He blinked as he looked up, ears shaking from the sudden boom. He looked to the center of the ring of students, not far from where he stood. Glynda stood tall with her arm out and glass pad at her front. Her sharp green eyes looking about the students, glaring even. Link did not break contact when those eyes swept over him. It reminded him of many leaders in Hyrule, capable ones. That was a good sign. She was definitely one of them. The crowd thought much the same.

" **Let me make this clear. At no point was this meant to be a public event. This was meant to test a new student's entry into Beacon, following a technicality during his first examination.** " A murmur ran through the silent crowd. " **The boundaries have already been set as the garden itself. If you wish to observe, you must move to outside these boundaries. Be that within the nearby buildings or atop, I do not care. However, if anyone interferes with this reassessment, the punishment will be quick and decisive.** " Link jumped as Goodwitch cracked her riding crop. That was surprising.

Like the horses at the race, the students scattered. He watched, impressed, as the students scattered. The few familiar faces he saw were gone in them, a long blonde mane bouncing away next to a dark haired bow. The boys he was to challenge had not retreated, but instead were standing some new distance away with a gleam in their eyes. Link pitied the yard that stood between them. But his attention was shifted when he felt something tug at his arm.

He looked down to see Ruby staring up at him, one of her hands gripping the sleeve of his tunic. Her silver eyes were focused on him, as intently as he believed his were the first time he saw the Hyrule Field.

"You got this, right?" She asked, obviously not sure herself. "These guys are… okay, they kinda suck. But if you're too tired, maybe we can postpone this or something. I-I don't want to see you get denied entry cause you were tired fighting Grimm like a Master Hunter. That'd be the worst thing-"

"He'll be fine," Tatl spoke up, thankfully. Link could always count on the golden member of their small party to either calm a nervous member or excite a bored crowd. She was working the former this time. Link lowered his hands as she took flight, her brother quickly joining her. "Sides, we gotta hit the stands, too, at least if we want to make sure the Triple B doesn't have any more excuses for screwing us over." Triple B… Tatl and her names.

"Really? You're sure?" Ruby asked again. It was difficult to tell if she was dotting or nervous. It was likely a mixture of both. Regardless of how much of either, it was a warm feeling, one Link was glad to have found. Kindness was sometimes a rare commodity among Knights. Hopefully she did not lose that fire as she grew. "I-I can see if we can get an extension or."

"Nah, we're good," Tatl answered. She flittered about Tael, the darker of the two siblings spinning to follow his sister. "We'll join you up there and then we can talk about how many bones Link broke in those brats. Sound good?" It was enough to make the red robed girl smile.

She looked at Link then, and he knew she was waiting for his confirmation. He was the one who would be fighting. He made sure to smile, as smiles were something that no culture he came across ever mistook. It was either made out of confidence or glee. It was rare for either of those to be in poor taste. But the bright grin she returned him told him it was appreciated.

With another sure nod towards Ruby, he turned back to Glynda and the team of bullies. It was amazing how quickly the yard had cleared out, though Link did not need his trained eyes to see the numerous children lining the buildings around them. Neither did he need them to see Goodwitch's pointed look towards Ruby.

The insinuation was obvious, and apparently the young girl saw and thought the same thing. That meant she'd leave soon. But before she did, Ruby hugged him, speaking against his chest as she did so.

"Alright, see you then."

She turned and ran for the nearby building. Looks like he had to win now.

Link watched her scale to the building, taking enormous strides forwards to do so. Her strides were nearly hops, each one far exceeding the speed at which he could run. In little time, she was facing the side of the building. She only surprised him again by climbing the wall, jumping along the wall and to the roof at a speed he couldn't match. He smiled when she reached the top, her cloak spinning around her.

With a small twist of his head, Link saw Tatl and Tael close by. They were circling above Ruby, the small crimson garbed reaper staring down at him. She had her lips in her teeth now, likely a mixture of worry and excitement. Her sister, Yang as she had told him, was right beside her. He assumed that the alabaster girl between the blonde and Blake was their other mentioned teammate, Weiss. Their collective focus was all on him.

Link turned slowly, seeing the many others students that now lined the buildings around them. There were no less than a dozen buildings surrounding the garden, and it appeared that every one of them were filled with students, eyes pressed over the edges of roofs or against windows to watch. They appeared like Kokiri peaking from the tree tops to Hyrule Field, curious of what they would see. It made him smile, thinking upon better times. Link shook his head. Those time were best thought at other times. For now, he needed to think of how to fight.

He turned back to the bullies he was mean to fight. They regarded him from the short distance with smugness and pride, common traits for people like them. No matter the number of bullies he faced, they always appeared to appear the same. The same smug grin, the same lifted head, the same shameless display of strength, but most importantly, the entitlement.

Oh how lucky he was to be able to fight them now.

No, more than that. He was most fortunate to be expecting a reward for defeating them. So many times before he would have feared upsetting nobles or citizens, maiming otherwise believed to be respectful individuals. Jail or loss of rupees were his rewards before. Now? A guaranteed place of stay at this… academy. He knew little of what it truly was, but from description alone, it sounded akin to the training for knights. It was as good place for him to rest as any. His instinct said it was likely better.

All he had to do was face the four men before him. No, boys was the more accurate term. They used a mace, a sword, daggers, and a halberd. That placed immediately their positions on the battlefield, especially during a joint attack, as this would likely be.

The boy with the mace, Cardin, he would lead them. His stature and weapon made it clear he focused on brutal victories, taking blows as needed. It would be best to either isolate or hold him off to defeat the others. The daggers, however, meant that particular boy was more likely to sneak an attack. His light clothing, sleeves cut, made it only more obvious.

The swordsman was a difficult one. It was likely with his heavier armor he would join Cardin in an assault, but it was not guaranteed. He might be a back-up, to defend when an attack missed. He would not be far from any confrontation, but his role was hard to label. Link would have to observe to make it clear. The halberd was slightly more obvious, a weapon best at mid-range. He would likely attack when Link dodged away from Cardin's attacks, cornering him.

It would have worked well, if Link were anyone but an experienced knight.

There were two ways in which Link could best them in this fight. Either one-by-one, or all together. One involved congregating them into a tight group, delivering a brutal blow then, but the other required great speed and timing, something he wasn't confident in doing against and unknown enemy. And though they appeared every bit the same as the bullies of his past, Link knew better than to assume all accounts were equal.

They all held their weapons oddly, aiming the tips towards him rather than pulled back. During a charge, that would be effective, but it reduced any force they would likely be able to give, a well-placed swing knocking their weapons away easily. But the manner in which the headmaster and professor spoke of the school, it meant that even these tormentors had skill. They would not use their weapons improperly.

No, there must be a trick to them that he wasn't aware of. It was likely similar to what Ruby spoke of in the Red Forest. She spoke of shooting the great monster, but had no bow or arrows on her. It was likely then that they used magic through their weapons, in a manner he was admittedly foreign to.

Unfortunately, that meant that splitting them up would be non-ideal, as timing would be reduced from just a few second to none at all. He was going to have to beat them all at once.

But a sword would not be best for this. No. It would work, doubtlessly, but it would not give the force of impact he wished to force on this team of bullies. They needed to know they were not just beaten, but outmatched. They needed to _fear_ approaching him again. A slight victory would not do that.

A shield was required, his Magic one at that. He needed to be protected from all angles, not dangerous attacks. It was required if he was going to force them back, and especially in case one slipped loose. The ward of his shield would serve that purpose and more.

To move them together, however, allowed for several different tactics.

Bombs may work, forcing the group of enemies to dodge the explosions, but they were unvaried in the length of time to explode. He couldn't possibly light them all simultaneously, let alone surround the bullies. They were out as an option.

If he used his Pegasus boots, he would be able to push them in, holding them together. But that would be playing too heavy a hand to early in his stay here. They valued him for his mystery… and mysteries, like courage, were best when seen only in the barest of light.

The unknown always had the advantage.

That left his Gale Boomerang, enchanted by the Fairy of Winds. It was far larger than his old one, gathered from the inside of Jabu Jabu, but it made up for it with its great whirlwinds. He recalled only the heaviest of foes being immune to it. Of the four boys in front of him, only one fit the category, and likely by a hair. This would work.

The only concern then was what to deliver the mighty blow with. It had to be heavy, large, and unwilling to bend against most forces. Link knew a weapon that fit the bill to the letter. He knew what he had to do.

Link reached behind his back, pulling out his shield with his right hand, holding it tightly to allow the gem to glow. The shield was ready. He reached behind his back again, reaching into his belt pockets. He found the Gale Boomerang just as easily, sliding it up his sleeve, hiding it from view. He reached into another pocket, one that held much deeper magic in it. He grasped a handle within the pocket, pulling on it until he felt the familiar weight of a heavy weapon.

Link leaned on his foot to offset the weight of the object, letting it emerge from behind his back. It swung with the momentum, rising forward before falling back down to his side. It reached nearly to his knee, but held by a hard leather handle, and secured with bolts forged in a mountain's fire. But what Link was more concerned with, and what he had better hold of, was the weapon itself.

The thick and heavy metal of the Megaton Hammer in his hand, crystal shield in his other, he stared across the field to team CRDL. He was happy to see unsure expressions across their features, the blonde Goodwitch raising a brow herself. That was good. It meant he was an unknown. Thus, he had the advantage.

He was ready.

* * *

"Whoa!" Ruby all but shouted. It was nearly muted out among the many shouts of shock and surprise, some more vulgar than others. Blake could hardly blame her or them. She felt a similar word nearly come from her throat, in high volume as well. Her fingers were gripped to the edge of the professors' building, staring at the coming fight below.

She recognized Link's look of assessment, seeing him already don the gaze when faced with the Beowolves and Nevermore. It was not a far shot to assume he was planning, nor was it one to think he was naming his targets. What was, however, was his drawing of a weapon from seemingly nowhere. No, that needed a restatement. Drawing a weapon that appeared to be several feet in volume and heavier than any conventional weapon. That was even compared to Nora's usual hammer launcher.

"Like it?" She heard the teasing tone of Tatl from behind her. She turned to see the golden fairy floating above her team, dust lightly billowing down about them. "It's a sacred weapon to the Goron People. Link used it to kill the Subterranean Lava Dragon, Volvagia." Blake had no idea what more than half of that meant.

"Volvagia was an infamous dragon to the Goron People," Tael spoke up, following his sister. Blake saw Weiss and Yang hang on his words. That was likely due to whatever brief history they shared. She did, however, notice many other students listening in. "It… The dragon was capable of taking a blow from any weapon without fear of harm. The sharpest swords couldn't cut its hide and the swiftest arrows couldn't do more than annoy it. It lived in the magma of the mountain, emerging only to eat the Gorons… alive." That… sounded pretty bad. Must have been one of those ancient Grimm Link supposedly killed.

"That's awesome," Yang said with a tone that implied her mind was elsewhere. "But how did Link use that beast of a weapon to kill this super dragon?" Blake was far more than used to Yang's manner of naming things oddly.

"By hitting it, duh?" Tatl mocked the blonde, earning a glare from Yang. The fairy rung in response, likely getting ready to elaborate. "The Megaton Hammer was enchanted by the First Gorons, used to crush rocks of any size, shape, or solidity, forged from the boiling steel of Death Mountain. With a single good hit, it can turn a castle's walls into rubble and dust." That… seemed unlikely. Hopefully the fairy was exaggerating. "Link fought Volvagia with it, slamming the creature's head into the ground with the hammer."

"What did that do?" Blake resisted giving Ruby an indifferent look. She was a child, and just an eager one at that. Tatl, however, had no such restrictions.

"What do you think?" She asked. "It split the thing's head open!"

The fairy rang as she said those words. They carried an… ominous tone to them. "But now, Link's gonna put that weapon to good use and crush those wannabe knights." Knights? Oh, Blake realized, it must have been the synonymous term for Hunter. Tatl likely figured it out a while ago, given the frequency the word was likely used in Ozpin's Office.

But… crushing those Faunus bigots with a hammer designed to kill Elder Grimm… Blake smiled faintly as she looked back at the match. Goodwitch was starting to talk again.

"Wait, hold on a minute," Weiss interrupted the talk. "I believe that Link is a swordsman. You said so yourself, calling him the greatest one in all of Hyrule. Why is he now using a hammer of all things? That is a completely different method to fighting." That, was actually a good question.

"Heh, tell you what, if Link gets hit twice during the match, anywhere but his shield, I'll tell you." And those… were actually pretty good odds.

"Sis!" The shocked address of Tael made the unfavorable odds only all the clearer. Blake looked back in time to see Weiss grinning up at Tatl, a smile she had only when she knew victory was certain. It was hard to not see it, given the number of duels she participated in.

"I accept," Weiss spoke with an air of confidence only she was capable of. Blake was remiss to say it, but she did hope the Schnee heiress won the wager. Any little bit she learned about Link was to their benefit.

The small matter settled, bickering fairies aside, Blake turned her golden eyes back to the pseudo-ring.

* * *

"Are both teams prepared?" Goodwitch announced. She looked to Cardin and his team. He gave a tough and affirmative nod before looking back at Link. The Hylian adjusted his shield, holding it in front of him, hammer to his side, swinging from his extended arm. This match was going to be all about timing. Looking towards the blonde judge, nodding to her in approval. She gave one in return before looking down at her pad again.

"On my mark, you may commence!" Her voice echoed over the open garden. Link watched the team of bullies across from him, looking smugly as they eyed him. That was good. Overconfidence was usually the greatest reason for one's downfall.

Link lightly touched at the gem tucked in his sleeve, already aware of his plan. He only needed to be quick, and most importantly, accurate. A good solid throw of his boomerang and he would collect the team, but he knew they would begin to… fire at him quickly. He wasn't quite sure what that meant, but Ruby seemed to imply that it had great speed and power, done mostly from long range. Link tightened the hold on his shield, loosening his grip on the Hammer.

"In three!"

He let the Megaton hammer slid to the edge of his fingers, leaning back on his foot. The team across from him seemed to straighten their weapons on him. They were definitely going to fire.

"Two!"

There could be no hesitation. A single throw, the bullies his targets, and he his shield would protect them until they were in the air.

"One!"

Now or Never.

"Begin!"

Link dropped the Megaton Hammer, lifting his Magic Shield to block whatever the foes across from him aimed to use. Not a breath later did he feel explosions ripple across the ward of the shield.

His footing faltered slightly, forcing him back against the dirt. It felt as if bombs were erupting over his ward, straining him from the very beginning. He grunted, holding firm with his legs. Link didn't even think about letting the shield lower as he shook his sleeve, letting the Gale Boomerang fall out. He caught it deftly in his left hand, holding it up behind the ward of blows.

It was time to show his hand. Freeze them with shock and, hopefully, awe. The final trump card before the advantage of the unknown was lost.

Link swung his shield to his right, holding it tightly in his gasp. He kept the ward up, allowed the magic to flow through the gem-encrusted shield whilst throwing away the illusion of its protection alone. He watched as explosions were thrown from the weapons of the boys, hitting the unseen wall in front of Link. The Hylian made careful note of the weapons. It was impressive, but hardly a game changer. He also noted their appearance.

Judging by the expressions they gave him, however, as their weapons dropped lightly in the air, this was the first time they had seen his form of magic. It was a rare tool, one he had not used often before.

The unknown always had the advantage, so long as it remained unknown.

He didn't wait, however, to let reality ensue. Link reared back only slightly before throwing the Gale Boomerang forward.

Instantly, its magic came to light.

A small tornado formed around the curved color wood, spinning far faster than the instrument did. Link felt his feet rise slightly as he left his hand, but settled when it traveled further away. The grass of the small garden, however, was not so lucky. Nearly every blade of grass beneath the wind of the boomerang was pulled up from its roots, spun in the cyclone with little mercy or remorse. It howled as it traveled, the wind screaming as it was pulled by the force.

Link watched as the judge pulled her pad to her chest, free hand pushing her blonde locks from her vision. He watched with no small part of satisfaction as the bullies cowered at the approaching cyclone. He watched the dagger wielder drop his weapons, staring at the boomerang in fright. The halberd user was little different, already turning to run. He ran into the swordsman, who had enough courage to stare at the cyclone. His face was far and away from peaceful. Distressed was a more accurate term.

It was the largest of the bullies Link was interested in, and he was not disappointed to see a grimace of hate cross his features. He was, however, impressed by his actions.

Cardin had thrown up his arms, holding them like a shield as he crouched to the ground. He was heavy and he knew it, setting himself low to the ground. It made it hard for the cyclone to pick up him. The rest of his friends were not so lucky.

The Gale Boomerang spun into the group, stopping its thrown arc to instead circle them. The enchanted tool commanded with winds to spin in greater force, turning the mini-tornado into a giant's grasp, pulling mercilessly at those caught within. Three of the four, the dagger, the sword, and the halberd wielders, were all pulled into the air, their cries of fright drowned out by the wind's roar. Only Cardin held his ground, too heavy for the wind to take control of.

Removing the team from the battle, however, was a decision Link could easily make. Even as the boomerang continued to spin, he holstered his shield, grabbed the Megaton Hammer, and hefted it into the air. He stood sideways, holding the great Goron Weapon behind him. For good measure, he clicked his boots, letting the iron surround them.

All he needed now was patience and one good swing.

* * *

"That is…." Weiss began, her voice trailing and dying off.

Or, more accurately, drowned out beneath the roar of students. It wasn't hard to guess why they were shouting.

Her cold blue eyes stared at the site before her, marveling at the display of power on the pseudo-battlefield below. Whereas every other student around her was gawking or screaming their current emotions, the Schnee heiress chose silent observation instead, no matter how extraordinary the sight was. She chose to silently watch with her jaw slack and eyes wide enough to double as mirrors.

"Amazing, right?" Tatl sarcastically questioned next to her. Weiss looked up to the blonde fairy, seeing her trail of dust fall at a noticeably increased angle. Strong as it was, the twister still had to pull the air from somewhere. "It's the Gale Boomerang. A weapon made by A Fairy of Winds."

Weiss bit her tongue to stave off her questions. Oh, she had questions to ask, more than a single piece of paper could possibly contain. She wanted to know where it had come from, how it was made, who designed it, when it had been forged, but most importantly, what amount of dust powered such a simple yet powerful tool.

"That's no gale, that's a tornado!" Her partner yelled from another part of the roof. Weiss couldn't blame her for the yelling, not when every other student their year and above was making as much noise and more. It was even harder when she saw what a miniature twister in the garden was. It was only another small miracle she felt only the faintest whips of the wind, likely the distance at play.

"It is, and a strong one at that." Weiss would have missed the words were Blake not standing just next to her. She looked to see the hidden Faunus eyeing the field closely. She also noticed just as quickly the proud grin on the black cat's features. Not a hard question to figure out the answer. Very few of the questions she was posing were hard.

It was easy for to understand the excitement of the crowd of students, watching an entire team being lifted into the air like rag dolls. Watching Russell, Dove, and Sky being dragged upwards by the twister was as amazing as it was humorous; the simpleton boys flailing in the air, dropping their weapons and very likely screaming in fright. It was hard to hear above the tornado and crowd.

Weiss focused her attention on Link, seeing him standing with a low crouch and his hammer held behind him. For one who had displayed such prowess with a sword before, it was almost odd to see him standing with a brutal weapon, and in an unrefined pose as well. The stance he had, however, was only another easy question for her to answer.

He was standing with his right towards the tornado, the Megaton Hammer behind him in both hands. It waved lightly as Link adjusted his grip, likely looking for the best hold to swing with. Yes, swing, Weiss reminded herself. He was going to swing the hammer with likely all the force he could bear, right into the boys when the boomerang came back. She assumed it would, as boomerangs always did. There was, however, something new on Link as well.

Specifically, the layer of metal that now surrounded his large boots. Those were most certainly not there before.

"Iron Boots." Weiss almost jumped when she heard the voice of the dark fairy above her. She looked up to see him near his sister, unsurprisingly. His dark dust was also being pulled towards the field, no different than his elder sibling. "They're made by the Zora People. Even though they are made of iron… they weigh enough to make Link heavier than most objects. I mean, he mostly used to use them to explore the bottom of lakes, but they help against strong winds, too." One question answered, a million more to go. Later, of course.

"There he goes!" Tatl rang loudly next to her brother. It made Weiss look back at the field, seeing the source of the fairy's excitement.

The twister made by the boomerang was returning to Link now, just as she had predicted, but without reducing in size. It still tore up a greater part of the ground it traveled over, the teens inside the winds screaming as they were, for all intents and purposes, whipped through the air. Weiss watched Link watch it approach, staring at the mysterious Faunus. He pulled back his arms, hammer leveling with the ground as the boomerang came closer. He didn't lift, not even flinch, likely due to the heavy boots he wore. Weiss knew what was coming next.

When the Gale Boomerang was only feet in front of him, Link let out what Weiss assumed was a battle cry, though it was heavily dulled by the wind. At the same time, he swung forward with his hammer, swinging it with a weight that just appeared to be tremendous. It moved into the tornado, its path undirected by the strong winds.

It made an audible and almost sickening boom when it hit the three teens.

Time seemed to stop for a moment, held still long enough for the Schnee heiress to appreciate the sight. Link had caught three-quarters of team CRDL all at once, the hammer slamming into Dove, who was right in front of Sky, who was collapsed over Russell. Weiss watched as a very clear image of pain washed over the boys one-by-one, each feeling the force of the blow travel through them. It was horrifyingly fascinating.

When time had enough, and began to move again, the three boys shot across the garden. That was the only word that Weiss could use to describe the speed and force at which they were propelled by the blow. Like the ignition of a gun, a boom from the impact, the trio of Hunters-in-training sped through the air. With a blink of Weiss's eyes, they were well above the already high roofs of the buildings. A breath later, they were hardly dots running further and further from her vision. A few heartbeats and a released breath after that, Weiss made out the faintest images of water splashing in the distance.

She swung her head back to see Link, already pulling his hammer back from the blow. He appeared to not have the slightest appearance of fatigue. More than that, the twister that had carried the three teens to their unfortunate fate was gone. The tool for which was currently being held by Link. She did not miss his grin towards the tool before pocketing it away.

The silence that settled over the crowd was almost eerie to her, likely induced by the same thing that had those cheering only moments ago. The Faunus in the garden either didn't notice or cared little, he himself already pocketing away the hammer in whatever Dust Container he had for it. The air was fragile as the glass of a mirror. It took only a single shout from Yang, the brute of brutes, to shatter it.

_"Homerun!"_

The buxom blonde shouted, throwing her hands up into the air at the action. The students around her screamed in agreement, letting out whoops and hollers of cheer. Weiss felt herself give a complimentary puff of air, grin modestly. She noticed Blake smiling most immodestly. It nearly made her double take. Ruby, her every active partner, dancing across the roof with her sister, did not. It was new, however, to see the two fairies circling with them, coating the sisters in dark and light Dust.

"Impressive as that was, it isn't over yet." Weiss spoke the words, an instinct of sorts to get her mind back on track. It had an effect on the few who heard, eyes already looking back down the field. Specifically, the last member of Team CRDL. She heard Yang scoff.

"Yeah, cause after delivering a one-shot to the rest of those suckers, Link's gonna have a real hard time with muscle head." The sarcasm in her voice was thick enough to wade through. If it wasn't enough, she blew at her hair, running a hand through her long locks. "Seriously though, this is in the bag. Only thing I wanna see now is how he's gonna put the beat down on this fool."

Weiss wasn't inclined to disagree with either statement.

* * *

Link smirked at Cardin, staring at him from across the garden. It was in minor ruin, the Gale Boomerang doing its job twice over, just as the Fairy of Winds promised it always would. It had aided immensely in removing the halberd, dagger, and sword user from the battle. It left only the heaviest, and likely the strongest, member of the group. Link added leader to the list, just to be safe.

Said boy was staring at him with a heavy scowl, arms flexed at his sides and holding his mace with a white-knuckle grip. His rage was easy to see. So were his weaknesses. He was heavy, so likely slow. It would be simple to either dodge and strike or perform quick parries. It would be an issue to try and block a direct swing, as his weight was doubtlessly proportional to his strength.

But Link had fought warriors and monsters leagues above this bully. This boy was just another self-righteous fool.

He drew his sword, letting the crystal-encrusted weapon sing from its sheath. There was a small amount of pride drawn from the flinch Cardin made, clearly expecting another surprise attack. He wasn't entirely wrong.

Link sliced the sword in front of him, making an arc before pulling it into a small spin around his hand. He pulled back with it, swinging the blade around his body before releasing it in mid-swing. It twirled behind him only briefly, his other hand deftly catching it and continuing the flow of the sword. It ended when he grasped the handle with both hands, holding the weapon aimed at Cardin, parallel to the ground, and hilt near his head. He could see the bully shaking, even better.

"You… You think I'm scared of you?" Actually, Link did. He smiled lightly at the poor attempt to boast. "I don't care what kind of fancy tools you got. I've trained to be a Hunter for years, building myself up to be stronger than anyone else. I can take down a Beowolf with my bare hands and blow a borboratusk in half with my mace." Moderate achievements at best, Link thought.

"I don't care if this is just a test for you. It's pretty clear you brought everything you got against my team and me. We didn't have anything but a few minutes to get ready to fight you." Link lightly tilted his head. The boy was half-right. "But I know that without your fancy Dust weapons, you wouldn't stand a chance against me." Then Cardin surprised him.

He surprised Link by throwing away his mace.

Link watched the heavy metal object thunk against the ground, rolling barely a turn before the large spikes of the device held it against steady. He looked back to Cardin, seeing him raising his arms. Link narrowed his gaze, knowing exactly what the boy was asking. He unhooked his shield with his right hand, watching Cardin's face became an even deeper snarl, likely thinking Link was going to charge regardless. He didn't know who Link was.

Link swung his sword twice, spun it around his hand thrice, and then impaled it into the ground. The grasp of his shield was held firm in place by the steel of the blade. Now he watched Cardin's snarl became the expression of shock, body freezing as if in disbelief. It likely was, just as likely as the grin that took his face being that of confidence. Link smiled back.

Anger may be a great weakness in enemies, but just as high was pride.

This was going to be slightly more difficult, but no more than he was used to.

Cardin had muscle, lots of it just by looks alone. That meant weight and might. Link was smaller by nearly a foot and, unfortunately, usually the slower one of any duels he participated in. Here, he would have to depend on his size and agility to take down the boy.

It wouldn't be too hard, not really. The boy still exuded confidence after seeing the Hylian disarm. That was an advantage to Link. He could use that; make it tip Cardin into another fitful state of anger. When that happened, he only needed to place a well-timed blow to the head, preferably against the momentum Cardin developed. That would allow him to…

Link's thinking trailed off as he watched Cardin. Slowly pull his arms back, hissing as he did so, the muscles of the boy's face began to strain, a sign of effort. From what, Link did not know. Bit still slowly, Cardin raised his arms over his head, still flexed at the elbow as if lifting some great weight. His proud smirk, however, never faltered.

Then, he threw down his arms, and Link felt a great force emanate from him. He widened his eyes in realization. Cardin wasn't going to find him in a fairy hand-to-hand match. He was going to his magic to do so. The boy raised his foot in the air, slamming it down with a great force as well. Now the ground shook, nearly knocking Link off balance. Magic that apparently made him either heavier or stronger, Link determined. He suspected the former, given the boy's already heavy frame. Magic usually bolstered an individual, not compensated.

"Like it?" The boy asked from across the way. "Now I'm gonna show you why it's a bad idea to think low of me!"

And as predicted, the boy roared to summon his courage. He yelled as he charged at Link feet beating across the ground to assault the Hylian with what he thought would be a decisive blow. With the magic practically pouring off the boy, now looking more like a murderer than a bully. Link knew that he needed to show another trick. Fortunately, it wasn't too new.

He kneeled to the ground, grabbing at the bare dirt, bare from the Gale Boomerang he had thrown before. He dug his fingers into it, feeling his gauntlets surge with his own magic, red gems glowing an ominous tint. He loathed and loved the appearance. His magic flowed into the dirt, lacing it with what he could as quick as possible.

Cardin's cries became louder in Link's long ears, but still too far away for the trick to work. Link looked up, watching the screaming boy with furrowed eyes. Every step he took made a dull boom. He was heavier, a lot more so than before, but Link had fought against beasts that shook mountains. He was more of a threat, but still hardly one at all.

Within a moment, Cardin was only feet away from him, pulling back his arm in preparation for a strike. It was one of the most telegraphed moves Link had ever seen. He didn't care, it just made the next part easier.

Link let out quick battle cry of his own, pulling with his legs as his gauntlets dragged the earth up with him.

In a flash of a moment, Link was holding a minor chunk of the garden in his arms, held up by the strength of his gauntlets. It towered to easily four times his own height, likely double that number in pounds as well. Loose dirt fell from it, dug up in the span of a heartbeat and held like pebble. Link didn't once look at it. He had his eyes trained on Cardin.

The boy was currently at the bottom of the pseudo-hole Link had pulled, his weight now working against him. The fall had made a small crater within the crater, the boy moaning aloud. Link smirked momentarily. It was weight indeed, as strength would make the fall pitifully simple to take. Only weight, however, meant that it was only that much more force his muscles had to bear. But this wasn't the end, at least not yet.

Link looked over to the blonde judge, noticing how the woman watched from a distance, tapping on her pad ever few seconds. When she caught his eyes, he angled his head down to the hole, Cardin just starting to turn over onto his side, getting ready to stand up. Goodwitch looked down at her data pad quickly, looking up and shaking her head. Link nodded his own.

Without so much as a warning, Link slammed the dirt back over the hole he created, Cardin still within it.

He looked back towards Goodwitch now, the woman still shook her head. Link sighed, knowing that he was at least close. He lifted the rock again, seeing Cardin lying once more in the freshly pulled hole. He moaned as the dirt was lifted off of him, hand brushing against his face. Link noticed the lines action made across his flesh, like unused to the extreme weight his magic brought to the surface. Another consequence of improper knowledge of one's own skills.

The thought did not drive Link away from his task at hand, however. With another grunt from his lips and glow from the gems on his gauntlets, he slammed the dirt down again. It made another rumbling boom. This time, however, Link did not look to the judge for confirmation of a knockout. Her checking her pad meant she was monitoring them in some way other than eye-sight. She would know when he had won.

Link lifted the dirt and slammed it down again. And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

It wasn't until a dozen of the slams latter did he lift the dirt up to observe Cardin again. He groaned at the pause in the assault, surprising Link momentarily. Perhaps that magic of his did bolster his endurance. There were few other reasons he would be able to take the assault Link was delivering.

It mattered little though. If Link was to make a place to stay here, he had to beat this bully. It was a fairer trade than he could have ever asked for. He grunted again, gauntlets glowing as he prepared to bring the mass of earth down again. But he was stopped before he could.

"That is enough." He turned to see the judge approaching him, raising the rider's crop towards him. He blinked at it curiously, before realizing it was aimed at the large mass above his head. Link looked up to see an ethereal aura over the dirt, turning the normal brown earth into a dark shade of lavender. It appears that she was an experienced mage. It removed a blanket of mystery from her.

But, she did say it was enough, likely indicating the match was over. He nodded towards her, tossing the large amount of dirt to the side. He felt his boots momentarily leave the ground, the force of the dirt making its weight known. Goodwitch sent him a stern look, likely of disapproval. That was… not his intention. He held up his hand shaking his head in apology.

"Better," Goodwitch spoke, though never indicating what it was that was better. He thought it better than to ask. The blonde looked at her pad again, tapping at things he couldn't see. He wondered for not the first time exactly what the purpose of the hard surface was.

She walked over to the hole he had pulled from the ground, his magic making it clear that he dug nothing. She looked over the edge of the pit, seeing the largest of the bullies at the bottom of the hole. He was moaning painfully, head rolling side to side in clear discomfort. Goodwitch squinted her emerald eyes, tapping on her pad again.

"It appears that Mr. Winchester has reached a critical aura level, though his semblance drastically reduced the effectiveness of your attacks." Many of those words went right over Link's head. "That is a sign for his disqualification from the match. Furthermore, your effective method of removing the rest of his team has set them outside the pre-ordained boundaries, disqualifying them as well." He only understood the bottom of line of the statement. The blonde gave him a small smile as she finished speaking.

"Congratulations, Link. You are officially a student of Beacon Academy."

Link ducked his head and raised his hands to his ears as a roar of applause came from the building tops around him.

* * *

"He did it!" Ruby shouted the phrase as she jumped from the roof, hands clenched in victory over her head. Her smile only grew the further she fell the ground, nearly splitting her face by the time her feet touched down. She powered her semblance through her legs, feeling the familiar weightlessness as she powered forward.

She felt a familiar trail of rose petals follow her as she ran, coating the green grass beneath her as she made her way to Link. Quick as the wind in the boomerang he threw, she was upon him, jumping when she was several feet away. As soon as she felt herself slam into him, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him with all her might.

It was almost enough to knock him off his feet, almost. He did stumble though, which was satisfactory to Ruby. Yang might have been a little miffed. It did help to hear Link an 'oof' from her hug. That was usually a good sign. She titled her head up from his chest, beaming up at him with silver eyes as he looked back down at her with his wide blue eyes.

"You really did it!" she cheered again, only tightening her hug with the declaration. "You beat the crap out of those snobs like it was nothing! And the way you threw your boomerang and it went _'Shoooow'_." Ruby had to release her hug to swing her arm to the side, demonstrating as best she could the mini-tornado Link had made. "Oh! Or when you swung that hammer and it went _WHAM!_ " She made sure to emphasize the swing, spinning around with the force of her effort.

She grinned broadly as the green-clad Faunus scratched the back of his head, chuckling in what sounded like unease. Wonder why that was?

"Told ya he could do it!" Ruby looked up just in time to see Tatl flying over her head, the golden fairy spinning about Link once before landing on his shoulder. She saw her wings facing him as she spoke on. "There's no such thing as a fair fight when it comes to Link, cause this guy is ready for anything!" The fairy bobbed against Link, the Faunus leaning back from the blow, but grinning all the while.

"He really is something else," Ruby her heard Blake say. It took only a glance to see a satisfactory smile across the feline Faunus's lips. It took Ruby literally no time to figure out why that was there. "Tools, skill, and humility. All things a great Hunter needs."

"You forgot badassary!" And there was her sister. Ruby had just enough time to see her elder sibling all but tackle Blake from behind. The shorter of the two leaned down as a significant amount of weight suddenly attached itself to her back. Grunts of effort and likely pain shortly followed. Yang herself only grinned from atop her partner.

"Seriously, he basically did a Grand Slam with Team Bigot over there. Takes more than a bit of a cool edge to make that happen." The buxom blonde pointed at Link, winking as she did so. Ruby watched Link blink in response, only to point at himself. His confusion was clear enough to the point that it was palpable. "You and me, we gotta duke it out sometime, mono-y-mono." Yup, her sister indeed.

"You think you can take him still, Goldie?" A high voice asked mockingly above the group. It had to take Ruby a moment to realize that Tatl was talking about Yang. "After he just beat the crap out of those guys with all of two swings? Seriously? Maybe your skull's as thick as your chest." Ruby felt herself grimacing.

"Eh, that's the best you got? The girls can handle a few words, trust me." As if to show her point, Yang bowed her back, showing over her well-endowed chest. It helped little that she was still laying on Blake's back, the hidden-faunus likely only moments away from clawing at the blonde. "And Cardin's team? Please, I'd call it nothing less than a miracle that they're still at Beacon."

"Mockery aside, Yang is correct." Ruby heard her partner chime in now. "Team CRDL has displayed sub satisfactory scores in most areas they are drilled in. Pyrrha Nikos was also able to duel the team alone, and she won without ring outs. I don't believe Link accomplished that."

"Now you're just sour cause you lost our bet." It took a great deal of control on Ruby's part to stifle her chuckling when Weiss's face went from confident smirk to insulted scowl at lightning speeds. Seriously, the young girl deserved a medal of some kind. "Plus you're just upset he did what you didn't think of. Which, by the way, is how he _always_ fights. Find the most obscured method for winning, then take it."

"So he cheats, is that it?" Ruby recognized Weiss's insulted tone a mile away. Unfortunately, she was less than a few feet from her partner's side, near smack in the middle of the quickly escalating argument. "That shouldn't surprise me too much, given the absolute barbaric tunic he is still wearing. Clear a sign as any for the development of his home country, Hyrule."

"While I do enjoy the bonding of students after activities such as tests and exams, I believe these… 'celebrations' can be performed later," Ms. Goodwitch spoke up, completely destroying the atmosphere, at least in Ruby's opinion. "For now, we need to move Link to his temporary living quarters, at least until he can be assigned to a team."

"Oh! He can be on our team!" Ruby didn't hesitate a moment before locking her arms with the green-clad Faunus, saluting to her professor proudly. She just knew if she looked over, he would have a similar expression, doubtlessly eager to join her. "As captain of team RWBY, I authorize Link to become an official member of our team!"

"Declined, Ms. Rose." It was sometimes amazing how easily Goodwitch shot her down. Ruby's arms dropped in melancholy defeat, her eyes looking up towards the blonde with the best pout she could manage. It usually worked on Yang and Weiss. The cold glare from the professor, however, told her she was out of luck. "Enough rules and regulations have been bent with Link's very entry. If he is to join a team, it will be under careful advisement of a suitable council after a set period of time. Until then, he will remain in a neutral position."

"Eh, works for me." Ruby almost felt betrayed when Tatl spoke up, ringing with her answer. The young team leader turned her expression to the floating fairy, hoping it would have more effect on her. She even made sure to tear up a little for emphasis. That usually helped her dad cave. The fairy looked at her, assumingly, before ringing some more. "H-Hey! Quit it with that look! I'm just agreeing that throwing Link against the wall until he sticks is the worst kind of idea. We're already here, no reason to rush anything else." Oh how Ruby hated that logic stuff.

"Makes sense," she heard Weiss agree next to her. Of course she would agree, she loved logic and all that other stuff. "It's difficult to place him on a team until you have suitably tested his other areas of Grimm Hunting. No use adding him to a team that already is strong in his core areas."

"Precisely," Goodwitch returned, lightly tapping on her pad again. Her eyes looked up to scan something behind the group, likely the rows of students still waiting at the top of the buildings. Ruby turned around to see them, too. She had to admit, it was kind of weird they were still there. Wonder what they were waiting for?

"You think now would be a good idea to leave?" Yang asked the group, motioning her hand over head as she spoke. "Ya know, before they all decide it's safe to charge the field and making our exit anything but quick?" That made sense, too. Ruby almost cursed how everyone was being so logical. Why couldn't they just stop and have fun for a moment? Link was in! Link was in Beacon!

"That is wise, Ms. Xia Long," Goodwitch agreed with Ruby's sister. There wasn't a lot there to get upset about. "Thankfully I have already procured a room for Link, located on the first floor of the freshman dormitories. It is already furnished with a single bed, desk, and dresser. The rest Link will have to find a way to provide."

"Wait, hold on," Ruby spoke up, earning the small group's attention. "You got that all set up for Link just now? That was pretty quick." Even for her standards it was. She remembered the process to being assigned a room taking at least a few days. Yeah, that was with a whole student body moving in, but still. A few minutes?

"That is because I started working on this during the duel between Link and Team CRDL." The ease of which Goodwitch spoke that statement was seconded only by the rogue smile she gave the short Faunus. Ruby looked between them quickly, seeing Link appear just as surprised as she was. "I had little doubt that you would succeed, and I am glad you have not disappointed thus far." When Ruby saw a smile slowly form over Link's features, she felt one grow on her own.

"Um, thank you," Ruby saw Tael fly in front of Goodwitch as he spoke, the dark fairy ringing softly as he did so. "Thanks for, uh, helping Link. I-It means a lot, really."

"I did nothing more than I would for any other student," the professor, unsurprisingly, brushed off the words of thanks. "You should only be so glad that the rest of the girls here believe in you as much as Ozpin does. I have a good mind to believe you will need their help during your time at Beacon."

"And he'll have it." No words could describe how disappointed Ruby was to hear Blake speak up before her, the sneaky little cat. She saw the dark member of her team staring at with a gleam to her golden eyes. "He's a credit to Faunus everywhere, and there is nothing I wouldn't do to help him. I mean that." She nodded towards him as she spoke, making her message clear as… well, air, Ruby supposed. Link, maybe seeing the significance of the words, nodded towards her, smile brightening as he did so.

"Of course we'll help him!" Ruby finally shot in before anyone else could. If she couldn't be first, second was just as good. "We'll make sure he knows where all the classes are, what's there to do around Vale, all the sweet weapons we can design, oh! And of course we gotta introduce you to everyone else! You seriously look a lot like Jaune, have I said that?"

"Only about a dozen times, Red," Tatl spoke, golden dust falling from her as she twirled around Ruby. "But… yeah, that'll help a lot actually. Gotta learn about where we are staying, right?"

"Y-Yeah! Of course!" Tael easily joined his sister, ringing higher than before in agreement. Ruby watched as Link looked between them, nodding his head as silent as ever.

"Excellent, then let us make our way to your room, Link." Goodwitch gave no time for pause as she marched through the group, likely the best way to grab the most attention. That was Grimm tactics. Something told Ruby that just her voice alone would have served well enough.

But still, one by one, the girls began to follow her. Yang was first, her hands knitted together behind her head, pushing her already embarrassingly huge chest forwards. That was her sister through and through. Weiss and Blake followed, nodding to one another. Ruby didn't know about what, but as team leader, she would find out. She followed behind them, taking up the back as it was called.

But joining her behind the group was Link this time, following by her side. Well… and his fairy companions, whom all the while were circling Link, coating him in dark and gold dust. The smile he had while they did so was unmistakable. Ruby felt herself grinning at the sight.

It was perfect. Link was a student, now a member of Beacon! It could hardly get any better than this!

* * *

Glynda was well aware of the many students eyeing them as they made their way to the freshman dormitories. She was as aware of them as was the feline ears beneath Ms. Belladonna's bow and bullying nature of team CRDL. It took only a glance and moment of thought to put them together. She treated the many curious gazes above the same way she treated most everything else. With indifference.

She offered not a gaze up nor even a word of reprimand. There were far more important things for her to concern herself with than a student's eagerness to see a fight. For example, though she had been successful in procuring Link's room, she still had to order his uniform and develop a scroll identity for him. One process she could easily complete by the time they made it to the door room. The other would only take a few minutes after that. Repetition did build efficiency, and she had done this for thousands of students in the past.

It was not hard for her to hear the whispers and eager mutters of team RWBY behind her, complete with the golden fairy Tatl offering her own flaunts, usually of Link's exploits. Glynda made not to find his surname out soon, as it was incredibly rude of her to continue to refer to him as his first name. He was a student at Beacon now. That meant he deserved the merits of adulthood, just like any other student.

Even as her hand tapped across the pad in her hands, identifying Link's student ID number, previous occupation, place of study, and weapon of choice (needing several more addendums for length at that), Glynda could hear Ms. Rose talking to Tael, most likely about what they would be able to do for the rest of the day. The eager team leader of the girls was a social butterfly, if not a hummingbird. Butterflies were quite slow creatures. But just as clear she could hear the low mutterings and bickering between the remainder of the group, specifically Tatl, Ms. Schnee, Ms. Xia Long, and Ms. Belladonna. Their conversation switched constantly, but usually came back to 'who was better'. Near adults, but children still, as Ozpin was always fond to remind her.

What Glynda did not hear, even as they made their way past the many students high above and into a quieter portion of the campus was Link. It was hardly surprising. She had yet to hear the green-clad Faunus utter a word, anything more than grunts of effort. It was merely soemthign she was going to have to become ccustomed to. Nothing more and nothing less.

Still, this was by far on one of Ozpin's most ludicrous of plans. Glynda had no doubt there was one, but like of his little games, he wouldn't tell her a thing until it was necessary. No one knew the board by him. Him, and whoever the figure was he was playing against. Itw as a piece of knowledge she was reluctant to learn. She was also just as aware that would not last forever.

"Here we are," Glynda spoke as she ceased her musings, lowering her pad to gaze at the door in front of her. The footfalls behind her came to a steady stop, the members of their small group crowding around the entrance. She stared at the number on the door, 135, the thirty-fifth room on the first floor. It was likely a sin to be forget such a simple number. She produced a key from her blouse, opening the door with ease. She stepped aside as the students gazed in.

"As stated, it comes with a single bed, dresser, and desk; the basic requirements for attending school here. The bathroom is communal and is shared at the end of the hall." She pointed over her shoulder as she spoke, gazing at Link with her equally green eyes. It took a moment, but he did look up at her, blinking lightly before turning to look down the wide hallway. He nodded in understanding, which was good.

"Uniforms for the school year will be provided to you, though will likely be unavailable until the following week. Consequences of gaining admission to the academy so quickly. I will develop a schedule for you and deliver it by day's end." She heard Tatl ring at the words.

"Perfect, means we can start showing off to all the amateurs quick as possible!" Glynda only needed to glance at Link to see the clear disdain for the fairy's words, emphasized by his averting of the eyes and low groan of annoyance. Tael seemed to have similar feelings towards his sister's actions, wings drooping as the golden fairy rang the words. "Kinda hurts the room is so small. I mean, yeah, we can fit in it, but it's like smaller than the hall. What's up with that?" Glynda watched the fairy fly into the room, presumably to prove her point.

"Well, um, I-I think it's pretty nice." The blonde professor turned her attention to Tael as he spoke, the younger of the fairies as nervous as ever. She had known him for hardly a day and she could already tell he spoke more cautiously than a politician on trial. "I mean, it's better than sleeping in the woods. Monsters probably don't attack here often, do they?" That one question told Glynda so much.

"Oh, no way!" Ms. Rose was quick to emphasize. "The Grimm stay in the woods where they belong. No getting past the security of daily hunts and class trips." Glynda was glad, she supposed, that Ms. Schnee was able to explain more properly Ms. Rose's assurances of safety.

"What Ruby is _trying_ to say is that the Grimm are isolated to either the Emerald or Forever Fall Forests." The W of team RWBY crossed her arms as she spoke up to the dark fairy, her studied knowledge pouring from her lips as easily as water from a river. "The only instances where Grimm have made it onto Beacon's grounds were under controlled circumstances meant to test the security of the campus or ability of the students. There is a literal zero chance of you being assaulted by any monsters in this room." She finished her statement swinging her arm into said area, displaying more like a realtor than a student. Glynda spoke no word of her thought.

"It is kinda small though," Ms. Xia Long spoke up, to Glynda's complete lack of surprise. It appeared that gold was a common color for those who were boisterous in nature, the brawler and fairy so much alike in that record. "Least we can fit four beds in our room, have enough space to even a good pillow fight. Most your gonna do in here is sleep and study. Two words meaning boring."

Glynda looked at Link, seeing his lightly shaking his hands in front of himself as their comments. She watched his moves lips move, lightly at that, but uttering not a sound that she could hear. Ms. Belladonna, on the other hand, appeared to hear him just fine, given her slowly nodding head. Thankfully, Ms. Belladona noticed Glynda's curious gaze first, likely her social shyness making her over-observant.

"He said that he doesn't mind. He's just really glad to be able to stay here." The first-year student spoke to Glynda, nodding her head as she spoke. Link, next to her, nodded his head as well, though finishing by bowing towards the blonde professor. He was polite, which was also good.

"Thanks are unneeded, though appreciated," Glynda spoke the line with thousands of times of practice. "As said, Link, you are officially a student of Beacon Academy, and as a professor at this school, it is my duty to make sure you succeed during your time here." There was no need for her to restate that was all she was here for. She and Ozpin had made it clear as glass that they were to treat Link as a student, not as detectives trying to find his missing friend. Short of felonies, what a student did on their own time was their business, not hers.

"Now, I'll leave you to situate yourself. I have to procure a scroll for you and instructions on its use. I assume you do not have such a device back in your home, do you?" Glynda lightly held up her pad for emphasis, raising a brow as she spoke to him. She watched Link shake his head in denial, long pointed hat flailing lightly with the action. He had a wide variety of expressions, which was good for those who could not her him.

"Good. I will be back later today. If you decide to explore the campus, I only ask that you do so with a current student's help. Beacon is a large campus and it would be difficult to find you should you lose your way." Link nodded at her words again, staring up at her with wide blue eyes. The Huntress did not miss the thankful smile that pulled at his lips, showing his thanks through actions alone. She felt herself returning the gesture in kind.

"Excellent," she spoke easily. "I will speak to you later than. Girls." She spoke the small word as farewell to the four young woman surrounding the room. Just as quickly, she made her way back down the hall, already tapping on her pad the last of the details necessary to establish Link's scroll. It would be ready within a few hours' time, which was perfect.

* * *

"So, um, what happens now?" Tael spoke once Glynda was out of sight, exiting the same doorway they had come in from. Link looked up to the dark fairy, seeing him shift uncomfortably in the air. It wasn't uncommon, not when they were in strange situations. It was unfortunate that happened so often. "I-I mean. Do we just sit here and wait… or-"

"Now I show you the rest of Beacon!" Link was slightly more prepared this time for Ruby's assault, given it was the third time she had tackled him in such a way. Her speed was incredible, even in such a short distance. "I'll be able to show you rest of the dorms and the classrooms, too! Wait until you see the Communication Tower, oh! Or when you get inside the library. Seriously, it's like bigger than every room here put together!"

"Alright Rubes, why don't you chill for a moment." Link watched as the sister of Ruby placed her elbow over her younger sibling's head. Ruby gave a small sound of discomfort, not surprisingly, but which Yang only appeared to passively note. Sister's indeed, if Romani and Cremia were close to the norm. "It's all good to want to take Link out for a run around campus, but why don't we give the guy a break. He did just go a round with team CRDL after hunting a few dozen Grimm. If that's not worth a break, we don't even deserve sleep."

Link heard Ruby give another mutter of agreement, though with a clearly sour tone. It reminded him of Mido, almost, being corrected by Saria about his treatment of the other Kokiri. He usually grumbled when he knew he was being told the right way to do things. It made Link pull a small smile, happy with the memory.

"Do you want a break, Link?" The Hylian turned to see Blake, the shorter golden eyed girl looking up at him curiously. She reminded him insistently of a cat. "You have done a lot today. There will be plenty of time tomorrow to show you around."

"Aw, but it still bright outside," Link heard Ruby whine. It was definitely a whine, the same way he heard many young children whine before. "Do we really have to wait until tomorrow?"

"No, you're not." Link felt himself grimacing before he even turned his head, knowing exactly where Tatl was going. It was as easy to predict now as the sun's cycle in the sky. "You're gonna show me and Tael around campus. Link here is gonna catch a few z's while we do that."

That was… not what Link was expecting.

He gave the golden fairy a tilt of his head, staring at her with one of his eyes more lidded than the other. He heard his companion ring indigently at the look, clearly not pleased with it.

"What? Got a problem with that?" She asked as she flew up Link's face, hovering only breaths away from his eyes. The frequency at which she closed the distance allowed Link's eyes to adjust readily, expectant now of it to happen. "I just don't see the use in dragging you around this place only to plop back down here when you're done. Someone needs to wait for Triple B to come back, might as well be the guy that she needs to talk to."

"But… then why are we leaving him?" Tael asked the question now, unsurprisingly. Link knew the fairies for years, and he knew that the younger and darker of the two siblings loathed to be apart from either of them.

"Cuase we're gonna be the ones doing all the talking. Might as well get a crash course in what to expect. With Red's super speed here, it might just literally be that." Link heard a groan come from the young girl before any words.

"That was just one time…" She drawled the words out, thinking of something that Link had no idea about. He knew it was embarrassing to her in the least, given her red blush and wide grin on her elder sibling. Sisters indeed.

"So what?" Link turned to see the white one approaching. She was… Weiss, if he recalled correctly. It was a rushed introduction, he rationalized. She had her lips in a pout and arms crossed, likely ready to give a quick condemning lecture. Somethings did cross social boundaries, apparently. "Link just stays here and sleeps while the rest of us show his fairies around campus? Why? Won't we just have to explain this all again to Link tomorrow?"

"Not if we tell Link about it, duh?" Tatl mockingly returned to Weiss, to Link's utter lack of surprise. He was mildly interested to see the alabaster haired girl fume at the words. She raised her hand, pointing a dainty finger at Tatl. But before she could utter a word, Link saw Blake rest her hand over the other girl's hand, lowering it gently.

"Maybe we should give Link a chance to rest," Blake began, looking at Weiss pointedly before turning her golden gaze to Link. He did not miss the subtle lift in her lips when she did so. He assumed it had to do with the Faunus term she loved to refer to him as. "If a few hours alone can allow him to recuperate before Ms. Goodwitch returns, then we should let him. I have a strong feeling we'll see him again soon."

"But don't classes start tomorrow?" That Yang, though Link realized she sounded strikingly like her younger sister.

"It's Saturday, Yang." The darker of the girls spoke. Link could hear the dryness in her voice. "Classes start on Monday. That means you can spend as much time as you want tomorrow doing whatever it is you want to do for fun at the time. I suggest that you make it more appropriate than teasing the boys again." Link… rubbed a finger in his ear. He had to have misheard that. But when he did, he felt a very light touch on his shoulder, though not nearly enough to stop him. He still followed the motion, looking to Ruby's silver gaze.

"You didn't mishear," she spoke without asking a single question. Link watched her eyes droop slightly before speaking on. "Yang is… my sis likes to hang out a lot of people. Probably because she's so strong."

"The word you're looking for is tough, Ruby." Link watched a momentary expression of panic was across the young girl's gaze, only before she buried her head in her hands. It caught him off-guard for a completely different reason than Ruby's own hug. "The tougher you are the more energy you got. C'mon, that's kind of a basic thing right. Unless you were thinking about something else? Huh, were ya sis?" The teasing tone coming from the blond was literally impossible to miss.

Just as difficult to misplace was the groan that came from Ruby Rose. Tatl rang above Link's head, clearing laughing at the young girl's expense. Tael only hid himself beneath Link's cap. He didn't enjoy other people's embarrassment. Link, however, was between the two.

He put his hand on the young girl's head, rubbing her dark hair lightly. It got her to jerk, looking up at him with a light blush. He smiled down at her, the same expression he gave plenty of children in Hyrule. Link was fortuned to see a similar smile grow over Ruby's lips.

"Okay, new plan," he heard Tatl say. "You three are gonna show me and my brother around campus, and Ruby is going to help Link get situated with his room. Anything new to complain about?" Link heard a small round of silence. It was quickly broken, however by Tatl's high ringing. "I swear Goldie! I haven't known you for a freaking day and I can already tell you're about say something that'll make me want to stuff your face with dirt!" He heard chuckling at those words, oddly enough. Odder still was the cocky grin she wore. It fit her, but not in a way Link enjoyed.

"Aw, you know me so well." Apparently Tatl had called Yang out appropriately. Link was thankful for that, but not entirely surprised. The golden fairy did have a knack for seeing the unobvious. It was what made her so helpful against the unknowns. And unknowns always did have the advantage.

"Fine," he heard Weiss say, an obvious tone of annoyance in her voice. He wasn't sure she could speak without it. "But we'll be smart about this, arriving back her to help Link with whatever Ms. Goodwitch brings. Ask your questions when we're done, not before, is that clear?" She sounded like an instructor in the knight's academy. Appropriate, given that this beacon was likely synonymous with that.

"Yes, ma'am." Link had to fight a chuckle. Tael always was one to agree with orders.

"Alright! Tour Guides for the Fairies!" Link had already thought it many times before, but it was almost comforting how fast he was becoming used to Yang's exuberant nature. It was only a short time, but appeared she would do nothing short of grin at every new thing.

"Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on if you can," Tatl fired back. Her words made Link chuckle, but he heard an indigent sound come from Weiss. It was of little wonder why. "We'll see ya back here soon Link. Get your rest and we'll have a nice long talk, kay."

"We'll make sure they're safe," Blake joined in now, looking at Tatl before gazing at him. She had a softer smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Beacon is fairly large, but there are only a few areas to get used to. It won't take long to show them around." Link gave her a small nod of appreciation.

"Then let's hurry and be done with this." Link had to blink now as Weiss waltzed by him, hand pushing her ponytail aside. Tael was flying quickly behind her. "This has been one of the single most unexpected delays to my schedule I have ever witnessed and I would like to have it concluded promptly." She didn't leave room for interjection, walking away on her high-heels promptly. She truly did act like a princess.

"Well then wait up princess!" It was comforting to know Tatl thought the same way. Link suppressed his chuckle, but he couldn't contain his smile. "And you guys better keep up! No way am I trusting any of you alone." Yang and Blake followed close behind, the former winking at Ruby Rose. Link was not entirely sure why.

However, it didn't long before they were out of earshot, gone back outside to explore this new place, to see the sights of Beacon Academy. He knew Tael would love to hear all about it. He was not a vocal about a lot of things, but he was a great listener. And, if nothing else, he loved to hear about the tales and history of even the smallest of things. Tatl, if nothing else, would just like to know about things enough to point out their faults. Those thoughts made him grin.

"So… yeah," Ruby spoke up, earning Link's attention. She had escaped his hand on her head, looking up at him with her arms linked behind her. She had the grin of a child, full of energy and excitement. "Guess that means we're classmates now. Guess that means that everything's worked out, right?"

It was hard to say no to that conclusion. Link doubted, highly, that there was much the Academy could teach him in the ways of fighting. But for the world around him, this Beacon and the land that surrounded it, it would be invaluable. He smiled down at Ruby, nodding towards her.

"Well, that's a great thing then!" She raised her arms, spinning around with her cape. Link could hear her giggling as well. "Guess all that's left now is to make sure you're ready to start learning. Aaaaand, the best way to do that is to tell you all about Remnant!" Remnant… was that a thing or a place? It sounded like both.

Link's light musings were cut off as Ruby put both hands to his shoulders, holding him in place. He blinked down at her, confused, but saw nothing but joy in her expression. It was only heightened by what he believed he could only call stars in her eyes.

"You can count on me Link!" Ruby announced proudly. "I'll help you no matter what."

Even if it wasn't true, the words made Link smile.

* * *

"Oh those Faunus brats," he muttered the curse with a hand to his fore head, massaging his sore and throbbing temples. He bushed up a black bowler cap to reach up higher, hoping that enough force would allow him to massage his brain, or kill himself. Honestly, that wasn't the worst outcome right now.

"I told them to wait a few months. I told them several times to wait a few months. I told, wrote, mailed, and left little post-it notes for them to wait a few months." He continued to grumble, pushing his digits harder against his skull. He almost felt it crack. The pressure was really helping.

"But no, of course not, don't listen to Torchwick, go off and do your own merry thing and just plan on me to jump through Grimm jaws to make the whole thing work out in the end!" He slammed his fists on the table with the scream.

The many books and catalogues of paper rumbled at the jolt of force, settling just as quickly. He left his hands curled in fists, sitting on the tabletop as he stared downwards at them. Not them specifically, of course not. What he was actually staring at where the many large forms and papers he had lain out across the hard surface.

The papers were full of scrawled notes and instructions, crossed off words on the margins, and just as many lines detailing intricate maps as there were paragraphs of text. There wasn't just one big piece of paper. Too simple. There were dozens, ranging in detail from a macroscopic view of the four kingdoms to a microscopic comparison of street businesses up and down Vale.

There was detail, tons of detail. Opening and closing hours for each store, the average number of patrons, the type of Dust they carried, the time of their shipments and arrivals, the cost of each, everything. He had it all planned out, knowledge on how to rob each and every one of them across the entire city.

And they had done he, he had done it. He had manage to steal literally ever speck of Dust short of the Military's private supply from the populous, hoarded it all in White Fang Vaults, and left not even a trace of his human side behind. But then… the inevitable happened.

A couple of teens with more hormones than brains decided to break him out of jail. Gold star.

Torchwick's hands uncurled enough for his digits to be pressed down on the papers. With how much force he was putting on them, it might have looked like he was getting ready to claw the paper. The thought was a better one to him than any he'd had in the past few weeks.

"New patrols because of my 'escape', known information on what to look out for, upgrade to the security of dust depots across the kingdom, and of course, the cream of the crop, delaying of the Vytal Festival." He snarled the final words, lowering his head as he did so. The black cap on his head slipped down, concealing his eyes from the paper beneath him.

Didn't take away the knowledge that it was still there. Neither did it offer any plan, new idea, epiphany, or grace of god or Satan to fix this little problem. Quite frankly, because of the pubescent teens, there was nothing they could do. At all. Nadda. Zip. Zilch. Zero. And every other Z meaning screwed.

"God DAMMIT!" Now Torchwick clawed the paper, ripping up a dozen maps into nothing but confetti. He continued to growl through a clenched jaw as he grabbed, pulled, and ripped every spare shred of the paper that dared to float in the air. By the time he was done, the floor was a brand new color. Just like his face too, wearing a shade of red to match his hair. How cute.

"Okay, okay, deep breaths, long pause." He put a hand to his face as he cited the short mantra, following it with shut eyes.

He let lung-fulls of cool air enter and leave him, taking up a majority of his focus now. In and out, in and out, like a game he played when he was a kid. Course it involved a few more players and a dame, but same end goal. Get rid of stress.

*BZZZZT*

The vibration came from his jacket pocket. His scroll doubtlessly. He reached into it with his free hand, pulling it out and opening it without removing his other hand from his face. He wasn't calm yet and he couldn't risk breaking his scroll. Not unless there was someone nearby ever so willing to donate theirs.

No one was speaking to him. Meant it was a text message. Good, he didn't feel like he could come up with his best insults right now. Couldn't have a conversation unless he made the other person feel like crap at the end of it. Reading though, that he could do. Torchwick let out one more sigh as he lowered his land, looking at the scroll he produced.

His look turned into a stare, the stare into a gawk, and the gawk into delight. What he saw on the screen of his scroll, the single image sitting atop the holographic display, was literally the skeleton key to the doors he was trying to open.

"Well well," he spoke up, grin fresh on his face as the morning sun. "Guess there is such thing as Karma after all." Sitting on the screen, staring back unknowingly, was a Faunus boy clothed in green. A hat long and pointed, the hilt of a crystal sword poking up from behind him, and even two stray dots of color circling above him.

This was perfect. This was magnificent. This was like asking for Dust and getting a tank. Three tanks. Three tanks with dust charges! Oh it was so beautiful he could almost kiss the screen. But he wouldn't, that would be weird.

Instead, he settled for a bit of a laugh, setting the scroll down atop the table he so recently vacated. It was the first piece to a new plan, after all, a plan that he knew would be unstoppable by its end. One that children and eager animals wouldn't screw up.

"So," he spoke down to the screen, more excited than he'd been in weeks. "I guess queenie was on point with you coming here, wasn't she?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	3. A Name To Remember

Link pulled at his collar.

It wasn't his collar, not the collar to the tunics he comfortably wore. It wasn't green like his tunic, loose like his tunic, or even weathered like his tunic. Quite simply, he wasn't wearing his tunic at all. He was wearing clothes given to him by Glynda. Clothes that he now loathed.

This collar was attached to a plaid shirt, freshly made, freshly pressed, and tighter than a full knight's belt. The plaid made his eyes burn, the tightness made his muscles twitch, and all together it was, quite simply, unbearable. He gave another hard pull at the color, just failing bit back his groan of disgust.

"Link, would you quit grabbing at that thing?" His long ears heard Tatl's sharp criticism, ordering more than asking him to stop. He gave a short huff before giving the tight fabric one more pull, letting his arm drop in dissatisfaction. His grimace of annoyance did not fall. "Just pretend you're wearing it for one of those festivals or something. Kinda feels like that in this place anyways."

Link honestly couldn't call the golden fairy wrong.

He was currently sitting an amphitheater of sorts, differentiated from those in Hyrule only by the desks that appeared to wrap around every row of seats. Seats which were made of solid wood and not carved stone. Several other knights-in-training were seated around these seats, writing on paper with inkless quills and looking at the speaker on the theatre floor below.

Said speaker was quite large to be a knight, at least by his Hylian standards. He wore a jacket not far different from the one Link was forced to wear, though of a solid red collar and appearing far more forgiving around the collar. This speaker also had a large mustache pulled around his upper lip, seemingly and completely hiding his mouth from view. Link could only tell he was speaking because he had yet to stop.

"-est way to make it atop a Nevermore, I deftly decided was to lure the beast down with some rancid feelings of disgust. Luckily for me, I was able to conjure enough loathing for the thing that it suddenly thought me a delectable treat! Well, it would soon find that I was more than it could chew! So when it started to dive, I-" Link found the voice drowned out again.

His name was Professor Port, at least that was how Ruby and Blake had introduced him. He was roughly a few inches taller Link and appeared happy to meet each other as well. When they shook hands, Link knew that he was made a knight, assumingly, because of his strength. It wasn't abnormal, but it was enough for Link to feel the grip through his gauntlets. He may have been forced to remove his tunic and chain-mail, but he would be a fool to remove all of who he was.

At the thought of the girls, Link looked to see the team of four sitting just beside him. Ruby, unsurprisingly, was sitting the closest to him, so close that he was sure he could swing his head quickly enough to have his hat hit her face. He refused to remove that as well, or hit Ruby intentionally. He liked his hat, and she had been nice to him. Ruby, however, was appearing more focused on him, smiling when he turned and looked at her. He smiled at her, nodding his head with the action. She giggled, repeating his gesture. He wasn't sure what to do.

Behind her, however, was Weiss. The alabaster girl seemed solely focused on the class, looking up from her papers only to listen to what Port was saying. He didn't know what she was getting out of the stories. But then, this was her academy, not his. There was likely a method to learning here he had yet to understand. At least, that was what he hoped. Yang seemed to dispel that theory.

Sitting beside the Weiss, the blonde had her dull quill sitting atop her upper lips, balancing it with a puckered expression. She was leaning back in her chair, feet up and on the desk in front of her. She looked about as uninterested in the class as was possible. A complete foil to the smaller girl next to her. But then last in the line, and last in the team, was Blake.

Blake appeared to be doing nothing, at least as far as Link could hear or see. She was simply looking down at Port with her slit gold eyes, watching him without moving any papers on her desk or playing with any devices in her hand. She was simply doing nothing. But, Link though, perhaps she was listening to the story. He turned his attention to Port again.

"-id, 'Mongrel! I am the great Professor Port! You will sooner strike me down than the wind will tear a mountain apart!' That blasted boarbatusk only seemed to enjoy my great declaration, rolling itself into a ball as it prepared to charge me. Well, I concluded easily, two could play at that game. So I readied my blunderaxe as the Grimm began to charge, deciding on just the right moment to strike. When it was just close enough, my-" Link turned his attention away again. He simply couldn't follow the story.

Instead he looked in front of himself, down a row of chairs and curved desks. He saw four more students, two looking back at him with the remaining two shifting their attention from the papers on their desks to him. Either way, he was more interesting than Port's speech. He was not surprised. He was an unknown. The students in front of him, however, were only names away from being just that to him.

One of the students was Jaune Arc. Ruby had made many comparisons between the boy and Link. And in honest, he could see why. Wearing the same uniform, Link could tell they looked a great deal alike. Hair color, eye color, facial structure, nearly in height as well. The most obvious difference to Link was that Jaune appeared to by Gerudo, much like the majority of students, lacking the long ears of the Hylians. He did smile though, even as Link heard him mutter that it was freaky seeing a Faunus version of himself. Link didn't entirely disagree with the statement, as he found it odd seeing a Gerudo like copy of who he was.

The other of the four to continuously stare at him was Nora Valkyrie, sitting beside the blond student. She made no attempt to hide her excitement of curiosity for him, much like Ruby. Unlike Ruby, Nora appeared to have no filter or thought for what she did around others. She was waving her head as she stared at him, oblivious of any discomfort she may have caused. Her orange hair was short enough to stop it from swaying too much, but that was where the comforts ended.

Beside her was Pyrrha Nikos, a young woman who appeared to truly take to heart the meaning of a knight. She wore a golden regalia upon her head, long red hair pulled back to prevent any interference with her action. He posture was straight and eyes focused on the papers on her desk. It didn't stop her from occasional shifting her gaze to Link, usually before just as quickly averting them again. There was little else Link could tell of her, again, a clear sign of her abilities. The man after her was much the same, and yet not.

Lie Ren, a tall and seemingly silent boy, appeared totally apathetic to the events around him. He looked towards Port long enough to grow bored, before looking down at his papers, seemingly just as bored, all before looking at Link, until he grew bored of that. It was odd, but only the sense that he appeared to be politely detached from the events around him. A sign of a knight entering battle, but not of a teammate you wished to join in war.

"-kes more than a few blows from an over grown hog to throw me to the ground. Now a good gentleman may not boast, but neither does he lie. You will do well to remember that when discussing your own exploits one day. A prime example would be during one of my hunts for a rare form of prey. An elusive Creeper. Common only when spotted amongst hundreds of Grimm. The nasty beasts are a force to be reckoned with, why even-" Link's attention for the old knight's lecture quickly fled again.

He instead, looked down at the odd device Glynda had given him. She referred to is a scroll, but all he could see was glass framed in metal. It had lights dancing inside of it, making shapes and symbols he hardly recognized. It felt like he was holding a wasted source of metal, but Glynda had assured him it was one of the most useful tools Beacon had.

Glynda, she was a mystery if ever there was any. She had much in common with Impa, appearance aside, but had intelligence to back it up. That much was obvious. What was even clearer, however, was the level of control she had over the trainees of the Academy, in the best of way. Right now though, he focused on the former. The latter would explain itself in time. She told him much of the world he was in. The obvious facts he should not be without knowing.

He was a Faunus in their culture. It was one of the first things she had explained to him. The term for those with traits other than Gerudo were called faunus, not Hylian. It was interesting to know, and definetly something he had to be aware of. Not knowing key facts was not something he could afford. But that was one. One part of the discussion.

The other was the mistreatement of the faunus. She made no secret of it. Faunus were were thought of unfairly by Gerudo, humans as they called themselves here. They were often given poorer tasks, harder ends to meet, and more unfair treatement in other such areas. His foreign status aside, his very ability to get into the school as a faunus was something of an accomplishment. He would have to watch out for others.

But that let to the White Fang. As Glynda had described them, they were the faunus who fought back in the wrong way. The best intentions but with worst of methods. An unfortunate mistake history was tend to repeat. It didn't surprise Link, but again, it was good he knew. It would have been detrimental if he didn't.

Their goal was to harm others to make their path right. Unfortunately, Link knew what that was similar to, as well. Just as well as he knew what it would inevitably lead to.

"-umph was so nearly in that beast's maw, but did I falter? Nay! I instead braced myself against my beloved weapon and stared into the prey's eyes, seeing the promise of death. I spoke nothing but the same in return to it. I can remember the great snake hissing at me in response while I snarled back. Far be it from a true gentleman's nature, but in times of great peril, it is important to remember we have survived for not only our intelligence, but also our instinct! In that time, I knew that-" Link knew he didn't care more for the story.

He instead looked to his other side, seeing many more faces staring back at him. It was of little surprise to see just as many turn away as he did so. He was new here, brand new in fact.

He recalled his introduction to the class by Port was like one Tatl would give, were she much larger and more masculine. Link shivered at the thought. The many other knights-in-training… students, Link corrected… appeared to already be aware of him. Wary as well. He could hear their murmurs even now about his duel with the team from before, the bullies.

It was not difficult for Link to hear them, his sharp ears picking up the soft whispers. They were mostly filled with questions about him. Who he really was, what he could really do, why he was really here, all things he would answer if asked, but he knew he wouldn't be by them. Perhaps Glynda might ask, or the girls, or by the few other students he had been told of, but not by these students whispering like children in the market streets. They feared him.

They feared him because he was the unknown. Link was all right with that.

He was not happy with it. He gained no great amount of joy at the thought. He thought as much of it as he did the request to leave the Kokiri Forest, to return to his childhood after his fight through seven years of time, or of his return to Hyrule from Termina. It was there, it was beyond his control, so he thought nothing of it, not when there was more to worry about. After all, the unknown had the advantage.

His only wish now, however, was to know how this old knight's tale served to teach the current student's the art of protecting people? If this was truly what this Academy was renowned for, he had little reason to believe he would learn much of anything here.

"-clusion, when you have a beast twice as large as yourself corned against a shear cliff with only a few rounds of dust left to take the monster art, never charge at him as I did. A gentleman should know his mistakes, and I will be the first to admit that I-"

Link nearly jumped from his seat as a loud bell shattered the air.

"Oh hobblecock," Port let out in a disappointed and gruff tone. "It appears I've run out of time again. Be sure to brush up on you classifications of Grimm texts. We will be having a quiz next week. Link," the elder knight spoke, earning the new entry's quick attention. "Be sure to borrow notes from one of the students. I'll need to know where you stand with your system of Grimm. Can't test you on what you don't know, can I?"

He laughed at the question, jovially at that. Link wasn't sure what to do, seeing no humor in the words. He felt only slightly better to see that no other student joined the old knight. And so, after a dejected sigh, the knight waved his hand.

"Never mind, you are all dismissed." With those words, the other knights-in… Hunters-in-training began to rise, collecting the paper in front of them and stuffing them in bags beneath them. Link rose as well, seeing no point in sitting still. He did not, however, have any bags or papers to carry. Only the small scroll Glynda had given him. He still had no means to understand why it was called a scroll.

"Oh geez!" He heard Tatl all but cuss atop of him. "Is it over? Can I open my eyes now?"

Link felt the weight of the small fairy lift off of his head, flittering around to stretch her wings. She showered light trails behind her, shaking as she readjusted to the air again. He just as easily saw more than a few students watching the small balls of light with endless curiosity. Seeing the reactions of Ruby, her friends, and even Glynda, Link no longer wondered why.

"Yup! You're all set for now!" Link saw Ruby nearly jump as she answered the golden fairy, thankfully not reaching for her. He still found himself smiling, seeing how easily the younger girl had adjusted to speaking to his golden companion. "Sorry if Professor Port's class was kind of… winded. He just kinda likes to talk a lot, usually about himself… always about himself."

"Wait, that was normal?" Tatl had asked, swinging in front of Ruby's features. "I thought he was trying to show off to Link or something, talking about all those monsters he killed."

"Professor Port's teaching methods are unorthodox, but of high enough quality to earn him a place at Beacon Academy," Link looked behind the fairy and small girl to see Weiss standing, already wearing a small satchel at her side, presumably with the papers she was writing on inside. "Students who are unable to see the value of his lessons are better spent daydreaming."

"Did you have fun dreams, too?" Link had to turn his head to see Nora jumping over the table. He didn't have to keep his head tilted long, the rather energetic girl literally standing on the desk her was sitting at only moments before. He wondered if that was normal. By reactions, for her at least, it was. "I usually dream of fighting _really_ big Grimm! But for some reason, I kept imaging what _you_ would look like fighting _really_ big Grimm!" The energetic girl thrust her finger at Link as she spoke, or more appropriately shouted.

Link took a step back at the sudden direction towards him, blinking confused at the girl. He could hear a lot of other students behind him slowing their retreat from the classroom, likely to see or hear any more about him. Unknowns had the advantage, but they were also the source of a lot of curiosity.

"Okay Nora, I think that's enough." Link saw Jaune, his apparent Gerudo-double, motioning towards the orange-haired girl. She only turned to him with a smile, making no other motion otherwise. Jaune, however, looked to Link. "I'm sorry about her. She just likes to shout what she's thinking. All the time. Constantly."

"Yeah, he's not kidding." Link heard Ruby say. He looked to her just as Jaune started to talk again.

"But hey! Um, it's kinda hard not to wonder about you." He said the words with a hand behind his head and the other towards Link, palm up. It didn't take him long to see some error in his words. "In a good way, I mean. You're, um, mini-drone…"

" _Fairy!_ " Tatl rung high in correction. Link couldn't blame her.

"Right, fairy, sorry," Jaune apologized before continuing. "Your fairy said you did a lot of crazy stuff, like killing ancient Grimm by yourself." Monsters, but Link felt confident he could relate the two terms easily enough. "I mean, I'll admit I wonder how you did it. By yourself. _Not_ that you couldn't, just… Grimm are usually best fought with other Hunters, so…" Link watched Jaune bite his lip and avert his gaze, not sure of where else to go. He couldn't help but wonder if he looked like that when he was put in odd situations.

"Sorry to bust your theory Not-Link," Tatl called down to boy. Link found himself blinking at the fairy's new nickname, looking up at her curiously. She didn't return the gesture. He pulled at his collar again. "Link's a one-man army. Only partners he's had have been on the training ground."

"Too bad they weren't in bed."

If he were moving, Link was sure he would have tripped.

"Yang!" He heard Weiss yell her the girl's name crossly. "Have some respect in a conversation!" Said blonde only chuckle as she stressed, leaning back with the motion. "But Jaune does have a point, rare as that is. I find it highly unlikely that you fought anything more than a pack of beowulves without a partner behind you. Besides, weren't you looking for a friend around here?"

"Said friend is 'me' size," Tatl spoke down the alabaster girl. "And for the record, he did have to kill one of those huge birds for you just to get into this school."

"That is something I wanted to ask about, actually." Link looked down a row of seats again to see the red-haired girl speaking up to him, Pyrrha. She had her hand half raised, as if prepared to point to something. It slowly lowered when Link's attention was on her. "Sorry, but I was curious how you were able to slay the Nevermore while it was still in the air. Blake said you don't have any long-range weapons, so… how did you do it?"

Link wasn't sure what to say.

He knew what happened, but judging by the reactions of those around him both at the time and when he returned to the Academy Grounds, it was not the wisest of moves to announce the aid of his friends. Apparently the idea of magic to such a degree was in odd content with them, little different than convincing Zora to leave the rivers or Gorons the mountains. Perhaps it was common for the Gerudo to avoid magic. He could think of few cases in the past in which that happened.

"Maybe we should discuss this over lunch?" Blake interrupted the group, walking her way past them as she spoke. Link managed to catch a glint in her golden eyes as she passed them. She continued to speak even as she was to the stairs. "I don't want to hear another story in this classroom."

"Oh! Are they serving cake for lunch today?" Link only had enough time to turn around before Nora jumped to the stairs, running up them with hands clenched over her head. "Cause I call the chocolate cake!"

"Hey, I want the chocolate cake!" Ruby was gone next, a petals of red falling behind her. Link grabbed one in mid-air, musing where it came from, especially given the girl's absence.

"Don't bother asking," he heard Weiss say, the girl walking past him with satchel on her hip. Yang was just beside her, giving him a wink as well. He only looked at the flower petal for a moment longer before dropping it, listening the words he thought were wise.

"We'd better go get Nora before something bad happens," Jaune spoke up, clumsily moving his way to the stairs. Link saw him nearly trip twice, despite there being no one in the way and no obstacles aside from a chair. He tilted his head in confusion. But before he could ask anything, the boy was already to the steps, traversing them to the exit. Ren was just behind him, saying not a word to Link.

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha spoke up now, the only other student in the room. She had her hands folded in front of her as she spoke. He did not know why. "I hope I didn't offend you with my question. I am only curious how you were able to pull off such a feet. But we can discuss it later! Maybe during lunch?" Her head tilted slightly, one screwing itself as she awaited his response.

"Sure, why not," Link hear Tatl say, as the first to speak up for him. It was only because he felt his muscles stiffen that he didn't look up at her. "But let's eat first. Been a long day and all that." Link saw a small smile pull at the knight-in-training's lips.

"Oh, thank you! I look forward to hearing it. I'll see you at lunch then." She took only two steps up the stairs before turning back to him. "Um, I'm sorry, but do you know how to get to the cafeteria?"

"You mean that big place with tables that hands out lots of food?" Pyrrha nodded at Tatl's overly specific question. "Yup, got that one covered. We'll meet you there."

The girl smiled again, nodding towards them both before walking up the stairs. Link noticed that even her gait was well-practiced, controlled in every way that mattered. Among the many trainees he had seen, she was easily the most dedicated to the craft. When she was out the door, however, he turned his attention to the fairy above him, letting one brow raise as he stared at her.

"What? They're gonna find out anyway." Well, Link knew she wasn't entirely wrong. "Besides, Red, Black, and Yellow all said that they were good friends. With the black cat, that must mean they won't think too much about anything you can do." That was… black cat? He gave the fairy another curious look, earning a ring from the elder of his two companions.

"Didn't notice that, did ya?" She asked with a jovial tone. Link snorted in response, knowing what was coming next. "C'mon, it's not hard to figure out. What with the way she was gushing over Hyrule and all that, wondering every little thing about this 'faunus' country. She either is one or wants to be, but no one wears a bow like that unless their ten or hiding something." Link didn't bother to point out they weren't in Hyrule anymore.

He knew they weren't, and Tatl did, too. They were all a long way from home.

"Hey," Tatl spoke, easily breaking Link out of his quick dip into melancholy memories. "Wake up Tael so we can get something to eat. I know the way." She swung around him as she spoke, dotting him with dust. It made Link smile up at her, thankful for her antics. It was a comfort amongst the unknown.

Link poked at his hat, making the darker fairy stir inside. He felt the weight shift over his hair, moving to the edge of his cap. With a small shift, he felt the young fairy crawl out, dipping momentarily before lifting himself into the air. His wings stretched as he rang, the usual ceremony for rising.

"Wagh," Tael let out. "That felt nice."

"Yeah, sleeping away the day while Link and I bear the weight of attention." Link gave the fairy another soft glare. "Well, alright, mostly you, but hey! Time to eat!" Without another word, the fairy began to flitter through the air, leaving the usual trail of dust for him to follow.

Link let out a small chuckle as he did so, walking up the stairs to follow her. He felt Tael settle on his shoulder, likely still groggy from his nap. He could not fault the fairy any more than he could his elder sister.

But Link did pull at his collar again, wondering if he was allowed to rip it off.

* * *

"I'm just saying, a faunus coming to the school in the literal middle of the semester is just weird! How do we know he isn't a spy or something? Maybe they postponed the tournament to check him out."

"Cause Goodwitch and Ozpin let him in? Seriously, what kind of spy would sneak in _as_ the center of attention? And the festival, seriously? That was all the military man, them and the White Fang."

"A good spy is the one who did get in. Do you think he's just the "super" Hunter his glowing mini-drone made him out to be?"

"No way! Sides', I don't believe any mini-drone that thinks it's anything but a mini-drone."

"And Hyrule? Who does that thing think is gonna believe that? Even that aside, he looks like one of Arc's brothers."

"Yeah, they do look like twins, ya know, without the massive ears."

"There is that, but hey, Arc's dad is a hero. Maybe he's had more than one lay. That faunus does seem crazy enough. Maybe he got more than the ears from his mom."

Pyrrha turned away with a scoff when she heard the implications. Her red hair tumbled as she shook her head, heels clicking as she quickly made her way down the hall. She pushed more than a few students away as she did. She justified the action with her anger.

Who were they to insult Link like that? True, she knew no more about him than they did, but all they did was doubt and mock him. Because he was strong? Because his mini-drones… fairies were proud of him? That wasn't fair, especially given the quite nature he had.

It only took small observations to know that Link was humble, if at least just quiet. He didn't boast or declare what he was, appearing more embarrassed then proud when Tatl had spoken. His posture was straight and controlled, if maybe a little uncomfortable in the outfit he wore. Those were all common problems with many students. Yet, he was already being mocked and ridiculed by her fellow students, being called everything from a liar to a bastard, likely just because he was a faunus.

Pyrrha flexed her fists to control herself, sure that if she didn't she would strike out at the next student she heard speak ill of him. It did little good. So instead, she focused her attention on what was to come. Specifically, the cafeteria she had just entered.

It was packed, as was usual for the lunch crowd. Many eager students ready to get their fill before they were stuck between a choice of cold leftovers or vending machines. This far into the year, most of the younger students had wised up to being on top of their three meals a day. Pyrrha herself was already trained to be, knowing first had the effects of eating at odd hours, especially before any rigorous training.

She could already see her team and RWBY sitting at the usual table, two seats still open between them. One was doubtlessly for her, the other just as surely for Link. She smiled, glad that she could trust her friends to be welcome to the new student. Then again, she would have been nothing short of shocked to see Blake do otherwise for another faunus.

Pyrrha turned, entering the line for the cafeteria food, grabbing a tray as she did. There was nothing spectacular to eat today, mashed potatoes with a choice of either hamburgers or chicken salad. Still, it was good to have a full meal. It was not possible to be at the peak of performance if she didn't not eat a proper balance of protein and carbohydrates, muscle building and energy storing macromolecules.

Only a few minutes later did she find her way to the team's usual table, tray in hand with a bun-less hamburger and a small serving of mash potatoes. Nora, to her complete lack of surprise, was whining to Ren about the lack of cake, the near-ever silent boy gently consoling her. Yang and Jaune were having a conversation, though by the way her partner was leaning away from the buxom blonde, she was sure there was more teasing than conversing actually occurring.

"-ell me that you don't think he's not related to you. Sure you wouldn't mind having a brother like him?" Apparently it wasn't the kind of teasing Pyrrha thought it was. Setting her tray down beside Jaune, she heard the conversation take a pause for attention to be turned to her. She was far more than used to it.

"Hey Pyrrha," Yang spoke up easily to her, diverting her conversation away from Jaune as easily water did against a rock. "So what do you think about Link? See anything you like about him?" Pyrrha turned an emerald eye to the brawler of team RWBY, seeing only a cheshire like grin splitting the eldest member's features.

"I believe that he does not deserve the many assumptions that are being made about him." She nodded at the words, speaking honestly to what she felt. She always did. Well… almost always did. "As for similarities, I saw him use a hammer and boomerang against team CRDL. I fail to see Jaune using such an unconventionally heavy weapon."

"I'm gonna take that as a compliment." Pyrrha grinned at Jaune's words, the boy pointedly looking down at the table as he spoke them. "But, didn't that mi- _fairy_ , say that he was a swordsman, killing ancient Grimm, regularly." All true points.

"Oh! Trust me, I believe he can!" Pyrrha picked up a fork as she turned to look at Ruby, the young team leader grinning like her sister. The difference now was that the younger of the two did it with earnest glee, while the elder did it for cruel satisfaction. "You should have seen him going to town on the beowulves in the Emerald Forest. He was taking them without so much as a thought! He cut and slashed and stabbed, oh! And they he shot freaking _beams_ out of his swords!"

"Those were likely a form of dust manipulation he and his faunus brethren developed back in his homeland." Pyrrha heard Weiss respond, but the dueling master was just as focused on the harsh glare Blake sent the heiress. No surprise as to why. It was just as surprising to see Weiss ignore her, taking a bit of her potatoes before speaking again. "I'm more impressed with his strength, lifting trees and large portions of the earth as a means to attack."

"When did he use a tree?" Nora, of all people, asked. "I remember him going _BAM BAM BAM_ on Cardin before, like squashing a mean bug. But I never saw him pick up a tree. Was I sleeping?"

"Yeah, sorry, that was during his first test, the one where Goodwitch got a little anal and said he broke the rules." Pyrrha saw Yang take a large bit of her hamburger as she finished. By large, she meant a good quarter of the patty. It was as impressive as it was disturbing. "Unless you want the nitty gritty details, He basically chopped a tree down with his sword, picked up, and then slammed it down on the beowolves too stupid to get out of the way."

Pyrrha had to admit, that was a significant level of strength, well beyond what she thought someone of Link's stature was capable of.

"Wow that is kinda… insane? Yeah, that's a good word for it. Definitely insane." Jaune spoke from aside Pyrrha again, spinning his potatoes with his fork. "He kills Grimm with trees and beats up Cardin with the earth itself. Talk about overkill." Beowolves and CRDL, but Pyrrha still didn't know about one more of Link's supposed foes.

"So, how was he able to kill the Nevermore?"

The famed duelist found herself blinking when every member of team RWBY stared at her, frozen like deer in track lights. She looked left and right, assuring herself that she hadn't spoken out of turn. It was entirely possible. But to her relief, both Jaune and Ren looked equally confused, Nora looking more annoyed than anything else.

"Um," Ruby hummed, suddenly looking much smaller than before. "He, uh… Link decided to… to…"

"He asked a friend for help." That voice didn't belong to any of the girls.

Pyrrha turned to see a dark mini-drone flying above her, hovering with translucent wings and a dark trail of dust behind it. It took her a full-moment to remember the thing's name, just long enough for her to remember it was a fairy, not a drone. It took just as long for the creature to hover over and sit cautiously on Blake's shoulder, leaning close to the dark faunus.

"Well, the peeping-tom returns." Pyrrha gave Weiss an odd look when she spoke the name. She only doubled it when she noticed Yang making a similar expression as the Schnee heiress.

"I told you it was an accident, and I'm still really sorry." Tael, as Pyrrha remembered the dark fairy's name to be, seemed to shiver and sink deeper against Blake's shoulder. The faunus lightly held up her hand, perhaps to comfort the dark creature. It rang in what she assumed was approval. She couldn't help but relate the sight to a bird and its caretaker.

"Yeah, cause a few apologies makes everything better," Yang retuned the dark creature, leaning over Blake to get a better view of it. Pyrrha swore she could hear the dark fairy shivering, or perhaps she just heard him ringing.

"Something tells me I really don't want to know what happened." It took Pyrrha a moment to realize it was Jaune talking to her, whispering at that. She leaned into his voice, grateful for his confidence in her. She nodded at his words, likely thinking the same thing. Besides, there was something else she was far more curious of.

"Um, Tael?" She spoke the fairy's name for the first time. She couldn't see him per say, due to the bright illumination he gave off, but she could just as well make out his translucent wings rising at her voice. Thankfully, Yang seemed to back off as well. "What did you mean by Link asking a… 'friend' for help? I thought he was new here."

"He is," the fairy admitted easily, though Pyrrha did not miss the stiffness in the other girls of RWBY still. What was going on? She hated unknowns or secrets. "But he brought his friends with him. He'd never leave them alone."

"A remarkable feat." Ren spoke for the first time. Pyrrha could tell without looking he was nodding in satisfaction.

"But… where are they now?" Jaune spoke up this time, leaning across the table to do so. Pyrrha remembered to tell him later he just got mashed potatoes over his uniform. Specifically after the question was answered.

She could tell the fairy was getting ready to answer, wings lightly perking and dark light flashing. But before he could, Blake chose to speak up as she raised her hand to the Tael again.

"Perhaps it would be best for Link to show you." She answered in one of the most vague responses Pyrrha had ever heard. "Trust me, you won't believe us if we told you."

"Where is Link anyway?" Yang asked, perhaps in a slightly wise decision on her part to diver the conversation. Wise for her, but less so for Pyrrha. "I mean, the perv's here, but where's the rest of the little trio."

"They're coming," Tael spoke up. "They're just in line getting food. I… I didn't like everyone staring at us." Pyrrha raised a brow at the statement.

"Staring…" she repeated before looking to the food line. Sure enough, despite the large number of students present, nearly all had their attention focused on only one student in the line, complete with a golden fairy floating above his head.

Link was holding a tray of food near the end of the food court, staring at something that Pyrrha couldn't see. She knew the rest of her team and team RWBY were watching him now as well, likely curious about what would happen. Link, however, despite the many eyes on him, didn't appear to feel uncomfortable at all.

He wasn't shaking in his boots, looking curiously left or right, trying to hunch over and make himself smaller, or anything else of the sort. He simply appeared to be appraising the food in front of him, Tatl above waving with her bright golden light. In an anti-climatic fashion, he lifted his tray and left the line, either not noticing or not paying attention to the many students who watched him. Given his supposed experience in combat, it was very likely the latter.

Pyrrha's emerald eyes saw Link as he spotted them, smile noticeably brightening when he did. For a moment, she had to remind herself that he wasn't Jaune, and that the smile wasn't cheerful for seeing her. She still felt a light blush upon her cheeks.

With a still surprising level of apathy for the gazes focused on him, Link sat down at the table, just beside Blake and Ruby. Tael picked himself off of the dark girl, flying around her before perching himself on Link's hat. The faunus looked up, grinning at the dark creature. Pyrrha, meanwhile, noticed what Link was eating.

Chicken Salad. Lots and lots of chicken salad. It took up the whole tray.

"Wow! You must be hungry," Nora was the first to comment on the food. She did so while leaning over Ren and onto the table, the boy being amazingly passive about the action. Likely a result of frequency. "Are you gonna eat all of that right now? Maybe you're gonna save some for later. I know I would! The hard part is figuring out where to hide it all! Oh! Maybe you can use one of your super deep pockets, like the hammer!" And in the insanity of the response, wisdom managed to shine through.

"I am also curious how you were able to fit such large items into that belt. I find it difficult to believe they were simply folded away." That was Blake, leaning next to Link as she spoke.

"Yeah, tell us about the magic belt!" Ruby this time, eager as the child she truly was.

"Whoa whoa! Hey, we just sat down, can't we eat first?" Tatl spoke up as she flew between the group, gold dust trailing behind her as she spoke. Pyrrha wondered for not the first time since seeing the odd ball of light if the dust was truly Dust or merely a convenient comparison.

Her words worked, earning a disappointed huff from Ruby, whine from Nora, and only the usual silence from Blake. Pyrrha watched it all passively. She knew when it was time to act and time to watch. This was most definitely the latter.

Link only picked up his fork, hiding beneath his mountain of food, using it to puncture the greens and meat with ease. While he may not have eaten the food with grace, he didn't slobber it nor shove it into his mouth by the handful, per Nora's usual response to cupcakes or other sugary treats. He did, however, seem to eat the large quantity with ease. Maybe he really did intend to eat it all.

"I'm surprised you eat with grace," Weiss spoke up, earning a small look from Link as he chewed. "I assumed you would try and eat with your hands." Pyrrha could blame Blake little for the harsh glare she sent the heiress.

"Yeah, because you can _totally_ eat in a castle without manners." For such a small creature, Pyrrha couldn't help but be impressed by the retort coming from Tatl. "No, seriously though, maybe he didn't grow up with them, but Link knows how to eat like a noble. Does that suit your needs, princess? Or would you prefer he eats some cheese with your wine." This time, the red-haired duelist couldn't hold back her smirk. She heard Jaune give a short snort of laughter. Yang had that without restraint. It only worsened when Weiss scrunched her nose and pouted at the Tatl.

"Excuse me?" The heiress responded. "I'll have you know that I do not whine. I only offer constructive criticism for the behavior of others, in hopes that they will be able to improve themselves justly."

"Unless all you're doing is criticizing," Tatl fired back. "Because then, you know, it's whining." Weiss was starting to fume. Pyrrha counted the seconds until Ruby intervened.

"Okay, um, let's talk about something else!" She didn't even make it to two. It was hard to say Ruby was anything but dedicated to her partner and team. "Like, um… how we have Oobleck's class next, right?" Not the best of diversions, not in Pyrrha's mind, but it was satisfactory.

"Yeah, Doctor Oobleck," Jaune agreed, nodding his head. Pyrrha also noticed the roll of his eyes. That and the mash potatoes and gravy on the front of his shirt. "I have ten lien saying he's going to talk about the significance of the White Fang attack. I-I mean, yeah, that's important and all, but I'm pretty sure we know why it happened. Half the reason is right across from us."

"Uh, don't remind me about that," Yang drolled out, dropping her burger in assumed annoyance. She put her hand to her head, likely to keep her precious locks from falling into the burger. But what Pyrrha also noticed was Link. Specifically, how he had finally shown a sign of listening to the conversation. His eyes were on the girls beside him, ears momentarily twitching.

"Why? Get your butt handed to you?" Tatl asked from above. Or maybe it was taunted. It was hard for Pyrrha to tell. The glare Yang returned, however, was rather impressive. And here she was thinking Blake was the best with the silent stare. "Oh, so you really did get taken down, huh? Tough break."

"What, that's it?" The blonde accused. "No mockery of how great Link would have done. No insults or nitpicks?" That was… probably a bit too far, at least Pyrrha thought so. The golden fairy only rang lightly, shaking as she did so. It seemed she dropped a bit more of the usual golden dust when she did.

"Hey, I'm not gonna poke fun at you when you're already on the bottom," Tatl returned, though with a clear lack of empathy in her voice. Pyrrha took a bite of her hamburger as she listened. She heard Jaune take a sip of milk as well. "There's no fun in kicking something when it's already down. The real thrill is pushing someone off of their high-and-mighty pedestal. Like, say, a spoiled little girl who thinks she's better than someone she's never met." Now Pyrrha heard Jaune spit milk out of his nose, fruitlessly wiping up the mess. She couldn't blame him, not while she was choking on her burger. She could even make out Ren's sudden surprise from the corner of her gaze.

"Are you calling me a brat?" Weiss seethed at the fairy.

"I'm not calling you saint!" Tatl was only hair width's away from the alabaster girl's face.

Pyrrha just knew one of them was going to be slapped. The deathly silence that followed their question and accusation told her she wasn't the only one who thought so.

"Perhaps… now would be a good time for Link to discuss his friends?" Of all the voices she thought would cut through the tense air, Ren's was surely the last. Ironically, Nora's was the first. "He is finished eating." Pyrrha looked down at the faunus's plate, sure that Ren was mistaken.

But where once a mountain of chicken salad, there was nothing but a plastic tray and metal fork. Link wasn't even chewing the last of it.

"Whoa!" Nora, now predictably shouted. "That was really fast! Do you do everything fast? I mean you got into Beacon fast, you built of Cardin and Bully Gang fast, you ate fast… does that mean in bed you're also-"

" _Let's…_ talk about the friends." Once more Pyrrha was reminded why she was thankful for Jaune's leadership, even with potatoes over his shirt and blushing in his cheeks. "I… really want to know who your friends are. They sound like good guys."

Attention now turned to Link, Pyrrha noticed how relax he appeared. There was no hesitation or trepidation to his gaze. She would have recognized either of those from her many battles against unfairly matched opponents. No, if anything he was… calm? Maybe, at least calmer with the way his ears slightly dropped as if loosing tension. He even adjusted his pointed hat slightly, moving the dark fairy atop it.

Pyrrha waited for him to say something, anything really. Dueling may have taught her patience, but in her experience thus far, people were far more willing to speak or at least give signs that they weren't going to. Link had neither of those. Instead, he only lifted his hand, pulling at the collar of his shirt. That must have been really bothering him. But before she could say as such, his hand dipped into his jacket, reaching for something she couldn't see.

When he pulled it out, he was holding a mask.

Pyrrha would admit first she was not the most social of butterflies, but she knew a mask when she saw one. She knew it because of its slightly-oval but open shape, of the empty sockets where likely belonged the eyes, the thin lines that were supposedly the mask, and of course, the near exact size it was to a head. That was where all the similar qualities to a mask ended.

This mask was blue as a cloudless sky, trimming to white along the bridge of the nose and edges near the ears. At least, where Pyrrha assumed the ears would be. Where ears would normally sit were instead two fin like projections, dotted darker shades of blue and curving until they were at points. Only a thin trace of a line made up what was assumedly the mouth. To Pyrrha, it almost appeared like… a fish.

"Okay, now I'm confused." She was glad Jaune was more vocal with his weaknesses than she was. "I mean, don't get me wrong, please. It's a cool mask but… that's a mask. Made of wood. Not alive."

"Oh no no no no no," Yang spoke up, shaking her head with the words. She stopped only to chuckle, which did no favors to Pyrrha's rising tension. This honestly felt like she was in the midst of a horror story. She prayed that was untrue. "Just goin' off of what his _last_ little… friend did, this is puppy is anything but a 'wooden mask'." Pyrrha only noticed the stall in Yang's voice when Tatl began to ring highly.

She really was missing something rather important here.

"Can… someone please explain, what we're missing?" Pyrrha looked over her shoulder as she asked the question. There were a few odd looks, though they were mostly directed at the obvious suspect. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand."

"The mask holds the memories of Link's friends." All eyes went to Blake as she spoke. Pyrrha watched her golden gaze stare transfixed on the wooden mask. The duelist recognized the ire in the stare, one she had directed at her many times through many meets. But just as easily, she recognized the longing. Those mostly came from colleagues looking for advice. "It's… different to watch."

"A Philospher Stone?" Pyrrha turned her attention to Ren, the boy seemingly impassive to the object in their midst, but his speech alone was indication of more than simply inert attention. It was easy to miss with the talk and clambering of the cafeteria around them. "An object that records and stores memories for others to see at a later date. They are… extremely rare."

"Yeah, well, they're still rare," Tatl spoke up from above Link's head, waving above both the green-hatted faunus and her dark light brother. "This mask is more than just a 'recording' of memories. It _is_ their memories. And by memories, I mean emotions, feelings, thoughts, and even the body they came in."

Now Pyrrha was lost in a void of confusion she had no hope of escaping. It didn't feel nice.

"She is not joking," Weiss spoke up now, crossing her arms and pointedly avoiding eye contact with the mask. She appeared to be assessing the crowd of students around them, all giving only passive looks to Link before looking away. "We all watched Link wear another mask like that, one that was far more avian than amphibian. And, I assure you my next statement is made with absolute clarity, Link transformed."

"Wait, there are more of those?" Now Pyrrha was reminded of why she sometimes felt sorry for Jaune. His lips moved when they weren't supposed to. He laughed uncomfortable at the heated glare Tatl gave him. At least, Pyrrha thought it was that, given the way she nearly slammed into him. "Heh heh, sorry. U-Um… I-I mean he has more friend's here, right?"

"Yeah, eight more." Oh, that was a lot.

Pyrrha's emerald eyes looked back at the mask, staring at it with what she could think was only a mix of horror and confusion. Link, however, by only a quick glance, was gazing on it sensibly. No different, the red-haired duelist realized, than she might for Jaune, Ren, or Nora.

What was going on?

"How does-"

"Look, I'd _really_ like to explain for the fourth time how Link's friends end up in pieces of wood, but I think once a day is often enough for me." Tatl bobbed as she cut off Pyrrha, seemingly done with any further questions. "You want to know how they work, ask Team Ruby Red over here about that." The fairy floated above each of the girls as she spoke, dotting them with little trails of gold dust. Only Weiss attempted to wave the tiny creature away.

"But, if you're curious…" Tael spoke up now, still sitting atop Link's hat. His dark light made it impossible to see if he was actually sitting, standing, or floating above the point of perch. "The mask was made from the memories of a Zora Musician, Mikau." Pyrrha glanced quickly at the five visible faces across from her.

Ruby looked excited, a child listening to a story, Weiss and Blake both looked curious, likely for polarizing reasons, and Yang looked like she was getting ready to watch a Scroll Show, burger in hand even. Only Link appeared any different, looking upwards at his fairy only a moment before looking back down at the blue mask in his hand. She really wanted to talk to him alone sometime.

"Mikau was the guitarist, from a collection of Zora in the Great Bay. Um… in case you don't know, Zora's are fish-like people, living underwater and usually isolated from others. Mikau, a-and his band, however, played for a lot of different people across the land. He played with other Zoras, Evan, Japas, Tijo, and Lulu, the main singer of the band. They were called the Indigo-go's." Pyrrha heard the blonde across from her snort. She was thankful Blake gave Yang a swift slap over the head. Apparently Link was, too, by the way he looked at the blonde accusingly. He did, however, pocket the mask again, looking up at Tael, after pulling at his collar again.

"If I remember correctly," Yang was talking, one of her hands pinching the bridge of her nose. "You said Deku Butler's son, Goron Hero, and Zora Warrior. There were like, I don't know six more after that-"

"Five."

"Five, what I said," Yang carried on without missing a beat. "But now you're saying Mikau is a musician?"

"Mikau was descended from a line of Zora warriors, b-but he never actually fought. Trained, yeah, apparently, but not against others. He instead, just played instruments and made music, enjoying it more to make others smile, no matter if they were Zora, Goron, Gerudo, Deku, Hylian, or anything else." Pyrrha had to wonder what else there was. She knew just human, faunus, and Grimm.

"But… one-day… a-a group of pirates attacked his home." Pyrrha already knew what was going to happen. Stories like this never had a good ending. "They only stole one thing. Lulu's eggs." She wasn't the only one who gasped. She heard Yang crush something, the same with Nora.

"Y-You see, Mikau and Lulu, they were… um…" If possible, Pyrrha thought she saw the little ball of darkness flash a shade of red. "Together… alone… a lot…"

"They were a couple," Blake kindly added. Odd to Pyrrha, only because the dark faunus lacked the usual apathy to her voice. Apathy that was present in all matters but the White Fang.

"Y-Yeah, but… that meant the eggs weren't just Lulu's… they were Mikau's, too." Pyrrha was right before; she hated where this was going. "So… when he found out, he went after them. It didn't matter to him that they were better trained… or stronger… or more prepared. He… He just wanted his family back."

Pyrrha felt an uncomfortable silence settle over the small group. True silence was kept away by the talk of student's around them, complete with laughter and good cheer. She suddenly wished deeply that some of that would come to her friends, because the duelist had no idea how to fight of the sudden melancholy Tael's story had brought.

She could feel Jaune slouching next to her, just as easily as she could sense Nora leaning heavily on Ren. The most passive member of their group appeared to take his title seriously, crossing his arms and staring at his half-finished plate of greens. He made not a move otherwise.

Team RWBY across from them was faring less as well. Ruby looked as if tears were on the edge of her vision, hands likely wringing her skirt beneath the table. Yang had her gaze hidden with her locks, completely spun around in her seat to avoid any kind of eye-contact with the group. Even Blake and Weiss, the two most collected members of the team, appeared affected by the story. Though Pyrrha couldn't read them at all.

Even Link, the faunus at the center of all of this, had his hands folded on the table in front of him, staring at them coldly with his blue eyes. They were noticeably sharper, like a competitor she might meet in the ring, sizing her up to decide how to strike. This could not have been a pleasant memory for him. And Tael was telling a story about it… like it was normal… oh by the Dust.

"H-He saved them, r-right?" A bit of Pyrrha's heart broke at the voice of RWBY's team leader. It didn't help to hear Yang whisper her sister's name brokenly. It certainly didn't help to see the tears starting to fall down her face.

"He… Y-Yeah, h-h-he didn't make it. B-But he saved them, right? Right?" Ruby wasn't looking at Tael.

She was looking at Link.

The faunus, stared back at her, the subtle joy in his eyes from when he stared at the mask gone. Now there was only a stare met with his long ears drooping, lips as silent as Pyrrha had heard them so far. His hands were flexing and unflexing on the table, clearly as unsure of what to say as the rest of them.

"Link saved them." Tael's voice was like a hammer to the void.

Ruby looked up at the dark creature, watching as the younger of the two fairies softly floated to just in front of the young girl's silver gaze. He didn't say a word. No one did.

"Link saved them… with Mikau's help." Ruby was starting to sniffle again, tears continuing to fall. Her body was shaking, shivering almost. It took Pyrrha no time to imagine why.

"I-I'm sorry." The fairy spoke in a softer tone. Pyrrha almost missed it with the cacophony of noise from the students around them. She didn't miss for a moment Tael hovering closer to Ruby, stopping only when he sat on the bridge of her nose. The way small girl leaned into the touch, arms curling up, it almost appeared to be... like a hug.

"I… I-I shouldn't have said all that. I-I'm sorry. I'm… I'm so sorry. I'm-"

"Hey, hey, Tael," Tatl spoke to her younger sibling. Pyrrha, even through the clear blanket of sorrow lain over them now, could tell her voice lacked any of the pride or power she usually spoke with. That, and the way the golden fairy hovered to the darker of the two. "It's alright. Hey, c'mon. Relax. It's okay."

At that point, Pyrrha put her head in her hands.

Everything she was taught about social interactions and dueling told her it was a foolish move to make. It either made it impossible to follow your opponent, limited your senses, or made it appear that you were detached from the conversation. But, in honesty, she didn't want to be a part of this anymore. She wanted to know more about Link. She wanted to hear where he had come from, what he was doing here, why he was so dedicated to his friend, not… she didn't want to hear how someone died for their family, died trying to save… those closest to them.

For Pyrrha there was no mystery about the dangers of being a Huntress. A single mistake in a Grimm hunt was far different than that of dueling a fellow combatant. The latter would back off, take a point in a match and have the advantage. The former would kill her, leave nothing but blood stained armor behind. She knew that when she first dedicated herself to be a Huntress and she knew it just as well now.

But… listening to a story about it. Hearing about someone who couldn't help their family… Wait… Tael said that Mikau did help, didn't he?

"H-How did-" She raised her head from her hands, ready to ask her question. But, she found no one to ask it to.

Link, Tatl, and Tael were all gone. An empty seat in the cafeteria all the sign that they were there.

Pyrrha's eyes quickly scanned the quartet in front of her, seeing only the same somber faces and avoiding stares. She looked beyond them, seeing neither the pointed ears of the faunus, his long green hat, or even the fairies who accompanied him. She turned then, scanning around herself as well. She saw Jaune leaning back, hand over his eyes as if in thought. She saw Nora leaning on Ren, hugging him with likely more strength than was necessary, and the boy she held looked impassive as ever, eyes shut and mouth tight. But no Link.

"Where did he go?" She asked aloud, but received no answer. Not immediately, anyway.

Weiss looked at her, the stunning blue of her eyes lightly outline in red, unshed tears attempting to fall. Pyrrha did not want, and frankly refused, to imagine the reason why a girl would find the story of a man failing to save his family, as tear worthy. Yang looked over her shoulder at the duelist, the lavender of her eyes not outlined in red, but rather hinting towards a shade of it. Pyrrha already knew the answer to why there.

"I think… we should go to class early." It was Jaune's voice that broke the melancholy, to Pyrrha's immense relief. Though when she looked at him, his posture had not changed. "At least… I don't want to be here anymore. That was way… _way_ more than I wanted to hear." He slouched forward as he finished, hand finally falling from his face.

"Yeah," she hard Yang's gruff reply. There was no patience in her tone now. "Right after we answer the obvious question."

"Y-Yang?" It was Ruby that called her sister's name miserably. Pyrrha was loathe to say it, but she was the best one to do so.

The brawler looked at her sister for a moment, letting the silence return. But not a moment later did she stand, walking around her two other teammates to sit beside her sister. Instantaneously, Ruby fell against her elder sibling's shoulder, hiding herself in the long golden locks. Yang put a hand around her, pulling her in close. No one said anything, Pyrrha feeling her mouth dry.

"You should know, now at least." It was Blake that spoke up this time. Her long dark locks had fallen over the gold of her gaze, making it even further improbable for Pyrrha to see what she was feeling. "You kept me a secret. Link… or Tael I guess, probably wouldn't have told you if he didn't trust you."

"Are… we getting sworn into some… big… secret or something?" Jaune sounded completely exhausted. Pyrrha couldn't blame him. "Cause that's what this feels like. Feels like we're about to be told some grand secret… or mystery… or both."

"It's both," Weiss answered curtly. Just as quickly she dapped at napkin at her eyes, likely being careful of the make-up she wore. "Believe me, it is definitely a secret worth keeping, because it is a mystery."

Pyrrha swallowed heavily on nothing as she leaned in closer, careful to move her food away.

* * *

"We told them. We actually told them."

"They were bound to find out anyway."

"I-I know but… won't Link be mad?"

"I think Link and his fairies are far more upset with themselves than us. After all, Tael did tell that… tale about Mikau."

Blake could nearly hear the somberness return to the air.

They were alone, just the four of them, walking the halls to Oobleck's class early of all things. It was something she was sure would never happen with teammates like Ruby and Yang. If anything, she could usually trust Weiss to replace any other emotion in the group with rage or aggravation. Yet, none of that mattered now.

Blake knew as well as almost anything else in her life that stories of the dead were never an easy thing to tell, not when they were so recently related to the living. Tales of heroes from centuries ago? Those were the kind of stories she grew up on, listening to them as she moved from orphanage to White Fang base. Stories about White Fang members beaten to death? Those were reminders handed out that they were seen as far from equal. One brought hope, the other only misery.

Yang had told her before about her mother, about Ruby's mother as well. She knew they were well and familiar with loss. But maybe that was the problem. Ruby was always so happy, always trying to do what would make others happy. She didn't have to be a member of the team the young girl led to know that she actively looked for the best in things. To hear about a faunus… assumingly… that died trying to save his family, from pirates at that… they could not have been good.

She felt the familiar detail-oriented part of her mind remind her that Tael said nothing about death, at least not when it came. But the four of them, they knew by the dark fairy's words exactly what he meant 'with Mikau's help.' Link took on the memories of the deceased musician, a warrior only in blood and training, to save what he could not. Another strike for nobility, another cross to bear. Link didn't appear any more thrilled with the story.

So why tell them?

Blake could tell he was not a faunus that acted out of pure instinct, not when decisions were made out of battle. He conversed with his fairies, he actively weighed pros and cons. Those were the markings of a weathered life, not an eager and happy faunus. But then again, he didn't tell them. Tael did.

But Tael was never once stopped by Link. He was literally sitting on the foreign faunus's head, but never made a move to stop him. At most, Link only soured his expression and put away the remains of his friend, a concept she could still not look up easily. He either wanted them to know, or trusted them to know. Either meant he might now regret his decision.

Still… where her past taught her masks were a means to hide the evil of one's self, Link wore them to bring out the best of his long gone friends. With time, hopefully she could some to see it that way.

Blake looked back at her team, somber as ever and looking in direction varying from the ground to the ceiling. They were not people she would have normally thought of as friends. Quite in fact, a year ago she might have said they were the example of all the White Fang stood against, not in the least including Weiss on the list. Yet now… they were people she would trust her life to, and already had.

Yes, change was possible. Too bad memories didn't fade as easily.

Blake's thoughts ceased as she reached the double doors to Dr. Oobleck's class, putting her hand on the large doors. She turned back to see her teammates, all stopping and waiting for her. Their expressions were on her, but they had changed little from before. She smiled at them still, hoping to gain something from this.

Only Ruby smiled back at her, face still stained with the trails of her tears. Weiss and Yang only scoffed. It was something, and that was more than nothing. Blake knew the emptiness that brought. She opened the door and walked into the expectedly empty room.

All except the now familiar faunus and his two fairies.

Blake saw him first, staring at him carefully as she made her way down the steps and to the familiar row of seats. She didn't turn around to judge her teammates, already sure they wearing their own masks of welcome. Link, however, smiled lightly when he saw them, almost shyly. It took Blake a moment to correct herself. It was more nervous than shy, likely from being self-aware of his mistake.

"H-Hey Ruby…" Now Blake turned around to see Tael floating above her team leader. His wings were noticeably dipped, far more than before. Clearly he felt guilty about what he had done. That was… something. "I'm… I'm _really_ sorry again. I-I didn't know that telling you about Mikau would-"

"I-It's alright," Ruby returned, tripping over her first word as she attempted to wave her hand dismissively. It didn't work. "I-I mean, yeah that story was sad and… h-he didn't get to say goodbye and… a-and…" Yang put a hand on her sister's shoulder, stopping her from speaking further.

"No offense Tael, but maybe you should give her a bit of time." There was the elder sister Blake knew well. Well from constant threats against anyone with a grudge on Ruby at least. "Just… that wasn't the best story to tell us. Coulda' used some forewarning there."

"I-I know, or I-I know now." The latter was more likely, in Blake's opinion. "But… I _really_ don't want you to avoid Link." That… got Blake's attention.

"Link?" Blake spoke up. She turned her head to the faunus, him looking at them with an unchanging expression of nervous greeting. Nervous for what now, she wondered. "You were the one who told us about Mikau."

"Y-Yeah, but he's the one who calls Mikau a friend." The fairy dipped as he spoke, probably just keeping himself from falling to the floor.

Now that Blake thought about it, it was rather surprising that his sister wasn't flying to his rescue, much like Yang to Ruby. That meant she either thought he had to deal with this himself, probably but unlikely given her reaction in the cafeteria. Or… this was something that they talked about doing. But that was unlikely due to the short amount of time between Link leaving and them arriving. The third option was… likely, actually.

"This has happened before, hasn't it?" Blake ignored the looks her teammates gave her. She would have to explain later that the White Fang taught her how to do more than simply fight. You had to know how to read someone just as well as a crowd a when you were crossing blades, scythes, or even fists.

"Yeah," Tael admitted, confirming her theory. "B-But… don't blame him. I-I screwed up. I thought that… you guys have been so nice to us… maybe you'd want to know more about them. I mean… I-I guess… I was wrong, wasn't I?"

There was a very pregnant silence that followed. Blake found herself staring at the dark fairy, wings dropping like the ears of a faunus in pain. She found herself at a massive disadvantage, unable to read him but at the complete mercy of being read. She didn't like it, so she changed to look at Link.

He was watching them still, twisted in his seat. His expression had changed though, the tight smile and fidgeting hands replaced with a melancholy one and lax arms. Tael confirmed this had happened before and, judging by Link's reaction, it usually went wrong. People would walk away from him, fearful of such a thing, unable to cope with a lost one likely. But it also meant something else.

Whatever the mask truly was, whatever song Link played to give Elrora, Mikau, and the other souls of his friends peace, it was just as uncommon in Hyrule as it was here.

A fearful thought Blake that it was his Semblance at work, but she dismissed it. A semblance did not require items to work. They needed only concentration and recognition of who you were. But then, at that, she dismissed analyzing the faunus as well. There was really no need to in the moment. Link was someone who did trust them. Someone that took a leap of faith and told them more of his friends who passed away, even while knowing what one consequence of that was. Even now, he was anticipating avoidance, of them actively seeking excuse from him.

But if there was one thing Blake would never do, it was turn away from a fellow faunus looking for friendship.

With little hesitation, she walked the few steps necessary to stand beside Link. He looked up at her, likely curious for her next action, smiling dropping and eyes blinking. She only smiled down at him. Then, with as much grace as the creature she shared DNA with, she sat herself down next to him. She rested her head on her hand, looking at him as he stared back at her, still blinking.

"I'm not going to fault you for trusting us." She explained, voice showing none of the emotion she fought with just before. "You're kind, selfless, and at worse trying too hard to fit in. There's no reason for you to rush anything. Talk to us about who you are, about the friend you're looking for. Don't try and talk about something unpleasant to show us your good faith."

Blake watched Link curiously, watching as his slightly parted slips slipped into an easy smile, relaxed in every way. His blue eyes softened, blonde locks falling lightly as he dipped his head in the motion. She heard him breath slightly heavier, likely as much of a chuckle as she would hear from her silent brethren. Looking back up at her, he moved his lips, forming a few words she heard readily as any other.

_Thank You_

She nodded towards him, thankful he so easily reciprocated her efforts. Better that then self-loathing. Blake looked beyond him then, seeing her fellow team members watching. At her gaze, two turned away. The last, Ruby for course, continued to stare. Her face was no less of a mess, but she was no longer sniffling on unshed tears.

Slowly, far slower than Blake thought possible for the energetic young girl, she made her way to Link's side as well, opposite side. He turned to look at her, hiding his expressions form the curious feline faunus.

"Um… I… may have over-reacted," Ruby began, voice like a child caught with a guilty conscious. "I just… I don't like hearing about things like that. I'd rather-" her voice cut off as Link put his hand on her head.

In a far more audible laugh, light and full of cheer, he rubbed the top of her head. Ruby was frozen for a moment, but only that. Just as quickly she recovered.

"H-Hey, stop that!" she pitifully responded, swatting at his hands as she attempted to back up. Link must have relented faster than Ruby intended, as Blake her quickly stumbling backwards, Link's hand in the air.

When Blake saw the familiar pout on her young leader's face, she knew all was forgiven.

Ruby, on the other hand, didn't have much time to respond before another hand was placed on her hand, the dark haired girl giving a quick but audible noise of protest. Yang was far less likely to relent to her younger sibling. If history wasn't enough, the Cheshire grin on the elder sibling's face said it all. Blake hid hers beneath her hand, giving the look of deep thought.

"Looks like your back to normal," the elder of the sisters spoke up, starting to shake the mop of a girl's head with her hand. Ruby gave out a noise Blake could only place between a cough and snarl before she ducked away from contact. Yang chuckled all the while Ruby combed her hair.

"Please, she could bounce back from a trip to the hospital if you gave her enough attention." Weiss responded to the blonde, hands on her hips and smirking ever-so proudly at Ruby. "She lives off of the stuff." Ruby only stuck her tongue out her partner.

"That was… fast." Tatl spoke up behind Blake. The hidden-faunus turned to see the small golden ball of light, floating with only light waves of her translucent wings. "Trust me, I'm not complaining. Just… Tael and I have seen plenty more than a few people start to avoid or outright insult Link before. Honestly didn't expect you guys to turn around so quickly."

"We do have the advantage of having seen Elrora," Blake pointed out, looking back at Link once more. His back was still to her, him watching her trio of friends. "Most of us just aren't used to stories like that yet. On some level, we all recognize it's possible, but knowing what could happen and what did happen are two different things."

Blake turned to look at Tatl again, assuring herself almost that the golden fairy hadn't flown away. But she was still there, listening to the feline girl speak. Blake let her golden slit eyes stare at the odd creature for a moment longer before continuing, all in a voice no louder than a pin's drop.

"Ruby lost her mother in a hunt. Yang's mom left without a word when she was a young girl. Weiss never knew her mother. Mine was killed with my father, trying to defend faunus rights." She felt it was rather unneeded to explain why her voice was so low. These were not things that needed to be said in grand volume. "We've all lost someone who was close to us, all at ages when we were supposed to feel invincible. Listening to stories about someone else who is gone… it doesn't do anything but remind us of what we've lost."

Blake heard the fairy behind her ring, but not a word was spoken. Instead, she felt the golden creature settle on her head, likely sitting just in front of her bow. Her keen senses could feel something lightly playing at her long bangs, still as silent as before.

"We were upset, there is no denying that," she went on. "But we didn't blame Link, or your brother. We just… needed to think. The hardest things to think about are the things you want to forget."

"Why would you want to forget?" Blake was thankful for the softness of the fairy's voice, but that was all.

"Because they're painful to think about. There's not use in remembering pain." It was supposed to be obvious, a lesson many learned at a young age.

"But those memories brought you here." Blake had to remind herself she was talking to a fairy that almost so nearly embodied Yang. Because at this very moment, she sounded almost uncannily like Ozpin. "You're right, you shouldn't be glad for bad memories, but you're wrong to want to forget them. As bad as they are, they are a part of you, just as much as the good ones."

Her words were lightly interrupted by a light squeal from in front of them. Blake looked up to see Ruby holding Tael in her hands, the younger of the two fairies having his wings pointing into the air, likely meaning he was lying down or crouched over in the young girl's palms. Link was just beside her, his own hands lightly outstretched. She didn't know what brought about such a sight, but she knew it was no more important than the words Tatl was speaking, was continuing to speak.

"Bad memories aren't great, but they make us who we are. Take away those, and you wouldn't act like you. It's… not right to say that bad things make you a bad person. Sometimes they make you a better one." She gave a very low and drawn out ring with her words. Blake could only assume that was similar to sigh. She didn't speak a word as the fairy continued, kicking the black locks of her hair.

"Maybe you've already figure it out, but Link's looking for his friend because of all of his bad memories." Tatl let the thought stew in Blake's mind, the faunus knew it. "He's lost… so many friends over the years, even from a young age. People he grew up with, friends he loved to play with, even other warriors he fought with, all gone. His friend… he's looking for her because she might still alive. So do you get it? He's looking for her, because of all the bad memories. He just… forgot about them, he might forget about her."

Blake understood well and wholly what the fairy meant with that.

"Bad memories suck," Tatl spoke in a voice Blake recognized her using far more than before. "But they're there for a reason. Don't throw them out, just live in them. Besides, if things go right, Link might give you another good memory to think about." That… was… what?

"Huh?" Blake was able to let out. But in the same breath of air, the fairy jumped from her dark locks, flapping her translucent wings and flittering in place.

"Don't worry," Tatl spoke up in a tone that sounded remarkably like Yang again. She assumed that meant the quick dialogue was finished. "Just something the three of us thought up after the tears in the dining hall. Could be good, could be bad, but it'll probably be awesome."

Blake had just enough time to raise her hand, ready to voice a question, when the doors to the classroom opened up. She looked up the stairs, seeing the first of she knew would be many students coming to class. Her golden eyes looked up to the clock hanging above the white board, twelve-fifty.

It was almost class time.

She sighed, knowing that any other questions or conversations with the fairy would have to wait until later. Blake scotched herself closer to the desk in front of her, giving room for her teammates to shuffle by. One-by-one, they lined the familiar row of chairs, sitting together and preparing for another super-fast-crash-course in faunus and human relations, an area Blake loathed to love.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw equally familiar shades of gold and black flitter over Link's hat. One climbed into his cap, the faunus lifting the brim for it to enter. The other settled atop, sitting on the green fabric like a seat. Blake watched Link gaze up, looking at the golden light perched on his head. She heard Tatl ring down to him, likely a sign they had developed together. The smile only made it clear to see.

She turned to her right, seeing Ruby, Weiss, and Yang all staring back at her. More appropriately, to her and Link, all wearing their own signature expressions of satisfaction. From Ruby's beaming expression of joy to Weiss's subtle nods, Blake appreciated them all. She nodded to them, thankful that they were here teammates once more.

Her sharp ears, even through the fabric of her bow, heard the seats in the row behind them moving. She turned, seeing Team JNPR taking their seats. They appeared to be… stable. That was the best word the Ex-White Fang member could conjure.

Blake did not expect fine or great, not after the tale she and her teammates had told them over lunch. She needed a bullhead ride back to Beacon and a lecture from Tatl and Tael to be able to understand the depth of power in Link's masks. She needed days after that to justify their use. Then again, she could admit her bias.

Jaune appeared to be nervous, which was not unusual. He laughed lightly, a lop-sided expression with a weak raise of his hand. Pyrrha, just beside him, only nodded her head politely, a petite smile on her muscled features. Ren did much the same, though with far less movement and without the smile. Nora… she was simply bobbing in her seat, staring at the ceiling, then the desk, then her, then the rest of her teammates. Not unusual for the energetic valkyrie. They all looked stable, but all with one unifying similarity.

All of them avoided eye looking at Link. That she loathed.

Blake looked to Link, seeing him staring ahead with his hands neatly folded on the table in front of him, for a moment anyway. He played with his collar again, pulling at it, before assuming a stiff posture again. His long ears twitched, likely listening to the students around him. Blake did, too.

"That's the new guy, right?"

"Yeah, that mini-drone on his head is all you need. That and the stupid hat."

"Or of course, you know, the ears. Not many faunus get into Beacon."

"There's a reason for that you know. Most faunus aren't spies for the White Fang."

"You think he's with them?"

"How else could he beat an entire team like that? Better yet, who else would know the rules better than a spy?"

"I'm gonna shoot the moon and say someone who works here, how's that?"

"Decent, except that the best way to fake being something is to know enough about it. He just has to act surprised, take a few of these 'rare' tests, and boom, he's in."

"Yeah, just like that, only had to get past Glynda, Ozpin, and one of the biggest anti-faunus families in Beacon. Wouldn't a spy be, oh what's the word for it, covert?"

"You never read the 'Art of War', did you? It's reverse psychology. He gets a lot of attention now, vets that he's legit, then any problems later will just slide off of him, cause he's clean."

"You think that will happen?"

"The White Fang blew up a good quarter of Vale with that train. I don't think slipping a student is beyond them."

"I don't know, I think he's kinda cool. Haven't heard him say a word yet."

"What, you like the strong, quiet, evil types? Go crawl in an alley, I'm sure the rats will be good company to you."

"With those ears he could be part rat."

Blake listened to every subtle whisper as passively as she could. Beneath the table, she clenched her hands into fists, doing her utmost to not snap at any of the voices speaking around her. She looked to her right, unsurprised to see the rest of her team relaxing until Doctor Oobleck's entrance. They couldn't hear what the others were saying. If they could, she knew Yang and Ruby would be all over it.

But the only other soul she knew could hear the voices, the very faunus all their mockery and suspicion was centered around, didn't appear even slightly perturbed. He was stiff, yes, even an amateur eye could see that, but Blake saw only nervousness, not rage. Even Tatl atop Link's head did little more than bob up and down ever so slightly, jumping on the fabric she was on.

Where… they used to this? Mockery of being a faunus Blake could understand, but Link hailed from a kingdom of all faunus. Why was this familiar to him? What painful memory was this all akin to in his mind?

A sudden slamming of a door jarred Blake's thoughts. Her questions would have to wait for later. Doctor Oobleck had entered the classroom.

* * *

"Greetings! Welcome back! All of you! It is _great_ to see you all here." Weiss had just finished setting out her paper and pen when Doctor Oobleck entered the classroom. She looked up long enough to see him in the familiar posture of frazzled green hair, improperly tied tie, and coffee mug steaming with liquid. It would likely be refilled thrice over during his lecture.

As soon as her thought finished, she watched the doctor take a long swallow of his beverage, only to immediately place it under the roaster, refilling it with the caffeinated liquid. Thrice just became quadric. Weiss blew a stray strange of alabaster hair out of her eyes. Typical.

"Now! Where do we begin? A good question. One that needs immediate answering." If it was a question they were supposed to answer, they didn't have time. No sooner did the doctor speak in his usual hurried pattern than did he produce a set of papers from his desk. "A lot of anger in recent weeks. A lot of pain. A lot of suffering. Why? Why is that?"

Weiss raised her hand, knowing the question well. The doctor pointed at her with his mug. Weiss knew from prior events she had only a second to respond now.

"Tensions are high throughout Vale due to the White Fang attack and subsequent postponing of the Vale Festival." The heiress watched the doctor's green hair bob with his nod.

"Excellent! Exactly right!" He nodded his a few more times, all at a speed Weiss would be uncomfortable to mimic. "White Fang are pro-rights faunus group. Began with noble goals, noble means. Marches, speeches, proposals, all done very well, large turnouts across all four kingdoms. But things changed quickly, far too quickly."

As the Doctor Oobleck sped over the board, picking up the chalk with one hand as he continued to drink with the other. Weiss took the moment to sneak a glance over to Blake, fully aware of how this subject might affect her. She saw her teammate staring coldly at the board, golden eyes slit. Just behind her, Weiss saw Link, staring at the board as well. He, however, appeared far more relaxed than his faunus counterpart. Likely a benefit of his ignorance. That would soon be fixed here.

"Recent years have shown the White Fang to devolve in their tactics for pro-rights. Marches became riots, speeches turned to lectures, proposals to theft, unfortunate, all of it." As he spoke, Weiss jotted down what little she felt important to look up later. There was no use trying to keep pace with a man running on pitchers worth of caffeine. So far she had White Fang past and de-evolution. It didn't take a wise mind to see how that would spark a few flares.

"White Fang attacks are horrible, bad for humans and other faunus." He sipped his coffee, continuing to write across the board as he did so. "Humans are hurt often by thefts, riots, and such. Faunus are hurt by backlash. Humans in fear assume other faunus are in White Fang. Breeds distrust. Distrust breeds hate. The cycle grows, the gap between us widens."

Now the doctor turned around, staring at the amphitheater once more. Weiss couldn't follow his eyes, not behind the thick glasses he wore, but she knew from her field trip he was watching them, likely thinking who would be the best student to call on. It had taken her only two classes with him to pick up on his usual teaching method.

"Mr. Winchester," he called, earning the brute of brute's attention. Weiss hoped whatever the question, he failed miserably. "Why do you suppose the White Fang continue to use these methods? Assume they must also see the effects on faunus not in their group. It is a safe assumption."

Weiss watched as the large teen crossed his arms, staring down at the professor from the highest row of seats. It made sense he sat away from the front of the room, an ogre like him leaving the benefit of study to proper minds. He scrunched his nose, twisting his eyes before answering.

"Cause their idiots?" Not a spectacular failure, but definitely D worth. Weiss could satisfy herself with that.

"Incorrect!" Doctor Oobleck let out. "Anyone else care to correct Mr. Winchester?"

Weiss knew the silence would hang for a moment, then she would answer. It was impolite to show off her knowledge. Unfortunately, she only learned that lesson after Ruby had spoken to her following their first week of classes. Still, she was fully capable of answering, once-

"They're fighting now because the peaceful way didn't work."

Weiss heard Yang curse. That wasn't because of who spoke, it was because the heiress had whipped he head so fast her long alabaster hair had slammed into the brawler's face. She wasn't about to apologize now, however. The room was too quiet, all eyes focused on a single entity. She was both horrified and nervous by who it was.

Little Tatl, sitting on Link's head. The faunus didn't appear in love with his mini-drone's words, even as she continued to speak on.

"You said they spent years marching, protesting, and all the other kind words for making change without violence. That probably did some good, but when it wasn't enough, a few probably turned to violence, beat up a shop keep or something. When they saw the respect that came with it, the rest of the group probably started following suit. With enough hate and reason, anyone turns to violence. Way they probably figure it, once enough people are scared, they'll be able to make the rules equal, or whatever they'll want then."

Even as she finished, ringing with her words, the room was deathly silent. Weiss carefully looked between the small golden ball and Doctor Oobleck. Their teacher was staring towards Link, his mouth partially open and cup lightly steaming in his hand. There was not even a single jitter as far as the heiress could see. That was either really good or really bad.

Then, fast as a bullet, Oobleck was right next to Link.

"Gah!" Weiss heard the fairy cry, jumping off of Link's hat at the professor's sudden intrusion to his space, spectacles staring down at the faunus. Link was now leaning far over his seat, probably only a few good hair width's away from falling right out of it. "Geez! Give us some warning next time!"

The Doctor's eyes shot to Tatl now, staring the mini-drone floating in mid-air.

"Remarkable!" He suddenly shouted. He stood up only to drag Link with him, setting the faunus back down in his seat proper. Weiss was just able to spy the clear look of unease on the foreign student's face, blue eyes wide and mouth parted. "You're mini-drone has an excellent ability to extrapolate information from a single lecture! Why, you must-"

"Hey Super-Buzz!" Tatl shouted at the doctor. Shouted, Weiss made sure to note. This was going to end with remedial lessons or expulsion. "I'm not a freaking mini-drone! You're like the tenth person to call me that and I'm _really_ starting to get peeved about it! My name is Tatl and I'm a fairy."

The room was silent as ever when Doctor Oobleck slowly lowered his glasses, the only motion throughout his entire body. His eyes looked from Tatl, the mini-drone named fairy, to Link, the faunus appearing stiffer than stone.

"Your name is Tatl," he repeated, only the brevity in his voice being the common denominator to his usual attitude. His eyes shifted to the faunus beneath him. "And you are new. Who are you?"

"His name is Link," Tatl spoke up again, flying back to said faunus's side. She trailed gold dust as she did so, stopping only when she was right between the doctor and the new student. "Is something wrong here?"

"Nothing wrong. Possibly." The doctor repeated, looking past Tatl to stare at Link. He had yet to say a word to Weiss's complete lack of surprise. "Not aware of new students. Or fairies. Both new. Not bad, just different. Your answer was correct."

Weiss wasn't sure if that was the sign to relax or not. Judging by Ruby and Blake in front of her and all of JNPR beside her, the answer was very likely no. Tatl, however, only rang with what sounded like pleasure. Big egos enjoyed that.

"Link," Doctor Oobleck repeated again, talking a long sip of his coffee. "I give you my apologies. Didn't mean to surprise you. Or put immediate attention on you. Both accidental, I assure." Weiss believed him. "Where are you from? Vale? Atlas? Faunus colony?"

"Hyrule," Tatl spoke up again. "Long story short, it's a kingdom of Hylians apparently off of the map you guys have. Trust me, Big Green and Big Blonde checked more than once. Oh, and in case you're even more curious, they gave the test to get him. Had to beat the crap out of your 'star student' up there." Weiss could practically hear Cardin growl at the words. Such like an ogre to make rude sounds at such a simple taunt.

"Remarkable!" Doctor Oobleck shouted, nearly making the heiress jump in fright. "Stupendous! A kingdom of faunus located off known land masses? Endless possibilities! Mr. Link, you must tell me all that you can of your kingdom! Its age, history, geography, culture, belief system, Dust Mechanics, local Grimm, all of it!"

Weiss only saw Link pull at his collar, silent as ever. She could sympathize now, however. She wasn't aware should would have been able to speak with a professor screaming at her in class. It wasn't ideal by almost anyone's ideals.

"Loooook," Tatl drew out the word, maybe to capture Doctor Oobleck's attention. "Yeah, I get it. Link is a special subject for you to study. Something special cause he's not the same as everyone else. I already gave the quick talk to all the knight trainee's in Portly's class, half of them are in this room." Did… did Tatl just insult Professor Port? Weiss was almost positive she did. "Wouldn't it make more sense for you to teach your class and talk to Link later?"

"Not at all!" Weiss almost missed the speed at which Doctor Oobleck shot down the idea. It was only thanks to her watching Ruby so often that she was able to see it. "Studying a foreign faunus culture is _exactly_ the kind of lesson this class needs! Too many pollutants and variables. Too easy to see wrongs between clashing classes. A foreign sample, however, is pure, untainted. It can be a lesson to all; an immense value to all of us!"

"No," Tatl spoke with more force. "I get your curious, congrats. But if you're thinking is that Link is going to parade himself in front of the trainees just so you can learn a bit about him, you are clearly so far out of your skull that-"

"If Link talks to the class, I will _personally_ see to it he never has to wear his _offensive_ collar again."

Link stopped mid-pull at said collar. Hesitation meant thought, meant Link was considering the bargain, meant he was willing to talk about his home, a place he would never see again, to satisfy a doctor's curiosity. Was his collar that annoying?

Tatl noticed it now, Weiss noted. She only just now realized she was writing all of this down. Maybe Ruby was right about her studying habits. Then again, this was hardly something the heiress ever wanted to forget.

She, and the rest of the class, watched Link stare at Tatl, the golden mini-drone looking back. She began to ring at him, making motions in bobs and swings that Weiss could just barely follow. Link's lips were moving with her, silent as always. They were talking again, talking in a way she couldn't hear. She sneaked a glance at Doctor Oobleck to notice that he wasn't aware of the conversation either, or doing a marvelous job at hiding any sign of it.

Murmurs began to swim around the room the longer the silent conversation was drawn out, likely students making guesses at what was being said. Not inappropriate, expectedly actually. Weiss was doing much the same, only with a far larger pool of knowledge regarding the faunus and his mini-drones.

"Alright," Tatl finally spoke up, her tone full of egotistical cheer. "He'll talk, but only if you swear that he doesn't have to wear the uniform anymore." Doctor Oobleck just opened his mouth when Tatl went on. " _That_ means that he can wear some other article of clothing of his choosing, kinda like you're doing. Academy appropriate, like the rest of the trainees, what Link wants to wear. You agree?"

"Completely!" Once more Weiss was reminded that Doctor Oobleck likely acted more out of instinct than thought. Fast as Ruby on a sugar high, the doctor took Link's hand, shaking the golden gauntleted arm with a quick force. She gave Link credit for only nearly falling out of his chair. "Now then, where to begin? History is good, but lengthy. Perhaps a comparisons of cultures. A discussion of differences between-"

"How about Link gets ready first, okay?" Tatl interrupted the doctor. As she did Link stood up, walking a few steps away before bowing to him. Weiss watched Oobleck nod in acknowledgement. Then he looked to her, or more specifically her team. It wasn't a far guess to know why.

The way he smiled cheerfully and patted his chest, however, told her more than she wanted to know.

"Whoa! Hey! Wait a minute," Yang spoke up from behind Weiss, to her unspoken thanks. "Link, buddy, I get your eager to show off, but maybe you could do something else?"

"Is there a problem Ms. Xia Long?" Doctor Oobleck asked Weiss's blonde team member. To her equally unspoken horror, Link was already walking down the stairs to the center of the amphitheater. "No wait! Better question! Are you already aware of Link's history?"

"Yes, we all are." Now Blake spoke up, to Weiss's lack of surprise. She would have been shocked to see Blake not defend a fellow faunus. "Ruby and I aided Ms. Goodwitch in administering Link's entrance exam." As Blake talked, Weiss watched Link lift at his hat, Tael flying out of it, ringing in a lower volume than his sister did. He wasn't stopping for them.

"Don't worry, they're not lying," Tatl spoke up now, which was either excellent or horrific. "They're just a little scared cause Link's about to do something pretty cool. Best way to teach is through example after all." Definitely horrific.

"Tatl!" Weiss now found herself yelling, rising from her seat. The murmur of students was getting louder. Link was already on center stage, reaching into his jacket. "I believe you are more than capable of speaking for Link! Can you please refrain from making a spectacle of this?!"

"Spectacles are awesome though!" Weiss nearly pulled out her hair. Tatl rang at the expression she was doubtlessly watching the heiress make, her brother flying up beside her as she did. "Besides, we're doing this to make up for lunch. It was gonna happen later today, you know when it was just us, but this is faster."

"W-Wait, th-this is about that story?" The Schnee heiress honesty did not expect Jaune to speak up now. She was hardly surprised to see he was diverting attention away from the faunus now standing center stage, holding a now horribly familiar item. "H-He's gonna put that on, now?"

"It's alright," Tael, of all things, spoke in a calm voice. They really had decided this before! "My story made you all sad. So… Link's gonna show you it's alright."

"Confusion!" Doctor Oobleck spoke up, likely speaking for near three quarters of the class. "How is-"

His question was interrupted by a scream.

Weiss turned again to see Link wearing the mask, the once still-wooden mask now warped in pain.

The murmurs of the other students became mixed with screams and cries of fright. She could hardly blame them, what with her own hands to her mouth in shock. She saw this once over a video screen, now she was watching without a filter. Something was crackling through the air, and Weiss wasn't sure if it was whatever force was coming from the mask or the wood of the desk being shattered.

A flash took over then, blinding her and likely the rest of the room. Cries of fright grew in volume before dying off, students likely ducking for cover. She would have, too. If she were not already aware that she was in no danger.

Then just as easily as it did over Ms. Goodwitch's mini-drones, the light faded. The screams of the students were reduced to terrified whispers and talk. But they quickly one by one changed to gasps and stunned silence. When Weiss was able to adjust her eyes on the amphitheater center, she understood why readily.

Where once was Link there was no more, at least not the green-hatted foreign faunus. Now there stood a creature in scales of blue. Literal blue scales, not clothing in the slightest. It couldn't be clothing, because the seven foot tall _thing_ was already wearing a green skirt, boots, gauntlets, and jeweled choker!

Weiss knew it was a fish, it had to be a fish; it was a fish with legs that stood taller than almost anyone she had ever met before. It had a long appendage extending from the back of its head, shifting into a green color the further it went. Further extended to the creature's waist! Oh and the waist! Those muscles! She could see everything!

She could make out every subtle curve of the creature's multi-muscular body. She could count the abdominal muscles beneath its well defined pectoral ones sitting between _very_ well-proportioned arms and doubtlessly hiding the likely equally impressive fascia muscles and Weiss was suddenly very hot under her collar. She pulled at it as Link had done just moments ago.

"What's up?"

It spoke. The _highly_ attractive creature spoke.

Its voice vibrated like it was being spoken through a twisting fan, choppy and coming out in different octaves. But it was _amazing._ Only now was she able to conjure an excuse to look away from its muscles. That was to stare into its eyes.

Eyes weren't meant to be so completely blue! It was like staring into a crystal ocean, endlessly deep and full of life everlasting. They looked as if they belonged within an artists' interpretive painting, not in the skull of some amphibian creature born of Link's meddling and a wooden mask and Weiss _really_ had to sit down now. Her legs were beginning to feel weak.

"Whoa…" she finally heard Yang speak, or anyone for that matter. It was more than the heiress could manage right now.

"L-Link?" Now Ruby spoke up. It made sense she would recover amongst the first of students. This was the second time she had seen this. Weiss correctly assumed it was well beyond the hundredth for Link or his fairies. "Um… a-are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm cool," the amphibian waved away, grinning like self-absorbed rocker. "Sorry 'bout that scare. Shoulda warned the rest of the groopers what was gonna happen. That's my bad." Its English was atrocious, but the voice made up for every word.

"O-Oh Dust. Dust, Grimm, Hunters, Beacon…" Weiss heard Jaune's voice begin with the normal curses, but then dissolve into far more expletive ones. She could hardly fault the boy, for once. She turned around long enough to see that the remaining members of JNPR were ferrying just as well, if not worse.

Weiss could at least credit Jaune for some action, whereas Pyrrha Nikos was apparently stuck in stunned horror, hands clenched over her mouth as if to resist regurgitation of her meal. Seeing as Weiss was sitting directly in front of her, she hoped that was not going to happen.

"That actually happened. Oh Dust I'm not dreaming. Oh, this is weird, maybe bad. Oh, what's going on?" And now the second child leader of Beacon Academy was starting to rock himself into a terrified coma. Brilliant on all fronts.

"Okay, seriously, you all gotta relax." Weiss's attention was on the creature again in a moment, staring at it as it so easily spoke, waving its leather bound hands with a relaxed grin. But Dust! Weiss couldn't tell where those eyes were looking. "No reason ta start cursin' Time or callin' the guards. I'm here, it's safe, take your potions and then take a seat."

It was a little terrifying, honestly, how easily a great majority of the class responded. She was already sitting, legs still weak from staring at the creature's flawless amphibian body, but she heard a great many of chairs move and scratch against the floor, seats being taken and notes doubtlessly prepared.

There was no way anyone was going to forget about this lecture.

"Incredible!" Doctor Oobleck apparently recovered. Running to the stage floor just as fast as Weiss knew him capable of. He was standing in front of the creature, only reaching up to its mid-chest now. If Weiss recalled, Link had a similar height comparison to the doctor before. "You have somehow made a complete metamorphosis! No lesions of any kind! No Dust residue! However, a waxy exterior, wait! That's for your amphibious nature to more easily repel water and create less friction. Of course! Evolutionary advantage at its best!"

"Dude." The creature spoke, putting its hands on Doctor Oobleck. The doctor stared up at the amphibian thing, clearly on a high of some sort. Weiss wasn't in a capable mind to be sure. "Relax. Chill. Take a seat then take a load off. That's the best order."

"Yes! Of course! I'll be able to retain more information if I have focused attention. Brilliant deduction!" Weiss made out the creature's choppy voice sighing as Oobleck rushed to Link's previously occupied seat. He downed all the contents of his mug before staring forward, fingers locked together and appearing like a student admitted to Beacon a decade late.

Then again, the creature didn't exactly appear young. Again and again, Weiss wasn't sure what young was to that _hot_ thing.

"Kay, sweet, now where to start?" The creature put one hand on its hip as the other scratched the top of its head. Its beautiful eyes never changed. Weiss was just fine with that. "Oh, I got it. Can't rock a set till you know whose playin' can you?" Weiss didn't know and she didn't care. Not so long as it kept talking in that octave changing voice.

The creature stared straight at Ruby. Weiss knew it was Ruby, knew by the directness of its body posture and by the way it waved to her. She heard some noise come from beside her, but she didn't bother to look into it. Now while the creature was speaking.

"The name's Mikau, guitarist for the Indigo-go's and all around chillaxed dude." Weiss knew that name well. She recognized the next noise as one of a sudden gasp, the one behind her of someone falling out of their chair.

This was the creature, Link's friend, that had died trying to save its… _his_ family.

"Case you're curious, or just don't know, I'm here, too. Link that is. We're both here, both got our own minds, memories, and feelings. Keep up if you can. Understand if you can't. This is going up stream fast." He chuckled at his joke, one Weiss had absolutely no context or knowledge of. But she nearly felt herself giggle at his voice as well. Why was her face so warm?

"Course, that means you probably don't got too many clues 'bout what I am. So, breakin' it down easy for ya. I'm a Zora. We Zoras like to kick it easy in the ocean, under it really. Land's cool, but feels weird to feel so dry all the time. Don't know how you guys stand it. Wait, yes I do, Link that is." Weiss was sure that if her mind wasn't addled by the sights before her, she would have committed herself to a hospital. She was listening to two people talk in one body.

"This might knock ya down a bit, but we eat fish. Smaller fish, kinda like you most of ya eat other animals. I know you like chicken." Weiss would agree with anything he said. "If you gotta curious itch 'bout it, most other people don't get to see where we Zoras hang out. Kinda hard to appreciate a home underwater." He laughed again. This time, so did Weiss.

"Excuse me! Yes, a question!" Never before had Weiss wished so dearly to light a teacher on fire. "How fares your coexistence with other forms of faunus or life in your homeland? Are there ever reasons for fear or misconduct?"

"Dude, you're usin' a lot of big words ta basically ask if we hate each other." The Zora, Mikau, the very attractive amphibian-like faunus, spoke back to the professor. "But we get along pretty good. I ain't gonna go climb Snowhead ta hang out with the Gorons, but that's cause the cold would make my blood freeze. Pretty tough for them ta make it to us either, ya know, with whole breathing thing." He motioned up and down his throat as he spoke.

It was only then that she noticed the gills peaking out above and below his leather choker. That explained the vibration of his voice. His words were being pushed through the multiple openings all at once. It wasn't a fan, but it was choppy, in only the best of ways. Maybe she should get some water. That usually cooled things down. Weiss noticed how thirsty she was.

She noticed that and the jeweled amulet on his choker. Apparently she wasn't the only one.

"What's on your throat?" Some other student asked. Her voice didn't sound familiar to the Schnee heiress. "The jewel I mean. The one on your collar."

"This?" Mikau, hopefully not Link, responded. One of his amphibian digits pushed at the amulet, holding it away from his chiseled chest. It had three jewels on it, specifically. Three ocean blue sapphires sitting in a triangular pattern. They were held together by a gleaming band of gold, well-defined and likely very strong. "It's called the Zora Sapphire. Not gonna say it's a holy relic or somethin' like that, but it kinda is."

"Fascinating!" Doctor Oobleck shot up again. "Please, what is the religious significance for this relic? Does it allow communication with spirits or other supernatural entities?"

"Dude, I'll keep sayin' it till ya get it. Relax, chill…" Mikau leaned back as he spoke, stopping only when his lower thighs were leaning against the table. Were Weiss up there, and she almost wished she was, the same position would have had the desk against her rear. "It's like a wedding band, er somethin' like that. Isn't worth much ta a bunch of Gerudo or Hylians aside from bein' a pretty stone."

"So then… you got that when you were married?" Another unknown student, this one male. Weiss still never took her eyes off of Mikau. He only grinned at the response.

"Was before, ain't no more." Weiss reasoned she was watching him closely to catch the small changes in his muscled features. Her evidence for such a claim was the dip in Mikau's smile. "She didn't give this beauty to me though. S'pposed to belong to royalty and stuff, but when they're no more kings and queens, the waves spread everything evenly."

"Did it hurt?" Weiss knew immediately that it was Ruby.

She turned away from Mikau, regrettably, to see her young partner staring forward. Tael sat on her head, almost unseen with the similar shades of black they were. The ball on her head and translucent wings gave him away. Ruby herself, however, looked to be fighting tears again. She heard the multi-octave voice of Mikau sigh. He likely knew why Ruby asked that question, or Link did. Weiss wasn't sure who.

"Yeah, figured this was gonna come up." One of his hands rested on the desk behind him. He had to lean back further for it to touch down. His other hand rubbed the top of his head. The way he bent, however, showed off every muscle in his body. Weiss crossed her legs. "Probably gonna get asked a hundred and one questions about somethin' I _really_ don't like to think about. Ah well, least I won't have to wear that damn collar if I do."

Weiss watched, carefully, as Mikau pushed himself off of the table. He began to walk towards Ruby, his long and very well-muscled legs carrying him up several stairs with each individual step. His endless blue eyes were looking at the young girl, who Weiss knew was looking back at him. The fairy on her head lightly rang, maybe speaking something for only the Zora's non-existent ears, maybe just a sign of motion. She didn't know and quite honestly didn't care, not when Mikau was just that much closer to her.

They were separated by only two students and a professor when he stopped. Weiss missed when Ruby had stood up from her chair, standing by the stairs of the amphitheater now. It was likely while she was transfixed by the marvelous creature walking towards them. That didn't matter now, however.

He was standing aside Ruby, every pair of eyes in the classroom focused on him. Mikau stood well above Ruby, towering over her. Seven feet of pure muscle made it an easy feet. Carefully, likely due to his height, Mikau moved to kneel, still standing well above Weiss's young partner when he did. She couldn't clearly see Ruby's expression, but she knew it must have been heartfelt.

"Yeah, it did hurt." His melodic voice spoke the damning words. "But you of all people should know that me bein' here means that it wasn't the end. I helped him… sorry, Link saved me, and played the song he usually does to give peace."

"W-What did you see?" Weiss knew what Ruby wanted to hear. She found herself hoping for the same thing. Mikau grinned, of all things, before he responded.

"I saw Lulu," he spoke with an almost heart-breaking sincerity, made only worse by the way his voice almost sang. "I saw her drifting in a void just beneath me, nothing there but me and her. When I looked into her eyes, she was smilin' at me, like nothing was wrong. I can remember Link's song playin' through the void, that same peaceful tune. Had a good feelin' ta it." His head was nodding, making the long protrusion from his head wave with him. With the silence of the room around them, she could hear it swish through the air.

"One by one, like chords on a fretboard, I saw all my band members pop into the void. Evan, Japas, Tito, they were all there. Lulu gave me her hand, smilin' like we were gettin' ready for a set. Kinda were actually. I took it, and we walked together. I was so freakin' happy." Weiss watched as the gills along Mikau's neck opened up, far more than before. He was likely taking a deep breath of air.

To Ruby, he put a hand on her shoulder, grinning like he had before. Weiss counted his teeth, noting the fangs along them. He really did eat fish, probably raw with teeth like that.

"I told you this… sorry, Link told ya this with Elrora. He helped us, but we're not here anymore. I gave him my thoughts and memories, he gave my soul peace in the Ceaseless Sea. If anything, I got the better deal."

"Are you happy?" Weiss wouldn't have expected any other question for the young girl.

"Last thing I remember in my own body is playin' with the people I love. Link saved my family after that, rest of the Zoras, too. Kinda be weird if I wasn't." He chuckled, standing up once more, towering over the rest of them as he did. Mikau put his hands to his hips, just above the leather belt that held up that thin obstructive piece of green fabric. "You're a good girl, Ruby. Make sure you never change that."

"She won't." Weiss had to look away from Mikau to see the dark fairy atop Ruby's head talking. "S-She's been nothing but worried. I could feel it." He could do that? Weiss supposed it was a possible function for mini-drones. She cut off any of her musings when Mikau began to laugh again, that heavenly sound.

"I believe it." He rubbed the top of her head, the fairy jumping off long enough for the action. Weiss heard her partner make an indignant sound, but only before she started laughing. Mikau joined her. The rest of the class, by Weiss's ears, were only muttering amongst one another.

"Well that's enough of the blues for me," the Zora spoke up again, Weiss reminded herself of the species of faunus the tall muscled figure belonged to. "I brought him out ta answer some questions, not make the room depressed. Seriously, it's nothin' short of irritating. I'm ready for more questions if ya got them." Mikau held out his long arms, as he spoke, walking down the stairs again to the front of the classroom. It was the very gesture of inviting.

"Too many questions." She heard Doctor Oobleck mumble. Ruby settled back in her seat, Weiss spying the girl's expression far more cheerful than before. "So many unknowns. Not enough time to have them all answered. Wondrous. Perplexing. Confusing."

"I got a question!" Weiss turned around completely to see, of all people, Jaune with his hand up. He was going to screw this up. The heiress didn't have to process a single other thought to now the certainty of her deduction. The failure of an Arc was going to colossal ruin the conversation with this rare and majestic faunus. "You, um… Link said that you were musician, a-and a warrior, too. By blood, I mean, you said, no, _he_ said by blood. So, um… which is it?"

Weiss was correct. Jaune had just ruined everything.

"Ah, finally someone asked a _good_ question!" Wiess's jaw dropped.

Perhaps she was wrong. Mikau had his hands in the airs, stretching to what was likely an impressive ten feet into the air. He was standing just in front of the desk again, smiling at the question of all things. "The wait was startin' ta dry my gills." His arms fell, swinging at his sides and well above the desk behind him. His endless blue eyes were looking at Jaune, grinning like the fanged smirk he had. Weiss was staring again.

"Wait, you… want to talk about that?" Jaune was apparently just as shocked as the heiress. Given his track record, it wasn't hard to guess why.

"Duh!" Mikau let out in an incredible fashion. "I hate talkin' about history and junk like that. No real use in thinkin' 'bout things that aren't there anymore. It's more fun ta talk about what I enjoy. That sound weird to you?" It certainly didn't to Weiss.

"Oh, uh, that's good." The Arc descendant returned with a bit more confidence. It was only then Weiss was aware of the silence of the room. That, and something she caught by the frequent twisting of her head, were the number of Scrolls out, likely taking pictures of Mikau. Amateurs. "So, which is it?"

"Before anything else," Mikau began, reaching behind him for something. Weiss had no idea what, given his glorious lack of clothing. "I'm a musician."

He pulled out of nowhere the skeleton of a large fish.

That was simply it. He produced from likely thin air the remains of a fish with impressive size. It was nothing but bones, complete with the long vertebrae and branching ribs. Its tail sat between Mikau's shoulder and neck, its head hanging nearly to his knees. It was dry, as she suspected anything like it would be, but tall enough to likely match the heiress in height.

"This baby," Mikau began to speak, earning Weiss's immediate attention. "Is the Guitar of Waves." He spoke about it lovingly, hand tracing down the spine as he spoke. "I know 'nough 'bout Hylians and Gerudos to know that this probably looks like nothin' but old fish bones. But it is _so_ much more than that." Instead of saying more, Mikau showed more. Weiss watched, raptured, as he pushed down on different ribs of the fish, strumming at the sternum of the deceased creature as he did.

She was almost shocked to hear perfect notes coming from the corpse.

She looked up, seeing the Zora grin as he continued to adjust his fingers along the spine of the long dead fish, picking at its sternum to produce different notes. He played chords across the corpse, letting the acoustic sound echo through the air, each note lifting the other up. It was a harmonic balance between them, Weiss knew as a singer. Notes played from two different sources but echoing along the same frequency. It kept one from distorting the other, strengthening them instead.

Mikau was playing across his Guitar of Waves in such a way that the notes were actually coming out louder than any one note could. But more than that, he played different notes, entire chords, melodies from his homeland for all she knew. They sounded like waves to the heiress, lifting her up and gently rocking her back down, drawing her further out to sea and deeper into the melody he played. She was leaning over desk, chin on her hands as she engrossed herself in the music.

"New Wave Bossa Nova," she heard him whisper lovingly, playing more notes to a song she had never heard before. "Lulu and I wrote this up a long time ago. S'pposed to be played with a bit of jazz and pipes. But sometimes, a guitar is all you need."

She heard him pluck at the sternum of the fish, fingers quickly moving down the spine to deepen the notes as he did. When the vibration of the bones was gone, he plucked it again, this time ascending the vertebrae. The notes carried by eight and half notes, a lingering half note to only be quickly followed by three eighth notes. They were not even a breath off in meter.

Every time she believed she had caught onto the pattern of the song, he twisted his hand, adding a new note or pitch to an otherwise unimportant chord. The subtle changes made all the difference in the world. Though the music was every bit of a soothing lullaby to Weiss, she had been taught since her early days in theatre and singing practice to always be aware of the audience. Now was no different to her. She turned around, lightly judging with the corner of her vision her fellow students and teammates.

It was of little surprise to see Blake and Ruby both enraptured in the song. The former was waving her head left and right, slowly rocking herself with the music that emanated from Mikau's guitar. As a fellow faunus, she likely heard the dips in pitch even Weiss's trained ears couldn't follow. Ruby simply had her arms embraced around her own torso, absorbing herself to the music. She could make out Tael atop her partner's head, rolling as if rocking himself.

She turned to see Yang making the most motion out of their group, hands pointing into the air with each note Mikau played. It was as if she were attempting to be an amateur conductor, eyes shut and lips twisted into her usual cheerful grin. Now, however, Weiss didn't have a single suspicion about the blonde brawler's motives. Just behind her, a row back, Nora seemed to be doing the same thing. But, where Yang was simply pointing in the air, the energetic girl was waving her hands about in an almost flail like fashion.

Ren beside her was his usual calm self. His head nodded to the half notes, ignoring the eight notes in only motion. Even with only the slightest glances of her eyes, Weiss could tell he was grinning in pleasure. Pyrrha, whom Weiss had to turn around to see better, made far more elaborate motions. Her head was weaving through the air, shoulders rising and falling with her movements. It took Weiss a moment, but she could easily see what the duelist was doing. Dancing.

Jaune, leaning far back in his chair, appeared to be imitating the masterful skill of Mikau. Where he truly holding his guitar, Weiss knew it would be to poor effect. She would not, however, dare speak now and interrupt the ballad. Of the many students in the room, Weiss could see they were all making some small motion, some gentle movement to show their interest in the song. None, as far as her subtle gaze could see, ignored the acoustic tune from Mikau's Guitar of Waves.

Only Doctor Oobleck appeared impassive, oddly still, with a steaming mug in hand. She could, however, see him grinning at the music, likely savoring it in a way only he was custom to. Weiss was a proper judge for many things, but she never considered herself the dictator for how art should be felt. That was always dependent upon the individual alone.

But then, with a final strum, the song was done. Weiss looked down to see Mikau holding his strumming hand was held out to his side, bones of the fish still lightly vibrating as the notes it produced tapered off and died. She could not and thankfully did not miss the complete look of satisfaction that was adorned on his face.

Weiss was amongst the first to applaud the performance.

She clapped her hands together, a truly approving gesture for the flawless performance Mikau had done. It took little time for others to join in, many others whooping aloud with their hands. Whistles soon accompanied them, one coming from Ruby just aside Weiss, and a few more from behind her. She watched carefully as Mikau grinned at the applause, taking it like a musician would. With equal mix pride and humility, shown through his grin and elegant bow.

"Oh yeah, missed this sound," he spoke up, just barely heard over the applause. "Didn't think you'd be that impressed with a solo performance. Most places ask fer the whole band or nothin' at all."

"Foolishness!" Wiess heard Doctor Oobleck protest. She turned just in time to see him wave his cup in the air. It miraculously didn't spill a drop. Practice likely. "Your performance showed excellent motor skills and training! Creativity as well! Using the remains of an above average marine animal as an instrument? Not unheard, but difficult. Success in doing so shows great skill alone! On that, congratulations!"

"Right back at ya," Mikau spoke with a point of his hand, grinning like Weiss knew Yang would given such compliments. That rogue thought was gone as quick as it came. "But yeah, this is what I do. Can't say I know a lot 'bout other people, but I do know no one hates music. Just gotta find the right song, then bam! Harmony." Weiss appreciated the simplicity of his logic.

"Then what about that 'warrior blood'?" Weiss almost snapped at Yang, the question she voiced almost as insulting as Jaune's. Maybe the hair color really was related to lack of tact. If Jaune and Yang were not enough, Tatl seemed to fit the mold as well. "Don't get me wrong. That was a wicked song. Record that later. Buuut, Tatl tattled that you had warrior blood, line of fighters I'm guessing. You don't seem desperate for a fight, so what's that do?" Weiss retracted her former statement. That was actually a rather insightful question.

"Two for two over here," Mikau let out, pointing to their general direction. "Well, for starters, Zora are pretty different dependin' on the blood we have. Don't know how easy it is ta tell, but we aren't exactly big in the whole clothing scene." Weiss saw and had no complaints. "Thing is, our blood is a little… stronger, I guess, for how we look when we grow out of tadpoles." Grow out of what?

"This baby," Mikau began, stroking the long appendage extending from the back of his head down to his hip. "Is my superior dorsal fin. It looks the way it does cause my blood says it has to. Japas, the bassist in our band, he had something similar, but his grew over eyes too. Ta the rest of you Gerudo and Hylians, guess it would look like he had long bangs. Difference is, we can't cut or change ourselves with scissors or dye. Ocean's a harsh mistress on that front." Weiss could vaguely see where this was going.

"So, when it comes down ta what my warrior's line of blood does, basically means I got the body of one. No barbs ta get in my way and plenty of muscle ta spare. Only skill I have is thanks to a bit of training and experience. Well… that experience is Link's not mine, which makes it mine too now. Fun stuff." Weiss felt the urge to agree, though another side told her to slap herself if she did so.

"Body of a warrior, huh?" Oh no. Weiss grimaced as she heard Cardin's voice once more. She was very near the idea of committing murder to remove his stain from Beacon. "Takes more than some muscle and good looks to be worth anything in a fight. If all your 'warrior blood' gave you was that, you should probably stick with just guitarist schtick and get off the stage."

Weiss wasn't sure what she loathed more. The words Cardin spoke or the gruff agreements from a few rogue students in the crowd. She was the heiress to the Schnee dynasty, by merits someone who should be one of the most cynical and self-centered individuals on all of Remnant, yet these fools seemed to prove that their intelligence was lower than sea level.

"That all you think I got?" Mikau asked in return. Weiss watched him, carefully watching the way his muscles moved as he lowered his guitar, head of the fish sitting on the ground as he held it up by the tail. They could make statues of him. "Well, I already covered 'the tell', guess now I can do 'the show'." Weiss watched as Mikau lifted his free arm, holding the long and muscular appendage outwards. She wished she could record a video of it.

"See my fin?" His multi-octave voice asked, arm bending at the elbow. In honesty, Weiss did not. Not at first. She saw his smooth blue scales flow from dark blue to ocean white, stopping only when the met the dark brown of his gloves. She saw a single band of red about said leather, likely to keep said article of clothing from slipping off.

But just to the right of it, small as a frill on Weiss's own dress, was a protrusion. She thought it part of the gauntlets until she took note of the silvery color and gleaming cover. It was partially oval in shape, very likely attached to Mikau's arm at the apex of each curve. To her, the well-studied Huntress-in-training, it was very likely the fin Mikau referred to.

"Got it?" He called out, assumingly to Cardin, waving his arm as if to show the tiny fin. Weiss only found her attention constantly drawn to the muscles that held the arm. Those well-defined and proportioned muscles. "Now watch this." In a fluid and majestic fashion, Mikau flexed his arm, making the already defined muscles push against the smooth silver scales of his body. That wasn't what caught the room's immediate attention.

It was the spontaneous growth of his fin.

Weiss sucked in a breath of air while several of her fellow students shot out a few more appropriate expletives, for good reason. The fin, now immediately obvious, wasn't simply longer or a bit wider. By just rough numbers in the heiress's mind, it appeared to be ten fold larger in volume, now nearly as long as Mikau's entire arm, doubtlessly much wider as well. It curved as well as any other part of his body, but now with the find ending at a sharp yellow point that glistened like the rest of his toned body. By all rights, it looked like a blade.

"Not many Zora get these babies," Mikau spoke up now, slowly twisting his arm as if appraising his own fin for the first time. Weiss highly doubted such a possibility. "Sharp as scales, light as foam, and if I can take the awe of the crowd for anythin', none of ya saw this coming." Mikau's grin sharpened like his fin, pulling at the smooth surface of his face. He drew his arm back, pulling it over his chest as if to hug his guitar closer. No student in the room had time to voice a question as to why.

"Catch," Mikau called.

Throwing his arm forward, the fin detached itself, flying through the air.

"Oh cra-" Weiss heard Cardin yell before ducking away. She saw that because she was following Mikau's fin with rapt attention. It flew through the air with a cyclic pattern, cutting the air as easily as the blades of a fan. A trail of silver followed it, likely an illusion created by the glimmering surface of the fin. No matter what it was, Weiss could tell the flying fin was deadly, most easily discernable with its sharp tip.

But then, it diverted mid-flight. Simply, it was traveling straight, but then it twisted about, as if following the curve of a road. Its angle increased, making it spin around and back towards Mikau. It flew back to him with as much speed as its departure, though he showed no fear of its sharp return. Instead, he only held up his now finless arm, following the fin back down.

He caught it on his forearm again with a light grunt of effort, smile never faltering. All of this occurred well above the head of the class, far out of the way of any one student's harm. It appeared that the well-muscled Zora was also equally wise.

"Fascinating…" Weiss heard Doctor Oobleck mumble. She had many more kinds words to say that simply that. "Mikau! Another question! Request first, truthfully. Do not endanger students with your weapons. Very poor teaching method." Weiss saw Mikau nod his head, agreeing with the words. Weiss didn't agree with them, mostly because she enjoyed the growl of anger Cardin made. "Secondly! Blood is euphemism for genetics, assumingly, likely. Therefore, speculation! You have more than simply detachable aerodynamic fins, correct?"

"Man you gotta quit it with the big words," Mikau let out, stretching his arm as he spoke. Weiss enjoyed the sight. "But I'm pretty sure what your askin' is if I can do more than what I've shown, right?"

"Yes! Correct! Also speculation of similarities between genetics and blood! Blood simply over-simplification for the former, latter refers only to-"

"Alright, alright, man, it's like you really can't help yourself, can ya?" Mikau grinned cheekly as he asked the question, leaning in towards Doctor Oobleck as he spoke. A flight of stairs and several rows of chairs away, the effect was rather lost. Weiss, however, wouldn't mind if he leaned closer to her. "But yeah, guess those big words of yours mean ya gotta big brain. Problem is, can't really show off anymore here."

"Curious. Why not? Space available too minimal? No, room enough to throw large boomerang fins. Nervousness, perhaps?" Doctor Oobleck speculated as he spoke, asking Mikau a question only when he could not surmise and answer himself. Weiss would have been annoyed, if the words didn't somehow get the Zora to laugh. With a voice that shifted in octaves and rumbled from a body crafted by the sea, she felt anything but ungrateful.

"Nah man, lots simpler than that." Mikau had his arm sway over his body, waving from the top of his perfectly smooth and shimmering face, down his muscled chest, over the Guitar of Waves, before settling back to his side again. "I'm just a fish outta water right now. Doesn't hurt too bad, but can't really do a lot more till I feel water in my gills again."

"I have water!" Weiss wished she was the one to make such a declaration.

Instead, she saw another female student, one she recognized only as a face in a crowd. The girl was a head shorter than Weiss, brown hair truncated at the neck and curled to a ridiculous amount. She was nearly skipping down the stairs to hand the bottle over to Mikau. Even three rows of desks away, Weiss could see that she was fidgeting nervously in front of the much _much_ taller Zora.

"Hey, thanks sea breeze," Mikau spoke to the young girl, a woman Weiss now found a suitable reason to loathe. He took the water bottle from her gratefully, grinning with his fanged smile. "I was talkin' about a pool of water, but this helps a lot."

Without waiting another moment, he poured the contents of the bottle over his head.

The water simply cascaded down his slippery body, making every small dip and curve on his scales only that much more prevalent and easy to see. Weiss traced each and every drop of water that slipped down his scales, past his leather choker, down his pectoral muscles, over his abdomen, and seeping into the green fabric of his skirt.

They dripped from him tauntingly, the water at least. It almost mocked her with how it covered Mikau's body, hugging against him desperately. She heard him released a pleasured sigh, no doubt enjoying the feeling of the cool water over his smooth scales and curvy muscles.

Weiss crossed her legs, hunched over the desk, and bit her lip to keep a very awkward sound from escaping her lips.

"Might wanna wait until we get back to our room before you start doing that princess." Weiss pushed her head harder against the desk when she heard Yang whisper to her. It only became worse when the blonde started chuckling. "Not that I can blame you. Not with those muscles he's got."

"Ah yeah, that hits the spot." Weiss wanted to know desperately where that spot was. Her thirst for that knowledge only increased when Mikau waved his head, pushing off the drops of water across the ground. His shimmering scales now glistened. "With those kind of eyes on me, feels like I'm gettin' ready for another encore. It's nice."

He opened his eyes to look down at the short-cut haired girl, who Weiss swore nearly squealed upon said eye contact. She wished it was a snort instead. Her wish only grew in intensity when Mikau put his hand on her shoulder, smiling sweetly down to her.

"Thanks for the liquid, but do ya know where there's a lot more of it. A pool'd be good, if ya got those." The girl started to open and shut her jaw, speaking with all the intelligence she possessed; none.

"Alright, that's it." Of all the voices Weiss expected to speak next, she had honestly not considered Tatl. Though, that was likely because she had forgotten near all about the blonde mini-drone. Quick as the fly she was likely modeled after, the minie-drone flittered down to the stage, circling about the girl and Zora before speaking again. "You can sit down sweetheart, Link's pulling your chain. He likes to do that whenever Mikau gets too much attention."

"Aw, you're ruinin' the fun Tatl," Mikau complained with a grin across his face. He lifted his guitar over his head and around his back, letting it vanish from sight again. Weiss was okay with that, so long as she could continue to start at his muscles' stretches. "Sides, it's an honest question. Been a while since I caught a dip in anythin' but moat water, and if they're willin' ta see more, no reason we can't catch two fish with one net."

"I'm not against showing them _too_ much more, I just think the musician _on_ you is willing to give more than he properly bargained for." Weiss watched, raptured, as Mikau's soft grin began to widen, the smooth scales across his face seemingly weaving into one another to allow the large expression to show. She was thankful to any god above for the sight, especially when his fangs showed.

"There is a reason I'm always the knight and never the king." He chuckled at the words, but… they didn't sound like Mikau's voice. Yes, Weiss recognized his beautiful multi-octave voice, but the words were… different. It sounded like Ruby trying to recite old literature. It just came off… wrong.

Maybe… that was Link talking?

"Hey, Super Buzz!" Weiss was almost as shocked that Tatl used the name for the doctor as she was to him responding to it.

"Yes! A point to be made?"

"More like negotiation," The mini-drone let out as she flew back up to Doctor Oobleck. She stopped when she floated maybe hand's length away from the doctor. He took a long sip of coffee as she spoke. "Not that hard to see you're hooked on what Link has to show, Mikau's help of course. Buuuut this is coming out to be worth a bit more than a change in uniform, if you catch my drift."

"Caught and analyzed!" Doctor Oobleck returned, slamming his mug down on the table. It was, unsurprisingly to Weiss, empty, that made three and class was not even half way done. "And yes! Agreement! A dizzying depth of information, in exchange for a simple favor on my part. Unequal in the worst of ways. What is your remedy? Money, perhaps?"

"Pass." As far as Weiss was concerned, Tatl may have been the only creature to ever forgo money payment from a teacher of Beacon in exchange for teaching. It was likely a result of her programming. "But I got an idea. See, we're looking for a friend of Link's. Long story short, she left a while ago, wasn't anywhere in Hyrule, think she might be around here, staying at Beacon while we search. Understand so far? Good, now. You're a history buff, am I right?"

"Positively correct! Head research in several areas, useful for determining future problems. History repeats and-"

"Okay, yeah, answer's yes." Weiss was no more curious how the golden mini-drone hadn't been swatted before. Mikau's multi-octave chuckle, however, told her there were more important things to worry about, such as his muscles in action again. "Point is, you might be a guy who can help us. Ya know, places you think someone might hide in, someone like me or my brother I mean. Think you can do that?"

"Exchange of information is simple, tedious as worst," the doctor responded. He quickly raised his free hand to his chin, tilting his head in thought. "However, would require information regarding you and sibling. Collection of information to search my knowledge of geographical areas. Intriguing, challenging, but highly rewarding. Very well!"

Doctor Oobleck shot up with his declaration. It was of little surprise to see his chair fall down at the motion. In a blur of green and white, he was in front of Mikau, rising to only chin level of the Zora. Neither appeared even slightly perturbed by the other. Oobleck to Mikau's height or Mikau to the doctor's speed.

"Link, or Mikau, whichever preferred currently, I accept this deal! Conditionally, however, you must demonstrate this final part to your lecture. Agreed?" Quick as the wind, his hand was up for a shake, held out to Mikau as he had Link before. The Zora, by Weiss's measure and her absolute glee, didn't even hesitate.

"You got it," he spoke as he took the doctor's hand. They shook their hands, or more appropriately, Doctor Oobleck shook Mikau's entire arm, the amphibian donning a momentary look of shock as he bent over at the effort of the simple gesture. However, the doctor released the arm before he could go any further.

"Splendid! To the pool then! With haste!" That was all the warning Doctor Oobleck gave before he ran from the room. Weiss, at least, assumed he ran. At the break neck speed both he and her partner normally moved at, it was hard to tell if they were running or flying.

"Cool. Hey Tatl," Mikau called to his golden fairy, currently flying about Jaune's head. The boy had either grown used to the display amazingly quickly, or he was still stuck in the stupor from Mikau. Weiss would not be able to blame him for the latter. "Do ya remember how to get to the pool?"

"Sure do," the golden fairy ran in reply. Though… she wasn't done. "Buuuut, I'm gonna fly on ahead and make sure Professor Super Buzz isn't going to make a show outta you. Gotta make sure we have an even trade and all. See ya there!" Weiss watched Mikau all but raise a hand at Tatl as she rang and zipped out of the room. Come to think of it, the mini-drone was able to move impressively quickly as well.

"Whoa, huh? Sis! Wait for me?" The pervy Tael quickly took off after the golden fairy, darkness chasing light and all those poetic metaphors that came to the heiress's mind. Her eyes, however, were still easily more attracted to the now lone Zora's figure.

"Of course, gotta have your fun too, huh?" Mikau dipped his head and chuckled, a joke that Weiss had no knowledge of, those plenty of assumptions for. They were left on the wayside as the well-muscled guitarist looked up again. "Anybody show me how ta get to the pool? I can't be late for my set."

"I can!" To Weiss's absolute horror, Ruby shot up first.

Fast as always, the young teen was standing in front of Mikau, already grabbing his one of his arms and pulling him up the steps. She didn't appear the least bit intimated despite being only slightly above naval high to the warrior Zora.

"C'mon!" Ruby spoke simply and childishly as she pulled at Mikau's arm. "I know the quickest way there! So fast you'll be able to swim a dozen laps in the pool before anyone else shows up!" He'll do what?

"Awesome. Lead the way then sea foam." He called her what?!

"On it!" Then, to Weiss's mounting horror, Ruby took off.

Her semblance ran as close to rampant as she could describe, pulling the magnificent example of a statuesque figure out of the room and out of sight. She felt breath leave her body. A stillness settled over the air, leaving every student, herself included frozen to the spot. There was no doctor to teach them, no magnificent figure to stare and listen to, but only the promise to see something incredible in some off part of Beacon.

A part of her mind, every considerate to the many possibilities in a plan, reasoned that she could use the time to study in other areas. By all rights, this was early dismissal from class. She could catch up on translating Dr. Port's speech for the flaws he found in Grimm behavior. She could ready her Dust supply for Ms. Goodwitch's training session. She could even practice her vocal work for a performance.

But in all honestly, there was only one place Weiss Schnee wanted to be.

She didn't even have to be the one to say it.

" _To the pool!_ " Came the battle cry behind her.

Like stampede of starved beowolves, Doctor Oobleck's class took off after Mikau and Ruby Rose, two individuals in dire need of two very different conversations with the heiress.

* * *

"This is gonna be sick!" Yang yelled out the phrase without any filter to her excitement. She'd never put one on before and now hardly seemed like the time to wear it. It was the same way how she didn't bother to apologize for the large number of students she balled over mid-sprint. "I bet he's gonna make a tidal wave outta the water. No wait, better yet, he's gonna make a freakin' vortex! Oh, that would be killer!"

"In more ways than one, but I doubt any of those possibilities," Yang wasn't even remotely surprised to see Blake running next to her, keeping pace without even a bead of sweat. She chalked it up to the feline heritage. Good for a foot race, she guessed. "Manipulation of Aristotle's Four Elements seems rather beyond the capabilities of any hereditary trait. Though it would be useful."

"Oh c'mon," Yang teased her partner as they both made a swing around a corner. She pushed a student out of her way, him screaming at her to be more careful. She didn't listen. "Don't tell me you don't wanna see the Big-Blue Link mess with some water. I bet he'd make a real _splash_ with moves like that." The cheeky grin the blonde offered her dark counterpart was returned only with a flat stare. Moderately impressive, given the pace they were running at.

"Jokes aside, do you not believe there are far more reaching consequences to Mikau?" Blake spoke with an air of mystery again. Yang blew a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. Sometimes her partner could be a real pain. "It means that there are more faunus from Link's homeland, so different from one another, but still all living together. Elrora from the sky, Mikau from the sea…" Blake took in a breath of air. Yang couldn't tell if it was from the pace they were running at or her to be being deep again. She hoped it was the former.

"Yeah, well, maybe we should to him about it before thinking too much about it," Yang attempted to sway her partner. For the better, of course. "Kinda useless to think about something when you can just ask someone for the answer, right?" Silence was the response she was given. At least, silence from Blake. Actual silence was kept far and large away by the trampling line of students that seemed to grow in number behind them.

It wasn't too surprising, given that anyone who saw an entire class's worth of students running would probably be a little more than curious. Where she not a part of the stampede, she probably would have joined it herself. Having said that, it did kinda feel like she was being chased by a mob at this point. Oh the good old days… for her at least. Blake probably didn't share that sentiment. Then again from there, neither did Weiss.

"Hey Weiss?" Yang yelled to her alabaster teammate. The Schnee heiress looked to her only for a moment before diverting her attention forward again. Good enough for the brawler. "You used to running after guys like this? Would've thought you preferred them chasing after you." Yang tallied a point in her favor when the young Huntresses gave her a snarling look.

"Oh come off it you brute!" Weiss yelled aloud as she blasted through a pair of doors, the crowd of students following her. Good word for it in Yang's mind, given how she could swear she heard them splinter. "I am not about to waste one of the must intellectual stimulating moments Dr. Oobleck has ever offered us. Besides, I do believe your sister was the one who dragged Mikau from the room."

Yang dropped the conversation only long enough to take note of where they were. Outside, specifically, thanks to Weiss's charge through the doors. But they had to loop around the cafeteria to get to the aquatic center. Loop around it, as in run most of the perimeter of the building just to get around it. That was an option. Or they could be more practical about it.

The blonde brawler gave herself a boost of speed, sprinting hard towards the cafeteria. When she was feet away, she powered her legs with a crouch, but only for a moment. In the next second, she was taking off into the air, clearing easily half the height of the large building. Half was good, but it wasn't enough. Good thing she was prepared.

Her hands dug into the side of the building, years of training showing off as she scaled up the remainder of the building's height with one good solid pull. The muscles able to pull of thousands of pull-ups with relative ease, giving half of their all in a single flex. She made it to the roof of the building with a smirk and perhaps a single bead of sweat, if it was an off day. Good thing it wasn't.

Yang didn't waste a moment to power over the roof of the building, able to see the aquatic center with ease. Her legs took off in another jolt of energy, sprinting across the roof of the building without pause. It took her no time to hear feet racing behind her again, catching up in just as much time.

"Now look who's in a rush," she heard Weiss speak proudly beside her. "And you have the gall to say that I'm chasing some… well-muscled ruffian." Yang couldn't have hidden her grin even if she tried.

"Oh yeah, cause I'm totally the only one who's thinkin' about pecs and ass right now, right?" She gave a quick eye to her sister's alabaster partner, more than simply pleased to see her avoiding eye-sight. "Score one for team Yang!" She called out as she gave another sprint forwards. It was just enough to power off of the roof of the building.

"She did call him Mikau as well, not Link," Blake spoke to Yang in the midst of their short flight down, straight down in fact. Yang chuckled at her partner. Sometimes annoying, sometimes fantastic.

"I know, right?" Yang yelled back, moments before they both slammed into the ground, creating chunks of earth and stone at the impact. Weiss landed beside them not a second later, far more daintily with her glyphs beneath her. Didn't matter, cause they were all running again just after that. "It's almost as if she wants to spend a pleasant evening with him. Forget Link, she probably wants to run that mask all over her-"

"If you two don't stop speaking this instant I'll _freeze_ you and force you to arrive late!" Yang would have chuckled, if she didn't see Weiss pull out Myrtenaster, making a show to point it at the pair. It was slightly amazing how her pace didn't waver despite the clear show of force. Then again, neither did Yang or Blake slow down.

"Alright, chill it princess," Yang waved her hand at Weiss. Alas, she could not resist to tease the young heiress. She blamed the instincts of being an elder sister. "I'm just sayin, you were making some pretty funny noises when Link was talking about the fish dude. Especially when he poured water all over his body. It almost sounded like you-" Yang let out a startled scream, stumbling forward she did.

It made sense why she did, given her left arm was encased in ice.

She hit the ground, tumbling lightly. It was far from a bad fall. Her right hand clutching her literally frozen solid left, however, that was the primary focus of her attention.

"I'm a Huntress of my word, Yang Xia Long!" Weiss yelled ahead of her, already swiftly pulling open the doors to the aquatic center, disappearing inside. Blake was not far behind the heiress. If there was one quality Yang could attribute to her dark partner, it was being realistic. And, realistically, Yang did realize she might have prodded too far.

That didn't help the ice encapsulating her arm or the rumbling of students running up behind her. They might have gotten a head start by jumping the cafeteria, but falling didn't exactly speed things up. The blonde brawler cursed her luck as she picked herself up and started forward again. She clenched her fists, seething through her teeth as she activated what she could of her semblance.

And, as predicated, the ice around her arm began to drip into water, leaving a clear trail along the stone she ran across. Yang mental a small mental note to remember to note make Weiss that made during a duel. It was a note she made and then just as easily she forgot about, like many others. Besides, there were far more important things to think about, like the hunk of a fish attached to a wonder of a faunus currently waiting for them in the pool.

Yang pulled open the doors to the aquatic center, hearing the hoard of students not far behind her. Way larger than just their class now. She shut the doors just as quickly, pushing against them to get the speed boost she need to run for the pool. It was clear as air the sudden rampage of students that slammed into the entryway. A cheap, but temporarily effective, way to block the entrance. Can't pull open a door when everyone is pushing.

There were a few voices yelling at her to slow down, more than one cursing her. They only made her grin. Just needed to have a few sirens and it would be exactly like the old times.

She turned another corner, then two, followed by three. She forwent the locker rooms. Too much space to cover with too close a goal. There was only one door she needed to open, and she could see it along the wall straight ahead of herself. A few more powerful lunges forward, and a few broken tiles behind her, and she was there.

Yang threw open the doors, ready to scream her victory of arrival far before the rest of the class. But when she opened the doors, seeing the large pool that made up the Beacon aquatic center, she stopped. It wasn't because she saw something amazing, or at least something breathtaking. It was because she _heard_ something. Something that was… nice.

It was singing.

_"-rst light, second chance, no child could ever dance they way… you do."_

Yang heard the voice echoing around the pool deck, something she was used to hearing. A note she'd long forgotten told her that it was because of the tiles, making the acoustics easier. A more dominant part didn't care. That part only cared about what she was hearing.

Specifically, she was hearing a guitar strum acoustically in the air, filling the air with lazy sways across the strings. She heard the pitch change, turning the notes higher and lower, but rarely more than that. But the voice that sang with those notes… Yang couldn't honestly tell if it was because the pool deck was making the voice sound great, or if it naturally echoed like that.

_"Oh, tear down, the prison walls. Don't start the curtain call. Your chains will never fall… until… you do…"_

The blonde stepped across the pool deck, following the voice up and around her. It was honestly hard for her to tell where it was coming from. Any other time, she might have guessed it was from the speakers. Heck, any real normal time she would have been clapping along to the beat. It did have a nice one.

But right now, she was searching the deck for the singer. She had little surprise to see her sister standing along the side of the pool, her favorite red cape billowing behind her. This time, however, Yang thought it was doing so because of the way she was dancing, swaying left to right with the music. Her little sis had the right idea. Yang's own head was bobbing to the music.

_"Cause if you never leave home, never let go… You'll never make it to the great unknown, till you keep. Your. EyeeEEees, open my love."_

Yang looked around, continuing to look for the singer, though already having a good idea who it was. She saw Blake and Weiss instead, both of devious teammates standing by the door. Took little imagination on the blonde's part to know what they were thinking. Probably figured a dip in the pool was good for her. Good thing the music was working its magic on them, too.

Weiss was leaning against the pool wall, arms at her sides and lightly pressing against the solid surface behind her. Her fingers were tapping at the tile, likely keeping beat with the song. Blake, however, had her arms crossed, and was all but screaming to the world that she was a faunus. The black bow on her head, twitching with the song's measures, kinda made it obvious.

_"So show me your shell, show me your heart! You know I'll never let you fall apart if you keep. Your EyeeEEees, open my love!"_

But then Yang tilted her head a little more and saw Professor Oobleck, standing on the far side of pool. He looked little different than usual, one arm behind his back and the other holding his likely coffee filled mug. What was different, at least by Yang's quick eyes, was the way his mug seemed to dipping and rising to the beat of the song. That was the only part of him moving, oddly enough as that was.

Next to him was a slightly more unexpected face,. The second-year and probably cripplingly shy faunus was next to the professor, staring up the high dives with her hands folded over her chest. Her long rabbit ears were leaning back, probably enjoying the sound as well as everyone else was. The young faunus did look a bit happier than usual, but Yang guessed that was because Cardin wasn't anywhere near her at the moment.

But if they were by the high dive…

 _"Oooooopen up… Oooooooopen up…. Open up your eyes! The weight is unbroken._ "

Yang looked up the tall platforms, specifically to their open ends that extended out and over the pool water. There were three here, one more than at Signal and taller at that. The smallest was at thirty feet, which was empty. Another was at fifty feet, also empty. The last one, standing far above the rest at seventy feet, however, had a now familiar blue figure sitting on it. Yang grinned as she put her hands to her hips.

Link, or Yang guessed more appropriately Mikau now, was sitting on the edge of the high dive, one leg hanging off the edge and other perched almost precariously next to it. He had that fishbone Guitar of Waves out hands strumming across it as he continued to sing. The brawler already knew he could play a tune, what was with that something Nova song from earlier. But with this, apparently he could sing, too.

Go figure that.

 _"Ooooooopen up... Ooooooopen up… Open up your eyes! Keep your eyes open…_ "

His hand fell from the guitar, letting the strings, bones, whatever was making the sound vibrate through the air. It was hard to tell what else he was doing from so high up. Just about everything but his legs was impossible for her to see.

That changed when he leaned further over the high dive, his smooth fish body looking out at the pool beneath him. Up so high, a lot of his features did kinda blur together. Yang blamed the chlorine in the air for that. She could at least make out his head, given how long that fin thing he had was.

"Oh hey," his vibrating voice spoke out to down below. Guess it really did echo. "Looks like the audience finally arrived." The what?

Yang turned around, blinking as she saw the rest of the students behind her. When did they get in here? No wait, she scratched that question. Where did the extra few dozen students pop in from? She could believe six or seven, but it looked like there were, like, three extra _classes_ behind her. What was this?

"Is that Glynda?"

What did the fish boy say?

"Yup, that's the Triple B down there." The amphibian up on the high dive pointed his hand into the group. Yang was almost fearful to look to where he was pointing. Almost. Thankfully or not, however, the figure he was addressing was more than happy to speak up. Happy was probably the worst word for it, actually.

"Link, I presume." The venom in Ms. Goodwitch's voice was more toxic than anything a spider could make up. It didn't help that the professor was slapping her riding crop on her free hand, marching across the wet tiles with high heels like she was getting ready to lay the smack down on someone. Probably was, Yang realized. Problem was she didn't know who. "One of your _friends_ helping you up there?"

"Yup, glad you catch on fast." Came the voice from up above. "Kidna worried I'd have ta explain the whole thing again. Don't get me wrong, I love a crowd… well Mikau does, but no likes repeat performances."

"My concern at the moment is who authorized you to have this little… performance." Yang could hear the leather of the crop twist and cry out in pain, a result of the blonde professor twisting the material in her hand. Kinda helped the pool was about as quiet as a mouse right now. "The rush of students making their way here has disrupted several activities about campus, including several tours and inspections by the Military."

"Can't blame the artist for drawing a crowd." Yang didn't know if she wanted drop to her knees with laughter or jump in the pool to avoid the slaughter. She was smart enough to at least back away to a wall. More support there. "Sides, I'm just holdin' up my end of the bargain with Oobleck. I show off what Mikau can do, with Link's help, and he'll help me find my friend. Double victory, right?"

Ms. Goodwitch didn't respond. Instead, Yang saw her turn an even and probably deadly glare towards the bottom of the high dive. Specifically, right to the professor Link had sold out. This was gonna be either awesome or horrifying. Actually, probably both. Horror movies were fun to watch.

"Doctor Oobleck," Glynda spoke the teacher's name with a neutral tone. "Is this true?"

"Yes!" Only Oobleck could respond so quickly to what was, at least metaphorically, a near-death situation. It kinda helped that he raced over to his fellow professor's side. "Magnificent find, Link is! Mikau as well, his friend in the mask. Wasn't aware of entry. But! His fairy, Tatl, answered question in class! Many things happened. Quick discussion. Proposal was made and reached. Link shared of his home, I help him search for his friend. Fairy says they live in certain areas. Currently unaware of where. And yet, archeology is my specialty, training, and doctorate. A combination of quick study in geology and, with luck, possible locations can be reached! Great gain on all sides!"

"You forgot about the part where I wouldn't have to wear the uniform anymore!" Yang was certain at this point that laughter was going to win out.

She put her hands over her mouth, stifling the chuckles that came when Glynda gave a glare colder than ice towards Oobleck. Even he seemed nervous now, swallowing on something despite his mug not moving. His mug was shaking now. Like… like really shaking. Oh, this was awesome in so many ways.

"You promised a student he would be given unique permission to not abide by the dress code?" Yup, story of the week. Nothing was gonna top it.

"Hey hey, in Super Buzz's defense, it wasn't like Link is going to walk around shirtless or anything." And in came Yang's mini-drone double, flittering around the pair of professors with a well-practiced amount of apathy. Yang was almost jealous, almost. She did still value her life. "That collar on the uniform is just bothering the crap out of Link. SB here noticed that, made a deal, and we took it. What's the harm in that?"

"Were you not the one who asked that Link be treated as all other students while here?" Glynda turned her harsh glare to the fairy. Yang heard the small ball ring, but she couldn't be sure if that was terror or just a normal sound. She kinda suspected the former. "Do you truly believe this is, in any facet of the word, the same as other students?"

"Oh yeah. Red-hair over there is wearing a tiara," Yang noticed Pyrrha grab at her golden regalia, blush included. Nice. "A brute of a thing basically trying to show off his chest." Who was that? Oh, Sun apparently. He was waving, too. Yup, definitely Sun. "That's not even mentioning Little Red literally wearing a long red cape." Okay, that was getting close to home… even if her little sister only grinned as she hugged her favorite accessory around her uniform. "If anything, I thought we were being pretty reasonable, making a trade for this kinda thing. Better than just doing what we want and saying 'tough luck'. I can still try that, though, if you like?"

Yang was already several feet away, her mind only vaguely aware of the further distance she had placed between herself and the professors plus fairy. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a lot of the students doing the same. She even felt Ruby run up behind her, semblance as crazy useful as ever. Guess she wasn't alone in being a little wary at least.

Ms. Goodwitch settled for staring coldly at the fairy and professor, the riding crop in her hands nearly bent backwards by the silent fury of her mind. The leather of the crop was letting a small cry for help, one heard clear as shattering glass over the silent pool deck. It was probably more terrifying than a Creeper's shriek. Really, Yang felt like she was in the middle of some Hi-Def action movie, waiting for a bomb to go off.

"Hey!" The sudden shout almost made her jump. "Hold on a sec, I'll be right down!" Her eyes immediately looked up to see Link, in fish boy form, standing atop the high dive. His guitar was gone, back to whatever magical dimension he sent the thing to. He was leaning over the edge of the board, looking down at them. It was hard for Yang to tell much else other than that, given how smooth his scaly body was and how far away he was. Kinda made it hard to read a person.

Him falling off the high dive was easy to see.

No one gasped or screamed. Why would they? They were thrown from higher heights during their examination test. Swim team did it just about every day, too. Yang was, honestly, unimpressed. If the fish boy wanted to get a few more aww's out of the crowd, he'd have to up his game. He did manage to turn his fall into a well-ducked dive, at least as far as the brawler could judge. She wasn't an expert in the sport. She just knew short splashes were a good thing. Didn't keep her from judging.

"Eh, 'C' Minus" she spoke up, shrugging her shoulders. Ruby didn't mutter a word behind her. That usually meant she agreed, at least close enough that she didn't pout. She knew they were both staring at the water, watching the only blue figure along the deep floor of the pool to rise again. Thing was, he was taking his sweet time about it.

It was hard to judge given the depth, angle not helping either, but Yang could swear she saw the tall shape of the Zora step down on the bottom of pool. At the very least he was right side up, that long protrusion coming off the back of his head parallel with the bottom of the water. The word Yang wanted to use was buoyancy. That seemed right. Her swear for him stepping on the bottom of the pool became fact when she saw him moving along the bottom, arms, probably, making a big show about swinging them as he moved. Really, moving towards the wall of the pool, what was the point of that? He was part fish, so couldn't he just swim up and pull himself out of the pool?

Yang's musings stopped when Link eventually walked out of sight. The fifty foot deep wall, covered by water, made it a little difficult to see him. She still wasn't sure he wasn't just going to splash the first person to look over the edge. It was what she'd do. That thought kept her from peaking over the edge. Ruby, however, seemed content to peek over her shoulder. That was cool.

"Sometimes I hate how easily Link listens to others," the drawn voice of Tatl came out, ringing in the air as she floated between the pair of professors. Yang looked at her long enough to see her wings dipping. Though, with the way her rings were coming, it looked kinda like she was sighing.

Musings stopped when Link exploded from the water.

That was the best word Yang had for it. Exploded. Erupted worked, but it didn't really capture the way the water just kind of blew up around him. Probably literally. His body just kinda flew out of the water, his long arms and insanely large fins out front, rest of his well-built body following up behind him. The water rose in arcs around him, some coming off like rain and the others kind of chopped like waves. Hence, in Yang's mind exploded.

The fish boy in question landed in a kneel on the pool deck, water rushing down his scaly body and onto the tiled floor. He rose above it, standing to his impressive height with hands on his hips and fins still very much extended. Yang guessed a look at Weiss, barely visible beyond the wall of students. She was not disappointed to see the white heiress looking about as easy on her feet as a frog in the streets.

"Sorry," the vibrating voice of Link's friend spoke up. "Haven't had a good dip in a while. Water's kinda deluded, don't know with what, but still better than stale moat streams." He held out his hand towards Ms. Goodwitch, fin still unretracted. "Name's Mikau, good ta meet ya."

Yang spared a glance at the wall of students, noting the number of whispers and wide eyes that were staring at him. She smirked at it. It was kinda funny really. She had gotten an almost literal front row seat to Link's little water show, but the rest of the students were getting about the same as sloppy seconds. She definetly used the right metaphor there, especially with the way a few of the female eyes were looking at the big blue mystery fish.

However, it took all her time to judge the crowd to realize that Ms. Goodwitch had yet to even make a move towards Link, Mikau, whoever. She was just staring at him, seriously, green eyes practically turning red behind those glasses of hers. Maybe she was trying to cook him. Wouldn't be impossible given how ferocious she could be, at least per the freshman rumors. Those were always fun to listen to.

"Link?" Ms. Goodwitch finally spoke, questioningly at that. The fish boy nodded, leading the professor to continue. "I appreciate your desire to introduce your friends to your now fellow colleagues and students, but I would ask that you practice more restraint in your show and boasting." The professor made a point to twist her crop in a new direction, making the leather cry in a new way. Still like nails on a very far away chalk board.

"Whoa hey, chill it with the ice," Mikau spoke up, holding up both his hands now. Yang watched him ball them in to quick fists. His large fins almost disappeared in a flash with how fast they were gone. She still wasn't entirely convinced that they weren't some kind of add on to his gloves. "I wasn't tryin' to give ya a hard time. Really, I just wanted ta give a good show to the crowd. Seem to like what they see so far." His hand waved towards the students, Ms. Goodwitch and Oobleck's eyes looking towards them.

Sure enough, when Yang looked over, all she saw were curious eyes and ears of maybe four or five dozen students all staring at the trio. It wasn't hard to figure out who was the real center of attention. It only helped when Link waved, and more than a few students started giggling. Had to be Mikau who did that. Yang just couldn't see the little faunus boy doing something like that, not when he was shy to the point of being unable to speak.

"That is a poor excuse and I refuse to believe it is thought highly of in your kingdom." Wow, Yang was actually kind impressed with the artillery Ms. Goodwitch was bringing out. Already aiming for the home base. "While assisting a professor or doctor in her or his lecture is perfectly within reason and actively encouraged, creating spontaneous stampedes through the academy grounds is nothing if not highly disrespectful to the environment we are attempting to foster."

"Did you read that off a poster or something?" Tatl asked between the group. "Cause that sounded like something I'd expect a store clerk to say. Seriously, might want to tone it back a bit." Yang almost saw fire come from Ms. Goodwitch's eyes. The way Ruby gripped her shoulders, she knew she wasn't the only one.

"Peace! Parlay! A moment of silence!" Oobleck finally shouted, to Yang's lack of shock. "A misunderstanding has occurred. Tragic, perhaps, but possibly beneficial! A possibility to teach foreign faunus traits to multiple students! Superior to a remedial lesson, offering more than simply review." With a zoom almost like her sister's Oobleck shot to Link's front, making the fish boy lean back a little. Yang couldn't blame him. "Link, Mikau, to you both! I suspect you suspect most students would discover this joint ability of yours. Am I correct?"

"Right in the reef," Mikau spoke up with a point to the floor. "Really, Ruby and Blake already knew about Elrora, and the rest of the girls, plus I did kinda tell Goodwitch and Ozpin 'bout the rest of my friends. Didn't know when it would happen, but past lessons kinda show that better plans come from better knowledge."

Link. That was definitely Link. All Link. There was no laid-back machismo or groovy wave talk the fish boy usual spoke with. That had to be Link talking, front and center.

"An excellent deduction at that!" Oobleck waved his mug at the fish, who seemed wholly used to the display already. At least Yang assumed so. It was kind of hard when she was looking at his back. "Free share of information to bolster communication and teamwork. Key in a team, necessity for victory, brave to volunteer."

"Yeah, that I know." The words came from Link's mouth before Yang enough knew what to do with them. She saw a look form on Ms. Goodwitch's face, probably thinking the same thing. Too bad Tatl had to but in.

"Wait, hold on, are you saying Link shouldn't have done this?" The little golden mini-drone did a pretty good job on trying to turn the question back on the professor. At least an 'A' for effort. Too bad Ms. Goodwitch was like the final boss of some super hard RPG.

"I-It wasn't just Link's idea…" Up came the voice of the Peeping Tom. Yang looked for the dark ball of light, the shifting behind her telling her Ruby was doing the same. They found him landing on Mikau's shoulder, looking like an unfortunately large zit against the fish boy's blue scales.

"I, um… I-I told Ruby and her friends about Mikau, well… the him before, when he was alive… just himself." Yang raised her hand and put it on her shoulder, lightly cupping her sister's own. She felt the grip beneath it grow stronger. "It… didn't go well. So, ah, Link and I, and sis, w-we decided to show them Mikau. To, ya know, show a happy ending." Wow, the peeper had some wisdom. Yang puckered her lips as she nodded.

"And so you decided to simply show off your abilities in front of a classroom?" Too bad Ms. Goodwitch had that fire power still raining down.

"Try made-a-deal-to-make-a-win-win-situation," Tatl drew out the comeback, complete with flying around Ms. Goodwitch tauntingly. It was nothing short of a marvel to Yang that the golden mini-drone wasn't already scrap at the bottom of some heap. "No, but seriously, basically everyone won from this. Heck, only reason we did it for the newbies was because Super Buzz here said it was a good idea. We've got the skill, but we're not stupid enough to just throw it around and call it a day."

"Happy as I am to hear your recognize the foolishness of un-thought action, I have yet to see a suitable reason for you to leave Oobleck's classroom and come to the aquatic center. If your desire was simply to swim, there was no need for the disruption of class." Ms. Goodwitch's gaze shifted from the fairy to the Zora, one that had yet to simmer down from the high heat. Yang was almost afraid Link was gonna get cooked. Already looked like he was being grilled.

"Actually, kinda did," Mikau spoke up. Yang couldn't tell if there was nervousness in his voice, mostly because it was vibrating so much. "Got into a bit of talk 'bout what it means to have a warrior's blood. Some heckler was sayin' that my fins weren't enough to make me fighter." He rotated his arm, said fin still only a fraction of the size Yang knew it could grow to. Probably a good idea to not try and spook one of the strongest professors at Beacon. "Buuuuuut, I can do more, just needed some swimmin' room to show of what I can do."

Ms. Goodwitch was silent for a moment, lips still puckered as she stared at Link. Yang almost wanted to run around see what kinda look the fish faunus was making, but her instincts told her better. Running now would only get a lot of attention from the students and professors. Not a good thing, at least not without something to show off.

"Doctor Oobleck," Ms. Goodwitch finally spoke, eyes still on the tall fish boy. "Have Link's lessons so far been satisfactory?"

"Absolutely!" He responded back. "A whole new heritage and culture of faunus to explore! Very in depth, full of curiosities. Raises many questions regarding the vary cultural and political implications between multiple fauni races, no strictly human and faunus. Varying terms for similar things, adaptability to new environments, all critical for higher level learning." Oobleck almost pumped his arm into the air as he finished, clearly happy with he was talking about. He was always excited.

"Hmm," was all the response Ms. Goodwitch returned. Probably wouldn't have been able to hear it if the pool deck wasn't so quiet. "And you Link. I assume your friend is the reason you are so much more… talkative."

"Mikau does love to perform," was the response Link gave. "There isn't much more to enjoy than making a crowd happy with what you do best. Just helps that puttin' on a show is what I do best." Yang was loosing track of how much Link and Mikau flipped back and forth. She would have to ask Ruby later if that was what Elrora was like. Too bad her sister wasn't too talkative about the giant bird.

"Right, and you are perfectly accepting of showing your unique abilities? I was under the impression, by Tatl's admission, that you preferred to be treated no differently than the others." Mikau started to laugh, least Yang was pretty sure it was Mikau. She couldn't see Link laughing at Ms. Goodwitch. Too obedient.

"C'mon, do you really think I'd be able to stay here for too long without having to show it at some point?" He shrugged as he spoke. Yang remembered Link doing that a lot. "Like I said earlier. I'll need my friends' help eventually. Better to get rid of the shock now and just leave the awe." Yang grinned at that.

"I see, and to a degree I do approve." Now _that_ was a bit surprising. Didn't expect Ms. Goodwitch to turn over and admit someone else had a good counterpoint. "But your method in doing so has only caused a major disruption around the Academy grounds. As per the student rulebook and regulations, disruption of activities along campus grounds will result in the need of remedial action on the student's part."

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Tatl nearly screamed as she rang. It did at least sound like someone was ringing a bell right next to Yang's ears. "This is what we get for doing your Super Buzz Knight a favor?"

"And Doctor Oobleck should know better than to cause major disturbances himself, especially regarding prior incidents." Ms. Goodwitch turned her gaze to the eccentric teacher who, for one of the first times in Yang's short time at Beacon, looked a bit embarrassed.

It was pretty weird. Then again, none of this was normal. Cool, awesome even, but normal was about as faraway as Atlas right now.

"Ah yes, the geology. Unregulated dig. Most unfortunate." That was a story Yang wanted to hear about later. Emphasis on the later. She wanted to see what was going to happen now. "Resolved though! No problems currently, all is well. But, I see point. Repeat offense, troubling."

"Indeed it is," Ms. Goodwitch spoke as she started to poke at her pad again. Yang just realized it was the first time she had done so since she came into the pool. Guess intimidation took priority. You couldn't make leather cry with one hand, after all. "Normally, Link's remedial actions are specified as a choice of either cleaning a large portion of the school grounds or assisting in the activities of another professor."

"And so I volunteer to take on such a task!" Oobleck's hand shot up into the air as he let out the declaration. Yang just crossed her arms. Didn't seem like the time to volunteer. "Assistance in faunus research, foreign cultures, very time consuming. His assistance will allow great acceleration. Required even."

"Perhaps you have already forgotten that you are also in need of some discipline as well, Oobleck." Glynda snapped her riding crop as she spoke. Yang felt a shiver that time. Here's hoping there was something left of the teach' later. Be kinda hard to go on another 'above level' mission without him.

"As explained during your last failed venture, damages upon Beacon grounds or properties is permissible only when significant results pertaining to Grimm Research or historical findings are made. You have demonstrated neither, and as such, are liable for similar responsibilities as Link. Only more… severe." Another crack of the whip meant another man was put in his place. Classy.

"W-Wait," a timid voice spoke up. Yang recognized it as Tael, but she honestly thought it would be the robot's older sibling that would handle the talking, or at least the interrupting. "Um… w-what if the doctor was able to prove, um… that? What you said." Ms. Goodwitch gave the young faunus a raised eye. Yang could hear water dripping across the entire pool it was so quiet.

"I do not follow," Ms. Goodwitch's tone was neutral, but a true neutral, like multiplied by zero neutral. Scary.

"U-Um… I… I-I…" Yeah, Yang couldn't blame the drone for cracking under that kind of pressure. Military robots gave out under less.

"She's asking what if Doctor Oobleck did produce those results, or whatever." Less surprising to see Tatl speak up now. The golden mini-drone flew around the group before hovering above Ms. Goodwitch. "You said he couldn't do Link's remedial lessons thing, which is bull, because he was in trouble too, which is also bull. But, what if Super Buzz wasn't in trouble. Couldn't he just be in charge of those lessons again?"

"Perhaps, yes," Ms. Goodwitch spoke back. "But he would have to show a significant portion of data that currently has no research or standing in the fields Beacon is current to contribute in. Link's demonstration of his abilities, while impressive, have already been documented by myself during his entrance exam. We will speak of that later." Oh yeah, documented. That was probably bad.

"So like, if I were to finally get to show off what I can do, would that count?" It was kinda funny actually, at least to Yang, the way all heads turned to Link. "I mean I hate cleaning, me and Link both. Besides that, we already made a deal with Doctor Oobleck to help us look for my friend. Be kinda mean to suddenly say we can't do that cause I broke a rule I didn't know about."

"This is your first mark on your record," Ms. Goodwitch admitted. "However, the timing, after only a single day of class, is remarkable in its own right, and not in a proper sense at that." She tapped on her pad a few more times, eyes averting only long enough to punch something in. Yang hoped it was good news.

"However… if new data can be obtained in regards to your friend's abilities, beyond that which is currently in either fields, your proposed deal can be struck." The blonde professor adjusted her shades before she continued. "That is, Doctor Oobleck will be placed in charge of your remedial lessons, meaning you are at his disposal for one week's time to aid him in his research." The blond brawler pumped an arm, the same time she felt Ruby jump up and down behind her. Yup, good news!

"Cool, so like, we're right back to where started," Tatl sounded far more annoyed than pleased. Heck, even her ringing sounded lite it was out of patience. "That was a good use of time. Really, happy to be a part of it."

"Sis… calm down," Peeping Tom spoke up from Mikau's shoulder. "I-It's alright. I mean, we have permission now. That's good, right?"

"We had it before," the golden of the two balls of light fired back. "Now Link's just gotta _really_ show them what it means to be from Hyrule. We're given away all the eggs for the basket. Oh in the name of Time, it's one of the stupidest things I've heard of in a good long while!" That was not how you ended a negotiation, not by insulting the other side. Yang had seen enough deals go south to know that much.

"Your complaints are noted, but irrelevant in the moment," Then again, Ms. Goodwitch was definitely more in control of her emotions than some street thug. "Making deals without the authorization or approval of authority figures means it is nothing more than a word of mouth promise, completely irrelevant against institutional rules set in place long before any of us were born."

"Oh, you think so?" That was brave, like petting a lion.

Yang couldn't help but grin. She could, however, take a wary step back. Her sister moved with her. So did the entire crowd of students. Their collective noise was far higher than anything the sisters made, seeing as there were a dozens of feet shuffling across tile, all a little scared of what would happen. Yang was too, but mostly excited. Yeah, excited was right.

"I know so, Tatl," Ms. Goodwitch spoke as she lowered her pad and riding crop. Bad sign. "I know as well as I know everything that comes through Beacon. I know it likely as well as you know Link. Do not attempt to think that you are any better than the rules. You, in fact, specifically asked to be treated in accordance with the rules."

"I asked to be seen as an equal, not to have a hawk watch over us like some kind of dying rodent." More like decaying fish, but both were good. The fairy was dropping golden dust as she bobbed in the air, wings shaking with rage. "I mean, we didn't even cause that freaking damage or whatever! Why don't you blame that circus troupe behind you? They're the ones that apparently ran screaming from the classroom to here."

"If you prefer, I can simply excuse you from Beacon entirely. That will sort out this mess far swifter." Yang felt a small weight drop in her gut.

That was bad.

Like, that was really bad.

She could feel Ruby gasp and grab at her uniform, looking for a familiar wall to lean on. Yang even heard the muttering of the crowd go up, probably hiding a few more shocked statements.

"Whoa whoa, hey, everyone calm down. It's a clear day, no need for a stormy sea," Link, the tall fish boy right now, held up his arms and shushed the crowd, waving his long muscled appendages like fans. All eyes turned to him, but he didn't appear anymore disturbed than before. That Zora must have been keen to crowds or something. Probably would brag about it, too. Yang still couldn't see Link doing that. "Geez, we were just having a little fun, doing a bit of show and tell along the way. No reason for everyone to treat this like some kinda monsoon. Just a choppy wave at worst." Yup, fish boy indeed.

"Then perhaps you can demonstrate this 'rare' and unseen ability. Put all this to rest and stop this disruption of classes." Ms. Goodwitch tightened her hold on her riding crop again. Given the abuse it was taking, she must have had extras.

"Okay seriously! Why don't you-"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Link pointedly interrupted his fairy companion. Probably the best move, to stop anymore arguing. Good idea. "Well, just so we're not gonna waste anymore time, how possible is it fer one of your trainees to have some kind of magical shield?"

"Semblances are able to be formed into a variety of uses, including the manipulation and increase of strength, agility, or endurance. So yes, very plausible." Strike one, Yang counted.

"Alright, well about being able to control water. Ya know, like pullin' it out of a moat and beating stone into sand? That's rare, right?" He shrugged again, leaving Yang unable to place if it was Link or Mikau talking. Kinda fun to play guess who. Too bad she couldn't get an answer.

"Controlling of elements is a rare trait, but students in the past have been shown it to be possible to move forms of metal, deadwood, and even stone. Water is not to be unconsidered from there." Strike two. C'mon Mikau.

"Dang, that was a clincher," the Zora let out with a sigh. Yang heard Ruby suck in a breath at the same time. Same thought, different reactions. "Eh, better to show the deepest cove then to offer the whole reef." That sounded like an expression that Yang could follow. Not a good thing, cause she saw Weiss nodding at it. Then again, maybe the heiress was just trying to fall in love.

"And what would this… cove be?" Ms. Goodwitch's foot was tapping. Was that good? Yang didn't know. Some of the others students in the crowd did, however. She saw a few step back, eyes a bit wider and mouths drawn. That meant it was bad.

"Oh no, cove's an expression, like… oh what would Gerudo call it, size of the bounty I guess." Mikau rolled his hand as he spoke. "The real show is this baby here." The same hand he was rolling reached for his throat, stopping on something Yang couldn't see. She had a pretty good guess though.

"Is he talking about that stone?" She heard her younger sister whisper into her ear. She got onto her tiptoes to reach that high. "Didn't he say that was for the, um, royals or something?"

"Curious, question. You made a point that this Zora Sapphire, as you named it, was insignificant before. How has its importance changed?" Oobleck spoke at the usual million words a minute, head twisted as he did so. Yang, however, was more focused on the way the fish boy seemed to laugh. That was probably good.

"Oh c'mon, did you really think I was gonna tell a class of tadpoles that I was carryin' somethin' worth a lot?" His other hand motioned at the class of students. A lot of them starting looking at one another. Yang actually turned around to gaze at her sister. She saw only a curious silver gaze looking back at her. Least she wasn't the only one confused. "I'm still tryin' ta figure out all the name changes and stuff, but I think you call magic somethin' like Aura, am I right? Or was it Dust?"

"Per our previous conversations, between you alone that is, we have reached a similar conclusion. That being Aura." Ms. Goodwitch nodded. Okay, things were improving. No more weight in Yang's gut. Hopefully that expulsion was off the table. Please. This guy was too awesome to lose in a crowd.

"Cool, so like, can I guess you don't have something that gives you super Aura?"

Wait… what?

"What did he say?" Yang heard Ruby harshly whisper behind her. She turned to answer, only to find that she was being pushed forward across the tile. If the ground wasn't wet, she might have been impressed. Still didn't stop the fact that was sliding towards the fish boy and professors.

The rest of the students, however, seemed to be following her little sister's mindset. The crowd of students suddenly started to move forward, indefinitely curious of the little thing Mikau had just said. Yang was able to just see Weiss and Blake at the front of the group, both of them staring at the Zora with wide eyes. Yang was pretty sure hers were just as large.

"Whoa, hey! The crowd's rushin' the stage!" Mikau let out as he turned around, probably for the first time taking notice of their approach. Yang saw him raise his arms, still standing well above most of the students. That was the last thing Yang saw before she felt herself being pushed back, back against Ruby that is.

Even though she had yet to move her feet, she was suddenly being forced backwards across the wet tile. She wasn't alone. The entire crowd of students had the same occurring to them. A few frightened cries and expletives made that abundantly clear. That, and the fact that a good portion of them were sliding across the ground now, probably because they fell. Yeah, that was it.

"Everyone stay back," came Ms. Goodwitch's controlled but demanding voice. She had her crop pointed forwards, doubtlessly now what was pushing them all back. Her semblance at least. "Your eagerness is noted, but only hampering our questions. And you, Link," the professor turned to Mikau, not lowering her arm as she did so. "This is qualifying to allow this expedition of Dr. Oobleck, in accordance with uncovering unique data and documenting it. However, I must now ask you to explain it."

"Does it really work?" Yang looked to see Weiss ask the question, her petite form still pushing against the invisible barricade Ms. Goodwitch had erected with surprising strength. Enough to push back the students around her at least. She saw said professor give the smaller girl a cold look. "If it does, that could tremendously help with the research being done at the Schnee Company. It could help us develop new forms of medical Aura devices and-"

"Sorry seafoam, Zora only," Mikau spoke with a definite smirk. Yang watched him flick the jewel on his neck, it ringing with the force. "And by that, I mean only a Zora knows how to use it. Trust me, all Link could do with it was open a door. Got from a reliable source that this beauty hasn't been made for you guys. Again, trust me, Link woulda found it otherwise." Yang kinda doubted that. She couldn't help but entertain the idea of being on fire forever. Sort of.

"Incredible! Truly astounding!" Now it was Oobleck's turn to rush Mikau. Wasn't much ground to cover, but he was still looking at the jewel sitting across the Zora's neck, eyes only a breath apart from it. The fish boy didn't look too thrilled about it. "An enchantment of Dust perhaps? No, impossible. Undermines entropy increase. Semblance specific? Perhaps, allots for more variability, but still difficult to reach infinite."

"Had to shatter your well thought out talk, but it was your first choice," Mikau pointed out the doctor. Pointed it out as he put a finger to the eccentric Oobleck's forehead and pushed him back. The doctor only puckered his lips as looked back up at the fish boy, who was grinning back down at him. Oh that confidence. "But I'm gonna let Tael take this one. He loves telling the stories more than I do. Not gonna take away someone's pride and joy, am I?" He chuckled at his words, that vibrating sound that seemed to make Weiss weak in the knees. Yang wish she could have recorded it. Unfortunately, reaching for her phone right now would only push Ruby away. Not worth it.

"U-Um…" The Peeping Tom spoke up from Mikau's shoulder. Not a comfort zone for most people. Thankfully, the dark mini-drone took flight, ringing lightly as he did so. "The, um… the Zora Sapphire i-is a Spiritual Stone, given to the Zora's as one of three keys to p-protect the Door of Time. The Door of Time guarded… guarded an ancient treasure, so to make sure th-that no one was able to abuse it, the three Spiritual Stones were given to three different Royal Families, to guard. The Zora Queen, the Goron Chief, and the Great Deku Tree of the Kokiri."

"Hey, didn't Link grow with the Kokiri?" Ruby whispered behind Yang again. She bit her lips before nodding. "Does that mean he's got one of the other ones?"

"Let's ask later." That wasn't Yang. Said blonde boxer looked to her left to see Blake standing there, far apart from the crowd. The sneaky little cat. "I would rather hear more history before assuming anymore." And the wisdom again!

"No one knows how long ago the stones were created, b-but it was at least centuries, maybe longer. Long enough for their initial purpose to be almost forgotten entirely. L-Like Mikau said earlier, it was used as a wedding band for the Zora tribes before. But not only that, it was used in meditation by a lot of their leaders because… um…" Stumbling, not good. "B-because descendants of Royal Blood could meditate, a-and the stone allowed them to meditate for long periods of time. S-So the stone started to be used as a sign of trust between the Royal Families, showing that they are offering a key to endless wisdom."

"Intriguing," Ms. Goodwitch spoke up. Little surprise to Yang to see her tapping and swipping on her pad again. This time, she was probably recording this with her mini-drones. That would make sense at least. It was what Yang would have done. "But I fail to see how this relates back to a increased supply of Aura. At the moment, it sounds merely like a specifically formed dust sapphire for allowing ease of mind."

"That's cause it was kept to the royal families," the Peeping Tom spoke up again. Good on him to show a bit of courage, at least in the right area this time. "A-and the royal families had the same blood, so… they all similar abilities. But… um… ah…" What Yang thought was going to be another exposition was cut off as the mini-drone's words dribbled and died. Then she saw the dark ball of light turn and look up at Mikau, its wings the clearest indicator. She saw the fish boy grin.

"Found it in some ruins a while ago." The simultaneous twisting of heads was almost audible across the pool deck. Great acoustics. "Mikau's memories… I remember hearing stories about the stone since my ears grew in." His what grew in? "When you hear about it enough, kinda hard to not recognize it. Glad I found it though. Makes turning my Guitar of Waves into a real jam instrument easy as low tide."

There was a lot to filter through in those statements, and Yang knew she wasn't the girl to do it. On no, she could tell the obvious, mostly how freaky easy it was for Mikau to talk to a crowd, but trying to figure out what half those words were? Nope, not for her. Let the faunus experts handle that. Her partner and teacher were both just that.

"Amazing! Simply unheard of!" Oobleck swung his mug as he spoke. She saw Mikau take a very deliberate step out of the way and both the fairies ringing as they avoided the path. "But how does this differ for you? Altering an instrument, unique! But vague, unclear of meaning. A demonstration! Logical deduction through observable results."

"I feel that is the next proper step." Ms. Goodwitch spoke up. She was still tapping on her keypad like she wasn't just told some great secret. Kinda funny, cause that was exactly what she asked for, at least to Yang it was. "I'm sure you are more than willing to do such?"

"Course I am!" Mikau spoke up proudly as she extended his arms. With his height it had impressive reach. "Anything I need to know before I start though? Hate to get handed another broken scroll for following a request." Why would he break a scroll? Oh, he must have meant those really old pieces of paper. Guess Weiss had one thing right, that was kinda old fashioned. Too old for the brawler.

"So long as you cause no damage to any students or the facility, you should be within the Academy's regulations." Kay, good, that meant she couldn't bring up another rule, otherwise that'd be lying. Elder sister logic always ruled. Mikau seemed okay with it.

"Sweet, then give me a sec," the fish boy spoke up as began to reach for the back of his choker. Wait, was he taking it off? Why was he doing that?

"Oh yeah, real low key, no reason for _anyone_ to suddenly think badly of us now." Yang wasn't sure she'd ever heard anyone, mini-drone, human, or faunus, whine in such anger like Tatl was now. "Nope, just showin' off everything we got. Forget the unknowns, let's just give a freakin' speech and let 'em see every little thing we've ever done! In the name of Time, we don't know anything about this place except the school and we're here talking about everything from our monsters to magic!" It was cute, really, the way the fairy was bobbing up and down in the air. It kinda looked like someone raging. Actually, come to think of it, that was exactly what it was.

"Tatl, you gotta relax, seriously," Link, or more likely Mikau, spoke up again. The choker was off of his neck, the long leathery brown piece of fabric. He was holding it out almost like a rag. But he was grinning at it, fangs and all visible. "Hey Jaune, can ya hold onto this for me?"

Yang then watched one of her favorite shows on Remnant. Timid people being asked to do huge things. It was a hit every episode.

The bumbling leader stuttered with a trembling jaw, his eyes rapidly switching from the now extremely precious gem in his hand back up this eyes, eyes that were solid blue and foot-and-a-half above him. It was hard to tell if Jaune was talking or whimpering. Yang didn't care it was still an 'A+' reaction. Too bad Link seemed to notice.

"Whoa, calm down," he spoke as he dropped his smile, placing is other hand on Vomit Boy's shoulder. "Just need ya to hold it for a little bit. I'm gonna need back in a sec, just can't really show how it works unless you know what to compare it to. Can't call a lake small until you see the ocean, right?" That metaphor actually made sense. Seemed to have an effect on Jaune at least.

The JNPR leader swallowed on nothing before reaching a tentative hand towards the fabric, taking a hold of it tightly. When Mikau released it, grinning softly again down at the blonde, Juane held it to his side. His fingers were white with the effort, to the boy's credit. Yang looked over just in time to see Weiss seething. If nothing else was gained today, Yang had blackmail material for three new people. Solid gold wasn't worth as much.

"Thanks, now, let's do a quick show," Mikau spoke as he stood to his tallest again. Rather than looking out over the crowd like a professor would do, he turned to face the pool. Probably why he wasn't made a professor over a student. That and Ms. Goodwitch would have probably straight up murdered Ozpin.

That was Yang's last thought before Mikau was suddenly surrounded by electricity.

She heard a few startled cries, rightfully so, at the sight. There was a literal shell of blue light lightening arcing around the fish boy. That was about as much as Yang could think of to say. There were _literal_ tiny arcs of lightening jumping around the Zora, all of them crackling across his surface. It was like a giant cone of blue light, threatening anyone who dared approach.

Ms. Goodwitch didn't need her semblance to push her back. Yang was pushing Ruby back with an arm in front of Blake, making sure they were both making a retreat. She blatantly ignored the small protests coming from her younger sister, Yang's superior knowledge and elderly instincts telling her to keep her sis away. Blake seemed to understand wholly well, make no argument at the contact.

Staring at the lightning, Yang was reminded of when she was a kid. There was an electric fence on one side of their house, supposed to keep away the Grimm that lurked in the woods. She touched it once, putting her hand right on it. It shot through her painfully, numbing her entire arm and making her cry for the rest of the day. She could remember her dad trying to calm her down as much as Ruby, her younger sister afraid of losing her big sis.

With the blue electricity stumbling across the surface of the Zora, making his already smooth scales glow with power, it was pretty clear that his little display of power wasn't meant of defense. One bad touch would set any creature howling in pain.

"Good to see you're all payin' attention." Link, of all things, smirked as he spoke. "Just in case it's not obvious to the slower thinkers, this is me using my abilities. Talked' earlier about it, other part to my warrior bloodline. Well, this is it. I think a few of ya called it a semblance or something, so we'll just go with that."

"Astounding nonetheless," Oobleck spoke from aside Mikau. He, the fairies, and Ms. Goodwitch were probably the only people on the pool deck not backing up from Mikau now. She could see the blonde professor, however, readying a finger over her pad. Yang didn't want to know exactly what that was. "Many conveniences for such a skill. Many tools dependent upon electricity. Make for easy recharge or quick battery supply. Many field uses." The only thing Yang heard was how passive Oobleck was. Probably expecting something more.

"Don't know what electricity is, but yeah, lightning is pretty cool." He didn't know what electricity was? Oh, the poor soul. "Helps keep me safe when I'm pushin' through the ocean, keeping the Like-Like's and skullfishes away. No deep sea swimmer likes bein' fried." Mikau held up his arm as he spoke, flexing it with the blue electricity still coursing over him. It only seemed to hum at his effort.

But then, it stopped.

Just as fast as it has appeared, it was gone, returning the pool deck to a moderately safe environment. Link was still standing tall in front of the, scales no wetter or bluer than before. No spare arc of electricity were chasing along the water. Just like flipping a switch, the electricity was gone. If it weren't for the fact that Yang had her arm still in front of Blake and another on the sister currently on her back, she would have thought the whole thing a chlorine induced fever dream. At least Link looked tired, too. Wait a minute…

"Exhaustion." Oobleck noted the appearance of Link swifter than the others. It was only impressive because Mikau, or Link, whoever, put his hands to his knees after the word was spoken. "Heavy use of your semblance results in great expenditure of your own energy. Momentarily advantageous, but crippling during long term use."

"You… You like to use a lot a… lot of… big words, don't ya?" The Zora was panting as he spoke. Guess that meant the doctor was right again. He was starting to act like a fish out of water… heh. "But… If I got your memo… right at least… you're not wrong…" Mikau sucked in a deep breath of air, standing to his tallest as he did so. Maybe he was doing that for a show. He was a musician after all, always trying to show off what they got. At least that was Yang's impression of the group, Weiss only enforcing it.

"Are you well?" Came Ms. Goodwitch's question. Yang had to search the words to find the empathy in the voice. "Perhaps you overestimated the strength of your semblance."

"Okay, I'm getting serious now," Tatl spoke up. She looked a little different, almost like she was ringing a balled fist. Or more accurately, Yang realized, she was the balled fist. It made her give a swift chuckle. "If you want to sit there and continue to mock Link like he's some kind of training dummy, I'll take it as an invitation to jump through your head and scramble your brains!"

Laughter was gone. Happy thoughts with it.

Yang felt her own jaw fall a little at the threat the tiny ball of light had thrown. Staring from Tatl to Ms. Goodwitch, the brawler felt her every muscle freeze like ice. Her sister, still clutched tightly to her back, was stiller than any other moment Yang could recall in her life.

For all accounts, it was like watching two ancient Grimm having a staring contest, knowing that any move made was going to be horrible for everyone involved, but she couldn't dark to look away. The dead silence across the pool deck made it clear she was not alone with her thought.

Even Mikau looked set off by the exchange. Yang had yet to the see the giant fish boy do anymore than grin, chuckle, or tilt his head, but now he was staring with abyssal blue eyes and partially raised hands, like he was debating who to grab. Couldn't blame him for picking neither of the blondes. Both would have probably burned him.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Yang saw something else move. It was odd only because the rest of the pool was still as ice in the freezer. It was Jaune, making his way back to Mikau. No need to guess why. Yang didn't notice much more before he reached Mikau, lightly tapping on his shoulder. The deck was quiet enough that the buxom brawler could hear the noise. Mikau looked down at Jaune, his pure blue eyes questioning.

"You probably want this back now," Jaune spoke, finally, to Mikau. If there weren't six dozen and a half other hunters in training running around, it might've made a funny scene. Only seeing of what as necessary, however, making the whole thing kinda disappointing, to Yang at least. Still, at least Jaune pissed off the Ice Queen in a whole new way!

"Thanks mate," Mikau spoke up. All eyes immediately focused on him, most especially Ms. Goodwitch and Tatl, the golden fairy ringing lightly with the motion. "That stich was getting bad fast. Nice recovery."

"Well I-It's yours… a-and you, um… have to finish-" Juane stopped speaking when Mikau put a hand on his head, ruffling his already unruly blonde hair. The fish boy had better not try that on her.

"Hey, don't stress yourself. That only helps when you're workin' out." He chuckled again, that vibrating sound Weiss seemed to love so much. Did sound cool though, like running your voice through a fan. "Buuuuuut I think it's time to finish up the set, don't ya think?" He turned his long head towards the professors, long tail connected to it waving in the air. He struck that smirk again, probably practiced from all those sets he kept talking about.

"Excellent idea! Very good," Dr. Oobleck shot up, thankfully. "No haste, however. A unique display often requires prep and focus. Optimal data collection begins with optimal conditions. Idea! We should-"

"Okay, yeah, big words again," Mikau spoke up and over the professor, rubbing the palm of his hand over his head. Yang briefly wondered if it was like massaging a temple. "Why don't you get comfortable, take ten, and let me do my thing. Kay?"

Mikau finished by extending his arms outward, stretched out like he was threatening to hug the doctor. That would have been funny to watch. But no, too obvious for the Zora it looked like.

Instead he fell right back into the pool.

Yang didn't even realize what was happening until he had hit the water, splashing the pool deck with the impact. A few students let out small y elps as they got wet. He was a fish, that was water, must have been like going home! Didn't stop a great many of the students crowding to the edge of the deck, looking over for the fish boy. Yang was smarter than that though.

"Hey," she spoke quickly, turning to Blake as she did so. Her sister could already hear her. "Let's go find some prime spots, huh?" She flashed a cheeky grin at her partner at the question. The feline faunus blinked only once before smiling in return nodding her head.

"Yeah! Let's find somewhere perfect!" Ruby climbed up on the boxer's back as she spoke. Yang could feel her sister pumping a fist into the air. "We don't wanna miss whatever Mikau is going to do. I bet he's gonna-" No room for ceremony apparently.

No sooner had Ruby shouted her agreement than did another splash resound in the pool. Yang looked over, confident it was some unlucky student finally getting pushed in. Apparently not. The true reason for the sound become pretty quickly obvious.

Her lavender eyes watched a figure rising out of the water, like it was jumping out of it. It was near the center of the colossal pool, towards the end and near the high dives. Actually… it was jumping up towards the high dives. Even jumping was a really loose term for it. The fish boy, cause who else could it be, was waggling in the air like Yang had seen flags do in the wind. His fins were fully extended, water following up behind him, and looking every bit at home in the jump as he likely did in the water.

But man, Yang realized, he was getting high! Like, he was probably past the second high dive, rapidly approaching the highest one. He was… He was actually going to make it, wasn't he? The dude was jumping almost higher out of the water than most other people could jump off the ground. Was that normal for fish? In the end, didn't really matter.

Mikau extended his hands at the highest point of his ascent, grabbing the edge of the high dive and pulling himself up. Yang thought she heard a few regretful sighs from the crowd. Didn't take much of an imagination to know why. But then, in an almost instant, Mikau was sitting back down on that high-dive looking at the crowd below, all grin.

"Hey!" He yelled out, waving his hand down to them. Yang couldn't tell if he was playing around or genuinely though they couldn't see him. Kinda hard to miss the fish boy sitting above the pool. "Who wants to hear a jam session, Zora-Style?!"

Yang covered her ears at the eruption of noise.

She couldn't call it cheering, not really. Cheering meant you were chanting someone's name, maybe just 'yeah' or 'yes', at worst it was a childish 'whoa-ho'. But no, of course not right now. The crowd on the pool deck just decided to start screaming like they had decided to tend some kind of torture session. The acoustics of the pool deck were not helping, at all, zero and zilch.

Yang felt Ruby cling to her a bit tighter, falling over her shoulder and plugging her own ears. Yang could see Blake taking the worst of it, her partner kneeled down and covering her bow and human ears as best she could in tandem. She was even shaking, but the blonde may have confused that for the aquatic center shaking at the noise.

It only got worse when she saw Mikau waving his hands towards himself, like he was absorbing the sound or something. He really was just some punk-musician, wasn't he? Yang ground her teeth.

"Alright!" Mikau shouted again, pulling out one of his magic-trick and producing the Guitar of Waves. He rolled back on the diving board, something that got a few more vocal 'whoas' now that they were ready to scream in the aquatic center. Didn't mean for much. Mikau was already standing again.

"Don't know how much talent you all got with your… Superbilites? Yeah, that's word." Clearly not the word he wanted to use, but Yang gave him credit for almost knowing theirs. "But here's a quick lesson you better pick up fast!" Mikau was still shouting, even as he started to lightly strum on his fish bone guitar. Maybe he though they couldn't hear it. Probably.

"If you got a talent for somethin', don't let it waste on just one thing." Wait, was he seriously giving them a lecture. They were past that now, weren't they? Yang was pretty sure he just had to impress Goodwitch enough to get out of punishment. Maybe he was going for broke or something. "Treat it like you would an open ocean. Be free with it, try it out on new things, experiment! Cause if you never try anything new, you'll never know the extent of what you can do." That was definitely Link talking.

"Cool on you to know how to fight, but if you wanna impress people, you gotta show them how to live." Yang would have wondered what the fish boy meant, if didn't start to crackle again.

For a moment, a quick one at that, Yang thought he sort of looked like a glow fish, those big things that had a giant ball at the end of their heads. The way his giant fin extended from the back of his, it was almost a perfect picture. It helped that the glow of electricity around him was far brighter than anything the pool deck's soft light had. Cool, for sure, but not much different from what he'd shown off already. The difference became clear when he strummed on his dead fish guitar.

It sounded like a rock guitar.

Yang, who knew good music when she heard it, instantly recognized the sound. It was like a Fender Stratocaster with an echo that vibrated like a 700 Gibson Anniversary. It flowed through the air perfectly, splitting the stale pool deck like a hot knife through stubborn butter. It was the acoustics of the guitar by itself with an electrical amplification. It was awesome.

And it only got better! He started to strum quick notes, each one dropping in volume the quick he strummed, a falling chord if Yang remembered correctly. The electricity of his semblance washed over his guitar as he played it, jumping slightly with each note he strummed. It was like watching the acoustics of a set play atop Mikau's guitar. She could literally see where every note was playing.

The sound was awesome, sweet even, and it looked like it was about to set something on fire, literally, but it was kind of… quiet. It was a common problem when you played a guitar solo, especially electric. You were left with either soft ballads or left depending on singer. Besides, wasn't the point to show off that sapphire of his?

As if in answer to her question, the notes Mikau played began to pick up. They started to rise instead of volume, in both volume and pitch. His hands slowly swayed towards the head of his guitar as the notes got higher, his picking at the fishes bone a little harder to up the sound, shooting out small sparks of electricity with it.

"Whoa!" Mikau shouted. Then he jumped.

After what happened next, Yang could fully understand the shouting of the crowd now. After what happened next, she understood why she was rapidly moving across the pool deck, making room for more and more students and who-knows-else pouring into the center. Really, she found herself almost jumping as well, were it not for her little sister on her back.

Cause while in mid-air, falling towards the pool below. Mikau strummed his guitar again. It was more like a swing, actually, every muscle in his arm going into the force of the note. But that extra force seemed to translate into something else.

Electricity exploded in the air above the pool.

The sound was like a set of extra-large speakers turned up to twelve, blasting the sound of the electrified bone guitar through them with twice the effort they normally would. It felt like the ground shook beneath her, and Yang wouldn't have been surprised in the least to find out it had. It only helped that the students, cause who else was young enough to enjoy the sound like an electric guitar, started screaming again. This time, she got it perfectly.

It helped a lot that the blue electricity that crawled over Mikau before now acted like it was erupting from him. Giant arcs of it were shooting out of his guitar with the blow, pushing out across his body like he just swung a metal rod that them. It was incredible! It was cooler than a cart full of dust going off inside a mining lab.

But then he hit the water, and it only got crazier. Mainly because he stopped on top of it! The screams of the students only grew in intensity, Yang having to reach the top of her toes to see over the crowd that was now clearly jumping at the music Mikau continued to play. She felt her younger and thankfully lighter sister crawling over her head to get a better view herself. Over the screams of the crowd and the electric guitar jamming on the pool surface, Yang could just barely make out her sister screaming with it. Looked like she found a good song, too!

Then the electricity suddenly shrunk, the multiple arcs of lightning all shrinking back down until they were barely visible over the head of the audience members. It would have worried Yang, if it didn't match the sound of the guitar dropping. She only hear single notes, spaced out from one another. She was probably reading too much into it, but… it almost sounded like they were counting.

"Now here we go!" She just made out Mikau's scream before the pool deck exploded again.

Yang was nearly blown away by what came next. The rest of the students literally were.

Shockwaves, literal honest to Grimm and Dust shockwaves rocked over the pool and onto the deck. There wasn't much else the blonde could say to make it clear. It was like a seven-forty-seven running on enhanced fire Dust was flying in a circle through the pool deck. They were strong enough to have the students screaming some more as they were pushed away from the water, more than a few of the skinnier members rolling across the tiled floor and into the wall. She even felt Ruby cling tightly to her. Didn't keep her little Red from cheering though.

The shockwaves did, however, give Yang a perfect clear image of the Zora playing on the pool surface. She thought he must have frozen a pillar in the water at first, able to stand on the water the way he was. But nope! Electricity was literally crawling around his feet, supporting almost like a raft in the surface. His blue eyes were shut, hands playing across the fish-bone guitar of his masterfully, and swinging around like he really was on stage. But what was causing the students to fall back like flies in a storm? That was obvious.

Mikau was literally stomping his foot on the water. It would have been funny if it wasn't shooting out literal waves of lightning across the surface of the pool. It was almost terrifying as it was amazing to watch. Each one hit the side of the deck, creating a crack of thunder that was missing from the lightning that crawled over the Zora's body. It only added to the strumming of his now electrified guitar.

But for all the sound and shockwaves he made, it was still secondary to the literal column of lightning he was shooting into the air. It was a good thing the ceiling of the aquatic center was so high, otherwise fish boy's electric storm probably would have torn the roof of the place. It was shooting up like reverse thunder, a column of the blue stuff wider than the guitarists outstretch arms. It was insane in a way that made Yang grin with ideas.

And through the whole thing Mikau was still playing. If anything, him jamming on that guitar of his was what was probably making the indoor storm so stupidly awesome. For every strum and chord he seemed to rip into with his electric bone fish, he seemed to make the lightning bigger, the shockwaves stronger, and the music louder than ever before. Mosh pits wished they could be this awesome.

And then he stopped.

Almost as suddenly as the lightning the first time around, it all just stopped without so much as a warning. The shockwaves were gone, the super charged sound gone, and even the lightning that surrounded the Zora was gone. It was like a snap of the fingers then poof, nothing.

Of course, with nothing there, Yang watched as Mikau swiftly fell beneath the surface of the pool again. She had literally no fear now, at least regarding his safety. After a show like that, she kind of doubted the fish was going to drown.

It only became clear when she saw his hands reaching from the water to the deck again, almost as cool as he did the first time. Much less show though. Then again, maybe she was still expecting too much after that little escapade he did. But hey, at least she was right. This was sick in all the right ways.

As Mikau pulled himself back onto the desk, Yang risked a look around the pool. The crowd was now much more spread out than before, a good majority of them behind her, unable to take the blasts the Zora had basically stomped on the water. It was kind of funny to say that out loud. Ms. Goodwitch and Dr. Oobleck were both okay, watching the Zora climb out of the pool. The brawler had to admit she was a bit hurt to see the blonde professor do little more than raise a brow at Mikau. Didn't he at least deserve a grin for all that?

Yang did find Weiss standing a bit further away than before, likely thrown by the same semblance as everyone else. They didn't have the muscle Yang did, so she could hardly blame her. She was brushing off her dress, probably from whatever debris was on the pool deck. Other than that, she looked no worse for wear. Blake, standing just behind the Schnee heiress, looked a little more uncomfortable.

Probably a fault of the sharp cat ears she kept covered up, but the shockwaves and super sound probably didn't do much good for Yang's partner. She was standing as straight as she could, but it still looked like she was a bit wobbly. That didn't matter as much on a deck full of people uneasily standing. Yang did, however, see the feline faunus fighting herself to not adjust the bow on her head. No more than one guess as to why there.

"Well shoot, looks like I got a little carried away in the current." Yang's attention was drawn back to Mikau, seeing the tall fish boy scratching the top of his head, just above that head fin of his. What did he call it again? "Used to at least a little cheer after a gig's done."

"Then allow me to be the first!" Yang almost jumped as much as Mikau when Oobleck shouted aloud. Quick as he usually was, the green haired doctor was standing in front of Mikau, shaking the fish boy's hand with a speed that looked almost painful. She knew it was when Yang heard Ruby wince.

"That was a momentous show of foreign application of Aura in a manner both unconventional and revolutionary! The discoveries, the secrets, the applicational uses, the process of processing Dust in such a manner. Truly endless!" Doctor Oobleck was starting to tinker dangerously close to mad. Madder than usual. "However, parameters. Yes, establish those. Glynda, does he meet requirements previously discussed?"

"He does." Yang was only a little startled by how fast Ms. Goodwitch responded. On one hand, she was used to it. On the other, it was kind of impressive being used to Oobleck of all people. "You are excused from your repercussions and, per your request, you may take charge of Link."

"Exceptional!" The doctor shouted again. "Then I must be off! Preparations, too many to name aloud, too many to start any later. Link, Mikau, you both," Doctor Oobleck faced the Zora again. "I eagerly await our next discussion, your fairies as well! Now, with haste!" In a rush of wind Ruby had prepared Yang for all her life, the doctor was gone. She heard the double doors of the center swinging at his exit.

"Doctor Oobleck may be overzealous in many things, but here I can understand his… enthusiasm," Ms. Goodwitch spoke plainly as she typed a few commands on her keyboard. Yang hoped they were pictures. This was something she really didn't want to forget, or let Weiss forget. "While it may be too early to justify your display of electrical properties through semblance as limitless, I will trust your honesty and show that it has significantly increased your reservoirs of aura."

"Do all the knights around here like to talk out of a dictionary?" Mikau shook his head with the question, Yang knowing full well it was rhetorical. The fin that protruded from behind him swayed at the action though. She really wanted to remember what it was called. "But hey, good to see we're makin' some waves over just crashin' them. No 'remedial' actions or other salt rock stuff."

"You celebrate too swiftly, Link." Yang had to stop a groan from gurgling out of her throat. "Though I will offer thanks for your promptness in paying back actions in which you commit fault, you seem to have a penchant to causing another problem whilst doing so."

Instead of speaking again, Ms. Goodwitch merely flicked her riding crop towards the wall behind the high dive. It was a tall wall, like the rest of the building, colored a lighter blue than the water was. Style and all that stuff. But was unique about the wall as compared to the others was what hung on it. No banners, which swayed from the rafters, no windows, which were against another fall wall. Just the large scoreboard detailing the success of individuals.

Said scoreboard was sparking with likely frayed parts and melted wires. Kay, not a good thing.

"Oh, my bad." Mikau spoke up, sounding more like he was guilty for putting his hand in the cookie jar.

"There is more," Ms. Goodwitch noted like she was unsatisfied with his admittance of guilt. Her riding crop swung through the air, stopping only when it pointed at the pool again. Yang was confused only for a moment, least of all by the whispering of the students. Probably a lot more vocal now that they had all screamed their heads off. Watching an indoor electric storm did give a little breathing room in the allowance though.

When her lavender eyes settled on the edge of the pool, probably near where Ms. Goodwitch was pointing her leathery weapon, it became pretty clear to the blonde brawler what the 'more' in this situation was.

The gutter, once taking in a lot of the junk in the pool, was starting to spit a good deal of it back out. That was also not a good thing. In fact, it was pretty disgusting.

"Huh," she heard Mikau speak up now. "Don't remember bein' able to reverse the flow of water. Believe me I'd remember that livin in the ocean." Reverse the water? What was he talking about?

"You have reversed nothing," Ms. Goodwitch was ever-so-kind to speak up. "In actuality, your electric performance conducted through the water and into the filtering system of the pool. The amount of current being used by your semblance was high enough to damage and likely destroy the pump used to direct the water. In short, the pool is now nothing more than a collection of still waste."

"Isn't that what all pools are?" Mikau asked, probably sincerely. He didn't know about filters, did he? 'Course not, why would a literal fish boy need to filter water from the freaking sea? Well, actually a lot of reasons, but probably not he had. Ms. Goodwitch, however, chose to ignore the comment. Probably training from all the sarcasm other students gave her. And Ozpin.

"As you and your fairies may recall, a stipulation of your display was that no damage be done to the facility or students. You have clearly broken this clause and now you are required to pay reimbursement for the damage." Yang had to admit, Ms. Goodwitch said something that would probably destroy a student's life as easily as she did describe the weather. Kind of a debate who was the real monarch of ice between her and Weiss.

Speaking of… Yang saw the alabaster heiress walking up to the duo. Arms neatly folded behind her back, she looked like she was getting ready for some kind of board meeting. When she opened her moth, it sounded like she really was.

"Ms. Goodwitch," Weiss began in what absolutely had to be practiced sincerity. There wasn't a trace of the usual whine her voice had. "I apologize if I am assuming too much, but I don't believe Link, as a member of a foreign society, has the same currency as we do, let alone to a significant enough degree to pay for damages."

"Fair assumption," Yang heard Blake mumble beside her. It was a good point. She couldn't expect space pirates to pay in Lien if they ever came to town. Wonder what Link did consider money anyway. Maybe it was valuable.

"If Link is unable to repay the damages, he would be forced to work until a suitable purse of lien is obtained," Ms. Goodwitch spoke while she was already tapping away at her pad. Yang only wondered briefly what she was typing. The conversation was more interesting though.

"Forced to work…" Tatl spoke the phrase again, in a much more passive voice than Yang expected. Sounded like she was thinking. "Forced. To. Work. Like, as in a… servant?" Sounded like there was another word she wanted to say. But Yang didn't focus on the ball of light long enough to care. Her eyes were on Mikau. Mikau, the so far passive electric fish rocker, looking at Ms. Goodwitch with a look she hadn't seen before, least not on the fish boy.

She'd seen it before, a few times before in fact. Usually came when someone she knew saw something they hated. Weiss wore it a lot when the White Fang came up, Blake just as often when Faunus were mistreated. Her dad put it on when Summer came up. And, Yang was sure she put it on whenever anyone crossed a line and threatened Ruby.

It was a look of absolute disgust.

With his abyssal blue eyes squinted, flat nose lifted, height tilted back, and jaw open just enough to show the sharpness of his fangs, the Zora looked as pissed off as he did intimidating. The height wasn't helping. Neither was knowing that he could fry a building for supper with that lightning of his. What was his deal?

"Then that won't be necessary." Yang had to force herself to look at Weiss. "I am willing to pay for all damages done. This was a demonstration requested by students and faculty alike, and we shouldn't risk creating poor relationships with a foreign dignitary." Kay, Link, heck even Mikau, was anything but a dignitary. He was a freaking Grimm Hunter, not some prude who put on a fancy suit. But… that was probably just more of that practiced Weiss ta-.

Wait, she was paying up the bill?

"Whoa, you'd really do that?" Of all people, Jaune spoke up. Of course he did, Yang realized. He only realized his mistakes after he stumbled head first into them. Weiss shot him an appropriate glare. Average look for her. "I-I mean… it's gotta be a lot of lien… right?"

"For the electrical firings through the water, resulting in massive damage to the circulation system, lighting, pool water filtration, and the billboard, the total will be summed up to be between four of five." Four or five Lien? Wow, cheap pool. Yang could pay that with the spare chip she kept in her back pocket.

"Four or five… w-what?" The Peeping Tom asked. Actually a good question. Couldn't be more than a thousand, like that was a small number…

"Apologies. Four or five hundred thousand, give or take thirty to four thousand between." Oh… Oh that was a lot. Judging by the whistles that came from the now spread out crowd, it was an opinion held in high agreement. Didn't seem to phase Mikau though, he kept staring out at them with that abyssal blue gaze. Kinda made sense actually.

"A drop in the bucket at worst," the Schnee heiress waved her hand at the number, literally. That made an unfortunate amount of sense as well.

Yang was starting to remember why the girl got on her nerves so easily. Still, great partner for her little sis, so long as they remained on good terms. It made the upkeep of their weapons easier, as well as ammo. Yeah, ammo was good to have.

"Rather, it would be rude to not offer my help. You were only so generous to us before, as your… _fairy_ was inclined to remind us of." Oh yeah, Tatl was going off about that before.

"I'm gonna just assume it's a lot money that Triple B over there is asking for." Yang was starting to wonder what the golden ball of light's nickname for Goodwitch meant. Judging by the way the professor narrowed her emerald gaze, tapping away at the pad in her hands, she was too. "So… yeah, thanks for the help. Really."

"Think little of it," Weiss dismissed, probably something her daddy taught her to do when handing out the big lien. "Mikau merely possesses a very unique and unquestionably valuable form of Dust. If this is the cost for the display of its power, I will be more than glad to pay it." More like her family would be more than happy to pay a finder's fee for the next great weapon.

"Still, looks like I owe ya one sea foam," said Zora spoke to Weiss, grinning that same half-pulled smirk as he did. Seemed to do wonders on the Schnee heiress, who smiled in return. It looked to be done for a little more than simple politeness. "Let me know what I can do ta make it up to you later, sound good?" He stuck out his hand as he spoke, looking down towards Weiss with those same endless blue eyes. Seriously, how did he see like that?

"I… I will find a suitable way for you to make your repayment." Yang felt her own smirk developing as her sister's partner stumbled at the starting line. She recovered well enough, lifting her head and gripping the extended hand of Mikau as she did so. Probably had to do that a couple hundred times over growing up. "And worry not, I will make sure it is of appropriate recompense for this… small display of your abilities." And the smooth talking. Guess that was just as learned as the hand shake. Yang heard Ruby giggling behind her, no reason to wonder why there.

"Sounds good to me," Mikau agreed, expect he didn't let go of Weiss's hand. Instead, Yang watched with a careful eye as he settled to one knee. Even lower to the ground he was about as tall as the Schnee Heiress. Probably easy to manage when you were seven feet plus.

But then, he lightly kissed Weiss's hand. The sun was dimmer than Weiss's face.

Yang started laughing, hand held firmly against her mouth, when Weiss's blush lit up more of her face than a flashlight did at night. She curled over, completely blocking her view of the event when the cheers starting coming from the crowd.

Forget Fish Boy, Mikau was now officially Lover Boy!

"He's like a knight in a fairy tale!" Ruby eagerly whispered into Yang's ear. She could feel her younger sister practically jumping. She could feel it as well as she could hear the whoops and whistles of the crowd. Oh this was really a perfect day. "The knight swearing his loyalty to the princess with a kiss on the hand! It's amazing!"

Yang could not stop laughing. Her sister was going to literally kill her.

"I'm going to get Weiss," she heard Blake speak to them. "I'll meet you two at the exit." Yang couldn't understand anything more she said. She was nearly on her knees with mirth.

She had, in a the course of only a few hours, collected enough blackmail and teasing material on people in her class than she had on her own sister in near fifteen years. Love interests? Crushes? There was no sweeter way to pull someone's strings than that!

"C'mon Yang!" she heard Ruby speak down to her again, whispering foregone. "We gotta help Blake find Weiss!" Why? Had the ice princess gotten cold feet? The joke only made the blonde brawler laugh even harder, hand clenching at her jaw to futile keep it still. But looked up, just to check.

Mikau was still there, standing up again with a now all-so-deserving grin on her face, complete with hands on his hips. Goodwitch was beside him, casting a glance that looked one-part curious two-parts damning. No surprise why there. His fairies were still by his side, though the only non-mini-drone was blushing about half as hard as Weiss was, which was still bright enough to light up a room.

Crowd was still very much there, alternating looks from pride, embarrassment, and humor all around them. She could clearly see Nora jumping for joy, a normally apathetic Ren nodding impressively at her side. Pyrrha was amongst the embarrassed number, eyes looking away and face as red as her long hair. Jaune didn't look any more comfortable, hand pushing his own head down.

But Weiss was no where to be seen. She really was gone.

"Oh no!" Yang yelled out as she got up. Her sister was right beside her. "We're gonna catch the little snowflake and make her spill every bean she's got!"

"W-What about Mikau… I-I mean Link!" Leave it her sister to think of everyone. Yang sure didn't now when there were better prizes to be had.

"I'm pretty sure Goodwitch has got a few words for him. Ain't like we're not gonna see him again!" Then she was gone, well starting to be gone at least. Yang took off throught he crowd, thinned out as they were spread out about the pool deck. Made access to the doors easier.

Weiss was as good as caught, the only question was how soon she wanted to get her humiliation over with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	4. A Two-Way Test

Ozpin took a gulp of his coffee. He was not in a good mood.

It was hard for him to muster anything more than a sardonic grin when he was being presented with orders. Orders from individuals who hadn't the power to give them in the first place, at least not to someone at his level of standing.

They were orders being given for a reason that he could not even begin to see as acceptable. In fact, nothing of this was acceptable to him. Despicable.

"I refuse to hand Link over as if he is some possession." He spoke clearly to the screen before him, not taking his eyes off the black shadows, nor the regally dressed general. "Least all of for paranoia that you cannot control."

" _This is beyond merely some concern for the future Ozpin, however important that may be_ ," one of the shadows spoke up, a dark arm waving with as much emotion as the monotonous speaker. " _This new student of yours is not simply an outsider, he is an outsider that possesses infantry power beyond anything we currently have! That's not even including what he has failed to mention thus far._ "

" _What he possesses are invaluable tools to strengthen our Military,_ " another figure spoke. It was Ozpin's unblinking gaze that allowed him to see the general on the other screen nod at the notion. " _Take your pick of what he has shown and we can name a dozen areas that could be improved by said tools._ "

"And at the cost of taking a foreigner and turning him into a subject," Ozpin spoke the unspoken line. He knew it was never merely an exchange of services with the council. It was obvious. It was a trade that was set in the sand. "I am far from uniformed in your workings and methods. Even less so when it comes to the Military."

" _You know that is uncalled for Ozpin,_ " the general spoke, his voice deep as his shoulders were broad. James had a way of making the sympathetic words he spoke turn harsh. " _All of those under my command are irreplaceable to me._ " It was fortunate he was not as skilled in the battle of words as the Emerald Headmaster was.

"And I see my students in the same way," Ozpin continued. "It is why Link, who has passed the entrance exam with all legalities met, will remain here until he so chooses to leave. And I assure you, asking for him to give you what he has will not work well for you."

There was no soul who would so freely give the memories of his closest friends. The black shadows of the Council knew that, however.

" _That is why we are asking you to hand him over._ " The third shadow of the Council spoke. " _Not just an outsider, he is an unstable faunus whom has already caused serious damage to your own school. How long until he damages what cannot be replaced?_ "

"It is why he is a student still, Councilman," Ozpin returned curtly. "He is not a hunter until I give him my blessing. My own, and the authority of one of you." His mug moved from the Council to James Ironwood. They knew the laws. They knew what he was referring to. "And I believe you are all far from accepting him into the ranks."

" _But not so far as to say he is not skilled enough to be a Hunter,_ " James spoke up again. His voice was deep and commanding. Tiresome, at least when he was speaking a point. Ozpin took a sip of his coffee to keep himself awake. " _Not only in the entrance exam that Glynda documented, but also in his activities with his friends and the tools he possesses. Ozpin, please, think of what could be done if we could replicate those Gems of his, let alone the masks he wears._ "

Ozpin sighed. And James was doing so well, until that last line.

"The Gem he possesses is a sacred item to the people of his homeland," Ozpin began. "The masks are the literal memories of his friends, memorialized as we would the movies and pictures of our past. Used in a far different manner, I am aware, but asking to borrow or use them would be harsh in any context."

And they were all learned people. They were politicians and generals, men and women who had seen and experienced the worst.

It was only a shame they could not see the best way to correct those mistakes of the past.

" _It does not matter what you say, Ozpin,_ " one of the shadow Councilman spoke again. " _This faunus of yours has clearly demonstrated he could easily turn into a threat with only the slightest provocation. What's to happen if some prank is pulled and those precious masks are damaged?_ " The figure's arm rose as if the question were a valid one.

"You are suggesting I forfeit Link's agency on the superstition that he would lash out violently if mocked?" Ozpin raised a brow at the very thought. Questionable. The silence that followed the question was more telling than any answer. "Though praised by some, there are fair number of my students who mock him for his similarities to Mr. Arc, calling him the bastard faunus child of a hero. This is only on the first day, and yet Link has only offered to keep friends with those close to him."

" _Except for the moment where he threw his 'fin' at Winchester's boy._ " Ozpin hid his scowl behind his mug again. " _And that was likely for the so call 'simply mocking' you were speaking of. What will he do when damage actually comes? Should we prepare the gurney?_ "

They were reaching in the worst of ways now.

"You cannot be serious with that conjecture." Ozpin spoke his own statement as he matter-of-factly he could. He honestly could not see the jump in the logic. The gap was far too wide. "And as I recall, Link did not strike Cardin. Dr. Oobleck's own report shows the blade would have missed Cardin even if he jumped to try and strike it. To say Link is a violent individual is a stretch."

" _This is far from a stretch, Ozpin,_ " the same figure from before spoke. " _And if anything, we are being lenient with our demands. Even a child could see the danger of having an uninformed source of power like this faunus running around unchecked._ "

Ozpin glared at the screen though he knew it would hardly show. Not through the filters and silver bangs of his hair. He only wished he knew the name of the Councilman on the other side of the screen.

So then he would no better the reasoning for such a ludicrous statement.

" _What if he were to tour Vale? What if a faunus visiting from a far spoke to him, hmm?_ " The silence hung like a lead curtain. " _A single slip of the tongue and he could move to aid the White Fang!_ "

" _And if he is as wise as you claim him to be, he'll likely want more than mere testimony about the world he has… sailed into,_ " another figure curtly replied. If there was an insult Ozpin could never level against that pillar of the Council, it was stupidity. He knew how to bend the facts to match his end. " _It is far safer to take these tools from Link and place them in a protective site while they are studied. To do otherwise would be pure negligence._ "

Was that their true train of thought? Idiocy.

"No, that would be pure theft," Ozpin argued in turn. "Taking from another who has done no wrong for the belief he may. Do not forget, and conveniently set aside, that I asked Link here for the sole reason of his power. Students come to either become stronger or become wiser. I am hoping to make Link the latter."

The gears of his office turned beneath him, a reminder that time marched on in conversation. Their actions were already in effect. So Ozpin had to be quicker with his words and the conclusion.

Ozpin hated what was to come next, but corners only offered one means to leave. And waiting to be struck at was not something he or only leader was privy to do. Damnable is what it was… but necessary.

Perhaps though… he could turn it to his advantage. He only needed one thing. Time.

"There is another deal we can make," Ozpin spoke again. The faces on the screens remained just as unmoving as before. "And it is one that satisfies all parties." It did not satisfy him. At least not yet. But he would play the game long enough to make it so.

" _Oh? Do tell then._ "

Ozpin hid his sigh behind a drink of his coffee.

* * *

Goodwitch tapped her foot as she stared at the student in front of her, standing at the center of her office. Tapping was all she did right now, all she did because it was all she could do while she prepared for what would be a hard lecture to a single individual.

A reprimand was quick to a singular point with a solitary punishment. A scolding may have involved a bit more insight from other professors, but otherwise was only mildly longer, no more than a class period's time.

Her office was meant for discussions such as this, deliberate intimidation through size and repercussion of noise. Every little tap of stone echoed around them, the height of walls making even the tallest of huntress seem minuet in comparison.

Though far from bare, fitted with many materials needed to teach and keep track of the events of Beacon, it was less decorated than the more eccentric professors at Beacon, lacking trophies from her time as a contract huntress. That mattered little now, however.

For the green hatted faunus before her, claiming to be from a mythical land beyond any map's boundaries or knowledge, she had so much more to say than a simple scolding could cover.

He had violated a great number of rules, many without knowledge of them. He had made a show of his powers, demonstrating an almost terrifying level of aptitude. But more than that, he had opened the door about his unique position on campus to a great many of the underclassman as well as a few more mature hunters.

A slow sight seethed from between her lips, an action that made many other students squirm. Link, however, appeared no worse for wear. He continued to stare forward, standing still and with his arms folded behind his back. There were no 'fairies' about his head, as they usual two were.

Instead, they were waiting outside, doubtlessly with the Team RWBY and JNPR. Various members of the teams had all taken a quick liking to this mysterious faunus.

Link was no longer wearing the guise of his 'friend's', instead now only looking towards her with his aquamarine gaze. Long and race-signifying ears were extended from the sides of his head, listening intently to her. For now, they heard nothing but Goodwitch tapping upon her pad. She was placing the mini-drones around the room carefully, making sure that each angle was accounted for.

A lecture though this was, it would become clear all too soon the severity that came with it.

Glynda's mini-drones would not merely record the conversation, they would hinder the interference of foreign drones as well. She needed to, as there was no other way to ensure a protected conversation.

The blonde professor sighed again, much softer than her previous one. She almost wished Ozpin would join her, but he was the headmaster, keeping back the wolves at the gate while she taught the sheep to defend. Problem was, Goodwitch wasn't sure which Link was.

"Link," she began simply. He straightened slightly, perhaps as much a sign as she would get that he was listening. "Let me begin by saying that you have made an impressive display of your skills, abilities, and elements of your equipment at your first day at Beacon, more so than any other student before. Let me also emphasize that this is not a positive thing."

Glynda tapped a few more commands upon her pad. The signal scrambling was on, the cameras running, and her office was now an unknown to the rest of the world. She slipped her pad behind her back, letting the large scroll fold and slide itself away.

"Here at Beacon, students, huntress and hunters-in-training, are taught to work together as amiably as possible. This is done through four sections of teaching. First and foremost, education of Grimm. I believe you and your companions refer to them as simply monsters. This is what you received in Professor Port's lecture." Link nodded at her words, but only once. Glynda began to step around him, heels clicking upon the floor as she did so. It made a slight echo through her office, a desired trait for times such as this.

"Secondly, we back up these classes with exercises and excursions into the wild of the Emerald or Forever Fall Forest. Done perhaps twice a month, these are either hunting, tracking, or more advanced trapping events that test the strength and learning of the team. Professor Peach is usually in charge of such lessons for the first years. As I am sure you have learned, knowledge unpracticed is of little use." He nodded again. Glynda now made her way to his back. He continued to stare forward, not looking towards her once. Well-trained indeed.

"Thirdly, we teaching sparring classes with the students. Teams optionally fighting together, commonly against one another, this is meant as a controlled area where skill can be honed and advice offered between teammates, classmates, and the academy as a whole. I commonly teach these classes and all students attend them regularly." She had circled him, now standing before him with a leveled glare, looking down at the shorter faunus.

"Finally, as I am sure you are now aware, we teach classes upon the varying levels of turmoil in our world, Remnant, if you were unaware of the name. For now, these are focused upon the interactions between faunus, such as yourself, and humans, such as I." He did not bat an eye towards the clear contrast between them. Perhaps that was due to frequency. Ms. Belladonna was much the same for Ozpin.

"Yet, somehow, in the course of Doctor Oobleck's instruction of this class, you managed to disrupt the class schedule of five other rooms, collect the attention of a touring donation family, and cause mass damage to the aquatic center requiring days for full repair in the least." Goodwitch was careful to keep her voice from anything more than level. Her gaze was much the same upon Link.

"But the most damaging part of your little display, Link, was quite literally broadcasting to all students, professors, and even curious visitors of Beacon exactly what you are." She paused only briefly before continuing. "Eccentric and honest as your companions tend to behave, their words of your origins would at worse be seen as some tall tale. With your actions, they are now fact." Now he showed emotion.

It was only a single raised brow, looking at her with what she knew was a curious gaze. It was not the embarrassment or self-loathing she was looking for. Of course not. He did not understand the level of impact his actions had caused. Goodwitch was caught between blaming his level of intelligence and his area of origin. Both seemed likely suspects.

"Link." Goodwitch put an edge to his name, hoping to ensure he understood the full weight of her words. She made sure to tower over him as she spoke them. "Beacon Academy is a school, a place to train hunters and huntresses for the terrors that threaten the world. The military, the government, the many factions beyond our borders, are either allies or enemies. But none of them are _us_." She put a hand to her chest as she spoke. She watched the faunus lower his gaze to it once before looking back into her eyes. Hopefully this was getting through, but best not to stop here.

"Ozpin has allowed you to stay at this Academy as a student because you meet our requirements, though we understand you are hardly to be considered one." Goodwitch couldn't help the small slip in her dialogue, voice evening out. "By claim and demonstration, you have shown to be proficient with your already immensely powerful tools, weapons, and dust that have not even been thought of in any of the four kingdoms before." The emphasis was placed, but now she needed to deliver the message. She leaned into him, whispering the words to achieve the desired effect.

"Here, no one can do any more than ask you to show your might. Anywhere else, you would be captured, stripped, interrogated, and likely tortured for all that you knew and all that you could tell." Now she saw his eyes furrow.

That was not out of confusion. Link knew well what she meant. Excellent.

"Your display with Doctor Oobleck allowed more than a mere handful of students to record and capture proof of your powers. Already there are rumors of you flying about Beacon like Nevermores congregating for a kill!" She raised her voice now, whipping her crop as she did so. Link did not flinch, though his gaze was hard as steel. Still good. "Students who do not know you think you are either a spy from foreign lands, a secret member of the White Fang, a super weapon we have been developing for a coming war, or even an ancient warrior thawed out from ice. Each one more ludicrous than the next, but all seen as plausible until knowledge of you is released. Do you know what that means?"

Shame.

Glynda saw it pass through the faunus's blue eyes swift as the wind, but it was there. Fleeting as the emotion was, it was definitely there. It was a sign of many things, least of all the self-pity. It was a sign of recognition, admitting wrong doing. It was a sign of embarrassment, uneasy about the use of power in this specific case. But more than both, it was a sign of a mistake. Link knew now that he was in the wrong. Now lessons could be taught.

"It means that unless we alter your standing at Beacon, your continued presence will only cause more trouble than benefit." The green-hatted faunus shut his eyes as he took in a deep breath of air. That was curious. It was almost as if… oh no.

"Do not mistake my words, Link." Glynda rose up as she spoke, still towering over the student-in-name but no longer intimidating his gaze. "We are not excusing you from the Academy, not yet anyway." His returning gaze quick release of air confirmed Goodwitch's thoughts. "Though this is a sudden burden, occurring no sooner than we have established your place as a student, throwing you away like meat to the Grimm is _far_ from an action we even rarely take."

Goodwitch stood back from Link before turning away from him. She looked out the window of her office, placed at a decent height above and behind her desk. It showed a great amount of the Beacon landscape, covering a good portion of the dorms and classrooms. The roofs of those builds was easy for her to see, the floor at which her office was situated. It also helped to make the horizon of Vale almost majestic to see.

Glynda did not find herself constantly staring out at the sights, however. More often she had her emerald eyes on her desk than over her shoulder, far more focused on what she had to do then where she wished to be. The dorms were a reminder of the students she taught, the classrooms of the lessons they learned, and the city beyond of what it was all designed to protect.

"You were to be a student here Link, if only in name," she spoke almost as if thinking of a kind memory. She abandoned the thought as soon as it had come. Ozpin was the dreamer, she was the planner. "Now you are to be something I have no names for. Class schedules, uniforms, future team assignment, all the plans that Ozpin and I had generated over the past couple of days are now worth no more than the dirt you used to secure your entry into Beacon." Glynda gave him credit. Most students would have chuckled at the line she dropped. She did not and neither did Link.

"Now, you and I are going to have to reassess your position and duties here." Goodwitch turned back to Link as she spoke. He had not moved nor changed expression, even in the slightest. "Much of what I am to say is written in the hardest of stone, no ground or permission for you to compromise over. Others, of which I will tell, we will have to discuss. Before either of us leaves this room, we will have a new plan regarding your stay here at the Academy." He nodded at her words. Excellent.

She raised her pad again, tapping across it to bring up a small checklist she had established during his earlier stint as Mikau. She made an additional note to form a list of his many 'friends'. Only two were currently there, but according to Tatl, ten were to be eventually accounted for. That was a matter for an entirely other day, however. At present, Link's placement was the priority, and that was not to change.

"Before anything else," Goodwitch spoke as she drew up the list, dotting her own notes before the meeting began in earnest. "You must understand that you were nothing short of fortunate with your actions. If not for your sudden display of Dust through the… Zora Sapphire, or Ms. Schnee's saving grace for your destruction of the aquatic center, there would be a great deal more we would be concerned with." Link nodded again, though slightly slower than before.

"You are cleared on those accounts, as payment has been transferred for repairs and Doctor Oobleck is now going to speak with you and your companions regarding his research proposal, as agreed. I am only speaking of those points again to emphasize your needed caution in the future. Though you will be unable to reveal yourself to a crowd that already knows you, it is not impossible to break the same thing twice." Glynda hesitated over her pad for a fraction of a moment. She had to. It was all that she had to do to note the sheepish look Link adopted. Humility, an excellent attribute to possess.

"Now," she started. "We are to discuss four key differences to your being here at Beacon, understand?" Link did, as his nod confirmed. "Then please, take a seat."

She produced her riding crop long enough to wave over an extra chair and small table, both neatly folded at one of the many tall walls. They flew through the air and assembled together with practiced ease, doing little more than gliding through air, never once impacting one another or the floor until necessary.

Goodwitch watched Link regard the furniture for a pregnant moment before pulling on the wooden sitting platform. When he was satisfied, he settled himself in. She nodded at him as she walked around her desk, moving away the many papers and messenger scrolls settled upon it with another wave of her crop. Drawers flew open along her armoire, the papers flying inside as they neatly stacked themselves one atop the other. They pattered only through the air, not a single crease forming from the action of their flight. The scrolls were no different, clattering only when they were being placed inside drawers they would soon call their temporary home. When all was away, Goodwitch settled into her own seat, laying her large pad out in front of herself.

"Your current singles room is still yours and will remain unchanged," she spoke quickly, diving into the meat of the conversation with little more padding. "There is no need to relocate you. The scroll Ms. Rose instructed you with is still yours, as well as your access to the cafeteria and other facilities. No necessities to living are being removed from you." Link nodded in his chair, his arms raised only so that his hands could fold across the table. For comfort, most likely.

"For things that will change, we will start with what has no room for discussion." She left just as much room to talk as she sent a small pile of papers towards the green-hatted faunus, all of them neatly piling on his desk. He regarded them before looking back up at her. "First and foremost, you must understand the relationship we have with our current allies, those being the Military and the Government. The structure of these groups can be explored in your own time. For now, I must make you aware of what they expect from us and what we do from them."

Glynda pushed at the first item on her pad's checklist, producing the few pages of treaties and orders that were relevant to the current situation. Though there were truthfully hundreds to thousands of pages, none matter when it came to the regards of the mysterious faunus in her chamber.

"As many of the huntresses and hunters that graduate from our Academy are hired by the Military, they have a constant eye upon our activities and prospective students. Many times in the past, they have volunteered a great deal of resources to us for use in our classes or building of new training grounds. As the Military is controlled by the Government, it is safe to assume that any information given to one is shared with the other." Link nodded at her, though him still not once touching the papers before him.

"Though rare, the Government has the authority to influence policy within Beacon if it feels they have grounds to do so. These are done by voting between their members, one of which is Headmaster Ozpin." Link blinked at her words, though Glynda did not restate herself. She loathed to do so. "However, even these executive decisions must be made based upon criteria, such as the welfare of the people, economy, or Government itself."

"So far, you are fortunate that you have done little to nothing to make yourself a credible threat to anyone. Thus, it is removed that the government will be able to intervene in such a way. They may attempts to do so, but Ozpin and I will be more than capable to make such moves near impossible." Glynda noted, with a small amount of pleasure, the look of thanks that slightly lifted Link's lips. He was taking this all remarkably well in stride.

"The Military, however, is of another concern. As aforementioned, we are no longer able to keep your exact nature a secret. As such, we must now report to the Military about your being here. This will mean they will be curious for many reports, figures, and perhaps even interviews with you in the near future. Without an idealized sense of what is to come, I can say that few to none of these visits will be made without the thought that you are a possible enemy to them." And again, Link only nodded at her words. Not even a look of remorse upon his face. Curious.

"Though interviews must be scheduled, and none have been made as of yet, they have already requested much data regarding you and your combat powers. What I have recorded from your initiation has already been sent, but they will be inclined for more from you and with increasing frequency, in all likelihood." Link made an audible sigh at the news. Glynda spoke on, noting the action before speaking again. "But as said, you are a part of Beacon, and the Military is but an ally to us. You are no more under their sway or command than Ozpin or I. Have no fear that you will simply be handed over." The smile came again. That was thanks, at the very least.

"However, as failure to communicate data with our ally can be seen as a breach of contract, data regarding you must be sent. To do this, your required activities have been altered." She flicked her crop at him, or more specifically, at the stack of papers in front of him. Instantly, as always, the first few sheets were flipped and settled next to the remaining stack of papers.

What Glynda was planning to do was wait for Link to read over the documents, scan them as she had seen many students do before, though in drastically different situations. That would allow her to explain only what was needed or unspecified. However, as she watched the faunus continue to look over the pages with a growing look of complexity, Goodwitch realized something unfortunate.

"You… can't read it, can you?" She knew the answer already, the many reasons for it just as logical as near anything else in Beacon. It only made the professor sigh when Link nodded his head in confirmation. Disappointing, but not completely unforeseen.

"Those pages detail your dismissal from classes concerning Professor Port or Doctor Oobleck," Goodwitch spoke on, tapping across her pad to note Link's inability. It would be required to know for future events, doubtlessly. "Though learning history of the land is of great importance, to you more than most, your presence in the classrooms would only cause disruption and likely lead to a divergence from the required material. A single class with Doctor Oobleck has shown that." She was slightly pleased to see the faunus lightly nod, a quick sigh leaving his lips. It appeared he was not to disagree. Good, as even if he did it would not change what was to come.

"Though the first-year students have sparring sessions only thrice a week with me, I hold the classes for all other years. In order to prevent action by the Government or Military, it will be required for you to attend one sparring session a day with me, understand?" Link nodded, so Glynda continued. "I will decide at these classes whom you will fight with and will record your actions throughout. It will not be necessary for you to do anymore than that." Link nodded again. She wished half her students were so willing to listen.

"The first few sessions, starting tomorrow night, will be done with no requirements on your part. But as the reports are filed and we keep meeting the minimal standards of our agreement with the Military, they may request more data regarding specific methods to your combat abilities." Now Link only stared at her, head tilted slightly to the side. Confusion. She could explain.

"It means that you have thus far demonstrated aptitude for a sword and shield, hammer, boomerang, and then utilizing the memories and forms of your friends. As matches continue and your abilities are more well shown, some officials or members of the Council will likely ask for more data regarding a specific weapon or friend. When that time comes, I will require you to use said weapon or friend. Is that clear?"

Link gave her a new look. It was foreign, not as much as he was or his customs, but it was not the same nod of agreement or curious look of confusion. Rather, it was more reserved. His brows were knit together, lips lightly pursed as he nodded slowly. It took a moment, but the blonde professor deciphered the expression well enough.

Caution. He was wary to so easily show something. Another moment and she realized what.

"I assure you that we will not request for you to don the visage of your friends during the sparring sessions so regularly. I have already marked in several filings the pain and torture you must undergo in order to bring your friends to… reality, I suppose." Life wasn't the right word. Both she and Link knew that much. "Though there will be questions regarding the uniqueness of your faunus companions, as they are more foreign to us than even yourself. But majority of the inquiries will likely be drawn to your unique Dust weapons and Artifacts." The reserved look on the faunus's face slowly dissipated for one of understanding and, perhaps, thanks. It was unneeded.

"And perhaps now is the best time mention this, but this was the case before your… choice of events." Glynda was unsurprised to see another look of confusion become his face. "I am telling you this now so that we may be able to prevent further conflict. Ozpin wished to bolster your presence in this Academy for the reason of preventing other affiliations from contacting you." Goodwitch watched, carefully, as Link's curious expression morphed. His lips opened only a touch, head tilting with a noticeable favor to one of his eyes. Wariness. Appropriate given her words.

"Please do not assume that we have impure motives for you," Goodwitch spoke dryly. This was not an area she had patience for. "As I am sure you have heard, if not from the students then from Team RWBY, there are foreign organizations that are keen on causing harm to others. But, just as likely as that, they are willing to recruit the naïve into their ranks. Without intending to insult you, you have a very naïve perspective of our land, as I'm sure I would for yours." She watched Link, slowly nod his head. Still wary, but less so at that. Suitable.

"Very well, moving on there are a few more details that need attention." Goodwitch flipped a few pages over as she spoke. Force of habit once she remembered Link's inability to read their language. "As you currently now having a working relation with Dr. Oobleck, I will be asking him for any gains in knowledge he makes in his research. Given your uniqueness, I will be expecting a fair number of notes in the coming weeks. And again, I must emphasize, this is to prevent the Military or Government from assuming we are conducting anything that may be perceived as a threat." Link nodded again. Satisfactory still.

"Furthermore, your visits to Vale, if any should need occur, will be done under the supervision of one of the professors here or a high-standing Beacon student. I am sorry to say that Team RWBY and JNPR, though accomplished in their own rights, are still freshman and therefore unqualified." He nodded again, but with less energy than before. Acceptance more than agreement.

"As I am aware that you have traversed to our lands in search of your friend, I am sure that your conversations with Dr. Oobleck will eventually require some form of exploration beyond our grounds. When this happens, I will have to request knowledge of what you are taking with you and the coordinates to where you will be going." Link raised a brow near the end of her sentence. Glynda caught why. "Your location, simply. Dr. Oobleck will more properly handle those details. This is to ensure, once more, to the military that your activities are genuine and should not be perceived as a threat."

She explained herself further, yet his brow did not fall. If anything else, he head tilted further. Why was that? Being told of restrictions via extra personal was usually the reason most huntresses were confused or often angry. It took her a small moment, but the answer became clear to her.

"The restrictions of your items is meant to give ease to the Government," she explained. "To be clear again, both the Military and Government are interested in your abilities as well as your equipment. At the moment, neither have the grounds to confiscate them from you and Beacon Academy will only do so if threats are made against another student's life." He nodded clearer at this. She was glad there was common ground again.

"By telling the Government about your equipment when you leave Beacon, it removes the possibility of them using a clause of 'Threat to Public Safety' to apprehend you. Whilst I personally trust you will not commit such an act, the Government is only looking for reason to take from you." She spoke no lies in her statement. She never would to a student she was giving a lecture to. Link must have known, for he smiled at Glynda again, though only nodding slightly so. She understood why now.

"For anything you may be required to leave behind, I have programmed security drones to keep constant vigilance over your quarters. Officially, this is to make sure you do not perform any threatening actions. Realistically, it is to prevent others from invading your personal affects." He relaxed, visibly. Excellent. The most information was shared when both individuals were of a calm mind.

"Lastly, you must be made aware of student's opinions of you." This was a conversation Glynda always loathed to have. But like Link's special admittance to the Academy, it only needed to occur a few times at worst. "Though many had positive receptions of you in the aquatic center, just as many are wary that you are working for a foreign entity." She paused, judging his reaction. There was none, but that was a sign in itself. Pre-existing knowledge. He knew they would think such of him. Curious, but at the moment helpful.

"This level of suspicion now associated with you, in combination with your unorthodox display of powers and abilities, has bolstered the assumption of you in a negative way. If I were to be more… direct in wording, the students will see you as either an enemy or a novelty." Glynda, in what she recognized as reasonable in only a few situations, was glad to see the furrowing of Link's brow. "I bring this to your attention so you will be aware of what will be spoken to you in the days to come. Rest assured, both Ozpin and I will do nothing but aide you during your stay here, but we can no more influence the student's opinions of you then we may change the nature of Grimm." She smacked her crop against the table. It was more of annoyance for herself. She loathed things she could not control.

"That covers all of the details I have need to speak with you." Goodwitch shook her crop at the pile of papers on the desk in front of Link, commanding them into the air. With a quick flick, they floated back to her own. "Anything we have not spoken of, I ask you to exercise your best judgement. Accidents aside, you have done a far better job than most students in that category." He smiled at her again,

"I'm going to address the students waiting outside the door now," Goodwitch swiped on her pad as she spoke. It told the mini-drones to enter a hibernation state. Nothing overtly sensitive would be spoken now. "I trust you will explain to your companions what I have meant and, if they are keen to notice, why there will be drones surrounding you." He nodded at his words, again looking no more worried than a squirrel before a tree.

That was rare, but common in well-trained hunters. Link had the history of one, as Tatl was keen to relate. Tael agreed with his sibling, but with less energy. A hunter of that caliber, however, needed more than orders. That was something Glynda had learned only through time on the field.

"Link, make no mistake," she spoke softer, intentionally. "We care for our students lives above all else. As you are now our student, even if only to allow you a place of stay, you under our contract of protection. Neither I nor any other professor here will allow harm or fault to unjustly come to you." Link only continued to look at her, smile one of mild thanks, not of understanding.

If he were any other student, a citizen of one of the four kingdoms who dreamed of slaying Grimm for the protection of all life, it would have been a non-issue. But, that was not the case. Link was far and away from a typical case. He was a faunus listed as a student only as a means to keep him from the eager hands of militant minds or greasy government officials. Underhanded, perhaps a little sneaky, but ultimately necessary. He needed to know that.

"Even Beacon aside, Link," Goodwitch began. She walked over to him, lightly placing a hand on his shoulder when she was close enough. He looked down at it before looking back up at her. "I will do all that I can to keep you safe. Our world may never be a paradise, but it will sooner end before I allow you to fear it."

Now she received a reaction, one she was not disappointed by.

Link looked up at her, grin pulling at his lips. The ears that pulled from the side of head wilted, relaxing actually. Relaxing was a sign that Glynda never took poorly. It was trust. Trust, as she knew, was something more valuable than any amount of lien or dust. It was something that could truly decide the fate of history. And, even if in some small way, they had built trust between them. It was excellent. She stepped back, removing her hand as she did so.

"Be sure to come to the training class tomorrow," Goodwitch spoke once more. "You will now be required to fight at least once per session. Attend the other classes at some point following the next few weeks, when the awe of your presence has shrunk to only a curiosity."

Instead of simply nodding her head at the faunus, Glynda extended her hand. A handshake secured no more grounds of loyalty than any oaths or words, but it was seen commonly across many cultures.

Link, however, was not a diplomat or professor, only barely a student. He was a foreign faunus. Though Glydna very much doubted she would insult him with words, she knew that keeping the trust they had forged whole was very important. For that, physical contact was required; a simple show that they were in agreement.

He looked at her hand for only a moment before raising his arm to match hers. They locked hands, grasping at one another's palms. Link had strength in his hold, as his show of force during his examination left as no surprise. It did, however, show his sincerity to the contact as well. Glynda smiled as they shook.

"Very good," she spoke as she released her hand. "Now, I will instruct what I can to the others. Wait here until I have done so. You can speak to Tatl and Tael once you are in your room again. When I return, you may leave."

With a nod, Glynda turned her back to Link, marching for the door to her office. The next conversation would be much easier. At least these students didn't have mystery lurking in the very corners of their past.

No more than the average huntress at least.

* * *

Link understood the blonde knight's instructions well. There was very little room to misunderstand.

Nothing was spoken in code or hinted at to be so. Her words were precise, their definitions explained, and above all else, the severity of them emphasized. He repeated them back in his head, as practice and history had taught him to do.

He was an anomaly within this Knight's Academy; that was never unknown to him. Given a unique test and quoted as being only one of a few to be offered so, Link was well aware that he would be seen differently. That was not new. His actions, however, offered too much ground to the other students, showing more than he should have to eager and curious youth. That he also knew, but not to the immense danger Goodwitch had specified.

Perhaps it was a tribute to how much they did trust him, believing he would temper his own displays in place of making him step lightly. Or, more likely, they wanted to see him overstep first, to know the extent of what he was capable. Both were possible, and he had no reason to dismiss one or the other.

They trusted him only by what they knew. But he was still an unknown. And like any unknown, the curious wanted to pull back the veil. The blonde superior of the training knights made no mistake or attempt to hide her intention about that. He could count the reasons.

There was now ever vigilance upon him, hidden eyes he could not see and ears that never ignored him. It was unimportant how they worked, by either magic or the 'electricity' the boxer was keen to say. What was important was that he could no longer speak aloud, easily relax, and plan his search. Even visiting the memories of his friends was something he could not freely do; not without recompense.

Every new action would bring a new question, and a new question would require new answers. They could only go so far before he would need to tell more than he could. And when that happened, history would repeat. Perhaps… that was for the best.

Link sighed, loathing the inevitable.

He was being tested. It was as easy to see as the walls that surrounded him, though the exact opposite to the eyes that now stared at him. He was being tested to ensure that he was no invading traitor or foreign spy attempting to usurp the monarchy. Link had no fear of that, for he knew he was neither.

He was glad, and honestly at that, to have an Academy of knights protecting him from the spying of others. It was a great feeling to know he was being protected when he was unaware. But it did not change that they were spying on him in turn. Choosing between the cage and the safe.

However, if they were testing him, then perhaps it was best he returned in kind.

They trusted him by only what they had seen, but every soul upon the land had a point where they wavered, a location upon the cliff where their legs swayed and head averted. These knights in this Academy were no different, no matter the military they protected him from.

Link needed to see where that point was. For now, he was being appreciated for his uniqueness, a thing that kingdoms and cities passed had done in kind. His skill with a sword to protect with and friends nearby to rally for. Many welcomed him with open arms, but just as many kept him at arm's length. It only ever took so much for those welcoming gazes to shift into wary glances…

He had to test this place now, to see what they would do if shown too much. Tatl would understand. She would agree with his logic as well as ever before. She knew the value of trust, but she also knew the harsh realities of betrayal. Tael would fight it, however. He trusted unconditionally and was loyal to many faults. Link envied him, but he would not become him now.

There was going to be a test, conducted when he and Tatl thought it best and right. These knights and their leaders wanted to test him for his capabilities. He would only have to test them to see their loyalties. Link only had to be careful on how to test them. Showing enough, but not nearly it all.

They were going to test his strengths and determine his worth.

He was going to test their loyalty and determine their worth.

The unknown always had the advantage. That was why it never followed a one-way test.

He would need to bend it, manipulate this trial of theirs. To follow it to the letter would only result in cementation, burying him where he did not belong. He would be studied, memorized, kept alone and isolated. He would cease to be the unknown. That was unacceptable.

But… to merely leave was just as undesirable. A few days, five at best, that was all the time he had spent here. But he could already see the genuine concern some of these young students had for him, the wonder and care Ozpin gave him, and even the immense curiosity Oobleck had for him. All of it coated in the sacred item that defined friend or foe. Respect.

It was not something he could assume to find in the wilds of this new world, wandering foreign streets, or even staring down from mountains. Respect was what gave security, and safety in rest was something he needed to have.

He was not being tested by these people, he was being done so by the people Glynda described, the Council and Military. They were the ones he needed to trick, to exploit. He needed to test them in a way that would make them slip. Something that when done, just enough, would force them to overstep their hand. Fortunately, being asked to duel students who had breathed air for shorter time than he had held a blade, there were many opportunities to be had.

He needed to talk to Tatl. They needed to make a plan. Tael would understand. They needed to find someone would be willing to risk something great. The perfect mix of gullible and empathetic, yet still unknown to the greater members of their team. Enough so that any oddities of behavior could be excused, but not so much that it was an act.

Link only needed to prepare a suitable payment for whomever Tatl found. With so many unknowns, all it would take was the promise that the punishment would be worth the reward…

* * *

"This is stupid!" Ruby couldn't help but agree with Tatl's words. This really was stupid.

"Your discontent with the alterations in Link's schedule are noted, but are otherwise unimportant." Ms. Goodwitch tapped on her pad as the fairy rings in front of her. Ruby just pouted her lips. It was the only thing keeping her from saying something really mean to the Ms. Goodwitch. That would have been a really bad idea. "I will, however, elaborate to say I am no more pleased by these changes than you are. Were my decisions final, Link would be continuing his class schedule Ozpin and I arranged for him… only a few days ago."

"Yeah, well why don't you do that?" Tatl shouted back again. "Afraid you'll have to admit your wrong about something? Might have to show a bit of emotion?"

"Sis…" Ruby heard Tael whine. That was… probably smart, being small at least. Ruby couldn't forget that Ms. Goodwitch was a huntress, a fully trained ready to go huntress, complete with a dust laced riding crop and a semblance that made her own look insignificant. Kinda hurt to admit that.

"The only thing I am trying to prevent, Tatl, is further exposure or potential harm to Link or the Academy." Ms. Goodwitch swiped her hand across the pad, shutting it into its closed state of two thin metal bands before pocketing it behind her. With that away, she was able to focus her emerald gaze firmly on the blonde fairy. Good thing it was the fairy, cause Ruby wasn't sure she could take the full force of that look.

"And to do that you're making him a show horse?" Well, if anyone could be direct with Ms. Goodwitch… Ruby swallowed as she watched her teacher's eyes narrow considerably. She wasn't sure what was sharper. Crescent Rose or Ms. Goodwitch's stare.

"It is either that or allowing foreign entities to move in and take their own interest in Link." That did sound bad. "Whether or not you believe me, I don't wish to see Link or any of my students made out to be things. I do all that is necessary to keep them safe."

Ruby bit her lip, unsure of what to say. She pulled her cloak a little tighter around her, comforted by the weight. It made sense… but it didn't seem right. Wasn't a hunter supposed to protect others? This… this didn't seem like they were protecting Link. Sounded, but didn't feel. Did that make sense?

"Regardless, the decision has already been made and agreed upon with Link. Pending the results of the next few days, accommodations can be made and agreed upon." She tapped on her pad as she spoke, easily pointedly looking away from the rest of them. Ruby swallowed on nothing. She didn't like situations like this.

"So what happens now?" Blake asked, Ruby could tell. She sounded… upset. That was understandable, so it was okay. "Just pretending nothing happened, go about or lives with blissful ignorance?"

"Hardly," Ms. Goodwitch returned. "Link and his companions will be expected to return to their quarters until the training session tomorrow. The remainder of you are to attend classes. You are not barred from seeing Link and far from being punished for it." She adjusted her glasses. Ruby only noted it because she stopped typing on her pad as she did so. "To rob one of my students of socialization is a crime I could not dream to commit."

Well, that was good. Or… better, Ruby supposed. This wasn't a good situation. She knew that because it didn't feel like it. But it was at least better. Link wasn't going to be in jail, or arrested, or… forgotten.

"Fine," Ruby heard Tatl agree. "I'll roll with this, for now. I guess I can see how it could be worse. But I swear in the name of Time, if this turns out to all be some clever ruse to get Link to be a thing… oh, there aren't oceans deep enough to hide from what I'd do to you."

"Your concerns are noted." Ms. Goodwitch spoke, easily passing off the fairy. Ruby could hear Tatl ring. "But for now, I think it best the rest of you return to your quarters for the evening."

"Whoa, wait, what?" Yang spoke up. "Uh, sorry teach, but I'm pretty sure we're here waiting for Link. Don't think we're gonna start running away after this little episode."

"And I would hardly think you would," Ms. Goodwitch easily returned. Ruby was starting to wonder where Link was. "But experience has taught me that conversing in times of high emotional activity benefits few parties. Again, I am strongly suggesting that you all return to your rooms. Tatl and Tael, however, should remain with Link."

Oh, well, that was better. Again, just like before. Better, but not good. Link wasn't alone, but she wanted to be with him right now. He was a friend, and a good friend, and a good person. They didn't deserve to be alone like this.

"Um… m-maybe you guys should go." Ruby's hair whipped to see Tael.

"Tael?" She spoke up. "W-What do you mean?"

"Link… we…" The dark fairy began to speak, but kept chocking on something. His rings were short and sporactic. But then, much like Yang did for her, Tatl came to her sibling's aid.

"We're gonna have a lot to talk about." Tatl spoke up as she flew to her brother. The two light's melding into a soothing gray. "This is… well… we came here together, so now we've gotta talk about how its going. Don't get us wrong. We're grateful for you guys, really. But this is just… one of those times, you know?"

Actually, Ruby did know.

She knew because she had those times before, where she wanted to be alone. She knew Yang did as well. She had seen Blake do so. Weiss was commonly alone, or preferred to be. Ruby wasn't sure about everyone else. They weren't her teammates, but… a quick glance told her they could see the logic.

"Alright," Jaune, thankfully, spoke up. Ruby was thankful for him. "We'll, um… let you guys sort it out. But we're all in all our rooms if you need us! Just like, give us a call, or fly-by, or something."

"Yes," Blake was quick to follow. "Please do not hesitate to come to us for help if you need it."

Tatl and Tael both rang lightly with what Jaune and Blake said, bobbing in the air just as softly. That was a nod, probably. At least, Ruby felt it was. It was important to act on what she felt. Well that was good, at least. It meant they trusted them still. That was good.

"Excellent, then I wish you all well." Ms. Goodwitch spoke up, eyes on them and off her pad. "Tatl, Tael, please follow me inside. I will see the rest of you tomorrow."

Without as much ceremony as before, Ms. Goodwitch turned and opened the door to her quarters, the dark and light fairy following her inside. Without so much as a glance back, she shut the door leaving, Ruby's team and friends outside.

For a short while, none of them moved. She knew where they had to go, even why. But a part of her still told her not to. She really wanted to see Link. She didn't want him to be alone, to feel alone.

"Hey," Jaune finally spoke. "Lets… let's call it a day. I don't want things to change anymore than they have already." Well… Ruby could agree with that. She lightly nodded, neck gaining strength with each bob.

"Yeah," she finally agreed aloud. "Besides, we all gotta a lot to talk about, right?" She looked to her teammates as she asked the question. She knew her partner, she knew her sister, and she knew her friend. She knew that when they got back to their room, it would be anything but quiet.

One by one, they nodded, agreeing with her words. That was good, too.

It was getting dark outside. A lot had happened since Mikau has shown up and left. A lot of good, but even more bad. She ahd a lot of fun new memories, a lot of new questions, and she could even believe she made a new friend in the zora. But… Link…

"Hey," Yang interrupted Ruby just as her mind began to wander. "No getting sour just yet. Make sure we're back at the dorms before any of that happens." Ruby smiled up to her. Yang smirked back down at her.

But Ruby still felt nervous, really nervous.

Even after they all said their goodbyes to each team, making their way across the dark campus to their dorm. Even after they changed and settled into bed, after they had talked about how this was all strange, different, exciting, terrifying, and new.

Even after all that, Ruby felt nervous.

* * *

Jaune was nervous. That wasn't new, far from it. It hadn't changed since the previous night.

He'd been nervous about a lot of things, a lot of them for good reason. He'd lied to get into the greatest hunter training school in all of Remnant. He was made the leader of a team that boasted some of the strongest, wisest, and most skilled members in said elite school. He was from a long line of heroes that were sometimes called the founders of Remnant. Those were all perfectly reasonable reasons to feel nervous about most things.

Right now, he was nervous for a different reason, probably not a good one. The reason didn't directly involve him, maybe not even indirectly. No one was in immediate danger. No orders of the world were about to change. At worst, there would probably be a few lost bets, at least something in his gut told him there was betting going on.

The reason he was nervous was standing in the center of the dueling arena, wearing the same green he had when Jaune first set eyes on him.

Link was his name. A name he had heard at least a few dozen times a day since the faunus showed up. A faunus that looked like his clone with ear extensions… and a penchant for silence. Jaune kinda envied that last one. Being silent was usual a good thing, especially given how he usually rambled. Link, however, hardly ever talked. Even when he did, it looked like only his mini-drones understood him. Spoke little and quietly, nice combo.

So Link was there, and given where he was, wasn't too hard to piece together that he was going to fight something. That wasn't what made him feel nervous. What made Jaune feel that familiar queasiness in his stomach was _why_ the faunus was going to fight. Not because he was a stellar student in practice, or even an non-stellar one trying to get better.

Link was going to fight so that he could be measured, analyzed, and basically spied on by Beacon, the Military, and probably the Council as well. How was he not supposed to feel nervous about that?

"This isn't right," he mumbled the words as he rubbed a hand over his head. He wasn't even fighting today and he felt both nervous and sick. He knew the difference between the two. "Yesterday he was just trying to fit in. Today he's… I don't know."

"He's a show." Apparently Blake knew what he was right now. Her tone was less than inviting, basically telling Jaune that if he disagreed, he'd lose an eye. Maybe an ear or two, too. "We're making a show out of a faunus who showed more promise than any human. Tatl was right." He may be lacking Link's longer ears, but Jaune swore he heard Blake growl those words.

"This is… troubling." Hearing those words come from Ren, Jaune knew this was bad in every way possible.

"Well maybe it won't be _too_ bad?" The blonde looked at his fellow youthful team leader. Ruby was biting her lip as she shirked into her shoulders. Didn't look like she believed her words much more than she hoped the others would. "I-I mean, he doesn't seem upset. And, it's not like he can't handle himself in a fight."

"Far from the point Ruby," Weiss followed. "It is precisely his skill with his blade, tools, and very likely his friends that has put him in this unique and utterly detestable position." Jaune had to double-take to make sure it was Weiss talking. Her sounding annoyed was far from new. Her sounding pissed because of a faunus suffering, that was like watching a supernova. "Selectively removed from the other students, assigned to a solo-room, prohibited from joining other teams, all because he was doing his utmost to conform. I nearly hope the army bores of him so this mockery of teaching can be finished." That pushed a thought into Jaune's head.

"Hey, what are we supposed to be learning from this, anyway?" He looked at his teammates and friends as he asked the question. He was new to this, so maybe there was something obvious he was missing. Like he was supposed to record the fight or something. "I mean… I-I don't know."

"None of us do, Jaune," Pyrrha spoke to him, laying a hand on his shoulder as she did so. The novice team lead had to remind himself that she could probably break his arm with her hand there, given her strength and skill. She wouldn't do that though, probably. "In fact, I believe the superiors in the Military are gaining more from this than we are."

"I don't follow." Probably bad to admit that, but if he didn't, he'd be stuck staring at the sky again.

"They're going to use what they observe in Link's fighting style, weapons, and dust manipulation to develop new weapons and training regimens themselves." Blake snarled the response. She was going to hurt someone soon. Jaune was sure of it, just not when. "The only thing keeping them from snatching him from Beacon and doing it by force is the deal Ozpin and Goodwitch have cooked up with them."

"So it's a monkey-show or a dissection." Wow, Jaune was actually impressed with the narcissism Yang said that. Blake's hiss that followed got everyone else to look at the brawling blonde, leaning back in her seat and staring at the ceiling. She waved a hand at Blake when she heard the noise. "Chillax kitty. I'm just as pissed about this as you are."

"There is no way you are as angry about this as I am." Jaune believed Blake, instantly. She was a fuanus, though he wasn't allowed to say as much. She probably understood what Link was going through better than they were.

"No, I am, just for a different reason." Yang snorted as she finished, scowling up at the air again. Jaune watched her fists clench and unclench. She was thinking of punching something. "I'm pissed cause no matter what kind of different scenario I can imagine, the best one always comes back to this."

Jaune was unsurprisingly shocked to see Blake grab at the Yang's arm, pulling the blonde out of her seat and into the black huntress's face. He held his breath as everyone else whirled to intervene. No way could he do anything to stop a brawl between those two.

"The best?!" Blake snarled into Yang's face. What a weird day to see Blake showing more emotion than Yang.

Then again, what a weird week.

"He is about to be put on for a show, demanded to fight like some kind of wind-up doll until he's useless to the bigoted government and their military! He's going to be pushed and pushed and pushed until he falls and then he's going to be mocked and thrown away! How is this the best?!"

Their noses were touching, Jaune faintly realized. Their noses were touching and if one of them swung there were have been nothing stopping them from destroying this side of the fighting arena.

"Because if Ruby hadn't found him in the woods," Yang began. "He might have ended up being found by the Military, put through all those fun little dissection stories we've heard so much about. Or he might have been picked up by the White Fang, tricked into doing their dirty deeds and losing any chance of finding his friend." Those… those were horrifically good points. "Or, worst situation I can think of, he might have wandered into the Badlands without knowing any better and been eaten up by the Grimm."

Okay, no, that wins. Death wins all.

Blake snarled at Yang hard, her golden slit eyes practically glowing with rage. Or maybe they were just glowing, probably a faunus thing.

But Jaune let out a breath of relief when Blake released her partner, spinning in her seat to face the arena again. He heard the rest of the group let one out as well. Ruby, however, was focused on her sister, laying a hand on her shoulder and whispering something. Not his place to ask what. They were siblings after all.

"Am I interrupting something?" Jaune didn't know if he was happy or mortified to hear that voice. He didn't have to turn his head though, as the now familiar ball of light flew around the eight of them.

"No," he found himself saying. "Just… talking about… bad stuff, I guess." Smooth as a Grimm's horn.

"Link, you mean," the golden mini-drone noted matter-of-factly. He swallowed in response. "No need to hide that from me. Whatever you guys are feelin', Link, Tael, and I are getting at least twice as bad." He hadn't thought of that. Tatl trailed golden dust before settling on Ruby's shoulder, the young team lead regarding the fairy with blinking silver eyes.

"How is he doing?" Yang asked, having settled back into her ceiling-staring posture. Probably didn't want to entertain the authority figures or something like that. "Ya know, having to be put in a spotlight and given commands like jump."

"Eh, been through it before." Wait, what? Jaune must have made a sound, cause Tatl seemed to answer him. "C'mon, you can't seriously think a guy like Link, killing ancient monsters just a decade after popping into the world, isn't going to be vetted and tested by whatever army is leading the world." Well, when you said it like that…

"But this is still barbaric," Weiss defended. Seriously, what was with Weiss doing this? Jaune couldn't lie, seeing his Snow Angel defend someone was awesome, but just… he didn't expect it to be a fuanus. That was more Blake's territory. "Qualification for Beacon Academy should render him beyond the Military's reach until time of graduation. Even then, licensed hunters are above military recruitment and study."

"Unless you were born with an extra pair of something." Blake let out again. "Ears, antlers, tails, anything at all and the military will treat you more as property than humanity."

Jaune looked back down at Link. The mysterious faunus from a far off land, calling himself a Hylian Hero. Or more accurately, his mini-drones calling him as such. Wearing green like tree leaves, standing just beneath himself in height, and looking more relaxed than anyone else in the crowd. That was kinda weird.

But why wouldn't he be? He was great with a blade and shield, apparently, also a hammer and boomerang, which Jaune did see, and with friends literally only a mask-donning away. He had taken on an entire team without only three moves and had almost rendered Professor Oobleck speechless. Almost, but almost was still a lot closer than most others got.

Really, Jaune could see why the military wanted to know more about him. Able to change shapes was pretty ridiculous as it was. He could just imagine a hunter changing shapes in the middle of a battle, fighting Grimm in the water like it was nothing. There was a lot to get out of that. But the infinite dust thing? Who needed to transform if you could literally fire a gun forever?

Actually, saying it like that, it sounded more like a kid's cartoon than an actual military plan. No, they would probably be more focused on energy supplies and powering more advanced robot designs. Yeah, that made more sense. But… that made Jaune realizing something else.

Just studying Link fighting wouldn't be enough for them to be able to reverse engineer anything like dust recovering diamonds or whatever he called that Zora stone. They'd need samples, examples to work off of. It would be like trying to figure out how a Grimm grew up by studying how it hunted. The two didn't connect. There would have to be something else, but… what?

"Class." Ms. Goodwitch's voice rang through the room, earning immediate attention.

Jaune focused on her, standing next to Link and dwarfing the fuanus by at least half a foot, probably more than that. She had her usual pad held against her chest, her riding crop held in her other hand. Her eyes were looking about the room, likely silently reading the students. Juane could only see a few from sitting in the stands himself, but he could tell there was a heck of a lot of confusion going on. He was a part of it after all.

"As you may or may not have become aware over the past day or two, Link is a new student attending our academy." Basic introduction. Alright, made sense. "I am aware his unique method of entry as well as well kingdom of origin has made him a topic of frequent discussion. Said talks and rumors have only been exacerbated following the recent incident with Doctor Oobleck's class and the incident at the aquatic center." Yeah those did generate some headlines over the scroll network.

"Because of these unfortunate incidents, and the newly realized depth of his abilities, he will be put through dueling sessions once a day, in order to collect data on him." Maybe it was just him, which Jaune realized was a distinct possibility, but Ms. Goodwitch didn't sound any happier about what she was saying. "As such, in order to measure his skill with blade and shield alone, I will need a volunteer to place against him." Wow, that moved fast. If she wasn't even going to take questions, she must have really been sour about this. That was a good thing, Juane guessed.

He saw a few hands raise themselves in the air, some faster than others. He could make out Cardin across the platform raising more of a fist in the air than a hand. That wasn't really worth a lot of surprise. He did see Pyrrha raise hers as well, probably because she knew how to duel better than anyone else at Beacon. Made sense she'd want to take on someone who the Military had their eye on.

Link seemed totally out of it though. He was just standing there, looking at all of them like this was just… normal. Jaune knew he'd be freaking out. Making excuses or something to get out of there, anything really. But Link? He was just… waiting. Maybe he really was that good, maybe he didn't have any reason to be afraid. Okay, maybe not afraid, but if Blake gave any clue, Link should have been at least a little angry.

"Mr. Arc, you will do for this." Wait, what?

Jaune blinked, shaking his head, before looking back down at the stage. Ms. Goodwitch was looking at him, so was Link, and now that he thought about it, just about everone around the ring as well. That wasn't good.

"Um…" He mumbled. "M-Maybe it would be better to-ah… h-have someone else fight him?" More like a requirement, but he really couldn't think of a reason, not on the spot at least.

"You are one of the only students in this class who utilizes a broad sword and knight's shield. The contrast between your abilities and Link's will make it easier to measure him." Like measuring an ant-hill to a mountain, Jaune thought.

"Y-Yeah, but…" There had to be a counter-argument he could use, some kind of excuse. Maybe? Hopefully? Please?

"Just get your butt in the ring and let it get handed to you," Tatl spoke from behind Jaune. Not exactly the most encouraging thing he'd ever heard. "The longer you stall the longer Link's gotta wait, and I'm pretty sure we all just wanna get this over with." Well, that was true. Jaune only had to remember the conversation from before to know that all of his friends were less than happy about Link's… predicament he guessed.

Jaune sighed. Well, if letting his butt get kicked got Link out of the ring faster, then that was a good thing. Better than seeing someone else mock him. The leader of Team JNPR stood, letting out a groan as he walked towards the edge of the stage. When he reached the side of the ring, he felt the familiar platform rumble beneath him, the only indication he had before it started to descend into the prep room.

He got a look from Pyrrha before the floor raised above him. She was biting her lips, staring at him with that same nervous look she had whenever he had to fight. She knew he was going to lose. That was okay. Jaune knew he was going to get slaughtered, too. He gave her a thumbs up though, followed by a weak-smile. That made her smile at least. Better than nothing.

Not a moment later, Jaune was in the familiar locker-room, surrounded by small benches and metal doors to house your objects in. Good for when you were planning on a long sparring session; kinda useless for when you were getting ready to be destroyed. Besides, Link was waiting for him.

He took a deep breath, pulling out the weapons of his family's legacy. Crocea Mors, a sword and shield used by his grandfather during the war of faunus and man. It had more history in it than he could ever really hope to understand. So many battles it had been through, so many lives it had saved… and then probably just as many taken. And here it was, held in the hands of some descendant who didn't even know how to hold it right until just recently.

Well… could be worse. He could be complete unarmed.

Jaune let out the air in his lungs, stepping out of the locker room and into the ring. He kept calling it a ring, but when you were standing inside of it, it felt more like an Arena. Everyone so high above you, watching from beyond the flood lights. It seemed immensely larger once you were standing on the ground, kinda like the difference between studying for a test and actually taking it. Everything seemed harder when you didn't have the notes in front of you. Actually, that didn't make any sense. Even in his own mind he was rambling. Go figure.

"Mr. Arc," Ms. Goodwitch spoke his name, earning his immediate attention complete with a stiffening of his posture. "Please come to the center of the ring so that we may begin the match." Oh right, the fight.

The fight with Link, his faunus doppelganger, the foreign hunter, the one who apparently killed ancient Grimm when he was a kid, or so his mini-drone said. Fighting him. Yeah, this was gonna be really bad. Jaune gulped on air as he made his way forward, watching Link more than Ms. Goodwitch.

Link didn't appear threatening, but Jaune knew all about appearances and deception by now. He knew that in less than a minute or two, he was going to be crawling on the ground, maybe even writhing depending on how bad Link decided to kick his butt. He kept moving though, stopping when he was probably less a few feet away from Link. Took that long for him to realize he was taller than his green-clothed double.

"Very good," Ms. Goodwitch spoke. "Now, traditional rules still apply. Link, as this is your first time, I will explain. The objective this sparring session is to reduce the aura of your opponent to critical levels. When one of the two of you have done so, the match will be called. If you manage to disarm your opponent, the match is also won in your favor." Link nodded at her, no doubt in understanding. "Furthermore, outside interference is strictly prohibited. You are required to stay within the boundaries of the ring until the match is decided or you chose to forfeit." If anyone was gonna do that, it was probably Jaune.

"When I give the word, you may begin." Ms. Goodwitch stepped back as she said those words, tapping on her pad. Jaune knew she was adjusting the lights and setting up the scoreboard. She always did, and just like always, he would be in the deep red with Link still a healthy green. At least it was that way for all of his other fights.

"So," Jaune spoke, grinning nervously. "First time in a fight?" Link stared at him for a moment, blinking. That was the usual reaction to a stupid question. He was pretty sure he heard one of his teammates slap themselves for him. Link though shook his head, giving an actual answer. "Right, course it isn't. You alright fought, like, an entire team to get in."

That made Link smile. That was good. Smiles meant he was happy. Didn't want to make the faunus that was going to kick his butt to mad. If Jaune was going to lose, he didn't want to get destroyed as well.

Jaune felt his own smile falter when Link drew his sword and shield. Oh yeah, he forgot about those. Well… more like he forgot about the Dust literally encrusted into the metal of the blade and shield. Ruby said that he could shoot lasers with them, and he didn't doubt it for a moment. Link raised the sword towards him, pointing the tip of it at Jaune, He swallowed again, knowing that the sword was going to be cutting him up soon. Oh man, he did not want to do this.

"Cross blades!" He heard someone shout from the crowd. Took him a moment to realize it was Tatl. "You can't start a duel until you cross blades, Not-Link!" Not-Link? Oh, that was his nickname. Well… better than Vomit Boy.

He looked back at Link, who was still looking at him, blade raised and shield at his side. Jaune lifted his own sword, holding it towards his person for a moment. He felt his legs shaking. He was gonna have to work on that. Oh man, he _really_ didn't want to do this. But… sink or swim. Jaune extended his arm out, letting the metal of the Crocea hit against Link's Magic Sword. The sound of metal ringing echoed through the ring.

For that brief glorious moment, Jaune felt the power of his weapons.

He felt strength in the steel, he felt strong for holding them. He felt strong, protected, ready, and most importantly, confident. He felt… amazing. How did that happen?

"Begin." No time to think.

As soon as Ms. Goodwitch had spoken, Link had jumped backwards. Well, jumped backwards doing a backflip, landing with his shield raised and covering most of his body. Jaune just stood there, pulling his own shield to his chest, waiting for the inevitable.

Wait… that wasn't what he was supposed to do. Pyrrha told him that he should strike first, test the defenses of is opponent while keeping his own. As long as his shield was up, Link should at most only be able to push him back. Yeah, that was the right thing to do. Better than standing still and waiting to eat dirt at least.

He let out a quick cry and he started to move his feet charging and Link like a bulldozer, a pathetic bulldozer, but still with some force. He saw Link tighten the grip on his sword, preparing for the strike. Good, that meant Jaune was doing the right thing! Just a few feet in front of Link, he swung down, ready to have his sword clash with the red Dust encrusted shield.

But instead he hit air. He hit air because Link had jumped to the side. Link had jumped to Jaune's right, his fully exposed, unshielded, vulnerable right half. This was going to hurt.

Not a moment later did he feel the sting of Link's sword slice into his side, taking a good portion of his aura with it. But he had momentum now. He spun with that, raising his shield to take next blow Link would try to give. He would be ready for it thi-

Jaune chocked on nothing as something hit his back, hard.

Whatever spin he thought he was in the middle of got turned into a tumble, rolling head over feet into the ground. It was in the middle of it that he realized Link had kicked him. That was smart, like he should have been. Kicking an opponent before they could raise defense. Wait… he was still on the ground, without any defense. So that meant…

Jaune rolled across the ground, avoiding what he knew was sure to be another blow from Link. After a few rolls, he pushed himself to his feet, swinging his sword out to push Link away. That was the smart thing to do, keep an opponent away while you were thinking.

At least, it would have been smart, if Link were still not some distance away. Meaning Jaune had just made a fool of himself, again, in front of everyone. Great. This was turning out spectacular.

Even Link had his head tilted, one of his eyes skewed shut with the other open. He must have realized how much better he was than Jaune. Most other students did at this point. The smile didn't help, not even when his head straightened and eyes relaxed. That just meant Link as getting ready to- why was he walking towards Jaune?

The young blonde swordsman blinked, making sure he wasn't seeing things. His faunus double was walking towards him, but more than that, walking towards him with his sword and shield at his side. Completely exposed. Was he mocking him? Maybe, but… something didn't seem right.

That was when Link stopped just in front of him. Jaune watched his eyes look towards his shield, Mors. Link held up his own, then lightly tapped on it with his sword.

"What?" Jaune spoke, unsure what Link was trying to say. Link just tapped his shield again, then pushing it further from his person. As he did so, he crouched lowering himself closer to the ground. Closer to the ground made him smaller, which meant the shield covered more… which meant…. He was giving Jaune lessons?

"Uh…" The blonde let out in an unsure tone. He looked at his shield, lowering his stance as he did so. "Like this?" That got a nod from Link, who was grinning with his teeth showing now. That was… great, actually. Being taught how to fight instead of just getting thrashed. Thrashing was probably still coming.

He let out a grunt as Link slammed his sword into Mors. It rang like metal always did, but nothing more than that. It was a strong blow, nearly sending Jaune to his knees, but it didn't. It didn't because he was already crouching, which made it easier to push against the blow. And because his shield was held out further, he had more time to strengthen his hold.

Jaune looked at Link, blinking. Link looked back at him, nodding with a grin pulled at his lips. He drew his sword back, putting space between the two. Maybe this… maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"Alright, ah… Let's-um… try this again?" Yup, the beacon of confidence at Beacon Academy. Link nodded at him though. Shuffling on his feet behind his shield. At least Jaune knew what to do now. Maybe he would at least be able to stop one of Link's blows now. That would-

His thoughts were interrupted by Link jumping in the air. No, not just jumping, spinning. No, not just spinning, flipping. Flipping with his sword extended outwards and ready to strike. Okay, that was really bad. It only got worse when Jaune caught a glimpse of Link. And really, that one look told him all he needed to know.

Link looked perfect in that strike. His sword was held above his head, his eyes were focused even as he spun, his legs were pulled into spin faster, and his shield was still covering his side. He looked every bit the hunter Tatl and Tael made him out to be.

And he was about to get struck by that hunter.

Jane raised his shield in time to block the sword, the new stance he had with his shield mitigated a lot of the force. He grunted, but Link wasn't even close to done. No sooner did the sword strike than did he feel Link's shield beat on his own, swatting it away like a fly. That left him open to Link, who had managed to land perfectly on his feet. Exposed and with no way to react, Jaune knew what was coming next.

Or he thought he knew.

Link did swing his sword, he did cut into Jaune, but it wasn't just a single strike. It was like a hurricane.

Jaune felt himself getting picked up into the air, every hit of Link's sword pushing him higher and higher, forcing him into the air with threat of cuts and impalement. He let go of his sword, unable to hold onto it. His shield was next, falling at his side. He didn't even hear it clang, not with Link literally digging into him with that Magic Sword.

But when he stopped, Jaune was cursed with one brief moment of spite, able to look down. He saw himself a good dozen feet in the air. He saw himself flipped around. He saw Link floating just next to him, sword still drawn back and face set like Pyrrha before a fight. He didn't need experience to know he was done for.

Link gave out a great battle cry, flipping over Jaune. The blonde felt Link's sword dig into his back, his aura, that safety next Pyrrha had blessed him with, practically wilt at the blow. It only got worse. It got worse because Link kept digging as they were falling. Link was literally going to impale him!

This was bad. This was bad this was bad this was bad this was very very bad!

Jaune felt breath leave him as he slammed into the ground. He tensed, ready to feel a sword dig into him. But nothing came. He took a few shallow breaths, sure his adrenaline was just slowing down time for him.

But when he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Link's sword impaled into the ground, just inches from his face. That was… scary. Yup, scary was the word.

He flipped himself away from the blade, feeling his muscles crying out at the effort. Oh, everything hurt after that. Jaune groaned just to show it. A little further away now, he could see Link was kneeling by his sword, blade impaled just a few inches where his head was. Link's own eyes were furrowed, staring at Jaune with a tight grip on his blade. No, scary wasn't the word. Terrifying was more like it.

That was when the voice of god spoke.

"By disarm, Link is the victor." Ms. Goodwitch announced, stepping forward and shutting down the flood-lights as she did so. Jaune let out a long drawled out groan at the words. He lost, no surprise there. "An impressive display Link, and good show of dignity by correcting Mr. Arc's stance with his shield."

Jaune looked up at Link, groaning as he did so. The faunus was standing as well, holding his sword in hand. Must have been strong to have pulled it from the ground so easily. Then again, must have been strong to put it there. Six of one half a dozen of the other, Jaune supposed.

"With your required bout out of the way, we can move onto our next pair of contenders." That was Juan's queue to get up. It was hard though, what with his muscles feeling like they had been cut into. Must have been that aura defending him again. Good stuff. He tried again, but this time, catching sight of Link standing over him.

What would have normally made Jaune groan in annoyance, used to people like Cardin mocking him in defeat, he instead saw Link holding his hand out to him. He was offering to help him up. And hey, the green-clothed faunus was still smiling. That was good. That was… really nice actually. Jaune took it, feeling Link pull up as soon as he did. His muscles have been groaning, but at least he was standing.

"Thanks," he spoke softly to the faunus. Link nodded in turn, just before touching something to the armor on Jaune's chest. He looked down, expecting to see a hand or something. Instead, he was being handed Crocea Mors. He was literally being given his weapons back by the faunus who had so easily disarmed him. "Wow, thanks man." Link only nodded again, smile not shrinking.

"Next we have-"

"Wait, hold on!" Well that probably wasn't good.

Jaune looked up into the stands, just behind Link. The faunus turned around too, his long green hat lightly twirling at the motion. It was hard to tell at first, mostly because his eyes were still used to the flood lights from before, but Juane could tell someone in the audience was standing up. Were any of them his friends or teammates?

"That's all we get to see of him?" Kinda of obvious what they were talking about. "All this hype and lead up for some killer faunus warrior and we just get to see him beat the crap out of Beacon's biggest disappointment." Well this was going swimmingly. Jaune could already feel his confidence eroding away. So much for looking tough.

"You are far out of line Ms. Ether," Ms. Goodwitch spoke up. "I suggest you temper your emotions for a more appropriate time."

"When is this ever gonna get more appropriate?" She wasn't backing down. Oh crap, this was really bad. "Next time Link fights? If every fight is going to be that disappointing, you could at least make them more entertaining." Jaune was starting to feel the air getting really cold. Then he heard the voice of a blizzard.

"The purpose of these sparring sessions are not entertainment." Ms. Goodwitch could have frozen the ocean with her voice. "They are to teach and instruct, much like Link was doing with Mr. Arc. You, on the other hand, are only demonstrating a naïve and childish attitude unbecoming of a huntress."

"So you're not gonna deny that fight was lacking?" Jaune swallowed on nothing. He was nervous now, didn't know about what. "C'mon, you were saying you needed to collect data on the faunus. I'd bet my bow that whatever that poor excuse for a fight wasn't nearly enough." Jaune was sure that if he looked down, he might have been able to see the pieces of his soul falling apart. It sure felt like they were.

"Enough or not, Link has satisfied his end of the bargain and I will not force further activity on his part because a brat like you believes themselves superior." Did Ms. Goodwitch insult a student? Oh wow, this wasn't bad. This was apocalyptic. It was probably a good time to leave.

"Well what if he wants to fight some more?" Jaune's eyes had adjusted well enough to just make out what happened next. Actually, he would have had nerve damage to not make it out.

The girl jumped from the stands, Ms. Ether, Jaune couldn't remember her first name, and landed just in front of the pair. Jaune would have taken a step back, if he muscles weren't still angry at him for the beating he took. The girl was on bended knee, her neon red hair hanging off one side of her head. It was matched by pink clothes that covered her torso, hanging from her shoulders and stopping just above her waist. From there, she was wearing very… tight lavender clothes. Her arms were completely bare, tan at that. It was pretty hard to ignore the proud smirk was practically embezzled on her face, especially when she stood and stared right at Link.

"You," she spoke pointing at Link. Jaune kinda wanted to walk around them to see what expression Link was making, seeing as he was still standing behind the shorter faunus. His legs said no though. "Are gonna fight me." She pulled her thumb back to her chest, touching the pale skin with a fanged grin.

Then Link shook his head.

It was so simple and quick that Jaune couldn't help at least smirking. He was able to get his hand to cover his mouth, hoping that would be enough to stifle the laughter. It wasn't. From what he heard around the stands, most others weren't even trying. He did look back at the neon girl, whatever her name was. She was miffed, clearly, but not much more than that.

"I'm not done," she spoke again. "You're gonna fight me, because we're going to make a bet on it." A what now?

"Absolutely not," Ms. Goodwitch spoke again. Seriously, Jaune was starting to feel his own blood freeze at her voice. " _You_ are going back to the stands and Link will return as well. He is done for the day and you are to be put on probation for your inappropriate behavior."

"Even if I'm willin' ta bet this?" 'This', by Jaune's observation, were apparently her bow. She pulled out it out from behind her back, the ends popping further and further out into it was about as long as she was tall. Then with a snap, a string strung itself from one end to the other, looking sleek. It would have been cool, except that she… well… wasn't.

"Meet Pride," she continued to speak, looking right at Link as she spoke on. "A bow I hand-crafted. One-of-a-kind, least until I make a new one. Built to last, smelted of specialty heat-treated Titanium, star-bolted together, and sharpened like the Damascus swords." The what swords?

Apparently whatever Ms. Ether was saying was a big deal, cause the rest of the stands had changed from laughing and giggling to light talk and whispering. Well… betting your weapons was a pretty big deal. She must have felt confident about something.

"That's pretty interesting." It took Jaune a moment to realize that wasn't the voice of anyone in the ring, at least not right now. He turned his head to see Tatl flying down from the stands, circling around the red-neon hair girl. That seemed to get the whole class to shut-up, Ms. Goodwitch included. "Probably not the same here as it is in Hyrule, but betting your weapons back home was like betting your future as a knight. Basically, if you lost, you were done." Whoa, was that true?

"Cute," The girl responded. "But that's not the case here. I'd just have to wrack in the dough to buy the materials to make a new set for myself. Buuut, if I were to sell this baby, I'd probably have enough money to pay for a few month's rent." Was… was that a lot? Jaune wasn't sure.

"Oh, yeah, cause with a room being given to us, we totally gotta buy rent." Tatl mockingly replied to the neon-girl. Go mini-drone go. "Not to mention these guys are giving us food, washing our clothes, and basically guarding the place while we sleep. Yup, we are _totally_ in need of money."

"Course you are," the girl, for some reason, did not let up. Jaune thought he was embarrassed earlier, but this girl? It was like she was fighting for his spot of humility. "Cause it's not like you can go into Vale and do a little shopping. Without something to spend, you're basically just trapped in a nice big prison." Did she really just say that?

"What did you say?" Looks like Tatl was surprised by that too.

"You heard me," Ether leaned into the golden ball, grinning with a snarl. Kinda creepy now that Jaune thought about it. "You're nothing more than a hamster being tested and studied while you're here. Maybe that's just what you want. Faunus have a knack for letting themselves be used."

Did she just say that?

Jaune wasn't the only one to think the question. He heard the crowd of students erupt at the words. It was impossible to make out much of anything between the screams, jeers, and oddly enough, the occasionally cheer. It was like a million times worse than anything else Jaune had witnessed or done, and he had walked around in an onesie at orientation. No, wait, this was so much worse than that. This was literally insulting everything Link was!

"Garnet Ether!" Ms. Goodwitch yelled, actually yelled. Jaune was shaking and he knew it had nothing to do with being tired. He was standing between a raging hurricane and an erupting to volcano. "Return to your room _immediately_ or I will be forced to suspend _all_ activity fo-"

"Oh no!" Tatl shouted, literally shouted, at Ms. Goodwitch. Jaune felt his eyes dry with how wide they were, staring at the golden ball of light shaking in the air. It looked like her wings were going to fall off. "Oh no, that pent-up little ball of dissatisfaction isn't going anywhere!" That… That wasn't good.

"You… Y-You don't seriously mean…" Jaune felt himself saying, unable to keep his mouth shut. Who could at a time like this, he reasoned. Well… his faunus double could.

"Oh yes I do! We're taking that bet!" Tatl flew at Jaune for a moment, almost making him fall over with the speed she flew and volume she shouted. It felt like a speaker was being thrown at him at high velocity and max volume. "Cause there is no way we're gonna let some washed up, wanna-be, _slut_ like you talk like that."

Jaune was seriously regretting not leaving now. He still could, if his legs worked.

"Slut, huh? That's the best you got?" This girl must have really wanted to piss off Tatl. "But hey, glad you're taking the bet. Cause if, and when, I win," she giggled before finishing her words. "I get to take you." Her finger poked at the golden ball of light in the air. That was really, really bad.

Jaune looked at Link, looking at him now that he had turned enough to look at Ms. Goodwitch and Tatl. He hadn't actually turned, but it was impossible to miss his face. It was impossible because what Jaune saw burned itself into his mind.

Link, with snarled lips and furrowed beady eyes, looked ready to kill.

Summoning all the powers of his ancestors, Jaune put the strength into his legs to move away from what was doubtlessly a boiling cauldron of Dust and explosives. When it went off, nothing was going to be safe. He just managed to make it to the wall of the arena when Tatl spoke again. If the room hadn't become so quiet, he would have missed her words.

"We're gonna keep this deal, I promise."

"After all this, you'd better."

Then without another word, she flew off back into the stands. Jaune watched her float over to where his teammates were. That was probably good. Yeah, it was. He just needed to get there.

He rushed himself through the locker room, not even bothering to put away his weapons or armor. He just got on the lift, hit the switch and rose back to the stands. He was met with the same silence he had left in the arena. Shuffling over to where his friends were, he saw them all wearing different visage of shock or hate. No surprise who had what.

Blake was looking every bit as feral as he imagined a rabid animal would. Really bad example right now. Yang was little different, the same with Nora and Ruby. Weiss and Pyrrha had hands over the mouths, probably out of a combination of upbringing and terror. Ren was, terrifyingly enough, combing his hair with his fingers. It was the most emotion he had ever seen his quiet teammate make.

"This goes against all regulations I have set in place." Jaune turned to the arena to see Ms. Goodwitch talking to Link and Garnet. At least know he knew the neon girl's name. "You two have effectively sworn to fight one another whether it be in or outside my observation. As such, I am forced to allow this to occur, but only for fear that not doing so will seriously result in loss of life. Be sure you will both be reprimanded when this is finished. " Jaune had an idea who was going to die.

"Step away from one another." Ms. Goodwitch gave the command, whipping her crop between Link and Garnet. The neon girl smirked, turning away and doing so, twirling those sickles of hers. She was confident, no denying that. But when Link turned around, it was a whole other story.

Jaune thought he was pissed before, now Link look enraged. His arms swung stiffly, legs the same, and head crouched over as if preventing him from screaming. His eyes were looking at nothing, okay probably the wall, but it was hard for Jaune to imagine him focusing on that. His hand was clenched around the sword of his, hard enough that Jaune swore he could nearly hear the metal of the hilt breaking. Given how strong the faunus was, it was a define possibility. That just made this all the more terrifying.

"The same rules for combat apply," Ms. Goodwitch spoke, her voice strained and trying to hold itself back. No wonder why. "You have a minute to prepare. No speaking to one another." Well… looked like there were some new rules.

"This is insane," Jaune finally whispered, unable to hold it back anymore. "I-I mean… wasn't this supposed to be… educational or something?"

"Education doesn't matter when you have bigots like that girl," Blake snarled a response. Jaune wouldn't have disagreed no matter the circumstances. "With someone like that, the only response is to beat them into the ground."

"It's… very hard to disagree," Weiss spoke in turn. If she couldn't disagree with that, then the Military and White Fang must have shook hands over something. "But I fear that Link may be letting his honor for his heritage blind him. It could very well be Garnet's tactic to beat him."

"It won't work, and you're wrong." Tatl spoke up now. No one asked her why. She was going to tell them, at least Jaune was sure of it. "You could insult Link all day long and he wouldn't care. He's much better at proving people wrong than listening to what they say." Well that was one… but why was it wrong?

"Then why does he look ready kill?" Pyrrha asked that. Pyrrha, the most well-trained huntress Jaune knew. Well, okay, huntress in training, but still, she could read people like a professor could read a book. Forwards, backwards, and in between the lines. He'd been saving that line. "I'm sorry, but he didn't look like that when he was going to fight Jaune." Good thing, too. Jaune was in no mood to die.

"Because Garnet said she was going to take me if Link lost." Oh.

"She basically told Link that I was going to be her property." Oh!

"Don't know if it's the same here, but turning lives into property is slavery." _Oh!_

"And Link has never regretted hurting people like that." Oh Grimm and Dust.

"Both fighter's ready?" This was bad. This was catastrophically, nightmarish, world-ending bad. This was a worse kind of bad Jaune felt when he saw a Grimm getting ready to tear him in half. This was… this was him watching someone die.

"Fight." Garnet started shooting. Link did nothing.

Jaune felt himself suck in a breath as dust arrows literally exploded over Link. They were being shot like dual pistols, the Garnet girl aiming high, low, mid, joints, torso, everywhere. It was like she was on the shooting range. It really was, because _Link was doing nothing!_

"Why isn't he fighting back?" Jaune heard Ruby ask. He didn't fault her for sounding worried, cause if he spoke his voice would be two octaves higher with fright. At least Ruby sounded in control. "Why isn't he doing anything?"

"Because he's trying to control himself." Tatl, somehow, didn't sound fazed by any of this. Actually, she sounded much calmer than Jaune had ever heard her. That was probably really bad. Where was her brother when they needed him!? "He's trying to convince himself he doesn't _need_ to do anything."

"You mean he's actually going to do that?" Yang now. Jaune knew it was bad if she sounded surprised. "He'd really do that?"

"To save a friend, yeah." This was like a night terror. "Those bars on the screen are that aura-stuff, right?" The ball motioned towards the screen hanging above the ring. It was just a bob, but her wings rang with the motion. Jaune looked up at them. Link's was shrinking, no surprise there. But… it wasn't really fast… Down was still down though!

"Link's got time," Tatl spoke again. "But when time's up, he's going to unleash Time's wrath." What did that mean?

"Are you giving up, already?" Jaune turned to see Garnet shout that across the ring, currently in the process of pulling the string of her bow. Link still hadn't moved. His green tunic was slightly charred by the Dust, his blonde bangs lightly messed, but otherwise still intact. Jaune didn't know if that was good.

"C'mon Link," Jaune heard Blake whispering behind him. Well… growled maybe.

"If you're not even gonna fight back, maybe you should just give up. I'm sure you know how to do that." Garnet aimed her bow at link again, walking confidently around the ring as she did so. She licked her lips before speaking again. How much worse could this honestly get?

"It's almost like you want to give me that little golden lamp of yours."

Oh… that bad…

"Link!" Tatl suddenly shouted. It made Jaune let out a cry of fright. "Just finish her off!"

_Was Link seriously going to kill her?!_

"Quiet!" Goodwitch yelled back up. Jaune noticed she wasn't taking her eyes off the match. "Commands and orders are considered interf-" She cut herself off. Wasn't a surprise to Jaune. At least, it wasn't a surprise when Link finally moved.

He didn't jump forward, pull out some new weapon, or do much of anything that was really threatening. Link just… crouched forward. He bent towards Garnet, raising his sword arm until his hand covered his face. It looked like he was thinking.

What came next happened faster than Jaune could rightfully imagine.

Link spun like a top, quick as wind at Garnet. But before he even got a good stride forward, he threw his shield at the girl, _hard_. It shot out of his hand like a cannon, spinning like a disk. Would've been cool, if it didn't look like the literal tool of death! Garnet must have thought the same thing, because she leaned back like she was doing the limbo. Really didn't want to mess up that one! The shield flew straight over her, slamming into the far wall hard enough to indent it… then stick to it.

Jaune was new to Aura, but he was pretty sure that something that strong wasn't gonna be stopped by magic force-fields. Garnet leaned back up, cocking her bow and probably getting ready to say something. Probably, because most people bragged after dodging something like that. But Jaune didn't know what she was going to say, if anything.

Cause Link started to attack.

He was in front of her swinging his sword before Jaune had time to blink. When he did blink he saw Garnet pushed back, bow thrown out of her hands, and Link continuing to swing the sword like a mad man. Mad? No, that was mild, Link was swinging it like Jaune knew he would. Would, if he could swing a sword so fast it turned into _light!_

It must have been turning into light, cause what happened next Jaune could only call a trick of light, like the magicians that used to perform at his school. Cause unless Link was showing off his semblance, there was no way what Jaune saw was actually happening.

Garnet was floating… in a golden triangle.

He couldn't even see Link's sword anymore. He could just see light… and hear it. It sounded like metal cutting metal. It rang high and loud enough to make Jaune's blood feel cold. He felt cold. Why? This was normal, right? This is what being a Hunter was all about.

Being strong and fighting… to the point where… people died… He felt sick.

Then it ended, almost with a literal bang. Close enough.

The golden triangle shattered into a million pieces, sounding like a building had come crashing down right next to Jaune.

It made him jump, let out a cry of fright, and pull his arms over his chest. He made another sound when someone grabbed him from behind. Took him a moment to realize it was Pyrrha, probably trying to calm him down.

She was gonna need a lot of hands, cause for the first time in a long time, he wasn't the only one to scream in fright. In fact, he heard a few of the kids a couple of aisles down from them yell, a lot of them across the arena, and so many others. He even heard the familiar wretch of vomit. And really, he knew now of all times it was okay.

Link just killed someone.

For the first time he had literally just watched someone get executed in the middle of a fight. He could have stopped, Link almost stopped, but he didn't. He didn't and because he didn't some confident girl was dead, lying a pool of blood. Goodwitch was checking on her, leaning over her and tapping across her pad. Link as just standing there, just standing there with his sword covered in blood like this was normal to him. Was this normal? How could this-

"Stabilize her, now!" Ms. Goodwitch's shout broke Jaune from his thoughts. She was pointing at something, something that quickly rushed to the center of the ring. They were a pair of medical drones, a stretcher bed between them. They were beside Glynda and Garnet before Jaune knew it, stretching their limbs out under the girl to pick her up. Jaune felt his stomach lurch when they did lift her, probably because he saw the blood rapidly fall from her as they did.

Right there, in the middle of the ring, the pair of robots started to weave threads around the girls open cuts, literally trying to stitch her back together. Was that even possible? With how deep those cuts were? Jaune thought he saw bone in more than a few of them! He saw the white blanket she was on rapidly turn crimson, he saw one of the robonoids stab her with an IV tube, hooked up to more blood. He saw them working over her so fast he knew that if it was anyone else, Garnet would have probably died.

But then… maybe she already had. Cause when Jaune looked at her face, staring up at the ceiling, he saw only a blank expression of horror. Eyes wide, blood staining her neon green hair, and probably once flawless brown skin now marred for life. She had to be unconscious, otherwise she would have been screaming to her death.

"Patient at critical levels of aura," one of the robonoids announced. "Wound stability: critically low. Blood loss: critical. Internal Injuries: several lacerations to digestive organs, bone fractures, and muscular damage. Muscular damage areas: brachialis, latissimus doris, rectus sheath, and quadriceps muscles severed. Recommend immediate transport to Vale Critical Care Unit."

"Go! Go!" Ms. Goodwitch practically pushed the robots out of the room. They left as quick as they came, taking Garnet with them. And when shew as gone, it was quiet again.

No one in the stands spoke. Too much had happened, way… oh so much more than Jaune was hoping to see today. He could tell without looking where everyone was looking though. Really, kind hard to look anywhere else.

Link was just standing there, looking at the red spots on the ground. Jaune felt his regurgitation reflexes kicking in again. Not good. But then he started walking towards it, like it was nothing to him. Was it nothing to him? Oh god, that was probably even worse. Then he bent down next to it, like he was trying to get a better look at it. But then it got worse! His hands were reaching towards the red stains! What was he gonna do, taste it!?

Thankfully, really thankfully, Jaune found himself proven wrong.

Link instead grasped the weapon Garnet had used in the fight. So far out of Jaune's mind was it that he didn't even register that it was there. He picked it up, standing as he did so. He looked it over in his hands, judging the bow for something. Jaune didn't know if he'd be able to judge up from down after that display.

But then, in what he knew must have been a gesture of some small sliver of good will, Link turned towards Ms. Goodwitch. Without any warning, he held out his hands towards the professor. Said huntress held out one hand towards him, allowing Link to drop the bow into her palm. Link wasn't even keeping it. He wasn't even going to take what they had bet on. What was all of that then to him, fun?

"Return to your quarters, Link." Ms. Goodwitch spoke evenly to him. True, that was how she always spoke but… wow. Jaune wasn't sure he would have been able to say his name without stuttering after that. "You and I are going to have another serious discussion following this barbaric display of yours, at length."

"Oh back off Triple B." This was just one rollercoaster Jaune couldn't get off of. Tatl flew down to the ring with her words, flying right into the professor's face as she did. "That girl was picking a fight and she got more than she could chew. Link coulda killed her, but he didn't. Heck, back in Hyrule, he would have gotten a medal for actually offing her." Wait, what?

"You are not in Hyrule," Ms. Goodwitch spoke in turn. Her voice threatened the wrath of hell's deepest circle. Maybe that was why the air was so cold. "I care not for what you think you should do or what you think is right. You are a guest at Beacon, a guest that has so far overstepped more bounds than we would allow even a dignitary to do." Goodwitch stepped past Tatl, clearly staring at Link. She bore down at him with an expression Jaune knew would have made him weak in the knees. Or, more likely now, just straight up vomit.

"So I guess it's alright with you if Link had lost and that little slut of a girl had put me in a cage, is that it?" Maybe if Jaune left the room he'd be able to breath again. He'd need his legs for that, but Pyrrha was holding him stock still. She must have really wanted him to see this. Character building probably.

"You are missing my point." Ms. Goodwitch was driving home. "You nearly killed a student in my presence, in a sparring session I made clear was not for any more than to learn from. Up until now, you have shown yourself to be kind, generous, and loyal. The extremes of those traits are what had you crossing lines and breaking rules. But if killing in the name of misplaced anger is who you truly are, then I will do more than simply remove you from Beacon."

Ms. Goodwitch leaned over Link, letting her cool emerald gaze bore into his.

"I will personally hand you over to the Military." Alright, now it was worse.

Jaune heard a lot of chatter at that threat. Only thing keeping him from talking was the threat of his stomach relieving itself. But he could hear Blake hissing at that, clearly still in favor of Link… somehow. He could feel Pyrrha gripping him even harder. Good thing his armor held through Link's assault. But he could hear Ruby and Weiss talking, more like whispering. No idea what they were talking about. But then, Link did what Jaune didn't think any sane living being would do.

He shrugged.

He literally shrugged at Ms. Goodwitch's very harsh and probably very real threat. Jaune might have laughed if he wasn't busy thinking of what to put down in his will. No, now that he thought about it, he would have just cried a little.

"On that charming little note, I guess we'll be going." Tatl broke up what was probably close to being the third fight of the day. Well, second, Jaune didn't know if the one-sided assault on him counted as a fight.

The golden fairy flew around Link, coating him in that golden dust Jaune hoped wasn't really Dust. That would have been… weird.

"Oh, and for the record, Link is really just a nice guy," Tatl spoke on. "Probably more generous and loyal then you could ever hope any of your 'students' to be." Not a great way to start a counter-point, least not in Jaune's mind. Most insults end with beatings. "But there is no one, and I mean no one, who is more willing to fight for his friends than Link is."

Then he walked off. Link just turned and walked away, into the locker rooms and out of sight. Ever fall of his boots echoed across the room. The ringing of his mini-drone, no sorry, fairy accompanied him. She really was loyal to him, and… well, obviously, him back to her. Tatl was willing to stick up for him in a room full of people like it was a Tuesday. And Link… he had shown the brutality of what he would do for a friend.

"Class is dismissed early," Ms. Goodwitch spoke once Link had gone. She was eyeing the locker room he had left through. "Commit to self-study for the evening. We will resume sparring sessions tomorrow." Without another word, she left, through the same door Link had.

For a time, no one dared to move. Jaune could feel it, like it was ice in water. No one wanted to be the first to leave. Not after… _that_.

"Should…" he began quietly, not realizing he had spoken until the word had left his mouth. He bit his lips, but continued on. "Should we go… l-look for him?" He didn't look at his teammates or friends. He didn't want them to scowl at them with the insane question.

"Yes." That was, without a doubt far better than the answer Jaune had been expecting. Or was it bad, considering who he said they should look for. No wait, more than either of those, Ren was the one who said that. "By Tatl's admission, Link did what was honorable in his homeland. Horrendous here, but we share different forms of common sense." Now Jaune looked at Ren, unsure of what his friend would be doing.

Instead of maintaining that ever mysterious look the green martial artist liked to wear, or even that momentary panic he had before, Ren had settled his head into his fists, cupping his chin between them. His eyes were shut, probably to think. Yup, that was the Ren Jaune knew.

"I agree," Jaune was slightly less surprised to hear Weiss speak up next. "As barbaric as the display was, he did forgo actually… murdering Garnet once Ms. Goodwitch gave command to stop." No one missed the Snow Angel's reflexive swallow. If he caught it, everyone else did, too. "It is important we rectify this situation before it sours any further."

"Then let's go!" Ruby practically cheered. It was deafening given the stillness in the room. Did put every eye on them though. At least Jaune wasn't alone in the awkwardness this time. Well, if there was anyone used to acting under the scrutiny of a hundred pair of eyes, it was definitely Jaune Arc.

"Alright," He let out, pushing himself off of the seat and out of Pyrrha's grasp. Wasn't an easy task given how strong she was, but she seemed to let him go when he made the motion. That was good, he guessed. "So we just gotta talk to the Link and straighten out that killing people is a bad thing. All while remembering that he could kill us quickly… instantly… but probably still painfully." Oh great, he was psyching himself down.

"Nope, he wouldn't do that!" Sometimes Jaune questioned how Nora could always be so cheery. It didn't look like even a visit from death got her down. "The Tatl fairy said that he would do anything for his friends and we're definitely his friends! You wouldn't show off your friends to people who weren't friends, unless you wanted to brag about your friend, but I don't think he was bragging." What… What was Nora talkin-

"She means Mikau," Pyrrha spoke up. She sounded calm at least. "Link was… well, Tael told us about Mikau, and Link was going to show us him to relieve our fears. That would mean he saw us in a positive light." Oh, oh yeah.

"Then let's go already," Ruby added again. She was already standing, like Jaune, but facing the rest of the group with her hands clenched in front of her. "The longer we sit and wait the harder it's gonna be to find him."

"Calm down, sis," Yang spoke up now. "We're not gonna lose track of Jolly Green anytime soon." Well, she sounded awfully relaxed for all of this. "Case you missed it, we gotta tail on him, courtesy of one Blake Belladonna." A what now?

Jaune turned to look at where the hidden-faunus was once seated, hard to not remember given how frequently Juane was reminding himself not to piss her off. But when he looked, just like everyone else, the third member of Team RWBY really was no where to be seen.

Oh, Blake really was gone.

* * *

Blake had left the moment Glynda said to. She wasn't about to waste a moment thinking of something she had already decided on. There was no point in listening to some bigots discuss how wrong Link was, not even giving a thought to how wrong they really were.

Oh, Link had screwed up, there was no doubt about that. Were he originally from Vale or any of the four kingdoms, he would have sent faunus/human relationships back to the beginning of the war. He might have already done so. But that was no fault of his, not after what that girl Garnet had threatened. Goaded him into a fight, bet her weapons against his friend, mockingly stating his desire to be controlled, threatening to keep his fairy like property…

If Link hadn't beat her into an inch of her life, Blake would have done so outside the eyes of a referee. She was sure of that. Sure enough that she knew the last thing Link needed now was thinking that he had been in the wrong. He needed to know that at least one other person in that training room was on his side.

Blake could not allow a fellow faunus to feel alone. Not after being ridiculed.

She knew Link would not go back to his room. Not likely. He would want to be alone and solitude was kept worst when you were where everyone knew you to be. True solitude was gained in hiding. Link, who was likely every bit as well trained as the professors that taught them, would not be foolish enough to wane in that knowledge.

So now Blake had to think like her faunus brethren, miss-treated and in a place that was unfamiliar. She knew she would not go to any place that had been pointed out to her, knowing that those would be the first locations they would look for her. Leaving the campus was a possibility, but also unlikely, given Link's usual control and obedience to rules he understood. That left only areas that were either secluded or difficult to reach.

Stepping out into Beacon's Grounds, Blake's trained eyes began to scan as her mind thought of all those possible places. She thought of two, but saw one. The one she saw was the Headmaster's Tower, or more specifically the top of it. It was only a possibility given the ability of flight Link's friend possessed. It was reasonable that when abandoned he would turn to his friends for aide. That was the normal, and healthy, reaction.

The two she thought of were the rooftops of the dormitory, usually barren for need of other activities in the city of Vale, and the far ends of Beacon, where students passed by only for need of travel. She could only reach the two she thought of, as she lacked the dexterity to ascend a tower able to peak above the clouds. Well… up may not be the issue, but down certainly was.

Blake moved with haste, ready to start searching the perimeter of Beacon first. Starting out then moving it. It was the most logical way to conduct any search. It was hard to distinguish her walk from a run, given the speed she was moving at. Arms flexed and face stern, she thought only of Link. Only of him, and what she would say to him.

That was why she missed the golden fairy that bopped into her head.

"Ow!" She heard Tatl let out, startling Blake more than the actual blow did. Mostly due the small golden ball's size, the actual impact didn't hurt, but it felt like running into a towel. Enough to get her attention. "Geez kitty, I called your name like three times before you barreled into me. What? Needed to head butt me or something?"

"What? Oh, no, I-I didn't even see you, or hear you." Blake tripped over her words, but quickly caught herself. This was good. Tatl would know where Link was. "I was actually looking for Link. I wanted to talk to him about what happened." Oddly, the fairy didn't seem very pleased by her words. The droop in her wings and low ring were indication enough.

"Oh, why? Gonna give a few more harsh words to him?" The voice sounded like Yang when she was angry at someone. "Want to give him a stern talking to about what he should have done?"

"No! I agree with what he did." Blake honestly did. That seemed to get the fairy to start, at least the light bob in the air was a sign of something. "Well… I agree that Garnet deserved to be punished. Link did go too far, yes, but if he hadn't of done that I very well may have."

"Huh," Tatl simply responded. Better than sarcasm at least. "Well… okay that's, wow. And here I was prepared to give a whole speech about it." Blake felt herself smile despite the situation. It was good that Tatl was loyal to Link. He certainly was to her. "Um… guess that means you wanna see him then, huh?"

"Yes," she answered instantly. "I need to talk to him, at the very least show that he wasn't alone in there." The fairy bobbed in the air a few times, probably in thought. It was hard to tell exactly what Tatl was thinking, given that she was just a bright ball of light to Blake.

"Yeah, that's… that's actually good," Tatl finally responded. "I was going to go look for my brother and Super Buzz. Figure that they've spent too much time together at this point." The fairy turned around, noted by Blake by the transparent wings. "Link is over by the dorms, got up on the roof to feel the wind. He likes the wind, feeling it at least." That was good to know.

"Thank you," Blake responded. "I'll go see him now." The fairy seemed to gather her hot air back before responding.

"Better do that, or else I'm going to have serious trust issues with you in the future." Tatl flew closer, hovering just in front of Blake's golden crossed eyes. "And for the record, just while we're agreeing on stuff, I'll let you in on a little secret."

Instead of speaking, the fairy simply fluttered into the air, higher than Blake's eyes. Tapping her carefully assembled bow, the fairy spoke on.

"Your secret."

Blake's eyes widened and her form stilled.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to go blab about it," Tatl hastily added. Actually pretty caring. "Tael and I figured it out, what with how your bow seems to hold still in the wind but twitch when there's a fun topic being talked about. Just gotta be observant."

"You can't tell," Blake spoke, despite hearing the fairy's words. "Only my teammates know I'm a faunus. You can't tell anyone else. Not Ms. Goodwitch, not Link, no-"

"Would you calm down?" Tatl asked, lightly bopping into Blake's forehead as she did so. "I told you I wasn't going to tell anyone. Tael and I are fairies, in case you don't remember. It's a natural talent of ours to hear and keep secrets. It's what makes us so rare." That… had some sense to it. Blake swallowed on nothing, nodding her head in thanks.

"Seriously though, I gotta go find my brother. Super Buzz is probably putting him in an awkward place by now." With Doctor Oobleck, that was entirely possible. "Now you go find Link. If you can talk to him, and get him to really listen, I'll be grateful. Honestly, I will." That must have been a lot for the fairy to say. "But you should know. I left because Link wanted to be with one of his friends, alone." Oh.

"Then… should I wait for him?" Blake knew value of privacy, especially with friends. That was not something that was meant to be so easily trampled upon. The fairy, however, rang as she shook in the air.

"No, no way, you gotta talk to him. Give him another side of the story but ours. _Really_ show him that you care." The fairy was silent for a moment, but only that long. "But only if you do care. Otherwise, yeah, leave him alone."

"I do care," Blake emphasized. "And I'll let him know I saw you." She bowed to the fairy, the only sign of respect she could offer a creature so small. "Thank you Tatl, for your trust and silence."

"Yeah, well… don't screw up talking to Link." Blake hid her smile behind her hair. Getting the fairy to stumble was rather fun. But she had no time to dwell on it.

Rising, she nodded at the small ball of light. Then she headed off for the dorms in haste. Link was unlikely to go anywhere else, for a logical fear that it would separate him from his fairy friends. That was not something a caring individual would do. And Link, by his actions and testimony of his friends, cared much for those who were close to him. Blake could not ask for a better ally.

She ignored the students that she passed, keeping in mind only the one individual that was important now. He was sitting above the dorms, likely wearing the mask of one of his friends. She hadn't an idea who yet. Blake was… in between what that was like. She put her discomfort aside, like everything else. The mission… the task she had was more significant.

It took the feline faunus little time to reach the dorm, not even bothering to walk through the center doorway. Too much time to ascend the stairs. Blake jumped to the small alcoves of the building, decorative markers to show the separation between the floors. Maybe they had a purpose for construction, but that was gone now. It did, however, make it easy for her to leap from one hold to the other. In little time, she ascended to the roof.

And she was immediately greeted by the sight of a girl in green.

Blake blinked, ensuring that she wasn't seeing things, but no matter how often her golden eyes opened and shut, all she saw was a child standing on the rooftop. A child that looked like she was garbed in a forest, emerald hair that was shades lighter than most natural colors, and facing towards the river that separated Beacon from Vale.

She was short, Blake could easily see that. If they were to stand by one another, the younger girl would probably rise only to her navel at best. Yet she did stand tall, wearing a cloak of green and undergarments a shade darker than that. Her top layer of clothing was frilled at its ends, the layer beneath lined and touch, reaching to the girl's outer arms, but stopping just above her knees. Boots, made from either leather or thick bandages, were wrapped about her feet.

Though she was facing away from Blake, the hidden faunus could see the slight length to the girl's hair, just enough to hide the joining between her neck and shoulders. Locks of the hair curled around her face and out of sight, framing the pointed ears that pushed from her side.

Blake chose not to spy further, however. Given what Tatl had said and knowing the diversity of Link's friends, this very well was him speaking to one of his friends, at least as well as he normally could now. This girl was very likely one of them, and it would be hypocritical of Blake to do anything else but speak to them now.

And like it was fated, the girl turned to face her.

The look momentarily froze Blake, mostly due to the new details she studied in the girl. The main two being her eyes and now slightly more visible ears. Her eyes were the same color as her hair, an emerald that was basking in the sun. Illuminating and brilliant to behold, yet harshly ironic given recent events. The girl's ears protruded from her head no different than Link's, marking her as a faunus as well. A headband touched from the base of one to the other, a shade matching her undergarments, but marked with a dark brown emblem Blake did not recognize.

"Are you alright?" The girl asked her. She tilted her head as she asked the question. "I apologize if I startled you. I wasn't expecting to speak with anyone so quickly." Of course Link wouldn't, this girl wouldn't. They wanted solitude.

"I'm sorry for… intruding," Blake began, choosing her words carefully. "I wanted to speak to Link, to you, about what happened earlier." The girl, of all the actions she could have done, smiled. It was only the melancholy in the look she gave that told Blake it was not of unbridled joy.

"Ah, yes, that," the girl spoke again. "Link does have a habit of acting harshly when his friends are threatened. He always has." So an old friend, Blake realized. That was something. That meant… a childhood friend? "I remember one time Mido, another Kokiri in the forest, was trying to force me to tell the others he was the leader of our group. He always scowled when he said such things. But Link, without any word of request from me, pushed him away. He fought a boy that was twice his size at the time, because he knew I was not comfortable." Blake found herself grow her own smile at the story.

"Link is very loyal," Blake agreed. "I have not known him… you, for long, but I do know that you consider the emotions of your friends dearly." The girl nodded at her words. But then she stopped, dawning a momentarily shocked expression. One of her hands touched at her lips.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself," the emerald girl spoke, but rapidly started to smile again. Hastily, in what was clearly unpracticed and done merely from formality, the girl grabbed the edges of her skirt, bending her knees in a curtsy.

"My name is Saria of the Kokiri. I am an old friend of Link's."

"Blake Belladonna," the feline faunus returned, bowing to the young girl. "And it is my pleasure to meet you." The girl, Saria, giggled at the words. Blake raised her head to see her standing once more, shifting back and forth on her heels. The frills of her upper layer billowed in the wind, matching the motion of her curved hair.

"You're probably wondering why Link has a friend like me, so young compared to how old he is, hmm?" Well, Blake wouldn't have called Link old by many stretches of the word, but it did strike her has odd, if only because she could, or did not want, to imagine the way this girl would be placed on her death bed. "Well, I'll give you a hint," she leaned forward with the sentence, almost as if to whisper it.

"A hint?" Blake repeated. She knelt to one knee, matching the young emerald-haired girl's height. Saria nodded rapidly at the word. She really was a child.

"Yup. Just a hint to the answer," she returned. "All lessons are answers, and all answers have hints. Small signs or signals that tell us what the answers really are. You can't find an answer without at least a hint, no matter where it comes from. So I'll give you a hint, so you can discover the answer. And, when you find it, you will have learned a lesson."

Blake blinked at the words.

There was a lot of wisdom in them, more than just the words themselves. In them, between them, and likely surrounding them. Those… those were not the words of a child. Saria only laughed at whatever expression Blake was giving.

"You can't tell someone a lesson, you can only remind them. Giving answers takes from them the lesson they can learn. If they can't learn a lesson, then the answer doesn't mean anything." Was this really a child?

"You are… wise," Blake spoke the words with care, though different than carefully. A part of her was still putting the apparent age of the child with the words she had spoken. Saria only spun around before looking back at Blake, the emerald clothing she wore lifting and falling with the action. But instead of responding, Saria leaned closer to Blake, placing her head next to Blake's then lightly whispering in her ear.

"I am the Forest Sage." Then, with as much ceremony as she gave leaning in, Saria leaned back, still grinning at Blake. The hidden-faunus, however, had her mind thinking rapidly.

Link grew up in the Kokiri Forest, Tael told them that. He had grown up surrounded by danger, and he learned to avoid and fight it. But for him to do so, he must have taught. If he was taught about the woods, it would have been by those who were also living in it. But if it wasn't an elder, and Blake had the strong suspicion it wasn't, then it was by a friend.

A friend that would have to be old and wise, knowing the forest well enough to be able to teach without the true fear of death lurking in the corners. That didn't mean controlling the woods, but… it did mean knowing the creatures. Knowing where they lurked, how they hunted, and how to live in the dangerous lands of the Lost Woods, or so Tatl called them.

"You raised Link," Blake concluded, earning a cheerful nod from Saria. "How… you… you're so young." That only made the child giggle further.

"Young in appearance, but not in mind. Definitely not in years." She twirled again. Tatl did say Link liked the wind, but did Saria, too? "The woods are full of life, and for the Kokiri who live in the forest, we always know where to find it."

 _'And those that were lost became monsters. Became monsters because they lost their soul.'_ Tael's words echoed in Blake's mind. Did… Did the Kokiri do that? Were the Kokiri, like this child, the ones who turned humans into monsters? Appropriate, but… horrific.

"You're wrong," Saria spoke so suddenly Blake almost missed it. "I don't know what you're thinking exactly, but I know you're wrong. We don't do anything that would make someone have an expression like that." The young girl's finger pointed at Blake's features. She must have looked horrified or revolted. Either were usually taken as bad signs. "Kokiri lived secluded lives, away from the rest of the world. No Gerudo, no Hylians, no Zora, no Gorons. Just us, the woods, and the spirits that reside there."

Something in those words, the separation perhaps, gave a quick epiphany to Blake. She could not say what it was, any one point alone, but she could not deny the thought that had wormed into her head. And so, she spoke it aloud.

"You're immortal. Or… you were immortal." It was the only reason Blake could think of, given the apparent wisdom of Saria's words. If sage meant the same to Link's country as it did in Vale, then it was clear this girl was more than merely a child of the woods.

"You're a wise one, too," Saria noted back to Blake, her smile as innocent as ever. The giggle that followed was doubly so. "I can see why Link calls you a friend." Blake, to her great embarrassment, had almost completely forgotten about Link.

"I actually wanted to speak to Link," Blake began, but found her thoughts changing. She wanted to speak to him still. But… he must have become Saria for a reason. "Unless I am speaking to you right now." That only made the younger girl's smile widen.

"I'm here, and so am I." If anyone else had said those words, Blake would have questioned their comprehension of speech. But for Link, her fellow faunus, she knew what that meant. "Saria raised me. I know what helps Link in his troubled times. Before I had a fairy to guide me in the woods, I was the one who helped him. I've helped many other Kokiri before their fairies came to them, ever hundreds of winters." Blake was only passively able to confirm that Saria truly was longer lived than she looked.

Actually, it was hard to tell which was more impressive. The age of the 'young' girl or Link's ability to swap between his mindset and hers.

Clearly they were not melded, to many words directed at the other. But the way they spoke, it was what she had seen close siblings do. Finish one another sentences, know where their thoughts were going, able to predict actions. Link, or Saria, simply seemed to be a perfect meld of two people.

"Kokiri are long lived," Saria continued to speak, of a topic Blake had only a foot in, not a stance. "We live by the woods and for the woods. Link was brought to the woods as an infant, and raised as one of them. Kokiri are kind, gentle, and full of wisdom befitting of their eternal youth." So more than immortal, Saria truly was always a child. That did explain a great deal. It didn't make the knowledge of her death any worse. Blake had the mind and heart to know asking of her death was far from appropriate.

"I am no longer here," Saria spoke now, either to continue the topic she began or to ease Blake's mind. It was unclear which. She did have the dark girl's full attention. "I cannot help Link how I would in times past. But I can offer him my memories, my emotions, my love for him." The emerald girl placed her hands over her small chest, as if to shield the tiny heart within. "He needs to know he's not alone. Even if only memories of me remain, I want him to know that they're his now." Blake had no hesitation for what she said next.

"I'm here for him." Saria looked at her with those words, the child's emerald eyes bright with hope. Maybe it was Link, maybe it was Saria, maybe it was normal in this magical kingdom of Hyrule, but Blake would not disappoint it. "I will not lie and say I know a lot about Link, even less about his friends. But I do know he has done nothing but try to show goodwill to us, all for the sake of defending the friends he has… while searching for the one he's lost."

Saria was blinking up at her, blinking more than a simple reflex of the eyes. She was clearing something in her vision, and Blake's feline eyes made it easy to see the extra dampness that surrounded them. That was likely Saria. Link had done no crying thus far. But… there was no Saria. Only Link and his friend's memories. What a difficult thing this was to understand. That was difficult, at least. Her loyalty to Link was not.

"I want to learn so much more about you, Link," she spoke past the mask her faunus brethren wore. "I want to know about your home, your past, your training, your honor. I want to know how you can bear the insults of so many people, yet still have faith to keep friends." Blake placed her hands on the small girl's shoulders, looking squarely into her emerald eyes. "But I want you to know that my friends and I, we trust you. You've scared us, but you've been honest with us. I can forgive being scared, but I can't forgive being lied, too."

"It is hard to trust another who can so easily spin a false reality." It was becoming more and more obvious to Blake how old Saria truly was. The woods… Doctor Oobleck would have probably generated a thousand and one questions about their properties for eternal youth. Maybe Ponce de Leon wasn't so crazy. At least, not as crazy as this scenario was.

"It really is," Blake admitted. "And you have only been honest with all of us. That… that is why I know you can be trusted. It's why I do trust you." The feline-faunus, near always in hiding, made a very important decision.

She lifted one of her hands off of Saria, raising it to her head. With a single pull, she undid the ribbon that hid her true self from the world.

The small Kokiri girl stared at the ears, blinking at them. There was no disgust or shock, no amount of distaste or sign of distrusts. She was simply… looking at them. Maybe it was too fast, too rushed. It took Blake months to show her true self to her teammates. And yet here she was, showing off her ears to another faunus she had known for bare a week.

Then again, this was a faunus who had openly shown his true self to her. Hesitating only because of the pain it brought him, in the physical and mental world. He openly shared his past, his friends, and his abilities. For Blake, showing who she really was to him was the least she could do to actually show her thanks. Show her thanks, and cement their trust.

"They're very pretty. They suit you well," Saria finally said, in that innocent tone that beget her age, an age Blake knew now she could not so easily count. She'd have to ask Link about Saria another time. "I suppose it really isn't too shocking to see them. You were awfully curious about Hyrule." She was still smiling, far more playful this time. Blake played along.

"It's hard for me to not be curious," she admitted. "A land where faunus dominate the kingdom, where they aren't subjugated and repressed by humans. It… It sounds like a paradise." Blake blinked slowly as she spoke those words, imagining for herself walking through the kingdom of Hyrule, ears exposed and not offered more than a nod of hello.

No staring eyes, no harsh scowls, no curious ears. Just her, her and many other faunus living together free from the hatred of man. It what she had dreamed about, what she had envisioned since she was a little girl in the White Fang. It was what she truly wanted.

"Paradise for one is always misery for another." What?

Blake was so caught in her daydream she nearly missed the girl's words. Her cold whispered words. Blake's eyes shot open, looking at Saria with a worried expression. She expected to see a scowl with those words, a deep frown, maybe even tears. Something, anything at all to match that horrible statement.

But she only saw the emerald haired girl, smiling sweetly and looking back at Blake with a tilted head. She looked unaware of what she had said… Had Blake imagined it?

"Paradise is something you make, not something you find." Was that what she said? "The Kokiri made a paradise in the woods, the Zora in the ocean, the Gorons in the mountains, and the Hylians in the plains. You cannot find paradise, for every life has its own fantasies."

There was the wisdom again, the wisdom Blake would have had to hear come from Saria in order to believe it. The girl smiled up at her, bright enough now to force her eyes shut. It was probably in spite of her words that she was able to look so innocent. Most other wise lives Blake knew… they had to live hard lives to learn what they did.

Silence took a small hold over them, interrupted only by the occasional passing breeze. It billowed Saria's leafy tunic, and tickled Blake's now exposed ears. But it was not unpleasant. It was a reminder that this was real, and reality with a friend was also preferable to the coldness of her dreams. Reality was warm, but just as often could it be cold. It was a reminder to Blake that she should not risk anymore than she had.

She lifted her black ribbon, wrapping it about her head before positioning the ends carefully over her scalp. With a practiced motion, one she had perfected before even attempting to enter Beacon, she wrapped the ribbons around her ears, knitting the ends together to turn it into the bow it was familiarly held in. A disguise in plain sight, all she could do to hide what she was, who she was.

"How… How much trouble am I in?" The question made Blake blink.

It came out of near no-where, completely unrelated to their conversations thus far. They were speaking about loyalty to one another, the value of honesty, and the bond Link had with his current friend. And now, as a cruel reminder, they were apparently speaking of what had transpired in the training session. It was as sour a memory for Blake as it was Link, apparently given by Saria's hurt frown. Still appearing as a child, it seemed.

"I don't know," Blake answered honestly. She couldn't tell what Ms. Goodwitch planned. "I do know that there are dozens of students who all saw that girl threaten and insult you before turning her bet towards Tatl. That's provocation in its most horrible form."

"But I acted too far," Saria, or more likely Link, responded. "She wanted to make Tatl a… a thing. She wanted to own her."

The little girl's hands were trembling as her head fell forwards slightly. Blake's sharp ears could hear the swallowing motion of her throat. It was impossible to tell if it was Saria or Link who was so near tears.

"She wanted to take away my friend."

Blake watched unblinking and focuses as Saria's innocent expression changed from the brief amount of sorrow it held into a twisted visage of rage. Her emerald eyes were squinted, her teeth bared like fangs, creases forming over her face, only hidden by the vibrant green hair that fell over her cheeks. It nearly made the feline faunus jump.

But as quick as it was there, it was gone. Replaced again by the more somber expression of regret. Wet eyes, flaccid skin, and lips fallen into a straight line. It was too quick for most others to see, and Blake was sure none of her friends would have seen it. But she was trained by the White Fang to spy and hunt, so details were a hard thing for her to miss.

"But I didn't kill her. I… I made sure to not kill her. I hurt her, badly, but I didn't kill her." It was hard to tell if it was Link or Saria who spoke those words. The fear in them, terror even, was more befitting a child then the hunter Link appeared to be. Then again, Saria wasn't any more a child than Link.

"You didn't, and that will count for a lot." Blake encourage, comforted. "And if nothing else, Garnet made a bet that she lost. It is not your fault that a human bigot saw you as some exploitable thing." Saria blinked up at her words, a string of curiosity in her damp eyes.

"Has that happened to you?" She asked. An inevitable question really. "You sound… as if you speak from experience."

Blake felt something tap on her chest, just between her breasts. She looked down, seeing Saria's small hand placed atop her blouse. It didn't roam or search, it just sat there, lingering like a cat in the sun. The sage's green eyes, however, never left her own.

"I can feel your anger, your hate and rage." Blake felt a breath quickly enter her lungs, but she slowly let it release. She could not doubt the wisdom of this apparent youth. She knew more and could like read signs Blake could not. "It has been there for some time. Many experiences, some tragedies, all focused upon a group. Focused upon the Gerudo. Or… as you would saw, the humans."

Blake shut her slit eyes as she listened to the dialogue about her past. It was not a pleasant topic for her to hear. It was a kind story to no one.

"It's not wrong to hate, not in the short sense," Saria continued. "It can be a force that drives a life as well as sorrow or joy. But it should not last, not forever. It would be no different than a winter that never ended, or a fire that never ceased. Life is not born in those times, it is strengthened by them. Do you understand?" Blake nodded her head, she understood. "I don't think you do."

"What?" Blake asked aloud. Saria, however, continued.

"I'm giving you another hint," the Forest Sage spoke, grinning quickly with her words. Probably an indulgence of her playful nature. "I am not telling you what to do, nor am I asking something from you. I'm giving a hint, just a small one. Can you guess what that is?"

Honestly, Blake could not. It was not that she wasn't listening. It was… the words seemed like a lecture, like a paragraph from a book she might read, of mentor to student, guiding them during a patch of their training. For the real world, it was more a reminder than things weren't always easy, but that was a lesson she hard learned long and far ago.

"Guess the hint first," Saria spoke, drawing her hand back from Blake's chest. The feline faunus let her own hand slip from the girl's shoulders. She felt her ears twitch with another breeze of the wind, the young girl's own long ears slowly shaking in the breeze as well. "That's a hint, too. A hint for a hint, all leading to an important answer. I know you can find it. You are very smart."

Blake slowly stood with Saria's words. She regarded the young girl before her, smiling up back to her. Her demeanor, her every action, they all betrayed the wisdom of her words. A child like state, shifting on her feet and enjoying the wind like a sail, it contrasted so harshly with the depth that her words carried. Words that sunk the depth's of Blake's soul.

"You don't need to know the answer right now," the girl spoke on. "Not all answers are that simple. Many lessons take days, to moons, to seasons to learn. Too many hints will give you the answer, so you can only search for it over time." Saria turned away from Blake then, looking out over Beacon. Blake walked around the rooftops looking down at the young girl.

It was then that she saw Saria had her eyes closed. She was not enjoying the sight of Beacon, the grand academy of huntresses and hunters, she was not admiring the high tower of Ozpin, she wasn't even staring at the sky, so close to turning into dusk. No… she was either thinking or feeling something. This was when people were at their most vulnerable state. This was… Saria really did trust her. And that meant… Link did as well.

"I love the wind," Saria spoke up, her eyes still shut. "It reminds me of the forest. Climbing to the highest branches, sitting on the canopy of leaves, so high you might believe you can touch the clouds with a wave of your hand. Up there, there wind blows at its hardest, chilling you to your bone, clearing your mind of everything else." It was impossible for Blake to tell if it was Link or Saria who spoke those words.

"It feels good to forget," Blake admitted. She felt her ears twitch beneath her newly tied ribbon, a reminder that she did not forget, she hid. That wasn't right. Her hand rose to one of them, as if to cover it up. But… it didn't feel right. The closer her hand drew to her ear, the more it twitched, the more her stomach churned. It wasn't right.

Her hand dropped back to her side, having accomplished nothing. Blake drew a breath of air in as she did so. She filled her lungs, stopping only when her lungs could take no more. She released it all in a single breath. It felt cool. The air felt coo, relaxing, free…

"Freedom should never be taken away." Blake looked to Saria again. The young girl kept her eyes shut, still standing on the edge of the building. Her arms were extended to her sides. Were she truly a child, Blake could see her pretending to be a superhero or successful huntress. Now though, she knew she was doing neither. "Freedom is what makes life so wonderful."

Then she opened her eyes, but Saria did more than that. She turned to Blake, holding up her hand as she did so. It barely reached above Blake's chest, given the girl's short stature and Blake's straight stance. But the Saria still smiled up at her with emerald eyes, green hair lightly waving in the wind.

"Would you like me to show you what it's like to feel free?" The question was asked so naturally, it was impossible for Blake to discern the meaning. The smile, that innocent smile Saria seemed content to hold, gave no indication it would speak anymore.

The answer the question, however, was as obvious as the lake that surrounded Beacon. Blake didn't need a moment of thought to know the answer.

"Yes," she answered, offering her hand to the smaller, though clearly not younger, girl. It made the emerald haired youth smile.

"Excellent!" Saria squeezed Blake's hand, though lacking in any significant display of strength. She was physically just a small child. "Then please wait a moment."

Without giving Blake time to react, Saria reached up and grasped the sides of her face. The feline faunus knew what was coming next. She shielded her eyes with her arms, feeling the intensity of the bright light before her eyes were blinded by it. Only a flash of a moment later was it gone.

Lowering her arms, the feline faunus saw her foreign brethren standing before her once more. Only a few inches above her own head, wearing the same emerald green as Saria, and a dower expression of melancholy joy. It was one Blake had seen upon many of her kind, more often than any other. She loathed it. His gaze was not on her, however.

Instead his cerulean eyes were on the mask that had found its way to his hand. Porcelain white, bearing the markings of emerald bangs and along its top. It was smaller than the one belonging to Mikau, physically at least. That made an inappropriate amount of sense.

He pocket the mask though, a single hand slipping the wooden frame into the shirt of his tunic. Out of sight but far from out of Link's mind. That was, at least, until Link pulled out a different mask. It wasn't knew, as she had seen it before.

The same top feathers, the same golden frame, and of course, the same blue markings that ran across its surface. Link was holding Elrora's mask again. And, with as much ceremony as he brought it out, he donned it.

Blake blocked the immense light the same way she had Saria's. The sound of Link's screams was more difficult to ignore. Thankfully, gracefully, it did not last. Just as quickly as the light from before did it fade away. Moving away her arms again, the dark feline faunus was greeted with the tall sight of Link's friend, the first that she had met.

"Hello Blake," Elrora spoke down to her, kindly and gently as the first time they spoke. Elrora was kind during their first meeting. Blake knew by her honesty and recollection that she was not. She could make up for it now.

"It is good to see you again," she spoke with a low bow. She was the Queen of the Watarara, a tribe that doubtlessly held much sway in Hyrule. It would be disrespectful for her to act any other way. That was why the giggling that began to come from above confused her. She tilted her head to see the avian features of Elrora gazing back at her. Even with a hard beak, it was clear she was smiling.

"I apologize," the golden faunus spoke to her. "It was rude of me to find humor in your action. You are not the first to mistake my former title as a requirement to show respect." That was… confusing.

"Your… um…" Blake began to speak, but then pattered off when she realized she didn't know how to address the tall monarch. Judging by the kind smile the golden avian adorned, it was a common problem. Blake resisted the urge to duck her head.

"Elrora, please," said faunus spoke. As she did so, she unfolded her wings, the robe of feathers it created falling away. Blake saw it the first time she had set eyes on Elrora, the reason for her keeping her arms crossed over her chest.

The avian faunus's wings had feathers longer than some blades. Each one extended some distance, layered atop and beneath one another. The primaries, as Blake recalled, where the longest feathers on a bird's wing, used to push the air with every beat they made. The longer they were, the more they could push. That was a fact.

And her feathers, Queen Elrora's, were nearly as long as Blake's leg. If she did not cross her arms, they would have dragged on the ground, ruining the well-groomed and cleanly molted appendages.

Blake's thoughts ceased, when she saw the queen reaching for her. She stiffened, if on instinct, but it was noticed by Elrora's eyes. Justly so. Nearly all avian species had superior sigh, Blake reminded herself. It was how they hunted from the scare, staring at the ground below like a telescope. Blake looked into those keen eyes with her own golden pair.

It was only then she saw the barest of tears collecting at the corner of her gaze.

"Elrora?" Blake asked her name with concern. It appeared to be enough to tell the avian faunus what was wrong. One of the hands she was reaching forwards with lifted instead, lightly brushing at the feathers that were lined under her gaze.

"I apologize," came the instant reply. "I am… you remind me very much of my son." Blake wasn't sure how to take that. "Not in the sense of the physical, no. But, your curiosity, your independence, he had those to remarkable degrees."

Blake watched, silently, as Elrora shut her eyes. Standing to her tallest, it was hard to think of her as anything but majestic. Royalty flowed next to it easily. Queen Elrora, it wasn't hard to imagine at all.

"For the first ten migrations of our lives, Watarara can not fly." The fact came out of almost no where. Blake committed it to memory regardless. "Our feathers never stop growing, but they do not allow flight in youth until they have reached a required length. Fly too early and they cannot keep us in the air."

That made sense, Blake silently noted. It also explained the long length of Elrora's primary and secondary feathers.

"Youths of our tribe are carried by their mothers, taught before they are ready how to feel the air, to fly through it, to follow its guide." The tall Watarara's eyes slowly opened, staring upward into the vast expanse of blue above.

Blake found her head tilting further back to look as well, knowing already she wouldn't see anything more interesting than the tall faunus before her.

"My son disliked being carried." Blake could hear amusement in the queen's voice. A fond memory. "So often when he was atop of my back, he would try and jump off, to take to the winds himself. Just as often I had to catch him." It was an odd thought, Blake admitted, bird's falling from the sky. She was so used to them having wings that she honestly never considered birds to be capable of falling like that.

But Blake could see, if only faintly, where this was going. She was both love and loathe to it.

"Rouru did not enjoy being carried in the sky, but he did love the sky itself." Elrora's wings shivered, her feathers appearing to puff out around her. Blake had to blink her equally golden eyes to make sure she hadn't seen it wrong.

Then she remembered birds that commonly pushed their wings out for warmth. She had seen it in the high ceilings of Vale, birds perched atop skyscrapers baring themselves against the wind. She suspected Elrora was doing the same act for a different reason.

"All children of the Watarara want the sky, and so as they grow old, they come to love it." A slow sigh left the avian's beak. Blake kept herself silent as she could be. "Children grow seeing the expanse of the sky, but only being able to dream of one day taking it as their own. When they do, they feel what makes the Watarara a truly great tribe."

Slowly, like the curtains to a play, Elrora's wings unfolded.

"They feel freedom."

Blake watched, fascinated as the gold of her feathers became only more and more apparent. Each one was colored green at their tips, the same hue as Link's cap, and the same shade as the Ozpin's tower. With her wings held out, her feathers did indeed slowly trail across the surface of the roof they stood on. It was all no different than the first time Blake had seen the queen. But now, she saw her not as a mask of deceit, but as the friend of a friend, long past.

So now, she could enjoy the details she missed before. Her sharp golden eyes saw the large bracelets that were secured at the base of the queen's hands, separating the feathered arms from gloved hands. She could see the emerald green gown she wore. Little different than Link's tunic, but lacking the belt and armor that made it designed for war. She saw the elegant details that ran across the queen, lines and swirls of emeralds and blues. They looked painted on they were so well placed.

But all of that slowly settled into her mind when Elrora let her wings fall down. She didn't fold them over her chest, to keep her feathers from dragging. Instead, she let them hang at her sides, letting the interminable primaries dirty themselves on the roof. But Elrora didn't appear to care, not with here avian blue eyes settled on Blake.

Again, she extended a hand forward, reaching toward the feline faunus. Blake, this time, did not shirk away. She felt no malic in the action, no intent to harm. It may have been the story, it may have been the aura the tall queen was giving off, but Blake saw Elrora's actions not as inappropriate. Rather, they seemed almost… motherly.

Blake let the elder faunus place her hand on her cheek. Immediately, Blake felt the coarseness of the glove she wore, a rough leathery surface that more likely belonged to Link than the queen. But immediately afterwards, she felt the soft touch of Elrora's fingers across her face. It almost made her shiver.

Her fingers felt like small pillows of air pushing against her bare skin. They were feathered, if very lightly so, like a coat of fur with long spread out strands. But just as soft as the touch was, it was also warm. Like puffs of a fire's smoke, without the harsh scent of ash. It was comforting, enjoyable, and just good enough for Blake to purr lightly at the action.

On a normal day, in her hidden life, she would have run after doing such a thing, run and hide and find a way to justify what she had done. But with Elrora, the queen of a foreign faunus race, she wasn't hiding. She was… happy.

"Blake," she heard the queen Watarara speak her name. "Do you want to feel free?"

Soundlessly, Blake nodded her head into Elrora's hand.

* * *

Oobleck was in paradise.

Not literally, of course not. Currently such a thing would involve his untimely demise to a Grimm or an unfortunate accident. Neither were good. He was in a metaphorical state of mind that could be called paradise. Other synonyms included dream-like, euphoric, at peace, or perhaps even heaven. Paradise simply seemed the most appropriate.

He was sitting at his desk, adjusting his spectacles as he read over his notes for the umpteenth time, sipping at his coffee between sentences. Five cups and fourteen pots later, he realized he was in need of a bigger pot for his coffee. That was the only way he would be able to analyze the multitude of data Tael had provided for him.

Oobleck, in the course of a few short hours, too short hours, had generated enough notes and testimony from the fairy to publish dozens, perhaps hundreds of research papers. In actuality, he may even had been able to secure an entire journal with this work. Unlikely to be accepted currently, perhaps, but he saw no reason for the data to be false.

Each note detailed a specific portion of life regarding the many different faunus in Link's land of Hyrule. They were far from heavily detailed, disappointingly, unfortunately. Details of food were related to only the broadest of generalizations. Zoras at fish, no classifications for which kind. Hylians ate meat and greens, no indication of climate either were produced in, repeat for all.

However, an upside. Generous one as well. All faunus were whole, not different. No generalization. Within the four kingdom, there were only one group of faunuses. In Hyrule, there were Hylians, Zora, Gorons, Watarara, Kokiri, Shiekah, Deku Scrubs, Fairies, and Gerudo. Correction, Gerudo were Hyrule's equivalents to humans. Not faunus.

Oobleck shuffled his hands over the many stacks of papers across his desk. They were organized; he knew that. In their scrambled piles of thrown documents, hastily scrawled penmanship, and poorly aligned stacks, they were organized more completely than Beacon's library. Flawless.

He knew that the stack of papers two up and one across from his left hand detailed the climates each of the faunus groups tended to live in. The pile of papers just beneath that were sketches of Deku Scrubs, detailing their barky exteriors and penchant to live underground. Fascinating. Marvelous. Miraculous even. But just beside that were notes on Zora hierarchy, detailing briefly the monarchy that was in place, but the looseness to which it was practiced. Royalty commonly eating amongst all their people. Odd to us, common to them. Wondrous.

There was so much to read, to document, to organize into the archaic structure that published journal articles required to have their papers sent across the four kingdoms. An unorganized mess. Truthfully so. His system was vastly superior.

In just a few moves, and a couple cups of coffee, he could access any specific article of data that Tael had narrated to him, before his sister had insisted his departure. Acceptable, truthfully. Community between family was important. Inappropriate to interfere.

Breaks were good anyways, important even. Needed to memorize key points of data, required in order to generate and prepare for the next section. Even more critical, research into friend fairies had requested of him. Interesting request, a challenge really, but one he loved. It meant a unique mixture of research, extrapolation, and exploration.

Just by what were undoubtedly the cliff notes of each of the faunus clans in Hyrule, each had their own area or climate they preferred to live within. While all possessing the ability to travel to other areas, they were not as comfortable. Understandable, perfectly, but fascinating nonetheless. Already dozens of questions he could ask from such a viewpoint. How land was divided amongst these many clans to ensure proper growth without disputes, economy interaction between them, cultural bleeding between two groups living in close proximity. Libraries could be filled with what there was to learn.

But no, he needed to focus. It was clear clans such as the rock Gorons thrived in mined mountains, Zoras in deep rivers and oceans, but fairies, like the friend he was requested to help find, were different. They had no one area of preference, normal habitats across all of Hyrule. Instead, made homes, similar vain to humans in the four kingdoms. Enchanted springs with a fresh water source, illuminated lightly by their constant aura, but almost always buried or tucked away in hiding.

Mindful in a dangerous world. Tael mentioned several fairy fountains in monster territory; sealing themselves away was the proper response, similar vain to an automated door. More archaic, but equally effective.

Hard to find, however, even for natives to Hyrule. Common enough to not be myth, but rare enough for them to be legends. Difficult to find. In the four kingdoms, rooted in areas that have been mined, scavenged and otherwise pilfered of all Dust capable, unlikely to find such hidden springs. Made the next course of action clear, but difficult.

Research into unexplored areas, exploration of said areas, marking and digging where said fountains may lie. May find fairy friend, may find fairies at all. All ways led to providence.

There was so much to do, though. He had to organize questions for the next section with the fairy siblings, prepare classes schedule for the following week, grade homework to ensure the cultural clashes were being understood by the younger students, read through digs in the past two decades that may have detailed similar fountains as the fairies' homes, organize the notes into a more archaic sense for publication, ask Link about his other friends, and… and…

Air… Oobleck needed some fresh air. Coffee as well. Both were good.

He stood from his desk, grabbing his thermos as he did so. Pushing the chair out from behind himself, he turned for the desk, marching out of his office as he did so. Marching, that is, over the scrolls, pictures, text books, and states that blocked his way. All there on purpose of course. Superior organization.

His door open and shut with a click, placing him into a hallway nearly barren of life. A student here or there, but far from packed or crowded. Not uncommon in the later hours of the day. It made his trek for the door simple and uninhibited. He took a long sip of his coffee along the way. Rich and dark roasted, delivering a maximum amount of caffeine. He needed to find a superior method for the delivery.

It took little time for him to reach the outside, and it took just as long for Oobleck to conclude he made a wise decision to take a break. His lungs took in a deep breath of air, savoring the scent of freshly processed oxygen through plant cells' chloroplasts. Much better than the stale and processed air present inside closed rooms and buildings. A pity more work couldn't be done outside. Always some, never all.

His feet tapped lightly on the pathway he walked down, eyes looking up through his spectacles. There was always more to see when looking skyward, he concluded both figuratively and physically, at least where archeology was unconcerned. For now, it was a properly destimulating experience to stare at the clouds.

Removing stimuli from the brain was important, no different than sleep. Removed addiction and immunities responses of the body. Immunity from stimuli meant an inability of focus, very bad. In all accounts. Oobleck took a long sip of his coffee at the thought. It was a wonder what a life without stimulus would be like. Would be too eventful or completely uneventful. Curious question, impossible without testing. Such a test, however, was immoral. Many more important questions anyways.

He had to figure out the best place to start searching for records regarding fairy fountains. History was unlikely, geology was possible, but mining incidents could also be a sort of information. Documentation of steam funnels, pockets, other minerals, all catalogued by miners. Very important. Notice of fountains with fairies? Perhaps, though unlikely. Would have generated mass attention if true. Perhaps it would be-

**WHOOSH!**

Oobleck jumped backwards at the sound.

His spectacles fell sideways on his face, coffee thermos emptying its contents on the ground by the sudden change in inertia. Legs bent, back stiff, he had fallen in to his hunter instincts instantly. He couldn't hear or see any threats on the ground, no vibrations to indicate it was subterranean, and no damage to any buildings. That left only one area of possibility.

His eyes turned skywards again, body twisting this time to maximize the amount of space being scanned through his optical nerves. There was a threat, or at the very least an alien presence in the air. The sudden sound was clearly the indication of air filling a vacuum, caused by a high speed airborne projectile. He now had to find the projectile, or the gunner, or other cause.

With his detail-oriented eyes, it took Oobleck little time.

Flying high in the air, ascending from what was previously a low altitude, was the figure of a golden avian creature. Difficult to judge without a reference but all indications showed it to be tall, very tall. His had a feathers that stretched half the length of its body, wings that could encompass entire desk, and a curious garment of green along its underbelly. Not only that, but as it spun, he could see a large bump of black along its back.

It took him a moment, but he recalled what the creature was, who it was more accurately. Tael had told him in detail about it, from an example of one of the many communities in Hyrule.

It was Queen Elrora, the former avian ruler of the Watarara.

And that black mass, hanging for what appeared to be dear life, was doubtlessly Blake Belladonna.

"Did you see that?!" Oobleck heard a student scream. It was met with the sound of dozens of feet running across the ground. Non-curious, obvious response, his response weren't he already here. "That thing just about slammed into the ground!"

"What was that?! A Nevermore? A new Grimm?"

"Didn't have a mask, and no way any Grimm is stupid enough to come onto Beacon grounds."

"Then what the heck was that!? It was even carrying something!"

Oobleck could feel the panic rising in the students. His students. It was his job as a doctor in Beacon to remedy the situation. He managed, just barely, to pull his eyes away from the wondrous example of faunus strength to look back to the ground.

He saw dozens of students piling into the courtyard, even more coming from the buildings. Elrora's passing must have shaken the nearby buildings. Good on Blake to hold on through that. Improper planning, however.

"Students! Calm yourselves!" He let out as loudly as he could, standing to his tallest. A few looked towards him, but not nearly all. "Though unexpected, quite unexpected, there is nothing to be afraid of! That is Queen Elrora of the Watarara!"

"Th-The what?" A young girl asked him. He took a moment to look her over. Terrified, but unharmed. No student was harmed. Good, and with a good question.

"She is a friend of Link's, a denizen of Hyrule." Those words made a lot more faces turn towards him. Good, but perhaps not.

"That thing is a friend of that faunus?!" A barbaric student yelled the question. Barbaric was a proper description of him, using faunus as a derogatory term. "Then it is attacking the Academy." The students' murmurs of discontent grew louder. Bad indeed.

"Completely incorrect!" Oobleck challenged back. Volume and strictness were important her. "Watarara are a nomadic species, prone to long periods of flight. She is no threat at all!"

"Look!" Another student yelled, pointing up at the sky now. Something must have happened. Oobleck looked up at the declaration.

Elrora was flying in a flat line, a continuous altitude. Her wings were fully expanded, leaving her underbelly completely exposed. She beat them once, twice, then held them still. The cycle repeated, four extra beats for the period of stillness, 4/8's time. She was letting the wind do the work. Brilliant. She turned sideways, turning without the use of tail feathers or wing direction.

Then Oobleck saw the reason for new attention.

It was impossible to not see Blake now, to not be able to identify her either. No other student wore a bow of black like she did. More than that, Blake couldn't identify any dark haired females that were close to Link, excluding those with long red capes. His short-term presence campus made it unlike for him to gather anymore friends.

The one riding on his back, or Elrora's back, appeared to be having a wonderful time. Obvious really. One hand was raised into the air, balled into a fist. An action that was common only in those having a high adrenaline induced moment of euphoria, common in sky divers and high speed automobile racers. Riding on the back of an avian faunus capable of creating vacuums in air qualified, likely.

Elrora banked again, Blake grabbing onto her and flattening herself atop the tall faunus. Then Elrora began to climb again, metaphorically of course. Oobleck watched her wings beat against the air, swimming through the collection of oxygen, nitrogen, and various other gas molecules. She pierced the lower lay of clouds with ease, making not a sound to those on the ground.

He could faintly make out the sounds of the students around him gossiping, talking really. That was to be expected. He had an opposite reaction to the same stimulus. Oobleck was speechless. Perhaps many would call that shocking enough.

Elrora finally straightened out again in the air, wings beating lightly to ensure a safe altitude. Blake didn't appear close to falling of either, though they were now far too high to judge properly. Such an altitude was commonly reserved for low-flying air vehicles, mainly student transport or airships. Oobleck wondered briefly if Elrora was either.

His thoughts shifted when he saw an obstacle in the air. That was incorrect. It was an obstacle in the air, rather, it was protruding into the air, reaching high into it from the ground below. It was possibly one of the tallest towers in Vale, let alone Beacon, and it was often the namesake of the school, green and ever bright.

Elrora and Blake were flying right towards Ozpin's tower.

"Are they gonna fly into the headmaster's office?" Oobleck heard a young woman ask. "I don't know if that's awesome or crazy."

"It's both, its definitely both." Oobleck was kind to agree. "Why is that bird even doing that? Is it gonna make a nest up there."

"Incorrect!" Oobleck shouted out once more. It was his duty to correct the students. "Watarara are a migrating tribe. They make no nests and settle only where cover is already provided. Likely assumption. Elrora is gaining an advantageous view of the Academy." And that was true.

Where he able to fly without the use of a Bullhead, being able to enjoy the sight of the ground from the air, the highest perch only meant you would see the most. It was logical, and he was glad his logic carried over to this foreign faunus. His mind must have been in the right place.

Just as expected too, Elrora and Blake perched atop the high tower, appearing little more than dots of gold and Blake against the bright green light of Ozpin's clock tower. Oobleck watched carefully through his spectacles as Blake unlatched herself from the avian faunus's back. On one of the outer rings of the tower, they set themselves down.

They really were little more than dots, even to Oobleck's trained eyes. If sight was hard to have, then sound was impossible to hear. He could do little more than speculate, wonder, imagine. That was wonderful and horrible. It meant—

A door opened.

No, literally, Oobleck reminded himself, a door opened.

It was only obvious by the sudden pitch of darkness that appeared in the otherwise blinding light of green. It was door at the top of the tower, just beside where Blake and Elrora had perched themselves. A figure was stepping through it, impossible to determine without better eyesight. Yet, by simple inference, Oobleck knew it had to be Ozpin. No one else would step from his office, the only room on the floor so high up.

He heard the school yard mustle and mumble as the three dots of figures moved along the tower's high ring. They were talking most likely, perhaps about the inappropriate use of flight. Likely. Or it could be about the improper method to reaching the highest point of Beacon, without permission. Also likely. It could also be Ozpin's curiosity, a force that rivaled Oobleck's own. Very likely.

Whatever the reason, he saw the three dots disappear into the door. Said door then vanished all the same.

Oobleck was glad he came outside. It really did stimulate the mind.

* * *

Ozpin stared at the pair of students across his desk.

He was not in shock, not caught in some over-expressive stillness of new information. He was simply thinking. Thinking while he stroked the tip of his chin with underside of his thumb. He kept his weight mug in his other hand, occasionally sipping on the caffeinated beverage inside. It helped him to focus, and focus was a necessity right now.

True, only one of the youths across from him was a student of Beacon, the other so only in name. He could not call them children either, for both had seen far too much to have any remnant of innocence left. One was a huntress-in-training, already having learned much from her shadowy past in the White Fang, a past Ozpin had already acknowledged and forgiven. The other was a hunter, and very clearly needed no training.

"These have been an active few hours, haven't they?" Ozpin asked the pair, eyes shifting from one to the other behind his small spectacles.

He was unsurprised to see Blake's passive sight at his question, arms crossed and very much on guard. Link, however, appeared to be honestly thinking of the question, eyes looking up and head rocking atop his neck. His final answer was a shrug, an action he knew the foreign faunus would make often.

"So, where to begin?" Ozpin asked the question aloud, though it was meant for himself. A recap seemed appropriate. "In the course of fulfilling a rather unsavory arrangement with Glynda and several outside parties, you were insulted then threatened by a student visiting from Atlas. You then proceeded to unleash what I assume was your Semblance, very nearly killing her before even Glynda, one of the most well-trained huntresses in all the four kingdoms, could react."

Ozpin was pleased only by the knowledge that Link showed no outward joy by the recap. No grunt of amusement, no snicker, not even a twitch. Only the same eyes staring forward, straight lips below, and a posture stiff and stone. If he had favor to his actions, it would have complicated things immensely.

"Garnet was trying to force Link to surrender one of his friends like a trophy," Blake intervened swiftly. "Insulting Link was not what baited him, but threatening to take away the only friends he has left. That would be enough to set anyone off."

"Certainly it could," Ozpin agreed. He pushed his arms outwards, stretching across his desk, before pulling them back in. "But we are hunters and huntresses, trained to defend others and kill Grimm. Never the other way around."

"Then are you going to expel Link from Beacon?" She already assumed an answer. It was clear in her tone, in her mannerisms, in the glare behind her narrowed eyes. Ozpin was right about Blake. Fiercely loyal, but to a fault.

He sighed, deeply, running a hand over his mouth before dropping it back to his desk. There were times where he loathed his job. This was one of them. Ozpin was honest. Dishonesty, even to be kind, was always detrimental in the long run. Sometimes more so.

"I feel another chance for Link would do more harm than good." Blake's reaction to his words were not unexpected.

"I'm not surprised. Abandon the faunus once the first sign of trouble comes." The faunus in hiding turned her head away with the statement, perhaps sickened by looking him. Humorous, perhaps, but utterly inappropriate.

"The first sign of trouble came when Link performed arts with Dust unheard by any of the four kingdoms, Blake." He spoke to the girl, but Ozpin turned his gaze to Link as he spoke on. This conversation was about the faunus in green. He should not be excluded. "It came again when he caused hundreds of thousands of lien in damages to the aquatic center. And now, it is because he has very nearly killed another student."

For his part, Ozpin could tell from the corner of his gaze that Blake was embarrassed by the words, humbled maybe. Humility was good, here at least. It showed she was not completely biased with her opinions, a trait required when tending to mediate situations. Link was a different story. He appeared different, for certain, but not humbled, that wasn't the right word. He his were shut, lips held in the same straight line, and chest slowly rising and falling. He was taking this as a scolding. Perhaps his training as a knight, perhaps the difference between his knighthood and their hunter training.

"However, what Glynda said to you before still stands. You are now a member of Beacon, and as such, we will defend you for as long as you deserve." Link blinked his eyes open. Excellent. "Her exact words may have varied, but the meaning behind them is the same."

Ozpin made sure they had complete contact before he spoke on.

"We defend our students till our last breath, no matter the mistakes they make." He turned his attention to Blake, only long enough to add an important amendment to his rule. "No matter who they are or where they are from."

The emerald headmaster was rewarded with a quick grin from Blake and soft sigh from Link. Both came and left like the wind, missed if not paying attention. He was though, he always did. Even with his back turned and attention elsewhere.

"But, that doesn't change that a mistake was indeed made. And with any mistake, you must either live with it or correct it." Ozpin circled a finger around his mug, feeling the moisture of the dark liquid that settled on the lip. "I prefer to have few nightmares when I sleep."

"Sir?" Blake spoke to him in a curious tone. Respect always, even if as just a veil. He sighed. That may very well change as the conversation unfolded.

"In truth, knowing more about you, we may have rushed your entry into Beacon." A half-truth. He knew it as he spoke it. It was a necessity to have Link enter Beacon as quickly as he could, especially with the other parties that would have doubtlessly exploited him. It was the position that was for question. Best to let the students figure that out.

"So Link should have waited?" Blake spoke again. It surprised Ozpin little. He knew she would be dominating the other side of the conversation, especially with Link's words being mute to him. "He should have just wandered back into the Everfall Forest and waited for the next set of testing to begin?"

"Perhaps," Ozpin returned easily. It was easy to agree with an extreme as long as there was a sliver of truth. "But in honesty Ms. Belladonna, my mistake was due to my haste, not the action itself." He watched the green-clad faunus blink choicely at his words, but still say nothing.

"And what do you think went wrong there?" Blake continued to accuse. He would blame her only when she crossed the line. "Assuming he knew all of the rules, pretending that he would fit in like any other human, or intervening only when it suited you?" She was close.

"I will not grace those questions with answers, Blake," he spoke her name now, earning a defensive reaction. "I do not regret treating Link as another student, though I do regret the… short-lived conditions the Military and Council attempted to force on him." Silence from the two meant agreement with his words. "No, my mistake is making Link a student at all."

He knew Blake would not speak, he knew he wouldn't able to hear Link if he could. Blake needed to think, to wonder about those words. Link was either taking this as very well, or he was internalizing it. One was clearly more beneficial than the other.

"I should have rethought my actions when Tatl and Tael gave stories of you slaying ancient Grimm at a child's age, when you were able to become warriors and queens of long dead friends, and certainly when you treated what most students consider a test for their lives as a jog in the park." Ozpin slowly stood with those words, sifting around the table as he did so. Blake's golden eyes followed him. Link's did not. Curious.

"Sir?" Blake asked in a curious tone. She was used to chains of command. He suspected that Link would have said the very same word, or one close to it. That was, however, a curiosity for another time.

"Beacon is a school for training hunters and huntresses," Ozpin went on. "You come here to learn how to fight Grimm, to protect the kingdoms, to be your very best." He placed his hand down on the side of his table, directing his gaze above his spectacles and towards Link. He waited, patiently, until the foreign faunus finally turned to gaze at him. He lips still did not move.

"But none who come here have already earned their marks as a Kingdom's Greatest Hunter, or in your case, Knight." The insinuation was obvious. He need not explain more.

Blake looked from him back to Link, her long dark locks momentarily billowing at the speed of her twist. Link gave her only a glance before reverting his attention back to the emerald headmaster. Keeping his gaze where the superior officer wanted them. A hunter through and through.

"It is my mistake, Link, that in my haste I did not think to treat you as a hunter." Ozpin bowed his head, removing eye contact as he turned from the two. He continued to walk around his desk until he too stood over the great glass that housed the gears of his tower. Ever moving, ever constant, never slipping. "I thought of you as a student, I judged you by sight alone. Too wrapped up in my own activities that I did not think to apply a bit more logic to your own situation."

"Ms. Goodwitch said much the same to Link before removing him from classes and announcing his job as a training dummy for Military studies." The bite in Blake's voice was obvious, but deserved. It would take years before she saw reality beyond the lens of bigotry.

"And it is why I have spent a great deal more time thinking on this," Ozpin spoke on. He turned back to face them. Neither had changed, aside from turning to face him. They never lifted eye-contact at least. "What Glynda did was done as a necessity, to prevent Link from being taken. You see much of the world in black and white, Ms. Belladonna, but if there is one area you are correct in, it is the Military's and Council's desire to remain in power. Unknowns disrupt that."

Link flinched. Ozpin immediately shifted his eyes to the faunus, staring at him unblinking. Silence reigned in his office momentarily, invited by the fixed gave Ozpin and Link offered one another. Neither blinked, neither looked away. The headmaster knew there was something there.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Blake asked the question naturally, and timely enough to earn both his and Link's attention. Her arms were crossed again, golden slit eyes staring at him curiously. The question was well-timed, practiced even. Given her history, he didn't doubt it. "Up the number of training sessions, have him fight the mecs from the Military encampment? What are you planning on doing now that you see Link as such a threat?" Now that made him blink.

"Ah threat?" He repeated, earning a nod from the young woman. Link merely breathed through his nose. "No no, you misunderstand. If I believed Link a threat, I would never have allowed him upon my Academy's Grounds." That was a fact, no secondary objective or meaning within it. His students were his life, and to endanger them for any reason but necessity was unforgiveable.

"Then, with respect, what it going on?" Blake's words were imploring. They were aided immensely by the nod of Link beside her.

The action wasn't as telling as the sudden jolt Ozpin knew he saw before, but it was enough. Enough to remind him and tell him that Link was here and a part of the conversation. Both were immensely important.

But that didn't mean he had to give up his reason so easily.

"It never ceases to amaze how quickly things are accomplished when enough minds agree with one another," Ozpin spoke. He let the ideas of his words stew in the minds of the youths before him. Their meaning and their reason for suddenly being spoken. "It took generations for us to reach a tentative form of peace between cultures, and even then it is hardly considered complete. Yet, promise enough powerful minds all a great reward, and they'll redraw maps to make it happen."

"Sir?" Blake asked confused, though impatience was beginning to leak into her voice as well. Ozpin could not blame her. He had a habit for being vague. It was a trait of his, one he enjoyed. Link only had a tilt to his head. Still better than blankly looking forwards.

"Shortly after Link's display, I arranged for an emergency meeting between the Council, Military, and myself. You might be impressed how quickly they were available once I used the word 'original." He watched Link, closely. The green faunus only blinked, a small raise of his brow aside from that. Interesting. Blake was silent, listening intently. "To what I am sure will be your lack of surprise, they deemed that you, Link, were a danger to the four kingdoms. The recommendation on what to do was just as obvious."

"They want to experiment on him." Ozpin was as unsurprised by Blake's deduction as he was by Link's final show of surprise. His head turned fast enough for his long green hat to lift, eyes dilated and pupils constricted. He was likely thinking imprisonment. Perhaps his home country was for the better if testing others was abhorred.

"Close enough to be correct." The emerald headmaster nodded. "But in case it is not as easy to deduce, I was far and away from agreeing with such a rash act." It was as bare as Link's words, but he was able to notice the small smile crawl over Blake's lips. She was pleased with his actions, good. "Instead, I sought a middle ground that all the involved parties could benefit from."

Ozpin looked back to his desk, reaching over it to grab the Scroll placed nearby. It wasn't her personal device, nor one confiscated for any student. It was a Scroll meant specifically for his office and controlled all devices within. The desk he sat at, the gears of the clock around it, and most importantly now, the television screen.

He slid his hand across the device, bringing up the documents he had been researching earlier. That, and so much more. They came to life on the screen in his office, Link and Blake both turning to look up to it. He did so to, once he had everything in order.

"The Council wants confirmation that any new power entry is within either their control or their reach. The Military wants to develop new technologies with any new finding it comes across. I, and therefore Beacon, want to keep the students and people of Vale safe. All interconnected, yet so commonly diverging when it comes to means and action."

Ozpin monologue the three powers as he walked to his students' sides. He had his hands folded behind his back, straight and proper. He was taught and instructed as much. He titled his head back to look at the objects on the screen.

"Professor Ozpin," Blake finally spoke his name. "Is that what I… think it is?"

"It is indeed Ms. Belladonna," Ozpin confirmed, nodding his head. He stared at the document on the screen, front and center.

An Official Hunter's License.

A Hunter's License, signed by Ozpin, stamped in the name of Beacon, and bearing the image of Link atop of it.

Ozpin looked to the faunus in question, grinning as he saw the faunus look back at him. He was blinking, mouth slightly agape, as he regarded the headmaster. He was shorter, maybe by half-a-foot, perhaps more, but Ozpin still saw him as strong.

"It is as I said earlier," Ozpin spoke on. "It was my mistake to not see you as this before. You have more strength and training then any student, fighting ancient Grimm and perhaps a war if your companions are to be believed. Placing as a student was a simple, but hasty, decision on my part. For that, I apologize."

Link was looking from the screen back to him, blinking in between. That was… curious. He expected a bit more surprise, disbelief perhaps. Link appeared… confused. Then he remembered what Glynda mentioned earlier.

"You don't know what that is, do you?" Oddly or ironically, it was Blake who asked the question. For the first time since stepping into his office, the two faunuses turned to one another. Link shook his head, confirming what both Blake and Ozpin thought. "Right, that makes sense. Whatever your means of identifying Hunters in your land, it is probably different than ours."

"Knights, Ms. Belladonna," Ozpin lightly corrected. The teacher in him, he supposed. "Hunters in Hyrule are Knights. A title assigned by a monarch to his or her most loyal soldiers." He turned his attention to Link when he spoke that final line. "At least it is how it was in our past. Knights to serve the hierarchy while soldiers fought in the army." He nodded at him, most likely in understanding. That was good.

"Right," she nodded towards him, only before looking back to Link. "That's a sort of identification for a hunter. It signifies authority to hunt Grimm in danger zones, undertake high ranked missions, and at times pardon misdemeanor crimes. It's what all the students at Beacon are working to receive."

"And I have confidence that one day you all will." Ozpin smiled down to her, but he soon turned his attention back to Link, the real topic of the conversation. "But for now, I believe all can agree Link has the power, skill, and training to qualify. The only true question left is his ability to integrate into the four kingdoms. But as I've said, I believe any negative outlook thus far has been because of my own hasty actions, not stopping to make clear the land you have found yourself within."

Link blinked at him once more, nodding with a slight twitch to his lips. It wasn't clear if it was for a smile or frown. But his azure gaze looked back up to the screen, framing Link's identification card. It wasn't actually real, not yet anyways. If it was easy to create one, there would be thousands of forgeries and far fewer students in his academy. There were a few checkboxes that had to be filled.

"There's something I'm not understanding though," Blake spoke, turning back to Ozpin. "You said the members of the council wanted to… use Link. How is granting Link a hunter's license going to fix that? If anything it sounds as if it will amplify the problem." Ozpin was glad Blake was the member of RWBY present. He honestly feared that any other member would merely congratulate Link.

"That is because I cannot give this to Link just yet," Ozpin further explained. Give the proper answer when they ask the correct question. Lectures were easy to ignore. Students always remembered best the answers questions they asked. "As you said, the Military and Council seek to use Link. The only reason they cannot do so is his current commitment to Beacon, if only on paper. However, with this recent… mishap, shall we say, the Council will likely find grounds to claim Link a danger and demand his turnover."

Link looked back at him now, eyes off the screen. There was no more curiosity in his gaze, nor confusion. He knew well and he knew clear what they wanted. Ozpin was glad for that much, at least.

"There is no intention to do so, Link," the emerald headmaster assured once more. He would say it a hundred times if need be. "In fact, I believe I may have found a way to set you in your proper place in these strange new lands, all while offering you a lesson on how the four kingdom's work." He didn't appear any more enlightened by the words. It took only a glance to see that Blake was not either. "Before you ask me a question, Ms. Belladonna, please allow me to ask one of my own." The hidden-faunus stilled for a moment, but nodded slowly. He smiled gratefully before speaking on.

"Aside from schooling under one of the four academies, what else is required to earn the title of huntress?" It was a simple question, one most students learned before they ever reached the higher academies. Even members of the citizenry would know.

"To show proper skill, ability, and knowledge in the slaying of Grimm." She recited the words. Ironic that she sounded almost akin to Ms. Schnee as she did so. He nodded towards her.

"Precisely." It was the only word he spoke before the tapped on the scroll again, closing the image of Link's future license, and bringing up a new one. It was actually an image sent to him, taken by a mini-drone. He had seen it before, and was none-too-happy to do so.

High up on the screen was a Creeper. A Creeper easily the size of three stacked train cars. In simpler words, an Ancient Grimm. The silence from behind him was expected, especially from Link.

"This," Ozpin spoke again, swiping a finger across his pad to magnify the image. "Is a Creeper that is calculated to have reached two hundred years of age." He twisted the image, on his screen, showing the many other angles the drone had taken the picture from.

It showed the Grimm's claws reaching across a barren land, cracks forming with its every step. Dozens of smaller Creepers were lined around its gargantuan body, following their elder obediently. It had scales black as night, wore a mask whiter than snow, and had red eyes sharper than many swords that had been forged. White bony protrusions charged out of its dark scabby hide, appearing sharp enough and hard enough to reduce a carrier to scrap.

It was bellowing upwards, giving off a great call as if just slaying an unseen foe. It was entirely possible given the nature of Grimm, especially the ancient beings.

"Found by the Military at one of their DMZ's, it is being secured until a proper method of its disposal can be found. They were close to contracting a hunter's team to dispose of it… until news of Link came in." Ozpin looked to Link with his words, Blake glancing between them. She was, unsurprisingly, the first to speak.

"They want Link to slay the Grimm." Wise indeed, no one could ever say otherwise of the young woman. " _You_ want Link to kill it." Her hand pointed at him accusingly. It would have been rude, were it not correct.

"I do," he admitted. He kept his gaze on Link for a moment, studying the silent faunus. He didn't do any more than blink. Interesting. "And like I said earlier, it is amazing how quickly things are done when all parties agree. The Military has arranged to hold off on the slaying until Link's arrival, the Council has granted a pass for him and all required parties, and I have no desire to put a stop to my own plan."

"Your plan…" Blake repeated, letting the word die off. "Their plans are what I'm afraid of more." He smiled at her, silently grateful. Her sharp golden eyes did not return the gesture. She looked back to Link instead. "No doubt they want you to slay that Grimm alone."

Link looked back at her, mouth opening and shutting in a hair's length of time. Maybe he spoke, perhaps he did not. Ozpin could not have told either way. Blake, however spoke on.

"They're probably planning on you dying fighting it, so they can claim ownership of everything you have, even your corpse." He watched the young girl swing her arm, likely imaging the cruelties of her past. The depth in her scowl made that more than evident.

Ozpin looked beyond them for a moment, to the sun slowly fading over the horizon. His office did offer an excellent view, being placed atop a high clock tower. The gears that clicked and rumbled beneath his feet kept him rooted to the world. The view from above kept his mind in the future. Both were needed to lead the next generation. And now, with this new entry to the world, he needed all of his wisdom in spades.

"It doesn't matter if you have done it before." Blake spoke on, clearly answering one of Link's mute responses. Ozpin was a little jealous. "I have no doubt that you have done so, maybe dozens of times before, but even if you succeed here, they will only ask you to continue on these suicidal tasks until you do die." She shook her head, clearly loathing her own words.

"They may just arrange for it." He was silent for too long.

"And that is precisely where I come in." He spoke up, earning both the attention of Blake and Link. "The Military claims this can be used to study new methods to counter large Grimm, the Council for simple measuring Link's capabilities. Those are their claims, and we now those to be only guises. I, however, claimed that this would be recompense for Link's attack upon Garnet." Link didn't appear moved by the words. Interesting, perhaps worrying. He couldn't be sure.

"But that's not your true purpose." She noted, not asked. "And the Council would have to be under the assumption of being able to do multiple research assignments of Link. They would not settle for a single project. The Military as well must be thinking they will gain something more from Link, maybe his loyalty or use as a weapon." Link looked at her now. That wasn't odd to Ozpin.

What was odd was the way he sighed, quietly at her words. A sigh was made out of resignation or fatigue. He was clearly not tired, as he had not been thus far. Resignation meant he had acceptance. Acceptance this quickly meant prior experience. Now where had he gained that? But… that was a question for another time. Blake had assumed much, correctly at that.

"Though Ms. Schnee may be called the most knowledge in team RWBY, it is clear you are perhaps the most wise," he complemented, making a confirming noise as he drew his lips. Blake did much the same. "Though no words were spoken, I believe both the Military and Council believe Link will die during this test. When he does so, they will claim all of his items for themselves." He turned his attention to Link now, who was gazing back. It was a hard glare, but it showed nothing more. "However, from what I have seen so far and heard from your fairy companions, I believe you will come through. Do you?"

Link did not hesitate to nod. He even had a grin over his lips. Brave or foolish, it was impossible to tell until the test was finished.

"And when he does?" Blake continued, showing her wisdom by not settling at a noble end. She needed the true one. She was like Glynda in a way, though smaller and a little more impulsive. "What are you going to do to make sure Link isn't going to be used?" Ozpin didn't answer immediately. Not because he was unsure or searching for answer, but because something interesting caught his eye. It wasn't even subtle.

Blake placed her hand over his shoulder, gripping the green fabric tightly, possessively.

Link looked at her hand too, but only for a moment. The grip looked strong, possessive even, like one friend ready to do anything to defend the other. It was hard for Ozpin to pass it off merely as loyalty to another faunus now. Even a former member of the White Fang would need more to go so far. Fortunately, he didn't need to craft a lie or fable to convince her. He knew the truth would do just fine.

"When Link kills the Ancient Grimm," Ozpin began, walking past the two and towards the screen. He waved his scroll in the air as he did so. "He will have satisfied the critical requirement for becoming a licensed hunter. None of the other parties were told or mentioned this, however even a wise member who figures it out may find it inconsequential. What would it matter if Link became an official hunter? He could still be considered a threat, a danger, and much else. If anything, it would only be a reason why he could not be protected by Beacon Academy."

"I'm saying this only because Yang is not here, but you are doing a very poor job at making this decision seem wise." That made Ozpin chuckle. Perhaps more eloquent than the Y of RWBY would put it, but the point was easy to find.

"That's because they don't realize what that means." Ozpin left of. He tapped on the clear screen of his scroll a few times, adjusting the image being projected.

The picture of the Ancient Grimm faded, only to be replaced by a document of text. Not his personal favorite item to view, but often times necessary. It wasn't too long, only a few paragraphs, but he had studied them like scripture.

"These are the minimum requirements for a hiring position at Beacon Academy." His words were immediately rewarded with Link's and Blake's heads spinning to him. "I have read over these requirements several times, looked to every other paper they referenced, and even did a light dabble in the history of their changes." He waved his hand over the screen, motioning towards it all.

"There are three immutable requirements to be met. Number one, backing and support of a Council Recognized Hunter's Academy. I assure you that you satisfy that with me." He nodded towards Link before continuing on. "Number two, no outstanding criminal past or ties. Given your new arrival here, I can say that is unlikely. This agreement being struck up will eliminate any outliers that may be conjured up. And Number three, be a registered and active hunter." Now a bit of patience, an ounce of silence. It worked as expected.

"Professor, what does this mean?" Ozpin could blame the weight of the matter being thrown so quickly for the disorientation of Blake. It was difficult for him to entirely grasp at first as well. Thankfully necessity made many things easy.

"What this means, Link, Ms. Belladonna," Ozpin spoke their names, stepping towards them before turning around to face the screen again. He held his free arm up to it again, pointing at the glass display. "Is that in no prior or past requirement of the qualifications does it state that a teacher must be a member of the four kingdoms, must be acknowledged by both the Military _and_ Council, or be any one species." That made Blake widen her eyes, but only before narrowing them.

"Teachers at Beacon are given more freedoms than students. Teachers are given more room to explore, fewer restrictions to abide, and perhaps most importantly, complete independence from the other ruling bodies. Simply, they answer only to the headmaster. Me."

Link hadn't said a word the entire conversation, and Ozpin knew he wouldn't have heard him if he had. But when he spoke those words, Link did make an action that made it clear he was attempting to say something. Lifting his arm, pointed one stray finger at the emerald headmaster. The meaning was rather clear to Ozpin.

"Yes," he answered the unspoken question. "And I can promise you with both my word as a Hunter and teacher that I would only continue to encourage you to find your friend within our land. I would no sooner cage you here then would I wish harm upon my students." Cryptic responses had no place where earnests needed to reside.

Link made another action then, Blake silent by him all the while. It was perhaps her wisdom that told her to allow him to speak in his way. It was only another simple gesture though, one he had done before with a small twist. A shrug of his shoulders, but this time with accompanied raised hands. Not a dismissal of facts or suggestions, but a question to Ozpin himself. Just as easy to read.

But before he responded, Ozpin turned his attention to Blake. She may have no say in the decision, but he would be a fool to think she could not explain to Link which way to sway.

"Because I believe you can be more benefit to the world alive and free then being trapped and studied." Now Ozpin turned his gaze to Link, staring just as hard and honestly to the green-clad faunus. "And because I promised you, Glynda promised you, Beacon as a whole promised you that you would be safe so long as you were a member of this place. You may be too strong and skilled to be a student, but there is still another position you can take."

"Link," Ozpin began, staring at the foreign faunus that promised so much, and all so silent. "What I am planning, and what I am asking, is that when the Grimm is defeated, when you have done enough to ward off the reaching hand of the Military and Council, in that brief moment of respite, is for you to come back to Beacon."

He held out his hand to the faunus, extending towards Link as they had the first time they had met. There was so much more weighing on this decision now.

"When you have earned your hunter's license, will you return to Beacon and teach my students?"

He knew the question was far form unobvious, but cryptic messages were not meant for important questions. For now, he needed Link to know what he was asking, speaking in a way that went around any confusion of cultural boundaries. He needed to be direct, and for that, he needed to be specific.

Link's answer came faster than even Ozpin expected.

He grasped the emerald headmaster's hand, staring up at the taller man. His grip was strong, eyes sharp, and smile as confident as his fairy's words. When his mouth moved silently to Ozpin, past the headmaster's spectacles, his answer, relayed through Blake, did not disappoint.

"Of course," Blake said. Ozpin could tell by the awe in her voice and breathlessness she had that she was merely repeating what Link was saying. A part of him wondered if this was a part of her dream being realized, to see a faunus take a position of high power among Beacon. "H-He says of course! He agrees, he'll do it!"

Ozpin smiled, if only to himself, as Blake let her eagerness and joy take over. He released link as she grabbed him with both hands, holding the likely elder faunus closer, staring up at him. He looked back down at her gaze, blinking likely out of confusion for the suddenly closer proximity. It was not an easy thing to adjust to. The feline faunus either didn't mind or didn't care.

She wrapped him in a hug, burying herself into his chest. He let out a strangled noise of surprise. Ozpin didn't even attempt to hide his laughter now. He was sure that any other parties present would either be doing much the same or whistling like wolves.

"Link," Blake spoke against his chest. "I… I don't think you realize how amazing this is. You're a faunus, one of the first faunus to be given a position like this. No restrictions, no limitations, and being encouraged to work at Beacon. This is… you're going to be something amazing!" Blake couldn't see it from her position, but Ozpin could see a choice expression bleed and dry over Link's face.

A sour twist of dislike. Perhaps this was moving too far too fast.

"Please relax, Ms. Belladonna," he encouraged the young girl, lightly tapping on hers shoulder as he did so. She released her hold on Link, tacking a few quick steps back as she tucked a stray strand of dark hair behind her ears. Embarrassment, doubtlessly. "There is a point I need to make, one I'm sure neither of you will have any trouble agreeing with."

"Yes? And that is?" It was almost humorous how more excited Blake was knowing what was to come. Then again, perhaps that was the nature of all living things. It seemed likely enough.

"I need the two of you to withhold this information for now." He spoke the command as he walked beyond them again. He circled his enlarged desk as he spoke on. "While I have no qualms with you calming your friends with news of what Link will do to appease the Council and Military, I request you keep the end game we have discussed private until the necessary time. Talk as you will up to registration for his license, as I believe the Council will deduce that much well enough. But, make no mention of your future sessions." He put his eyes on Link, who nodded at the words. Good enough.

Ozpin pulled the chair out from his desk, sitting down it before turning back towards his large desk space. He made no move for his coffee mug. Not yet anyways.

"Before you ask, I have told both of you this so that you are aware of my instructions when the time is appropriate. I'd hate to ask a question and make plans if the key players are not willing to join." He laughed lightly, enjoying the joke he made. Neither of them joined in. A pity.

But still work needed to be done.

"Now," he began, lifting the clear scroll that controlled his office back to himself. "If you will both sit, we will need to discuss the finer points of the test, in order to eliminate any technicalities that may hinder Link's passing, agreed?"

Ozpin was encouraged himself with both of the faunuses nodded their heads towards him. Both seemed eager as well, both smiling, though one clearly brighter than the other. The fault of being foreign and given domestic news, he supposed.

Tapping on his pad, and bringing for the key images and documents, the trio began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	5. The Best Laid Plans

This was weird. Pretty sure there was no other word for it, at least not to Jaune. Maybe horrifying. That was close, too. Horrifying and weird. Probably the two worst words to use to describe a situation. And yet, that was all he could think of.

They were on their way to the Badlands, the home of more Grimm than anywhere else in all of Remnant. Beowolves, Creepers, Goliaths? Oh yeah, they were all there. But according to Weiss, it only got better. There were also Ancient Grimms.

Grimm more powerful than some of the strongest tools in the military, older than any of the kingdoms, and as intelligent as scholars. That was why horror worked pretty well here. Scary things tended to be horrifying.

The weird though? They were going here for a test. A test for a faunus from a foreign land that was nearly his twin. Weird was a pretty good word for that. Odd just wasn't strong enough. Creepy didn't work either, not when Link was only ever smiles and shrugs… even when cutting a girl into nearly fractions… maybe creepy did work.

"Are we almost there?" Jaune's thoughts were shaken by Yang's question. "I'm getting sores from sitting for so long." That reminded him pretty quickly where they were. No, more specifically, how they were getting there.

An airship of course. Airships were the best way to travel, second to none, or so everyone from Vale to Atlas said. Didn't help that he could stand motion like this… or heights… or horrible dangers like the badlands. Oh yeah, those were all bad, very bad in fact. Things that could kill you without any effort, those were pretty high on the ladder for bad.

"We will be arriving at the DMZ in approximately 4 minutes, Ms. Xia Long," Ms. Goodwitch spoke up from the other end of the tight ship. There was only ever one area for passengers to sit in. One area that was determined to show of all the time just how high up in the air they were. That was always bad.

"If I may ask, what will happen specifically at the DMZ?" That was Pyrrha. Jaune would recognize her voice anywhere. Kinda hard to forget the girl that had saved your life a dozen times over. "I understand that Link is going to be tested to slay an Ancient Grimm… but-"

"We will be meeting with General Ironwood first and foremost," Ms. Goodwitch interrupted. Jaune had his head between his legs, the best way to prevent the motion sickness from getting to him, but he could pretty well imagine the professor was typing on her pad the whole time. "He will be given instructions and limitations to Link, specifically to prevent any danger to the DMZ or Link. We will be escorted to an observation room where we and members of the Council will oversee the battle."

"Okay, yeah, but-" That was Yang again, but she was shut down faster than Pyrrha was.

"We are not staying here as long term guests. If all goes well, we should be on our way back to Vale before the day's end. The Grimm has already been researched and isolated thanks to military efforts, but are now awaiting Link to destroy it."

A part of Jaune, the part of him that realized more than he liked to say out loud, told him that there was probably a lot more planning behind those words. Probably hours and hours' worth of meetings organize everything with the Military, Council, and Beacon, not to mention fast-tracking Link for this test. But he really didn't want to know all of that. He was sure of that much. Being sure was a good thing.

He groaned as he lifted his head up, letting it drop back onto his knees. Pyrrha put her hand on his back, probably to help support him. That was nice of her, which was always a good thing. He didn't speak though, afraid he would hurl.

His eyes fell to Link, the faunus who had started all of this. That sounded to Jaune a whole lot darker in his head than he intended it to be.

Long pointed green hat on his head, tunic secured with a pouch-filled leather belt and, of course, his red gem encrusted sword and shield on his back. He was standing near the back of the ship, watching the path behind them. Jaune didn't have the courage to do that, heights and everything. Even though Jaune couldn't see Link's face, his faunus-double facing away from him, he was sure he was smiling. Given the circumstances, kinda hard to judge if that was a good or bad thing.

Blake sat next to him, looking nervous and on edge, though probably for different reasons than himself. He didn't put too much thought into it. If there was one lesson his sisters had taught him, it was to avoid reading women. Apparently it was always a dark and horrible trail, according to his eldest sister. That sounded bad at least.

But… if he guessed by how his sisters acted, Blake seemed more nervous about Link, constantly looking at him and then back to the front of the airship. All the while her long nails clicked against her clothes. She looked ready to scratch someone's eyes out. He did his best to avoid saying it was appropriate.

The rest of his team and RWBY were scattered about the airship, either standing, sitting, or flat out lying on the ground. That was Nora, of course. Couldn't trust she was alright unless she was doing something odd. Then again, Ruby was doing the same thing. Maybe they were excited about having the airship to themselves. Then again, maybe they were just being kids. Ruby was still a kid after all.

The airship lurched in mid-air. Turbulence. It made his stomach turbulent for a moment as well, shaking its contents. He groaned at the action.

"Oh hey! You can see the outpost now!" That was Tatl, at least Jaune was pretty sure it was. Kinda hard to ignore that high-pitched voice. She did sound really excited though. "Oh by Time, it looks like one of the fortresses you'd see at the Gerudo Checkpoint. It's got enough people walking around it to make it a castle even! But geez, couldn't they have made it look like anything else but a big block of metal?"

"I… I-I think it's supposed to be like that, sis. I mean, it is supposed to between the Gerudo and the monsters, right?" That was Tatl. Kinda sounded like Jaune did actually, but a few years younger. "I just… what's with all those giant metal doors? They look like they could hold dragons."

"Those?" Weiss now. Had to be Snow Angel. Jaune could practically hear her putting her hands on her hips as she spoke. "Those are air-craft hangers designed to house high-speed and powerful flight crafts. On average, they can reach speeds over thrice the speed of sound while carrying payloads of Dust strong enough to flatten mountains." That was scary in a different kind of way.

"Geez… Isn't that called overkill?" Tatl asked without missing a beat. "No wait, better question, why do you need knights when you got stuff like that?" Actually, Jaune was surprised he knew the answer to that. Too bad he didn't have the stomach to answer right now.

"The difference between a sword and a hammer," he heard Ren spoke. Whenever he did speak, it was also for a point. "High accuracy and precision, damaging only a very small area, or a very powerful blow that decimates all. Trained hunters that kill only the Grimm, or an indiscriminate bomb that, quotes, blow up a mountain."

"Then… why don't you just blow up the Grimm out here?" Tatl again, and actually with a pretty good question. "I mean, it was made pretty clear to us that there's really nothing out here. Just mountains, dirt… and monsters."

"Because the Grimm that aren't killed would be spread into the four kingdoms." Weiss was talking like it was out of a book. Probably was actually. Jaune noted he should start reading more too. "A mass bombing such as that was proposed three decades ago, but basic calculations showed that Grimm with high intelligence would be able to reach an area of protection from the bombs, and would then be able to invade nearby towns or cities. It is more cost-effective and safe to regulate the more extreme monsters to the badlands." Yup, definitely a book.

"We are now beginning our descent." Ms. Goodwitch spoke the words, and they sounded like church bells to Jaune. "When we arrive, Link will be expected to meet with Ironwood post-haste. Is that clear?" Even though it probably didn't mean much, Jaune still shook his head. He had to swallow something wet to keep his stomach calm.

His stomach shifted as he felt the ship sink the sky. Hard to tell if that was good or bad. They were going to land, which was always a good thing, but he was probably going to vomit, which was always a bad thing. Suddenly staying back at Beacon was looking to be a great option.

The ship shook suddenly, but came to dead still when it was done. That was as clear a sign as ay that they had actually landed. Relief poured out of Jaune in the form of a pleasured groan. He then proceeded to fall face forward to the ground, head smacking first. That was okay, he guessed; it was better than vomiting.

A loud clang of steel got his attention, forcing him to rise to his feet. Well… more like push himself off the ground first. His legs weren't strong enough to stand on quiet yet. He was able to see the back of the airship opening up, showing them the way to the Badlands. Great.

"Me first! Me first!" Jaune wasn't even fazed to see Nora skipping out of the ship, twirling in mid-air as she hit the dirt outside. "Tada! I'm the first one here. That means I win a prize!" Thankfully, her laughter ruined any need to explain why that wasn't going to happen.

"Are you going to be alright, Jaune?" His partner's worry finally reached him, evident from the hand over his chest plate, helping him stand. He rose to his feet shakily, nodding his head as he did so. He couldn't worry her, not any more than she already did. He swallowed again before responding.

"Yeah, just… just gotta get my bearings again. I really hate flying." To Pyrrha, it was probably like telling a fish that water was wet. Both just that obvious. He at least got a small smile over her features. That was good. Smiles usually meant everything was going just right.

"We should probably hurry then," Pyrrha suddenly said. "Everyone else is already on the ground." They were? Jaune cast his eyes around the airship, getting the first solid look around it since they took off. Sure enough, they were alone. That was… he didn't know. Must have been on the ground longer than he thought.

"Y-Yeah, we should go." Jaune puffed out his chest as he turned towards the exit, the metal of the hull clinking as he walked across it. Pyrrha was just beside him, though her hands now removed. The airship was meant to house dozens, so it took a bit of time before they reached the exit. When they did, however, Jaune got his first eyeful of the DMZ of the Badlands.

Just like the fairies had said, it was a structure almost completely made out of steel. There were no glass windows, no wooden doors, and no trace of color aside from the shiny gray that made up the exterior. He saw the odd line or two, probably divots in the steel to allow cameras to sit in. Doors that he could see ranged from just small enough to walk into monstrous enough to fly an airship into. He criticized himself. That was _exactly_ what they were meant for.

But aside from all that, the size of the place… was… underwhelming. Of course, he was comparing it to Beacon, or Atlas's Military Fleet, or basically any other major institution he had seen. Compared to that, the dorms at Beacon were larger, friendlier too. There was probably a reason for that at least. Maybe to avoid attention? Yeah, that would make sense. No need to invite death when it was already next door. That was certainly true.

The whole landscape around the place was just gray and brown. It looked like a fire had passed through it and nothing had bothered to try and grow again. Oh sure, the sky was still blue and the clouds still white, but it just looked… alien next to the dead ground they stood on. It was creepy, really creepy. That's was another point in favor of horrifying.

"General Ironwood," Ms. Goodwitch's voice stole Jaune's attention. His eyes snapped to a tall man dressed in white, standing in front of the professor and the rest of his team, RWBY, and Link. He was tall, that much was clear, standing over Ms. Goodwitch with arms folded behind his back. Slicked back hair and a stern look on his face, general certainly fit the bill.

"Professor Goodwitch," the general returned, his voice sounding muscular even. Probably from shouting orders all day. Jaune didn't dare say that aloud, that would be really bad. "I am glad to see that you have all arrived without incident. You especially, Master Link." Oh yeah, that was why they were here.

Jaune's eyes fell to Link, whom stood only shoulder high to General Ironwood. The only thing Jaune could tell with any confidence was that he was looking up. Other than that, he couldn't guess what Link was thinking or getting ready to say from behind. However, Tatl and Tael more than made up for it. Or, more accurately, just Tatl.

"Yup, we're here and all set to go. Let's just start this monster hunting business, m'kay?" The air was already frigid, but Jaune felt it go ice cold with how easily Tatl spoke to Ironwood. It was like insulting a bull!

That was until the general smirked.

"Ah yes, you must Tatl, correct?" He unfolded one of his arms and pointed at the golden mini-drone. She bounced in mid-air at the question. That was a nod, probably at least. "That makes you Tael," Ironwood's hand swung lightly to the other mini-drone. Another bounce, but far lighter and with less energy. Probably still a nod.

"They are companions of Link that will be assisting him on the Grimm hunt." Ms. Goodwitch spoke up again. And, of course, she was typing on her pad as she did so. She must always be working on a novel with how much she typed on that thing. "This has been cleared within the bounds of the test."

"Of course, I have no objections," Ironwood waved his hand at the comment. It was almost disturbing seeing someone that tall smiling. Not creepy just… it put Jaune on edge. "In place of a full team, I can hardly object to two companions as these two. If I had to suspect, what they lack in battle experience, they make up in knowledge."

"Got that right, pal!" Again, Jaune was horrifying fascinated to see Tatl fly up to Ironwood's face as she said that. She would probably do that to a Grimm if she had the chance. "Between the three of us, there isn't anything in all of Hyrule that can stand up to Link! He was the strongest warrior there was, a hero, and nothing is going to change that."

"I have no doubt you speak truthfully." Jaune was just as amazed at how easily Ironwood took that yelling. Actually, no, he was just glad there wasn't a battle out here. "The very fact that Link is too powerful for any students at Beacon is proof of his strength. However, that is also what has placed him in this precarious situation." Oh crap, this Ironwood was like a taller Ozpin.

"Are you saying what I-" Tatl's doubtlessly rage filled words were cut off by the general.

"However, we should continue this conversation inside," Ironwood spoke as he turned, folding one arm behind his back as he swept the others towards a vacant doorway. "The DMZ is a safe zone, but the word doesn't mean much when we are on the edge of Grimm territory." Going inside suddenly sounded like a really good idea.

"Sweet, finally getta see the inside of a Military base. Do we get a tour, too?" Yang had her hands folded behind her head as she asked the question, already walking towards the door. Between her and Tatl, there wasn't such a thing as respect for authority.

"Only as far as necessary," Ironwood, again, easily returned. He stood still as everyone walked by him, Jaune walking just behind Ruby and Pyrrha just behind him. "As you said, this is a Military Institution. Meaning many areas are designed for only high level access. Even as guests, you won't see much more than you'd see in an introductory video."

"Can't say I'm surprised," Jaune almost jumped at Blake's voice. It was the first time he heard her talks since they left. "Wouldn't want any secrets being exposed?" Her voice started to echo as they finally walked inside the base. With how tight the corridors were, Jaune was thankful he wasn't claustrophobic. That would be bad.

"Yes, that, and of course the multitude of high-yield dust weaponry being stored for emergency use." Honestly, that didn't surprise Jaune. He didn't know a better place to store the stuff than right next to wear it was going to be used, like his toothbrush by the sink. "We can't very well say we are protecting the citizens of Remnant if we allow a few students to harm themselves with our weaponry." Jaune was starting to like this guy, if only because he didn't seem to have a berserk button. Kinda the opposite of Ms. Goodwitch, or Yang… or Pyrrha… or Cardin… or anyone else in his life.

"So where are we heading?" Ruby asked now. Thank the heavens Ruby. She was young and crazy, but she was team leader for some reason. "Are we going to the top floor to see all the Grimm out in the Badlands, or deep down into the basement behind hundreds of feet of steel?" That was Ruby alright, crazy to the core.

"You, Ms. Rose," Ironwood began, walking past the group arranged in the narrow hallway, just enough room for him to get by, and stand in now that Jaune thought about it. "Are going to the observatory near the top floor. The actual top floor is reserved for personal trained to use the artillery rifles housed up there." Okay, yeah, that made sense. Kinda creepy, sure, but hey it made sense. "Link, on the other hand, is going to accompany me to the hangar, where we will show him the location of the Grimm needed to be slain." Right, that was why they were here. Guess it was kinda easy for Jaune to push that kind of stuff from his mind. Danger and all.

"Sweet, so we get to head there ourselves then?" Yang sounded pretty happy when she asked that question. "Walk around the DMZ, alone, unescorted, trusting us to get where we need to go?" Oh, that was why.

"No, Ms. Goodwitch will escort you." Ironwood's voice never changed as he spoke. Jaune, on the other hand, could almost hear Yang's grin fall. "If there is anyone I can trust to make sure you go where you are expected, it will be her." Definitely he wasn't wrong there. "I trust you know how to get there?"

"The elevator at the end of the hall to floor thirteen. I have the access codes ready." There was no part of that that really surprised Jaune. If she had to ask a question, then he would be shocked.

"I will join you soon after Link is all set." Ironwood's hand fell on said faunus's shoulder as he said the words. Link looked at the hand, its size near dwarfing the rest of Link's arm, but didn't do much more than that.

Without anther word, Ironwood turned towards the wall behind. That got Jaune, got him all the way until Ironwood put his other hand on it. A myriad of clicking and rolling echoed through the thin hallway, all rumbling past the steel walls.

Then, like a theatre door, a section of the steel wall fell downwards. The whoosh of air made Jaune almost shiver, but it was the sight behind it that really did him in.

The invisible door General Ironwood opened looked into a massive hanger. Jaune didn't need to think twice about what it was. The airships, ranging in size from small to colossal were all aligned within the large room, each sitting upon long thick cables that hang from a ceiling too high for Jaune to see, at least without stepping into the hanger itself.

Sound echoed from within now, much clearer without the thick steel between them. Dozens to likely hundreds of other military personal were working about the hanger, some tapping on pads like Professor Goodwitch or working with tools on the suspended airships. Maintenance, undoubtedly, both on the parts themselves and the systems. It would be really bad of either of those failed.

But… everyone that was in there, all of them working so close to the Grimm… a part of Jaune told him that was good, probably cause none of them really objected to being here. They were ready to go off and fight as soon as they had to. That was good, but really scary. That was… what a hunter was supposed to be… huh…

"Now then," Ironwood spoke up again. "I will be showing Link his means to enter the Badlands. I trust to see you all soon."

No one had time to object, not before Ironwood turned and stepped through the door way, Link quickly following. But before the door shut, turning the massive room into just a thin hallway again, Jaune caught Link turn and looking back at the group. No… that wasn't right. He was looking at just one person.

He was looking at Jaune.

That made the boy blink. But before he could ask a reason for the sudden attention, Link took a step forward, raising his arm, and patted him on the shoulder. A part of Jaune shuddered. This was foreboding in every sense of the word, like watching a squire being knighted before running off to chase a dragon.

But before Jaune could say, or probably more like mumble, any questions, Link had taken his hand off and returned to Ironwood's waiting form. Another second later, the large plate of steel rose and pushed itself back into place, turning the room into nothing more but a thin hallway again.

"What was that about?" He heard Weiss ask. He wanted to say distantly, but with how everything echoed in the thin metal hallway, nothing was really far away. Besides, he didn't have an answer for his snow angel either way.

"Probably the 'loyal knight' trying to ease Jaune's nerves." Yang again. "A blind man could see that Vomit Boy is ready to puke again." May the heavens forbid the girl from ever calling him another name.

"We must make haste for the control room." Ms. Goodwitch spoke up then. "If we are to properly observe Link, our presence there is required." Without another word, or even a glance, she turned away from the group. Cold as ice and hard as diamonds, that was Professor Goodwitch.

* * *

Link tried to keep his jaw from falling as he looked around the room he had entered into.

The size of it dwarfed many of the castle rooms he had seen before, able to fit entire monasteries within it. It was long enough to train a horse to sprint within it, and tall enough to make it skeptical for a bowshot to reach the roof. The only room he could imagine compared to its sheer size was the Library of Hyrule Castle, and even that was a difficult comparison.

But the size of the room only emphasized the size of the carriages within it. Link had seen already thrice over these airborne carriages, needing only some clever use of magic to pull and guide them. But all the ones he had seen were of comparable size to chariots and cabins back in his homeland. Some of the ones that hung from the high ceiling looked more like entire homes made mobile. A part of him doubted they would ever be able to move. And then, another part of him, told himself that this was ordinary to the Gerudo that walked around it.

If the difference in skill and etiquette was not a clear sign of foreign status, than the gap between a horse-drawn carriage and these aerial chariots drew it.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Came the deep voice of the general beside him. He didn't wear the typical garb or scarf of a general, but that was judging by his standards. The Gerudo they passed, however, all saluted the man. That was a sign if anything of his rank. "I know little to nothing of where you come from, but I can tell by your awe that this is not a normal sight for you."

"Normal?" Link heard Tatl ask. "Normal is running across open fields on horseback, or flying up to high tree limbs to sleep. Normal isn't running into monster infested territory to make up for some mistake that wasn't even our fault in the first place." Link was able to hold back his laughter enough to allow only a smirk.

Loud and boisterous as she was, Link could always trust Tatl to remain focused on what had to be done.

"Very little distracts you, doesn't it?" Ironwood asked the golden fairy. "That is a commendable trait I wish many of my soldiers would learn. Focus is always key on the battlefield."

"More like forgetting about a coming battle makes it kinda hard to get ready for it." Tatl listed off the rule she had learned from him, if by sight more than words. "But hey, when we get back from killing this Dodongo, then we chat about your "super chariots" all day long."

"Dodongo?" Link noted the perplexed note in the general's voice. It was followed quickly by one of realization. "Ah, yes, that must be your name for the Creeper. I understand. It would be unlikely for us to have similar names for objects." He nodded his head as he spoke, looking forward again as he did so.

Link looked around himself some more, ill content to not observe as much as he could of this place. But yet, despite its size, all Link saw were many men and women dressed in very similar clothes, doing very similar tasks, and taking very similar stances when the general passed. The large doors that Weiss referred to as 'hanger doors' aside, he saw no station of authority or place of interest. It was rather disheartening, but not too unsurprising. Despite how large this room was, it hardly was the size of the fortress all together.

"Link," Ironwood spoke again. When he turned to face the general, he found the taller Gerudo had stopped, gaze set upon him. Link quirked his brow. "I apologize for not properly introducing myself before. I prefer to have as few people outside the DMZ as possible."

Because of the threat of the monsters, that made sense to Link. He smiled, seeing this tall man in a kind light. He hurried his words to secure safety for his people. That was a good thing. Generals who valued the men who served them.

"My name is General John Ironwood," the Gerudo spoke formally, extending one of his hands towards Link. Link grasped it, the exchange easy to read. "Though I am not sure if this is yet a pleasure, I am glad to meet you while we are still on good terms." Those weren't comforting words.

"You were almost there Stiff," Tatl spoke up from beside Link, saying everything that Link thought. "But hey, point for at least givin' us a proper hello. Most of the Gerudo we've met have just sat and stared at Link like he's some kinda legend. They're not wrong, but the wrong kind of legend."

"You will have to tell me later of this legend," Ironwood spoke to his golden fairy, smile never faltering. Either he was speaking honestly, or he was a truly excellent liar. Link prayed to Time he was the former and far from the latter. "For now, I believe we should introduce you to your pilot." Pilot? That must have been the name for the stable-hand. He remembered Glynda calling the man at the front of the ship the same thing.

"Why do we need a pilot? Are… are we riding one of your air-carriages?" Tael asked that question. It was a good question, but it was filled with his usual hesitance. That was okay. He was speaking far easier to strangers than he had before.

"But of course. I would hardly expect you to trek through the Badlands alone. The purpose of this is to see how a hunter from a foreign land best handles threats such as Ancient Grimm. If you were to be harmed or equipment ruined before reaching the beast, any data we gained would be skewed." A test, right. That was what Ozpin had called this. But there was more than one test going on, a different test for each of the branches of power. He couldn't forget that. He couldn't forget to play along.

"Cool, at least you're playing fair," Tatl again. "I was kinda expecting you to say we'd have to hick to the Dodongo on our own."

"While I cannot say we will fly you straight to the Grimm itself, we hardly challenge our soldiers in the middle of already life-threatening missions. I don't believe it accomplishes anything to treat you any differently." Ironwood was smiling at Link again. It was that same kind smile he had before. It was nice, full of honesty, but that was what was irking Link.

He couldn't name a figure of high power that was full of honesty. Not one. Good of heart, maybe of soul, but never free of lies. That was as impossible as a bloodless war.

"Still though, we shouldn't waste too much time talking," Ironwood spoke up again, head swinging back down the long room, likely searching for this pilot of his. "The Grimm is under watch, but it would be best to reach it before it decides to act in any threatening way." There was wisdom in those words though. Link nodded slowly.

Ironwood began to march down the grand room again, the soldiers that noticed him stopping to salute as they walked by. There wasn't a one that did an action otherwise. It was difficult for Link to tell if they were acting out of loyalty or duty. There was a very clear difference.

"Ah, here we are," Ironwood spoke, stopping before one of the many carriages that hung from the high ceiling. Hands folded behind his back, he looked up at it. Link, with hands at his sides, mimicked the action.

It wasn't a very large carriage, at least compared to the multitude of others that were hung about the rest of this chamber. Much like the airship then rode on to get here, it had glass windows around it, two metal inflexible wings jutting from its sides, and a large gap in its back that disappeared into darkness. His instincts told him that was both the most important and most dangerous part of the craft.

And yet, the size of it continued to plague Link. He was expecting a well-armored vessel, meant to take blows from a Dodongo's breath. This? This looked small and fragile. But… perhaps that was the point.

"This is merely a singular transportation airship," Ironwood spoke from his side, likely answering some question Link had yet to speak or think of. "By removing any weaponry from it, it allows the Dust engines to be solely responsible for acceleration and altitude control. With room for a singular pilot and companion, it can enter and leave dangerous areas before any monsters have the instinct to attack it." Ah, now Link understood what he meant.

"Sounds sweet, but where' the pilot you kept talking about?" Tatl asked again, this time a question Link shared. "I mean, I'm sure we wouldn't mind trying to fly the thing, but something tells me you wouldn't really approve of that." Link trusted her judgement. Rude as she could be, he had never met a better judge of character.

"Nope! That's why _I'm here_!"

Link spun at the voice.

His hands were on the hilt of his sword and grasp of his shield when his eyes fell on a young girl just behind him. It was very obvious she was the one who just yelled, complete with her mouth still open in a cheerful grin, hands up to her shoulders, palms forward while waving back and forth.

With puffy red hair and vibrant green eyes, she already looked complete different to every other Gerudo in the grand chamber. That was to say nothing of her light green blouse and long black leggings, looking more appropriate on a citizen than a soldier.

However, it didn't take much to tell she was unfazed by Link's defensive actions. That alone spoke volumes of her hidden depths.

"Whoa!" Link heard Tatl ring out, her golden form rising and falling at the shock of the girl's entry. He could hardly blame her or her sister. "Who in the name of Time are _you_?"

"Me?" The girl spoke the word questioningly, letting her index fingers daintily point towards herself. Her smile never faltered. "My name is Penny, and I'm your combat ready pilot!" She completed her declaration with a quick puffing of her chest, practically slamming her hands to her hips as she struck a pose.

Put altogether, it made Link blink. Slowly.

"Uh… what?" Link's long ears heard Tael ask, the dark fairy ringing lowly with clear trepidation. "You're, um… you're the one who's going to be flying us… into the Badlands… full of monsters?" It was clear Tael had as much confidence in this clearly energetic girl as his sister did. That was to say little to none.

"Yup!" The girl obliviously replied. "I've been certified to fly all variations of airships up to them tetrahedral class models. I've accumulated over five hundred hours total in flight time in both on-and-off mission flights! I'm super ready for this!" And again, she pumped her hands in the air. Unfortunately, link only stood half, at most, of what she said. The low rings of annoyance from Tatl told him he was not the only one.

"Penny is one of the most certified and trust worthy pilots we have," Ironwood decided to intervene. He was looking at Penny as well, that same smile on his face. "She has been briefed in depth about what is expected and where to go. If I am to guarantee you reach the Grimm without incident, Penny is piloting this ship is it." He did sound confident. Plus, if his earlier actions were truthful, he would not willing sacrifice one of his soldiers simply to inconvenience Link.

No… Ozpin said that if there was any man in the military that could be trusted, it was Ironwood. That was one of many notes he had Link memorize before they left, in the privacy of his office and away from the others.

"General Ironwood," Penny spoke up again, this time speaking more formally. She didn't lack the smile or small bob in her stance, like she was getting ready to jump. "I was told to deliver a message to you from the council. They said it was urgent to do so before we left."

"Ah, I see," the tall Gerudo spoke as he nodded. His head quickly turned towards Link. "Please wait here for a moment. I want to ensure all tasks are in order before you leave." Link nodded, understanding perfectly well what he meant. Leaving unprepared for even the smallest of tasks could lead to poor events.

The general and the young girl walked away, side by side as the girl, Penny, began to speak her message. Link did not listen. It would be impolite to do so, or at the very least tarnish any trust that existed between them right now. He was to be delivered to a battlefield, and he did not want the woman taking him there to have a grudge. That would be bad.

Instead his eyes wandered again, looking for any object that might appear worth studying in the short interval of time he had. The ships meant little to him, each one already so alien that it would take seasons truly grasp what they were. Metal was meant to fly, and seeing the ships do so at speeds that rivaled the Watarara was almost a fantasy.

It felt inappropriate to speak to any of the soldiers either. Their looks towards him, as they busied through their tasks, mixtures of confusion and distrust, were reason enough to not approach. They would not hear him even if he tried to speak. Tatl and Tael wouldn't do much more than either insult or confuse those whom he did speak to.

The fairies spun about his head as he trekked around the ship, eyeing it though understanding none of it. His boots clicked against the metal floor, an odd sound to him, so used to brick, dirt, or carpet. But it was far from something worth more than a thought. He was assaulted by strange sounds the moment he had come to this foreign land.

Whirring gears behind walls of steel, the buzzing of lightning in small objects that he could grasp, the grinding of metal in a place not dirtied with blood. Those were all just odd to him, odd enough to be a constant reminder that Hyrule this was no more. But then he heard a familiar sound.

A neigh.

His head spun, green pointed hat with him. Eyes trained by years of archery searched the grand chamber, looking for the source of the noise. It took him little time to see it now. Being led by reigns down the massive walkway, carried by a man who looked older than a sage, was a sight Link was only too happy to see.

"Is that a horse?" Tatl asked the obvious question, knowing already the answer. "What's a horse doing in a place like this?" Link didn't answer, he was already walking towards the familiar creature, lips pulled in a light grin.

"H-Hey, Link! Maybe would shouldn't… um, go too far away. Penny and the General should be done soon, right?" Tael fruitlessly tried to sway him. They could find him later. Link wanted to see a familiar face, even if it was on a creature he had never met before.

When he was only a few paces away, the old man leading the horse finally took notice of him. Both stopped, the horse's feet tapping against the metal floor as it came to a standstill, testing its own reigns with pulls of its head. Link looked at the man long enough to not the gray hairs on his head, the long tan overcoat he wore, buttoned and patched to show its years of work and wear. A set of glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, one of the spectacles larger than the other. There was a reason for that, likely, but Link didn't pay much mind to it.

"Can I help you?" The man asked finally, apparently searching for the right words to ask Link. "Sorry to say you don't look like any of them soldiers, so I gotta wonder what you are doing here."

"We're here with your General Stiff," Tatl spoke up from beside Link. He let her rule the conversation, she always did. "We're just busying ourselves while he talks to that little girl with him."

"General Stiff?" The old man mumbled, a confusion that was justified. "Ah, you must mean General Ironwood. Great man, great character. If he let you in here, I can trust you aren't up to any mischief." The man walked up to Link, matching the Hylian's height inch for inch. "My gaze may be going, but I can guess you're more taken by the mare then by me." Link nodded his head, looking from the old man back to the mare he led.

She was a beautiful thing, a coat of white and eyes of silvery blue. She had a good stature to her, standing at least eight feet tall, a face long and free of any mares. That meant she was probably raised carefully, away from any strain. A prize horse maybe. It was hard for him to judge more than that, however, given the large thick blanket that lay over the creature. He reached for it, prepared to lift over the mare's carriage-

-Only to find the old man slapping his hand away.

"Hey," the man spoke with a bit of bite. "I don't mind exchanging a few words, but you better have a good reason for just grabbing at things that aren't yours."

"Lighten up you old geezer," Tatl, unfortunately, answered. "Link's just curious about the horse is all. He's been around them for a good long while, at least since he was ten. You'd be surprised how much he knows about them."

"However much he knows isn't enough to understand this girl." That earned a quizzical look from Link. In turn, that made the old man grin, showing off his few golden teeth. "Not what you were expectin' to hear? Well, hate ta tell you this, but horses ain't exactly the kind of thing you'd see at any military site, let alone next to the Badlands." In Hyrule, that would be the sign of a deranged mind. In this world, with ships of metal that flew through clouds, Link could believe it.

"So then what am I looking at?" Tatl asked again, flying around the alabaster mare for show. Her golden dust sprinkled across the creature, making it tug at its reigns a bit harder. The old man grunted as he calmed the creature. "It looks like a horse, smells like a horse, and sounds like a horse. I'd say that makes it a horse."

That was when Link saw the old man smirk once more.

"Except horses don't have these." In a fluid motion that defied the man's apparent age, he reached for the same sheet covering the beast that Link had reached for before. His hand wrinkled the material as he grasped it, pulling it off of the white mare with a great pull.

And from it were produced a quartet of wings.

Link, for one of the first times since he arrived in this foreign land, felt himself step back in shock.

"Whoa!" He heard Tatl yell, mimicking his thoughts. "Holy crap! In the name of Time, Fate, and Destiny, I didn't expect that!" Her words only made the only man chuckle.

Link stared at the creature he knew now was far from a horse, even rarer than a simple alabaster mare. Two sets of wings extended from its sides, free to bend and wave with the tan curtain taken off of it. They stretched out further than Link could reach laying down, each lined with feathers befitting the royalty of the Watarara. They were all the same shiny silver as the creature's coat, but slick even to a naked eye. The creature neighed under Link's assessing gaze, likely in approval.

"Impressive, isn't she?" The man spoke again. "You won't find anything regular in the Badlands, be they Grimm or weapons, so I'm hearing making and taking care of the odd." His eyes fell back to the winged creature, hand running up its head. Link watched as the mare pushed its head into the contact, craving it.

"She's beautiful," his long ears heard Tael speak in awe, his ringing long and drawn out. "There… there are stories of pegasi in Hyrule, but we've never actually seen one. She looks… amazing."

"That she is," the old man agreed. "She was a side project of mine between tinkering with the robots and airships, a bit of genetics between robotics, but she's rearin' and ready for a test flight soon, and I can't wait to see how she handles."

Link only passively listened to the man's words. He was more taken to study the creature further and further. A part of him wanted to ignore the creature's magnificent wings, to see if it was still truly a mare in his eyes, but it was like ignoring the blue of the sky.

They flicked and twisted about, stretching themselves to show the restlessness of the beast. Each little waved of the mare's head came with a quick flap of the quartet of wings, never strong enough to lift it off the ground, but the air it pushed was enough to make Link's eyes wince shut. He had little doubt it would fly, could fly, and when it was free to.

Old instincts brought his hand to his built, reaching for a familiar tool he had played with many times before. His blue ocarina, an instrument he had played often on the ranges of Lon Lon, soothing the many mares and stallions that ran its grounds. This mare wasn't one he had ever seen before, but if it was anything like the horses he had rode before, it would be soothed all the same.

Settling his lips over the metallic mouthpiece, Link began to play the Song of his Mare.

It was a tune that called home, that begged for creatures of the plains to run through their land. Not to race through it, not to challenge it, but to enjoy it. The same stallions that would run through the plains would race only a patch where they could rest, where they could let the tune fill their ears and soothe their minds. Peace, it was a song of peace.

He bobbed as he played the familiar song, first sung to him by his long-time friend. One friend that had taught it to him, and another that answered it. A song that stretched passed the boundaries of the physical and united.

Link stopped when he felt the mare push against his face.

He laughed, enjoying the contact of the silvery creature, the wind it made from its wings a welcome breeze. He lowered his ocarina, returning it to his pouch as he raised his hands and soothe the creature's long face. It neighed into his palms as he knitted fingers across his mane.

"Oh, she's smitten for you," he heard the old man say, his voice full of no ire or mockery. "Gotta admit, most of the curious rookies that try and pet get a few stitches on their hand. You must really be experienced with mares and stallions."

"He sure is," Tatl assured. "But a pegasus, that's a new one." Even as Link slowly slipped his fingers through the creature's silvery mane, he knew his golden fairy was right. "That makes me wonder though, what's her name?"

"She don't got one yet." He sounded almost angry by the statement. Link offered only a glance long enough to see him snort in the air. His attention was quickly back to the playful pegasus. "I can't think of a name to really fit her. Pegasus is just too plain, like calling a human 'Human'. Naming her after any cartoon character would be insulting to how well she turned out, but I just can't put together a name to really fit her."

Link had one.

Link had a name that was perfect for the mare. It was name passed down through the generations of Lon Lon, given to only the strongest and heartiest of the ponies on the range. They were destined to be as willful as they were graceful, tough as they were proud. It was a name carried through a legend, one so far removed from his own, yet so perfect.

"I think Link has an idea," he heard the golden fairy reply. "And I think I know what he's thinking." The lightly ringing of his friend told him she was more than merely confident.

"Oh, and what would that be?" He sounded at least genuinely curious. Link noted all of it passively, the mare deserving his full attention.

"Epona." Tael, not Tatl, spoke the name. "Epona, a goddess to horses of old." It was the perfect name.

"Hey… yeah," the old man slowly let out, hand likely drawing over his chin. "That's gotta nice ring to it, really sticks with ya. Can't forget it and you can't chance thinking of something else when it comes to mind. That's darn near perfect!" Link heard him whoop. He let out his own chuckle at the energy.

Epona, the now properly named mare, neighed towards Link once more. He took it as acceptance to the name. His swiftly moved his hand up and down the long neck of the mare, scratching her glistening coat. It pushed into the hand with joy.

"Ah, there you are," the voice of Ironwood spoke from behind him and quite clearly towards him. Link twisted his head to see the tall general approaching, the tan dressed girl standing just beside him. Standing, actually, was a loose term, seeing as she was bent almost sideway as she stared at Link and the winged mare. He could hardly blame her. "I see Zeppeto has been keeping you busy." The name rang no bells.

"He's actually been the one entertaining me," the old man spoke. The name clicked instantly. "Gotta say though, I didn't expect a faunus to get on the mare's good side. Came up with a good name just to add a boot to it. Epona." Link was able to catch Penny's bright green eyes sparkle at the name. If that wasn't credit to her appreciation for the name, her words certainly were.

"Wow! That's such a pretty name for her!" The girl skipped closer, away from the general and up next to Link. She came to judge beneath eye height to him, but her gaze set up at the mare Link continued to brush. "Hello Epona, my name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you."

The mare snorted wetly at the girl. Link heard Tatl nearly fall to the floor with laughter as her brother rung lowly, nervously.

"You aren't on her good side yet, girl," Zeppeto spoke to Penny. "Gonna take more from you then some good words." Link watched the girl huff in annoyance, complete with a small raise of her lips, but no puffing of her cheeks. She did… look like she was trying though.

"That will have to be addressed later," Ironwood interrupted. Link did not miss the small grin he had on his lips. He had a light side at least. "It would be best to depart soon for the Creeper in the Badlands. Link, this is for you." Even as he spoke, he extended his hand outwards towards the Hylian, on object lying on his palm.

It was a small curved device, from what Link saw, with very small hollow divots on one of its oval ends, the remainder of it a smooth metallic material that seemingly curved like a snake. Aside from that, it was hard to identify anything else about it. There were no symbols, markings, or even sufficient size for him to note how it was put together.

"This is a two-way communication device, simply called a comm piece for short," Ironwood began to explain again. "It is a means for us to talk to you regardless of distance, and you to us… if you find yourself able. We have modified it slightly to show us your position in relation to the base. Simply, you wear it in your ear so that you can hear us, and we can find you." That was very convenient.

Link rubbed the device with his thumb. It was like a smaller version of the gossip stone, but apparently needing none of the Sheikah's mind to access. He would need to ask later how it worked. Lifting the device to his left side, he slid the device into his ear. It was cool to the touch, fitting loosely against his inner ear. He pushed on it, feeling the material lightly deform as the action. The long curved end wrapped around his pointed ear, uncomfortably grabbing at it. He flicked it to adjust, but found it only lightly relieving.

"It is normal to find it uncomfortable," Ironwood, for not the first time, answered his unspoken question. "Many soldiers find it disorienting, but the ability to hear others across a battlefield is more valuable than a small pinch of skin." Link had yet to enjoy the benefit the general was speaking of. But, imagining such a thing, he could see the advantage outweighing a minor irritation. His hand curled around the twisted end of the device regardless, hoping it would adapt to his long ears. No such luck came.

_"Hi there!"_

Link almost ripped the device clear off his ear.

"Whoa, Link! What's wrong?" Tatl's concerned voice asked him, in a much more appropriate volume. She was nearly dull compared to how loud the voice just before was. He was only just able to make out the ring of concern as both fairies floated around him, the darker of the two huddling up to him.

"Oops, sorry about that," the same voice spoke again, but not from within his ear this time. Link had his skewed eyes set on the bright eyed girl. She had a finger between her lips, biting it lightly, guiltily. "I maaaaay have forgotten to adjust the volume on the receiver, sorry about that." All Link knew was that she had accidently startled him. He sighed at the action.

"Apologies for the scare, but rest assured that during the actual fight, conversations will be quiet and limited to only impertinent information," Ironwood smoothly followed the rather hazardous display. It was hard for Link to judge if he was used the girls mistakes, or simply surprises in general. A military leader was expected to deal with new information readily and carefully.

"Right, just make sure you're not gonna let Ice Queen start talking to Link," he heard Tatl say. "I can't think of a more annoying person distracting Link than that." He bit back a chuckle, settling for only a small smirk.

"Noted," Ironwood spoke. "But communications to Link will be limited until necessary. We cannot and will not give battle strategies, as this is a way for you to make up for your over-aggressive display at Beacon."

"Wait, I thought-" Link raised his hand to Tael as soon as he started to speak. He trusted the fairy, and valued his advice, but speaking secrets to strangers was never a good idea. The Hylian watched the tall Gerudo raise one of his thick dark brows, curious of what was going to be said. However, he did not ask.

"You should leave for the Creeper, if you are now prepared," Ironwood spoke. "Any other information that has not already been given to you will be provided by Penny in flight. Ask if you need anything else. Zeppeto." Ironwood bowed to the old man, speaking his name.

Then, without so much as a nod more, he marched off back down the longer chamber, towards the invisible door they had come through, doubtless to meet up with the others again. Or, more likely, to reach a point of communications, like the high tower of Hyrule Castle. Both were likely.

"Off to fight the Creeper, are you?" Zeppeto asked with a wry tone to his voice. "That beasty has been causing a lot of iffy air around here. Just close enough to cause some alarm, but too far to really do any serious damage. Kinda like it's waiting on the borderline for something to happen. I guess you're just that, aren't ya?" The old man grinned as he finished.

It reminded Link of someone, someone he had no love nor interest for. He had to remind himself again that they were two very different men. One was before him, old in age and recognized by others. The other was a man that never lost his smile, and yet never gained a face…

"Are you ready to go now?" Penny asked Link, her voice chipper and free of any worry. There was something… wrong about that. He couldn't place his finger on it. "I am free to wait for any required amount of time you need, but I think leaving now would be ah-oh-kay!" She winked at him as she raised on hand high in the air. He had no idea what that meant.

"Best be off sooner than later if you ask me," Zeppeto spoke again. Link heard Tatl and Tael ring as they shifted their attention with him. "Don't want to fight those things in the dark. Hard to see black fur in a black night." It sounded like common sense, but many soldiers Link had known never thought as much when they jumped into caverns with hardly a lantern. This man was more experienced than he appeared to be. "You just be safe now Penny. Can't have you getting banged up again, can we?"

"I won't," The girl replied with an overly done shake of her head. "I've got order to be extra careful when approaching the Creeper. Link's safety is top priority!"

"Of course it is," Link just faintly heard Tatl mumble, shaking in the air just aside his ear. He gave no notice to the mutter. Best not draw attention to it.

"Then I'll be off," Zeppeto spoke, just before looking back to Link. "And you best promise to come back as well. I don't want the faunus that named Epona here to suddenly be done it. That's bad luck no matter what way you look at it." Luck was hardly a thing that needed to be looked for, but Link understood the message.

Smiling, facing the man, he bowed to him. A soft chuckle was the sign Link was given he was understood. AS he rose, he let his hand pass over Epona's silver coat again. Her wings lightly flicked in the air, clearly wanting to take flight in some way, if they could. When he did come back, he would have to help her with that.

"Alright, I guess this is us then." Tatl's voice was already fading as she spoke, her golden body bobbing through the air and towards the metal carriage. Dust trailed lightly behind her. "C'mon, I don't want to be out here any longer than the rest of us. I can't feel anything alive out here." That was as good a reason as any. He took a step to follow her, but was stopped by a light ring from Tael.

"Um… Link?" The fairy spoke his name questioningly. "Are... Are you ready for this? I mean, I know you're strong. I can't forget that, but… But you remember what Ozpin said, right?" Link could hardly forget.

He nodded at the fairy, a short smile on his lips. There was no need to look grim towards the already nervous fairy. He still shook in the air, likely ready to cry.

"Then you can handle this, right? I know you can, I know but… but this is different. Please don't let anything happen." Those were words that reminded Link of how young the dark fairy was. Not just younger than his sister, but still very young to the world. It was kind, it was pitiable, it was tragic, but it was gave Link enough hope to smile.

He held out his hand for the dark fairy, Tael instantly settling on it. He weight like air to the Hylian. Link let out a light chuckle as he face the fairy, turning towards the ship as he did so. He saw Penny waiting by it, head tilted at a rather extreme angle, Tatl just above her. Both were waiting, and he was ready.

Penny saw him, and he watched her own overly bright smile light up. She appeared naïve as Tael, yet had the energy of Ruby. It was a wonder why she was here, but it was a wonder he would hold later. Ozpin, as Tael had reminded, told them that they were to fight the Creeper. The Military and Council would do all in their power to make it so.

Because when he got there, he was supposed to die to it.

He only hoped Ozpin would be worth trusting when the time came.

* * *

Weiss was familiar with expensive equipment. As the heiress to the Schnee Dynasty, raised to take over the business once she was of age, she was well aware of all the finest equipment when it came to Dust Mining, Processing, and Manufacturing. However, as it was so often the case with any large business, she was required to become intimately familiar with not only the product itself, but how it was guarded and transported. From trains, airships, communication relays, and defensive drones, Weiss had studied and nearly memorized all that were available on the market.

That was why she was one of one two faces that were not struck awed by the communications tower she and her team had ended up in.

She was well aware of the reason for three rows of a dozen soldiers, each pouring themselves over respective monitors, she could tell the purpose of every one of the few dozen screens that lined the walls and near high ceilings, and of course, she was well aware of the reason for structure of the tower.

A 'Normandy Relay' is what it was called, where the general or senior authority figure would stand in the center of the room and be flanked on all sides by her diligent soldiers. He or she was given an eye and ear to all the incoming data, never out of ear-shot of any sudden shout the soldiers may give, be it confirmation of an order or warning of an incoming attack.

The floors were layered in three, to maximize space and effectiveness. Nearly looking like shelves at the store, the soldiers sat at terminals, punching away at the screens and scrolls that they needed to, relaying and documenting all incoming information. Everything, in a danger zone or elsewhere, was key. If not in the moment, then sometime in the future.

However, all of that was, as expected, in a restricted area.

Weiss and the remainder of her team were behind a set of glass doors, given eyes and ears to the room, but far and away from any access. To be honesty, she was slightly miffed, but she could hardly call herself a well-educated woman if she complained about not be allowed access to a classified area. That wouldn't do for her image.

She was stuck with her arms folded under chest, staring into the mildly darkened room. She couldn't complain of the view or comfort, as sat on a rather comfortable chair at the end of a long conference table. Screens were displayed on the opposite of the long piece of equipment, likely to allow any form of video conversation. It would difficult to have one in a room that was always buzzing with activity. It took the heiress little time to know that the members of the council would likely be lighting up the screens soon. There was simply no way they would miss watching Link perform in the field.

Not after she had sent her father all the data she had recorded regarding the foreign faunus and his rather… exotic forms of weaponry.

"I've never been caught so well between nervousness and excitement," she heard the rather pitiable leader of Team JNPR start. He finished with a dry chuckle, a clear a sign as any for his lack of confidence. "Feels like I'm getting ready to watch an interrogation."

"When you think about it, it kinda is," Yang responded, with all the grace she usually had. That being none. "I mean sure, it's not so much an interrogation for a crime as it is watching Link kick some giant Grimm's butt, but hey, that happens sometimes interrogations. Fun ones at least." That comment didn't surprise Weiss in the least.

"I just wish we could know where he was at," Ruby, her partner spoke now, sitting on the table, legs swinging beneath her as she looked out into the glassed off restricted area of the comm tower. "I just doesn't feel right… leaving him like that."

"General Ironwood has promised and assured that Link will be grant absolute protection until he reaches the Creeper in the territory of the Badlands. If anyone can be trusted for his word, it is him." Ms. Goodwitch spoke up, likely to assure Ruby. Weiss clicked her tongue. "We will be receiving updates of Link's battle as it occurs, as well as any to all critical information."

"That doesn't mean to let your guard down." Weiss was completely unsurprised to hear Blake's comment. Then again, she was inclined to agree. "If there is any place where you need to be constantly aware, it's on the border of Grimm Territory." Weiss didn't need to hear to know that Blake was referring to a danger entirely unrelated to Grimm. But once more, given Link's displays thus far, she was greatly inclined to agree.

"A valid point, but it does not negate my own," Ms. Goodwitch countered. Weiss glance at the professor long enough to see her eyes were still trained on her pad. "Link's safety is guaranteed, and I have observed no reports of danger or mishap from Ironwood." It was likely only because the professor used the General's name that the statement wasn't utterly laughable.

It would only make too much sense to Weiss to cover up a mishap that had occurred on company grounds, burying evidence and paying off the right people. She doubted the Military would work any differently if Link were to be injured in some way. But again, Ms. Goodwitch was the polar opposite of inexperienced. It was likely only because of Ironwood that the comment was made at all.

"I apologize for my delay." Speak of the Grimm and they shall emerge, Weiss internally quoted. She swung her head to observe the metallic door open and closer without hardly making a noise. "I felt it prudent to ensure that all matters were in order before having Link leave the hanger bay." In walked the impressively built General Ironwood, arms folded behind his back and wearing that oh so subtle smirk. It dripped with self-induced confidence.

"So does that mean Link's on his way then?" Jaune asked again. Of course it was Jaune. Even compared to Nora, he could never keep his mouth shut. "I mean, he must be close to leaving, right?"

"He and our designated pilot departed a few minutes ago. They should be arriving at the drop-point within no time at all." By Weiss's standards, that was very vague for a general. She'd heard Ruby be more specific about details.

"Then can we see him?" Ruby, of course, jumped in and asked. She swung her legs over the table, gracefully moving to a kneeled position atop the desk. It would have been impressive, if she wasn't kneeling on a table. "We're gonna get to see him, right?"

Ironwood didn't respond, not immediately at least. He only kept that rather confident grin as he reached into one of the pockets of his rather pristine white coat. A part of Weiss was tempted to ask how he kept his uniform so clean in such a dusty and otherwise hospitable climate, but that was a question of lesser concern.

From his pocket, Ironwood produced a small scroll, just large enough to fit in the palm of his hand. His thumb tapped it, lighting up the screen. He made a few more taps on the translucent screen, all without ever-answering Ruby's question. But then, with a small turn of his head, and another tap on the small scroll in his hand, the screens across the table lit up. The room was already well lit, so it was incorrect to say they lit up the room. That didn't stop Ruby from lighting up like an explosion of Dust.

On one of the screens, second from the right with crystal clear picture, was the foreign faunus of green.

"Link is in mid-transport, being carried in a Model T-3040 Bullhead," Ironwood spoke that with a good level of detail at least. Thankfully, too, because Weiss was well aware of the model. She only needed to glance about the room to see the rest of her teammates weren't.

"It's Bullhead designed for swift transportation of individual passengers," she began to explain, tilting her head back. Just to get a better view of the screen of course. "The reduction in size and removal of any Dust Cannons allows the Bullhead to focus on high speed and dexterity, supplementing that with an experimental Dust Overlay Shield. It wouldn't help in a fight against an opposing airship, but it will keep minor annoyances off."

"Precisely correct, Ms. Schnee," Ironwood complimented her with a quick bow of his head. "I can see your father spoke honestly about you and your knowledge of our tools." Weiss was completely unsurprised to hear that Ironwood and her father were friends. In actuality, she would be more surprised if they hadn't met at some point.

"Sounds like's gonna be safe till he gets there," Yang spoke up again. She snickered before she spoke on, however. "But he doesn't look too secure himself." And honestly, Weiss agreed.

The camera allowed only a stiff view of Link, his odd-colored mini-drones sitting on either one of his shoulders, but he was clutching the seat he was riding with a clearly tense grip, back straight against his seat and eyes shut. It looked as if he were holding on for… dear life…

"General Ironwood," Weiss began to ask. "Is the pilot using the ship's… maximum speed?" A part of her already told her the answer.

"But of course," Ironwood, unfortunately, confirmed the heiress's thoughts. She sighed at the admittance. "We wanted to ensure Link was not in a battle with time, and delaying his confrontation with the Grimm would only put him at chance of fighting in the Badlands at night." True, that was bad… But Weiss doubted a foreign faunus like Link was used to the T-3040's maximum speed.

"How fast does it move?" She heard Ren, reasonably, ask.

"You remember how fast we were flying on the way here?" Weiss asked rhetorically. She didn't wait for an answer, deciding to shake her head instead. Good thing the seat was comfortable. "The T-3040 is capable of flying over a dozen times as fast, just kept off of super-sonic levels for fear of damaging the smaller wings of the Bullhead."

"Oh," was all Ms. Goodwitch spoke. It was all that needed to be said.

It was rather doubtful Link had ever flown in a ship that fast back in his rural homeland. Weiss was more impressed he wasn't vomiting from the motion, much like another thick-headed blonde he unfortunately resembled.

"Well at least it isn't a boring flight, huh?" Of course Yang would make a joke. Of course she would. No one else would but the buxom boxer of their group. "Looks to me like he can't wait to get out of the ship. Think he'll want to fight the Creeper over taking that ship back?" She laughed at a joke that Weiss clearly missed.

"He'll be alright," Weiss heard someone else say. It didn't take her anytime to see Blake speaking, arms folded across her chest. Everyone else was focused on Link, if Yang's dry humor and Jaune's nervous mutterings were any indication. "If half of what Tatl says is true, the worst Link has to deal with will be the flight itself. Besides, he has his friends with him. With them, he's never really alone."

That got Weiss.

It had been nearly three days since Link and Blake "flew" up to Ozpin's office, coming out with news of this ridiculous hunt. Three days of Link studying with Ozpin up in the tower, coming down only to go to his room and sleep well into the next day. Those same three days filled with Blake constantly talking about the foreign faunus.

Weiss never did consider herself a gossip, finding the ritual more tiring and confusing then any form of satisfaction would make worthwhile. Yet, she was consumed with questions regarding Link's little meeting with Blake.

What did Link tell Blake to earn her trust so quickly? A part of Weiss wanted to simply chalk it up to faunus heritage and be done with it, but she couldn't accept that. It would be like saying Yang loved every fight she was in. If that were true, she wouldn't have enemies. No, Link earned Blake's trust, and the Schnee heiress was determined to figure it out, sooner or later.

For now, though… it was better to focus on the foreign faunus and his fight at hand.

Especially now that he looked to be relaxing on the screen…

* * *

 _"We're almost here, so we're slowing down now!"_ Link was grateful for the voice in his ear, even more so for the message it gave him.

His fingers unwrapped from the metallic seat his was on, feeling the force of the flight ebb from intolerably strong to relaxing drift. A breath slowly left his lungs in the form of a sigh. He wasn't aware he had any air in there, not after the take off the girl had performed.

"Oh… Oh thank Time," Link heard Tael mutter tiredly from his shoulder. He had to look to make sure the dark fairy was still there, lying down and ringing only as he spoke. "I thought. I thought we were in trouble before we got to the monster…"

"That girl," he then heard Tatl continue. "She's in for one heck of a yelling when we get back. Oh yeah, I'm… I'm gonna just let loose and… uuuuh," the golden fairy's supposedly strong boast teetered and fell with her golden glowing body. Looks like the speeds were too much for either of the airborne fairies. If Link had control of his gut, he might have chuckled at that.

He settled instead for focusing on the outside of the ship. Penny the Pilot told him they were close, that meant that there would be monsters outside the flying carriage. It was natural for larger monsters to attract their lesser kin, the basic instinct to be near something strong. It was true from the densest forests to the darkest of caverns.

Unfortunately, Link was left rather stuck in that regard. The small compartment he sat in had no glass to see through, and it was impossible to hear anything aside from the roar of the machine. Penny had called it an 'engine', though he suspected it was the name of some magical device. All that mattered in the moment was that its roar shook the metal he was surrounded by, completely nullifying the sounds from outside.

It wasn't a good idea to run into any fight without knowing as much as possible. He recalled more than once Tatl screaming at him for doing just that, but time and experience had taught him the benefits of prior planning and research. He knew of the dangers of the forest temple from his friends in the Kokiri. He knew of the horrors of Death Mountain from the Gorons, and even the depths of the Great Bay were told by the Zoras.

Right now, all he had to go on were the existence of monsters in large number, clamoring in an otherwise desolate land. He had no idea of what kind or size of the monsters, the Dodongo aside. He could guess that there were likely many more of its kin or familiar monsters around it, all finding the shadow of the larger monster safer than anywhere else.

He had bombs to spare, and those were one of the few items that would pierce their thick shell. However, as he, Ozpin, and Blake had planned, he needed a large number of them to take on the larger Dodongo. It was likely a King, but it was hard to tell from those pictographs. Even now he had to admit they were of much higher quality than the ones he had taken back in Termina…

… Those were days he preferred not to remember.

"Oh hey, the ship's slowing down." Tatl's voice, thankfully, took Link from his thoughts. That was when he noticed the noticeable drop in force as well. He no longer had to grip the seat to feel safe. The slow drop in his gut told him they were descending as well. It was like falling, but without the sudden stop.

The rumbling of ship began to lesson, changing from what sounded like Volvagia's roar to a Deku Scrub's whine. A moment after that, he felt the flying ship touch down on the ground. Though not alien to flight itself, not with the help of Queen Elrora, it was still odd to feel flying like this.

 _"Whelp, we're here!"_ The voice of Penny shouted again through the small device in his ear. It was a thankfully lower volume than before. _"I can't take you any further without spooking the Creeper and having him attack, buuuut I'm pretty sure you can find him from here."_

"W-What does that mean?" Tael asked from Link's shoulder, still clinging to the green tunic desperately. He may not have known, but Link knew well enough.

It was as Ozpin had told him. The monsters of this land were stronger with age, but also wiser. If the Dodongo saw the flying ship, or any sign of the Military that had likely hunted it before, it would either burrow deeper into the Badlands, or attack. Attacking was bad now only because risking Penny's safety was not an option.

So, instead, he was going to have to hunt.

Almost in time with the conclusion of his thoughts, the door to the small compartment he sat in opened up, the air whooshing past him. The unseen magic within the machine buzzed like lightening as the door raised, stopping in time with the metal door. IT was only too clear what was expected of him next.

Link rose from his seat, walking the one step he could inside the small space, before jumping to the brown dead ground beneath him. It was a blessed compared to the metal of the ship. Even though there was not so much as a blade of grass or even a dead tree around him, it was far preferred to sitting in the ship he had just come from.

"Oh thank Time we're out of there," Tatl hastily replied as she flew past Link, darting through the air and away from the underside of the ship. Link followed her with haste, remembering full well where they were. Separation was a death sentence.

"H-Hey sis! Wait up!" Tael yelled to his golden sister, thinking as Link did in this moment. The golden fairy did stop, though with a ring Link just barely heard over the hum of the ship behind them. He wondered again about the magic that operated it.

"Oh give me a break, I'm not flying off," Tatl spoke back defensively, though waiting until Link was only arm's reach from her. "I just wanted some distance from that flying contraption. Seriously, it was a moving cell or something." Link couldn't argue with that.

 _"So I take it your all set?"_ the voice in his ear spoke again. Link turned back to the ship, looking to the front of the flying carriage, where Penny had seated herself before they had left the fort before. She was just visible to his naked eyes, the bright green of her eyes rather scarce compared to the land around her.

"Yeah, we're all good, at least as good as we can be in a monster infested area." Tatl spoke into Link's ear, ringing with her words. Sarcasm dripped from her words like dust from her body. Penny, however, only seemed to smile from her place at the front of the ship.

 _"Spectacular! I'll see you back here soon! Remember to use your comm when you are ready."_ The pilot cheerfully yelled to him again. This time he could see her waving from the glass dome she sat in. It appeared that very little bothered her. That was a good quality to have, if not in the army.

He watched as she turned her attention back to the area she sat in, playing with something that was outside his field of vision. Her head waved back and forth as the noise of the ship increased again, in time with its slowly rising into the air. The metallic door Link had emerged from slowly shut itself, completely sealing itself off by the time the hovering craft was well over thrice his height in the air.

Link could only make out the underside of it now, but even then he didn't have much time. Much faster than it has raised itself into the air, the flying craft took off across the brown plain, flying through the much faster than he believed any Watarara or dragon could fly. It rose as it flew, splitting a few low-hanging clouds before finally vanishing from sight.

That left Link alone with Tatl and Tael, in a land more barren than a desert and hardly a whisper of noise. He could see mountains on the horizon, as bleak and brown as the earth he stood on. There likely valleys around those monolithic protrusions, as was so often the case. Link found it unlikely he'd find any more sign of life there either. Hilly plains, tall mountains, and likely deep valleys, each as dead as the next. He preferred the solid earth to the hollow metal of the ship, but he could not stand the absence of life. It was too heavy a reminder.

The only comparable form of life he could see was the blue sky above, but even that was dulled by the bleakness of the land around him, as if it rose to corrupt the sky even. There was no wind across the wastes, nothing to show that there was every anything other than dead land.

"Well… this is exciting," Tatl spoke in mocking tone, though not directed at anyone present. She bobbed up and down in the air. "Yup, there are total loads of monsters around here. I can _really_ see why everyone is so scared of this place."

"Sis, it doesn't seem like a good idea to be saying stuff like that," Tael warned his sister, though he did it with noticeable ease. It wasn't hard for Link to see that he wasn't nervous. In a land supposedly filled with monsters, that was not to be expected. Then again, Link couldn't see a single beast across the bleak landscape.

"No, no, it makes sense." The only reason Link did not take the fairy seriously was because he knew her well enough. "The Gerudo here have clearly run out of the desert, living everywhere from the Kokiri's Forest to the Zora's River, so it totally makes sense they'd call the place they ran away from evil." Link tried not to smile as he continued to search the horizon. The hills seemed irregular, but the land was so dead it was hard to tell what it meant.

"Yeah, but… there is something out here, right? That general said so," Tael, apparently, already gave up on the argument regarding insult to the land. That usually meant he already silently agreed. Link trained his eyes on the cusp of the hill. It was uneven still, but it just seemed off… It didn't help that it appeared difference when he blinked once and twice.

"Of course there's something out here, otherwise this would be a pretty crappy way of trying to get rid of us," Tatl spoke back, ringing as if to scoff with her own words. "I mean seriously, after all that lead up, I just thought it would be like Ikana Valley. At least that place was creepy." Link chose not to remind her of the darkness that lurked in the graveyards of Kakariko. Those were far darker than this land. But at least even there was grass and trees, not the complete lack of life here. And the hills didn't keep moving…

"I know, I know, but we shouldn't tell them they're wrong or anything." Tael meekly responded. "I wouldn't like it if someone told me that the Lost Woods were boring. I liked those woods." Link did, too. He could admit it easily when he stood in a barren waste. He could admit even more as his hand slowly reached for his blade.

"Who said anything about mocking?" Tatl spoke. She once more sounded wholly serious. "I'm just calling them out for basically exaggerating this place as the 'end all' of the world. Dig out a lake or something and you could probably live here. I just can't call a place dangerous unless there's-"

_SKREEEE!_

The cry came from a monster that jumped from the dead lands. Jaw open in mid-flight, it barreled towards the pair of fairies, aim true, precise, and in all likely hood deadly. Tatl and Tael didn't even have the time to ring in fright as the creature was set upon them.

And was swiftly pierced down its length by Link's blade.

He held the creature at the tip of his blade, held in his dominant hand in a forward thrust. It weighed heavily, an extra weight on his already mildly weighted steel. It made no thrashing movement though, no cries of pain either. Link's decisive strike had killed it in a single blow.

Tatl and Tael hovered behind him, peaking over his shoulders as they all observed the creature. It was long and snake-like in shape, its head larger than the rest of its body. No arms or legs, it had only a wide jaw and heavy plate to make it a fierce sight. But all of that alone, it was definitely a baby Dodongo. But that was it.

This creature had scales black as night, darker than even the dead ground it jumped from. A starkly white plate sat over its head, two sockets that were once home to red piercing eyes, though now snuffed out with its life. The plate smooth along its edges, flowing into its scales with no rough edges. Those edges were for its teeth.

Teeth that appeared to be sharp as Link's blade and lining two sets of teeth. It was not something any creature could take without at least a small kind of pain. Even for a supposed baby, this creature could take on a full-grown mare.

It was just as Ozpin had shown him with the image of the Monster from before. Every bit the monsters he had fought in Hyrule and beyond, but twisted even further into monstrosities that even the darkest parts of the world feared to claim. At least the wolfos seemed hardly different from before and the Nevermore creature a new beast on its own. This merely confirmed that for all the similarities Link could find and see, there would inevitable be differences as well.

"Whoa, nice catch Link," Tatl complimented him. It was a clear as the sun, especially to those who knew her, that it was highest kind of compliment she could give. "I didn't even see that thing coming."

"S-S-See!" Tael shouted at his sister, her nervous tendencies jumping forwards all at once. "I told you not to make fun of this place. Now… N-Now there are monsters j-j-jumping out of the grounds at us!" Link quickly withdrew his blade, the creature falling soundlessly to the dead earth. Another quick swing of his blade and its dark blood flew off, nothing to grip to.

"Oh quiet worrying Tael," his golden sister responded. "So we gotta bit of a jump scare. Big whoop. Link took care of it like it was nothing." Not untrue, though Link preferred a fight to an ambush. His eyes scanned the ground the Dodongo had jumped from. "Besides, at least now we know where to go."

"W-What?" Tael asked, his voice quivering with the same pace as his ring. Dark dust fell from beneath him, wings shifting from Link to his sister. "W-What do you mean?" Link only smiled lightly as his eyes trailed the earth, seeing what he wanted.

"C'mon Tael, think for a second," his sister cajoled him, flying around her darker sibling. "A monster just attacked from out of the literal ground, but even then it means it would have had to come from somewhere, right?" A low ring came from Tael, matched by the quicker and higher one Tatl made herself. "So now all we gotta do is follow where it came from." Tatl knew better. Then again, Tatl had been with her for more of his journeys than her younger brother. Link knelt down long enough to poke the dead ground, confirming the looseness of it as the path the Dodongo had burrowed from. In essence, a trail.

"W-Wh-Why would we do that?" Link stood as he heard Tatl ring, likely with annoyance. It was alright. Tael just preferred not to fight. It was unfortunate that was the exact opposite of what they were going to do.

"Cause that was just a baby," Tatl spoke up, rising a little in the air as she spoke. "And we're gonna go and take down that thing's big bad grandpa!" Not how Link would have said it, but it was close enough to be true. Besides, he had a trail now, ahead and over the hill.

Link kept his blade up as he began to follow the underground trail, knowing full well what he would find at the end. There were going to be plenty of distractions along the way.

But they wouldn't be any more than that, distractions.

* * *

"He's quick, I'll give him that," Ironwood spoke aloud, though to no in particular. Even if he had been talking to someone, Ruby didn't bother to check who. Her eyes were glued to the screen showing Link, the definition of easy to see, seeing as he was wearing green in a big, dull, and plain land.

Ms. Goodwitch's mini-drones were following him, watching his every move, and they had showed perfectly how he had drown his sword and struck down the Grimm faster than Ruby would have been able to get Crescent Rose ready. It was like watching something explode! Just standing there, normal and everything, then all of the sudden… BAM! Carnage!

Well… carnage was probably the wrong word, the young team leader internally realized. He did only strike once, but that was awesome, too. One strike for one monster. Then he was off walking in the Badlands again like nothing was wrong, Tatl and Tael flying around him. He looked every bit the hunter she wanted to be. She almost felt bad for whoever the pilot was, taking off before they could see Link thrash the Creeper like that.

"Don't worry, he's strong, too," Ruby heard Blake speak, likely to General Ironwood. "He lifts objects several times his own weight to battle Beowolves and school bullies. It's going to take a lot more than a few surprises to get the best of him." Blake's confidence was impossible to miss. Ruby shared it, and she was sure everyone else did, too. Who couldn't cheer for a faunus like Link?

"I have no doubt he is just that, otherwise Ozpin would have never proposed this," Ironwood spoke back. Ruby had her eyes on the screen still, watching Link's head move as he walked. "But in the Badlands, strength and speed are useful only in the short term. He will need more than that to best the Ancient Creeper."

Almost in time with the general's words, two more Creepers jumped from the dead earth, jaws open for Link. They were no different in size from the ones before, just as deadly. And after Link spun in a circle, they were just as dead. Well, maybe deader, seeing as they Grimm fell back down in two halves each. Link never even broke stride. Ruby was grinning with fists clenched just beneath her jaw, her excitement starting to boil over.

"He seems well-trained to me," Pyrrha spoke now. If she was calling someone well-trained, that could be written in the books. Pyrrha was, thankfully, not a show-off with her skill, but that didn't mean she handed out medals like she did apologies. She only said something if she meant it. "I'm sorry, but he has shown to be adept at using minimal movement with his blade, as well as having instinctual knowledge of where to strike. He isn't just swing a sharp piece of steel."

In what Ruby was now considering Remnant's way of proving her right, another small Creeper jumped at Link, this time from behind. On a heel he spun, but in the opposite way she expected. Instead of his sword cutting into the creeper, his shield slammed into it, beating away the airborne Grimm. She could only guess it let out a cry of pain as it was swatted like a fly. Whatever noise it was though was ended as soon as Link completed his spin, sword stabbing through the creature before it ever touched the ground. He kept moving in the same direction afterwards.

"He is proving his land's namesake of a knight," Ms. Goodwitch spoke now, with what Ruby could not ignore was a tone of approval. "Following the trail of the Grimm hunting him so he can find his way to the Ancient Creeper." Is that what he was doing? It made sense of him constantly poking the ground as he moved, but she was more focused on how fast he was cutting up all the Grimm. It was like a movie special.

"Yeah, but when is he gonna fight some big Grimm?" Ruby almost diverted her attention from the screen, almost. Nora's question was two parts rude and one part random. Then again, one part of everything she said was pretty random. "Those little guys don't mean much. How about a big guy! I wanna see Link prove he's the King of Hyrule!" Wait, Link was a king?

"Hero, Nora," Ren patiently corrected. Made sense, he was Nora's partner, and patient, and smart, and she was starting to lose focus on Link. He was almost over the cusp of one of the brown hills, shield and sword at opposite sides. "According to his companions, Link was called a Hero of Hyrule, not a king. He was also never labeled as the only hero."

"Besides, Link lacks the dignity befitting someone of noble birth," Weiss spoke up. She would know best about kings, queens, and other rulers. She was a princess after all. "He prefers smaller accommodations to others, requests no special privileges, and, above all else, left his homeland. No proper ruler would leave their country in such a way." Well… Ruby could give her that last one. Besides, she had to focus on Link still. He was just moving over the hill, Ms. Goodwitch's mini-drones following him as they showed him straighten at the top of the hill, overlooking –

\- a large creeper jumping at him with forearms drawn.

The view of Link momentarily shaken as the mini-drones moved further away, making Ruby hear a gasp from some corner of the room. She felt her hands grip her cloak tightly. When the cameras righted themselves, it showed Link in mid-roll, the dark Creeper flying over him, both unharmed. That was mixed news.

Link rose back to his feet as his roll finished, shield raised towards the Creeper that had turned around at its own landing. Both were as still as the dead earth beneath them, Tatl and Tael flying just behind Link's green cap. No sound was made, mostly due to the fact that Ms. Goodwitch's mini-drones didn't make any sound. Ruby wanted to grab the screen and shake something free, if only to make this look less like a montage of Link being attacked. But, as she learned from Weiss, she had to be patient.

The Creeper attacked again, jumping with its powerful forelimbs. In one of Dr. Port's stories, those had ripped the hull of a cargo train clean through. That meant it was tough. Link must have known that, because he leaned back, spinning towards the ground. One of the larger Creeper's claws went right over Link again.

Without the cameras moving, Ruby could see the size difference between the two. The Creeper was twice as large as Link, probably weighing just as much. Combine that with the strength to tear through reinforced steel and run at speeds as fast a dust powered engine trains, and it was a hard fight.

That was why it was all the more impressive when Link continued his sideways spin, raising his sword and cutting through the Creeper's tail as he did. He stopped his spin standing again. This time, the Grimm hit the ground with half off its body cut off.

It writhed on the dead earth, head moving back and forth and probably making some guttural cry. Ruby was glad she couldn't hear it. But then it fell over completely, red leaving its eyes to show it was dead.

"Looks like Mr. Hero is gonna be just fine," Ruby heard her sister say. Knowing her sister, she was probably nodding her head with a confident grin. Ruby was doing the same, for the same reason. She loved her sister. "Taking down that beast with one strike, it's a whole cut above a Beowulf!" Ruby sometimes hated her sister. The groan that followed through the room was one she shared.

"He does have good instincts, going for the weakest part of the creature," Ironwood noted again. Ruby hoped he was nodding his head. That's what he did when he told her she'd done a good job trying to fight the infiltrator at Beacon. "He'll need them he fights the true beast up ahead." Well yeah, there was that. "But I am curious as to what he is doing now." Because Ruby was watching the screen, she knew exactly what he was talking about.

Link was kneeling down by the corpse of the larger Creeper, the hand that was connected to his shield arm running over the top of the Grimm. Tatl and Tael were flying around him as he did so. Maybe there were talking. Maybe he was looking for something, probably, but Ruby didn't know what.

"What's he doing?" Jaune voiced Ruby's question. She could always count on him to do that, especially when she knew it would be too embarrassing to say them out loud. Yup, good old Jaune taking the heat for her.

"Isn't he hunting?" She heard Jaune ask. Way to go! "You know like, hunting like a hunter? Like, what we're training to be?"

"There's a reason why we are called Hunters, Mr. Arc," Ms. Goodwitch spoke up now. "Though labeled differently for likely alien reasons, Link is still hunting the Grimm as you will one day be expected to as well. Grimm rarely stay in one place, and in the labyrinths they may exist in one day, you must learn to hunt them, or else they will hunt you." Actually that made sense.

Link did seem to find something though, as he followed the dirt with his eyes, then his hands. Then he was walking again, Tatl and Tael circling around him. For not the first time, Ruby really wished she could hear what was going on. She didn't need an imagination to know that they were all talking together, and probably about where to go next.

"You know, there is still one thing I don't get." Ruby heard Jaune ask. She couldn't think of an embarrassing question, so she wondered what he was going to say, only as she watched Link carefully stride over a hill. Ms. Goodwitch's mini-drones seemed pretty happy with not showing her what was over it already.

"Grimm are attracted to emotions, like really bad ones, right? So then, why are they all crowded out here? In this wasteland?"

Ruby blinked. That… was actually a really good question.

"Ah, a fair question," she heard Ironwood respond. She had to look at him now, because it was worth at least a glance away from the screen. She looked long enough to see the general smiling at Jaune, nodding approvingly. That was enough. She turned her silver eyes back to the screen. "It is something our researchers here have been attempting to study, mainly concerning the abundancy of not only regular Grimm, but also their elder counterparts."

"Wait, research? You guys actually do stuff here besides holding the line?" That was Yang. Her sister definitely knew how to ask the direct questions. She did always get an answer.

"Of course, research and study of Grimm behavior is one of the cornerstones of the Military. The unknown does have the advantage, and the only way to overcome that is to study the unknowns." Huh… that made sense, too.

"Interesting, and have you any findings. Well let me clarify, any findings that are not sealed behind the Council's red tape?" Even if she wasn't intently familiar with her voice, it was only too obvious to Ruby that Blake asked the question. No one else loathed the Council and Military as much as she did. There were a lot of good reasons though.

"Not enough to keep me from saying that it has something to do with strong emotions," Ironwood, surprisingly, answered. The lack of a scoff or growl from Blake probably meant she was surprised, too. Ruby just kept her eyes on Link, pumping a fist as he effortlessly chopped another baby Creeper in two. That one didn't even make it out of the ground. "Specifically, for whatever reason, there are is enough hate, anger, and despair flowing from the badlands to draw even the eldest of Grimm to this location."

"Whoa," Jaune let out. "So like… why is there all that stuff? The hate I mean. I mean, yeah, hate the Grimm and all, but why's it there?"

"That is where the confidentiality begins," the General spoke, to doubtlessly Blake's utterly lack of surprise. "Though I can admit that even we do not have an answer. Only theories."

"I didn't realize that theories were worth keeping from the general public," Blake spoke again, and Ruby almost heard a hiss. With how hard she was willing herself to hear Link through the mute screen, she could have heard a pin drop.

"Unfortunately, it isn't that uncommon." Wait, Weiss? "Confidentiality in the realm of theories is no different that patenting unfinished ideas, just changing the institution responsible for it. My father has plenty of them, mostly regarding Dust locations or manufacturing techniques. However, every one of them he's made has been with substantial evidence." Ruby's partner changed her tone from informative to questioning without missing a beat. She was used to it.

"I have little doubt that he did," Ironwood agreed smoothly. He must be just as used to these kinds of conversations. "And your claim is also correct. However, telling you what it is will not happen." The finality to his tone was hard to ignore, even when Ruby watched Link kneel down to the ground again, hands trailing over the surface.

"Yeah, doesn't seem kinda impossible," Jaune spoke again. Ruby could tell he was rubbing the back of his head. "Getting a general to spill on stuff like that. N-Not that we'd try or anything just… y-yeah know." Ruby would have giggled at his stumbling, if not for her focus on the screen.

"I do, and I am glad you realize that," General Ironwood never sounded any different, at least not to Ruby. She wasn't paying attention though. "However, if I may be so bold, I believe the more important matter at hand is Link's repayment for nearly killing one Atlas's students." Ruby almost spat out her sigh. Yeah, Link did that, but after what that stupid Garnet had said, how couldn't he have done that. Sure, it might have been too far, and bloody, and really scary, but the point is he didn't do it for fun. Besides, what did Ironwood care?

Oh… wait… was General Ironwood also the headmaster at Atlas? The realization made a cold drip of dread run up Ruby's spine.

"Garnet Ether is being given the highest amount of care, as promised by Beacon Academy," Ms. Goodwitch spoke up, thankfully. "Despite her unfortunate condition, Link's attack of her was instigated after promised threats towards him and his mini-drones. It is rather clear that he thinks of them as his friends, so promising one as a poker chip was not a well-planned action on Ms. Ether's part." That cold feeling Ruby had only seemed to freeze when Ms. Goodwitch spoke on. Her voice was like the artic time a million.

"I am not arguing that part," Ironwood, rather calmly, returned. "It is why I am glad Link agreed to this hunt, as well as Ozpin. Slaying a beast like the Creeper for free will save a lot of money in the budget. It's a good way to show humility in actions, even if it is a bit dangerous." Wait, that was why they were here? To save the Military some money?

Ruby knew it made sense. A good hunter cost a lot of money, and to kill an Ancient Creeper… Ruby could have bought Crescent Rose a dozen times over with that kind of Lien. But really, something just didn't seem right. Maybe she was just thinking too much. Besides, two Creepers just attacked Link, and she watched as he dealt with them without breaking a sweat. He really was a Hunter, probably the best in Hyrule!

"Soooo, how do we know when he's getting close?" Yang asked. "Not that I mind watching Link kill the Grimm like flies on a wall, but I don't want to see him out there all day and night. That'd get boring… and dangerous."

"Nice save, Yang," Ruby found her mouth moving before she realized it. The smile that followed was just as unavoidable. She didn't dare turn her eyes from the screen, not after the small silence that fell over the room.

"Your enjoyment aside, I believe Link is approaching the nest of the Ancient Grimm." Now Ruby turned to look at Ironwood. If they knew where it was, why didn't the pilot or someone tell Link?

The general was looking down at his palm-sized scroll, thumb running over the surface as he looked at something. Ruby could just make out a flashing dot on the screen, but everything else was impossible to see at the angle she was at. Must have been numbers though, that was how maps worked, usually.

"The Ancient Creeper was prone to burrowing itself and moving from location to location, likely a lesson it learned over its many years." That made sense. "Link has been doing an excellent job at following the burrowing holes the younger Grimm are coming from." So that was what he was doing! "And if he continues his pace, he'll find himself before the Ancient Creeper in the next few moments." That was… good? Ruby felt her brows quirk at the general's words, but she quickly moved them back to the screen.

Good thing she did, too.

Link was shaking. Not like scared shaking, like Ruby would in a horror movie. The cameras weren't moving, but he was. That made it look a little weird. He was shaking like something was shaking him, like… the ground was moving. Oh crap.

"Ah, it appears he has found it."

Ruby bit her lips as the ground began to crack underneath Link. He jumped back quickly, before turning and avoid the splitting earth. That was smart. The mini-drones showed everything, though, how the further he well, the more the earth split. It wasn't just towards him, it was out and around the Badlands, like a massive crevice.

She held her breath as the earth began to fall into it, showing the dark depths beneath. It took her a full moment to realize that the blackness wasn't a deep hole…

* * *

"Well, guess we found it," Link heard Tatl speak next to him. He could feel Tael shivering on his shoulder, gripping his tunic with all his small body could muster. He didn't dare look towards them. It would mean breaking contact with the monster rising from the ground.

And rising was the apt word for it.

From the crevice that had grown to well over the size of the hill, a great black claw raised itself towards the heavens. It stretched well above any height Link could easily reach, perhaps the limits of what his Longshot could grasp. The harsh black against the vibrant blue, it was a start comparison that enraptured his attention.

Focus was broken when he noticed the same claw falling.

Link backpedaled before running again, making a strong dive forwards when he saw the tips of a shadow overtaking his own. No sooner did his body roll across the ground than dead earth behind him get shattered. Dust and debris rose into the air at the heavy impact, throwing the Hylian back even further. He was unharmed, but far from unfazed.

His shield was between himself and where the massive claw had descended, preventing any of the larger chunks of land from smacking into him. He fell the debris run across the steel, but do nothing more. The cloud of dust it had generated, however, made vision near impossible. That was no good. It was impossible to face an enemy of this size without seeing it.

Link backpedaled again, keeping his shield up and sword out, ready for any of the smaller Dodongo's to come after him. The further back he went the thinner the cloud became, eventually dispersing again. Out of its obscuring shadow, the Hylian was able to see the full size of the massive creature. As rising was perfect for the ascent of the claw, monolithic was more than appropriate for describing this monster.

A mask of purest white sat atop the creature's head, a head that was hanging a towers height in the air. Beady red eyes shown from the two hollow spots at its front, sitting above a massive jaw that was lined with teeth sharp as sword, large as bodies. Within that jowl was only darkness, a darkness that seemed akin to the pit it had crawled from, deep and endless.

Its body was of scaled, each darker than the empty spots of a night sky. They smoothly ran from the cowl of white that was the creature's mask, vanishing into its large body, then becoming indiscernible with the pit it still had half of its body buried within. Both of its claws were placed upon the dead earth, both on near opposite sides of the deep crevice it was crawling from.

It only occurred to Link that it was growling when he felt his feet rumble. The very sounds the monster was making were enough to make the dead earth tremble. It made sense that its strength was enough to split it with simple swipes of its claws, claws that Link lay down on with arms spread and not reach the ends of.

Link thought back to the last creature he fought that had the name Dodongo, the King of the beasts. Within the cavern it was named after within Death Mountain. It was a giant even to his adult self, and yet he had fought it as a child. Unaffected by any blows along its length, only by forcing it feed on bombs were enough to damage it.

But this creature, crawling from the pit with a rumble that shook the earth, was no less than triple that creature's size, larger than even the skull he had found within the cavern's main chamber, and looking far more alive. So this was what became of Dodongo's that were wise enough to hide.

If the one he had feld before was a King, then this was without a doubt an Emperor.

"L-Link," he heard one of the fairy's speak shakily. "Is… A-Are we going to be able to beat this?" It was question on Tael, could ask. It was not a slight on his character, and certainly not his confidence. He was a fairy used to tricks and stories, not adventures like this, not like his sister. It was why Tatl only hovered aside Link without a word, the ringing of her wings the only indication that she was aware of the world around her.

This creature, Emperor Dodongo, was pretty bad. But they had seen so much worse.

Link nodded at Tael's words, finding a grin pulling on his face as the massive creature's head turned. Its head bobbed in the air, up and down in very quick motions. It took the hero a moment to realize he was sniffing, like a wolf in the hunt. Any questions for what it was looking for were only too quickly answered.

Its head slowly twisted down to Link, focusing its massive red eyes upon the lone green figure in the field of dead gray. The shaking of the earth intensified, link's first clue that the monster's growl had risen in volume. It clearly knew he was there, even if Link was comparable in size as a fly was to a horse. That was okay, it only opened up new possibilities.

A breeze passed by Link, coming in from nowhere. He quirked a brow before he realized the creature was leaning back with it, the monstrously large form leaning with the flow of the wind. That was the first and only clue that the wind wasn't natural. It was the Dodongo sucking in the air through clenched teeth. He knew what was coming next.

Link knelt to the dead ground, raised his shield and put as much of his body behind it as he could. Tatl and Tael quickly joined him. What happened next was as Link thought, but then some as well.

The Emperor Dodongo roared.

If its growls shook the earth, his roar split the air. The debris from the impact was nothing compared to the force link felt pushing against the barrier of the Magic Shield. He could feel it straining, ready to break under the massive force pushed against him. If that wasn't clear enough, his feet dragged backwards, constantly threatening to send him head over heels. Only clenched teeth and a sure grip kept that from happening. However, he couldn't win this fight by simply enduring a creature's roar. As he had with all monsters, he needed to attack them at their weakest, so he could reduce their strength at their greatest. Now was such an opportunity.

Bombs were what a Dodongo was normally vulnerable to, a high explosion within the soft insides of their body. It made the idea of piercing this thick hides moot. However, given how tall the creature was, it would be impossible to throw one far and quick enough without the beast shutting its maw. But… that didn't mean there wasn't a way.

As soon as Link felt the force on the Magic Shield lessen, he let it go. As predicted, the force sent it right back against him. In this case, right onto his back. In mid spin he had caught it in a holster, never needing a hand for the job; they were busy getting his trick ready.

He needed an arrow in one hand, the quickest way he could deliver anything from A to B. Maybe not the power of the longshot, but if he could hit a crow half the length of Hyrule Field away, he could hit a giant monolith of a target a tower's height above him. But that was only one item he needed the other was oh so different.

It was a bomb, as he knew it had to be, but it wasn't the same bomb he had used before. Those were small, quick, and light-weight. They wouldn't do much against a beast easily thrice the size of King Dodongo, even from the inside. He needed more of a punch to go with the boom, and he did the only thing he could think of. Use three times the munitions for a beast three times the size.

So three bombs. Three bombs, attached to the head of one arrow. Sometimes it was easy being the unknown, especially when you made up ideas as you went along.

"Link!" He heard Tatl yell, probably more angry than panicked. "I don't know what it is you think you're doing, but you better hurry it up!" Definitely angry. That was okay, he had a plan to get started.

As the force was dropping into nothing more than a breeze, Link grabbed for his back, at a pocket on his hardness, sitting above his shield. From the magical cartridge, he produced a tool he had long since mastered, and still eternally enjoyed. His faithful Fairy Bow.

In a smooth motion, he notched the bomb/arrow combination onto the bow, pulling back the string. His legs twisted on the ground, stopping only when he faced the beast once more, no barrier between them. The Emperor Dodongo was leering down at him, jaw open wide enough still for Link to see the point of every one of its teeth. Perfect.

TWANG. HIIIIIiiisssss….

He released the arrow with a single twitch, the force igniting the fuse of the bombs as it flew. He only too quickly readied another arrow, for the preparation of missing his shot. But he didn't. As true of all the arrows he had fired before, it flew in a straight line, never flying far enough to show its arc. Even with a bomb weighing at the front, it went precisely where Link wanted. Straight into the Dodongo's mouth.

It landed without a sound, too high up and far away for the noise to travel. But the sudden freeze of the monstrosity was clear a sign as any that it knew something was wrong and that Link had done something right.

"W-We'd better get away!" Tael shouted in the void of noise. Link responded only with agreement, running further away and back. It was a not a retreat, it was a dodge, just for an attack that hadn't come yet.

He knew it was on its way when a dull boom echoed from behind him. It was followed quickly by a high, but loud, whine of pain.

"Sounds like your magic arrow did the trick!" Tatl shouted as she flew beside the sprinting Link. She didn't expect and answer, and he didn't give one. He needed to get clear, then he needed to strike. He could feel the air moving past him as he ran, a sign of the Emperor Dodongo's quick descent to the ground; a mixed blessing. He had to avoid the fall, but once he had, it was time to strike.

Just as before, the impact of the Dodongo shook the Earth. Link saw the debris and dust fly past his head before he felt his footing shake. When it did, it was the sign to move. He spun on a heel, Tatl and Tael ringing as he did so. In the same spin, he drew out his sword and shield, bow stored away. He ran into the field of dust without another thought.

Link squinted through the dust, looking for outlines of the beast he had momentarily felled. With the dead earth polluting the air, it was difficult to make out the black figure of the Dodongo. But that was only the fault of distance, a problem that his continued movement slowly fixed. It was, after all, very hard to not see something the size of that monster.

And when Link did lay eyes on it, the rough outline of the great beast, he did not hesitate. He needed to be fast, decisive, and most importantly, flawless. Failure to do so would, at best, ruin his chance to win. At worse… never think of the worst.

He jumped atop the claw that was closest to him, rolling as he made it over the top. It didn't stir as his weight was put on it. A clear a sign as any that the monster was unconscious for now, but not forever. Link had to be fast, that hadn't changed.

He ran up the length of its arm, jumping across the gaps of scales where its figure bent. Once, over its wrist, twice over its elbow, then again on the thick black scales of the Dodongo. There were no clocks or messages to tell him directly, but Link could tell by feeling alone that the creature would awaken soon. He ran up its length, quickly finding the smooth joining between its black scales and white mask. He had to move now.

Link, reaching the top of the Dodongo's alabaster mask, jumped off of it. With all his strength, he rose high into the air, high enough to see the perfect place to strike. Now he only need make the tool to do so. Falling, spinning as he fell, Link focused his magic into his Magic Sword. It sharpened, it lengthened, and… most importantly, it was swung.

At the nadir of his fall, Link drove the Magical Sword well into the Dodongo's neck.

Deep, but not deep enough.

Link pulled his blade free as the Dodongo let out another grand scream, far quicker and higher than the roar that shook the dead earth. Though it made sense. That was a call of war, Link had just made it scream in pain.

He fell back to the dead land, hitting the dry surface with boots first. He was sprinting before even putting his weapons away. The monster was moving again, and it would take only a single lucky strike to make Link's attack meaningless. And, as expected, the Dodongo's massive claws drew through the ground as it writhed in pain. Link was already outside of its reach.

"Whoa, whoa, okay, alright," Tatl was listing aside from Link as he turned back around. "That worked, yeah, that totally worked. That's good. Now… now we just gotta do it again, but really finish it off this time." She was right, of course. She'd seen enough fights with monsters to know what had to be done.

"C-Can we do it again?!" Tael asked with a scream. It was impossible to tell if he was screaming over the noise of splitting earth, or from the usual fear. "A-Aren't those… i-isn't this Dodongo s-s-supposed to be smart!? Would it fall for it again?!" A fair question, but not relevant.

The question is never tricking the monster, it never was. The trick is striking its weakness, a weakness it natural revealed as it tried to attack. It was no different than trying to parry a soldier's sword mid-strike. A successful counter left the opponent open for attack, much more so than if they had shield and sword raised in defense.

And monsters by nature, regardless of age, were always on the offensive.

Magic Sword and Shield raised, Link turned around to face the Emperor Dodongo once more. Its cries hadn't lessened, the wound around its neck more than clear, and the rage in its beady red eyes enough to send lesser soldiers to the rear lines in fear. Link didn't flinch. He could do this, he would do this.

Against monsters, he was the ultimate unknown. And the unknown always had the advantage.

* * *

"Oh yeah! Three points for the faunus in green!" Yang cheered with fists in the air. That quickly changed to actually pumping her fists like the boxer she emulated. "That was a super one-two combo. One strike with bombs then another with a super sword swing!" Those were most likely not the names of his actual attacks.

But Blake could understand her partner's enthusiasm. She shared it, though without the boisterous displays of joy or excitement. No, Blake was always more reserved, preferring the shadows and more unnoticed sides of the usual activities. And yet, even she couldn't keep a smile from pulling at her lips. Not after Link's display.

Sitting in the corner of the semi-lit room, Blake had her fists balled just above her chest, willpower keeping her from beating them into the air. Beneath her dark ribbon, her feline ears were perked towards the screen, straining to hear noise from the mute device. It was fruitless, she knew, but enough excitement made you wish for anything to be true. Her young team leader was more than evidence of that.

"Truly it was impressive, but I am more interested in where those weapons came from." A voice drooled from another screen, one that near instantly made Blake lose her good cheer. Her golden eyes, begrudgingly, swiveled away from the screen showing Link's stance against the Ancient Grimm, looking instead to the large screen besides it.

It hardly showed a picture worth looking at, three silhouettes atop a blinding white background, each one sitting around the same unseen table. It was impossible to tell which one had spoken, let alone if there were in the screen at all. All Blake knew was that the screen showed the ever-popular image of a power she had long loathed. The Council.

"The ability to draw objects of various sizes and shapes with ease does present a great many of uses, both industrial and in military." Blake assumed a new member of the council spoke, but again due to the monotonous tone that came through the display, not even her sensitive ears could tell. "Used properly, it could save millions of Lien in storage space and maintenance, possibly allowing more space for living or research areas."

"True, but I am more curious about his weapons." What was definitely a new member spoke now. "According to the records given by Ozpin, Link does need to replace the Dust encrusted into his weapons. That can only leave one curious how he is able to power his shield and sword the way he has. Does he replace them altogether? Are they powered through some other means? His Aura, perhaps. The idea begs for answers." She was loathe to admit it, but Blake knew they were asking good questions, and proposing, to a point, harmless research. It wouldn't take long for them to reach that line, though.

"I believe we should focus more on this battle before wondering about his tools," Blake heard Ms. Goodwitch speak up. She shifted her eyes just long enough to see her professor tapping on her pad, with emerald eyes glancing back and forth between it and one of the many displays. "For example, Link has shown a great aptitude to adapt to the situation, using what was clearly an uncommon use for his weapons to solve a problem presented to him."

"Oh yeah, firing bombs on arrows, kinda like retro-rocket," Blake heard Yang speak again, complete with a snicker. "And then all he does is just smirk and get ready for another go. Looks like Tatl was speaking honestly about Link with all that high praise, huh?"

"I-I don't think I'd say she's exaggerating now," Jaune now, the other blonde hunter-in-training in the room. "Kinda easy seeing him fighting Grimm as a kid now that he's well… fighting something like that… alone… in the badlands…" At least he was aware of how unfair and ludicrous this was to Link, likely done because of his status as a faunus.

Blake took in a slow breath of air, quiet as grass, to control her bubbling rage. They had talked about this, Ozpin, Link, and herself. They knew this was going to happen, they had planned on it. Ozpin had been more than upfront with Link regarding the 'repayment' for the Military, a test in disguise. Ozpin couldn't come because of Link's status, albeit short status, as a student of Beacon. Blake was the control to mediate the theories, keep the military or Council from guessing the end-game. She was only too glad neither had spoken or made motion for any ideas thus far.

They had come close, so close, with questions of the Dust Link used. Just one question more, one further prod, and they would have requested things from Link that no one should have to turn over. Relics of his past, symbols of his home, his heritage. She wouldn't let that happen. And ironically, she was likely the only one who could. She loved her team, loved them as family, but Ruby could not keep a secret, Yang would brag about what she knew, and Weiss would all too likely be pressured by her family to break. Only Blake had no ties left to force her hand.

"Hey, what's happening now?" Ruby's voice grabbed Blake's attention. With the girl practically pressing her nose against one of the screens, it was impossible to incorrectly guess what she was referring to. Blake focused her slit eyes on the screen above the red-cloaked girl.

It showed the Ancient Grimm from a higher angle, a much higher height. Were it free of any landmarks for comparison, it would have looked little different than the usual Grimm that populated the abandoned cities or dense forests. However, with the small speck of green that Blake knew to be Link, it appeared gargantuan. Even as it tilted its head back, having its ominous red eyes look skyward, it was nothing short of huge. It only made the large gash that ran across the back of its neck all the more impressive to witness.

Then, with its maw open, it began to scream. At least, Blake assumed it was screaming. No matter how hard she strained, she made out no noise from the television, and mini-drones that recorded the image didn't shake in the air. Link, however, perched firmly on the ground, wavered as the Grimm continued to point its open jaw into the air.

Then, on a screen that showed Link's profile more than the Grimm's, Blake saw him turn and run.

"Is he running away?" She heard Weiss ask. Blake gave no emotion to it. The heiress was far from the bigot she thought her to be. Her question was one of genuine concern. Was the trained hunter, the best in his foreign kingdom, running away. Blake knew the answer to that.

"Unlikely," she heard Ironwood speak, in place of her. "It appears he senses something we cannot see, and is tactically putting distance between the Grimm and whatever it is attempting to do." That made sense, perfect sense, and Blake's opinion of the Military leader slightly raised at his defense of Link. But that still left the question of what was happening.

Said question was thrown to the wind as the dead earth began to crack again. Only feet away from where Link once was, there was already a giant pit, falling and swallowing itself into darkness. The cracks only grew outwards further and further from the Grimm, seemingly chasing the running faunus. He wasn't fast, far from it, but he was already far enough away.

"Good instincts," Pyrrha spoke now, nodding from her place beside Jaune. "He didn't question what he felt, and it saved him." Coming from an expert duelist like herself, it made sense she understood best what Link thought and acted on.

"An often required trait amongst hunters," a voice from the screen ruined Pyrrha's good words. "But if I can trust my own gut, there's more to that Grimm's move than merely moving some dirt." That, unfortunately again, made sense.

"Is that supposed to be moving?" Nora now, legs swinging under the table, as she pointed towards one of the screens, just beneath the one showing the Gargantuan Creeper. Blake's golden eyes followed it, seeing only the darkness that trailed behind Link, the chasm that opened up beneath the dead earth. It took her sharp eyes a moment, but she only too quickly saw what the energetic member of JNPR meant.

The darkness was moving. The abyss the Grimm opened the earth into was moving. That meant that it wasn't an abyss. It was worse than simple darkness.

Those were Grimm.

"Oh geez!" She heard Jaune curse, but only the loudest, gasps and soft hisses echoed about the room, herself included. Creepers both small and large jumped and clawed their way from the hole, each hitting the dead ground before setting off after Link. They began as a line, but far too quickly began to resemble a flood. Blake's stomach felt light, hollow even.

"Th-that's bad. That's… that's really bad." Blake didn't need to hear Ruby to know how dire the situation was. Chased by dozens to a near hundred Creepers, within their own home in the Badlands, and shadowed by their Ancient Leader. Bad didn't begin to describe how dangerous the situation really and truly was.

For the first time, the legitimate first time since meeting him, Blake feared for Link's life.

"What will he do now?" One of the voices, the voices that Blake now so easily loathed, spoke drearily through the screen. "This is not a situation most professional hunters would be able to find a way out of. Perhaps this was too much for the young faunus after all." And there it was.

Their hatred, their malicious superiority, their loathing for something that was stronger than them, in mind, body and spirit. These humans, with their filthy and disgusting machinations. They were going to let Link die, and they wouldn't do anything more than snidely comment on the quality of the picture. Blake wanted to scream, to scratch, to tear the screen right off of the-

"He can do it…." Blake almost missed the quite voice.

It took her just as long to realize it was her won

"He can do this," Blake responded, a smile spreading across her lips. She turned back to the screen, rest of the room silent and still as Link bent low, dodging a Creeper that lunged over him, promptly burying itself in the ground a moment later. "He can do this." Because he was the greatest knight in a kingdom of faunus. He was literally the best of the best.

She watched as Link rolled to the side, avoiding another large Creeper that lunged at him. The camera spun far enough to show the crack of the earth hard far sense dissipated, no longer chasing him like the abyss. But that still left the Grimm that clawed over dead lands to get to him. But when the camera on a different screen showed his face, illuminated by the dark and gold, it didn't show a face of fear, and far from one of worry.

Link, with long ears framed by golden locks, blue eyes shining against dark creatures, was grinning. That was all Blake needed to see to feel confident again.

She watched as he slid his sword and shield away, grabbing against for a pouch along his belt. From it he withdrew his bow, swinging it far enough along his side to bat away a stray baby Creeper. But he wasn't done. With his left arm extended, his right reached for pouches on the harness that ran from his shoulder to waist, grabbing through it wistfully. He pulled the obvious item from it, or a series of items. Multiple arrows.

"Good idea to keep distance. Creeper are known to pile upon their prey." Ironwood noted, but Blake largely ignored him. She watched instead as Link took a few more bounding leaps forwards, turning on the last. Yes… turning. He spun in mid-air, slow enough that when his feet touched the ground, sliding over the cracking decaying land, he was facing the hordes of Grimm and Monstrous Creeper.

He had the arrows notched in his bow, aiming down the line of Creepers that were fast approaching. Blake felt her chest tighten the closer they drew, Link no longer retreating from their assault. He was just kneeling, staying almost perfectly still, with his bow drawn and the Grimm almost on top of him. One screen showed a close up of Link, eyes focused forwards, teeth showing in a light grin, and arrows glowing an alabaster blue… wait…

"Are his arrows glowing?" one of the disembodied voices spoke through the screen. Blake didn't offer it a glance. She just watched Link. She watched as he released the string of his bow, as the arrows flew forwards, and each one found a target amongst the Grimm.

And she watched as the flood of Creepers was frozen in a flash.

"Whoa!" Blake's sharp ears heard the Orange sisters let out in tandem. With how hard she was straining to hear, she could have heard a pin drop. As such, it sounded as if they shouted only inches from her. "That was- He just- I can't-aaaaggyeeeeaaaaahhh!" That was Yang, and Blake thought she had never been more eloquent.

"My word," her ears heard Ms. Goodwitch speak next, her voice bit softer than usually. She couldn't blame the professor, not with her own voice feeling so far away and impossible to find.

On the screen, each of the screens that showed Link's trial, one from every perspective the mini-drones could find, Link had made a veritable mountain of frozen Grimm. He was just a blip of green against the tower of white blue, dust with the dark creatures inside. Even the Monstrous Creeper that towered above hardly moved, likely judging the giant frozen structure in confusion. It was a Grimm, a horrible and ancient monster, but it was smart, too, at least smart enough to live for as long as it had.

"A superb display indeed!" One of the monotone voices cheered from the screen. "Pooling the pack of Grimm into a trap of ice! What a wonderful move, a risk that was well worth the take."

"Oh Grimm and Dust," Jaune now, sounding just as breathless as ever. "That was insane. That was like Snow Angel times a million." An exaggeration, even by what Blake could admit was bias towards her fellow faunus, but the superiority in size and magnitude to Weiss's own ice was easy to see. It took only a glance to see that the heiress appeared unwilling to argue the point. But that didn't matter.

Link was moving again.

Blake watched, hands balling on the tails of her white shirt, as Link ran back towards the icy tower. His bow was away, no arrows in his hands… but neither was there a shield or sword in his grasp. Instead, he was reaching for another pocket, another tool that Blake could hardly wait to see. His left arm swung outwards, pointing up towards the glassy ice, holding a device she had never seen before. One of Ms. Goodwitch's mini-drones made it simple to see.

It looked, at first, like an unfinished gauntlet. It had a guard that rand down half of Link's forearm, but an end that extended outwards just as far. Chains wrapped around the half-finished guard, likely a few times over, but only Dust knew how many times it did so beneath those bulky lines. But at the end, the end pointing towards the frozen Creepers, was a point no different than the end of a blade.

Any questions anyone had to ask regarding the device were silenced when Link made a quick motion with his arm. When he did, the end of the gauntlet flew through the air, straight and true as the arrows he had fired before.

All in the same now torturous silence, the device flew towards the icy mountain, trailing its sharp end with the chains that were wrapped about its end. Fast as the arrows he had fired before, the tip hit mound, digging itself into a crevice. It flew far, farther than Blake suspected a simple chain could have extended, but her eyes told her only the truth.

But it only got better when Link flew next.

"There goes Mega Man!" Blake heard Nora shout, but again, she didn't look towards the bubbly girl. Her golden eyes were focused hard on the screen. Link, as a blip of green over a sheet of white blue, was being pulled up the surface of the structure, all without appearing with any difficulty. Fast as the spike and chain and flown before, Link was atop the icy structure, literally standing over hundreds of Grimm.

"What an interesting tool," another droll voice spoke through the monitor, the screen that Blake's very being warned her from "A bit archaic in design, but an upgrade with Dust cartridges or Carbon Laser tips could improve the reach and durability of the device. It does seem to have a simple, if desirably, use." Of course, already making judgements on how to improve something they didn't even understand. She didn't care, not with Link on the screen.

With the same leaps and bounds he made on the Ancient Creeper before, he climbed the great structure of ice, jumping the few flat tops to reach a higher and higher point, but also further and further forwards. He was climbing the Ice, running over his Dust created ice block… back towards the Ancient Creeper.

Said monstrosity had its head still angled back and upwards, making its mouth completely inaccessible. Worse though, the flexion of its neck blocked the wound that Link had made previously. That meant no way to knock the creature out again and no way to exploit the previous wound. Both bad. But Link wasn't stopping.

Blake watched, fists clenched and teeth grating, as Link aimed his half-gauntlet again, up towards the massive beast. He was running out of ice though, the platform his Dust arrows had made reaching an end. Would he stop and take aim? Risk holding still even for a moment in front of the ancient Grimm? Blake's answer came swiftly.

Link jumped off the platform, legs rotating with the effort. At the apex of his height, the gauntlet flew forward again, the spike running towards the great Creeper. Blake didn't dare take a breath as it flew. The rest of the room was just as quiet. The screen that focused on the Creeper showed the spike fly true, long chain trailing behind it. It hit the mask of the Grimm, without making a sound once more. Just as before, Link flew with the hook, but… differently.

"Is he… swinging?" Ruby asked the question, and just as before, her words couldn't have been more accurate. Link was swinging.

He fell downwards, the chain holding taught as he swung towards the Creeper. Towards it, but also away from it. He was swinging towards its side, like a swing set. It only made the difference in size between him and the Ancient Creeper all the greater. With the full length of his chain gauntlet, swinging down the length of the Creeper, Link looked like a leaf falling down the trunk of a tree. But he was more than just a passive object in the breeze, Blake knew that. He was a faunus, a hero to his land. He would not disappoint.

The Ancient Creeper, however, seemed to sense something was wrong. Once more it proved the wisdom of its age, foregoing it's still posture with a jerk of its massive head, pulling at the still swinging Link. Blake heard a gasp as he was jerked with the effort, like he was hit from the air, but she didn't dare look away. Link wasn't done.

The Creeper swung its head again, the opposite way this time, hoping to completely throw Link from its mantle. And again, Link was rag-dolled from the end of the chain gauntlet he gripped to. It was perhaps a miracle that he arm wasn't ripped clean off by the effort. That, or proof of the strength in his aura. Maybe it wasn't a miracle, but what came next was absolute proof of Link's skill.

In the midst of another swing, forced and thrashed by the Ancient Creeper, Link began to retract the chain of his gauntlet. Blake watched on the screen that focused on him, watched as he flew up towards the maw of the Ancient Grimm, all with a smile on his face. He flew up to the mask of the Creeper, up and past the maw that the Grimm now protected.

And then, the momentum Link gained sent him higher. He practically flew past the Creeper, flying into the sky above the Ancient Grimm. The screen that showed the Grimm showed nothing but a faint green dot hovering above the massive beast. The screen that showed Link showed him hanging in the air, the Ancient Grimm beneath him roaring up with death in its gaze. And Link was still smiling.

Then he began to fall again, back to the dead earth and towards the Grimm below. Blake felt a breath slowly get sucked into her lungs, seeing too many ways in her golden eyes on how this could end for Link, a swat of the Grimm's paw, eaten by its maw, or a simple fall to the dead ground, nothing to protect from the impact. They were all plausible, all possibilities, but at the same time… Blake couldn't imagine them when she saw how Link was grinning.

He pulled the sword from the sheath, red encrusted weapon shining like a beacon over the dead landscape. It only became that and more when the familiar hue began to glow over it, lengthening the blade with the Dust that was built into it. Link slowly twisted in the air, stopping only when his feet were towards the ground and sword raised high above his head. Blake couldn't truly hear it, but on the screen, it felt like the Creeper was roaring up at him.

Link was nearing the Grimm, so close to the Creeper, but he still hadn't stopped smiling. Blake watched as he rotated the blade, the long sword now aimed downwards and between Link's feet. That made it only clear as day what he was going to do.

"Risky," she heard Ironwood speak. "Let's hope it works." Better than mockery, Blake realized. She still didn't offer him sight or thought. Only Link mattered right now. Link….

… Who had suddenly driven the blade into one of the Creepers' eyes.

Blake found herself blinking, golden eyes confused at what they had missed. The creeper thrashed as the long hue of Link's blade sunk deep into the socket of its mask, but Blake still couldn't see when he had struck, especially given his clear one-directional travel. She would have to think of it later, because Link wasn't done.

He was still falling, and the further he fell, the further the blade drove itself into the Grimm's skull. In no time at all, Link was standing on the alabaster face-plate of the Ancient Creeper, sword pierced deep and through its red eye and into its mask. Yet the Grimm had stopped moving. That was truly it. No thrashing, no jerking motions, nothing. It had simply stopped. That was until time seemingly started again.

Like a forest giant at the end of its life, the Ancient Creeper began to fall. It was all noiseless, as silent as every other action Blake had watched up until now. It slowly toppled over, large and doubtlessly heavy form crashing into the dead earth beneath it. The ground cracked and shattered, embedding the massive Grimm deeper into its crust, but only assuring the beast's demise.

And then, with a quick jump from the mask of the beast, Blake watched Link land safely on the dead ground away from the beast, blade spinning and sheathing itself behind his back. He turned and stared at the fallen Grimm, smile as still on his face as it was before.

He did it… he did it!

"He did it!" Ruby screamed what Blake was already internally cheering. Her team leader jumped into the air, hands up and grin plastered on her face. In a smooth rush, Yang grabbed her sister out of the air, cheering with her and screaming in praise for Link. Blake stood up slowly, her limbs shaking with the desire to scream and jump as well, to let all of Remnant know how happy she was. The smile that pulled at her cheeks like ropes on a sail would have to do.

"Woo-hoo! Oh yeah! Link-one, Nasty-Grimm-Monster-zero!" Nora was cheering now, spinning in circles on the back of her heels. Blake could heard Ren making muffles sounds from his place between her arms, likely being crushed by the girl's monstrous strength, but that didn't matter. Link had defeated a monster that was centuries, maybe even a millennia old. THAT was what mattered!

They were laughing, cheering, and even celebrating. Jaune, Pyrrha, Ruby, Weiss, Ren, Nora, Yang. They were all jumping and hugging one another, all so happy for Link, for a faunus, for someone other than themselves.

And it was wonderful.

"Well, I suppose that settles all debts, doesn't it?" Blake heard Ms. Goodwitch speak up. She turned to her professor, seeing a subtle smile across her lips as well. It was hard for Blake to keep her tears in check. They were all happy for a faunus they hardly knew. How could she not be happy? "Now would be an excellent time send your pilot, Ironwood. Before any other creatures are attracted to the area."

"Of course," the general instantly agreed, thankfully, blessedly. He lifted the small screen in his hand, the small device that linked to Link's Comm Device. He had hardly even used it, but Blake supposed it was a matter of safety. That was good, but Link killing a Creeper older than some countries was even better. He pushed a few buttons on the pad, looking up at the screen as he did so… except… that wasn't Link's screen.

Blake would have missed it if she were any less cautious of humans, if she had any more faith in their ability to be trusted. But even in the midst of a quick but grand celebration, her golden eyes caught Ironwood's glance towards the screens. He didn't look at Link's close-up, of him sitting on the ground with legs out and arms back, or of the panoramic view showing the already disappearing corpse of the Creeper.

He was looking at the Council screen, he was gazing right at them. And, to Blake's growing unease, the figure in the middle made a bob with its head, a nod. A nod for what?

Blake immediately looked back to Ironwood, the tension in her growing by the second. Her joy was replaced by fear, elation by deprecation. It only grew darker when she saw the general give a sigh. She knew what that sigh meant, because she had seen it before.

She saw Adam sigh like that just before he derailed a train.

Ironwood pressed a button on the pad.

* * *

"Oh yeah! Take that Dodongo!" Tatl cheered happily, ringing as she rose and dove in the air. Gold dust fell off of her with every wave. "That's what you get for thinking you can take us on! Should'a dug deeper and played dead then try and take us on!"

"Um… didn't we hunt him, sis?" Tael followed his sister, hovering closer to her bobbing form. "I mean, yeah, it was a monster, but like… I-I don't think had much of a choice."

"Oh, please," Tatl spoke sarcastically as she rounded on her brother, spinning about him before stopping light length's apart. "If that thing was smart enough to know how to handle Link's bombs after one go, it definitely had the fore knowledge that getting this close to an army's fort was a really bad idea. Don't you agree Link?"

The sudden question made the green clothed Hylian blink, but only smile lightly afterwards. He held up and waved his hands, knowing better than to intervene or argue in an argument of any kind. Besides, they were siblings, and history had told him that it was common between them. His mind was elsewhere anyways, blue eyes set on the slowly vanishing carcass of the Emperor Dodongo. A part of him slightly wondered if they would call it anything but a Creeper or Grimm.

"Whatever, not like it matters now. The monster's dead and we are one debt less to that freaking knight training place." The ire in her voice was palpable. "Seriously though, it's more like they're in our debt, making up reasons for us to get to work."

"We well did break their stuff… a lot. A-And, um… Weiss was kind enough to pay some of it," Tael lightly spoke again, adding to her sister's words. She rang in what was undoubtedly annoyance. Link, kept his eyes on the misty form of the Dodongo, wondering just how deep it had dug the abyssal drench before. There were a lot of smaller beasts in there.

"Yeah, paid for it right after she basically had her fill of Mikau." Link chuckled at Tatl's words. Of course she would notice the young girl's attraction to the Zora. "Ice Queen must have been full of salt with how much she drank in Link. I mean geez, she was practically moaning when Mikau threw that water on himself." Link put his hand to the edge of the pit as he gazed into it, carefully for the land to crack again. His eyes couldn't see past the blanket of darkness he saw.

"I-It's okay now though, right?" Tael followed his sister once more. "This was… Link did this so that we wouldn't get in trouble, for what the girl said… about taking you away…" Link felt his hand clench the dead earth at the reminder, splintering at his grasp. It was enough of a reminder to back away before he really did fall into the abyss below.

"Hey hey, relax," Tatl spoke far softer than her words just previously. A quick ring was enough indication to Link that she had flown to her brother's side again. "That's not gonna happen. Don't worry. Link made that clear as the sky. 'Sides, now that this is taken care of, we can start to pull that fast one on the stupid Military and Council everyone keeps talking about." Link was hesitant to call them idiots, not with how they ruled the land. Perhaps unwise in specific areas, but far from idiots. Blake and Weiss had made that perfectly clear.

He sighed as he walked softly back to the fairies, the siblings that spoke and hugged one another. They seemed incredibly out of place, two bright balls of light hovering within a dead land. It didn't matter though. He had done his part for the General, and so he would have a means to leave soon. It was what the pilot had promised and, with the small drones that continuously flew around him, it couldn't be long before they found their way to him.

"You know, now that I really look at it, doesn't this place seem kinda strange?" Tatl flew away from her brother as she asked the question, flying higher into the air as if to survey the endless dead landscape. Link watched her, curious.

"What do you mean, sis?" Tael followed his sister, in question and path. Dark dust sprinkled down as he flew up to join his elder sibling. Link watched them for all of a moment, eyes trailing the horizon as well. He found it hard to focus on anything but the contrast of dead land and blue sky.

"I don't know…" she spoke and trailed off. "Just call it a gut feeling I guess. Too many surprises and stuff. This whole place, it just… I think I can feel something about it." Link did not discount her words. Intuition was an important part to survival. Thankfully, neither did her brother.

"A-A bad thing? Like a-are we… is something bad gonna-" Anything else the dark fairy had to say was lost. Drowned out by a far louder and far more painful sound.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Link let out a yell of agony, hand grabbing at his ear the moment the sound came.

His hand gripped the metallic device he had set in it, ripping it from his ear and throwing it across the dead landscape. Eyes shut with the pain, he didn't watch were it landed. He only raised his hand back to his long ear, feeling at the sore limb and trying to hear through the ring that continued to deafen him. Even his other side felt pained.

"…in…..nk…..LIN…" A soft was calling his name through the fog of that high ring had brought to his head. He knew it was Tatl or Tael, but he couldn't even make out the difference in their voice. Only that they were there.

He took deep breaths. Deep breaths helped, helped to focus, and focus helped to dull the pain. It was a slob ease, one he could count the seconds in, but the ringing slowly fell away, leaving only his panting of the stale air. That, and Tatl and Tael's nervous calls.

"…as tha… n't…. op!" Still Tatl, but she was no longer screaming at Link, probably. He could see her flying towards the metal half-ring the general had given him. It was still ringing, probably, but with how his hearing was he still couldn't tell. Link could tell that Tael was still flying over him, his dark light flashing in and out of his vision. He couldn't hear the timid fairy.

Link dug his finger into his long ears again, pushing against the canal that now felt so abused. The ringing was going down, he thought. It was an assumption he felt safe in making, given that he could hear the fairies a bit more clearly.

"This thing is what Big Stiff gave you! What in the name of Time is it doing?!" That was a good question, and one that Link had himself. His deep breaths slowly shallowed out, the pain subsiding into only a minor ache. It wouldn't be long until that was gone as well. But the question mattered more.

It could be an alarm of some kind, like the bells of a tower. Doubtless though, as he had heard words come from it before. A means to find him perhaps? Just as unlikely, given how the Gerudo talked about 'trackers' as if they were silent beacons across the land. What that left, however, was not an option Link enjoyed the thought of. But he took no chances.

Link stomped over to the metal crescent device, looming over it only briefly. With a quick and deliberate raise of his leg, he stomped the ear piece. The sound cut off with a resounding crack. It left only the still silence of the dead land. That, and the creeping dread crawling up Link's back.

"W-What did that do? What's… what's going on?" Tael was scared. Link didn't need to hear him speak to know that. It was as obvious as the dark light he projected. It was understandable, reasonable, and of course, expected. Tatl was the same way, though voicing it in a much different manner.

"They sold us out!" The golden fairy screamed with an echoing screech. "They just… they're trying to get us killed! That loud a noise! Here! They're trying to kill us!" She was right.

Link knew she was right.

"W-W-What are we… W-W-What do we do?" He drew his sword, eyes sweeping over the horizon as he ears listened intently for noise. Anything, something, even the smallest indicator that they were going to be attacked again. But he heard nothing, saw nothing, nothing but the corpse of the slowly evaporating Emperor Dodongo, and the glacier of encased monsters.

No new cracks spread over the earth, no creeping eyes or bellows of rage. Nothing that wasn't already there from the battle just before. That wasn't good or bad. If anything, it was good or horrible. Nothing near them showed any form of danger, none that hadn't already been dealt with implicitly and directly. But that didn't mean they were safe.

He looked past the dead earth, to the mountains on the horizon. Looming things that so often marked the landscape, a silent an unmoving beacon no matter the land they belonged to. This one, the range that circled around them, appeared more akin to Hyrule's Death Mountain than to Termina's Snowhead. No white dots settled at their peaks, only the same dead gray and brown that dominated the landscape around them.

"There's nothing here, nothing I can see." Tatl started to speak, softer than Link expected. That changed quickly. "Oh wouldn't it be just perfect if those double-crossing godless brats messed up their own trap?! We're due for a break on that front, enough people twisting our strings. Figures the first time these amateurs try they screw up!" Link wasn't ready to admit their good luck quiet yet. Neither was Tael.

"A-Are you s-sure we're safe, sis? I mean… couldn't… wouldn't… maybe the monsters are…" The frightened dark fairy began to swoon in circles, seemingly fighting to keep himself afloat. He would be alright, for now at least. Link stay focused on the dead land around them, these Badlands.

But as far as he could see, and hard as he could hear, nothing threatening reached him. Still nothing, after the minutes had snailed by from him crushing the crescent ring. Maybe he was fast enough. Maybe, just perhaps, he acted before whatever trap the army had set could truly be cast. That would be fortunate, but he knew better than to gamble on luck.

He would have to take action though, something would need to be done if, when, he got back. It would be a long trek, but perhaps it would be even longer. He couldn't after all march back to the Gerudo who had just tried to kill him. No, Link might have to find his way back to Beacon, which is if they were not his enemies as well. That was doubtful, at least in regards-

Link's knees shook. That was a bad sign.

He wasn't scared, wasn't shocked, wasn't filled with sorrow or pity. He was of sound mind, at least in the current moment, focused on the matters at hand. Link's grip hardened on the Magical Sword he held. His knees, and through his legs continued to rock. That was a very bad sign.

He wasn't shaking, the ground was.

"What is it?! What is it?!" Tatl was screaming again. She couldn't feel the earth shaking, but she knew better than to think the worst of Link. Tael said nothing, only flying and gripping to Link's tunic with a death-like tightness. The real problem was, Link wasn't quite sure what it was happening.

This wasn't a series of quakes, like when the Emperor Dodongo had emerged and broken the dead land. Those were strong, but brief quakes. This was continuous. It was a non-stop force that trembled through the dead land, making the pebbles that laid around the earth jump like startled Picori. The ice column of monsters rattled as well, small fissure parting the structure. It mattered little. The Giant Dodongo shook as well, corpse moving like it was being pushed. That mattered less.

Then, like a nightmare of the future-yet-to-come, Link saw it.

At the edge of the horizon, where the mountain was at its tallest, a creature crawled over them. A creature of a single long body, snaking down the brown surface of the tall mountain. Even from the vast distance between Link and the mountain Range, he could make out entire details of the monstrosity.

It had a body of black matter, likely scales little different than the Dodongo he had faced. Protrusions of white stuck out from it like spikes, some digging and spinning along the mountain that it crawled down, burying themselves only to push forwards. They worked with terrifying ease. But at the forefront, and easiest to see, where the pincer like jaws sitting beneath a set of three eyes, redder than blood and fuller than any moon.

Link watched in dry-mouth observation as the creature crawled down the length of the mountain in seconds, its head disappearing beneath a smaller peak as the remainder of its long body continued to climb over the taller protrusion of land. It didn't last. That is, the mountain didn't last.

As a testament to the monster's size and strength, the mountain it crawled over began to fall apart, beaten apart by the creature's digging spikes and long, heavy body. In the act of simply climbing a mountain, the monster had destroyed it. Link only knew of one creature that could grow so big, that could hide so well, and could destroy so efficiently. It was not a monster he enjoyed to fight.

"Molgera…" He heard Tatl whisper the name, a volume Link was sure would be unintelligible once the monster was close enough. "That's… that's a Molgera. A-A monster eater, an army devourer! That's… that's a freaking huge Molgera!" Huge it was.

Compared to the Emperor Dodongo, the largest of its kind Link had ever faced, the approaching Molgera appeared capable of swallowing the beast in a single bite. And as if to show its capability, it showed its open jaws as it approached. Teeth whiter than diamonds shone in its mouth, reaching far into the creature's maw, disappearing into either the absence of light or the dark scales that made up the rest of its body. This wasn't just a Molgera, and it was far larger than the Twinmolds he had bested within the Stone Tower.

This… it was a Bellumgera. A War Eater, capable of devouring kingdoms.

This wasn't good, at all. But Link knew what he had to do. Two things he had to do before the monster was here. If he didn't… his friends could die. That was the worst outcome. So without wasting a moment, Link began to act. He plucked his green crap from his head, spinning it until its end was open, like a bag waiting for transport.

In a deft move, he pushed Tael and caught Tatl inside of it. His fist held the end as he quickly tied it shut.

"Hey! Hey!" He heard Tatl screaming from within, ringing with a volume that would have deafened Link were she outside the bag. "What do you think you're doing?! Let us out of here right now, LINK!" He could hear Tael whimpering, terrified. That was bad, but not as bad as dying. If he lived, he would have to apologize to them. Then it would be okay.

He concentrated, focusing on the hat in his hands. He ignored the beating and screams of the fairies inside, ignored the guilt he felt for forcing them away, and ignoring the growing noise of trampled earth that was approaching. He focused on the magic in his soul, on the beacon he had set before he left the group of knights-in-training. He made a beacon of one of them, and he would ensure Tatl and Tael's safety through it.

"Don't you dare Link! Don't you DARE!" Tatl knew, of course she knew. She had flown with him before. Now she was going to fly with her brother. Link sighed as he focused harder, hoping he would get to apologize to her.

Without a word, as he did all actions, Link let his magic surround the hat in a green ethereal light. It was visible for only a moment, a moment before vanishing completely, all with a slight ring and pop.

And that was that. Link was alone, alone against the approaching Bellumgera.

It was close now, much closer than anyone would wish for. It looked like a mountain on its own, sliding over the dead land as he would imagine a fish in water. It was at home here, home turf that Tatl had so keenly noticed before. But he had not. And now, he was going to have to fight a monstrous enemy on uncommon ground.

Link sighed deeply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	6. The Treacherous War Eater: Bellumgera

"What is that!? What is that thing!? Is that a Grammite!? Is that a giant- _fucking_ -Grammite!?" Yang was screaming, she was screaming as she pointed at the screen that showed horror in its purest form. One of her hands was clenching her hair in a bushel, the other doing all that it could to not assault the screens themselves.

Yang was screaming, but she was not the only one panicking. Blake was hyperventilating, breathing like Velvet would whenever Cardin looked her way. Jaune and Pyrrha were staring dumbstruck at the screen, the former falling out of his chair and the latter hardly noticing.

Ruby was terrified.

Her legs drawn to her chest with hands clenching at her knees. Were she not wearing her stockings, her nails would have drawn blood. This was bad, this was very bad. Link was in danger. Link was in real danger that he wasn't prepared for.

But… But he promised he would come back. Tael and Link both promised they would come back just fine. So he would be fine, right? But what if he wasn't? Would it be her fault? Would it be her fault that he wouldn't be alright? Did he do this because of her? That would make it her fault. Would Link make a promise and never come back?

" _You did this!_ " Yeah, it was her. She didn't need to look at Blake to know she was accusing her. It was all her fault. Just like her mom. Just like before. No one else could be blamed. "I don't know what you pressed on that screen of yours, but you baited that _thing_ to Link!" Screen?

"I don't know what you are talking about," the general replied. It had to be the general, how strong and sure he sounded. Why would it be his fault? Did… did he do something? Ruby snuck a peak from behind her raised legs, still gripping herself with the fear of death.

Somehow, Blake had ended up just in front of General Ironwood. She had her hands gripped to his uniform, tightly. Any little breath Ruby still had was expelled at the site.

"Ms. Belladonna, calm down." That was Professor Goodwitch. She sounded cold, very cold. "Acting irrationally is not how we are going to solve this problem."

"This is not irrational!" Blake screamed back. Ruby gripped her legs a bit tighter. "I saw him do it! I watched him nod to those figure heads on the screen and he pressed some command on his scroll! Why else would Link break his communicator? How else wou-" There was probably a lot more she was going to say, it but it was drowned out by a rising ring.

It hurt Ruby's ears. It was like an alarm was tapped to her offending appendages, deafening her for the sake of torture. IF that was what it was, she deserved it. But her eyes told her that wasn't it. No, instead, her silver eyes saw a green light growing in the room.

A green light seemingly attached to Jaune's sweater.

"Whoa! Whoa! What gives?!" He screamed over the ringing, practically ripping the garment off. Not a moment after he did, the ringing stopped, as with the quick green light. It didn't, however, leave nothing behind.

Sitting atop Jaune's discarded sweater was Link's hat, tied and bouncing around.

"Let us out! Let us out!" The screaming command came from the hat. She just stayed in her seat, staring at the tied green hat in mute horror. Thankfully, not for long. Someone needed help, and Ruby was quick to respond.

The young team leader grabbed the hat, untying it in an instant and letting the two fairies fly out of it. Tatl, the golden elder sister, rang with a volume that so nearly matched the light from before. Golden dust showered off of her like rain in a cloud. She dominated the attention of the room. It made Ruby fall back into her seat.

Only Ruby noticed Tael, and only because he was sitting on her knees, grabbing at her bangs tightly. Why? Was he scared, too?

"There you are!" She heard Tatl scream. That was all she heard before the golden fairy flew right up to the nose of the general. Ruby blinked, astonished and terrified for her friend. Ironwood was a general, Tatl was a small fairy.

"You sick, double-crossing, _inbred, **TRAITOR!**_ " Ruby didn't need to turn her head to see the room became still as stone, no different than herself. She had heard people scream like that before. This was little different.

"Calm yourself." General Ironwood, somehow, managed to return calmly. Ruby knew she wouldn't be able to do that. Tael continued to grip her stupid furry ears tightly. "You must be disoriented from whatever means of travel brought you here."

" _Indeed._ " One of the faceless members of the Council spoke. " _And I for one would like to know how the young faunus managed to instantaneously transport you from the outskirts of the Badlands to their borders. Such technology-_ "

"Shut up!" Tatl shrieked again. Ruby felt Tael grip her harder and… something wet was on her cheek. "Shut up! All of you just shut up! You lying freaks of nature don't get to talk! Not unless you're going to explain why you just screwed Link… Link!" Why… Why did she dip like that?

Ruby saw Tatl fly quickly away from the general, stopping in front of one of the many screens that showed Link.

"C'mon Link, used the Pegasus Boots, run away! Get away! Get out of there!" What was she saying? What were those? Did… did Link have a chance? That… that might be worth looking. Yeah, Link did promise he would come back, a-and Tatl did know him best.

Ruby chanced a look, but only at the screen that showed Link, just Link. He was staring up at the Grimm approaching, the thing that Ruby didn't want to see. He hopped, lightly, like putting his sword away and drawing forth his shield. When his feet hit the ground, Ruby saw something new on them. Wings… miniature feather-like wings.

"Yes! Yes! Okay, now run you idiot, RUN!" Run? How… How could Link outrun that… that Grimm? Ruby knew that wasn't possible, it just... wasn't…

Link was gone.

" _Where did he go?_ " Another monotone question from the screen Ruby wouldn't look at. " _Was the connection disrupted?_ "

"Oh no, you don't get to know." Tatl spoke up again. But… she was calm now. That was good. She wouldn't be calm unless Link was safe. She just had to trust Tatl. Tael did, and so did Link, so she could, too. "You get to explain what made that ring thing you gave Link ring like a bell calling dinner!" It did what? That was what happened?

"Ironwood," Ruby felt her body shake at the voice, though she knew it wasn't directed at her. She took comfort in Tael still gripping her tightly. He was warm, even as he shivered. "Is what Tatl is saying true? I advise you to speak honestly." Ruby heard leather creaking, like it was being tightened. She heard that a lot from Ms. Goodwitch… when she was angry.

"Screw that!" Tatl screamed again. "I'm gonna tear his ears off personally later, but right now he's gotta send that pilot back out to get Link, like now!" That's right, that's right! They could go get Link! Grimm were fast, but nothing could match the speed of an airship!

"That will not be happening." What? "This may be cruel, but it is necessary to safeguard the hundreds of others that are currently stationed on the border of the Badlands. If the faunus were to be rescued, it would doubtlessly lead the Grammite back, possibly to escape the Badlands." Was that it? Were… Were they going to leave Link to die?

B-Because they wanted to protect everyone else? No… No, NO! Link didn't deserve that! No one did! Link was too kind, too brave, too willing to help to die like that!

"You planned this…." Ruby heard the whisper come from Blake. It quickly grew into a hiss. "This whole thing was a ruse! You lured Link out there and then baited the Grammite. You really are trying to kill him!"

"That is utter nonsense." The cloaked girl gripped her legs a bit tighter at the voice. "I would never plan nor even think to harm any student."

"No, but you're probably fine following a command to do so." That wasn't Blake, and it wasn't Professor Goodwitch either. But it was still feminine, dark… angry. Was… was that Weiss? "I know plenty of men like you, general. Doing as told no matter how much your morals argue against it. You don't care if you step over your moral code, so long as you remain the dutiful soldier for the council." That was… venomous, harsh.

" _Believe what you will Ms. Schnee, but the accusations of misconduct from a defective mini-drone aren't even worth the dead earth of the Badlands._ " More monotone voice, giving cold and harsh words. Ruby didn't want to hear anything from that screen anymore. " _Perhaps it would be best to secure those two bright orbs of the faunus. Upon his death, they will need someone to-_ "

"LINK'S NOT GONNA DIE!" That was Ruby who screamed. She had to scream. She needed to scream "LINK IS GOING TO COME BACK! HE PROMISED HE WOULD AND HE'S GOING TO COME BACK BECAUSE HE PROMSISED! H-HE WOULDN… WOULDN…. H-h-he w-o-o-o-uldn't…"

Then there was sobbing. Ruby was crying.

She wasn't used to crying, not anymore, but she had to cry. She needed to.

Teal was leaning against her, warm and soft. But she felt something cold, like pricks of needles.

Tael was crying. He didn't deserve to cry.

"Shh… hey, Ruby, it's gonna be okay," Yang whispered to her.

Ruby didn't know when she got so close, but her sister was there. She felt her get wrapped up in a hug. She fell into it. Yang's hand started to stroke her hair.

"It's gonna be okay Ruby. Link'll be fine. He's like Super Faunus." Ruby knew he was. But so was her mom. Super Huntress.

"Ironwood, this is your last chance." Professor Goodwitch spoke again. "Speak honestly, as this is your last chance. Did you and the Council organize this event to lure Link into a trap."

Had they?

 _"You are over reaching with your authority, Goodwitch."_ Another evil monotone voice spoke up, from the same screen. _"General Ironwood is under no obligation to answer you, and you have no power to make any accusations or punishments for him."_

"The actions of the man standing before me have led one of the students at Beacon to be pursued in the Badlands by one of the single largest and most dangerous Grimm ever to scorn Remnant." Only Ruby's faints sobs interrupted Ms. Goodwitch's words. "I hold the power to punish those responsible for endangering or plotting harm to affiliates of Beacon Academy. And, I assure you, if any falsehood is found after your professed innocence, I will only increase my punishment ten-fold."

Ruby's sobbing dissolved into sniffles, the rest of the room quiet as cast glass. In the year Ruby, had been at Beacon, she had never known Ms. Goodwitch to lie, let alone exaggerate.

Her punishments were torturous and usually worse than any exam or Grimm Hunt imaginable. To increase it ten times… but it was for Link.

Ironwood didn't say anything, not at fist. He simply stared at her, judging Professor Goodwitch as she doubtlessly did in turn.

They were experts at this, masters of showing their strength through stance and sight alone. This was already bad, but it could get worse. How could it get worse?

The small scroll in his hand rang.

In the pocket of silence that took over the room, it was deafening, a beeping noise that sounded more akin to an alarm than a simple noticed. Ruby felt Yang relaxed her grip, watching through a bleary nearly covered eye as the general tapped on it with his thumb, holding the screen outward from his body.

"Zeppeto?" Ironwood spoke the name in a curious tone, as if he wasn't being threatened by one of the most deadly huntresses in all of Remnant. "Has something happened? I don't hear any alarms."

"Oh no, nothing worth an alarm." The voice spoke through the screen, much clearer and cleaner than the voices that Council spoke with. "Well, something did happen, but it's not worth making a big deal over. Just though I'd let you know before you got blindsided."

"Oh? And what might that be?" Ironwood still didn't sound any more upset or nervous than before. Ruby couldn't imagine the latter, but a clear part of her feared the former.

"Well, you see, you know how I was the one who gave you the scroll you're using, right?" Ruby leaned in closer to Teal and Yang at the question. Not because of the question, but because of the sudden stone visage Ironwood gave. "Plus, Penny and I were watching the little tiff that Link got into with the Creeper and Grammite. Easy to hack a network you make and all." Penny? Penny was here? That was good, maybe, at least Penny would help if she could, right?

"Are you informing me of your break from protocol?" Ironwood spoke through the scroll again. He didn't sound different.

"Nah, nothing like that." The man spoke again, laughing with his words. Why was he so happy? "I'm just letting you know that the little test I showed off to Link earlier got away from me." Test? Link? What did he mean?

"Zeppeto…." Ironwood spoke the man's name slowly. Ruby gripped her legs a bit tighter, biting her lower lip until it cut off the blood. Yang's grip got tight again. "Where is the WPM Model?" Was that a weapon? The man lost track of a weapon? It must have been one heck of a model.

"If I had to guess, probably flying out to that faunus boy as we speak." It was what? It was flying? Was it a ship then? "But don't worry, I know how important military property is, so I got Penny flying out after it." She was? Penny was flying to Link?

 _"Zeppeto… Did you send two high priority research subjects into the depths of the Badlands?"_ The question was monotone, as every word spoken from the screen was. But Ruby knew the hostility in the words.

"That the Council?" The man, Zeppeto apparently, asked. "Well, only half true. One of them, Epona, the WPM model's name mind you, kinda got away from me. No telling how it happened. Penny was kind enough to volunteer to go loop the mare and bring her back. Told her to be careful, what with a massive Grammite stalking out there and all."

"Link's getting help?" Jaune asked the question. "I-I mean, this Penny girl is chasing the WMP, or PM… Epona out there, b-but where are they headed?"

"Is that Arc's kid? You and your dad both sound about as sure of yourself as I am with ethics!" Was that a joke? Ruby couldn't tell. Thanks to Yang, she was bad with jokes, and she didn't want to joke now. "But really, that's what I'd guess. I mean, Epona has shown an aptitude in locating high-ranking Grimm, just like I designed her to. With the Grammite out there, gotta guess that's where she's headed."

Despite herself, Ruby felt a smile creep on her lips.

Link is getting help. He… He wouldn't be alone. That was excellent, that was perfect, that was exactly what he deserved! She looked at Tael, looked at the small ball of light that was gripping one of her long bangs so tightly. She couldn't see beyond the bright veil of lavender that made up the fairy, but Ruby could his warmth, his happiness, his shared joy. She saw Yang smile, she saw the warm glow of her eyes! Link was going to be okay!

 _"We will have to discuss your clear lack of oversight in the future, Zeppeto,"_ The Council spoke again. Ruby didn't like their voice at all. _"Furthermore, unfortunate as the loss of the WPM and RAD models are, we cannot risk their return to base should they make contact with the Grammite."_ They couldn't? They… they wouldn't let Link escape?

"Whoa, why not?" Yang released Ruby to yell up at the screen. She heard knuckles cracking. "You gonna let your little whatever-letter models get thrashed just for Link? You seriously wanna kill him that badly?" Ruby swallowed on nothing.

 _"Believe what you will, Ms. Xiao Long, but our decision extends not from any animosity you imagine we have, but simple logic."_ Ruby shivered. _"Should The RAD and WPM model reach Link and the Grammite before the former is harmed, and should they then attempt to escape, they will only end up leaving a trail of fear back towards the bunker you currently reside in. As capable as the Military is, the facility you are at is simply not equipped to deal with a Grammite, let alone worth the risk of the hundreds of other soldiers stationed there."_

That made sense, of course it made sense. Why risk a hundred for one? If it was her out there, if Ruby were alone, she would understand, she would ask them to. But… still… it wasn't her. It was Link.

"Fine!" Tatl yelled. Why did she agree? "But when Link kills that thing, and I promise you he will, I'm gonna make sure every single one of you-…. Link?" She stopped. She said his name. Why did she do either?

Ruby raised and twisted her head, just enough to peer at the golden ball of light, and just long enough to see where her translucent wings were facing away from. She was facing the screen, the screens that showed Link fighting the Creeper before.

Two of the screens showed nothing, nothing of interest to Ruby right now. Just the wasteland at varying degrees of zoom. The dead earth with cracks and slowly eroding bodies of Grimm. The last, however, showing the basin entire, showed what she feared, what some nightmares were akin to be made of.

The Grammite, the crawling death-eating worm, was moving still, as it had been for some time, either searching or chasing Link. They couldn't see him, couldn't follow him, something, but that was before. Right now, she could see him.

Behind the Grammite, staring at its retreating trail, a small speck of green was shown. But that was all it was, just a speck, too far away to see anything more.

"What's going on? Why isn't he moving?" That was Blake. She sounded, scared, nervous probably. Ruby didn't like hearing her friends like that. Anyone like that. "Where did he go? Why can't we see him closer?"

"Zooming in with minidrones five-through-ten now," Ms. Goodwitch spoke the works like a self-directed command. "They couldn't track Link before, due to whatever he did to avoid detection. I should have a clearer picture soon." She was tapping at her pad, rapidly, as she spoke.

"He was running," Tatl spoke again. The room was silent as she spoke, either waiting for her or the screens. "He put on the Pegasus Boots, boots that were made from the hide of an ancient creature, enchanted by the Great Fairy of Magic. He can move faster than the wind when he wears them… but if he runs too fast, the world pushes back." Pushes back? What did… wait…

"A-A sonic boom?" Ruby was almost surprised to hear her own voice. But she knew what that force was. It had happened to her when she started to train her semblance, a lot. "That… I've had that happen… a-a few times."

 _"Another seemingly miraculous tool in the faunus's ever growing pile."_ Those voices spoke again. _"And yet another question for its method of powering, no different than his blade. It will be interesting to study them."_

"You're not getting your grimy hands on anything!" Tatl yelled back at the screen, golden aura flashing a dark shade for a moment. After the many times she'd seen her sister's eyes change, Ruby knew she didn't imagine it. "The only thing you're gonna be grasping at are excuses for why you shouldn't be locked into shackles and thrown into the sea you sick, worthless, figureheads!"

"With every word, I find myself agreeing with our fairy friend more and more." Who was that? Was… was that Ms. Goodwitch? It sounded like her. It just sounded… off. "Mini-drones are in place, Link's image should be appearing, now…" Her voice trailed off with the words, but Ruby could see why.

The screen did show Link, close up and clear as it had during his fight before. But before, Link always looked confident, sure, and ready to go. Even without sound, Ruby could see he had a plan, that he was thinking, that her friend was ready.

That was not how he looked now.

Blood ran from the edges of his mouth, tears from the corners of his eyes. Silent as it was before, he panted on the screen, chest moving out and in to grasp at air. Blond hair once looking so pristine and perfect was now wild, either looking wind-whipped or matted down at odd angles. But that was merely his face. On bended knee, one hand on the ground, the other holding his gem-encrusted shield… or what was left it.

The same shield Ruby had seen push and resist Dust-Bullets with a passive film was no longer there. In its place was a bent contraption, red Dust Crystals that were embedded over it now shattered and lain out in a trail over the dead earth behind him.

"Oh no."

Ruby watched, praying to whoever would listen to save Link. She couldn't lose someone else. She couldn't lose anyone else.

* * *

It was bad. This was all kinds of bad.

Link coughed in the midst of another gasp for air. It felt wet, constricting too. He didn't need to look to know he had stained the dead earth with more of his blood. Internal wounds, the cost of over-use of the Pegasus boots. That was one cost, but he held the other.

His eyes looked away from the retreating Bellumgera, looking at the shield in his right hand, or what was left it. He saw the splinters of gems around him, shining across the dead earth like a trail of tears. The steel along the rims of the metal were bent at odd angles, the consequence of his effort to move faster than was necessary.

He ran into the wind with the shield raised, knowing the force the wind would push back on him with. Link had thought, he had hoped really, that if he had his shield raised, then whatever force pushed back on him, he would have endured. For a time, he did, and he was able to avoid the War Eater.

But then the wind had fallen away, letting the boom of the world slam into him. The Magic Shield could not endure such a blow. The result of his effort was in his hand, and the consequence leaving riddled wounds all over his body. Not even Link could tell what was from the ground, the shield, or just his inability to stop.

His gamble had worked though, for however long. The Bellumgera crawled away from him, its great massive speaks piercing the dead earth. It's tailed waved back at him, mockingly perhaps. But Link knew better, for the monster did not know where he was, not exactly in the very least.

That tail was the key though, it was what Link knew to focus on. The most sensitive part of any Molgera, the piece of the worm that felt the earth. Its scales were too thick to properly feel the vibrations of the ground, but its exposed tail could. That was how it hunted from leagues away, and it was how Link would keep it from diving into the earth, perhaps even kill it.

He had done it before, several times as well, but he lacked any of the tools he had back then.

In the land of Termina, Link had the Giant's Mask. That was lost among raids and thefts. If not that, then in the Gerudo Valley he kept on Epona for speed and aim. He had neither of those, and not even the Sacred Light Arrows to wound the beast. Link, for all that he had, was at a great disadvantage.

No tools to readily aid him, wounded and likely nearing mortal status, this was not going as he had hoped, as he, Ozpin, and Blake had planned. Then again, it ever so rarely went so smoothly.

Link let the shield fall from his grasp, landing on the dead earth with a rattle before stilling. It was useless to him now. He wouldn't be able run more anyways. His legs would give out before he reached a quarter of the Bellumgera's length.

It was indeed bad… but Link had no intention of dying here. He had too many promises to keep, and years to go before he could sleep.

The great beast was turning again, twisting towards him with its great bony protrusions. Link found it odd, for a moment. The creature appeared by eye to be moving slowly, massive limbs moving as if through water. By the distance it covered alone, he knew the monster was anything but slow. Strength, the power to crush a mountain with its own weight, was non-negotiable, great.

Without a shield to endure the winds or 'boom' of the air, and honest way to match the strength to crush a mountain, he was left with only the idea of careful planning and execution. It wasn't unlike his fights of the past. He simply had fewer tries to get it right. Just one in fact.

The creature spun slowly, so if he was able to avoid its maw, he might be able send a few arrows towards its tail, either strapped with bombs or doused with flames. Either would work. His Longshot would make the trek easier, but that involved righting himself before the creature was able to defend against him. It was smarter than a simple wolfo, it would know to defend if its attack failed.

He could heal himself… he could use the gift of the Old Woman… but instincts and logic told him otherwise. He was being watched, by eyes that Glynda commanded unseen. If they were doing this to study him, test him, they anything he showed would either be ordered away or claimed out of fear.

The unknown had the advantage, and he could not lose it until defeat was certain.

Then an idea struck him – Just as the Bellumgera let out a roar of its approach.

Link twisted his arm and aimed his Longshot to the side, far out of the path of the encroaching War-Eater. With a click of the trigger, its metal length pushed against him as it sailed true. In no time, he felt the tip dig into the dead earth, taunt as it could be. It pulled Link without delay.

The Bellumgera dove towards Link, perhaps sensing he was soon to dodge. The Hylian could see every one of its massive teeth as he sailed, each one closer than the next to ripping into his flesh, each more menacing than the last. But he was not afraid. He knew he would survive.

He landed at length away from where he once stood, rolling to a harmless stop, having done the action hundreds of times before. The oddity now was the loss of his hat, letting his blonde hair wave at length. He pocketed the Longshot, reaching into another pocket along this chest plate, grabbing at the bow within. His fingers brushed against it, feeling it within reach…

But then the ground rumbled. Link's already shaky feet wavered the tiny amount more needed to send him to the ground. He hit the dead dirt with a huff, energy gone. He was out of breath, out of energy, and running out of time. His blue eyes looked up, watching as the Bellumgera grabbed and pulled by, snakelike body running body, its vulnerable tail with it.

It would charge at him again, no doubt knowing that he was running out of chances to escape his maw. Link had even fewer attempts left now to gain the upper hand. Pushing himself up from the cracking earth, arms shaking with the effort, he racked his mind for anything he could use.

Molgerums were prone to dead lands, having devoured all the life that once inhabited them. They made home in loose soil, jumping forth whenever they found life. The larger the worm, the grander its name. From person eater, to army eater, and now, the war eater. But despite their size, the only thing else that ever grew was their caution.

The youngest would fly in the air, heedless of their vulnerable tails. The older they grew, the more prone they were to scrape along the ground, to harden their shells and become more accurate with their attacks. They larger they became, the rarer they were seen, and for many good reasons. But one thing they rarely did, ever did, was something new.

The Bellumgera would be unlikely to attempt some new attack on Link, not so long as it remained unharmed. It would charge, he would dodge, and hopefully soon, find out a way to either stun and damage the great beast. He only could hope his body would last as long.

No… it would. If death came too close, he would sacrifice and unknown to preserve his life. That was a fair trade. Unfortunately, that time was fast approaching. Already the great beast was turning again, bony spikes pivoting its body in the dead land, running towards him with its multitude of claws and open maw. Link could feel the rumbling of the earth again.

He needed to strike, only one chance to make a move before he needed to recover, and before the monstrous worm could strike again. But it would be difficult, its eyes were as large as its great mouth, all three staring down in a deathly red gaze. They were focused, concentrated…

…Vulnerable.

It was risky, Link knew it as he reached for his bow again, pulling out the carved wood as he notched a new arrow, layered with the fiery remains of the sun, a gift from Lake Hylia. It was a risk because even if he hit, there was no guarantee the Bellumgera would divert in its path. If it didn't move… Link had no chance… But that was worth it.

All or nothing, all at once. It was his only chance now, that or a game of cat and mouse that ended with him unconscious before dead. He far preferred to go down trying.

One with Courage did not surrender to chance.

He aimed for the eye, the one on the left. Any life leaned into pain, to shield the area that was hurt. He had to do more than be a speck of dust, he had to maim the eye, to destroy it, to do something that would not be simply ignored. Fire tended to do that, but fire was slow and the Bellumgera was large. That made the window small.

Link pulled on the bow, sucking in a breath as he felt the fire burn. The worm roared at the sight, but it didn't falter. That was good, for now at least.

Link breathed once, the monster continued charge.

He breathed twice, feeling his finger twitch. Not yet.

He took a third breath, then held it in. The air was far from still, not with the Bellumgera charging.

Then he released.

The fire arrow flew perfectly, flying truer than a drop of rain. It landed in the Bellumgera exploding in a flurry of fire that eclipsed the beasts entire eye. It roared again, but higher in pitch, quicker in length. That was pain that was good.

But it wasn't moving course. It was still charging. It was still heading straight for Link, and he hadn't the time to aim and move away.

Link had only the time release his last breath of air. He whispered an apology on it, but it was lost in the roar of beating earth and the monster's roar.

He felt the heat of its breath envelope him.

Then he felt the winds of the air whip across his face.

Link blinked twice, head spinning left and right quickly. He was in the air, moving swiftly at that. The roar of the beast was behind him, but quickly falling away. He was moving fast, very fast, but he knew within his mind Elrora was not with him. He reached down, grabbing at something, anything.

He grabbed fur, thick and light in color. His blue eyes blinked, looking down his waist before twisting left and right again. Wings took up his vision now, two pair of wings that beat with the strength of a Watarara's Queen. They were connected to a body that he sat atop, strong in muscle and wide. His eyes followed it, running up the white coast and seeing the alabaster mane. Strands of hair waved in the wind, charging into the sky with purpose, with ownership.

Link felt a smile pull at his tired lips, hands reaching forward and grasping the hair.

Epona was here. Now… he had a chance.

* * *

Penny was a robot. She reminded herself of this every day. It was an order from the Council, given to her from Uncle Ironwood, and instructed to cleverly avoid by Papa Zepp.

She was a robot because she could download information from a scroll, see in the dark with ocular orbs that had been programmed to read fifteen different kinds of light, stop trucks with her bare hands, take the blow of a train without a sweat, and control fifteen stringed blades that came out from her back. She was a robot, through and through.

But Penny was also alive.

She had an aura, a soul, she had proof that everything she felt was real to her. She felt joy when she met Ruby Rose. She felt worry when she exposed her secret for the first time. She felt nervousness when she was scolded, but relief when she was rewarded. She felt everything, and she saved all of that whenever she could.

And right now, she felt the purest form of relief she had ever experienced, and it came from watching just outside the window of her airship.

Flying out and away from the massive Grammite was the WPM Model that Papa Zepp had developed, taking off at speeds that the Grimm could only barely match. Hanging atop the white mare was a figure wrapped in green, but with blonde locks whipping in the wind and a sheath of red on his back. All of that together meant that he was alive.

"He's alive! Oh, yeah!" Penny cheered aloud, fully knowing her words were being listened to by Uncle Ironwood. That was okay, Papa Zepp he was a good guy. "He's alive, flying… but I can't say he's having a good time."

 _"We lost sight of him during the rescue,"_ she heard her uncle's voice respond. _"What exactly happened, Penny?"_ Oh, she knew the answer to that!

"Well, Link was just standing there waiting for the Grammite to come after him. He was pulling on something, and I guess it was his bow and arrow!" She knew it was his bow and arrow. She could see for up to three-point-seven-two miles away. "I was following the WPM Model-"

_"Her name is Epona and you know that!"_

Penny stumbled across her words at the voice that shouted at her. That wasn't her uncle. That was… Tattle? No, Tatl!

"You're right! My bad." Penny corrected, making note in her memory bank about the name. Papa Zepp did say it was a good name. "Well, I was following Epona and saw her diving for Link. He fired off that giant fire arrow and it went all fwoooosh! But when the Big Bad Grimm didn't move, I thought, Link was in trouble! But then in came Epona and picked him right up!"

 _"So Link is unharmed?"_ Penny recognized that voice. Those were the Council members. She could never tell which one it was, even with heightened hearing.

"Weeeeeell, I wouldn't say unharmed," Penny drooled out, noting with her enhanced vision how tired Link looked. He needed a new Dust canister… or rest. Rest was probably more appropriate for him. "But he's not about to be eaten by the Grammite." Penny heard a few thankful voices through her built-in comm. She understood the feeling.

 _"Penny, your orders stand to give a wide berth to both Link and the WPM Model."_ Huh? That didn't make sense. _"When the time comes that they are finished, you will fly deep into the Badlands before executing a near-sonic flight path back to base, is that clear?"_

Well, speaking strictly, it was clear. Penny understood what they were staying very well. She had excellent auditory software and translation components built in to her mainframe. She could understand almost any language, dialect, and even a few animals if she stretched it. But what she didn't understand was what the words meant.

It… sounded like she was being told to abandon him. Why would she do that?

"Uh… but I can help him from here," Penny spoke testingly, finger extensions hovering over the on-board battery cannons. They were filled with crystalline ice dust. "I mean, it wouldn't be that hard to distract the Grimm. Maybe then Link can-"

 _"Your orders are clear, Penny."_ That was uncle Ironwood. Why did he sound so mean? _"Do not engage and limit your visibility. You will likely be required to pick up the remains of Link."_ Re… Remains?

 _"I knew it! You sick bastards!"_ That was Tatl again, and she sounded mad. Penny felt something similar, but she mostly just felt confusion. _"You really do just want to see Link get killed! This whole thing was a plot from the beginning and you just proved it!"_

 _"I am trying to limit the number of casualties. Link, who is currently engaged with the Grammite, has no chance of escape. Penny, who has not fired of a single battery, is not yet in danger. It would be unnecessary and wasteful to put her in harm's way."_ Was that really it though? Something told Penny that wasn't it.

She felt hurt, pained. She double checked her aura levels and chassis to confirm no breach in her exterior, but the feeling of pain lingered. Why did she feel pain? It felt… it felt like when she was lying to Ruby, when she was telling her friend to run away, to forget about her. It was a bad feeling, a really bad feeling.

Was that was she was doing now? Being told to… run away? Is this was Ruby felt then? She was… This was a really bad feeling. She didn't like it. She didn't like the idea of abandoning someone. She couldn't do it, she wouldn't!

Penny wasn't going to abandon Link! She wouldn't!

Her eyes scanned the horizon again, quickly finding Link atop Epona. He gripped the mane of the mare he rode tightly, both hands stiff against the alabaster hairs. He looked tired, very tired, but he held onto Epona's mane as she flew through the sky. He was still going to fight, and Penny was not going to abandon him!

She twisted the controls of the airship, angling it back towards the Grammite.

 _"Penny what are you doing? I gave you clear orders."_ He did give clear orders. Penny wouldn't like about that. But… she could disobey.

"I'm sorry," she spoke up quickly, fingers running through the canister controls as she did so. "But something is telling me that it would be really wrong to abandon Link, worse than not listening to you."

The screens in front of her beeped as they flashed a multitude of colors, commands appearing and vanishing faster than most human eyes could see. Penny saw and memorized each one, knowing exactly what they said and what they meant. Her guns were ready, and her target was locked.

"I'm sorry Uncle Ironwood, but I have to help Link!" Every part of Penny told her to.

She pulled the triggers of the airship. The cannons opened fire.

Almost instantly, though in truth to be an approximate 0.34 second delay, the Ice Dust Canisters impacted the dark outer shell of the Grammite. They exploded, reacting violently with the high carbon content of the air, forming dense ice crystal with thick lattices, taking over the shell of the Ancestral Grimm. Another approximate 2.54 seconds later, a thick ring of ice had formed around the Grimm, severely limiting its motions.

"No backing out now!" Penny cheered, seeing the large Grammite struggle back and forth against the icy ring it was bound to. It wouldn't hold, certainly not for long, but definitely long enough to make sure Link was out of danger.

Penny heard cheers through her comm, and she smiled with them. She recognized a few of the cheerful voices, some new voices as well. That meant she made a good decision. That always made her happy. At now no matter what happened, she knew she made the right decision.

"Now, where did Link go?" She mused as her enhanced eyes scanned the horizon again. Surprisingly she couldn't find him. Her common sense algorithms said that white appeared over dark brown very easily, yet she couldn't find Epona anywhere in the skies.

Penny did, however, see shards of ice, some small as a person to as large as a bullhead, flying off the Grammite as it shattered its very temporary prison. She could feel her airship shake with the roar of anger it gave. She wasn't afraid, not of something like that, thought that might have been Papa Zepp programming her to only be afraid of -.

_Tap Tap_

Penny's musings stopped as she heard the tapping of the glass. Her head spun to see a familiar face looking at her, though now bruised, a little bloody, and missing the green hat. Penny missed it, too. Link looked good in that hat.

"Hello Link!" Penny called to him as loud as she could, waving to him as she did. "I'm here to help you! So is Epona!" He only continued to stare at her, breathing heavily as his blond locks whipped violently. Well, it must have been hard to hear her through the glass. That, and Penny's accelerometer told her they were traveling at speeds excess 100 mph. That told her memory unit the wind would be deafening anyways. It was probably the later.

She watched him look away from, probably back down the Grammite. His eyes were squinted, unsurprisingly given the wind. He had to worry about moister, Penny didn't. She looked at her monitors quickly, seeing the cameras that gave optical view beneath her ship. The Grammite was just beneath them, circling them at a speed befitting its size. It almost wasn't fair. Then again, they could fly, it couldn't. Couldn't it? No, it couldn't.

 _Tap Tap_ There he was again!

Penny looked over, bright-eyed, at Link. He was less bright-eyed, definitely because of the high-speed winds and lack of protection for his eyes. Too bad they weren't metallic like hers. Actually, that might have been good. Faunus did have good eyesight.

"Hello again Link!" She called loudly again, making sure she moved her mouth open and widely as possible. If he couldn't hear her, maybe he could see her. Well, see her words, she knew he could see her. They were looking at each other right now. "I'm combat ready and ready to help." He nodded at her words, even as he gripped Epona tightly.

Link looked away from her again, probably to follow the Grammite on the ground. Penny made careful not of Link's location as she rotated her ship, making sure they didn't fly out of the Grimm's sight. If they did, it might start hunting something else. That would be bad, very bad, especially for Uncle Ironwood and Papa Zepp.

But then he was pointing, at least all of Penny's interpretation parameters and code blocks told her that he was. Pointing down once, twice, then at Epona's… tail? Pointing down, at the Grammite, then at Epona's tail. Grammite, Tail, oh!

"The tail?" Penny spoke, moving her mouth in a very large fashion. Link had long ears, but Penny's internal memory unit told her that speaks excess 123 miles per hour made it impossible to hear. "Aim for the tail?"

She must have guessed right, because Link grinned as he vigorously shook his head. Penny smiled back.

"Alright, you can count on me!" Penny was determined to prove that Link could do just that. Tightening her grip on the controls of the airship, she began her attack.

She lost altitude, moving her closer to the Ancient Grimm. Less distance meant fewer variables required for calculating trajectories. Less time meant higher chances of impact. Link wanted to aim at the tail, and that meant it was a likely weak-point of the Grammite, that or it would at least stun it. That meant she needed high impact. High impact dust rounds that is.

Her hand danced around the control pad to her right, rapidly moving through the screens, having already memorized the prompts and commands they displayed. Internal memory boards were great to have! In no time, she had adjusted the batteries of her ship to load fire-enhanced Dust rounds, ready to cause violent explosions upon exposure to oxygen environments, a.k.a. anything outside of the shell it was held in.

The Grammite was moving rapidly on the ground, twisting with dexterity that most common sense modules would deem unlikely. Thankfully, Penny's had been outfitted with modules made specifically by Papa Zepp, so she knew the Grimm wasn't breaking any laws of nature. Well… no more than existing.

Her cannons lined up with the tail, flying some distance behind the creature, just high enough to avoid any loose rubble it pulled up, but not so high that it made impact difficult. Given the size of the Grimm, it took little time for her to lock onto the target. She smiled as she readied the trigger, getting ready to unload her rounds at the Grimm and-

Its tail whipped.

Like dropping a boulder into a lake, the tail of the Grimm sprung up at Penny's airship, the whole weight of the massive object barreling towards her. It was fast, very fast, faster than most pilots could react. Further unfortunately for Penny, she didn't have any cores set to avoidance maneuvers.

Penny had just enough time to slam on the control pad for her wings, avian rolling the ship out of the way of the massive tail. It wasn't far enough.

Warnings blared across her screens and comm, the interior of the ship turning a dark red. She had been hit. The Grammite's tail had hit her ship! That was bad. That was _really_ bad.

One of the engines was gone, too badly damaged to help maintain altitude. The other was unable to hold up the weight of her ship alone, let alone balance it. Her batteries were heavily damaged, unable to fire. The screens were sparking, sirens blaring.

Penny was going down.

 _"Penny! Penny!"_ She heard Papa Zepp calling through her comm. She couldn't respond. She was trying to fix something, anything. _"Eject Penny! Get out of there, now!"_ Papa Zepp did know best.

Her memory units told her right where the ejection buttons were, three color-coded buttons to be depressed in sequential order. First button, green, attached the locking harness over her body. It worked flawlessly. Second button, yellow, detach the locking mechanisms of the windows. The blaring stopped when she pressed it, her temperature sensors telling her there was a significant decrease in degrees Fahrenheit.

The third button, last one, red, committed ejection. She pressed it, and the cockpit of the airship was ripped in half. A moment later, she was flying in the air, strapped to her seat and held securely as her body was rocked up and away from the falling airship.

The parachute deployed from the back of the seat a second later, stopping her free fall and holding her in the air in a controlled descent. Her arms gripped the seat tightly, eyes watching carefully as her ship fell to the Badlands. It was spinning rapidly, unable to maintain itself any further. By all accounts, her memory almost attributed the sight to a falling firecracker more than a ship, given how high up she was and how far down it was.

But in almost no time, it hit the ground and exploded on impact.

That could have been her. She almost died. She… she was almost killed. Penny was-

**_ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!_ **

Penny was still in danger.

Her eyes moved, wide and focused, at the Ancient Grimm charging for her, its three large eyes focused on her descending form. It knew where she was. It knew it could get her.

This… this was what an ancient Grimm was. Smart, strong, and able to kill someone in a single blow. She wasn't ready for this. Why did she come out here to do this? Why? She hadn't even gotten to have fun at the Festival yet.

She… This wasn't supposed to happen.

The Grammite didn't care.

Penny watched, caught trembling and unsure in her floating seat, as the massive Grimm jumped towards her once more. It couldn't fly, but it could leap, and it jumped well above the height of the Badlands Hanger. That was enough to reach her.

It was jumping up to eat her, to kill her, and Penny couldn't do anything to stop something so big, or avoid something so large.

Penny really was going to die. Penny-

…Found herself getting whipped heavily to the side as something ran into her.

If she had breath in her lungs, or lungs at all, she would have lost them at the high velocity impact. Instead, she merely found her accelerometers and gyroscope momentarily knocked out of balance and equilibrium. Her sensors flared, but were quickly righted.

When they were reset to balance, she found herself free from the chair she was holding onto, flying again. Except, she wasn't in a ship, or outside of a ship, or even falling straight down. She was flying horizontally, or so her gyroscope told her, and at speeds just shy of terminal velocity. She blinked, doing automatic calibrations on her visual sensors.

When they came to, she found herself being held by Link.

She blinked again, doing a secondary restart. The vision remained the same. Link had one of her arms wrapped tightly around her torso, holding her between himself and Epona. She could feel the wings of the WPM Model beating at the air, just as well as her sensitive pressure sensors could make out the high density of Link's own muscles…

He smiled down at her, blond locks still whipping in the wind. No words came from his mouth, but Penny could tell what he meant. It was an action Papa Zepp had given her many times before, after all of her field tests.

_You're okay. I'm glad._

"I'm… I'm undamaged," Penny confirmed the report, her body doing diagnostic as she spoke. No ruptures to her subdermal metallic armor or her latex exterior. By all accounts, the only real damage that would require maintenance were the sudden spikes and off-settings to her balancing mechanisms. That would require external check-ups.

But… She still had her hands clenched tightly against Link's tunic, holding onto him as she flew Epona through the air. She watched him, his eyes looking away from her, more than likely to look at the Grammite. Penny could hear it roar again, but it sounded farther off. No… further down. That was smart, especially after what happened to her airship when they were close.

The airship… designed to take head-on impacts with Nevermores of ages of seventy years and below, was knocked out of the sky by a single passing blow of the Grammite. It was terrifying. She felt… Penny felt scared. She felt really scared. Her hands clenched Link's tunic tighter.

He held her closer.

Penny blinked, looking back up at him. Link still had one hand on Epona's mane, but he was straightening himself, raising himself until he was looking down at the Grammite. They must have slowed, because Penny could see his locks barely moving in the breeze. It was safer to stand taller when there was less drag.

Without a word, Link reached behind himself, reaching for something that made an unclasping sound according to Penny's auditory inputs. When his hand pulled back around, he was holding a weapon he had used before.

It was his bow.

The same bow and arrow she and Papa Zepp saw him use against the horde of Creepers, freezing them solid according to the rapid-pace images. It was the same one he had used against the Grammite before, launching what was likely another high-impact arrow encased in fire dust. It was powerful by all previous assessments, but it was probabilistically unlikely for him to hit a target like the Grammite from any great distance.

Wind speeds would heavily offset the arrow, its natural decay in longitude due to lower max velocities made timing more delicate, its dependency on constant air-pressure made its straight path less guaranteed, and for maximum impact, it would have to hit the target before natural air drag lowered its speed to terminal velocity. It was a weapon unlikely to work.

But despite all of that, Penny felt he could do it.

That was enough for her.

* * *

"Oh thank Dust. Oh thank the Dust, Aura, and anything else that helped with that. Oh geez." Weiss passively listened to Jaune's unflattering remarks of thanks, his decompression from stress. She could practically hear him melt in his seat. "That was close, oh geez that was close."

"But they're alright, right? They're okay." Weiss glanced at her partner, watching the younger girl play with her skirt as she spoke the words. She may have meant to sound sure of herself, but it was too easy to see the unease she felt. Hardly surprising, easily understandable. "Penny's safe, Link's safe, they're both okay."

"Penny has suffered no immediate reduction in her aura levels, well above critical limits." Ms. Goodwitch appeared to answer Ruby, though Weiss was appreciative of the information. "Link, however, is near critical levels himself. Likely a combination of factors including exhaustion and overexertion with his previous fight."

"Yeah, fighting two giant monsters tends to take a lot of you." Weiss felt herself scowl a little as Tatl spoke. She was rude, as always. However, it was rather justified now. "But hey, we didn't exactly plan to get betrayed by Mr. Stiff and the Council of Stooges, did we?" Weiss pointedly ignored Yang's stifled laughter.

"You can label me a betrayer until your breath runs out, but in no way did I plan this," General Ironwood returned. Weiss saw his eyes still on the screen. "I believe your energy would be better spent focusing on Link's safe return." Deflection, a common tactic of high ranking officials.

"Don't change the subject!" Tatl fired back. "I think now's the perfect time to shout out all your hypocrisy! Link and the Armos-Girl are safe on Epona up in the clouds." Armos? Must have been a foreign term. "Right now, you're the one holding back on helping them and calling up some misplaced sense of duty. What kind of bull is that!?"

Weiss pointedly watched the screens over the growing unrest in the golden mini-drone. She noted as Link guided the flying horse, releasing Penny so he could grip the alabaster mane. The quality of the video was fluctuating, no doubt a consequence of the speeds he was moving at. It did show, however, as he grabbed the Grammite's attention with a quick flyby, moving at speeds far superior to the dragging-based movement of the Grimm. Doubtlessly a tactic for some grand end goal.

 _"In case your memory subroutine is failing, the appearance of the Grammite is an unfortunate and unforeseen result of the hunting of the Ancient Creeper. The Prototype Models that pursued him were a result of poor management of subordinates by General Ironwood."_ Without even a glance, Weiss could feel the chill that came from the tall general. _"We will be sure to diagnose you and your… sibling's programming when this matter with the Grimm is con-"_

"STOP TALKING TO ME LIKE I'M A THING!" Now Weiss turned.

Tatl, the annoying golden ball of light, was glowing red.

The mini-drone was ringing like an alarm, her insect like wings vibrating with a tension that looked ready to endure a knife's cut. It didn't take any kind of thought to know the mini-drone had reach some level of threshold in its programming, some maximum is was never meant to either read or reach. Either way… something interesting was going to happen.

"You're talking to me like my brother and I are possessions, no different than that girl Link had to slice up a dozen ways to the Gerudo Valley to teach her a lesson." So much for regret. "I thought at first… no, I _hoped_ that she was an outlier, that things would be different here. But from the way you're acting, you're no different than her!"

"S-Sis…" Weiss lightly heard Tael sputter out, but anything else he had to say died off in his sister's monologue.

"But it isn't just Tael and I. Link, even that girl and horse, they're just objects to you, things you get to bargain with like chips on a board!" Steel was less dense than the air was right now. "Just admit it. Stop trying to make enemies out of people who kill your worst nightmares for sport, and just tell me straight that you set us up."

 _"You are making rather reaching conclusions based off of circumstantial evidence."_ About the response Weiss expected. _"It can be understood that you are angry because your master is in danger, but lashing out is unbecoming of a drone such as yourself."_

"Perhaps it would be more prudent to observe Link for now," Ironwood again, another diversionary tactic. Either he knew this would end badly or he wanted to maintain peace. Likely both.

"Oh no, not after that comment." Tatl, the now red-ball of fury, let out. "I know Link's going to be just fine, I know he's going to come back from that Grammite more tired than hurt. But what I really want to know, what I'm not gonna stop until I get, is some kind of word that when Link gets back, he's not going to be jumped and thrown to the wolves… A SECOND TIME!"

Tatl rang at blaring levels in front of Ironwood's eyes. He didn't so much as blink at the antics of the clearly malfunctioning mini-drone. More control than Weiss herself would have had, already knowing that if such accusations were leveled at her, she would have beaten the figure out of the air.

Instead Ironwood merely glared at the malfunctioning drone, eyes screwed and fists tight at his side. Weiss took the chance to glance at the screens. She was of mixed opinion to see nothing much had changed. Link and Penny were still in flight atop the winged horse, the Grammite chasing them. No gain on either ground.

"What makes you believe you have any right to make threats to me?" Ironwood coldly replied, a tone that drew Weiss's attention once more. "You are guests on a military compound, making judgements about our methods without knowing our history."

"But I know your history, Ironwood." Was that Ms. Goodwitch? Weiss looked to see the blonde professor pointedly looking up from her pad, staring at the general and red-lighted mini-drone with a gaze sharper than a sword. "And I know that your actions and decisions throughout the course of this operation have been far past questionable."

"And I saw you activate Link's earpiece," Weiss heard Blake add-in, utterly unsurprisingly. "And it was only just after that when it let out an ear piercing screech, easily enough to gain the attention of the Grammite."

"Just admit it," Tatl again, nearly bouncing off of General Ironwood's forehead. "Just admit you set Link up and I'll at least _try_ to not tell him what you did."

Weiss saw no reaction in Ironwood at the words, nothing more than a simple raise of his brow. Tatl seemed to recognize it as well.

"You may not be afraid of me, and I probably couldn't do anything to you…" The mini-drone continued. "But do you really want to chance fighting Link, when he is taking on your big bad monsters without a shred of fear?"

Brows furrowed again. That… was actually a good point. Not even Weiss saw the point in denying Link's skill by now. Even comparisons to other hunters was far from possible, she could at least see the threat he would possess to the average hunter, let alone Grimm. He wouldn't be taken out easily, and a general like Ironwood would definitely be able to see that.

Actually… if they saw it earlier… then all of this…

"You're right, we did set Link up."

Weiss felt her jaw drop. Her eyes widened in tandem.

Speechless, she was absolutely speechless to the affirmation. She was likely the only one.

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!" Tatl screeched, ramming her tiny body into the general's head, having as much effect as one would expect. "YOU DOUBLE-CROSSING, LYING, SACK-OF-CRAP, HYPOCRITE!"

"Are you kidding me?!"

"Oh Dust, oh Dust, oh Dust…"

"No, no, no, no, no!"

"Not again, no please not again,"

"You've got to be joking-"

It was a torrent of words all being shouted at once, each voice drowning out the other. The voices that Weiss couldn't hear were probably muffled beneath hands against their respective mouths or buried against their chests. Maybe they were just struck dumb. Weiss felt that way now.

The conference room really was a mess, a mess of emotion that Weiss couldn't keep track of. Fear, surprise, lots of anger, hesitation, doubt… all of that was expected. But who felt what? What did she feel? What was she supposed to feel? Surprise from being lied to? Anger? Doubt? What was more appropriate? What… What was...

 _"General Ironwood!"_ A voice, for the first time, far from monotone spoke through the screen. _"You are disclosing far more than-"_

**CRASH!**

The sound of shattering glass silenced the room.

Weiss felt herself jump away from the sound, instinctively activating a heavy-mass glyph shield. She dismissed it just as quickly as she brought it out, at least once she saw what had caused the noise.

Yang, the buxom blonde brute of their team, had thrown her fist into the screen of the Council members. Wiess wasn't sure if even her family could put a price on the grin she was giving the room.

"What?" She casually asked. "They were getting too loud for my tastes, plus I couldn't find the remote." There was something almost comforting in the brawler's carefree attitude. Probably the comic relief she provided. "Besides, can't have a bunch of faceless voices interrupting our conversation now, can we?"

She finished the question with a pound of her fists. Weiss felt her skirt flip at the blow. For all of Yang's shortcomings, strength was not one of them. Thankfully, it might have a use here.

"And I agree entirely," Weiss looked back to Ironwood, who even to her standards was standing too tall and proud, given the admittance he just delivered. "It would rather not be tied at a moment like this."

"Then perhaps you can start with sending aid to Link and Penny, then?" Weiss found it the perfect time to interject, walking slowly around the table until she stood opposite the general. She was an heiress, and one day would be more powerful than him. "It is the first step to rectifying this situation you have placed us all in."

"No." That was fast. Fast enough to make Weiss jerk in slight surprise.

"Oh no, you listen up you over-baked lump of coal!" Tatl shouted at him again. Now it was perfectly understandable. "I can get being entrapped by some big title above you giving orders, but if you keep talking like this-" Anything else the mini-drone had to say was silenced.

General Ironwood was thrown again the far wall. Hard.

**_SLAM!_ **

Weiss let out a quick gasp, hearing a few high cries behind her. One doubtlessly belonged to Jaune. The other probably Tatl. Those didn't matter though. What did matter, to Weiss in very least, was what had sent the general to the far wall with such force. Nothing had hit him, let alone grabbed him. He was simply standing there then was shoved back with a break-neck speed.

"I believe Ms. Schnee has raised a valid point, Ironwood." Weiss had been called a princess of ice many times over, but Ms. Goodwitch's voice doubtlessly mad her the queen. Her blue eyes swiveled to see the blonde huntress aiming her riding crop at the now pinned general. Her eyes were sharper than Ruby's scythe. "Please elaborate on why you will not help Link and your own soldier."

"Because I am against… sending out more of my soldiers… to their likely death." He struggled to speak, obvious by the breaks in his speech. It didn't keep him from sounding powerful though, as if he was in control of the situation whilst hung on the wall like a wet towel. "Penny disobeyed an order… I did not send her."

"So then where are we now big guy?" Tatl asked again, flying up to the general. Her glow had softened from the vibrant red, returning to the glittering gold. Her attitude only mellowed, but the mini-drone lost none of her boisterous attitude. "What's changed then, huh? Why should we even listen to you?"

"Because... I don't want Penny… to get hurt either." Sympathy. An odd thought passed through Weiss if she was offering sympathy for the devil. She declined the thought, realizing Ironwood was the lesser of any evils she could compare him to. "And Ozpin's plan… whatever it is… I want to help." Wait, the headmaster's plan?

"What plan?" Jaune was asking the question now, sounding like Ironwood had made a death threat. "What plan is going on again now? I don't need any more surprises. I don't think any of us do. Really, please what plan?" It was pathetic, him whining to the room for an answer. He hardly befitted his name.

What plan do you think Ozpin has?" Glynda asked coldly. Ironwood grit his teeth. The professor must have been putting more force into her semblance. Weiss had seen Goodwitch carelessly lift entire slabs of granite…

"Ozpin is no fool…" The general started. "He would not… send a student or friend… here… without a plan…" That… actually made sense to Weiss. Of all the things she thought of the headmaster, sneaky was definitely a top of the list quality. It helped that they were usually beneficial. "Be it a weapon… or a ploy… or the bending of a rule… I want to help."

The room was silent after that admission, caught in a dozen different thoughts, one for each head present. Weiss let her own thoughts sift to what a plan could be, if there was one at all. If it was meant to ensure safety of Link, it must have failed miserably. Unless it had yet to be done, but considering the near miss on Link's life, twice, it was unlikely it would deploy for much else. A Cue De Ta didn't sit with Weiss as one of Headmaster Ozpin's likely strategies. But what did that leave?

"You swear you'll help?" Tatl, of all the voices in the room, asked. That made Weiss as incredulous as it did furious. What did a mini-drone know that she didn't? "You swear, on your backstabbing and betraying mind-set, that you'll actually keep your word this time?"

It was impossible to tell, for Weiss at least, if Ironwood was sneering or frowning at the words, guilt or admission. She could only be sure that he was breathing deeply as he stared at the golden ball of light, deeply.

"I swear on my post as general, honor as a Hunter, and life with a soul." Three crosses over person defining traits, that wasn't something to take lightly, but they were only words. A snake could swear it was the hand of a god if it meant eating a bird's egg.

"I'll give you one chance Ironwood," Ms. Goodwitch, with all her terrifying strength, spoke again. "Give me one more reason to see you trying to deceive us, and I may take an irreparable action."

Ironwood's head tilted against the wall, harder. The surface behind him groaned with the effort, clear a sign as any that he was being pushed against it. But instead of glaring at them, or even nodding his head, the general tilted his gaze away from them. He started looking towards the glass… wall…

Looking through the glass wall of the conference area, a feature easily forgotten amongst the myriad of events that had occurred, Weiss saw at least a few dozen set of eyes staring at her. Well… at her and her companions.

An entire comm room full of military personal were staring at them, each one appearing more a statue than an on-duty officer. Some were looking up from their work stations, hands hovering over their keypads. Some were standing up, adjusting their goggles and lenses to see through the tempered glass. Hardly surprising, given everything that had happened, especially given the speed.

Even in the darkened room where the officers sat, it was clear as day that they had forgotten their work to see the explosion that had occurred, physically and metaphorically. Unfortunately, they were all _armed_ members of the military, watching their superior being forced up against a wall. Fortunately, it never became more than that.

"Stand down," Ironwood spoke the command, eyes on the officers staring at him. "There is no threat, so return to your stations and… Stand. Down. Now."

It wasn't an immediate reaction, for reasons wholly obvious to Weiss, but one by one the soldiers began to relax, returning to their stations and turning the backs on the room, though not without the occasional glance. Weiss could hardly fault them.

"This is justified…" Ironwood began, still with the difficulty in his speech. "But only… for so long… Glynda. Besides… I would much rather… watch Link and Penny…"

How had Weiss forgotten?

Her long hair spun as she whipped her head back to the screens, the undamaged images that showed Link riding atop the alabaster mare, a ginger haired girl in front of him. That was what she had seen last, trailing in front of the Ancient Grammite.

Now though… They were charging it…

"Oh, not again…" Weiss would have asked the mini-drone what she meant if her gaze were not captivated on what was unfolding.

* * *

Two shots. Four chances. Five seconds. Two Dozen more arrows to spare. Those were all the numbers Link cared for at the moment. Those were all that he could afford to care about.

He was flying Epona towards the Bellumgera, charging the monster to keep its path. It was smart, obvious given its size, so it would act differently if he only continued to trail it around. It might burrow into the dead earth, it might try and cut him off within the bowl, or it may even have grown bored and begun pursuing the outpost. That was where the knights-in-training were.

It made all options unacceptable. So, therefore, the only option was to charge. To charge and, hopefully, have a plan that worked this time.

"What are you doing, Link?" The girl in front of him called out loudly, nearly drowned out by the wind Epona flew through and the roar of the monster ahead. Even though he heard the question, Link ignored it. He could not spare any time to answer or explain.

He had already pulled his bow, now he had notched an arrow. That had taken two seconds. He had only three left to make the shot matter. That, and two more afterwards.

Without waiting to aim, Link raised and released the string of his bow, letting the Fire Arrow fly true. As it had before, the arrow struck home against the Bellumgera's eye, one of them at least. Its charge noticeably slowly, its spines halting its movement in the earth as it let out a high, but loud, cry of pain. Fire was a foe to all creatures of flesh and blood, especially the vulnerable patches of flesh.

With eyes larger than many houses Link had been in, a well-placed arrow blessed by the sun did more damage than any simple piercing arrow would have managed. An arrow to a creature of such magnitude as the War Eater would have simply been an annoyance, no worse than a single bee sting to Link himself. But fire spread, especially across the soft and vulnerable surface of an exposed eye.

But he couldn't wait, not longer. Link notched, pulled, and released another arrow, all done with the orange haired girl sitting in front of him. She did no more than latch onto Epona as Link watched the arrow fly true. It struck home like the hundreds he had fired before on the Gerudo Training Range.

The beast was pained, crying out in a multitude of high noises. All of its eyes were hit, leaving the behemoth of a creature blind, wounded, but most importantly, vulnerable.

It was no longer moving. Link knew that as he grabbed at Epona's mane, hoisting the mare to fly high into the sky, above and over the Bellumgera. Since it had stopped digging into the dead earth, pulling its way forward, it was not a close call. They had distance to spare. That mattered little, however, if he did not capitalize on the creature's wounded state. Wounded eyes, but monsters such as this were never done with such simple damage, not at this size. There was more he had to do.

"This is… this is really scary…" Penny spoke in front of him, leaning back into him with her words. He was used to the action, more than one person having grabbed onto him as safety net, warrior trained or farm raised. At least the young girl did not collapse or wail. What's more, Link could understand the terror.

Even now, as they sailed over the dark creature, scales of absolute net with protruding white bones of unreasonable size, its cries of pain rumbled through the air, high pitches making the hairs on Link's neck stand on end. It was vulnerable, but vulnerable was not weak. A simple twist of its body at the wrong time would have one of the massive spines smashing into them, throwing them all from the sky.

He had to capitalize now. He had to go for the tail. He knew that.

The tail of any Molgera was its weakest point. It was what allowed it to sense the earth, to feel even the faintest of movements. Given its size, it would have taken more than a simple foot step to get its attention, but a horse sprinting across the dead land would be more than enough. It made sense that the battle with the Emperor Dodongo and the ear ring he was given would call the monster's attention.

But now, Link had to destroy that sensitive part of the War Eater. If he applied the right amount of force, the greatest of his strength, into the tail of the monster, he could possibly kill it. Possibly. That was all it was, a chance.

The larger any monster grew, the tougher its hide became. It didn't make a difference it was the night-black scales along the Bellumgera's back or the sensitive tail he guided Epona towards, both were harder to cut the larger the monster became.

That meant either multiple tries, or one all-or-nothing attack. Link, replacing his bow and unsheathing his sword, decided on the former. He was safe for now, no reason to risk it all. Not until his life was all that was left.

Epona let out whining sound as Link flexed his legs, spurring the alabaster mare forwards. Her wings beat quicker, head charging into the head-wind at a great speed. Link leant closer to the mare's back, Penny mimicking his actions. That was good. It made things easier. Not easy, easier.

The spines of the War Eater rushed past them like columns in a castle, towering and thicker than Link's body was long. But they left a clear path along the Bellumgera's back, free of any obstacles. They couldn't fly higher, too high would cost too much time. The monster may recover by then.

He gripped the Magic Sword, feeding his own magic into the blade. It shined with his effort, a stark contrast of light over the dark hide of the beast. It wouldn't last much longer, not with the end of the monstrosity fast approaching. He couldn't strike it properly if Epona was flying upright. That meant at the end, he had to spin. It was dangerous, but necessary this time at least.

When the alabaster spines ended, the red tail of the Bellumgera became obvious, exposed and laying still beneath him.

Link pulled at Epona's mane quickly, spinning the mare. He swung above his head with the moment, his blade striking down in orientation. He was rewarded with heavy resistance, but nothing he could not cut through.

The familiar sing of steel in flesh reached Link's ears, vanishing as quickly as it had come. It was soon replaced by a screech of pain from the Bellumgera. What followed that was a series of thundering booms. Link didn't have to see to know it was the War Eater thrashing upon the dead earth, shaking the land with its weight alone. That was why he was glad to be in the air.

"Wowie zowie! That went great!" Penny cheered in front of him, clearly excited by his actions. Positive reinforcement was nice, but it accomplished little without action.

Link pulled Epona's mane again, spinning her until they were perpendicular to the beast, far higher in the air than before. He watched the Bellumgera writhe on the ground, like a toddler. It was an image that lasted for a sparse amount of time. It was soon upright as it could be, charging across the deadlands with a new found fury.

It was a monster before with its size. But with its faster movement, it could be safely seen as a demon.

It turned around with a speed that made the ground grumble, its charred eyes staring up at Link with a rage he knew all too well. It roared at him, though too far below to even be considered within range. That only meant Link had to make the first move.

He sheathed his sword, feeling it slide back into place. He pulled at his honed bow immediately afterwards, the action as simple as breathing air. Link lightly pulled on Epona's mane, adjusting her mid-air. He couldn't notch an arrow yet, not until he could trust the mare to fly true without his guide. But to do that, he first needed to gather the monster's attention once more. That would not be difficult.

Link nudged the young girl in front of him, a prompt for her to brace herself. She did, wordlessly. When she did, Link began a quick descent, guiding Epona as faked a collision with the Bellumgera. A taunt, of course, but one the beast would likely accept given the insult Link had made with the injury. The angrier a monster became, the easier it was to predict.

It roared as the mare approached it, spines ripping through the dead earth at a speed that gave Link pause. But it was still slower than Epona, at least when the quartet of wings were beating through the air. It blinded Link's gaze when he attempted to stare into the headwind. But, fortunately, that was not where he was aiming to look.

Link steered the mare to the front of the charging monster, straight ahead and out of a collision with the beast. It raced them, razor-teeth filled maw screeching at them. Link knew that falling into it was sure death. He just had to kill it first.

He notched his arrows again, aiming for the great beast, for its three large and unblinking eyes. He pulled on the string, feeling the magic of the arrows alit, ready to burn the sensitive flesh of the Bellumgera once more. But before Link could release the arrow, the unexpected happened.

The creature burrowed.

Despite its size, despite its massive nature, it dove into the dead earth as if were sand. Link hastily unnotched his arrow, pulling on Epona's mane to guide the mare higher into the air for fear of rubble slamming into them. Boulders the size of cart flew past them.

Link did not look back at the monster, focusing instead to guide Epona safely through the air. She could not see the threats Link avoided, and it was not her job. She kept them airborne, Link kept them safe. It was only when they were high in the air, comparable to where they were before, that Link turned around.

He saw only the tail of the Bellumgera now, too swiftly disappearing into the vast darkness of the under earth.

"Whoa! That was really smart of the Grimm…" The girl in front of him noted, both staring down into the vast empty hole the monster had vanished into. "Is… is it coming back up?" Without a doubt, Link knew. The real question was what bait to lure it out.

The air was suddenly too quiet for Link to think. No screeches of pain or roars of violence, no crumbling earth, and no battle cries of his own. Just Epona's wings flapping through the air. It was haunting, in a way Link was familiar with, in way he did not like.

His eyes scanned the dead earth, now as silent as it was still. Somewhere in the dark caverns beneath, the Bellumgera was tunneling its way. Perhaps it was waiting for them, maybe it was fleeing. Likely the former, doubtful for the latter. But Link knew how the Molgera's hunted.

Its tail, the sensitive tip, was what told it of the small prey it needed to feast on. The thick scales along its hide and hideously large spines kept it from noticing the smaller of prey. But the exposed tail allowed to sense the changes of the earth.

In other words, as soon as Link touched Epona down on the land, it would emerge. The trouble was, he could not be sure where. It be across the landscape or right beneath them. It was too variable to be a plan. However, if something else made the noise, some other great force, the monster could be drawn out. His bombs could work, but given the singular force they made, the creature would likely be too wise to simply emerge for it.

Link needed either to chance the safety of Epona and Penny, or find a larger force to draw out the monster.

No sooner did he have the thought than did his eyes land upon the fallen chariot of Penny.

It was still a smolder, the metal that surrounded it twisted and molten in some parts. Flames still licked along the sides of the ruins, but nothing more than that. He recalled the girl firing from the ship, speaking of how she could fire from it. The biggest clue he had were the cannons attached beneath the ship, when it was still able to swim through the air.

If they were no different than the tools he had seen the knights-in-training use before at Beacon, then perhaps there was something to be done… Maybe... It was worth a shot.

Link notched his arrow, aiming towards the mess of a ship from his vantage high the sky. Epona's pace was leisurely, enough to keep them high and out of danger. It would make the shot, despite the distance, simple. All he had to now was hoped it worked.

"Um, Link? What are you aiming for?" He heard Penny ask. It was a natural question, but it would be answered soon enough.

With a twang, his bow was released, the flames of his arrow splitting the air as it flew true.

He was happy to see the impact upon the ship do just as he expected.

A boom that shook the very skies followed his arrow, strong enough in force and volume to shake the mare he rode. Epona whined as her wings went spastic for a moment, righting herself quickly afterwards. It was still enough for Link and Penny to fall to her back, gripping the mare's mane to ensure their posture.

There was no ring that followed the explosion, just a rumble that echoed along the land scape, over the mountains and eventually out of mind. A tower of smoke and fire rose from carcass of the carriage in large plumes. It blanked the dead ground with a cover of ash and soot, blinding Link to the land far below. It was everything he could have hoped for.

Because he was happy to see the impact did just as he expected, he was excited to see the Bellumgera emerge from the ground.

Like a monster from the ocean, it shot from the dead earth, an impressive amount of its length floating in the air, striking through the residue of the explosion the ship had caused. It roared with the charge, hanging in the air menacingly, all eyes staring up as it slowly fell back to the earth.

The exploding ship had caused a boom that shook the air and earth. The Bellumgera, its full weight rising and falling, made exactly the same noise and effect. It was an all too clear reminder of the weight and magnitude of the monster he was fighting.

Caution was necessary, but risks were as well.

This was one of them.

Link pocketed his bow, withdrew his sword, and spun Epona towards the War Eater. It was time this ended.

* * *

He was amazing.

He was really amazing.

No matter which algorithm or method of analysis Penny applied to Link, she only reached the same conclusion. If she judged him by his skills with riding Epona, he was amazing. With his accuracy and acuity with using a bow, he was amazing. With his battle preparation and plans when fighting an Ancient Grimm, he was still amazing. Even his looks were amazing! That last one didn't matter for battle judgement, but Penny still stored it away as important knowledge.

All of her logs told her that fighting a Grimm that was superior to several decades was considered dangerous if done alone. When reaching the upper centuries, it was changed to suicidal. Beyond that, it was believed that the Grimm then possessed the wisdom to not recognize the threat of a single warrior.

Yet here Link was, challenging a Grimm that had proven its wisdom near a dozen times over, and he was winning. Without having to turn around to look at him, she could feel with her synthetic soul the thought in his actions. The way he stored away one weapon to withdraw another, the distance he put between himself and the Grammite, even the small tugs he made on Epona's mane, keeping her flight pattern semi-erratic, more difficult to predict.

These were not things that came intuitively. Penny recalled many sessions with Papa Zepp and Uncle Ironwood, being trained and being taught lessons that databanks and algorithms couldn't be programmed in. She had dedicated a specific folder in autonomous subdirectory to those lessons. She called the folder 'instinct', just as her papa had.

Yet she had linked more than one of Link's actions to various subdirectories, documents, and reboot commands in that folder. The way he was able to change tactics so easily was first and foremost, a statistically smart move in order to prevent the opponent from gaining an upper hand. The distance was another, making it easy to watch the Grimm without fear of being ambushed; that was very important.

And now, he was flying an arc about the Grammite, currently crashed atop the remains of her airship. He was going for a strike, but in a different way. If it was normal, he'd be charging the tail. Thankfully from her front-row vantage point, she knew that was not what Link was planning.

He was arcing towards the Grammite, but he was gaining altitude.

That didn't make sense to Penny, not with the knowledge that he had his sword equipped, not his bow. A bow would be advantageous at certain distances, a sword was not unless up close. Yet Link was commanding Epona to fly in a steady arc, diverting slowly away from the Grimm and up into the air. A 'borrowed memory' file told her it was akin to a roller coaster, but she had never been on one to have the experience.

Her fingers gripped Epona's mane as Link leaned over her, his free hand doing the same. Possibilities for his actions were listed and crossed out via her algorithms, one-by-one picking off the reasons for his actions. It was an attack, obviously, his previous action having successfully lured out the Grammite. But with a sword, it left limited options. He had his beams, but they were comparatively slow and likely dissipated in bower in relation to distance traveled, as with any wave form.

Her musings were stalled as Link tapped her shoulder with his bladed hand, the back of his golden gauntlet knocking on the faux-dress she wore. A sub-routine gave her internal thanks for there not being a metallic clang as the two met. However, her curiosity was still left on why Link had done that. She turned around, knowing that it was meant to get her attention.

Only to see him falling off of Epona.

She had enough time to gasp and reach out for him, one of her hands reaching for his. He didn't reciprocate. Instead, he fell off the vertical pegasus easily a mile in the air.

Her detailed eyes analyzed the images of Link quickly. After his clear departure from Epona's back, sword in hand, and Grammite beneath him, Penny noticed something else.

He was smiling. He was planning for this.

The mare she rode stalled as the weight had left her, righting herself mid-air with an almost violent toss of her head. Penny lurched forward to catch herself, momentarily losing sight of Link. Commands were given through her servo motors, directing Epona into a circle, giving her sight of him once more. He was still falling, but no longer looking up.

The only reason Penny didn't obey the instinct command of her subroutines was the contradictory 'trust' protocol. Her instincts told her to save Link, but his actions… they told her to trust him, and that this was what he wanted.

So, gripping Epona's alabaster mane with her deathly cold grip, she watched as Link fell towards the Grammite. He was reaching into his pockets calmly as he did so, unlatching and reaching into one of his many leather pouches. Then Penny watched the foreign faunus pull forth a bottle of sloshy purple liquid. She stored the sight for later analysis, both the unequal size ratio between the item and its storage device as well as the liquid itself.

Falling through the air, seemingly without a care, she watched Link uncork and drink the purple liquid, gulping it down. Only her ocular enhancers allowed her to see the speed at which he emptied the container, pocketing it quickly as he had produced it. When he was done, she watched something else spectacular.

His blade began to glow. Glow… and grow.

She knew near immediately it was a trick of his semblance. That or the machinations of his dust that the Military had not yet produced. Whichever it was, the end result was the same. The red gem encrusted sword Link had grew with a light that was as sharp, strong, and easily blinding as the steel itself.

He was holding the point into the air, seemingly aiming it up at the sky. As Link fell towards the Bellumgera, the great Grimm churning slowly on the ground, the blade grew upwards. The end result was the tip apparently going nowhere. It was impressive, amazing, and by all her calculations impossible.

But the sights of her sensors overruled logical trains of thought. It was impossible to deny a result that was already real.

And to pay tribute to that logic. Link began to spin again.

It was the same spin that he had done before, as her visual input with Papa Zepp had shown him fight the Great Creeper from before. Except now… now it was with a sword that was longer, sharper, and more importantly, deadlier.

Penny tightened her grip on Epona's mane as Link's spin intensified. It turned from a slow lazy flip into a faster and faster cartwheel, the lines and colors blurring in his shape. She, herself, was outfitted with a high-speed capturing recorder, giving her advantages in fights against opponents with superior speed. She could follow Link with that. But by her low-powered lenses, he was nothing but a dot of green in the center of a spinning cyclone of steel.

A great saw-like blade that was falling towards the Bellumgera.

The Massive Grimm was doing something, but Penny wasn't sure what. It wasn't looking up. It couldn't see Link, but that meant it was probably going to hide again. Its great white spines churned, slowly digging it across the earth. A subroutine dedicated to pattern recognition told her it was searching. More power was given to her memory capture unit, for a far more important reason.

Link's great blade and spin were falling to atop the Grammite.

And the closer he got, the tighter the feeling was about Penny's chest.

She recognized what the attack was, just as he began to strike.

The blade sank into the exposed tail of the Grammite, just as Link had done before. But Penny didn't need any advanced algorithms to know they were different far different. Like comparing the damage between a sliver and amputation.

With a long ring of steel, one that echoed across the lands and up to as high as Penny flew, the magical blade swung into the Grammite's tail, cleaving through the exposed tip as if it were no different than air. It came with three things, all permanently etched into Penny's storage banks.

An excessively bright flash of light, a deafening ring, and the feeling of emptiness.

Following those three came something else. A death cry.

In the flash of light that had blinded Penny, still flying high above on Epona's back, she saw the great blade Link had made was nowhere to be seen. Its essence gone as if it were never there. But it was there. The effects of its existence were immediately evident.

The death cry that roared to the sky, the Grimm raising up just as it had done when it had charged from the earth. Its spines were waving widely through the air, each one of the dozens of boney limbs grabbing and scrapping at air, pushing against nothing, fruitless acts. Behind all of them, the only part of the beast that was still, was its tail.

Its severed and removed tail.

Penny had enough data regarding Grammites to know that their critical nerves and memory processors were located in the tail, its only evolutionary disadvantage. Even with its exposed tip, it took a great deal of force over a very small area to pierce the exposed hide, comparably enough that even her airship would have slightly wounded, not killed the great beast.

Yet Link had severed it clean off…

It was an attack Penny had no data on. No numerical evidence, no documented case reports stored in her system memory, nothing. She had just witnessed what was never perceived by intellectual minds before. And yet… she knew what it was. She knew what it was because she _felt_ it. She had felt the attack from the depths of her soul. She had felt the attack _empty_ her soul.

Link had pushed not his semblance, but his very aura, his soul, into that one strike. The strike that had split the air, cut sound, and rendered the thousand year old Grammite into a dying husk.

She had no need to breathe, but Penny still felt her breath taken away, an unusual amount of pressure about her torso region. Her ocular senses refused to look away, determined to document every moment following what she had seen.

She could still see Link, standing now in the dead lands, the Grammite hanging in the air in the thralls of its final breath of life. He looked tired, a word that unnamed parameters within Penny's subroutines had deemed to be too subtle a word to classify the state Link was in. Exhausted didn't do enough justice either.

Even with the Grammite hanging in the air, arching backwards, Link appeared to be ready to sleep, to fall over no differently than the Grimm. It active a curiosity node within her mind. Penny motionlessly acquired a few commands, scanning a specific sensor, and reached a conclusion.

Link wasn't simply tired, he was near-death.

The aura he had used in his attack had not returned. He was below critical levels before. But now, it would be plausible for a passing breeze to reduce his aura levels to zero. That only became logically clearer when his sword fell from his hand, soundlessly falling to the earth.

His knees followed, collapsing downward, free of any strength. He rolled the rest of the way to the ground, limbs outstretched and face to the sky. Even with only shreds of his aura remaining, he looked brighter than any other thing Penny had ever seen. That was the word her mind told her was appropriate.

Bright was appropriate because Link was a beacon. Beacons were meant to be bright and illuminate objects for miles away. And Link was the brightest beacon Penny had ever seen.

"Let's go get him, girl," The young girl spoke to the mare she rode, lightly patting the mare's neck. "We gotta bring the hero home!" She yelled the last few words. She had to. How could she not? Historical records indicate that screaming for joy was perfectly normal when witnessing a rare and exciting sight.

Link had just killed one of the oldest Grammites to ever be recorded by military history, and without the aid of air offensive or battery rams. That meant it was the perfect time to scream for joy. She held the smile on her face, guiding Epona down to Link. The smile held until she saw the Grammite finally begin to fall.

Begin to fall the wrong way.

Sensors silently blared inside Penny, warnings and caution of what she was seeing. The Grammite weighed comparable to the entire Military Outpost. It could literally crush mountains and burrow through solid stone. It was big. It was heavy.

And it was falling towards Link.

"Watch out!" Penny screamed as loud as she could. She didn't know why. She was too far away, too high up, and Link could easily see it. "MOVE!" She cried again, without knowing why. He was too weak to even lift an arm let alone move out of the way.

The Grammite was falling, and Link was going to be crushed.

Penny didn't think. She charged.

She buckled her legs around Epona like Papa Zepp had taught her, grabbing the mare's mane and driving her forward. Penny didn't have to worry about speed, sound, or discomfort, so she made Epona fly as fast as she could.

The mare dove towards Link, chasing at the collapsed faunus. He wasn't moving, even as he stared up at the falling Grimm. He didn't move, he didn't scream. He didn't do anything. Penny didn't slow.

They were getting closer, close enough for the shadow of the Grammite to fall over them, close enough for her non-ocular enhanced senses to see Link. He had his hand raised in the air, weak as a grass blade. His lips were moving, but Penny could detect no sound coming from his lips.

She reached out to grab him, ready to snatch him as Epona dove-by. The shadow of the Grimm was dark and terrible now, every alarm and sense blaring at Penny's internal servos to evade the impact. She overrode them, placing a requirement for Link to be in her arms first.

Light was blotted out when she was mere meters from Link, fingers nearly touching his. The Grammite was upon them, and internal servos in Penny told her she had to prepare for impact. She stuck to her requirement for Link, making sure she could grasp his hand before anything else.

She grasped tightly.

Then darkness overtook her.

* * *

"Oh… oh no," Jaune let out weakly, weak as everything else he did. He was only slightly thankful to be sitting, as he would otherwise have fallen onto the floor. Really, he would have, because he didn't have the strength to stand.

Not after watching Link, Penny, and that pegasus get crushed.

He kept staring at the screen, the one that wasn't filled with static. He knew form basic signals class in high school that it was because the connection was lost. But that meant he could only stare at the other screen, the one showing the collapsed, beaten, and dead Grammite. The Grimm that was laying over the people who killed it.

He felt sick.

He wasn't moving, but Jaune brought a hand to his gut regardless. He felt like he was going to throw up. That wasn't good. Nothing about this was good.

His hearing was going numb, his mind anywhere but in the room. He heard a few voices screaming, probably yelling. He heard commands being spoken, just beneath that. He could hear a lot, feel just as much through the floor. He couldn't who or what was moving where, but it felt like people were running. But that was as much as he could focus on.

Otherwise his was focusing on not throwing. Not after he had just seen Link and Penny get crushed. Not after seeing them pull out a super move like that, then having thousands of tons of whatever-made-up-Grimm come crashing down on them. He couldn't stop the rouge thought that they were flattened like pancakes.

His stomach lurched again.

Jaune gripped his mouth as tightly as he did his gut, trying to think about anything else. The Military would get sent out soon, like Ironwood promised. They would help a-and then Link and Penny would be brought back here… if there was enough of them to find.

Now Jaune tasted bile on his tongue.

Oh man, it was only getting worse. He could feel his muscles weakening, like they always did before he hurled. That and the sick smell filling his nose, taking over his taste bud, and bright green light begin to cover his eyes…

Wait…

That didn't usually happen.

But Jaune had seen that light before, just before, when Tatl and Tael popped into existence. Through a bleary sick gaze, he saw that same light glowing over his jacket. He didn't need to question or hesitate this time.

Risking expulsion of his last meal, Jaune hastily threw his arms into and out of his sweater, pulling the heavy garment off him, over his head, _again,_ and across the room as fast as he could. It got stuck on his elbows, his head, his hair, and even the ends of his hands. He didn't stop.

With luck, he was just able to throw the garment off and away from him. Further this time.

Not a moment later did the light explode.

Any queasiness Jaune had was beaten away by disorientation, the light far brighter than it was the first time around, in his opinion at least. At least he thought it was the light. Then again, light didn't typically feel heavy, or make noises, or… feel like a popped balloon when it was turned on.

Spots danced in his shut eyes, but he started to blink them away. Hands rubbed at his vision, pushing the remaining troubled spots out of the way. A few more blinks and hard stare at the floor, and Jaune was sure his vision was back to normal, unease in his stomach as well.

Turning head, he looked to see what had happened to his sweater.

Instead, he saw a horse sitting in the room.

…A rogue part of his mind told him it was better than an elephant. That part of his brain only had room to function with the silence that took over. Before he was just hearing various volumes of sound. Now, he heard nothing.

Jaune gulped on nothing, doing his best to control himself. He had to learn to do that much at least, especially at a place like Beacon. And, thankfully, he succeeded, at least somewhat. He didn't feel like he was going to throw up at least.

But his eyes remained trained on the horse, pegasus, _Epona_ , that was in the room. It was sitting down, at least he hoped it was. Sorry, he hoped _she_ was. Her head was moving side to side, trying to get comfortable maybe. Annoyed, confused? Jaune knew he was, but he was used to it by now.

It's, _her_ , wings were down from her side, not flexed against them like most birds. It was, if Jaune had to describe it, like they were too tired to hold up properly. They looked like his arms when he was done training with Pyrrha, after the first ten minutes. That made sense, especially if when you were out flying a Grimm that was bigger than most airships and able to eat mountains…

…wait…

… This was Epona… This was the mare they had watched fly on the screen…

… Where were Link and Penny?

His silent question was answered almost instantly.

"Help!"

It was a shout that came from beneath Epona. Jaune was too struck with exhaustion, simply from watching the screen, to do little else but stare dumbly at the mare. Even as her wing was lifted up, heavily, showing what lay beneath.

All he could see then was Penny holding Link. A very very still, not moving, probably not breathing Link.

Link with… what was wrong with his arm?

"Please Uncle Ironwood! Help!"

Jaune wasn't trained enough to know what happened first, or even what was happening.

He found himself shoved off of his chair and to the ground before he was even aware something was running past him, maybe over him. He could make out voices, panicked shouts, a few feet running over his fallen form, and a lot of lout neighing from Epona as well. A lot of objects were being slammed as well. Probably every chair, the table likely had flipped, and he was sure he heard the glass break at one point, maybe twice.

But he didn't try to get up, not right now at least. Jaune knew there were times when he was at least good for something, even if it was just direction. Years living in the Arc family told him the Military needed no help in that category. And seeing as there weren't any especially large threats to be the bait for, he wasn't good for that either right now.

Right now… it was best he just stay out of the way. As long as he did that, he could at least think of what would be the right thing to do next. It could be a lot, after all. It was how he to fly in and help RWBY after The Breach, how he was able to pick out Cardin's weakness, why he was practicing with Pyrrha every night until his legs gave out. He just needed to think.

But all he could think of right now, lying down and staying out of the way, was Link and Penny.

Link looked… dead. Penny… was holding him like… oh Grimm and Dust…

He shouldn't be thinking about that. Jaune knew that much at least. He was supposed to stay out of the way, but that didn't mean he couldn't at least watch. That usually helped. So he rolled over on the ground, standing up as he did so.

Jaune noticed how quiet the room got. Kinda easy to tell when your ears went from deafening loud to dark-as-night quiet. Well, not completely quiet. There was tapping and low talking, but it didn't sound like anyone from RWBY or his team. Probably from the comm room, that room beyond the glass… but he couldn't hear them before…

He… probably shouldn't say anything yet. There was a lot to ask but… now wasn't a good time. He could tell that much at least.

Instead, Jaune took note of what he saw again. Table was flipped, as he had heard it. One of the glass walls to the tech room was shattered, but only one. That explained the tapping and muttering. But he thought he heard two of those windows break. Look over and what did he see? Two more screens were cracked. Wonder how that happened?

"Jaune…"

No question though why all the chairs were either on their sides or pushed to the wall. Oh… but Epona was gone? Where was she anyways? Couldn't have been easy to get a horse like that out of here, especially with how big it was.

"Jaune." Was someone calling his name?

He looked over and saw Pyrrha, his partner, his really well-trained, extremely capable, probably-should-have-been-leader-instead partner. Jaune smiled at her. It felt off even to him.

"Oh, hey Pyrrha, what's up?" He sounded woozy. He didn't feel off though, did he? It was… hard to tell. Oh, maybe he was. Probably stood up too fast.

But just as he began to waver, he felt a hand on his chest. He didn't need to look to know that it was Pyrrha, she always was the one catching him when he fell. He fell a lot, too. She was there pretty often.

"Jaune, you need to sit down." Really? Oh, well, he probably shouldn't question her about that. She had a good sense for things like this. Battling Grimm that nearly killed you, squashed like a bug, yeah.

A forceful hand was put on his shoulder, making him slump at the effort. He felt himself wince at the noise he made. It sounded like a Dust-Bomb given how quiet the room was. No one seemed to scoff at him though, weird.

"Jaune, listen, you passed out." He did? Well… that wasn't too unbelievable actually. "Just hold still, please. I'm sorry, but you need to wait a few moment. Moving too much after passing out can cause stress on your mind." Didn't know that, but Pyrrha would know. Yeah, she definitely would.

"Okay," he mumbled, shaking his head up and down. "But um… what'd I miss?" He did pass out, so it must have been a lot. He at least wanted to know what happened to the horse. Actually, no, Link was more important, yeah.

He heard Pyrrha give a sigh after that. Probably readying herself for stupid questions. He was prone to those as well. Good thing she was so patient.

"Link had his aura completely drained, and either the strain of his… teleportation or Penny's sudden appearance severely damaged his arm, as well as putting him an unconscious state." Those were all bad, like really bad. "He is being taken to the infirmary for emergency care. Professor Goodwitch and his mini-drones are accompanying him."

"Fairies," Jaune mumbled only realizing he said it when he shook his head. His mouth felt heavy. "They're fairies, right?"

When no response was immediately given, he looked over to Pyrrha. She was probably thinking, something he had to do a lot more of, to get better of course. She was biting her lip, looking away from him. She was probably thinking about something.

"Right, they're fairies," she finally said. Something still felt off to Jaune. Maybe it was because he passed out. Why was that? He knew Link's arm was messed up, couldn't forget that… not when it had more red than green and not a patch of visible skin. But… he's seen that before. Didn't pass out then.

"Um… how did I," Jaune hesitated on the words, thinking of the best way to phrase them. "How'd I get knocked out?" He looked at Pyrrha as he spoke the question. She looked right back at him when he asked.

"Tatl flew into you when she was flying towards Link." Oh, the golden one? Wow, Jaune didn't know how to feel about that. He felt odd still, just off, but a fairy knocking him out? They must have been either really have or moving very quickly. He didn't know which one to guess.

"Oh, sorry about that," he apologized on instinct to her. He was a hassle to her, so Pyrrha had to know how much he appreciated her help. Seriously, it was a lot. "Must have been distracted by… yeah."

"What? Oh no, Jaune, if anything I am impressed that the worst was you losing consciousness." Well that was good, but… wait, what? His expression must have shown his confusion, because Pyrrha spoke on. "When Penny came back with Link and Epona… Tatl and Tael, most Tael… they didn't take it well."

Her eyes left him and drifted around the room. Jaune followed her, hands on his knees and butt on the floor. The damage was the same as before. Broken windows, broken screens, flipped table… bent chairs… missing lights… oh, wait… seriously?

"They did all this?" He asked aloud, speaking before his mind caught up. That happened a lot. Pyrrha nodded, eyes on the chair at the far end of the room. It Jaune a moment to realize it wasn't just pushed over, but embedded in the wall… wasn't the wall made of concrete? Or steel?

"Tatl was frantic when Penny showed how injured Link was. She ran into you as she flew towards Link. You were knocked out almost instantly. Tael wasn't far behind." Huh, he was kinda glad he didn't see that. Didn't need to be any more afraid of the fairies than he was. "But General Ironwood and Professor Goodwitch were able to calm them, at least enough to get emergency attention to Link."

"Well that's good, really good." And it was. But there was still an odd question in his mind. "What happened to Epona?"

Pyrrha blinked at him, probably confused. It took Jaune a moment to realize how stupid his question was.

"Oh, um, one of the military engineers… um, Dr. Zepp I believe, came and took her away. I believe he was the one who engineered her." Oh, well that made sense. Kind helped the pieces fall together.

Still though, the room was really quiet. No way were they all waiting on him. He was around long enough to know that the only Pyrrha had the patience for that, one more reason why he had to thank her.

"Thanks Pyrrha," he said genuinely and heartfully. He tried to smile, but it felt fake. Must have been how heavy his heart was feeling. "So um… what happens now?" He looked up as he asked the question, wondering what the others thought. They must have had a better idea than he did, especially if he was knocked out for… however long it was.

But the first thing he saw was that Ironwood was already gone. Well, gone as in not around everyone else. Jaune shifted his view, looking over the table and into the comm room. There weren't as many people in there than there were before. Probably scared out by the fairies. Jaune would have been. But he did see Ironwood.

He was standing at the center of the room, fingers tapping across a comm terminal as he held one of his palms to his ear. Probably a comm link. Jaune couldn't make out the screens from how far away he was. Probably some orders, most likely with the Grammite that Link had killed, yeah. That would make sense. No need to clean up, but killing that thing would have had to result in some kind of action.

Plus, given what Tatl had gotten out of him, the Military and Council weren't betting on Link surviving. Jaune wondered if that was a good or bad thing. Well he lived, so that was good. But now what?

Jaune twisted his vision to look back at his team. They were okay, at least not hurt, which was always a good thing. But that was about as far as they were okay. He'd been around all of them long enough to know when something was wrong.

Nora was obvious. She wasn't her usual bubbly self. She was still moving, which was good, but it was just a slow rocking on the balls of her feet, back and forth. Her arms were crossed tightly and eyes looking at the ceiling. She usually didn't think, at least not deeper meanings in things, but that only made her position all the more worrisome.

Ren was harder to read, as he usually was. Easily the quietest friend Jaune ever had, it was always difficult to tell when he was thinking, planning, waiting, or even just sleeping. They all kind of looked alike. Right now, Jaune guessed thinking. At least, that was Ren usually did when he leant up against walls. It wasn't too look cool, as Jaune incorrectly guessed before. Ren just got too tired thinking standing up. So he must have been thinking pretty hard.

Pyrrha… she was dotting over Jaune. That made sense though, it's what she usually did whenever they went on Grimm hunts or were in field training. She knew what to do, always. He didn't, just as often. So she was being normal, but… well… Jaune swore she smiled more around him and the team. Must have been the maternal side of her.

It was only after Jaune had checked over his team that he realized no one had answered him. Maybe they did though and he just didn't hear them. He hadn't been knocked out like that before. Heck, he couldn't even remember, but that made sense, too.

"So um, seriously though, what does happen now?" He asked more towards the group of girls than Pyrrha. He hoped she didn't take it the wrong way. Ms. Goodwitch just usually had an answer, or a good idea.

"Now?" Said blonde asked aloud. He only just noticed she wasn't tapping on her pad. She was looking over all the members of the room. Her gazed lingered on Jaune, sitting against the wall. Probably because Pyrrha was right next to him. "We wait for the general to come back to us, then we proceed with the next phase of Ozpin's plan."

Ozpin's what now?

"Uh, plan? What plan?" Jaune really hoped getting knocked out didn't rob him of his past. Amnesia was always a big hamper. He watched enough cartoons to know that much, and he didn't want to get hit again to try and jog his memory. "I thought this was the plan. What's supposed to happen now?"

"Link is to be recognized as a hunter by both Beacon, the Military, and the Council." That was Blake. No one else talked like she did. Mostly like she was ready to kill at moment's notice. Like his snow angel, but without the grace. "Beacon already does and Ironwood has to by regulations. The Council likely won't but it's two to three in odds."

"Correct, Ms. Belladonna," Ms. Goodwitch spoke up again. Jaune blinked slowly as he watched the tall huntress nod at Blake. Her eyes shifted over the group again. It was only when Jaune followed her gaze that he realized how off everyone looked. It really wasn't just his team… Everyone looked off. "It is critical we have this established now before any safeguards can be established by the Council in order to hinder Link, unless they have been already." That didn't sound good.

"What can a bunch of thin-boned cowards do from across the world?" That was Yang, had to be Yang. Jaune would recognize her as well as he did the end of Pyrrha's sword. One was always loud, the other always against his throat. "Link killed the Grimm, _two Ancient_ Grimm, did it all alone, followed the rules they put up like stop signs, and even saved a damsel while he was at it. What are they gonna do? Say there isn't enough evidence?"

She scoffed when she finished. Jaune didn't have a clear view of her, mostly because of the flipped table, but he could see her leaning on the wall. He more heard her scoff than saw it. He could tell she was pissed though. Good thing he was knocked out, just literally, and a bit tired. Kept him from saying stupid things. Hopefully, only time would tell.

"Do not underestimate your foe when you do not know them well enough, Ms. Xiao Long." That was Ms. Goodwitch, really obviously. "Instead, let us wait until Ironwood has finished his business before continuing."

"No need to wait any further."

Jaune shifted his gaze back towards the broken glass, only to see Ironwood walk through a glass door next to it. What was the point? Oh, now that he thought of it, probably the fact that it was broken glass. That stuff was sharp and cut deep. Probably best to avoid that, yeah.

"The necessary crew members have been deployed to secure the region of the Grammite's next, as well as surrounding areas to prevent a Grimm Surge from occurring. Penny is currently overseeing Link's transfer to the medical unit and has been keeping me… consistently informed." What did that mean? Things were alright? Well… it was a safe bet at least. At least given that no one was dead yet. Jaune hoped as much.

"What are the early prognosis to Link's condition?" That was Weiss. Jaune recognized his snow angel anywhere. Especially when she was involved in something like this. Then again, who wouldn't be? Him, apparently, but he was knocked out for… he really had to ask how long. It was starting to bother him.

"He is in critical condition due to a lack of aura preserves and severe damage to his left arm." Not good. "Per Penny's training, he has six points of torque fracture, one compact fracture, two torn ligaments, several extreme lacerations, and will likely need immediate blood and Aura transfusions in order to stabilize him. Definitely not good.

"So far… Link has good odds of surviving." Well that was good, but he sensed a 'but' coming like he did Nora's outbursts after a bowl of sugar bombs.

"But rehabilitation of his arm and future career as a huntsman are on the line." Yup, all bad.

"Are you joking?" It took Jaune a full second to realize that was Ren. Ren never talked like that, ever. He usually just didn't talk. But that… it made Jaune's own jaw work in a confused manner. "You are reneging on a deal because of an unspecified parameter to your arrangement?"

"Not at all," Ironwood followed quickly. "If we are to ask if Link deserves to be a Remnant recognized Hunter, then I will say that the Military gives their full support in the matter. You only need my word because of his status as a foreign agent. Besides, this was meant to be sort of… trade with Link."

Well… that made sense, given that Link wasn't a student, anymore at least. But… weren't they talking about it for a while now? Final exam and all that? Must have been another fault of Jaune getting his brain beamed by a pissed off fairy.

"True, but we need it regardless." Ms. Goodwitch followed quickly. Now she was typing on her pad, quickly too. "That confirms all the requirements set by Ozpin, including his safety measures." Jaune wasn't sure he wanted to know what those were.

"So Link can be recognized as a Hunter, with merits granted by Beacon Academy." He could? Well geez, Jaune thought he already was. Then again he was a student just a couple of day ago. Guess this was supposed to be a graduation test of sorts… fast track test? Early graduation? Jaune needed some ice; his head was starting to pound.

"Indeed he can, but the first priority now is to ensure his safety." Ms. Goodwitch was still tapping on her pad as she talked. It only made it clearer to Jaune that he never wanted to be a reason for her stopping. Her undivided attention sounded like a pretty scary thing, even next to Grimm. "The council will not be pleased with this outcome, after all."

"Wait, hold up, you think those guys are going after Link?" The words left Jaune's mouth before he thought of them. Wasn't the first time that happened. Definitely wouldn't be the last, at least if his luck had anything to say about it.

Jaune knew he really did say something stupid when Ms. Goodwitch gave him her look. That was all he could really call it, just her look. Like Nora's energy or his own stupidity, Ms. Goodwitch just had _her_ look. It could silence a classroom or make a Grimm freeze. Right now, he felt like both.

He put a hand over his head, already loathing that he didn't filter his mouth. It seemed like a good question, but there had to have been a better way to ask. Really, there was, he just couldn't think of it right now. Hard to tell if that was because of the brain damage from getting beamed or just his own lack of social skills. Probably the latter.

"I believe… you all should go be with Link." What?

"What?" That wasn't Jaune this time. It was Pyrrha.

"All of you should go to Link. He may be in surgery at the moment, but you will have more benefit near him then around her currently." Like a freaking mountain, there wasn't any room to budge in Ms. Goodwitch's words. Made sense she was the combat instructor at Beacon. No one else could command a room like she could. Here was no different. "General Ironwood and I have other matters to discuss."

Jaune was sure the others were trying to find the words to talk. Wasn't an easy thing though. Apparently his mouth decided that it had already satisfied its quota for stupidity, so it wasn't speaking up, thankfully.

"If nothing else, someone other than Penny should keep an eye on Ruby." Ruby? What did she have… to…

Jaune did a double check around the room. Ruby wasn't there.

Yang, yes, Blake, yes, snow angel, couldn't miss her.

Ruby? Nowhere in sight. That probably explained why the room was so quiet.

"Yeah, we should go do that." The words, again, left him before he knew they were there. At least they didn't sound as pathetic as the usually did. At the very least a general had told them to leave. That meant it had to have at least been close to a good idea, right? He hoped so.

He began to stand, feeling Pyrrha grip his arm as he did so. It was hard to tell if he was rising because of his own legs or if she was picking him up. Given that he had been knocked out for… however long, it was probably all her. She could do about anything. Hopefully that extended to keeping Ruby calm. Even getting knocked to the floor couldn't shake Jaune's memory of the last time they had gone up against Ruby.

There were still stains over his uniform…

* * *

"Are you sure it was wise to send them to Link?" Ironwood spoke the question carefully, watching Glynda as the elevator shut, taking the remaining trainees away. "I understand we cannot speak while they are present, but wouldn't the site of Link only antagonize them?"

"I trust them to be mature enough to not interfere with the delicate operations Link is likely going through." She answered evenly, turning back towards the Ironwood before she spoke on. "But we should move to a more secure location as well, before anymore words are exchanged."

Of course, Ironwood agreed. It was hard to call the conference room secure with broken glass and screens. Trust of his subordinates in the control room was absolute, but not of the chances that they could be exploited. Their enemies saw no one as untouchable. Speaking amongst his team only made them targets. Fortunately, there was an obvious solution.

He nodded towards the elevator the students had only just left through, walking towards it shortly afterwards. Glynda silently followed, one hand clutched to her scroll pad as she did so. He took note of it. The metal doors to the elevator opened with a quick hiss. He entered and moved aside for Glynda. There was more than enough room, but manners and politeness should never be put aside. They were a testament to his post.

No sooner did the doors shut than did he find himself thrown to the wall. This wasn't the room he had in mind.

His eyes focused on Glynda, the woman pointing at him with her riding crop, eyes glowing with a heat more fierce than a readying Dust cannon. Her pad was folded and put away, her stance forward in classical combat posture, and free hand tight at her side, ready to move at a moment's notice. She had every intention of severely harming him.

"Right now," she began. "Before we move in any direction, tell me why you did all of this." Her words had more patience in them than she had. That much was obvious. "Why did you risk Link's life?"

"Because it was a necessary risk." Ironwood had thought over the answer long and hard enough for the past few days to know the answer second hand. Glynda did not see it that way. The invisible force tightening on his neck told him as much. "It was… the choice with the… least consequences."

"Not good enough," was the hard reply. "Do better than that."

"Link had… a chance here," Ironwood spoke up, slow breaths between his words. He like talking with Glynda's Semblance pressing down on him. It felt like speaking through a muzzle. But he knew her better than to ask for leniency, at least in the current moment. "It was that… or simply robbing him of his possessions or… his life."

A pause, one long enough for Ironwood to count. Silence was kept away only by the slow hum of the elevator, an echo of the mechanics working behind the metal walls. Glynda never took her eyes off of him, neither did he to her.

But he did feel the force of her Semblance lift. Not enough for him to remove himself from the wall, but enough for speech to be easier. That was better.

"Explain," Glynda spoke again. "And be sure to note why you did not approach Ozpin or I for aid." He didn't need to think on what she meant. In truth, it was one of the many options he considered when the plans came forward.

"When Ozpin put forth the plan for Link to slay the Creeper, the Council approached me immediately afterwards for a method to dispose of Link." Only Glynda could hear those words and not react. She didn't. "Given Weiss Scene's report to her father regarding his Dust Crystals and your report on his… abilities, the Council believed him more valuable dead than alive."

"So why did you go along with them?" Glynda's hard question as stiffer than steel. "I know you well enough to know you don't thoughtlessly throw away lives."

"I didn't." Ironwood countered. "They wanted an accident. They wanted Link to die before he ever reached the Creeper. I came up with a way for him to have a chance."

"By throwing him against a Grammite? One that I couldn't find even a file for?" Her semblance reacted with her words, pushing Ironwood back against the elevator. She wasn't pleased. "Do tell how that is a chance for even the most capable of hunters."

"Because I made sure to instruct Zepp to send Penny and the WPM as well." That was what he hadn't told them before, the plan between himself and two of his best subordinates.

Now Glynda paused. That was a queue to continue.

"I organized the meeting with Zepp, with Link." He started slowly. "It gave time for the WPM model to imprint on Link, so it could sense distress. It was what allowed it to fly to him when the situation grew dire, and gave excuse for Penny to follow. Do you believe Zepp would have let either get away if he truly didn't want them to?"

No, he knew she didn't. Glynda was never anything short of brilliant. She knew there was a plan, she just didn't know what it was. It was why Ironwood was being given the chance to speak. If she really thought he was a traitor to their circle, to the Maidens, he would already be indisposed.

"Then why not contact us?" The next question he knew would come, the one he had tried to get around for the past two days, but found no clear answer. In the very least, it gave him a response that she wouldn't be able to deny.

"For the very same reason you and Ozpin did not tell me of your next step." It was a necessary thing to say, to establish middle ground between them. "We cannot be sure who will hear our talks when we are separated by miles of land and a chain of communication littered with holes. Send the wrong message down the wrong pipe, and who knows what would have gotten out."

Glynda's eyes tightened on him. She was listening to him, believing him too. That was good, given how long he had thought about this in his private hours. If he could not convince one of the few people who knew as much as he did, then the situation would have been dire.

"Please understand," he began. "I am under higher observation than you or Ozpin when it comes to public opinion and Council approval. My ever decision has to be made to at least appear beneficial to them. If I could have prevented any of this from happening, I would have without hesitation."

She relaxed. Ironwood was trained enough to see the signs. Her legs shifted slightly in posture, her arm bending a tad at the elbow, and brows unknitting enough to turn her glare into a look. He was just as well trained to know it meant she was still far and away from vulnerable. At the very least, she understood his words.

"That is… acceptable." Ironwood took a deep breath of air, slow and long, when he was released from her Semblance. "Though I hope you can also agree that this has escalated to a level that goes beyond subterfuge."

"That's when you stop hiding what you are doing and start disguising your motives." It wasn't a motto he was ever told to recite, but Ironwood knew the words like a creed. "Besides, I'm fully expecting you and Ozpin to have a plan for Link, taking him away from the Council's grasp."

Ironwood thought he may have been one of the few people to see the small smirk on the edge of Glynda's lips.

"There is," she admitted easily. "But we need to be present with witnesses before it can commence. Purely ceremony at this point, but necessary to plug any loopholes." Ironwood smirked. Preventing the exploitation of any system was Glynda's specialty. It's what made her such a good teacher for young hunters. They couldn't talk their way out of her class or discipline.

"I assume that is why you have littered the compound with your mini-drones?" He asked easily, having only suspicions. But those were made the difference in combat. Glynda's smile, so small and coy that it could be mistaken for a twitch, told all.

"Did you expect me to trust _all_ members of your Military?" She countered his question. "I trust you, Ironwood, but I don't trust the man I haven't met."

"I hold no objections to the action," he spoke with upturned hands. "I only am kept from doing the same due to treaties and amnesties agreed upon by the four kingdoms." Monitoring anyone 24/7 gathered and unclean public image. When you were in the midst of a public confidence, looking sneaky or underhanded was not the image one wanted to keep. "And it is as you say. I may trust my subordinates to not speak of the act, but all it takes in one wrong word to turn it all over."

Glynda nodded to his words, reaching behind her cape and pulling out her pad again. It unfolded in her hand, pen popping into her fingers as she began typing across it.

"I had the room in an iso-field," she spoke simply to him. "Anything sent out had to come in first. The traffic remains at zero." Ah, her drones. She had the elevator secured before she assaulted him. That made sense. Likely prepared it when Link was being taken away.

It was the most opportune time. Ironwood couldn't help but smirk at her instincts. Thinking ahead even when danger was at the door. That was what made his next question important.

"So… how is the maiden?" Even with her field still in play, he kept his voice low. Not quiet, hardly ever quiet, but far from the rumble his tone so commonly set. Glynda stopped tapping on her pad long enough to look at him. He said nothing in return, not until she did.

"Autumn remains in a stable but nonresponsive condition," she returned in a neutral tone, as always… near always "According to his last correspondence, Qrow is continuing his search for the culprits, but has been dark for some time."

"You and Ozpin have said that's normal, correct?" Qrow was an outlier to Ironwood. Not a member of the Military and a Hunter only on paper. Never working for bounties or profit, only the Headmaster of Beacon. He could not predict those that stood outside the norm.

"I did not say I was worried," Glynda spoke, her tapping across her screen resuming. "If something foul had occurred to Qrow, we would have been notified of it through public of private channels… knowing our enemies tactics thus far, likely the latter."

And she was right. Ironwood could soundly agree with the conclusions based upon the evidence thus far. No outlandish threats had been made, their subterfuge had gone as deep as to have criminals confess for crimes not their own, and worst of all, the only had the part of an idea for what their end game was. The dangerous problem when dealing with a rogue threat.

Ironwood let out a sigh. At least the Grimm were straight as arrows with their intentions.

"So what do we do now?" He asked her simply. From his stance, he only had to follow her lead. "Should I prepare a comm channel for the Council? Or perhaps thanks Zepp for his planning."

"…Neither," Glynda responded, but only after a moment of silence. It wasn't lost to Ironwood. It was enough to turn his light grin downwards. "I believe we should go to the infirmary."

A curious sound hummed through Ironwood's lips, his legs taking the step or two necessary to look over Goodwitch's shoulder, gazing down at her pad. She didn't move to block him. If anything, she adjusted for him.

Wide-eyes were his first response. Planning was his second.

* * *

Ruby wasn't worried. She couldn't be worried. She knew Link was going to be okay. He promised he would be.

It didn't matter that she couldn't see him, that he was behind a door that they weren't allowed to go through, that there were a lot of guards in the way, and that the doctors who took him in were all yelling. He promised he would be okay. Her friends kept their promises.

She felt her grip on Crescent Rose tighten.

"This is taking _way_ too long!" She heard Tatl yell. She was yelling a lot. "It can't take this long to set a freaking arm! You can't call this place _high-tech_ then take even _longer_ to do something!"

"I-It's just a matter of time." Penny spoke now. Ruby turned her head to see her friend, looking up at the shaking golden ball. She looked nervous. Maybe scared. "They have to set the bone after cleaning the superficial abrasions, b-but that comes after stitching muscle lacerations made by the compound fracture, and they have to check for internal hemorrhaging-"

 _"It's taking too long!"_ Tatl was red. She turned red, just as red as Ruby's cloak. She bit her lip, pulling her hood tighter over her head. Tatl got red a lot when Link wasn't around.

She wasn't worried, she couldn't be. Link made a promise he would come back, so it didn't matter how long it took he would come back. He would. Tatl and Tael even promised he would. That was three, right? Three people that promised that Link would be okay, he would…

"H-He's going to be fine." Ruby lifted her head at the voice, the tip of her hood shielding her eyes. At just the edges of vision, she saw Tael's lavender light. He was flying right next to her, but he wasn't too bright. He was warm, just like before. "Link's been… through a lot worse than this. Y-Yeah normally he, um… has a way to get better. But this won't, i-it won't stop him. He'll come right out of there and… a-and take a nap."

The fairy's wings were downcast as he spoke, ringing in a low volume. He looked like that when he was talking about Mikau's family, like when… he felt bad. Was he lying? No, Tael wouldn't lie. He was her friend. Besides, fairy tales said that fairy's couldn't lie. And they were called fairy tales after all. Still, Ruby didn't hold Crescent Rose any lighter.

"In the name of time!" Tatl was shouting again. "Why can't we go in there yet! No, wait, better question, _why don't I just go in there_ "

"You can't!" Penny again. "The doctors have to focus on Link a-and you might get in their way which would might result in something going wrong while operating on Link and could lead to further hemorrhaging or loss of anatomical function a-and-"

"They just need to put Link's arm back in place! Why do they need to worry about all that other stuff!?" Ruby pulled her hood down again, blocking Tael from her view. She didn't mean to, but she didn't want to see Tatl's red glow. It was too bright, too hard to ignore. "Link's got a blue potion in his tunic! All those stupid doctors have to do is put his arm in place _then let him drink the stuff!_ "

"I-I don't know what the blue potion is… but I'm sure… 92% confidence sure, that the doctors are doing their best. Absolutely, yes, I know they are." It was getting harder to hear Penny's meek voice over Tatl's growing ring. It was starting to sound like someone was throwing Christmas bells across the room. She didn't want to look up to see.

"Then they don't know jack! They don't know jack from jill from a freaking wolfo if that's what they think is best!" Ruby's grip on her hood was as tight as Crescent Rose. "Get me in there and wake him and I bet my _wings_ that he'll be alright!"

"H-Hey," A much more timid voice spoke, much closer to Ruby as well. She lifted her head, just enough, to see Tael was hovering just above her chest, curtained by her hood and cape. He was glowing very softly, almost as if he was about to turn off. "I-It's alright. Tatl just worries a lot. She… She means well, a-and Link doesn't break promises."

Letting go of her hood, Ruby lightly pulled Tael to her chest.

The first thing Ruby realized was that he felt the same as his sister, when Ruby had grabbed her in the Everfree. That seemed like so long ago now. He was light, warm, and fit in her hand like a doll. But she was careful, extremely careful.

She felt something small grab at her dress, like doll hands, and she knew Tael was alright. She didn't cry because she didn't have to. Link promised he'd come back. Tatl was just worried like Penny was. Tael was comforting her with his soft warmth. It was alright. It was… going to be alright. But her grip on Crescent Rose didn't lax.

"Ms.… Penny?" A voice spoke up, one that Ruby hadn't heard before.

She looked up, hood covering the top of her eyes. She couldn't see the face of whoever was speaking, but she could see they were wearing a white gown, plastic on their feet, and… rubbing their hands. From the chest down, he looked like a doctor.

"Dr. Swasaran, yes! I'm here!" Penny replied, far faster and louder than anything she had said in the past while. "How is Link? Is he alright? Does he still retain movement and dexterity in his limb?"

"Buzz off metal head!" Ruby bit her lip when Tatl said that. She felt Teal hold her dress a little tighter. "If anyone gets to know what's happening to Link, it's me and my bro, got it?" She didn't sound as mad, but still mad.

"Yes, well, um…" the doctor started to speak again. Ruby saw his feet fidgeting. "We were able to stabilize his fractures after cleaning his wounds. Majority of the muscular damage was down due to the protrusions of his bones. He was lucky to have no torn ligaments or tendons from his injuries. Though they are doubtlessly stretched and in need of therapeutically repair." Lucky wasn't what Ruby called Link's injuries. "He is not yet stable enough to be declared out of the woods just yet, but it is highly unlikely he will fall into critical condition now at the very least."

"Great, awesome, so where is he?" Tatl sounded off quickly after the doctor finished. "Thanks for taking forever to set a simple fracture, but we've gotta see him now."

"Oh no, that's out of the question," the doctor waved his hands as he spoke. They left Ruby's vision as he did so. "He's unconscious currently and waking him up could put serious strain on his vascular system. He lost a lot of blood due to his injuries, so stressing his body could result in major harm."

"Then you don't know Link well enough!" Tatl was screaming again, ringing like thrown bells. "All you're doing is keeping him knocked out so you can do whatever you want to him! He didn't die fighting that Molgera Monster, so now you want to kill him and make it look like an accident!"

Ruby felt her breath turn cold.

"What?!" The doctor yelled. He sounded mad. "I'll have you know that preserving the health of my patients is my top priority! How dare you insinuate that I would harm anyone in my care!"

"How dare you keep me from seeing Link!" Tatl wasn't letting up. "Do you really think you're gonna be able to keep me from seeing him!? Are you dense enough to think that I'd just fly around and do nothing while your off playing with him like a doll!?"

"Th-That isn't what Dr. Swasaran would do!" That was Penny. Ruby was biting her lip too hard to say anything. "He's a-a good doctor! 72.1% of his patients recover after seeing him with no long term injuries, a-and his mortality rate is… it's only 3.42%, with error."

"Stop talking steel face!" Tatl was red again. Ruby could see the light. Tael, however, was a soft blue. She felt the same. "I don't trust you anymore! You called Big Stiff up there your uncle, and he's the one who _admitted_ to trying to kill Link!"

"What?" Penny spoke breathlessly. "But… Uncle Ironwood said…"

"So I don't trust either of you! If you want me to trust _anything_ you have to say, you'll let me see Link right now!" Tael hadn't made a sound against Ruby. He was quiet as a mouse. Ruby felt as small as one.

"If you attempt to see Link before I deem he is ready, I'll be forced to remove you from the infirmary." That was the doctor again. Ruby could him fold his arms. He was probably giving a really mean expression at Tatl. Penny was looking between them. Ruby still didn't say anything. She didn't like being here.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try!" That was probably a bad thing to say.

Ruby knew it was when she heard guns being cocked. She didn't want to let go of Tael, not with how hard he was holding on to her. She let go of Crescent Rose to lift up her hood. She almost wished she didn't

There were soldiers, three of them, pointing their rifles at Tatl, who was glowing a very ominous red. They were ZK Models, maybe carrying Fire or Lighting Dust cartridges. One was painful, the other instantaneous.

Penny didn't move, even when she looked at Ruby. Ruby made just as much motion. She didn't know what to do.

"Whoa! What's going on here?" That was Yang. That was her sister!

Ruby twisted to see her big sister walking into the infirmary, the rest of her team and JNPR tailing right behind her. Everyone was looking around the room, at Ruby, at Penny, at Tatl, and the doctor, and probably the guards, too. It probably looked bad because it was bad. Ruby couldn't' call it anything else. Then Yang pointed at Ruby, right at her, with a small snarl on her face. That confused her.

"And what is the perv doing so close to my sis?" Less confusing, more embarrassing.

"H-Huh?" Tael let out in a sort of shocked sheepish voice. Ruby felt him cling to her tighter, only to immediately jump off with fairy wings beating. He was ringing lightly, like he was blushing. "I-I was trying to… to comfort R-Ruby, b-because the-ey won't let us see Link a-a-and Penny and my sis a-and-"

"Save it, you just bought a one-way ticket to pain station." Ruby didn't what to feel when her sis slammed her fists together. One part of her was just so used to it she wanted to giggle. The other was still stuck on the matter at hand. Now wasn't the time for Yang to be her big sis, not like this. She had to help her fix this.

Of course, that meant Ruby had to do something, too.

"Yang, i-it's true." Ruby voiced to her big sister, earning a blinking gaze from her brawler of a sibling. "Tael… I-I wanted to hug him when all the yelling started because the doctor says that we can't see Link, but Tatl is saying that they're probably experimenting or doing things to him while he's unconscious and Penny doesn't know what to do, but the doctor says that we can't see him so there are guards here now threatening us to leave a-and I don't want to leave until I know Link is safe so-"

She stopped when her sister put her hands on Ruby's shoulders. Ruby only knew her lips were shaking when she saw how relaxed Yang's were, smiling down at her. Even her eyes looked like they were grinning.

"Hey sis, it's alright, your big sis is here now." Yang spoke and acted like she always did when Ruby felt scared. She got in close and spoke like Ruby was ten. She pretended not to like it. "There ain't nothing that's gonna happen that I can fix. Trust me, everything's gonna be just fine." She winked to finish her words.

Ruby only half-tried to stifle her giggles; she didn't even attempt to stop her smile. Her sister was always something else, able to make her worry one moment but then make her laugh the next. There really was no one else like Yang.

"Honestly, I don't even know who I can ask for a straight answer here," Ruby heard Weiss speak up from behind her sister. She knew her partner's voice anywhere. That was one of a kind, too. "You there, doctor. Tell us why it is prohibited to see Link?"

"Ms. Schnee?" The doctor knew Weiss? Well… more like knew her family. Ruby was starting to realize she might really be the only person who didn't know Weiss at their first meeting. "Of course I can elaborate. Link has suffered multiple internal lacerations due to the compound fracture of his radii and ulna. We have sutured all wound and set his bone, but there was heavy blood loss due to his injuries. He is currently unconscious, but waking him up or putting extra strain on his body could result in an increased risk for clotting in his epithelial cells, due to their currently exposed nature."

There were a lot of words there Ruby didn't understand. All she got out of it was waking Link up was bad. So, they couldn't do that.

"Makes sense," Weiss replied easily, nodding her head. That worried Ruby. "Then I suppose if we are to visit him, we must simply refrain from waking him up." Worries were gone. Smile was back.

"I'm afraid it isn't that simple Ms. Schnee," the doctor started again. But Ruby could tell that he wasn't going to be able to finish, whatever he was going to say.

"Yes it's that simple!" Talt now, screaming again. "You're gonna let us see Link and you're going to do it now! All we gotta do is be quiet or whatever. You know what? I'll settle for that as long as you _let me see Link_."

"It would be best to comply with Tatl." That was Penny. Ruby could see her ringing her hands together behind her back. She was rocking on her heels, but Ruby couldn't tell if she was still nervous or if her usual bubbly confidence was back. She did feel Yang grip her shoulders a bit tighter. "A compromise here is better than risking any… confrontations, correct?"

Despite how happy Penny sounded, Ruby felt a chill at those words. Was she expecting there to be a fight?

Well… with the guards aiming those high-end guns at them and Tatl still glowing a fair color of red, though a bit of her usual gold shining through, a part of her could see something happening. Then again, it did sound kinda silly. A bunch of soldiers worried over a little fairy causing damage. Then again _again_ , she did see Tatl knock Jaune out cold…

Ruby glanced over at her first friend at Beacon. He looked alright, but he was leaning on Pyrrha a lot. She didn't seem to mind.

"…Fine." The word made Ruby's heart leap in her chest.

"Finally!" Tatl let out, any red hue in her aura vanishing with her words. "Now just tell me where he is and I can start to forget about this whole mess!"

"Indeed! I am also interested in-" Penny was interrupted quickly.

"Now now," the doctor spoke up again, hands waving lightly in the air. "I can agree to the mini-drone-"

"Fairy!"

" _You_ going to see the patient, but there is not enough room in the infirmary to allow all of you visitation, especially when it is usually prohibited." Oh… that didn't sound good. "I can allow one of you to accompany Ms.…. Tatl here." Ruby heard the fairy ring at him, but she didn't say anything else.

But wait, that wasn't what was important. What was important was that they couldn't all go to see Link! Well then who could? Tatl should, and Tael. But who else?

"You're coming, metal head." Ruby almost missed Tatl's declaration. Almost.

"Wait, me?" Penny asked. Ruby had to thrash her head lightly to get it out of Yang's hair, enough to see her robotic friend talking to Tatl. Honestly, Ruby would have preferred to just get out of Yang's grip, but that was like trying to lift a building.

"Yeah, you." Tatl spoke up again. "I might not trust you for even a second, but I'm gonna have to gamble on you _owing_ Link." Why did that matter? Ruby didn't understand. "So are you gonna come, or are you just gonna try and jump lower on my list?"

"Oh! I'll come, yes, definitely!" Ruby couldn't tell if Penny was excited or still on edge. It was probably the former though. Ruby felt her stomach falling in tandem with it. She really wanted to see Link.

"Kay, there, all set, _now hurry up and take us to Link!_ " That was for the doctor, Ruby knew it was. The high ring that came with it made it obvious that it was Tatl, as if the voice wasn't enough.

"…Alright," the doctor relented. Ruby felt a bit of the stress in her release, falling a little into Yang's still tough as high density titanium embrace. "But you must swear to keep volume to a minimum and not attempt to wake him. I can only emphasize so much how critical it is that Link remains-"

"Yeah yeah, let the big guy sleep, I got it, now hurry it up!" Ruby could hear the doctor give a disapproving huff. Too bad Yang's hair still kept her from seeing anything. Also it was kinda bad she didn't want to talk right now. She hated ruined moments.

But then she heard doors swinging, just like when the doctor came in the first time. It was kinda hard to ignore the sound of Tael and Tatl leaving, ringing as they flew. It was only after a moment of silence passed that Yang finally let go of her, leaning back to move her hands to her hips. It was her low sigh that broke the silence.

"Gotta admit," her sister let out with a shake of her head. "I'm _really_ starting to hate all this 'at-gunpoint' bull crap." Ruby couldn't disagree.

From the way Ruby saw the doctor shaking his head apparently neither could he.

* * *

It was always odd when Penny felt new things. Papa Zepp had told her that it was a sign that her self-generating code was operating at optimal levels, combined with her redundant servers recalling prior experiences to generate new physical feedback. She knew what it was, but it was still odd that it was new.

Right now, the room hallway she was walking down wasn't new. She had followed Uncle Ironwood down it several times before. The fairies were new, but she had met them briefly after they arrived the first time. What was really new was the feeling she had. Then again, she knew why the feeling was there.

By simple searches on the CCTS information network, it was called nervousness.

Defined simply as a sensible reaction to potentially scary or life-altering events. It was odd to her, because any algorithm she ran showed her that every event altered one's life. This was no different. Then again, in terms of frequency of occurrence, this was easily the first time for Penny. Perhaps that was why she was nervous.

Her head turned when she felt a light pressure on her shoulder. At first, she was sure it was one of the guards asking her for specifics to combat protocols, but instead found one of Link's fairy friends. It was the darker one, named Tael. His wings stopped fluttering as he settled into place.

He didn't say anything, but Penny's observational data told her he was likely looking for comfort from an entity familiar with the environment. It was common between new recruits or visiting members of other countries.

Penny could tell the white walls were not settling easy for him, or the many rooms that likely contained semi-critical conditions soldiers, nursing everything from Aura Depletion to severe amputations. If it was an uncommon sight, then comfort was understandable

"Here we are," Penny heard Dr. Swasaran speak. It took her approximately 0.012 seconds to realize he had stopped in front of a high security door. That may have been bad. His fingers tap on the pad, bringing up a small screen that he enters some series of numbers on. Penny quickly memorized the code, 31172. Humans called it photographic memory. She called it data management. "I will remind you once more. Any undue stress onto Link will likely result in raising his condition and resulting in severe muscular or nervous damage. However, I will respect the courtesy of visitation by _trusting_ you to this." He was looking at Tatl when he spoke. Likely because she was loud. Actually, far above the normal decibel range of human or faunus.

"Yeah yeah, we get it, you're risking a lot to do the right thing," the golden fairy rattled off. "I'm so glad you just _want_ to do this, no threats whatsoever. Seriously though you're good to go."

He was snarling. Penny could see it. Well… maybe not. It was close. His lips were raised with his nose, but that was really it. Management of human expressions gave it a 73% chance of being an unpleasant expression, but only 23% of a snarl. But the doctor did leave, passing by all of them with a quick pace. She moved out of his way, knowing he wouldn't move for her. Dr. Swasaran was used to the submission of others, especially in the medical wing.

"C'mon metal head, let's go." Penny knew she didn't like that name, but bringing notice to it would increase her likely-hood of being found out up to 89%. So instead, she followed the golden fairy into the room. The door shut swiftly behind her.

She got another feeling when she entered the room. Penny felt it before, only hours before, but she didn't like feeling it. At least she knew why shew as feeling it, especially when her ocular sensors looked at the only medical bed situated in the room.

Link was on the bed, but… he looked so different.

He was lying on the bed with his hat gone, tunic as well. Given the copious amount of blood and other fluids that had seeped into it, removing it was of no surprise. It had been cleaned though, as its presence at the far end of the bed was evidence of. His equipment wasn't there. Penny knew those were being kept under high-guard…

Penny double checked her algorithms. It was on the debugging of the "observation" function that she realized she was avoiding long term contact with Link. Her head shook, a human gesture for "righting one's mind." Then she looked at him.

A mask was held over his face, a respirator connected to a 20 breath/minute cyclic pump. It was supposed to keep his lungs full of air, allow breathing to be less stressful on the body, sustain him in a catatonic and dead state… Penny didn't like this.

What drew her attention the most was his arm. She remembered it before, strong and stiff, gentle to the touch, warm as it wrapped around her to keep her on the WPM model. Now it was wrapped up in a cast thicker than most armor Penny had data of. Large metal clamps were held about it, likely keeping it as stiff as it did secure. Strings were attached to the metal bands, holding the arm up in the air, off of the bed. It… it looked wrong.

All her data said it was a support fixture to reduce stress on injury sites, maximizing the rate of healing and likelihood of unionization of the bone but… it felt wrong. Maybe it wasn't the fracture? She felt her cores overtaxing her "self-write" function to make sense of it. Papa Zepp it could be bad, but not knowing something that was supposed to be fully documented felt like an instance of recursive logic. Bad.

It was silent in the room, except for the small ringing of the fairies as they flew around Link. The usual beeping split the air, the beeping that was always in hospitals, in every room Penny had ever been in. Constant, static, high pitched beeping. Indicators of functioning metrics of the human system, including EKG's and blood pressure cuffs. Its rate was satisfactory for someone in an unconscious, well within normal parameters.

"Oh Link," Penny's automated audio input heard Tatl speak. She saw the golden fairy fly about his still body, dust sprinkling on him as she did. "Why do you always have to be such an idiot." She fell onto his chest, on a segment of his bandages. He didn't move.

Penny felt something lift off her shoulder. It took her 0.001 seconds to realize it was Tael, made clear when she saw his dark light flying towards his sister. He made hardly a sound, ringing as someone where holding the wrong part of the bell. Penny made not a sound as he fell next to his sister. It was bad manners to interrupt situations like this.

Penny was moving though. Her information on Link's state was limited to visual input now, but she could easily get more from interfacing with the medical equipment. She had the necessary codes and functions too use them. It took her an undocumented but small amount of time to reach the terminal controlling Link's EKG monitoring.

Her fingers danced along the screen, quickly brining up a small projection of data. Everything was available to her. Time, data, and even the black-listed protocols. Papa Zepp made it very clear to never tell others how she got those. She filed that under quick reference material.

"Half-hour post-surgery, resting with a prescribed dosage of 2mg Morphine to be delivered every other hour. Bandages changed twice daily until tissue regrowth prevents leakage from suture sites. Stitching is to be checked with bandage care, as well as wound cleaning to prevent infection. Other medication: Gentamicin, 10mg daily, and Apixaban, same dosage."

Everything appeared perfectly in order. Too perfect. But sometime too perfect was the right amount of perfect, like Uncle Ironwood said. She didn't understand, which usually meant a lie. But some lies were good, as told by quick reference code "CT-012".

"Those are antibiotics, commonly prescribed surgical patients to prevent infection," Penny looked happy as she said that. "That means that Dr. Swasaran was telling the truth, and Link is being properly taken care of." That made sense though.

Link wasn't being tested on, or being threatened, or mocked. He was being taken care of, like he should be, like he deserved. That was a great thing.

"Yeah, great," Tatl spoke up from above Link. She wasn't flying. She was sitting on him. She sounded… not like the fairy from before. It was the same fairy, as all sensors told, but it wasn't the same direction of speech. "Link's just as injured as he said he was…" Penny raised a brow as she ran through recent conversations. It took her approximately 1.012 seconds to figure out what the fairy meant.

"O-Oh I… No, I didn't… that's…" Penny fumbled over her words as she waved her hand over the pad. The screen vanished with the action, leaving only a vacuum of noise, cut by the monotone beeping of the screen. "Well… h-his condition is improving, once the vascular sites have repaired themselves and the fear of clotting is reduced…"

"Metal Head," Tatl spoke again, lowly, but also raising herself from Link's chest. Penny watched her silently, watched the golden fairy as she floated towards her. "I get it, really, you feel bad, I'm actually glad you do." Penny wasn't sure how to respond to the statement.

"B-But… I don't want to… I want to help." Her words fumbled out, her pitch attenuation units either having a short or her auditory communication going through a lapse in functions. "Link helped me, saved me. So, as moral codes… a-and ethical guidelines state, I wish to help him."

"Kay," Tatl returned with only a quick soft ring. "Then go get his stuff, the rest of it. His sword, his belts, everything. Bring them back here." Penny's mouth moved wordlessly, but only for a moment. This time it had to be her speakers that had a short in them. She'd need to see Papa Zepp about repairs soon.

"O-Oh, um… I am… unable to comply with that request." She didn't sound happy with herself as she said the words. She didn't feel it either. Her hands flexed and unflexed in front of her, a diagnostic check required given her lack of function in the previous moments. "Those would be classified as 'personal affects' a-and I, as I, um… member of the military am not able to handle them without permission."

"Permission given." Tatl spoke the words. Penny wasn't sure it worked that way. "Now go grab them, and hurry. You're the only one who knows where they are." She hardly made a ring as she spoke. A thought occurred to Ruby that maybe the fairy was tired. She always saw a lot of tired people in hospitals, just another reason why she didn't like them.

Penny didn't move, not at first. Her eyes looked at Link on the bed, not moving, not stirring, then back to Tatl. Her lips were moving, but no sound came out. Her eyes were blinking, but there was no interference with her ocular sensors. Her functions would need to be debugged at length during the power cycle. This was too hard to work with.

But for now… she could do as Tatl asked. If it helped Link, it would be worth it. That was what her memories told her. So she would do that.

"Be back soon!" She replied as cheerily as possible. Papa Zepp told her happiness was contagious, and this room needed some happiness. Maybe she'd be able to bring it in a moment. She left though, quick as she could.

The door snapped shut behind her as she left, but she gave it notice through her redundant systems only. She had a storeroom to reach. It was located two floors up and past two mid-trained soldiers, operating on a three-hour shift, continuously. It was maybe the fourth most guarded place in the DMZ, the Command Center, launch pad, and communication tower aside.

The soldier only gave her passive notice as she hurried towards the stairs. It wouldn't take any time to reach the store-room, and she could use her access with Uncle Ironwood's codes to get in! Everyone knew here around her, or at least recognized her physical features enough to not give off threatening or uncertain feelings. But one of the "lesson memories" Penny had archived was telling her something… off.

Uncle Ironwood said to never go against orders of the Military. She was made by Papa Zepp to be a great warrior and a loyal soldier. That included orders from the Council and respect to the laws the Military entailed. On page 385, paragraphs 2-3, it was detailed that items in storage containers held by Military officials were not to be accessed unless given implicit instructions to do so, in so many words.

But she wasn't doing that now. Because her "instinctual memories" told her that it was rightto gather Link's items for him, like the fairies had said. Papa Zepp had even told her there would be conflicting inputs in the coming hours, after she left on the Airship. But this was odd, too odd. But it was , wrong.

She pocketed the internal conversation as she saw the storage lockers ahead, complete with double grating, two soldiers, and a Schnee encrusted Dust Lock settled over the stands. No hospital rooms within twenty-five meters of the entrance. Yup, this was it, as her memories had correctly led her here. The soldier behind the grating was flipping through papers when Penny's kipped up to him.

"Salutations!" Penny spoke up as she approached the guards. Their quick jumps at her was indication they both recognized and listened to her. Superb! "I am here to request the items being stored for patient GA-1322 by orders of General Ironwood." Lie. The spike came in her system, but she ran redacting protocols and stored it away in memory. As Papa Zepp would say, a necessary little white lie.

"The general ordered that?" the man behind the gate spoke. The guards wouldn't speak, they were meant to be intimidating, and 84% of soldiers had voices that did not match the physique they were given. "I didn't receive any comm chatter or authorization notice from him." Expected, but Penny was prepared.

Intimidation or flattery were the two most successful means to appropriate materials through lying or deceit, as her databases had instructed her. Dependencies of success came down to factors involving the individual and geographical clues. Flattery served little good in military settings, where power and hierarchies were absolute. Flattery had only a 3% chance of success. Intimidation, by minimal function references, was closer to 86%.

"He did not?" Penny falsified inflection in her voice to feign ignorance. "He gave me super important orders to come here. It would be extremely bad if I was late. Don't you agree?" She made sure to smile, smiling always helped, always.

The soldier raised his brows, a sign that it was working. His hands then scurried over the pages in front of him, likely attempting to reference a transmission he might have missed. He wouldn't find it, Penny knew. But she had to ensure he stopped looking, to assume that's he was correct.

"Uncle Ironwood would be mad if I was late, and he'll be even more upset if I tell him it was because soldiers were stopping me." That worked. The soldiers flanking Penny by the grating both looked nervous by the comment. Stupendous! "Buuuut if I were to start collecting Link's affects, I'm sure you'd receive the transmission pretty soon."

"U-Uh yeah, yes, I agree!" The soldier hit knew legs on the table with the speed he stood up, Scroll fumbling in his hand as he attempted to access the necessary records for Link. But then he stopped, like a statue.

Penny watched him with quirked brows, a sign of confusion by her records. She was not sure what he could have seen on the scroll to alter his perception of what was happening. His reaction was due to new information, doubtlessly, but what that information was she was not sure.

"Um, are you sure it was General Ironwood who gave the order?" He asked. Penny nodded, all smiles. Had to keep smiling. "Because my records indicate that the affects of Patient GA-1322 are meant to be transported to Council's Facilities in two-one-hundred hours."

Penny's internal clock immediately noted that that was in just 23 minutes. There was simply no feasible way for Link to heal quickly enough to appropriate his own items again. And they were headed to Council space, where full jurisdiction was given to them and under non-scrutiny from Military and Academy personal.

Tatl was right. Penny's guilt was absolved, just as Papa Zepp said it would be.

"Of course!" Penny quickly agreed. Never counter facts that are present in a discussion. Instead, twist. She had a 74% chance of convincing the soldier still. "Uncle Ironwood wanted me to collect the affects for delivery to the Council ship when present. Because no is more combat-ready than me!" She struck the pose Papa Zepp told her was appropriate. Except, while Papa Zepp laughed, the soldiers looked nervous. That was an 85% chance of occurring.

"O-Okay, yeah, that makes sense," the soldier nodded rapidly, reaching for his keys as he did so. Scrolls were too easy to modify and hack to be used as secure terminals for lockers.

Dust encrusted keys, however took weeks to properly modify or replicate, so were more efficient at securing high profile items. Penny remembered being behind one before she was shown by Papa Zepp to Uncle Ironwood.

"One Dust-Encrusted Gem Sword," the soldier began to list off, pulling Link's items from the storage container and placing them on the nearby rack. Protocol on pages 239 detailed that verbal confirmation of all affects was required to ensure no miscommunication between military parties. "One multi-holstered leather pouch. One multi-holstered and scabbard equipped belt." He placed the items next to the sword. "One pair of size 9 leather boots." That seemed small, but Penny didn't think Link would mind. "That's everything."

"Stupendous!" Penny cheered aloud. "Then I will make haste for General Ironwood!" The soldier only nodded as he fed the items through the slot of the grating. Penny quickly placed them in her hands, optimizing surface are to pressure of the materials. Stability of stacking was also run, to ensure they wouldn't fall out of her hands. Failure to run that once resulted in dropping one of three crates of dust. That was filed away under "unfortunate events".

Penny nodded when she had the items in hand, properly secured, and a salute from the soldier. With this, she was ready to get back and help Link! And then the soldier's Scroll beeped. Odds gave it a 41% likelihood of being detrimental, considering the time table she was read before.

"I'll be off then! Goodbye!" Penny turned on her heels and began to walk down the hallway, briskly. Briskly meant the borderline amount of force necessary to leave foot indents into the floor of the hospital.

"Hey! Wait! Stop her!" Her footing left indents now.

Her foot stamped down the hall, leg twisting up to move the door out of the way. It slammed off its hinges, into the far wall, and loud enough to alert all soldiers within a 43-meter radius. Not satisfactory, as her functions had described.

But that didn't matter. She had to get to Link! And with her head start, she knew she could. She had a 92% probability. She lunged down the steps to maximize the chances, activating the high friction pads on her feet to allow acute turning angles. It worked! She was in front of Link's door promptly.

"I'm back!" Penny's voice was louder than the swishing of the door. She made sure it was, just in case the guards were already pursuing her.

"Speak of demons and they shall rise," Tatl let out in what Penny was sure was a mumble. "Whatever, thanks, really, now set it down and get out his belt for me, the one that supposed to go around his waist." She must not have heard the commotion yet. Functions deemed it unnecessary to alert her at the moment. So, Penny did as the fairy requested.

Penny set items down and quickly pulled out the requested belt, noted by its lack of sword's sheath attached to it. It also housed approximately 34% more storage space, given its greater number of pouches. Then again, her functions would need alterations given the items she had documented Link producing from the belt. They were not to scale. Oh well!

"This one?" Penny held up, holding it out to the fairy. Quick warnings fired in her head the fairy had neither the physique nor the ability to hold the belt. The way Tatl failed to make a move towards the belt told her internal observation functions that it was a shared conclusion, or fact.

"Yeah, that it's," Tatl confirmed. Superb! "Now you just gotta pull out the blue potion in the class bottle. Get that and give it to Link, and we'll be all set here." Penny could not find an instance in her memory that any liquid generated quick recovery or fracture healing, but she was talking to a fairy. Her "humor" memory files told her that one justified the other. "Glad you're actually on the hustle this time." Penny felt herself beam at the words. Kind words and praise always deserved to be met with good cheer, as so her "conduct behavior" file told her.

"Oh, of course I'm helping!" Penny replied excitedly. "That's why I have one more thing to do!"

Penny spun on her feet, leaping back towards the door she entered in. Her high acquit hearing could make out soldiers in a sprint. There was a 93.4% likelihood they were coming for them. That meant, given the distance from the room and Link's still unconscious state, there was only one thing to appropriately do to stall.

Penny slammed the door shut… breaking the unlocking mechanism. She was combat ready and ready to defend her friend!

"Whoa! What are you doing!?" Tatl screamed. That was appropriate, given the Nosie and sudden destruction of property. It was classified as abnormal to see destruction with mute reaction. So Penny made sure to smile when she gave her explanation to fairy, complete with twisting a portion of the door close to the wall inclusion point, further locking it in place.

"Oh! Um… you see, I got Link's stuff like I promised. Buuuuut the guards thought it was a bad thing to take his stuff. I took it anyway." Simple and sweet explanations were always the best. So said Papa Zepp and Uncle Ironwood. If both said it, it couldn't be wrong!

BANG

"Sis!"

Tael screamed as he jumped from Link's chest, flying around the room and throwing dark Dust as he did. Penny looked at the door she was gripping, her hand not moving an inch…. Even as it was hit again.

BANG!

It was secure, so Penny moved. She jumped at Link's belt, knowing that whatever Tatl wanted was in it. At least to an 81% certainty.

Her hands unrolled the belt as her mind was already justifying her actions. She was promised to help Link, promised that if she did this he would get better. This was the right thing to do. She had to help Link before something bad happened to her. Her guilt was absolved by the Council's actions. She was just, even as recursive functions gave red warnings across her peripheral vision.

"Why are they trying to get in?!" Tatl screamed. "Big Stiff said he was helping us! Why are the guards trying to get in!?" Penny didn't have time to explain.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

She just had to find the potion. She had to hurry and find the potion. Everything else was okay so long as she did that. Everything else was justified if she helped Link, and the way to help Link was by doing what his fairy companions were telling her.

"They most likely are under orders from the Council, yes! That's the most likely reasoning!" Penny responded to Tatl. She had to be cheerful, now of all times. Second pocket and still no potion, though she confirmed with her observational functions the pockets held more volume than their outer measurements permitted. "They must reallywant Link's cool stuff!"

"Well they can't have it!" Tatl yelled out again, flying over to Penny. Did she know where the bottle was? The odds were with her. "Third pouch left from the buckle, grab the blue bottle!"

Yes! She did know.

**BANG! BANG! BANG!**

Penny's dexterous fingers played with the latch of the pouch, quickly opening it and diving inside to produce the required item. She felt several smooth glass fixtures, each of them likely bottles of some form. But she needed one that had a color index around #0000FF.

"Uh oh, I think they're getting through!" Tael called, but Penny didn't look up at him. It would have been a needless act to confirm the fairy's words. They were 99.9% likely to be correct, high enough for a guarantee.

"Well get away from the door before they break in!" Tatl yelled back, only to fly around Penny in an almost blinding display of light, almost. Penny herself had identified two of the likely seven bottles in Link's pouch. One was empty, the other had a color index of #00FF00, not #0000FF.

Finally, she saw it. Her hand didn't waste a moment in grabbing it and pulling it from the pocket.

**BANG! BANG!**

**CRASH!**

The door window broke, Penny's algorithms deduce, but she didn't check. Link's health trumped confirmation of data.

"Penny Polendina!" Penny heard the same voice of the guard from before yell at her. He sounded much angrier. Lowered pitches by raised volumes usually led to that conclusion, and he was much high in the decibel range. "Remove yourself from this room immediately! You are breaking protocols and Council Orders!"

"Apologies sir," Penny responded still with cheer in her voice. "But I have promises to keep myself! And a good friend does not break a promise!" Tael rang highly by her. That was likely a good sign, or at least a 34.5% chance of not being so, with a 21% of being mute.

She ran to Link's side with the bottle in hand, her feet jumping the few feet from the end of his bed to its edge. Tael fluttered and rang around her. The latter was unlikely, not with her acute hearing. But she couldn't dedicate cores to that now.

"Hurry! Get that mask off of him!" Tatl shouted from behind her, anger and desperation in her voice. Penny understand why for both. "Make him drink the potion fast! We gotta hurry here!" She did as was told.

Her free hand quickly and hastily pulled at the straps that held Link's oxygen mask in place, loosening it until it hung from his mouth like a straw. She had seen doctors remove them before, and she did her utmost to repeat what she saw. She did her best to remove the length of the tube that was down Link's throat with both speed and precision. It was her first time performing the operation alone

"Penny move this instant!" The same soldier screamed again. He was banging on the door still. "If you don't you risk confinement by the Council's orders and likely rejection from all hunter academies!"

"That's acceptable!" Penny almost cheered. She made sure to keep her smile up, or else the situation would have looked much more critical, which it wasn't allowed to be. "All my currently functioning emotional processes state that that is the preferred outcome!" She spoke no lies to the guard now.

Penny tuned out that rest as she focused on Link.

She uncorked the top of the bottle, hearing the blue liquid inside slosh around as she did so. The beeping of the computer was getting louder, but she ignored it. She was good at ignoring loud things, especially when there was something important to focus on. Shutting off inputs of her body gave her cores more memory to use.

The liquid began to seep down his throat, some spilling off of his lips and onto his chest. She ignored that. She focused on his throat. She watched it swallow the liquid, drinking it as she poured it. That was good! She was fulfilling her promise!

That meant Link would get better soon, in no time! That was what Tatl said, so Penny just had to keep going, she just had to-

Penny stopped.

No… a hand stopped her.

Link's hand.

A 'eep' of noise was all she made as she felt Link's hand grip her own, his large and muscular hand overlaying hers over the bottle. She was made of metal, but his had more volume to it. He was guiding the bottle with her, taking larger gulps as he tipped the glass further and further back. It was audible, quick, and it took little time for the bottle to disappear. When it was empty, Link made a pleasured sigh.

Then, opening his eyes, he smiled at her.

Penny, for the first time since Link left to fight the Grammite, smiled honestly at the faunus.

* * *

It had been a while since Glynda had found herself this on edge.

A skirmish or two naturally kept her up-to-pace with any number of hunters, more than earning her position at Beacon. Her cognitive notes of the world around her were without par, enough so that even the Headmaster of Beacon often deferred to her for information. The general of the Army himself often rescinded he was second best when it came to her.

This careful monitoring of the space about herself made surprises far and few between. She could see bullies plotting before their strike, monitor the progress of students when they trained well beyond the night, keep track of wandering hands, and just as often, wandering minds. It made it for few surprises when she came to test her students, to deliver discipline, or simply watch her pupils grow.

If you were able to watch every moment of a seeds life, it was no surprise to see it change from a sprout into a full fern. It was a melancholy type of realization, knowing that her network and instincts were sharpened so well that shock was rarely something she experienced.

It made Link's presence the largest rock she had ever seen thrown into the calm surface that was her mind.

His first meeting, his subsequent tests, his abilities, his lack of thought for his actions, he willingness to show off, his hesitance to explain, his ruthlessness followed by his kindness, they were things she would have seen coming if he were from anywhere in Vale or likely beyond. And yet, he wasn't, so time and time again, the young faunus, so easily now seen as a trained hunter, made her focus shift with such speed that she was forced to reevaluate the priorities of her mini-drones.

So perhaps it was the frequency of his surprises that finally made this new event less shocking than it was to most. And by most, her cognitive mind noted, she included Ironwood who marched beside her and the students that followed close behind. Close was the operative word.

"Holy crap! Can we at least run there!" Ms. Xiao Long yelled, most likely being the major contributor to the force forward. "Something big is going on and we're just walking there like we're in some kinda cheesy action flick?! Seriously!?"

"We are walking in order to garner time, Ms. Xiao Long," Glynda smoothly told the most boisterous of the students. She was her father's daughter, of that there was no denying. "Because running would likely result in only souring the already precarious situation."

"Can you at least tell us what happened?" That was Ms. Rose, her concern for her friends palpable in her words. "Is Link okay? Penny? The fairies?"

"Penny has… procured Link's belongings from the requisition officer," Ironwood returned. Favorable, as Glynda was still making notes as she walked, a good portion of her abilities keeping the students from running past her and ahead. "It can be assumed she did this on the request of Link's companions, but the order to retain the items was absolute."

"Uh, yeah, stupid question here, probably," Mr. Arc spoke now. Glynda was constantly rechecking her records to ensure that he was his father's son. "But um, can't you call back that order? General of the Army, man in charge?"

"If it were my order or one from my subordinates, then without question," he returned. "But it was under the Council's orders to keep Link's equipment under guard and storage until suitable transport was provided." Ironwood gave a single breath of a chuckle before continuing. "I don't doubt they have even prepared airship let alone found a pilot."

"Whoa, wait, back up, the Council is behind this? Those guys again?" Ms. Xiao long was speaking up. Glynda felt a force on her guard as she did so. "Then shouldn't we be running? They might be trying to kill Link!"

Boisterous and without thought. Ozpin made a good decision in making her sister her leader.

"That is not happening," Glynda spoke before Ironwood, already feeling the tension rise without the use of her Semblance. "This whole diversion was designed to leave their hands bloodless. To kill Link now would sour the relationship between the Army, Council, and eventually citizens for a long period of time."

She understood the depths of what she spoke, seeing every string that would fall into place. Ironwood, however, spoke up after her. Apparently the students did not and he could sense it.

"The majority of the Army is loyal to me. Seeing one of their members kill in the name of the Council would cause inherent distrust for the very institution they have sworn to fight for. Information would eventually leak back to their families, who would spread the news like oil in water, obvious and unavoidable." Too poetic for clarity, at least for Glynda's taste, but perhaps that was why he was the general of the Army.

"Oh yeah… that's bad." A poignant statement.

Further conversation was reduced to hushed whispers between the students as they turned corner, seeing the figurative line of soldiers outside the room of question. Glynda didn't need to know Link's room number to know where he was.

Near all of the soldiers were lined against the wall, a typical pattern when preparing for a breach. Majority had small-armaments, most likely loaded with concussion based dust cartridges. Suitable for rendering someone incapacitated whilst minimizing the risk of death. Her attention noted this, noted the number of guards to be near a dozen, and also the shards of glass about the door. What she heard, was one of the soldiers yelling.

"Penny! I once again am delivering the order to desist immediately!" He sounded desperate. Appropriate. "Do not let him put on-"

His words were drowned out by a scream.

Link's scream.

Glynda, even as she felt her nerves go on edge, was familiar with the sound. She had heard or witnessed it at least a third of a dozen times now, all while he adorned the mask of his friends, their 'memories' as the golden mini-drone simply stated it. Hearing it now meant only one thing.

Light flashed through the broken section of the door. Glynda's pace became hurried as she rushed for the door, Ironwood just ahead of her now and her students licking at the heels. She would not, however, risk them entering the room first, not unarmed.

It was expected for the soldiers to make way for them once Ironwood's presence became clear, and Glynda's assumptions were rewarded. As the light quickly faded away, the soldiers had all but cleared away from the door, leaving only Ironwood and Glynda standing before it. The Beacon Instructor instantly took note of Penny standing in front of the door way, one of her hands gripping the metal frame.

"General!" The girl replied in an excited tone. Odd, but far from surprising. "I'm glad you're here! I was nervous the soldier was going to request heavy armaments to remove me." Wholly unsurprising. "Oh! And everyone else is with you too! High everyone." Completely and thoroughly.

"Penny," Ironwood returned, his head nodding only once. "Please move for us now." To the point, a characteristic the general was known for in times of action. He did justice to his post in that regard at least. Penny, however, did not move immediately. Odd, but within the realm of possibility.

"Oh, of course…" she returned. "Just let me get-"

"Ready!" That wasn't Penny.

Glynda blamed the door, having such a small ability to see into the patient's room. She blamed foreign area, the workings of the facility not yet known to her. But more than anything, she blamed Link and his incomprehensible ability to always do what the laws of Space, Dust, and Time said were not to be altered.

Because as soon as Glynda heard that foreign voice speak that single word, a large hoop of gold fell over Penny. The girl was gone with it.

Half a centisecond later, another girl jumped into view of the window, completely new to Glynda. She had hair of blue, long enough to be tied in a single ponytail that dangled from the side of her head. Small jewels of blue were dotted about her azure hair, and a tuff of red and white fabric tied about her ponytail. With the small space the window offered, that was all she could see. That, and the gleaming smile on this new girl's face.

"Hello!" The girl waved at them, beaming as if she were meeting them under the kindest of circumstances. "Goodbye."

The hoop rose again, and she was gone.

Ironwood blew the door away less than a second later.

The heavy metal slammed into the far wall, embedding itself into the concrete and decimating the hospital equipment that laid in its path. Glynda stormed in soon after him, eyes scanning the room with fervor, but her suspicions were confirmed the moment she entered.

The room, save the equipment, was empty. No Link, no Penny, and no mini-drones. They were gone.

"Whoa! Where'd they go?!" Glynda heard Yang yell as she came in, voice as loud as ever. "The heck happened?! Did the Enterprise beam them up?!" References to pop-culture did nothing to alleviate the severity of the situation.

Glynda raised her pad and started to power-up several of her mini-drones, activating their features and spreading them throughout the facility. She heard Ironwood giving orders to the men outside of the room, hurried footsteps running down the halls. The students spread out about the room, majority congregating to the crate that likely once held Link's equipment. It was as bare as the Badlands now.

Images began to fly about her screen, each one showing different areas of the facility. The hanger, the operations room, the surgical center, Ironwood's personal office, airship docking stations, storage facilities, every nook and cranny her drones could reach, she searched. Fingers danced across her Scroll with a practiced pace, memorizing and tracking every detail. But no details she saw related to what she was looking for.

She saw no sign of Link or his compatriots now. That didn't even include the mysterious girl who had warped the pair, and likely remainder of their party, from the room. She was as incognito as the remainders.

"What is this thing?" She heard Ms. Schnee ask aloud, complemented by the sound of dragging metal and clanging steel. "Golden, gaudy, and lacking any Dust compartments; where did this even come from?" Glynda spared a glance.

She saw Ms. Schnee playing with the golden hoop the girl had used.

"It… It looks like a hoola-hoop." Ms. Rose returned. Her hand gripped the metal her partner was holding, Glynda feeling a part of her body shiver as they played with the tool. "Could that be what it is? No… it's weight is too symmetrical. The force required to keep this moving would be unsustainable." At least she was showing her strength as a weapon's expert.

But that was no excuse to allow them to play with the device.

"Ms. Rose, Ms. Schnee," She addressed to them, earning their immediate attention. "Please… place that on the ground." She was given confused stares by both girls, and likely by the recursive members of the room. Glynda cared less than nothing. Her appearance meant nothing when compared to the well-being of her students.

Thankfully, they did comply, lowering the golden hoop back the ground. Ms. Rose made a point to step away from it, hands raised as if she were showing her lack of contact with the device. Ms. Schnee simply stepped away from it, crossing her arms.

"What's up, teach?" Ms. Xiao Long spoke again. "You think something is up with that thing?" Glynda opened her mouth to reply, already forming the quick explanation that it was the object the mysterious blue-haired girl had used before, but found the need to speak over-ridden by something more important.

Her scroll had an incoming message, from Ozpin.

Glynda accepted the transmission without hesitation, watching as the various displays of her mini-drones were minimized to allow Ozpin's image full coverage of her Scroll. She was greeted with the familiar picture of her boss, tinted glasses on the bridge of his nose and knowing smirk upon his lips. She returned it with her usual glare.

"Glynda," he began. "I hope I am not interrupting any important matter at the moment. I was hoping to receive an update on Link's test. Is everything alright?" He asked the question with such ease that Glynda could not repress the thought that he knew something.

In fact, it was that feeling that kept her from speaking quickly. She knew Ozpin well enough to know when he was hiding a card in his glove. The smirk, the casual questions, but most telling of all, the small dip in his right eye. He knew something.

"Concluded, yes, but far from without complications," she began, aware that the students around her were all quiet as mice. Good, it would make conversation easier. "Though I suspect you can tell me how Link is."

"Hmm? I can?" Ozpin asked in return, his smile unfading. He definitely knew something. "How would I know more than you?"

"Ozpin, don't play games with me," Glynda didn't simply return, she threw. "The last few hours have been more than simply grating to my nerves and patience. For the sake of your health, don't play games." He blinked at her words.

But only before chuckling in response. If she was unsure before, now Glynda was definite in her assumptions. Ozpin shook his head lightly, silver bangs waving with the action. His hand made much the same motion before turning his attention back to her.

"Apologies Glynda," he spoke with far more amusement in his voice than she would have liked. She deepened her scowl as recompense. "I simply found this an opportune time to… I suppose make light of a heavy situation. Comedy, from time to time, is as necessary as the story itself."

"Enough, Ozpin," Glynda spoke with more volume to her voice. Her nerves were already frayed. If they broke, he would have a bill to pay. "What has happened to Link? Or, better yet, do you have information on that girl who was in here?"

"Girl? What girl?" Mr. Arc asked from behind her, but she discarded it.

"Ah, well, I can thankfully answer both questions with one answer." Instead of doing that, he stood up. Glynda watched through a finite space as he brought his hand to the Scroll he spoke on, twisting it around it showed the clock room that was his office.

She saw two familiar figures and two balls of light.

It was only her witness of the teleportation trick from before that kept Glynda's shock from being too severe. She observed the obvious form of Penny, marveling at the blue haired girl Glynda had only quickly witnessed before. Tatl and Tael flew about said girl like slow halos.

She was gowned in an outfit as revealing as Ms. Xiao Long's, but with far more frills than straps. Her midriff was bared between two straps of green, the lower portion forming a skirt that hide the tops of her thigh-high emerald stockings. A cape of blue was strapped over one of her shoulders, billowing about. Billowing, Glynda noted, because said girl wouldn't stop twirling about for even a moment. A tired sigh left her lips.

"This has been too long of a day," she let out with a soft sigh. She heard Ozpin clearly chuckling at her words. There was a conversation to be had when they returned to Beacon, of that he could be rest assured. "So, who is this mysterious benefactor?"

"Lana, the self-title 'White Witch'," Ozpin spoke clearly through the Scroll. The students around Glynda were whispering, doubtlessly conjuring theories with insufficient evidence. "A friend of Link's that I became acquainted with before your departure. His companions are rather smart, planning ahead for worst case outcomes I haven't even considered."

Glynda knew of the likely outcomes, and the appearance of an Ancient Grimm was well within her theories. The difficulty was making a plan to counter it when she didn't know the extent of the abilities of those around her. She envied the days of her student life, when what was available to her was short, sweet, and obvious. Even constant vigilance let information slip through the cracks.

"So I can assume the disappearing act was her doing, correct?" There wasn't much left in the room for error, but if the situation was not dire and timing not important, then confirmation was always needed.

"It was," Ozpin agreed, still outside of the view of the Scroll. Glynda was stuck watching Penny and this… Lana, jumping up and down by one another. "Lana has a unique tool she calls the 'Gate of Souls'. It allows the instantaneous transport of objects despite distance, as she so recently demonstrated. I am admit to say I have not seen her use it long enough to know of the drawbacks."

"Oh, is that Glynda?" Said instructor's attention was taken from Ozpin's words and solely onto the girl that was staring at her from across the screen. That didn't last. The lightly green garbed girl skipped towards Ozpin's terminal Scroll, stopping with a jump in front of it, lips beaming with joy. "Hi Glynda! It's nice to finally meet you!"

"Who's that?" Ms. Schnee asked from aside the room. "This 'Lana'?" Glynda didn't turn nor attempt to address the Schnee heiress. Answers like that could be given in time.

"Lana," Glynda returned simply. She wasn't in mind to be overly kind to any individual that stressed her nerves needlessly. "Please allow me to speak to Link."

"Aw, do I have to?" Glynda wasn't sure which of the two personalities spoke. She assumed it was Lana, as she had no data of Link previously speaking or attempting to speak in such a way. "I finally get to meet you and Penny and everyone and now I have to go? C'mon! At least let me say hi to everyone else!" She was grinning as if the answer was a given. Glynda was never one to be seen as 'easily swayed' and now was no exception.

"You may speak with them later," she answered quickly. "For now, if you are so insistent, please allow me to speak with Ozpin. We can talk another time." The frown Lana gave her was overly done and near comedic.

"Boo, that's not nice," the girl sighed as expressively as her every other action. Glynda wondered how such a girl became friends with Link, but only as a swift thought. "But I understand, lots of stuff to talk about and new plans to make. Can you at least bring me back the other end to my Gate? I kinda need that."

Glynda quirked a brow, looking past the Scroll in her hand to the golden hoop settled on the ground. She noticed Ms. Rose and Ms. Schnee both look it and back to her. It was all too obvious it was what Lana was referring to.

"I will be sure to store it away for our departure," she noted lightly, but honestly. Leaving something so odd in the Military compound was not on her list of possible solutions in any scenario.

"Awesome!" Lana cheered across the Scroll, hand raising upwards in some juvenile form of success. Glynda did not speak such a thought aloud. "I'll be extra ready to see you when you get back then!" And with that she skipped away.

Glynda watched her return to the other girls, rocking on her feet as she told the short story of her conversation, likely. The opposite colored mini-drones flew about her as she spoke, but they were beyond her hearing now.

"She's full of energy, isn't she?" Ozpin finally spoke again, his sign that they were in a state to speak. Glynda lightly judged what should and should be said, at least in the presence of the students around her. She was thankful that most was free to be spoken of. Other matters were not.

"She doesn't have Link's ears," Glynda noted lightly, an observation she had not made until now. It was only apparent when she remembered that the girl, despite her cheery nature, was Link's friend. All of said friends bore resemblance to him in that regard.

"Link's ears? Wait, is Lana one of his friends?" Ms. Belladonna asked, likely addressing Glynda. She ignored the girl. It was one answer amongst many that could be given later.

"True, an observation I made when we were first introduced." Ozpin tilted the Scroll back towards himself, showing him leaning lightly on his desk, cane in hand and chin rest on its tip. He seemed pleased, naturally. "She confessed she was a member of the Gerudo tribe, the term Link's nation has for humans, or so I've gathered."

It was the same conclusion that Glynda reached as well, thanks to Link's admission and the talks between his mini-drones. Only time would tell how solid such a parallel was.

"So… Link's Hunter License?" Ozpin lead. Glynda knew the next step in time. She had come prepared, after all, as she did with all things.

"Ironwood has agreed to Link's abilities and has granted his approval. Link is an officially recognized Hunter within the Four Kingdoms." Glynda wisely ignored the excited whispers of the students around her. They would explode, naturally, when the conversation was finished.

"Excellent. I can confirm from here that he still has all of his tools, confirmed by himself and the fairies." He nodded with the words, eyes on the three girls and voice focused at the Scroll. Glynda, admittedly, was watching Lana play with Penny, dancing more like. "And for his faculty position?"

"Woah, faculty?" That was Mr. Arc, again. He was a quieter version of Ms. Xiao Long, speaking when not spoken to.

"Two of the three necessary branches have given approval, assuming the Council disapproves. Majority approval makes it acceptable." Those whispers around her were louder now. "The slaying of the initial Creeper, as per the document request signed by all parties, mitigates any debt to the Council or Military."

"Perfect," Ozpin spoke with finality in his voice. "Despite a few bumps, I am glad the end goal was met." Glynda was as well.

"Ms. Goodwitch?" Glynda turned her head to see Ruby speaking to her, far more polite than her elder sister. "Is Link really going to be a teacher? At Beacon? To us?" Though many of her taken lectures and books read in Biology told Glynda about the impossibility, she swore there were stars in the young student's eyes. Perhaps she had spent too much time around those inefficient mini-drones.

"That was the end goal, yes. And I am pleased that it has been realized, barring the unfortunate complications." It appeared that Glynda didn't need to add her concerns for Link's unfortunate circumstances and medical unit visit. Ruby's grin was exceedingly wide.

"Aw yes!"

"Yeah yeah!"

"Augh yeah, yeah baby yeah!"

Glynda was not a fan of screaming in celebration. The enclosed room did not help.

"Woohoo!" Ms. Valkyrie yelled into the air. Glynda could tell without looking she had jumped as well, likely to the ceiling. "That's awesome! That's killer! We get a super-soldier warrior to teach us how to slay Grimm! Ah yes! This is gonna be like the best thing to happen all year!"

Fireworks, Glynda realized, were less subtle than the noise her students were making.

"This is so kickass!" Ms. Xiao Long, of course, yelled the loudest. "A BA teacher that was a BA student and showed off his BA skills against freaking ancient Grimm! Freaking A! This is like perfection!" Far from it, in Glynda's humble opinion.

"I personally hesitate to use such a term." Ah, it appeared that Ironwood had returned.

Glynda looked towards the doorway to see the tall man entering, a grim smile on his face. It was the expression of a man who was about to make a poor decision for honest reasons.

"Ozpin, please hold a moment." Glynda was not surprised to hear Ironwood request for a longer conversation. He did lose one of his most prized Military members to this stunt.

She turned to see Ironwood, freshly returned from his own search and troop management. Likely filtering out the few soldiers who were more in favor of the Council than himself. Necessary, given their precarious position by Grimm Territory. She also made note of the noticeable silence that fell over the room, excitement gone.

"Ironwood," Ozpin replied through the screen, turning to face them once again. Glynda tilted the pad to show the general, observing Penny doing the same in the background of Ozpin's Scroll Terminal. "I am two parts thankful and three parts disappointed in you." A suitable number, Glynda agreed.

"And I believe you right in both," Ironwood began. "But I am not speaking for details, those can be discussed later. Rather, I'd like to speak to my subordinate. The one I've confirmed is present with you." Glynda made note of his speech pattern, carefully observing the lack of anger or distaste in his voice. That was a good sign, as she was wisely wary of the general of the Military when it came to physical feats.

"Of course, just give me a second." Ozpin spun the Scroll back around, facing the group of girls and mini-drones. It was hard to tell if their conversation was any different from before, two of the three girls just as animated as before and their accompanying mini-drones inefficiently sprinkling Dust as they twirled about.

"Penny, someone would like to speak to you." The words made the ginger haired girl turn towards the screen, briskly walking up to the Scroll. Lana stayed behind her, watching the girl leave.

"Yes, oh! Hello Uncle! It is good to see you!" Glynda debated in her mind who was more like who, Penny to Lana or Lana to Penny. The two no doubt would get along smoothly as clouds and air.

"Penny Polendina," Ironwood began, his voice changing to that of a general. Glynda noted the stiffness that overcame Penny's posture across the Scroll's screen. "You have disobeyed two direct commands from two different commanding officers, one of them being myself. In both cases, your actions led to a breach in security and endangerment to those around you."

Glynda felt her brow quirk with his words. She spared a glance at him, noting the furrowing of his brow and dip in his frown. She could see where it was going, a likely outcome given her knowledge of Ironwood, but assumptions were valid only when proven.

"You have also fled Military Grounds without notification or approval of your departure, an offence compounded by your theft of Military property." Glynda made no movement to correct him. She held up a hand to her students, stopping them from doing the same. There was no question what the 'property' was.

"B-But Uncle Iron-" Penny tried to speak, but was immediately cut off.

"It is for this reason that I am hereby dishonorably discharging you from Military Activities effective immediately." The shock on Penny's voice was worse than any words could ever hope to describe. The sudden gasps from a choice few of her students were expected, but only heightened the effect.

"Un… U-Uncl-"

"Furthermore, I cannot allow someone who recklessly ignores orders to be a member of my academy." For the first time in the conversation, Glynda felt her grip on her Scroll tighten. What was he doing? "As of this moment, as Headmaster of Atlas Academy, I hereby expel you and revoke all privileges once held by students." The reaction Penny gave was as expected as it was painful.

Her hands reached half way to her jaw, trembling as her lips moved uselessly. Wide eyes blinked in confusion, darting around as if searching for the reason for her predicament. Glynda knew she would find none. So it was of little surprise when the girl turned away from the screen. Anything more was left out as Ozpin turned the Scroll back to face himself. Glynda felt what she would call a healthy amount of rage. Ozpin was the one who was showing it.

"Ironwood," the headmaster of Beacon began. "It is my trust in you that is keeping me from assuming the worst. Explain yourself." Glynda did not forget to note the tightness Ozpin had on his cane. His knuckles were of a similar shade of snow.

"Ozpin, I am glad we can talk," Ironwood began, oddly at that. He was speaking as if he were unaware of Ozpin's presence. It severely limited the number of possibly paths he could take. She kept her riding crop notched at her side. It would come out the moment the general treaded a step further than he already had.

"Oh. What about?" Ozpin had none of the usual cheer or tranquil calm his voice so usually had. Glynda knew the tone well. It was not one to be taken lightly. Ironwood, however, spoke his next words with what could be seen as cheer.

"I have a prospective student for you."

Glynda wasn't surprised, but she was impressed.

"She is a capable fighter, a student that has a lot of room to grow, but as much drive to improve her abilities as any hunter does to fight the Grimm." He spoke on without pause, either ignorant or proud of the stunned silence his words were creating. Glynda was thankful whichever the reason, keeping her students from speaking rashly. "I can assure you she has passed all of her initiation tests at Atlas with flying colors and I can transfer the needed documents promptly. There is only one catch with her, however."

"Hmm. Pray tell, what is that?" Ozpin sounded to have readopted his encouraging tone, his grin already back in place. Glynda reminded herself from previous experiences he preferred the greener side of life, only too happy to jump back to it when he could.

"She has an issue with authority," Ironwood continued to speak in a pleasant tone. Some of it must have been forced. "More than once she has evaded escorts assigned to her, freely follows the advice of friends over the orders of her commanders, and often expresses difficulty in restraining herself. I am unfortunate to say that none of these have been improved during her time at my Academy and I have been forced through unfortunate circumstances to force her removal."

Glynda could tell the grin that grew over Ironwood's features was genuine. She could just as easily tell with only a glance that the brimming smile Ms. Rose had over her own features was no less genuine, more so in fact.

"I believe that transfer to a new facility, with different colleagues and environment may better encourage her to adopt a new mindset, one that has greater respect for authority, rules and regulations." Glynda heard a clear chuckle come from the tall man, soft as it was. "May I perhaps trust Beacon to be such a place?"

Ozpin didn't answer, not immediately. Instead, Glynda watched as he raised a hand to his chin lightly stroking it as if deep in thought. His eyes averted themselves as well, looking up and over his spectacles yet away from the Scroll. He wasn't fooling Glynda for a moment. He had made up his answer the moment Penny arrived in his office.

"I believe we can arrange for a transfer for a problematic student," he spoke easily, any tension he once had in his voice gone, back to its neutral state. "I'm sure Glynda will have no troubles in finalizing the paperwork for it." A leading statement that had an obvious meeting.

"They can be finalized mid-transit back to Beacon, provided Ironwood finally proves himself a man of his word and gives me the needed documents." There was no room for error in her words. Knit brows with her gaze focused at the general made her intention clear. She saw him take in a deep breath of air, confirmation enough that he understood her.

"Once I have you all aboard an airship, I'll have the documents to you before you leave the DMZ Airspace." Glynda nodded curtly. It was meant to be short and to the point.

"Excellent," Ozpin spoke through the Scroll. "Then I believe we shouldn't wait a moment. I'll be sure to fill in our newest student and faculty member. Glynda, have a safe flight."

As the Beacon instructor expected, Ozpin leaned over and shut off the Scroll as soon as he was finished. Greedy and egotistical were not words she nor anyone else could properly associate with the headmaster of Beacon, but if there was ever one tick he had it was having the last word of a conversation, now was no different.

As the video closed, Glynda pulled the pad back to her, removing it from Ironwood's sight. She began to tap across it, commanding the mini-drones she had situated about the facility. They would be leaving soon and it would be improper to leave them flying around. They were expensive, after all.

"Uh, Ms. Goodwitch," Mr. Arc spoke up. He was polite when he was addressing someone. That was a positive point to his part. "What… just happened? I'm a little confused, and lost, definitely both." But his largest drawback was his over simplicity. At his age, it was teetering on the fence of adorable and annoying.

"Penny's leaving Atlas and coming to Beacon!" Ms. Rose jumped at the declaration, at the very least kindly holding it in until the conversation with Ozpin was over. She took it as an apparent queue to grab her partner's hands and spin her around in a circle. Ms. Schnee, completely unsurprisingly, was far from the same level of enjoyment. "Penny's going to come to Beacon and we can spend so much time together! Oh it's going to be a blast!"

"Yeah!" Ms. Valkyrie now, apparently, reciprocated Ms. Rose's words. "A new teacher anda new friend! New teacher! New friend! New teacher! New friend! New teacher! New friend!" She danced with her words. Glynda had no other words or energy left to focus on the exuberant teen.

"I… I, uh, believe Jaune is curious about whyPenny is coming to Beacon. That conversation seemed, rushed." Ironwood left the room as Ms. Nikos spoke up. Glynda watched the general leave, pointing commands to his men. Doubtlessly including repairing the disarrayed room. "I'm sorry, but it sort of did."

"Enough Ruby!" Ms. Schnee apparently had had enough of her partner's antics. As per usual, it did little to dull Ms. Rose's attitude. "Now, I am rather sure that Penny is coming to Beacon for the same reason Link is. To avoid the Council, correct?" Glynda easily suppressed her grin. Ms. Schnee was her father's daughter.

"That is the likely assumption," Glynda told the teen. "As she was acting against orders from the Council, and not Ironwood, it is likely they will seek recompense in some way. I am doubtless that it will be argued on his part that her dishonorable discharge from the Military and subsequent eviction from Atlas will equate to a suitable punishment, especially considering that she was acting in the benefit of another."

"And at Beacon she's safer than walking around on the streets. Yeah, that makes sense," Mr. Arc finished. His head nodded with the words, one of his hands scratching at his mop of blonde hair. "That's cool, but… now I'm just really lost about Link. I mean, a teacher? That's freaking awesome, but like, how long was this being planned?"

"For quite a while." Ah, Ms. Belladonna finally saw to speak. "Ever since Elrora flew up to Ozpin's tower after the incident with the bigot." Her language was as colorful as her partner. Appropriate, given the scarcity with which she spoke. Her words made the reaction of her friends predictable.

"Are you serious right now?!" Her partner yellowed, golden hair shaking as she whipped towards Blake. "You knew about this little gambit since last week?! Why the heck didn't you tell us!? Holy crap, this is just… this is too much!"

"I'm actual curious for your silence as well," Ms. Schnee addressed her teammate. "If anything, I'd thought you'd be thrilled to have a fellow faunus as a teacher at Beacon."

"I'm beyond thrilled," Ms. Belladonna returned. Given the smile she wore, brighter than any Glynda's mini-drones had recorded before, it was believable to ascertain. "I never thought it would happen honestly. I was… so sure that even if it went off without a hitch, something would happen to prevent it. Something or someone."

Ah, a developed fear of past incidents. It was unneeded to have it around Glynda, whom made her decisions based upon the needs of her students and written rule of the school's laws, but she could understand the dark girl's mindset. It was hard to gain back trust that was already in ruins.

"You know what? I'll let it slide this time," Ms. Xiao Long spoke up, only to swiftly grab her partner into a 'friendly' head-lock. Glynda would be sure to release Ms. Belladonna if her annoyance became clear discomfort. "I'll let it slide because next time you try to duck and hide that kind of information on us, I'm gonna make you do the naked lap around Beacon!"

Step too far.

"Yang, Goodwitch is right there!"

"You barbarian!

"Sis, c'mon!"

Three consecutive voices shouted the blonde's name. It was unsurprising to see, through her Scroll, that Mr. Arc and Mr. Lie Ren were averting gazes. They were shy and chivalrous boys, good students for it.

Glynda lightly drowned out the remainder of the banter as she focused on her pad. She had to set up the transfer of Penny into Beacon, stating her passed acceptance into Atlas as appropriate testing of her abilities, setting her into a class, denoting her as a 'solo-student', and much much more. It would be done mid-flight back to Beacon, but only if she began work now.

She was sure Ozpin was doing his part so many miles away. But Glynda wouldn't forget Lana's golden 'hoop' before she left.

* * *

"S-So… Uncl… H-He did that t-to protect me?" Penny mumbled the words uneasily, still piecing the information together in her mind. It was interesting to him, seeing a young girl with the body of a machine behaving as any normal student would. Curiosity, however, belonged to the part of her 'father'. "He… He doesn't ha-hate me, correct?"

"Not in the slightest," Ozpin returned to her, nodding his head lightly with a tip of his cane. "I'm certain the harshness of his language was related more to protocols he was forced to follow than any personal emotion. I have known John for sometime and I can say with certainty that what he did was with your benefit at the front of his mind."

He had no deceit or even half-truth in his words. There was no need to. John Ironwood was a valued colleague and long-time friend. The idea of him dismissing one of his most prized students and valued members of the Military so easily was unheard of. Thankfully, the context was known to Ozpin, so any mystery was brief and short-lived.

"You sure about that?" Tatl spoke up, flying about Penny twice before drifting to his eye-level. "Cause from I remember about that creep, he tried to get Link killed, literally. There's no exaggerating there. He summoned a freaking massive Molgera to try and tear Link to pieces!" Her ring hit a high pitch as finished her sentence. Ozpin watched on through his spectacles.

"Hey now Tatl, that isn't fair," Lana, of all present, argued with the golden fairy. Odd, only because Link was the one whom had his life threatened. Perhaps it was the alter-ego, his former friend, he was currently adorning that made the argument possible. "He was just like Impa in the army, having to follow what the princess said no matter what! I'm sure if we asked him, he'd be very sad that he had to do that."

"Oh c'mon," Tatl argued back. "That's a cop-out excuse and you know it!" It was difficult to tell who the fairy was arguing with, but Ozpin kept himself silent at the exchange. His intervention would only lead to the loss of information. "A guy like that, the worst they can threaten him with is kicking him off of that high seat he calls general. All I got out of it is that he thought your life was second to his position!"

"Ooooor," Lana trailed off with the word, slowly raising her hands to match. She had an uncanny resemblance to Ms. Valkyrie. "He knew that we could kick any monster butt that got thrown at us! And he was right!" Now her hands were thrown into the air, clearly of joy.

Curiosities were still abound of how much of the conversation was contributed through Link. That was not to mention this mysterious figure Impa; a general if the context was to be believed. But, to Ozpin's slight dismay, the discussion was going off track. There were still some final thoughts that needed to be settled and this conversation would answer none.

"Before we argue the possibilities of John's morality," Ozpin began, intentionally tapping his cane on the glass beneath his feet. It vibrated enough to earn attention. "I believe we should finalize your new position," he motioned his cane at Lana. "And your transfer," now the same towards Penny.

By the almost mischievous grin Lana adopted, Ozpin had to make a confirmation in his mind that this Lana was not Ms. Valkyrie's long lost relative. Though that was heavily unlikely, most due to the… large… oh, no, Lana didn't have them.

Lana did not have the long ears of Link. She was not a faunus.

And yet, as she and he and both declared separately, she was his friend, even after her unfortunate demise. That was a story he was more than willing to sit down and listen to. Another time, however. Too much had to be done to keep the Council from making themselves known on his campus.

"Apologies," he quickly rectified. "I am simply not used to the… ease you have with the situation. It's something of a prick of envy on my part." That was a half-truth. "Regardless, we should get started, shouldn't we?"

Perhaps it was the training under John that brought on the reaction, but Penny stiffened at his words, standing to her tallest with arms stiff at her side. Her expression was comically serious, likely her attempt to act more like the soldiers she so often was associated with. Troubling, but history.

"Whoa, calm down there Steel," Tatl spoke to the girl with a curious nickname. "No need to act like a golem around her." Golem? Oh. Interesting.

It appeared that if the fairies had already realized Penny's… metallic origins. No need for him to put anymore voice to it than that. Why speak up about a subject all were already aware of. Still, Ozpin kept it as a feather in his cap. Despite the fairy's boisterous and forceful nature, she had a knack for seeing the secrets hidden in plain sight.

"Oh, is this not required?" Penny asked, her voice noticeably more stable. It was hard to reconcile it as her robotic programing to easily rebound… or the strength of her soul. Curious, but minor compared to the matter at hand. "My apologies then. It's what we do at Atlas."

"Well, I'll be happy to inform we have far fewer restrictions at Beacon," Ozpin easily moved in. "Rules, of course, guidelines to follow to ensure the safety of the students, faculty, and people of Vale. More than that, however, often restricts the growth of an individual. Does that make sense?" It was an important question to ask now. His contact with Penny was minimal until now. He needed a baseline.

"Absolutely!" Lana spoke up. Not Penny, but still worth storing away. She was newer than even the young robotic girl. "Can't grow a flower in the desert if you tell it what it can't do, same way for people, too!" But with patches of wisdom doubted through. Interesting.

"I think we're getting off track," Tatl spoke up again. Ozpin interpreted her low ring that followed as a sigh. It seemed appropriate. "Let's just finish this up ASAP please. I mean really, this has been too long of a day." Ozpin smiled at her words. She was far from incorrect.

"Of course," he returned. "But I may request that we speak to Link?" He held his hand towards the blue haired witch as he asked question. She pointed to herself with equal perplexity. "Not that I have any argument to speaking with you, but if we want to minimize any exploits of the Council or other bodies of power, I feel it is best we follow protocols to the letter here. They can't argue we tricked them if we followed their rules."

"Oh, Okee Dokey!" Lana spoke approvingly. Ozpin counted it as a blessing. "Just hold on oooone sec." Lana jumped back, nearly skipping, before stopping next to Penny. She grinned at the ginger haired girl, the other nodding with a bright smile of her own. Interesting, but not curious. Both were bubbly and excitable. It made sense they played well off of one another.

Before Ozpin could make any more conjectures about the blue-haired youth, she placed her hands to the side of her face, holding them as if a frame. Then, with care, she began to pull. Light enveloped her, the same light that Ozpin had seen through Glynda's mini-drones twice over, and once more in this office before. He still had many questions about the matter.

But when the light was gone, Lana had left with it, leaving behind only Link. Link, holding a mask that was detailed in many ways, but having only the features of a face in the broadest sense. Two holes for eyes, a golden ribbon wrapped about the top of the mask, and a plain porcelain white appearance. It was far simpler than the other masks he had seen Link use. That made its appearance all the more curious.

"Don't ask about it," Ozpin heard a voice speak from his side, unsurprised to see Tatl there when he turned to look. "Trust me, if we're here to stay, for a while at least, you'll get to know. Just not right now. Got it?" She was right, thankfully. At least one question of Ozpin's had been answered.

Tatl did a marvelous job at keeping the most important matters at the front of everyone's mind. For adventures in the open world, that was an important trait to possess.

"Welcome back, Link," Ozpin spoke earnestly to the faunus across from him. He appeared little different than the last time they had spoken, but still changed. The only physical change was the lack of a red crystal-adorned shield sat on his back. Lost to the fight against the Council's treachery, if Tatl was to be believed. She was boisterous, but not a liar.

Link nodded back to him, pocketing the porcelain white and golden mask. There were still many curiosities to be had regarding those pouches of his, but again, Ozpin reconciled, for another time. There would be plenty of time now.

"Ms. Penny Polendina," Ozpin began. She stiffened at his words, puffing her chest out. "By recommendation from another Academy Headmaster, through your record of activity amongst the Military, and your upstanding duty to assist your fellow hunters, I accept your application to Beacon Academy."

Penny normally beamed with her smiles. But at the moment, Ozpin had the slight fear that her internal battery source was showing. Her features were glowing with pride.

"Thank you Headmaster Ozpin!" She spoke, perhaps a bit too loud. "I promise I will do my best to uphold the law of Remnant, to serve the people of this land, and to defend all against the threat of Grimm and-"

"Simmer down metal head," Tatl interrupted Penny. "You're in, relax, but hold off for a minute, okay?" Ozpin his smile now beneath his hand as he adjusted his glasses. Tatl had the most curious way with words. He wondered how odd it would be to speak solely to her.

But that was another matter for another time, one of hundreds now. Now though… he had one last matter to attend to. His attention turned to Link, the faunus's hands behind his back and posture straight. The smile was the only thing that looked unprofessional.

"Link of Hyrule," Ozpin spoke, the faunus's last name not given. "You have proven yourself in the battlefield against the threat of the Grimm. You showed valor, strength, wisdom, and courage in the face of foes that threaten our lives. You have only shown time and time again your ability to adapt, to learn, and even to teach. It is for this reason, as well as the recommendation of fellow faculty, that I accept your application to teach at Beacon Academy."

Link took a deep breath of air with the words. Both he and Ozpin reached out with their hands at the same moment, gripping one another in a firm hand shake. Ozpin felt the fear of the past two weeks fade with the contact.

Link was no longer a student of Beacon. He was a professor.

The moment was shifted when light clapping and ringing echoed through his office. Eyes turned to see Penny, her applause as energetic as her grin. Teal rang loudly above the pair, Dust falling in his wake. Ozpin took it as a great sign.

"So," Tatl spoke again, to Ozpin of course. "Where do we start?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	7. Dawn of the First Day

Link looked across the long table towards Headmaster Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch. He had seen them many times before now, at least as many times as one would expect within the span of a few days. It was enough for him to get used to their manner of dress, speech, and priorities, at least on the surface.

But that didn't stop him from analyzing them either way . He noted the coy smile Ozpin perpetually held, the focus Glynda had despite her eyes looking elsewhere, and the ease at which both had around the clicking of the gears that made up the Headmaster's office. The reanalysis was needed, though. The situation had changed greatly.

Now was the time for both parties to analyze the results of their respective tests. The trials Link had voluntarily endured against the Army of this World of Remnant was the topic they would speak of aloud. What he would be doing, the protection he, Tatl, and Tael would receive, expectations, and, of course, help to find Navi.

Link, however, would be continuing his two-way test. It began with his actions against the trainee of the visiting nation, but it was far from over. It would be done when he had a clear idea of the alliances he could fearlessly swear to.

"So, here we are," Ozpin began. "Finally a professor at Beacon. Most would consider your quick ascension from student to teacher rather… odd." Link could not disagree. It felt similar to a page becoming a knight over the course of a single session. Such leaps in rank were unheard of even by the most capable of soldiers.

"Yeah, well, that's one word we can agree that fits the bill," Tatl spoke up beside him. Link felt a smile pull at his lips. She always did speak towards the coarser side of a conversation. "Hope you're not about to argue that it means Link should take a break or something like that."

"Oh, not at all. Not at all," Ozpin waved his hand with the word, the other firmly gripping his cup of hot liquid. Probably tea or this coffee he had heard so much about. "I just find it important to look at a situation objectively before making any decisions. And we are making some very critical decisions, aren't we?" The question wasn't directed towards Link.

"Before the meeting's end, Link will be assigned a routine schedule time for classes, the manner of classes to be determined, and its syllabus created," Glynda poured out without ever looking up. "The manner of the class is important to be established first."

"Of course," Ozpin agreed, "And I feel that there is only one class you are qualified to teach, Link." He quirked a brow at the statement. He didn't reply, not that they would hear anyway. Didn't stop Tatl though.

"Oh, and what kind of class is that?" Link was actually mildly impressed. She wasn't as loud as he expected her to be. Maybe it was because Tael was sleeping upon his head. The darker of the two fairies was worn out.

"Combat Training," Ozpin spoke the words with clear pride.

"Combat Training, for students, is a class that focuses on pairings for duels while simultaneously correcting their methods," Glynda was giving him the instruction. "Lectures are minimal and usually brief, classes ranging from two to three hours in length, and strictly overseen by a qualified professor."

"Before you ask," Ozpin spoke up as she finished, his cup motioning towards Tatl. "I find that this is most suitable for you, Link, due to your… difficulty of being heard, making lectures a stretch." Understandable. "And heading field studies would be difficult given your general unfamiliarity with the land." Also valid.

"So that leaves just teaching the tikes how to beat the crap out of one another," Tatl concluded. Link was silently glad to see Ozpin only nod towards her, grin still present. "Well, Link can definitely do that. Maybe we'll be able to get a few of them to actually treat others with respect." Battle did have a tendency to humble fools.

"Excellent," Ozpin raised his cup with his words. "That's one matter down, now onto the next." Despite his carefree attitude, Link could tell he was focused on his work. Perhaps he did exercise the rights of a Shadow, calm no matter the scenario he was in.

"Hours of Operations are important, as they will determine the objectives of the syllabus by date," Glynda spoke again. Link found the words being spoken in a manner similar to a speech. He did not voice his thoughts. He rarely did.

"Is that really a big deal?" Tatl spoke up next. "It's not like we got a lot of places to be. Until Super Buzz can point us towards something promising, we're pretty much stuck here anyways." Ah, that was right. Link had almost forgotten.

"Not only does this concern the length of time, but also the frequency at which you teach your classes." Glynda never raised her eyes as she explained. "Capable as you are, I do not believe teaching for hours on end or even the early mornings will be suitable for you. These classes must be done when you are most likely to be in your prime position, as your attention to the class is what prevents the students from maiming one another."

Now she looked up.

"Or have you already forgotten your own incident?" Link closed his eyes. It was far from something he enjoyed. But the distance was equal to both his regret and determination.

"I believe that matter is resolved." Ozpin quickly stepped in with his words. "And Link demonstrated before the unfortunate incident his ability to teach other students. Mr. Arc did indeed learn a better gripping on his shield, if your reports are to be believed, Glynda."

She looked at him now, with the same cold stare that she had for the pad she so often stared at. He only returned her gaze with a grin of his own. Perhaps there was a deeper meaning in the silent conversation. Link did not know them well enough to tell.

"Well, you're half right about the mornings," Tatl spoke up next. Link was thankful she did not pursue the obvious train of thought. Perhaps she was restless to leave. No, she was still thinking of her brother. "I'd say mid-day is best, sooner after eating the better. That's when people tend to be their most awake. Least it was that way back home."

"Schedules are open Tuesdays and Thursdays for such times, between the hours of eleven to four." Glynda tapped across the pad as she iterated the information. Her lips puckered for a moment before she spoke on. "Times from one to four would be best, as it allows the early luncheon students to digest before activities."

"Is that enough? You're not gonna hassle us for more time?" Ozpin only grinned towards Tatl's question. Link watched the conversation, silent as always.

"I am actually hoping you may be able to take some of Glynda's currently scheduled Combat Training hours," he spoke smoothly. Said blonde Gerudo didn't react to his words. They likely talked about it before. "There are other matters concerning the welfare of Beacon, and the more time she has to dedicate to that, the fewer hours she has to spend staring at a screen all day."

That was unsurprising to Link. It was not uncommon for many of the instructors at any Knight's Academy or Barracks to have duties aside from the upbringing of new men. Granted, such duties varied from guarding vaults to counseling politicians. It was impossible to say what Glynda's were.

"But wait, let me guess," Tatl spoke up, rousing Link from his thoughts. "You want us to be supervised first, right? Can't risk us being loose arrows or somethin' like that?" Well, Link could understand that as well. He was new here, in almost every sense of the word. It would be better to be watched sometimes as opposed to being monitored always.

"Of course," Glynda replied easily. Easily enough that is. She did spare Link a glance. Why? Tatl was the one talking. "Supervision is a standard practice when bringing new faculty into Beacon. We must ensure that teaching styles to do not conflict or give students incorrect assumptions regarding monsters or other threats across Remnant." That seemed… fluffy, overdone.

"Just say you're gonna make sure the kids understand that we're in charge." Tatl seemed to have gotten more out of the words than Link did. That was pretty common. "But, I think you finally had a good idea there Triple B. At least I'd be pretty surprised if the students just accepted Link as their instructor."

"You are on the correct track, Tatl, but there is a bit more to it than that." Ozpin remarked, sipping at his mug before continuing. "We can't joke with ourselves and say that you, Link, were always a prospective teacher. This arrangement was born out of necessity, as are most things. The true purpose is for you to observe how Glynda teaches and then emulate her in future lessons." There was a reason for that, Link realized, but he couldn't place his finger on the catch.

"Oh, I get it." Tatl apparently did. "Cause if he's not a good teacher, or too many students complain or something, those Council guys are gonna have a reason to take Link away, right?" Ah, that would do it.

"While they would need much more than a few complaints or poor word-of-mouth communication, it would be the foot in the door they'd need to bring an investigation of sorts." Ozpin didn't seem happy about the words, despite his grin. "The more capable Link is at teaching, the lower the likelihood of the Council or Military attempting to 'detain' him for some other ludicrous reason."

Link wasn't sold on them yet. He wasn't sure Ozpin and Glynda had only pure intentions for them. There was very likely, very possibly, an ulterior motive to their kindness and rush to his defense. But he had seen the capabilities of both this Council and Military when it came to his harm. For now, Beacon was the lesser of three evils.

But if they needed a teacher, he was not the most capable. Link knew that. He was a knight, a warrior, a… lot of things. He had taught only a few before, and those were not in regards to skills with a sword. Tips and tricks only went so far in a battle for one's life. Fights with monsters were always just that. If they needed a teacher, he was not the most capable for the job.

However… he knew someone who was.

Link reached into his tunic, looking for the remains of his old friend. A friend he had seen more as a shadow than a person among their first meetings. Their initial trust was fostered by another before blooming on its own, but eventually ended with them on equal terms. She was one of the most capable fighters he had ever met, and he was glad they had not met on the battlefield…

"Um, Link? What are ya doin'?" Tatl spoke up to him in a low whisper, just quiet enough for him to hear. Ozpin and Glynda likely did not. They did not focus hard enough or have the ears to passively do so. "Oh please don't tell me you're going to… who am I kidding, of course you are." Link only chuckled as he grabbed at the mask he wanted. Tatl knew him well.

"Can I assume you have another friend you wish for us to meet?" Ozpin spoke up now, directing the words towards Link. He looked up and nodded towards the Gerudo, producing the mask he grabbed.

It was a white mask, mostly, but with painted stripes and designs across its surface. Almost all of the markings were red, smooth and curved with endpoints meeting to shape sharp edges. Three triangles of such red were across the top, all sitting above an oval. Said oval guarded the only part of the mask that was not red or white: a halo of gold.

"Oh, yeah, of course," Tatl replied dryly. "Of course she's the one who'd you think would be best for this. Figures." Link had to remind himself that the two were not on the best of opinions of one another. Understandable, but unfortunate.

"Who is this… obvious choice?" The question was for Tatl, not Link. Ozpin wouldn't be able to hear what Link explained. Thankfully, Tatl was able to answer.

"The obvious choice, the Sheikah," Tatl started. "She was the caretaker for the princess for a few generations and held the rank of general for even longer. She was personally responsible for training new knights amongst soldiers and guarding important treasures through the kingdom. And as an added bonus, she's got a stick up her butt just as far as Triple B over there."

Couldn't answer without an insult. Link only smiled at the predictable event. Still, he had no fear of repercussion. Tatl was a fairy and his friend. At worst, she'd have the same thrown back at her. A part of Link loved her the most when someone was doing just that.

"She sounds very impressive," Ozpin continued. Link wondered for a moment if it was to keep Glynda from answering. He doubted it, as she had excellent control of her emotions. "It is why I feel conflicted in following with the obvious question." Link knew what that was. Thankfully, so did Tatl.

"It wasn't a fight," his friend began. "She got ambushed with Link. Some coward who couldn't take them in a fight; just stabbed her and fled." Link didn't miss the quick ring of disgust. He was confident Tatl's shade turned green in that quick moment. "Not the most tragic death you'll ever hear, but still… gah, I just _hate_ that we never got that guy!"

Tatl had no need to remind Link of such a thing. It was a shared memory of disgust.

"Truly a pity." Link had a difficult time discerning if Glynda's words were full of apathy or disgust. He gave her the benefit of the doubt. She did fight the General in his name while he fought the Bellumgera. "On both accounts named." Her finger drew across the pad slowly as she spoke, eyes narrowing at the screen.

Wait…

Link looked quickly between the two, noting everything he could in the spare moments. Ozpin's brow was furrowed, his mug hiding his lips. His hand was hidden beneath the table, his body oddly still. Glynda's expression was harder than usual, looking at the screen Link couldn't see. Her movements were slower as well, as if heavier to make.

They were reminded of something…

"If I may ask, Link," Ozpin began again, lowering his mug to show the grin on his lips. Link would swear on his life it was not there only seconds before. "Why was she targeted? I understand if it is not something that you wish to be discussed… but you are carrying her memories for a reason, correct?"

Link didn't know what that meant. She was his friend, in life and until her death. Perhaps not always on the brightest of terms, but never without respect for one another. Was there something else? What were they looking for?

"Hey, you know what, how about this," Tatl spoke up, quick as the light she cast. "How about you talk to her? You guys can ask whatever you want then, right?" She swayed with her words, spinning about Link before settling on his opposite side. He felt Tael squirm above him, but not enough to rouse him from his sleep.

"Well I can't say no to meeting a new friend of yours," Ozpin spoke on, his cup swaying towards the mask Link still held. "But I would like you, or perhaps Tatl, to explain what your goal is here. Do you believe she is to be a mediator, a capable teacher, or something else?" He was cautious, but inviting. That wasn't an odd trait for a leader. But there was something more.

Link didn't like it. They were keeping unknowns. They were asking questions without telling what it was. They were looking for something that they wouldn't explain. It didn't make sense, and that was why Link didn't like it. But… he wouldn't speak against it. They were acting as unknowns, but he was still an unknown to them as well.

"Like I said Mr. Green, she trained new knights," Tatl spoke up, thankfully following Link's train of thought. Decades together made it easier to do. "She trained them from the time they were brought into Hyrule's Military to their first time on the battlefield and then a little beyond. I'd bet my wings she has more years under her belt than either of you do put together. Sheikah have that advantage." Now she was going too far… Tattletale.

"Now what might that advantage be?" Ozpin spoke up, curiosity evident in his features as much as it was in his words. It was only troubling that he did such a good job of focusing said curiosity. Link had to be careful… perhaps that was why Tatl was speaking. In the grand scheme of his friends and goal, it was a small unknown to reveal.

And the unknown always had the advantage, but only as long as curiosity was focused elsewhere.

"Promise not to jump to anything when I tell ya?" Tatl started off. Link hid a chuckle under his breath. She loved to get a rise out of people. Apparently Ozpin was used to it, as his grin hardly faltered. Glynda looked equally unaffected.

"After what you have demonstrated and shown thus far, I doubt there is much you can say that I will fail to even consider." He was honest, or at least he sounded honest. Link reminded himself that he was the Gerudo who did his utmost to protect Link from this Council he'd never met and a Military that seemed too familiar. At least in heart, he was a good man.

"Let's see if your face is that straight in a second," Tatl warned as she always did, like a child getting ready to mock their sibling. Funny, because she was more protective of Tael than Link was. "The Sheikah, guardians of Hyrule's royal family, live for _centuries_."

To Tatl's credit, Headmaster Ozpin did blink in response. To his credit, it was all he did.

"Well, that certainly is surprising," he started off simply. "Though I suppose against golden avians and electrified fish, it's not much more than the next step, is it?" Link felt a grin pull at his lips. Ozpin… he liked Ozpin.

"Aw geez, is that it?" Tatl whined at his response. "I wanted to see you argue about try and go all, 'oh that's impossible. You can't live that long. You must be lying.' And then Link would show her off and you'd start to get all bug-eyed." Link chuckled softly now, loud enough to be heard. Ozpin joined him. And, to Link's unspoken enjoyment, he saw a small grin crack over Glynda's lips.

"While I am sure you have a secret or two that could commit such an action, I'd ask you keep them buried for now," Ozpin spoke before sipping at his cup. "As an official member of the faculty, your job is to teach students, not startle them. The latter is only acceptable if it accomplishes the former." Once more Link saw the focus his curiosity had. It was a rare gift to have both. It was understandable why he was the head of the Knight's Academy here, Beacon.

"We can agree on that much at least," Tatl expressed with a ring, a clear sign of a sigh. Link was humored to think of what she would do if Tael wasn't asleep on his head, an increase in volume aside. That was too obvious. "But hey, you know what? If you're that open about Link's friends now, do you want to meet her?"

Honestly, it wasn't like her to invite such a thing, but Link didn't argue. He knew she would want to meet the new instructor for a new generation of knights. It would be weird for her not to. She was a general, and a general enjoyed knowledge.

"Of course," Ozpin agreed, chipper at that. He had not just grown used to Link's friends, said Hylian realized. He had become excited to meet them. It was a plus in any regard. "Though if I can ask, what is her name? It would be rude to meet her without knowing that." Oh, yeah, they'd forgotten that, hadn't they?

Link smiled down at the mask in his hand as Tatl answered the question.

"Impa."

* * *

Pyrrha was on edge at the moment.

It wasn't completely abnormal, not for her. New things didn't usually go over very well for her. That was something she had to work on. Well, she was working on it. She wasn't apologizing as much. Sometimes she still did, but not as much.

Regardless, she was on edge now. She was on edge because something was inevitably _going_ to happen. It had to, really, and she wasn't the only one who thought so this time.

They were going to see Link actually teach a class.

"I mean, this is still really weird, right?" Jaune asked as he walked beside her. He was talking to the team, not just her. Pyrrha knew that. But… it was fun to imagine. "He was, like, in class with us last week. Now he's going to lead us on how to fight? That's gotta count as weird, doesn't it?"

"It is… peculiar," Ren answered, simply as always. "But far from weird. He is well-trained and diligent, as we should expect of our teachers."

"O-Oh yeah, no, I get that," Jaune spoke back. He sounded on edge, too. It gave Pyrrha a dissatisfying sense of comfort. "He's totally the kind of ma-faunus I wanna learn from, faunus, yeah." He nodded his head at the words. "But I mean… Nora, what if you suddenly taught us class tomorrow? What would you do?"

"Me?" Pyrrha turned her head to see Nora answer. "Oh! I'd talk _all_ day about the kinds of things you should do to a Grimm! How to crush their legs, crush their arms, crush their head, maybe their chest, and have a picnic knowing that there were no other Grimm for miles!" There were many holes there that Pyrrha could pick through, but she had learned quickly to just take it in stride.

"Okay, that was more than I needed to know, but you get my point, right?" Pyrrha honestly didn't. She had to remind herself that it wasn't worth apologizing for. "We aren't really gonna be able to take anyone we've actually spent _class time_ with seriously when they're teaching us."

Wait, he couldn't? But… But Pyrrha had been helping him master his sword thrusts and blocking techniques for months now! Was he doing that to… humor her? No, Jaune was a nice guy, he wouldn't do that. Pyrrha knew he wouldn't.

"I… believe you are the only one who sees the awkwardness in this Jaune," Pyrrha said carefully. He was a sensitive guy, and she really didn't want to upset her leader. When he looked at her, he didn't seem hurt. That was good, she supposed.

"I don't know, maybe I am," he spoke, a bit too dejectedly for her liking. "I mean… Link _did_ actually teach me that trick with the shield, a-and we did see him literally kill two Ancient Grimm back to freaking back!" His hands were moving around a lot as he spoke. Pyrrha knew he did that a lot when he was voicing his honest opinion.

"There is no doubt he is an impressive fighter," Pyrrha agreed. "It is why I am interested in seeing how he monitors our dueling sessions." And in truth, she was.

She knew from real experience that the type of monitor you had for duels could greatly alter the format of the fights. Not only that, but she had a hard time seeing Link simply… watching. Even if his mini-drones would be the one verbally speaking, it made sense to her they'd be correcting mistakes in their forms. Or maybe just offering advice.

"Yeah… I am, too." Jaune sounded… tired. That usually meant he was done. Why he was made sense to Pyrrha. She sighed, turning her eyes to the familiar entrance. They were at the dueling hall. "Well… let's see what we're signed up for." And Pyrrha was again reminded why she felt on edge.

The Student Dueling Arena, she reminded herself. The SDA, one of the simplest yet most well-designed practice arenas in all of Vale. Even though she had been in many arenas of similar size, structure, and even stand placement, Beacon was different. It wasn't just the feeling. That came with the crowd. No, Pyrrha knew simply from experience that Beacon was different because of its care. She knew it was different because, before fighting, it was a place for learning.

This wasn't weird and was far from strange, yet it still was… different. Different enough that she had no idea what to expect from the classes anymore. Link... teaching? ...Here? This really was… well, she honestly didn't know. Maybe that was why Jaune sounded the way he did. She was on edge. He was… yielding.

"Oh and I can't wait!" Nora let out, shattering any tension that had built up. "I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready!" She repeated again and again, skipping into the indoor stadium stands, smiling all the while. She heard Jaune let out a quick breath of laughter. That brought a smile to her face.

"Well, we can't leave Nora alone for long," Jaune spoke up, chuckling with his own words. Pyrrha understood why, something she wouldn't have done a few months ago. She nodded with Ren, both following him through the small hall, opening up into the familiar stands of Beacon's SDA.

And was immediately overcome with the number of students that filled the room.

For a normal session, there were usually stands for days, half a dozen of them wrapping around the Arena entirely, benches long enough and vacant enough for Nora to lay down and take a nap on without disturbing any nearby parties. Now? Now that was impossible.

Nearly every seat was taken up in the Arena, faces she didn't even recognize sitting around one another, touching shoulder to shoulder just to make room. Some were standing in the back, others kneeling in the front, and conversation was dominating the room. Pyrrha had to wonder if it was her focus on Jaune or the room's construction that kept her from hearing the sound before.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, turning to see Jaune looking at her. He was leaning close to her, with shoulders hunched and a hand cupped around his mouth. Pyrrha felt a wave of heat wash over her, but it quickly died out.

"Any ideas?!" He nearly screamed the question, but it was muffled under the cacophony of noise, making it sound as distant as the waves on a beach. Still she made out what he said, and what he meant. Where were they supposed to go?

The question was answered sooner than Pyrrha had expected. Ren got Jaune's attention, and by consequence Pyrrha's, with a small wave of his hand. Instead of words, the quietest member of their team pointed across the stands, aiming into the mass of students that made up the unexpected crowd. Thankfully, it was easy to see what he was pointing towards.

Nora was standing in the bleachers, waving her hands in an excited motion towards them. If she was yelling, which Pyrrha expected she was, it was drowned out by the rest of the students. Still, she likely had seats, and that was a good thing. Now they just had to get… there…

Pyrrha's train of thought was pushed to a stop as she felt a hand wrap around hers.

She felt Jaune grab her hand. And then, in the next moment, leading her with it.

The room was quiet as a lake in winter now. All of her attention was on Jaune, leading up the steps and past the students that crowded the stairwell. His grip was strong, firm, but far from tight or uncomfortable. It felt like… she was holding her sword. Something strong and reliable, that she didn't have to be afraid of showing her true self with. It felt like everything she expected. It was why she loathed it when his hand let go of hers.

"…inally!" She heard him yell above the crowd, barely. She missed the beginning. Still, he sounded happy, and it was plain why. Three seats were available for them in the stands, all right next to Nora, and settled between their suitemates.

Pyrrha recognized Ruby waving towards her, bright smile under silver eyes as recognizable as ever. Her team members were mimicking her actions, though with varying amounts of energy. Blake and Weiss were nodding towards them respectfully, while only Yang compared to her younger sister in waving with a wide grin across her features. But… there was something else. It was small, hard to see and impossible to hear in the crowd, but Pyrrha trusted her instincts enough to know it was there.

Tael was hiding in Ruby's hood. Well… maybe that wasn't the right word. Ruby saw her gaze and quickly raised a finger to her mouth. 'Please be quiet' was what she had come to learn the motion meant. That, again, meant Tael wasn't hiding, at least not from Ruby. Still, it meant it wasn't her place to bring attention to it.

"Attention students!" Pyrrha was momentarily thrown by the voice. Apparently everyone else was as well.

The room dropped noticeably notches in volume, the discord of noise dropping into low whispers. All attention was immediately given to the center of the arena. It was impossible not to notice Professor Goodwitch standing at the ring's center. Pyrrha took her seat during the drop in volume, comfortable with how close she was to Jaune. He didn't seem to mind either. He even smiled.

"Thank you," Glynda spoke again, her voice amplified through the unseen speakers. Doubtlessly the efforts of her scroll. "As I am sure you are aware given your attendance, we have a new professor teaching at Beacon. Currently, said faculty member is scheduled to monitor and assist in your Combat Training. I will be observing the first few sessions to help mediate their transition into the role."

Professor Goodwitch and Headmaster Ozpin were being careful, that made sense. With the Military and Council, they had to be. Still, that didn't mean Pyrrha felt any less on edge. She'd prefer sitting on a cliff to waiting a moment more. Tournaments had less build-up.

"Though many of you are aware of this, I will reiterate that the transitioning professor is unfamiliar with the rules of Beacon and laws of Remnant." There was a lot less chatter than Pyrrha expected from that. Her team and RWBY were quiet as snow. She was simply thankful Jaune hadn't leaned away from her. "This has led to a series of conversations regarding their methods in teaching the Combat Training course."

What? What did that mean? Pyrrha had no idea and, perhaps thankfully, she could tell Jaune didn't either. He looked towards her, a confused expression twisting at his features. His shoulders shrugged, silently asking her the question. She could only shake her head in return. Truly, she hadn't an idea. She could at least tell that Professor Goodwitch wasn't entirely pleased with whatever was coming next.

"As such, compromises were made regarding the current and future sessions of the training regimen taught during the Combat Training course." Her sigh was audible, and that alone made Pyrrha's senses stand on edge. "Agreed upon by Headmaster Ozpin, with the results to be monitored by myself, the professor's methods will be objectively judged to determine their merit and worth."

Pyrrha made the small note that whenever Link was involved with Professor Goodwitch, something confusing seemed to follow.

"Without further ado, it is my pleasure to introduce Beacon's newest professor, Link of Hyrule."

The volume of the crowd returned and, if possible, was louder than before.

Whereas she felt Nora and Jaune jump to cheer, Pyrrha held her hands to her ears in a vain attempt to muffle the noise. Her teeth grit in testament to the pain, completely unused to the blaring sound of a hundred screaming students. It was so easy to stand it when you were meters away from any fans and not caught in the center of them. No wonder her parents so often wore earplugs.

Still… this wasn't something she wanted to miss. She had dealt with far worse pain then some ringing eardrums, and this was not something she was going to see again twice, not in the same way. So, keeping her hands to her head and her jaw flexed, Pyrrha stood to her tallest, looking over the row of students in front of her and to the arena floor.

And there was Link.

Side-by-side with Professor Goodwitch, he seemed small. She knew he was smaller than her, but knowing that he was replacing her, teaching them what Professor Goodwitch once did, it became much harder to not notice. His hand scratched at the top of his head, moving the green cap that sat there. The tunic of green and belts galore were still present, including the sheath of his sword on his back. But… it seemed all off.

Maybe this was what Jaune meant about it being weird. It honestly wasn't far different from the last time Pyrrha had seen Link in the arena, preparing to do the regimen of fights that had been set up to placate the Council and Military. It was still him, and Professor Goodwitch was still there. Except now… they were equals. Jaune was right, this really was weird. Just one more thing she had to remember.

"Yes, thank you for your approval," Ms. Goodwitch's words were barely audible above the noise and through Pyrrha's covered ears. "Now please settle down, there is still much to discuss and we have a schedule to keep." It wasn't immediate, but the noise did subside slowly but surely.

Students began to settle back in their seats, cheers being reduced to one last scream of approval, and clapping hands settling back onto laps. Pyrrha felt no lack of relief in finally letting go of her head. Only too quickly did she feel something grab at her hand once more, and just as before, it was Jaune.

"Are you okay?" He asked her quickly and quietly, eyes focused on hers and wearing the same emotion she knew was completely genuine. It was an expression she adored to see, but she couldn't allow him to worry, not selfishly.

"I'm fine, Jaune," she replied with as much haste. "I'm just… not used to being _in_ the crowd." His mouth formed a quick "oh" shape and nodded in understanding. She was only too happy to realize he had not released her hand. There was no reason to remind him.

"Thank you," Ms. Goodwitch spoke again, earning Pyrrha's attention once more. "Now, as you are doubtlessly aware, Link has an unorthodox set of abilities, and an unfortunate penchant for silence." Pyrrha wasn't sure how much of that was a jab or an insult. Link didn't appear upset though. He only nodded his head with closed eyes.

Wait… where was Tatl? She'd usually speak up by now.

"Thankfully, during an earlier meeting with the Headmaster, Ozpin and I were able to meet one of Link's good friends." His what? "In similar fashion to his display with Mikau, Link has another… comrade that fills the role of a teacher rather well." Oh… oh, that's what she meant.

But then… where was Link going?

He was literally walking right out of the arena, like he was a guest of the stands. Was… was that it? Just a placeholder? No, there was no way it was that simple. Her musings weren't the only ones, Pyrrha realized. The students were becoming louder again, but not with cheers or screams. Instead, with confused whispers. But Glynda spoke on.

"This friend, as we were able to learn, commanded the armies of Hyrule for a significant portion of her career, doubling her abilities with the guarding of the Royal Family." That was impressive, but Link was still leaving. Now he was gone. And the volume of the students was increasing. "Carrying a diligent manner of teaching that has shaped many hunters in the Hylian Kingdom, she is, apparently, eager to continue administering her lessons to you all."

"Then where is Link?" Some student Pyrrha didn't recognize shouted from a far off section of the stands. Several other students joined him, to her great dismay. This was how booing usually started. That would be horrible.

"Link will be returning shortly," Glynda spoke on without any hesitation. It sounded as if she had more to say. At least, a great many of the other students were getting ready to shout as well.

That was before a dull scream and bright light shined from the changing room.

"Ah, allow me to correct myself," Glynda spoke on as if nothing had occurred. "She is coming now." She? Who was she?

There wasn't any time for whispers, however. Because all too quickly, a new figure strode from the changing rooms.

Pyrrha could tell on first sight that the woman she saw was strong.

She was of equal height to Professor Goodwitch, walking with a gait that appeared practiced and ready for immediate action. Her arms swung at her sides with just as much care, possessing no laxness to their movements. The majority of her was covered in an outfit of sky blue, small rings of golden triangles about her legs. A thick belt of leather was then wrapped around her torso, holding what appeared to be long feathers of dusk red color. That was where simplicity ended.

Her extremities, all of them, were covered with metallic braces. From her knees to her toes and from her shoulders to her fingers, heavy thick bands of metal were wrapped and fashioned. They shined in the arena's artificial light, each showing their density and strength. But while she wore metal on her arms and legs, her neck was covered by cloth, or a scarf to be specific. A dark brown texture that curled loosely above her shoulders.

But her hair was more than simply striking. The alabaster white of it immediately reminded Pyrrha of Weiss, though this woman's hair was clearly braided and tied in a manner more befitting a fight. Only a single long lock fell over her features, and even that was braided to prevent free strands from obscuring her vision. The rest was tied and knotted behind her head, held by a decorative clip Pyrrha couldn't recognize.

But she could easily see the sharp ears that stuck out from the side of her head, little different than Link's own. They were darker in color, but that was the only difference at best. But just as her hair and skin were different colors than Link's, so were her eyes. They were red, red as Pyrrha's hair and sharper than most swords. And speaking of swords, Pyrrha could not ignore the most glaring feature of this new arrival.

The large sword that sat on her back, if it could be called that at all.

It was longer than the woman was tall, its hilt sitting well above her head, and the girth of the blade wider than the woman was herself. The actual blade was hidden in the dark gold sheath, but even the lightest of metals would make it a substantially heavy weapon. Yet the woman walked as if there was nothing on her back. That alone told the duelist how strong this woman was.

"Class," Glynda spoke up again, the first time earning attention away from the new woman. "Please welcome Impa of the Sheikah, former General to Hyrule's Army and Guardian of the Royal Family."

The room was deathly quiet. Pyrrha contributed to that void the most. At best there were a few whispers. It felt like the calm before a match began, everyone deathly silent to prevent distractions. All eyes were on this new woman, this friend of Link she'd never met. Just… why did he ask her to come?

"What's going on?" She heard Jaune whisper next to her. She turned to him without an answer, her shoulders shrugging and head waving in response. Regretfully, she looked past him for a moment, seeing Tael out of Ruby's hood and in her hands. She was leaning towards him, as was the rest of her team from varying angles. Well, he'd know, but Pyrrha knew better than to make him the center of attention.

"Silence speaks volumes." Pyrrha didn't recognize that voice emanating from the stage. That meant it could only be one person.

Her attention immediately spun back to the center of the room to find Impa, the new woman, looking around the stands with her sharp red eyes. Her arms were crossed under her chest, eyes scanning over them as if appraising the students. The flat line that made up her lips meant she wasn't proud of the results.

"It could mean you are too surprised for words. Or more likely, unimpressed with what you see," Impa's voice was surprisingly like Ms. Goodwitch's… intensely similar actually. "But either way, it is a display of disrespect. So now I must ask why you, a body of knights-in-training younger than most I have seen, act discourteous to strangers you've never met?"

Pyrrha fought the urge to swallow. She heard Jaune fail to do so. It was clear that Link wasn't having influence with her words. He was strong, but polite and open as well, maybe even shy. This woman, Impa… she seemed to be a faunus version of Ms. Goodwitch.

"Uh, Ms. Impa?" A voice spoke out from the crowd. All heads turned towards it. Pyrrha, perhaps thankfully, recognized the red hair of Penny Polendina. She had her hand raised into the air. "Yes, um, I'm pretty sure no one here is trying to be mean, or disrespectful. We just thought Link would be teaching! Um… yeah." The energy she gained fell as she spoke.

But the room was quickly filled with 'yeahs' and grunts of agreement, all of which just as quickly died down. They left as Ms. Goodwitch raised her hand into the air.

"Understandable, Ms. Polendina," she spoke. "But during our discussion with Ozpin, we found that many of Link's shortcomings make teaching difficult, if not uncomfortable, for him."

Whether or not she had more to say, Impa now took over for her. "Link is strong, as I can attest," Impa started, curiously. "But a great portion of his skill is talent, and talent cannot be taught. I, on the other hand, have spent generations raising and teaching the order of Knights that guarded and defended Hyrule. I have seen more battles then you have monsters and saved more lives than you have met."

It was difficult for Pyrrha to place those words as either boasting or simple fact declaration. It was impossible to tell with Impa's straight face and even tone. She didn't appear happy with what she said, but not disappointed either. It was… uncomfortable. At least now she understood what Jaune meant by 'weird.'

"If it is now Link's job to teach you to fight and survive against the threats to your kingdom, then I freely offer my memories to help," Impa spoke, her voice, somewhat softer, but it was like comparing ice and marble. "And… I believe that it is as proper a bind as we may reach." A… what? If anyone, aside from Pyrrha, was going to voice the question, it was dropped as Ms. Goodwitch started to speak again.

"Impa has spoken at length regarding her methods and results of teaching," Ms. Goodwitch wasn't looking up from her pad. "Confirming these results with Tael and Tatl, separately, we determined a combination of her past methods and the current dueling standards would best suit future classes under her supervision."

"Aaaaand, what does that mean?" Jaune spoke to Pyrrha again. She had the same answer as before. They could ask Tael, but a quick glance told Pyrrha he was busy explaining as much to team RWBY. Ruby looked impressed at least.

"Currently, you are all expected to practice and hone your skills as fighters and teammates off duty." Well, Pyrrha would argue that it went well with studying, but she assumed that was what Ms. Goodwitch meant. "Impa, however, focuses on three main areas to build the skill of a Huntress and their detachment."

"A true Knight focuses on three areas to better themselves," Impa followed Ms. Goodwitch. Was it Ms. Impa? She'd have to ask later. "They must plan for the present, prepare for the future, and practice to better the past. From what I have seen and heard, you do these things. But, they are done in a disjointed fashion."

"To reiterate," Ms. Goodwitch, thankfully went on. "We emphasize a need to heighten your education for future events. Plans are made amongst your team members daily to meet goals that are set in a variety of classes. And you are practicing just as often in order to further your past results, hopefully." Well, said like that it makes more sense. But then… how was it different?

"Unfortunately, from what I have been informed, your Combat Training has been reduced to merely a practice of skills. Little planning or preparation is ever done." Not Beacon, no, but in tournament settings it was impossible to expect a win unless you knew your opponent. Pyrrha kept her thoughts to herself. Impa's point was understood to her at least. "So, after much deliberation, thanks to Ozpin and Glynda's counsel, we have reached a needed remedy." That sounded nice, maybe. Ms. Goodwitch was nodding at least. Still no smile, but Pyrrha knew better than to expect one.

"Combat Training will still be an area to allow supervised dueling of one another, but there is now a major addition to the curriculum." There was what?

Pyrrha could feel the tension rise in the air, mostly because she felt it crawl across her own skin. The class was being changed that drastically? To what? It was a question she heard whispered all around her, even Jaune leaning over to Rena and Nora. Nora's answer was a much more vocal 'dunno', but it wasn't much different than the other few hundred students.

"Instead, as Impa has explained was done in the past, it will be used as a form of voluntary testing of your abilities." To Pyrrha's opinion, Ms. Goodwitch seemed very calm about something so… huge. "I will allow Impa to explain this further." There was a nod between them, a quick and mutual agreement. Pyrrha supposed it was like that quote, 'great minds thinking alike.'

"In Hyrule, Knights were only given their rank once they were shown capable on the battlefield." Well… that wasn't too different. At least it didn't sound that way. "Before they could march into what may be their death, they were given a test by an instructor of their choice. If they could reach a point of satisfaction to said superior, they were given leave to prove themselves without safety at their side."

Oh… Pyrrha knew where this was going. She must have been the only one, because Jaune still looked confused. Her hands, however, were gripping the bleacher she sat on tightly. This was worse than listening to an announcer declare victors.

"Instead, here, you will train amongst one another, you will converse to make plans, and you will research all that you can to attempt to defeat a single opponent." Pyrrha was not surprised, but overly anxious, as Impa's arm unfolded. One of them moved towards her chest, settling there in a point. "Me."

Pyrrha was unsurprised, but of equal agreement, to hear the gasps of breath quick mutterings of shock. A few voices behind her were full of more expletive curses, but if it was acceptable at defeat, then being told this had equal merit for their use. She could tell, however, how ramrod still Jaune was. That was also understandable.

"To be clear," Ms. Goodwitch, gracefully, spoke on. "Headmaster Ozpin took a liking to the idea of students dueling a professional Huntress. It will theoretically give you a benchmark you can measure, research, and plan for. More practical applications to the theories other classes teach you." It was clear as glass, but Pyrrha was dangling off the edge she felt herself on earlier.

"Further, you all have apparent 'years' to meet before you can be declared true Knights. No level of competence you have in a fight with me will earn you the right to take your… final exam." It was becoming easier and easier to see where the compromise was made. But still… wow… Pyrrha was still reeling.

"Then like… what?" Some brave student Pyrrha didn't recognize called out. "You're just someone we can fight for fun? In case we get bored?" There were so many better ways to phrase that, Pyrrha was sure of it. It sounded intentionally antagonistic.

Unfortunately, from the stern and perhaps even icy expressions for Ms. Goodwitch and Impa, they thought the same.

"Hardly," Ms. Goodwitch returned. "This is where the compromise was reached." Why didn't she sound happy? Why did she sound… regretful? It sounded like some arrogant competitor having to admit defeat, but Pyrrha knew that wasn't who Ms. Goodwitch was. So what was it?

"It is common knowledge in Hyrule. Chasing success is a greater motivator than fleeing from failure," Impa spoke again, and Pyrrha could agree. "Challenges with superiors held many benefits if you succeeded, and the worst consequence for failure was merely knowing you had to try again. So instead, your Headmaster, Glynda, and I have agreed on an alternative solution."

"I got a really bad feeling in my gut," Jaune spoke next to Pyrrha, and she could relate. She was only too happy to feel him grip her hand, mostly because she needed something to squeeze as well.

"To begin with, 'satisfying the instructor' is a poor guideline for success," Ms. Goodwitch spoke, eyes down on her scroll. She was probably reading her notes, maybe. Pyrrha shouldn't presume. "If Aura levels can be reduced by one third their total capacity, then the match is considered a victory for the opposing student. However, that is only if challenged one-to-one." Huh?

"As you are meant to work as a team, and fight as one, you are just as allowed to challenge me as such," Impa continued. She sounded, though very slightly, more pleased with the plan. It was really hard to tell though. The ice and rock metaphor came back to Pyrrha. "However, the further the odds are stacked against me, the greater you must prove your strength."

"Should a team wish to challenge the instructor together, defeat is considered per the same regulations of a student match; either critical aura levels are reached or disarmament." That made sense, and Pyrrha could follow what Ms. Goodwitch was saying, but… why did she keep saying instructor? Why not just Impa? And what was the incentive?

"There's gotta be a catch. No way is it that simple," Jaune said beside her. "Um, Ms. Impa? Ms. Goodwitch? Is there… something else? Like we have to fight weaponless or something?" Pyrrha felt her lips screw as her eyes shut. Jaune was a nice boy but… sometimes his naivety showed. The mutterings of the class around him didn't help.

"I'm glad you noticed, Mr. Arc," Impa spoke up, and with her words made Pyrrha's eyes widen. "And you are correct, in a way. I am the instructor that will replace Glynda. I am the one who oversees your progress, but Link is still the one in charge." What did that mean?

"The instructors," Glynda began, slowly. This felt all kinds of weird. "Include Link and all of his companions."

Oh. Oh!

"Oooooh!" That was Nora. Thankfully that wasn't just Nora. In a more subdued form than before, the classroom was buzzing with sound. Pyrrha could make out the strangled noises of excitement and shock, thankfully far from outright screaming this time. But though she was glad it wasn't that, she would have understood if they did.

That included not only Link and Impa, but Elrora, and Mikau, and… a lot of his other friends as well. There were a lot of friends, according to Tatl and Tael. So… they had the option to fight all of them? Why? What was going on? This all felt so… rushed to her.

"But here is the real catch, Mr. Arc," Impa spoke again. "The purpose of this is for you to plan, prepare, and practice. Merely allowing you to train against me does little to satisfy the first or former. In a true battle, you may know the enemy you face, but have no control of terrain you fight on. Or just the opposite, you may be asked to defend a post, and any enemy of the world can come to you."

An offensive or defensive position. It was similar to dueling, but it sounded more… involved. You could root yourself and deal with attacks, or increase your mobility to take the offensive. Focusing solely on one left you vulnerable to an opponent who was skilled in feints or taking charge of a battle's flow. A balancing act. That made sense, to Pyrrha at least. She'd probably have to explain it to Jaune later, or so his expression told her.

"You can choose which of Link's companions, including myself, to face, but then I will choose the terrain we fight on," Impa raised her hand as she spoke. "It could be in this arena, or in the Emerald Forest, or the shallow beach along the shore, or perhaps even a nearby plain."

"All matches outside of Beacon will be heavily regulated and monitored by one faculty member aside from Link," Ms. Goodwitch cut in. That was probably part of the compromise, which made sense. Ms. Goodwitch was very careful with them.

"I think I get it," Pyrrha heard Ruby speaking from far aside. It was difficult to hear, but she could, just barely. "If we want to fight Mikau, he'll fight near water, or Link in the forest, or something like that." And that was the catch.

They could pick their opponents, but lose the advantage of terrain. Or they could choose a spot then knew well, without knowing which of Link's many friends would come to his aid, if any at all. He was far from an easy opponent anyways.

"The first lesson I can offer you is this," Impa began suddenly, and Pyrrha was upset she didn't have any paper for notes. "Learn as much as you can before you make a plan. To assume that one's knowledge is enough, often leads fools to build their arrogance . Learn of the terrain, memorize it, learn of your opponents, study them, and then plan and prepare for what will come." That was cryptic. But… Ms. Goodwitch didn't elaborate.

"You still haven't told us what the prize is!" Pyrrha was thankful that another student she did not recognize said those words. For a moment she feared it was Cardin, but apparently even he had enough foresight to not speak so brashly to a new professor. But his words did draw murmur through the crowds regardless.

"Ah, did I not?" Impa sounded rather… intentional, if that made sense. It did to Pyrrha, like a feint, an intentional miss. "My apologies, I was saving it for last and it nearly slipped my mind." But instead of speaking on, her red eyes looked to Ms. Goodwitch.

"Victory against the instructor, as either a duo match or team effort, will be rewarded with…" Glynda let off with a sigh. That was almost more surprising than Impa's initial appearance. "Rewarded with an item of Link's choosing."

Pyrrha was very careful with dissecting those words. She had taken great care in reading into statements during her first few months here. Items of his choosing, but were they school items? Lien he had earned? Dust, what? The room was calm, but the excitement was slowly spreading. Pyrrha wouldn't give in until she knew what an 'item' was.

"To clarify," Impa, thankfully, elaborated. "If you can best me or my friends in a duel, I will reward you with a tool that I have brought with me from Hyrule. For you to use in future fights of your own."

Oh… Oh crap…

That meant… anything… his sword? His bow? His ocarina? Oh… wow…

The arena was filled with choppy silence. For each student that was struck dumb with the idea, there was another who was eagerly clapping and perhaps even laughing at the idea, but then next to them was another who wrapping their mind around what could be done. She was in the latter. Jaune and Ren the former, likely. Nora… the middle.

"Wowie! That's awesome!" She verbosely let out, to Ren and Jaune's equal horror. "Then let's go right now! Yeah!" Jaune's horror now outmatched Ren's by leaps and bounds. Pyrrha felt her own dread joining. And, if nothing else, she knew it was bad when Lie Ren reached up for his partner to sit down.

"Ms. Valkyrie," Ms. Goodwitch spoke up to them, horrifyingly enough. "Are you volunteering to fight Impa first?"

"No she isn't!" Jaune shouted back, thankfully as well. "Nope, she was just eager. Nuh uh, no fights today! We're good!" He waved his hands with the motion in a frantic manner, one of them just as desperately trying to push Nora down.

"Aw, but I wanna fight Impa. Maybe if I win I can use that Megaton Hammer! Then I can crash and smash twice as hard!" The mental image alone was enough to horrify Pyrrha to her core. Grimm were less of a threat than Nora with twice her destructive power.

"Should you manage to defeat me in the manners specified, I would likely offer it to you." Pyrrha wasn't sure if she should be horrified or amazed by the offer. Petrified? Horromazed? "There is no use in me congratulating your success with a trinket that serves you no purpose. I would feel proud to give you a tool to make your future battles easier."

The crowd was picking up again, quick whispers becoming entire conversations. People were getting excited again, eager. That was something that Pyrrha couldn't quite grasp onto yet. Was this good? Bad? What? It was like being told of some grand tournament then registering for it before she even knew the rules.

"It would be no different than offering Yatsu of Team CFVY the blade on my back." Her thumb pointed to the fixture on her back, and her eyes set to the behemoth of a member of the junior ranked team. Pyrrha saw his head tilt in curiosity, or maybe pondering. Velvet looking nervous at least. Coco looked… too eager, with a sick grin and a hand stroking her chin.

"Or perhaps a set of gauntlets for Yang Xiao Long?" Impa turned back towards them, or team RWBY. Pyrrha felt as much as she saw Ruby's horror at the mention of her sister. It was the complete opposite feeling for Yang, who looked ready to scream in agreement to the challenge. Thankfully, truly thankfully, Blake and Ruby kept her in her seat, with force.

"Or any number of my other belongings to the many who are here," Impa's voice was loud as she spoke, her pride bleeding into her words. Was it pride when she was generous? Was this generosity? Pyrrha wished she was back on the edge; it felt safer than wherever she was now. "And let me offer verbal confirmation. I packed heavily before I departed from Hyrule, and none of my belongings are of the state of useless. They could be yours, but only if you prove to me you are worth using them."

"Then I wanna try!"

There wasn't enough time to register, let alone stop, the speaker from jumping into the ring.

Pyrrha eyes fell onto Penny, hands on her hips and grinning like a mad woman. She likely was.

"Hmm," Impa spoke simply, re-crossing her arms as she stared down at Penny. There was still half the length of the arena between them, but even still it looked like the older woman was looking down her nose at the girl. "You came here from Atlas, if Link's memories are true. You have no team with you currently and functioned in an unspecified role to Ironwood. You must have some skill for a General to give credit to you, but I assume that also means you are challenging me without a team."

It was amazing how the woman's simple summation of Penny was able to so radically alter the girl's motivation. Pyrrha could have counted the seconds in which Penny's smile fell, settling at the nervous grin she usually saw on Jaune's features. That was nerve racking in its own right.

"Um… yeah, but… I'm pretty sure I can at least reduce your aura levels to zero point six repeating. I mean, it'll be tough, but I'm combat ready and ready to go!" Now the opposite. Her words seemed to inspire her in turn. Perhaps that was why Ironwood took an interest in her. That, and her unfathomable abilities to pilot airships and hunt Grimm, not to mention her ridiculous strength.

"Very well," Impa responded. "But perhaps Glynda should be allowed to finish speaking the parameters of our compromise." Her red eyes turned to Ms. Goodwitch, as did Penny's own. Actually, everyone's did, including Pyrrha's. Said instructor was still typing away on her scroll.

"To prevent excessive challenging and to maintain the core purpose of this class, to train, challengers are not permitted to undergo an Instructor Duel, as these fights shall henceforth be known as, for three weeks' time following their latest attempt." That was definitely read off of a document of some kind. Not even Ms. Goodwitch talked like that.

But three weeks? That was a lot by any measure. Nearly an entire month of just… training. It made sense to Pyrrha at least. Training for most tournaments took almost entire years. But for everyone else who hadn't participated in matches since they were able to talk…

"Ooooh, so I gotta be really sure before I face you, huh?" Penny bobbed her head with jubilance as she spoke. It… didn't seem to bother her. "Well, according to Beacon's academic calendar, that just means I'll be able to challenge you again before the semester's done!" She actually jumped with the words. Impa, for whatever reason, seemed impressed.

"Good," she spoke with a nod, her eyes turning from the young girl to Ms. Goodwitch. "May I ask you oversee the match, Glynda?" Impa sounded polite at least.

"Of course," was the return. "But please offer me at least one day's notice before subsequent examinations. I'll be collecting any newer requests, but when this is officially handed over to you…" Ms. Goodwitch didn't even wait for a reply or finish her words before turning on her heel and walked to the arena's outer limits. Her heels echoed in the void of noise, and it was only when Pyrrha heard them that she realized how quiet it had gotten again.

Pyrrha made an observation. Walking into the room, she felt on edge. Watching Impa, Link's newly revealed friend of a past life, prepare to fight Penny, a girl that Ruby and Blake had described as super-human, was something else entirely. It wasn't a cliff she was teetering over, it was the Gorge of the World.

She gripped Jaune's hand to keep herself steady. He grabbed back just as hard. It was a comfort she took advantage of.

Attention was shifted as the familiar screens lit the arena's rooftop, displaying names and aura levels for each of them. Impa's was above Penny's, but both were full and matched with a picture of their counterpart. Down on the floor, the two were preparing.

Penny was leaning from side-to-side, performing bicycle stretches with outstretched arms. Her mouth was moving as if counting and lips stuck in an upward grin. If she wasn't ready, she was at least excited enough to fake it. Impa was… entirely different.

She had opted to kneel on the floor, hands on her knees and head slightly bowed forwards. Her eyes were shut and, assumingly, breathing even. Pyrrha recognized the pose as one of deep meditation. A few competitors in the past had adopted the pose between matches, and usually were all the calmer during their bouts for it. Personally, she preferred to be active, but it was not her place to judge.

"Fighters prepare," came Glynda's words.

Penny jumped to action, leaping backwards and bending her knees as she landed back on the arena floor. A murmur swept through the crowd as floating blades extended and fanned out behind her, hanging in the air effortlessly. That left a few questions to be answered, but definitely for another time.

Impa, however, hardly moved. Instead she merely nodded towards Ms. Goodwitch before adopting her pose once more. The murmur swept over the crowd and cascaded once more. Pyrrha didn't join them. She knew, maybe by instinct, maybe by intuition, that whatever Impa was going to do, it was going to be powerful.

"Begin."

Pyrrha clenched her hands as the fight began. She heard a dull 'ow' beside her.

Penny was moving first, quickly too. Two of her green swords shot to the sides of the arena, imbedding themselves in the far walls. Her fingers were dancing above her, twisting and bending the other swords that floated behind her. They each twisted and locked their ends to one another in sets of two, making for two very large and likely very sharp shuriken blades.

The Atlas girl grabbed them into each of her hands, leaning back for a moment as she did so. She was vulnerable, of course, but the sheer distance between her and Impa made the risk of being attacked minimal. But the idea of Penny throwing the blades from just a distance made it too telegraphed. That, Pyrrha realized, was the purpose of the blades on the sides of the arena.

Some unseen force, likely strings or magnets, pulled at Penny. Like a slingshot, she was thrown forwards at high speeds, the wall-embedded blades the fulcrum point. Whatever linked her to them, it practically threw her forwards. With that speed, with that dexterity, she chose that moment to throw the shurikens.

Some bullets were slower than those two blades, spinning through the air towards Impa. If one of them hit, it was very likely that it would reduce the new professor's aura levels to the required threshold. But then… that required one of them hitting, something that Impa quickly proved was unlikely.

In a flash, a literal one at that, the kneeling warrior was several meters forward, blade drawn, and just beyond the striking distance of the shurikens. It happened so fast that Pyrrha wasn't sure if Impa had moved through sheer speed or a semblance of some kind. But what she was sure of was the blade in her hand, double-wielded.

It appeared that the scabbard on her back wasn't merely for show, as the blade looked as long and wide as the holster it sat in. Except now, she could see the metal that it was made of, polished to a point where it could be mistaken for a mirror. Single edged, appropriately, and with a hilt that made slipping nigh impossible. It was far more imposing outside of its sheath then in.

That fact was compounded when the shurikens Impa had deftly dodged exploded into eight separate parts behind her. What kind of delayed reaction was that? A big one, if Penny's sudden expression of shock was any clue.

But it didn't appear she had time to recover, not that Impa was offering any.

The woman had leapt forward, expelling a single cry of effort on her part as she did so. The massive blade she held didn't look to slow her a bit, not with the speed she was moving at. Said blade fell just in front of Penny, enough room for the girl to make a startled lurch back. The tiling and floor shattered at the impact, creating a dull boom that shook the arena. Impa, however, wasn't done.

In a display that spoke of talent and honed-skill, she kicked the blade forwards, only then to ride on it. Pyrrha couldn't think of a metaphor. She could, however, see the shock on Penny's face as Impa approached faster than she anticipated. Not fast enough, though.

The Atlesian girl's training showed as she back-flipped and rolled away from Impa, dodging the blade that was quickly slowed by the mass of concrete and steel that used to be the floor. She ended her flight with the recalling of her blades, returning to her back. Impa recovered as well, kicking her blade once more, forcing it high enough into the air to settle back into its sheath, perfectly. Then they were back to square one, the only difference being the significant damage to the arena.

Pyrrha didn't breathe for fear she would break the tension. More than once she thought one of the two competitors was going to get impaled. Once with Impa then twice with Penny. She may have started the fight with her hands in death grips, but now she could feel Jaune grasping at hers with as much force. She wondered how many others in the crowd were the same way.

When the battle began again, it was in earnest.

It was Impa who moved first. Pyrrha blinked for a moment, and in that span of time, Impa had gone from a respectable distance from Penny to clashing blades with the younger girl. That was a generous way to describe Impa's behemoth of a sword slicing through and destroying any semblance of a guard Penny's floating blades made.

The Atlas girl immediately sensed the futility, Pyrrha could tell. It became obvious, when she retracted her floating blades, doing her utmost to dodge the strikes altogether. Even that proved difficult. The weight of the blade made every impact into the ground a rumbling blow, strengthened by Impa's tendency to swing downward with it. It made Penny's footing unstable, allowing the older woman to land swinging fists and kicks instead.

It was a simple strategy, but clearly an effective one. One weapon so massive and swung so quickly that avoidance was the only method of counter, but using quick arms and legs to deliver swifter blows to follow. It was working, as Pyrrha could easily see Penny's aura levels depleting with every strike. Impa, on the other hand, remained untouched.

Another quick battle cry from Impa, another swing of her massive blade. It led to another quick jump from Penny, which was matched with a decisive kick from Impa, leaping onto her ground-embedded sword. Pyrrha didn't know if it was more impressive that Impa was defeating a girl General Ironwood treated like a personal protégé so viciously or that she was so easily swinging a blade that was likely designed more for defense than attack.

Penny, however, seemed to garner an idea. In the midst of another blow, her swords flew out to the far side of the arena. They hit the wall and pulled her away swiftly, just avoiding another swing of the sword. She flew, but as she did, she sent her green blades into the walls around her. It was clear she was making a trap, but Pyrrha didn't see what it would do.

Impa must have seen the same, because she didn't chase the younger girl. Instead, she adopted a crouch just outside the perimeter of the blades. One hand was on the hilt of her sheathed sword, the other held in front of her like a guard. Likely, with the heavy metal vambraces she wore.

Pyrrha risked a look at the screen above the Arena, noting again how Impa had lost not even a single percentage of her aura, but Penny had lost a good sixth. It wasn't much, but even a slow victory was superior to a quick one if not a blow was landed. That was why she carried a buckler instead of a second blade.

Her attention was drawn back to the arena as Penny began to do something new with her blades. Six of them, the other four held in the walls, began to spin in front of her. Their tips were aimed at Impa, and they were making an illusionary cylinder with their speed. Their speed must have been a factor of how close they were to her body, or else it would have been easy to fight from afar. Pyrrha stored the information away for a future duel.

Then… a green glow began to form within the blades. It was like active Dust, glowing in a combustible state, but clearly focused through the green tunnel formed by the spinning blades. Blades that Pyrrha couldn't see anymore.

But Impa didn't move. Despite what was clearly going to be a rail-gun of some form, the woman didn't budge from her spot. Instead, she just changed her pose. Her gait widened, lowering her center of gravity. Her free hand joined her first at the top of her blade, twisting the scabbard until both hands were raised over her head. It was the exact position of a downward strike. She was going to challenge the blast. Pyrrha wished she knew the scale of it. From a quick glance towards Ms. Goodwitch, eyes raised off of her scroll, she might too.

Ruby, however, seen from just out of the corner of Pyrrha's eyes, looked mortified. She knew Penny. Did that mean she knew how strong it was? That reaction then… that was not good. Any questions that might have been asked were left aside as the cannon-made-of-swords fired.

Fired was such a loose term.

It looked more like a beam of light then a proper projectile. A sheer green hue jetting towards Impa with great speed. Before Pyrrha could even twist her head, the older woman was encompassed by the blast, the intensity of the light blocking out anything her eyes could see. The vibrations of the blast made it just as impossible to hear. Though, good or ill, she could make it out a few startled cries from the stands. Seeing as no emergency was enacted, the beam hadn't penetrated the arena's shield.

That didn't keep Pyrrha from squeezing Jaune's hand, the best replacement in all of Remnant for biting her lip with worry. The blast was clearly strong, and Impa was in the center of it. The unease was only compounded when she saw the slow dribble of the older woman's aura.

Her aura was, very clearly, decreasing. But it was slow, slower than she would expect of such a colossal blast. The ratio in decreased aura… it appeared more fitting to be done with light jabs and nicked sword strikes. What Penny was doing looked as if it would cut through Bullheads with ease. Yet Impa lost hardly enough of her aura to be seen on the arena's screen. In fact, if her healthy amount of paranoia was working, she may have been the only one to notice.

Still though, down was down. Even if it was only a tenth of her total pool, it meant Penny was doing something. If it kept up… what would that mean? Penny was that good? Impa was an inferior fighter? The question was one to be answered shortly, as Penny's green beam of light did indeed begin to die down.

Like a laser losing its power, the diameter of the beam began to decrease, becoming thinner and thinner with each passing second. It changed from a pillar of deadly green to a column, ending when it was no more than a single thin trail. Penny's swords retracted to her back when the attack finished. That was not where Pyrrha's attention was focused on, however.

Instead, her focus was directed to the blue glyph held in front of Impa.

Her gaze remained attentive, but only long enough to ensure her eyes were playing no tricks. She still saw the same tall woman as before, with an enormous blade on her back, holding an outstretched hand that led to a large and unmarred blue glyph. A glyph that was spinning with runes and figures she couldn't recognize.

Pyrrha turned quickly to Weiss, noticing that she was amongst the last in the group to do so. Every member of Weiss's team had eyes focused on her, the Schnee heiress looking down at the arena with what Pyrrha thought was appalled horror. That was understandable, at least to Pyrrha.

She would feel the same way if a foreign fighter possessed her semblance as well.

"Adequate," Impa's voice shattered the vacuum of noise with the grace of the sword she bared. "But ineffective against a prepared opponent. It would be more suitable from a distance against a foe that is distracted in battle or not yet in one."

She was giving advice? Pyrrha had to remind herself that this, no matter the form, was Link, their new Combat Training Professor.

"Rather than one strong blow, when fighting alone, aim for frequency in strikes. It keeps you moving and prevents your enemy from taking advantage of your openings."

Penny, when Pyrrha looked towards her, didn't appear out of breath. Shocked, without doubt, but not out of breath. Her eyes were wide and her blades were floating behind her, but nothing more than that. Hopefully she was listening… because Impa was giving very good advice.

"Allow me to demonstrate," Impa spoke before clenching her fist. That simple motion made the glyph in front of her change.

The runes began to spin rapidly, twisting with a speed that made them all more circular and losing all their jagged edges. It didn't keep it from appearing as the imposing object that it was. Her duels against Weiss told her of the many utilities and strength behind those runes. It made it all the more terrifying when the single glyph split into ten.

There wasn't time to appreciate the speed at which Impa made them. No sooner were they formed than they were encircling Penny, making a dome around the now trapped girl. Her eyes looked from one to another, trying to find a way out. She must have seen one, as she suddenly started to fly within her captured state, doubtlessly the effort of one of the sword's she had embedded mid-flight. But it was of no use.

The glyphs moved again. Penny slammed into one and bounced back. Her sword pulled itself from the wall, the force of the impact greater than any frictional coefficient it possessed. She tried again in the same manner, but was left with the same result. She only stopped when one sword was left. Pyrrha could guess her thought process.

She was going to attack Impa, distract the one who had built the pseudo-cage of glyphs and cause them to fade, maybe, and thereby free herself. It was as good a plan as she would have come up with. And with Penny's next action, Pyrrha's thoughts were proven true. The four blades outside the glyphs all flew towards Impa.

They all passed by her as she took a single step back.

"Too slow," Impa spoke. Then she opened her fists. Penny was then overtaken by a barrage.

They were too far away and too numerous in number for Pyrrha to tell exactly what they were, but they fired by the dozens from each glyph, shooting with the speed of an exploding dust cartridge. They left no openings, had no time for reloading, and effortlessly tore into Penny.

The Atlas girl surrounded herself with her blades, wisely, spinning them with great effort, equally thoughtful, but it wasn't enough. The number of the projectiles made it impossible for even her ten blades to keep up as for every seven they blocked, maybe one or two got through. When the projectiles were nearing the hundreds, that was far too many.

Pyrrha could see Penny's aura decline, not even slowly anymore. She was dropping quickly and her defeat looked certain. But… wait… were Impa's levels dropping as well? They looked lower than before…

"Stop," Ms. Goodwitch spoke. Like an alarm from a dream, the glyphs ceased their firing and disappeared, the sound of shattering dust all they left behind.

Impa was standing tall in the arena, arms once again crossed in front of her, looking down at the student she had, apparently, effortlessly beaten. Penny looked the exact opposite. Her swords were laying around her, none broken but all far from usable. She was on her knees, one arm grasping at the other and her head downturned. Even then, she didn't look out of breath. But a clear look towards the scoreboard indicated her defeat. Her aura levels were in the red.

"The winner by aura depletion is Impa," Ms. Goodwitch spoke as simply as she ever did, jotting notes on her scroll. The actions matched the cleaning of the scoreboard above the arena. "Ms. Polendina, do you-" She was cut off by Impa's raised hand. That was… curious.

"Please," Impa spoke with the words. Pyrrha guessed that made it polite. "Allow me." Without waiting, she walked forwards the few strides necessary to reach the defeated girl. Penny looked up at her when she was close enough, lips downturned in a frown. Well… it was difficult to grin at defeat. "Are you harmed, Penny?"

"N-No," Penny stuttered on the words, but recovered quickly. "I'm just… not used to losing. Or being surprised. I thought I had a significant enough amount of data to combat any protocols you developed in the battle and-" As she did with Ms. Goodwitch, Impa stopped Penny mid-sentence. This time, with a single digit against the girl's lips.

"Data is useless unless you have a plan to use it," the older woman returned, rising as she spoke. She extended a hands towards Penny as she did so, the younger girl taking it. With a look backwards, her swords dragged themselves across the ground, all fitting together and back into her backpack. "You have the high qualities of a Mage, and your form is foreign enough to make you a contemporary Unknown. But you were overconfident in your abilities. It's as simple as that."

Pyrrha was immensely thankful to hear a wave of confusion float over the arena's crowd. It meant she wasn't alone. It was only compounded when Jaune looked to her, and she could only offer a shake of her head. She loathed doing that.

"Did I miss-speak?" Impa asked, though the direction of her voice told Pyrrha she was still addressing Penny. The Atlas girl must have been confused as well.

"Oh, no, I understand," Penny nodded her head. "But... what I don't understand are those terms. A 'Mage' and 'Unknown'. What are those? The current records and definitions for them don't match the cases in which you applied them." Pyrrha held in her sigh of relief. Asking questions was embarrassing.

"Ah, my apologies," Impa easily returned. Her ease of speech made the awkwardness smaller at least. "I overlooked our differentiating terms. I do not know the equivalent for them, but I suppose I can give a short lecture on the matter. Perhaps your… library of information could find the nearest fit."

Penny nodded at Impa, her grin returning. She was still gripping her arm rather tightly, but Pyrrha was more impressed she wasn't groaning in pain. That onslaught was nothing short of immense. That was a matter for later though, at least while Impa was moving.

She walked towards Ms. Goodwitch, the two having a short and unheard discussion. Their old professor had likely turned off the microphone, preventing the exchange from being heard. She could make out movements, small hand waves, head tilts and nods, but that was it. Then it was over just as quickly. Ms. Goodwitch tapped on her scroll some more, and Impa walked to center stage. Penny had made her way to the sidelines beside the former professor. No need for ceremony.

"In Hyrule," the older woman began, "Knights and Knights-in-training are organized by four specific categories." She held up her hand, lifting a finger with each name she spoke. "The Warriors, the Shadows, the Mages, and the Unknowns." The terms made sense, their application… not so much.

"Warriors are the Knights that stand at the front of the line," Impa continued. "They are both able to take the greatest amount of damage, and deal the most devastating of blows. Their weapons of choice are often simple to understand, but whose accompanying level of skill makes the tool one to be feared." Her hand lifted and tapped on the great blade that sat on her back. Guess it was easy to see where she fell.

"Shadows are Knights that can be either impossible to find, impossible to hit, or a combination of both." She was turning as she spoke, addressing the crowd naturally. Impa must have really been a teacher in Hyrule. "As I'm sure is the same here, not every battle is fought on open ground. Shadows are masters of keeping their movements hidden, sneaking to their foes, and striking with great speed. When they are found in the open, or are trained to fight besides Warriors, they are nigh impossible to hit. Like fighting your own shadow, it is an inevitably losing battle." That made sense to Pyrrha as well. Mostly because, if she was being objective, she would place herself in that category. She was rarely hit during any tournament match.

"Mages are what I'm sure a few of you are," the woman continued. "If I recall Link's memories truthfully, which I am, Dust for you is synonymous to Magic for me. Mages are true masters at the manipulation of it. They can create grand forces of might, impenetrable illusions, or provide a level of support that can carry any group of soldiers to Knights to victory. They are also the ones to fashion grand plans with broad goals." Weiss, that sounded like Weiss. Her glyphs had helped RWBY more times than Pyrrha could count… but Impa used those… what did that mean?

"And finally, the Unknowns." Impa didn't sound… pleased with the word. "Unknowns are not a category you can train to enter. They are the forces that are both the least expected and most gambled on. It could be your presence alone that makes you an Unknown, or even the weapon that you use. They are the most closely guarded secrets, the first line of attack, last line of defense, and the most difficult enemy to face." She took a small breath before she spoke again.

"To place it simply, Unknowns always have the advantage."

Pyrrha was really _really_ upset that she didn't have a notebook with her. Thankfully, judging by the way Ruby was leaning towards Tael, the dark fairy almost forgotten, he knew everything that Impa was talking about. She'd have to ask for a recap later, if he was open to it.

"Impa," Ms. Goodwitch, of all people, spoke up. "Can you perhaps clarify, are you stuck to one of these categories once entered?" The question sounded leading, like a pair of competitors feigning ignorance of one another before a match. Well… they had talked to Ozpin, as both had mentioned several times. Maybe this was part of the lecture.

"No," Impa returned. "If anything, you are encouraged to study the other areas once you master what you are comfortable with. A Mage that can remain as hidden as a Shadow is a deadly foe. A Warrior who can double their strength with the abilities of a Mage is a threat to all forms of monsters. And a Shadow who can face hordes of enemies even if discovered is an asset that cannot be overestimated."

"This is really cool," Jaune whispered beside Pyrrha, suddenly giddy with attention. What a rollercoaster they were on right now. "But I _really_ wish there was a book on this or something. I'm not gonna remember half of it later." Pyrrha had the same fear. Combat was easy to memorize. Lectures were not.

"Oh, I have a question!" Penny shouted from the sidelines. She was jumping with her hand raised. She seemed to have recovered rather quickly from her battle. "Do your titles change with those groups? Like, are you a Captain if you're a strong Warrior? Or maybe a Chemist if you're really good at both Shadow and Mage things?" Her question was oddly phrased, but it was a good question.

"Yes, and excellent question," Impa smiled at Penny. Despite the strength the woman had, her smile was surprisingly gentle, at least from decameters away. "Your position in Hyrule, once you were a fully recognized Knight, varied by your strengths. Your capabilities in these areas was listed by your title. The higher level of mastery you held, and the number of areas you had mastered, led to grander titles."

So it was like a ranking system. Identifying the best not by name, but rank. It was interesting, but odd. It wasn't Pyrrha's place to judge a different culture though. It must have worked if it made Hunters like Link and Impa.

"What are some examples?" Ms. Goodwitch spoke now. That sounded off script, if they were on one. Pyrrha shouldn't presume, though, as Impa appeared to have no problem relating them.

"I can list two for you," she started. "Two terms you, personally, have heard before." This was interesting. "A Witch, or Warlock, is a Mage who is unparalleled with their magical abilities. It is a term used to note a dangerous enemy, or a powerful ally." Okay, that made some sense. Witches in most fairy tales she heard were… old and decrepit, but they usually did something bad when threatened.

"Another example is a General. Generals are scarce throughout Hyrule, made through mastery of the Warrior before pursuing the paths of the Shadow and the Mage." So order counted, too? "In any time, of peace or war, Generals are leaders just beneath the monarchy, leading troops of soldiers and Knights alike. On the battlefield, they are one of the most singular difficult enemies you may ever face, for they carry the strength of their army and their plans to succeed."

Generals… Impa called herself a General. A master of the Warrior, the Shadow, and the Mage. And Penny had challenged her? It was hard to grasp it all, the weight of it being grand, but against everything Link had done from brief past to present it was hardly unlikely.

"Interesting," Ms. Goodwitch simply noted, somehow. "Though I suppose there must be a few questions for you from the stands. If anything is to raise curiosities, it was that lecture." Ms. Goodwitch was far from wrong.

For just as many hands were raised, there was a voice that was already yelling their question. Pyrrha had her own hands over her ears and mouth shut tight. She didn't like crowds for this reason alone. Too much noise and no order to it. That was why she was once more thankful to have Ms. Goodwitch in the room.

"Be quiet and sit down or else no questions shall be answered." The simple words had the results one would expect when spoken by Professor Goodwitch. The hands slowly lowered, questions falling with groans, but all eventually tapering out until only a murky silence remained. "Good. Now, I appreciate that you are all eager to learn, but only a few questions shall be answered, with preference to time."

Oh, Pyrrha had almost forgotten. This was a class, not a tournament match. They had to go to Dr. Oobleck's faunus studies after this… that was going to be an interesting transition. Her musings were lowered as Ms. Goodwitch pointed into the crowd.

"Ah, could you give us a list of all those titles?" Another student Pyrrha didn't recognize asked. They wore a Haven uniform though. "That sounds really awesome, a-and I mean, it'd be pretty cool to know what my title is, or is gonna be."

"I can make a draft following your class. I am sure Glynda will help me distribute it." Impa finished with a look toward said teacher. The simple nod was answer enough. Pyrrha, admittedly, was excited to see it too. "Next," Ms. Goodwitch spoke with a point of her hand.

"So like, what are you?" Of all students, Cardin, spoke up. Pyrrha had no love for his voice, actions, or motives. "Link kept calling himself a Hylian. What's that make you?"

"A Shiekah," Impa returned with a neutral tone. "Guardians to Hyrule's monarchy. We can speak later of _what_ I am." Well, that sounded sharp. Thankfully, too, if Pyrrha could speak her mind.

"Last question, then we'll continue with class," Ms. Goodwitch spoke up once more. Her hand, horrifying or not, pointed to their general area. That was when Yang stood up. She looked… happy.

"Kay, Impa, Ms. Impa?" Her face screwed in confusion, the question obvious.

"Impa," said woman replied. "I have no family name. Continue," She gestured past what would normally be a rather bold declaration. It was actually pretty tame next to everything else.

"Sweet! Okay, bear with me, but I just gotta nagging question in my head." Every member of the blonde's team looked ready to jump up and grab their most active member. "I get that you're… not all here anymore, like Elrora and Mikau, right?" Impa's nod was stiff as stone. "Kay, but _before_ whatever happened did happen, who would win in a fight, you or Link?"

For not the first time, Pyrrha was having difficulty deciding who the older sibling between Yang and Ruby was. The mirthful chuckling of the crowd didn't help, complete with more than a few dozen faces burying themselves into their hands. Impa in the arena center, brow raised in confusion, didn't help.

"Link and I dueled many times." All sound was drowned out as she began speaking. "The first time was the moment he stepped into the Hyrule Barracks, asking to gain admittance to the Knights of Hyrule. By name he requested me and asked that he prove his worth as a Knight." That was sounding surprisingly similar…

"But he kicked your butt, right?" Yang couldn't stop grinning, at least from where Pyrrha was sitting. "I mean, he had to of. Tatl and Peeping Tom kept saying he was a Knight and all."

"Actually, the duel ended in a tie," Impa responded. Her features were as flat as Ms. Goodwitch's usually were. If nothing else, Pyrrha could leave today knowing that the change in teachers did not have a change in demeanor. "I was forced to allow him entrance, and he proved himself from there."

"But doesn't answer the question," Yang kept pushing, hard. "Like, if you were to fight now, _who_ would win?" Pyrrha was having difficulty seeing the question as anything but idle curiosity, dangerous at that.

Impa grinned at the answer she spoke.

"Link never won a duel against me."

Oh… wow… that left a disturbing number of thoughts to surface in Pyrrha's mind. She even heard a few of them whispered over the crowd, Jaune and Nora included in the list. It was close, for sure, but at the height of skill, split hairs were what determined the winner. And Impa, if she spoke honestly, was literally above Link's level, the Hunter that had killed two Ancient Grimm just a few days ago.

"Before next session, I have assignments for you." Pyrrha almost shook her head in shock. There was almost never work to do for Combat Training, training aside. The whispers of the crowd all too quickly changed to groans, very loud considering the size of the student body in the stands.

"Behave yourselves," Ms. Goodwitch spoke up now. "You are students and Link, and by de-facto Impa, is your professor. Be respectful." That did some work in reducing the whines.

"Thank you, Glynda," Impa returned with a bow. "Now, before the next session, I require each of you to summarize the fight you just saw. That is, describe what Penny did, describe what I did, but most importantly, state why we each took the actions we did." This… oh… oh Pyrrha got this. It would be difficult, but it made sense.

"Interesting. Perhaps you should detail the purpose behind this exercise," Ms. Goodwitch spoke again. Once more, she watched a brief silent exchange between her and Impa. It would be… interesting to see them interact outside of Beacon, but that was a thought she didn't need to pursue.

"Ah, I suppose I can." Impa had her red eyes on Ms. Goodwitch as she spoke. Tension… "As you are all Knights-in-training, I wish to see how you fare in understanding the minds of combatants that are not yourself. Battles are won not through sheer force, but in understanding and correctly guessing your foe's next move. The better you understand your enemy, the easier it is to counter them."

"So she wants us to understand their mindsets," Pyrrha whispered the words, careful to do so quietly. Others were doing the same around her, but she didn't pay any mind to their actual words. She had to focus now.

"Is this like that whole 'two steps ahead' thing I hear a lot about?" Jaune asked beside her. She always did her best to never tune him out. She looked towards him, pleased that she could nod this time in confirmation. He smiled back sardonically in turn. "Great, that just means I gotta understand the minds of an alien general and some super-soldier girl."

She patted his back sympathetically.

"Now then," Impa spoke once more, her voice deeper, more controlling, than it once was. "The purpose of this time is for you to practice. Who would like to duel next?"

* * *

It didn't matter how many times Weiss saw it, it was always the same.

Combat Training had gone on for the full five hours, and not a student she could recall left for more than a quick break. That didn't include the students that were brought to the arena center, where they fought one another as was usual, only now under the watchful eye of their new faunus professor.

When Professor Goodwitch monitored their fights, she was quick in issuing orders to stop, intervening with well-timed use of her semblance. Fighters were separated, a victor was chosen, and then the next duel began. As Impa, Link's friend, observed the fights, she had not intervened with quick shows of force as Weiss had expected.

No… she had used glyphs.

 _Schnee_ Glyphs.

They formed around and between combatants as soon as victory was decided, enduring a few heavy blows and forming at exceedingly well-practiced speeds. Each time the runes formed, Weiss looked desperately for any show that they were some new trick or tool Link had brought with him, a clever device from the faunus kingdom. But just as many times, she was left disappointed.

Impa had formed Glyphs, the signature semblance of the Schnee family, far more than once. She had made multiple versions, made them multiple times, and altered them as they were required. Against Penny alone, Weiss had witnessed them deflect a likely steel-splitting beam, divide into ten counterparts, resist blunt force trauma, and then unleash a wealth of projectiles.

She wasn't the only one who was surprised. The first moment those glyphs formed around the Military girl, her partner and teammates all whipped their heads towards her. Not to mention the members of JNPR. They knew, as she knew, that those glyphs were the unspoken namesake of the Schnee Family.

The other students weren't aware, and it appeared that not even Ms. Goodwitch knew. There were no questions about them, no verbal cries of shock, nothing. Just her own silent thoughts demanding for knowledge on how a faunus from some unknown land had the same power as she did. And, even if she loathed to admit it, using it to equal effectiveness as Winter.

If it was a trick, it was one Weiss was desperate to memorize. She had to learn it so she could improve it. If it wasn't a trick… the implications were unending. Did they share some common ancestor from millennia ago? Was Link not the first to come from this Hyrulian kingdom? Was the power stolen? Weiss was loathe to even think of the last possibility.

But that didn't matter now. Four dozen student fights followed Impa's display of power, overwhelming at that, and class was nearing its end. The last of the combatants, some unimportant member of CRDL and a visiting Haven student, were leaving the arena, leaving Impa and Ms. Goodwitch alone. The former stepped forward, taking the center stage as she had before.

"Students," she spoke the word carefully, as if testing it. Weiss knew she had another term in her mind. "I am pleased with what I have seen today. I will admit I was skeptical of your capabilities, though I now see it was unfair of me to judge you so quickly with so little time."

Weiss hung on every word, as if hoping to hear the secret to how she had used _her_ glyphs. Nothing so far.

"As a reminder before next class, document the every action from my duel with Penny Polendina. Speculate at everymove what each of us was thinking. Today, all of you, who had fought, had done justice to your peers, showing me that you are all capable and likely to be… Hunters in your future."

There was that hesitation again, but she slipped past it easier this time. Still no secrets for her abilities just yet.

"According the schedule Glynda and… Link have devised," Impa's red eyes looked towards the blonde professor as she spoke. Nothing more happened. "Next class will be in two days' time. If you must collaborate on the assignment, do so strictly with your team. Otherwise, I thank you for coming and look forward to seeing you all soon."

She bowed in the arena, deeply at that. It was difficult to see who she was bowing to, when the likely subjects surrounded her completely. But she rose once more, walking out of the arena without another word. That was bad. Weiss needed to talk to her, before she changed back into Link!

The crowd was moving, everyone standing up and move to the exits, but they were too slow! They were just talking to one another, shuffling their feet like they were dead on them. By the time Weiss finally left the Arena, it might be night.

But she would be damned before she demeaned herself by shoving, rough-housing, or jumping over the students. That was an action more befitting an uncouth free-loader, thinking themselves benefitted by attention. She was a Schnee and, no matter how her wants told her to hurry to Impa, she knew the importance of appearance.

"In a hurry?" She heard Yang ask from behind her, leaning in an uncomfortable distance to be understood through the crowd. "Do I get three guesses why?"

"You need three?" She muttered without turning around. The brute knew darn well why she was in a hurry. It was an open secret to anyone who had seen her fight. The chuckling that came from behind her told her the message was heard.

"Right, then what are ya gonna ask her?" Yang asked as she and Weiss moved past another stubborn block of students. The crowd was thinning, majority of them heading for the exit, not the lockers. "Gonna open up with something edgy like 'Did ya steal that from my family' or somethin'?" The only thing that kept Weiss from whirling to the eldest member of their group was the need to continue moving.

"I _want_ to know if that was her semblance at work or if it was some new tool of Link's." She spoke as she walked, her pace quickening in direct relation to the drop in students. "After seeing him perform instant teleportation, Aura sustaining Dust Crystals, and Ward Projections, I need to know if my semblance is something Impa can just… replicate!"

Weiss bit her lip to hide away the grunt of annoyance. It was a rude sound that was unbecoming of a Schnee. Thankfully, the door to the lockers was just ahead. She didn't hesitate in entering it, marching down the stairs. She heard her team following her, not just Yang.

"Hey, I get the sour spot, just try not to piss off the faunus-version of Goodwitch, alright?" Yang's question was questionable in itself. Weiss didn't even need to turn around to know that she was getting looks from Ruby and Blake. "What? Don't tell me you didn't get the feeling. Her eyes are already red with rage."

Weiss let the buxom blonde member of her team defend herself, fruitlessly, as she entered the locker room. It was the same as it ever was, their portable weapon safes lining the room, ready for depositing their weapons, benches to sit on, and showers tucked in the back. Spacious and open, with not a soul in sight.

In other words, no Impa or Link. Weiss bit her lip.

"Oh, do you think she's gone already?" Ruby asked aloud, walking past Weiss, twirling around. It was a poor method for searching the rather open room. "We weren't that slow in getting here, were we? Maybe Link was in a hurry and had to… take her off? And then run." Weiss pocketed the term for later. She was also unaware of how to address Link's transformations.

"Could be, but then we just gotta ask him really nicely to turn back into Impa. Shouldn't be impossible, I mean, seeing as we're gonna be getting lessons from her now." Yang let out the breath of a chuckle. "Still trying to figure out how on board I am for it."

"And what do you need to know to change your mind?" Blake followed up her partner. Probably small payback for the faunus comment. Honestly, even Weiss knew better now.

"Oh you know, just knowing more about the broad." Yang continued. "Like what she likes to drink, what she does for fun, how organized she has to be. I don't wanna learn from someone who has a stick glued up their ass." It was the comment that finally made Weiss shut her eyes in annoyance.

"I prefer tea, meditate when I am able, and treat clutter as I do monsters."

It was the voice that made Weiss shoot her eyes open.

Leaning up against the wall, just besides the stairs, was Impa. Her arms were crossed over her chest, head bent over just enough to tuck her chin and mouth into her brown scarf, and enormous blade still packaged behind her. But the most concerning part of her were her eyes.

They were focused squarely on Weiss.

"Grimm and Dust! How did you do that?!" Ruby let out, jumping backwards with the words. For once, it wasn't an unreasonable reaction. They had checked the room when they entered, and that included the walls immediately following the hallway. Impa was _not_ there before.

"An old Shiekah art," was the response, but nothing more. Her eyes didn't move. "Ruby, where is Tael?" The peeping mini-drone? Weiss had nearly forgotten about it. Where had it gone? Ruby had been coddling it during the whole match, speaking in whispers.

"Oh! He said that he was going to find Tatl," her partner swiftly replied. "I think he was worried about her, but I'm sure she's fine. If anyone can handle Dr. Oobleck's questions, it would be her." Though Ruby grinned with the answer, Weiss had to agree. The golden mini-drone had a forceful enough personality to at least temper the teacher's… energy.

"Thank you for watching over him," Impa spoke again. "He wouldn't have fared well at the attention's center. Now though, was there a question you were hoping to ask me?"

Instead of waiting for a response, she pushed off of the wall, showing her height as she walked the few steps necessary to reach them. She was near Ms. Goodwitch in height, standing above the four of them and looking down with red eyes. Arms crossed and gaze unblinking, it was hard to not think of her as the General she claimed to be.

"Impa," Blake spoke first, extending a hand towards the taller faunus. She was a faunus, as her long ears still indicated. "My name is Blake. It's a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to learning from you in the coming semesters."

"Blake," the taller woman returned, grasping the hand offered to her. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I hope you show promise as the days come. Though don't misunderstand. I'm still here, too." She was still… what?

"Oh, yes, sorry Link," Blake returned, catching before Weiss did. Said girl had to double-take before she got it. Mental self-scolding could wait for later. "It's just… difficult to remember when I'm looking at someone else."

"Do not worry," Impa, hopefully Impa, spoke again. "I try often to avoid the confusion, but it's hard when second meetings are treated as first introductions." Ah, that one Weiss understood. It was similar to when businessmen forgot your name and treated you as a showgirl. Men who were later maimed out of eye-sight and ear-shot.

"So hey," Yang spoke up, her usual comfortable self. "Impa, I've a hundred and one questions to ask you! Buuuut, Weiss here's got a bit more important one, if you don't mind." Weiss had just enough time to look towards Yang before her social queues kicked in.

She walked up to Impa as well, extending her hand towards the faunus. She grasped her hand in turn. The first thing Weiss noted was the strength. It was there, and comparable to Yang's grip. That made sense, especially given the size of the blade she carried. The second were her eyes. They were sharp, but they weren't threatening. More focused than anything else.

"It is a true pleasure to meet you, Impa of the Shiekah." It was how Weiss was taught to speak to all high ranking members of society, foreign or not. Impa was a General, if even former. Elrora, if they were ever properly introduced, would gain the same treatment.

"You as well, Weiss," Impa spoke. Their hands released, and the taller woman almost immediately crossed her arms. "Now, what question is it that you wish to ask me?" Oh, right, that. Weiss nodded her head, a quick breath of air to boot.

"During your match with Penny, I noticed your use of high-density glyphs." Noticed was the lightest term she could have possibly used. "Following your monitoring of other matches, you were able to use them in a very controlled and fluid manner. That is something… extraordinary."

"Decades of practice, I assure," Impa returned first, nodding her head without breaking eye-contact. "Although I refer to them as runes, they are very useful for filling the gaps that I cannot reach physically." Weiss understood what she meant, but that wasn't her question.

"But, are those your semblance?" Weiss asked, hoping the question was not too blunt, twice hoping that Link's memories told her what a semblance was. "Is that… the power you use from your soul?"

"Of course." The answer was so simple and quick, Weiss felt as if a wave of relief had crashed into her, rather than washed over her. "We Sheikah are trained to use the power within ourselves since the time we are able to walk. It is as rigorously trained as the weapons we wield or the secrecy we keep." Glyphs, weapons, and secrets… Weiss memorized them. But there was still more to ask.

"Impa, without meaning to pry," she began carefully. "You may or may not be aware that Glyphs are also my semblance. I am still practicing, but they are the pillar that I base my huntress abilities on." The faunus didn't say anything, only keeping a neutral level of eye-contact. "My semblance is rare, in that it is hereditary. That means-"

"It's shared amongst your family. Like the color of your eyes or preference to food." Impa interrupted. Weiss bit her lip.

A pregnant pause filled the locker room, broken only by Ruby's fidgeting with her cape. No one else dared move, probably thankfully. Weiss felt like she was being judged for her capabilities again. She hoped she was good enough.

"If I may guess," Impa spoke again. "You are suspect to the idea that we, Impa and yourself, are related in blood down some line." That was one question, yes. And with the possibility of the glyphs being the product of some Dust artifact far removed, it was the largest question in her mind. "Would the idea disturb you?"

That question caught her off guard.

"Wha-no!" Weiss quickly defended, perhaps too desperately. "I-I just want to understand! It's been taught to me since I began my Huntress training that Glyphs are a unique semblance to the Schnees. To see you use them, I just… need to know."

She sounded desperate with her words, and Weiss hated it. Desperation was a sign of weakness, and it was something Winter and her father had taken much time in pushing out of her. Her eyes shut tightly for a moment, doing her best to sort her thoughts out. It wasn't even a moment after she did so she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Weiss was about to tell Ruby she was alright, but stopped a moment before she did. Ruby was strong, but this hand was undoubtedly stronger. She looked up as she opened her eyes.

"Peace, I meant no insinuation by the words," Impa calmed her. "A common ancestor between us is most likely, but knowing the distance between my kingdom and yours, in distance and knowledge, I would dare to say many if not all of us share such a thing."

Well… that was true, Weiss supposed. Trace enough lines back far enough and it seemed plausible that all relations joined together. But for two different lines to carry the trait, what would have had to been eons worth of generations ago. The chances were simply astounding.

"Would you want me to train you on their use?" Impa spoke again. Weiss continued to look at her mutely. "They are difficult to master, each one dependent on the situation at hand. But I have instructed others on their use before, and I am sure I can lend you that same support." There were two parts of that sentence that Weiss found her mind focused on. She began with the latter.

"Others?" She spoke the word as a question. "What others? I thought it was a hereditary skill?" Didn't they agree on that?

"Indeed," Impa did agree. "And the few I taught were of my blood. It is that simple, sometimes." Oh, yes, of course. Weiss would admit she did react a bit too hastily on that one. Her nerves were being frayed with the amount of information she was dealing with.

"Oh, I have a question," Ruby spoke up. Weiss would have to thank her later. "Who were those others you taught? Younger brothers? Sisters?"

"A niece and nephew, actually," Impa replied easily. "My sister's children. They were born decades apart, but both loved to wander."

…Decades?

"Uh, I'm not judging, but that's kinda a long time," Yang spoke up now. Weiss had no need to thank her. "Did you mean _a_ decade? Or like one was in their teens when the other was born?"

"My nephew was well into his 70th winter when Impaz was born to the world." Weiss must have heard those numbers wrong. There was no other reason. "Shiekah are long lived, and secretive for it. Only one of the clan is ever known to the world. You are looking at said member."

Weiss's blink was slow and deliberate, hoping to clear her ears as well as wipe her eyes. Something was just… not right. There was simply no way she was hearing the correct numbers from Impa.

"Remarkable." Weiss had no surprise that Blake was hanging on every word, with belief. "That is… unheard of. I thought faunus and humans lived for the same amount of time."

"Your former instructor and headmaster had just as much disbelief, but I assure it is true," Impa spoke with a grin. Weiss could just see it over the scarf. "Upon my death, I was nearing my eight hundredth year. I am aware it is old, but I was hardly an elder by the accounts of other Shiekah."

Eight hundred years. Those were three digits. Weiss counted them in their head, ran math with them just to put into perspective the magnitude of it. She had lived well over forty times the length of Weiss's current age. She was alive for nearly eight generations of humans. She had likely seen more wars, battles, and students than anyone else alive. Her claims from the class suddenly seemed so valid now.

And this woman was offering to train her, with her glyphs. Weiss could not ignore that. Not her sister or father. But this woman, a faunus General of unexplainable age. She knew, this was what people referred to as once-in-a-lifetime.

"Impa," She spoke the Shiekah's name again. "I would be grateful… very grateful, for you to teach me how to use my glyphs properly."

The faunus smiled down at her.

"Excellent." Impa patted Weiss's shoulder with her hand before releasing it. "Finish the task I gave your class, then we may discuss how to proceed. It will require many hours from you, but I am confident that you already expect nothing less." The spoken opinion made Weiss smile, broadly at that.

"Of course," she spoke with a nod. "I'll be sure to turn it in promptly and ensure my teammates do the same."

"Hey, Weiss, we got ours, no need for you to look over our shoulders again." Yang's comment was made inopportunely, as always. Weiss was having none of that now.

"You didn't even read a page in Professor Port's last lecture, slept through his quiz, then asked me and Blake what the difference was between a Grammite and King Taiju." Weiss pointed her finger at the blonde, who only grinned at her in response. She was insufferable, honestly.

"That stuff was boring as watching rocks, though," Yang countered, poorly in Weiss's unbiased opinion. "This new stuff is all about how to fight better and quicker. How can I not wanna do that?"

"Because you're probably just going to say something nonsensical like 'hit harder', 'hit even harder', or 'fake a hit then hit your hardest'!" From how she had seen Yang fight before, it was an entirely plausible answer the Blonde would give.

"But would I be wrong?" Points for Weiss.

"Don't worry Weiss, we got this!" Ruby spoke up. Her hands on Weiss's shoulder were much softer in comparisons to Impa's, but still strong as stone. "We'll write reports that'll give us extra credit and show Link that we really know how to think on our feet!" If only her energy was as contagious as her optimism.

"Then perhaps we should attend our next class," Weiss answered. "We can prepare our schedules for the report when we are done." Skipping class was not an option. It was even less than that when a professor was standing not but a foot from them.

Weiss had to remind herself she was calling Link, the faunus she had called a student a few days before, her professor. Well… his current friend at least.

"An excellent idea, Weiss," Impa spoke once more. Weiss would have to ask her what she preferred to be called. Professor perhaps, or General. "Your academics are as important as your physical training. Pay equal mind to each, and you will be a force on and off the field of battle."

For all the remarks for her being an Ice Queen, Weiss felt like her blood was on fire. Maybe this was how Ruby always felt.

"Then we best be off," she spoke to her team leader. "We can't afford to be late for Dr. Oobleck's lessons."

"You girls go on ahead," Blake spoke almost immediately after. "I'll catch up. I just need to ask… Link a quick question." That made Weiss pause, but only for a moment.

They were both faunus, and Blake likely had to ask him about how it felt. It wasn't her place to intrude on her teammate's privacy, not right now anyways.

"Alright, but you'd better be quick Blake," Ruby answered for three, in a jokingly strict tone. Of course. "We'll be sure to take notes for you in class." Weiss rolled her eyes at the comment. She was the only one who took notes in class. She supposed that made Ruby's comment valid, in an annoyingly twisted sort of way.

"We'll see you soon then," Weiss offered as well, nodding towards her darker counterpart. She put her eyes to Impa just afterwards. "And Impa, thank you once more." She curtsied towards her new professor, who nodded towards her once more with that small grin. She was tough to place it on either Impa for Link. That was just another question for another day.

Weiss led the sisters of her team out the door, Yang waving to her partner as they left.

* * *

Blake watched her team go, thankful once more that they understood her. Well enough at least. It left her alone with Link. Or, currently, Impa.

"What did you wish to ask me?" Impa asked her as the doors shut. Her arms were crossed again, looking at Blake with the stern expression she had held near the entire class. It wasn't cruel or mean. Simply… attentive. But that didn't mean she had to be warry. Link was a friend, a fellow faunus at that.

"It was about the test you set up," Blake spoke honestly. "I'm sure the others are just as curious but Weiss was… preoccupied with your abilities."

"I commend her for focusing on what she can measure over what she can only speculate," Impa returned. Blake agreed. It was why she didn't try and distract Weiss. That, and she knew the futility in trying to change the heiress's mind. "What did you want to know? Was there a rule Glynda and I were not clear on?"

"No, it all makes sense." And it did, even the incentive portion, though she could worry on that later. "It was about the… opponents we could choose. How they were you and your friends. Did that mean… all of them?" She hoped she was clear about her statement.

Impa's short silence made her worry though. The locker room filled momentarily with only the humming of the pods around them, ready to launch at a command's notice. Blake was patient. It was her question.

"You don't want you or your team to take advantage of me," Impa finally spoke. "More than that, you are concerned about requesting to fight Saria." Blake was bitterly sweet to note that Impa was very well versed in reading others on and off the field. A General, as she had described, indeed. "You need not be. None of Link's… my friends aren't weak. They are strong in ways Hyrule taught them to be. As I can chose the battlefield, if you so choose the foe, I'll always pick the ground that I have advantage on."

"But… how will she fight?" There wasn't much point in talking around the obvious, not when they both knew what they were talking about. "Even if Saria is a sage, fighting her will be like fighting a child. She's small, very likely weak to physical blows, and Yang is very strong. I wouldn't want-"

Her voice was cut off, by herself, as she felt Impa place her hand on Blake's head. It was where Link had placed it before, squarely between her feline ears. Blake blinked at the tall Shiekah, who was smiling down on her.

"Your concern is appreciated, but I assure you it is unneeded." Impa spoke simply. "You are assuming too much of a person you do not know. You cannot plan for an opponent without first knowing. There is an idea you have, but that is all it is. Speak with your team and tell them what you know. It is the first step to gathering new information."

She wanted her to tell them? Impa… Link wanted her to tell her teammates about Saria? Why? Blake was so sure that she was his friend for comfort, the one that was a friend off the field of battle, before he was a hero. Why would he want to open that up? If Weiss or Yang found out… if they wanted to fight Saria… everyone else would to. Wouldn't that be horrible?

"It would be no worse than fighting them as Mikau or myself." The words shocked Blake, her golden eyes blinking in confusion. Did… Impa read her mind. "No, I did not read your mind." Blake wasn't so sure. "You are just easy to read." That wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"To explain, you hide your true ears from your team and strangers alike," Impa began, lifting her hand from Blake's head. "Though I have spoken with you almost more than Ruby, you speak little to nothing about yourself. That means you know the strength of secrets. But you also value your friends, likely because they have proven themselves as that to you."

It was becoming increasingly impossible for Impa to not have some form of mental reading ability. Call it mind reading or not, this was… far beyond just reading someone.

"You value the secrets of your friends, and knowing that you may be a reason why those secrets would come out terrifies you," Impa did not stop. "So I am here to say that I do not mind if you tell your trusted friends about my own. Thus, I relieve you of your guilt." It took far longer than usual for the faunus in hiding to make a response.

"How…" Blake started, but shook her head lightly. "That was all from just watching me? Was that you or Link?"

"Both," Impa admitted. "Link's memories and then a combination of our skills. I've taught countless knights and soldiers, knowing where to focus their strengths. Link has fought countless monsters and enemies, studying them just as well." Pieces were falling into place, and Blake knew just the term to use.

"That's the Shadow, right?" Blake ventured a guess from the lesson Impa had spoken of hours ago. "One of those Knight groups. The ones who aren't seen."

"They are also the ones who hide in plain sight, but yes." Impa was grinning with small nods of her head. "I'm impressed you remembered. I had the distinct feeling that the majority of the trainees glossed over those words as mad ramblings." She seemed oddly fine with those words. Glynda had probably told her that was normal, or Link. Ruby was right, it was mildly confusing.

"Then, what would the Shadow do next?" Blake ventured further. "Collect information then share? Make their own plan?"

"Either, in honesty," Impa answered. "It depends on who their leader is and how quickly the plan needs to be made. In the heat of battle, they are the ones who tell of any areas to exploit. In preparation, they often make the best scouts." Blake nodded her head with the words. That all made sense. It made even more sense when put next to the Warrior and… Mage? Yes, Mage. But what about the Mage?

"Then what would the Mage do?" Blake spoke, intent on memorizing the answer. "If a Shadow collects the information, I'm guessing a Warrior is the distraction. But what does the Mage do?"

"Often? They are the ones who make the plans," Impa shifted her shoulders as she spoke. "They focus more on the information they have gathered and how they fit together. A skilled Shadow may be able to do so, but their focus is more intently on staying alive and missing nothing. A Mage is usually protected enough to put the worry beneath those of plan buildings." Blake could see it now.

The Warrior drawing out the enemy, the Shadow remaining just far enough away to help out and memorize the information from different angles, and the Mage organize an offense or defense. In a small squad, it made perfect sense.

But what was slightly more surprising was the other connection she made.

"I'm the Shadow of RWBY," she spoke aloud, more to herself. "Yang is our Warrior and Weiss our Mage." And Weiss was the smart one, always making new plans. She even wanted to be leader. Yang actually got stronger the more she was hit, the Warrior through and through. But what about Ruby?

"What do you think that makes Ruby?" Impa continued Blake's thought aloud. "Is she the Warrior with her scythe that so cleanly slices through foes? Is she the Shadow, running and moving at speeds the wind chases? Or is she the Mage, making plans and listening to all around her?" Blake didn't know.

It sounded like Ruby was all three. She wasn't trusted enough to lead any attacks or make plans on her own, and she was far too loud to do real recon, yet, but she had traits that made her valuable in the areas regardless. So what did that make her? Blake didn't know.

"And that's the answer." What?

"What?" Blake spoke her own thought aloud this time. She was greeted only with Impa's grin.

"You can't tell what Ruby is, even after being on her team for what I assume is enough time." Impa's smile didn't fall even as she spoke. "So if you cannot predict her, how can any enemy you face?" They couldn't. Maybe her abilities in the broad sense, but Ruby was as unpredictable as the White Fang right now. Ruby was an Unknown.

Blake's eyes lit.

"There it is," Impa appeared to congratulate. "I'm glad you see it, too. How about I offer you a small reward for the discovery, a small piece knowledge?" Blake's eyes must have been telling. "You are the Shadow, so you may consider this gathering information."

She swallowed on nothing, not used to being trusted like this. It was… euphoric, almost the same as how Ruby had spoken to her before. And Yang. And, eventually, Weiss. She was right, Link was a friend, Impa by extension.

"But I warn you, you may consider this my own test for your judgement as a Shadow. The information I tell you is yours to keep or share, but action or inaction has consequences. Do you still wish to know?" Blake nodded slowly at first, but ended with a sure shake. "Very good," Impa spoke, then slowly leaned closer.

She stopped when their faces were finger's distance from one another, Impa's red eyes bearing into Blake's golden ones. They were still just as sharp and focused, but now, Blake could see the compassion that lay beneath. Impa wasn't soft, but she was far from cold.

"Despite Weiss's thoughts, my runes are not my soul's true ability." Blake felt her jaw crack open, if just a little. But then how? "They are a power made from my soul, but they are not the core of who I am. In your terms, they are not my Semblance. Good luck, Blake."

Impa stood to her tallest again and began to walk around the younger faunus. Her hand touched on the girl's shoulders, comforting, there, but gone just as quickly. Blake heard her walk out of the room, not changing back to Link, not doing anything even as the doors opened and shut to the lockers. But Blake didn't move.

Blake had no idea what she was going to do.

* * *

"So are we gonna fight him?" Russel spoke up first in the group. Wasn't that weird, not after getting beaten down, again. Cardin would gut himself before he said it was expected, losing that is. "You think the four of us could take him?"

"Which him?" Dove asked next. He was loading cartridges into his Gun-blade, rotating the cylinder with each one. "Link? Mikau? Or are we talking about the fairer gender?"

"Whichever you want. Him, her, it, are we gonna fight them?" Russel beat his hands over his knees as he spoke. Just his nerves. Cardin had known that was normal of Russel for a long time.

"I say we ask to fight that Fish Boy," Sky spoke up. He was running his hand his axe as he spoke. "Scales can't be that tough, and no way can he take a blow from you, Cardin." He wasn't wrong, but that wasn't what was getting underneath Cardin's skin.

What he couldn't stand, what was annoying him to no end, was how the faunus brat that had beaten them all at his first day at Beacon had turned around and was now teaching them. It was like watching some newbie to wrestling stepping into the ring and pinning him round one. He would have screamed if he were alone.

But they weren't. Class was over, Oobleck's class was useless, so his team were lying out in the sun, staring up at the sky. He was at least, the others could do whatever they wanted.

"I wanna fight Link," Cardin admitted, head nodding to assure himself. "I wanna fight him and beat him until he's just a pulp on the ground." The thought was cathartic.

"Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Russel agreed, slapping at Cardin's shoulder as he did so. Didn't even make him budge. "All we gotta do is challenge him during next class and take them down! It'll be easier than getting that bunny girl to cry."

"Do you mean Velvet Scarlatina?" That wasn't any of his teammates.

Cardin whirled on the ground, spinning until he was kneeling. When he was, he was looking up at that faunus with too many friends. She had her arms crossed, looking down at them with some snide expression she didn't deserve to wear. When did she even get here?

"I was informed that you had class following Combat Training. Why are you not there?" Her voice was neutral, but Cardin was smart. He could tell she was scared, shaking with her words. She must have accidently found them. Her mistake.

"We're making up a plan," he told her, knowing that the fear would get to her. "We're thinking of the best way to take you down a few pegs. No class around here is gonna help with that. So long as we beat you, that's all that matters anymore."

"Hmm…" Answered simply. Coward. "Interesting. And how do you propose this will happen?" Oh, that was easy.

"We're going to challenge you next class period," Cardin declared boldly to the woman. He snarled for good measure. She didn't flinch. "We're going to fight you, beat you to the ground, and show you that Beacon isn't a place for brats like you!"

"A brat?" The woman returned, arms remaining crossed. "I'm older than the four of you combined and I'm the brat? Better than that, you're childishly declaring victory before a battle, yet I am the lesser one?" Who did this chick think she was?

"Heck yeah you faunus pansy," Russel cut in. Good on him. "You fought us with cheap tricks before and probably threatened your way into Beacon like some White Fang spy! You're less than dirt!"

That must have been a good one, because the Impa chick wasn't talking. She was just trying to look intimidating with those red eyes, just like a Grimm. She even raised her hand to steady her head, gripping her chin. Bet it was about to fall off. No, even Cardin knew that was stupid.

"Tell me, who is the leader of your squad?" She finally asked. What was that? "I have a guess, but I want to be sure." Well she'd get her answer.

"That'd be me." Cardin spoke up, putting his thumb to his chest. "Cardin Winchester, Leader of Team CRDL." Damn, that always felt good say. The smirk told everything else she needed to know.

"I was correct then," the arrogant chick spoke on. She was damn lucky she was a staff member now, or else they would have beaten her into the ground, hands tied behind their back. "Tell me then, with reason, how you would beat me?"

"You? No, we're gonna challenge the _real_ you," Cardin emphasized as he pointed at her. "We're gonna challenge the dumb punk that thinks too highly of himself, uses tricks to win, and can't even speak right!"

"Then please," Impa spoke again. "Indulge me. How would you accomplish this?" Cardin sneered with grit teeth.

"We'll surround you so that stupid boomerang of yours can't work!" He started, loving step one. "Then we'll hit you from every angle you can't see, dogpile you, but keep one of us back so that he can hit you right back into us when you try and escape." Yeah, just like that.

"Even a dog would know how to escape such a simple threat." What? Why this stupid- "I was hoping that strategy was your strength, because your coordination was so lacking, but I am left disappointed." Who did this-! "If all you have to threaten me are your words and empty plans, then I wonder why _you_ are here."

That did it.

He didn't care anymore. Cardin didn't care if he was going to get expelled. He didn't care if his dad would disown him. He didn't care if he was going to get to be the gossip of Beacon all over again. He was going to put this arrogant bitch down.

Cardin pulled back his fist, stepping forward with a roar to do just that. He could feel his semblance surge in him, ready to knock the faunus scum out cold with one good hit!

But he hit air.

She stepped, literally stepped, to the side to avoid him. She didn't even uncross her arms or grab at that oversized hunk of metal on her back. She was toying with him! And why weren't the rest of his team helping him!

"I was warned about you," she started to say. That meant she was focusing on something else! He swung again at her. She side-stepped once more. "By both Glynda and Ozpin. They told me you had a temper that was difficult to manage." That didn't matter.

He swung at her again, jumping with the attack. He missed her, but it slammed home into one of the stone walls of beacon. It shattered at the force, stone weaker than he was. That was because he was strong, enough to take anything and dish it all back out!

"But upon questioning, they assured me that you had much promise as a Knight, or Hunter as you prefer." Was she still talking? Why was she still talking? Cardin pulled his fist from the stone block, swinging it to backhand the damn woman! It still missed, this time because she ducked. "They said your strength was great enough deal with a hoard of monsters, lifting them for your partner to 'dissect with his blades'."

Damn right he could! Grimm were weaker than him all around. He could have busted that Nevermore's face clean off with just one hit of his Mace, or any other creature dumb enough to cross his path. He could do it and he would do it!

"However, their approach to helping you has not been working, as the results show." That was because Cardin didn't need them! His team was strong! They were CRDL, and this arrogant faunus brat was not going to say any different about it. He kicked at her, but actually pushed him away now, spinning like some gaudy flower. "So now I will attempt my approach."

What did that mean?

Cardin didn't know, but he knew in the next moment he was looking at the world upside down.

He had just enough time to register that before he felt a bomb explode over his chest. That was what it had to have been, because in the next second he was stuck in the wall and groaning. His insides were on fire, muscles screaming at him, and his teeth clenched hard enough to shatter stone. The same stone he was trapped in.

He opened his eyes, ready to send the meanest glare he could at Impa, just before he would pull himself out of this wall and give her the beating of her lifetime!

That was before he saw her inches from his own face. His plan fled.

"Listen to me, Winchester," Impa snarled, _snarled_ , at him. "I do not care what you think is right. I care even less for what you believe to be true. All you need to know right now is that I am stronger than you. I am better than you. And if I wanted, I could kill you."

… What? She wouldn't do that. She was his teacher. No, screw that, this was the same faunus brat that almost killed that Atlas girl!

"I don't have to make it look like an accident, like I did with her." Wait, she knew what he was thinking? "You are arrogant, unfocused, and constantly throwing yourself at mountains trying to make them move. Who would suspect me if they found you dead from your own effort?"

Cardin wasn't trembling. His muscles were shaking from his semblance. It wasn't because of this faunus bitch. It wasn't! Even when she stood up he was shaking, so he knew it couldn't have been her. Then he felt her grab his leg.

He was thrown again, not even given time to take in the air to scream. But like he was trained, Cardin pulled his body into itself, making him more of a boulder and less of a ragdoll. He felt the contact on the grass immediately, himself rolling over it without much say in the matter. Even when he stopped, he was only able to unroll himself. His semblance had used too much for him to do much else. Stupid trump card. But then he saw Impa marching towards him, glaring all the while.

"I've trained Knights like you before," she started. "Arrogant as the goddesses and believing themselves mightier than the Earth. Beating on others to affirm their own false self-identity." Who the hell was she to say that? He was going to get up and really put her into the ground.

But then she put her foot on his chest, pushing down. He couldn't move.

"Until you throw away that undue sense of identity, you aren't going anywhere." Now she was scowling at him. Cardin was sure the cold sensation on his back wasn't fear. It was… gravity, or something. Those eyes were too red. "You, your team, your future, they will be as empty as a monster's soul if you continue acting the way you do."

She looked away from him, up and away. Cardin strained his head to see what she was looking at. His eyes fell on his team members, all of them gripping their weapons like they were ready to charge. But then weren't taking her on. Why the hell not!?

"The same is for the four of you," the faunus spoke on. "Cardin is your leader, so he receives the worst of your punishment but not all of it. You all need to open your eyes to the world, the real one. If you can't do that, I don't see a reason for you to stay here."

Was this… was she threatening to kick them out? Oh no. If Cardin was going to get the boot, it was gonna be from Ozpin, or Glydna, or some other Hunter who had actually done a damn. Not from some foreign faunus who had to be told who the real enemies even were!

"But if you do turn around, if you do act like Knights," she started to talk again. Her voice was… softer, maybe. "I can promise you that you will do great things. As were the words I began with, I have seen trainees like you before. In time, as they saw their own flaws, they made up for their mistakes, and they became some of the greatest Knights ever to grace the kingdom."

What… Was she trying to give them a pep-talk? After beating him into the ground? Trying to beat him into the ground? She hadn't yet. Everything so far was just luck. She was trying to squirm her way out of it, he could tell. Even when she looked back down at him with those red eyes, talking on.

"I want to see you succeed." Grimm Blood she did. "I want to see what a Warrior like you can do when they act less like a child, and more like a man."

She reached out and grabbed him, faster than he realized. Then, with just as much strength, she picked up off the ground. It must have been another trick. No way was she strong enough to pick him up like that. It was next to impossible. Instead of throwing him though, she just set him down, let go of him. He was standing, his legs shaking from having used his semblance, not from the beating.

"A knight I trained long ago was named Groose," Impa began to talk. Was she telling him a story? Must have been, because she crossed her arms, stepped away, and looked at him and his team. "He was little different than you. The leader of a team, taller and stronger than most others he met, and with enough arrogance to talk himself into challenging anyone. If I'm correct, you were both even named after avian species."

What the hell was a Groose bird? Must have been made up. No point in listening after that.

"More than once he would bad mouth the trainees he was being taught with, assuming himself above others, despite having little to his own name." Well that wasn't Cardin. His family was rich. "I very nearly expelled him from the Knights, sure that his ego would be the cost of many lives. But another Knight, a trainee no different than Groose, requested to work with him."

"So what?" Cardin spoke up, already sick of this melodramatic stuff. "He died because he wasn't strong enough? You're gonna say he was too proud to admit he was wrong." Impa smiled at him. Why the hell would she do that?

"No," she shook her head. "In truth, both returned from their mission, though worse for wear. Groose had nearly lost his arm, did lose his eye, but was still alive. The other trainee he was with was unconscious, near death." So what did that mean? "In case it is not clear, Groose brought back the other trainee from what would have surely been his demise. But instead of rolling in praise, he only implored that his _friend_ be given the most attention."

Cardin didn't say anything. There wasn't anything to say. This whole story was just a bunch of made up junk anyways.

"From what was later told, Groose had both sabotaged and saved the mission." Now that was stupid, how could you do both? "He believed himself so capable of fighting a threat that the trainee he was with was forced to fight with him. They were overwhelmed and very nearly killed. However, the other Knight saved Groose from what would have been a lethal blow. Groose was forced to watch as man he had insulted for fun nearly died for his mistakes."

What a bunch of bull this was. Did she seriously think some sob story was going to do anything for him? Only the weak listened to that.

"After that Groose was dismissed from the Knights." What?

"What are you talking about?" Cardin sneered with his words. "He brought back that other guy half-dead and he still got kicked out? The hell was the point then."

"You do not understand," Impa answered. "He left himself."

Now what the hell? Why would someone leave a Hunter position because of a single bad mission? That just proved Cardin was stronger than this Groose guy. A single defeat wouldn't stop him.

"He set off to search for his soul, realizing that his ego very nearly took a life that wasn't his own. The guilt weighed too heavily on him. He refused to even pick up a blade." Impa stalked towards him again. "I am telling you this because I see you two very nearly the same. Your team included."

Her head jerked towards his teammates. He snarled in return.

"I do not want to remove you from this Academy," Impa spoke. That was probably a lie, yeah… "I want to see you become a great Knight. I want to see your team save lives as often as you insult them. I wish to see what you can become when you correct your own mistakes. And believe me, you have much to answer for."

She was breaths from him now, and he could smell something like sulfur coming from her. For once, his sneer was him trying to get away from her. Impa didn't move.

"The choice is up to you, and you alone." Her voice was deep and quite. "Hold on to your ego, cherish it, and let it drag you down. Or let it go, open yourself up, and I will do my utmost to make you all Knights of renown."

She stepped away from him, a single step back before turning on her heel and walking off. Just like that… Just like that? What the hell? She came over here, insulted him and his team, beat him down some unfair trick, and she thought that was going to do him in? What the hell?!

"Hey… Cardin…" Said boy whirled on Dove, who was holding his hand towards him. "Maybe… we should listen to her?"

"What are you talking about?" He nearly yelled at his teammate. He was too tired to do that now. "Don't you see she was trying to scare us from fighting her? She knows that if we take her on she won't have a chance! We just gotta challenge her and then we'll show her who's best!" He stomped his foot into the ground, and nearly fell for it. Damn, his legs were weak.

"But… I don't wanna get kicked out of Beacon." What was this idiot talking about now? "Impa, Link, whoever, they're way worse than Glynda. Maybe… shouldn't we listen to them?"

"No!" Cardin yelled back. That was an order. Orders were yelled and soldiers listened. That was how it worked! "We're all going to go after her next chance we get, got it?!"

"I'm… I'm not on board for that…" What, Sky now too? "I get that she was being pretty bitchy about it, but… like… maybe we should hear her out. Didn't she just offer to make us famous?"

"That was a trick, numbskull," Russel, thankfully, spoke up for Cardin. He could trust his partner. "What can a faunus from some made-up kingdom do to make us famous? She'll probably send us to a slaughter!"

Yeah! At least Russel got it. Sky and Dove, what were they thinking? Did they honestly believe that sob-fest story about some made up dude? Even if he was real, and he wasn't, why would he give up knight-hood? Some misplaced sense of guilt. It was the other guy's fault for being there in the first place.

"C'mon, we should at least talk about this," Dove insisted. Why, Cardin couldn't tell. "What if she does get us kicked out? How am I gonna tell my mom I got kicked out of Beacon? I can't do that, man."

What was going on? Cardin shook his head as disgust filled him. His teammates, the guys he had trained and taught how to fight. They were being pansies in the worst of ways. Was this that bitch's plan? Link, too? Get his team to split up like this? Of course it was! That what it was all along. She just wanted his team to fall apart so they could have a reason to kick them out!

But he was the leader of the team. He could get this guys into shape. He'd show that stuck-up faunus how wrong she was! They'd be the best! They'd be the symbol of Beacon. They… they could do this. They had to. Cardin bit his lip as he fell on to his butt, gripping the grass until it tore from the ground.

He was a Winchester. He had to be strong. There were no excuses not to be. He had to be.

So why couldn't he even lead his team?

"Cardin?" That was Dove. That traitor didn't have the right to speak to him right now. None of them did!

"Get lost," he spoke to the wimp. "Just… go do whatever. I need to think." He fell to his back with his words, staring up at the sky as he had done before. He let his mind drift, thinking of anything that it could.

He heard his team members leave, swords and axes being sheathed, mutterings about things that didn't matter. He let them go. If they couldn't even stick with him, they weren't needed. That was the truth of it. Either they were his best friends or worst enemies. And the world was full of people who wanted you dead.

But what would he do if one of them did almost die? What would that make him if he almost cost a teammate their life? He shook his head. That stupid faunus story shouldn't be getting to him. It didn't matter. It didn't.

So why couldn't he stop thinking about it?

* * *

Penny wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, so she went walking.

Walking was what she always did when there was nothing to do. She walked to gather new information, to see new sights, to meet new people, or maybe just to feel free. But now, she was just that, free. Uncle Ironwood had kicked her out of Atlas, only for Ozpin to include her at Beacon, as he had assured her. But that meant she could walk wherever she wanted, talk to whoever she wanted.

But she still wasn't sure what to do. Everyone here had a team they were talking with, planning with actually. Her acute audio sensors told her that many of them were talking about how to fight Link, or Ms. Impa, or Mr. Mikau a few times as well. She hadn't met Mr. Mikau, but he sounded nice.

Penny, however, didn't have that. She had fought and lost to Ms. Impa. Badly. That had never happened before.

Maybe she had been surprised, but she had never lost like that. Against any opponent, whomever she fought, she always had the upper hand. Her advanced data storage and planning optimizers allowed her to calculate theoretical next moves and plan accordingly.

But she didn't know Ms. Impa could move so quickly with such a big weapon, that she was strong enough to destroy her defenses, or could use Schnee quality hard-light Glyphs. She didn't know any of that, and she had lost badly for it. She didn't know what to do. Penny didn't know what you were supposed to do when you lost. So she kept walking.

And she walked right into Ms. Impa.

Her sensors flared to life, having entered a 'sleep' state to allow the maximum amount of her cores to run 'thought sorting' programs. It made the contact jarring, having her flail her arms to stay upright. But the action was unneeded.

Her contact sensors told her two strong points of contact were made, quickly identified to be Ms. Impa catching her. She had strong arms, but the combat exercise with her already told her that. But the level of control she expressed, not damaging her exterior armor, implied a great deal of control as well.

"Are you well, Penny?" Ms. Impa spoke to her. "I apologize for surprising you."

"Oh? Oh! No no, I am the one who must apologize," Penny quickly spoke, righting herself and standing to her tallest, only to almost immediately bow towards the taller woman. "I had assumed too much of the data I had been recording and made incorrect battle assumptions about you. It is my mistake for not taking your word to spend more time reviewing data."

"Ah, you mean from the duel," Ms. Impa clarified before she spoke on. Normal. "It is quite alright. You performed well for one who had minimal knowledge of my abilities. If it aids you, I was equally surprised by the control of your blades."

She was? But didn't see or record any outwards reactions that indicated surprise during their battle. Did that mean she had complete alien forms of outwards expression? With the knowledge that she was from a foreign land undocumented, it was plausible, but the numerous other signs they shared made it statistically unlikely, a student p value of 0.44.

"Why do we not sit and discuss the matter?" Ms. Impa proposed to her. Her hand swept towards a wall, lined with benches. They were placed adequately to give one a view of the setting sun. That would not be for another 0.76 hours though. "I am sure you wish to learn from your mistakes. It would be difficult without speaking to another about it."

This was true, and Penny had saved several physician journal articles discussing such a point. Communication often corrected simple errors as well as encouraging new thought processes. Perhaps something Ms. Impa said could allow her mind to make more accurate connections. That made it really kind for her to offer!

"Of course!" Penny returned in jubilation. Cheer in one's voice made conversation easier. Many reports reported just that, saved in her core memory files. "I would be _very_ thankful for that!" She skipped over to one of the many benches, spinning before sitting herself down. She grinned back up at Impa, who returned the grin. Hers wasn't a big as Penny's but that was a normal reaction, or so the numerous recorded conversations told her.

The faunus instructor took a few long strides before sitting down next to Penny. Her ocular sensors immediately took note of how she sat. Her hands were lightly folded together, making a loose spherical shape. Her back was straight, making her even taller to Penny than she normally was, but her legs reached further out than Penny's own. Even they were settled flat on the ground.

The exact posture wasn't well recorded in Penny's memory banks, but it had close relation to a 'sensation' one might have. On guard. Was that because of Penny? No, the smile made it statistically unlikely. It must have been a part of her status as a former-General. That was probable.

"Where would you like to begin?" Ms. Impa began. "Are you more concerned with my abilities, or the short comings you may have discovered? Both are areas I am sure are giving you discomfort." Penny smiled. She really was smart. Still, she had to check something.

Her eyes scanned the immediate area, looking for the nearest source that could interpret their audible exchange. The nearest students in sight were walking the stone path to the Bullheads, conversing with one another. The next set were at the far end of the water's edge, watching Vale from a distance. According to Beacon's downloaded schedule and anthropometric analysis, it made the most sense. Most students did homework or studying at this time, in their dorms.

Stupendous, that meant she could speak openly. Well, more openly.

"Ms. Impa, I am most curious of how I would have better countered your speed and strength," Penny spoke as she was taught to when speaking to superiors. "All of my current datasets indicate that your strength was directly proportional to your speed, when the vast majority of other test recordings indicate that the interaction is usually inversely so. Therefore, I was unable to form a correct strategy to counter you."

"Impressive," Ms. Impa began. "You have already thought of this in depth." Penny grinned with the words. It was the correct response for praise. "And you are also correct. Great strength is usually deterred by low speed. You saw my speed and assumed my strength subpar, but when I proved otherwise, you turned defensive until you could counter me. The attack you used then, what was your reasoning for it?"

"The Railgun?" Penny questioned. Ms. Impa nodded, so she continued. "I assumed that if I use a strong enough attack from great enough distance, I would be able to subdue you before you could inflict suitable damage on me. I also deployed stand-by swords for your quick attack, if you attempted to do so."

"You were hoping the strings would trip me or the blast would damage me, accounting for both speed and strength," she was nodding as she spoke, her arms moving from their hand-to-hand contact to crossed arms. Penny visibly noticed her position lax, leaning back with shut eyes. "A suitable strategy, but one that required much effort on your part. A 'trump' move, if I am using the term correctly."

"Indeed!" Penny spoke with her usual jubilee, but corrected herself. Mission briefings weren't meant to be exciting. "It was designed for countering large scale enemies or vehicles. Not… you." Penny wasn't sure what the correct word was to use there, and she had multiple encyclopedias on files.

"If it helps your self-esteem, there is unlikely to exist a single move that can best any foe at my level," Ms. Impa smiled down at her with the words, just visible over her brown scarf. "You have the great makings of a Mage, using your blades as you were. Your ability to record information is on par with a journeyman of the Shadow's path. Also, though inferior to my own, your strength is far from lacking." The praise made Penny's internal servos overheat momentarily.

"Oh, thank you," she replied. She wasn't sure if it was appropriate to say more. Uncle Ironwood usually didn't, but this was much more praise than she was used to even from him. "But… I still lost."

"Yes," Ms. Impa stated. "I was more prepared for you then you were for me. You have done an excellent job analyzing your performance thus far. Why do you suppose I was more prepared for you then you for me?" Penny did know.

"I adopted the first strategies that my… jumped to my mind." That was the correct phrase. She had several recordings of it being used before. "It must have made me predictable, correct?" She looked up with pleading eyes, setting number twenty-four.

"Correct," Ms. Impa replied. Penny smiled, as she knew was best. "But there was also another point that you missed. Small indeed, but critical when facing an enemy that is an Unknown." An Unknown used as a proper noun? Oh! She meant the terms she had addressed earlier.

Penny easily recalled the recorded conversation. According to Ms. Impa, Unknowns were an untrainable type of classification, given strength through their sheer unpredictability. As her conclusion was, Unknowns always had the advantage. Logic functions told her she was correct.

"What is the critical factor?" Penny asked once more. "I cannot bring… recall any key means to confront the Unknowns you described." It was the truth, even if she had nearly slipped. But her safety parameters flagged fast enough for her to backtrack, excellent.

"Imagination," Ms. Impa spoke. Penny remained confused.

"Imagination? The ability to generate new ideas from sparse information?" Ms. Impa nodded that was good, but… how did imagination help?

"Against an Unknown, the imagination is what allows you to not only predict your enemy, but counter them. You cannot know if your current abilities are enough, not until you use them in a new way." Penny's function connectors were starting to flag. "Therefore, if you act in new way, one the opponent has not seen before…" she lead off with her sentence. That meant Penny was supposed to finish.

Could she? It was difficult for her to generate new information readily. It was a function Papa Zepp was still optimizing. But it was working, though slowly. Connections were being made, figurative dots connected. She believed she had an idea, perhaps.

"… Then… you become an Unknown?" Ms. Impa's smile finally showed teeth. It was wonderfully bright.

"Correct." Penny felt the servos in her facial muscles pull a smile in complete relation to the heating of her servo motors. She loved that feeling, happiness. It was the main reason she always smiled. "Now I must ask the question that follows a lesson. How do you intend to better your imagination?"

And Penny's smile fell.

"I don't know," she spoke almost instantly. Nothing in her databanks pulled up a single result for training the imagination. Thousands for the former and hundreds for the latter, but not a single overlap in between. "I… would it be training my imagination to think of a way to better my imagination?"

She could feel a recursive loop forming in her code. That was dangerous.

"Or you could converse with others." Ms. Impa moved to stand as she spoke. Penny watched her, unsure if she should follow. "Not even the greatest of Knights fight well enough alone. You are kind soul, generous too, but you must make friends that you keep if you want to expand your mind."

"That helps grow an imagination?" Penny inquired. She believed she extrapolated the meaning, but with nothing to compare it too, she needed definite facts. Ms. Impa's nod told her she was on the right track.

"Indeed it does," she confirmed. She extended her hand now, and Penny took it. She felt herself being pulled up by the woman, standing beside the bench. "Speak to RWBY, talk with JNPR, converse with CFVY, I would even encourage you to attempt conversations with team CRDL." The last one confused Penny.

"But my reeeeememories seem to be telling me they are viewed unfavorably by majority of Beacon." Penny could recall at least three conversations between RWBY were Cardin's name was mentioned, specifically with his bullying towards Jaune Arc. "Wouldn't they be a poor choice?"

"They wouldn't," Impa disagreed. "Only a different one. Ideas you gain from speaking with Ruby will vary drastically from those you may gather with Cardin. Take this not as an order or request, merely a suggestion." Impa turned away from her walking once more along Beacon's outer walls.

Penny wondered if she was meant to follow. The conversation didn't appear to be over verbally, but physical queues seemed to indicate that it was. The conflicting conclusions weren't weighing well on her processing power.

"I wish to see you become a marvelous Knight, Penny Polendina," Ms. Impa spoke once more, her head looking over her shoulder as she spoke, single white bank hiding her only visible eye. "But you can only be so if you wish to be. I do look forward to dueling you again."

Penny didn't answer the faunus as she walked off, her form tall and well complimented by the now setting sun. Even with a blade that hid most of her form, she could tell Ms. Impa was not undeterred by the weight. She was strong, wise, and kind. And she was hoping for Penny to be all the same.

For the first time since she had met Ruby, Penny felt glad to be alive. She deftly decided it was her favorite feeling.

* * *

And now he was back. They were back, appropriately.

It had been a long day, as Ozpin had told him it would be. That was alright, he was prepared for it. He had had far longer days before, days that went well into nights. This was long, but far from the longest. The only difficulty he found in the day was finding the worrying students.

Link was glad the members of RWBY came to him. He wished he could have spoken more to Ruby herself, but Impa's memories told him of the awkwardness and favoritism it would show. That was always in poor form when teaching a class. She knew better. And because she knew, he did too.

Cardin was the difficult one. Link knew well before the class began, his rather overdone introduction and redone meeting with Impa, that he and his team would be the hardest ones to teach. From Impa, he was reminded of Groose, a name Link did not know. From Link himself, he was reminded of Mido. But Mido was still alive, at least the last Link had seen him. Impa said Groose had learned his lesson. Mido had started to learn his. Cardin… Link wanted to see him reach the end.

Penny was the odd one. She was a golem, or so Tatl told him. Not flesh and blood, but iron and steel. Not even stone, like a true golem. Still, she had a soul, she had a heart… metaphorically. Impa reminded him that they were in no place to judge one for their body. She was right, of course. Centuries of knowledge made for a lot of wisdom.

Though to be fair, Penny was the oddest trainee he had met. Confidence, but with solitude. Strength, but without numbers. Knowledge, but without experience. It was as if she were built from the minds of others, and in all likelihood she was. If she was open to him, maybe he could ask. Not yet though. She was as new to this school as he was. She needed comfort, and he would make sure she had it.

He would need to make sure they were all ready when the time came. It was impossible to predict the future. It was just as difficult to stop it. At least the results of his tests were going well.

Link opened the door to his room, already becoming acclimated with the newest center he was given. Not but a week ago they had given him a room with other students. Now Glynda had informed him that he would have a new room available to him as soon as it was prepared. He could wait, in all honesty. There was no rush for him to move.

"There you are!" He heard Tatl yell at him as he came inside. Tael was swinging behind her, silent next to his sister. "Do you have any idea how long we've been waiting for you? Seriously. I spent Time knows how long with Super Buzz and you were probably out taking a stroll." Maybe for the last hour, but not the first six.

"Apologies, Tatl," he spoke with Impa's voice. "I had trainees to meet and lessons that could only be delivered away from combat. Not everything can be learned through steel." She bobbed through the air, like she was shaking her head at him. Link had no doubt she was rolling eyes beneath those bright lights.

"Yeah, yeah, I get that," she drooled out. "Just give Impa a rest and let's talk. You know I hate looking at her."

Impa's memories were infuriated, but Link's were full of understanding. The history was complicated between them. But then, when was rich history simple and sweet? He sighed as he reached up to the edges of his face, saying silent thanks once more for his friend's aide.

He felt the familiar pull as he dragged his fingers over his features, Impa's memories fleeting with them. Her strength, her wisdom, her skill, her abilities, all of them vanishing the further he pulled. Until, with a small gleam of light, they were gone.

And he was standing in his room, himself complete, with the Mask of Truth, Impa's Mask, within his hands. He rubbed his palm over the inside, thanking her silently once more before pocketing it within his chest. She would be seen again, doubtlessly.

"Took your sweet time with that," Tatl nagged him, comfortingly. He smiled to her, and she bopped him on the head. It only made him laugh. "Alright tough guy, but seriously, shut the door, we got some stuff to fill ya in on." Well, it had been a long day for all of them.

Link's hand brushed against the side of the door, giving it a light shove until he heard the click of metal. He needn't lock it. He would be going out again before the night was truly here. It was enough to maintain privacy. He took the few steps necessary to reach his bed, twisting until he fell onto it. He bounced for his effort, a feeling that gave him a fleeting sense of joy. It had been a long time since he had a bed that bounced.

"Well since you're nice and comfortable, let's get started," Tatl flew above him, joined by Tael readily. Link looked up at them, and they down to him. "Tael tells me you had a lot of fun in that class today, hitting the Golem Girl down a peg. Guess it's the next best thing to Big Stiff himself."

"Sis, she wasn't like that," Tael interjected, and Link agreed. Penny was nice, honest as well. "She didn't complain or cheat or anything. She was just… confident, right?" Yes, that was the word Link would use. She was overly confident, but a quick loss usual saw to that. He was reminded of Cardin, but that was a longer lesson to be taught.

"Whatever, she doesn't matter right now." Link sighed at Tatl's usual dismissiveness. Still, she did know best, usually. "Did have to answer 1001 questions from Super Buzz though. Guy had more questions then blades of Grass in Hyrule Field." That was a lot.

"But… did something happen?" Tael spoke up now. They must have been waiting for Link before they spoke of it. It made him grin as he looked up at the two. "I mean, sis, you said we had to talk."

"Eh, didn't ask anything I'm sure he couldn't eventually infer," the golden fairy began. "Stuff like 'how often do Hylians and Zora talk to one another' or 'What is the expected trajectory of Watarara migration and speed'. Dude just wants to know all the random stuff, crap that doesn't really come back to bite you." On that, they could disagree.

Link found it hard to list any information as poor. More than once he could recall a casual conversation with a fellow Hylian leading him to discover some great mystery or secret. The secrets buried within the obvious were what gave power to the Unknowns.

And the Unknowns always had the advantage. It was why they always hid the best.

"Point is though, I got him to fess up about some the things he's doing for _us_." Tatl rang with her words, trails of her golden dust following about Link. They dissipated before they fell into his eyes. "Apparently he's been a Gerudo of his oath, digging up a lot of stuff about the surrounding areas."

That was important. Link pushed himself across the bed until his back was on the headrest, watching as the two fairies righted themselves to gravity in time with him. He felt his gaze narrow at Tatl. It wasn't threatening, never would be. But he didn't want to forget anything she said.

"Glad that got your attention," Tatl spoke up again. "Better than watching you debate about sleeping while give you real important stuff. Seriously, training these guys like you're gonna be here forever."

"They need us sis," Tael whined to his sister, but it was something Link agreed with. They only rang at one another quickly before Tatl continued, ignoring her brother's claim. That was alright with Link for now. He needed to know what the doctor had found.

"According to Super Buzz, there are several locations nearby that have been abandoned or have failed to be 'built up' into Vale, due to the influx of Grimm and past events," she began carefully. "Wasn't so much the trouble of the monsters being there, but that they kept coming back faster than they could keep them out. Apparently makes it impossible for any of these guys to do more than explore those places. Even then, he said that records were pretty thin about them."

"So there are a lot of places we can look into?" Tael questioned, flying with his words. Link shared the curiosity. Thankfully, Tatl had an answer.

"According Buzz, after I told him about how often Zoras… mate," she shivered with the words, uncomfortable. Link couldn't blame her for a moment. "He said that those areas are explored just enough to test three things. The type and number of Grimm, the amount of feasible space, and the resources around there. Didn't give me any numbers, but apparently if the first one is low and the last two high enough, they try and expand."

"But these places he mentioned the… didn't have enough?" Or too much, Link added on. But he knew the darker of the two fairies was speaking in the right direction.

"Yeah," Tatl agreed. Thankfully. "Since those things don't tend to change too quickly, they usually don't explore those areas again once their done. So it's one and done for their recon trips. In other words, if they weren't looking for the right thing…" Tael picked up where she trailed off.

"…Then there's a chance there could be something we're looking for?" That was exactly right. Tatl's high ring and bobbing motion only confirmed it.

"Exactly!" Tatl let out, maybe even with a bit of excitement. Impossible to blame her for that. "But that's also kinda the problem." Now Link didn't follow. It must have showed across his face, because Tatl gave another signature ring, flipping about in a small halo, before speaking on. "Think about it. He said these places aren't given a reason to explore when those Corrupted Council C-" Link ignored it.

"So why's that bad?" Tatl asked. Though in honesty, Link knew what Tatl meant now. The simple statement gave him enough to fill in the blanks. "Doesn't that just mean there's a good chance nothing's been found yet? Would find a fairy fountain if we looked for the right sings."

"You bet we could, but how are we gonna get there?" It was the rub, and the downside to his new position. Trading safety and freedom act while removing the distance he could go. "We can't just say we're gonna go explore some monster cave or deep-dark dungeon and hope they're okay for it. I bet my wings that Big Green and Triple B are gonna want to either tag along or record us during the whole thing."

That would make it rather difficult. Link couldn't risk being watched when he was exploring those areas. They could see too much, surmise too much more. It would remove him as the Unknown, give them the advantage, anyone who could see him. It was a balancing act and he didn't like it. He creased his frown in thought as Tatl and Tael spoke on.

"Well… maybe we can give them a reason?" Tael asked with a statement. "Like, we're curious about this land, o-or that we wanna help get rid of the threat?"

"Nope, tried it already," Tatl responded. "Had to explain that Deku Scrub Hierarchy for him to fess up about that. Explorations like that have to be done in teams, and I quote, 'Grimm threats always looming, but small bounties cull enough. Offensive unneeded.' So basically, unless we got a specific thing to look for, we aren't goin' anywhere without all these guys and that damn Council judging us."

It was a catch Link didn't like being between. His hand ran the bridge of his nose, over the tip, and then across his lips as he thought. They had to look into those areas, explore them to some extent, but without arousing suspicion. It wouldn't have mattered if they found nothing, but if they did get a hold of something, then it would either be studied by Ozpin or handed off to the Military.

He could not forget what Glynda said before. They were in a symbiotic relationship with the Council and Military. If they hid too much or were not open enough, it would give grounds for them to be explored and interrogated. Even if they could hide the important facts, too much little information would be vetted. It was something an Unknown could not afford.

"So… we're stuck?" Tael asked, likely reaching a conclusion similar to Link's own. He didn't like to admit it, but until they had an idea, it appeared that they were. It was superior to being killed by the Military or Council, but still far from the path a Knight was usually allowed to walk.

"For now at least," Tatl spoke with a quick ring. She wasn't happy about it either. "Still, not all bad. At least Super Buzz is actually helping us out, and he hasn't asked anything really hard to explain like wars, death, or opinion of Hyrule. He's just focused on gettin' down all the culture and stuff. Wants to know more about food then politics." Link envied the Gerudo greatly.

"Do you think we'll find a fountain?" Tael asked. Link could hear the hope in his voice. It was always clear as glass when put next to his usual shy tone. "It would be nice to see again. The magic, the warmth… the Great Fairy…" Link would want to see her, too.

"It'd be nice, and a real break, too," Tatl agreed, in her own way. It was a way her sibling and Link were well and used to. "But ya know what, given the size of this… world I guess? Probably a point in a favor getting Super Buzz to at least narrow down the suspect areas."

And she was right. This land, this world as Tatl was correct in saying, was far larger than Link imagined. He had seen the variety within his first day, from a forest of red, to green, to a city, and the Academy. But with his test against the Bellumgera, in the Badlands as the Gerudo here were found to call it, he had seen just how far this land stretched.

Travels were far from something he was unused to. Distant lands were often a place he would call home. But it was that experience that told him that for him to search the four corners of this world alone would take more time than even the Goddess would allow. No, this was necessary. It was a blessing that required a toll, but it was one he was willing to pay.

Like the sprout in the forest that hid beneath the green giants, it grew stronger the longer it remained hidden away. But… the thought jogged a rouge idea in Link's mind.

He reached into his belt pouch, the third canister to the left of his buckle. Awkward to reach quickly, but doable while sitting in bed, musing the day with friends. He produced another small pouch from within it, slightly larger than the hole it was stored in. He bobbed it up and down within his grasp, listening to the objects in side knock against one another, dozens in number.

"Hey, what are ya doin, Link?" Tatl spoke up now, flying around his arm before settling over his hand. "Are those the seeds the Deku Sprout gave you?" He nodded to her, confirming what she and her brother already knew. "What are you planning on doing with those? Reminiscence?"

Link shook his head. That was not what you used seeds for. Paintings, statues, instruments as well, but not seeds. Seeds were for planting. That was how you spread new life. Tael seemed to catch on faster than his sister.

"O-Oh! You're thinking about his promise, right?" The dark fairy spoke up. Link nodded in response. It was all the answer he needed to give, especially obvious with the dark fairy's perked up attitude. "That's great! I forgot about it before, b-but I'm really glad you didn't Link."

"Whoa, hold on a sec," Tatl spoke up. "Where are you thinking of planting those things? The forest full of all the monsters?" She didn't really expect an answer, Link knew that. "Besides, aren't we supposed to be figuring out what to do next? I mean, are we seriously just gonna sit around and wait for Super Buzz? He's working, yeah, but that doesn't mean we're going to do nothing."

Actually, that was right where Link's mind was going. It was far from doing nothing in his mind. He was actually helping other trainees. He wasn't a symbol to look at, a warning for what would happen, or some far removed member of the group. He was their leader now, in a sense.

Not a monarch, but a captain. Not the General, but a confidante. It was more than he ever thought he would have again. While someone else worked busily to help him, it made sense he would help the others who needed him. Besides, if nothing else, there was no other way Link could think to make sure these young trainees would survive the world ahead.

Waiting, in that sense, was unacceptable. It must have shown in his eyes, or Tatl had simply learned to read his thoughts. With how fairy's worked, it was possible.

"Aw c'mon!" She gave a hard bob as she spoke. "We didn't seriously jump through hoops in time and space just to sit on a cushy bed Link! We're supposed to be out there looking!" She never did bother to hide how she was feeling.

"Yeah, but sis," Tael lightly, gently, countered. "It's dangerous to go alone out there, and wherever those secrets are buried… well… they're just that to everyone." Link nodded with the younger of the two.

"So the better alternative is to stay here, spend Time knows how long talking to Super Buzz about super ancient history, and teach a bunch of love-hungry kids how to fight right?" Link nodded without hesitation.

If there was ever a lesson he learned, it was strength in numbers. Here, he had the aid of the Headmaster and at least two of his subordinates. Out there… he had only Tatl and Tael.

"You know what, I get it," Tatl suddenly spoke again, voice much calmer. That wouldn't last. "They've done a lot to help us here, a few of them at least. There are some dumb knockers out there, for sure, so you want to stick with where you know we're safe until we have to charge, right?" Actually, yeah. Link nodded at her words. She gave a ring that was equivalent to a sigh.

"But it makes sense," the dark fairy spoke. "Besides I-I… I don't want to just leave again. They're nice here, Ruby is. A-And Dr. Oobleck loves to hear my stories. He doesn't even interrupt or get bored. He just… writes them all down." Link would have to ask at a better time what stories he told. There was a long list.

"We don't belong here," the response came quietly. Link could guess why. "We're… we weren't supposed to stay here for this long. It was supposed to be just long enough to point us in a direction." Link knew, the longer he let the silence stretch, that Tatl would realize the meaning of her own words.

They didn't have even that yet. They had just found roads, but too many of them. It was impossible for them to tell which lead to treasure and which to empty tombs. They had to wait, at least until Oobleck had done more. He swung the bag of seeds in his hand, enjoying perhaps too much the sound of the seeds spinning inside.

"I hate this," Tatl spoke in the same volume as before. "This… it all happened too quickly. I don't like it."

Link gently lowered the bag in his hand, setting it down as it reached his bed. He bent his leg inward, letting his foot rest on the mattress and knee bend upwards. He held out his hand to the golden fairy, who settled in the offered perch. Tael joined only too quickly.

"Sis, it's okay." Tael whispered to his sister, a voice Link shut his and honed his senses to hear. "We're together. We all are. We'll get through this just like before. We all promised."

"I know we promised," Tatl weakly returned. Link could feel them comforting one another, holding and embrace only siblings enjoyed. "But that doesn't mean I like it… I just… we haven't even been here for a week and Link almost died!" Said Hylian gripped his opposite hand at the reminder. He was thankful the blue potion lasted, but that left him only wondering on what would happen next.

"But he's okay. We're okay," Tael continued to comfort. "A-And I know we'll… we'll all be okay in the end… right?" A long sigh left Link's lips.

Slowly, he brought the hand holding the fairies closer to his face, opening his eyes to look at them. A soothing gray was the first thing he saw, two sets of wings so close together it was impossible to tell which set belonged to which sibling. But that didn't matter. What did matter was their discomfort. He could fix that.

Cupping his hand, he place them as close to his cheek as possible, feeling the warmth of their light against his skin. He felt the heat warm as the fairies touched him, their small limbs holding on to him. Their small rings was all that filled the room. Yes, they would all be fine. Link would make sure of it. He wouldn't lose anyone else.

That was his promise.

**BANG BANG!**

"Link? Are you in there? Can I ask you a question?" Link heard the muffled voice through the door, immediately identified as Ruby. He sighed to relax himself, lowering the blade he had drawn. Tatl and Tael ceased their quick shiver as well. Ruby wasn't a threat. She was a friend.

"What great timing," Tatl let out, her voice sarcastic as ever. Link preferred it. "You want me to handle her? She won't really be able to, you know," She jumped off his hand and flew around his long ears. Yes, he did know. But that was okay.

He shook head, sheathing his blade as he stood. Tael jumped off of his hand, flying to his sister. It was okay now. They were better. They were better for the plan they had, so patience was their reward. Tatl understood his silent meaning.

"Uh, fine, but if you're going out with a friend, I'm staying here," she promptly flew over and settled on the chair beside his desk, a desk vacant of any papers or texts. He had brought none with him. "I've been talking too much today, so I just wanna relaxing night. Any complaints?"

The only question Link had was where the real Tatl went. He had never seen her tired of talking before. Maybe he really should be careful of Oobleck… he may be wiser than he looks.

"C'mon!" The voice of the young girl echoed from behind the door. "Link, I saw you walk in here like fifteen minutes ago tops! Did you fall asleep? Oh…" her voice settled into worry mutters at the idea. It made Link grin sardonically.

"Y-You should go," Tael spoke up as well. "I'm… I'm good without crowds for now. I wanna try sleeping, a-and Tatl's here so…" Link waved the dark fairy lightly. He had no reason to justify himself. They were all tired, and the two of them were under no commitments to teach the youths. It still felt odd to call himself otherwise.

Link turned towards the door as Tael flew and settled beside his sister, ringing together in their fairy tongue. They would be alright. They were safe here. Now, he only needed to worry about what the young Knight Trainee needed.

* * *

Ruby felt herself jump when the door in front of her opened.

She was so sure Link was asleep, or changing, or doing something that meant he didn't want to be disturbed that opening the door actually shocked her. She pushed a breath of air out of her lungs as quickly as she could. He didn't look mad or upset. He was smiling.

"Hi!" She eagerly spoke up, pushing down her discomfort until it wasn't worth thinking about. Stupid discomfort. "Sorry for waking you… did I wake you?" Maybe she should have asked before she apologized.

But Link only shook his head, long green hat waving with the motion. Now the relief was clear across Ruby. She was in the clear! That meant she could actually talk to him.

"Awesome! So, my team was wondering if we could talk to you, for advice and stuff," Ruby folded her hands in front of her as she spoke. Link only blinked but continued to watch. "We _really_ want to challenge you but Weiss and I know that we don't know nearly enough and we were hoping you _might_ be able to talk to us or give us some tips. I mean, not answers, but you know, ideas on where to start? Maybe?"

Link still hadn't spoken, or maybe he had. Ruby had to remind herself that she couldn't hear him. But he had folded his arms and was leaning against the door, smiling at her as she spoke on. He was listening, but was he taking her seriously? No, of course he was, they were friends. But then did that mean she had to convince him? Well she'd try!

"You really haven't seen us fight before, but we're all really good! We've taken down Deathstalkers, Nevermores, entire hordes of Beowolves, a few Boarboratusks, I think a Gryphon at one point…" She was starting to lose track of the amount of Grimm they've killed. She'd have to start a journal. "But we don't really fight other hunters, or know how to fight them. I mean, we can duel here and there, but it's not like we go out hunting people. Oh wow that was bad…" Ruby felt her shoulders hunching at the thought.

Link still hadn't said anything though. Was he waiting for her to say just the right thing? Maybe that meant she was on the right track. He hadn't shut the door on her yet, but that could be because they were friends, right? Well of course, but he was also their teacher. This was really confusing.

"So um… yeah," Ruby tried again, still determined. "You promised, or Impa promised, to help Weiss out with her glyphs, which is awesome! But does that mean you could show the rest of us how to fight? Yeah, you do use a sword, and that chain-gun, and a bow, and a bottles, and a lot of other stuff, but that still means you could help us out, right?"

Now he nodded. Ruby felt herself jump lightly again, smile splitting over her face. This was so cool! It was perfect!

"That's great! Can you talk to us right now?" Wait, maybe that was too quick. "I mean if you're available. Classes are over, but you could be tired. My team is just doing some homework at talking though, so if you did _want_ to talk to us, it would be perfect!" And it would be perfect, Ruby knew that. Nothing was more perfect than getting one on four lessons with a master Hunter like Link.

Okay, yeah, he was a Knight, like Tatl and Impa said, but that was like a Hunter, close enough at least. So if he wanted to teach them how to fight like a Knight, then that meant they could hunt like Huntresses. It made perfect sense. And it only got better when Link nodded his head, smiling to her.

Then he shut the door.

Ruby was left staring at the white wood of Link's door with her grin frozen in shock. She blinked, wondering if she had maybe acted too excited. Weiss had been telling her that it was off putting and annoying. Did Link think she was annoying? No way, they were friends, and she was the one who helped him come to Beacon in the first place, right?

But then she heard the scream, muffled through the hard wood. Panic set in just as light shot through the cracks in the door. She had seen those before, several times not actually. Her excitement returned with a vengeance.

It roared with victory as Elrora opened the door, feathers long enough to drag on the ground and standing feet above what Link did. Her smile was visible even with her beak.

"Please, lead the way Ruby Rose," she spoke with a slight bow, shutting the door just before reaching her hands up to her shoulders again.

Ruby was bouncing in spot as she looked up at the Watarara. This was amazing! Ruby thought Link was going to come help them and Blake would have to translate everything, but now Elrora was going to talk to them instead! And Elrora was amazing, she'd have to be to be able to outfly a Nevermore! Elrora giggled as she watched her.

"I am happy to notice your excitement, but if your team is waiting, perhaps we should meet them?"

"Oh! Of course!" Ruby nearly yelled with joy. This time she did jump. She just made it to eye-level with the avian faunus. "You haven't seen our room before! Don't worry, it's awesome. Just follow me and we'll be there quicker than you know it." It took everything Ruby had not to grab Elrora's wing and shoot to her room with her Semblance. Maybe later.

Instead, she nearly skipped down the hallway, twisting around to watch the tall faunus following her, wings shut and smile present. She did all that she could to cheer aloud. She knew Beacon was amazing, but with Link and his friends, as her friend, it was nearly perfect.

* * *

"You think he's actually gonna come up here?" Yang posed the question with her eyes to the ceiling. Well, more accurately Blake's bed, but the principle was the same. That was what counted. "Isn't he gonna be super busy like grading the guys that fought today, making a schedule, or something else that like?"

"Hardly," Weiss countered from her side of the room. "Link has only just begun his position here and both Professor Goodwitch and Ozpin have both stated that they are doing their utmost to ensure that he has time to acclimate before serious duties are being presented." Well the former of the two did oversee the whole training session today. No idea how long that will last.

"Yeah, but wouldn't like everybody on campus want to talk to the dude?" Honesty she was surprised he wasn't swamped the moment class ended. "He went from literal nobody to center of attention in like a week. Not saying doesn't deserve it with the stuff we've seen, but you get what I'm layin' down, right?"

"If he is inconvenienced due to being overrun with students, I can understand," Weiss returned. "But a professor's duty, as he is now, is to their students, which we are." Oh yeah, that was true. If only he was a professor before he was a student. Well… a student that wasn't with them only a few days ago in class. Made it kinda weird. "Besides, he does owe Ruby a favor, for helping him get to Beacon upon his first arrival."

"Oh c'mon," Yang rolled to her side, propping her head up on hand as she looked over at the Schnee heiress. "You're calling in something like that?" Yang didn't know if she was a little peeved at the fact that it was worth a favor… or that she hadn't thought of it in the first place. Ruby could have done soooo much more with it than that.

"Only if he questions why he should have to help us beyond his position as a professor now." Well there goes Ms. Generous, flipping through a book Yang really didn't want to read. It was a book, so she didn't want to read it, simple.

"So you're exploiting him?" Yang felt her head hit her bed as it fell off her hand.

It bounced off the cushiony surface painlessly, but that didn't keep her from looking up at the bottom of the mattress she had before, eyes far wider than before. Blake had the tact of a hammer sometimes.

"No," Weiss countered, but Yang heard her put her book down. Hard. "I'm attempting to gain the most out of our relationship with him." Yang wasn't even interested in business and she knew that sounded sketchy.

"That's called exploitation," Blake returned neutrally, well… sort of. Yang was basically fire-proof and she could feel the heat coming from the bed above her. "And I'm curious why you think it is alright to do it."

"It's not exploitation!" Weiss returned with a bit more volume. Yang wasn't sure this was worth letting go on. "And I want him to help us so that we may have a chance at besting him. As he is now, using Dust in ways that engineers would brush off as impossible, we wouldn't last more than a few moments against him."

"Hey, give us some credit Ice Queen," Yang cut in. Hopefully she could smooth this out. Maybe. "You know that all we gotta do is get one good hit on him. Well… maybe one of his friends. He took down that super Grimm… but I bet Mikau couldn't take a good right hook."

"Right," Weiss spoke up. "All you have to do is ignore his remarks some days ago regarding the manipulation of water, a semblance that allots for electrocution, and some dust artifact that allows for the unlimited use of said ability." Okay, yeah that was bad. "It's like Impa said during the class. Unknowns always have the advantage. We must learn more about him if we are to have a chance."

Yang hated to admit when Weiss was right, like really hated it. She preferred Zwei biting her heels after she got cozy with a boy then having to fess up to Weiss's logic. But as was so often, the heiress had a point. They knew jack about Link's friend, let alone himself. He, on the other hand, could watch the news and get caught up on them.

"Is it really so worth fighting him?" Blake spoke up again. "Just because he offered? I would rather learn from him then attempt to harm him."

"There is no reason we cannot do both," Weiss continued. "In fact, that is why I wish to speak to him. I want to learn about him and his methods for improving so that we can emulate and perhaps surpass them in our own way. It will give us an advantage in the ring." Not a bad idea.

All they had to do was catch up several years of training under an army banner they didn't know, fighting wars they'd never heard of, and be able to kill ancient Grimm solo. Yup, few days of training and they'd be fiery as the sun. Yang snickered at the idea. She heard Blake do the same.

"And what is so humorous you two?" The heiress pouted with her hands on her hips. She even scrunched in her nose. Yang titled her head to see. "I fail to see what could possibly be worth giggling over."

"Nothing," Yang let out first. "Just the idea that we'd be at his level in a few weeks." It honestly still made her laugh. "Dude took down the Little Miss Atlas like it was nothing, and she was throwing swords ninja style. Plus she was, what, best in class or something?" She'd have to ask their resident ninja if that was how it normally looked. "I'm thinking we're gonna need the full three years here if we wanna get to a place like him."

"Yang is right," her partner spoke up. Good old reliable Blake! "Link has far more experience than all of us combined, not to mention his friends seem to add to his abilities…" Something wasn't right.

It wasn't that Blake said something wrong. Everything was actually pretty on point actually. No, the trouble Yang was having was just how she left off her sentence. She sounded quiet, quieter than usual, way too quiet for her to just up and ignore. It was the quiet she got when she was trying to hide one of her hotter novels from the group. What did that mean?

"Yo, Blake, are you-"

Any question Yang had died in her throat. Mostly due to the door opening at that very moment.

"I'm back!" Her sister yelled happily into the room. "And I brought a friend." Whoa, she really did?!

"Excellent!" Weiss perked up immediately, jumping off the bed as she did so. "Now please come… in… oh…" Her voice pittered off worse than Blake's! Yang's partner may have just gotten quiet, but Weiss sounded like someone hit her with a wet salmon and she was trying to make sense of it.

"Hey, Ice Queen," Yang spoke up, sitting up in her bed to look at the door. "What's uuuu-hhhheeeeyy!" Yang's voice did a one eighty as she saw just who was at the door.

The occupants were one Ruby Rose, best sister in the word. Weiss Schnee, heiress to a kingdom of Dust and Ice. And, finally, a tall golden bird she had only ever seen on the screen of her Scroll. Though, in the room was being generous. The bird was leaning down and she still had feathers on the top of her head hidden above the door frame!

"Hello Weiss Schnee," the bird, Elrora if Yang remembered correctly, spoke. She smiled down her beak at the Ice Queen. "May I enter your abode?"

"O-Oh! Yes, of course!" Weiss, rather ungracefully, corrected herself. She stepped aside and motioned with her arms for the bird to come in. Ruby giggled and Yang joined in, the blonde twisting on her butt until she was sitting on the edge of her bed.

Elrora bowed at the response… or maybe that was so that she could fit through the door. It was hard to tell. But as soon as she was in, she stood to her tallest, golden feathers completely covering her body. It looked like she was holding a blanket around herself. The hands on her shoulders weren't helping, but the smile was.

"Hello to you, Yang Xiao Long," Elrora spoke up, this time slightly bowing for sure out of greeting. Yang couldn't be rude to that.

"Hey, nice ta finally meet ya!" She waved at the golden bird, grinning as wide as they could. Would have been rude to just wave her off. Weiss still gave her a red look and scowl. Par for that course. But then Elrora's shifted upwards, looking at the only other occupant in the room.

"It is kind to meet you again, Blake Belladonna," the tall bird made the same motion, smiling and lightly bowing towards the girl sitting on the upper bunk. Yang could hear her partner shifting above her, probably to wave or bow 'er something like that. "We did not have the chance to converse following the flight. How was your experience?"

Oh yeah! Yang had almost forgotten that Blake had gone for a magic bird ride! Kinda understandable given the massive amount of crap that had hit the fan just after that. But hey, that wasn't what mattered now.

"It was… amazing," Blake spoke almost breathlessly. That got Yang curious, a dangerous trait. "You had such mobility in the air, it was as if were flying in an airship with all of the windows open. I… There was never a single moment I feared I may fall."

"I would not have let you," Elrora returned. Yang couldn't help but call her mothering. That was probably the best word for it. "It was no different carrying you then my son in his youth." Oh hey, look at that. No wait… oh crap Ruby.

Yang realized what it meant to have another one of Link's friends being a parent, talking about their kids. If Mikau was there… oh geez this was gonna be worse. She could already see her sis shirking into her shoulders, her silver eye downcast and finding something on the ground infinitely more interesting than the eight foot tall faunus bird.

The odd part, she wasn't the one who snapped her sis out of it this time.

"Elrora," Weiss began to speak. "Do you prefer Elrora, Ms. Elrora, your highness, or-" Any other suggestions were left of as said golden bird shook her head. Ruby was looking up at her at least. That was good. It meant she was focusing on something else. That was enough for Yang right now.

"Elrora is all I need," she returned. "I have no family name and my title as queen has been passed to my child. For now I am merely a friend to Link, repaying him in memory what he had given me in life." Oh for the Grimm's sake, this bird had the handle on steering things into awkward territory.

"Okay, enough melodrama," Yang spoke up, pushing herself off the bed and walking towards Elrora. Seriously, she may not be the tallest girl in Beacon, but she wasn't supposed to be feet shorter! "We wanted to ask our new prof a few tricks on how to kick some Grimm ass. Can ya help us with that?"

"Yang!" Weiss cajoled her, as predicted. "That is no way to speak to her!"

"That was kinda bad, Yang." Her own sister now? Well, she was partners with the Ice Queen.

"It is quite alright," Elrora spoke up, making both of the younger girls look up at her. Heck, everyone had to look up to her. Yang wasn't about to forget how tall Elrora was anytime soon. "And I believe I can offer some incite, if you would enjoy to listen."

"Oh, yes!" Weiss turned on a lien with her words. "Just let me gather my notebook. I can't afford to forget anything you may tell us." Yang _knew_ she heard Elrora giggle as Weiss darted quickly over to her desk, pulling out a pad of paper and pen. Her hand scrawled over a blank page, probably to make sure there was ink in there. Little miss prepared for anything.

"Hmm…." Elrora hummed, her voice vibrating with the simple word. Well, she was a bird, and birds did make a lot of vibrating noises. "Would you prefer we discuss in here? I would prefer the outdoors." And again, that made sense. Elrora was no caged bird after all.

"Class outside?" Ruby seemed oddly excited by her own question. No wait, that wasn't odd. That was Ruby. "Class outside with you? That'd be awesome!" Yang couldn't say not to that face.

"I'm down for it!" She agreed with hands on her hips. "Be kinda nice to not have to think of this as some kind of detention."

"I would enjoy that." Blake's sudden voice almost scared Yang. Almost. It was just that she went from her top bunk to ride by Yang's side so quickly that the brawler thought she had teleported. Ninja for sure.

"Well, indoors are preferable for minimizing the possible distractions one can undergo," Weiss was starting to spit out, but she was outnumbered. A few good looks, Yang giving her best 'really' face she could muster, and she watched a piece of the Ice Queen chip right away. "But I suppose that if the outdoors increases our attentiveness instead, then I have no complaints."

"Excellent," Elrora spoke again. "Then, if I may request of you Ruby, can you please open the window?" Oh… Yang had a pretty good idea what was going to happen. She could feel her grin splitting her face already.

"Uh, okay?" Her sister replied innocently. Sweet innocent soon to be completely corrupted Ruby. She walked the few steps over, pushing up the frame of the window until snapped open at the top. "Like this?"

"Yes, that is perfect," Elrora didn't stop smiling as she spoke. "Now, please join me outside when you can. I will be waiting." Oh, this was gonna be good. Yang took a few steps back, knowing exactly what was going to happen. Ruby didn't.

"Um… don't you mean we'll follow you ou- _WHOA_!" Ruby had full permission to let out the surprised yelp.

Elrora, like a dust infused bullet, shot through the window.

Yang put her hand up her hair, keeping it from being pulled by the insane drag the bird had made with her exit. She could hear the papers flittering about their room, a few posters falling off the wall as well. Her bed was already a mess, but she could just see the sheets on Weiss's perfectly made comforter blown to smithereens.

"What was that for!?" Weiss shrieked as the vacuum of air filled itself back up. Just in time for Yang to start giggling like the madwoman she loved to be. "We invited her to our room and she decides to leave through window? What kind of barbaric-!"

"I think Elrora dislikes the indoors," Blake interrupted the heiress. Good move, kept her from saying something bad. Those were the hardest things to mull over, Yang knew. "Besides, I doubt it would be hard to follow her." Oh wait, really?

"What're you talking about?" But instead of answering with words, Blake did exactly what Yang suspected. She took two steps, bent at the knees and jumped out the window. It did much less damage to the room. "That's not what a window is for!"

"But it looks fun!" Yang couldn't keep her laughter in when Ruby joined Blake, leaping through the open window and out of sight. Hey, who was she to be the odd one out?

"Wait up for me sis!" She could feel Weiss's gaze burning into her, but she was already three strides forward and one good push away from the window. She soared through it as she heard Weiss yell some profanity with her name. Par for the course!

Yang wasn't the best at falling, but a short drop of a few stories? No big deal. She rolled into a ball, feeling her momentum build as the ground came closer and closer to her. She didn't need to see to know how long it would take. When the silent count down in her head was up, she extended her legs.

She was greeted with the familiar feeling of the ground. That, and what amounted to kicking solid steel. It shook her legs, but she hid it with a smile. Oh it hurt, but it was worth it.

"Yay! Yang's here!" She heard her sister cry triumphantly. She looked up, seeing the familiar shade of red grinning with fists in the air. Yup, here sis. Her partner was right next to her, arms crossed with a satisfied grin. "Now all we need is Weiss to-"

Whatever she was going to say, Yang missed it.

The force of someone landing on top of her tended to do that.

"Sonofabiiiii…" Yang started and let the words trail off into the dirt. She didn't need to swear in front of her little sis. But the person sitting on top of her. Still sitting on top of her. Was going to get one hell of a beat down if they didn't get off soon.

"Ow, seriously?" Weiss asked from above her. Of course it was Weiss. Who else would it be? "I finally join you ruffians in that deplorable miss-use of a window and my reward is landing on something harder than the ground."

"I'm not exactly _enjoying_ this princess," Yang growled as she weighed her options. Jumping up and sending the heiress to the ground did sound pretty damn pleasing, but Ruby might get a little more flustered. That, and she wanted to see what the golden birdy had in mind.

Thankfully, maybe, the heiress stepped off of her, letting Yang get off the ground. Wasn't nearly as cool as jumping from their room, but definitely better than eating grass. She cracked her neck as she stood to her tallest, rolling it around to make sure it was on straight. Getting sent straight to the ground tended to push balance a little off track.

"Are you both well?" She heard Elrora speak, that same mothering tone. Yang looked at Ruby and Blake… but didn't see her. That was weird. Not left, not right… where did she go? "I'm where birds tend to reside, Yang." Wait, oh.

Yang looked up, and there was Elrora, perched on a tree limb with her feathers hanging down. Her smile was still there, of course.

"Stop making sense up there," Yang spoke back with a wave. "But yeah, I'm good. Weiss is too. She had something soft to land on."

"You are denser than the ground, Yang," the Ice Queen spoke back, making Yang chuckle. She had to admit, that was a good one. "But, we are outside now, and with the window to our room open for all manner of nature to populate it while we are gone." Oh, she definitely didn't sound bitter at all.

"What's wrong with nature?" Elrora asked. Was this gonna be a philosophical question? "Nature is what you are a part of, no matter how much we may change." Well, not as deep as it could have been at least. Weiss didn't answer immediately, which was good, because Elrora started to move.

Well, sort of move. She just took a small step forward, with feet Yang still had yet to see, and started to fall. It wasn't far, much lower to the ground then their dorm, but still high enough. She landed just beside Ruby, her feathers billowing but wings never unfurling. She didn't seem to mind the landing either.

"Elrora," Weiss began again, calmly. "I am not against nature. I just prefer to have our room clean and organized. The best way to do that is to keep it secure. Shut doors, locked windows, they all serve a purpose."

"So its peace you are trying to keep," Elrora's motherly tone returned. "Making a space that gives you serenity, safety in truth. One where you are undisturbed by the forces beyond your control." Well that was a poetic way of putting it.

"Yes, exactly," Weiss eagerly agreed. Hey common ground, that was good. "I'm glad someone else appreciates the importance of a sound mind. I honestly cannot tell you the number of times Yang has expressed the notion that 'disorder is the real way to live'." She even got her voice right!

"Hey, princess, you remembered!" She gave a thumbs up, earning a scoff from the resident Ice Queen. Heh, small steps. Eyes turned back to Elrora, the tall faunus starting to speak again.

"If you seek advice for improving yourself, I can assure you are already on the correct path." And Yang was lost. Wasn't uncommon, but one sentence in was pretty quick. Thankfully Big Bird kept talking. "While you are struggling with uncertainty, you will never be able to better yourself. A Watarara does not improve their flight as they fall, they improve as they soar. Such is the same for all things. When you have peace of mind, you no longer to struggle to gain what you don't have. Rather, improve on what you already know."

Yang felt her arms going lax as Elrora talked. She wasn't speaking in any old language, even if she did sound like guidance counselor trying to help some crying kid, and she definitely didn't have the old sage act going, though she had no idea how old the bird was. No, her words were just… making sense. Perfectly reasonable and amazing sense.

"Seeking peace is the first step to improving yourself, as is taught to all of the Watarara. You must clear the thoughts that tell you otherwise, focusing on only what you can feel. Ignore the nightmares that lurk in your sleep, forget the ideas that give you pause. Do that, with peace in your mind, and you can grow to touch the sky."

One of her hands left her shoulder as she spoke, reaching towards the sky. It wasn't much, really just a twist of her wrist. But it was noticeable, and with the smile she gave across her beak, brighter than before, it was hard not to see the pride she held. And man, she was making sense in ways Yang _really_ didn't want to admit.

"But… I can tell none of you are at that point."

Yang heard her own breath get sucked in. She saw her sister stiffen like a board. She saw Blake stare at anything but Elrora. Weiss… she did what the heiress did best.

"What do you mean?" She questioned. "You were just complimenting me about my set-up process. Now you're saying I'm not even there yet?" Ice Queen was defensive, kind of her default setting. Elrora didn't lose her smile though. Kinda maybe that was her poker face, cause there was _no_ way she knew anything about them.

"I spoke that you were on the correct path," Elrora said. "But I am too old and my eyes too sharp to not see that there is much that troubles you." Said blue eyes looked over all of them, one by one. Yang felt her legs tense as they looked at her. "All of you."

"Uh, sorry, I ain't buying it," Yang spoke up. "Look, it's awesome you're our prof now, but don't think that means you know enough about us." She didn't care who was listening, Link or Elrora. Both were out of line.

"Indeed," Elrora agreed. Well… that was easy. "But I have seen enough to know that though you are all driven to succeed, it is for reasons I know are not the best." Knew it was too easy.

"How would you know?" This time, Yang was starting to agree with Weiss. "Just because we may be doing our training for reasons different than your own doesn't mean we're wrong. We got this whole lecture from Dr. Oobleck already, and we're well aware of why we are doing this! Honestly, we asked you for help, but if all you're going to do is scold us, perhaps we'd be best on our own."

"And there is the current," Elrora finished.

The words kinda blew Yang over, metaphorically. Weiss was nearly sneering at Elrora. Yang quickened a glance to Blake. She was… conflicted. Yang could tell from previous experience she was well on her way to run. Maybe it was because they were talking to a faunus that she didn't do that. Mixed blessings, she guessed.

"Weiss," Elrora began, her tone never anything but calm. How did she do that? Take lessons from Ozpin? "I am not insulting you. I am not making you seem less than you are." Those were some… pretty choice words. "I would not say what I have unless I believed those words would help."

She was leaning towards the Ice Queen, but not over her. She was tall as a tree, but Elrora was doing a pretty good job of not hovering. Her words were handling that all by themselves. She covered any more area with them and Yang would be tempted to burn the thing down. Well… figuratively.

"Your motivation is not what I address. I can tell by the testimony of others that you all are stars within the sky." Well that was cheery. "But there are small things I notice; actions that remind yourselves of these dark pasts of yours. That will forever keep you from a peaceful mind."

"Then what? We're supposed to throw away what we are?" Yang shrugged her shoulders as she spoke, shaking her head at the bird. Who did this faunus think she was? Did Link think that? 'Hey you feeling bad? Don't worry about it!' Ain't that easy! "Just ignore basically all the tough stuff we've been through."

"It is a not an all-or-nothing determination, Yang." A part of Yang really didn't want Elrora to talk. She sounded too much like Summer... "I am not telling you to do away with what drives you, not forever. Place your reminders where you can't see them. Shut the doors to the dark corners of your mind. That is all."

"I-I don't understand." Oh no, that was Ruby, and she sounded like heard something really bad Ruby. If she started crying, oh, Link was in for a world of hurt. "I… w-what do you want?"

"I want nothing." Those words came out too quick. "At this moment I am not a queen to my people, I am not the mother to my son, not even am I a Knight to Hyrule. I am, as your companion has said, your professor. I tell and aid in all ways I can to see you improve. But force, in this matter, will do no good."

"Maybe we're just talking to the wrong person," Blake finally spoke. Oh thank Grimm. Yang was sure she was going to run. "Elrora… Link… I greatly appreciate you meeting to help us. But… maybe there is someone else we can speak to. I don't think you, Elrora, are the… best fit for us.

Oh and she spoke sense. That was some great sense! Yang could devour that for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Link was a smart guy, he'd see what she meant.

"I disagree." Or not. "Actually, I asked Elrora to help because Ruby came." Uh…Link, what?

"W-What?" Yang could _see_ her jaw shaking. Elrora may be a bird, but she'd only be walking if Ruby cried. "W-W-Why? Did I do something wrong, o-or-"

"Ruby, no," Elrora's voice was breathless as she took a step towards Yang's sister. It took every muscle the brawler had _not_ to get in the way. "No, you only showed me, Link, what it is you care about. And by how you have chosen your words and decisions thus far, I can assume the state of them." Wait.

Wait wait wait wait wait… Oh no, she couldn't possibly be talking about that. Yang would take back every kind thing she said about Link if this went where she thought it was going.

"I am upsetting you all," Elrora spoke up. Yang did scoff. That was literally like calling the sky blue. "You asked me for my aid as a professor, and I am forcing you to question your opinions of me."

"Yeah, kinda hard not to." Yang agreed. She crossed her arms. Elrora still only looked at her. At least she wasn't smiling. Wait… that probably wasn't a good thing.

"Then do you think my mind is at peace now?" Uh… okay that was a curveball question. It made Yang work her jaw, wondering what the best answer was. Was there one? Sure didn't seem like it.

"No, you aren't." Blake spoke up now. Was what they said about great minds the same about faunus? "You seem troubled, at odds. If anything you have regrets." Elrora nodded with every word.

"All true," she nodded towards Blake. "And I will do you all no injustice by attempting to forget this conversation. I will remember it the next time I see you and I will carry it with me in all our future discussions. It is what a leader must do. It is what a queen must do. And, it is what I know you all to be doing."

"You are talking in some pretty insane circles right now." Yang held her hands in front of her as she spoke. She actually wanted to strangle Link. How did a conversation with a cool prof turn into a want for murder?

"What I will not do, Yang," Elrora spoke to her. "Is make decisions _while_ holding this conversation in my mind." Those were still circles.

"Oh. Ooooh," Weiss spoke. Yang almost gave herself a whiplash with the speed she looked at her teammate. What great epiphany did she just have? "You aren't asking us to forgive and forget…" Elrora shook her head. "You're just asking us to change focus." The bird didn't nod, but she did grin.

"Very close," Elrora answered. "But you are forgetting a crucial step."

"What's that?" Blake asked now. Yang was just as curious. Maybe it would finally get this whole thing to make sense. Heck, if Link was lucky, maybe he wouldn't be limping to class on Thursday.

"You cannot ignore a problem you refuse to recognize." Nope, still not there. "If I may give an example, let me speak of Lin… my hunt for the Bellumgera. A Grammite, I believe you referred to it. You were all present for that."

That was the kind of conversation Yang could deal with. Elrora stood to her tallest again, shaded by the tree behind her. Sun was going down soon though, so her golden feathers were starting to glow. Not a good move when she looked more demonic to Yang.

"During that hunt, I recognized three things. My friends were in the care of strangers." Must have meant Tatl and Peeping Tom. "My life was being treated as a bargaining chip." Still was depending on who you talked to. "And that I may not see Navi again." …Who was Navi?

"Your friend," Ruby spoke up now. Her voice was way too quiet for Yang's liking. "The one Dr. Oobleck is helping you find." Elrora nodded at the words.

"The same," she started. "The same unfortunate separation that drove Link to come here, the reason for his pursuit to this land, and a memory that is melancholy at best." So sad no matter what? Kay. "Do you believe she was in my mind when I fought Bellumgera? That the idea of finding her is what gave me strength to continue on no matter what happened?"

"Doubtlessly," Weiss spoke immediately. Yang nodded for good measure.

"Wrong." Was the immediate reply. Well, dang. "I only thought of the blade in my hand, the girl before me, the mare beneath me, and the monster to kill. That was it. I didn't think of why I was there or any of the number of ways I could die. Those are not peaceful thoughts."

Okay… Yang was starting to see where this was going, finally. All she needed to do was be reminded that Link dying was actually a pretty bad thing. Or, more accurately, how calm he/she was talking about dying. Perspective and all that.

"What Link thought of, and all that I thought of, was acceptance." Perspective lost like paradise. "He accepted every notion and event that brought him that moment. That acceptance gave him peace. That peace gave him the time to observe, to plan, and then to strike."

"Because a mind clouded with doubt is the same as one without eyes." Yang was about 40% sure Blake had just quoted a book. It was a book Yang, herself, hadn't read. That made up like 99.999% of the Beacon library. "But how does that relate to us? How could you possibly tell what we think in a fight? You haven't seen us do anything yet."

"Blake, I am avoiding to list what I have seen because I do not know what secrets you all share amongst each other."

Oh… wow… Now Yang felt like dirt. Elrora really was talking in circles. She was talking, walking, flying, and maybe even singing in circles… all just to avoid an awkward conversation. Ah geez, that was the kind of tact people harped on Yang for not having.

"But, you need not tell me what those are." Yang looked at Elrora again, smiling again. "I am only telling you that whatever thoughts lurk in your mind, be they what make your history or the moment you are in, they are not more important than whatever matter is settling your wings. Think not of the storm clouds that circle behind you nor of the dark horizon in front. Think only of the breeze that flows around you, and what you must do to ride it."

Yang fell on her butt.

She wasn't hurt or anything, not even shocked. Honest. She was just tired. It felt like she had just run laps around the Emerald Forest, plural. Ran laps and fought Grimm at the same time. Geez, was this the kind of stuff Link was going to do with all of his friends? Daily? He must be a Zen Master if he was able to say that kinda stuff without tripping into hysterics. Yang was still debating beating the crap out of him. That was probably the 'dark thought' Elrora kept going on about. Maybe.

"Now, for advice on _how_ to do it, I can also tell you." Yang looked back up at Elrora. She was all smiles again. "And to help your own peace of mind, I would never tell you something and simply expect you to conjure the truth. Watarara teach through example. I will do the same for you."

"Well that's a relief," Yang let out. "Here I was thinking of how I was gonna beat you to the ground later tonight for saying all that stuff. Seriously, I thought you were two steps, or flaps I guess, from telling us all that we were doin' our jobs wrong."

"Yang!" Weiss yelled at her again. It was actually comforting now. Man, she was tired. "How dare you insult a professor! Apologize to her right now."

"Weiss is right." And now Blake was joining in. What a wonderful world. "That was rather extreme, even by your measures."

"Hey, I said thinking about it." Yang waved from her position on the ground. If only her hand could actually brush away those comments. "And give me some credit here. All I saw the whole time Big Bird was talking was Ruby on the verge of crying." Yang held her hand over to her sister, so sure that she was going to puff her lips, get mad at the defensiveness.

So shocked was she when Ruby didn't even look at her.

"Rubes?" Yang spoke her sister's nickname. "You okay? Sis?" She stood up, lavender eyes focused on her sibling. Ruby this quiet meant she was thinking the wrong things. Wrong things were what Elrora just got them all riled up about how bad they were. That made this bad anyway she looked at.

Before she could make a motion towards Ruby, her sister walked towards Elrora. It wasn't far, three steps at most, but it was enough for her to make her intentions clear. Yang could only watch.

She watched Ruby walk straight into Elrora, proceeding to wrap the golden faunus in a big hug. She held on tight.

Elrora, for her part, didn't seem insulted. That was a plus, and a good mark back on Link's record. She smile down at Ruby, towering over the much smaller girl. Then she started to move her hands. Moving those meant she was moving her wings.

Her hands left her shoulders only to fall onto Ruby's, her long feathers trapped between her torso and the younger girl's grip. It looked painful, like having your hair pinched, but Elrora didn't say a thing. Yang didn't do a thing. This looked alright to her. No tears yet at least. She couldn't tell at first if what happened next was better or worse. Okay, the hair combing was odd, but Ruby wasn't letting go.

"Sometimes, when I find peaceful thoughts alluding me, I take to an activity that naturally calms me," Elrora spoke. "And if my memory serves, it is one that varies only slightly amongst all people."

"What's that?" Ruby asked. Her voice was small, muffled against the green fabric beneath Elrora's wings. That and her golden feathers. The thought of Ruby being comfortable because of her 'motherly' ways irked Yang. That wasn't cool. At all. Elrora only smiled at her sister.

"Music," the bird spoke simply. Her fingers running over Ruby's hair. Yang would have called creeper alert if it was anyone else. She was still half-way tempted to. "Link calms himself with his ocarina. You have seen Mikau enjoy his guitar. I hope it is of little surprise when I say Impa is skilled at the lyre. Tell me, do any of you enjoy music?" Her voice lifted with the question, blue eyes looking them over. Well that was a question Yang knew they could answer.

"Yes," Weiss spoke up. "I am actually renowned for my vocals amongst many fields, having sung the melodies of many tracks as well." The humility was amazing. "I have also sold several records with my abilities that have provided a suitable cushion to my funds."

"That is impressive Weiss. You should be proud." Yang got to see first hand what a motherly compliment did the Ice Queen. Wasn't a meltdown, but the red blush was a nice touch. "However, it sounds as if you sing not for yourself, but for others. Generous, but that rarely brings peace."

Yang watched Weiss again, hoping to see the heiress scowl or give another back-handed remark. She didn't though, probably because she realized they were talking to someone who was their prof, and right now using the memories of someone else way older, even if their hair was more gold than white, and made of feathers.

"Have you heard Link play his ocarina yet?" Yang shook her head. She heard Weiss and Ruby mumble a no. "Would you have guessed Impa played an instrument as well?" Honestly Yang would be surprised to see that woman handling anything that was smaller than her. She looked like the kind of girl to go big or go home.

"What are you suggesting?" Weiss asked, sort of calmly. Wasn't quite there, but given the track records, Yang could give her some props. Hard to tell if Elrora's smile was her giving that commendation or not.

"Nothing so sinister as you may think," Elrora almost chuckled at the words. "Only that you find what gives you peace, and then protect it. Though it may be hard for the four of you, generous and kind as you are, a small expression of selfishness, the desire to keep sacred something dear to you, is how you gain that peace."

"Oh, you mean like a guilty pleasure?" Yang asked. It's what it sounded like to her. Rolling through Vale on Bumblebee, scaring the nitwits out of Junior's gangsters, was definitely what she'd call a guilty pleasure. Helped her relax, too.

"Perhaps," Elrora returned. "Or maybe something so simple as not deny a request to play a song or distance yourself to read a novel. Peace of mind is both simple and complex. So easy to describe, yet so difficult to grasp. I believe only the sages were capable of finding peace no matter the time or place."

This was getting kinda weird. Okay, it was weird as soon as Elrora jumped out the window, but that was a good weird. Right now it was like watching Cardin walk up and apologize for being an ass. Not bad, but way too far into left field to be anything less than a trap. Blake must have thought the same thing, cause Yang could see her look away from Elrora, eyes wide. They'd have to talk later.

"But, returning to why you asked for my aid," Elrora started. "Once you find that peace, discover a way to enter it and keep it, you will then find the strength to improve all the easier to grasp. Fewer fears, less worries, they make for sounder thoughts and more satisfied lives."

She brushed a thumb over Ruby's head, and she looked up at the golden faunus. Yang was at a bad angle, but she could hear Ruby give her usual quick giggle. That meant she was smiling. That was better, much much better. She actually felt a wave of tension leave her.

"So do you play the ocarina all the time?" Weiss was asking again. Yang felt herself chuckle, hand running through her impressive mane. It was a mane of gold after all. "Or do prefer a designated time for it, such as the late nights. It would make it easier to keep the activity to yourself, but I don't understand the convenience."

"I play when I can," Elrora spoke, but that had to be Link talking. "But if you are asking if it is how I prepare for a battle, then no. It keeps my mind at peace, even when I am not playing it. I'm well practiced on keeping a peaceful mind. Elrora is, too. The benefits of a being a parent, if I were to suppose."

Dangerous word in front of Ruby. Yang could see her sis stiffen a little. Elrora must have felt it, because her hand stopped combing her hair. Why was Rubes still holding on anyways?

"You may know, but a queen must make difficult decisions often," Elrora began. "To do so with a peaceful mind is condemning, but I learned long ago the benefits of music, and I would often indulge myself in the art as I thought of coming ultimatums."

"Oh? What instrument did you play?" Weiss asked. Maybe she was eager to talk, or maybe she just didn't get where they were at emotionally right now. How the hell do you talk someone into understanding that? "The flute? Some brass instrument?"

"Actually, I sing as well." Elrora smiled at Weiss, who started for only a moment. "I would sing to myself often, a means to listen to the wind as I would hear myself. Focus on one brought me understanding of the other. For a Watarara, that is peace in a sound mind."

Yang looked out at the sun. It was getting over the horizon now. The dorm blocked it, but she was pretty sure the shattered moon was creeping over the other side of the hill. Maybe this would be a good excuse to turn in for the night. Not like Link and Elrora hadn't given them enough to think about.

"But when I had my son, the most curious thing happened." Yang's hair spun, her head twisting so hard. "I found more peace singing to him then when I sang alone. His smile, his cheers, they brought a warmth to me that gave me strength in everything. Even with years behind me, and two soul's worth of memories within me, I still find the strength of children a most curious thing."

Yang watched, ready to pounce like a Beowulf in wait, as Ruby looked up at Elrora. Big Bird looked down at her, hands still following her little sister's hair. Yang _really_ wanted to see if her sis was crying, but she knew better than interrupt this now. One hiccup though and she was going to paint that tree behind Elrora red.

"Ruby, I must emphasize my apology to you." Good start. "Be it simple miscommunication or lack of understanding on my own part, I nearly gave you and your comrades the wrong impression. That is not something I wish to ever have happen."

"It's 'kay," Ruby mumbled, head falling back against the golden faunus. Yang could really only take that as a good sign. Ruby was a lot of things, hugger definitely on the list, but even she knew when it was time to let go. "I asked you for help anyways."

"True, but with the best of intentions," Elrora was still smiling as she spoke. Wasn't a grin, she didn't look cocky… at least not in the self-righteous way. "It is why I wish to offer you a favor with my apology, next a vow that I will think more carefully before offering words again."

Ruby twisted her head again, looking up at Elrora. Now she finally let go, taking a few steps back. Didn't keep the avian faunus from towering over her, or from smiling. She did fold one of her wings back up to her shoulder, but oddly enough, kept one just at chest level. Chest level may have been Yang's eye level, but those feathers were still dragging on the ground.

But instead of talking to Ruby, Elrora twisted her head to the sunset. Yang was momentarily reminded of an owl, given how far that head twisted. She supposed most birds could do it, right? Maybe not, but she knew Elrora could now.

"It is a beautiful sunset," she began, oddly. "Though the middays are best, there is a serenity within twilight that calms even the most turbulent of souls." Well that was enlightening, in the kung-fu monk sort of way.

"Uh, yeah!" Ruby returned. Yang could tell she was just following social queues, badly. "It's really pretty to watch sometimes. It's… um… shiny?" Yang was caught between chuckling and grimacing, the unfortunate middle ground of an older sibling. Maybe thankfully, Elrora did laugh, the sort of humming sound she had before.

"Yes," Elrora returned. "I suppose in the right setting it would shine. I know for certain it does when the clouds coat the horizon, preparing to shower the earth below."

She looked back to Ruby, and only Ruby. Yang was starting to notice something, something that was making her big-sis senses go to code yellow. This faunus, a motherly faunus that was here through the power of some kick-ass faunus, was only focusing on the youngest member of the group. Those sirens were only louder when Elrora extended a hand towards Yang's sister.

"Ruby Rose, as an apology and sign of trust, would you care for me to show you the sky?"

Yang was sure, without any doubt, her eyes bulged at the same speed that Ruby jumped into the air.

"Really!?" Her sister exclaimed, really yelled. "You mean you're gonna take me flying?!" Yang was sure that she had almost never been more mortified to see her sister happy. Very sure. Elrora's gentle smile and nods were not helping.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," she finally cut in. This was getting too far. "You're not seriously going to do that, right?" She got in front of Ruby, looking up at Elrora as she spoke. "I mean, this is just some kind of peace offering, making sure we're all cool with that almost-trash talk."

"Not at all," she answered. Bad answer. "I am fully capable of carrying young Ruby through the air, as all Watarara do so with their children until their wings are set. If you are concerned for your sibling's well being, I can promise my wings that no harm will come to her."

"She's not lying." Said brawler felt her pretty wide eyes stare at Blake. Her partner looked as if she were deciding between taking a step towards her or Elrora. "I flew with her before, you know that. It was fun." Not nearly good enough.

"C'mon Yang," Ruby whined, _whined_ , right behind her. "You know I can handle falls from any kind of height. We got shot into the Emerald forest on spring-loaded platforms and nothing happened then."

"You were ready then," Yang argued. "A-And is now really a good time? What if it gets dark and you miss a Bullhead coming in, or you fly into a window! Birds fly into windows all the time."

The chill Yang got from Blake told her she had taken a step in the wrong direction.

"I am rather sure Elrora is no simple-minded bird, Yang." Gone was any assuring tone in Blake's voice. "More than that, I think this is a perfect way to make up for any misunderstandings."

"I agree, one hundred per-cent!" Yang ground her teeth to keep herself from yelling. Ruby wasn't helping! Where was logic when you needed it? Oh yeah, wearing white and always asking questions!

"Weiss, c'mon, you gotta know this is a bad idea right?" She turned desperately to the heiress, only to whip her head back to Elrora. "Not that you're bad or anything. Just taking my lil' sis for a near-night flight sounds wrong and dangerous in ways I'm not about to let slip."

"I agree completely." Oh thank the Dust. "This will only be a sufficient apology if… we are all given a chance to see what your flight entails." Oh damn the Grimm!

"I suppose that would be of little trouble," Elrora kept talking. "It would need to be one-by-one, but as my words gave you all undue uncertainty, I can understand the need to all receive compensation."

"Well, actually, I am grateful for your… let's call it a remedial lesson." Weiss was not helping at all! "It was just far more thought-provoking than I expected, so I incorrectly jumped to conclusions that you were insulting us with your words. For that, on my part, I must apologize." She was making it worse!

"Not all, Weiss, though I do accept your regrets with grace," Elrora was bowing/towering over Weiss as she spoke. She was still freaking smiling! "Perhaps we have both learned short lessons this night. I am sure there are many more to come."

"And I eagerly await to hear those lecture as well!" Oh no, now she was starting to get excited like Ruby. Her sis was rubbing off on the heiress as the worst of times! "That is, on top of those glyph classes Impa said she would educate me in. I hope I make you proud in those regards."

"I believe you will," Elrora answered, but then turned to Ruby and Yang again. "Now though, would you care to join me for a flight? It may be the first step for you to find a peaceful mind." That was an opening, so Yang took it.

"How's it gonna do that?" She asked, maybe a bit too quickly. But whatever, she was understood. "I thought you said we had to be selfish with those things, like singing in private and stuff." Yang could feel Ruby glaring at her, but that wasn't going to work now. Sibling defense was greater than embarrassment.

"From my own experience, there is no better way to forget the worries of the present or pains of the past then experiencing something you have never quite imagined," Elrora spoke with a grin.

Oh c'mon! How was Yang supposed to argue with that? Now even _she_ wanted to ride the magical Big Bird. How could she possibly keep Ruby from doing it if she wanted to? That was like trying to keep her from being a hunter, which was a guaranteed impossible fact!

"Pleeeeease Yang," Ruby kept whining. That was almost always a bad sign. "I bet flying with Elrora is like ten times cooler than anything we could do on a Bullhead or Airship. And it'd be first class!" First class was nice.

No, wait, focus, Yang was the responsible one. … Oh that cinched it. When Yang had to think that line, something was too far away to bother trying to fix.

"Fine," Yang let out, throwing her arms in the air. "Let's go for a magical flight around Beacon, complete with all the treats. We can make an event out of it. Guilt trips that come with flight trips. Heh, okay that was kinda catchy." Oh… but that was probably a really bad thing to say.

"I regret to inform that you four are the only individuals on this campus I am currently offering the experience to," Elrora spoke as if Yang hadn't just insulted her, which she didn't. "And hope any further students I speak to regarding the strength in a sound mind receive less insult by my words. Now though, I believe I extended my offer to you first, Ruby."

"Yes!" Yang's sister jumped clear over her head to get to Elrora. She kept hopping right in front of the tall bird, reaching eye level with each jump. "This is going to be amazing! So what do I do? Hold on to your chest? Get on your shoulders? Grab your feathers, no that wouldn't work, wouldn't be able to flap. Is it called flapping?" Her gums sure were flapping, Yang could say that for sure.

Instead of an immediate answer, Elrora turned around, feathers brushing over the grass as she did. When her back was to Ruby, she knelt and bowed at once, making her reach really close to the ground. Still kinda ridiculously tall if Yang was allowed to say so. She wasn't, but she sure could think it.

"Climb onto my back," the golden faunus spoke, twisting her head towards Ruby. Didn't make it all the way, but it still looked uncomfortably far. "Hold to my shoulders, and we can begin."

Her semblance or not, Ruby was on Elrora faster than Yang could blink. She saw Big Bird falter for a moment, but only laugh just afterwards. That was a good thing, points back for making Ruby smile.

"You are nearly as eager as Blake was when I offered," Elrora spoke up. "Though I must confess, I am happy my offer is so enticing."

"Of course it is!" Ruby yelled from behind Elrora, one fist quickly pumping into the air before grabbing at the golden shoulders of the bird. "This is like worth more than a carbide-tipped blade for Crescent Rose. Well… it's close, but right now I'd totally go for this!"

"Then let us not waste time." Elrora stood with her words, Ruby hanging off of her like a marionette. She knew Elrora was huge, but with Ruby on her back, it kinda put it into perspective.

Her sister's cape didn't even make it past the first layer of feathers that were pretty much draped around the faunus. Feathers that were only the first in what was like half a dozen lines of feathers. There must have been a term for that. Didn't matter. They were long and Elrora was tall.

But then she spread her wings.

A _shwoom_ sound was the first thing Yang noticed. That, followed by her nearly being blown off of her feat. Couldn't say if it was surprise or just how much air was shoved at her. Either way, she was left teetering on her boots while Elrora showed off her wingspan. Yang knew, really did, that the bird kept her hand on her shoulders to stop her feathers from dragging too much. That was common sense, like hair in a bun. But what she didn't get was just how large those wings were.

Being outside suddenly made sense. If Elrora had opened those things indoors, she probably would have hit either wall then kept going into the next room! Didn't help that all Yang could do was work her jaw as the faunus lifted her hands a little higher.

Then, with a great flex, shot into the air.

Now Yang lifted her hands to her eyes, covering the dust and wind that blew into them. It was quick, and she was looking up as fast as she could, but the faunus was already high up in the air. Those wings weren't just for show.

"Oh… wow…" Yang heard Weiss speak from beside her. She didn't bother to look. That would mean looking away from Elrora and her sis. "That was amazing…"

"Isn't it?" Blake now. "She has the grace, form, and voice of a queen, but she keeps offering to help us whenever we see her." You, Blake, Yang silently corrected. Her faunus partner was the only one who had seen Big Bird more than once.

Actually, that raised another good question.

"You must really be glad Link is teaching here," Yang spoke up. She kept her eyes up though, watching as Elrora slowly banked in the air. Ruby was holding on tight. Couldn't see more than that from so far away. "Can't be every day you see what you're fighting for coming true."

She was sure Blake was… wait… ah crap! Elrora was flying over the dorm. They couldn't see them anymore!

Yang forced her eyes away from the sky as she took off for the edge of the dorm, wishing for the first time she could sprint like Ruby. She'd have to make it up later. For now, she really had to see that bird in flight. After all, she was next!

* * *

Ruby was so happy she was first!

It felt amazing being in the air. Everything was so small, the sky so open, and the view just amazing! It felt like she was flying with her semblance, zooming through the air and just watching everything else wait for her! She could feel her cape whipping behind her, hands gripping at Elrora's shoulders tightly, but grinning like the mad girl she felt like she was.

"Are you well, Ruby?" she heard Elrora ask. It was barely audible above the wind. "Are you frightened at all?" That was the most unneeded question Ruby had ever been asked before in her life!

"Are you kidding?" She spoke back, looking at the back of Elrora's head. "This is awesome! I feel like I'm the queen of the skies! Is that how you feel all the time?!" She couldn't help but ask.

"Only when I am in the company of others," Elrora returned. Ruby didn't get what that meant. "Now please hold on. I wish to enjoy the twilight before the sun sets." Didn't have to ask her twice.

Ruby pushed her body flush with Elrora's back, feeling some of the feathers poking into her stomach as she did. She gripped the broad shoulders of the golden avian, grin still wide across her lips. She was almost shaking with excitement. The payoff was going to be amazing here!

And it was.

Elrora took a sharp dive towards the ground, wings pulling into her chest. It felt like a divebomb, being thrown straight to the ground from hundreds of feet up. Ruby felt her fingers going numb as she gripped Elrora, her cape nearly tearing off of her own back, and blood rushing to keep her awake. She cheered all the while.

A _schwoom_ that sounded like her own semblance knocked through the air, made in time with Elrora opening her wings. Ruby felt herself nearly sink into the faunus as she banked back up, body heavier than lead. She couldn't remember the name for the force, she just knew it was amazing!

Like her Dust cartridge bullet, they were spinning through the air, tumbling in way that made it impossible for Ruby to tell up, from down, from sideways, from holy-crap-she-was-starting-to-see-colors-and-Yang-would-be-so-jealous! Ruby's mouth pushed firmly into a bunch of golden feathers kept her from screaming just that into the wind.

Then, like, hitting a wall, they began to move up. It was like a wall because Ruby couldn't move even a finger with all the pressure shoving down her. But it was quick, faster than their descent even, which was scary fast! Not scary for her, but fast still! They were picking up in altitude again, and the force was dying with it. It was only then Ruby could hear herself laughing.

Her eyes looked up to Ozpin's tower, watching as the sun reflected off of the green glass. It was the same, always was, but it just looked so… different now. Maybe it was the blood leaving her head after that fall or the fact that she was _much_ higher up in the air. Didn't matter to her.

Elrora's wings beat in the air, keeping her afloat at a cruising pace. She banked towards the Emerald Tower, far enough way to remove any thought of running into the glass… Yang's idea was still in Ruby's head.

"Are you ready for another spin?" Elrora asked. Ruby shook her head almost violently, adopting the same position she had before. She heard the faunus laugh, felt it too with how close they were. "Very well, then hold tightly."

As soon as she said the words, she started to descend again. But this time, it was different.

She wasn't just falling straight down, she was spiraling. It felt like they were going down some really big invisible slide. It only got better when Ruby realized they were circling the tower. Elrora banked as she descended, her angle to the ground increasing. The force of the spinning kept Ruby from falling, but a quick glance right showed her the ground. It was moving pretty fast down there. It was hard to tell if those little dots were students or not.

But they were getting faster, too. Every loop around the Tower made Ruby feel herself press harder and harder against Elrora, almost like she was sinking into the feathers. She wasn't even sure she needed to hold on anymore. The ground and tower were becoming blurs, their features all just looking like one big tinted green obelisk.

Then Elrora soared again.

Ruby felt air rush out of her lungs as they left the controlled tumble, the avian shooting into up into the air instead. Her arms strained as they climbed in height, the vacuum of air familiar to Ruby. IT was like her semblance, just like it, except now she wasn't just moving fast, she was moving up. Even with her head light and chest tight, it felt amazing.

Slowly, Elrora evened out, her ascent stopping instead for a calm glide, parallel to the ground beneath them. Ruby couldn't see just how far beneath them was. She was too busy sucking in greedy breaths of air. She didn't dare let go of the bird now.

"Are you still well, Ruby?" Elrora asked again. It was much easier to hear her now, without the wind whipping past her face. It took her a minute to respond. Maybe that. Time was always loopy when her head got this light.

"Y-yeah," she eventually responded. "Just… got a little hard to breathe there. I'm good, I'm… I'm all set." She gave a weak thumbs up, keeping her body flush against Elrora's back.

"Perhaps that was a bit too far," Elrora spoke again. "I apologize. You seemed so eager to experience the sky I did not think to give you time to prepare."

"No really, I'm all good!" Ruby spoke back with more volume.

Air was returning to her, just like she knew it would. When you run fast enough to create your own pockets of air, you can adjust pretty quickly. Of course, Ruby had to remind herself that was after who knows how many fainting sessions in front of Yang.

"But how did you handle that? I couldn't even think straight when you started spinning really fast around that tower. It was all _swooooooosh_." Ruby made a motion with her hand above Elrora, swiping it through the air as fast as she could. It clearly showed she was talking about the extreme forces and lack of air. Obviously.

"Ah, well, I would hardly be able to call myself a queen, even if only a past life, if a simple flight would tire my wings," she sounded happy as she said those words. Happy enough that Ruby felt her smile get even brighter.

She never stopped smiling, never stopped grinning through this whole thing. It was like the most amazing ride and any amusement park she had ever been to, times a thousand! She felt excited, she felt scared, she felt tense, then exhilarated, then wanting, then happy. Oh yeah, she was happy. Tired too, of course, but happy was top of the list!

Ruby found herself lightly pushing herself up on said faunus's back. She wasn't flying top speed anymore. Actually, if Ruby had to describe, it felt like she was walking on air. Well, gliding was more appropriate but Weiss wasn't here right now. Carefully, making sure she wasn't being rude to Elrora, she settled onto a small kneeling position on the bird's back.

Then she drank in the sights.

Not flying as if in a race, not seeking the adrenaline rush of a high-speed run, Ruby saw just what Elrora meant by the beauty of twilight. The golden light of the settling sun haloing the clouds along the horizon. The green towers turning a true emerald, dazzling the slowly darkening sky. Vale across the water, lights illuminating the streets, and cusp of the world beyond that.

It was one thing to see it in a picture, or to see it behind some thick pane of glass. But right now, with the wind through her hair and sky clear, Ruby felt like she was really on top of the world. And everything else looked so… small. This was what Elrora always saw, wasn't it?

No… wait… this wasn't Elrora, not just her. She was just memories. That's what she kept saying. And Mikau… And Impa, too… Their memories, their abilities, but someone else was showing her all of this. Ruby felt like a bad friend for forgetting him so easily.

"You're amazing Link," Ruby mumbled, hands doing their best to grip without tearing the feathers on the faunus's back. "You're really really amazing."

She heard nothing in return, just the light beating of Elrora's wings. The wind nipped at her, colder than what she expected. They were really high up. So, the cold made sense. Weiss was the one who told her about that.

"Ruby…" Elrora spoke, but then stopped. Was she just talking too quietly? Link did that. "Thank you kindly for your words." That made Ruby smile.

"Of course!" Ruby eagerly spoke back. "You may be a super sweet Hunter now, and a real one-of-a-kind professor, but don't forget that you were our friend first!" And just like her dad always said, that was what mattered the most. Knowing who your family and friends were.

"Yes," Elrora returned, her head nodding. Ruby really hoped that was Link talking. "And I hope I continue to be."

Ruby didn't say anything to that. She just grinned, wide enough for her eyes to shut. She felt great. She had a great view, she just had a great talk, she was given a great lesson, and she had just made sure her and Link, and all of his friends, were great friends. Everything really was great. She spread her arms out to their widest, still kneeling on Elrora's back.

It wasn't everyday she got to feel like this. She preferred to be running through the Everfree, or chasing down Grimm, or hanging out with Weiss, reading with Blake, playing games with Jaune, maybe even looking to hang out with Penny. With Link, right now, she just felt… safe. Even though she was probably a mile up in the air. Maybe, hard to judge.

"I think you're gonna do great," Ruby spoke up. She wanted to fall on top of Elrora, there was plenty of room. But that just seemed… mean. She settled with slowly laying on top of her broad back. "You're a natural when it comes to making others feel safe."

For the first time in their flight, Ruby felt Elrora falter.

It wasn't much, really quick really, but without walls to lean on or a warning from a captain, the sudden lurching of the faunus made Ruby give a quick gasp of fright. Her fingers bunched into the feathers, regretting as she did so the way she matted the golden locks. But it was over before she knew it began. That was it.

Did she imagine that? Maybe. She was getting tired, and it was late. She had spent just about the whole day studying and actually paying attention to class. That was what Weiss and Blake did best. She just listened to what they had to say.

"Ruby," Elrora spoke again. "Do you enjoy singing?" That was not a question she had expected.

"Uh, well, I can't sing," Ruby admitted, inching her way up Elrora's back. She didn't want to matt or bend any of the feathers. They were too pretty to ruin. "But I do like listening to people sing. It's… nice." Elrora hummed with her words.

That was a weird question. Well, Ruby figured that it wasn't too weird. She had talked about singing before as a way to establish that peace of mind. Maybe that was Link. Link now, Elrora before. Or was it reversed? They really needed to start making high signs for who was talking because it was hard to keep track. But did it even matter? She suppressed a groan into the sleeve of her uniform.

"Would you care if we stopped this flight?" That got Ruby to look up. Did she say something wrong? "I wish to sing to you instead, but only if you are willing to listen."

* * *

"I'm not wrong when I say this is a lot, right?" Jaune was looking at the ground as he walked, but he knew Pyrrha was listening to him. She always did listen to him, especially when there was a lot to take in. "I mean, I thought it was going to just be weird, but then he, or she, or they, throw in this dueling contest? I-I mean it sounds amazing, but… this isn't normal, right?"

They were walking together, like they usually did around this time of night. They had just circled the dorm and were heading back in, up the several flights of stairs to the roof. Pyrrha did say that was the best way to warm up, slow stretches and breathing. Walking long distances covered both of those.

"I can assure you, Jaune that I've never heard about this happening at any other academy" Pyrrha answered back. "I have spoken to a lot of other fighters and I've never heard a story like this. But that doesn't make it a bad thing." Wait, she thought he was complaining?

"Oh no no no," Jaune quickly faced her, waving hands in front of his face. That wasn't he thought at all. "I-I'm just saying that a lots happened in a little time. Haven't adjusted yet. Moving at the speed of light. I'm not mad o-or upset, heck Link actually seems like the kinda guy who'll make sure I don't just get into fights that I'll lose." Oh yeah, that reminded him, it was his turn to duel on Thursday. "Though, that will be difficult."

"Jaune, you'll do fine," Pyrrha spoke. He felt her hand on his shoulder. That was what she usually did when he started speaking the truth. Yeah, it was the truth. Only fighter at Beacon with a zero win record. "You've improved immensely since you've come here, and you are trying to get better. It's why you asked me to teach you."

"Well, technically you offered and I refused." He could recall those painful days unfortunately well. "Then I realized how stupid I was to not take training lessons from a master duelist like you. Sides, there's no way I would ask anyone else to help me get better than my best friend."

Oh yeah, he meant that. When it came to lessons, no one else, not even the professors, had patience for him. Pyrrha was the only one who bothered to help him, let alone deal with all of his short comings. And there were a lot. He must have done something really good in a past life to get Pyrrha as a friend, teammate, and even partner here. Jaune looked at her, ready to see that smile of agreement.

Oh no, she was avoiding his gaze. That was bad. Really bad. That usually meant he said something bad or did something bad. Had to be first, they hadn't even gotten to the roof yet. They were still in the stairs, with like another floor to go! And was she red in the face? Oh no, that meant she had gotten her mad.

"P-Pyrrha, I'm sorry." Jaune didn't know for what, but he knew from experience that submission usually lessened punishment. His twin taught him that. "I wasn't thinking, you know that. I hardly ever do, not well at least. When you're teaching me tonight, you can go extra hard to make sure I know how to actually parry those abdominal lunges and-"

"Jaune," Pyrrha interrupted. That meant he should shut up. He could do that. "I appreciate your concern, but you didn't do anything wrong, really. I'm sorry for making you think that." Oh, well, that was good. But then why was she looking away from him? No wait, it was more than that.

"Pyrrha are you okay?" Jaune asked. "You're talking really quiet all of the sudden. Are you light-headed?" He put a hand to her shoulder now out of concern. That was possible. He'd been knocked out enough times to know it was hard to speak when blood was rushing from your head. Or to it. Either direction.

"N-No," Pyrrha. "Jaune, I-I'm fine just… don't you hear that?" Hear what?

Jaune titled his head, mimicking the motion Pyrrha made. At first all he could hear was his own heartbeat. It usually beat up into his throat whenever he was about to learn something new about dueling and swordsmanship with Pyrrha. That was still there, louder if anything else. But…

There was something else. He just couldn't tell what. It sounded muted and dull, like it was being pushed through several layers of flooring, which it probably was, whatever it was. That was the trouble though. It just sounded like some low vibration. Pleasant, yeah, he'd admit that, but that was it. It meant it was good, but… what was it?

"I hear it," Jaune whispered back. That answered question to with why Pyrrha was talking quietly. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Pyrrha answered. Well they were on the same page. That was good at least, maybe. "But I think it's coming from the roof." Well that was bad.

"Uh, should we check it out or… practice somewhere else?" He didn't know what the better option was. I mean, they could just practice in the arena, it wasn't as if ti was packed this late at night. But then, if something bad was happening, maybe they should look into it. It was why they were Hunters afterall, well in training.

"We should go," Pyrrha looked at him as she spoke, nodding her head lightly. Then she started moving up the stairs. Juane was right behind her.

It never took them long to climb a few flights of stairs and with only one left it felt like no time had passed. They stopped at the door though, Pyrrha's hand over the crease as she leant into it. Jaune mimicked her action on the opposite side. Their eyes met for a moment, but she shut hers quickly.

Right, that made sense. It made it easier to hear. He did the same, taking a deep breath and holding it in. Ear to the metal frame of the door, Jaune listened to whatever was making the noise on the other side. With so little between him and it, it was really easy to hear now.

And he knew almost immediately it was singing.

It was listening to the voice through a steel door, which he was, but it was still singing. He could hear whomever was singing gentle uttering the words with care, take time to make sure that their meaning was more than just the words themselves. That was really good. In fact, even muffled, he could tell the voice was amazing!

He felt his jaw go lax the more he listened the voice, sounding more like something he'd hear in some opera house one of his sisters dragged him to then off of the Beacon Dorm roof. A part of him wondered just how amazing the voice would sound if there was no steel door in the way, or anything. Just… listening to the voice. There was only one, small, problem.

"What are they singing?" He whispered the words as quietly as he could, hoping Pyrrha heard him. No blame if she didn't. For all he knew she might have already asked the same. That'd be bad.

"Hmm," Pyrrha mumbled in response. That… was probably some quick dismissive noise. Made sense. Talking any longer would make it harder to hear the voice singing. "I don't know… it sounds… memorial…"

Jaune didn't know what that meant, but he knew she was right, somehow. The word _probably_ meant that it was hard to forget something. Right now, Jaune was having a hard time not listening to it. Even if it was in a different language, or not a language, or just muffled too much, it was just… nice. It was good to listen to.

"Should we see who it is?" Jaune asked the question as quietly as before. This time, Pyrrha didn't give a response back verbally. He cracked his eyes open slightly, and looked at his partner. She was watching him, too. Difference was, she was nodding her head, slowly. That was good. "Okay… want me to go first?"

"No, I will," Pyrrha answered. That was good. Jaune honestly had no idea what he would do to get to the roof without making any noise. Sounded kind of impossible for him. Pyrrha? Probably a day in the park for her. Well, night, but same thing. "Just do as I do and stay close behind." He nodded, taking his ear off the door as he did so. Had to, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to move it. That was kinda important.

Slowly, almost mutely, Pyrrha twisted the knob on the door, pushing it open as delicately as she did sharpen Milo. He'd seen her do it enough to know that the level of care was the same. What was weird was that he couldn't tell if she was breathing. He held his breath for good measure. Less sound. The door was still opening.

As it crept open, more and more and of the pale moonlight reached over them, that and the cold air of the night. Almost made him shiver even with a sweater on. This time though, he did shiver, and it was that he was leaning in too close to Pyrrha's back.

It was because now he heard the voice singing.

 _"Fan ima tu rima nis. San ta limen ver pa,"_ the voice sang, flawlessly. Jaune couldn't honestly think of another word for it.

It sounded like what it felt like to watch Pyrrha fight. No mistakes, no hesitation, just perfect movements and perfect pitches with each word. Jaune was curious before who was the one singing. Now he really had to know. Pyrrha must have to because he swore that door was opening quicker. Just as quiet though.

 _"Scrif tu mobis forra. Vato cris forten no ko reha,"_ The voice kept singing and Jaune and Pyrrha kept sneaking.

Pyrrha was crouching, lowly, as she moved her way past the open door. Jaune was just behind her. He moved his hand to the door, holding it steady as Pyrrha hugged the wall. Couldn't have it move too much too quickly. Training almost every night made it clear to Jaune that the door wasn't well treated against the weather. It squeaked if it moved too quickly.

His head was just past the door when Pyrrha suddenly stopped. That was bad, really bad. Pyrrha didn't stop for almost anything. When she did, it was usually for unexpected sights, like Grimm swarming Vale or a single Hunter killing an Ancient Grammite. Those sort of things. When she stopped now he didn't understand. Yet.

Jaune, carefully as he possibly could, moved through the door the rest of the way, staying low as Pyrrha and still holding his breath. It was getting kind of hard to hold in.

 _"Vos tera not ver pa. In nuviste terana ver pu,"_ He could hear the voice clear as the night right now. And it was a clear night. No clouds to cover the moon or stars. No real wind to make it hard to keep his eyes open. And really, even if there was, his eyes would have stayed open like they were glued.

It was easy, given that he was staring at a tall golden feathered figure at the edge of the roof.

 _"Scrif tu mov ta,"_ her voice held words in the air, letting them slowly fade. And when they faded, she didn't sing anymore. Wait... was it a she? No guy no matter the race could hit those kind of notes. But maybe they could, and that was why they were hiding. If Jaune was wrong, that was bad.

Wait, no, that was secondary. He, they, Pyrrha and him needed to know who this figure was. She looked familiar, sort of. But… he couldn't place it. Jaune put a hand to his head, thinking of where he might have seen someone like… this before. It was only after he did that that he realized he let go of the door.

**SLAM!**

Instead of scaring himself, Jaune just let out a groan of annoyance, using the hand on his head to pull him down. A screw up to the very end. That was one thing he always had a knack for at least.

"Oh, hello," the figure spoke to them. Jaune didn't bother to look up. "I apologize for not seeing you there. I believed that we were alone." Well, technically they were until he and Pyrrha came up here. Technically most people knew they came up here every night, but they didn't exactly have it on lockdown or anything, so-

"Wait, we?" Jaune asked as he brought his head up. It took him a moment to realize the bird, doubtlessly a fuanus, still hadn't turned around completely. That didn't stop her head from looking over her shoulder far enough for him to see both eyes. Freaky. "Who's we?"

"Myself and Ruby Rose," she said back. Was she smiling? How was she smiling with a beak? No, wrong question.

"I'm sorr- we're sorry for interrupting," Pyrrha spoke up. Yup, he was sorry, good thing she apologized. He'd do the same next chance he got. "But, where is Ruby?"

The figure didn't say anything in response, but she kept smiling. She did start to move though. It was kinda cool to watch, all the feathers that were draped down her back moving as she twisted. It was like watching his little sister at her ballet recital, the dress spinning around her. This was slower of course, but the gold, that stuff was shining even with the sun down. He could see the long feathers falling off of the edge of the roof one-by-one, most likely, hopefully, hanging from the rest of her body as they did so. Of course the bundle of red that was in her arms was different from the gold but it… wait…

Was that… Ruby?

"She is resting," the figure spoke again. "I offered my voice to her, and she accepted. In the midst of one of my songs she fell asleep by my side." Were they standing, sitting, what? "When I moved to stand, she gripped by feathers, still seemingly unaware to the world." Sitting then, great. "So I picked her up and continued to sing. She must have been drowsy for some time, for I almost fear she is so deep asleep she may never awake."

"But she will, right?" Jaune found himself asking. "Never waking up means, like… something really bad. And, no, wrong question. Who are you?" Somewhere in his question he started to stand. He didn't know when, but he definitely was by the time he asked the important question. At least she seemed surprised by it. Kinda mute when she was… tall… really tall.

"Oh, my apologies once more, I failed to remember that we have not yet met," She bowed carefully, still towering over Jaune. That kinda made him worried, that and the seemingly ever present smile she had with Ruby. "My name is Elrora of the Watarara." Wait didn't Tatl mention something about her? Back when, oh… "I am also called Link."

"Link?" Pyrrha now, walking up to beside Jaune. She stopped just beside him and he gave her a glance. Her eyes were glued to Elrora. "That's… of course, I'm so sorry for not realizing it was you. Jaune and I usually come up here at night and your voice kind of surprised us, so we didn't want to interrupt."

"I thank you for your concern towards my comfort," Elrora spoke, her head lightly moving towards Pyrrha. Or was it Link? Both? This was worse than a gender question, because it was that and more! "And now I must apologize thrice to you for taking a spot I did not know you had reserved. I merely made to perch her shortly, but Ruby's state has made departure difficult."

"O-Oh no, you don't have to apologize," Jaune took up now. She, he, Elrora, Link… Jaunne was gonna call them they until told otherwise. "We can't exactly reserve it, we just… train up here. It's pretty empty at night, most of the time." He kept looking at them as he spoke, but it was really hard not to look down at Ruby.

She looked like a little kid in the faunus's arms. Like, really small kid, like a few years old by size comparison. She was sleeping like it to, eyes shut, head lolled into the bird's chest, on hand gripping at the feathers with the other curled around herself. Kinda made it harder to look away from with the fact that as she was literally being blanketed by the wings of the bird, too. It actually looked kinda… cute. Taking a picture of it probably would have been pretty bad though. Yeah.

"Of that I understand," they responded. "Peace is most easily obtained in the waning hours of the night. And rarely is there a better time to improve one's self then when you have no worries." Jaune really wanted to know how that felt. Being worry free sounded like being able to fly. Good thing he didn't say that out loud. That would have been bad.

"Um… Elrora," Pyrrha again. "Wouldn't it be best if you… put Ruby down, or in her bed? I mean, it can't be comfortable holding her like that." That was actually a pretty good point. Personal experience with his younger sisters told him that lifting someone seemed all cute and cuddly at first, but after a long time it was just basically holding a deadweight in your hands, one that might grab at you.

"I do not mind at all," they returned. Jaune needed more context for the name. "She is light, and appears to rest easily." Elrora looked down at Ruby. Jaune was now entirely convinced that smile was permanent.

"She reminds me of my daughter." Never mind, the smile fell.

Jaune had blinked. In the course of that single blink Elrora had changed from the smiling golden bird holding Ruby to a still looking bird holding Ruby. That wasn't much of a difference was it? Well… it was enough to catch his attention, which given Jaune's expertise in everything else, being little to none, meant it was something.

"Your… daughter?" He heard Pyrrha speak next to him. But she sounded off, way off. Why? Elrora just said that it was like handling their kid. It was… wait… If Elrora was like Impa and Mikau… and Mikau's story with his kids. Ah geez, couldn't they catch a break!

Jaune felt his own face fall as the bird slowly shut their eyes, taking in a deep breath of air. Couldn't they have just a normal conversation? Well, no, normal was pretty impossible with a guy that could wear the memories of his friends, fight ancient Grimm from age ten, and still be able to laugh at the idea of losing to any of them in an arena. Still, hearing that… maybe it would be best if Ruby were somewhere else, them to. Bed sounded pretty good right now. Focusing on a duel with Pyrrha right now seemed… impossible? Yeah, that was it, impossible.

"Um… Elrora?" He started, not sure himself why. The golden faunus looked at him. She wasn't smiling, which was bad. But hey, at least that meant she could do something else other than smile. That really didn't matter right now. "Uh… your voice was really nice while you were singing, I mean, Pyrrha and I didn't want to interrupt you." Hadn't Pyrrha already said that? Yeah, she did.

"I thank you for your kind words, Jaune," they said back. She looked like she was smiling, maybe. "But now, I think it best that I return Ruby to her room for the night. I am sure we will have much more to talk about during tomorrow's day."

"Uh, yeah! Definitely," Jaune was nodding his head heavily with the words. That was a good idea. "Yup, you do that. Here, I'll get the door for you." Actually he wasn't sure she'd fit through the door, but it was the only way off of the roof, aside from jumping. Still wasn't depressed enough for that. He moved towards the door, reaching out to grab the handle.

Only to have it slam right into his face.

"There you are! Do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you!" Someone shouted above him. Was it above? Kinda hard to tell when he was looking up at the sky. Oh hey, Pyrrha was there, too. Except she was looking down at him with a worried expression. That was normal at least. But then who was shouting? Sounded familiar. "We lost you when you did your spiral descent around Ozpin's tower. So where did you-"

"Weiss!" Someone else shouted. "Look would you shut up?" That was, without a doubt, the loudest whisper Jaune had ever heard. At least he thought it was a whisper, hard to tell with the throbbing over his skull. That wasn't too abnormal for him, pretty common way for him to get to the ground at least.

"Ah, there you are," they spoke. They were Elrora and Link, whoever actually was talking. They needed signs. "I was hoping you would come soon. Young Ruby will need one of you to take her to bed."

"What'd you… you… oh… Ruby…" Well, couldn't stare at the sky forever. Jaune gently pushed himself up, feeling Pyrrha put her hand on his shoulder, steadying him. He flashed her a winning smile, hoping that it would be thanks for now. He focused his eyes before he looked around himself.

First thing he noticed was Blake at the door. Noticed that first because he was still facing the door, albeit with his butt on the ground and a few feet away. She was looking past him. Weiss, his snow angel, was standing closer to him, but it was kinda obvious he was the last thing on her mind. It was made more apparent given that she was walking past him. Just behind her, behind in the sense that his snow angel was between them, was Yang. He couldn't see much of her, from the ground, a person between them, and walking away from him, too.

"She is well, of that I promise," he heard Elrora talking. Jaune twisted around on the ground, Pyrrha taking her hand off his shoulder as he did so, only to put it on the opposite one. Had to admit, it did kinda help him stay upright. Elrora was looking at Yang and Weiss, her beak smiling again. It may not have been permanent, but it did look like it came back pretty easily. "I sang to her, a personal request on my part. She fell asleep amidst the songs and I now find myself unable to find the most suitable way to care for her."

"I got her," Yang spoke up. She marched towards Elrora with her arms out. Kinda made the sheer height of Elrora all the greater, seeing as Yang barely made it past chest level with the bird, and he and Yang were the same height. "I'll make sure she gets back to her bed."

"Excellent, you are a kind sister, Yang," Elrora answered leaning down with Ruby in her arms. It was kinda obvious with the hand off. Pretty sure Ruby let out a noise of some kind, but it was hard to tell with the ringing in his head. He'd have to get that checked out. "She sleeps as soundly as a growing child. I find it difficult to remember that she is both a Knight and a leader."

"Shh…" Yang whispered instead of an answer. Jaune had to shake his head, doing his best to get rid of the pain. Only made it worse. Honestly he was just having a tough time remembering when Yang wanted it to be quiet. "I've got you. You're safe Rubes." That only freaked him out more.

"Thank you for your… assistance, Elrora," Jaune's snow angel spoke up now. Her voice was quiet, too. Guess she really did care about Ruby, enough at least to not wake her up. Wonder why that was, cause all Jaune could think of was how often his older sister would move him in his sleep just to prank him. From that angle, this seemed like gold. "You have provided us with much to think of in regards to our training, not to mention helping Ruby sleep." Did she have trouble sleeping?

"You owe me nothing, Weiss," Elrora answered. "But I accept your thanks with grace. I only ask you meditate on my words and care for your leader. I promise I will offer you flights in the coming days, but for now, I believe the night has made rest the most desired action to take." What was that about flights? As in flying? As in she carried them?

"Nope, no thanks, I'm good," he waved his arms, catching himself before he fell over. Well, Pyrrha caught him, but he righted himself. "No need to take me for a flight. I'm good on the ground, the safe hallowed not-moving-without-my-say-so ground." Jaune would have to be knocked out or dead before that happened to him.

"She was speaking to _us_ , Arc." Weiss turned her cold blue eyes to him. Kinda funny, the snow angel speaking heatedly. Oh hey! It was her, not they! That was good, he guessed. "It was her form of apology for… making us all think something rather unfortunate earlier." How did someone make you think anything?

"Besides," Blake now, from behind him. Jaune turned to see her, her arms crossed as she looked down at him. That wasn't uncommon, but it was bad. "Asking for something like that is very personal to a faunus, something they give only to people that they trust." Well Jaune probably wasn't on that list.

"I do not mind," Elrora spoke up. Jaune was able to see a quick look of shock over Blake's golden eyes as she looked up at them.

He turned to them, but found the bird stalking towards them. Maybe that was the wrong word, but with her wings basically wrapping around her like towels, he was reminded of the last boss of some video games he played, looking all ominous and stuff. The gold kinda ruined that. That and the smile. They were both just too… bright to be either.

"Your hesitation is both founded and understood, Jaune," they spoke to him. "I thank you for your kindness earlier, you and Pyrrha both." Her eyes swiveled to his partner. Jaune felt her shirk under the gaze. No idea why. "But for now the coming night will be short, for I'll have to rise before the new day. With luck, I will see you all again soon."

When her hands reached for her face, Jaune knew what was coming next. He shut his eyes, looking away to keep the bright light from blinding him. It was uncomfortable. He felt it through his lids regardless, but it was far better than listening to Link scream. That freaked him out when he turned into Mikau and no amount of time would make it any better.

When the light had died down though, Jaune opened his eyes. As expected, Link was there. Just Link, his apparent faunus double, complete with his green tunic, belts, sword, and alabaster beaked mask. Didn't much time for him to put together what the mask was. He pocketed in his tunic, smiling as he did so. Maybe it was him grinning as Elrora.

He nodded towards them, green hat swaying with the action, but that was pretty much it. Maybe he looked at Ruby in Yang's arms, maybe he gave Blake a small nod, maybe he even gave Jaune a hand shake. Actually, he did do that last one. Had no idea why. He really should get that head injury checked. What he did know was that Link was the first to leave the roof, walking to the stairs and out of sight.

"Well… this has been fun," Jaune let out. "So what now?" He didn't really ask anyone the question, just kinda threw it out there. Helped with the thinking process, usually because someone would end up giving him an answer.

"Now?" Yang spoke first. "I'm gonna take Rubes back to the room, tuck her in, and give my dad a good long call." Kay, that made sense. Probably shouldn't ask about the phone call. Wasn't his business.

Still, Jaune couldn't help seeing how Yang looked down at her sister. The brawler usually had some lopsided grin, a smirk, or even a pout. But right now, she just looked… hurt. Was she hurt? Nah, probably not. About as likely as Pyrrha losing a fight. Didn't really matter all that much cause she was leaving, literally. She was out the door with Ruby in hand.

"That doesn't happen often, does it?" Pyrrha asked, but Jaune knew that wasn't to him. The answer was kinda obvious though. How often a faunus professor sings a student to sleep? Not hardly.

"No," Weiss answered. "Ruby and Yang are close, but she hates being picked up like that. I thought it was just due to the brute's tendency to smother her with her hair." Who to who what?

"She's fighting off jealousy," Blake now. "Elrora was able to gain Ruby's trust and sing her to sleep. I don't know much, but Yang… she told me about their mother, Ruby's mom." This sounded like it was gonna be bad. "She sang Ruby to sleep a lot, especially when she was scared. Ruby hasn't trusted anyone else to do that since she passed on."

Yup, Jaune was right, horrible.

"Then does it make it a good thing that Elrora sees Ruby like her daughter?" It was 'her', his snow angel confirmed that for him. Made it easier at least when addressing Link now. Elrora was she and Link was he, not they, which was usually pretty good. Some people preferred they. "Not like an actual mom and daughter, but like… surrogate? Is that bad?"

The silence that followed told him it was bad. Or, more specifically, the way Weiss and Blake were staring at him. That usually ended with someone hurt, nine out of ten times him. Well, he was already on the ground, but it'd be easier if he was standing. They were usually satisfied if he fell over. Jaune pushed himself to his feet, Pyrrha put her arm on his back as he did so. He got to his tallest when Blake spoke up again.

"Jaune," the dark girl said. "Elrora had a son. She told this to me, twice." Jaune felt his face fall, a groan just barely coming from his lips. Of course he had to be reminded of that. Nothing much worse came to mind than knowing parents and children were split up.

"Um, I'm sorry Blake, but you must be mistaken." Pyrrha spoke up now. "I'm very sure Elrora said Ruby reminded her of her daughter, those were almost her exact words."

"They were," Jaune agreed with his partner. "She told us right after she said how light and easy it was to carry Ruby." That only made the black and white members of RWBY look at one another. Was there a tag team take down coming?

"Could she have had more than one child?" Weiss asked. Oh please be no.

"No," Blake returned. That was good. "She only ever mentioned her son. Rauru was his name. She told Ruby and me in the Emerald Forest and myself again before our flight. I'm sure, I _know_ , that she had only one child, and he was male." Was this still good?

"Pyrrha," Weiss asked his partner. "You're sure, absolutely so, that she said daughter?" Jaune nodded his head without being asked.

"Oh, yes," Pyrrha spoke. "I'm as confident that's what I heard as I am with a sword. She said daughter." There was something else.

"Yeah, and she even froze up afterwards," Jaune added in. "Kinda the way you'd expect anyone to if you reminded them of something like that." Well, he'd probably just cry, but that was probably something no one could blame him for.

Weiss and Blake looked… worried? Was that it? Wasn't a hundred percent sure on that one. Mortified kinda fit in there, terrified to, but he knew those two pretty well, given how many times his life had almost been ended. Blake was just shaking her head.

"You don't understand," Blake now. She seemed quieter than usual. That was… bad? Yeah, probably. "Elrora only had a son, but you two both say Elrora mentioned a daughter."

"That means… she misspoke?" Pyrrha spoke as question. That was Jaune's bet. He'd been called by each of his sister's names by his own parents before. Mary, Margeret, Jane, Juliet, every one of them had been his name at some point, usually with his parents laughing off the mistake. But Elrora didn't laugh, and it wasn't like Link… oh.

Oooooooh… oh Grimm no… C'mon…

Jaune wished he was back on the ground. He could already feel his stomach getting upset.

"It means… it wasn't Elrora who mentioned a daughter."

* * *

"Well, this has been an interesting day, hasn't it?" She spoke the words carefully, mulling over more important topics in her mind as she spoke them. They were meant for her two subordinates, not for herself.

"That's one way to put it," Mercury spoke, lower limbs outstretched and leaning back on his arms. The floor suited nicely for that. "I'd describe it more as a cluster of Nevermore, but interesting still qualifies." Crass, as usual.

"This changes a lot," Emerald spoke up now. "We already had to delay our plans with the festival being postponed, but with The White Fang on edge and this new faunus as a teacher, it could jeopardize everything."

Not many would insult her plan so easily. Even fewer expected to live for it. However, she was a not a woman of intellect for killing those who challenged her plans. Plans were merely ideas, ones that could be modified and improved until perfected.

"Agreed," Cinder spoke in turn. "Though do not forget that he is still but one creature. No matter how much power he has, it is just one more obstacle we must work around."

"I-I know," Emerald replied quickly, relenting. Good. "It's just hard to not think of him as some indomitable force after everything we got on him." Another valid point, more proof that Emerald was worth her weight for both sabotage and espionage.

"Let's see," Mercury began, lifting one of his hands from behind his back. He counted off his fingers with his words. "We got the ability to transform, mastery of Grimm knows how many weapons, some seriously high level combat experience, a semblance he or his little mini-bots haven't even hinted at, and then it's all neatly wrapped up in a warning the big boss gave us."

"You were doing so well, Mercury," she spoke calmly, directly, to the blue haired boy. His eyes flashed for a moment, the only sign he was aware of his mistake. He quickly realigned his own proverbial mask, a small grin and hunched stature. "But you are correct. Our mistress was very specific with her warning, wasn't she?"

Cinder was well aware of what the warning was. Replying it over and over in her mind as often as she did the plan they were sworn to commit. It was one of many mantras she had, one she kept as much thought into as the plans for the death of hundreds in the weeks and months to come. But, though she knew it, she had to be aware that her key pawns were just as wary.

"'When he appears, the faunus in green will bring both calamity and peace with masks to match.' Not something you can easily forget." Emerald listed the warning, correctly. Very good.

"I just kinda wish she were a little more specific about it." Mercury followed. "Does it mean we gotta keep a closer eye on his actions than Ozpin's? Or are one of his many handy dandy tools gonna be the key to some super weapon? Maybe that friend he says he's trying to find."

"All are possibilities," she emphasized. "Wise as she is, our mistress cannot know what time will not show her. It is why we are here doing as she says."

"It keeps us all safe, right?" Emerald questioned. She preferred direct answers. Questions as responses felt so… unsure. However, small offerings of forgiveness were important, she supposed. Otherwise her pawns may change color.

"Correct again," she lightly tilted her head towards the one-time petty thief. "She cannot be reached where she is and, so long as we follow her orders, we will remain just hidden from all around us."

"Bet that little blow Torch in Vale wishes he had the same kind of assurances." It was only the truth of the statement that kept her from being annoyed with Mercury.

"Indeed," she agreed. "Torchwick has done a fair amount of work for us. I only hope he continues to be a resource we can depend on. He is well aware of what would happen should his feet begin to shiver."

Though she said nothing in response, she heard Mercury chuckle at the idea. Of course he would, it was obvious. Just as obvious as Emerald's light hair toss and breathy sigh. Neither had love for the small time thief and crook. He had his uses, but they were limited in scope. His part would soon be done.

_Bing_

"Oh hey, speak of the Grimm and they shall roar," Mercury mockingly spoke. He lifted his hand to his breast pocket, producing his Scroll. A deft flick of his thumb produced the translucent screen, taken up by a series of words and images. Backwards and some distance away, she could not make them out. "Oh hey, I think it's for you. Idiot must have sent it to the wrong number." He leaned the scroll forward with the words.

"I should hope not," Cinder spoke honestly. "Else he was just as lucky to hand the information he sent to someone not involved in our circle. That would be… unwise." She took the scroll regardless, eyes looking over the words swiftly.

_Cinder, sending this through boy blue boy blue because I know how much he loves his horn._

She raised a curious brow to said individual in front of her. His mask was as straight as ever. Mockery indeed, but the tact was deplorable. They would have words next time they spoke.

 _Ain't got much on our little faunus boy yet, mostly because whatever country he says he's from is as garbage as your little thief's thieving abilities._ Those skills were actually second to none, but the mockery was evident in the words. _What I do got is some words that he's made a deal to look out beyond the kingdom for that friend he was telling Ozpin about. Got a few boys looking in those dark corners myself, but I'm taking any loss of communication with them as a maybe for the location_.

 _Look, point is that pointy eared elf is as much a mystery right now as you are to the rest of Beacon. They all know you're there, but they only know what you're telling them._ A poor comparison again, but the final words of the sentence did hold merit. _While Junior's goons are looking up and down spooky caves and haunted mines, I'm trying to make a plan myself on how to 'borrow' one of the little guy's masks._

"Oh," she spoke aloud, intrigued by the idea.

"What is it?" Emerald asked. Her curiosity was as palpable as her eagerness. A true dog, just as Cinder needed. But like any good puppy, she would have to learn patience.

 _See, we might get anything said in Ozpin's office, but Little Red and her three angry bears slash kittens seem pretty happy talking about him. They mentioned that he had ten masks to show off. So far, we've only got info on a few of them._ She was already well aware of this information. Cinder loathed to be told messages twice. _Buuuut, apparently the kitten of the group said that one of the mini-drones interrupted the other when they were going to put a number to the head count. I've been in this business long enough there are only two reasons you interrupt a partner during a business deal. Sacrifice or secrecy._

Cinder felt herself smile.

"Okay, seriously, what's up?" Mercury raised his voice now. "The last time you grinned like that, you found out the prize student of Atlas was actual a puppet with loose strings." That was true, but this was better.

 _Give me a bit more time in the park and info on the jolly green teach of Beacon and I'll start whipping up a plan. Heck, if I do it right, might be able to get the Fangless Faunus to help us out. Pretty sure it'd be easy to spin a 'traitor faunus' story to them._ It was one of the few reasons Cinder kept Torchwick's role alive in the game. _Seriously though, I'm thinking there's something else he's hiding on him and we need to get it. The gamble is getting something without losing something else. Let you know when plans A through D are done. I'm sure you'll be able to make up E through Z_.

"Hmm," Cinder hummed as she shut Mercury's scroll, flicking it back at the boy. He caught it easily, his eyes never leaving her. Perhaps they did deserve an answer now. "It appears that the rat has found a rather enticing piece of cheese. We need only find a way to help clear away the traps."

"Sweet," Mercury answered. "I was starting to get bored."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	8. Wake of the Second Day

"I'm gonna kill him." That was, unfortunately, the response Blake expected. "I'm gonna tear his freaking throat out and feed him to the Grimm. He'll, oh, he'll regret ever coming near Ruby for this."

"Yang, calm down," Weiss spoke up. This was a situation where Blake was glad they were on the same side. "You're reading too far into Link's actions. We don't know how much of what was said was Elrora or him, not to mention that we are taking Jaune and Pyrrha's word for it."

"Then let's ask them," Yang growled out. "Their right behind that _door_!" Her hand flew out towards the door opposite their own. And they were only a knock away. Jaune and Pyrrha would definitely talk to them after this little discovery. It would also be preferable to discussing in the hall.

They couldn't use their own room, not while Ruby was sleeping, as Yang put it, like their mom was the one who put them to sleep. She probably regretted saying that once Blake and Yang talked to her.

They were standing in the hallway, just outside their door. Weiss's strategic choice. Semi-isolated at night, but close enough to Ruby to keep Yang from yelling. Optimal.

"We'll talk to them as soon as you stop looking like you're going to kill the first person you see," Weiss hissed the words back to Yang. That had an effect on Yang, enough for her to at least look at the ground.

"Fine," Yang let out. That was all the warning they had.

Yang was strong, the strongest on their team, so when Blake saw her immediately take the few steps necessary to reach JNPR's room, she knew she didn't have a fool's chance of stopping her partner. She tried anyway, grabbing Yang's hand. It didn't even sway under her strength.

The blonde nearly pushed the door off of its hinges, only the desire to keep Ruby asleep kept Blake from calling out her partner's name. The same was likely true for Weiss.

It was not true for the members of the room they had just invaded.

"What the- _Yang_!?" Jaune let out, his voice characteristically high at the surprise.

" _You_!" Yang let out, pointing an understandably menacing finger towards Jaune, and maybe Pyrrha too. "Start talking, now."

"About what?!" He was backed up on his bed, halfway undressed and likely getting ready to sleep. Pyrrha was sitting next to him, her hands reaching for a weapon. Ren and Nora were on the other side of the room, already prepared for bed.

"About whatever Link told you on the roof!" Yang let out a yell this time. Blake wasn't sure a door was enough to hold back the sound. "Tell me everything that… that… guy said about my sister!" Things were getting out of hand fast.

"Yang, calm down this instant!" Weiss finally found it opportune to intervene. "You're making a completely unnecessary scene!"

"Some creep just called my sister his daughter and you think I should be calm about this!?" Yang whirled on Weiss, hair almost glowing. Blake knew what that meant. Rage, pure and unfiltered. "You said it yourself! You think I'm, what, supposed to just shrug my shoulders and let some foreign monster seduce her?!"

Rage indeed.

"Whoa, you think what?" Jaune let out again, getting up from his bed. It must have been adrenaline that made him do the one-eighty. "No no no, I can say with at least a little confidence that is _not_ what Link is thinking."

Blake had to admit. Jaune was not the man she thought would challenge Yang, especially now.

"What do you know about it!?" Yang shouted back. "Did that prick say something else?! Huh! Did he tell you his life story?!" Blake was getting ready to jump Yang again. Pyrrha was too, judging back the way she reached for Milo.

Jaune just looked ready to jump, out the window that is.

"No! He just said Ruby reminded him of his daughter," he was holding up his hands as he spoke. But Blake was listening to him intently. "I mean… you remind me of my older sister, especially right now! That doesn't mean I think you are her!"

Wow, point for the little guy.

Blake could see Yang relax, visibly. Her arms lowering to her sides, though slightly balled into fists. Her eyes were relaxing as well, though daggers were comparatively duller to what they were now.

She was breathing easier on top of it. Still though, they were far from out of the woods. Yang was volatile in the worst of ways.

"Jaune has a point," Pyrrha stuck up for her partner, seeing an opening to intervene. "All Elrora… Link said was that Ruby reminded him of his daughter. That was it. He didn't say anything like he _wished_ she was his daughter." There was a large difference between the two.

"And how do you know that's not what he was thinking?" Yang still managed to growl back. "Cause from the way Ruby is passed out right now, I'd bet a lock of my hair that she doesn't mind treating the Big Bird as another _mom_!"

Anyone who knew Yang knew that was not a small bet.

"Yang?" A timid voice asked from the door.

Blake knew who it was immediately. So did the person the voice asked for. The brawler's head whipped for the door Blake following to see Ruby there, cracking the door open just a hair.

"What's going on?" She opened the door to its fullest as she asked the question, no longer trying to hide herself.

The room had gone from deafening loud to equally quiet with all the speed of a bullet. It made for an awkward atmosphere Blake rather preferred to not be a part of. This wasn't the time to run though, not yet.

"Ruby," her sister responded. "Hey, did I wake you up?" The red-head nodded her head lightly. It got Yang to bit her lip. "Sorry 'bout that. I just got a little heated up talking to Jaune here." By the way the boy was looking between the two sisters, he didn't much like the idea of being put in the middle of the conversation.

Blake could hardly blame him.

"You were yelling again, Yang," Ruby returned. "It's about Link, isn't it," Blake was hard to say if Ruby was trying to make the conversation more awkward, or to push to the point where the truth came out. She had seen discussions go both ways with the method. "Did… Did he tell you what happened?"

"He hasn't told us anything," Jaune this time. Blake could see his eyes on the bed, shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts. "Probably doesn't even know that we know. I can't even say we were lucky to find it out. Kind of want to forget it myself." The world was not kind enough to allow that.

"How did you find out?" Ruby was asking. That struck an odd chord with Blake.

Ruby was passed out, asleep, and not even aware of the world when this conversation between Elrora, Jaune, and Pyrrha occurred. So how could she have information?

"Ruby," Blake started. "What do you think we found out?" The faunus-in-hiding was never surer of her decision to question then when Ruby's eyes felt to the floor, her hands playing with each other just beneath her chest. She was hiding something, that was plain as day.

"Rubes?" Yang asked now. She must have caught on. "Did he do something to you?" Maybe not.

"Wha-? No!" Ruby almost shouted back. She bit her lip, shutting the door before stepping into the room. "I did. Well… we both did." Blake swallowed on a ball of saliva in her throat, wetting the airway to keep herself from coughing.

"What does that mean?" Yang's voice was getting low again. The last thing they needed was Yang jumping to a bad conclusion. Thankfully, Ruby was not only her leader, but sister. She knew what to do.

"Link, or Elrora, I'm not sure who, offered to sing to me while we were flying." Ruby looked very uncomfortable talking about this. "I told Link he was amazing and then Elrora asked the question. I thought it'd be nice so I said yes. We landed on the dorm so I could get off and then she went to stand on the edge of the roof."

It all seemed pretty innocent so far. It was just as easy to see Elrora preferring the edge of the building to its center. It modeled a tree branch more appropriately, or perhaps the high cliffs their race usually perched on. It was hard to say.

"I sat down next to her, because it's hard to stand and listen to people. She was waiting for me to get comfortable and didn't say anything." This was avoidance if ever Blake heard it. "But… then she did start to sing."

"What'd she do?" Yang growled out. Even Blake had to admit. As far as protectiveness went, this was animalistic in nature.

"Nothing!" Ruby let out loud enough to blow off some of Yang's steam. "She just sang! A-And it was beautiful. I couldn't understand a word, but she just sang into the wind and it carried and I felt myself getting tired and tired listening to it but I didn't want to fall asleep but I kept holding on and then I started to hold onto her feathers and she stopped and I was worried that-"

"Ruby," Weiss spoke her name quickly, forcefully enough to get the girl to finish her rambling. "Calm down and relax. We aren't angry at you, we just don't understand what happened? We're… concerned about what Link said."

"He said?" She asked, eyes blinking.

Why was that odd to her?

Maybe she really didn't understand what was going on. That only made this situation far more precarious than before.

"Yeah," Jaune picked up. "Pyrrha and I were talking to him, no… her, Elrora, while you were basically knocked out in her arms. Mentioned that you reminded him offpihfphfphf." His words were well and truly muffled beneath Pyrrha's strong grip. Blake gave the duelist and thankful sigh.

"It was just odd to see him holding you like that while you were asleep," she started speaking from where she cut off her partner. "Jaune and I were not prepared for the sight, and Yang was kind enough to take you back to your room before Link left."

It didn't seem to convince Ruby. No matter how young she was, Blake's leader was far from naïve and ignorant. One look at her sister's near flaming hair and sharp red eyes let her know something else was going on. She could not chalk it up to coincidence. Still, it left the question hanging in the back of Blake's mind, just what did Ruby think they knew?

"Elrora picked me up when I started to get really tired," Ruby spoke on, her voice almost a mumble now. "I-I just kinda fell onto her started saying I was fine a-and she said she knew I was but she didn't want me to fall off of the roof." She sucked in a large breath of air, probably to keep herself calm. In that moment, she was almost mistakable for Yang, given the volume. "It was kinda awkward at first, but then she kept singing and I just kept getting more and more tired. I just kinda… closed my eyes and listened."

Blake risked a glance to Yang. She didn't look any angry than before. Then again, Grimm were typically calmer than how she looked now. Tension was still well and present in the room. At least it wasn't getting worse.

"Then I called her mom."

Space itself was louder than JNPR's room right now. Blake dared not move a muscle to even glance at her teammates. She kept her gaze solely and focused squarely on Ruby, her leader. She could see the girl struggling with her tears now, her hands turned into fists against her chest. This was not how Blake thought the day should end.

"I… I-I don't know why I said it," Ruby's voice was shaking. "Elrora just… it wasn't Elrora. It was Link. He just kept rocking me and saying I should rest and then I heard more singing and I didn't care because I felt _safe_." She spat the words out, arms being thrown to her side.

Blake saw Yang take a clear step forwards.

"I felt safe for the first time in forever and I was so happy that I wasn't reminding someone of mom or being told it was all going to be alright when it wasn't and I didn't need to feel bad or fake a smile or anything I just… I just…" Ruby started to shake her head violently from left to right, like she was getting ready to scream.

Yang wrapped her in a tight hug before she had the chance. Fast as Blake had come to expect from her leader, Ruby had her arms around her older sister, fists balling into the back of Yang's uniform. She was shaking, visibly by Blake's eyes, but still was holding back any tears. The rest of the room was not so lucky.

Blake could heard Nora sniffling, most likely holding her pillow the same way she had when they entered the room. A quick glance showed her Jaune in a defeated slump on his bed, looking anywhere but at the sisters. Pyrrha was doing the same, but with knees pulled up to her chest. Weiss looked loss. Blake didn't pity her, because she felt the same.

"Shh…" Yang's voice eventually spoke again, calm and soothing. It was so different than the rage filled one from before. "It's okay Rubes. You don't gotta be sorry for anything."

"B-But you were mad at m-me," Ruby sputtered out pitifully from her embrace. Blake her hand twitch at the words. "Y-You were sc-creaming about Link a-and how it was his fault, b-b-but it wasn't, it wasn't. It was my fault. It was all my fault. I-it's… It's always my…"

"No," Yang spoke decisively. Her own head was shaking. "No, Rubes. I wasn't angry about that," she mumbled the words into her little sister's hair. "I was just confused and messed up. You know how I get. I just didn't know what to think when you were in Big Bird's arms."

Blake still had to talk to Yang about that name.

Blake heard her team leader suck in a wet breath of air, probably close to spilling however many years of pent up regret. It was never a kind thing to watch. They really shouldn't be doing this, especially in front of them.

"Perhaps it would be best if you returned to your room." Of all voices, Ren spoke up. Blake stared at him and she wasn't alone in that regard. "It is late and the confusion with Link has been clarified. Now would probably be a good time to get some rest and let the worst of these thoughts just… fade away."

Good choice of words.

"I agree," Weiss followed quickly. "This has been a rather textbook definition of a long day and the only remedy for that is a good night's rest. Now," she clapped her hands as if to end the conversation. Blake had no argument this time. "We can discuss this in the morning but Yang, Ruby? Why don't you two go settle first? Blake and I will follow."

"M'Kay," Ruby responded before her sister had chance, didn't look like she had much of an argument anyways. Said blonde led her little sister out of the room, one arm over her younger sibling whom leaned into her. Blake saw the mouthing of a clear 'thank you' towards the group. Nods were the only response given.

When the door shut, Blake could practically _hear_ the muscles relax in the room.

"Ah geez," Jaune let out. "Is there any way for this to get worse? I really want to know before we're blinded sided again. Not a fun feeling." Blake only shook her head as she took a deep breath herself.

Her eyes scanned the room for a vacant spot she could huddle in. She settled for a far wall corner, twisting so her back was against it. Then, slowly, she slid her way down until she sat upon the ground.

"So, to summarize," Weiss began to speak. "We, through deductive reasoning, found out that Link saw Ruby as his daughter, if for a moment. Now Ruby has confessed that she saw him, or appropriately Elrora, as a surrogate mother."

"And Yang was about as happy about that as you could possibly imagine." Blake waved her hand with the words. The really wasn't a need to go into more detail than that.

The memory was fresher than a salmon caught from a stream.

"Is it really bad that she thinks that?" Nora spoke up. She was almost unheard with her mouth against her pillow. "It's like Jauney said, just because she said that doesn't mean she thinks Mr. Green or Ms. Gold are actually her mommy. It was sad, but is it bad?" Her odd nicknames for the individuals involved aside, there was a small point she was missing. Blake had to fill it.

"Ruby and Yang's mother is dead." There wasn't much new tension to create. The news must have been expected given the reaction. "I don't think Yang wants Ruby to latch onto anyone we've just met, no matter how amazing he is."

"Then what do we do?" Pyrrha asked. "Ignore it? Pretend this never happened? Act like Ruby was the one who was at fault? Does Link even suspect we know?" All good questions.

"He may suspect, but I doubt he knows," Weiss continued. "He left before we reached any spoken conclusion. For Ruby, as… questionable as it may seem, I feel leaving the situation alone for now is best." She could have been a little less callous about it.

But… she had a point. Bringing it up again only would have made the future interactions with Link and his friends difficult, infinitely more so if Elrora was ever seen again. If Ruby only thought of it as a small mistake on her part and Link was unaware then, with luck, it could have been forgotten. Too bad luck was something she refused to gamble on.

"I've got a worse question," Jaune spoke up again, raising his hand in the air from his laid back position. "And I really don't want to ask it."

"Well, you have to now," Ren answered. The amount of truth in the statement was worryingly large.

The sigh Jaune gave meant he knew as much. He pushed himself up till his hand supported him, posture horrendous as he slouched forward.

"Link's here looking for his friend, right?" Blake nodded with Weiss, both hearing the testimony from his fairy companions first hand. "And he, like, really values his friends, too." More of a statement, but yes, it was true.

"What is your point?" Weiss asked. Jaune sighed at her words, leaning on one hand to allow the other to scratch the back of his head. Blake had a gut feeling she was going to hate what was coming next.

"Okay, why would this guy, who values his friends enough to _literally_ carry their memories with him, leave his own kid to try and find a friend?"

The answer made an unfortunately heavy amount of sense to Blake.

Enough for her to raise a hand to her lips in shock. It wasn't hard to imagine, but it was so damning to do so. She could see Weiss trying to conjure her own reason, but her logic was not in family. It was in worth.

"Because his friend… is all he has left." Blake hated the words as they left her mouth.

She could hear Pyrrha give a small gasp with the words. Jaune's groan was accompanied with him falling back on his bed, the usual curses leaving his mouth. Blake muttered a few more of her own. Because now all she could see was Link in the face of such a horrible thing.

Knowing his friends were dead, his family was dead, and he was looking for the last friend he didn't even know was alive…

"Not a word," Weiss suddenly spoke up. "We are not going to speak a word of this to Ruby, to Yang, to Link, or anyone else." Blake had a similar mindset, though unspoken. "I don't care what you want to call it, a pact or agreement, but we are _not_ going to risk emotionally damning three people. Understood?"

"Of course," Ren agreed first. Nora nodded her head vigorously next to him. Jaune raised a single thumb into the air in agreement. Pyrrha took more time, putting a hand on Jaune's knee, taking in a slow breath of air. But her nod of concurrence was clear as glass.

"Good," Weiss nodded. The motion quickly weakened. "Good… now… I need to rest. Thank you, all of you, for the time. Blake?" She held her hand out to the faunus-in-hiding, her face expectant. No arguments were given.

Blake pushed herself from the wall, walking towards the heiress and taking her hand. Small nods were given, her own way of offering thanks. A quick twist of her wrist, a few more steps, and they were back in the hall. Just as many motions with just as much time, and they were in their room.

Perhaps luck was on their side, because Yang and Ruby were asleep.

More specifically, Ruby was asleep with Yang. She was cuddling into her older sister, hugging her as a small child would a large pillow. The scene was as heartwarming to Blake as it was cruel. Her curiosity wanted to ask what the mindset was of her leader, wishing so greatly to be a Huntress while bearing this weight.

But the other half, the more experienced of the two, knew better.

They were siblings only half-way in blood, sharing a father, not a mother. Yet Yang watched over her younger sister with the intensity of a hawk, Ruby doing her best to show that she was anything but a child. It was what made moments like this all the more damning. She breathed a heavy sigh through her nose, calming herself from this… long day.

"Get some rest," Weiss whispered to her. She was already stripping to her night gown. It appeared that the events so far had put modesty on the side-lines. "We have much work to do tomorrow." Blake knew she was right. She just wasn't sure they had the same agenda.

Blake still didn't know how to tell the heiress about Impa's words.

* * *

" _-and following recent White Fang activity, General James Ironwood has declared airspace above Vale to be Military property until the conclusion of the Vytal Festival._ " The noise of the television droned behind the bar, hardly audible normally. It had a voice now only because the bar was dead and empty.

Usually it was in the middle of the day.

" _When reached for a quote, the Council said that other more important matters were being dealt with, and they trusted General Ironwood with the safety of their citizens._ " No voices were raised in objection. There were hardly any present to do that.

The only mouth available was drinking third glass of whiskey.

_Tap_

The empty glass settled on the bar top, the man behind it staring at his lap. It was hard to lift up your head when it was being weighed down by alcohol. And he had drunk a _lot_ of alcohol.

" _In other new, Lisa Lavender reports on more exciting news happening across Vale. Specifically, in the Hunter Academy of Beacon_." Now that was worth a head tilt.

It made his head spin like it was a boat at sea, but to at least see a part of the screen was worth it. That is, as long as it wasn't another bait story to get a few more views. Wouldn't be too surprising if it was.

First thing he saw was the familiar face of _Lisa Lavender_ , eyes squinting at the camera. Her hair was about as pale as her skin, and she looked like a ghost ready to reap a soul. Too bad she wasn't a huntress. She'd have done a lot of good scaring the bad out of some punks.

" _Thank you Aurora,_ " the reporter began. "A _nd yes indeed, there has been new news from Beacon Academy, surprisingly uplifting after the fiasco with the Grimm Invasion only a few weeks prior._ "

 _Snort_. That was a laugh.

The Grimm didn't invade, they were baited. But saying the Grimm attacked was a lot easier to swallow then the Military were duped. His head swung at the idea. It righted itself enough for him to stare at the screen for a bit longer.

" _Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy, has taken on a surprising new addition to his faculty list._ " And up on the screen popped a picture of the Wonderful Wizard himself, cane and all.

Would have been perfect if he was just coming out from behind some screen, or maybe stroking a beard he didn't have. Or just maybe, he'd taken too much alcohol in the system. That was possible.

" _In an unprecedented display of achievement, a recent addition to the Academy, inducted only two weeks ago, is now a registered faculty member to the students._ " Huh… that was pretty damn impressive.

Maybe the drinks were just getting to him. That didn't sound like Ozpin would do. Either it was stupid, which Ozpin wasn't, or it was out of caution, which was still stupid to do out in the open. So no, it was too stupid to be real.

" _The new Professor, denoted by records to be Link of Hyrule, has another accomplishment to his name._ " Must have been a hell of a thing to rise that quickly. " _He is the first faunus Professor to teach at Beacon Academy_."

He blinked. Twice. Thrice. Whatever, the hell came after that to mean four.

A picture of the apparent 'prodigy' showed up on the screen. He was a faunus alright, with ears that long. Probably part wolf or something, maybe a jerboa. Those were some mean ears. Kinda funny that they were on the face of some little girl's fantasy hero.

Seriously, it was the booze. It had to be whiskey. Cause the faunus on the screen looked like a heroic knight out of a kid's story. Yeah, he looked cool, given that the picture was taken with two mini-drones floating around him, oddly colored, but he'd seen less convincing photoshops on the news before.

" _Glynda Goodwitch, and established Professor of Beacon Academy, was pinged for comment on the unusual events. She had this to say:_ " The witch actually had something to say?

Well that was worth a little more focus. And up on the screen was the Anti-Wicked Witch of West. Hair combed, face preen, and eyes narrowed into daggers shaper than Grimm's teeth. The usual, basically.

" _Link has gone through all legal channels regarding Beacon, the Military, and the Council. He is a certified Hunter. All else that needs to be said is that he is a capable Hunter who will teach the next generation well._ " Short, sweet, but never nearly enough to eat.

That was Glynda all right.

" _It is to be said that Link has claimed, by what few records are available, to be affiliated with an undiscovered country outside the four kingdoms,_ " Lisa spoke on. Maybe the alcohol had something extra in it, cause no way was Ozpin going to suck up that lie.

Then again, he was acting like there was a fire sale going on…

" _Recent videos have circulated through the net of Link. For note to our watchers, all videos were captured by third-party contributors who wished to remain anonymous._ " That meant students that didn't want to be called to Ozpin's office. Smart kids.

Lisa was taken over by another square block, this one showing the beginnings of a scroll's record function. It picked back up some kind of top-down view of a duel. He recognized it as the Beacon Yard, just outside of Ozzy's tower. He could see the faunus standing in front of a bunch of other students.

And he could see that he had up some kind of ward blocking all their bullets. Well at least his Semblance was upfront and obvious. Useful, but pretty lackluster. Did a good job against all those bullets though.

Didn't help that the audio was crap. Probably because of all the tykes yelling and screaming in the video. He could see Glynda watching from the outside of the field, on her pad like she always was.

Then the Link guy threw a boomerang and created a hurricane…

He blinked again. The hell was his Semblance?

Didn't have time to worry about that, because when the twister flew back to the faunus, he basically punted the three kids off the grounds… maybe into orbit. The vid didn't capture what happened to them.

" _As you can see, his abilities in battle show his abilities as a Hunter,_ " Lisa continued as the screen went away. She definitely wasn't a Huntress, because any actual Hunter would have a million questions. _He_ had a few, but whiskey said it was all okay… " _But further videos show capabilities beyond normal uses of Semblances or Advanced Military Weapons."_

The screen popped up again, this time in the classroom. He remembered the classroom, and the blowhard who _loved_ to talk in it. The same faunus was at the front now, wearing the Beacon uniform and holding something in his hand. Too far away to tell what it was.

Whatever it was, he put it to his face and started to scream. Then it all went white. Good way to end a movie, especially hammered. Got him to smirk. But when the screaming was gone and the white filter with it, the faunus was gone.

And in his place was a literal walking fish, built like lamp post.

Oh yes, he was hammered, and the video on the television was the proof.

No way was he ever soberly going to say he saw a video of a faunus transforming from wolf to fish and back again. That wasn't even throwing the electric show on a _bone_ guitar that was clearly captured on some student's scroll. The hell did that work even?

" _As shown, Link has expressed many abilities that apparently give his claims of foreign descent enough precedence to be validated by both Beacon and the Military. How this was done, however, we were told is classified_." Classified like the White Fang's creation at least.

Damn if it wasn't fun to watch though. The half-pint of a faunus had some moves up on the screen. Sure, they were all about as well captured as a night after drinking half the bottle… or the entire bottle… but it was still a good show. Whiskey was fun.

" _Currently, Link is teaching the students of Beacon Academy Combat Training and Action_ ," Guess if you're going to learn the art of war, it'd be from someone who looks like the enemy. " _No further information is available at this time. However, we are hoping to learn more once the week ends and the students of Beacon begin to tell us more. I'm Lisa Lavender, and back to you._ "

The screen went back to the other reporter now, someone much less interesting, cause they were a lot less attractive. But hell if that wasn't something to know about.

The dude looked ridiculous, and like it or not, hiring a Faunus right in the middle of a scare was something only someone like Ozpin would come up with. But seeing as he could count his crows on the Council doing what shouldn't be done, it sounded like James came through by making the Link fella Hunter.

Still, he had only half the information, but at least he had a means to get some more. Had to be a good story behind the faunus becoming a teach, cause getting Ozpin's trust wasn't that easy. His hand rose to grab the bottle next to his drink, getting ready for round… double digits.

But he pushed the bottle over the edge and onto the floor. He groaned as he shattered behind the counter. Figures, bad news with good news.

" _Oooh_ , do you need a hand, sweetheart?" A smooth voice spoke next to him.

A very slow groan left his throat. Then there was the worst news.

"You seem a bit… _loose_." Of course, he'd met someone like this in the middle of the day. Well the dude was doing an excellent job at _tightening_ him up.

"Nope, I'm good. Just… enjoyin' the day," he responded in a raspy voice. Still hadn't looked at the guy. He was pretty sure that if he swung his head, he'd fall right out of the seat. Last thing he needed was this creep putting hands on him for "good" reason.

"I'm sure there are superior ways to _enjoy_ one's day," the man kept going. He could hear the creep _purring_. "But if you prefer the dark quiet of a bar with the buzzing of television, perhaps a bit of _company_ would be enough to _lighten_ your day."

Luck wasn't strong enough a word to attribute to this guy. If he was short on three drinks of whiskey, the creep would be just as many feet below the floor.

"Look… you…" he began carefully, hand pointing towards the man outside his vision. He took a slow breath of air, raising his head in the process. It took a lot of effort, just the way he liked his drinking to end. "I'm not swingin' that way and the scotch ain't gonna help you. I've got my quota of bad decisions with the stuff."

"Darling, I would _swing_ any direction you wanted." He let out a _very_ long groan at those words. Some people just didn't know when to quit. "Can you at least offer me a look in the eyes before you deny."

Yeah, that… He'd do that… Then he'd turn the creep into the gender he _clearly_ wanted to be.

Another deep breath was sucked into his lungs, enough to straighten his neck and back. His hand pushed on the bar's edge, twisting his chair till he was eye-to-eye with the creep of nature.

The alcohol was the only thing him jumping out of his seat.

The creep was staring at him with one good eye, the other hidden behind a _way_ too well combed set of white hair. It was hanging far enough down to hide the entirety of one side of his face. Really didn't help that his lipstick, _yes, lipstick_ , was colored the same white as his hair.

Lips pulled into a coy grin, the _super_ creep's eyes were the darkest grey he'd ever seen, enough to make him think the guy was seriously ill. Actually, no, that wasn't it. The dude's skin was what made him look ill.

The creep had skin like dying grass, way beyond anything that would've passed for healthy. Hell, the only keeping him from wondering if the creep was all right was prior knowledge. No _way_ was this freak all right in any use of the word.

But if all that weren't enough, the creep was dressed like he'd walked out of a Halloween Party.

Probably did.

The most _ridiculous_ red cloak was over his shoulders, falling over his chest and hanging off of his back. The front of the thing was just a bunch of fabric _literally_ pointing at his crotch. And the rest was split three ways behind him.

And if all that weren't enough, his suit was skin-tight and white. _So_ skin-tight that it might have explained the creep's behavior. Weird things happened when you had the _blood to your brain cut off_.

And no, the _giant golden belt_ did not help.

"Captivating, aren't I?" For literally _all_ the wrong reasons.

"Well, I do owe a thank you now," he spoke honestly, shaking his head to make _sure_ it was jumbled. "Pretty sure nothin' could've sobered me up faster than looking at you."

It was insult. But the creep was laughing.

"Oh I understand. I'm quite the sight for all the misinformed." And he struck a pose, of course. Hand on his hip, other palm flush against forehead. But he still had an eye open. "But the offer is still open… and _waiting_."

And that's when his tongue came out of his mouth. It was just what he needed to get the last of the whiskey out of his head. But there was at least one, _just_ one, other benefit to it.

It's length made it pretty damn clear the dude was a snake faunus. Still a creep though.

"And it's gonna wait in the cold." He was sober now. Sober and gone. He fished some Lien from his pocket and slapped it on the countertop. Didn't count it, but it was enough.

The bartender was gonna need the extra tip if this super creep was hanging around.

His chair spun around and his feet hit the wood floor. His boots clanked with wood, his lifting from the stool. Any fatigue he used to have was pretty far gone, at least after seeing _that_ thing.

"Leaving already? But handsome, we haven't even shared names." As if he needed any more motivation to get out of there. His boots were working at the floor as he almost jumped to the door.

"That's what we in the business call a win-win." He pointed to the sky as he pushed past the door.

He needed somewhere else to find a good drink.

* * *

Ozpin lightly sipped at his coffee as he looked over his table. A multitude of images were laid over it, each one taken at a different time point from a different area on his campus. They were gifts, of a sort, from Glynda's surveillance mini-drones, constantly circling the grounds to ensure the safety of his students.

Now though, they had a secondary purpose. Specifically, the monitoring of his newest teacher, the Hunter from Afar, as he was kind to call him. Well, her in this case.

Impa, the marvelous example of discipline, appeared in each photograph he gazed at. The morning sun behind him gave only a slight glare to the screens, but he could still clearly see her at work. Her diligence in class was over a few dozen of the pictures.

Glyphs of pale blue and fiery red appearing before students that had won their duels, dark azure ones overlaying destroyed sections of ground, and then darker circles overlaying and repairing the grounds. It was slower than Glynda's telekinesis, but the end results were the same.

However, those were only a few of the pictures. Ozpin refilled his tea as he looked over the images that were taken following the class. He saw Impa, the same professor that had performed at a stellar level in class, speaking with many of the students about his campus.

The hands on approach with team CRDL was of interest to him, if only because he was sure the team of bullies would soon find themselves outside of his walls and without a source of income. The black sheep if you would.

Yet Impa had appeared to give a…. demanding lesson to their leader, enough that he did not retaliate against her as Ozpin had suspected he would. Cardin Winchester was an impulsive brute, if put honestly, but the brute portion to his character was grand, enough so that Ursa Majors were at his level in strength.

The story Impa told him must have been grand to have Cardin prefer lying on the ground then getting back up. That would be an interesting development, Ozpin was sure.

Penny was more expected of the encounters Ozpin observed. She was the first student to fight Link, Impa as it were, as well as his newest student to the academy. The decisiveness of the battle was something Ozpin found little room to debate.

The amount of lead way Impa offered Penny was questionable, but she surely did not offer any favoritism for the girl. The conversation that followed, however, along the western portion of his campus, showed something else.

Impa was taking the time to converse with her, offering what looked like advice from a skilled huntress to a young student. Penny absorbed the information, though that was as he expected of the aura-infused android.

The conversation lasted until Impa departed, giving some other form of advice over her shoulder. What Ozpin did not miss, though Impa likely did, was the look of content that Penny Polendina wore.

It was something worth framing.

Ozpin had a few more images upon his table as well, those not of Impa, but of Elrora. They were still of his newest hire, helping the students he still likely called friends. Unfortunately, it appeared to be a conversation where the words meant more than any action he could perceive.

The young team RWBY seemed to shift from admiration, to trepidation, resent, then returning to thanks all within the span of a single conversation. It was something incredible, but far too improbable to predict the exact subject of their lecture.

It only became doubly so at the last set of images detailing Link, in the body of Elrora, holding young Rose as a mother would a child. Ozpin set his tea down on the table as he stared at that one. It would have been the subject of much debate in any other circumstance, but he knew better than to assume with Link.

If a single complaint was lodged, however, he would have to settle the matter personally to keep the Council from marching into his campus. They only needed one reason, so he had to do his best to give them none.

Ozpin's eyes shifted up as the small _ping_ of the elevator met his ears. His smile returned, knowing who it was. A quick sway of his hand sent all of the images across his desk away, to whatever digital folder they were housed in. They were out of sight for now, and that was all that mattered.

That left him, his office, and a nice cup of tea the only objects of interest. The elevator opened and out walked Impa of the Shiekah.

"Impa," Ozpin greeted, bowing his head and holding up his cup. "I trust you are having a pleasant morning. I do hope that I have not inconvenienced you with my request." The woman across from him only shook her head as she walked into his office, posture as firm as it was the first time they had met. Power was in her every stride.

"Not at all," she returned. "I have no sessions scheduled today with the students and only a minor meeting with your young doctor." Doctor Oobleck as it were. "And I can surmise the purpose of this meeting."

"Oh? And what do you suppose it is?" It was a word game now, but that was how people of wisdom tended to speak. If Impa's age was no jest, she'd have that to spare. Said woman crossed her arms before she responded, a sly smile working over her lips, just visible above the leather scarf she wore.

"It is only the day after I began my work at your Academy in earnest," the faunus started. "If not to judge my actions thus far, you are hoping to see what I think of the position. It is a wise course of action, overseeing new members to the court."

Faculty was the preferred term, not court, but it was just another small difference he could easily overlook.

"Precisely," Ozpin confirmed for her. "I'm glad we are so quickly on the same subject. Please, have a seat." He motioned to the chair before his desk with his free hand. She nodded towards him, taking the few steps necessary to reach the chair. She twisted it before sitting in it, spinning it back to face him.

"Though if I may begin with another question, where are your fairy companions? They did not strike me as the pair who would not wish to attend this meeting." Her hands were folded in her lap, out of his sight.

"Tatl and Tael are talking with Doctor Oobleck," Impa returned. "They have much to discuss, as Tatl said. Though those words hold truth, I know she would rather stay and speak with her brother and likely informant than hold a conversation with me."

Now that was interesting.

Why would the golden fairy not wish to be around Impa? It would have to be this woman, as the small creature was furious when separated from Link. It was not a question he could ask aloud, however. Too forward, especially with a woman who stared at him with such sharp red eyes.

"Differing opinions," Impa said. It caught Ozpin, humorously, off guard. "Though Tael and I enjoy stories, Tatl and Impa… we do not share much common ground. So when my presence is required or requested, the two make themselves sparse where we know it to be safe." Hmm, interesting.

It also gave credence to why he had not yet heard of Impa before yesterday.

Still, that raised questions over just what differing opinions the two had trouble working out. Ozpin could recall Qrow and Ironwood being far and away from good friends, yet he could count on them to fight side-by-side if need.

That was, however, drastically different from simple conversation. Perhaps if they were just avoiding a fight, it would make sense. That only made stretching out conversations with Impa undesirable for all parties.

"I can understand the sentiment to avoid conflict," Ozpin finally spoke. He could not allow silence to perpetuate between the two of them. "It is a difficult task those of the mediation position must often oversee to." A hint, nothing more, but definitely enough for Link and Impa alike to catch up on. Both were quick on their feet.

"Indeed," Impa returned. "It is why I will be spending the day with them both as myself." That meant Link, or at least Ozpin assumed so. "We have not yet had a great amount of time to explore the Academy, and a day without duties to perform is the best one to spend exploring."

"Agreed, and I hope there is much you find," Ozpin spoke truthfully. The more interested Link was in Beacon, the less chance there was of him leaving for any stray reason. Link was wise and strong, but still ignorant to the forces their land. This was not his land of Hyrule.

"As do I, but we can speak on that during another time," Impa changed the subject. "I would like to focus on your thoughts regarding myself or, perhaps specifically, how you feel my actions compare to those of your other instructors." Ozpin grinned, tea mug on the table, leaving his lips unobscured.

"Then I must say that you did a marvelous job during your scheduled hours," Ozpin began, honestly and forthcoming. "According to the initial reports Glynda gave, no students were harmed during their sanctioned duels in thanks to your ability to mediate action when a victor was decided. Furthermore, despite a lukewarm initial reception, the Instructor Duels have already garnered much attention across the Academy. How these are to be perceived by the student body, however, will have to wait until we have seen more than a single test sample."

Impa slowly nodded with her words. It was difficult to judge if it was because she was agreeing with what he was saying or judging him as well. He could stop neither, and drawing attention to it would be in poor taste. So Ozpin continued.

"Your seeking out of students following the class was not expected, but showed dedication to their growth outside of your scheduled hours." It truly did. "I am curious to see if this will lead the students to work harder, or perhaps to reevaluate themselves. Most likely a mix of the two."

"I would hope for just that," Impa spoke in return. "Some of your trainees are quite remarkable, in both skill and ability to adapt. Penny Polendina and Weiss Schnee were two I have an honest interest in as well."

Ozpin had the photo of her conversation with them both, but he would say nothing of it to her.

"Yet Cardin is a man who needs more than simple lessons if he is to improve. I wish to see him do so, for a Knight of his size, loyal to a cause he believes in, is a fearsome foe."

"Indeed, he would be," Ozpin agreed. "Though Mr. Winchester, be it his intentions or the decision of fate, seems to have more of a role in showing others what not to be."

"Then I will change that." The sharpness of her voice was impossible to miss. "For only fools and cowards say that what is must be due to fate's design." Ozpin gave no outward sign that it offended him. It intrigued him more.

Impa had so far displayed excellent control of her emotions, very similar to Glynda in truth. But now he saw a crack within her armor, a small flaw that he could simply not turn his gaze away from. It was hard to judge exactly what it was though.

The list of possibilities too great. He kept it in his mind as their conversation continued. It was not something he could afford to forget.

The ticking of the grand structure beneath his office was all that kept the air from being void of noise. An eager part of his mind wished to speak up, but he suppressed it. He knew Impa had slipped. By the small crease in her lips, so did she. Now the wonder would be how she would either recover or repress what was said.

"I have a question for you, if you are open to one." Repression it was. But the question could sometimes be as telling as an answer. Ozpin took a slow sip of his tea before nodding. Impa nodded in turn. "Very little has been spoken to me regarding the land I am now in. I know of your rulers and threats, the training of Knights, and perhaps a fraction of what you plan for your future." Ozpin would have to figure out what the last one was. "But I know very little else. The birth of this Academy, the Kingdom that lays beyond it, the division of its people, all are still mysteries to me."

"Would you not be able to explore these mysteries on your own? I believe you can." That was a lie. Ozpin was fully well and aware Impa could do just that. It was hard pressed for anyone to stop Link or her. But sometimes trust was proven when correcting, not merely agreeing, with what one said.

"I do not believe I can," Impa answered, to Ozpin's unshown satisfaction. "Your leaders and Military are still uneasy about my presence, treating this Academy as a neutral ground as it were. I am sure a single mistake on my part beyond these natural walls would lead to them taking some grand action against me."

"And without knowledge of the land, a single mistake would be likely to occur." Now Impa nodded her head. Ozpin was satisfied with both answers. Denial of his false opinion but acceptance of his honest conjecture.

In the very least, Impa was not hiding intentions from Ozpin, at least not poorly. Her ability to read others was marvelous, as Glynda pointed out during her eye-to-eye and mini-drone observation. Still, he needed to know more.

"Why ask me?" He posed the question innocently enough. "I am sure your friends would be more than willing to speak with you."

"I believe they would," Impa returned. "But you forget, or perhaps did not perceive. I was once in a position of power very similar to your own." Ozpin hadn't forgotten. They were both teachers and leaders of a dispatch of Hunters, though by different names. "You were also the one to give me a position of authority above the trainees, though my friends they still remain." Interesting points, and Ozpin believed he saw where they were heading.

"And so now you believe it is my duty to ensure you are properly informed of the circumstances you are teaching within." Perhaps a bit fluffy with the dialogue, but he doubted a woman like Impa would be unable to see through them.

"Precisely," she agreed with a nod. "Though more to it, I would not have a foreign dignitary be lead and taught by trainees when they are do the respect of a full knight." Ah, so it was more than that.

Doubtlessly more the influence of Impa than Link, but the pride they had would make asking information from those lower in rank unacceptable. It was not something Ozpin, truthfully, had considered, if only because Link's openness with all other aspects of his Academy had been with little argument. It was interesting. That meant a great deal of more thought would have to go into his friends, their actions and motivations.

"Very well," Ozpin spoke. "What would you like to know of? I can do my utmost to answer any questions that you have."

"I thank you for that, but," Impa lead off, to Ozpin's curiosity. "My first question is more personal, though not intrusive. Simply asked, do you have much you wish to know of me?"

Ozpin was forced to blink. Even through his shaded spectacles, the action was slow and deliberate. Here he was stepping over glass to make their conversation neutral yet informative, and Impa had simply asked the question aloud. That must have been Link's hand. Impa appeared too… wise for such a trip in her words. It was all very interesting. Enough so that Ozpin found his grin growing with the insinuations of her words.

"Indeed, I do," he answered honestly. "More than I believe you are willing to answer. I believe you gave a suitable reason during your first class. Glynda made careful note of the small lecture."

"The Unknown and the advantage," Impa spoke knowingly. "One of the first lessons given to trainees before they begin their work in earnest. Knowing where their strengths lie before deciding on what paths to take. The Unknown is both the most obvious and the most impossible to understand."

"I have no arguments to that point," Ozpin spoke. And he truthfully did not. He listened for a moment to the clicking of gears around him, the heart and soul of the clock outside his tower. There was a not a single unknown about it to him. And yet, to everyone else, it was a mystery. The advantage lied there.

"Perhaps then we can have an exchange of information," Impa supplied.

For the first time her hands rose up from her lap, resting on Ozpin's long table. They held nothing but each other, no mysterious items within.

"A little of what I know for an equal amount of what you know. An insurance that we are not overstepping bounds or asking too much of the other."

Ozpin began to chuckle. He meant no insult by the action. Far from it. He was more impressed with Impa's choice of words than many individuals he had in his office before. They all had agendas to complete, Impa included, but she was without a doubt the first to supply one in a way he could not simply turn away from. Be it her or the Knight beneath, both were becoming far more interesting to him with each passing moment.

He was glad to see his gamble to invite the faunus to his grounds had been won in his favor.

"I think that is a wonderful idea," Ozpin supplied. "But I have a small twist to it, if you will." One of Impa's brows quirked, easy viewable with her lack of hair-bang line. Ozpin didn't speak. This was the time for show.

He set his cup down, setting the hand on his table, bringing the built in Scroll system to life. Impa lifted her hands off of the table quickly, surprised by the light display that illuminated the hard surface. She wasn't used to it, but Ozpin could tell she was far from scared of it. His finger ran over the smooth surface, tapping on small figurines, shapes made through the formation of different light bands. Each tap made them perform a small action. Some grew, some disappeared, and others even multiplied. A locking system as it were, but one he knew better than the cane he held.

The green luminescent table brightened as he tapped on the icons he desired, running code and setting up the program. With black and white luminescent lights, shapes began to form. Spinning into creation, a square tile was made, large enough to reach across from Ozpin's chair to Impa's. A graphical transition washed over the tile, detailing it with black and white squares imbedded within. As it did, familiar shapes formed on opposite sides of the board.

Sixteen pieces for Ozpin, and equal number for Impa, and four rows of empty space between them.

The rose up from the table, turning from simple two dimensional images to multi-directional displays. They had the shades of black and white to them, appropriate for the sides of the table they each were set to. The sizes of the pieces varied appropriately and their details significant enough to prevent confusion. In truth Ozpin preferred a smaller board and more personal display, but there were times with a show of might was necessary to build strong bridges. This was just one.

When the table was finished and set, a holographic display popped up next to Ozpin, the hard-light technology showing him the board on the table. He heard a small noise come from Impa, likely between a surprise gasp and curious hum.

"This is chess," Ozpin began. A brief talk was necessary. "It is a game designed around strategy and cunningness. Each piece you see moves across the board in a different way, and each one of them is capable of capturing another piece."

Impa made not a word as he talked, red eyes watching him, switching back to the display beside her own seat, and back to him. She was watching and listening, that meant he had her attention. Excellent.

"There isn't much point in a game that you don't understand the rules for, so allow me to quickly show you what this is." Ozpin made careful note that Impa didn't shoot down the idea of a game at all. She was still listening, still intently hearing him out. That meant that she was likely willing to hear of his plans.

He tapped on the holographic display, lighting it up and allowing his hand to move over the pieces.

"The rules are simple enough. Pawns are the small pieces that line the first row. They can only move forward one space. On their first move, they can move two spaces forward. However, they cannot attack another piece if it is directly in front of them. In order to claim a piece, they must move diagonally."

As he spoke, he made motions with the piece, showing how it slid forward and back. His motions across his hard-light display were matched along the table, the pawns drifting across the surface soundlessly. He watched Impa follow their movements, studying them intently. She was likely making strategies already. Ozpin knew he would be.

"The remaining pieces are call the court pieces," he continued. "They are the rook, the bishop, the knight, the queen, and the king."

As he spoke of each one, his finger tapped on them, lighting up his white pieces in a bright display. Impa's red eyes followed them, and Ozpin followed hers. Even through his spectacles it was clear she was absorbing what he was saying. If only all of his students were as attentive as she was.

"The rook can move any number of spaces forwards, backwards, or side-to-side. The bishop the same, but only in diagonal directions." Ozpin's hand swept away a few pawns on his display, their larger three-dimensional counterparts soundlessly falling over on his table. He moved the castle piece and high bishop as he had shown, both unhindered by the action. "The knight is different in that it can only move 1-2 spaces, but can do so in any order, in any direction, and is unhindered by the pieces before it." He showed his knight leaping over the pawns, the horse figurine on the table doing the same.

"Now the queen and king are where the real power lies," Ozpin continued on. "The queen is oft called the most powerful piece, as it can move in any direction as many spaces as she wishes. You may think of her as both the bishop and the rook." He showed the display again, Impa's attentive eyes focused. "The king is much the same, but has more in common with the pawn. That is, he can only move one spot at a time." And again he showed the display on the table.

Impa had drawn her hand to her chin as she watched, lips pressed into a tight line as her red eyes followed the pieces. If she wasn't interested in playing, she was doing an excellent job at making it appear otherwise. Ozpin would have challenged her to a game under even normal circumstances, given the attention to which she showed. Perhaps he would during the coming weekend. It was a good way to think of matter less crucial to the ones that normally swam through his mind.

"The objective is simple." He spoke, preparing to finish soon. "You must claim your opponent's king to claim victory. The loss of all other pieces doesn't matter, so long as you hold the king in hand at the game's end."

"An interesting game," Impa finally spoke, eyes on the board. "A symbolic showing of the power in the king, though the strength in others. Weakening through the loss of your comrades not necessarily meaning your own end. A misfortune, but not a defeat." Ozpin grinned at her words. She did the same as she looked up to him.

"You have a grasp for this already, don't you?" He was sure she did. Chess was a game high in skill, where the most experienced could defeat the novices with bare thoughts. But a strategist who knew the workings of the board could put masters through the rings, once they knew how to read the opponent they faced.

He had no doubt in his mind Impa, or perhaps Link, was such a foe.

"What other considerations are there?" She asked. "What would happen if the pawn reaches your board's end? Or is there a declaration one must give upon victory?" Ozpin chuckled at her quick deductions.

"A pawn that reaches the opposite end is crowned a queen," Ozpin clarified. "A rewarding but dangerous path to pursue. When it comes to the match itself, if you have my king in the sights of one of your pieces, you must declare 'Check'."

Ozpin turned back to his display, picking and move individual pieces until such a pattern was shown. Impa's king within sights of his knight, a single move away from being done in. The board changed from a black and white checkered mat to a faint yellow glow.

"The table is smart," Impa noted beneath her breath. Ozpin just caught it. "Then I must either move or defeat the piece that threatens the king." He nodded in turn.

"Precisely," he did so for her, one of her pawns knocking his knight over. The board changed back to his monochrome pattern. "But, when the game is at an end, and you have trapped my king entirely, it becomes something else. 'Checkmate'."

A sway of his hand removed near all of Impa's pieces, save for the dark king that stood tall yet alone on her side of the board. He placed his rook at the opposite end, his bishop just beside it, and his queen before the current king. The board now shifted into a dire red. The game was won.

"An interesting game," Impa noted. From the hand on her chin, a single digit rubbed at her lower lip, red eyes peering over at the board. Her eyes shifted away to the hard-light display, hand hovering over it as if teasingly.

She tapped on it, keeping her eyes on the holographic board set on the table instead. Practicing perhaps, she watched the movements she made repeating themselves on the virtual board. Pieces were raised then dropped, spun and reset, and a few odd ones claimed. Trying out a new tool, but she was learning it swiftly. Very quickly, in fact. Enough for Ozpin's brows to raise…

"This is truly something I would enjoy to play." Impa spoke, or perhaps Link. It sounded a bit more carefree. "But why show me this just after the deal I proposed? Do you wish to speak over the game?"

"An honest thought," Ozpin complimented, but ultimately shot down. "But my intentions were a bit more… devious." The friendliest kind, of course. Hard to say it was a naughty form of trickery if he was being honest regarding it.

He took a small sip from his mug.

"The story of chess is an old one, jokes and legends regarding its purpose." Stories were always the greatest way to lead into lessons.

"My personal favorite is of two generals who values the lives of their soldiers more than their own. Knowing this about the other, they agreed to meet and play a game of equal stance to determine who the victor of their war would be. Defeat would be not only the loss of the war, but their own lives."

Ozpin watched as Impa watched him. He let his mug sit on his lips for a moment longer than necessary, hiding the grin of satisfaction as she watched him. There was a lot to be said when a powerful force took an interest to your words.

"They played together for some time, each one doing their utmost to not risk any individual piece they had. But as the turns continued on and time marched forward, hesitant decisions turned into damning choices. One general finally lost to the other, and as soon as he did so, he bowed his head for the other to claim him."

Impa breathed slowly at the words, not hiccupping or sharpening her eyes. Interesting.

"Instead, however, the victor general only asked that they play again, telling to each of their kings that a draw had been reached. Curious, but thankful, the other general agreed. So then at the first of each week, in a temple built for solitude, the two played against one another. As they did, words began to be exchanged, nervous actions changed to pleasantries."

Now her head was nodding with Ozpin's words. She was understanding the message, good. It would make his proposal all the easier to speak.

"In time, the two kingdoms reached peace, as declared by their generals. Both said the other was too great a tactician to risk any true war, for it would only lead to the death of both sides. The kings agreed that the loss of themselves was not worth the death of the other, and so peace was obtained."

Ozpin stared at the holographic display, knowing more than he said. "I find the idea one to chase, a path that leads to continued prosperity over perpetual death."

"I feel only mad men would disagree with you," Impa noted, her lips turned once more into a small grin. That was not her tell, but it was something to take note of. "And I will confess, this game interests me. Perhaps now you can speak what I already suspect." Ozpin had an utter lack of surprise towards her words. Even a first year leader could deduce what the purpose of the game's introduction was.

"Instead of trading information where one can simply end the conversation, I propose we place bets with our pieces." Ozpin let his hand roll over the hard-light pad next to him. The board spun with motion, the best method he had for deciding the order of turns. The pieces were already reset. "For each piece we claim, we may ask the other a piece of information we do not know."

"An incentive to not sacrifice pieces needlessly," Impa noted easily. She was quick, or perhaps it was Link. Both showed exceptional skill in that regard. "But will claiming a pawn truly be worth the same as slaying the queen?" Very fast, indeed.

"No," Ozpin shook his head. He placed his forearms on the table, leaning over the three-dimensional pieces that rose from it. He could still very clearly see Impa, and she to him. "I feel that we have different… degrees of questions. Inquisitions that start from mild curiosities… but grow quickly into age-old secrets."

Impa breathed deeply at his words. She was considering what he was saying, easily following his logic. That was easy to do when both parties were wise in the ways of planning and strategy. It was almost a relief, talking to someone that didn't require heavy handed leading.

"The pawns are questions that might be raised in idle conversation," Impa started, her hand noting the board as she spoke. Its quick spin was beginning to slow, already starting to set the colors for each side of the board. "The rook through knights are more pressing issues, a worry of our past or coming future. The queen is a secret we hold dear, one that we speak of only in hushed whispers and keep off of parchments."

Ozpin nodded his head with her words. Those were all the logical order he had decided on as well. Though the wording was far different from his own, the core meaning was not difficult to extrapolate. The king, however, would be the deciding one. The board slowed to a stop, just in time, and Impa placed her hand over the crown jewel of all the pieces.

"And the king is the secret we'd die to keep." Far different from his own words, but the levity was nearly the same.

"I'm glad you think the same as I," Ozpin noted, nodding his head towards her. "But I am curious what you think. We do not need to play if you wish not to. It was only an idea I had."

This was a bluff. Ozpin direly wished to play this game. It was the only chance he had of learning more of the foreign faunus and his ever growing pile of tools, trinkets, and arts that seemed to both shame and amaze the students and Military. Learning something as small as the method to their creation could fortify Beacon against the threat of the real queen...

"I must warn you then, Headmaster," Impa began, using his title intentionally. "I am wise with Impa's age and cunning with Link's intelligence. Gambling against me is a dangerous prospect."

Her grin was sharp with danger, of that Ozpin was sure. He returned it with one of his own.

"Many have said the same for me, Shiekah," he spoke her clan's name as she had his title. "It is why I lead the most prestigious school in all of Remnant, training the greatest Hunters and Huntresses in the four kingdoms."

Their grins were almost feral towards one another, but Ozpin felt as if he were sharing it with an old friend. Impa appeared to think little different. This game would tell.

"I agree to your bet, Headmaster," Impa raised her hand with her words. It was not in a position for a shake, but the stiffness of it was likely meant to convey the same meaning. Ozpin mimicked the action after a moment, sharing in her quick cultural agreement. Nods were passed then, and hand lowered.

The game was ready to start.

"As you have the white pieces, you may begin," Ozpin quickly offered and lowered his hand, settling them both back on the table. His excitement was almost palpable, but age and time had made his senses sharp and emotions controlled.

"Very well," Impa spoke. Her hand swayed towards the screen to her side, index finger touching on the piece.

Ozpin watched as the third pawn from her left lit up at the touch, the bright luminescent lights increasing in intensity at the contact. She lightly pushed it forward, the piece on the table mimicking the action. It stopped when it had moved forward two paces. Her move was done.

"Interesting," Ozpin noted. It truthfully wasn't, but a completely silent game was more annoying than enjoyable. He reached for his hard-light screen, touching the dark pawn to his far left. He pushed it forwards two paces as well, quickly ending his turn.

Just as quickly, Impa moved her second pawn forward in the same manner as the first. Her bishop had an out now. Perhaps that was her goal. Unfortunately, it left her own pawns exposed. Ozpin pushed the pawn to the right of his left bishop forwards a single space, just enough to allow the diagonally inclined piece to slide away. That would came during a latter move.

But then her right knight moved, jumping from the G1 to F3 position. It made Ozpin's brows quirk for a moment, but he quickly righted them. Perhaps Impa was not so quickly inclined with the game. It was a risky move to have the knight roam first. He could assumed, possibly, that it was a measure to keep his pawn in check. But it was merely a pawn; taking it would expose her knight to his rook. That would be a blow. But it would be interesting to watch.

Ozpin lightly moved his pawn forward one more space, putting right in line with the knight. He watched Impa carefully, studying her for a tell. At most, he saw her eyes shift from the hard-light interface to the holographic display. Not a tell, but it was interesting. She was thinking. Hard.

Impa's fingers roamed over the hard-light pad for a moment, doubtlessly debating which of her supposed moves to make. That was something. She wasn't thinking of the next moment, but the move several turns down the line. It made sense, as that was how chess was played. He who saw further ahead than his opponent was the victor.

And he saw his patience rewarded when Impa moved her 7th pawn forward a single space. It was right in line to claim his pawn, the one that had move three spaces prior.

So it was a bluff on her part. Getting Ozpin to move his piece forward so she could claim it one of two methods. Whoever struck first, both parties would be enjoyed to grab two pawns and two court pieces. He chuckled mirthfully at the thought. She was far from average then. Excellent. Still, Ozpin wasn't one to play on the enemy's grounds. Not when he could help it.

On the next move, his bishop moved to take the second pawn she had moved, position B4. The first take of the game. The sacrificial piece was moved to his side of the board soundlessly. Ozpin grinned. A pawn meant a simple question, and she was likely prepared for any he would ask.

"Do you consider me a friend?"

She looked up from the board, seeing Ozpin grinning back at her. Her eyes were still the sharp red they had been since their first interaction just the day before. One of Impa's hands cupped her chin while the other lay over the table just before the holographic board. It was a position of thought, but she was gazing at him. It wasn't the question she expected, but it was just as easy to answer.

"I do," Impa answered. "You have earned my respect with your words and trust with actions. That is what makes a friend."

The words had weight to them. Weight that Ozpin saw was heavier than gold. A casual question answered in the most superb fashion.

But it was her turn now.

Taking the bishop wasn't possible currently, but it mattered little. With its current set up, it could only afford to take another pawn, but placing it next to her king and queen. It was too early in the game and too far away for it to pose a risk to his own pieces. Clever, but not quite enough. Impa was playing off of a foreign strategy. The only advantage was that Ozpin was just as unknown to her. Best then to play to his instincts.

Her pawn took its second move, removing the first pawn Ozpin had pushed forwards. Just as he had suspected she would, and just as it had for him, Impa drew his pawn to her side of the board, claiming it. Now it was her turn for a question. His eyes flashed to Impa's, seeing that she was waiting patiently for him. She could ask only a simple question, but he felt the more needed question was the same she had posed.

"Do you consider me a friend?" She spoke, earning a small grin from Ozpin's features.

It was good to ask, if only to ensure you were not on the poor end of a relationship. It would be simple enough to lie about, as all causal questions were, but this was a casual not amongst enemies or strangers.

No, it was being played by two individuals, who though only short in time since their first meeting, were something more.

"I do," he answered. An expected answer, but a good one nonetheless. "And I keep my friends close. It's the best way I know how to keep them safe. I'm sure that is a sentiment we share."

She chuckled at his answer. Low frequency, deep pitch chuckles. Perhaps forced, but the sentiment was clear. Not interesting, but still good nonetheless.

It was his turn now. He didn't want to play into her hand and take the pawn. That would be foolish. He could, however, take the silly move. A mocking term, to be sure, but played in order to complete through an opponent's strategies. It worked well when faced with an uncommon foe. If anything, Impa was that.

So, taking hold of the knight just beside his exposed rook, he moved it up two and over one, setting at position H6, right in the way of the rook's path. Impa didn't react, not visibly. Her tells were either good or she was well trained to hide surprise when it mattered little. He hoped he was doing the same.

Now she moved her bishop into play, the one exposed to her left. A single square, but enough to allow it movement to the opposite end of the board. Ozpins' pawn blocked Impa's bishop from taking his rook, but it was a still a reminder than there was now a sniper of sorts that had him in sights. He replied calmly to the action.

Ozpin moved his fifth pawn forward to places, making a line with the movement. It blocked little and posed a threat to little else, but not every move resulted in an ultimatum. Some were made in order to ensure better results further down the line. And the best way to do that was to limit Impa's movements. The pawn kept the knight and other pawns from encroaching further.

Then Impa's right rook took a single step left. Would have meant nothing before, but with her pawn removed, it too had the power to sweep across the board now. Interesting. She now had three court pieces in play. Perhaps that were her move. He could follow suit. And he did so by moving his king forward a single pace. It wasn't to have the king be in a position of threat, it was to have the queen be prepared to avenge the rook.

Impa twisted her lips as the sight. It made Ozpin hastily search is memory of Glynda's observations, noting any time she made the motion before. He could not recall one. It may be a tell, or it could simply be an action of thought, hard to say, difficult truthfully.

In a slower motion than before, Impa pushed forward another pawn. A2 to A3, a single move that gave it direct sight of his bishop. Ah, another set up. Claiming it would allow her bishop to claim his own. They were fine moves, but only that. Looking ahead a single turn mattered little.

Though Ozpin found himself less inclined to be hasty with his judgement. He was focusing on the present very much himself. Still, he wasn't about to waste a bishop.

Ozpin moved the piece a single point back, still within killing sight of the pawn, but out of its reach. Its reach, and all other pieces. A wasted turn in truth, but those sometimes came in decisions of war. A waste in the moment of, but coming back turns later to make their actions clear.

Almost humorously, Impa then moved her bishop across the board, claiming his unmoved pawn. He blinked at the action, unsure why she had taken such a risky move. Even as his piece floated to her side, there wasn't much she could do from there. His rook was vulnerable, but his queen was within eye-shot. It was curious, but he would have to think of that in a moment.

"Why are Hyli… apologies, faunus seen as lowly members of society? I've heard notes of it, but never a reason for it." Oh the philosophical questions. Those could take hours to explain. He didn't have that kind of time, even in a clock tower.

"Difficult to say," Ozpin honestly returned. "The reason changes depending on the person you ask. Some say it is because of jealousy, for faunus have more astute hearing, ability to see in the dark, and greater variety to their numbers. Others might say fear, as the White Fang have done nothing to encourage newer discussions."

Both were honest answers.

"But some would even say it is because they are different enough and in small enough numbers that they simply have fallen into the unfortunate category." Impa nodded at his words, slowly.

She took in a deep breath with shut eyes, hand still gripped at her chin as she did so. Perhaps she had seen it before in her near eon of life. Maybe it simply made sense when you knew human nature. That would require him claiming one of her pawns to find out. No rushing though, that was how defeat was had.

Instead, he removed his knight, spinning it back over until it sat beside her bishop. It was out of harm's way now, though no more a threat than before. Better they both sit in 'bunkers' then him be in gun's sight. It was Impa's move now.

Curiously, she moved her other bishop a single spot up. Interesting, because her own knight blocked her from moving in any new direction. It was the clearest sign that she was going to move it next turn. Still, that gave him two moves to plan. First, a false opening. That was easy. Ozpin pushed the second pawn from his right up one spot, 'exposing' his other rook. That would be remedied next turn.

As expected, Impa's knight moved once more. What was not expected was it settling into a position within striking distance of Ozpin's own. And now he saw the general. No matter what move he made, he would be at the better loss of one of his pieces. Either take the knight with his own, but lose the same knight to a pawn. Or save the rook, but then lose his own knight. It looks like a secret of more weight was going to be exposed shortly. Very interesting. Who said chess was boring?

Still, best to ask first in the very least. Moving his knight from F7 to G5, Ozpin claimed Impa's first court piece.

He knew the question he wanted to ask, well worth a simple inquiry, with hope. Amongst leaders of Hunters and Knights, honor was unneeded to be spoken to be understood. He would soon find out how truth this was.

"What is Elrora's semblance?" Ozpin asked before he explained. "I trust over the coming Instructor Duels with the students, yours will be able to be perceived, if over the course of months. Elrora, however, seems to only possess flight. Marvelous as that is, I suspect there is more to it."

Impa watched Ozpin silently for a moment, likely deliberating on his words. She could deny if she wished, as there was nothing binding to the game, but even unspoken, his respect for her would drop if she declined. In the very least, he would be able to resist asking a question of his own. That would be suitable.

"A shrill cry," Impa returned. Ozpin raised his lower lip at the statement. It made sense for an avian, even if it seem plain compared to his theories. "As the queen to her people, she led them in the Migratory Winds. Said winds could spread them far and wide across different lands, so she would call into the sky, like a beacon of sound. It was impossible to ignore." Perfect sense then.

He was glad the audio was being recorded in the conversation.

Taking notes would have simply been in poor taste. Though Ozpin honestly wouldn't have minded if there was a… computer glitch at the opportune moment.

Said moment was when Impa's bishop did as expected, sliding across the table and grabbing his unmoved rook. A court piece in a precariously safe position. The claimed piece moved to her side of the board.

"How would you rank your own abilities as a Hunter against your comrades?" Impa asked the question with both hands grasping her chin, thumbs dipping into her scarf. "As a former leader of Knight's, I can attest that strength is very much a requirement. But your strength appears to be your mind before your body. So how do you compare your strengths?"

Ozpin honestly put little thought into the matter. It wasn't uncomfortable per say. Simply unneeded when he could not very well trust himself to do everything whilst trusting no one else to manage just as much. He stood at his best when on top. But, if he were to answer honestly…

"I am capable of dueling and likely gaining victory over Glynda and Ironwood even if both were to come at me as partners."

He had no jests in his words. But he had no details.

"If you wish to know _what_ I can do, you will need to claim a higher piece." Ozpin tapped on his queen, letting the tall dark piece from its unmoved position.

"You are wise to hide that," Impa admitted. "A poor choice for a leader to brag of the roots of his power." The expression seemed like one he could follow. Ozpin gave it, as his students may say, the old college try.

"A wise distraction is to draw attention to the leaves that eventually fall." Impa blinked at his words. But that was not all.

Her ear twitched. It was hardly noticeable, even with its great lengths, but it was there. Maybe it could be mistaken for a muscular impulse, but Ozpin doubted it as intently as he did the strength of the council alone. There was simply too much strength behind the woman and the time too inopportune. Very interesting. So that was how she took general surprise.

Perhaps wisely, further words were kept at bay. It was Ozpin's move and he was feeling… pleased. This was a most entertaining game.

It was why he grabbed his unmoved bishop, lifting and placing it two squares diagonal in the only direction it could move. It was not a move he would have made if wanted the game to end swiftly.

No, the move accomplished little to nothing and Impa knew that. He could tell she knew. The small quirking of a brow with a gaze focused on him. Ozpin hid his grin with a mug in hand. He knew she would take his piece next.

That was fine. If anything, he wanted to share as much as he could with her as she to him.

It was the greatest way to build trust amongst leaders. Former though she were, Link was the leader of his friends, even if only in memory.

It was to his utter lack of surprise but content satisfaction to see Impa slide her right most pawn diagonal, the piece snatching away the knight that stood there. It drifted to her side of the table again and Ozpin prepared himself for whatever the aged faunus may ask.

"I have found Blake Belladonna to be a… faunus, similar to myself." Her choice of words shifted from Hylian. Ozpin heard the word on the tip of her tongue, unspoken. "I am curious if you know why she hides who she is. I do not believe it is simply the need to 'socialize'." Good that she saw that too.

Ozpin gave a deep sigh before he spoke. He wished it wasn't his secret to tell, if she was to be the mentor and teacher to the teams, secrecy was not how trust would be fashioned. Not if they remained after questions were asked.

"You are familiar, if only by name, with the White Fang, correct?" Impa nodded at his simple question. Good. "Blake Belladonna is a former member."

Ozpin took careful not of the lack of response from Impa, not even a twitch of her brow. Interesting.

"She fled from the organization when they began to target the lives of citizens in order to push their agendas. Her morals for equality told her they were becoming hypocrites through their actions."

"Hmm…" Impa hummed. Her head tipped to move the hand on her chin to cover her mouth. It was a topic that required though. Quick acceptance would be more questionable than anything else. "She appears to still have great levels of distrust in her team though. Perhaps that is the reason why." Interesting.

"And where did this conclusion get drawn from?" Ozpin asked now, looking across the table towards Impa. She only looked up at him, moving a hand to tap at the hard-light display beside her.

Now Ozpin found himself chuckling. Clever, very clever. But his next move was for a piece he already planned to take. It was worth the question he was going to ask. Taking his bishop, Ozpin smoothly moved it to cross the pawn at C4, taking out another one of Impa's pieces. Instead of posing the question again, he merely raised his hand towards her. She laughed; Ozpin was quick to deduce that it was Link who was chuckling inside.

"I gave an unspoken test to her, to see her worth as a Shadow to her teammates." Ah yes, the terms she used during the first introduction of her class. Those had questions associated as well, though far more casual then king-piece worthy. "Feeding her a truth that contradicted the assumptions of her teammate, I hoped to see Blake pass the information off. Instead she appears to have kept it hidden. You have likely given me the reason why."

"And I suppose this information is something I must take another piece for?" Ozpin asked again. Impa only kept her hand on the hard-light display, moving her hand to offer a grin of her own.

Even if they were not gambling with knowledge, this was a match Ozpin would love to play again.

Impa's next move took not piece, instead merely moving her left most rook a single space forward. It had an out now, but little more than that. Two paths it would likely take from there. Ozpin would have to heighten the pressure on the other side of the board. Fortunately, there was such a move for him to make. It didn't even require a sacrifice on his part.

Taking his own rook, he slid the piece forwards towards Impa, stopping only when it took another one of her pawns. That was three now, and Ozpin was starting to chuckle at the idea that he was running out of conversation topics. Impa's quick breath of a chuckle implied her own thoughts.

"I take your word that you are very long lived, and I do so with little evidence in hand." It was the truth, though Ozpin often took statements made when lying served no purpose as honesty in themselves. "Though I am curious at what age, were you still alive, would be considered an elder."

"Truthfully?" Impa posed the word as a question. Ozpin only nodded once with a small grin, his own hand beneath his chin, holding up his head with the back of his palm. "A thousand years' worth of memories is what makes an elder to the Shiekah, and I am one."

That made Ozpin blink.

"Did you believe you had finally found a woman who spoke of her age honestly?"

That made Ozpin chuckle. Interesting indeed.

It wasn't hard to see why Oobleck had refused to sleep in the past few days. The information the fairies were giving him were likely enough to fill libraries with, if not several decades' worth of journals in cultural studies. He would read every word.

Impa kept the game moving, however, sliding her left most rook right two spaces. It, unfortunately, but it right in line with his bishops. A move he fully anticipated. Ozpin let his hand slide across the hard-light display, moving the bishop positioned at C4 dip down to A2. It was right in line with his Knight. She would have to move it order to prevent him taking it.

Instead, however, Impa did the opposite. She left the Knight alone, moving instead her bishop at G7. It slid diagonally three tiles, stopping when it was in striking line of his rook, closer to her end of the board then Ozpin's. Interesting. He honestly hadn't thought of that.

It was an interesting move, and not one made by many players of chess. Reason being? It was what some would call a slaughter. No matter the move he or she made, at least two court pieces would be lost from the board. If either were bold, it could climb to five.

Five pieces in five moves. It was a gamble of the highest regard in the game, especially against one such as himself.

She was no fool, of that Ozpin was sure. Impa had proven her wisdom and cunning twice now in the game, thrice if he counted their conversation of questions. So why would she make such a move? An amateur's mistake? Possible, but it didn't seem likely…

Confusion was replaced with surprise as Impa produced a mask from beneath her uniform.

Ozpin had all the time to blink before it was placed over her head, drowning the room in light. No scream, no ring to deafen the ears, just a light bright enough that Ozpin had to squint even through spectacles.

When the light died, his eyes looked forward. He saw not Impa, the General of the Shiekah and former caretaker to Hyrule's royalty.

He saw a child, dressed in green with hair to match.

Ozpin watched as the child stood on the chair that Impa once sat on, hands on the table to look at the holographic chess board. As she stared down at the game, he gazed at her.

She had youthful eyes of blue, a frilled top layer of clothing that seemed free as leaves on a tree, a darker under-layer that befit the bark of the same figure, and a headband about her head, denoted by a dark brown emblem of some make. That, and she was small, child-like small.

"Who are you?" was the first question that came to his mind. He thought it was appropriate to speak such a thing, especially when his partner in the match had suddenly been replaced with a figure that was some minute fraction of her age. That was being generous for the child, assuming she was in her double digits.

She didn't answer, at least not immediately. Instead, she stood in the seat that Impa once sat in, just reaching the height that the white-haired faunus had before her. It made it slightly easier for Ozpin to see the pointed ears that came from her head, long as Link's and the same shade of peach.

She was grinning, softly like a child. Ozpin was sure he was not.

Oh, he wasn't scowling. That was a most inappropriate action to take on a child he had just meet. But an upturned frown of confusion seemed well and appropriate. The expression across his lips only darkened when the small girl did speak.

"If you want to know, you'll have to take a piece," she spoke while pointing at the board before them. That was not the answer he wanted to hear. But… it was one that a soul with a tactical mind would place.

Was this a move of Link's? A move in the game that was off the board?

Interesting. Interesting and brilliant.

"Very well," Ozpin returned. If nothing else this would make for a fun memory later. "But may I propose we hold on questions until the moves are done. I have a suspicion we both have a series of questions to ask." The girl giggled at his words, lifting one hand from the table to hide her smile.

"Of course," she replied in a tone between chipper and understanding. Odd, coming from a child, especially when there was no overdone sense of seriousness to it. She sounded aged even, in tone and tone alone. "Then please start." Ozpin nodded at her invitation.

His bishop slid down a single space, claiming the new girl's knight. She swept her own bishop back down towards her side of the board. It took his rook the same way. Ozpin used his bishop once more, claiming the rook the girl had used to threaten his pair of bishops before. And then, to end the slaughter, a queen moved for the first time. It moved but a single space, like a king, taking the bishop without leaving itself in the way of harm.

Two court pieces a piece were settled on opposite sides of the board. A knight and rook for Ozpin, a bishop and rook for the girl. The same number of questions with the same level of secrecy. He felt a grin pull at his lips. Despite the horrid nature at which he was playing, there was a level of cheer behind opening doors with such simple moves.

"I will start by asking once more, who are you?" Ozpin watched the girl carefully, her head light bobbing left and right, mid-length emerald hair swaying with the motion.

"My name is Saria," the girl finally introduced herself. An appropriate name. "I'll say a bit more because you asked with a rook." Her small finger pointed towards his side of the board. Her smile never faltered. "I am of the Kokiri, the race that Link was raised within. A child of the forest, but never an adult. Hidden from the whole of the world. A secret in ourselves."

A secret race? Quite an open secret for Tatl and Tael to talk of it when Link was beginning his test some week ago. Though perhaps their existence was not the secret. It was no secret the Military tested new weapons regularly, but the where, what, and how were all unknown. Perhaps this was that kind of secret. Ozpin had merely found the who and where. The what, however…

"Then you are Link's friend from his youth," he spoke it as a statement, not a question. He hoped not to ruin his other secret card with such a trick. Saria, unfortunately, only grinned with teeth now. Not a no, not a yes, an answer in between. Unfortunately again, that opened too many doors. "Must I use a question to know your relation to Link?"

"No," Saria answered faster than Ozpin expected. That was generous. "A pawn is all you need for me to tell you that, but I don't enjoy answering questions." That was conceited.

An interesting character through and through. Ozpin reminded himself closely that this girl was likely older than she appeared, but her appearance still meant she had an unfortunate end. Still, now was not the time to think on such a thing.

"I hope you understand that if you follow such a line of thinking, I'm under less an obligation to answer your own questions." Ozpin phrased his words carefully. Cause and effect was what he wanted to show, not threats of power. The latter only ended with animosity. "I would prefer if we had straight answers for honest questions."

"Oh, I can," Saria continued. "But I find it better to lead someone to an answer then hand it to them. Finding answers offers a lesson. Giving answers only leaves you yearning for more. Wouldn't you rather have lessons?" Her head tilted as she asked the question, leaning over the table the small amount her lithe body could.

Ozpin quirked his brow, raising his mug to his lips at the question. He was sure now. This was a move on Link's part. Interesting, clever, and ingenious. How better to prolong a game of questions than creating new ones?

"Lessons are grand to hold," Ozpin offered, but did not relent. "But answers are what a leader needs to protect those under him. I give lessons, as do you, but now is not the time to give them to each other. Do you agree?"

The Headmaster's grand reward for his question was an innocent pout from the girl across from him. Marvelous.

"Fine," she relented. "But only if you promise to give honest answers, too." Well, it was easy to promise what he already offered.

"Agreed," Ozpin noted with a small raise of his cup. He set it down beside the holographic board. "Now, if the question before was worth a pawn, then may I ask what it is that the Kokiri wish to keep secret from the world?"

Saria's pout disappeared as she took in a short breath. Probably controlling herself before she answered. No matter the answer, Ozpin knew he wouldn't expect it.

"Before my death, I was nearing my second millennia." No he did not expect that at all.

Now Saria was chuckling, probably at the slack jaw Ozpin realized he was wearing. Hard not to, when the girl was the elder to a woman who looked fit to be a mother at best. The land Link hailed from was now one he longed to see.

"Surprised?" Saria asked the obvious question now. "Kokiri planted the seeds of the forest. We watch them grown and live in them as homes. When one grows too large, we plant another, and the cycle repeats. I was not there in the beginning, but I watched the Lost Woods form from the forest we grew, too large and too grand for any soul to safely traverse."

"That is… surprising." Ozpin noted as simply as he could. It was difficult given the task. He hoped the next friend Link mentioned was not created at the dawn of time. It was nearing the next step. "But I suppose that would be a secret worthy of hiding from the world."

"Because the world is wrought with people who take more than they give." There. Right there.

Ozpin saw it. He noted it in his mind, memorized it, and did his best not to forget it.

At the mention of more than she meant to, Saria's ear twitched. It was the same as Impa's. And, if he watched long enough, perhaps the same as Link, when he did speak. It wasn't a tell of lies, far from it. But it was a tell of discomfort. Small, delicate, but too significant to ignore.

"My turn now," Saria returned. "And don't forget, you promised to answer honestly." That he had, and that he would. Ozpin nodded his head.

Another deep breath from the young… looking girl. Perhaps it was Link making the motion over her. Impossible to say, honestly.

"I can tell you have much sway beyond the land of your Academy. Enough that the General of a grand army and the leaders of the people take your word with seriousness," she started to say. Ozpin was curious where this would lead. "But I am knowledgeable enough to know that no leader of a castle keeps his men only close by. So, do you have Knights that roam the lands beyond Beacon's grounds?"

Ozpin felt a small grin pulling back at his lips. There was wisdom worth two millennia in those words. Plenty enough to show her age was not a jest, just enough to keep him on his toes. It appears that Link didn't ask her out merely to throw him off his focus. Her questions were, after all, different from Impa's.

"I do," the headmaster returned honestly, as he promised. "And more to that, I'll tell you that they are among the greatest Hunters and Huntresses I have ever been privileged to work with. Not because they are merely strong, but because they are loyal, as I am to them."

"Admirable." Saria spoke with a note of finality, but still the child-like chipperness that gave her words an odd ring. It kept Ozpin just shy of comfortable. Likely the purpose. "But now I got a big question, so let me know if I need to win before I can ask."

A question such as that was inevitable. Still, Ozpin was curious what the young Kokiri would ask.

"What lies beneath your tower, Ozpin?"

That wasn't Saria. That was Link.

Ignoring the question, Ozpin could tell immediately that it was Link who spoke. The grin was present, but the gleeful words were gone. The seriousness, his name, the shortness of the words. It was Link who asked. But that only gave the headmaster a person to address.

The question itself was so much more. How did he know of it? How did he possible catch wind? He had not been on Beacon grounds for long enough, not nearly enough. Perhaps he was wrong about this mysterious faunus. Glynda may have proven him false once more.

"I have ears longer than your hands and more experience with noise than a bat blinded by light," the girl spoke again, Link the speaker. "Twice now I've rode your lift, and both times I can hear the hollow echo beneath. There lies something down there, and I'm curious what."

So not a spy, perhaps not. Still, it was far too close for comfort in Ozpin's thoughts. Too close, too important, and most assuredly worth more than a simple rook.

"First, I commend you on your senses Link," Ozpin began, the girl bowing her head with a grin that began to show teeth. "Second, I am unfortunate to say that is definitely a secret worth a king." Saria's expression didn't change.

"Hmm, I thought so," Saria spoke again, and it was Saria. Ozpin was sure. If nothing else, he was gaining ground on reading the differences between the two. "But that's okay, because that was a lesson by itself."

Oh.

Ozpin began to chuckle. Chuckle to laugh hard enough to draw his hand to his mouth to cover his mirth. His eyes lightly shut as his chest rumbled with the sound. He could hear the emerald haired girl across from him giggling as well. She knew what he had figured out, but he had done so too late. Of all the people who had pulled one over on him, figures it would be a child in body alone.

"That was very clever of you, Saria. Or perhaps it was Link." Ozpin was no longer sure. That was the consequence for focusing too heavily on area. That was the drawback of being one man against two faunus. Perhaps their shared mind gave them double the room to ponder and think. It certainly seemed that way.

"Thank you, and it was me. Link is glad it worked." Well, that was good to know. "But for a question worth your bishop, can you tell me about Jaune? I have suspicions he is… less than he appears." Ah, that was certainly well within a court piece's value.

"Less is not the word I would choose," Ozpin answered, lowering his hand from his mouth. It felt good to laugh like that. "Jaune Arc is the descendent of a war hero. In fact, each father in his family has been hailed as a great Hunter in their own right. He was lucky enough to have a mother to match. His misfortune is his lack of proper training."

"Is that not why they are here?" Saria asked, hands leaning off the table as she spun around her seat. She was motioning not to his room, but the Academy, of course. Ozpin could not help the stray thought that the Kokiri of Green fit his emerald hued room well. "Is this not where Knights are made?"

"It is the final step before they are such," Ozpin continued. "They must prove themselves first, the true basics of training. Instead, Jaune faked his letters and recommendations to gain access. He only continues to stay because his promise and skills as a leader far outweight his minor offense."

"That makes sense," Saria listed with a nodding head. "It is difficult for a sapling to grow when it stands in the shadows of two great oaks." An appropriate metaphor in every regard.

"Indeed," Ozpin agreed, "And I am hoping to give him the light and care to become such a giant of the woods." He sipped his coffee as he finished. Quite the conversation such a few quick moves made. "You know, you're color matches Beacon well?"

"Color?" Saria questioned, looking herself over in confusion. Her frilled top layer danced at her quick motion. "What do you mean?"

"I know you dress for the forest," Ozpin began. "And your hair matches you well. But green is a favored color of my own, emerald to be precise. I merely find the shade of your hair and color of your clothes to fit the atmosphere well."

She blushed at his remark. Hopefully, with all forms of prayer, that was Saria.

Well, he should play a little more defensively now at least. He moved his remaining bishop to board center, D4. Not much a threat, but it kept track of the pawn that was nearing the end of the board. A crowned queen would not be a good.

Saria, however, had another move. Her hand reached up to the hard-light display, pushing her bishop across the board with it. Ozpin watched as it swiftly claimed one of his pawns. That was not what he was focusing on.

The bishop was near guaranteed to take his knight, queen, or even worse, king. Quite a move indeed. His fault, he supposed, for focusing more on questions and less on the game. Ozpin could hardly blame himself, even now.

"Does Glynda like to go shopping?" The question made Ozpin look up from the board. Saria's face was full of childish innocence, despite being as far away from a child as possible. "I just wanna know if she'd be someone I could ask to go into the town with me." An innocent question with good motive.

"Yes," Ozpin returned. "But you'll have to set up a time. She enjoys a good shopping trip, but she adheres to her schedule even more so." Saria looked remarkably unsurprised by the statement. Or perhaps that was here merely watching the board with interest.

Ozpin could escape. He could move his queen back and allow the bishop to take his knight. But it was a move that risked putting his king in check with the remaining bishop and king, not to mention the rook which made a veritable line of defense. Taking the bishop meant the loss of his queen, and that meant a heavy question as well. Dangerous.

The game was as interesting as Ozpin expected it to be. He would admit first he let his curiosities for his newest member of Beacon get ahead of him, having him now in a precarious position he otherwise wouldn't be caught dead in before. A fine thing they were alone, a poor thing that he was a man of his word.

He sighed, a deep and tired sound. Like a band-aid, he mused.

Ozpin moved his queen to take Saria's bishop, rolling her white piece over to his side of the board. The images flickered at the image. He had a question now at least, but it hardly seemed worth whatever she was going to pose next. No, that wasn't true. He had to give a light toss of his own head.

This was not a game against the Salem. This was him playing against a foreign faunus, trapped as a stranger in strange lands. No matter the question, his answer, or the opposite of the two. That was all it was. He let out the breath of a chuckle. Perhaps he was due for a break from Beacon.

"Hardly seems worth it," he mused aloud once more. "But can you list for me the number of tools Link has brought with him?" Ozpin's hand lightly raised as he spoke. "You need not expose any secrets to their creation. I just want to know their shape and number. They are being promised to my students after all."

" _Worthy_ students," Saria seemed to interject.

Likely Link in truth.

"And that is not a problem! Link has the Magic Sword, Gale Boomerang, Megaton Hammer, Fairy Bow with Fire and Ice Arrows, Iron Boots, Pegasus Boots, Golden Gauntlets, Power Gloves with Chain-Chomp, Longshot, Great Fairy's Sword, his Mirror Shield, I believe 9-10 bottles with Witch Brewed Potions, Magic Rod, Flame Rod, some Deku Nuts and bombs, Spinner, Roses's Baton, and Gilded Sword! But Link lost his Magic Shield in those Badlands, as you called that dead earth."

That was quite the list. Perhaps it was a non-issue for him to be promising those to the students. At least so long as the fear was running out of motivation… The actual consequence of such powerful foreign artifacts, however, could wait until a student actually succeeded in their quest.

"Of course, his friends all have their own items as well. Things that we carried with us and he brought to keep us happy." Saria played with the band over head as she spoke. Curious. "It's the kind of guy Link his, helping even the memories of his friends."

"Indeed," Ozpin started. "Link… you have struck me as a man who has great love for the life of others." He knew the faunus was listening beneath the memories of his emerald haired friend. "I hope you remember as much with your next move."

That was Ozpin's ploy. He only hoped it worked.

Saria smiled kindly at him as she swiped her finger across the board. Ozpin saw his queen roll over, skittering soundlessly across the holographic display until it ended up on Saria's end of the table. Her grin was rather… prideful.

"There is a lot I can ask with the queen, right?" Saria ask if the question weren't obvious. Ozpin merely nodded, all that the inquiry deserved to have. "I could ask a lot of things I don't know about you, probably things that Glynda doesn't know either." Ozpin knew teasing when he heard it. He dealt with it as was appropriate. Passive observation.

"But you have a different question." The grin turned into a subdued smile. She was still adorable, the picture of what Ozpin was sure many would wish from a daughter, the apparently immortality aside.

"Tatl and Tael told me everything about what happened while I was in the Badlands." This was a path Ozpin had expected. "They told me about how Ironwood betrayed me because of the Council's orders, his quick action to aid, but most importantly, that he was not allowed to discuss what they had found in those dead lands."

Interesting. Now why was that the most important?

"Tatl is really good at reading people," Saria continued. "And she told me that as soon as the Council was exposed, Ironwood turned to help in every way he could. Apparently, he knew you well enough to know about your plan." Ah, so Link had seen that well into the few words exchanged. Truly he was a wise Hunter.

"So you suspect I know something of the Military's operations?" It was a question he had only minimal knowledge of.

"Close," Saria continued. "I want to know what they had found in the Badlands."

Ozpin hummed at the statement. It was something worthy of curiosity, especially to someone who was new to all things in the world. In the right light, it was worth a queen piece, though Ozpin was having difficulty labeling the question. Curiosity or objectiveness? If he wanted to know, that was probably worth another piece himself.

"They found ruins," Ozpin began. "James told me through several reports that they have found ruins that are far larger than the borders of many kingdoms. Built of stone, marble, and ancient tongues, it appears to be dated before the discovery of Dust."

"I could have guessed that," Saria stated. Ozpin wasn't insulted, as he believed she could. "But there has to be something more if they wouldn't even talk about it." That was why he believed she, or he, could. They were wise.

"You are correct. In truth, we found two things. First, a veritable fortune's worth of Dust." Ozpin lifted a single index finger as he spoke. "Most of it is of the fire or lightning affinity, but a fair amount is also of darker hues, suggesting either a grand age or siphoning use for it. Both have not been seen before, but the location makes heavy research impossible." And that was the truth. Hard to promise the life of scientists with Ancient Grimm prowling close by.

"Hmm, and the second?" Saria asked. Ozpin nodded before he spoke on.

"Second, the Grimm appear to be drawn to the location. I am unaware if your own kingdom ever deduced it, but the dark creatures are drawn to negative emotions. Hate, fear, greed, they are all what the Grimm thrive on." The lack of change in Saria's outer appearance likely meant she was aware. "Yet, no matter how greatly we induce this emotions surrounding the region, Grimm are still naturally more drawn to these ruins. Like a sparkler next to a firework, the draw is incomparable."

Saria was thinking, likely of a question she wanted to ask. Ozpin had a good idea what it was. How then did the Grammite come for him? Well, even an adult can be distracted by a sparkler next to a fireworks show. That's not to say no attention would be given, merely temporarily diverted. Still worth the question, but the answer was obvious.

"I thank you for your answer, Ozpin," Saria spoke. She bowed lightly from her seat, still kneeling in it to see him across the table. It was amazing that she was just tall enough to not knock her head onto the surface. "And I promise to keep this information guarded as well."

"And I thank you for that," Ozpin returned. "Now, shall we continue?" Though in truth, there wasn't much of a game left to be had. The winner was, unfortunately, becoming obvious. Ozpin was not on the end he preferred to be.

The game was almost over, and he had not a leg to stand on.

He moved his king up and over, a sing move to hide it from the now present queen. Saria's pawn moved one space closer to home, sitting comfortably at G7. Next move and she could likely crown a new queen. That would be… unfortunate. But it looks as if the game is not going to end the way that he hopes. Still, maybe he could roll out one more move.

Ozpin lifted his lone knight, moving it until it sat beside Saria's queen. She could take it without consequence, but he gambled on the fortune of herself being grander than the idea of his defeat, though the two were closely related. Thankfully, his gamble won out.

Saria pushed her pawn forward a single space, and a new hard-light display jumped up to her. She gave a small noise of surprise, but it quickly dropped as she peered at the screen. Ozpin had seen it enough to know it display the court pieces she could claim. Bishop, rook, knight, or queen. The best choice here was the obvious one. The emerald haired girl grinned before she made her choice.

Almost instantly, a faint glow of white overtook the pawn she had moved, completely obscuring it from view. It resembled a dull sun for a moment, too bright to identify yet not so much it hurt. It was also silent as shadows. Quickly though, the light subsided, and in the place of the once plain pawn was now a tall and elegant queen, looking at Ozpin from his side of the board. He was loathed to admit the journey was a grand one.

He sighed heavily as he moved his knight around the queen, Saria's first queen, once more. It was easily in striking distance, the same as it was before, but now he would be able to claim her queen if she attacked. Ozpin was under no illusion that it was a good move. The knight threatened no piece, it's location was the most obvious trap he had ever created, and Saria could end the game in a single move.

A look at the girl across from him told him his thinking was not incorrect. Her grin was lopsided, hands lightly tapping on the table as she watched the board. Like a cat preparing to jump at a trapped mice. All she needed was the tail wagging behind her and she'd be set.

But then she claimed his knight, with her queen no less. Ozpin only smiled lightly at the action.

"You know," he began as his knight was taken to her side of the board, one less court piece for him to own. "Many would take that action as a move made from pity."

"It is," Saria answered without ever a dip in her smile. "I just believe that you are wise enough to know there is more to it than that. After all, this is only a game. What's the point in a game that isn't fun?"

Chess or not, Ozpin would love to be able to speak to the young girl further. She seemed to embody the art of a secret, something he thought himself privy to.

"True," Ozpin answered. "Then please ask your question, so I may make the move to ask mine."

"Then… I wish to know the reason for the animosity between you and the Council." Her small hand pointed at him as she spoke, over the holographic board they played across. "I know not all rulers get along, but it seems there's more to it with you. It is just a feeling, but my feelings have never been wrong before."

In another game, at another time, Ozpin would have to ask the Kokiri about these feelings of hers. Perhaps they were what she used to live for so long, or perhaps were the fruits of her age. The chicken or the egg, as it were.

"Recently, there was an attack in Vale, perpetrated by the White Fang." Ozpin trusted her to remember the names. "This was after I swore I would be able to keep the city safe during the upcoming festival. Naturally, my failure has cost me the favor of the Council, their confidence as well." It truly was that simple.

"Festival, I believe I remember Ruby mentioning something about that." Saria spoke. More likely Link, as Ozpin was sure Saria had not yet been shown to others. "Perhaps I will need to wait for another game to ask, but why is this festival so important?"

"That is a question that can be answered with secrecy," Ozpin began. "And I will tell that the Vytal Festival is a celebration held between the four kingdoms. It is a sign of our state of peace, the collection and collaboration between our kingdoms. The failure to protect the town it would be held in has postponed it, but not cancelled outright."

"So the Council is waiting to open the festival again," Saria concluded. "It must be difficult. Protecting something as important as the union of four kingdoms." Ah, slight mistake.

"Oh no no," Ozpin slightly waved with his hand as he spoke. Saria's blue eyes looked up at him, blinking behind her emerald bangs. "We are far from unified. We have our borders and cultures, separated by land and people. We have peace, not unity. There is a clear difference between the two."

"Ah, yes, of course, my mistake." The girl swiftly bowed and raised her head. It wasn't something Ozpin thought Saria should apologize for, but it would be ruder to ignore her offering. He nodded his head in turn.

With a small smile though, he tapped the hard-light display for what he knew would be the last time of the match. With it, he sent his bishop over a single space, claiming Saria's first queen. Though not her only own. It seemed to be a trend with Ozpin and his enemies, he mused.

Saria took in another slow breath of air, her third in their game, but kept her eyes on him. It wasn't a mystery why. He had a good number of questions he wanted to ask, a great number of mysteries that all deserved to be solved. And yet… it was too much too soon.

He could tell Saria was holding back on her questions. A scare here or fright there, she asked little more than the state of the world. She had no inquires about exactly what he was capable of, the strength of their numbers, or anything that delved into his past. Odd, considering how two of the mysteries Impa named before the match began where of Beacon and his own origins. Perhaps she was being kind as well.

Well, there was no use in spoiling good terms between friends.

"Link, I have a question regarding your friends." Saria didn't seem off put by the introduction. "Specifically, in terms of capabilities on the battlefield, who would you describe as the strongest? But, to make it worthy of the queen, why?" The former was court piece worthy. The explanation to the answer was a queen's role.

Saria shut her eyes, head tilting back as if in though. Her hands moved until only their tips were on the edges of the table, though she looked to still be kneeling in her seat. Ozpin took the time to fold his hands beneath his chin, resting his head on the pair of them. There was no need to move more than that, as the game would be over by Saria's next move.

"It's difficult to say," she finally spoke. "Strength is defined differently by context, and I have always thought all of my friends as strong. And… Link has always been strong to me." Interesting, the shift between Link and Saria was impossible to miss. "But if I were to guess, you want to know strength by the measure of clashing steel, correct?"

Perhaps a bit fluffy for Ozpin's liking, but the assessment was the same. He nodded towards he words.

"Well, I'd have to say it's sort of a tie," Saria answered. Ozpin raised a brow, prompting the Kokiri to detail further. She did so. "There is not such a thing as single tree fit to grow in all lands. Willows flourish by water, oaks in great plains, and gildergreens in the shadows of others." Her point was well made, and it was surely her point.

"So they have different strengths against different enemies, correct?" Ozpin clarified what he already knew. Unneeded when he was amongst familiar parties, but Saria was as foreign as the word could possibly allow.

"Yes," her emerald hair bounced with her nod. "But… now I need you to make a promise again." Well that was fast. "Link's friends are his friends. They're secrets are theirs, and because of that, Link holds them dear. Don't tell others about what I am to say. Don't let others know." It wasn't desperation, but the pleading in the voice was unmistakable.

"I agree," Ozpin spoke resolutely. And he did. The secrets of friends were not meant to be shared. But this was a special case, given Link's special circumstances. A lesser evil, Ozpin reason. "I will speak of your words to no one."

Saria relaxed at her words, slightly.

"Impa, Lana, and Darmani," she spoke the names a bit too quickly for Ozpin's taste, but he memorized them regardless. He had met two before, though the middle only briefly. The last, however, was an unknown to him.

"Impa has fought in more battles than I have lived years," Saria began to explain, answering the worth of the queen. "If I were to grow a tree for every fight she endured and claimed victory in, your Emerald Forest would match it in size. Her focus in each battle is as legendary as the blade she carries. No mistake is made twice. When it comes to experience, there is none who is more knowledgeable than her. That is not even to mention her ability to learn from those she faces."

Knowledge was the trump in battle. Experience was the key to obtaining more of it. Impa, by Saria's words, had more experience than teams of hunters combined. Small wonder she was the trainer of Knights, let alone the one Link believed best to head class. It was no small comfort to know his students were far from receiving the short end of any stick.

"You met Lana, but only twice." Indeed, once before Link left for the Badlands and again on his unique return. "The gates showed is one of three, and each allows her to commit to actions the untrained would see as witchcraft." Well, by her own admission, she was the White Witch. "Gate of Time, of the Guardian, and of Souls. She may not look it, but with her gates there is little Lana is incapable of doing. She can move bodies across any length of distance, produce nigh-impregnable shields, conjure bursts of magic that would rend castle walls, and even store equipment within them. Her only limitation is the imagination." A soft limit, if history had taught Ozpin anything.

It was likely a more challenging question to know the means by which the gates worked, let alone their unique properties. Selective warping as he observed was impressive enough, but if it was only one use of many, and Saria described the uses as infinite, it would make her a foe impossible to prepare for. A true terror to any enemy, a likely target amongst the Grimm. But, she was now in a mask of gold, so defeat was possible, morbid and loathe as Ozpin was to harness the thought.

"You have not met Darmani." No, Ozpin had not. "But he is called the Hero of the Gorons. In one life, he was the first to slay a mighty dragon that terrorized his people. In another, he braved the terrors of ice and snow to bring spring to his village."

Fond stories, strong tales at that, but it told Ozpin little of what he was capable of. Saria spoke of great respect to the fallen hero, however. It would be impossible to tell why until Ozpin met the man.

"Darmani is a Goron, and the pinnacle of what they can be," Saria fell back onto her feet as she spoke, kneeling still. "He can lift stones larger than this room, bathe in magma that may melt steel, digest material as hard as rock, and move faster across the land then even a horse without rest. But more than those, he can swing a hammer of any size to crush a foe of any strength. Mountains tremble with his blows. "

Now Ozpin felt his brow raise. Those were doubtlessly impressive feats, especially once put together. Curious then, how much had to do with his position as this… Goron, and what may be his drawback.

"Those are most impressive," Ozpin admitted aloud. "I will confess that I am curious about your friends, especially after those tales."

"They aren't tales," Saria corrected. "Tales are stories, legends meant to entertain. What I told you are what has happened or what they may do. The tales that come with their names are different, but all end in the same way." Ah, there was the rub. Best to avoid that ground further. Still, it didn't mean the land behind it was not worth exploring.

"Those are all impressive regardless," Ozpin spoke again, "But if your first Knight was worth Elrora's semblance, then I believe taking your queen entitles me to know how, if at all, your friends are so strong." It was a risky move, he knew, but leaders needed to take such risks. It was unclear if Saria was a leader of her forest, but her age made her wise as one. Doubtlessly.

"Hmm," the young appearing girl hummed. "I guess I can…"

Hey eyes diverted in thought, though Ozpin could not stop the idea that she was in truth speaking with her other half. It was still a wonder how two minds occupied the same body, and do that they did. Enough so that the body itself seemed to change. There were a thousand questions Ozpin could ask about Link's masks, but the more detailed ones, the ones that would possibly allow himself and others to replicate the process… it would take a king for that.

"Impa's strength comes from her age, where she wasted not a day in all her years." Saria began. "Darmani's comes from his race, the pinnacle of a kind that was born from the earth. There isn't much more to tell about them." It was still good information to have regardless.

He was sure Saria and Link were doing the same with the ruins of the Badlands and secrets of his students. Perhaps it was improper of him to tell, but they're secrets did affect him. Afterall, they were secret only because they were apart of his academy.

"Lana though… it's more like she was destined for it." Interesting. Very interesting. Strength from fate always was. "A young Gerudo, an outcast from her own kind, her strength was given to her when she accepted what she could not have and embraced what was already hers. Be it an answered prayer or a blessing of fate, she came into a power of such might that many herald her in the streets." To anyone else, it would have been cryptic.

To Ozpin, he recognized the words like scripture to a priest. The implications of them were deep.

But… it wasn't time to focus on that. Like anything with life, it was possible to pursue a path too quickly. There was no rush, not yet at least. Link and his friends were instructors at his school, friends to boot. No reason to risk either just because he didn't know all that he needed to yet. Besides, he was sure it was the same with the faunus to himself.

"It is your move now," Ozpin led on, positioning his hand over the board. "And I suspect it is the last move." Saria looked at the board herself, blue eyes looking over it before drifting towards her hard-light display.

Her finger lifted and pressed on the newly-crowned queen, lighting up the white piece on the board. It hovered for a moment, as if she were deliberating what to do. Interesting. Was she willing to risk more questions for a later victory? No, that wasn't it. If it was such the case, she wouldn't have disposed of her queen so swiftly. She was thinking of something, but Ozpin did not know what.

It mattered little, for in the next moment, Saria moved her finger up a single space.

"Checkmate," she declared simply. And so it was.

King in check, all moves blocked, and taking the queen let to capture by the rook. Complete and total capture. It made Ozpin release a slow sigh of regret. Perhaps he had been too eager to prolong the game. A mistake on his part, but one he felt minimal regret for. That, however, was dependent on whatever question Saria had.

Ozpin watched her expectantly, waiting for the question she would ask that he could not deny. A part of him was worried she would inquire on the basement where Amber was being held. Telling Saria and Link would only lead to questions that could not go unanswered. However, though friends they were, they were not friends of such level to tell of that.

So if she did ask, unfortunately, he would have to tell a lie. Hopefully it would be forgiven in time.

"Ozpin," Saria spoke his name. He waited patiently for her next words. "Can I ask for a favor instead?"

Ozpin lifted his head from the back of his hands, blinking as he stared at the girl. She didn't appear to be nervous or fidgeting in a way that showed discomfort. But neither did she have any signs that she was leading him on an intentionally false path. She was asking for a favor instead of a question, honestly. Interesting.

"Well," Ozpin recovered. "I assume you mean in place of your question, correct?" Saria nodded wordlessly. "I don't see why not, but I will have to be stricter with the favors I can offer. Depending on what you request, it may require a favor from your part as well."

"I know," she returned. "And I know that it might. But I have something that I wish to do, but I need your favor first. I don't want to do something that could ruin our friendship. That's harder to repair than a fallen tree."

Impossible was the word there. Ozpin had seen many things, but he knew the futility of trying to raise a fallen giant. The best you could hope for was growing something new from the remains. That was the intended path of nature.

Still, this was something Ozpin wanted to hear. He tapped on the table, bringing up the small menu that controlled the chess display. The game was over, so its presence no longer needed. A few taps on a few red boxes and the holographic images disappeared, the hard-light displays with them. It left the human and Kokiri across from one another, the gears of his clock tower churning beneath them.

"Please then," Ozpin offered with his hand once more, not a distraction between the two. "What is it that you want me to do?"

"Well, not so much for you to do, but to allow me to do." Ah, an action that would likely cause controversy. She, or he, wanted Ozpin's blessing before they took the action. Wise again, though many would call asking for forgiveness superior to seeking permission. Leaders did not have such a thing. "I am from the Kokiri Forest, bordered with the Lost Woods, and home to trees of all shapes and sizes. Before my passing… Link was given seeds to rare trees, our favorite trees."

Interesting. Not just the words, but the pause. Usually it was a sign their memories would shift, Link to Saria or Saria to Link. Here, it remained Saria. Interesting indeed.

"I want your permission to plant the seeds and help them grow. I'm very good at doing that." Ozpin believed her. But that wasn't enough to grant such a request. Small as it seemed, it was just that that gave him caution. It seemed too small to forgo the king piece.

"I see no objection to the request," Ozpin began. "But I must ask just what these trees are. Do they bear fruit? Is there some property to their wood that is desired? Or is it something else?"

"I will not lie nor hide when seeking a favor," Saria began, almost like a reminder to herself. "They are magical seeds, meant to nurture trees that grow only in the strictest of conditions. I very much doubt they exist anywhere in your land now, but they can do amazing things when prepared properly."

"And I assume this is one of those many secrets the Kokiri keep?" The young-appearing girl nodded to him. Ozpin hummed before he spoke again. "Even if I were to allow you to grow them, a tree takes much time to be nurtured. Years in fact, near a decade before most bear suitable fruit, seeds in your case. Do you plan to watch over them for that long?"

"Oh, it wouldn't take that long, not nearly." Ozpin only raised a brow at her words, leaning over his table as he did so. "Like I said, I'm very good at helping trees grow." She smiled with the words, not saying any more.

That was her trick.

She wouldn't say more until he either gave permission or asked the right question. The chess game may have been put away, but this was a new one entire. Promising answers to questions and riddles that begged to be solved.

"Saria," Ozpin started. "Am I to assume that you will be showing me something spectacular should I agree to your request?"

"Very likely," Saria returned without hesitation. "The Kokiri can grow trees in a great number of ways. Slow and strong, quick and lean, however they need to be. A forest is grand not for a single type of flora, but for the collection of their diversities. Would you disagree?" No, Ozpin would not.

"This is one of your lessons, isn't it?" He recalled her words from earlier. "Letting me answer to learn a lesson." Now she giggled at his words, small hands lifting to her youthful lips.

"You are wise," she noted in turn. "But that's why I trust you. You've given much trust in me, in Link and all his friends. I want to show that your trust is not misplaced. How else then by exchanging favors?" Ozpin could think of no other ways. Favors were the currency of the powerful and wise, were Lien and Dust no longer had a place.

He found his grin almost face splitting.

"Very well," Ozpin agreed. "I will grant you permission, so long as you specify to me where exactly you are hoping to plant these seeds. I assume you've already have an idea."

"Oh yes," Saria began, reaching beneath her frilled top. She swiftly pulled out a plain brown bag, looking to be the linen of a rag, held together by a rope curled around its top. It held the same red mark as her bandana did. Interesting. "Two in fact. One I really needed your permission first."

"Oh?" Ozpin questioned. That was interesting as well. "And where would this be?"

As an answer, Saria only looked up.

Ozpin followed her gaze, if out of habit, but saw only the ceiling to his office, the same tint of green as the glass of his desk and jewel that sat in the tower. The meaning of her action was obvious though, and it made Ozpin's grin twist into a curious smirk. His brows raised to match.

"The seeds grow their strongest when they are planted right," Saria started, though Ozpin did not look towards her. "For the seeds of a Whirlwind, a tree needs to grow where the wind is the swiftest and strongest."

"Atop my tower would match," Ozpin agreed. "And I have given permission already. Perhaps I was too hasty in that regard, the consequence of my age."

"I'm rather sure I'm older than you," Saria returned with a teasing tone. Her age showed indeed. "But I am not asking to grow a forest giant atop your home. At its largest, these saplings will be the size of your desk. Though… on its side of course."

"Of course," Ozpin chuckled with the words. This situation was humorous in ways he did not expect. A trading of secrets turned into a game of chess only to change twice more into a discussion of flora.

Link and his friends truly were something else.

"Well then," Ozpin started again, standing to his tallest. Saria followed him with her eyes, neck craning to do so. She turned her chair and hopped out of it, her tallest being dismal in comparison. His waist height at best. "Shall we see to planting those seeds? I'm curious to see just what you'll do."

Saria's smile was brighter than a dawn-breaking sun. Ozpin had to remind himself that he was the youth in comparison to her.

"Of course, but please let me find Tatl and Tael first," she requested, reasonably at that. "I promised them they could help me plant them when it came time. Fairies are connected to the trees as much as me." Ozpin nodded with her words.

"Certainly, it gives me time to gather Dr. Ooobleck and Glynda, if you don't mind that is." Saria shook her head at his request. He knew it meant permission. The smile was more telling than the waving head. "Very good, then I'll see you back here shortly."

"I will, thank you again Ozpin," Saria spoke as she jogged back towards the elevators. Her hands were wrapped about the seed holding bag, giggles emanating from her. Though his office was large, it took her little time to reach the elevators, pressing the needed button for the doors to shut.

Honestly, Ozpin was curious if Link would change back before he left the tower. It was likely, of course, given how well he guarded the secrets of his friends. As note, Ozpin double tapped his table, letting the same display as before arise, and his fingers ran over a camera image, bringing up the security feeds for his tower. His eyes settled on the elevator cameras immediately.

It appeared that Link had already changed back. Interesting.

That was the apt word to describe Link. From first meeting to now he had never ceased to be just that. If not his abilities, then his friends. If not his friends, then his knowledge. If not that, then his secrets. There appeared to be no end to any of the three.

Much was certainly learned over the game. Abilities of his friends, history for others, but most importantly perhaps, the strength of his strongest allies. They were all things to memorize and keep close. Who knew when they would be needed?

Ozpin hoped not at all. But he knew better.

* * *

Dr. Oobleck knew he was not a simple man. He had goals that would make most men groan, aspirations that would make hunters turn away, and even ideals that the most honest of men would be tempted to bend. He had resisted all those urges, always striving to obtain the most valuable and used income in history. Knowledge.

Knowledge was what built great nations, protected from any force, crafted unstoppable forces, and saved innumerable lives. There was no other item, solid or intangible, that was more beloved and priceless than that of knowledge. And he knew a lot. His title was even a credit to it, doctor. Yet, here, as a teacher amongst young Hunters and Huntresses striving to enter the world, be began to learn more and more about a subject he was not even fully aware of existing before a few short days ago.

That was a whole other kingdom of Remnant, Hyrule.

"So the monarchy of Hyrule has sovereignty over the other races as well? Do they share in power or pay tribute to the central government in a taxation form? Or are they tariffs?" Each question was simple, simple questions that had simple answers. Unfortunately, the light and dark figures he spoke to didn't seem to think it that way.

"Do you have any idea how long it's going to take to answer just one of those questions?" The brighter of the two, Tatl, responded. She was louder, more defensive, confident, than her darker counterpart. "Ask one, let us answer, and then ask another. It isn't that hard to figure out."

"Apologies," Dr. Oobleck spoke, more formality than honest declaration. "To start then, how does the monarchy of Hyrule stand in comparison to the other cultures and races?"

"Best metaphor I got for it? Probably like Ozpin to the rest of you professor guys." Oobleck tilted his head at the analogy. Curious, why was that. "See, you're all in charge of your trainees, yeah? What they do, the grades they get and like, right?" Dr. Oobleck nodded his head. She was correct thus far. "But like Ozpin watches over you while doing other stuff, too. It's kinda like that."

"A micro-management system?" Oobleck returned with a curious inflection to his tone. Intentional, as that was highly irregular for governmental societies, especially large ones as Tatl and Tael both had described Hyrule to be.

"Close, yeah," Tatl agreed. "But see, every race had their own like king or queen or something like that, but Hyrule's king was kinda the undisputed go-to guy. Can't remember there ever being any real tension over that, mostly because none of the other races had what the other wanted. Hylians didn't have a use for lava like the gorons did, and while water was nice, the Zoras lived in a cave, massive as it was. Not really the place high-class nobles want to relax in, ya know?"

"Lack of conflicting needs leads to stronger relations across tribes," Oobleck simplified the words. "Yes, yes, that makes sense. Finding no conflict where no reason for conflict existed. Remarkable." It truly was. But that raised a hundred questions as well. "Then how did trade work between these different races? Was there anything to trade when there was nothing of great value held between them?"

"Too many questions again Super Buzz," Tatl spoke up, using a name that Dr. Oobleck loathed. Super in intelligence he may be, he had no and possessed no relation to a buzz, so the super was therefore a misnomer as well. "But I think Tael can take this one?" Oh, her younger brother.

Said dark fairy rang lightly as he floated around his brighter sister, she doing the same to him. They both illuminated Dr. Oobleck's desk in a way that a simple desk lamp could not do. Likely because of their impressively energy efficient bioluminescence. Those, however, were questions that needed much more time to answer.

"Um, ah," Tael stumbled for a moment. Expected given the timid creature's usual conversations. "Most of the time, between races like Gorons and Hylians, they trade things that would like help the other, but one couldn't make. A-An old Ikana king once said that, um, 'A true gift is a thing that can only be born in one place'. So, i-it's like that. That is, um, they trade things that the other's really _can't_ make without the other."

"Preservation of rare objects and abilities, of course!" That made as much since as no conflict with no reason. "Cannot risk unfamiliar relations due to the necessity of preserving trade for these rare materials. Please, what are examples of these? Art, language, tools?"

"A-All of them, I think… yeah." Tael went on. Oobleck noted everything done with extreme detail. "L-Like Link once got the Chief Goron's help by playing him a Kokiri song." A song of the forest for men of the mountains. Poetic and sensible. "O-Or another time he, um, was able to bring cure-all eye-drops from a Hylian Professor. No one else knew how to make them." Information and art, the most sensible of currency.

"Excellent, wonderful," Oobleck found himself speaking the words as he wrote down every word the dark fairy said, complete with his own side notes as well. The notes took up more room than the words themselves.

There was simply too many questions to ask all at once. Tatl would be annoyed with him, which would slow their discussion rate. That was unacceptable, currently.

"Alright, stop there," Tatl spoke up.

Oobleck did as asked, tilting his head towards the bright fairy. He wasn't nearly done writing, but he knew it would take weeks to finish summarizing the results of what he had learned, months the more he found out and deduced.

"You've been asking us questions all day, myself just about all of yesterday, and Tael the day before that."

"Correct," Oobleck agreed, but why was she bringing that up? "That was our agreement, correct? Sharing information so that I may best be able to limit the possible areas you and Link would be able to explore in search of your friend? Cultural studies of a foreign kingdom such as your own is immensely valuable."

"Don't I know it, but that's kinda why I want you to stop." Confusing words, but Oobleck let her speak. There must be a point somewhere. "See, we've been giving you lots of info for the past few days. Where's the give and take?"

Give and take? Was that implying that they no longer possessed what they were offering him? Nonsense! This was knowledge, a commodity that could be shared amongst infinite number of parties without ever being reduced or subsidized in value. Perhaps that was a mistranslation in linguistics? Not his major field, but he had dabbled enough to know… oh!

"You are curious about the state of my own information for you?" Oobleck questioned. The half a moment of silence was suitable answer enough for him. "Of course! Silly of me. Apologies, simply wrapped up in the immeasurable amount of data you have provided. Exhilarating as it is intoxicating, in truth."

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, what we know is worth a field's worth of rupees," Tatl seemed to brush off his words. Rude, but perhaps efficient in regards to time. "But seriously then, what have you got? Anything? Cause I hate flying down as street I'm told I can't go back on."

"No need for concern! I have been doing an equal amount of research into possible areas where Link's, or yours, or both, friend resides. Difficult, given vast unknown of individual and length of time regarding list sighting and present day." Oobleck spun in his chair, to reach towards his secondary stack of papers. "However, rewarding."

"Rewarding?" Tatl echoed his words. That meant she heard him, but not understood him. Distinct difference between the words. "So you did find something? What was it?"

"No, nothing solid yet," Dr. Oobleck spoke as he dropped the papers down on his desk in front of the fairies again. Thick and heavy, but diminutive compared to his own notes regarding the culture and social structure of Hyrule. "Conjectures, yes, but theories and hypothesis need minimal variable tests to offer ground for which further evidence can be researched and documented. Ideas, indeed, but not yet manifested in reality."

"Then you have nothing," Tatl spoke again. Very rude. Rude and incorrect.

"Negative, I do _indeed_ have something." Oobleck let his voice rise with excitement as he searched for a specific manila folder.

Folders were better than scrolls. Easier to keep track of data, harder to fabricate and alter. It was obvious when images were doctored or altered when they could be held in one's hands. Video, audio, and especially text based documents, however, were all easily manipulated in the context of code. Merely high density data streams all fitted together. The real world, however, was chemical, and no amount of engineering had brought the master of that specific element yet.

"Ah, here we are." Oobleck spoke up as he produced the folder he wanted. Marked by a date specified nearly twenty solar rotations ago, light in content, but heavy in context. He opened up the folder to show the images that lay across it. "A Dust mining operation deep in the Forever Fall Forest. Abandoned after two seasons by the Schnee Dust company when insubstantial gains were produced from the operations. Deep in Grimm Territory, requiring heavy investments in Hunter and Military personnel to ensure protection of works."

"So it's a ghost mine pretty much?" Tatl asked another question. She asked a lot of questions. Oobleck liked that. A pity then that she found too many in a row to be bothersome. It would have made conversations much more enjoyable if she had.

"Yes, but it has properties matching those described by Tael as suitable for fairy gatherings." The darker of the two rang at his words. Oobleck smiled towards him. A positive action towards a timid creature. Required for long term contact to be profitable. "It is secluded, near a source of great energy, and in a dangerous location as well, it has already breached ground, meaning it has many rooms suitable for isolation."

"That is good," Tatl confirmed. Excellent news. "But is this everything? I mean, we're giving you all of Hyrule's history here, or about all that we got to offer. This is… something that Ice Queen would know, right?" Ice Queen? Ah, Ms. Schnee, yes, she'd have information, a credible source as well. But Oobleck was a superior well of information. He knew that.

"Of course not!" He defended the accusation that he produced minimal results. "I have also eliminated many areas that are red-herrings, so to speak, regarding the possible location of Link's lost companion."

He flipped, observed, and closed the highest folder on the pile. "Mistral desert columns. Isolated, expansive, but devoid of life, Grimm or otherwise."

Oobleck grabbed another pile from the folder, marked by a large red X through it. It was one of the first documents he had discovered and analyzed. "Vacuo thermal sights. Heavy population due to profitability of geothermal energy. Dangerous, deep, but too well-explored too often. Long-term isolation highly unlikely."

"Alright, alright," Tatl spoke up to her words. "You're getting me, I got it. You are doing your part. At least you have one good file out all of those… things there." Things? That was insulting. There were no less than one hundred and forty three heavily researched areas that Oobleck had scoured through.

"Yes, but don't insult," he returned. "I will likely have possible areas for research in the coming week. One, possibly two, worthy of investigation. Will be exciting, intriguing."

"Of course it will. When is exploring deep dark caverns ever boring?" Dr. Oobleck smiled at Tatl's words. She was correct, of course. Exploration was an area of great energy and interest. He was happy to see she agreed.

"Sis, that's dangerous though." Ah, apparently Tael was not so inclined towards the spelunking life-style. "We gotta be sure before we go anywhere right?" And he was correct as well. Exploration without a goal was merely traveling. A different form of activity without nearly the same end-goal pay-off.

"I know, I know," Tatl replied, her voice sounding similar to one of Dr. Oobleck's students. "Just wanna make sure we're not getting sharked here. Time knows what I'd do if that happened." The unpredictability of anger, yes. It was a difficult for even the victim to describe. Thankfully Dr. Oobleck had no such intentions for the fairies or their faunus companion.

They were too full of knowledge and too open to share for him to wish anything but long lives for them all.

"I'm thinking that's enough for one day though, right?" Tatl spoke up again. "Better part of an hour, too. Not like we don't have our own things to do."

"Of course, yes, a wealth of information provided," Oobleck agreed. He knew the consequences of abusing any source of information. "We can continue at a later date, of course. Fill the remaining time with simplification of data and further research into Navi's proposed location. Time consuming, both of them, but worth it."

"Glad to hear it," Tatl returned with a quick ring. Her brother followed suit, but slower and more subdued. Obvious why. Younger sibling next to older and more experienced kin. Naturally recluse, usually, true in this case. "Then I guess we'll see you later Super Buzz." Deplorable nickname, however. Still, superior to forgetting his higher education.

"The same," he returned before quickly rising from his seat. "Now allow me to open the door. Difficult for your size, I'm sure." There was a series of rings from Tatl, likely of annoyance, but just as many came from her brother. A language not of syllables and constantans, but higher pitched rings. Intriguing, but Oobleck paced his curiosity. There was much more to study before he explored alternate languages.

He reached the door swiftly, a multitude of his papers flying through the air. Inconsequential, he knew where they belonged. Just as swiftly, he grabbed the door handle to his room, giving it a quick twist in combination with a pull of his arm. As expected, the heavy door opened without an issue.

But unexpected, there was someone in wait. With details, a heavily discussed foreign faunus gowned in green.

"Link!" He heard Tatl shout his new guest's name. Said foreign faunus, fellow faculty member, blinked up at Dr. Oobleck before turning a grinning face towards his fairy companion. He held out his hand, which the golden fairy flew around swiftly before settling on his shoulder. "Geez, I was wondering when you were gonna get here. Glad to see you're all you this time." Obvious meaning behind the words.

"How was the meeting?" Tael spoke now, softer and more reserved than his sister. Naturally. Oobleck observed Link's move, carefully, but there were hardly more than twitches, accompanied more with gestures than anything else. It appeared to be perfectly comprehendible to the darker fairy. "That's good. I was, um… nervous, when you took so long."

"No kidding, I was beginning to think you were gonna leave us here with Super Buzz all day." Still insulting, more so in fact.

"I am still here, Tatl," he spoke clearly, addressing her as he would his students. Link looks up at him, no sense of guilt in his eyes. Understandable, as there was no need for any. "But now, curiosity! What meeting were you within this morning Link? Answer unrequired, but appreciated."

"He was talking to Ozpin," Tatl spoke up for the emerald garbed faunus. "Probably had to do with how his first day of teaching the newbies went. Since he's still in one piece, and no one is chasing us, I'd say that it was alright." Odd parameters to measure against, but Oobleck suspected the same. Perhaps not the first in chain of communication, but far from last.

"Excellent, then I hope for future discussions regarding foreign cultures and historical recordings." Oobleck nodded quickly towards the trio, happy to see Link grin back. Smiles were always a positive thing. Almost always, otherwise ominous. Not true in this case. "Then I suppose I will bid you good day. Much to note, even more to research. So much more." Dr. Oobleck moved to shut the door. But he was stopped.

Link had placed his hand on the door, stopping it. He gave Dr. Oobleck a look, one that appeared almost expectant. Said doctor wasn't sure what to make of it. Instead of speaking, which the higher-educated man wouldn't have understood, Link offered more silent words to his companion on his shoulder, switching gaze to Tael when he rang. The conversation continued as such.

As it prolonged, Oobleck was left to wonder if he was one language or two he was observing. Were the fairies' language different from Link's? Was Link's different from Oobleck's own? If either were true, it made their ability to communicate nothing short of astounding, marvelous in fact. A thankful coincidence between their cultures. Likely implicated a recent traveler between two nations, close enough in time to prevent significant change in language. More questions for another time.

"That's awesome!" Tatl's voice gave Oobleck a start. "Nice going there Link."

"What? What is awesome? Is it also astounding, stupendous, and curious?" Those were all independent inquiries, all very important. Tatl was the one to respond to him, naturally, among the three.

"For you, definitely all of the above."

* * *

Glynda was at ends right now.

Currently, she was supposed to be reviewing the receipts from Beacon's purchases for the past few weeks, conversing with James about the renewal of the Vytal Festival, and, perhaps most importantly, documenting the teaching habits of Link and his deceased friend Impa. None of those could possibly be noted as unimportant by any party, be they a part of Beacon or not.

Instead, however, she found herself standing outside of Ozpin's office.

She was standing on the roof of Ozpin's office.

Glynda Goodwitch was standing on the roof of Ozpin's office with a short skirt, light breeze, and only the sheer altitude keeping the students and faculty far below from recognizing her. Light as the breeze was, it wasn't helping.

It made the glares she was sending Ozpin justified.

"If you continue to look at me like that, Glynda," he began, eyes forward across the metallic surface they stood on. "You very well may reheat my coffee."

"I'd very much like a warm beverage myself," she returned easily. "Perhaps in my office where the air is controlled, wandering eyes can't see, and work is productively finished." She wrapped her fingers across pad, drumming on it tensely. Practice made sure she wouldn't fracture the translucent screen.

"Oh Glynda, where ever did your sense of adventure go?" Ozpin chuckles with his question. "I was under the keen impression that this would be something worth documenting." Glynda puckered her lips before responding.

"I find the amount that has happened in the past week alone has more than satiated any desire I have for the adventuring sort, sir." It was a curt response, but a needed one. It was what the headmaster of Beacon deserved for insisting on such a reckless activity. Honestly, classes may have been light today, but that didn't mean her own work followed suit.

"In honesty though, I believe we both will want to witness what Saria has planned." The words made Glynda's stare soften. She was around the Headmaster enough to know when his playful-yet-wise wordplay was exchanged with a true conversation. "She gave up asking me a deep secret in order to request this favor. I have my own curiosities as to what I will see."

Glynda didn't answer him, not aloud. It was true that her own curiosity was peeked, especially with the recognition that there was a new friend Link had introduced Ozpin to. What she could do, at least what she promised to do, was something that had to be seen.

"Would care to elaborate, in the very least, why she requested to plant seeds and asked to do so atop the tower? A tower constructed of high grade steel and various metal alloys?" Glynda managed to tap a few commands across her pad, her mini-drones finding Link, his own luminescent mini-drones, and Dr. Oobleck in tow. She was glad the wind, light as it was, wasn't making it difficult to hold her Scroll.

"That is a part of my own curiosity Glynda," Opzin answered. "It is what Saria requested, stating that the lack of soil would be a non-issue. If nothing else, we will learn a bit more about Link's friend, will we not?" He tilted his mug towards her, grinning as he did so. It was a look Glynda was loathe to recognize. Confidence towards unknowns.

"Well, I certainly hope it is worth disrupting my own schedule," she finally answered. "There is much I should be doing, not to mention preparing the numerous requests that have come in for Link's Instructor Duels."

That did force Ozpin's lips to shift. Not into a frown, to Glynda's unspoken disappointment, but enough that his confident grin was replaced with a thoughtful line. He took a sip from his mug, hiding said feature. It would work on the students, but not on her. She had too many angles with too many drones to not see what he was doing.

"Who are some of the candidates?" He asked finally. Glynda, however, now had a foothold she didn't have to relent to. This wasn't something he needed implicit knowledge of. Still, there wasn't much gained by hiding the information from him.

"I will be stating that to Link once he arrives and finishes this demonstration. You know I dislike repeating myself." Didn't mean she couldn't have fun. He grinned at her words, lowering his mug to do so. At least he understood her mirth.

Glynda tapped on her pad, watching as Link and company entered the elevator. She observed as he produced a golden mask in tandem with the door shutting. It was of little surprise or note to see Oobleck fawning over it, poor word choice aside.

It was a detailed mask, absolutely golden. It had varying shades of the color, but all sides of it shined. The outer rims were like rays of the sun depicted in many illustrations, the mask itself maintaining only a simple hole for a nose to breathe and eyes to see. The quality of the mask was likely in the materials used, memories, once more aside.

"It appears they have arrived," Glynda noted to Ozpin. He began to walk towards her with her words, feet tapping across the metallic surface. His cane lightly tapped in tandem. He looked over her shoulder at the pad. "And Link is preparing the entrance of his friend." Then she saw him put on the mask. "Correction, he is introducing his friend."

A now well-known flash of white took up her screen, blinding all of her mini-drones. When it disappeared, a small girl was left in her wake. She was not familiar or well known.

"There's Saria," Ozpin noted over her shoulder. Glynda observed what little she could of the girl, blocked by the rather exuberant Oobleck that was doting over her and the luminescent mini-drones fighting him back, rather fruitlessly. "Rather charming, isn't she?"

"Difficult to judge with no sound and through a one-way glass," Glynda noted in kind. She could, however, note the small things about the girl.

Her choice of emerald clothing and hair was a parallel she could not ignore with Ozpin's. Perhaps it was one of the reasons he was relenting to this favor. The other sure fact was the heavy amount of ease the girl was portraying.

She was rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, looking up at Dr. Oobleck with a patient grin and seemingly not a care in the world. There was a hint of mischievousness in her gaze. Even through the cameras of her mini-drones Glynda could see that. It was a learned observation from looking at her students for so long. What she was planning, if anything at all, remained to be seen.

"Oobleck looks suitable entertained," Ozpin noted again behind her, chuckling into his mug. "It's no small wonder why." Glynda graced his words with a small rise of her lips. Of all the professors, current or past, that had worked at Beacon, Dr. Oobleck was undoubtedly the most enthusiastic of them all. Due in no small part to his thirst for knowledge.

"Indeed," Glynda agree aloud. She lightly tapped a few commands on her Scroll, the image of the group fading from view. It was no mystery why. "And I'm sure we will soon be hearing why." She pushed away a rogue bang the light wind had freed.

As if in answer to her words, a small pod rose from the metallic roof. It wasn't far from where the professor and headmaster stood, shaped just the same as the elevator, for good reason. With a quick hiss of steel and gas, a pair of smooth doors opened up, showing the occupants of the small chamber.

"-and an unbelievable amount of research may be done for your youthful appearance! Lazarus Pit and Fountain of Youth stories hold new precedence when shown next to you and your fellow companions!" Glynda was wholly unsurprised by Oobleck's fast paced words, even less so by the subject of them. "Wonderous amounts of possibilities! Beneficial to faunus and human alike! Medication, hospital reservations, biomedical research, all rewritten with-!"

"Hey Super Buzz! We're here!" Tatl yelled over the professor, ringing highly to match her words. It was enough to give the frazzled doctor a pause, and the small girl beside him a diminutive giggle. Glynda turned her eyes to her, looking down as she looked back up.

"Glynda," the girl spoke her name as if they were pleasant friends. "It's nice to meet you. Nice for me to meet you, that is." She skipped, literally, across the metal roof of the tower before holding her hand up and towards the taller professor, taller by at least twice the girl's height. "My name is Saria of the Kokiri."

"Glynda Goodwitch," she returned politely. "You are the fifth of Link's friend I have seen, but I confess only the third I have been introduced to." Their hands connected and shook lightly. Weak was the first though Glynda had in reference to Saria's grip, though that was likely due to the girl's diminutive stature.

"You'll meet them all eventually," the emerald girl spoke easily. "Link values his friends, in all ways. He knows keeping their memories locked away is not how any of them would want to stay." She sounded wise for her appearance. It justified what little Ozpin spoke of the young girl. "I believe your professor would agree."

" _Doctor_ ," Oobleck spoke up expectedly, given the title. "I spent several years and near half a decade to earn the title. Though you are correct, memories that is. Memories make up knowledge. Hiding memories is hoarding knowledge. Detestable, truthfully." Glynda noted the sly smile Saria adopted with the words. It raised a few questions in her own mind, which doubtlessly meant dozens for Ozpin and hundreds for Oobleck.

But there were things to be done and this little excursion of an activity was wasting precious time.

"Shall we begin then?" she spoke to the small girl, tapping across her pad to align her miniscule drones. Too small to see but clever enough to record. "Unless there is a ceremony you must perform."

"There usually is," Saria spoke. It was difficult to tell if her smile was teasing Glynda on purpose or not. "But I don't feel other Kokiri, and the forest is far from this high." Curious limitations, the blonde professor admitted. She needn't record it though. Oobleck would satisfy that requirement in spades.

"Interesting, is it a ceremony of festival rights? Or perhaps one that requires heavy oversight to ensure proper performance and future reference of success?" Oobleck had produced a series of blank pages in front of himself, quill in hand to right. Saria only grinned towards him, an expression Ozpin was mimicking yet hiding behind his alabaster mug.

"What is it that makes something a festival? Why are you dependent on the eyes of others?" Saria answered questions in turn to Oobleck. To his credit, the doctor didn't so much as blink. A tweak of the head at best. Saria giggled before she spoke on. "Ceremonies are meant to ask the unseen forces for aide in what is about to be done. The eyes of others are proof that no misgivings or mistakes were made."

"Obvious," Oobleck replied swiftly as ever. "Obvious yet required. Of course, simple balance of powers to prevent over reliance on any one part or act. Question again, what powers do you speak of?"

"A question for another time Super Buzz," Tatl spoke up. Glynda was fortuned by the mini-drone's words, from time to time. "We were answering your questions for like two or three hours. Pretty sure that's enough for one day."

"Right, of course, apologies," Oobleck hastily replied once more. His paper and quill were not put away, however. Likely wanted to document whatever was about to happen. Glynda could hardly fault him. "Then what is happening? Unsure of why we are here, this high, on steel. The purpose is to plant seeds, correct? This terrain is insubstantial to impossible to produce any vegetation on that requires soil and root based nutrition system."

"It's not impossible," the more diminutive of the two mini-drones spoke. "I-I mean, it's been done 'fore. Kokiri are caretakers of the forest. Saria can do it." He quickly fell into mumbling as all eyes fell on him. Unsatisfactory for a teaching role. Perhaps that was why Link kept him out of the Arena during combat yesterday.

"No need to worry, Tael," Saria spoke to the dark mini-drone. She hopped lightly with her words, like a child. It was difficult to take Ozpin's words that this girl was anywhere above the double digits in age. "I can do this. I promised the Sprout that I would and Ozpin said that I could, so now I will."

It was difficult to make many things out of that statement. Whether it was Link or Saria speaking, Glynda didn't know. Who this Sprout was, Glynda didn't know. Her near ancient dialect for speaking, Glynda had been told of but she wasn't sure enough yet to say she knew. It made the girl as much a mystery as Link was himself. Perhaps that was the end goal.

"Then perhaps you may begin," Ozpin suggested lightly, his mug swaying towards the girl. The mini-drones rang with their improperly coordinated audio speakers at the motion. "I mean to imply no haste, only that we do not take longer up here then we need to. We are instructors to the students, and the longer we are up here, the longer they are alone down there." That was a forced excuse, a poor example even by Glynda's own standards. It did, however, get the Saria to twist her lips. It was the first time in their brief interaction, Glynda saw her smile fall.

"Alright," she said. As she spoke the word, she was reaching towards the under-layer of her emerald clothing. "I only need to two things to make sure the seed grows properly. Once I'm done, I only need to check on it at dawn and dusk. Is it alright for me to come back here?"

"Of course," Ozpin agreed. "Though I am sure you will have no trouble finding your way to this height alone." He gave the young girl a grin, one Glynda could tell from the side was one of knowing. Saria returned it in kind, her hand still searching beneath her lighter-shaded clothing. Oobleck was writing the interaction down with great speed.

Without saying a word more, Saria pulled her hand back from her clothing, producing a pair of pouches. They were leather bound and small compared to the many other tools Glynda had seen Link produce. She knew better than to assume size was everything, especially given Link's short stature in comparison to Beacon as a whole.

The girl, Saria, walked a short distance away from their group, feet tapping across the metallic surface as she did so. The wind was light around them, but enough to keep silence far and away. Thankfully far from strong enough to make Glynda's blond locks an annoyance. When Saria stopped moving, she settled to her knees. Glynda started to record off of her mini-drones feeds.

Her fingers undid the string of her satchel, letting the dirt spill out from inside of it. It was not what Glynda was expecting, but made a large amount of sense in context. It was a small amount though, hardly enough for two handfuls. But by Saria's light grin, tapping of the soil with pale palms, it was enough for whatever she needed.

She reached into the other satchel now, finger and thumb reaching in side as her blue eyes gazed into the darkened bag. Her tongue stuck out cutely almost, much like a child trying to reach into a cookie jar. She even adopted the winning smile when she reproduced her hand, a sure look of accomplishment. In her hand, small as one phalange bone, was a seed. That was unsurprising. What was surprising, was the shape of it.

It was a paler blue than the young girl's eyes, looking like a midday's blue sky. It had twirls about it, spun up like a wrung cloth. It had a thick and heavy top, ending at a small yet visible point. There were many things that could be attributed to the shape of the seed. Thankfully, as Glynda had predicted, one of Link's mini-drones filled in on the unanswered questions.

"It's a Gale Seed," Tatl spoke up. Oobleck's quill was audible as it ran across the page. "Gale seeds are seeds that hold the power of the wind inside of them. If cracked open, by one knowledgeable about their abilities, it can send you across the entire Kingdom of Hyrule." That seemed unlikely.

"Fascinating," Oobleck spoke in a hushed whispered. He was likely treating this as a demonstration, doing his respect to not interrupt Saria. "Though curious, the amount of internal pressure to hold such a fierce amount of air, let alone the force to move one across several leagues of land mass, would make the shell impossible strong. Perhaps a rich fibrous encapsulation?" Tatl rang at his questions, likely more annoyed than anything else.

"I-I don't know how they work, I don't, really," Tael spoke up for his sister now. Glynda kept her eyes on Saria, watching as the girl placed the seed on the little amount of soil, thumb pushing it into the loose mass. "But, u-um, they're supposed to grow a-at really high places. They need to, actually. Cause they need to feel the wind all the time in order to make the seeds. I-If the tree ever stops feeling the wind, it'll start to die, almost instantly. Really." That was also unlikely.

"Truly fascinating!" Oobleck's voice grew with the words, but immediately shirked when he realized his rise in volume. Ozpin, bless or damn his soul, merely sipped on his mug as she watched both the exchange of information on Saria's machinations with said seed. "A plant that is able to harvest the change in pressure systems to produce seeds. Likely a biological evolution to allow mass spreading of the seed. Larger area for fertile lands means larger chance of success. So this place, the tower, Ozpin's tower, chosen due to the high altitude. Wind constant, a factor of natural pressure systems."

Glynda heard Ozpin hum at the conclusion. She was suitably curious about the words as well. She could accept any number of differences between their cultures, usage of Dust by consequence. This, however, seemed almost implausible by what they knew of basic biology. Implausible, but far from impossible.

"Now you're getting it," Tatl agreed with Oobleck assessment. "Honestly I'm kinda surprised this is so shocking for you. Don't you grow your own plants in certain places for a reason? By Time, you were just saying you didn't think you could grow through metal, doesn't that mean you know where you want to plant?" It was difficult to tell, with her ringing and swinging wings, if she was facing Oobleck, Glynda herself, or Ozpin.

"Soil basic, obvious," Oobleck responded before Glynda could so much as take in a breath of air. "A requirement for vegetative growth. Similarly between human and faunus both requiring sustenance in the form of digestion. Nigh unnegotiable. Air, however, is odd, different. In a metaphor, as if I needed a vehicle of some sort to stay alive."

"Bad metaphor," Tatl spoke Glynda's unspoken thoughts. "But if it's that hard for you to ge-"

"No, not difficult," Oobleck interrupted Tatl. The fairy gave a quick ring of annoyance, her younger and darker model flying close by as she did so. The doctor was busy scribbling over his papers. "Makes sense, though not obvious. Too many questions to describe as obvious. Simply, odd, different, located so far outside normal biological functions that it requires thorough vetting and analysis."

"That would be for another time, Oobleck," Ozpin spoke up now. His can lightly tapped the metal roof with his words. It got the doctor's and mini-drones' collective attention, her own included. "I believe Saria is ready, are you not?"

"I am!" The young girl spoke with a cheer. She was standing up again, the small amount of soil located between her legs, crumbs of it spilling off under the gentle wind.

Glynda gave her only a sideways glance, triple confirming her mini-drones were located in suitable positions to record whatever would happen. Close for detail, but not so close it may interfere. A difficult balance to reach, truthfully, but time and practice had made her unparalleled when it came to managing the devices.

"Very good," Ozpin noted before taking another long swig of his mug. When he lowered it, he stood to his tallest with his cane in front. "Then whenever you are ready."

Saria bowed in response, Link's two mini-drones flying about her before settling off and away. A clear sign that Glynda had to keep her own drones some distance back. They stopped just above her shoulder, Tatl doubtlessly watching her Scroll. It was of little consequence.

The young girl took a step back, placing the mole hill's worth of dirt between herself and the onlookers. She crouched, not kneeled, over it, head bowing as if in prayer. Glynda saw with her mini-drones positioned behind Saria that she was reaching beneath her over-dress again. This was likely the second item she spoke of, but by Glynda's count it was the third. But when the girl produced the tool, she understood a bit better the number scheme.

She had produced a bag of mystical seeds, a small amount of dirt, and now a staff that was longer than Saria was tall.

One of them clearly did not belong with the others.

Glynda's eyes trailed over the item for a moment before her eyes settled on her pad, observing the tool from every angle available to her. In comparison of direct height, it was well over two heads taller than Saria was, even at the angle the young girl was holding it. It was closer to Glynda's height than the small Kokiri's. Flowers bloomed across it, golden like the sun and appearing to be radiating the same form of light. A thick golden band sat over the top of it, red ribbons trailing down the opposite end. Vegetation grew everywhere else, vines of green that either showed the age of the device or some highly clever use of biological specimens. Glynda could not be sure which. By the face Oobleck was making, shown in the background of one of the drones, he was desperate to ask said questions.

"The Faron Spear," she heard Tatl whisper into her ear. The ringing that accompanied her words were soft as before. "A branch from one of the oldest trees in the Kokiri Forest trimmed and blessed by one of the eldest spirits of the woods. Named after the latter, case you can't tell." Glynda couldn't, but she kept note of it beside the many screens on her Scroll. She knew Oobleck was doing the same, likely biting down his tongue at the same time.

Saria left little time to observe the spear she held. She swung it out in front of her, like Glynda imagined how a novice cricket player would swing. She did once, twice, then the third time raised the spear high into the air. Glynda had the slight fear that the weight of the spear and distance Saria held it would force her to drop it. It was a fear that did not come to light.

Instead, the Kokiri twisted the long piece of wood in her hand. It fell in a half circle, its spear changing from aiming skyward to pointing towards the soil on the metal roof. The tip of the bark grazed at the soil, reminding Glynda of playing with sand on the beach. It stopped when it was pointing directly into it, straight as unaltered tree.

Saria's other hand gripped the diaphysis of the spear, her first hand releasing the top of it. She had to, as she was lowly lifting the spear into the air. Glynda would have made note that it was due to the length of the wood instrument again, taller than Saria was, but her attention as well as all of her drones were focused squarely on the soil itself.

Namely the sapling that was rapidly growing from it.

Glynda recognized ringing coming from over her shoulders, doubtlessly Tatl laughing at her own expression. One of her drones caught sight of Oobleck writing at a pace that only he was justified to use, papers being crumbled more than folded as they were shoved away for later reference. Ozpin was staring with statuesque focus. Glynda was the same, though her eyes were shifting across the screens of all of her mini-drones.

They all showed the same thing. Sight after sight, image after image, Saria was producing a sapling in the bare amount of soil, one that was growing with every passing moment. It grew up in tandem with Saria's spear, its height only ever tall enough to touch the very tip of the wooden device. Its climb was slow in truth, but in comparison to how a true tree grew, let alone fern, it was faster than lightning infused Dust.

She was whispering something as well, almost unheard with the gentle breeze that was billowing over the tower's surface, but it was there. Not clear enough to clear, but loud enough to recognize. Glynda only noted it. She was too transfixed on the still growing tree. It was no longer a sapling. Saplings didn't reach her chest in height.

What reached her in chest height was well above Saria. The girl had spun her Faron Spear around as the tree kept growing. From a twig of bark were now branches and leaves. Leaves that sprung forth like a tulip in new growth, petals folding out as the rest of the steam reached upwards. The metal of the roof gave a slow cry of pain as the size of the tree had yet to stop its growth.

Saria's took visible steps backwards, her arms reaching outwards as the spear in her one hand continue to rise into the air, pointing now above what the girl could reach. The tree did not stop growing. It was developing a canopy now, foliage thick enough to hide the multitude of branches that sat at the top of its trunk. Its trunk was far past the thin sapling it was only minutes before. Now… it was easily too thick for the young girl to wrap her arms around it.

Then Saria flicked her spear sideways, imitating a wand. Her mumbling ceased with the action. She then looked towards Glynda, smiling.

"It turned out well. I'm glad."

Glynda noted the tree once more. It was a tree only slightly above herself in height, though stout in appearance. It had foliage along its canopy thick enough to make sight through it impossible. It was colorful as the Emerald Forest and appearing as if it had been growing for decades, not minutes. All of that, of course, was noted beneath the fact that it was quite literally rooted into a metallic roof of Ozpin's High Tower.

"Incredible!" Oobleck shouted, taking Saria's words as a sign that he could question again. "Such rapid growth in such a short period of time! Managed to supply a sufficient amount of nutrients to allow a strong structure to form!"

Without waiting for permission, and shoving the multitude of papers into his unkempt shirt, Oobleck dashed forward and began to knock the trunk of the tree, head pressed to it tightly and eyes wide behind his thick glasses. His mad grin was the most obvious detail about him currently.

"Non-holographic, completely self-sustained." He noted aloud with unbounded glee. "Too preliminary to assume proper amounts of chlorophyll and cellular walls in leaves, need to do carbon chain tests on bark to ensure proper biology, but no signs otherwise. Marvelous, stupendous!" Glynda was only able to glance at him as he threw his arms into the air.

Saria giggled at his excitement, the young Kokiri tip-toeing needlessly about the tree. Her top layer of her dress billowed lightly in the wind, her shoulder length hair doing the same. Her smile was just as obvious, though far more subdued as the doctor's. She really didn't appear to have either knowledge or care for the weight of her actions.

But Glynda did. She looked towards Ozpin, and he to her. Ozpin knew as well.

"I'm glad you found such joy in it," she noted lightly, her hand brushing against the tree she had produced. Tatl and Tael flew about her as she did so. "It has been sometime since I've grown a tree so high, but I am happy it turned out so strong. Now I only hope the wind produces marvelous seeds. It will though. This is a good spot."

"Your semblance is truly amazing, Saria," Oobleck noted, his voice not lacking in sheer joy. "Truly an art that can benefit Remnant in ways unfounded! Replace hazardous chemical altering of organic compounds, mass produce high yields of fruit and legumes, possibly stave off hunger in decrepit slums. Unlimited possibilities!"

That was not a semblance.

Vast and nigh-unlimited as they were, that was not what Glynda and Ozpin had just witnessed. She was sure, very sure. She had watched the act through all of her mini-drones, with far more detail than any huntress would.

It's wasn't a manipulation of her soul. It was magic.

"I have helped others in the past before," Saria spoke easily. Glynda noted how her attention moved to Ozpin. Her smile had yet to change. "That is what I was born to do, what I believe all of us are meant to do. Use what we have and make to aid others in their own growth." The words were full of wisdom, but Glynda was wise enough herself to pick them apart.

"Saria," Ozpin started again. "That was… a common act among the Kokiri?" He questioned carefully. Obviously. "You did say that you're people planted the seeds of the forest."

"Incorrect, Ozpin," Oobleck, of all people, answered. The fairies rang lightly with his interruption. "Kokiri responsible for mass production of vegetation through Hyrule, correct, but not all responsible for the growth, not short term."

"He's right," Tatl finally spoke in. Glynda only passively, lightly passively, noted how long it took her to speak up. She expected nothing from Tael. "Most of the Kokiri manage or groom the trees. They don't do anything about sudden growth spurts. Ain't their field."

"Interesting," Ozpin spoke lowly, so lowly. He took a sip from his mug quickly after. Glynda hoped the tattle-tale that was the golden mini-drone would speak on. She was right.

"You bet it is!" She shouted almost cheerfully. "Only one of the Kokiri get to plant the seeds of the forest, and you gotta believe that it's a big deal."

"Of course! The ceremony!" Oobleck shouted the word that Glynda had nearly forgotten, nearly. "A tribute to spirits and higher powers for bestowing you with power. A thanks for the ability to grow and strengthen home. Obvious, but brilliant!"

Tatl rang towards the energetic doctor, Saria smiling up at her. She pocketed the Faron Spear as she did so, the long mass disappearing into the dress of the girl as did all of Link's items before. Glynda hardly gave it a thought. There was so much more to focus on.

Perhaps ironically, the next big statement came from the quieter of the two drones.

"Well… Saria has been doing it for a long time," he noted lightly, his body ringing lowly with the words. "She is the Sage of the Forest."

Glynda cracked her Scroll.

It was a jerk of a reflex, a sudden twitch that was matched by the widening of her eyes. She controlled herself quickly, as was her training. Straightening her brow, brushing off the cracked screen of her pad, taking a slow breath of air, the usual actions with shocking news. That didn't decrease from how monumental an announcement that was.

There were far too many _similarities_.

"Sage?" Ozpin was the one who asked. His voice was characteristically calm even in the face of unreasonably heavy news. "If I assume correctly, that is quite a title to possess."

"You bet!" Tatl began again, excited as ever. A clever ploy on Ozpin's part. "Cause the things she can do because she's a sage are-"

"Better spoken for a different time," Saria interrupted. The mini-drone rang with her words, but Glynda noted the smile the young girl offered. It was sharper than any point on the tree she had grown. Tatl gave another ring, perhaps of dismissal, before flying about the now named sage. "I've accomplished what I needed to and I thank you, headmaster, for the permission."

She gave a low bow to Ozpin, in truth small as befitting her size, but it was still done. Ozpin just as easily returned his own, though with far less energy as he balanced his mug and cane. Oobleck mumbled questions into the gentle wind.

It was an end to conversation. Glynda realized that. A bow was like a handshake, a way to end communication before two parties parted ways. A clever ploy on the girl then, a clever tactic, a move that Ozpin had warned the young girl was fully capable of making. But Glynda was caught between the question of who truly acted. Saria or Link?

Said question was pushed aside as Saria turned from the pair. She gave another short bow to Oobleck, he returned with a deep and overdone one himself. The mini-drones rang at the motions, Saria patting the tree. Then began to walk by it. Glynda's schedule, so well engrained, came to mind.

"Saria," she spoke up, her voice betraying none of the shock she was still recovering from. "Before you go, I have a small update for scheduling to discuss with Link." The girl turned to her with blue eyes framed with Emerald hair.

"Oh?" She questioned aloud. Her smile had never faltered, but it did grow a touch at the declaration. "Oh wonderful! What has changed?" Given what changes to Link's schedule had been in the past, the excitement for the announcement was rather… odd.

"Well, to begin, you have received a great amount of discussion from the students on public forums," Glynda began, fingers tapping away at her pad. She did her best to avoid the hair-line crack that now ran through the material. It, blessedly, affected little. "Though the commendations are split evenly with criticisms. Truthfully it's a positive showing for a new professor in this field."

"That is good," Saria answered in kind. "It means they are thinking. Simply loving something means you don't question it. And if they don't question it, then they will not learn as much as they could." Glynda looked up from her pad for a moment to see the Kokiri grinning back at her. Truly odd, if that was to be considered wise.

"Yes, well," the blonde professor spoke on. "What is of more of note is that two individuals and one team have requested to face you in the Instructor Duels." She hard Ozpin's feet tap across the metal surface, likely to face her as she gave the information he requested what felt like hours ago. "It was truthfully two and two, but one of the teams has withdrawn their bid to face you, for now at least."

"Oh? And who were they?" Saria's head tilted with her words, the dark and light mini-drone following, though without the same angle to their wings. Glynda knew enough about basics physics to know that they would have flown side-ways if they had attempted it.

"Team CRDL, requested and withdrawn by their leader Cardin Winchester." Glynda could see on three different mini-drone feeds the grin that Saria wore. It changed. It was always there, but now it was… softer perhaps. Kinder. It looked as if she were pleasantly pleased with the news.

"Then perhaps he is taking my words to heart," Saria spoke, or truthfully Link. Saria had not spoken to team CRDL, Glynda knew this. Her own mini-drones would have picked up the feed if she had. "I hope I can converse with him then later."

"Perhaps, but of those remaining, Team SSSN, visiting from Vacou, wish to duel you. They have opted to request a bout with Elrora." Saria's brow lifted with the words. "This of course, means you may request the location. I need to know now, preferably, so the duel may commence tomorrow."

"Just outside the hall," the Kokiri returned quickly. "As long as Elrora can fly, it is a place she can fight. I'm sure you knew that." The smile brightened with her last sentence. And, again, Glynda did. But the previous few weeks, let alone months, had made it dangerous to assume anything.

"Of course, I'll be sure to clear the airspace," Glynda spoke as she noted as such. It would be simple to ground nearby Bullheads for a designated timeslot. "Of the two individual competitors, one is another visiting student from Vacou, requesting to face you, Link."

"Ah, that's not smart." Glynda heard Ozpin give a small snort of amusement beside her. A part of her hoped it was done to hide his billowing thoughts. Tatl rang with the words as well, highly at that. "But a request and an agreement are just that. Hopefully he learns a lesson during the fight. I can fight him the arena." Too simple to be Saria, had to be Link, thankfully.

"Very well," Glynda noted with another mark on her Pad. "The last student is surprising, but perhaps less so given your activities yesterday." Saria twisted her head at the statement, so Glynda continued. "You are being requested for a solo-match by Yang Xiao Long."

Saria almost beamed at the words.

"Oh wow!" She spoke excitedly by the words, even hoping with them like a true child. "That is very surprising. I wonder why she's doing that? I haven't an idea and that doesn't usually happen. Maybe I'll learn a lesson now." A fun though to be sure.

"Indeed, though you may learn one shortly," Glynda let off. She was hoping, a dark side of her at least, that her next bit of news would force Saria's smile to drop for the first time. Dark and tainted as it were. "It appears that either through the aid of her friends or her own effort, Yang has spent a great amount of time reading over the agreements for the Instructor Duels. It has ended with her finding what she believes, or possibly could be, the loop hole."

"Hmm?" Ozpin spoke up now, hum loud enough to not be a simple noise of curiosity. "And what is this 'loop-hole'?" He thought it was a trap as well. Glynda did as much.

"Yang can request which of Link's friends she will face as well as the location of their duel, but with the trade-off of requiring her to move Link's aura into critical range." The dark side of her was despondent to see Saria's grin still as present as ever.

If anything it was a bit softer, as she was moment ago.

"That is wonderful," Saria spoke honestly. Her mini-drones hovered and spun around her. "It means there are still surprises to be had here. I was wary of how strong your knights were, but it appears that even the warriors, when motivated, can find ways to use their strengths in new ways. Their diligence to plan before they prepare is evident." So it was a trap.

"Indeed," Oobleck spoke up now, his self-rambling finished. "Never doubt the intelligence of a motivated individual. The unstoppable force, or the immovable object. Situational, but immutable." He was still jotting down notes as he spoke, eyes and fingers poking at the tree as he did so. It was likely an act that would continue for sometime. If Glynda knew her colleague, it would be well into the night and perhaps the next morning.

"I understand," Saria spoke in return. "But now I must ask, which of my friends does she which to face… and where?"

"In the roofed arena, she wishes to face Elrora." Glynda noted carefully Saria's expression. It appears that those statements were what satisfied the colder part of her soul.

The emerald girl's grin fell.

It was short, hardly a moment at that, but enough for her drones to collected footage of it through several refreshed screens. They were automatically saved as were all documents on her Scroll, but it was good she remembered it without a reference. But just as quickly, the smile returned. As Ozpin would say, interesting.

"I see," the young Kokiri spoke again. When she looked up at Glynda, her smile was broad once more. "Then you are right, I have indeed learned a lesson. Perhaps it is one I can exercise in the coming days." She turned towards Ozpin before she spoke again. "Ozpin, thank you once more for holding to your agreement. It will take some time, a week at most, but the seeds will begin to grow. Perhaps then I may show you their strength."

"Of course, Saria," Ozpin returned. "Perhaps we can speak further of other topics, if you have the time. I do find conversation with you quite enthralling." Unfortunately, it appeared that Ozpin's ploy was as obvious to Saria as it was to Glynda.

"Another time we may. For now, I have somewhere else I need to be." She turned and nearly skipped across the metallic roof of the tower, green layers of clothing truly billowing now in the effort. Tael and Tatl trailed after her, both oddly silent in the past few moments. Dust fell behind their path.

Glynda was too focused on them to not realize Saria had jumped off the edge of the tower.

Her eyes quickly felt to her Scroll, mini-drones moving to collect a better image of the girl as Oobleck and Ozpin made their own movement towards the edge. She was the first to give a sigh of relief, though not a feeling that quenched the endless amount of mystery that continued to bubble about the girl. It appeared, as all Huntresses do, she had a landing strategy.

Specifically, in the form of an extremely large leaf that hung above her head. Glynda almost wished Tatl or Tael were present to gossip about the item. It would have to be Tatl, because she gave information. Tael spun stories.

"She'll be fine," she heard Ozpin declare, a conclusion Glynda had already reached. "If I were to guess, she's likely to find a new location to plant a sapling. Likely in a spot that has fewer restrictions on it, physically and politically. Both Saria and Link are aware of their precarious position at Beacon." Yes, that.

"Perhaps," Glynda supplied, sliding her Scroll for the first time since she stood on the roof. She did so softly, to prevent the glass from breaking any further. Repair was necessary. "But I must admit that her power has me concerned."

"To me as well," Ozpin agreed, walking towards her with cane and mug in hand. "Of all the things I expected to see, the full growth of a sapling so quickly was not among them. At most, I assumed protection or the expansion of soil. Not the actual change of life."

"I am more concerned with her title, Ozpin," Glynda found it time to cut to the chase, bush beating aside. "Tatl and Tael both named her a sage. A _sage_ , Ozpin."

"Indeed," the headmaster returned in a far more grave tone. His eyes shifted to see Oobleck, the doctor moving from the edge of the tower to the growing tree and back again. He appeared to be debating something else. "And it raises questions not only of Link, but of his friends and their connection to our own land."

"Then you're thinking the same thing I am." It was more a statement then a question, a declaration of truth. The nod that was returned only solidified it.

"Past or present," Ozpin began. "Saria appears to be a Maiden of Spring."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	9. March to the End of the Week

This duel was simpler than Link expected, and he had not expected much.

"Gah!" The young man across from him let out, forced back by a quick kick to his center. It was an easy strike to connect, the man's blade too large to be used as an offensive weapon as he was attempting. Link's own sword, though miniscule in comparison, was much easier to strike and defend with.

If nothing else, it was a good tool to distract his opponent.

Judging solely by the number of blows Link had made with the back of his hand and sole of his boot, the number of openings this young man kept making were obvious. It was only more glaring when placed next to the number of times he had struck Link.

That was none.

"Agh, dammit!" The man finally cursed as Link swung his foot low, pulling out his leg. The man fell onto his back, heavy sword pulling him down the remainder of the way. Before his head hit the floor, Link twisted his Magical Sword at the man's neck. Said fighter stiffened as he felt the steel on his throat.

Match.

"Winner by disarmament is Link," Glynda supplied in an even tone. She was as unsurprised as Link was. Still, the match was won. Link removed, spun, and pocketed his blade back in its sheath. It still felt odd, not having a shield on his back. But that was a worry for only when he needed it. Now was not the time.

However, judging by the light moan, roar, and grumbling of the crowd, there were a few amount of bets to cash in. That made Link grin. It truly did like the Academy again.

"You gotta be kidding me," the man spoke from the ground, curling up until he was sitting slouched forwards. "How come I couldn't get a hit on you? You weren't even moving all that much."

"It's called deflection, Carrot Top," Tatl swooped in to speak. Link grinned at the fairy, always keen to point out the flaws of others. The nickname was a nice touch, especially given the man's rather pointy green hair. "You got a blade that big, you gotta know how to swing it. All Link had to do was hit in the right place at the right time and you lost your vote for where it was gonna end up."

And she was right. It would have been difficult to deflect a blade so large, but the boy's strength didn't appear to be suited for the tool. Strong indeed, strong enough to swing the blade, but not nearly enough to control it. Like a child trying to lift their parent's sword.

"Oh c'mon, then how was Impa pulling off that stuff yesterday?" The man argued back, hand waving towards Link as he spoke. Huh, he must have assumed he had a chance when he saw the Shiekah fight. The difference between strength and skill, obviously.

"Because she's strong enough to swing the Biggoron Sword without praying that it would hit." Tactful as always. It was even nearly her name. "Sides, match is over. Go build some muscle or stop overcompensating, then you'll probably have at least a small chance." Link shook his head at her words. Too far.

"Tatl," Glynda spoke up, thankfully, before the man on the ground could yell in protest. "Advice aside, I suggest you do not insult the students, especially those that are visiting from other kingdoms."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Link wasn't entirely sure she did. "Let's just move along. Good try Corran, better luck next time." Now he sighed with the fairy's words. A friend as true as the sky was blue, but hardly one that was easy to get along with. Link, however, wasn't done.

He reached his hand out to the man, offering it. Corran, looked at it, likely wondering if he wanted the help. After the insults, Link could understand his hesitation. Thankfully though, it appeared that his honor was worth more.

A calloused hand grabbed Link's leather gauntlet, a small force shared between the two. It lifted Corran of the ground, standing to height just equal to Link. He let out his own sigh before nodding towards Link. He returned it, but then offered a little more.

Link placed his hand on the man's shoulder, ensuring eye-contact. Corran looked back, blinking at first. But Link held his gaze, letting the man know he had done well. A poor choice of an opponent, a poor belief he would win, but that was sometimes the odds of a fight.

Fighting despite such odds was a sign of bravery. That was something that could not be measured or overestimated. Corran had done well, and Link believed it.

The small grin that grew over the man's face said he got the message.

"Thanks," he returned. "Just didn't expect to loss so quickly. Kinda my fault for not listening, huh?" Link only nodded, but patted his shoulder regardless. There was no animosity after a duel.

At least there was not meant to be. The boy nodded once more before walking away, large blade slung over his shoulder like a bag strap.

Link took in and let out a slow sight, blue eyes trailing the stands. The room was quieter than the first day, though far from silent. Murmurs still filled the packed room, more than one filled to the brim with excitement. Like children in an orphanage watching the Knights walk by. It felt no different than that. The feeling was only made stronger when familiar faces appeared in the crowd.

Penny, sitting close to team RWBY with a fidgeting posture. She was excitable and the match must have done little to help. The girls beside her were all of equal appearance, though the white haired Weiss was diligently taking notes. It was something he was happy to see, the studiousness. It meant they were truly trying to learn from him.

It was shared by Jaune Arc, the boy that so nearly looked his double. He was further over from team RWBY, still sitting with his team. He had a Scroll in his hand, the device that was anything but a true scroll. Ruby had said it could take pictures like a Pictobox, perhaps the boy was trying to perfect his posture. That was important as well.

But he was most pleased to see Cardin Winchester. His appearance meant the test went well. It was one test amongst many, but a test nonetheless, and the boy passed. He had shaken off his broken pride long enough to come to study. By Glynda's words yesterday, he had already begun to learn. Hopefully Time would allow his tutelage to continue. Link did want to see what he could be as a Knight.

"There are two more Instructor Duels remaining," Glynda spoke once more. Link could see her eyes clearly trained on the Scroll in her hands. "Both the team and individual sessions have requested to face Elrora of the Watarara."

"And they're both in for one heck of a beating," Tatl added on. Link heard snickers through the room. It only made him wonder how appreciated her words were. "But seriously, let's hurry this up. We want the kids to fight each other. No way they're gonna instantly improve against Link." A point to be sure, but Link was just as confident that was not their reason for challenging them.

Or, in one case, for Yang to challenge Elrora.

"Agreed," Glynda spoke, surprisingly. "Thankfully Corran's match lasted shorter than I estimated." The snickering became laughter, followed by a voice of protest in the crowd. Link shut his eyes and shook his head, though his own small grin present. "The next of today's three matches will be outside, as agreed upon by Team SSSN and Link."

"Wait, Sun is up?" He heard Ruby ask. He recognized her voice. Curiosity mixed with surprise. Judging by quick whispers, and few whoops of cheer, it was an announcement they told few of.

Given what Glynda had told him of the visiting trainees, the choice of silence was odd.

"Link," Glynda spoke his name. "I will escort the class outside, to save on time. Why don't you prepare and meet us in the garden." It was more a confirmation of a plan than an order. They had agreed to it yesterday. He nodded towards her before turning and walking into the room of lockers.

He rotated his shoulders as he entered the room, barren of life but humming aloud. It was Glynda who had told him that it was the DC motors within the lockers, humming due to their constant cycling motion. He wasn't sure what they were or their purpose, but knowing it wasn't a sound he was imagining was enough for him.

"You took your time with that kid, didn't you?" Tatl asked suddenly behind him, spinning around before settling before his gaze. Link only grinned, shrugging his shoulders towards her. "Figures, can't just knock these kids out and call it day."

Of course not, that wouldn't teach a lesson. Link knew that as well as any instructor who had ever taught another. The longer a lesson lasted, the more one learned, but only so long as they were paying attention. Tatl rang with trodden wings at his expression.

"Right, right, I get it, can't do anything half way." She gave a quick ring and sprinkle of light. "Seriously, these kids are lucky to have you as a teacher. Hopefully at least you know that." Tatl flew about as she spoke, doting over lockers as she did so. And honestly, Link did know.

He knew because the test was going well. The big one and all of the small moving parts.

Ruby and her team valued his advice and easily forgave him. Jaune and his partners, though short in meeting, didn't appear any more or less wary about him. Glynda acted every bit the Knight he was used to, following orders with curiosities without hesitation. Oobleck was enthralled with his world. Port was kind to talk to.

And Ozpin… Link felt thanks and wariness about the man. He had done much to protect him, to ensure he was not thrown into a strange world without knowing up from down, but he was a leader of Knights training those looking to be Knights themselves. It was a position of power that required wisdom, strength, and cunning. Link had heard plenty of testimony to the first and second, but not a word of the third. Of the third, he had only experienced.

If it was years ago, Link would have been thankful for it. But he was older and wiser himself. He knew there were no leaders, no leaders that stood for any great amount of time, that didn't act without thinking of subterfuge and trickery. It was what made his position here successful, using rules made by others to place Link in a position of power that would keep him from being a fugitive.

It was why he gave thanks to Time, but it was why he was wary.

If he could so easily do as he did, what was he doing behind Link's back? It was not a question that was easily forgotten, let alone easily answered. There were clues, plenty of them, but too spread out with too few parts to make sense alone.

An empty basement. Curiosities of specific friends. Trepidations for Saria's magic. They were connected, but Link hadn't a clue how.

"Link!" Tatl's voice shook Link from his thoughts. He jostled his head, scratching the back of it sheepishly. "Geez. I get you like to think a lot, but I'm pretty sure from the stampede going on outside Glynda's got the kids moving. You better hurry up if we don't want another lecture from the Triple B." He chuckled at the name. Hopefully he wouldn't have to explain it anytime soon.

He produced the Bremen Mask, the holder of all that was Elrora. A sigh escaped his lips as he stared down at the alabaster mask. There wasn't much he was going to enjoy during the fight. The Watarara fought in no wars and preferred flight to fight. But that was not what he was deploring, what was to come.

Team SSSN was an unknown to him. Strong, enough so to earn the respect of Glynda and Ozpin, but little else was known after that. He would need Elrora's sharp eyes and patience, but he knew he could win. He was an Unknown, too.

But against Yang… he knew well enough why she wished to face him. It was what he was loathing. The match would harsh, but so too would any words they exchanged. A soft sigh let his lips again. His thoughts were becoming melancholy, which meant it was time to move again.

To keep the advantage, he had tests to perform and Unknowns to exploit.

Link placed the mask on his features, feeling Elrora's memories merge with his again.

_"Take care Rouru. I will always be watching."_

* * *

"I got ten Lien saying SSSN lasts five minutes."

"Five minutes? You're bein' too kind, dude. Twenty here says they don't last two."

"I'll get in on that, ten again saying they last for ten minutes!"

"Oh you're on!"

"I got a good one, how about three members of SSSN get wasted and the last surrenders?"

"Nah man, they're a tight team. You got a better chance if that was CRDL getting ready to be wasted."

"Would fifty Lien make you reconsider?"

"Heck no, just means you're giving me free money!"

"How about a knockout within the first minute? Hell, first thirty seconds!"

"Oh! I say two minutes. Gonna take more than one good blow and that bird we saw in the sky was big enough to carry Blake like she was a dufflebag. She's gonna need time to do anything real!"

"Laying down thirty Lien on that, anyone else?"

"I got forty for two-minutes!"

"Fifty again for first minute!"

A slow and controlled sigh left Blake as she overheard the visiting students. Betting over fights was hardly something new, by any measure. That didn't mean it was any less disgraceful. That was with her being kind and not including that they were betting on Link, a faunus.

"It's amazing, honestly," Weiss spoke up beside Blake, arms crossed and nose scrunched in disgust. It was a wonder that wasn't her normal appearance. "Only our second session with Link in as many days and they've already begun to bet on their performance."

"I don't know, I think it makes sense." Blake was loathed to recognize her partner's voice. "At least they're all betting that Link is gonna be the one taking the win, right? So far all I hear is talk about how fast SSSN is going to end up in the shade." Was that a pun? If it was, it was deplorable. The groan from Ruby told Blake as much.

"It's a contrite and foolish act," Weiss shot back. "If they are so flippant with their money, they should better invest it in risky start-ups than placing it in fights that are as sure to go one way as the other."

"You're talking about the odds, princess," Yang answered in kind. "And the odds are saying that SSSN isn't going to so much as land a hit on Big Bird let alone beat her."

"Big Bird, Yang?" Blake finally found it time to question the name. "You are speaking of a foreign and former queen, and you refer to her as a character from a child's cartoon?" She raised a single brow as she spoke. Blake was well aware the impact it would have.

"I think that means she's endearing!" she fruitlessly spoke back. "Who doesn't know Big Bird? Better than calling her any nickname Tatl could come up with. Like, what does Triple B even mean?" It wasn't a question Blake had dedicated even a moment's thought to. Now was no different.

She looked up into the sky to, hopefully, drown out the banter around it. She focused on Ozpin's tower, far enough way to not be considered a boundary, but tall enough to always be in view. She saw the student dorm's some small distance away, but the academic halls nearly all around them. Considering the garden they were standing in, it made perfect sense. They would have had to walk through archways to get to the remainder of Beacon's grounds. She could see someone else had fought her recently, judging by the cracks and indentations in one of the far walls.

It was amazing she noticed that much, given the number of students that crowded the area. Much like Link's initiation, they stood on rafters about the building and climbing the few jutting walls to get a better view. She hardly faulted them, as she was likely to do the same once Elrora did arrive. She would not risk missing the fight because she had a poor seat.

"Seems like everyone's against us, huh?" Blake turned to see a familiar golden tailed faunus walking towards them, bare chest and all. At least now he had a golden staff slung over his shoulder. "Whatever happened to strength in numbers and all that?"

"Considering who you're getting ready to run up against, pretty sure that doesn't apply here," Blake returned, letting a light grin take her lips. "When it comes to Link, you haven't seen nearly as much as we have."

"Aw c'mon Blake, you're wounding me here," Sun put a hand to his chest, faking injury. She gave him a snort for his efforts, though she heard Ruby giggle lightly at his antics. "But seriously, why's everyone thinking the bird is gonna be hard to put down? You know, in a purely honorable fight sort of way."

Blake had seen turtles recover faster.

"Because she's huge!" Ruby chose that moment to officially join the conversation, doing so with a jump from beside Blake with arms spread wide and cape billowing. "She's really big with wings that stretch out _really_ far, too. I bet they're twice as long as Crescent Rose from each tip, and my baby was made to maximize the strength/size/weight ratios."

"In a more technical sense," Weiss added on to her partner's words. "Her size means she can push a great amount of air in order to gain flight. Add to that the speed of her accelerations and seemingly lack of fatigue Blake or Ruby have yet to see her suffer from, and she's not someone to take lightly. And you are still forgetting that Link is in there, too."

"Just because she can give doesn't mean she can take," Sun replied confidently, or at least he attempted to. The smile was a nice touch, if overdone. "Sides, Neptune's been hunting birds in Vacou for a long time now. They're big and they do got a lotta pull in those talons, but they're light, like really light."

Blake hadn't considered that, mostly because it was hard to judge the weight of someone who was carrying you.

"Birds have hollow bones to limit their gravitational force," Sun's blue haired partner walked in now. Blake was blaming the size and conversations for making it difficult to sense them. They were mostly filled with jabbering and bets. "It means their fragile and can't take much force before break." That was not the way to enter a conversation.

"Are you intending to break Elrora's bones in this fight?" Blake raise a brow again at the tall youth. He stammered useless at her stare. Good to know her had less confidence than Sun. Unfortunately, he did have looks. Weiss reminded her of that.

"Blake, honestly," the heiress began, as if dismissing the maiming of Elrora. "Elrora's aura will protect against such horrific injuries, but it does mean she'll have to deplete a significant pool of her reserves to prevent damage to sensitive areas." Of course she knew that. But Blake was caught. Weiss had a point.

"Yes! Yeah, thank you Weiss," Neptune spoke breathlessly to the ice queen. She returned smile in return, batting eyes and all. Blake failed to prevent her eyes from rolling. "I-I'm not trying to hurt anyone. I just think it's smart to attack someone where they're weakest, ya know?"

"Well, yeah, that makes sense," Ruby added with a resounding decrease in her usual energy. It took Blake on a moment to remember why. "But Link's not gonna be easy to beat, especially with Elrora's help."

"Hey, if we can't do it, I'm sure her next challenger can." Sun added on, grinning at the team leader. But Blake was caught on that. Did he know who was fighting next?

The questions fled with the wind.

No, that wasn't right. It simple felt that way to Blake.

She felt that way because of the rush of air that blew past her seemingly out of nowhere. A distraught yell came from Weiss, Ruby… and she believed Neptune as well. She raised her own hand to prevent her hair from whipping into her eyes. Good thing, too. It made it easy to see the new entry to the garden and likely the reason for the sudden blast of air.

"Apologies for being late," Elrora spoke, standing to her tallest as she did so. She wasn't facing Blake or her team, eyes sideways and focused on Goodwitch, likely. She did still have her wings wrapped about her like a robe, several head lengths above Blake. It was good to see her smile was still present. "I had to check on the trees. I'm happy to see they are doing well." Trees?

"Please refrain from running personal errands during your class time, Link," was the immediate response Professor Goodwitch gave. It was cold, but maybe that was because she was speaking next to an avian faunus that seemed to project warmth. "But you did not take an unacceptably long amount of time. I believe it has allowed Team SSSN to prepare."

It was only when the professors' collective gazes moved that Blake realized the hush that had come over the crowd. She had to take another moment to remind herself that no one aside from her team had seen Elrora so close up before. Even with it being her fourth time meeting the past queen, Blake could feel the awe of her presence.

"Is Team SSSN prepared?" Glynda called out, eyes looking towards them. No, looking towards Sun and his team. Blake took a sardonic amount of pleasure when she noted the pause her faunus brethren had before answering. It appears that he just noticed how much he had bitten of.

"Uh… y-yeah, totally." Sun spoke up, once massive bravado blown apart. Blake blamed the air blast for that. She was thankful for it, too. "Just um… shouldn't the garden be cleared out?"

Oh, that was a good point.

Without a word from Goodwitch or Elrora, the students rapidly began to vacate the garden. Blake felt no less than a dozen or so students push past her, eager to reach the best vantage point. A vantage point she desperately wanted to have as well. She turned, scanning for any spot she could quickly reach. The trees would be unacceptable, most of the roof space was taken, beneath the roofs was not a good idea to watch Elrora fly… oh there really were few spaced.

"Hey guys!" she heard a familiar yell, turning to see her partner. "Got a few spots saved for ya!" And indeed Yang did. Waving at them from the edge of the roof, Yang had a few decently sized spaces of roof left to climb up and claim. Probably a good thing she was there as no one would second guess the blonde when she said something was hers.

But… how did she get up there so quickly? Did she leave early? When?

Well… those questions didn't matter right now, at least to Blake. There was a match to see and a faunus professor to observe. She had given excellent advice before and Blake really wanted to see it in action. Even as she took the few steps necessary and quick leap up, she remembered the words Elrora told them. That their fight, her distraught feelings towards her lesson, would not be forgotten, but it would not weigh on her mind.

And when Blake settled next to Yang, feeling her partner put an arm about her neck for her usual form of cheer, the faunus-in-hiding could see the avian still smiling. She didn't appear upset or uneasy at all. In fact, she looked as she had described, at peace.

"So… you're Elrora," Sun spoke. She could just make out his voice. She was likely the only one in the crowd, Velvet aside. The advantages of being a faunus never ceased, but neither did the hatred. "Gotta admit, you're a lot bigger in person."

"I am told that often," Elrora spoke. "Though I confess I have heard little of you. Likely a consequence of my short time here, I'm sure." Her smile never fell as she spoke, but her eyes did shift. There were still a few students making their way out of the garden. "May I meet the rest of your team before the match begins?"

"'Course! This here is Neptune," Sun hastily introduced. "My partner and ace with the ladies, just after me of course." If she was insulted, Elrora didn't show it. She merely bowed towards the young man, who returned the action nervously. His shaking is what made it nervous.

"Next up we got Scarlet. He can see just fine with the hair, trust me." Said team member Blake had not met personally. Sun's comment was rather obvious though, given the thick bang of hair that covered one of the boy's eyes, dyed the color to match his name. "Then we got Sage over here. Not really sagely, but his tea is second to none, let me tell you." The final member was darker skinned than the rest, but with a hair color that matched Link's opponent from earlier. He merely nodded his head at Elrora, but the grin was as clear as Sun's.

"It is an honor to meet you all," Elrora returned graciously. It seemed like all of her words did, even those that bordered insults. Blake hadn't forgotten their last conversation. "And I look forward to this bout we have planned." Blake was sure, if only due to her hope that Sun was as kind as the sun he was named after, that his grin was confident, not sardonic.

"Trust me, it'll be a blast. None of the ladies ever regret getting heated with Sun Wukong around." Blake was starting to hope the gamblers were right in their odds. Two minutes tops.

"Well then, I certainly hope I don't cool you off too soon." Blake had no idea how to take Elrora's comment, either literally or figuratively. Ruby groaning next to her did not help. "But, I think the garden is ready for us."

And it was, at least as well as it could given the near impromptu match.

It was only slightly larger than the usual arena, made only more apparent by the sudden vacancy of students. A few odd patches of flowers existed around the perimeter, enough to make it qualify as a garden of sorts, but they were far from exotic and only a single tree rose through the grass, only a head's length taller than Elrora herself. Blake was uncertain it would survive the fight.

Ms. Goodwitch, however, was still tapping along her Scroll, the only other person in the garden aside from SSSN and Elrora. She was likely organizing her drones, placing them in key locations. Or, more likely, heightening the magnification depending on how high Elrora flew. Oh, and she would fly, there wasn't really much else other than a certainty for that.

"This is gonna be fun." Blake heard Tatl ring next to her. It almost made her jump. Almost. But she wouldn't be scared by things that couldn't hurt her, literally. "It's been a long time since I've seen Old Gold actually do anything else but fly, talk, or sing."

"She doesn't fight often?" That was some random student Blake didn't recognize. His question was valid though, enough for Tatl to answer.

"Nah, Watarara don't do that. No reason to fight really," Tatl spoke of with rings. Blake only could tell by a quick glance that she was still facing the garden below, evidenced by her wings. "No land they need to fight for and they feed out of the sea, lakes, or rivers. They are literally made for flight or fight."

"Crap, so like, those guys have an actual chance?" It was a thought Blake nearly spoke aloud, but was repulsively thankful someone else did. The high ring Tatl gave was answer enough, but her words did help.

"Oh no, those guys are screwed."

Blake would have laughed, much like Ruby was doing, if she weren't listening to Goodwitch speak.

"Is team SSSN prepared?"

Each member of the group produced their own weapons at the question. Sun's bowstaff swung around, detaching itself until a pair of nun-chucks remained. Neptune's trident of a weapon unfolded and extended, reaching a length greater than his own height. Scarlet produced a broad cutlass, the hammer of a pistol cocked behind his back, poorly hidden. Finally Sage's weapon was… another very large broadsword. Was he related to the previous competitor?

"Are you prepared, Elrora?"

The avian faunus only nodded towards Ms. Goodwitch, an action that was telegraphed by her large size. She said she was ready, but nothing looked different. Then again, she had already thrown out the idea of ever guessing what Link or his friends did to prepare for anything.

"The match will then commence in 3…"

Blake's nails dug into the steel of the roof with little effort.

"…2…"

Team SSSN tensed, members with ballistics taking aim at Elrora.

"…1…"

Elrora wasn't moving.

"Begin!"

The air exploded.

It was likely only because Blake had dug her nails into the roof that she was kept from being rocked in her seat. It didn't keep her hair from whipping violently back, complete with a few screeches of protest from the other students around her. She did have to squint though, the wind drying out her eyes almost immediately.

A few blinks though and she was able to see again. She saw that Elrora was gone. Thankfully it wasn't hard to guess where she was. A quick crane of Blake's neck and she looked high into the blue sky. The gold of Elrora's feathers was easy and plain to see.

Even if she was far enough away to be considered a speck of sand in the sea.

"In the name of Time, Link," Tatl drooled out with slow rings. She sounded as if she were hit with a shockwave, which she very likely was. "Do you always gotta make a point with these things?"

"Oh wow! She's really high up!" Ruby cheered next, recovering the fastest from the students. Students that were still wiping dust from their eyes various levels of cussing. "She's flying _really_ fast now! That's way faster than before!" Despite the simplicity of her words, Blake had to agree with her youthful leader.

Elrora had ascended at a speed that was far faster than when she had offered Blake a ride before, and that was when she thought the flight was already at impressive speeds. She could still remember the weight of gravity being multiplied during the banks and dips.

But if she had reached a height in the sky far above Ozpin's tower, in a manner of seconds at most, Blake doubted she would have had feeling left after the flight.

Blake managed to look away from the speck of gold long enough to see Sun and his team in the garden. See them pick themselves up with adrenaline filled speed. It made her chuckle, even as she noticed Ms. Goodwitch was no worse for wear, at least superficially. No telling how she felt about having her hair literally wind-blasted.

Sun was quick to help Neptune up, the taller boy righting his weapon and pulling goggles over his eyes. A smart move against the wind. Sage and Scarlet were doing the same, though Scarlet was loading something in his pistol, sheathing his blade. Sage was… digging his sword into the ground? Oh, for support. That made sense, even if it was defensive.

But then Neptune's trident collapsed, prongs of the sharp end condensing into a long barrel. The trigger emerged from the long handle with a support at the same end. It settled into the crux of his shoulder nice, appearing to be, by all accounts, a less intimidating version of Ruby's own gun. Ruby's gun was a sniper. Oh.

Blake blinked as their plan came together. Slightly miffed senses for their target aside, it was a well thought out idea. Chose the enemy that they had the largest advantage over then use it. It was how battles were won and those were what decided the wars.

"Oh, it appears it was not a rushed decision on their part," Weiss spoke up besides her. She had likely reached the same conclusion. "Neptune is a superb shot, one of the main reasons he so often is in the back lines of his team's formations." That sounded like a mixture of observation and interviews.

"I wish him the best of luck," Blake returned sardonically. "He'll need it to hit Elrora that high up and far away." But Blake could tell that Elrora had evened out. It was a guess at best, but the expansive size of her wings wasn't getting and larger or smaller. It was like she was circling, waiting, for what she did not know.

She did catch sight of Sage adjusting his ground-embedded blade, moving the hilt of all things. The actions made sense when Neptune positioned the end of his barrel over one of the crossguards, kneeling down and taking aim through his lenses. Sun sat behind him, hands crossed as if prepared to use his semblance.

Likely was as a defensive measure. Scarlet was merely waiting to the side, pistol aimed but little more than that.

The crowd was full of hushed whispered, students talking about either Elrora up in the sky or whatever SSSN was planning below. Blake already knew the latter and had experienced the former. Now she was waiting for who would move first. It didn't take long.

"There she goes," Tatl gave the announcement to her team. And her words were true.

Elrora's golden form began to fall towards the ground again, wings tucked and small form rapidly growing. She was launching beak first, likely to counter wind resistance, and even more likely to deliver a brutal blow. It would take reflexes moving in the span of nano-seconds to stop her.

"Any day, Neptune," Blake heard Sun say to his partner, even as the crowd became louder. She heard Ruby and Weiss exchange excited whispers mixed with planning. "Really don't want to get hit by an eight-foot cannonball right now."

"Almost got it." He spoke in return. His weapon adjusted on Sage's sword. Said team member was holding the actual sharp end of the blade in the ground. "Almost there."

"Better be soon," Scarlet added on. "Don't think I can hit her if she's moving at light-speed." So they did have more to their plan. What, Blake wasn't sure. She was sure it wouldn't be long before Elrora was here.

"Almost, almost…" Blake held her breath as the avian faunus was closing in on the ground. If she ran into the team now, it would be like a bowling ball to a series of pins. The image brought a mirthful grin to her lips.

The crack of a bullet didn't ruin her smile.

The sudden ungraceful tumble of Elrora did.

She had all the time to gasp as she saw the golden avian's dive bomb turn into a spiraling descent. Her talons rolled over head, wings unfurling as the force of whatever Neptune fired hit her. Elrora was too close to the ground to recover in time. She was too close to give Blake anytime to do anything but suck in air.

The boom of her impact wasn't nearly as loud as she expected, but it still felt like a bomb had gone off at the sound. Worried whispers were already reaching her ears as the dirt was still beginning to billow. And billow it did, with a cloud of it thick and dense enough to make only the outline of gold visible. SSSN either to their credit or trickery, didn't waste the moment.

"Scarlet, now!" Sun yelled, his red-haired team-mate jumping forward with his flintlock aimed. In the span of his leap, he threw his scabbard forward, the blade spinning into the cloud of dust. Blake heard the _twang_ of steel before she saw the golden wing of Elrora. She didn't expect her wings to be that strong, but apparently Scarlet did.

Scarlet fired his gun the moment his sword had hit its target. When he did, two things became clear to Blake. One, why he threw his sword first instead of firing his gun. Second, just what was loaded in the device. The answer to the first was to make sure Elrora was either distracted or right where she needed to be. The second was a net.

They fired a net at Elrora like she was prey. Blake almost felt herself hiss when the net surrounded the golden figure.

The dirt had almost settled, too dense to stay in the air like dust. In the span of seconds, Elrora had been grounded by a bullet, distracted by a sword, and captured by a net. Blake didn't know if she should feel jubilation for Sun's plan or terror for Elrora's predicament.

"Holy crap, they got her!" The student behind Blake yelled, a common chant that was making its way around them. Blake listened only passively. She kept her golden eyes focused on the avian faunus, struggling to raise her arms above her chest. The net was strong.

"Is she done for already?"  
"That's it?"  
"Guess size really doesn't matter."  
"Aw, man, I was hoping for something better than that."  
"Leave it to a faunus to know how to fight one. Ah crap man!"

Every phrase Blake heard made her nails dig deeper into the metal she sat on. She was, for once, thankful to hear Tatl's ring rise in pitch and volume almost in tandem with Blake's rage. No question she was getting flustered, just as much a curiosity over what.

"Hey! It's not over yet!" That was Ruby. Blake listened to her. "No way Elrora's done already." Blake was on her side. Unfortunately, so was Sun. He had kept his hands prepared the moment the match began, and now it had paid off.

Only another second or two after the net had hit Elrora, his semblance flared to life. Via Sun, yellow ethereal copies of himself, controlled to do whatever Sun commanded. One of those commands? Detonation. Blake didn't need to know Sun to know what was coming next. Apparently neither did Weiss.

"Oh my!" She heard the heiress yell as Sun's doppelgangers ran forward, the boy staying behind with his team, hair and tail glowing yellow. The only gold Blake was focused on where the pair of ghosts chasing the caught bird. "They may actually win!"

"No, they won't." Tatl spoke up, her voice sounding strained. "But you're gonna want to cover your ears." What?

Then the garden exploded in a whole new way. That was the only way Blake could describe it.

_SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_

A piercing sound ripped through the air and destroyed any semblance of thought in Blake's head. Her hands whipped to her ribbon, shoving down on her hidden ears till they were crushed against her skull. It didn't help.

She grit her teeth as she curled into herself, desperate to muffle the sound anyway she could.

_EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_

But it just kept going, so she growling. For once, she didn't care how many eyes were on her. It just hurt and she didn't know how to make it stop. She was rolling over the roof, writhing desperately to make it stop. But it wouldn't. It just kept going like a grate against her skull.

_EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_

She felt another pair of arms wrap around her, pulling her into an embrace that she greedily welcomed. Her head was shoved against a muscled shoulder, a tight grip holding her close. Blake curled into the embrace desperate for a way to muffle the noise, humility be damned.

_EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_

Blake was sure she was crying as well, but any sound she made was muted under the screeching air. It felt like every fiber of life was cringing and twisting at the noise, making the air shatter like glass and dig into her skin. She squirmed and fought deeper into the embrace she was wrapped in, hoping to bury her head in it like sand.

The noise had to stop, it _needed_ to stop.

 _EEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeee_ …..

Then it did.

The absence of sound felt like a cold blanket being thrown over Blake amidst a fire. A relieved sigh left her lips, but neither set of her ears could hear the sound. She could hear little at all. She didn't dare move from the embrace she was wrapped in. Not yet at least. The fear clamped on her heart that the sound would roar again. She didn't dare risk exposing herself until she knew she was safe.

Those same arms wrapped around her so tightly slowly began to massage her, comforting her like she imagined one would a pet. Blake loathed to admit the touch was helpful, soothing enough through the current vacuum of noise that she didn't care immensely for it.

Contrary to what she was told would follow exposure to high decibel noise, there was no ring that followed the sound. It really was a vacuum, but one that was slowly letting noise seep into it. If Blake could describe it, with shut eyes and embraced by someone who silently cared for her well-being, it was like water seeping through a blanket.

"-azy… mo…go-tim… _ag_!" There was no sense to what Blake was hearing, but her hearing was returning in the least. She took slow deliberate breaths as the varying voices began to grow in volume, doubtlessly the crowd of students that had been watching the fight with her. She was just as sure it was them talking as knowing none of them suffered quite like she had. The _benefit_ of her faunus heritage.

Her eyes slowly blinked, looking up to see Yang holding her close. Blake didn't jump from the embrace nor shirk in shyness. She trusted her partner and this was only proof she would protect her. Still, the hard grimace over the blonde's face didn't do her any favors. Blake double tapped her sternum, heavy breaths moving through her throat as she attempted to pop and adjust her ears.

"… emblenc? Thing cou… imm to… livion!" That was Weiss screaming. Even though it sounded as if there was a concrete wall between them, she could make out the heiress's voice. Yang slowly released her, keeping a hand on Blake's shoulder as she moved to settle back on the roof. The cool of steel on her bottom helped to quicken the return of her sense. She blinked her gaze a few times, complete with a shake of her head

Her hearing still wasn't back, but she didn't need it to see Sun's team on the ground of the garden, writhing in pain. No wonder why.

"…arned you though. Can't say I didn't." Blake put a finger to her human ear, twisting the digit inside of it in a vain hope to help her hear better. She dared not adjust her bow. All it would take was one curious gaze to see her to make the pain truly without gain. "When all you think about is how fa… didn't both to … ilities, right?" Tatl was still moving in and out of her hearing, but she was far more audible than before.

The faunus-in-hiding shifted her eyes about her, blinking to clear the painful haze they were in. She saw a great many of the students around her holding their own heads, rocking in place to soothe their skulls. Most had a great amount of grimace, but little more than that. Oh yes, Blake realized, her faunus heritage had once more blessed her with receiving the worst of the noise. But there was another faunus that had her concern.

Blake watched as each member of Sun's team alternated to roll on the ground, hands to their ears and weapons discarded in their writhing. She could assign little blame to them. Sun she felt he most pity for. His head was literally pounding the ground, likely as a means to exchange one pain for another.

That she could place blame on.

"Well… we can guess Elrora's semblance at least, right?" She heard Ruby ask. It was likely only the short distance that allow Blake to hear every word the young girl said, but it was still far from clear. Even further from incorrect. "I thought it was gonna be something like flying or wind. Not… screaming?"

"Calling, actually," Tatl corrected. "Elrora lead the Watarara because her voice could be heard across leagues of plains and through an entire forest. When you're a group of people that fly everywhere, it's kinda easy to get separated." No small wonder then how helpful a call that could deafen those could be then.

"Hey, I think Glynda's calling the match." Another student behind them spoke.

Blake looked towards the garden to notice that, indeed, the blonde professor was waving hands towards Elrora to announce the winner. Said avian faunus was free of her net, likely removed during the painful session Blake had just endured. Her gaze however, slightly unfocused but still sharper than average, could see the worried gaze across the faunus.

Even as Glynda tapped on her pad, stepping away, the former queen took deliberate steps towards team SSSN, kneeling down as she came close to them. Her primary feathers dragged across the grass in a manner that would doubtlessly stain them, but she appeared to pay no mind. Her hands were instead on Sun and Scarlet, holding them with her large hands.

Blake couldn't hear her, not right now at least. She wasn't surprised given the pounding in her skull the screeching had done.

"Are they going to be alright?" Weiss asked, her concern evident in her voice. Given how Neptune was curled in the fetal position, rifle nearly thrown across the garden, little wonder once more why. "That could cause a lot of trauma."

"If Elrora was going all out, probably could," Tatl spoke as an answer. That was not what Blake caught on.

"All out?" She spoke back, noting how dull her own voice sounded. She almost cleared her throat before she remembered it was her ears that were damaged, not her vocal chords. "Elrora was holding back?" Tatl answered first with a ring.

"See those windows," the fairy pointed out, almost just as pointedly ignoring the pained students in the garden. "See how they're not broken into fine shards of glass?" Wait, Elrora could do that? "That means she was holding back. And before the question comes, last time I saw her going all out, she basically yelled loud enough to make a few wolfos' heads explode."

That was a gruesome image. At least Blake's hearing was recovering enough to hear every syllable and ring from the fairy.

"…uggle it… ow breaths… deeply…" Her hidden ears began to twitch as they started to hear the words from further away. Specifically, those being spoken by Elrora to team SSSN. It was still hardly considered clear, but it was thankfully closer to what she was used to. "I apolo… perhaps a… ime."

"Nah, no…" Sun began to speak now, waving hands in the air with his forehead still pressed firmly on the ground. Elrora's hand was along his back, her primary feathers dragging. She seemed to care more for the team than her wings. To Blake, that showed great compassion. "Just… ite." At least the faunus on the ground wasn't any worse for wear.

"That was cool though," Ruby spoke with her usual grin. Blake half suspected that was due more the recovery from the screeching. "Kinda funny that she can sing you to sleep and scream till your ears bleed." That was not something Blake was going to comment on.

"…ought it was in the bag," Blake's sharp ears heard Neptune speak now. She focused on the garden again, though her ears were still a bit sensitive. "You know how hard it was… out of the sky like that?"

"Truthfully I am impressed with the accuracy of your device," Elrora answered. She was easier to hear, likely because she was not out of breath like the others. There was irony in the statement that the one who screeched till others screamed was doing just fine. "And the rest of you displayed an excellent level of cooperation, one proceeding nigh immediately after the other."

"Lotta good that did," Sun answered now. He was louder than the others, naturally. "Still beat us like we were eggs at breakfast." He was starting to stand, somewhat. At least stand with two feet and arms on the ground, dragging his head like the pressure helped. Maybe it did. "How were we supposed ta go up against that?"

"I cannot tell you an expedient method to beat me," Elrora said simply. Blake suspected that was Link. "I can only say that as a team, huddled so close together, it was easy to focus my voice on you." Oh, so they should have spread out. That made sense, against any opponent actually.

Attacks that covered wide areas were either weak, unfocused, or only a one-time use.

"Not like spreading out was gonna make that bird call any less ear splitting," Sun retorted, as Blake counted on him to do. She was tempted to count the seconds until he did. "More like earplugs or something, right?"

Elrora didn't speak to his words, but Blake could see her grinning, even from said distance away.

"Not sure how well cotton in the ears is gonna fight off that much noise." Tatl returned next to… Blake. Wait, did she hear them? Maybe fairies had excellent hearing as well. "Eh, well, not like it matters. It ain't like you got enough time to get prepared before facing her, right?"

That made Blake whirl on her. She wasn't the only one.

When Blake's eyes fell on the golden fairy, sitting atop Ruby's shoulder, all members of her team were staring at her. There was no question Yang was doing the same. There couldn't be, not with how much gossip she picked up on.

"Excuse me?" Weiss questioned first. "I'll have you know that our team hasn't even done enough practicing let alone research to pick which of Link's friends to duel with." If she were standing, Blake was sure Weiss would have her hands on her hips. For now, all she had was the upturned nose. "I think that screech from Elrora rattled your wires."

"Wires? You think I'm some kind of puppet?" Tatl rang as she jumped of Ruby's shoulder, circling the heiress. "Sides, I'm not talking about your team. Wouldn't be around you guys right now if you were." That was a thought. Blake could see Ruby almost gave a gasp at the idea. She held it in.

"Then who are you talking about?" Blake questioned in turn. She didn't get a response, at least not a verbal one.

Instead, she saw Tatl turn towards her, dragonfly-like wings pivoting behind the golden ball of light. Her ringing was quick and fluctuating, like Blake would imagine a child who just learned how to whistle. But she wasn't saying anything. Why was that?

"Do you need me to procure anything for you?" Blake heard Elrora ask again, her tone soothing and full of empathy. Motherly was the word Blake nearly refused to use. "Perhaps it would be best if you were to lie down for sometime."

"Yeah, we'll get right on that," Sun returned with one of his smirks. A small bark of laughter came just after. It made Blake's brow raise. "Just as soon as we see the next fight with you, am I right?" Her eyes joined her brow.

Sun did know who Elrora was fighting. More than that, he knew that it was Elrora who was being challenged. By who? She was not like Mikau or Impa, not formerly introduced to the school yet. It was far from a mystery who the golden avian with wings was, but her name wasn't given out in any announcement the hidden faunus had heard of. And with her ears, missing that was highly unlikely.

"Very well, but do be careful," Elrora relented almost immediately. "Your sense of balance will likely be skewed and I would despise myself to see you be injured further." She could heard Neptune groan at the words even as he nodded in agreement.

They were all starting to stand at least, one by one on shaky feet. That was as good a sign as any that they were far from seriously injured. A pity that she couldn't see their aura levels outside. The downside to choosing the opponent, Blake supposed.

"With Team SSSN's submission, we may now move onto the last Instructor Duel for the evening," Ms. Goodwitch spoke up. Any chatter in the crowd was instantly quelled by her voice.

Elrora stood to her tallest as well, arms folded to her shoulders once more. She never looked anything less than a golden giant, especially next to Ms. Goodwitch. She was smiling though, and that was something Blake was grateful to see.

"Invoked by subsection clause IV.F, paragraph two, the challenger has permission to choose both the instructor she wishes to duel and the location of the fight."

What?

"What!?" Blake flinched at Weiss's verbose question. She was not alone among the cacophony of noise that seemed to explode from the crowd. Blake made out every question, demand, and cuss word that followed, not to mention the look of absolute shock that seemed to roll over Ruby's features just next to her.

"Quiet down," Ms. Goodwitch's voice reverberated over the garden. The noise quieted, by Blake's faunus ears could more than hear the silent cussing and demands for answers. "The draw of the clause is that the duel is restricted to only solo-matches requiring a critical aura level from said instructor."

Oh, well that made more sense. It meant you had to actually beat Link or his friends. That still seemed like one heck of a battle. It seemed to satisfy a few voices in the crowd, but Blake could still very much hear Weiss biting her nails in annoyance.

If she knew where he was, she was sure the Vacou student was doing much the same.

"The combatant has chosen to face Elrora back within the Arena, and the match will commence promptly in order to prevent any more waste of class time." Blake made a note of Ms. Goodwitch's personal opinion on the subject of these duels. Kinda hard not to figure it out after that statement.

Blake felt Yang move next to her, shifting like she was trying to adjust something. No… that wasn't right. The feline faunus turned to see her partner moving to stand, getting balance on the uneven rooftop. What was she doing?

"Ms. Xiao Long, you will have five minutes to prepare."

Blake felt her heart drop like stone.

"Are you kidding me!?"  
"Blondie figured out that rule?! Seriously!"  
"Holy crap this is gonna be big."  
"What's going on?!"  
"Y-Yang?"

Even among the multitude of voices whispering, shouting, or simply commenting on the announcement, Blake could easily pick up her young team leader speaking among them. Speaking with a shaky voice, unsure words, and doubtlessly an ocean's worth of confusion. If she dared to speak, Blake was sure she would have been in the same category.

No, that wasn't right. Looking at Yang sharply now, focusing on her teammate, she felt something else. Blake looked at Yang's hard gaze, her stiff posture, her clenched fists, but more than anything else, her ill-confident smirk. She really had planned this. She had planned it all behind their back. Blake didn't feel like Ruby. She felt like Weiss.

Simply, she was pissed.

* * *

"Yang! What are you thinking?!" Weiss didn't care if she looked every bit the brat others assumed her to be. She was _not_ about to let this happen. "Why are you challenging Link like this? What chance do you think you possibly have?!"

"Against him, not much." The simplicity of her words made Weiss nearly tear her hair from her head. She settled with banging it against the nearest locker, the metal vibrating with the impact. "Sides, I'm not facing him, I'm facing the Big Bird of Bird Calls. I think I can make her scream."

"You don't get to make jokes right now!" Weiss whirled again, point her finger as if it were her blade. Yang only continued to ignore her, strapping on her gauntlets with a deceiving amount of calm. "Putting aside everything we've just seen, ignoring the fact that Elrora, _her_ _highness_ , literally beat an entire team by _screaming_ at them, for what possible reason do you think this is a good idea?!"

"Cause I found that handy little loophole in the contract," Yang spoke as if that were all she needed to say, smirking with the comment. "Is the princess jealous I read a contract better than she could?"

"Princess is upset for the same reason as the rest of us, Yang," Blake snarled the words and, once more, Weiss was thankful the faunus and her were on common ground. "We agreed, unspoken but agreed, that we would be fighting Link as a team. Now you're charging off to face Elrora like it was destined to happen!"

To that Yang didn't respond. It allows the locker room to be filled with an eerie quiet, complete silence kept at bay by the cacophony of students in the arena. Muffled and filtered through several layers of metal and concrete, but impossible to ignore.

However, just as difficult to put out of mind was the blonde brawler of team RWBY casually donning her fighting attire and Ember Cecilia. Weiss saw it akin to the calm before a storm. Too bad Weiss was already past the point of brewing.

But she was a Schnee, the heiress to a company and second in command within their team. She had to be poised, controlled, and relaxed. The latter of the three was impossible, but she could manage the first two. A very slow breath was taken in, relaxing her chest, and loosening her muscles.

It did nothing for her jaw, tight as the rope of a sail's mast.

"Xiao Long," She spoke the blonde's name like a curse. "What are you even attempting to accomplish with this? I will not accept any lie about profit or excitement. Were that the case you would not have ceased to brag to us about fighting." Weiss knew she was on the correct path of questioning when Yang paused mid clipping of her brace, lavender eyes staring at her.

"Instead," Blake took over. "You were hiding this from us, from everyone. Even when Sun and his team took on Elrora you didn't utter a word." Another pause flowed through the room. "You planned this with them."

That was a realization Weiss had not reached.

"Told them about Big Bird and how she acted, they promised I could go second. Best way to learn is through observation, ain't that what you say all the time, Weiss?" Yang attempted, poorly, to don her grin again. Weiss only deepened her snarl.

"Yang, why are you doing this?" It was about time Ruby spoke.

Her voice was like a hammer to Yang's cool demeanor, something Weiss was thankful to see. The brawler turned to see her younger sister leaning against the lockers, holding her cloak tight against her body and hood up. That was the high sign. Ruby only wore her hood when she didn't know what to think.

Blake and Weiss both said nothing as Yang stared at her sister for a moment, both waiting for the eldest and most impulsive member of their team to respond. Anything Ruby drew out of her was better than their cold logic could.

"Sorry Rubes, can't really say much till the match gets started," Yang, unfortunately spoke. Weiss scrunched her face to keep herself from screaming.

"Well, if you are going to continue to plug your ears and act like a child, I'm going to petition to have this duel postponed," Weiss spoke her hands to her hips. Yang looked at her with a crooked gaze. "I'm sure that no one else on our team will object to the notion." She looked up at Blake, seeing the faunus nod towards her. Ruby didn't move, but her silver eyes did look at Weiss. That was enough for her.

"Unfortunately that will do no good." Weiss did span _not_ resist the groan that came from her lips now. She turned towards the entrance of the arena to see Ms. Goodwitch walking in, high heels clacking lightly against the ground. Her Scroll was still in hand, eyes to it even as she moved forward with purpose.

Tatl flittered in behind her, ringing and letting dust fling from her poorly designed servos. Weiss couldn't dedicate more than a sentence to the mini-drone. There were simply so many more important things for her to worry about now.

"As Ms. Xiao Long has already has agreed to this duel outside of being a member of Team RWBY, the say of the remainder of her team does not hold weight." Her words were like a judge's guilty sentence. "Only the instructor or student participating have the say of the match's continuance."

"And don't bother asking Link to be smart about this," Tatl nearly spat the words out. Weiss would have chalked it up to a failing speaker, but she had heard the mini-drone speak clear as filtered water before. "Already tried to get him and Bird Brain to put this thing off for later. All he did was chuckle and say 'she already impressed me once, so I want to see her do it again'."

"Once?" Blake spoke before Weiss could. Both shifted their gaze away from the new locker room entries to stare at Yang again. The brawler had only moved enough to let her arms hang between her spread legs. If she were moving, it could have been mistaken for stretching. As it was now, she looked to be sulking. "Yang, what did you do?"

"She didn't tell you?" Tatl spoke up again. "Bimbolocks here apparently read through Link's little rule book about these fights and figured out she could choose the opponent and place if she believes she can knock Link all the way to death's door!" Weiss's eyes were wide as saucers. She even heard Ruby gasp. The heiress could not speak for her partner, but so much had just fallen into place.

The additional condition of choice with the limitation being the removal of the soft defeat. But judged as if she were a team of one, but at the benefit of being able to say who and where, even if it was as deplorable as fighting a bird within its cage. Yang was going to face Elrora in the worst spot for the faunus, with the idea of beating her to critical aura levels. Weiss saw the same realization cross Blake's face.

"Yang, don't do this," Yang's partner whispered desperately. Hiss may have been the better word for it. "I don't know what you're feeling and definitely not what you're thinking, but this is a bad idea and I know some part of you must get that." Yang didn't respond.

"Oh good, so she's as mute as Link usually is," Tatl scoffed with a high ring at the blonde's posture. "Great, awesome, that's freaking _perfect_!" Her ring was much higher this time. Weiss was inclined to agree with the drone. "Nothing like a deaf, dumb, and mute kid looking for a fight. Nope, nothing, really can't match this level of ignorance!"

It was hard to tell if the golden mini-drone was ranting aloud or insulting Yang. Weiss was still on the side of its logic.

"Eh, shout all you want, I'm still gonna clip the bird's wings." Weiss heard a gasp before she could even raise her own hands to her lips. She stared with saucer-like eyes at Yang, the blonde only smirking darkly at her own words. What was she thinking? Was she thinking at all?

"Yang, please don't do this." Never before, not even during the first week of class, had Weiss wished for herself to be the team leader so desperately. At least someone else instead of Ruby. "I-I know I messed up a couple of nights ago. But you should, you can't take this out on Elrora. She was being nice, we _asked_ her for help. Just… don't this, please."

"Sorry Ruby," Yang returned so quickly it left Weiss unsure if it really was Ruby's sister speaking. "Spent a good amount of time thinking on this yesterday. And you know that if I spend time thinking on anything, there's no convincing me otherwise. One of my charms."

"More like anchors!" Weiss shouted back. If Xiao Long insisted on being so impulsive, then so would she. "You're jeopardizing the good nature of our relationship with Link all for some petty misunderstanding you don't even get! A wrong phrase from one person and you're flying off the monkey bars like someone just slapped you!"

She took a few deep breaths, doing her utmost to control her rapid breathing and pounding skull. She was getting a headache over this brute. Weiss tried to tell herself Yang wasn't worth it, not right now. But apparently she had that much in common with her teammate. Sometimes logic was secondary.

"In case you forgot, Ruby messed up, too." She flung her arm at her partner, who almost shot back at the motion. Weiss was rewarded, however, with Yang giving her a death stare. "Oh yeah, get mad at me. Get mad at anyone who even so much as gets close to Ruby. Guess what Yang? She made a mistake! So did Link! And right now, so are you!" Her hand whirled to point threateningly at the blonde.

Unfortunately, Yang only settled for snorting at the appendage like it had offended her. Weiss was once more tempted to real the hand back and slap the obnoxious teammate of hers. At least Blake and Ruby would listen. But this brute? She didn't have a single brain cell dedicated to thought!

"Why don't you act like the big sister you're supposed to be and start apologizing?," Weiss started, pulling back her hand to comb it through her long ponytail. She had to keep her appearance professional, even in her school uniform. "It's not too late to just make this some spontaneous decision and nothing more. You still have the power to call this off."

"Yeah, but I'm not going to." Weiss bit her lip to keep herself from screaming. "And since it's almost time to start, why don't you guys go get a good seat in the bleachers. I'm sure JNPRs gotta have something, right?" She was still attempting to joke!

Even as she stood up to her tallest, towering over Weiss like the brawler she loved to be, she had a grin on her face like this was going to happen no matter anyone's action. Weiss had enough vision out of the corner of her gaze to see Blake's glare of disdain. Good thing it was an emotion they shared. A pity Ruby felt more self-pity then actual anger for her sister.

"Ms. Xiao Long is correct." Ms. Goodwitch spoke up. Weiss looked at her, pleading silently. The professor did not do so much as blink. "Please return to your seats. If we are to continue the class after this match, we cannot afford delays. Tatl, I trust to you make sure they leave the lockers?"

"Yeah, yeah, I will," the drone responded with as much commitment to the idea as Weiss felt. None at all. "But write it down on that light board of yours that I'm not happy about this. And by the looks of it, no one else is either!" Good thing her visual protocols were working.

"Noted, but please leave now." Ms. Goodwitch turned on her heel with the words.

Yang walked past Weiss and right up to the professor. She didn't even offer a glance through her blonde mane. She was either focused on the fight or determined to ignore them. Both were deplorable in the given situation.

"Let's… let's go." Weiss heard Ruby speak. "Yang won't listen to us, but we should at least watch her fight." She didn't even sound happy with her own orders. Tatl balancing on her hood, her usual gold now tinted a red that matched Ruby's cloak, didn't help. But… if Weiss was objective, which she always was, her leader had a point.

They couldn't risk appearing belligerent simply because things didn't go their way.

"Fine," she returned, disdain and displeasure clear on her tongue. "But we are going to have a serious conversation with Yang following the fight, agreed?" Weiss saw Blake nod harshly at the words. Ruby did the same, though with far less energy. Then, without another word, they began to leave for the elevator.

They rode up silently, hearing the noise of the student's permeate through the concrete and growing louder with every inch the platform rose. When they were among the stands again, the discordance of noise was near deafening. To Weiss it was almost like Link's first day all over again. A rouge thought wondered if there would ever be a normal day of training again. A part of her almost knew there wasn't.

Weiss was wholly unimpressed when she heard the now familiar cries of bets being placed.

"I'm taking twenty Lien Yang bites in a minute!"  
"A minute! You're being too generous, man. I got twenty on thirty seconds!"  
"How about fifty she doesn't even get in a punch!"  
"How about fifty that she gets in the _first_ punch!"  
"You're screwed with those odds."  
"Hey! You guys!"  
"Tell me that if you take the bet!"  
"I'll take it and double it! _A hundred Lien_ says Yang doesn't get in a punch!"

Weiss heard the clipped voice of Jaune shout over the crowd. The buffoon was easy to spot, waving his hands like a child getting his parents attention. Given his overall skill in combat, it was an apt metaphor. Weiss felt sympathy for his partner once more, looking up at him with concern in her gaze.

"We got seats saved for you!" At least he paid his debts.

"C'mon," Blake spoke up next to Weiss, leading their team up the stands. Weiss waited for Ruby to follow. She couldn't risk her team leader attempting to sneak away, or worse, interrupt the fight. For all she knew the impulsiveness was genetic through their father.

But even as they marched up the stairs, the heiress felt the nagging idea to pull the hood off of her teammate. It simply didn't suit her. The cloak of red did compliment her well, especially when her semblance was active. But at the moment… it just made her look tiny and fragile. Weiss loathed the look. Only the mini-drone perched atop the hood like parrot kept her from committing the action.

"I'm sorry, but… did you know?" Weiss heard Pyrrha ask as they shuffled towards their seats. The words were almost missed through the noise of the crowd. Unfortunately, Weiss heard them almost perfectly.

"Not even a hint," she answered, disdain clear in her voice. She would not pretend to defend Yang for this action, not while she still had the chance to rectify it. "She apparently is fighting for some misplaced honor against Elrora."

She scoffed at the idea even as Jaune and Pyrrha exchanged nervous glances. Small mystery about what.

"She hid it completely from us likely because she knew we would disagree," Blake added on. She sat down besides Ruby, making sure their young leader was comfortable. Weiss sent a grateful look towards the hidden faunus. It was returned with a nod.

It was amazing, truthfully. How much Weiss and Blake agreed on when they had a common problem to work on.

"Why am I getting the same feeling as when Link first fought in this place?" Jaune asked aloud, hands dragging down his face. It was an action Weiss wouldn't possibly mimic. "Except now I feel like Yang is the one in trouble. Am I wrong?"

"No," his teammate answered, thankfully. Ren took a deep breath before he spoke on. "But I feel as if this could turn… sour for either party." Another unfortunate truth.

Weiss rung her skirt in annoyance and their uselessness. She'd have to make Yang care for it latter. It was her fault, running off to make this kind of rash decision without consulting the team. The brute!

"Quiet in the audience," the words rung out loud and powerful in the arena, much clearer than in the gardens. Ms. Goodwitch's voice was unmistakable. "We have our last Instructor Duel for the day. Following this normal class will resume for the remaining… three and a quarter hours." If she weren't so mad, Weiss might have made note of how Link had decimated a team and single challenger of hunters in such short time, with preparation included of course. However, she did not.

"The fighters are Elrora of the Watarara," Ms. Goodwitch spoke the faunus's name again. "And her challenger Yang Xiao Long." Weiss felt a hiss slowly seep through her lips once more. Perhaps she was becoming too much like Blake.

The noise of the crowd picked up slightly as Ms. Goodwitch marched out of the arena's center, likely to take her position out of interference's way. It left time for Yang and Elrora to stare down one another. And there was no mistaking what Yang was doing was staring her down, looking her best to be intimidating. It failed to impress Weiss next to a faunus that was only slightly shorter than double the brute's height.

"Yang Xiao Long," Elrora began, standing some distance away. "I must admit that when I was told of your research into the limitations of these duels, I was impressed to hear you were the first to find one of the small loops I had created." Weiss was loathed to admit she was as well. It was not something time would easily let her forget.

"Yeah, well, you'll do anything for family." The heiress's fingers tightened on her skirt, nothing else for her to grasp. She would have preferred steel, at least it would have taken time for her to snap it. "And you're someone that I really need to knock down a peg."

"I am… not sure I understand," the golden faunus returned. "Have I insulted you in some way? I offer my apologies if I have. I never had such intentions." Weiss believed her. She knew the rest of her team and JNPRs did as well. Yang, from her ever growing sneer, did not.

A cold fear crept up the heiress's back, heightened only when she looked at Ruby, her cloak tight against her.

"We need to stop her," Weiss whispered desperately to Blake, already knowing futility when she saw it. The faunus-in-hiding only returned a sharp gaze of her own, complete with a bit lip. Her thoughts were the same. "What can we do? What can we say?"

"Nothing," Blake, unfortunately, hissed back. "I know her well enough to know she'd die _and_ kill for Ruby, no matter how misplaced that sense of protection is." Both girls shared a quick glance at their leader.

Said girl was pulling the hood of her cloak against her head hard enough to disguise it for her hair. Silver eyes still stared desperately out from the cowl. Tatl, ringing a bright red atop it, did not help. Weiss ground her teeth in irritation.

"You remember a couple of nights ago?" Yang started to question aloud. Weiss was feeling her stomach drop. "When you gave my team a quick talk and one-night flight around the campus?"

The whispers were getting louder.

"She's not seriously going to say that, is she?" Weiss heard Jaune harshly question his partner, desperation thick in his voice. There was no question what he was referring to.

"I recall answering a call from your team leader to discuss methods in which to improve your abilities," Elrora began. Either Link was playing dumb or he had a remarkable ability to hide his emotions. Weiss knew well enough that he was not unaffected by what had occurred. "Following a misunderstanding, I offered to show your team the freedom only a Watarara can experience. Ruby was first to volunteer, but I recall you being close behind her."

Good, excellent, humble her, a strong tactic to defuse a situation. Weiss knew antagonism would work poorly on Yang. This, however, placating a situation with past events, tended to mellow the blonde out, only so long as the right moments were referred to.

"Sure was," Yang caught on near instantly. "And I was pumped up for it, too. Can't think of much else to get the blood flowing like a roller coaster off the wheels." To that, Elrora tipped her head. Weiss settled with slapping her forehead. Still, the comments were preferable to what she feared. "But that was before my little sis fell asleep on your back."

All fears returned.

Majority of the whispers became outright conversation.

"Y-Yang?" Weiss felt the oddest mixture of both her blood boiling and freezing at the voice. She risked a look towards Ruby, seeing the young team leader the same as before, but now with a hint of dew around her eyes. It was horrific to witness.

"And you took her from me before laying her down to rest," Elrora continued despite the noise of the students. Why wasn't Ms. Goodwitch interrupting? This seemed like an excellent time to postpone the match! "I can understand if this is a situation of embarrassment. That is easily rectified. But… I cannot help but feel there is something else that is bothering you. Is there?"

Were birds naturally curious? If they were, Weiss was starting to truly regret Elrora's question.

"Oh yeah there is." Apparently, Yang felt it prudent to crack her knuckles. Likely an attempt to appear menacing. She failed. "But if you haven't figured it out yet, then I'm sure you'll put two and two together when I'm putting my fists to your beak."

Elrora responded exactly how Weiss prayed that she would.

"Very well. I hope you impress in battle as you have with your preparation for it." She bowed when she finished. Weiss nearly let out a groan of relief, but wisely held it in. Ms. Goodwitch, finally, chose time to speak.

"Are both fighters prepared?" Elrora nodded with the question. Yang let her undeserved smirk flare before she did the same.

Looks like this would be settled without any grievances being aired, at least no more than already had. Oh, Yang would still be getting a talking to and beating if the Schnee could help it. There was no doubt Blake would help with the endeavor. Ruby would oblige, if only out of spite for her sibling's deplorable actions.

"Then may the match commence in 3…"

Elrora's wings fluttered as her hands moved from her shoulders. Yang settled into her usual battle pose, complete with clenched fists and raised elbows. That was when the blonde member of Weiss's team began to move her lips.

"… 2…"

Weiss watched Yang's mouth move, but didn't hear a word come out. Elrora merely continued stare down the smaller girl. She was truly a girl in Weiss's eyes now. Weiss, however, noticed the jolt in Blake's gaze.

"… 1…"

She noticed the quick widening of the dark faunus's eyes the same time she saw Elrora's beak open, any perpetual grin lost.

Her eyes were wide and posture no longer regal, no longer with arms close by, feathers scraping the ground. What happened?

"… Begin."

With a boom the battle begin.

Weiss thought, hoped, the sound was the rush of air Elrora gave off before with her flight. But she was wrong.

The golden avian was still as stone, hardly moving. Yang was the one who took off, her Ember Cecilia firing like rockets. She had closed the gap with a speed Weiss believed only Ruby could match.

So within the first half a second of the duel, Yang landed a clear and brutal punch across Elrora's beak.

Like a ruptured pillow, the former queen of the Watarara flew from where she stood, by no will of her own. Her once tall and elegant form was sent spiraling, parallel the ground as her wings flailed uselessly. Her body skipped and skidded across the ground, appallingly, until she slammed into the far wall of the arena.

Any sound Weiss made in shock was lost to the impact the avian made against the far wall and hand covering her lips. It was a vicious crack that echoed through the arena, horribly complimented by 'ohs' and yelps of pain in the crowd.

But Weiss could hear, clear as day, Tatl screeching above them.

"That stupid _bimbo_!" The mini-drone screeched. "How did she learn _that_?! _What is she thinking_?!" Weiss didn't believe she had the voice to ask what Tatl meant, nor the time. Yang was charging the ball of feathers that was Elrora.

Her brute of a teammate was charging again, fist already raised like a guillotine. The imagery was nightmarishly accurate, enough that Weiss felt a tightness in her chest she refused to give thought to. It became a difficult task when Elrora had yet to do more than sift on the ground, her beak peeking out from the mess that were her wings.

It quickly ducked back in when Yang threw her fist forward, beating her fists against the ensemble of golden feathers. The brute was yelling as she beat at the blanket of feathers, hitting the mess that was Elrora like a blanket.

Weiss had to look away, so she did look away. Her gaze shifted to the only thing she could possibly justify to look at. The aura level display. She wasn't sure if what she saw was good or bad, not yet at least. Yang was leading, which was non-surprising.

Elrora, however, had only lost a fourth of her aura.

Perhaps it was overzealous to say only a fourth. From a single blow, that was a tremendous lost, giving credit to Neptune's previous thought of weak bones leading to greater loss of aura. However, the levels were hardly decreasing since then.

Weiss could see from the corner of eye Yang continuing to throw her weight into the former queen, but it didn't… show on the aura scale. Rather, it was hardly moving if at all.

"This is crazy! Is Yang gonna win?!"  
"My Lien!"  
"Grimm and Dust, this is brutal!"  
"Why ain't the match called yet?! Isn't this one sided?"  
"So much for the mighty faunus. Just a bunch of flukes I guess."  
"C'mon Elrora! You can do it Link!"  
"Keep the lead Xiao Long!"

What if Yang did win? If she did… Weiss wasn't sure what she'd think. Would she even be entitled to still be mad at her teammate? Of course she would, but… results were what made the future move forward. Weiss had to risk a glance to the others. She wasn't rewarded with any revelations.

Blake looked angry, just as angry as the heiress believed she would be. The word for it, pissed. Where the collective attention of the student body not on their pier beating the pillow feathers, she would have warned Blake about baring her fangs.

Ruby… she couldn't see Ruby.

Her partner had pulled her hood the last inch it would give, completely hiding her behind a pocket of red and shadows. Tatl still sat on her head, artificial wings beating with what was likely a malfunctioning servo. JNPR, as a collective, were various forms of shock, though none more than Pyrrha.

Then another bomb stole Weiss's attention away.

Her azure eyes shot back to the arena just in time to see Yang flying across the floor, tumbling no differently than she had sent Elrora before. She recovered quickly, unsurprisingly given her usual dexterity, but Weiss had her attention elsewhere.

She had it on the golden faunus, the former ruler, standing to her tallest again with wings outstretched to their fullest.

Even inside with only artificial light, Elrora looked every bit the queen she said she once was. The shear difference in size with her wings outstretched made that only clearer.

"That was a smart move Yang," she spoke easily, as if she weren't just being used as a poor punching-bag. Blake hissed from next to her, but Weiss ignored it. "But you wasted your chance."

That was ominous and Weiss loved it.

She watched as Elrora began to slowly crouch, wings bending at the assumed elbow. Her golden feathers straightened with the action, turning to look more like swords than long strands of carefully organized keratin. They covered her torso quickly, hiding her green dress beneath layers of gold. They lightly blinded her eyes, shielding them almost. But when she was done, not a part of her was exposed or non-threatening.

Weiss could only describe Elrora's physique as massive, in the kindest of regards, but the faunus looked to be taking a posture that made it menacing. Her words sealed it.

"Now it is my turn."

* * *

When Yang had thrown her first punch at Elrora, Coco nearly screamed in frustration.

She'd just lost a hundred Lien to some lucky strike on the blonde's part.

She knew there had to have been some kind of trick to it, something she did or said or whatever to make an opening, but that didn't matter. Point was she got a hit and with it a good chunk of the bird's aura. Couldn't say if it was enough to win a solo duel, but it was enough to make everyone else nervous. Honestly, she was in that huddle.

It only got worse when Yang really started to assault the blanket of gold like it had personally offended her. Coco was nervous because her other forty Lien was on Elrora taking the win within the first two minutes. Within the first thirty seconds and all that had happened was some freshman proving she had the chops to take on some Grimm-slaying, body-changing, badass faunus. It would have been cool if Coco didn't have money riding on it. Then her luck turned around.

Yang was blown back, Elrora was standing, and Coco felt Velvet almost collapse into a puddle of relief besides her. She patted the girl sympathetically. It only got better when the bird began to talk, making her sickly sweet voice sound like it was hiding venom. Bird's may not have been poisonous, but Coco was willing to bet those Wawa faunus were the exception.

It only became clear as air when Elrora charged.

A golden wing swung at Yang before Coco even realized how close the bird faunus was to her. The blonde ducked, luckily, but not without a good jump backwards. Hardly mattered by Coco's eyes, seeing the massive size difference between the two. The bird's wing was literally the same as Yang's entire body.

Yang jumped back again when Elrora took another swing with her other wing. A swing, that is, but spinning around like she was a top. It was only then the leader of CVFY realized that something was up with those feathers. Feathers were like hair, she knew that much, which meant they were pretty wavy. When Elrora swung though, it looked like they were literally cutting the air, like a knife and butter.

It was weird, but not as weird as Yang trying and failing to land a hit on the faunus. Apparently the first hit really was luck, because when Yang started swinging, Elrora started moving. It was like her size didn't even matter to her. She bent left, leaned right, jumped here, swooped there, all dodging the brawler's fists like they were infected. And the bird was smiling! How did that even work with a beak? Coco would have to ask Velvet later.

Elrora still hadn't landed a hit on Yang, but it wasn't looking like the smaller girl was going get any kind of advantage back. Coco bit her lip, hoping that Beacon's newest prof was going to pull out something amazing. She really didn't want to lose half her allowance on one stupid bet. But the dance kept on, Elrora proving herself agile despite her size and Yang resorting to a bit of screaming with her punches. Aggravation did that.

"C'mon!" The blonde finally yelled loudly. She did it just as Elrora raised a wing as she twirled, deftly avoiding a haymaker from the boxum brawler. "Are you just gonna dance around me the whole time! That afraid to really fess up and-"

Coco felt a thankful grin split her face when Elrora caught Xiao Long's fist with her own hand.

It hardly stopped there. Just as the blonde made a move to swing with her other fist, Elrora caught it on the outskirts of her other wing, somehow redirecting the blow. Those feathers were strong, but not as strong as the grip she then put over Yang's hand. The bird had the blonde trapped like a parent would a child, holding their arms still and outstretched. It was funny, really.

It was really funny when Elrora lifted Yang into the air, holding her at arm's length like she really was a child. The thrashing didn't help the brawler's image. The size difference was really working in Elrora's favor now, especially when Yang couldn't even kick the bird amidst her movement. The feathers may have been hiding a lot, but the look of aggravation over the blonde's face wasn't one of them.

Coco's snickering wasn't left alone for long. She heard laughter begin to ripple across the crowd, a few snorts turning into mad chuckles at the situation of it all. It really didn't help Yang's case when her face became flushed red. She half expected her to start crying like a toddler. She already had the tantrum down.

"That's mean," Coco heard Velvet whisper beside her, as if she deplored the action. Coco didn't agree, not in the slightest.

"I think it's pretty smart. Being funny's just a bonus." Honestly she may have meant the other way around, but it was six of one and half a dozen of the other.

"Well… Yang does deserve it, a little. At least for what she said." That made Coco look away from the match. Her fingers pulled down her glasses by their frame, giving Velvet a look that only her teammates could decipher. It didn't take long for her faunus to register it. "I-I'll tell you later. It was just something mean Yang said when the match started." Well that explained how she got in the free hit.

"Is this your big plan?!" A shout from the arena interrupted the conversation. "Just hold me like this till I get bored and give up?" Well the tantrum was really here now.

"Not hardly," Elrora answered back to the struggling girl. "I'm having a debate whether or not to scream at you."

If anyone else had said that, Coco would have thought it was a joke. But the memory of the visiting team's defeat by screech was anything but forgotten. Coco felt Velvet pull her ears down against her head, preparing for the worst case scenario.

Her own arms moved as well, ready to embrace her teammate if worse came to worse. She saw Yatsu do the same.

"But I think after this match your teammates will need to have a long discussion with you. Damaging your hearing will do no one any favors." Maybe it was her experience, but Coco could pick up the threats in those words. There was more than one.

They sounded like they came from a mother scolding their child. Actually, that was kind of appropriate. The threat sounded like one you would give to a child. Did that mean a spanking was coming? Coco would gladly forfeit her second gamble to see that.

"So I'll settle with the idea that my beak is harder than your head."

Once more the conditions where the statement was made kept Coco from chuckling in mirthful humor. Yang's bull headedness may have been legendary amongst the freshman class, but Elrora's words didn't exactly inspire the idea she'd be testing the blonde's memory.

_WHAM_

Coco winced as the sound of bone-to-boneorwhateverabeakwasmadeof ricocheted through the arena. The cry of quick pain from Yang didn't help. It only got worse when Coco realized she didn't even see Elrora peck at Yang. And it had to be peck. She couldn't think of any other words for what a bird would do with their beak.

 _WHAM_ _WHAM_ _WHAM_

"Gah!" The verbal cry from Yang came with 'oh's' of pain from the crowd. Coco found herself among them with one fist to her lips and the other held up like a guard. It looked painful, sounded painful, and judging by the literal pecking away at the blonde's aura meter, it was painful.

"You're getting harder to hold," Elrora spoke up as if she weren't trying to cave in Yang's skull. Coco vowed silently she would never underestimate anyone who spoke kindly again. "Perhaps that is what you are capable of, pain is your gain. … Then I suppose I'll have to finish this before you become too strong."

 _WHAM_ _WHAM_ _WHAM_ _WHAM_ _WHAM_

 _WHAMWHAM_ _WHAMWHAM_ _WHAMWHAMWHAM_

_WHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAM_

"Match called," Ms. Goodwitch's voice spoke up over the beating of beak and bone. Coco nearly let a breath of relief. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to have dinner if she kept hearing that noise.

Elrora dropped Yang to the ground unceremoniously, taking large steps back with her taloned feet. They were wrapped up in her golden wings again, leaving the blonde to roll on the ground in hardly disguised pain.

Coco, honestly, was just impressed she was screaming in pain.

"Victor by aura depletion is Elrora," Ms. Goodwitch announced once more. The fanfare was subdued to only a few claps, cheers, and groans of people having lost their bets. Once again, Coco was among them. She counted out the bills begrudgingly even as she heard Velvet release a breathy sigh of her own.

"So," Coco spoke up as she thumbed through the single digits. She said goodbye to them remorsefully. "Does that make up for whatever Xiao Long said?" She didn't expect much of an answer from her teammate. Velvet was a quiet girl that resembled more a lion than a rabbit. Calm and collect until threatened.

"Well… it depends on what Link thinks." Link? Wasn't it Elrora who Yang was fighting? Coco pulled out her hundred Lien before she gave her the bunny faunus her usual look. Velvet didn't even have to turn to know it was being given to her. She knew better after almost two years. "Yang did say something really… really mean. But I don't think she'd want it spread around."

Coco snorted at the comment, but she didn't push it.

"Yeah, whatever," she dryly added on. "Here's hoping it was worth losing me fifty bucks." At least the five to one odds made her forty come back to cover some of her loss. Not nearly enough though.

A sudden flash of light made her raise her head, looking into the arena to see the massive bird gone.

Gone was Elrora, in was Impa.

Impa, looking down at Yang with crossed arms and long ears, shook her head at the girl.

"You had much going for you Xiao Long," the faunus-version of Goodwitch spoke up. Coco doubted she was the only one who made that connection. "But you gambled too much on too little information. Perhaps if you had spoken with your team you all may have devised a better plan of attack."

"Oh don't gimme that…" Yang groaned with hands on her head still. Coco was amazed she could talk at all. "Just because… cause..." But she wasn't exactly free from all pain.

"Enough," Impa commanded to the groaning girl, taking the few steps forward that Elrora had taken back. There may have been an extra step or two in there to match difference in height with the bird. When Impa stopped, she was kneeling in front of Yang. "You're plan of attack was well thought out and your distraction at the match's beginning was brilliant. But…"

Coco couldn't hear anything else she said. Beneath her glasses, her eyes furrowed in confusion. Impa was leaning towards Yang, doubtlessly whispering. Whatever she was talking about, it must have had something to with whatever Yang had said at the beginning. One look at Velvet with hands to her lips as if to keep her mouth shut told her she was right on the mark.

"For now, however," Impa spoke up once more, standing to her tallest. Her arms were on Yang's shoulders, lifting her up as well. The girl groaned at the motion but Impa either didn't care or felt she deserved it. "Return to your team. I recommend you all spend the remainder of the class time to converse with each other."

"I recommend against that, Impa," Goodwitch cut in now. Pretty far from surprising when the faunus prof just told a bunch of freshman to skip class. "Future conversations can be done on their own time once the remaining student duels have finished."

"True," Impa replied easily. "But I have high doubts that they'll be able to focus on the matches while they stew silently amongst one another. It's best to air all wounds. Time cannot heal what it cannot see." Goodwitch only replied with a long low sigh. It sounded like one of defeat.

"Very well," Goodwitch replied. That was shocking now. "You are the professor after all, complete with all the shortcomings."

Talk about a back-handed compliment.

"Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long, you are all excused for the remainder of class. Though I greatly urge you to follow Impa's instructions and spend this time wisely."

Across the arena, Coco could see Yang's team members standing up and skirting around the students. Too far away to see much. But… wow they were booking it. Were they hurrying up to help Yang? She was pecked like a stubborn nut, so no wonder if they were. Theeeeen they walked right out of the room. Now that was a wonder. Yang left slowly, one foot in front of the other. The crowd murmur as she went.

"Still not gonna fess up what all that was about?" Coco asked Velvet teasingly, hoping to stir up the pot just enough to hear something good. She was rewarded with only a quick shake of the girl's head. "Figures."

* * *

"Match victor by disarmament is May Zedong," Impa spoke with a verbose voice. Said student gave a silent signal of success, a small 'pump' of her fist. Her opponent, one Russel Thrush, gave an insolent signal of failure, smashing his fist into the metal ground.

Glynda watched, equally mute, as Impa strode from the wall of the arena towards the pair of students. Russel was grumbling with his head to the ground, picking up his knives as May retracted her high-caliber rifle back into a compact form. The blonde professor of Beacon made note of the victor, method of success, and time for defeat. Her fingers hovered over additional notes.

"An excellent use of decoys in order to gain the upper hand, May," Impa congratulated the young teen with sincerity. A good trait to use. Positive reinforcement lead to positive results. "But be wary to leave yourself an escape when attempting such a method. Should an opponent either ignore or dispatch of your trick to early, you cannot allow yourself to become trapped yourself."

The girl nodded at her words, smile still unfaltering. Unfortunate. It was difficult to measure the level at which May took in Impa's words, likely a complimentary fault of the high from her victory and cryptic method of speaking. Still, it was advice that could not be said was ungiven.

"Russell," Impa spoke now to the Beacon student. He grumbled up at her. Rude, but Impa made no sign that she was insulted. "You were at a natural disadvantage during this fight, against an opponent that excelled in range combat whilst you prefer close-range quarters." Clever, Glynda noted.

The shortest member of Team CRDL lost a bit of his grimace at her words. She was not belittling the success of May, but offering an out for Russell. It was clever, a fine way to make a student focus on her words, but only if Impa was wise enough to follow. Glynda had little doubt now she could.

"Difficult as it may be, you must make your own decoys or distractions in such a scenario," the Shiekah pointed out, arms lightly crossing as she did so. Glynda noted the slightly pumping of the elder faunus's fist. "Pellets of smoke, bangs of noise, any small thing to divert the attention of a threat allows for the precious moments necessary to close the gap. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yeah… yeah…" the boy nodded his head towards her. Glynda noted his appearance more than anything else, torn. He was not sure to thank her for her aid or scorn her. The reason for the latter was obvious to any faculty or student had been around team CRDL. "So like… what? I turn myself into a ninja?" A few students snickered at the idea.

"That," Impa began, hopefully brushing off the sarcasm of the boy. "Or you learn to coordinate with your team. You are the Shadow, undoubtedly. Much like May is to her team." The Shiekah's arms unwrapped to extend an open palm to the young sniper. She blinked at the comment, but said nothing. "Neither of you are to be seen when the battle commences. You are either the sources of confusion or the quickest end to an enemy, for I believe neither of you can take a heavy blow."

To Glynda's utter lack of surprise, Russel raised his nose at the comment. It reminded her of dogs, dogs getting ready to bite the hand that fed them. May, on the other hand, did her academy justice with a simple nod of understanding. If only her own students had such discipline.

"Now, let us continue." Impa waved both students away. They turned in opposite directions as they walked off. Glynda made a few more choice notes on her pad before closing the file. It was stored away by data and student names, easy to find again at a later date. "We have time for one more duel before the class has ended."

Glyna made a quick look at the clock attached to her datapad. Impa was correct. With roughly ten minutes until next lecture, it allowed for one duel. Possibly two, but it was unwise to hope for anything to go according to plan. By Ozpin's own words, Impa was a faunus that had more experience than any other Huntress he had met. Wisdom was a gift naturally given to her.

"However, instead of simply assigning two trainees, I have a different lesson in mind."

Glynda looked up from her pad in tandem with the whispering of the students. She remained quiet, but cautious.

"I have a simple question, one I'm sure many of you can answer with a bit of thought. Answer correctly, and I'll allow you to choose your opponent, within limitations." Impa pointedly looked at Glynda with those words.

The blonde instructor let out a slow sigh. It felt like she was with Ozpin once more. But, if she was, then there was an end Impa was purposefully moving towards. She had been responsible thus far. A curt nod was enough for Impa. The nod in return showed that.

"Now, Squires of Beacon." Glynda made note of the new address. Curious as to why they were not simply trainees. "Who can tell the best measurement of strength?"

With the question asked, and noted on her pad, Glynda saw several hands rise in the crowd, some quicker than others. She watched Impa's red eyes scan the crowd, likely looking for the student that had the promise to answer the question.

"Jaune Arc," Impa spoke pointing the stand. Glynda erased her last deduction, clearly false.

"Yeah, um…" the boy hummed as she stood, raised hand now scratching his head. "Isn't strength, like, how much you can lift? Or how hard you hit?" Not incorrect by my applications, but Glynda could see without her glasses it was not the answer Impa was looking for.

"That is only one criteria of the true measurement of strength," Impa spoke. Her voice was not mocking, which was good, though Jaune did hang his head as he sat down. Predictable, "You, with hair of green and dark cloak." Glynda looked up from her pad to follow Impa's gaze. They ended on Reese, a visiting student from Haven.

"It's called a sweater, Ms. Teach," the girl responded. If she was mocking Impa, the faunus gave no indication of either realization or care. Glynda made no move to inform or correct. She was no longer the teacher, after all. "Kay, now, strength is a measure of control. The more power and strength ya got, the more you can do and make happen. It's why the strong survive, cause they can make things happen." She sounded confident.

"A valiant definition, but lacking in a crucial area," Impa spoke, either heedless or apathetic to Reese's look of annoyance. Impa made not of the girl's grumblings as she sat down. "Now you, with the locks of red and chestplate." Locks? Glynda noted the odd word with quick notes to it being a term from Impa's age. The girl, however, was unquestionably Octavia, a visiting student from Shade now.

"Um, thank you for calling on me," the girl politely began, earning a slight nod from Impa. Respectable. "Now strength, when used to describe a warrior, is usually relating to their will or soul. The more strength they have, the greater their will to continue. It translates into their Aura and their ability to continue a fight. It's why we are drawn to the strong." Glynda nodded her head at the definition. Impa did not.

"A fine message, but a definition, that is not a measurement of strength." Impa's response made the girl flinch lightly, but she bowed before retaking her seat.

Murmurs filled the crowd now with a lot fewer hands. Likely a combination of a lack of confidence and already spoken answers. A great many of hands fled after Jaune Arc's words. Perhaps there was no definition. Glynda would not put it past Impa to create a question whose answer was nothing. It would translate well to their being no finish all or fix all for combat.

"Cardin Winchester," Impa spoke now. Glynda sighed at the name. She prepared another report for misconduct on the boy. She watched him stand, his teammates looking at him expectantly. The rest of his classmates, better understanding of the child's brutish nature, were less than impressed.

"Strength isn't measured by what you can destroy, but by what you can create."

His words weren't what made Glynda pause. It was Impa's response.

"Correct."

The blonde professor looked up with a slight gape in her jaw at the word. More murmurs and whispers from the crowd did no favors for making the situation any more alien. It was only heightened, in Glynda's mind, when she saw the smile across Impa's face.

She looked… proud.

Was it truly not possible for Link and his friends to not cause a performance with their every action?

"Tell me though, from curiosity, how did you reach that conclusion?" Impa continued on. "If the response of your classmates was not clue enough, it was an unobvious answer. And in truth I did not expect to hear it." Glynda marked her previous thoughts as half-correct. "Yet you spoke with not only confidence, but without hesitation. Why?"

Glynda could see all eyes turn to the tall leader of team CRDL. He sucked in a large breath of air at the attention, scowling without speaking. His arms were crossed harshly, probably as a means to keep himself from throwing them forward and yelling. But it was control, and more control than she expected from the boy she had seen taunt and ridicule others for joy.

"My dad would tell me about it on good days." Glynda made a careful note of his choice of words. "Kept going on that if we only saw the strong as people who could break things, we'd make a pretty f…freakin' broken world." She was also glad he caught his own cussing. "The strong ones are the guys who can make something from nothing. The cowards are the ones who try and break it."

Glynda was sure of herself, one hundred percent so, when she saw a smile flow across Impa's features. A smile with pulled lips, white teeth, and kind eyes. It was so much more than the satisfied grin or focused frown she had seen so far. She could only see one word to describe it. Pleased.

"Very… _very_ … well spoken, Cardin," Impa congratulated with a nodding head. The boy smirked proudly in response, unsurprisingly. But now, perhaps he deserved it. "So as promised, who do you wish to face?" As Impa's arm swung out, Cardin's grin dropped. That was curious.

His features fell, looking to his left. Glynda noted Russel Thrush, the boy who had just lost the previous match. He was looking back up, pointing at someone across the arena. It was impossible to tell who and they were speaking to quietly to make out words. The rest of the students were whispering, but nothing more than speculation at that.

Slowly though, Cardin began to shake his head. One of his hands reached up to grasp his face, aggravated at something. There was no indication what, but several things Glynda could speculate. His teammates suggestions, his own ideas, the attention he was receiving. The answer was impossible to discern.

"Actually," Cardin finally spoke up. "I'm… I'm good. I don't feel like gettin' in a fight right now." Glynda must have misheard him. She and the rest of the class.

"… Very well, Cardin Winchester," Impa spoke. Maybe she had misunderstood the boy, too. But with her senses it seemed unlikely. The smile was subdued across the faunus's features, but her grin was still present. "I hope you continue to spend your time wisely."

The boy gave a gruff noise as the response before sitting. It was far more than Glynda expected of him. The class murmured with the exchange, Glynda making careful note herself of it. She preferred it to one that caused mayhem, damage, or some notice to the Military or Council, but it was still enough to shift the path of her thoughts.

"Let us end the lessons early for today," Impa spoke on. The action was against Glynda's opinion, but she kept mute. There was a reason for the words, after all. "Before the sessions next week, I ask each of you to perform a small task. There is no report or measurement for it, but if done correctly, it will benefit you immensely."

Glynda opened up a new file on her Scroll. A part of her realized Impa likely paused for such an action. One part was her own honed senses for the actions of others. Two parts were the red eyes the faunus gave her. Either way, it was appreciated.

"You're built into teams to help one another improve, divided again into partners that you rely on for the duration of your training. It is a commendable way to produce knights of the next generation. However, limiting yourself to the group you are in will hinder your ability to grow." A strong introduction for the next assignment. "Over the next few days, before the next class, I would like each of you to converse with another team. Talk over a meal, practice your forms in your free time, spend an evening together. Simple as it may sound, it is something I wish for you all to try."

It was an interesting request, but one Glynda could see the immediate benefit in. Teams often were made of individuals that shared similar mindsets, or developed such over the years together. Conversing with other teams, speaking to those from other schools, would teach about areas of the world many of the students likely had come from. It was a good lesson, if the students chose to follow it.

"For now, that is all. Have a good day," Impa bowed slightly with her words, the group of students rising as well. The faunus wasted little time walking towards the exit. However, Glynda was not done.

"Impa," she called to the Shiekah before she left. It saved time to talk now. "I have a quick question for my notes. Why did you address the students as squires instead of trainees? I find it hard to image something happened to change that."

"But there was," Impa replied. Curious. Glynda raised a brow to show she was. "Trainees are what are referred to the new blood of the academy, younglings that are looking for a future. Squires are those that know what they want, but are still working to claim it." Ah, so a difference in life's goal. It made sense, but only in the logic.

"Then what happened to make you see the students with such a change?" Glynda tapped on her pad as she spoke, noting the answer with her own thoughts. Both were equally valuable. "I have hard time believing you have spoken to all of them by now."

"I have not," Impa admitted. "But I have spoken to enough to know I was underestimating their commitment to the Academy. They are squires, no longer trainees." She turned as she spoke. Glynda made no move to stop her.

She had what she needed. Class was over. Glynda had little concern for where Link would go now. She was well aware he had 'unknowns' to check on.

Even if he was only giving her half answers.

* * *

"Cardin, why didn't you fight?" Sky asked the question like it wasn't on Cardin's mind already. He grunted at his teammate, curling his hands deeper into the back of his head. "I mean, c'mon man, you coulda picked on Jaune and whipped the floor with him. Why didn't ya?"

"No point," he grumbled out, leaning harder against the tree. He hoped it break. At least he would have done something productive today then. "I can beat up Arc in my sleep. What's the point?"

"The point?" Russel now. Dust, why Russel? "The point is to show that we're a badass team! I got my butt handed to me by that sniper chick. Who knows what would have happened if that faunus put Dove up against someone like Emerald."

"Hey!" The boy countered, but ultimately said nothing else. Yeah, Dove wouldn't talk back, not his style. Not usually.

With how the day was going though, Cardin wouldn't have been surprised if he had. Another soft growl came from his throat. Nothing about this was good. He got the question, said some junk his old man had told him when the bottle wasn't on his lips, and he was right? It was bull!

Everything else he'd ever seen had told him that wasn't true. Military ruled cause they could kill anything and anyone. So they were strong. Council could tell anyone to jump and they'd start making machines to jump even higher. They were in control. People who made things? They were the ones who followed the guys who could break things. That's how it always worked.

He let out a yell as he swung his fist.

"Whoa!" Sky let out, ducking his blow. Good, his fault for standing too close. "You 'kay there Cardin? If you need something to hit, you should have just picked Jaune." Cardin glared at the blue haired spearman.

"Shut up!" he all but yelled at Sky. He relented immediately, hands up and backing up. "Just… not now. I gotta deal with this right now."

"Impa gave praise for all the wrong reasons, didn't she?" Dove guessed. Cardin wanted to yell at him, too, but at least he sounded like he got it. Figures Dove would understand, spent enough time around other guys to get it. Beneath other guys. "She seems quite vexing with her knowledge, but at least she is being fair with it."

"Seriously Dove?" Sky shot back at his partner. Right, partner. "You're gonna get on her side of the park? After the crap she pulled on us before. She beat Cardin to a pulp like two days ago!" Cardin glared until he felt heat cloud his eyes. Didn't do more than that. Sky deserved something, but a mace hit woulda been too much.

"Oh hush, you agreed before it was a poor choice to face her as well." Dove countered right back. Yeah, he did, but Cardin agreed to it in the end, too. He shut his eyes with another annoyed grunt, fixing his hands back against his head. "And you should know that her side of the field is as close as I'll get to her." Good thing they were partners.

"You're both idiots," Russel spoke up. "Sides, only reason we didn't thrash on the faunus was cause she had too many fights of her own to pick. Ain't no fun in beatin' on someone too tired to fight back." Yeah, he got it. Cardin nodded with his partner. He could count on Russel to see straight through the fog.

"I am glad to know that is why we did not fight."

Cardin whipped his head to open his eyes, seeing just who he didn't want to see. Impa, the faunus hiding another faunus, the bitch with red eyes. He could feel his legs tensing, ready to jump at her… but he didn't. That'd be stupid. And Cardin Winchester was not an idiot.

"What're you doin' here?" He asked with a growl. She better back of. He made sure his team gave her a pass, but if she was here to rub something in his face, oh, she was gonna get it. "Don't you got some princess to pamper?"

"In truth I have two reasons for being here, Cardin." She didn't even flinch at his words. He scoffed. She was hiding something no doubt, trying to rile them up. Faunus always did that. Just look at the White Fang. "The first was to congratulate you." Bear traps in the middle of the street were less obvious.

"Yeah, right," Cardin all but scoffed. She wasn't worth scoffing at. "Thank us for answerin' some test question? Sure that's what this is."

"The only individual to answer the question correctly, and only two days following my demand you begin to think of your own action," Impa went on. She didn't seem to get what he was saying. Funny, considering that she could probably hear a lot more with those big ears of hers. "I make no jest of what you have accomplished, Cardin Winchester. I asked of you something and did as requested. It is more than I believe many squires your age would do."

"Squires? What are we playin' Jails and Grimm now?" Sky asked up. Good question in Cardin's mind. But given how loopy this faunus had to be to think he/she/it was from another kingdom, might just be doing that.

"I am… not familiar with the game." Impa replied. At least she sounded confused. Good acting, but animals always were good at playin' around. "But there was another reason for my visit with you and your team." Her words moved from Sky and to the rest of Cardin's team. He gave a sneer. She ignored it. "I know you heard of my next assignment for the teams of Beacon and academies abroad. A simple one, but a task I am aware many struggle at."

"What, hookin' up with some friends?" Russel jumped in. He laughed at the question. Cardin joined in. His partner knew how to take apart a dumbass comment. "Ain't that hard to go downtown and learn something knew on the streets. You seriously thinking we're gonna learn anything new from talkin' to a bunch of losers?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Impa replied. Cardin didn't know what to make of her eyes. They were red, like the first time he saw them. But now they were what… darker? "Because I find it unlikely you were referring to others as 'losers' when you yourself were defeated only a few scant hours ago."

Cardin put up his hand to catch Russel. His partner hadn't even moved yet, let alone lunged, but he knew his team. Russel was a mad dog when let off the leash, and Impa, the dumbass faunus, was taunting him. Better get the real bitch to back off before things got ugly.

"Why are you here, Impa?" Dove chose to speak up. Good on him. Most of the chicks liked listening to him talk. Too bad the reverse wasn't true. "I pray you are not intending to inflict more harm for pleasure." Tough as she looked, Cardin was pretty sure she wasn't gonna do that. At least last time she had 'reason'. This time she had nothing.

"Hardly the case, Dove," she spoke back. "In fact, I am hoping to assist five students at once." What did that mean? "I am aware you are all looked… unfavorably by your peers." Cardin sneered at the woman. What did some long-eared faunus know? "However, there is another student I know of who is unsure of herself, least when it comes to meeting new faces."

As she said that, Impa stood aside. It was only then Cardin noticed the girl standing behind her. He recognized her at least. She was the girl that challenged Impa the first time she stood up in class. The ginger who looked like her IQ was single digits. Freakin' sweet…

"This is Penny Polendina," Impa introduced, not that Cardin cared. "She was transferred to this academy nearly the same time as myself." Still didn't care. "As there are few groups here who are so welcome to speak to new members, I was hoping your team may be more receptive to her."

"Salutations!" The girl greeted. What was she, some kinda Schnee Greeting card? "It is my absolute pleasure to meet you all! I sincerely hope we can be the bestest of friends!" Seriously, who talked like that? No, better question, who the heck danced when they spoke? Penny was doing just about that.

"Uh, hey," Russel spoke. Cardin swore the dude's voice almost cracked. Smooth as rocks. "Name's Russel. Thrush if ya wanna be, um, what's the word, cordgid? Yeah, close enough. It's, uh, sweet ta meet ya." Penny tilted her head at his words.

"Sweet?" She asked. That was what she was confused about? "Sweet involves a sensation of taste related to sugary textures, usually products that are meant to be high in electrolytes. Do you think I taste sweet?"

Cardin snorted air before started to laugh. Oh Dust and Grimm, that was good. That was _really_ good. He could hear Sky laughing far harder than he was, Dove probably being his usual quiet self. Russel wasn't talking. Cardin shook his head before looking back at Penny, sure the girl was gonna be running off by now. Instead, she was just blinking at them. Impa had a hand on her shoulder though. Kinda hard to not figure out why.

"Misunderstandings aside, I believe it is easy to see that Penny is not the individual most used to conversation." That was like saying rock wasn't the softest stuff on Remnant! "However, she is one of the most well-trained and honest souls I have ever met. I know she will become a Knight worthy of song one day, just as I am sure of you, Cardin Winchester."

That got Cardin's attention. Any mirth in his laughter was gone like the wind. Was this girl like him? Seriously? Best Impa said was that he was too sure of himself. It was bull, but he relented a bit to show she was wrong. Best way to humiliate someone was to prove them wrong. But this girl, she was like that? No way, he couldn't believe it.

"I'll leave you to talk, be it now or sometime later in the week's end." Impa took her hand off Penny as she said that. Both she and Cardin looked at Impa. He could still hear the rest of his team either getting over their laughter or just watching. Better be the latter. "Please let me know how it went, but be aware there are no obligations. This is all merely me trying to make you all the greatest Knights you can be."

Then she left, seriously, that like that was it. Impa just folded her hand behind her back like she was some sagely woman before she walked off. Cardin bit back the comment that she was old enough to be some wise woman. That would have proved her right. He wasn't gonna do that. Instead, he turned his attention to Penny.

The girl couldn't have been more than up to his chest in height, shifting on her feet like she didn't know which way to fall. He snorted at her. That made her just blink at him. What was with her? Did she not know that meant to leave?

"So… you are Cardin Winchester?" She asked like she didn't know. Cardin raised his brows, asking in the universal language if she was serious. She must have been illiterate to not read it. "I was told you strong when it came to muscular exercises, is this true?" Well… he could take a compliment.

"Oh yeah," he returned, nodding his head as he flexed his arms. He could feel the steel of his pauldrons groan at the effort. Not even metal could stand him. "I could throw a Goliath with these babies. Nothin' but hard work to get them as good as I do."

"That is extraordinary!" The girl's shout almost made him jump. Almost. It did make Dove and Sky stop their jeering. "I have only ever been able to lift an Atlas Class-IV Mech, and that was only for a few milliseconds at best, but to generate enough force to throw a Goliath enough distance to generate a significant velocity is amazing!"

Was this girl serious?

"May you please demonstrate your strength with me? It would be an excellent thing to document for further conversations! Oh, I know! Why not attempt to move me with your superior strength?"

_Was this girl serious?_

"You think' that's a smart thing sweeee… gal?" Russel tried to catch himself. He failed. "Takin' on Cardin ain't no joke."

"His grammar aside, Russel is correct." Dove had all the elegance of a tree, honestly. "Cardin is the leader of the team for more than merely his imposing posture. I have little belief that you will be too heavy for him. Kindly as I can say this, you cannot be more than a hundred pounds, and that is being generous." Cardin may not have been the suavest guy, but he knew that wasn't generosity Dove was offering.

"Oh, that's no trouble." Penny put her hands on her hips, pushed out her chest, and put on a smile that Cardin thought looked more real on a box of cereal than this ginger's face. "I'm combat ready and ready to go!"

"Oh yeah," Cardin spoke up. He let a small grin take his lips. "Then let's see it."

* * *

Ruby didn't know what to do. She was in her team's room, sitting on her bed with her cloak wrapped around her. She had the hood up, tightly against the top of her head. The rest of her team was in the room, too. However, Ruby was the only one in her bed.

Yang was sitting on the ground with her head in her hands, Weiss was yelling at her with her hands on her hips, and Blake was standing next to her with her hands on her arms. Ruby wished their hands were holding weapons. Fighting was so much easier to deal with than arguing.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Weiss continued to seethe at Ruby's sister, voice hissing like a snake. "You may as well have embarrassed all of us with your antics today and you don't even have the confidence to say a word to us in apology?"

"Sorry, I pissed you off princess," Yang groaned. "But can you give me five hours to get over this headache? In case you forgot, I literally got my head pecked in."

"You deserved that!" Weiss shouted back. "If it wasn't Elrora, I'm certain Blake and I would have done much the same!" Ruby wouldn't have hurt her sister, ever. It looked like Weiss knew that. She was her partner… "We were just told to leave the classroom because of you. Do you have any idea how humiliating that is!?"

"You insulted her and Link with what you did," Blake spoke up now. While Weiss was all bark, Blake had all of the bite. Ruby pulled on her cloak a little harder. She hoped it didn't rip. "I'm not even going to feign ignorance with what you did at the match. That was by far the most underhanded and deceitful thing I have ever seen you do. Yang… I thought you were different." She snarled the words.

"And I thought I'd have a Motrin or somethin' here… ugh," Yang groaned as she spoke the words. Weiss and Blake weren't getting to her. Ruby knew they wouldn't. No one ever could when Yang was like this, beat up or hyped up.

"You're going to be dealing with that migraine until you give a good reason why you did that!" Weiss shouted again. "You didn't just make yourself look bad, you made all of us look bad! _All of us!_ That _includes_ your sister." It did?

"She's right Yang," Blake continued. "You looked like a fool for challenging Elrora without talking to us, we look like idiots for not realizing it, and Ruby looks irresponsible for not stopping it." Oh… that was her job, wasn't it? She was the leader.

"Lay off her…" Yang mumbled, head massaged between her hands. "Just… give me a few hours and we… can… agh." This wasn't going anywhere.

"This will continue until you properly defend yourself, Xiao Long!" Weiss continued her yelling. "I have yet to see you do anything but put your fingers in your ears and drown us out like a toddler!"

This was getting out of control. This was really bad. Ruby bit her lips as she felt the fairy on her head shift around. Why wasn't she speaking up? Tatl… she usually was loud.

"Tatl?" Ruby asked in a small voice, hoping the fairy could hear her over her teammates arguing. She didn't want to be heard right now, at least by them. The fairy on her cloak gave a quick ring. Weiss's yelling didn't falter. "Why aren't you yelling at Yang? You seemed… pretty mad earlier."

"Cause I'm sure anything I have to say is gonna come out sooner or later." Ruby didn't know what that meant. "I mean really, I can get anyone to listen to me, but I think your stone-thick sister is getting a lot worse from those two." That was true.

"Okay," Ruby spoke simply. She didn't want to talk too much, not right now.

It was easy to talk to someone when they were quiet, to get them to talk more. That was the best part of being a leader. She could encourage people to talk. But arguing? She didn't know what to do. It was talking with yelling, and asking people to talk only made the yelling louder. She'd seen it happen a lot with Yang before, especially with her dad.

If they were yelling, Ruby had to be quiet. If she tried talking, they yelled louder until she left. So quiet was good right now. Quiet was what allowed her to hear a ring in the room.

Ruby looked up from the hood of her look, trying to see what it was. Tatl was still on her head, so it wasn't her. The rest of her team was on the ground, Weiss and Blake continuing to berate Yang. But then Ruby saw exactly what she thought she would.

Tael was hovering by the door. How did he get in?

He didn't say anything, didn't make a loud noise at all. That was what he usually did. Instead he flew up towards Ruby, his lavender light brimming off of his wings. The rest of the girls didn't notice, not that it surprised Ruby. They were… focused on something else. When he was close enough, hovering just in front of Ruby, he spoke.

"Hey Ruby. Hi sis," he spoke quieter than usual. Ruby knew why. It was obvious. "Um… so it was bad?"

"Honestly Tael, if I wasn't waiting here, I'd be beating up the blonde until she was a pulp on the ground." Ruby gripped her robe harder. No one was in Yang's corner, were they? Only her, she was the only one who always stood up for her sis. The opposite was true, too. "But really, I'm pretty sure that if she's ignoring the rest of her friends, I'm not gonna be able to insult her in a way that would matter."

"Don't make Yang mad," Ruby whispered, not looking up to Tatl or Tael. "She already feels bad enough. She really does."

"She feels pain, no kidding," Tatl spoke up. Ruby wondered if she was still quiet because Weiss was still yelling. Probably. "But she ain't gonna change unless she actually _feels_ bad. Pretty sure Elrora said it best, pain is her gain."

That was true… But that didn't mean she liked it. Ruby had seen her sister do a lot of things, but she'd never hurt herself on purpose, ever. Not even when dad had accused her of the same thing. Yang wasn't like that. She got hurt trying to help Ruby. Just like dad. Just like mom…

"But um… I-I came in cause I could hear the yelling outside." Ruby wasn't surprised by that. She was more surprised Jaune or one of the professors hadn't come by yet. "But S… she's waiting outside, to come in." She?

"Oh goody," Tatl spoke up. Ruby couldn't tell if she was really excited or talking like she was in the locker room, sarcastic like. Weiss's screaming didn't help. Neither did Blake cold words. "Guess someone has to open the door for her. Wonder who's that going to be?"

Ruby didn't make a show about getting off of her bed to do just that. She jumped from the swaying bed to the floor with hardly a sound. She'd gotten good at sneaking out back home. Now it was just sneaking around her team. It was really easy, seeing as Yang wasn't even looking and Blake and Weiss were focused on her, backs turns. Tatl and Tael made not a sound.

She reached the door with her hood still pulled up. It didn't seem right to take it down yet. It didn't matter. Ruby gripped the door to the room, cracking it as quietly as she could. She didn't need Weiss screaming at her, too. Ruby knew it had to be Link outside the door, probably as Impa or Elrora. It had to be one of them after what Yang did.

She instead saw a small girl clothed in green. She was wearing a green dress with green hair and long ears.

And she was smiling.

"Hello," she spoke up to her, small arm waving politely, ignoring the yelling of Weiss inside. "May I come in? I think we need to talk." Ruby almost fell backwards when she moved away from the door, letting the smaller girl in. She bit her tongue to keep from talking, at least for now. She didn't want to leave the door open for too long. Screaming was easier to hear when nothing was in the way. "Thank you."

"Ruby?" Said team leader whipped her head towards her team at her name. Weiss and Blake were looking at her, Yang still having her head in her hands. Weiss' fury was far from gone, but at least she wasn't yelling. "Are you going somewhere? Or is someone at-" her voice fell off. Ruby could guess why.

The young girl of green walked in front of Ruby, barely making it to Ruby's stomach in height. She felt Tatl jump off her head and fly about the girl, Tael making a ring as he followed suit. Ruby watched as she strode into the room purposefully, easily. She seemed… happy. Why?

Ruby's mind was on how small the girl was, so small. She looked like she should still have been in grade school, preparing to start at Signal, let alone walking around Beacon. Her clothes were double layered shades of green, lighter atop of dark colors. And it was a dress. A dress like Link's tunic…

She had ears like Link too, just as long and pointed. Tatl and Tael flew about her like Link, ringing like Christmas bells. And her eyes were blue like Link… so much like Link… Wasn't hard to figure out she was a friend of Link's.

"U-Um," Ruby spoke for what felt like the first time in hours. "Who are you?" It felt stupid to ask, but she had to. She slowly pushed the hood off of her head, letting her see the girl looking back at her, smiling. She seemed really happy.

"My name is Saria," the girl spoke easily, matched by the fairies that continued to halo about her head. "And I'm here to speak with the four of you." Her arms swung with the words, pivoting on her heel. Ruby looked at her team.

They looked horrified, terrified actually. Blake's lips were trembling, Weiss looked pale as her hair, and Yang… she looked like she was really sick. Ruby had no idea why. Yeah, she was surprised, sure, but wasn't this a good thing? Link was her and here! This was so much better than just arguing at one another.

"Um, Saria?" Weiss spoke up, her voice just managing to sound more alive than she looked. "I… apologize, but we weren't expecting anyone. E-Especially not you."

"Not me or not Link?" Ruby wasn't sure what to say. She just kept staring at the girl. Did Weiss know her? No way, Ruby had met all of Link's friends even earlier than everyone else. Besides, when was Link alone with Weiss yet? "But please wait a moment, I need to make sure Yang is okay."

"Huh?" Ruby's sister asked, eyes widening even as she rubbed her temples. "Uh, no, I'm good. Just need, agh, a few… hours." But Saria was already walking towards her. Ruby watched with her hands to her chests, balled into fists. She was going to see something cool, she knew it!

"I do not have hours and neither do you," Saria continued to speak. She sounded like Ozpin, if he were half his height, a different gender, a few decades younger. Ruby giggled at the idea. She'd have to tell Weiss later because she kept giving Ruby a mortified look. Why? The screaming was done… hopefully.

"Seriously, I'm-" Yang's voice cut off as Saria put her hands on Yang's hair. That was… different, but Ruby trusted Saria, well Link. She knew he wouldn't do anything to hurt them… without really good reason. Tatl and Tael didn't seem to make a big deal about it either.

"Please hold still," Saria spoke again. Her voice was softer now, like she was whispering. "I am going to help you." Her eyes shut as she leaned towards Yang. Ruby's sister almost backed away, but stopped when their foreheads met. Ruby was pretty sure the pain was what kept Yang from jumping up still.

But then Yang's eyes slowly closed. That was probably because of the pain. She just sat there with her head against Saria's not doing much. Her hands slowly fell from her head, letting the smaller girl's slowly drift to Yang's temples. That was weird, but it wasn't bad.

Then Yang's hair began to glow. And Tthen Saria's began to glow too.

Ruby's lips made an 'O' at the display. She wasn't shocked, not really. She'd seen Yang's hair glow enough that she was used to it. Saria was just new, but it wasn't shocking. But it was awesome to watch! Saria's hair looked like Ozpin's tower with how bright it was, and it was even brighter with Yang and Tatl and Tael. It was like it was Christmas, no wait, it was like that movie, the Nightmare Before Christmas. Something horrible happened then something amazing!

Yang was breathing softly as Saria slowly moved her fingers over her temples, keeping her calm and not saying a word. Tatl and Tael were ringing lightly, but they always did that. Ruby had never seen Link or any of his friends do this before. She'd have to ask how, if he could tell. It was awesome!

Then Saria leaned back, blinking her eyes as her hair's glow began to dim. It was kinda disappointing, but it was still cool to watch. Yang was next, but Ruby had seen the blonde glow fade a lot before, usually after some tree had been chopped down with the flat of her hand, or a section of the forest. She blinked her eyes open, moving her lips like she was wiping away some drool.

"Wow," Yang whispered, raising her hands to her head again. Saria dropped hers to allow her to do so. Yang grabbed her head and bent it. She moved it like she was trying to crack her neck. Nothing new there. But she wasn't grabbing it in pain or… anything. Wow! "I feel great, like I just got up from a good nap. It's sweet."

"I'm glad," Saria returned as she rose to her feet off of her knees. She was still barely taller than Yang on her butt. "It would have been difficult to talk to you if you could not hear me." Yang's smile fell. Well, she was about to be lectured. Not even Ruby liked that.

Ruby watched as Saria twisted on the ball of her foot, twirling her emerald dress. She stopped when she looked up at Weiss. She flinched away from the smaller girl. That got Ruby to blink. What was wrong with Saria, she seemed pretty amazing so far!

"Weiss," Saria spoke. Weiss almost jumped. Now Ruby was _really_ confused. Weiss was so excited to see Elrora, and even more than that with Mikau. That didn't even include how she was getting lessons from Impa… eventually.

Why was Saria scary all of the sudden?

"You are wise member of your team. You learn as you watch and plan as you think. Tell me, who do you think I am?"

"You're…" Weiss started, but stopped herself. She looked at Ruby. Said girl twisted her head. Something was really wrong now. She could tell. Did it involve her? Well, she had to fix that.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked now. If it was something she could fix, she had to fix it. "She's Link's friend, right? Who else would it be?"

"Right, of course," Blake spoke up now. Ruby beamed to her teammate. Of course she was right. "That's who Saria is, Link's friend. And you are also Link, too." Blake knelt down to Saria's height, looking at the girl that turned to her. The former looked deathly serious, especially with her golden eyes. Saria was just smiling.

"Is that who I am?" Saria asked back. That only confused Ruby even more. She but a hand to her chin to show it. "I am Link, in that he is here, but I am just Link's friend? Is that what you see when you look at me?"

Ruby started to get a cold feeling on her back. She rubbed her cloak to warm the spot. It was weird considering how warm she had been before. What was with those questions those? It was really creepy how Saria asked that, especially with the smile. Something was going on and Ruby didn't know what.

"You're more than his friend," Yang started to speak up. That was good. But she sounded like she did before the fight. That was bad. "You're a part of his family, aren't you?" Oh, she was?

"You are very close, Yang," Saria spoke in return. The cheer in her voice was starting to sound… wrong. Ruby couldn't put a word on it. It was like she was smiling when she should be screaming. But why would she be doing either?

"Okay, seriously, what's going on?" Ruby asked with her hands to her hips. Blake and Weiss looked at her, but both of them looked like they were chokingchocking on something. "Something fishy has been going on since the fight and I want to know what. Don't make me yell it. I might not yell a lot, but when I do-"

"Saria's Link's daughter." What?

Ruby felt her words wither and die in her throat. Her hands jerked off of her hips, like they couldn't hold onto them, or anything. She just stared at Weiss, staring at her partner like she'd been struck. It felt like it… and Weiss looked like it, too.

"Saria," Weiss started, looking at the girl who was looking back at her. She wasn't smiling anymore. "Saria is Link's daughter. We found out because of a slip of his tongue a few nights ago that he had one. Then we found out that he's out here looking for his friend… because he doesn't have a daughter to go back to."

Ruby couldn't say anything. It wasn't that she didn't want to; that was wrong. She _desperately_ wanted to. She wanted to scream what Weiss was talking about, ask what she meant, demand an answer. But nothing was working. Her throat felt caught.

She looked at Yang, waiting for her sister to act like she always did, jumping to the rescue. But she just kept sitting there. Did… did she know? Was it true?

"I-Is it?" Her voice managed to squeak out the words, but they felt as weak as her legs were right now.

Saria just kept looking at her without saying a thing. She just kept looking _up_ at Ruby because she was a child and she was dead because Link was there, too. But if she was dead and she was Link's daughter than that mean the failed her and she did die and it was so much worse than Ruby could imagine and she didn't like it, she didn't like it and she wanted it to stop.

"That's not true!" Blake, of all people, shouted. Ruby stared at her, still unable to do more than make wet weak words. But Blake… she looked ready to roar. "Saria is _not_ Link's daughter. She's the opposite! She _raised_ him!"

H-Huh?!

"Blake," Yang spoke now. Ruby didn't know what to do when her sis sounded like that. She just didn't. "You think I'm gonna buy that twig-weak excuse? You think she's anyone else?"

"It's true, though," Saria, finally, spoke. Ruby didn't even remember she could. "I raised Link from the moment we found him in the Kokiri Forest. I kept him safe until he left for his own journey."

"Liar!" Yang screamed.

A part of Ruby wished her head still hurt. Then she wouldn't be screaming.

"You wanna screw with my head, go ahead, but if you're gonna stand there and act like a manipulative little stain on the earth, then I'm gonna risk jail time by putting you six-feet under! 'Sides, how in the Grimm would Blake even know that!"

"Because we met before," Saria spoke back, cheerfully. Ruby wished she was screaming now. It would have been easier. "We met when Link first hurt that girl Garnet, after she threatened to take Tatl from him. We spoke at length before she took to the skies with Elrora. Did she not tell you of me?"

Saria _skipped_ over to Blake, looking at her teammate with wide eyes and a cold smile.

"I thought I gave permission."

Ruby turned her eyes to Blake. All the fury her teammate had was gone. She was hiding her eyes again, looking like she was ready to jump for the door. But it was shut. It was shut tight and Ruby was standing too close to it to let her leave. She'd have to open the windows first, too.

Saria… planned this?

"Is that true, Blake?" Weiss spoke now. She was hissing. Ruby didn't know if that was better than screaming. There was so much she still didn't know! "You knew about Saria? You knew about her… and you didn't tell us?"

"Is that what matters right now? Me keeping a secret about a girl I met by accident?" Blake asked as if she were trying to be sharp. Ruby thought of Penny. "You were the one who didn't want to tell Link we found out about his family. How do you think he feels about that?" Why weren't they asking Link? H-He was right there… just underneath Saria.

She wasn't smiling.

"And that matters?" Weiss asked back, standing her ground with a glare. "Why aren't we still going off on Yang for bringing up Link's dead kid during that fight!?"

Ruby forgot how to breathe.

Her body felt cold, frozen even. She didn't like it. She didn't like anything about this. She looked at Yang, and Yang was looking at her. Was she crying? Was Yang crying? It was too blurry to tell. It was too hard to think.

"W-What…" Ruby didn't know what to say or how to say it.

"You are all children," Saria spoke again. Ruby didn't know if she could look at her. She wasn't a kid, she couldn't be. She was too mean. "You keep secrets that are not meant to be held, but use the ones that you were entrusted to poorly."

"This isn't… i-it isn't usually like this," Blake was speaking. Ruby didn't look at her. She didn't know where to look. The ground was nice though. She sat on it. It made it easier to hide herself.

"I know," Saria kept talking. Ruby wanted Tatl or Tael to talk. Tael was shy and nice, Tatl at least didn't mean it. Saria… she sounded like the bullies as Signal. She didn't like it. "I know you've all been walking over twigs, taking careful steps and long measures to not disturb the peace you have. It would be endearing if it weren't so fragile."

"What do you know?" Weiss was hissing again. Ruby didn't care. "You… You just show up in Beacon because of some fluke, making it to a professorship with even more luck, then you have the gaul to start this talk with us!?"

Ruby didn't like this anymore. She wanted to have fun with her friends. This wasn't fun at all.

"And what's more, every time we talk to you this happens! If it's not because you're so dense you cannot comprehend how wrong it is to kill then it's because you insult us for what made us who we are! Maybe I was wrong about Yang, maybe she _should_ have reminded you of your kid!"

This was bad. This was really bad. Her knees were getting damp, so were her cheeks. Ruby's throat was hurting.

"Are you done?" Saria asked. "Are you done blaming me for the inevitable?" Ruby sniffled to clear her throat. It wasn't working. Then she felt something wrap around her side.

She stiffened as she twisted, seeing Yang there by her.

Ruby didn't hesitate a moment later to fall against her sister. Yang held her close. Yang was nice like that.

"I am responsible for much of the sorrow you have now. But are you ignorant enough to think that I am the only person in all of existence that could cause this?" Saria was still talking, but Ruby wasn't sure she was listening. She just focused on Yang rubbing her back, slow circles. It felt nice.

"You're not," Blake answered. "But you are the only one who's come here to break something."

"I knew you were a wise one, Blake." Saria shouldn't sound happy when she said that. "I'm hoping you are wise enough to know that I do not wish to break what you have. Hardly that. No tree of the forest grows when it is broken. That is a fallacy." What did that mean?

"Oh, great, so now we're supposed to take comfort in the idea that you're hurting us just enough to anger us? Perhaps your brute of a land doesn't know it, but that's called sadism." Ruby didn't know enough to say if Weiss was right or wrong. She didn't know enough about this.

"Close," Saria answered. "The correct word is necessary."

The room was quiet then. Ruby preferred it. It felt better when it was quiet, especially after people were yelling. It meant they were either going to start to talking or stop seeing one another. She hoped it was the former, because that meant things would get better. She didn't move away from Yang.

"You have a wonderful team about you. You are all strong in ways I would never think of the young to be capable of." That sounded nice. "You can run fast as the wind, disappear into smoke, command the runic circles, and even turn the worst of pain into the greatest of strength. Those are things that I cannot help but be impressed by. But you are not a team. You are individuals thrown into a group and asked to trust one another with your lives. That never works."

Well… it wasn't nice, but at least Saria wasn't blaming them anymore. Weiss and Blake weren't screaming. And Ruby could feel her throat relaxing. That was a good thing.

"Instead you hide information your team could benefit to hear." That… was probably for Blake. She knew about Saria. "You use the secrets you've discovered to hurt others." Ruby felt Yang stiffen against her. She held her sister now. "You lay blame at the uncontrollable over your own actions." Weiss? Maybe. She wasn't saying anything. "Or you duck your head and pretend the world away when you do not know what is happening."

That was meant for her. That was for Ruby.

"If… if it seems as if I am being overly harsh to you. I am sorry." Actually, she did sound sorry. Ruby sniffled once more as she slowly moved her head up. She felt Yang loosen her grip.

Saria was standing in the center of the room still, hands behind her back and both of Link's fairies resting on her head. They looked sad, too, with their wings all bent and not making a single ring. Blake was sitting on her bed, almost curled up into it. Weiss was next to her, but she was standing. They weren't looking at anyone.

"I have been trying to help others, but your team is different. Cardin needs to grow in maturity. Penny needs to learn to think for herself. Jaune's team needs a lot of confidence." Ruby wanted to giggle at the comment, but she couldn't. She still didn't feel great. "But you're team, the designation of RWBY… none of you have any trust."

"That's not true," Ruby spoke up. That was being generous. She whispered the words. But it was enough for Saria to hear her. The girl looked at her with blue eyes, eyes that looked really sad, too. Maybe she did feel bad. It didn't mean Ruby felt better.

"It is Ruby. You know it is." She accused. "It isn't your fault, not completely. Elrora was right when she said you need to accept your past to find peace. But you need to accept each other to gain trust."

Her arms were out now, looking at them all. What did she want?

"I don't like giving answers. You don't learn lessons if you are given the answer." What did that mean? "But… I don't want to see anything happen to any of you. You all helped Link when he came here. You all did. Even… even if right now you can't say it, you're his friends."

"I-I am. We are," Ruby's voice still felt weak. She felt Yang hold her closer. Saria was smiling at her again.

"Then please," Saria continued. "Take what I have said and do more than think with it. Act, discuss, learn from it. Find the answer I am so desperately trying to lead you, too. Once you find it, I know you will be happier. You all will be. I promise."

"That's a hard promise to keep," Yang growled from next to Ruby. "Pretty sure you know best that nothing lasts forever." Ruby didn't like where this was going.

"No," Saria agreed. "But I do know that you could be happier than you are now. And I do not mean in this small moment. This will be only a sore bruise in a week's time. But if you can speak to one another without fear of the other pulling away… that is trust that cannot be said in words."

Ruby watched, engrossed, as Saria placed her hand over her face. She understood, Ruby really did.

"I'm sorry, again." She kept going. "I'll say it as many times as I must tomorrow, but that is all I will say today. There is much for all of us to do and I hope to see you better later."

Then she left.

Ruby wished she could have left in some way that would have seemed amazing, but she didn't. She just opened the door and walked outside without another word. Tatl and Tael were on her head. And then she was gone. A shut of the door sealed it. It sealed her departure as sure as it had left her team in the room alone.

It was really quiet. It was really quiet especially when Ruby remembered all the screaming that was happening earlier. Now it sounded like they should have been asleep. No one was writing, or reading, or doing anything. She was just thinking. Saria wanted her to do that. But… what did she need to think about?

Ruby didn't know what to think. What to do. Say. Anything. She was the team leader and she couldn't do anything. She really did just wait for things to pass, just like she did back home when arguments happened. Fights were easy to win, homework was simple to finish, but arguing… Ruby didn't know what to do. And because she didn't know she… failed.

"I'm a failure."

It felt like a confession.

"Rubes, no-" Yang started to speak, but Ruby didn't want to stop. She had to say everything.

"I'm the leader and I failed you guys. I-I didn't stop Yang from fighting or Weiss from screaming or help Blake talk." She pushed her head deeper into her knees. She didn't want to look at anything. "I just hid myself away and pretended it wasn't happening. I made it all go away until I knew it would stop because it always stops. It stops whenever Yang and dad yell at one another and then everything's better. It's supposed to be b-better when people starting talking so I didn't do anything a-a-and now it's so mmm-much worse and it's my fault it's my f-f-fault i-itt-t-t-"

Ruby couldn't keep speaking through the tears that pushed past her eyes. It was impossible when her throat made her sob. She was shaking in her sister's grip, the same embrace that was holding her even tighter than before now. She curled into it, desperate to stop shaking, to stop feeling. She hated it. She hated not knowing what to do. She hated not having an answer. She hated one thing more than anything else.

Ruby hated that she wasn't good enough.

"I'm-I'm-I'm-I'm-I'm-I'm-" she kept trying to speak, but every time the word came out, a hiccup of a sob kept anything more in. She couldn't say anything and she so desperately wanted to. Why couldn't she be good enough? Why wasn't she ever good enough? She wasn't strong enough or fast enough or smart enough or any-

Something grabbed her from behind. Something heavy settled over her and it felt like a blanket. It made Ruby suck in a large breath, shaking as much as her body was against Yang. Then it started moving, like it was trying to pull her close.

"It's okay Ruby," Blake spoke. Blake, the faunus that Ruby realized was now holding her from behind like a precious doll. "You're not a failure. You are far from a failure in any regard. You are a better leader than any one of us could have been." But it didn't matter.

"I-It isn't enough!" Ruby felt herself screaming. It was the first time she yelled all day. It felt painful, like it really hurt. It really did hurt. But at least there were words. "I-It doesn't matter if it's not enough! I'm not good enough! I-I-I-I-Ieeeegh." Her voice drowned itself as Blake and Yang continued to smother her.

"You are not a failure, Ruby." Weiss… Weiss said that? Ruby lifted her head to see her partner staring at her. There were black marks under her eyes and they were getting longer. "I know failure when I see it Ruby Rose. I can say with certainty… absolute certainty that you are _not_ a failure."

She was leaning towards Ruby, putting her hands on her cheeks. Ruby felt them wipe away at her tears, holding her head still. Weiss looked really sad, but Ruby sounded worse. Weiss kept talking.

"It was unfair of Link or Saria to place any blame on you," she kept talking. "Blake kept a secret, Yang made a plan, I lashed out, but you? You really didn't do anything, because there was nothing you could do. You or anyone else."

She placed her forehead against Ruby's, leaning into the smaller girl. It was Blake and Yang that kept her from falling over.

"You're are not a failure Ruby. I-I know failure. You are _not_ a failure." Ruby leaned into Weiss's touch. She kept talking, kept speaking of how right Ruby was even when the younger girl knew she wasn't. She kept telling her she was okay when she knew she wasn't. But Ruby didn't want her to stop.

She didn't want any of them to stop. She didn't want Yang to let go of her, she didn't want Weiss to stop talking to her, she didn't want Blake to leave her, she wanted to stay where she was. She felt… better. Ruby felt her tears stop falling, her throat relax, and the wrenching sobs turn into slow breaths. She was cooling down, she knew, just like dad and Yang would call it.

It was good… letting it all out. It felt a lot better than before. Weiss slowly stopped speaking, leaning back but without taking her hands off of Ruby. Blake rubbed her head against Ruby's neck, stopped only when Yang put her hand on Ruby's head. She didn't stop her sister. They both needed this. They all needed this.

She was the leader and she knew why Saria did what she did. She knew why they had to break, at least Ruby was pretty sure she did. Otherwise it wouldn't have felt as good as it did now. Yin and Yang, like dad would call it. He called it that whenever he said Yang had to find her Yin. The thought made her giggle, and the giggle killed what little tension was left in the room.

It was good.

"So… what now?" Yang asked as she rubbed Ruby's hair. She didn't want her to let go. It felt too nice.

"We could get something to eat," Blake spoke up from behind her. It felt weird having someone talking like that, but Ruby didn't mind. They were talking. That was what mattered. "It is almost time for dinner."

"We have worked up an appetite, haven't we?" Weiss let out a chuckle as she spoke. It sounded amazing. It sounded perfect. "I would prefer cleaning myself up first. Can't walk out appearing as if we had a substantial argument."

"Can we just talk?" Ruby asked. She really wanted that. "I think we should talk first. Then we can eat." It wasn't an order, because those were bad. But she was the leader and this felt right, talking.

"Course we can sis," Yang spoke encouragingly, her arm shaking Ruby like she hadn't just cried her eyes out. "You… wanna talk about Saria or something else."

Else, the else was more important right now. Saira did say this would be a bruise in a week, and that was okay. There were more important things to talk about. There were her own secrets she needed her team to know.

"Actually, since I screwed up first, I think I should go first," Yang continued speaking. She didn't take her hands off of Blake's head. "That okay with you guys?"

"It's a fair beginning to show you're sorry," Weiss spoke up. It didn't have any of the usual metal Ruby usually heard in her partner. "So… I'm willing to listen to what you have to say."

"I am, too," Blake spoke up next. "But only if I go next."

"We'll all get at turn to talk, I-I'll make sure of i-it." Ruby's voice was still shaking a little as she spoke. Throat still wet with unshed tears. She took in a deep breath to force them down. "But… Yang can go first." She felt her sister hug her from her side, the reassuring stiffness Ruby had felt a million times before. She savored it now.

"Where to start… I guess it's about what happened after the whole train incident. I met someone back on Beacon, same woman who helped me fight that ice-cream girl…"

* * *

Link laid down on his bed, eyes to the ceiling and out of energy.

It had not been a good day.

"Well that was its own little box of fun," Tatl spoke up from beside him. He didn't turn to look at her. "Who'd a thunk that those girls would be so much trouble? Oh yeah, me!" Link wished, almost desperately, he could take some comfort in his friend's familiar attitude. He couldn't.

"Sis, now's not a good time for that," Tael spoke Link's thoughts. The darker fairy usual did. "They were really hurt, too…"

"Oh? They were? Maybe they should have licked their wounds before biting Link then!" Her sarcasm quickly turned to ire. "I mean seriously, who in the name of Time brings up your daughter like that!?"

Link let out a long sight at the question. He didn't want to talk or even think of the topic. Tatl knew that as soon as she heard him.

"Still, if anything good came out of this, kinda proved those 'close-knit' kids were about as tight as leaves on the ground, am I right?" She rang at the words. Link heard it even as he stared up at the ceiling. She was right. "Blake couldn't talk straight about Saria and Ruby had about as much control over her team as Talon did his Cuccoos. They're gonna need a lot more work than even the Red Giant if they're gonna shape up." Red Giant? Ah, she meant Cardin Winchester.

"They are really young though," Tael took over now. "I-I mean, Link was young too, you were at least, b-but they're not fighting yet, right? They have time to grow. Isn't that… that's important." Link was glad to hear him speak a statement, not a question.

"Yeah, and Weiss did remind me of the Gorman brothers, stuck up for no reason other than pride." Link heard her give a ring with the words. Tael gave his own low one in return. "Still… she did have a point at the end there."

Link knew exactly what she was talking about. It was one of the many thoughts plaguing him currently. Next to the wonder of Ozpin's plan, just above the connections Team CRDL would make with the Military trained golem, but far below that of his main goal. It was still a thought he did not discard.

"You mean… how Link makes them… uncomfortable." Link almost chuckled at the word. Almost. He did a lot more than that, or at least had caused a lot more than that.

You didn't cry when you were uncomfortable. You cried when you're peace was shattered.

"It's not something you ever really enjoy doing." Tatl didn't ask Link about how he felt anymore. She knew. Time had the effect between companions. "But, if the Gerudo taught you any lessons, it's something you have to nail down quickly. Nothing will kill a team faster than fake trust."

"It wasn't fake, was it?" Tael's down shifted quickly from assured to questioning. "They… they seemed to really trust one another. A-And Ruby and Yang are sisters! Doesn't that mean they trust each other?"

"Tael, you and me are a special case," Tatl began to answer. "Most siblings keep secrets for the fun of it. Heck, we don't even know if the rest of that team know one of those girls is a Hylian in hiding. Those are the kind of things that'll kill you."

"I-It would?" Tael was thinking literally. Link enjoyed the irony, given the fairy's penchant to speak at length regarding tales and stories. "How?"

"'Kay, like, remember how Super Buzz was talking about those White Fang creeps? What if the cat keeping her lips shut keeps their team from making up a solid plan against them? You know how much info a Shadow could get like that? More than some Gerudo wearing fake ears." A simple plan, but a viable one. It was all hypothetical though, even the extent of knowledge. "That's not to mention that she didn't say a word about Saria to the rest of her team. Heck, I'm willin' to be she hasn't told anything to the Ice Queen about Impa yet."

That was, unfortunately, a bet Link would have to agree with. It was a critical piece of intel that any true Shadow would not withhold. Her failure to tell the Mage, to tell even her leader, was a dire mistake on her part.

A long sigh left Link's lips. He threaded his fingers through the locks in the back of his hair, resting his head against his palms. Legs outstretched and crossed, bed beneath his body, Link's eyes slid shut as his thoughts continued.

Cardin's team would likely gain much from speaking with Penny. It may just be humility without the mockery, but it was more than barbs being thrown at them without spoken reason. It would at the very least be the first hand they needed to improve. Much the same could be said for Penny. Cardin's team may not have been the perfect candidate for her to expand her imagination, but you did start a ladder withtter o the lowest rung. Link would not say that to either of them.

Team SSSN, the four who appeared to not have any armor or coordination between them, had done an amazing job in challenging Elrora. Given only a little more information on her and they likely would have won. A precaution there, a tactic here, and they would have been swift. It was a sobering thought, especially against the usual ease Link had won his fights up until now.

The rest of the individuals in class seemed to be doing well. Impa watched them all with intent. It was because of that they she knew their intent. Just as much as she watched them fight, they observed her judge. It made one very small thing clear. She was loathed. They were loathed.

It was not hard for Link to see why. He was knew here, an Unknown of the highest rank. Only his name and the surface of his abilities were understood and it was enough to have the leaders of the land want him. Ozpin was among them, but he appeared the lesser of the evils, for now. He was an Unknown as well. Unknowns everywhere, at every twist and turn.

The unknown had the advantage, but it also held the hatred.

Link turned over in his bed, facing the wall as he shut his eyes. It had been a long day, too long a day. There was still much to do tomorrow. The Gale Tree atop Ozpin's Tower had to be checked, the Pegasus Tree within the Emerald Forest would likely need grooming. A spot still had to be picked for the Ember Tree, if one at all. That was not to mention what would occur with the teams he had assisted. So much to do and even more to worry about.

"Conking out, Link?" Tatl asked from behind him. Link waved a hand in the air for confirmation. He heard the fairy ring in response. "Yeah, been a long day for all of us. Can't argue against the RR."

"But there is so much I have to tell you about!" Tael almost whined. "Dr. Oobleck and I had a great talk, a-about the Gerudo Tales a-and the Zora Mythos and the Festival of Time and so much else." Link smiled, though none could see it. It was good to see Tael telling stories to an eager audience. The fairy needed that.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow bro," Tatl responded. "We're gonna have plenty of time, trust me." Link heard the low ring of response from Tael. It made the next few words obvious.

"Okay," came the subdued reply. "But it is important, I promise." Link had no doubt it was.

With a gentle sigh to bury his regrets, Link lulled himself to sleep.

* * *

Things were not going according to plan. Adam hated that.

Their group was too small to allow multiple deviations to large plans. Too many changes too quickly discouraged fighters, made confidence drop, and usually resulted in miscommunication. Those were the kind of things they steered away from.

But apparently that wasn't the case recently. Recent needed great emphasis. Their attacks were called off with the postponing of the festival, the fool criminal was broken out of a high-security unit by his men, and to top it off, some grand new player had stumbled into Beacon. Great enough that even the Red Witch had held off on speaking to him. She knew that wasn't wise.

But Adam was remiss to agree with her decision, the decision to wait and gather intel. He hated changes to grand plans, but he loathed mistakes even more. Learning about this new guest, then student, then show-toy, then even instructor at Beacon had proved enlightening. If not, it was something worth a script for a play. But regardless of what it was, it angered Adam to no end.

A faunus from a foreign nation, a man that should by rights understand the plight of the White Fang, and he was not just another dog for the Beacon. But more than that? He had these "memories" of his friends. He was ten warriors in one, the example of the greatness the faunus could be, and all he did with it was teach children how to fight and make a show of himself.

Disgraceful didn't do the situation justice. Adam snarled even with the thought of all the wasted potential, of all that could be done with this foreign faunus. Link was his name, a simple name for a man that was anything but simple. If only he had stumbled upon them before the children of Beacon. Then they would have had the soldier to show the true strength of the White Fang!.

Instead, now they had an enemy. A "potential" enemy.

Adam wanted to speak to this faunus, near desperately. He was no doubt lied to and brainwashed by the fools at Beacon and clowns in the Military. Told thing that simply were not true. Now he fought for what he believed was right, but not knowing he was actually damning his own species. Adam knew he could show him the truth.

It would take few words, a short conversation, to pique his curiosity. Point out a lie the staff of Beacon had weaved for him, tear down the posters the Military had put up for him; that was all it would take. A pique in curiosity was the first step to leading someone to the truth.

Adam could then show him the suffering of the faunus, the prejudice against them. He could show how his people were treated on the streets of Vale, make it clear it was the typical approach across all the four kingdoms. And, if Link were the "knight" he continued to call himself, he would see the horror of his ways.

Then Adam would have a new warrior for the White Fang. He would have a new ally.

Instead, all he had were hypotheses for what could be. Nothing that was certain.

He played with the hilt of his blade, letting the steel slide in and out of the sheet. The sound of the gliding metal did his mind ease, kept him from dreaming of the impossibilities. Dreams were important, but reality was what mattered. He had to keep his thoughts in this world, not of the one he was trying to make. Adam was the leader of the White Fang, the man who had turned their organization of good cheer and mockery to one of power and purpose. His dream was being formed, but he still had work to do.

"Any word from the contact?" Adam twisted his head towards his lieutenant. A bulky faunus with loyalty that ran deep. Adam shook his head. "Then why don't we start taking things into our own hands? We have the men, we have the strength. We can do something other than waiting for the Red Witch." Yes, her, her and all of her plans. She was the reason Adam was in this loathsome position.

"It's too risky," Adam replied, hating his own words. Even with a mask, the scowl was clear. "A single mistake could jeopardize all of our plans. Too much has been done over too long a time. A single mistake… and everything we've done would be for nothing."

"I'm not saying to do something drastic," his man urged. "Something small, but clear. A sign that we aren't waiting, that we are still here. If the humans stop thinking about us, the Grimm will start looking for us." Yes, the troubling truth.

"Do you have something in mind?" Adam questioned back, shoving his blade all the back in his sheath. "Otherwise, I'd ask you not waste my time." He would not admit his time, at the moment, could be wasted.

"I do, actually." Adam gave his full attention to the lieutenant. "Many of the vendors from the festival are setting up in Vale, trying to stay afloat until the Festival is up again."

"We aren't attacking them." Adam shot down instantly. "If they get spooked, too many people may decide to forgo the festival. If fewer people attend, the plan is meaningless." Oddly, his lieutenant nodded at the words.

"I know, but the point is they didn't have time to set up for this," he continued. "They are getting supplies sporadically, taking what they can without the risk of going home. Every day that goes by someone debates about leaving before the festival." Adam knew the truth of the words. Too many of the vendors were unnative to Vale, visiting from foreign kingdoms. They had more to gain at home, so long as the festival continued to be postponed.

"Are you suggesting we help them?" Adam asked. "Go back to those charitable roots that nearly withered and died? Fear is what works here. Fear of us leads to attraction for the Grimm."

"But," his man continued. "What if we replaced their men with our own?"

It was unseen, but Adam raised a brow. This plan was interesting.

"Many of the stall owners are wanting to go home, so what if we were able to organize a method to allow it? They go home, our men take over the stalls for cheap pay…" He led on. The trail as obvious.

"We put men on the inside to spread the word of what's going on." Adam found himself smirking. "It is risky, but not in a way that can't be easily rectified." And it was. A quick assassination, a loss of an asset, that was the worst of it. It would not reveal a thing of the Red Witch's end goal.

"Then do I have your approval, sir?" His lieutenant asked. Adam rose as he answered.

"You do, but bring me a list of the stalls and shops that don't agree." There was a point to it. "It will make it easier to sow hatred if we show they see faunus as beneath even labor."

"Of course," the lieutenant bowed as he spoke. "I will spread the word and give my report by tomorrow's end."

Adam smiled as the man left. Apparently there was some good to be had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	10. Lost in Thoughts in a New Day

Link had an idea. It wasn't an idea to accomplish any grand task or set off some important event. It was just an idea, a small one that usually came naturally. It was an idea that most people wouldn't even consider an idea. To them, it would be common sense. To Link, given the rather extreme events of week past, it required a train of thought for him to recognize it. But when he saw it, he knew he had to do it.

It came to him while he was caring for the Whirlwind Tree, ensuring the branches were unbroken and the steel of the tower allowing the root system to grow. It looked odd, even to Saria's sagely eyes, but not healthy. Like a deku scrub that had planted itself upon Death Mountain, that was all it was.

The idea stuck with him as he tended to Saria's Trees in the Foreverfall, both the tree that sat in the midst of constant heat and the other that was surrounded by exotic plants. It was one that Saria agreed to, her wisdom of centuries telling of the benefits that would come from it, and only the restrictions its denial would provide.

The concept came when she looked at the horizon, Saria's eyes trailing the tall buildings that appeared to be scrapping the very sky. He had flown over it once now, but had seen it every day. It was the far off jewel that begged to be entered, but he had never had the chance. Now, however, there was nothing stopping him.

"You want to explore Vale?" Ozpin parroted his requested. A mug in one hand another gripping the clear glass of his Scroll, his eyes were trained on Link, looking through the violet spectacles. "I have no objections to you going out, but why ask me?"

"Because I will need a guide, of course," Saria's words flowed from Link's mouth. Tatl and Tael rang about her head as he spoke. Tatl was laughing at Tael's uncoordinated flight. "It is a town larger than any I have seen before. I fear that comes with risks I will not be aware of."

"The correct terminology is city," Ozpin began, setting down his Scroll. "But you are correct with your assumption. There are many… unpleasant surprises. Most are regulated to the darker areas, but without a guide that boundary is difficult to see."

"Precisely," Saria agreed, grinning as she did at all the young who found their answer. Link felt the pride she felt. But there was still more to say. "As there is little for me to do today, other lessons requiring other attention, I thought it would be a good idea to see the… city as well."

Ozpin nodded from across his table, sipping on his mug. Saria's eyes couldn't see the form of his lips, be they a frown of concentration or a grin of understanding. That was intentional on his part. But it wasn't something she needed to point out, Saria or Link.

"I agree with all accounts," Ozpin finally answered as the mug left his lips. "It would be rather difficult to defend the benefits of a teacher that isn't even aware of the populace around them." Justification for a later argument, doubtlessly. If he was trying to teach her a lesson, he would find there were precious few left for Saria to learn. "But then I suppose you have someone in mind to accompany you?"

"There is," Saria's voice answered Link's thoughts. "It is an unfortunate matter of circumstance they were chosen. I cannot ask for your aid, as an instructor's swift departure from their Academy is often a troubling thought." He raised a brow at her, but his lips were still held in a slight smirk. "As you said before, Glynda would need time to plan and therefore would be against travel to the city."

"Then I suppose you would wish for Dr. Oobleck to accompany you?" Ozpin answered with his own question. It made Saria giggle, him thinking that he could best her in wisdom. Age taught wisdom and none were older than Saria. Link knew that implicitly, especially now.

"I would, but he has buried himself in both the study of my culture and research for my friend. My reasons are a little selfish, just a little, but I don't want him to stop," Link spoke honestly with Saria's voice. He wouldn't disrespect her memory with a lie. Ozpin, for his part, nodded his head in understanding. He wasn't surprised.

"And Professor Port is unavailable due to his lectures today," he continued on, a single finger from his hand scratching against his chin. "You know, I consider a list with no names on it a rather short list." Saria giggled at the words.

"Indeed, but the possibilities are not limited to merely the teachers," Saria began. Link knew the lesson she wanted to teach. Sometimes it felt like a game, even to him. "I believe there are many on Beacon who have no classes today, no lessons to learn on the grounds."

"Ah," Ozpin let out almost immediately. He understood. Link never thought of him as a fool. "You suggest one of the students accompany you." Saria nodded at him. He smiled back. That was a good sign, usually. "I again see no objection. Students are free to do as they wish during their own time, be it the study of Grimm or training of their abilities. If one of them wishes to travel to Vale with you, I see no reason to stop either of you."

"Excellent," Saria responded, grin bright as the sun she so nearly embodied. "Now I can ask the real question." Ozpin's grin fell only a hair at Saria's declaration. It was matched with the slight raise of his brow. Link chuckled mirthfully from behind Saria's mask, letting his friend guide him. She knew best.

"Oh? What might this be? Are you to ask for a favor?" Ozpin was having fun with his questions, too. Link didn't need Saria's eyes to see that. He didn't need to wear her memories to know she enjoyed it all the same.

"It is, but not an obvious one. Not too obvious if you put in too much thought. It may be unobvious because nothing I've done so far has been the usual." Link already knew the answer, but he wasn't the one receiving a lesson. In honesty he didn't know if a lesson was necessary. But Saria was old, and age meant the desire to teach.

"Now I'm curious myself," Ozpin admitted, setting his mug down before lacing his fingers together. "Please, ask away. I'll give an honest answer to whatever the request." Saria gave a bright smile, hands folded behind her back before she spoke on.

"May I please have some money?"

* * *

"And he said yes?"

Jaune was honestly more impressed than surprised. Not that he wasn't surprised. Oh no, that was definitely on the books still. But asking money from the head of the school for a day trip and then actually getting it? It felt like it would be easier to fight an Ancient Grimm bare handed then do that.

Then again, Link had probably done that.

"Oh yeah, it's all true!" Tatl spoke up, voice ringing with her words. "You have no idea how hard it was to keep myself from cracking up. Tael had to pretty much smother me to keep quiet."

"I-I thought I'd be bad if… you started laughing." The darker of the two drones added on, flying about their room without a place to land. His wings were slightly downcast, but Jaune didn't know what to do about it. "That would have made it a bad thing, probably… Yeah."

"Okay, just putting aside how absolutely lucky you guys are," Jaune began with raised hands. They were there more to steady himself than anything else. "Why are you two here telling us this? Class is over and the rest of us have studying to do."

"Eh, studying is such a loose term," Nora spoke up. She was wearing her headphones while lying down on her bed, but Jaune was pretty sure they were off, or broken. Given how loud they usually were, it was probably the former. That would be a good thing, maybe. "I think it's better to call it 'have-fun-for-our-half-day-off'."

"Comment aside, I'm actually equally curious," Pyrrha spoke up. Jaune's partner was shutting her notebook, probably reviewing her notes. She was smart like that. "It's not as if you're here to ask us to go to Vale with you, right?"

Neither fairies answered. Silence was a bad thing. Jaune was very sure of that. Given Pyrrha's pause, she probably felt the same.

" _Right_?"

She asked again, but no response was given. Jaune saw Nora lower her headphones and stare at the golden and dark fairy. Even Ren had set down his book to stare at them. That took something significant.

"Well…" Tael began. "Saria was being honest when she said everyone else was busy, a-and you guys did help us at that base thing, a little… more than others did." Jaune knew who others was. What he didn't know was where this was going.

"Um, yeah, give me a sec," he started, cursing himself again for always being the fish in the shallow pool. "Are you saying Link, dressed as his friend, asked Ozpin, the headmaster of all of Beacon, for money, which he gave, and for us, like my entire team, to take you guys out to Vale, as in the city?"

The fairies rang next to one another. If they were talking, Jaune couldn't hear it. All he could hear was his heart thumping loud enough to echo in his head. This was a big deal. It was like some high-end escort mission that Hunters got paid big lien for. That was a good thing! But the escort was another killer Huntsman, or Knight, that just needed a tour guide more than anything else. That was bad, but not really bad.

Nora didn't seem to mind. Her usual grin had turned cheek-splitting. He was a little afraid of what it would do when the fairies finally answered. Ren looked like a Grimm in the headlights of a sniper rifle. His book was shut and body completely still. Pyrrha looked alright, but not really relaxed. It was like how she looked before she stepped into the combat ring. Jaune wasn't even sure how he could imagine he looked right now. It was hard to keep a solid composure the longer the silence stretched out for.

"Well, in so many words," Tatl finally spoke up, drawing out the words. That wasn't good. "Yeah, that about sums it up."

Jaune hid his face in his hands, slapping them for the clarity of pain.

"Oh! Oh! We're going on a field trip with Link?!" Jaune resisted the urge to groan at Nora's enthusiasm. Her naïve enviously blind optimism. "That means we get to study AND have fun AND get to meet someone new! That's three things in one! I've gotta get changed pronto! C'mon Ren!"

That was all the heads up both males of the group had before Nora dragged her silent teammate to the dresser, throwing it open with some effect. Jaune had to turn away at Ren's silent gaze of plea. There was nothing to be done.

"Um, we appreciate the, uh, invitation Tatl," Jaune heard Pyrrha begin to speak. He turned to see his partner standing now, speaking to the two fairies. Wonder why she only addressed the one. "And I'm sorry but… I don't think now is a good time to go out to Vale?" Why did she ask it like a question?

"Nope, definitely isn't," Jaune took over, nodding his head for emphasis. No reason for confusion then. "We've got a lot of homework to catch up on in Oobleck's class and Port has us researching some of these Ancient Grimm that lurk deep in the Foreverfall. We just don't have time to go right now." He might have been exaggerating, but that wouldn't hurt anyone. Right?

"I don't know about that," Tatl spoke in return. She sounded confident. Why? "Cause Ozpin was pretty clear that you guys finished your homework faster than most of the other teams. Something about the Invincible Girl's natural talent and the White Knight's dedication." Jaune had honestly no idea where any of this was coming from. Was she lying? "Plus you guys are forgetting your other assignment." Now he paled.

"We have no other assignments," Ren spoke up.

Thank the Dust for Ren.

"Though you may be referring to the request Impa gave in class, to have us socialize outside our circles."

Damn the Grimm on Ren.

"Yup, and since you're already thick as thieves with RBWY, CRDL talking to the Golem Girl, and the rest of the teams chatter boxing already, we checked, that leaves just you guys." Tatl seemed really proud of what she was saying. Jaune was conflicted about stopping her. He pushed it aside, because he was the leader.

"W-We can find another team," Jaune rapidly began to defend. "I-I-I'm sure CFVY o-or someone else would wanna talk with us. We can talk about homework!" Yeah, that made sense. They could socialize and get their homework done. It was a twofer!

"They're busy talking it up with that Mercury and Emerald pair," Tatl listed off. Maybe she really did have tabs on all the teams. "Wanna try again."

"No… No, I'm good." One and done, just like he was used. On the receiving end and all. A dejected sigh left him as he fell back onto his bed. At least it was still soft.

"Do… Do you not want to be with him… Link?" Tael's question felt like a sword at Jaune's back. There was no way to answer that question. His eyes opened to their fullest with the words. "I-I know Link can be quiet a lot, but… b-but he really does see you guys as his friends. Do you?"

"Yes! Heck yes!" Jaune shot up. That was an easy question to answer. "Oh yeah, he's our pal." He gave a pleading look to Pyrrha to back him up. He knew he could count on his partner. The smile she returned was gratifying.

"Link is someone I feel we can both confide in and trust," Pyrrha agreed, smoothly as ever. "I believe most of the unease comes from his now higher position as our professor, not to forgo his now famous presence in Vale."

What?

"Wait, what?" Tatl spoke up now. She mimicked Jaune's question aloud. "Link's famous out there? He's never even been there, they don't even know what he looks like. Is this one of those news-spreading-like-wildfire things?" It sounded like it to Jaune, too.

"Nope, just good old socialization!" Nora perked up. Jaune noticed she jumped with her words. She was only wearing a bra…. There was jiggling. He looked away. "Link's been _aaaaall_ over the public places in the CCTS. There's, like, _thousands_ of pictures of him! Oh! This one's a gif!" Huh… that made sense actually, a lot of sense.

"You mean that Communication Network thing?" Tatl asked. "I thought that was just a faster way to send letters. There's something more to it?" Jaune blinked before he reminded himself just how foreign Tatl and Tael were.

"Uh, yeah!" Nora spoke up as jubilantly as ever. Jaune risked a peak, happy to see Ren and tied a thicker shirt around her. Must have been used to it, lifelong friends and all that. "Why do you think there were so many other kids at Combat Practice? Training? HA!"

Well Jaune thought they were.

"Nora is correct though," Ren spoke up. He was busing fitting the rest of the fabric over Nora's head. She didn't appear to mind, or even notice. "Link is a veritable celebrity in Vale now. His name may not attract attention, but I rather doubt no one will mistake his garb of green and faunus ears." Those were kinda eye-catching. Like Ruby and her cloak, if Jaune had to guess.

"That's not even to mention you guys!" Nora went on, lifting an arm to point at the fairies. It only reached half way as Ren continued to thread the shirt over her. "Everyone's gonna recognize Link's friends floatin' around like that!"

Huh, that was a good point. Jaune hadn't really thought about it too much, but Tatl and Tael kinda were odd balls. He really didn't mean to make a pun.

"Duh, you think we don't know that?" Does that mean they did know it? "Why else do you think we want you guys to go with Link? We talked with him and we both realized we really wouldn't be able to get a feel for the place, not with how crowded you all say it's supposed to be." Tatl didn't sound really upset. More like… disappointed? Hope it wasn't at them, but with Jaune on the team, he couldn't discount it.

"Um, okay," Jaune began. "But don't you guys, like, stick to Link all the time? E-Except for when you're talking to Dr. Oobleck. I mean… how often are you apart?"

"Not a lot," Tael answered. His voice was always quieter than his sister's. Kinda remind Jaune of himself, like a lot. "Whenever he's not helping one of… you guys, I guess. B-But he's always with one of his other friends when we aren't." Huh, that… was true wasn't it? It made sense then why it was such a big deal for them to be separated at the Badlands. Link wasn't wearing… with?... any of his friends. Guess that was why it was a big deal.

"But you still aren't coming?" Jaune continued. It was a little difficult, but he took the ring from Tael as confirmation, the bob helped. That, and the lack of Tatl making some honest remark of his personality. "Then does that mean Link is going to be w…with one of his friends?" Jaune caught himself, thankfully. Messing up would be pretty bad.

"Yup, that's what Link's doing now," Tatl explained. "Tryin' to think of who would be best. Have to pick it right or this whole trip is just gonna be a wasted day." Jaune bit his tongue to keep himself from making the comment of how it was wasting their day.

"I'm sorry to ask, but who is accompanying Link?" Pyrrha asked. That was a great question. "I apologize again if I am being too presumptuous, but I feel that Mikau and Elrora would attract too much attention. And we may not be… relaxed around Impa." All true points. Jaune smiled at his partner, proving just once more how perfect she was. No clue why she was blushing though.

"Well look at the detective over here," Tatl started out. That didn't sound good. "But shouldn't you be worrying about what to wear, or what to do?" What did that mean? It definitely wasn't good. "I mean you're going to be showing Link, your teacher, the city of Vale! What do you think is going to happen if he gets a bad opinion? What do you think he'll do if you guys try and take advantage of him?"

What?

_What!?_

Was she serious? What did she mean? All Jaune could tell was the golden fairy was glowing ominously with a voice to match. She was barely ringing with her words. It was like she was being totally serious. That mean this was really bad! Jaune must have started to show his panic, cause Pyrrha had an arm on his shoulder in an instant.

"That's mean, sis," Tael spoke up. Jaune gave the fairy his undivided attention. "You know Link just wants their help. We'd only get in the way…" Wait, so it was a joke? But… oh, Jaune felt a headache coming on. It was like he was back home with his sisters again.

"C'mon Tael, you know we talked about this." Tatl's voice was back to normal. So she was joking with them? Geez, Jaune made an additional note not to get on her bad side. He was pretty sure he wrote that down somewhere. "Link wants to explore without causing a scene. We're so alien here that everyone's calling us mini-golems instead of fairies. If we were to follow Link into that city…"

"…We might all be put in danger," Tael finished. Did they practice that? No, it was probably because they were siblings. Jaune remembered his sisters doing the same thing with their stories, stories that usually ended up with him breaking something valuable. "I know, I know…" The fairy was starting to ring again. And boy, it sounded dejected even to Jaune.

"C'mon Tael, you gotta cheer up!" Tatl took over. Did they even remember they were in Jaune's room? "We're gonna be doing a lot of talking with Ozpin while Link's gone. These guys can handle showing him a good time, right?"

Oh, that question was for them.

"Yeah, we can handle it," Jaune found himself speaking. He felt Pyrrha grip his shoulder a little tighter. Hopefully that was for support. Probably, she was the best partner he could ever have. "Link is our friend, too."

"Yeah!" Nora shouted with a jump again. The shirt she was wearing meant less jiggle. Ren crossed his arms with satisfaction. Jaune would salute him later. "Link's done so many cool things, why wouldn't we be his friends! Plus now we can show him a bunch of new things and see him go all 'wow!' and 'cool!' when he sees what's in Vale!" She made a face to match each exclamation. Jaune never had any doubt she was the most energetic student in all of Beacon.

"Well that's good," Tatl answered back. "But seriously, thanks guys. My brother and I do want to go, but if we've learned anything from the past week or two, its that we're gonna have to bend our promise." Promise? What promise was that?

"Um, if I may ask, what is the promise?" Pyrrha spoke Jaune's thoughts. Partners indeed! That was a great thing. "If it is private I apologize."

"Nah, it's nothing that secret," Tatl gave a quick ring with her words, dust lightly falling around her. "Before we came here the three of us promised we'd stick together no matter what. Ya know, like a team. Kinda what you guys are doing while you're here."

"That makes sense," Jaune spoke, head nodding with the words. He was really glad it made sense. "So that slight bending you were talking about?"

"We may have to… split up," Tael took over. He gave slow ring with his words. It sounded like a sigh. "But we're never going to actually leave. Like, um, Link will be back tonight. S-So it's not like we're leaving or anything."

"Yeah, but it's hard to tell a fairy to leave their companion. We get kinda violent when that happens." That Jaune could believe. He could believe it because he saw it. And felt it. There was still a welt on his head where Tatl knocked him out. "So that's why you guys are going with Link. Sides, I'm pretty sure he's got your back in case anything goes sideways."

Jaune made extra sure to not ask what could go wrong. A thought was as far as it got.

"Do you have any suggestions for where we should go?" Ren spoke up again. He even had his hand raised. Good old predictable Ren. He's the teammate Jaune wouldn't mind being abandoned on an island with, right after Pyrrha. "I do not know the differences between your capitals and ours, but Vale is a very large city. It would take several days to just walk the perimeter of it."

"Huh, really?" Tatl asked. She didn't sound impressed. Weird. "You've got Hyrule and Gerudo Valley beat. But if I had to guess, Link's gonna want to see what stores they have. I mean, you've gotta sell some pretty sweet stuff here, right? Given those crazy weapons you guys all carry."

It was probably one of those perspective things, cause Jaune could pretty safely say Link had the craziest and most what-the-hell weapons he had ever seen in his life. But, then again, those were mostly from the help of his friends, which meant that they weren't weapons, because they were people, once. It was starting to sound like politics. It made Jaune groan.

Knock KnockKnock-Knock Knock Knock

The wrapping on the door made Jaune lift a brow. That was a weird knock. But, then again, it was probably less than 1 on the scale when put next to foreign faunus fighters and magical masked memories.

"Who is it?" Pyrrha called, she lifted her hand off of Jaune's shoulder as she stepped towards the door. The fairies lightly flew about as she passed them, ringing through the air.

"It's me!" came a voice that Jaune definitely didn't recognize. "Part Link, part Lana, and all ready to go!" That answered one question.

"Lana?" Jaune found himself asking. "No wait she said, Link. She's Link's friend, right?"

"Figure that out all on your own?" Tatl asked back. Jaune gave a weak motion with his head. Not even he was sure what he meant with it. "But yeah, that's her. Link probably figured she'd enjoy the city the most, plus would get the least attention. Gonna have to hold onto that dream." Jaune had literally no idea how to take that. He didn't even know if it was good or bad. But if he had to guess, bad.

Pyrrha undid the lock on their door before swinging it open. Tael gave a quick ring about the frame of the door, probably looking to get to Link first, or Lana, whoever he/she preferred to be called, just like pronouns. They until they said otherwise. The door was open, but Pyrrha was blocking the way. That didn't last long.

"Hello," Pyrrha began, sounding just as noble as ever. "My name is Pyrrha, it is a pleasure to meet you. Please come in." His partner moved to the side to allow Link/Lana/Them into the room. And as soon as he saw the new arrival, he blinked.

Her blue hair was easily the most eye-catching part about her. If it wasn't the color, it was the fact that it was put into one long ponytail off to the side. It waved with every jump she made. Her clothes were sort of like Link's, at least in color. Actually, only in color. She had a frilly skirt like Ruby's, but emerald green. Her top was the same way, a tube-top. It left her midriff bare for the world.

Her arms were covered in either extremely long gloves or they were a part of her top that had the shoulders cut off. The first one seemed more likely. Her stockings were there too, a darker shade then her skirt, but still really easy to see. Every part of her clothing had some long-wavy floral design on them, looking like they belonged more on whatever Ozpin wore.

He couldn't ignore her cape though, if it could be called that. It just hung over her shoulder, stopping at her elbow and barely covering half of her chest…. Jaune intentionally didn't focus on that. The cape was blue though, a bit darker than her hair, but really easy to see against all the green she wore. Wonder if that was on purpose.

"Thank you!" The blue haired girl spoke in a bubbly voice, followed by a skip into the room. Tatl and Tael flew about her as she did so. The girl raised her hands with a bright smile as they did, letting the fairies weave about her body. It was actually kinda fun to watch. "There you two are! I was wondering where you went off to."

"You really think we were gonna let you go off to Vale without giving the _escorts_ a good talking to?" Jaune didn't miss the emphasis on the words. He doubted anyone did either, except maybe Nora. "Sides, they deserved to at least know why we weren't going to be tagging along. There are enough questions floating around without creating anymore." To that JNPR's leader had no argument.

"Perfect!" The girl, Lana, not Link, threw her hands up into the air as she yelled the world. Tatl and Tael followed the fists up. Jaune was trying to figure out if that was practiced or not. "That means we can just go out and have a good time! No questions, no worries, and no awkward chemistry to get in the way." One of those comments was not like the other.

"Yes, well… Lana," Pyrrha began. The girl turned to face her. It was only then Jaune noticed she had a smile almost as bright as Nora's, almost. "I am glad that you are eager to… ask us to accompany you, but we are, or were, unprepared for this."

"Yeah, we were, uh," Juane started before fumbling over his words. "Just talking about how sudden this was."

"I wasn't!" Nora pitched in. At least she was predictable? No, she wasn't, and that was bad here. "I was just getting ready!" She did a twirl to show off what ready meant. Apparently, to Jaune, Nora's version of ready meant changing clothes. It made sense, the kind his sisters always told him.

"And you look amazing!" Lana shouted back. Jaune felt a bit of dread at the shared energy. It only got worse when Lana skipped over to Nora. Even Ren backed in what must have been fright. That made it really bad. "You're bright, colorful, and just ready to be you! Link's memories did not disappoint."

"And you look sweet, sunny, and green as grass!" That was the wrong way to use that expression… even if Lana's clothes _did_ look green as grass. Was that bad? "Oh, it's so amazing to meet you! It's great to meet any of Link's friends. You're all so different and colorful and cheery and friendly and strong and-"

"I believe Nora is saying it is kind to meet you, Lana," Ren took over. That was a good thing, a very good thing. He bowed towards her. "Though I know it is a secondary introduction for you to us."

"Ah, you're sweet," Lana spoke with a wave of her hand. It was her, Nora and Ren confirmed it. But Link was still in there… Jaune felt a shiver imagining him moving like Lana. It made him shake. "And right, too. You must have a good memory. Maybe _you're_ the Mage of the team!" She pointed at him with the words.

"Y-You mean those titles you said before, right?" Juane tried to pick in. He knew Ren didn't like to talk, unless he had to. Leader's duty and all that. "Like the Warrior, the Shadow, Mage, and Unknown, right?" Lana bobbed her head excitedly at the words. The smile helped.

"Yup! Right on the Rupee!" The what? "The Mage is the big thinker, remembers a lot so he can say a lot when he has to. You gotta work on that last one though, huh?" The grin meant Lana was joking. Jaune hoped the grin meant she was joking.

"Looks like you're all set here though," Tatl spoke up. She rang as she flew around Lana again, Tael joining her. The blue haired girl, and she was a girl, twisted with the motion. She really was enjoying herself. "Guess we'll head off for old Ozpin then. No better way to spend a day then to spend it talking to some drab wizard in his tower."

"Ozpin's a wizard?" Jaune whispered the word. He was really glad he whispered it because he knew how stupid it sounded.

"Aw, you sound sad," Lana made a pout with her words. A pout that had hunched shoulders and drooping arms. "Now I'm gonna feel bad about leaving you guys here."

"I-It's okay," Tael spoke up. "Ozpin said, well he told Saria, that he had stories. I-I like stories, a-and he, um, he'll take care of us. I trust him at least." Jaune swore that if he were a fairy, he'd be Tael. Maybe.

"That's great, really great!" Lana's mood shifted on a Lien. In a motion that Juane would never dared to make, she scooped up the fairies in her hands, holding them close in a sort of hug. They rang loudly at the motion. Lana either didn't care or knew what she was doing. Jaune gambled on the latter. "Then you better tell me all those great stories when I get back, kay? I promise to let you guys know everything I see, too. Deal?"

"Deal," Tatl spoke up. "Now let go Sparky. You're grabbier than a baby." Lana only giggled before she swung her arms out, releasing the fairies. They twirled about before stopping, ringing as they did before. "But seriously, take care Link." Oh yeah, Link was here. Jaune kept forgetting.

"I'll be fine," Lana spoke up. No, Link, that was the address. "Now you go see Ozpin. I'll see you soon, promise!" The fairies rang as Lana waved her hand, waved it like Jaune had seen cartoon characters do. The fairies flew through their rooms lock and out of sight. "So, I'm ready to go! Are you ready to go?"

This was seriously happening, wasn't it?

Jaune didn't really ask himself that question till Lana was staring right at him. Him, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren. Smiling with a face that looked like it belonged on a freaking adolescent girl more than their pseudo-instructor. It wasn't odd, really, going into town to relax on a weekend. But… it was Link being their teacher that made it odd. But this was Lana, but also Link, but also their friend. Juane wasn't comfortable around so many butts.

"I'm ready!" Nora shouted. That was sort of good. "And Ren is ready, too!" Well… Jaune guessed he was. He was changed at least. That was the same amount of good. "Now we're waiting for Jaune-Jaune and the Invincible Girl!"

Jaune flushed at the name. A quick look at his partner said she was doing the same.

"I-I guess we are going, huh?" He relented, scratching the back of his head. Didn't itch, but it calmed him. "Let me just… get on a jacket, a-and I'll be good to go."

"I'll need some time," Pyrrha quickly followed. "A-and some privacy, please." That one he did guess. Pyrrha was more like his older sisters. Kinda the opposite from show-off-your-bra Nora.

"Okey-Dokey! We'll be outside!" We? Jaune didn't have a chance to ask what Nora meant. One second she was grabbing Ren's sleeve, the next she was pulling her partner and the newly introduced friend of Link out of the room. Neither looked like they minded. With a shut of the door, he and Pyrrha were alone. He let out a long sigh.

"Jaune, are you alright?" Pyrrha asked. She asked that a lot. She had to, because he was a bad leader. Made sense he wasn't right a lot.

"Yes, no, I-I don't know." He shrugged, standing off of his bed and pulling out his uniform. He had to change fast, at least so Pyrrha wouldn't feel shy around him. "I just like to think about things a little more. This seems fast, really fast, like Nora on a sugar rush fast."

"Y-Yes, it does." Why did she stumble? Oh, probably because he was taking too long. He was just standing there with his shirt off. Must have made her impatient. He turned around to grab his sweater, pulling it over his head. "Do you not want to go?"

"Eh, sort of," Jaune admitted with a shrug. That was to adjust his sweater. Too much cloth. "I just think it'll be awkward with Link. You know, friend turned teacher, in charge of our grades, reports to Ozpin?" It was awkward in public school. Wasn't it the same in Hunter Academies?

"I'm sorry Jaune, but I believe that is why Lana is here. I mean, not Link in person." Jaune didn't see where she was going. She must have read him, like she did everything else. "We've met Link's other friends and they've all had a turn teaching us, or showing us something new. We've never met Lana, at least in person, so Link must believe or hope that we'll see her as just a friend."

"But… that kinda sounds like he doesn't want us to know that we're hanging out with him," Jaune put on his chest plate as he finished speaking. Good to go on his end. Now he just need to leave for Pyrrha. That would be good. "I mean, I-I guess I see how he's trying to make it less awkward. But doesn't it sound kinda sad? Having use a friend as a sort of stand-in to hang out with your… other… friends…" Jaune just got it.

And it wasn't a good thing. A slow groan left his throat as he looked up at the ceiling, eyes closed. Of course it couldn't be straight forward. Of course he and Pyrrha picked out the worst piece of logic in all of this. Did it with Elrora now they were doing it with Lana. At least no one died this time around.

"I'm just gonna… wait outside, okay?" He looked towards his partner as he spoke, pointing at the door. He froze like ice when he actually opened his eyes.

Pyrrha was already stripping, only her bra and underwear showing. Her face was as red as her hair. Jaune was pretty sure he was the same. He wasn't thinking of anything else. Not a thing. Just Pyrrha in her underwear. Just Pyrrha with her tone muscle, bare skin, and very clear underwear. Jaune did the only thing he had the brain cell left to do. Speak a single word.

"Gold." That was bad.

* * *

"I'm just saying Jaune _might_ not be the Warrior in your team," Lana spoke up from the other side of the Bullhead. She was waving back and forth, similar to children waiting in an office. "He ran out of the room so fast that I almost missed him! That's how Shadows are supposed to move and no one on your team really looks like a Shadow."

"But your description of a Warrior is that they can take heavy blows for their team. Jaune… can take those blows." Pyrrha did a remarkable job of turning Jaune's inability to dodge a blow into taking an intentional one. But her point did still stand. Ren was aware of that.

"I know, and I thought he was a Warrior, too," Lana agreed, but that was short lived. "But he ran faster than I've seen Gorons roll, and Gorons roll faster than a horse can run!" Her arm swung out with the description. It didn't help Ren visualize a Goron or their 'roll'.

"Can we just… call it adrenaline?" The topic of the conversation spoke up. He had his head in his hands and hands on his knees. It was a small mystery why. "I was in a… rush…"

"It's okay, Jaune," Pyrrha returned, rubbing circles on his back. Ren wasn't sure how much good that would do through his armor, but it wasn't worth voicing. "Just focus on your breathing." A weak moan was all the reply his team leader gave.

Ren let out his own sigh as he leaned back against the Bullhead. It had a soothing hum to it, the metal that is. When the engines ran on their flammable dust, the micro-combustions made the metal vibrate in a quick rhythmic pattern. Focusing on it helped soothe his mind. The soothing sensations brought clarity.

It was important Ren enjoyed the clarity now, or more specifically the peace that came with it. It was highly unlikely there would be much time to relax once they reached Vale proper. Between Lana's clearly high level of energy and the curiosity that naturally came with any foreigner, there were be little end to the number of shops, stores, and questions that would appear. It was not going to be a day he could relax in. A pity.

"Are you okay?" The question came up. Ren cracked an eye to see Lana staring at him, head tilted comically to the side. Far enough that her single tail of hair hung off her head without touching any other part of her body.

"I'm alright," Ren replied honestly. "I'm just thinking about the future." It was the perfect reply, or the one he had used the most on Nora. Just vague enough to be short and sweet, but gave just enough details that there wasn't a question to follow up with. Practice led to perfection.

"Okay!" Said blue-haired spoke back, just as Ren had predicted. "Just be extra sure that you take some time to think of how the future can change. The future's never a straight line!" She swung her legs with the words, like she was walking down some path. Ren saw that clearly because he had opened his eyes wider to look at the girl.

"That was very philosophical," Ren commented, looking at the blue-haired youth. He did not forget Link was there as well. "Is that a mantra you were taught or personal experience?" He could feel Nora staring at him. Most likely because he was asking questions. He didn't like to ask questions. Ren preferred research over questioning.

"Some of 'A', mostly 'B'," Lana replied, lifting one of her hands for each category, shifting left and right in her seat. She appeared ready to jump out of it. "Like, whenever I think of Time's plan, I never woulda thought I'd be aaaaaallllll the way over in this land. I thought I'd be in Hyrule forever! But here I am, helping Link by helping his friends!"

Interesting. It sounded simple out loud, but Ren knew from his own deep though sessions that realizing the variability of life was not a simple task. Too easily forgotten and just as easily scorned when plans did not come to flourish. Yet Lana, this peppy girl that appeared so similar to Nora, realized aloud how much the future could change.

"Aw, I thought you were going to ask another question Reny," Nora pouted next to him. "Oh! I'll ask a question for you! Lana, what's your favorite color?" Practice and repetition aloud Ren to hold back his sigh for Nora's antics.

"Green, definitely green," Lana smiled brightly with her words. "Green is bright and cheerful and really hard to miss! Who wants to be forgotten in the crowd? Oh, maybe blue though. It's just really hard to stay mad when you see the blue sky. It's why I have a cape! I just cover my eyes with it and I'm all peaceful!"

Ren could name many people, including himself, who would like to be forgotten in a crowd. However, he also wore green, the excuse Lana made for avoiding being forgotten. That was an issue. If green was truly so noticeable, perhaps he should change his own outfit. At least the blue made sense. Few women disliked their own hair color and kept it.

"Green's my favorite, too! Now what about your favorite food? Is it chicken? Cause I think Link's is chicken." Nora must have been referring to the first meal they shared with Link, when he had devoured the chicken salad in debatably record time. Ren didn't note that Nora remembered. He wasn't surprised by it.

"Fish, has to be fish. I love fishing and fish are easy to catch and there are so many different kinds of fish that it is definitely fish!" Lana had a rather energetic nodding of her head with her words. When she stopped, she was licking her lips. "Now I'm hungry. We should eat when we get to Vale."

"Oh! Yeah! We know a great place by the harbor!" Nora's announcement got Ren. He didn't know of any place. He looked at his partner briefly, seeing her focus solely on Lana. He looked over her to see Pyrrha giving him an equally perplexed look. Jaune was dry heaving still. "It sells great fish! At least I hope they sell fish. What kind of food shop by the water wouldn't sell fish? It'd be like a Dust Shop that didn't sell Ammo!" there was some truth to the metaphor.

"That sounds awesome! What else is there? Fishing boats? Trollies? Oh! Are there games to play? I bet they have a lot of prizes!" Lana's voice was almost a mirror to that of Nora, except maybe a note deeper. It would be difficult to draw further comparisons until Ren saw how Lana acted in public. He could not forget that Link was still very much a part of this girl.

"I believe there will be games, though there normally aren't," Pyrrha spoke up again. She looked at Lana briefly, but gave her focus on Jaune, unsurprisingly. "With the Vytal Festival postponed, many of the merchants are trying to maintain their stalls for as long as they can. It has to do with profits, but I'm sorry that I don't understand it well enough myself."

"That's okay," Lana waved one hand as she leant heavily on the other. Her smile was bright as ever. "I don't know much about owning a store myself. Just buy, sell, and make sure you got enough Rupees by the end of the day." There was that word again. She used it before back at their room. Perhaps it was the name for her currency. "But if there are gonna be games, then we're gonna have to play!"

"Yeah!" Nora shouted back. Ren was remarkably unsurprised. "A whole day eating and playing games with friends. That's like the best day ever!" Almost in exact tandem with his childhood friend's words, the Bullhead have a noticeable jump in vibrations. A slow groan from Jaune accompanied it. Ren was unperturbed.

The sudden jerk merely meant the landing gear was being prepared. That was good. It was a short flight from Beacon to Vale. It would honestly take longer to reach the harbor. Ren at least assumed that was where they were headed. He wasn't sure how strict Lana was with going there, but he knew Nora far more than well enough. If she wanted to go, they were going.

Just as Ren predicted, the back door to the Bullhead opened to show them on solid ground. He watched Jaune make his way off the ship first, Pyrrha quickly behind him. He would be alright. Nora skipped off the ship with Ren just behind her. He turned to see Lana approaching from behind. He had to remember that this was her first time. Even if she was as adventurous as Link, it was still a whole new world, nervousness was common place.

All those thoughts were promptly destroyed when Lana skipped, jumped, and twirled around the Bullhead landing site.

"Wow!" She let out on an excited breath. "Oh wow! It's all so much bigger up close!" As if to emphasize her point, the girl tilted her head back, staring up at the skyscrapers that towered over the landing site.

They were impressively tall, but Ren had been around them along enough to see them as merely a part of the scenery. That was true for most people he supposed. But as he only just recently reminded himself, Lana and Link were far from the average Vale citizen.

"They really do scratch at the sky, and each one looks like they could hold an army, and they're so smooth and bright! How do they stay that bright?!" Lana twirled with her words now, which only confused Ren. Though admittedly not as much as Nora's antics. She stopped only when she was staring the rest of his team, eyes wide with wonder. "How can you possibly explore this all in one day?"

"Uh… you can't," Jaune spoke up weakly. Ren couldn't and wouldn't fault him. Dry heaving was tough to speak through. "People visit the city for like, I don't know, _weeks_ to really tour it. Pretty… pretty sure we're, uh… uh…" Ren caught his leaders words and continued on.

"We were hoping to visit only a certain area today," Ren spoke up. "As the plan was made only in the time we agreed with Tatl and Tael, there was only ever going to be one or two spots to visit."

"Ren's right," Pyrrha continued. "Even more the major areas, it would take days to really learn everything you could. But, and I apologize if I am assuming too much, if you wanted, all of us wanted, to enjoy ourselves, then I believe we should go to-"

"The harbor!" Nora yelled. Ren was unsurprised. "We're going to the harbor to eat fish, play games, and watch the sunset over the ocean! That's how you have a good time, right?" Her voice asked a question, but there was only one answer.

"That's a great idea!" Lana spoke as if they hadn't already discussed it. Didn't they already talk about it? In the ship not but a few minutes ago? Ren let out a small sigh at the confirmation of his memory. "Then let's head there now! We can eat and talk about what to do. It'll be a two for one!"

"Hooray! Double Event!" Nora jumped with her words, apparently titling whatever Lana had described. Ren had already resigned himself to follow the pair. He looked over to see Pyrrha and Jaune in a short conversation of their own. He was nodding towards something she said, managing to stand up as he did so. He was recovered at least.

Ren let out a small sigh, unheard and unseen by those around him. He could heard the traffic of Vale from the air deck. A few horns blaring, conversations carrying over the crowds of people all attempting to talk over one another, sirens off in the distance, true city life. It was nothing he felt any love for, though that did not mean he held scorn. It was just another place to live in.

Though, given Lana's apparent joy every time she looked out at the scenery, he could start to see how differently she saw it. Ren was hard to guess, but Vale was likely many times larger than anything that existed in Link's land of Hyrule. To a novice's eye, it must have looked similar to a myth coming to life. That was humorous, because Link's ever action and friend he showed did the same for him.

"C'mon Ren!" Nora suddenly shouted, grabbing him by his sleeve and dragging him forward. They were quickly swallowed by a crowd. That didn't stop Nora's voice from reaching him clear as day. "If we want to have time to play and eat before night, we gotta go!"

Ren sighed, a sound now truly swallowed up by the crowd. The crowd that was pushing against him the further they ventured into it. One part of him worried for Lana. Then another reminded him that Pyrrha would likely harm a child before she betrayed any promise she made to Link's friends.

The best thing to do now? The same thing he always did.

Wait, listen, and act accordingly.

* * *

Lana was excited. Link knew that.

Of all the friends he had made and lived with, she was the one who was always the most eager to see more. She never was satisfied with what was in front of her. There was always more to learn, to see, to experience. So it made sense she should be here when he saw Vale for the first time, true and proper.

And to be honest with her memories as well as his own, it truly was a marvelous place.

Lana's neck ached as she strained to see the tops of the buildings, now so much taller than they were from the leagues away before. They layered glass that traveled their height, marking the floors to which one could stand. They towered or any memory Link or Lana had of grand structures, comparable even to the mass of Death Mountain itself.

The sleek metal that coated the walls shined with the sun that bore down upon them, near blinding to Lana's eyes and brighter many things Link had seen. That was not to mention how the towers stood side-by-side as if crafted in such a manner. There was no one building that rule above them all. It was so unlike Ozpin's Tower of Beacon, the Military Fort in the Badlands, or even Hyrule Castle above the Market. There was no tower to rule, but all were still great. It was almost poetic.

Lana loved the size of the buildings, but she hated the size of the crowds.

People were moving against one another in the street, feeling more like a river than road to walk on. Sudden blares and sirens came from points both near and far, but not a soul turned to see them. Lana head's head whipped at every one, her hair waving with the motion. It was making her feel paranoid. It made Link feel tense.

The odd thought wondered if it was always this busy, always so difficult to move. It was no wonder then Beacon was kept so far away. There was no possibility to think, let alone practice, in this density of people. But it was the perfect place to act. The Gerudo in Lana say and the memories of Link both saw it. Too many eyes looking everywhere but where it mattered. All that was needed was a loose hand to grab at a spare pouch and one would be a few Rupees richer. The trained hands of Gerudo Maidens would be able to walk from a crowd this dense without having to work again for a full moon.

That was… if the people used Rupees still.

Lana's twisted as she felt the small slip of material Ozpin had given Saria, and by extension Link. He called it Lien, he called it plastic, but it was currency.

It was too small, to easily hidden, and too difficult to grab. It was the thief's foe, but the merchant's friend. The change was annoying, but it made sense. It was one of the few things that made sense in this new world.

Link, following the commands of Lana's memories, was being led by Pyrrha Nikos. Lana followed out of obligation and trust. Link followed for the same reason. Pyrrha was the one Squire at Beacon who best resembled the Gerudo. Her long red hair, light but armored clothing, and diligent manner to her form. Her grip on Lana's hand was strong, leading her through the crowd with purpose. But if she was talking, Lana couldn't hear it. The crowd and her hair made it really hard to hear. She couldn't even see the remainders of their team.

The further they pushed through the noisy crowd, the smaller the buildings became. It wasn't something Lana noticed at first, and Link didn't take note until she did. It was hard to focus on the sights when the crowd was loud enough to deafen sound. But it was true. They were still high enough to need her neck craned to see, but they moved from pushing against the sky to merely reaching for it, going further until they were only pointing at it. Bit by bit, they were dropping.

And the further the buildings dropped, the quieter the crowd became. Not quite, but quieter.

"…most there!" Lana's ears finally heard Pyrrha should through the crowd. Even shouting it was hard to hear her. The sensation itself wasn't foreign, but it was usually at grand celebrations, not a market street. Was this a market street? Neither Lana or Link knew.

But at the very least, the crowd was getting thinner. Lana was brushing up against fewer people. It was like they were moving out of the river and back to shore. It was something Lana felt relief for. Link could understand. And when they finally reached a point where both could hear again, Lana sucked in a breath of air as if she had just come up from water.

"Oh, wow!" she let out with the breath she had taken in. "That was _really_ crowded! Like _very_ crowded. Is that normal?" She looked towards Pyrrha as she spoke, the Gerudo releasing her hand.

"No, at least in this part of town," Pyrrha answered. That made some sense, being busier in some parts then others. "I think it's because people are still trying to figure out what to do until the Vytal Festival is running again. That, and, well, they are all tourists." Lana wasn't sure what that meant. Link told her memories it meant travelers. They understood.

"Personally, I blame the weekend," Jaune spoke up. Lana forgot about him. She felt bad for it. Link had, too. They both felt a little poor, forgetting Link's apparent Gerudo doppelganger. He was looking out of breath. "Traffic always picks up on the weekend. It's kinda like a law of nature. Alright, not really, but you get what I'm saying, right?"

"You just know how people are going to react based upon the day of the week?" Lana's words spoke of sincerity. Link's thoughts were already aware of the answer. "That's amazing! You must be one of the greatest leaders ever! I bet you could defeat a whole bunch of monsters with enough planning, couldn't ya?" Jaune was taken aback. Lana chuckled in her thoughts and Link joined her.

"I-I think we should find Ren and Nora! Yeah, that's a good idea," Jaune spun on a dime. They weren't in a crowd, but there were still people. Lana preferred their number. Enough to make it clear they were in a city, but not so large she couldn't see the ground. "We just gotta find the store Nora was talking about… and only she knew about…"

Oh, so Nora was the only one who knew? Lana tilted her head, curious about the girl's words before. Link wondered the same. Neither of their mixed memories could decipher what she meant.

"Well she did say it was by the harbor, because of the fish," Pyrrha spoke up. "Maybe we should start there?" She sounded unsure. That was weird, because Lana was sure that was a good idea.

"I agree!" Lana spoke up, grabbing the red head's hand again. She 'eep'ed at the contact, but most people did. Link didn't mind. Jaune didn't say anything either. "Then let's go to the water! I'm sure when we start seeing the boats we'll be there." Then she began to walk again.

"W-Wait! Lana! Do you even know where to go?" Pyrrha asked as she stumbled along. Link knew the direction, so Lana did as well. It was obvious when looking at patterns.

"Wherever the crowd's the thinnest, duh!" She looked over her shoulder to cheer at the Gerudo. Pyrrha's expression did not show a lot of confidence. Jaune's rarely did, so it wasn't surprising to see the same. "I mean, that's what we were doing up to now, right?"

"Well… close," Jaune answered as she jogged up to the pair. His pace turned to brisk when he was by their side. "But it might get more crowded by the harbor."

"Jaune's right. The three most crowded areas of any city are usually going to be the shopping areas, transit points, and shorelines," Pyrrha spoke in agreement. She was keeping up with Lana now, which was good. But Link felt Lana twist her head without missing a beat. He knew why.

"Wow, you both really know how this place works, huh?" Lana's lips pulled into a grin. Link knew why without her memories. "You two are perfect for each other!"

In the same moment of time, Pyrrha face flamed red and Jaune fell onto the ground. Lana laughed cheerfully at the display. Link chuckled in her mind. Teasing was fun.

He knew why Saria enjoyed it so much.

"H-H-How about we hurry up?" Jaune let out stuttering as he got to his feet. His jog had nearly turned into a run. "Follow me! Yeah, follow behind me." He started to take off even faster. Lana kept up behind him, skipping with Pyrrha's hand still in her grasp. The red-head hadn't said another word. Link thought it was because she was shy. Lana knew it was because she was too afraid to speak.

The buildings were still shrinking, but the crowd was changing, weirdly. Pyrrha must have been right, because the further they followed Jaune, the thicker the crowd became. It didn't reach the shoulder-to-shoulder-too-crowded-to-be-fun sort of way from the airship, but it was enough to seem like Hyrule Market. Link liked it. Lana was indifferent.

Then, after turning around a short building, short by comparison, they were there.

Lana's blue eyes could look out across the water, watching it meet the smooth horizon. There was no Beacon from where they stood, only clouds and the seemingly endless sea. The crowd around them was large, as the Gerudo had predicted, but not nearly as loud. They were full of people young and old, dressed in attire that seemed fit to work or fit to ruin. Some were relaxing, some were eating, some were talking, and others were working. Lana noticed it passively. Their full attention was on something else.

Their main attention, their focus, were on the large structures sitting in the water, tied to the large docks, and being loaded and unloaded like trollies. They were boats. But they couldn't be boats.

Boats were wooden.

Boats were large, for sure, but they were made of wood and designed to float. Steel didn't float, at least as not as far as Link or Lana knew.

Magic could help, wood could drift, but metal couldn't float.

So why were all the boats made of metal? Why were they all so huge! They matched the size of Molgeras, a few even larger than that! They were too large, too wide, and too tall to possible be considered boats.

They had to be sitting at the bottom of the water.

How could they be floating? Lana was starting in awe, head swiveling to see every part of it. Link was thinking with what she saw, unable to reason any of it.

"Something wrong, Lana?" Jaune's voice jerked Lana's vision. It disrupted Link's thoughts. "This can't be that different from the city, right?"

"Are you kidding?" Lana asked sincerely. "These boats are made of metal and steel. Those things, they fall to the bottom of the ocean. _Thunk!_ " She hit her small fists together to mimic the sound. Link had heard it in many of the temples he had explored. "How are they floating? How are they there? Are they really ships?"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down," Jaune raised his hands at her words. He looked worried. Lana wanted answers. Link did, too. "I, uh… I-I don't know the science for how they float, but I'm pretty sure it, uh… it has something to do with density and water displacement. Like, the density of the material displacing water is less than the water, or something like that."

"That doesn't make any sense," Link spoke through Lana's voice. "Boats are made of wood because wood floats. These are made of steel, so they should sink. How are they not sinking?"

"Lana, I'm sorry but we don't know," Pyrrha spoke up now. She place a hand on Jaune's shoulder as she approached. She must have been glad Lana had let go of her hand. Link could understand why. Lana couldn't. "I can say that nearly all ships are made of metal or high-grade polymers. The science behind them is sound, reliable. How… How about we talk about when we find Ren and Nora? I'm sure Ren would know."

"Yeah! Ren, he'd have a better idea," Jaune jumped at the idea. "Ren's like a walking CCTS search menu. He'd know how they float. All we gotta do is find them, alright? All we gotta do is find that shop now. That shop… on the harbor… packed with visiting shops… and customers…" Link noticed how much quieter his voice became with every word. Lana noticed how dejected he began to look.

But he was right. Lana had not noticed at first, not when she was so focused on the somehow-floating-metal boats, but there really were a lot of people. It wasn't nearly as bad as before, because she could still hear Jaune, but it was still full enough. So where were Lana and Ren?

"Let's try the stalls first," Pyrrha spoke up. Lana looked at her, which made the red-head flinch. Link didn't understand why. Lana was sure it had something to do with her quietness. "If Nora said it was a place she'd been to before, but the rest of us had not, it was likely a stall that was meant to be here temporarily."

"Yeah, that's right," Jaune picked up. He clearly liked the idea. "Cause if it was a store here from before everything got set up, we would have at least recognized it. But new stores, that's a bit more difficult."

"So we get to go stall to stall looking for a your teammates in a crowd of constantly changing people?" Lana summarized the situation as best she could. She didn't need to see the look the two exchanged, she knew she had the right idea. Link thought nothing. "I love it! Then let's get started!"

She grabbed them both by the hand, leading them through the crowd once more. Lana was glad to be here. Link was glad she was happy.

* * *

"Nope, haven't seen 'em," another stall manager spoke. To his credit, he did it while flipping through a couple dozen meat paddies on a grill. It still wasn't the response Pyrrha was hoping for. "It's been loud here, but nothin' too bad."

"I understand, and thank you for your time," Pyrrha returned politely, offering a quick bow before turning away. She could make out the man saying his farewells before turning attention back to his customers. He was a businessman, so diligence to his job was not to be faulted.

But that did make it the second dozenth stall Pyrrha had talked to and hadn't recognized Nora or Ren. A slow sigh left her lips, muffled by the constant chatter of the crowd. A part of her wasn't too surprised that it was Nora and Ren that got lost, knowing the hyperactivity of their valkyria member. Still, she had hoped that it was her and Jaune who were separated.

"No luck?" Jaune spoke up beside her, seemingly materializing through the crowd. She shook her head at the question, the answer obvious. "Yeah, us either." He turned with a nod towards Lana, the blue haired youth spinning on her heads whilst looking about the crowd. "Starting to think that Nora dragged Ren to the opposite side of town."

"That would be unfortunate," Pyrrha returned. "Nora seems to be the only one who can relate to…" her words drifted off as Lana gave her full attention to the red-head. She took in a breath of air to disguise her sudden ending. "But maybe we are just looking in the wrong area."

"Pretty sure she was talking about the harbor on the Bullhead," Jaune returned. "I mean, she even mentioned the store with the fish. Even I want to find that store now. All this searching is getting me hungry now." He scratched his forehead while bending his neck, trying to duck his face from view. Pyrrha smiled to him, silently.

"It has only been a little over half-an-hour since we arrive, and that is not counting moving through the crowd," Pyrrha began to list. It was no different that summing up what an opponent had to offer. Listing the details removed the unknowns. It made situations easier to deal with. "So it's very likely we simply haven't spent enough time looking for them yet. After all, knowing Nora, they're probably moving around as much as we are.

"Can't argue with that," Jaune spoke with his usual grin, the smile he gave whenever someone helped him relieve some of his stress. Pyrrha would have bore the weight of his world entire for him to continue to smile like that. "Guess that just means we have to find a good place to look from then. I mean, stall hopping was a good idea, but I think it'd take us the rest of the day to get through them all."

He wasn't wrong, Pyrrha knew that. There had to be at least four or five dozen stalls, all of them packed with tourists and Vale locals looking to enjoy cuisine or activities from beyond their borders. It was like the Mistral tournament in that regard.

The crowd was certainly shifting too much to mark any one area 'searched'. Pyrrha was even willing to bet that a few of the stall managers she'd spoken to wouldn't even recognize her.

"Well… maybe we should find some higher ground," she suggested, tactics moving through her head again. "It may be hard to find them at eye level, but Nora's red hair and Ren's outfit would make them easier to see in a crowd." It made sense in her mind, the only trouble was finding 'higher' ground.

This was not some foreign land they were searching through. This was Vale Harbor.

"How about the stage?" Pyrrha looked at Lana, watching the blue haired girl point over the crowd.

The stage was just that, a stage. It wasn't the kind of platform Pyrrha would find herself on, not normally at least. This one was more akin to a performer's stage, up high and showing off whoever stood on it. Pyrrha was up there whenever an announcement was made of her victory. The speakers were set up to the far sides, a few smaller ones secured atop a metal frame up high, and a steel reverse-amphitheater was built around it all. Its purpose was obvious, to keep all attention to those standing on the stage.

"It's huge," Jaune spoke up. "But I really don't think they're selling food over there." Pyrrha giggled at his words. At the very least, he wasn't wrong.

"Food? Oh! I wasn't talking about Ren and Nora," Lana quickly clarified, her hands waving in front of her as she spoke. "I was asking what it was for. I thought your festival was over in the woods, at least that's where Ozpin told me." Was that Link talking? Must have been. Pyrrha was honestly glad. It was easier to talk to Link then a girl she didn't recognize.

"It's a secondary location," Pyrrha explained. She had seen it before at the Mistral Grand Tournament. "When there is too much traffic in one area, they host another event to keep the crowd entertained. They usually play music or some other kind of show."

"Oh! Oh! I wanna try!"

Lana shouted as she jumped waving her hands to and fro. Pyrrha felt a pit in her stomach grow. That wasn't good.

"Uh, Lana?" Jaune spoke up. Oh, please let him have a good idea. "There isn't anything going on right now. The tournament is postponed, so they are doing anything." Right, that was a good point. Pyrrha felt a bit of the pit in her stomach fill at her leader's words.

"Then why is that guy moving around up there? Is he cleaning?" Pyrrha already felt a bit of dread as she followed Lana's hand, pointing back on the stage. There was a man wearing the white clothing of the maintenance crew, moving and setting up wires to devices Pyrrha couldn't see.

If it were Link, Pyrrha was sure she could convince him to merely watch or come back later. If Tatl or Tael were here, they would probably be able to talk sense into whomever of Link's friends were present. But Lana… Lana appeared to be like Nora in front of an enemy Grimm. Only gods themselves could sway her.

"He's… doing maintenance," Pyrrha answered carefully. "He's probably trying to make sure all the equipment is still okay. If something were to happen to it before the tournament was back on track, they'd have to replace or move it."

"Then let's help him!" What?

Pyrrha looked to Jaune for an answer to the obvious question. He only looked as bewildered as she felt. It wasn't a moment later she felt her hand being gripped by Lana once more, led off towards the stage.

"I bet if we do a bit of a show up there, that'll prove everything's A-Okay!" _What!?_

"Wait, Lana!" Jaune yelled. A few people in the crowd turned to look at them, but Pyrrha couldn't feel even the slightest regret at hit. Stopping Lana was priority one. "We're not supposed to go up there! Yo-Yo-You have to have clearance, a-and a security pass, and bunch of other things!"

"Then we'll _aaaask_ nicely!" Lana skipped, _skipped_ towards the stage. Pyrrha was nearly falling over her feet, dragged by her hand and weaving through the crowd. "Why wouldn't they be happy to see us trying to help them? I bet they'll be super thankful!"

No, they wouldn't. Vale didn't work like that. The real world didn't work like that!

"Besides, up there we can _definitely_ look for Nora and Ren. I bet they'll come running to us when they see us up there!" That was… no, wait, that was bad. Was she suggesting they all go up there?! Pyrrha was feeling the onset of a minor panic attack, the kind she might have after being thrown on stage fresh from a fight.

"This is a really bad idea, Lana!" Jaune was yelling. Oh thank the Dust he was saying that. "C'mon, please think about this!" Despite his words, or the lack of weight behind them, they were still closing on the stage. No that wasn't right. They were there.

"It's a great idea!" Lana countered. Pyrrha was beginning to pray to whomever would listen for Link to talk since to his friend. She loathed the idea that he endorsed this line of action. "We'll find Ren and Nora _and_ I get to see what the stage is like here. How can a bad plan have so many upsides?"

"Because you're not thinking of the downsides?" Jaune asked aloud. Pyrrha was desperate that he'd say it louder, not under his breath like some rhetorical answer. This was serious! They were in charge of Lana, showing her Vale, and she was about to stand up on a stage and make a show of herself.

It was when Lana let go of her hand that Pyrrha realized that she was wrong. Lana wasn't going to make a show of herself, she already was!

"Excuse me? Hello?" Lana called out, moving up and walking towards the maintenance man. It Pyrrha only a moment, a moment to look around and confirm there wasn't a portion of the crowd staring at them in wonder, before she climbed up onto the stage herself. Jaune was just beside her. "Helloooo? Can you hear me?" He wasn't turning to her, that was good.

But Lana was walking up to him pretty briskly now. Not a run, sure, but Pyrrha was pretty sure running across the stage would get the wrong kind of attention. Jaune didn't seem to have the same fear. No, apparently his regret was grabbing Lana.

When he was close enough, he settled with just waving his hands behind her, trying to get her attention. It wasn't nearly enough. The man was kneeling over a box of electrical equipment that doubtlessly did something important, but what Pyrrha did not know. Lana stopped when she was no further than arm's reach from him waving on her feet with some horrible kind of excitement. Pyrrha would have grabbed her now, if it weren't for the likely scene it would have caused.

"Hello!" Lana all but yelled at the man now. Pyrrha gave him the credit of a warrior, because he didn't jump at the sudden noise. All he did was turn a head and look at the odd-blue girl. Odd was what Lana was until she could redeem herself. "Hi, my name's Lana. I saw you were busy trying to fix up the stage and I was wondering if I could help! I can test anything you have, no problem."

The man didn't say anything for a moment, just staring at Lana with what had to be perplexion. Pyrrha not only understood, she sympathized. Then he looked past her, staring at Jaune and Pyrrha. They both shook their heads, vigorously.

"You, uh," the man spoke, voice deep and sounding as if it were ruined from smoke. "You part of the group goin' 'round 'n volunteerin'?"

That was an odd question. What group was he referring to? Maybe a volunteer organization to help with the layover of the tournament. Perhaps, and it did fit… No, hold on, that didn't matter at the moment!

"Nope!" Lana quickly responded. "But I do want to help, and I want to see what I can do on the stage! I promise to be extra careful, put everything back where I found it, and make sure I follow all of your rules!" Pyrrha really wished Ren was here now. He'd be able to point out a rule that Lana was breaking!

"You sure you wantin' to be doin' that?" the man asked in his broken English once more. It was at least decipherable. "Got nothin' ta help you make a show. Just'd be you makin' a near fool of yourself." Pyrrha hoped once more, praying as it were, that the man was attempting to scare off Lana. She wished him success. But like attempting to change a lost battle, it was fruitless.

"Don't worry, _I_ can handle that!" Lana struck a pose with her words, hands on her hips, chest puffed out, and head held high. It would have been inspiring if it weren't done to show she was ready to perform on a stage, in front of a crowd she didn't know, unprepared, and with Jaune and Pyrrha _imploring_ her to stop. Actually they were still trying to do that. "A witch has to be prepared for anything, and I'm always ready to go!"

Pyrrha filed away the words Lana spoke. They sounded important, if a little telling. If nothing else, they would likely come up when Ms. Goodwitch inevitably scolded them for allowing this to occur. But if Link were to take blame… the military would likely come after him! And Lana was Link!

"Well, I ain't ever gonna turn down a helpin' hand." The man's broken English broke Pyrrha's reasoning. "I gotta finish checkin' the auxilery systems, makin' sure they don't fry like chicken when the noise goes up. Not ta metchin' that the mikes actually hook up ta the jack… Yeah, I got a lot ta do, so if ya wanna help by embarrasin' yourself, feel free. Jus' lemme get a few things fer ya."

The man gave a nod as he walked by the beaming Lana. He did the same to the stunned Pyrrha and Jaune, watching him disappear into a trapdoor off the stage. When the clang of the lock was made, it snapped Pyrrha from her stunned state. It did the same for Jaune.

"Lana are you out of your mind?!" He yelled at her. Oh thank the Dust he did. "Weren't you the one who said that you wanted us to keep you out of trouble?!"

"No, I asked for you to help show me around. Actually, that wasn't me, that was Tatl!" she still sounded so happy, like she didn't realize what she was doing… maybe she didn't!

"Lana," Pyrrha began carefully. "What the man is about to bring back is likely a microphone that will project your voice over the entire crowd!" She swung her arm over the sea of people that now littered the harbor. In truth it was more of a pond, the concrete docks still visible between the moving masses, but it was far more than a 'small gathering'. "What do you think will happen if the Military or Council find out you were here? Worse, what if they find out about you, Link?"

She saw Lana blink at that. Good, excellent, that was a great thing! She saw Jaune nod with the reaction. He understood what was going on. Even better.

"But how would they know?" She asked. "I'm just going to see if I can find Ren and Nora, not tell everyone who I am, well, not more than my name. Plus, this will really help me see Vale!" By the Dust and Grimm unholy… she really was another Nora!

Maybe even worse. At least Ren could control their bomber.

"That's just it, you don't need to say it!" Juane went on. "They're smart, like really smart. They'll be able to figure out who you are just by looking what you do! If anything happens, they could use that against you."

"Then I won't do anything wrong," Lana replied simply. She even shrugged! "Besides, this is the best way to find Ren and Nora, isn't it?"

"No, it isn't, I even said that," Jaune argued back. Pyrrha prayed again that he would win this one.

"No, you said it was a bad idea," Lana countered.

She was still smiling, like this wasn't a big deal.

"But if a bad idea is our only idea or it's an idea better than a worse idea, then it's the idea that we are going to have to do." Then she giggled.

Pyrrha felt a very odd urge to use her Polarity to rip apart the stage. She valiantly fought it down.

"Besides, I actually did think about this." That made Jaune and Pyrrha look at one another. "Well, I thought about it with Link. I think that may be considered talking."

Both of the members of team JNPR looked right back at Lana. She didn't seem to notice or care about their sudden focus. She just waved on the balls of her feet before speaking on. The crowd continued to generate an ambient noise behind them.

"See, the Military can bring me in if I do a bad crime, or make a bad mistake. I won't do the first one, but I could do the second one. That's why I wanted you guys to come with me!" She held out her arms like a hug. Pyrrha felt reservation about hugging right now. The blue-head drew her hands back before she could take action. "But I made sure to ask the nice man first if I could use the stage and he even said I'd be helping him out. As long as I follow his rules, I should be all set. Shouldn't I?"

"Well… technically…" No, Jaune, please lie. Pyrrha was begging for Jaune to lie. She wanted him to lie because she knew she couldn't lie to someone like Lana, not while Link was just beneath the surface. "I mean… it sounds alright, but Vale is really complicated. I mean… if someone even _says_ you do something wrong, that might be enough for the Council!"

"I thought of that, too." Lana answered back cheerfully. "And the only solution is to win the crowd over! If they like me, then the Council can't do anything really mean to me, not without making them mad. And if the council is like the Queen of Hyrule, they can't get them mad. That'll just end up bad."

"That's correct… I suppose," Pyrrha found herself saying, wavering on her own ground. If this were a match in a tournament, it would be worth publishing across multiple news forums. "But the risk is far too high. Why would you do this?"

"Because I want to have fun!" Lana said it as if it were the simplest answer in the world. "And how can you have fun if you never take any risks?"

Pyrrha had more to say, more she wish she could say, but two things were stopping her. One, the sudden idea that stopping Lana would be hurting a friend that had called her such in multiple forms. Two, the maintenance man from before had returned, brandishing a now unholy weapon, one that made the Grimm appear tame.

A headband-attached microphone.

"I gotta do some feedback control fer different positions 'cross the stage," the man kept talking. It horrified Pyrrha, at least a little, how fast this was moving. "Got 'bout ten different positions ta look at, maybe a vol'me check. S'long as you ain't gonna do 'nothin too crazy, should be good. Ready ta go?"

"You bet!" Lana returned eagerly, oh so terrifyingly easily. She even clasped the headband over her head the mic tip sitting at the edge of her lips. "But what's this do? Keep me safe?"

"Uh…" the man paused. Jaune looked at Pyrrha, a look she returned. If they learned nothing else today, it was a fact that Link's homeland had very little in the way of technology like theirs. "It's, um, s'pposed ta make yer voice come out of 'em speakers." His gruff hand waved at the said systems across the stage. His finger even twirled to indicate the rafters above them. "Ain't on right now, but when I flip da switch, it'll make yer voice come out of 'em boxes louder than th'nder."

"Wow, that's amazing! It's like what Glynda does at Beacon!" It only occurred to Pyrrha then, frozen as she was, that Lana was nearly jumping in place with excitement, rising and falling on the balls of her toes. "This going to be so much better than any of the theatres in the Gerudo Valley. It's going to be amazing!"

"Yeah, glad yer lovin' it," the man laughed. He sounded uncomfortable. He wasn't the only one. "Jus' be sure not ta damage anything while yer up here. Yer savin' me a good few hours with the help, but it's a r'sk still, cause anything broken ain't 'xactly gonna sit well with them bosses."

"Don't worry, I'll be super careful with everything I see!" She pushed her arms out and spun on her heel. Those were famous last words. "I just gotta help with the sound so I can help find my friends!"

"Yeah, ya can do tha'," the main dismissed her words so easily. Why was this so easy? Where were the regulations, the approval, upper management? Pyrrha still wasn't sure if this luck was good or bad! "S'long as ya don't say nothin' irregular, ain't my business if ya want ta call out fer ya friends. Jus' make sure ya don't do nothin' that'll bite ya."

A part of Pyrrha wanted to laugh, because that was exactly what was happening.

"Will do!" Lana gave an affirmative nod. The man gave some sort of laugh, chuckle, cough, before disappearing behind some collection of boxes, wires, and other Dust Management systems Pyrrha honestly didn't understand. When he did, the blue-haired youth turned to her and Jaune. "Do you guys wanna help me look for Ren and Nora? It'll be easy if we're all up here."

"Nope!" Pyrrha almost jumped at how fast Jaune said that. "Nope, no, actually I don't think you should do this either. Not just a bad idea, it's a horrible idea. There is too much that can go wrong with this. Really, there is." He was motivated. Pyrrha could work off that. They could still get off the stage before the crowd started to pay attention to them.

"Jaune's right, any number of things could go wrong." Pyrrha spoke on even as Lana started to fit the headband around her head. She was playing with the microphone with a giggle. "The crowd could get angry with you, it could cause a disruption among the vendors, sales could be affected, it's why these sorts of things are managed by professionals! Lana, I understand you want to see Vale, but this is the exact wrong way to do it."

"But I have done this before!" That made Pyrrha pause. She felt Jaune look between, doubtlessly as confused as she felt. "Well… not here, or this kind of stage. Actually didn't have this soft stick either." She giggled at that. Pyrrha flushed. "But it's easy to talk to crowds! And all I gotta do is find Ren and Nora, then we'll be all set. I mean… if you guys are really that nervous, I can just do that. Nothing else…" She sounded sad, but this was perfect. It was a compromise.

"Okay," Pyrrha answered quickly, before Jaune, bless his heart, said the wrong thing. "But be sure to help the maintenance man as well. Just please be careful Lana. Not just for you, but Link as well." He was their friend and teacher, but he was still a foreign faunus in a strange land.

"I am here, too." Lana spoke, or Link more likely. "But I'll be okay. Thank you for worrying, both of you."

Lana smiled with those words. It wasn't as bright, not nearly as energetic, but it was there. It was the kind of smile Link gave before, when they had come back to Beacon from the Badlands. It was his smile, not Lana's. He… must have liked this plan…

"Ah, geez," Jaune spoke what Pyrrha felt. Odd how often that happened. "Link, Lana, agh… just, if… if something happens that you're not sure of, just please ask us for help, okay?" Pyrrha was rather surprised by Jaune's words. Not his kindness, oh no. She would be in shock if Jaune did not offer to help. No, it was his volunteering to be in the spotlight. She knew him well enough to know he loathed it. "I mean, you finally got something going at Beacon. It's been a week and nothing bad has happened. Just… I really don't want to hear about the Military, Council, or the Girl Scouts getting worked up over something you did."

"Don't worry, Jaune," Lana spoke. Had to be Lana now. She sounded simply too cheerful. "I promise to be extra careful with what I say and do. Witch's honor!" Did witches have honor? It wasn't worth asking, now at least. With a sigh, Pyrrha nodded her head.

"We'll be close, Lana," she answered, smiling as best she could. "Enjoy yourself."

The beaming grin she got in return said that she would. Words weren't needed.

* * *

Link would be lying if he said there were not a lot of people. Lana would be, too. There were a lot of people, and all of them doing something different. Up on the amphitheater stage, staring out at the crowd, it was difficult to tell what was more overwhelming.

The number of people, the volume of noise, or the size of the ships that towered over them all. They were more than anything Link thought he would ever see. It was far more than Lana ever had.

But it was not something to by shy about, nothing that Link couldn't handle. Lana knew he could, and she trusted him to. She knew that if he could, she could. And so, they both could. All they needed was something to start it. Something that the Gerudos would understand. Lana had an idea. Link trusted her. Taking a deep breath, she let it out.

" _Hellooooooo Vale!_ "

She yelled out. Lana's voice was naturally loud, a benefit to her singing and dancing. Whatever the magic or technology was that was wired through the small headband the nice Gerudo gave them, it made her voice at least a dozen times that.

It blew through the speakers like the war horn beside the general. Lana grinned to hide the pain of the sudden blast. Link wasn't sure if they should cover their ears or not. They were not the only ones.

The crowd of Gerudo all spun to the stage, various looks about their faces. Lana could see a lot of them were surprised, staring at her after jumping in shock. Link recognized the look, having seen it often after his bouts of destruction. Lana was just used to it. So it bothered neither of them. If nothing else, at least this shows that they could be heard.

"Good to see you all! My name is Lana and I'm looking for my friends!" Lana yelled forth into the crowd. Link knew that they were not expected. Lana knew that they were not normal. Both were used to it. "Can you help me find my friends?"

Neither Link nor Lana expected an answer. Crowds did not give answers unless riled for an obvious one. They would not indicate where they needed to go. But, Lana told Link that a motivated crowd would produce what was needed. Props, volunteers, or the odd balls in the group. Link was too used to being the odd one to think of disagreeing. So he trusted his friend.

"I just _know_ that they are somewhere in this _amazing_ crowd. Can anyone help me find them?" Lana walked across the stage as she spoke, putting her flat hand above her eyes as if searching the horizon. Link was doing that through her eyes. He could not see Ren nor Nora. "One of them is taller than I am, wearing green and with a pink strip in his hair. His name is Ren. Can anyone see Ren?"

There was murmuring in the crowd. It was doubtlessly there while she was talking, but it was impossible to hear the crowd while the magic boxes amplified her voice. It was good, but inefficient. At least that was what Lana thought. Link didn't know how it could be poor. At least they were working, as the Gerudo man asked them to test.

"But I'm also looking for Nora. She is as tall as I am, but with bright orange hair and really bright smile!" Lana put her index fingers to the edges of her lips, pushing them up into a tall smile. Link had seen many mothers make the same face at their children. "Can anyone see Nora?"

More murmuring but no answer. Link was starting to doubt if this would work. Lana asked for him to trust her. He did without question. He was only questioning if there was a faster way, not a better one.

"Oh, I have an idea!" Lana clapped her hands together. "Let's raise our hands! If your name is Ren, raise your right hand!" Lana reached for the sky, putting herself up on her tiptoes as she did so. It hardly made a difference for overlooking the crowd.

But she did see a lone hand reach up.

"There's Ren!" The blue haired witch pointed forward with both hands. Link saw Jaune and Pyrrha turn towards the direction. Lana heard one of them make a comment of disbelief. Link heard a curse. "Hooray! We found Ren!"

She jumped with her words, skipping every time she landed. They had found a friend that was lost. Lana knew that was a good thing. Link knew they were going beyond what was normal for finding an adult lost in a crowd. But he was glad all the same. Lana knew that.

"Alright, now if you're name is Nora, raise your left hand!" Lana did as she asked, jumping on her left foot to raise her left hand higher. To match, she switched her feet and raised hand. It felt like she was cheering from the crowd, dancing as it were.

It was the most complicated dance Link knew. It was warm-up for Lana. In time with the dance, she saw another hand raise itself in the crowd.

"And now we found Nora!" Lana cheered, pointing animatedly into the crowd. Unlike Ren who simply walked over to Jaune and Pyrrha, the ginger haired girl jumped and waved at her name. Link could knew that was a good sign. Friends indeed.

Lana watched, standing not but a few paces away from Ren now. He looked remarkably uncomfortable. Lana thought he was shy, which was perfectly normal. Link thought he was nervous, which was just as acceptable. Both could be correct. But in the end, they had found their friends. But there was more.

Link and Lana saw another hand reaching up near the stage a hand belonging to a small child.

Lana's violet eyes saw the girl reaching up, her eyes barely past the edge of the platform. Straggly blonde hair sat atop of her, dirty brown eyes, veiny and unfocused looked up as well. Her hand was dirty, but better off than the little Lana could see of her face, smeared with dirt and something else. Link didn't want to know what the other stuff was. Lana thought the same.

But the girl was waving her hand, reaching up without saying a word. That was odd. She was clearly something unclean compared to the rest of the crowd, who all looked as if they had bathed recently and slept well previously. Also odd. But the oddest yet was the detail that explained another odd detail. Lana loved the odd.

The girl had a bit of berth around her, people giving her space. It was one of the reasons it was so easy for Lana to see her. It was why it was easy for Link to notice details about her. But the other odd thing about the girl was probably what gave the odd detail of the berth around her. If it wasn't her unkempt hair, her tired state, or dirty appearance, it had to be this other odd detail.

It had to be the large wolf-like ears that sat atop her head.

"Hello!" Lana cheered as she skipped to the edge of the stage. She stopped when she was kneeling down, looking at the girl closely. "My name is Lana, and I'm called the White Witch. What's your name?" She made sure to smile, even as Link felt himself grimace. Her face was dirty, but her clothes were worse. Clothes that were ripped and hardly changed, looking as if they belonged on a girl three years older. Lana made sure to smile.

But the girl didn't respond. Her hand was lowered in a nervous fashion. Link knew it was nervous, mostly because it as clutched to the girl's chest. Lana didn't let that stop her.

"Is your name Nora?" She asked, tilting her head to the left. The girl shook her head. "Is your name Ren?" The girl shook her head again. "Hmm… then why did you raise your hand? Did you want to talk to me? Because I would love to talk to you!"

Lana saw the girl shake, but not run. Link heard the crowd talk, but hardly speak. None of it was aided by Lana's voice booming out of the boxes at a volume that appeared deserving of a battlefield. Link had seen this before. Lana had lived it before. The girl needed someone.

She needed her own hero.

"Can you tell me your name?" Lana's voice asked carefully. The black boxes were what made her voice loud, not Lana or Link. "I'm sure it's a pretty name. I'd like to hear it."

Link heard the hush fall over the crowd as Lana stared and listened for the girl. She didn't say anything, but she didn't run either. Lana wanted to say more, but Link stopped her. The girl was alone, force would do no good. Petals over seeds.

_M-Moraine…_

The voice was very quiet, but it was obviously hers. It made Lana's smile brighten. Link felt the spark of joy the same as her memories.

"Moraine! That is one of the prettiest names I've ever heard!" She cheered, quickly rapping her hands on the edge of the stage. Her excitement as building. Link felt his own grow when the girl smiled up at them. "And such a cute smile. You're amazing!" Lana held out her arms to the girl, palms out and joints straight. Moraine looked at each hand, her own tentatively grabbing them.

Lana easily pulled and lifted the girl onto the stage.

Link suggested it. Lana loved it. Both could tell by touch alone that the clothes the girl wore were likely her only pair. They felt too crusty, too dirty to possibly be one of many sets. They were worn on the streets, in the sewer, maybe by open ponds at night.

They weren't good enough for a child like Moraine. It didn't help that her hair looked as if it were never combed, her skin never washed. None of it helped.

Moraine herself appeared unsure of being on the stage. Only a portion of the crowd was still watching, but they were whispering. Link and Lana could hear them. Maybe Moraine did, too. Link didn't mind, Lana didn't care, but both could tell Moraine hated it.

"You don't look happy Moraine," Lana state what she saw. Link saw the same thing. The wolf-eared girl blinked at the words. Lana could feel her curling up. "I think you'd look a lot better if you were happy. So I'm going to make you happy!" The girl blinked at the words. The crowd's volume grew with her amplified voice.

Link heard Jaune wail some word. Lana heard Nora laugh and cheer at the idea. Neither heard Ren nor Pyrrha. It was okay. They didn't understand. Link did though, and so did Lana.

Lana stepped back from the edge of the stage, carrying Moraine in her hands, still outstretched. No one cried, no one screamed, so no one was upset.

"Moraine, I'm going to tell you a secret," Lana whispered the words. They still carried, but Link didn't care. Lana didn't either. They were going to say an open secret. The crowd did hush though. Lana set Moraine down on the stage, kneeling to her eye-level before going on. Eye-level with children was important. "My name is Lana, and in my homeland, I'm called the White Witch. I'm called that because I can cast magic." She waved her hands in the air for effect.

Moraine's lips made an 'O' shape, brown and bloodshot eyes opening in surprise. Lana smiled at the expression. Children loved stories, and magic was a part of a lot of stories. Lana could tell a good story. Link knew she could.

"But my magic is special," Lana held up a finger for the girl, watching as she watched it. The crowd was quiet now. Link could hear only whispers. "If I use it the wrong way, nothing happens. If I try and use it for the wrong reason, nothing happens. There's only one way it can work."

Lana smiled brightly as Moraine hung off of every word. She still didn't utter one herself, but Lana could tell when a child was engrossed in a story. Link knew she was enjoying herself. Both knew it was likely the first time in a long time for the poor child.

"It will _only_ work if I use to make someone happy! So, do you want me to cast my magic for you?"

She didn't speak, but Moraine shook her vigorously. Her blonde hair waved with the motion, clothing rippling as well. Her wolf ears up straight and alert, begging to hear whatever it was they were searching for. Lana promised herself she would not disappoint. Link made the same vow, no matter the cost.

The unknown had the advantage, be it to win a battle or win a smile.

"Excellent!" Lana clapped her hands together. She made sure she wasn't too loud. She didn't want to scare Moraine. It was clear she'd run if scared. "Then let me get out my tools! A witch can't do anything without her tools."

Lana reached to behind her back. Link pulled into space. Out came one set of Lana's Gates.

Now she heard the crowd 'oh' and clap at the display, their chatter becoming far more upbeat. She didn't look at them. They weren't the crowd she was concerned with. Link had forgotten they were there. Moraine was who they wanted to impress, and it was clear it was working.

The Guardian Gates hung above her head, three rings of lavender hue, spinning in the air like tops. The outer ring was a simple circle, large and denoted by the two sharp horns that came off of it. The middle ring was studded like a gear, a gear that had been turned inside out. The smallest ring of them all was the same as the middle one, but looking more like a proper cog. They were all purple in color, but the edges glowed white with power.

Link was mesmerized the first time he saw them, watching them spin within one another unlike anything he'd seen before. Lana loved to play with them when she was first given the ability. Make them grow, make them shrink, spin faster, split apart, jump through one, out the other, their uses were endless. They made Lana smile, they made Link grin, but most importantly they made Moraine smile. It didn't matter how dirty she was, the smile was worth her weight in rupees.

"This are the Guardian's Gates!" Lana announced spectacularly, making a show of what they were. Children loved shows, especially when they were being done for them. Moraine was no exception. Neither was the crowd off the stage. "They're one of my _special_ tools! They help cast my magic in so many cool ways. Do you wanna see?"

Moraine nodded eagerly up at Lana, who smiled back down at the dirty girl. She wouldn't be that for long, not if she could help it. Link wanted the same thing.

"Alright!" Lana cheered, giving a small jump with her words. The Guardian Gates spun faster above her. "Now hold still for a just a moment and I'll start to work my magic!" Lana did as she promised. Link was never one to go back on a promise.

Lana's hands reached out for the gates, open hand pointing towards them. She pulled her arm forward, like she was waving away smoke. The Gates followed the motion, quickly moving around them. She raised her other arm to meet it, stopping the Gates mid-flight. With quick 'Ha', Lana pulled her arm back again. This time only one of the rings came off. She heard the crowd making the 'oo' of rapt attention.

The largest of the three rings, the horned outer one, hovered and spun above Lana, right where her outstretched arm was pointing. She began to circle her hand, making the lavender gate spin faster and faster. She kept the motion up, knowing it would take sometime before it was ready. So she looked down at Moraine.

The wolf-eared girl was staring upwards, mouth open without words to say. Link thought that meant she was focused and excited. Lana knew that was what it was. As long as that was true, the crowd didn't matter.

"Almost ready!" Lana announced, looking back up. She saw the swirl of blue magic appear around the outer ring, turning it from a ring into a genuine gate. Link was never sure what the Gate would do. Lana always had the perfect idea. Now was no exception. "This one's ready! Now for the other two!"

Lana, with a quick flick of her wrist and arms, commanded the other two Guardian Gates to fly in front of her. They were split into two separate rings, spinning on their sides in mid-air. Lana was moving like a dance to control them. She spun on her heel, twisted her shoulders, spun her wrists, and even waved her hair to control them all. She never missed a beat.

They were all glowing now, all humming with the magic that controlled them, the magic that Lana controlled. No one was screaming, no one was shouting, but they were talking. That was good, because it meant they weren't scared. Moraine was the same. That made it great.

"Are you ready Moraine?" Lana spoke up loud and proud with a smile towards the girl. Said girl hesitated, stopped for a moment, but then eagerly shook her head. Lana knew that was normal. So she didn't stop. "Then let's see what my magic can do!" In mid swing, Lana lifted and slammed her high-heel boot onto the stage. It made a dull thud, one that hardly echoed, but what was more important was the action it brought to the Gates.

The gate above them, the largest of the three, fell flat to the ground as if thrown. It passed around Lana and Moraine, the ethereal blue that had sat inside washing over them. Link's memories recalled the feeling being different each time. Sometimes it was wet like water, clingy and possessive, other times it was like air, cold and quickly gone. Lana felt it was like fire, feeling her with a heat that wouldn't die down. The fire only grew when she saw Moraine.

The wolf-eared girl was the same, except she was far from dirty. The dirt and grim that had clung to her was gone, replaced with porcelain smooth skin, colored brown like some sacred land. Her hair was smooth, combed, and even washed. Her eyes were clear as fresh water and everything about her looking prime, especially the golden ears that sat on her head.

Lana heard the crowd 'oh', 'ah', and clap for her. She didn't care. She cared about Moraine. Moraine didn't appear to know what to think. She was looking over herself, feeling her hands, her clothes, her hair, but not saying a word. But Link could see something else. She was smiling, she was excited. She was feeling everything with an eagerness only a child could express. Lana felt great for it.

"Careful, we're not done yet!" Lana announced, instantly silencing the crowd and gaining the girl's attention. "Next up, the second stop!" the spontaneous chant was matched with swinging her whole body to the right, sending the second of the lavender gates careening towards them. Just like the first, it passed around them in an instant. Just like before, Lana felt the fire grow stronger. Just like before, Moraine had changed again.

She wasn't wearing that too large, too ruined, clothes. She wasn't barefoot either. She was wearing something else, something that Link recognized before Lana. It was a tunic of green, hanging from her shoulders, reaching well to her knees, and with sleeves that reached her elbows. A thin brown belt was secured around her waist, clasped with the red arced symbol of the Kokiri Forest. Thick boots were fit snugly to her feet. Thick, but still by most any measure. Lana thought she looked adorable. Link knew she looked perfect. With her golden hair and chocolate eyes, the colors of the forest looked flawless on her.

"Hey, now we match!" Lana spoke Link's thoughts, laughing jovially at the comparison. It was funny, because Moraine was debatably wearing more than Lana was.

The bright smile Moraine gave made it all the better. It was a smile Moraine mad as she twirled about, grabbing the tunic, the boots, the belt, feeling them all with an energy one would expect any child being given a gift. She was giggling, laughing; a cheerful sound that warmed Lana's heart. Link recognized the feeling well. The applause from the crowd was ignored.

"Almost there!" Lana let out, stopping Moraine's exploration of her new clothes. "Got one more left!" Without waiting for a show, Lana threw both her arms to her side, sending the last of the gates around the two. When it was past them, she twirled in place, spinning her arms until they tied together above her head. The gates reformed in the same manner, a dance Lana knew and Link remembered. She stopped only when she felt the Guardian's Gates reform.

But when she looked at Moraine, she saw nothing new. She was far better than she was three gates prior, but there wasn't much difference. Link as confused, as was the crowd, as was Moraine, but Lana was not. She knew what the Gate had done. Link trusted her.

"So how's my magic?" Lana asked with arms to her waist and legs outstretched, striking as heroic a pose as she could. "Are you feeling happy now?"

Her answer was Moraine barreling into her, arms locking about her midriff.

Lana stumbled back, but kept her stance. She felt an unsure expression quickly wipe over her, but Link explained it away. Contact like this was a sign of trust, something that was earned only when you made someone happy. Lana accepted it, putting her hands around the wolf-eared girl's back. She felt the child hold her tighter.

"I'll take that as a yes," she spoke as cheerful as ever, but in a voice far quieter than before. Far from quiet though, the boxes were making it pretty hard to call anything quiet. That was okay, as long as Moraine heard her.

Especially the next part.

"But you know, we're not done yet." She looked down to see Moraine looking up at her, face pressed tightly against her bare belly. Lana smiled back down at her. "I mean, yeah, I'm glad I made you extra happy, but I got something even better! To make sure you're really happy, to make sure you stay happy, I got to give you something extra special."

The whispering of the crowd grew. Link could tell it sounded excited. Lana didn't care and neither did he. What they cared about was Moraine looking up at them with eager eyes, a gaze that was reflected in her ears jumping back and forth in some kind of excited state. That was good, excited meant eager.

"What you need now is a song!" Lana announced as loudly as she could. Link agreed with her completely. Moraine didn't look sure. The crowd sounded curious. "Songs are what people sing! You sing a song to be happy, to remember something great, or to make sure you're still you!"

Lana quickly knelt down and touched Moraine right on her nose. She giggled at the touch, lightly fighting away the invasive finger. Link knew he was happy to see her smile, to see her playing. Lana felt something warm and sacred when the girl laughed. She wanted to keep it safe. So both knew they would. The crowd didn't matter.

"I have a song just for you," Link spoke now. It was important he did.

Lana knew plenty, more than anyone else rightfully should. Link knew even more. He knew how to keep someone warm when they were cold, to keep their hope alive when everything else was gone. He knew because someone once taught him. He would do the same in return.

"I'm glad you like the clothes," Link began to talk, noting the emerald green tunic Moraine wore. "I'm not surprised you're even cuter all cleaned up." Link roughed the girl's hair with Lana's hand. Moriane giggled at the touch. "But a song will last far longer than either of those things. A song is something you can have for the rest of your life. A song, Moraine, is what makes you happy."

The girl had the same expression now. 'O' shaped mouth, wide curious eyes, and her golden wolf-ears up right and searching. Link wished he had his pictobox handy. It would be weird to pull it out now. At least the sight was committed to two memories. Link could hear the crowd chuckling about something. They didn't matter, not to Link or Lana.

"But to show you a song, I'm going to need an instrument, aren't I?" Lana looked up, seeing the Guardian's Gates still hovering above her. Their lavender hue was bright as before, the trace of blue from their magic pulsing through their edges. "But to do that, I'm gonna need a new tool."

Lana raised her hand, bringing the Gates back down to her. She grabbed when they were close enough, folding and storing them behind her back, just as Link's memories instructed. She kept her hands behind her, searching for the new object she needed. When her fingers traced them, Lana threw her hands back into the air, letting the new tools hover like the Guardian's Gates. Same as the first but entirely different, they were another part of rings.

The unsure muttering of the crowd was ignored. Link heard them, but Lana knew they were nervous about them being too similar. That didn't matter. They were different enough, blue instead of lavender, not cogs or spears in side. Just three simple rings with a vast secret between them.

"The Gates of Time," Lana spoke to Moraine, feeling the little girl stare up at the rings once more. "They're my extra special gift from my extra special person! Let's see if they can help me help you!" That got the girl to smile up at her again, golden ears twitching. Lana took that as a go ahead. Link agreed.

Her hands, stretched and aiming up at the blue gates, quickly swung down, splitting apart mid-swing. The gates shattered into three pieces instantly, flying about the stage. The familiar 'whoas' from the crowd met her ears. Link and Lana both ignored. Them they focused on only the largest of the three rings, spinning her hand to bring it closer to her, glowing the same ethereal blue as the Guardian's gates.

She kept the motion, watching as the gate spun and grew, stopping when it was just in front of her. Moraine stepped back and to her side. Lana didn't know why. Link knew it was because she was wary. She was still skittish, still unsure. Something that unknown was to be feared. Lana smiled, hoping it would make things easier.

"Now, I just need to find the perfect instrument…" she put a hand to her chin as she spoke, thinking of what that would be. It was difficult to tell. Well, only one thing to do then. "Right! Just have to leave it to Time then!" Reaching back with her hand, she shot it forward into the gate.

A yell from the crowd startled her, more so when the whisperings became talk of fright, words exchanged on quick and high breaths. She looked at the crowd, knowing that she couldn't ignore that. They were pointing at her oddly. Weird. Then looked at Moraine, hoping the wolf-eared girl would tell her why, but she was staring with wide eyes as well. Only, not at her, but the Gate.

Oh, Lana realized, it must have been because her arm had disappeared. Putting it through time did that.

"Don't worry!" Lana spoke cheerfully, not an ounce of deception in her voice. "I'm just looking for something. Once I got it I'll, ah!" She gave out a positive sound as her hand felt something. It felt right, but there was no telling until she brought it through.

With a quick pull, her arm reappeared. Only now her hand was holding a long wooden flute.

The crowd start to clap from beyond the stage, relieved breaths being released. Link recognized them, Lana more so. Moraine looked worried still. That wasn't good, and that was what was most important. But Lana knew should couldn't really help until she played that song. Unfortunately, the flute wasn't going to help her. It just wasn't right. Link agreed.

"Hmm… nope," Lana dismissed the flute. She threw it backwards, over her shoulder and into the air. She heard the crowd give out a startled yelp followed by some light applause. They were probably clapping because the other Gate of Time had sucked in the unneeded instrument. She knew the gates would, her feet had danced with her hands to guide them.

The crowd didn't matter. But Moraine was clapping, too. That mattered much more. So, reaching into the portal once more, Lana pulled out another instrument, one she was equally dissatisfied with. Specifically, a pair of hand drums. Too large, too unsteady, and too difficult to make the perfect song.

"No," she let out quickly. Another toss, another catch, another new instrument was pulled out. This time a lyre. "No good." Toss, catch, pull. Now it was a waterphone. "Too creepy." Lana noted as she tossed. Link agreed as the Gate of Time caught it. The clapping kept going. Another pull produced a pan pipe. Lana huffed as she threw it over her shoulder. This could take a while.

"Nope." Sitar. Complicated and heavy.

"Nuh uh." Water Stick. Too simple.

"No way." Cymbals. Same as the Water Stick.

"Not enough." Pan Flute. Same as the Flute.

"Nice, but too quiet." Fishbone Guitar. Mikau would be disappointed.

"Not mine." Violin. Too complicated to be perfect.

"Won't work." Lana spoke again as she reached in. This time, she felt resistance. That made her grin. "Oh, got a big one now. Is a big instrument okay?" She asked Moraine over her shoulder. The wolf-eared girl was giggling and jumping in place, clapping her hand at the show. "That's a definite yes!"

Lana reached in with her other hand, grabbing the instrument that sat across the Gates of Time. She felt the small resistance to the pull, but if she could bring forth the children of Molgera and Gohma, then a simple instrument was nothing. Holding firmly to the instrument, Lana jumped sideways. Holding on to the object inside the gate, she spun in a complete circle, stopping where she stood before. It wasn't enough though. She jumped again, and again, and again. The Gate spun with her movements, becoming larger and larger. Finally she stopped with a satisfied grin.

"There we go!" She yelled out in a sing-song voice, the crowd laughing and cheering with her. She heard Moraine do the same. She wasn't done though, not nearly. A few steps back and she and Link began to bring out the perfect instrument.

Bit by bit, careful of its size, out came a grand piano.

She heard the crowd 'ah' at the instrument, applause for the prestige that had yet to come full circle. Lana drew it out slowly, with far more care then she gave the other instruments. A piano was an amazing instrument, perfect for making the perfect song for Moraine, but it was fragile. She had to be slow, or so Link's memories. Told he knew best how to care for tools, so Lana listened.

"Almost, almost," Lana spoke with each bit that came out. Slowly, the portal began to shrink the major mass of the piano exposed. "Done!" With a small 'vwip' of noise, the Gate of Time shut, the piano remaining on the stage when it was gone. The applause continued, Moraine among them.

Lana put her hands on her hips as she looked it over, using the cheer of the crowd to pad her time. It was the same grand black piano that had once belonged to the Kakariko Village, housed in the village head's home. Link had played on it a few times before, marveling at the sound it produced and loving the complexity of the tool. Lana had played it once before and loved it all the same. A bench was already sitting before the keys, the perfect height for Lana. She beamed at the instrument, confident that this would work. Link agreed completely.

"Alright!" She cheered aloud. "Now we can really start making you happy Moraine!" Lana turned to the girl, happy to see the smile on the wolf-eared child's face. She was brimming with joy, happy just by the sight. Lana was glad she was, Link too. Both knew it wouldn't last without a memory to keep. "Now let's see…"

Lana hummed the words as she stepped over to the bench, standing behind it and front of the piano. She could step over it, but that was boring. Instead, she gave a quick up and bend of her knees. She landed on the pew with a small bounce, keys in front of her and ready to go. Her twirled above her head, moving and playing with the Gates of Time. They didn't reform, but they did move to the odd side of the stage, the back end where sound tended to drift away and was farthest away from the crowd.

Link didn't know why she did that, but Lana did. Link trusted Lana's memories. Even as her eyes watched the keys, her fingers continued to twirl. She didn't need to look to know the gates were growing, spinning to increase their size and holes. The crowd was marveling at the supposed sight, the same chatter and few whistles of good impressions. Lana was focused on something else. Something that she had really forgotten when she sat down at the piano…

"Um… I haven't played this in a while."

Laughter came from the crowd, bellows and jeers that sounded oddly cynical given their once jovial nature. But Lana didn't care about them before, that hadn't changed now. She looked over at Moraine, the girl having hurried over to stand behind Lana. She was looking nervous.

"You know what Moraine," she started to say, getting the girl's attention. Her voice continued to boom through the boxes on the stage. "I think I'm a little nervous about all of this. I'm not sure if my magic is going to work if I'm nervous." She held up her fingers, pinching them together to show how much. Moraine gave an odd look. Link knew she was nervous, too. "But, I know just how to fix it!"

Before the girl could make a motion or sound, Lana tapped on the seat next to her. The blonde wolf-eared girl stared at it before looking back at Lana, brown eyes wide with wonder and fear. It was the only time Link enjoyed the sight. It lead to bon courage.

Moraine almost jumped up to the seat, climbing over it given her smaller size. Lana giggled as the girl twisted and sat down, feet hardly making it half-way to the floor. Link and Lana didn't care about the crowd, but Link knew it was odd they were saying nothing. Usually the sight of children brought out 'aw's' or the occasional sigh of content state.

Happy children brought peace, eager children brought laughter. It was odd the crowd wasn't reacting to her at all. Link remembered what Ozpin and Ruby had said of the faunus, of Hylians. Lana remembered the Hylians and Gerudos from before. It only made them want to play the perfect song even more.

"Alright!" Lana cheered, hands up the air as she leaned back on the bench. "I'm all ready and ready to go!" She slammed her hands down on the keyboard.

Link knew the sound wouldn't carry. Theatres were lower to the ground to let the sound travel. Lana knew it wouldn't be loud enough. The crowds from before were always much smaller than this one. They didn't matter, but if they were mean, then it would. If they were to stay happy, or at least stay away, then the piano had to be loud. It had to impress.

So, high above them, the sound of slammed chords shot and echoed from the Gates of Time.

"Sὀ Dἁy!" Lana cheered in her native tongue, a language Link didn't know. "That's a good sound, right Moraine?" The girl looked up from the keys to stare at Lana. Her head was bobbing eagerly, the green tunic she wore waving with the motion. Her hair joined suit. "I thought so! Buuuuuut, you know I think? I think I need to warm up first, right?"

Moraine didn't say a word. She hadn't since she spoken her name. But the eagerness in her dark eyes, the joy across her dim skin, it was impossible to not see the answer. Lana giggled into the phone next to her lips, letting her giggle turn into laughter across the stage.

"How can I say no to that face?" She tussled the wolf-eared girl's hair, earning a small noise of half-hearted protest. "Welp, guess I better get started!" Lana began to play. Link's memories did the work. Both knew the name and purpose of the song.

" _Let's Dance Boys!_ "

* * *

Nora had no idea what was going on, but she was loving every minute of it.

One minute they were getting back from class, the next they were looking around the harbor for a good place to eat, then they were watching Lana do one crazy awesome performance on stage! And to think, her team wanted to stay inside and study today. Too bad her stick-in-the-mud team members were still acting like that was the good idea. As if.

"Oh this just keeps getting worse," Jaune-Jaune let out. He looked like he was trying to pull his face off. Silly Jaune! That wouldn't work. "I think we've officially failed in every way possible."

"Well… not yet," Pyrrha spoke up. "I mean… Lana hasn't exactly announced that she's Link, right?" What was she talking about? No, better question, why were they talking at all? This was a time to cheer!

Lana was up on the stage playing some crazy beats on a piano, a little faunus girl right next to her. Nora thought the piano was boring, honestly. All you could do was play it loud or quiet, there was nothing higher or lower than that. But Lana was showing Nora wasn't thinking hard enough!

Every time the blue-haired girl slammed her hand down, the noise felt like the beat of a bass pounding through the speakers and those weird-spiny gate things. Every roll of her hands across the keys rang like a sick electric guitar. She was just playing on some boring really old piano, but Nora felt like dancing like she was in a lightning storm!

"Whoa!" Nora shouted, not letting any stop her from dancing in her spot. She wanted to swing her arms, to really let loose, but Ren always stopped her when they were outside. Couldn't stop her from jumping, shouting, and cheering! Not when everyone else was doing it!

"Woohoohoo!"

"Go girl!"

"Play the beat right!"

"Aw yeah! Where's the sax when you need one?!"

"Shut up and dance!"

"And you wanted to skip the harbor today!"

Nora was loving every second of the song. It vibrated around her like Magnhild when she'd been struck by a stun gun! She felt like throwing boulders, smashing pumpkins, screaming her head off, just to let loose and have a good time! Heck, she could at least get half-way. That was way better than nothing!

She whipped her head to and fro, jumping with every note Lana slammed through her gate-things and speakers. Her arms waved as she danced, letting herself really just go with the flo. She laughed, she cheered, but most importantly, she had a good time. Everyone else around her was doing the same.

"Ren, _please_ calm Nora down before we lose her again." Almost everyone around her was doing the same. "Pyrrha, do you think you could do… something?" Poor Jaune, he really was stuck in the mud!

"Aw, don't be like that Jauny!" Nora cheered his name as she jumped up to him. Juane-Jaune and Pyrrha both gave her a funny look. They always looked funny when they were surprised! "You just gotta let loose for once. Both of you do!" Nora didn't think before she acted. There wasn't any need to.

"Wait, wha-!" She grabbed their hands, pulling them into dancing crowd.

" _Nora_!" Juane-Jaune and Pyrrha both yelled at her, but they were pretty easily ignored, easier than usual actually. Not even Nora could hear them the deeper they got into the crowd! The cheering was too loud, the dancing was too fast, and the piano from up on the stage was just too good to even think about ignoring.

She pulled their hands to and fro, making them actually move a little. She'd pull them right out of the mud and thrown them into the air if she had to! Everyone had been so down and dumpy lately, she had to do something, and Lana had given Nora the perfect place to do it!

"C'mon!" she yelled at her friends, dancing as she did so. They weren't dancing, they were just swinging. This wasn't swing dancing! "You guys gotta loosen up. Even Reny is doing something!" Nora knew that he was. If anyone could guess what Ren was doing, it was her, Reny's Number One childhood friends!

In mid-swing, she saw him bobbing his head to the song, tapping his foot with a light grin across his feet. Nora's bright grin hurt so good! Look at him go!

"Nora, please," Pyrrha was talking now. Why was she worried? She was good at everything! She should be dancing more than anyone else. Definitely a stick in the mud. "We were supposed to watch Lana, not encourage her!"

"But we _are_ watching her!" Nora shouted back. How were they not watching her? They wouldn't even be able to dance if Lana wasn't up there playing the piano. She'd have to hang out with Lana again next weekend. The girl could turn the instrument that almost literally was a stick in the mud and make it amazing! That couldn't be ignored!

That wasn't even to talk about that faunus girl next to her. What was her name? Moraine! Right, Moraine was even bouncing on the seat next to Lana, clapping her little hands to the beat. She looked adorable, especially because she looked like a really young, female, long-haired, version of Link. Must have been the clothes… Nah, that didn't matter. It was because she was quiet! The total opposite to this song!

Every time it sounded like it was going to end, Lana just made it louder! Every time it was starting to go too slow, Lana played it faster! It was like the greatest and bestest piano song Nora had ever heard before. It had to be! Why else would she be dancing in the street with her best friends in the world? There was no way it could have been anything else but a great song!

The crowd must have agreed with her, because they kept cheering with her. They yelled for Lana to go on, to keep up the pace, they danced with every beat, and they never stopped jumping! Nora wished Link was more like Lana, or at least played like her. Then the classes would be so much more fun than the other stick in the mud Impa.

The song ended with a bang.

"Jἁ Rἁ!" Lana shouted into her microphone, making it boom over the cheering the crowd. Oh, and the crowd was cheering. Nora knew because she was a part of it.

She let go of her friends' hands to clap and jump up for Lana, one of her new bestest friends. The blue-haired girl, looked out at them for a quick second, bowing her head like she was at some boring recital. No way was that any song Nora would have heard at a recital. It's why clubs were better. But then she turned her eyes back down to the faunus girl next to her.

"I think they liked it," she spoke up. Of course they liked it! "Buuuut, what did you think about it? Good song for a warm-up?" She touched the girl's nose. Moraine must have said something, or done something, because Lana started giggling, too.

It came out of the same speakers that were just playing kick ass music. Bring back the kick ass music.

"Well that's good news. Here I was _all_ worried that I didn't make you happy yet!" Lana spun in her seat as she said the words, kinda like what Nora liked to do when professors were talking. It was fun! "But that wasn't a song you can remember, is it? Nah, I gotta really think up a good song for you. Otherwise I _simply_ don't deserve the title of White Witch."

She was acting. Nora could tell she was acting. She bowed back, put a hand to her head and looked all dramatic, kinda like those people in old movies. But Lana must have been an amazing actor, because Moraine was believing her. It was hard to fool kids!

"I got it!" Lana shouted through the speakers. "I'm gonna need a friend to help me help you!" She pointed with her fingers between herself and Moraine. Nora felt her lips pull into an 'O'. Who was her friend? Lana was new here, so she didn't have any friends.

Were they the friends? Was she going to call them up? Awesome!

"Oh! Lana! Lana!" Nora shouted and waved with her hands. She couldn't be called up if she didn't see her. "We're over here! We're-" Something suddenly grabbed and nearly shoved her to the ground. Nora pouted more than yelled. She already knew who it was.

"No, Nora!" Jaune yelled from behind her, holding her arms as best he could. Silly Jaune-Juane, that wouldn't work for long. "Just… we can't make this worse by going up there."

"How could it get worse?" Nora asked. It wasn't even bad to begin with! "I bet you could play a great guitar up there. I bet the guitar is just what she needs to go with the boom of the piano. Ya know, boom boom strum!" She shot her hands up and out of Jaune's grip in a flash. He fell down, silly Jaune-Jaune!

"A guitar?" Lana asked from the stage, her voice echoing across the crowd. Nora felt her face light up. She looked at Jaune, ready to see him looked excited, too. Except he looked… pale. Did she pull too hard? "A guitar would work great! Buuuut that's a little too much too quickly."

She made a gesture with her hands that made Moraine giggle. What did it mean?! Nora wanted to know.

"If I'm gonna leave you with the perfect song, I gotta make sure everything is just right!" Lana went from pointing her hand at Moraine to stricking a heroic pose. Sure, she was sitting down in front of a piano, but with her hands on her hips and nose stuck up, she looked just like a super hero. Mega hero! "I just need to find someone to help out first, okay?"

Instead of pointing into the crowd, Lana whipped her hands around her head again, spinning to make sure they couldn't see what she was doing. Stingy! But when she whipped her hands back up, Nora felt like cheering.

More Gates! And these were golden! Everyone knew gold was just better. Why else would Pyrrha want Juane-Juane?

But there were only two gates. Why weren't there three? Wasn't that a rule or something?

Instead of talking though, Lana just started spinning her hands all goofily, making those gates spin with her. They were so bright and shiny that they looked almost like halos. Maybe they were! Nora couldn't help but really imagine it when they started to glow all blue and mystically like the other Gates. Nora counted, there were three blue gates spread up above Lana, thee purple gates she had hidden somewhere, and now two golden gates that were spinning around the piano. Her new friend really did know how to think with portals!

"Alright! Now I've just gotta find my friend," Lana cheered, spinning her seat before standing up. Nora ignored the chatter of the crowd. Why couldn't they just be quiet and listen? Cupping her hand, Lana yelled into one of the golden gates, stopping just in front of her. "Hello! Are you there?!"

Now Nora twisted her head. Was someone waiting on the other side? Who could it be? Was it someone she knew? Oh! Maybe it was Mikau! That would be awesome. Or maybe Elrora. Jaune and Pyrrha did say she had a great voice! Lana didn't say though, she only scratched her head as she stared into the glowing portal.

"Doesn't look they can hear me," she spoke up before turning to Moraine. The green dressed faunus girl just stared at her. "I'll be right back Moraine. Just keep believing I'll make you happy and I'll be right back!" Where was she going?

Nora found out when Lana stepped through the Gate and disappeared.

"Aw crap," Jaune spoke up from behind her. He wasn't the only one. Everyone in the crowd was talking like that now.

"Is the show over?"

"Geez, that was anti-climatic."

"I know, right? Should have done something better than walk off stage left."

"Could have been worse at least."

But she wasn't done yet! Lana even said so! Why was everyone talking like that? Nora didn't understand. She pouted her lips as she stared at the stage, waiting for Lana's grand re-entry! Moraine was doing the same thing as she was. If a little girl knew what was going to happen, there was no way Nora couldn't.

"Maybe we should go up and look for her?" Pyrrha spoke up. What was she talking about. "I know you don't want to Jaune, and I'm sorry, but-"

"No, you're right," he spoke back. "We've gotta… go find Lana… wherever she went…" Nora spun on them. What were they thinking?!

"Lana said she'd be right back!" She pointed a finger at her leader with the words. He looked surprised, so did Pyrrha. Good, that meant they would listen! "We've gotta have faith in our friends, otherwise they're not our friends. Lana believed in us for taking us here, so we've gotta believe she'll be right back. Moraine believes and so do I!" She struck her own heroic pose, looking at her teammates. At least they looked meek. Nora liked that word, a shorter way to say scared.

"Well, there's someone up there," Ren spoke up. Wait… what did Ren say? Nora looked at her childhood friend for only a moment before looking back up at the stage. All the portals were still glowing, Moraine was still waiting, the piano was still there.

And a faunus woman was walking through one of the golden portals.

Nora heard the crowd whispering, but she ignored them. It was easier to focus on the new person if she ignored the crowd, or so Ren always told her. Said person was a faunus like Link was. She had really long ears, longer than if Nora put her hand up to the side of her head. She had red hair like Pyrrha but longer, way longer! It was almost down to her butt. Nora giggled, but she kept watching.

The woman was dressed pretty different from Lana. Some purple dress, white top, and a handkerchief around her neck. That was pretty much it. It was too simple, like boring simple. If it weren't for her coming out of the portal she really would be boring, but she did come out of the portal so she was amazing! She stepped forward on to the stage, probably looking at Moraine. Wasn't much else to look at, aside from the crowd of people all whispering and staring.

She said something, but Nora couldn't hear it. She wasn't wearing a microphone! Moraine heard it though, cause she turned to look at the other faunus. Must have been the wolf ears. Those had to hear a lot. The woman kept talking, but Nora couldn't hear anything. Maybe she should get closer. That'd make it easier to hear her. But before Nora could, something else happened.

From the other portal, spun upside down and hanging over the stage like those big glass lights, Lana fell through!

"Malon!"

Lana shouted as she hit the stage, arms out and smile bright. Nora did the same thing! She wanted to hug them both. Lana hugged the red-headed faunus girl instead. She spun her around just like Nora liked to do with Ren and Jaune-Jaune!

"Aw Malon, I just went looking for you! You should have said you were coming to visit!" The crowd laughed. Why did they laugh? This was awesome, not funny.

"Hello Lana," the red-head, Malon returned. She looked pretty when smiled, but how come Nora could hear her? Oh, must have been the mic Lana was wearing. The two were really close… "It's good to see you, but… where are we?"

"Here?" Lana asked. Did she forget? "Oh! We're in this amazing place called _Vale_!"

She swung her arm out over the crowd, smile bright and voice loud. Everyone cheered, Nora included. How couldn't she cheer?

This was the coolest thing she'd seen all week!

"It's… wow…" Malon spoke up. Nora didn't know if she was quiet because she was too far from Lana or if she was just quite. Didn't matter! "That's a lot of… Gerudo." Oh yeah, that's what Link called humans. Guess all of his friends were silly like that.

"Yup, and I got a present for you!" Nora watched as Lana swung her arm, bringing one of the blue gates down to her. Pretty sure she called those the Gates of Time. Still swinging her arm, she plunged it into the portal pulling it right back out in the next second. "Tada!"

Lana was holding another microphone in her hand! The crowd clapped and Nora did too. That was amazing! Everything about this was amazing. It was like one great big magic trick over and over again, and it never stopped getting boring. How could it be boring when Lana was casting magic left and right? The answer, it really couldn't!

"Oh?" Malon let out, lifting the mic to her face. "Is this why your voice is so loud?" She had her lips to the mic as she spoke. Nora laughed, mostly cause Malon was just silly. Silly questions meant you were silly. She felt something nudge her side, but looked over only to see Jaune-Jaune. Why'd he do that?

"Yup, and I need you to wear it so we can start to help a new friend of mine!" Oh! She was talking about Moraine, wasn't she? Sure enough, Lana turned back to the faunus girl, still sitting on the piano bench. She hadn't moved since Lana did. Why was that? Nora was pretty sure she'd be all over the stage if she was up there. "Moraine, this is Malon, one of my oldest friends! Malon, this is Moraine. I just met her, but she's super nice and a really good listener!"

"Moraine," Malon spoke the name, microphone fitting over her hand. The band almost disappeared through her red hair. Must be what happens when you have so much of it. She knelt down in front of the girl, holding out a hand. "It's nice to meet you."

The smaller faunus girl must have been shy. It was Nora's only excuse for why she didn't immediately take Malon's hand. She did, of course, but after she stared at it like Pyrrha did to Jaune-Jaune's butt. Oh yeah, she knew. But then, Malon began to giggle, why was that?

"I'm sorry," Malon spoke quickly. Why? "You just look a lot like Link with how you're dressed. It suits you." Her hand played at the green dress the girl wore. Well yeah, it did look a lot like Link's, probably because it was! Nora knew Lana was the one who gave Moraine the dress, but Link was in there somewhere, too, right?

"S'kay." Wait, who said that? Was that Moraine? It must have been Moraine! Nora felt herself grinning widely at the word. She could talk! She knew she could! Silly girl, acting all quiet and mysterious.

"Well, no use in wasting Time anymore. I know she wouldn't appreciate it," Lana spoke up, dancing and twisting as she did. The blue and gold gates flew, spun and hovered back in the air, twisting around until they looked like awesome speakers, cause they were! But wait, who wouldn't appreciate it? Oh, must have meant Moraine. "I'm trying to make the _perfect_ song for Moraine, and I know I just can't do that all alone. Sooooo, I was hoping you'd help me out! Do you want to?"

Lana spun and stopped on her tiptoes just in front of Malon. She was shorter, but shorter like Ruby was to Weiss, that was hardly at all. Then again, Malone was still kneeling down in front of Moraine. She didn't seem to mind, which was good.

"I'd like that," she replied, much to Nora's enjoyment. The crowd too, but who cared about them? Nora knew she didn't, not so long as they kept being weird. "But are you ready to play?"

"Nope!" Wait, Lana sounded happy when she said that. Why did she sound happy? Could you say nope without sounding happy? "I'm still trying to build up my magic! I gotta make extra sure that I really do make the perfect song for Moraine. After all, she wants to be happy, so I gotta make sure my magic is in top shape!" This time, when Lana struck a pose, a lot happened.

All the gates that were out suddenly spun about the stage. They were fast, really fast, like those crazy sci-fi movies were there were buzz saws coming out of the walls. They shot around the stage with their golden and blue lights, looking like they were rolling at one second then spinning the next. And they were loud about it.

The crowd let out startled yelps, Jaune-Jaune too, but Nora didn't. After all, she trusted Lana. She knew her friend wouldn't hurt them! Malon and Moraine must have thought the same thing, cause neither of them moved either. Of course she was right! But… why were there more gates now? There were the blue gates, the two golden gates… oh! Lana brought the purple gates, the Guardian ones! That was super awesome!

Then with a quick twist of her hip, raise of her arm, and some really weird word Nora did know, the gates stopped. The crowd started cheering. Nora did too, cheering and yelling and jumping that is. How could she not after that? She jump for joy if she just played the piano again, but this was too awesome!

"Do I get to sing?" Malon asked. She sang? That was cool, but Nora had to hear her first. She'd heard some bad singers before, like really bad… horrible… Ren. Lana only giggled.

"Well duh!" Lana replied, stretching her arms out with the motion. The gates hummed and flew, but that was it. Still awesome! "I mean, yeah, you can play the harp and the piano and the guitar and the violin, oh! And you're pretty good at the flute, too, but I'm not gonna ask for you to take a break and come over here to do something you don't love. How'd we make Moraine happy if we're not happy?"

Lana gave the girl a beaming grin, one that Nora felt herself wearing. She was too cool! Nora wished she was that good with kids. Maybe she would have been able to visit the orphanage more if she was. Nope! Bad thoughts! Focus on the awesome blue haired friend and her redheaded totally-not-Pyrrha faunus friend!

"Buuuuuuut I'm gonna need a few hands if I'm gonna make sure you can be at your best, too!" Lana pointed at Malon with a wide grin. Malon seemed pretty okay with it. She reminded Nora of Ren now. Weird, cause she looked like a faunus version of Pyrrha. That was funny. "And the best way to do that is to get help, so I'll be right back!"

Lana jumped up into the air, doing a really cool flip as she did so. But it wasn't a full flip… it was a dive, and she just dived right into one of the purple gates that flew down underneath her! That meant she dove through the ground! That was pretty cool. But where did she go? Was she going to get a new friend? Was there someone else that they were going to meet?

"And I'm back!" Nora started clapping at the announcement. That was fast, really fast, faster than Ruby when Yang teased her that there were strawberry pancakes at breakfast. Lana was standing half-way through another one of the portals. How did she do that any? Oh yeah! Portals did that! "And I got all the help that I need! Ready?" Lana asked as she turned back to the portal. Then she started walking out of the portal.

Out came another Lana just behind her.

And then another.

Nora was jumping and cheering at the awesomeness of it! The crowd was just cheering, the losers! They didn't how awesome this was! Lana was cloning herself! Those gates really were amazing! Okay, yeah, they weren't perfect copies. The differences were kinda obvious when Nora managed to look just a little past the idea that Lana had eight super cool teleporting, people summoning, sound exploding, body copying gates. Lana was still Lana, dressed in that battle skirt dress that looked like Ruby's, except like Yang's. She was still normal, but the rest of the other Lana's were different.

Lana Two looked the same, blue hair and all, but she was dressed in clothes that matched! Sure they were the same as the real Lana's, frilly skirt, long sleeves, long tights, and a really comfy looking tube-top, but they were blue. Like super sky blue! It was like she could have come right out of the sky and Nora wouldn't have noticed. Even that cape thingy on her shoulder was white like a cloud!

Lana Last, was wearing the same thing! Well okay, it wasn't the same, same as Lana 2. It was bright, but dark. It was weird to look at. Kinda looked like a fire, but then it looked like rock. Bright and dense. What was the word for that? Nora didn't know. She just knew that the third Lana looked like she was on fire carrying a rock on her shoulder and on her feet. That was weird, but damn if she didn't look kick ass!

But hey, what was she thinking about anyways? There were two more Lana's up there. That meant they could have _three_ times as much fun! Oh yeah, she knew math! That's how she knew the clapping of the crowd was a good thing. Sure, they were being really weird and kinda mean, but clapping was almost never a bad thing, especially when it was after something amazing like that!

"That's one hell of a trick."

"Think they're all doubles or just some illusions."

"Believable no matter which way you spin it."

"Has to be illusions, they're all wearing all the same thing."

"Not that one with the weird hat. They do all got mikes though."

"I just wish my kid was here. He'll kill me when he finds out he missed this."

"Lana's amazing," Nora heard Pyrrha talk now. That was funny, cause Pyrrha usually only talked like that about Jaune-Jaune. "To think she can do all of this and yet… simple boats fascinate her… And the faunus child as well."

"I believe she's doing this for the child," Ren spoke up. No joking Holmes! Nora kept quiet, at least with words. She was still cheering for the multiple Lanas! "The better question is why."

"Nope, the best question is what are they gonna do next?" Nora corrected her friend. Seriously, who cared why something awesome was happening when it was right in front of them! "I bet they're gonna do somethin' crazy with the piano. Oh! Maybe they'll all play it at once. Super Quartet!" That would be awesome!

"Really Lana?" Malon asked from the stage. She only spoke when it got quieter. Probably worried Lana wouldn't be able to hear her with how loud the crowd was. "I thought you said you wanted to play the perfect song."

"Yeah, I do. We all do!" Lana waved her hands over the other Lanas. They all agreed, nodding their heads.

"Sure do!" spoke Lana Two.

"'Course," was Lana Last.

"See?" The Real Lana spoke up. "And it'll be easy to play a song like this. Besides, I know I wouldn't have been able to do this if Moraine didn't want me to do my absolute best!" She struck a pose in front of the faunus girl, who was staring and jumping in her seat. Nora was doing the same, except standing up. "You can't have real magic unless you have some real feeling. I'm the White Witch and I'm ready to go!" She struck her hand into the air, making the Gates shift again.

It was always cool watching them fly around. Sure, it may have been the first time, but half-an-hour of it and Nora just wanted to watch them all day. How could you get bored watching magic? Trick question, you couldn't! It only got better when the real Lana cartwheeled past Malon, doing her second roll before jumping quickly, flipping over the bench and sitting right next to Moraine again. She was magical and flexible!

"You have a song already, don't you?" Malon asked. She sounded tired, a lot like Ren actually. Maybe Malon and Lana were childhood friends like Nora and Ren were. That would be awesome! "You're not this spontaneous Lana, at least not usually."

"Well… I have an _idea_ for a song, but I won't know if it's perfect or not until you help me play it!" That was flawless logic if Nora had ever heard it. The crowd was laughing again, the weirdos. "That's why I needed my own help, cause the perfect song has the perfect reason to be played." That was harder to follow, just a bit, but Nora got it.

"I'm lost now," Jaune-Jaune spoke up. Too bad, but it wasn't like it was too new or anything. "Like, I have no idea how to explain this, to anyone."

"It's alright, Jaune. I don't understand it very well myself." Wait, Pyrrha too? But she was the smartest one of them all! Well, except for Ren. "We'll just have to apologize to Tatl and Tael later. Maybe they will understand."

"They will," Reny spoke up. Good old Ren! "I'm recording it to make sure." Huh?"

Nora turned and looked at her friend. She gave him a good long hard stare, looking for anything to show what he was talking about. That was when she noticed he had his arm straight up in the air, holding his Scroll like it was a flag or something. It was on, screen out, and camera light on. He really was recording! Awesome! This would make for a great video later.

"Oh, yeah, that's a good idea," Jaune-Jaune agreed. Nora knew he would. He always went with the good ideas. That was why he was their brave leader! "Just make sure you don't lose that or anything. You know, in the crowd, or the dancing… or anything else." Silly Jaune-Jaune, Ren wouldn't lose his Scroll. That was like saying Yang would lose her hair. Just couldn't happen!

"Don't worry," Ren spoke again. "I'm feeding it to the CCTS as we speak." Nora started clapping with the crowd, but for an entirely different reason.

Good old Reny really was the smartest of them all! Now she could watch it and show this to all of Beacon without having to keep track of her own Scroll. Flimsy things broke so often around her.

"So how about we start?" Lana asked from the stage. "Are you ready Moraine?" The girl nodded her head eagerly. Nora did the same. "You ready Malon?" The faunus woman nodded slowly, but took in a deep breath with a smile like Ren's. She was gonna be good! "And I know that I'm _all_ ready." Nora laughed at the joke.

She laughed as each of the Lanas, 2 and Last, all gave a sign of some kind. They were too quick for Nora to notice, but it didn't matter! They were going to play! Even as they did their own quick dances to control the gates, moved them around to bring those portal things closer to them, Nora was just focused on one thing.

This was gonna be awesome!

"Then let's give it another go!" Lana declared loudly.

The crowd was louder than she was for a moment. That annoyed Nora. She wanted to hear the music, not a crowd of weirdos. She was probably the only non-weird one it. Well, her and Ren. Jaune-Jaune and Pyrrha were still up in the air. Or just higher than usual off the ground.

"Right now, I feel like I'm _Lost in Thoughts, All Alone_."

* * *

"So we have Mikau, Elrora, Impa, Saria, Lana, and Link himself," Weiss listed of the names from her scroll, finger flicking at the screen. She was resting on her bed, pillows lain up into a cushion. Blake watched her from the corner of her gaze, eyes otherwise on her book. "We have yet to see What Mikau or Saria are like in a fight, but that's not to mention only one of us has seen Lana herself."

"At least we know what to look for," Yang pipped in. She was laying on her bed under Blake. The faunus in hiding had no idea doing what. "Someone Ruby's height with Nora's energy and Neptune's hair. That can't be easy to miss." Blake knew she was right. Nora was rather easy to pick out of a crowd. Blue hair even more so. "Wish we knew what to look out for if we did get in a fight."

"Well, we know of a few of their Semblances at least," Ruby now, leaning over the precariously designed bed. "Mikau can go all lightning rod and stuff, Elrora can yell loud enough to knock out glass like Tatl said, and… that's really it isnt' it?"

"Unfortunately it seems so," Weiss agreed. "We know hardly enough about Saria or Lana to draw a conclusion about what their skills are, but Impa and Link both appear to adhere to the motto of the Unknown."

"The Unknown has the advantage," Blake spoke the chant.

She had hardly heard it before, but a few mutterings of it made it almost sound like gospel. It was only made more so when she could find no fault in the logic.

"And no matter how much Link or Impa shows us, they never show us enough."

"Kinda like a tease, right?" Yang snorted with laughter. Blake dismissed her, all the way until she kept talking. "They know just what to peal away to rile you up, but never actually showing any of the good bits. That's a honey trap if I've ever heard of one."

"Yes, well, the vulgarity of your metaphor aside, there is truth to it." Blake was impressed with Weiss, though she didn't speak it. All she gave was a backhanded compliment, no shouts of deplorable nature in sight. "I have a feeling that the only way to learn more about them is in an actual fight. I'm sure they won't tell us more than superfluous information if we asked."

"Didn't Mikau show off what he could do though?" Ruby asked now. "We found out about his semblance because we asked some really good questions." No, that wasn't quite right.

"He was promised recompense for doing so," Blake answered, eyes still on her book. She was losing track of the words though. "At first it was just to have Link be free from uniform regulations, but then it was to placate Ms. Goodwitch's punishment."

"Let's not sit on that one," Yang dismissed. Blake could imagine her waving her hand with the action. "Still bothers me how much of a snowball that turned into. Sides, I wanna know more about the Saria girl. You know, the one who walked in here and basically made us all cry our eyes out."

That was a rather hard thing to forget.

"I've told you everything I know, Yang," Blake answered. She saw the jerk of Ruby's and Weiss's heads. Did she say something wrong now?

"Wha? Whoa, no Blake?" Now Blake looked over the edge of her bed, seeing Yang stretching to do the same. She looked genuinely confused. "I said I wanna know more about her, not that you know. Geeze girl, I thought we vented all that crap yesterday." Blake only continued to stare at her.

"We were up almost all night," Ruby pipped in. Given how quiet she was, it was the perfect word to use. "And we did talk about everything, at least everything I don't like to talk about…"

And it was true. She had. They all had.

Ruby had told them about her mother, about losing her at a young age. She talked about bullying at Signal, about her training with her Uncle, about meeting Link for the first time. She talked about how she wished Yang would be more trusting of her, about how she wished her mother was still with her, how she wanted to be a good leader, and she didn't want to lose anyone ever again.

Weiss had talked about her family. About her sister who only ever drilled her, a father that had only ever tested her, and a brother that could be there or gone without a difference. There was never a mother for her. She talked about how she had gained her scar, how she had won her way to Beacon Academy, and how she wanted to be the leader of a team of her peers. She made sure to say she cared about them all more than any dream she once had. She refused lie.

Yang had spoken the most, almost the most. She talked about her mother, the only one among them to still have a mom. A mom that she had been searching for all her life and had shown up only a few months ago, only to disappear again. She talked about how Ruby deserved the mother neither of them ever had, so she would go through hell and back to make sure she got one. She apologized about Elrora, but made it clear that she didn't do it to spite them. She didn't make a single joke the whole time.

Blake had spoken, and for the first time in her life, her friends had truly listened. She told them how she was raised by her parents, about how they were the ones to train her, before abandoning them for the White Fang. She told them of Adam, the leader of the White Fang and her former partner, on and off the battlefield. She talked about how she saw hope in Link, how she found faith in his friends, and everything there was about Saria. But the hardest of all, she told Weiss about Impa's words, the cruel reminder that she could do more than the heiress could.

Blake could not put to words how happy she was when Weiss simply thanked her. _Thanked her_.

Yes, they had spoken, and Blake felt the weights of the world fall off of her back when they did. They still drug at her feet, wading behind her, but better there then atop her head to hold her down. Small steps were the safest ones.

"Well, here's where we stand," Weiss spoke up again. She spun until her legs were hanging off the bed. "With Yang barred from fighting at the moment, our best bet is to individually challenge Link's various friends that each of us has a close advantage over. If we do this within the next two weeks, we should be able to challenge him again before the semester ends."

"I don't really recommend taking on any of them solo," Yang countered. "I took on a giant bird and she knocked my brains in before I could get angry enough to punch back. God, I think I still have a headache over it."

"Well I like the plan!" Ruby spoke up, looking over her bed to smile at Weiss. Blake let herself wear a smile grin. "Waiting around for things to happen never works out. I mean, if we're smart, we might even walk away with a victory!"

"Doubtful," Blake spoke up. She did her best to ignore Ruby's almost puppy like pout. Honesty was key now. "None of Link's friends that we know of are simple to understand, let alone easy to counter. That's not to mention that the only way to really make counter plan is to fight one-on-one and decide the location, but that'll just mean you need to knock him out completely."

"Yeah, that's kinda the rub," Yang agreed. "I would have almost had Elrora otherwise. I mean we… wait…" Yang paused mid-sentence. How curiously out of character. "I just had an idea."

"Careful with it," Weiss spoke up, not missing a beat. Blake felt a small chuckle work through her lips. Ruby was far more vocal. Yang brushed it off easily enough.

"Seriously, hear me out on this," she started again. "If we chose who we fight, Link or one of his pals gets the ring, right?" She was restating information.

"Yeah, so what? We already knew that, Yang," Ruby spoke what Blake thought. Weiss did the same, but just with a harsh glare. Blake was glad she put her book down now. This was far more entertaining.

"I know, I know, but remember when SSSN challenged Elrora?" That was almost as hard to forget, Blake above the others. Yang's head may still hurt, but Blake's ears were still sore. "We just walked right to the garden and they took off. The most Glynda did to get the field ready was to make sure we were all out the way."

"What was else is there to do?" Weiss asked. "I can assume that Link or his friends would have had to procure the location before the actual class. I found it doubtful Ms. Goodwitch found out about just before the match started." That was right, too. They registered a day in advance to fight Link. The time spent was probably him deciding who or where. So far it was just where.

"But what if we messed with the field before the fight?"

Blake blinked once, twice, then shook her head for good measure.

"Who are you and where's my sister?" Blake wasn't sure Ruby was kidding. She was about to ask the same thing about her partner. She could her the boxum blonde's hair whip with her head.

"C'mon, give me some credit you guys!" She gave an indignant yell. "It's not like all I do is run, scream, and punch."

"It's all I've ever seen you do," Weiss countered. She was tapping her hand on top of her scroll. "But the idea has a lot of merit. Impa said that these battles are supposed to test our ability to either confront an enemy or defend a location, so it is justifiable to fortify a location we are hoping to defend…" Her words trailed off as her eyes turned back to her scroll.

"What would we even do?" Blake asked now. She had few ideas for field preparation that didn't involve lethal harm. "Dig traps? Dust mines? What could we do that wouldn't be perceived in advance?"

"Not much, honestly," Weiss spoke up. Her eyes were glued to her scroll. "But perhaps that's the key. Subterfuge is a common tactic in any field of battle. Father used it as often in business as I'm sure Ironwood has." Blake found little wrong with the logic.

"That means to hide something in plain sight, right?" Ruby asked, peaking over her bed further to look at Weiss. Blake took note of how the bed swayed. Maybe they should hurry up and put it on proper stilts…

"Not quite," Yang spoke up to her sister. "It means your hidings something with something else. Like, you know, lighting a fire in the house to hide the gun you made." Blake didn't know if she felt humor at the expression Ruby gave or that she found the story plausible in every way.

"Yang!" Ruby admonished. She was as red as her cloak. "You promised you wouldn't tell anyone about that!"

"Hey, no more secrets," Yang let out pathetically. Blake could see the mirthful smirk of her partner through the layers of her bed. "Sides, not like that matters anymore. You did that years ago." The annoyed sound Ruby made through her cloak didn't come across as forgiving.

"Blake," Weiss spoke up, earning the feline faunus's full attention. "I apologize first if I am being presumptuous, but do you have any skill with catching slippery targets?" There was little wonder where the insult could lie.

"Some," she replied honestly. "But majority of it comes from practice. Why do you ask?" Weiss didn't look particularly nervous or guilty for her words. Blake felt an odd kind of apathy about that.

"Only a thought about the Link's friends," Weiss began. She had still yet to look up from her Scroll. "I can assume that Mikau is rather… hard to pin down, given his amphibious nature and high water affinity." Blake could hear Yang's mind run with jokes to make. All of them probably revolved around being 'wet'. "I believe that with the right preparation in ice crystalline dust, you'd have the greatest chance for dealing with Mikau."

That got Blake's eyes to raise. She found her face flush when Yang decided to speak up.

"Really Weiss? I'd thought you'd want first dibs on the fish stick."

Blake shut her eyes and put hands to her ears, too little too late. She heard the hard thump of a pillow being thrown at Yang, doing little to stop the blonde's uproarious laughter. Blake just let herself fall back and groan on her bed, wondering if there was such a thing as too honest. A part of her truly hoped there wasn't, but, with friends like hers, she doubted it.

"That… _horrendous_ imagery aside," Weiss spoke up loudly, not that Blake could blame her. That is until she saw the blush on the heiress. "I have admittedly very little skill in dealing with someone like Mikau, let alone in a likely large pool of water. Blake, however, has the greatest advantage against him."

"Cats hate water," Blake spoke the slur before Yang could hope to spit it out. She didn't hate water. It was just annoying and impossible to enjoy. "Why would I be a good fit for Mikau? Wouldn't Ruby be better at a distance?"

"Ruby needs to hold still to fire her weapon accurately from large distances," Weiss supplied. Ruby leaned her head left and right, more or less agreeing with the words. "You, on the other hand, can extend Gambol Shroud to reach great distances, not to mention your Semblance can allow you to quickly escape any of Mikau's likely electric based attacks. All of that aside, I'm hoping you'll have the greatest chance of forcing him out of the water." That got the faunus's attention.

"How'd you do that? Offer him some chips?" Blake just groaned at Yang's question now. She went from vulgar and bad to just bad. She couldn't tell if that was worse or not. "Pretty sure he'd appreciate a new guitar more."

"I think he'd like to avoid being frozen in place." It took Blake a full moment to catch up to the words. Surprisingly or not, Ruby was a bit faster.

"You're talking about freezing the water," she began. "Like with the Ice Dust you used on the train, but like, large scale." Weiss looked up from her pad with a sure grin on her face, the one she wore whenever she got the highest grade on a test or a successful duel.

"Precisely, Ruby," she congratulated her leader. "However, the trick is how that much Dust would be impossible to conceal on person, especially given the few bodies of water nearby to have a duel on." The beach was literally it. There was no way Glynda or Ozpin would allow a duel in the Aquatic Center again. "All we'd have to do is set up the Dust and ignition before the match. Activate it at the right time and he'd be trapped. Then the fear comes down to avoiding his Semblance, not to mention the Dust he apparently uses to manipulate its scale."

"And my Shadow Semblance might give me the edge necessary to avoid his attacks." Blake starting to see the reality of the plan. It was one kept very well out of fiction. "It's good, but it's hardly a guarantee."

"It's a _start_ ," Weiss spoke back. "I have to do some rudimentary calculations to see the amount of Ice Crystalline Dust would be required and most effective means of deploying it, not mention practice on your part to dodge literal lightning." Blake had to admit, she hadn't tried that before. "But a start is farther than we were a before."

"And all you'd need to do is knock off a third of his Aura," Yang began. "The dudes the definition of tall and lanky. Can't imagine he could take a lot of punishment."

"Yeah!" Ruby spoke up, or cheered more like. "All you gotta do is challenge Mikau to get it to work." Blake shook her head at the leader's words. That wasn't right.

"Wrong," Weiss spoke back, a biting tone in her voice. "If she does that, Mikau can pick any given location to suit his needs, and it is improbable that we would be able to prepare every location for a fight. We only need to prepare a single location, one that _appears_ to fit Mikau best. That way Link would use his friend for help." That wasn't the right word for Link asking his faunus friend for help, but Blake didn't say anything. Small steps for Weiss.

"Basically, we're going to _lure_ the fish to the _barrel_. Oh yeah, double pun!" Blake awarded Yang's horrendous pun with two palms against her face. The groaning from across the room was audible, drowning out any laughter Yang might have had. If only it was enough to erase those words from existence.

Blake's thoughts were side-tracked by someone pounding on their door.

They were completely derailed when their door was thrown open.

"Hey!" Yang shouted, jumping from her bed. Blake was just behind her, getting ready to pounce on the intruder. She hesitated when she saw who it was. Specifically, a very excited looking Penny Polendina.

"Ruby!" The Atlas native shouted to the red-caped leader. Weiss shot out of her own bed before Penny could jump forward. At best, by Blake's observations, she only stalled the girl. Yang fared only a hair better.

"Penny! Calm down!" Ruby shouted finally, jumping off of her bed and landing in front of the red-head. Penny did stop, but she didn't appear much calmer. She was still jumping in place, acting like she hadn't bull dozed the strongest and smartest members of their team. Blake kept her poise still, ready to strike in a flash. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"It's Lana!" Penny shouted back. Lana? "It's Lana and Link. Both of them. I don't know what happened. I wasn't told anything but I found something during a CCTS sweep of transmissions and her name came up with a several megabyte upload currently streaming in 720 resolution and-"

"Hold it!" Weiss shouted again. It at least made the Military girl pause. "Penny, please, calm down and tell us what happened. Blake already told us about Lana, so just tell us what you know." That was rushed, but then again, knowing the family she came from, Weiss was likely just using the girl's exasperation to good use.

"Lana, Link's friend, the White Witch, she's in Vale right now!" What? "She's at the Vale docks playing a song for a crowd of tourists!" Huh? "And best of all, she's doing it for a little girl she's just met!"

If it was possible, Blake felt herself even more confused by the girl's apparent description of the situation. It wasn't even redundant. It was simply a great deal of information with little to no context.

"Um…" the girl began again, looking away from Ruby for the first time. She looked at Weiss, at Yang, then at Blake herself. Did she want to talk to Ruby alone, low chance of that happening. "I can show you, if you want…" Blake didn't know what the difficulty was with the task. Ruby, apparently, did.

"It's okay, Penny," She put a hand on the girl's shoulder, giving a smile as she did so. It was her smile, the same way Yang's smirk was hers and Weiss's confident grin. The smile just belonged to Ruby, and it was impossible to not have confidence in her when she wore it. "They're my friends and… we had a long talk last night. There are no more secrets."

Blake wasn't sure if what Penny did was out of relief, trust, or blind faith.

"That's stupendous!" The girl let out, throwing her arms into the air. "Then let's not waste any time. I have a good approximation of what server the CCTS is using to document the feed." Blake wasn't quite sure how technology savvy she had to be to understand what Penny was saying. As it turned out, it wasn't a level any normal huntress was expected to reach.

Penny's fingers played at her arm for a second, probably to find the clasp for her uniform. Her fingers found something though, as she pushed her fingers into her arm. It revealed a compartment of wires and buttons, circuits and Dust, mechanical things. A small clear screen even popped up above her arm. Blake felt her eyes bulge.

"Whoa," Yang let out calmly, far too calmly. "That's a sick accessory Ginger. Where'd you get a bracelet like that?" Bracelet? Accessory? Blake looked at her partner long enough to tell that she was seeing what was there.

"Oh, I received these during my 54th bi-weekly examination by Papa Zepp!" The name sounded familiar. It took Blake a moment to remember that it was the one Ironwood had spoken back at the Badlands. "He said that a visual representation of my CCTS and algorithmic monitoring can better assist others when dire situations arise. I don't know if this is dire, but it is exciting!" She jumped with the words. The screen followed her. Blake was staring at it intensely. She wasn't the only one.

"P-Penny… y-you're a-" Weiss stuttered and stumbled out. She didn't get far.

"Later," Ruby spoke up, silencing her partner quickly. Blake actually wanted Weiss to keep talking. She wasn't sure she could ask the question so easily. "No secrets, I remember, I just didn't know if I should tell Penny's secret. But we'll tell you later, okay?"

Blake looked at Penny, the now identified robo-girl staring back at them. She didn't look as at peace as she usually did. She looked caught, expectant even. That made sense, perfect sense. Blake felt the same way when she first showed her friends her ears. This girl, robot, whatever… her secret was just as deep, if not deeper.

"Alright, later," Blake spoke up. They would get answers later. No chance of them forgetting. "But right now, Lana." Her words brought all attention back to the screen.

"Stupendous!" Penny let out, the… robot girl, if her eyes were to be believed. "But as I was saying, I was tracking mentions of Link or his friends and I found a video circuit being recorded in Vale Harbor. It looks like Lana and some of her friends are playing a song! Isn't that exciting?" There were many words to describe it. "Oh, it must be difficult to see on such a small display. Let me magnify!"

Penny's other hand flicked the screen, making it disappear. That didn't last long. Her hand danced around the console in her arm, pushing at buttons that Blake couldn't follow. Penny certainly did. Another second of her rapid pressing of buttons and a small light ring began to form at the edge of her palm. She turned towards one of the walls in her room and let the projection go.

In wide-screen and impressive resolution, Blake saw the stage of Vale Harbor. She saw a crowd forming around the stage, all at the bottom of the screen. But on the stage, surrounded by glowing rings of various colors, was a piano, several blue-haired girls, a red-headed faunus, and a small wolf-eared faunus girl.

There were two faunus, but neither of them were Lana. Ruby was very clear Lana was human. But then who were the two faunus? The wolf-eared girl, she looked like she was dressed like Link. The green dress, the boots, it was hard to not see it. The other woman, with the red hair, she had ears like Link, but that was it. Who in Remnant were they?

"What in the name of Dust?" Weiss asked. It was a question Blake felt compelled to ask as well. "What… who is who? Who is that girl? Which one is Lana? What are those rings?"

"Oh! That's Lana!" Ruby shouted as she jumped up and pointed at the blue-haired girl sitting at the piano, dressed in green and a cape of blue. "But those two are also Lana… at least they look a lot like her." Her hand swept to the blue clothed and orange dressed twins of the apparent first Lana. "Those rings are Gates though! Tael told me and Penny about them, right?"

"Absolutely!" Penny shouted in agreement. Why shouting? Blake could hardly speak. "They were identified as the two golden halos as the Gates of Souls. At this time, I am only able to recall their ability to rapidly transport individuals across long distances with no time-lag or other adverse affects. Research into the feed has labeled the other Gates, though purposes are only assumed at this time."

Across the screen, Blake saw small dark boxes form around two other gates. One was lavender in color, far simpler in design to the golden ones Ruby had pointed at. The other was blue and appeared to be an out of place hollow cog. They were all glowing with some blue energy in the middle of them.

"The lavender rings are designated as the 'Guardian Gates' and so far have been denoted to alter appearances, attire, and seemingly duplicate individuals." Blake wasn't the only one to catch the last statement.

"Duplicate? So that's why there are three of them?" Yang asked. Blake could feel Penny's excited nodding.

"Yup! But that's not all." Her screen focused on the blue cog-like rings now. "This has been designated as the 'Gates of Time'. Lana produced a great number of instruments from the, including her 20th century Grand Piano! I am unsure if she is storing items within them or recalling them from somewhere else."

"This is… insane," Weiss spoke up breathlessly. Blake agreed. "Why is she doing all of this? Link's in there, too, right? Why in the Grimm's hatred would she be exposing all of this to the general public!?"

"I have an inconclusive assumption," Penny supplied. She sounded like she was trying to placate the Schnee heiress. All the luck in the world to her. "The video feed only began transmission following the appearance of the piano, but she's been talking to Moraine this whole time! She didn't talk to the crowd once!"

"Moraine?" Blake felt herself ask. "You mean… the woman or the child?" There were only two options, but both equally likely options.

"Oh, the girl," Penny clarified. "She hasn't spoken much, very little actually. Only one word since the video began. But Lana has been trying to find the, quote begin, 'perfect song for Moraine', end quote."

"Aw," Ruby wrung her hand beneath her head. Blake could see the stars in her eyes from behind her young leader. "She's making sure she's happy!"

"Exciting, isn't it?!" Penny asked again. "That's not to mention Malon, the faunus woman on the stage. Previous conversations appear to indicate a preference for song. I have calculated an 87% chance that they will begin to sing soon. I thought it best to share with you Ruby!" If Ruby was going to say anything, she was stopped by Yang.

"Wait, they're gonna sing?" She asked the redundant question. Good thing she caught herself. "Then turn up the volume! What's the point of a music video if you can't hear anything?"

"Oh! Of course, my bad," Penny replied quickly, tapping across her console. The screen on the wall didn't flicker of flinch, a likely advantage to her mechanical systems. There were bound to be questions later. None were going to be asked now, not when the volume came up full force through Penny.

"Right now, I feel like I'm _Lost in Thoughts, All Alone_." Lana, the green one, yelled out. Then she began to play.

It was soft at first, a low few notes over just as many bars. Compared to how energetic the stage looked the sound was rather subdued. But it fit. At least it fit the blue haired girl playing at the piano and the young Moraine just by her. It was soft, sweet, and a great introduction.

Then drums began to play. Hardly the noisy instruments Blake was used to hearing from Jaune's headphones or across the halls on the weekend. They were hand drums, classical instruments. Blake had to look across the screen to see the blue clothe Lana playing them, one of the blue gates still glowing above her. All of that was thrown aside when Malon, the red-haired faunus, began to sing.

" _You are an ocean of waves…~_ " The faunus folded her hands over her chest as she sang, swaying with her words. Her words were all Blake could hear for a moment, so precise and so well sung to bother noting even the piano playing beside her.

" _Within a dream, like thoughts become a river's stream.~_ " She reached her hand out towards the green gowned faunus next to Lana. The wolf-eared girl looked at her for a moment, stepping off of the seat she was on to walk over.

" _Yet may the tide every change~_." One of the Gates, one of the golden ones, began to shine as the words came out. It took little time for the mystery as to why to be answered. Step by step, ceremony given in song, a new figure walked out of the blue portal. Blake could only stare.

" _Flowing like time, to the path, yours to cliiiimb._ " Malon and this new woman sang together, their voices in perfect harmony. They shared a brief look before looking down to Moraine, the newer woman kneeling with her weight being balanced on some staff she held.

This new singer… she was dressed like a shrine maiden. Her clothes were bleach white, adorned with lavender jewels, and wearing a hat that couldn't be called anything but ceremonious. The staff she held was the same, but too far away to see properly.

Blake wished for not the first time she was in Vale right now.

" _Thou seek the light, with an outstretched hand~_ ," The woman sang above Malon, her hand doing as she spoke to Moraine.

The faunus girl stared at it, but didn't shy away. Malon faced the still glowing Gate of Souls. She was reaching into it… no, she was motioning to it? What was going on?

" _A divine blades lies before you, so command the wake of dreams_ ,"

And there was a blade.

It was a blade unlike any that Blake had seen before. Simple as Jaune's, but looking far more divine than his ancestral weapon. This blade… floating in the golden portal… it looked as if it were crafted by the world before Remnant's founding, shining as if coated in Dust. It was golden enough to be, shimmering like the sun across a lake. Poetry was the only way Blake knew how to describe it.

" _To restore the world, cut 'way the seeeeeeams~_." Malon pulled the blade down, letting it hang in the air without support. Witch was starting to suit Lana perfectly. Moraine stared at the blade as it hovered in front of her, neither Malon nor this mysterious white maiden moving towards it.

Without a word, Moraine grabbed the blade. It fell into her grasp almost expectantly. She couldn't tell from how far away the image was, but Blake would swear the two women singing smiled as the girl held the blade. They both stood to their tallest, the maiden backing up to the portal. The piano was far louder than before. The word that came next challenged it.

" _Joooin in our prayers – in our song – of birthrights and love~_." Their words dominated the stage, pouring through Penny and into their room. All the Gates across the stage began to shift with the rise in volume. Some spun about, others changed position, but they were all doing it so quickly. It was a wonder, and nothing else, that none of the other Lanas were hit by them flying about.

" _Come the Sun, illuminate the sky. Praaaay that we maaaay quell the dark, light take the throne~._ " The Gates stopped their shifting through the words, one of the golden Gates stopping just behind the white clothed maiden. She stepped back towards it, foot entering the portal even as she continued her song. But as Malon fell silent, she sang the final words.

" _Lost in Thoughts, All Alone~_."

Then she was gone.

It was only after the words had fallen away and Blake was left staring at an empty portal that she realized far more than just a piano and drums were on the stage now. Blake could see the orange clothed Lana playing a cello, hanging off the instrument without a care to the events around her. The same could be said for the green Lana on the piano and blue dressed one on the drums. It was as if it was normal to them.

They were acting like the mysterious woman walking to and fro through their portals was a normal thing. It could be! The blade was still there, Moraine was still holding it! Why was this normal to them? Why was… any of this happening?

Blake was only able to deviate her thoughts when the cheering of the crowd echoed through Penny's speakers, wherever those were located. It made sense why, given how the song sounded like it was dropping off. The orange dressed Lana even dropped her cello into one of the gates. She literally dropped it, which only made Blake wonder how it worked in terms of forces. But the lull didn't last.

The two Lanas not on the piano changed their instrument. The hand drums from the blue Lana were changed for much larger versions, their beats echoing through Penny like some obnoxious bass. The violin in the orange Lana's hands was being used to some small effect, rising in volume during the lull in lyrics. Blake could tell that wouldn't last. She could tell from the other golden Gate churning out someone new.

Unlike before, this figure was dressed in colors that completely contrasted the white maiden. It was another apparel that looked more ethereal than practical, but looking as if they belonged in the shadows then in any kind of shrine. They had a short train that reached the figures ankles, long sleeves that hung from the figure's arms, and a plate of dark material over the… ample chest. Female it was.

Female with a mask that glowed with eyes of red. Blake wasn't the only one to see the obvious similarities.

Even with the piano and violin taking up slow beats, the whispers and questions in the crowd began to rise, their cheers quickly turning into murmurs of fear. Blake could hardly fault them. She felt the same revulsion of the figure. But before any more conclusions could be drawn, the lyrics began again.

" _You are an ocean of waves, within a dream, like thoughts, become a river stream~_ " the lyrics went, the same as before. But they were different. They were different because of the new dark woman's presence. Her ominous mask, her oddly sharp grin… it irked Blake. She could see the young Moraine on the stage was none happy to see her either. But the Lanas didn't appear skittish in the slightest.

" _Yet, may the tide ever change, flowing like time to the path – yours to claaaaim~_." That was new. The lyrics were changing. But where were they going. No… that wasn't the right question. What was the dark woman doing? Was she trying to scare Moraine? By the way the young faunus was holding the golden sword, Blake could tell she was terrified. That did more than simply irk her.

" _Thou seek the dark, with an unsheathed blade~_ ," the woman sang over Moraine, her hand pointing at the golden sword the young girl held. It was too far away for Blake to see on screen what the faunus looked like, but if she knew her kind, she was scared. What was Lana doing?

Actually, the green-clothed Lana, looked over from the piano, her fingers lifting off the keys. The other two Lanas had taken over the music with the violin and drums. Was that good?

" _Now a white ivory throne beckons. So obtain, the fate you've sown~._ " The woman sang. The dark woman motioned for the golden Gate she emerged from, beckoning it with her fingers. Malon, perhaps thankfully, knelt down behind Moraine, placing her hands on the girl's shoulders. Blake knew how much the support of a fellow faunus could help. Would it be enough?

" _On this path, be wary frieeeend_ ," the woman sang on, pulled her hand up to her mask, holding it beneath the curved edge.

" _And foooooe!_ " Blake heard the violins and drums reach their apex, the noise quickly overtaking the dark woman's lyrics. It was no surprise why. With a wrench of her hand, the dark woman ripped away the mask.

Dressed in black, a Lana with the eyes of a Grimm stared back, smiling.

"Whoa!" Blake heard Yang yell. She felt the same. "How many of her are there!? No, screw that noise, the heck is she?!" It was little mystery what her partner meant. If there was a point, and Blake was becoming increasingly worried there wasn't, it had better make itself apparent soon.

As the other instruments played their music on, the dark Lana continued to sing. Malon, as far as Blake could hear through Penny's display, sang not a word.

" _Join in the tale, in the blight, of conquest and lies~_ ," her voice decreed, arms outstretched before her Gate. It reminded Blake too much of her past. Too much for a human like Lana to make a mockery of. But Blake could see one positive. Moraine had yet to lower or blade or cower in fear.

" _Come the sun, to taaarnish in the sky!~_ " Her hand was thrown up, several of the Gates following the motion. Bright beams shot forth from them, making Blake stare. She stopped when she saw they were little more than spotlights, bright lights that rotated by the command of a darkly gowned and equally morally aligned woman.

" _Vow that we shall tear the light, so dark seize the throne~_ ," Lana sang as she pulled back her hand, adorning the mask once more. The same red eyes stared back at the screen, at Moraine, at the crowd of likely tense humans. Blake could not decipher her words.

" _But Lost in Thoughts, All Alooone~._ " Thankfully or not, the dark Lana vanished back into her portal, stepping through with far less ceremony than she had brought. Blake was thankful for only a moment. She could not be at ease yet. The music was still going.

The two Golden gates changed as the violin sped up, as the drums became faster, as the piano began to roar over the stage. The first, the one where the golden blade was produced, churned itself into a white portal. It was more soothing than blinding, inviting even. It hovered as it spun, silent next to the instruments. But it was not alone. The other Gate, the one the dark Lana had emerged and vanished through, began to shift into an equally dark portal. It was like a starless night, as attractive as it was disturbing. Powerful as it was mysterious.

Was this truly a song for a small girl? Blake could not follow it herself. That was not to say she was not engaged. Her novels were a far second to this display. She banished the thoughts as Malon began to sing again.

" _May thy chosen path lead way and grace yoooou, with virtuuuuue~_." The faunus knelt before Moraine, placing hands over the small girl's own. The both held the hilt of the sword. The drums played on as the two faunus on the stage stared at one another. The red haired elder continued to sing.

" _But surely a balance awaits, so be it bliss or pain, you gaaaaaAAAAaaaain~_." Her hands left Moraine's hands, arms spreading out as the words rolled through her throat and off her tongue. The two golden Gates rotated and drifted closer to her, still brimming the same white and black energy that the two women and had come and gone from. Blake couldn't see a lot with Penny's display, but she could see Moraine shifted from one to the other.

" _Beyond the route's end, you'll gain resiliaaance_ ," Malon stood as she sang, her right hand dropping. She turned, letting her left arm motion towards the brilliant white portal. It seemed to glow brighter with her words. " _And weakneeeess~_." Her arms switched places, one rising and the other falling, in order to match the other Gate of Souls, the dark one, the one Blake wasn't keen to look at. It seemed to become darker with the words.

" _The trials, the thorn in your side, becomes the greatest streeeength, in yooooou~_!" As the instruments hid a crescendo, the violins and drums rising to impossible volumes and at a danceable beat, the golden Gates swung together, their contrasting portal colors mixing into a dark gray, a soothing gray. They spun like a gyroscope, but only for a moment. It was a moment that hung for longer than time seemed to allow. Because Malon stepped through the gate soon after they formed.

Then Gates grew. The color changed. The instruments took over. All of it was done to show the image within the portal, the fluid shapes moving inside the golden Gates. Blake didn't know if it was a memory, an illusion, or something else that was just supposed to be so obvious for Link and his friends. But she saw Malon within the Gates, armed with a bow half her size, fighting against Grimm twice her height. She saw the same woman who was calmly singing on the stage before now flinging arrows with a dexterity that was impressive no matter one's skill level. Difficult as it was to see through the projector and then Gate, the image was undeniable. And it was what else was in the image that held Blake's attention.

There were humans around her. Other humans and another familiar faunus.

Dancing around Grimm, jumping over what appeared to be Beowolves and Creepers, Link was slaying the monsters one by one. It was him, projected through the Gate. He was fighting with the humans, striking where they dodged to, blocking the blows they couldn't, letting them guard his rear, and then depending on Malon to strike the blows his blade couldn't reach.

But it wasn't his blade. Link's blade was called the Magic Sword by Tatl and Tael, twice over. The blade in the golden gate, through the image that was taking up half the stage, was the same color gold. It was a thin golden long sword. It took Blake a moment of willpower to confirm what a nagging voice was telling her.

It was the same blade Moraine was holding.

The drums beat on and violins continued to sing as the battle moved forward. There was no clashing of steel to be heard, let alone the cries of pain the Grimm were doubtlessly making as they fell, but it was done in almost perfect time to the music. Blake could not look away. She took note of everything. She saw they were fighting in a desert land, she saw that the women all had dark skin and hair of red, she saw that the Grimm were colored in ways other than purest white and darkest black. She saw it all. She saw it all and she refused to not notice everything she could.

Then Malon jumped over a swipe from a Creeper, shooting it with one of her arrows. She did a flip and landed deftly on Link's shield, raised above his head like a platform. She stood there as another human spun to his back, brandishing a pair of scimitars across her cloth topped chest. Creepers were aiming for them, Beowolves jumping towards them, but they all began to slow. They slowed dramatically, until the image held still on the screen.

" _Descend into… the abysss thou seeees. Where the hearts of many wander~_. It took Blake a full moment to realize it was Lana singing. It took that much time for her to see the human kneeling in front of Moraine, hand holding the young faunus's, the same hand holding the golden blade. She was smiling. It was the smallest detail shown on the screen.

" _Quietly, they wish and wait, placing faith in their one pure dreaaaam~_." Lana sang on as her hand swiped in the air. The Golden Gates shifted and separated, taking the image of the fighting trio with them. There was a murmur in the crowd. Blake realized her room was joining them, specifically Weiss and Yang. It took her a moment to realize it, because her eyes were focused on Moraine, the young faunus looking left and right at the departing rings.

" _After the storm stills its wake, may all be blessed. So the fate and fallen can find rest~_." Blake felt her fists clenched as the two women walked from the gates once again. There was so little ceremony to their return now, Blake only noticed them because her eyes were already set on the black and white gates. The dark gowned and masked Lana, walking with a strut. The white dressed woman, likely another incarnation of the blue-haired human.

" _Your hands the water reflects, so all will know~_." Lana continued to sing, her doubles and likely quadruples at this point either playing instruments or humming to her tune. She grasped Moraine's hands, holding the small faunus as Blake imagined an elder sister would her younger kin. The smile she wore was as bright as the gates she controlled.

" _Lost in Thoughts, All Alone,~_ " The instruments began to die down with the notes. No… that wasn't right. Blake had to look to check, a quick glance up with her eyes, but it was impossible to miss it across the flat screen. The blue and orange gowned Lanas were disappearing, fading even, their instruments going with them. It was like they were evaporating. If the Lana singing noted, she didn't pay it any mind. Instead, she only spread her arms out, each hand indicating one of the women, women that were likely her doubles.

" _Your acts brought the morrooooow~_!"

Many things happened at once as Lana finished singing.

The instruments completely disappeared, taking the doppelgangers that played them away as well. Blake wasn't sure how concerned she should be for that, bodies disappearing into dust. But she focused more on the Gates, the glowing golden portals. As the song ended, the ones hovering above the stage all swam together almost instantaneously, forming the trifecta of rings that existed before they were broken. But more than that, Blake stared at the two golden gates of light and dark, hovering above the respective women that emerged from them.

Lana took a bow as she finished her song, a bow that was matched in time with the gates reforming, her doubles disappearing, and most importantly, the golden gates falling. When they hit the stage, they swallowed up the women with them.

Then there was nothing. Blake was just left staring at her wall, her and the rest of her team. What?

"Oh, it appears the feed was disconnected. That's unfortunate," Penny explained, the panel on her hand snapping back in place. "But wow! Lana sure was amazing! I wonder what forms of Dust combustion or alterations she had to do in order to generate those effects!" Blake wasn't sure if she was more impressed with the robot-girl's joy at the words or her seemingly lack of response to the implications.

"Those were effects?" Yang asked now. Blake saw her putting a hand through her blonde hair, shaking her head at the same time. "I thought that was her semblance or something. Like, how they hell did she do all of that? What _was_ all of that?!" Apparently it took time for Yang to build up her disbelief. Blake was letting it all sink in at once.

"I don't know," she spoke simply, hardly louder than a mutter. "I just… that was so much. The clones, the portals, the sound, those images…"

"What did Lana call herself again, the White Witch?" Weiss suddenly asked. Of all the things the human on stage had done, that was what Weiss focused on, her title? "I believe Impa gave a short lecture on roles in a team during our first class with her." She was already digging through her Scroll, looking up her notes from the class. Apparently Penny's mind was faster than Weiss's fingers.

"Yes! I have the memory on file," the ginger-haired robot spoke up. She even waved her hand. "In summary to the 4.23 minute long lecture, you may be classified as a Warrior, a Shadow, a Mage, or an Unknown. Each have specific roles that are vital to a majority of operations in the field." Blake remembered Impa giving her the same talk about her being the Shadow.

"Yes, yes, I remember that, but she also made note about other titles," Weiss waved her hand with her eyes still glued to her Scroll. How were they thinking about this? Why weren't they talking about that sword Lana had given Moraine, or why the human had doubles dressed like her then looking so radically different from herself, or just who the human was in general. "Ah, here it is. A master of a single art will vary by title. Masters of the three arts are commonly referred to as General. A knight that has mastered magic is commonly referred to as a witch. Oh."

Blake had to admit, it was hard to call Lana much else aside form a master of magic, especially given the show she had presented. To use Dust in such a manner was beyond anything she had seen before, and its uses ranged from long range communication to simply large bombs. To use them to form new shapes, create images, memories… it was almost unheard of. Just what kind of land did Lana come from?

"So like, she's really strong," Ruby spoke up, with all the tact of her sister. "And she takes care of others with her magic. That's awesome! Why aren't we talking about how cool that is?"

"I think it is stupendous Ruby!" Penny spoke in now, jumping in the air with her own words. "I believe Lana will be an excellent teacher during any sessions Link wishes for her to lead in. In addition, I can predict a high likelihood for her helping us outside of class. This is based upon the data gathered on screen." Blake had to admit, considering how Lana had thrown a literal recital for a young faunus girl she could have never met before, it was very likely she would help anyone at Beacon if asked.

"Plus, bonus points for Blake." Said faunus in hiding whipped her head to her partner, the buxom blonde giving her the usual grin. It was the grin that usually came before some awful pun. "Ain't it awesome that one of Link's friends is a human, a human that just helped a faunus out like that?" Actually, she hadn't even thought of it. But the more she did, the more Blake realized something else.

If Lana was the typical human in Hyrule, bar her immense control of Dust, then she wanted to see the land more than ever before.

"Okay," Blake spoke up, more for herself. She had to realign her train of thought. The feed was gone, there was no more to see of Lana, and there was a robot girl in their room. Questions had to be asked. "It's later Ruby. Penny… what are you?"

She could safely say she'd never seen the peppy ginger more uncomfortable than she was now.

* * *

Lana heard the roar of the crowd just as well as Link did. It was hard to not pay attention to it given its volume.

Cheers were being shouted atop applause, hands clapping as voices screamed. They were full of praise, of cheer, of good fortune, of all the things Lana loved to hear when she played for the fellow Gerudo, full of things Link had heard civilians speak in a much quieter manner. It was so much larger than either of them were used to, a crowd far larger to anything they were used to appearing before. But though the size was there and the cheer was grand, it was still only a secondary concern at best.

Both Lana and Link had their main focus, the majority of their attention, on the young Hylian girl staring up at them. She gripped the Gilded Sword tightly, point of the blade aimed towards the ground, with both hands about the grip. Where the sword gone, it would have looked as if she were preparing for a prayer. It made Lana smile. It made Link wonder.

"Did you like the song, Moraine?" Lana asked, kneeling in front of the girl, her smile still wide, warm, and inviting. The link Hylian girl nodded her head eagerly. Link knew it was a good reaction. Lana smiled even brighter. "That's great! And it looks like Cia even gave you a present." She lightly touched the pommel of the Gilded Sword.

Cia was funny like that, always looking for ways to help Lana's friends. It didn't matter which of them came to help, one of them always did. Usually always made the right decision, too. So if Moraine had the Gilded Sword, then she could keep the Gilded Sword!

"But now I have to ask a _really_ important question," Lana spoke to Moraine, cheer in her voice. The young girl didn't lose her smile, but she nodded, hunching her shoulders as if to focus. With her new Kokiri clothing, it was adorable. "I'm trying to make sure you get the perfect song. So, do you think you could sing that song?"

The way the smile left Moraine's face told Lana all she needed to know. Link could tell by the calming silence in the crowd that none of them felt confident either. Lana and Link both knew that if a full crowd could not do it, it was asking far too much of a single child. Something still had to be done.

"Yeah, I was afraid of that," Lana stood up, awkwardly scratching the back of her head. She looked up at the two triplet of rings, the Gates of Time and Guardian's Gates hovering above her. She looked back down, the two of the Gate of Souls lying on the ground. Cia didn't like to stay out of them for too long. "Welp, that just means I gotta be a little more careful, huh?"

She gave the young Hylian a large smile, telling her that it wasn't her fault. Lana knew that no one ever smiled warmly if they were blaming you. Link could remember clearly the difference between a warm smile, inviting like the sun, and a cruel grin, sharper than any blade. Moraine's ease settled, the small shy smile spreading back across her cheeks. That was good. Link realized she looked a lot like an old friend of his own, one Lana never got to meet. It was after he saw the similarities that Lana had an idea.

"Oh, duh!" She let out, slapping her forehead with the flat of her palm. It made a dull _thud_ echo out of the black boxes. "Look at me, doing all of this without ever going for the obvious choice!"

She spun around on the ball of her heel, arms outstretched around her. Lana felt the gates spinning around with her. Link new they had the full attention of the crowd still. He had his mind elsewhere. There was something they needed to give the perfect song to Moraine. It was something he needed once, too.

"I just need to get something first," Lana spoke up, seeing what Link thought. She reached her hand towards the Gates of Time, the trifecta of rings stopping and glowing in tandem with her movements. Her hand disappeared into the portal, the euphoria washing over her arm as she did.

The call, the invitation, the request to come join in, to leave the world behind. It would be so easy to simply 'fall' through, to claim to no one that she simply failed to come back. It wouldn't be too hard to do that, others had done it before. She had done it before. She didn't need to be saved. Lana didn't need anyone but-

Link pulled out the item they needed. Lana grinned down at the hollow instrument sitting in her hand, just a size larger than Link remembered it being.

"The fairy ocarina," she spoke up, spinning around as she dropped to one knee. She liked the way her skirt moved with her. Link didn't mind. Moraine's brown eyes were enraptured with the small instrument. "This was a gift from an old and wise Kokiri, handed down from friend to friend. Believe me, it's _way_ older than it looks."

Lana held the ocarina out, but Link was careful with it. It was one of the first gifts he was ever given, one of the most precious items he ever had. It was his to give, his to share, and Lana knew how important that was. Moraine looked caught between dropping the Gilded Sword for the hollow instrument or simply stare at it. Tough decision.

"Buuuuut the big sell of this?" Lana asked the leading question, holding it up a little higher. She giggled as Moraine followed it eagerly, her wolf ears twitching slightly in time with it. Link could hear the disappointment of the crowd for not seeing it. Neither he nor Lana cared. "It comes with a song! It's a very important song, and one you have to learn if you want to have the ocarina." Link knew the implications were clear. Lana trusted him.

She stood to her tallest, far taller than the young Hylian. Carefully she put the ocarina to her lips, the mouthpiece familiar as the holes her fingers settled into. Lana had never played the instrument before. Link knew it better than he did any sword.

But the song didn't belong to him. It belonged to Saria.

Lana and Link listened as the tune of the lost woods played through the ocarina, the familiar song that forever existed within one of their memories. A song full of energy, of life, of the forest, and all the mystery it entailed. It was Saria's song, and Link loved to honor her memory with its tune. Lana loved to play any song written by someone else. It was her way of understanding them.

It was Lana who saw Moraine bouncing her head to the song, smile crawling wide and wider across her lips. It was Link who saw hear her humming to the tune. It was all that mattered. There was never any doubt she would love the song. It helped that it was a short song. Those were either loved or loathed, but no one hated the song of the forest.

"You like it!" Lana cheered loudly, removing the ocarina from her lips. "I knew you'd like it. And it's perfect, too!" Link agreed. There was no better song to teach a friend than Saria's. But Moraine didn't look convinced. The crowd sounded even less sure. They didn't matter though. Only Moraine mattered. "Don't worry, I know it's the perfect song."

Lana knelt down and held out the ocarina to Moraine. The young Hylian stared at it the same as before. At least now one had was releasing the grip of the Gilded Sword. It reached out, hesitantly, before lightly resting atop the ocarina. She drew her hand back much quicker with the instrument in hand. Lana beamed at her. Link was grateful all the same.

"Now you try!" Lana cheered with a wide grin, one hand reaching out towards the Gilded Sword. She easily gripped it and removed it from Moraine's grasp, mostly because the young girl didn't hold it tightly. Link suspected it was the past that told her to do so. It was his memories that showed Lana how to attach it to the girl's back, securing it without letting it fall to the ground.

Moraine looked over her shoulder at the pommel that stared back, moving her body to get used to the weight. Link understood it took time to grow accustomed. Lana trusted him. She only ever held books or levitated Gates. But Moraine did bring her attention back to the ocarina in hand. She stared at it with her large brown eyes, unsure of what to do.

"It's okay. I know you can do it," Lana spoke honestly. Link thought she would need time, but Lana was sure she could do it instantly. He didn't understand. Lana thought of the last Guardian Gate. Then Link understood. "Trust me. I never let anything bad happen to my friends." Link spoke through Lana with those words. Moraine let her smile grow just a bit before placing the instrument to her own lips.

Softly, much softer than Lana had played, Moraine began to play Saria's song as well. It was flawless to Link's ears. It was perfect to Lana. It was the perfect song.

Moraine must have understood it to. She must have felt the joy in the song, the wonder, the excitement! She must have felt it all, because she began to play louder and louder. It hardly made it through boxes that lined the stage, being heard through the cord that sat still by Lana's lips, but it was not as if the crowd mattered. Only Moraine. And Moraine looked as happy as could be.

She began to hop with the song, eyes shutting as she truly lost herself to the tune. Lana bounced her head in time with the young girl, lightly clapping in tune with the beat. She was a natural, just as the Guardian Gate had let her become. It changed her attire, cleaned her skin, and gave her the knowledge it felt appropriate. Link never understood how they worked, but Lana trusted them. That trust was once more rewarded.

And as the quick song ended, Lana felt no need to hold back. Link let her explode.

"Yeah! It's perfect!" Lana jumped with the exclamation, the gates firing to life. Confetti blew from the two floored Gate of Souls, lining the stage and sending a cheer through the crowd. Moraine, for the briefest of moments, was terrified. That terror quickly fled when Lana picked her up and twirled the girl around. Her smile grew immensely with the action. "I knew you could do it! It was the perfect song just for you!"

Then the young Hylian laughed, genuinely laughed aloud. It was a wonderful sound. Link heard it clear as day. Lana heard it through the boxes. Link was right. It was wonderful to be a hero, even if it was just for a single person.

"Well, I'm sure glad we found that song!" Lana proudly cheered against, stopping with a slight jump. She held Moraine out at arm's length for a moment, before setting her down on the ground. The girl held the ocarina to her chest, possessively. "Buuuuut, that means my job is done." Lana wasn't happy to announce that. Neither was Link. Moraine looked affected the most.

Her smile instantly fell, her excitement disappearing with it. Lana. Bit her lip at the sight. Link sighed without air to do so. No one liked goodbyes, especially not children. No one so young understood there were places to go and things to do. Fortunately, he knew what to do. Lana listened to his memories to the letter.

"Now don't worry, we're friends now," she assured first, kneeling and placing a hand on Moraine's shoulder. The girl leant into the contact. It was hardly a surprise. "And friends never say goodbye. Just 'see ya later'. They say that because they're definitely gonna see each other again."

Lana moved her hands until they were cupping Moraine's face. She was a child, and children needed attention. Showing absolute attention gave them absolute focus. The next part was very important, so Lana knew she had to do that.

"If you ever want to talk to me again, just play the song, okay?" She smiled at her, bright as she could. "I promise I'll talk to you whenever you want. And if you need me, I'll come running. Cause that's what friends do."

Lana was unprepared for Moraine jumping into her arms. Link knew it was likely. Both heard the crow give a collective 'aw' at the sight. Neither cared for them, but they did wrap the young hylian in a tight hug.

She needed a hero and a friend. Link could be both. Lana was glad she could be one.

* * *

"Tatl," Ozpin spoke the name carefully, slowly. He didn't want the fairy to miss her own name. She was being very uncharacteristically quiet. "Would you care to explain what just happened?"

"…Which part?" the fairy returned in a mutter. Ozpin would have chuckled, were he not staring at the screen in his room with unblinking eyes.

Glynda and Tael were both doing the same. Glynda was forced to, as she had quickly snapped her own scroll in half during the midst of Lana's second song.

"The part where I'm gonna kick Link's butt when he gets back, or where Lana got off showing just about everything the Gates can do?"

"I believe Glynda and I can handle the… discussion with Link regarding discretion. If I were to assume, I'd say it was Lana's influence that put on the show." It was hard for Ozpin to believe that the faunus who told of unknowns and their strengths in lecture would give a literal performance to Vale Harbor. Unlikely, honestly. A seemingly teenage girl, that had more weight to it. Just as doubtful.

"Well… you're not wrong," Tatl spoke up again. It must have been new for her, being completely against Link's actions with someone else. It was hardly a comfortable spot for anyone. "I just figured the damn girl would know how to tone down the display. Didn't figure that she'd go all 'hero' for some homeless Hylian."

"I don't understand," Ozpin spoke honestly. He would not make poor assumptions if the possibility for knowledge was right before him. "What do you mean 'go hero'? You have called Link that in the past, emphasized it even. How is this different?"

"It's Lana." Ozpin managed to avert his gaze long enough to look at Tael. The lavender fairy was hovering close to his sister. Ozpin could hardly blame him for avoiding Glynda, given that his trusted partner was still holding the remnants of her Scroll. They looked like wide daggers in her hands. "She… She grew up alone, completely alone. Link found her when she was still a child. He was… He was a hero to her when she needed one." Ah, that explained it.

"And so now she is being a hero to a child she thinks need one." It was an act that Ozpin truthfully could find little fault in, if anyone else had taken such a risk. "It's a shame she had to make a show of her of actions. I would otherwise be complimenting her."

"Don't worry your graying hair, we're in the same boat on that one," Tatl spoke up. Ozpin had to blink at the words, running a hand over his head. It had been sometime since someone had so brazenly called him old for his hair. More of a shock than an insult. "I'm sure once Link's back to just himself, he'll figure out pretty quick how bad of an idea that all was."

"Let's hope so," Ozpin agreed. He took a deep sigh before he spoke on. "But if nothing else, I can see why he named Lana as one of his strongest friends." He need not look at Tatl or Tael to know they were confused by his words. It wouldn't have helped much anyways. Their ringing was usually a better indicator. "I have never seen any soul capable of doing so much."

"Probably never going to again," Tatl responded quickly. Ozpin gave the small fairy a look, though it was impossible to tell if she was returning it or still watching the screen. Lana appeared to be having difficulty removing the young girl from her hug. "Wasn't exactly just hard work that made her like that, if you catch my drift." Curious.

Ozpin was not sure what the fairy understood herself what she was implying. To him, it meant something more damning than the moon finally falling.

"At least now it appears Lana's… festivities are concluded," Glynda spoke up. It took only a glance to see what she meant. Lana had indeed separated from the young faunus child. She had since moved on to waving to the crowd, cheerful grin and bubbly personality complete. Ozpin would have thought her a performer if he were not aware of the other side to her. Specifically, the side that was a member of his faculty.

"Great, now Link's just gotta get back here pronto. Any more of this and I'll end up losing my wings." An interesting hyperbole, but there was another part to that Ozpin found entertaining.

"Did you not just agree that Link was in the wrong with his actions?" Ozpin already knew the answer, but clarification was important. More than once individuals had attempted to gaslight him. He knew several ways around it. This was but one. Tatl, however, didn't appear to be a perpetrator of such an act.

"Yup, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna let him get punished too bad for the mistake." That was an odd choice of words, especially considering the fairy's tough-but-fair nature thus far. Ozpin folded his hands together as he watched the golden ball. He knew she would explain. "Link's our friend, has been for a good long while. He's helped us out of a lot of jams that were all our own fault, just because he was our friend. Just because he screwed up himself, or one of his other friends did, doesn't mean I'm not gonna help him out."

"I-It's what friends do. Help one another," Tael joined his sister. It was rare to hear the fairy enter the conversation in such a way. Ozpin made sure to still his comments until the lavender fairy was done. "Link's always been helping us so… i-it makes sense that we help him. Wouldn't be fair otherwise." Ah, that was it. They were looking at the scoreboard in a much wider sense than Ozpin was, recalling actions he had not witnessed.

"I will caution that there is very little you can say that will sway me to be more lenient with Link," Glynda spoke up. Her eyes were transfixed on the fairies, Tatl especially. Ozpin never envied the man or woman who earned his partner's full glare. Now was no exception, especially with her scroll gone.

"Hey I'm not about to tell you to chill out again Triple B." Ozpin truly had to learn the meaning of that nickname. Glynda likely had the same thought, for different reasons. "I'm just gonna try and make sure you aren't gonna throw the book at him. If I remember correctly, and I do, you said yourself you'd protect anyone who's a part of Beacon. Tael and I are the same way for Link."

A fine point to make.

"You can rest assured that Link will face nothing that will excuse him from his post at Beacon," Ozpin began to interject. He heard both fairies ring with the statement. He could see Glynda give him a cold glare. "He committed no felonies and endangered no lives during his time in the city. At worst, he merely paraded what was meant to be a secret. Poor judgement, to be sure, but far from a high offense."

"Glad to hear that!" Tatl shouted with another high ring of her own. She showered the floor beneath her with light Dust. Oobleck unfortunately confirmed it was not a reusable form of the precious element. "Course now the question becomes what're ya planning on doing with Link."

"Y-You're not going to ask for something of his, right?" Tael asked now. Even through rings and bobs in the air, Ozpin could tell the young dark fairy was nervous. Interesting. Very interesting.

What could Link have that they believed he would ask for? Well, there was an obvious category Ozpin had, at the moment, concern for.

"I will not ask for any mask of a past friend," he spoke clearly to the fairies. Even with their wings alone, Ozpin could see the relief over the dark fairy. "But I will still be asking for something from Link. It may simply be more… intangible."

"Oh geez, I know where this is going," Tatl let out in what Ozpin could only describe as a drawn out sigh, replaced instead by a long low ring. "You're gonna want info on Link's past, aren't ya?"

It appears fairy tales were right once more. Fairies were perspective of the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	11. A Day or Two for Recompense

Ozpin was rather used to having his way. Not for merely his title, of course, but for his way with logic and words. Perhaps a benefit to his age, maybe a natural talent, but whether long or short, Ozpin always did end up earning his way to what he desired.

But having his way agreed upon so quickly was a rarity, especially when it was a punishment being discussed.

"That was a rather quick agreement, Link." Ozpin spoke up as he stared at his newest and perhaps most interesting faculty member. The faunus across from him made, of course, not a sound he could hear. "It makes me believe you acted with the idea knowing you'd need forgiveness, foregoing asking for permission."

"Well, technically he did ask for permission," Tatl corrected, bobbing by Link's green hat as she spoke. "He just broke the rule you set. And like I said before, Link's a man of his word." She did say those words, and Link was demonstrating the honesty of the statement. Ozpin had no need to hide his grin behind his mug.

"And a swift agreement on all parties is always acceptable to me," Glynda spoke up, eyes on her pad and glancing up only to deliver a hard glare at Link. That was hardly necessary, given the agreement they had reached. "I only have to add the request that for any future… expeditions to Vale be done with another faculty member. Not students who have, stated in my records, to have been either shocked still or swept up, and I quote, into the jam, end quote."

"That was Nora, right?" Tatl asked, needlessly, but humorously. Ozpin hid his grin now with coffee. "Good thing one of them had a good time. Figures that couple of the team couldn't understand when it was time to just let loose." It was likely to Link's benefit that he hid his face at the fairy's words. Glynda likely would have burned him with her gaze, otherwise.

"Regardless of that, I am glad you agreed to this Link." Ozpin focused his attention on the faunus, turning Glynda's attention away from the fairy. Another argument was far from necessary. "I assure you that by day's end this small recompense will be settled and we can proceed as if little has happened."

"Nothin' to argue there," Tatl added, bobbing about Link as she spoke. "I'm just kinda surprised you guys didn't jump on Link for what Lana did. And yeah, _Lana_ did it." Knowing the girl the fairy spoke of, it wasn't hard to see her reasoning.

"As a foreigner, you may not be aware, but Link truly did little that was against Vale's laws. Certainly nothing egregious," Glynda explained, as she so easily did a great many of things. Ozpin admitted to himself he would have made it a question. "Verbose, to be sure, but no ammunition was fired and permission was granted by the proctor of the stands before the… concert. At worst, she is guilty of excessive noise levels."

"In short, your only error is on you," Ozpin added. He saw Link quirk a brow. Ozpin hide his grin behind his mug. "Were you not the one teaching of the value of the Unknown?"

"Whoa! Kay, first of all, it was _Lana_ that did all that. Lana, not Link," Tatl explained again. She seemed rather adamant to the point. Ozpin wasn't so sure. "Second, that's just how things roll sometimes, give a little to get a little."

"Quite," Ozpin returned. This train of thought was derailing the more important conversation. Fun as it was, there was at least some work to do. "But are there any questions regarding the reparations?"

"Aside from being watched by Triple B, ya mean?" Ozpin slightly nodded his head at the fairy's question. It was merely to specify the terms, nothing more. Certainly not an insult… likely unlike the name itself.

"W-We just have to talk, right?" Tael spoke up, rare as he was to. Ozpin gave the darker fairy his full attention. "We've been, um… the doctor has been talking to us. S-So it's alright. It's fun to talk. Easier…" Talking was easier in many situations. Hopefully he also understood the necessity of the words as well.

"Certainly, and yes," Ozpin clarified to Tael. "We can begin now if you wish. As I'm sure Link has class to proctor soon, do you not?" The Beacon Headmaster took another slow sip of his coffee to hid his grin, watching the faunus blink at the words. It was the advantage of living in a clock tower. Time rarely escaped him.

"We still have approximately four hours' time before lessons begin," Glynda spoke up, punctual as she always was. "It is ample time for Link to prepare for the one scheduled fight this evening, followed by the proctoring of lessons."

"Well that's good," Tatl spoke up. "Don't try and freak us out like that either! Seriously, what kind of guy says stuff like 'you're gonna be late' without actually meaning it?" The fairy rang and danced about with her words, in a manner many children's authors would love to imitate.

Ozpin turned his attention when Link stood, the two fairies moving to match his motion. They bobbed and rang, sprinkling their dust to match his height. His lips were moving, very lightly, the only way Ozpin had ever been able to tell the faunus was speaking.

Words were good, though they could only be heard by two members in the room, both winged and very small. He exchanged a slow glance with Glynda, who gave him only the bat of an eye before turning her own focus to her pad. Expected, but humorous still.

It was still the day after Link's adventure to Vale, enough time for plans to be made and any tensions to settle. It was useless to make decisions in the midst of high emotions. Even the most competent of leaders needed hours to cool before they took hard action.

Ozpin thought himself no different, and he knew well enough that Glynda would need the day before any punishment was handed out. The fairies as well, as their defensiveness about Link was likely just as heated.

But it had succeeded in the end. Not but a day's cycle after Link had left for Vale and now he was ready to return to class. A duel in the arena, suggested by another high-confident student from Atlas, and classes would begin again.

If Ozpin was correct in his timing, it was nearly time for Link to begin handling the classes himself.

It was doubtful Glynda would have forgotten such a detail, as careful with schedules as she was. Link, however, may need reminding. It would make for a pleasant surprise though, doubtlessly. Giving him a bit of leverage to show there truly was no ill will.

He had made a mistake, but it was neither heinous nor malicious. It was just that, a flaw in action. And he was paying for it for the day.

Tatl and Tael would share information with him, and that would be it.

He only had to be sure to ask questions Bartholomew would not think, or care, to ask of.

"Kay, guess you're all set then," Tatl spoke up. Ozpin was under no illusions it was the first time she had spoken to Link. He could hear their rings for words just as they could hear his breaths. Perhaps he should ask the young Ms. Scarlatina for aid next time they spoke. Ms. Belladonna would not appreciate being outed. "We'll keep Greenie here bored till you come back. Bet he'll beg to be left alone after we're done here."

Humorous as a well-timed joke.

"That will be an interesting point in time," Ozpin spoke, nodding towards the fairies. "Link, I believe we are all set then. I'll simply be borrowing your companions until the classes are finished. We'll be here when you are done." The faunus bowed at the words, rising again with his gentle smile.

It was simple to see why some of the young women were smitten with him. Strong and kind was a deadly combination. Youthful helped, at least in appearance. Dr. Oobleck had already confirmed from the fairies Link was well over the normal age of a student. Just another reason he deserved to be higher in the Academy.

Ozpin watched as the faunus walked to the elevator, entering it and pressing the necessary button in a single practiced motion. Odd, considering how unpracticed Ozpin knew it to be. But it was a benefit of his skill, doubtlessly. Regardless, Link was gone with a small whoosh of the metallic doors.

"You are not joining him, Glynda," Ozpin asked his colleague with a turn of his head. The fairies bobbed at the words, floating about the room. If they were speaking to one another, it was another conversation he could not hear. "I believe he still needs you to proctor the student duel."

"I will join him after he has left the elevator," Glynda replied with an edge that matched the corner of a building. "Agreed as it is, I am still uneasy to accept Link's aloof attitude, or the lack of control he has amongst his friends."

"Careful, Triple B, I'm still here ya know." Ozpin had not forgotten the golden fairy. It was just as unlikely Glynda had. Tael, on the other hand, swooped down and hid behind Ozpin's coat. He gave the dark fairy a look of concern before he felt the small being perch on him. Likely comfort when conflict brewed. "Better watch what you say about my friends."

"I am more concerned for what I would do in Link's company than he in mine, Tatl." Ozpin took a slow sip of his coffee as Glynda fixed her usually icy stare at the golden fairy. His mug felt a degree colder by vicinity alone. The fairy, however, only rang at the challenge.

She rang, and the bell for the elevator did as well.

"Regardless, I will be leaving now. Ozpin." Glynda dismissed herself before the Headmaster could utter a word, folding up her scroll and marching towards the elevator, heels clicking the way there. He held his breath until she entered, timing perfect for the arrival for the elevator back to the top floor. Hers was a practiced entrance.

"Time," Tatl muttered as the elevator doors shut. Ozpin raised a brow at the word, used as if a curse of some kind. Likely a question he would have to ask about. "That woman really doesn't know when to let off, does she? It's like she's got the worst kind of superiority complex, and doesn't even have the gall to back it up!" Ozpin had a hundred counters to that statement.

"Sh-She did attack that general though, um, in the Badlands." But it appeared Tael had one himself. Ozpin gave a small grin, mug away from his lips, as the darker fairy flew up. "She's nice… when she's on our side."

"Yeah, and how often is that?" Tatl countered as she flew up to her brother. The usual soothing gray light followed their close vicinity. It was a wonder if siblings in fairies worked that way often or not. Their rules were different from humans, and likely faunus as well. "She's the one who's reporting every little thing like some golem in a temple, keeping an eye out for every detail."

"It is her occupation to notice the small details," Ozpin clarified, eyes no longer on the fairies. He had moved his attention to the screen on his desk, tapping out commands with his free hand. It was always easier to use when there were no pressing matters to attend. His actions were less obvious. "And believe me when I say she will fight to the death to help those who are on her side."

"I've gotta see it before I believe it." Ozpin had to chuckle at that comment, only due to the nature of who was speaking it. If Tatl noticed, which she doubtlessly did, she made no special note of it. "But what are you doin' with that desk, or screen, scroll, whatever you call it!" His chuckle was laughter then. Not fish out of water, but fairies out of the woods. Remnant was an alien land to them.

"Screen will work," Ozpin replied, composure quickly returning. "It is useful for many tasks, but at the moment, I only wish to see what Link does without his friends nearby." Ozpin knew the moment he opened the screen just how that would sound aloud. Thankfully, when the words were finished, he'd have his answer prepared.

"What!?" Tatl yelled, as expected. "You're spying on Link! After all the crap you said about respect and stuff, you just go off and start watching him literally behind his back!?" An understandably sour topic, but one he was truly prepared for.

"To watch the students, Tatl, not just him." He took a sip of his mug as the mini-drones loaded their feeds. Blips of screens began to light his table, images of students walking in their school attire. His academy's attire. "He is a new faculty member and I must ensure that even when he assumes no eyes are on him, he acts according to the policies set in place. To use a metaphor… I want to ensure he does not wear a mask for our meetings."

In honesty, Ozpin just wanted to see the fairies riled.

The greatest information came from heated conversations. It was the oxymoron that he loved to play with through his years. Never deal when high in emotion, but always attempt for discussion. Details were as loose as the boundaries that were drawn in those mind frames.

"Well I'll save ya the trouble. He doesn't, like ever. Look," Tatl spoke up as the specific screen of Link came into focus. She bobbed above it, sprinkling her golden dust over the image. It didn't stick as he suspected it would.

Ozpin blinked at the screen. Link looked unaware of his surroundings, giving neither wave nor nod to the many students that passed him by. Arms wrapped around the top of his head, as if to cover his massive ears, he appeared rather immune to the world. But there was something off. Something… difficult.

It wasn't until Ozpin looked ahead of Link that he noticed it. A girl was waiting for him. She was wearing rather simple attire, not the academy's, but also appearing relaxed against the wall she was leaning on. A bow was tucked behind her back, obvious despite its collapsed state. Her red-neon hair blocked her view of Link's approach, but only from one side.

Ozpin, soon as he saw the bow, recognized the girl.

"That is Garnet," Ozpin spoke from his side of the desk. He slowly lowered his mug at the girl that approached Link. It was hard to forget the face of the girl that had, intentionally or not, set Link down the path to the Badlands. He reached for his scroll, ready to contact Glynda and inform her of Garnet's proximity to Link. If they met it would be catastrophic.

"Hey, calm down Greenie," Tatl spoke up from his side. He had enough time to flash her a look of concern. Perhaps she didn't see who Link was approaching. It was of little matter. He didn't need to justify his actions when safety was priority. "I said chill it. There's nothing goin' wrong. I see what you're freaking out about, but trust me. Nothing's gonna happen."

Ozpin spared the golden fairy a look now, watching as gold dust fell from her path, matched in tune with her ringing. He held his finger over Glynda's pad number, staring up at the screen as Link drew closer and closer to Garnet. It was obvious what would happen.

Link had nearly removed Garnet from the Academy, only the grace of the wound's location saving her. Nothing that couldn't be saved through quick care and Aura Replenishment. However, wounds to pride were usually much deeper.

The girl approached him, stance tight and head to the side. It was the look many high-confident students had. It was one they rarely wore in the presence of a clear superior, as Link had demonstrated before. It made it all the more disturbing to watch. Did she have ill intention? The chance was high. But Tatl was just as sure of the opposite. Curious, but disturbing.

Garnet reached her hand out, walking towards Link with the motion. She had no weapon the mini-drone's camera could show, no clear tool, but concealing weapons was an art as old as painting. Link appeared unaware, giving only a small gaze towards the girl he had nearly maimed.

That was until he raised his own hand and shook hers.

Without any sound, Ozpin watched as the girl on the screen grin at Link. The faunus returned the gesture, bowing his head lightly with the motion. It was followed, even more surprisingly, but the girl waving her free hand. That was… wholly unexpected.

"Surprised?" Tatl spoke up. Ozpin assumed his silence was evidence enough. He was careful with his mannerisms, even more so for his expressions. Tells in a position such as his would risk the lives of his students. "Yeah, not the first thing you expected to see, right?"

"Sis, what's going on?" Tael now. That was comforting, somewhat. It at least appeared whatever secret was between Link and Garnet had not extended past Tatl. Not even her own brother knew. "W-Why's Link… why's that girl so close to him? Didn't she try and… take you?" In the short time Ozpin had known the fairy, he was sure the dark life was not a liar. He sounded too pained to be one.

"Remember after Link went a little too far with Mikau and the swimming pool?" Tatl began ringing as she floated about Ozpin. He gave her a look, but little more. His eyes were still focused on Link and Garnet. It wasn't sure if he felt relief or betrayal at the she was smiling as she spoke to him. "Well, Link and I realized that we needed to do something to make sure it wasn't just a honey trap for us. Best way to do that was see how'd everyone would freak out if something went wrong. You know, like _really_ wrong. Like squire to the healer bad."

"Are you about to tell me that Garnet agreed to this game of yours?"

The high ring from Tatl was all the answer Ozpin needed.

Despite himself, he felt a light grin pull at his lips.

"Clever, extremely clever. Well-crafted and well performed as well." It was truly something he would expect from actors on screens with more times spent in effects than on camera. It was marvelous job on their part, one that he would have to remember the steps for in the future. Perhaps to exercise himself.

"B-But how? Why?!" Tael actually raised his voice. Ozpin could hardly blame him. Still, he was thirsty. He took a sip of his coffee, drumming his fingers across the top of his cane. "Why'd Link do that? How did… H-How'd he even know Garnet would help? Why'd she help, she… she was hurt really bad." All good questions.

"First off, I talked to her." Tatl began. "Link was on lockdown and it's pretty easy to chat to the students when you're a fairy." Ozpin could see the truth in that statement. "The why? C'mon Tael, you're way smarter than I am. What do you think would have happened if Link just stayed put and did what Triple B said?" Ozpin knew that answer.

"A slow increase in progressively more dangerous and demanding matches that would lead to Link's eventual imprisonment by the Military, no matter my powers or stance at Beacon." It was the likely outcome. It was why he had been working on his own plans to free Link from the contract. Still, it appeared that Link enacted his plan quicker. It was hardly more effective, given the degree of damage and danger it imposed.

"Exactly," Tatl agreed. "So Link and I figured that if we hurt one of the kids, not killed obviously, we'd get one of you big guys to start something. Depending on what happened would've meant if we jumped ship or not. Good thing you were in our corner or else we'd have been on one of those fancy airships of yours."

Ozpin had no doubt to the fairy's words. Ludicrous, without doubt. A plan that hinged on Link being able to escape both the eye, reach, and might of the Military and Council combined. Ozpin, admittedly, would have been hard pressed to defend Link had he truthfully killed one of his students in such a way, no matter the pretense.

It all made him chuckle, a reaction he couldn't help as Garnet playfully punched Link's shoulder on the screen. He had been duped, completely and honestly.

"How did you convince the young Ms. Ether to agree to your plan?" Ozpin asked again. "I find it difficult to believe anyone, novice to master, would agree to such pain without reason." She had been stabbed through her abdomen, a blow that could be as lethal as it was painful.

"Pretty sure you're about to see that." Ah, so it was a trade. Ozpin had suspected it, but hearing it was a confirmation that still brought a light pull to his lips. Now he wondered what it was. He watched Link reach into his belts, searching for an object Ozpin had little idea of.

He wasn't sure what to think when Link produced an arrow as well as a paper scroll.

"Remember those arrows Link used against the Bellumgera?" Ozpin needed a moment to think of what the Bellumgera was. When he recounted the only time he had heard of Link using a bow, against the Grammite in the Badlands, he knew what Tatl was speaking of. "That arrow is an Ice Arrow. Think an arrow that makes a glacier as it lands on something. Scroll just tells ya how to make them."

Ah, so it was a trade of weaponry. For Garnet, a bowman by training and skilled at that, learning how to craft specialty arrows would be invaluable to her. If her observations of Link in the Arena were not enough, she would doubtlessly enjoy the use of new tools for her weapon. An invaluable addition without the risk of removing or damaging what she already possessed. It was the benefit to a bowman to be able to do that.

"Very clever, Tatl," Ozpin admitted. He truly had underestimated the fairy. His mistake for assuming her aptitude by her language. "Garnet Ether is a student visiting form Vacou. I am sure she will appreciate a tool as strong as that. It will likely make the temperatures of her home much more bearable. Ignoring the benefits of creating walls of safety." Ice was a versatile tool, especially when produced in quick measure.

Ozpin heard Tatl ring as he watched Garnet accept the arrow, pocketing it with extreme care onto her back. She must have been aware of its power. She did take time to look over the scroll, mostly with a screwed expression. It wasn't until she started to twist it left and right that Ozpin realized what was wrong.

"She can't read what is written." It wasn't a guess. This time the answer was obvious. Any doubts he may have had were confirmed when the girl turned the parchment back at Link, pointing at it with a truly exasperated expression. No… angry was the correct term. "The product of poor communication, and I fear it will lead to a nasty outcome."

"Kay, didn't expect that," Tatl admitted. He heard Tael ring at her words. The two did have a difference in their pitch, slight as it was. "But Link's not the kind of guy to back out of deal just cause. So neither are we." Ozpin was already assured of that fact, unspoken as it was before. But verbal confirmation was always nice.

It helped further to see Link on the screen indicating from the scroll to himself, signing something through his actions. Garnet was no faunus, so her hearing him was highly unlikely. But her expressions were softening, enough to show she was attempting to decipher his words. It took much less time for Ozpin to know what Link was saying.

"He is going to teach her how to make them." Ozpin noted again as he took a slow slip of his coffee. "A good way to ensure a deal is kept. A fine means to also further positive relations."

"I know Triple B and the Ice Princess think I'm a drone of some kind, but you're the one who sounds like a golem without a personality." Ozpin chuckled at Tatl's harsh words. It wasn't often others would so easily tell him off for his mannerisms. As long as it was non-confrontational, it was nothing to spite. "Sides, what are we gonna do now?"

"We?" Ozpin began carefully. "I believe that Doctor Oobleck is doing more than any information mining from the two of you to satisfy any inquiries I may have." He turned away from the scroll to approach his desk, sitting down as he set his mug in front of him. The fairies flew about in front of him, dancing as they flew. "I am more interested in what you have to offer Tael. Stories."

Ozpin could see the dark fairy visibly brighten.

"R-Really? You are! You want to hear stories." The Headmaster of Beacon made no move to hid his smile. A fairy as the fairy was, he sounded as much a child as any new freshman to the Academy. "I have a lot stories I can tell. One's I've made up, or legends I've heard, some myths, story books, lots of them!"

"But first, why'd you want to hear those?" Tatl asked as she flew in front of her brother. It was an expected question. "Not like you're out of stories to hear around here. Sides, why'd you want fiction if you can have fact?" And an even more expected worry.

"I think," Ozpin began. "That there is as much to be learned in a story as there is history. Stories are made from those who lived through history, to teach lessons or guide curious minds. How better am I to understand Link and your world than to hear the stories that came from it?" The ringing from Tael told Ozpin he understood the reference. That was good enough.

There was work to be done… and conversations to be had.

* * *

Link waved away the eager girl, her still clutching the fabric of paper that made no sense to her. It was a secret worth keeping, and one many in the Gerudo valued enough to keep hidden beneath traps and monsters, but it was being traded for something of equal value.

He felt confident in any sense. Tatl had pointed out that the words he used didn't match theirs. It meant gibberish to her on paper, and likely would to anyone else. It was fortunate then that she accepted him teaching her how to make. And he would do just that.

Garnet, the young archer from a land called Vacou, prided her archery without worshipping her pride. A rare, and invaluable, quality. It meant she would accept lessons from others, so long as they proved they were better than her.

The wounds he had inflicted previously were evidence enough of that.

And the secret of crafting the ice arrows was now her payment for it.

She disappeared into a non-descript building, one he had not been in and had no business trying to enter. She'd likely tell her friends about the secret he had shared, but it mattered only a little. He was sure the Headmaster would share if the Military used weapons that froze people solid suddenly.

Besides, it was a secret he was allowed to share, one he had been told he could share. It was similar to another secret, one that Link was open to share.

It was a secret that any who knew him could easily tell, and those that had met him could quickly surmise. It wasn't a weakness, hardly a strength, but it was something that was currently bothering him to a degree he loathed to admit.

Link hated being alone.

His every step in all of journeys had always been with another by his side. Fairies from the forest, family in the desert, allies in the castle, friends from all plains of Hyrule, he was rarely ever alone. Even the few times he was separate from them, he still had friends to speak to.

Even now his hands played with the edges of Mikau's mask, the Zora musician always one to entertain. He was the one who the kindest to him, whose memories will filled with love and peace. Those ones he wished to see.

But his friends, or the act of wearing them, had caused so much confusion and trouble for the Headmaster of the Knight's Academy. More than thrice now, his actions had to be explained away as the instincts of his friends.

Not untrue, but far from kind. Link sighed, pocketing Mikau away.

Perhaps now would be the time to let the peace of the land wash over him. They were not in a war and only trained for the defense of coming dangers. There were no people to save, no kingdoms in ruin, nothing that he could do, but wait.

Waiting as the hero did, till the heiress spoke of the crimes abroad.

Link tilted his head back, letting the warmth of the sun wash over his features. His knees voluntarily buckled, letting him fall to rest against a nearby tree. It was strong, though small. Most things that grew apart from its kin were.

A slow deep breath was taken in again, letting the far of sounds of the students fade away. He listened now for what he did as a child in the forest, the way Saria had taught him in the dark nights in the Lost Woods.

He listened for the wind whistling through the leaves, for the small creak of the tree behind him. He listened to the water wash across the shore, to the sound of grass dancing with the sway of the breeze.

Link listened for the wind. For as Saria taught him, you heard before you saw all change.

And the wind brought peace in this place, this Beacon of the far-off kingdom. A kingdom he now recognized to be far grander than Hyrule ever stood. Perhaps that was the testament he know found himself standing next to.

In a place that had numbers grander than Hyrule, with buildings that rivaled mountains and ships of steel that floated on water, they still had children looking to save others. They had youths that invited strangers to a place of safety, to nodes of information.

They had instructors that were patient and kind, diligent and strict, wise and knowledgeable. Those were not qualities Link saw often beyond Hyrule Castle's walls. So often reserved for those meant to lead, it was almost odd to see them present among those destined to fight.

He let out another slow breath, enjoying the peace in the air as he let the same fill his thoughts.

Peace, the illusive thing all wished but rarely kept. It was not prevalent, but it was present. He saw no better time to relax than in times of peace. For he would have none, he knew, when war came again.

" _Heya Link_!"

The Hylian fell sideways at the sudden shout, ear ringing.

His finger twisted in his hear, other hand pushing himself off the grass as he did so. His head swung even as he adjusted his long ear, alleviating the pain. The first thing he saw upon sitting back up was a familiar orange haired girl, smile bright and leaning over him.

"Did I scare you?" Nora Valkryie asked in a sing-song voice. She was far too old to possibly misunderstand her actions. "Hehe, sorry about that. I just thought it woulda been fun to make you jump up and scream!"

Link felt his features fall flat at the suggestion. Nora's grin, for what it was worth, lost a bit of its sure nature. Her head twisting in kind.

"Well… it works on Jaune a lot. And you look enough like him. So… I _thought_ it could work." Link had heard all forms of logic in Hyrule. From Kokiri to Zora and even the reclusive Gerudo. But never had heard such a thing. "Guess I was wrong though."

Link nodded towards her, all the answer she needed.

"Yeah, I'm sorry then. Didn't mean to hurt you 'er anything." Her hands clasped together as if to form a prayer, eyes peeking around her flattened palms.

He leaned back on his hand, considering the excitable girl. Perhaps a bit like Lana, or the many children who frequented the market of Hyrule Town, she did not have the maleficent grin or appearance in her gaze. Rather, it seemed she simply was a child, one who wanted to make a game out of the small things in life.

Link sighed, waving his hand at her. He made sure his grin was bright and forward, a clear sign in any culture he had no malice towards her. Her own grin recovered upon seeing his own.

"Thank _you!_ " She seemed to sing in response, hands sliding apart and nearly skipping in jump. "Really great to know you're still the same awesome guy we first met!"

To that, Link tilted his head. It had not been long since they first met, let alone last. Even then, he could not say he had a conversation with Nora at any extent. Her train of thought was derailing. Perhaps Lana would understand her…

"Well, you know, it has been a while since we saw _you_ ," Nora spoke up again, hand reaching out and poking at his shoulder. He watched her hand silently, confused. "We've seen some Elrora, some Lana, a whole lotta Impa, Mikau a few times, buuuu _uuuu_ t I can't think of the last time we've all talked to _just_ you."

Ah, now her words made since. Link could not fault her, for she was right. It had been sometime since he had spoken to Nora and her teammates, who he could assume were the 'we' in her words. Then again, it was hard to speak to them when only one of their group could hear his voice.

Three was a crowd, so eight was a mob. He could not communicate well to those kinds of groups.

"Hee, you look a lot like Jaune." Link was familiar with comparison, but the timing of it now was very odd, to him at least. "When you're being asked something you don't know, you tilt your mouth like Jaune-Jaune does." Looking over him, she proceeded to demonstrate.

Link could only hope, looking at the girl twisting her mouth hard enough force her opposite eye shut. Did he really look like that? A part of him doubted it, as Tatl would have made him aware of it years ago.

"Do you _not_ want to talk to us?" Link blinked up at the girl. "It's alright if you don't. I mean, I got my best buddy Renny to talk to. He's amazing like that." Link found it difficult to believe the soft-spoken boy was a grand companion for conversation.

Then again, this was a girl who appeared to value someone listening over someone speaking. And the boy was likely the opposite. It made for good companions.

"I didn't always have Renny though, not when I was mini-Nora." Link listened to Nora, watching as she stood up to her tallest, only to twirl a half a circle and fall straight down. She stopped when she was leaning against the same tree Link was. "I didn't have anyone to talk to then. No one wanted to listen to me."

Link blinked, unsure of where this was coming from. Nora didn't look at him, even as he stared at her. She had her eyes to her feet, kicking them lightly up and down on the grass. Her smile, small as it was, was still there.

"Renny helped me out just because I didn't have anyone. He's kind of super like that." She giggled, clearly relieving a memory Link knew nothing about. "Someone who'll help you, even if you're all alone. The kind of guy that doesn't want to see a little girl crying."

Her legs stopped kicking on the grass, leaving Link with only the wind to listen to. Nora slowly drew her legs up to her chest, stopping when her knees were close enough or her chin to rest against. She wrapped her arms about her legs, staring into the distance shore of Vale. Link said nothing.

"He's the kind of guy that'll ask how you're doing even if you're trying to look bright and cheery," she continued speak, thought a voice far more in common with a whisper than a shout. Link listened on. "The kind of the guy who's always thinking of you even when you don't want others to see you."

There were many words for such a man, and all of them were worthy of praise.

"I don't like being alone."

Link turned to face her better, hearing words he was intimately familiar with. Nora did not do the same to him. Her eyes were looking somewhere else, but her gaze was on something he couldn't see.

"Being alone reminds me of back then, not having anyone to help out, anyone to give you a hug when you're feeling blue or food when you're hungry or advice when you're confused. I don't like it." Link took a quick look around them, ensuring that no one else was present.

He didn't need experience or the blessing of Time to know this was not something for the ears of strangers. Nora spoke on, without checking herself.

"That's why I'm super happy that we got into Beacon." Her voice returned with more jubilance than the preceding melancholy. "Cause we met awesome people like Pyrrha and Jaune. Their like a mom and dad I never had."

She giggled again, likely towards another memory Link could not say he knew. But he did know he far preferred the innocent laughter of the girl than her sad recollections.

"And it's super awesome that we get to hang out with team RWBY, cause Yang is like the older sis I wish I had. Weiss is… an older sis I'm kinda glad I didn't have." Link snorted a light breath at the words. "But Ruby and Blake are awesome to."

One of her legs unfolded, stretching again across the grass. Nora rolled it left and right, an action that seemed to be made more out of habit than need. Link scratched at his chin, knowing that well enough as well.

"Link, do you like being alone?" Nora's sudden question caught the Hylian off guard. "Cause you don't hang out with us anymore and you're always doing things by yourself. Ren saw you fly off to the Emerald forest, and Blake said she heard you playing by the shore. But we weren't ever there, at least not with you."

He'd have to do a better job at finding solitude in this Academy. It was far easier in Hyrule and the Gerudo Valley, when everyone was asleep from work or hiding in deep caverns for protection. Here, it appeared that even yards away from the housings wasn't far enough to avoid detection.

"Jaune already told me you're with your mask friends cause we can understand them better than you." Link was more focused on the terminology than her point. Mask friends? "And it's really cool, like super cool, to see Impa swing around that giant sword, I already miss that lunch we had. The one where you ate enough of the chicken to make a vegetarian cry." He was hungry, and the Cuccos were not to be ignored, alive or dead.

Now she looked at him, wide eyes studying him. Link kept his expression neutral, with his own gaze on this child so much deeper than first impressions lead on.

"Ren keeps telling me that I have to remember not to ask rude questions, but… I don't want to lose friends while I'm here." She didn't look away. "I love my friends cause they are my friends, so losing one of them is a bad thing. Don't you think so?"

Link had no words to answer. He already knew she was right.

He knew because he had the memories of friends he had lost concealed within his tunic. He knew because he carried their aspects like weights upon his soul. He knew because letting them go would be far harder then ever losing them in the first place.

And this girl, this squire, Nora, verbally or not, understood that as well. She knew it well enough to seek him out, and to speak with him of her past. Those were not easy memories to share. He would not willingly surrender his own memories in such a way.

Link hated to be alone. He had admitted such to himself only minutes ago. And Nora was here saying she despised the same thing. Link smiled softly. He knew better than to look a gift-horse in the mouth.

Bending his legs, Link rose from the grass, brushing off the stray blades that stuck to his tunic and tights. He turned around, offering his hand towards the young girl. She looked at it, eyes quickly moving from it to him, back and forth. It reminded him of the squirrels in the Lost Woods, memorizing details.

"Wait, so… you _want_ to hang out?" She asked curiously. He nodded his head. "As in, like, with everyone?" He nodded again. "Like Jaune-Jaune and Pyrrha and Ren and Yang and Ruby and-" Link chuckled lightly nodding his head once more.

Nora's face beamed with excitement.

"That's _awesome!_ " She shouted as she leaped from the ground tow a few feet in the air. Link leaned back to avoid their head smashing against each other. It did little good.

Because Nora, wherever her mind was, decided to latch onto Link as she quickly came back down to the ground, rocking his stance and making him lean over to prevent the two from slamming back into the earth.

And the girl only continued to giggle.

"Hee hee, you're just like Jaune!" she spoke up, even as she continued to climb on him as if he were a giant in the Kokiri Forest. He was no such thing, only a few inches taller than the girl herself. "He always catches me when I jump on him. But now Pyrrha isn't here to get me off!" Link sighed at the young squire's logic.

Putting hands on her hips, keeping his balance straight, he pushed outwards with the strength of the golden gauntlets. Nora, strong as she was, did not have the magic of the Gerudo in her hands.

It left Link holding her up like an oversized child. It was appropriate, given her actions.

"Wow wee," Nora giggled, looking down at Link even as she was handled like a toddler. "You really are super strong. That's _extra_ good!" She spread her arms and legs wide with the declaration. He shook his head at her antics.

Nora reminded Link too much of his daughter.

He dropped her from his outstretched arms, letting her bounce lightly on the grass before securing her stance. She never lost her grin through it all. Like she did before she sat down, Nora spun on her heel, arms outstretched.

"Welp, let's go find everyone else!" Nora proudly declared as she gripped Link's hand mid-spin. He far more prepared this time, following in step behind the girl as she lead him back to Beacon's buildings. "We're all having lunch before battle practice, cause there's no way we can fight you on an empty stomach!" And now he knew which one.

And, like a child eager to play, Nora began to skip with Link in hand. It was odd, something he was sure was equally odd in these foreign lands, but he spoke no words of protest. Only quickening his steps to match her speed. It would make for an awkward conversation if he stopped and let the force throw the girl to the ground.

The cafeteria came up quick, the same building he had first shown Mikau to the young squire teams. He had not been here since then, least not in the company of the others. And it was after that he was nearly made into a captive of the Council.

Nora's request for his presence suddenly made a lot more sense.

" _The queen is back!_ " Nora shouted, jerking Link both figuratively and physically forward.

She pushed the door open, taking exaggerated steps forwards into the cafeteria. Either by consequence of frequency or Nora's normality, Link hardly noticed a change in the squires present.

They still sat in rows of chairs along the massive interior of the building, wearing uniforms he found painful to wear before. They spoke, chatted, and laughed in groups and teams they were all likely found of. It reminded Link of something important, the sight alone that was.

They were children.

They were children enjoying company of friends, having meals served by superiors, and preparing to learn for the rest of the day. Strong as they were, and his duels against them could testify, these were still very much children.

He could see pranks being set up by groups at far tables, absent manners in so many of the youth, laughing at crude jokes, learning important lessons, worrying about tests from superiors, that was what they were doing. They were not warriors, not yet. For now, they were children enjoying the life they had been given.

And Nora, pulling him along the cafeteria's walls, appeared to embody that more and more.

"There are my squires!" Nora shouted once more, pointing towards familiar faces. Link noticed now more than a few pairs of eyes were on him, squires likely confused why a knight was present.

It mattered little. Attention was common to him, be it here, Hyrule, or the Gerudo Valley. This was just a combination of the latter two. Besides, his attention should only be where it was needed.

For now, that was upon the designated squads of RWBY and JNPR.

"Whoa, wait, Nora, you seriously got him?" Yang Xiao-Long asked, standing from the table quickly. There was only one obvious reason for her hesitance. "I was just pulling your leg! I-I mean, _Link!_ Hey! Awesome to see you again! I mean, like, you you. Not as in-"

"Calm down, Xiao Long," Weiss now, interrupted her teammates ramblings. "This is hardly the first time we've seen Link, and that his hardly how you are meant to act in front of an instructor."

Her tone was calm, and she had a similar posture, but she a rather obvious tell, one like Nabooru. Namely, that she refused to give eye-contact to what she was most focused on. It was rather obvious when everyone else was staring at him.

"Yeah, Xiao Long!" Nora responded back in kind. Link was sure that was not how she normally addressed the boxer. "Link's super cool to be around! He was begging to hang out with us!" No, he hadn't.

"Nora, did you drag Link here?" Ren now, the boy looking over his sandwich at the girl. Link could tell this was far from the first time this had happened, beside from himself that is.

"Nope! I asked permission first." Nora, finally, released Link's hand. Only to strike a pose that he assumed was meant to be heroic. Hands on her hips, head angled high, and one foot on the table.

She was also wearing a skirt.

"Nora! Foot down!" Pyrrha now, already reaching over the table to push the orange-haired girl's foot off. She giggled as she took it off. "And Link, I apologize for Nora if she brought you here with false intentions." Link blinked at her.

"Hey! I said I asked first!" Nora stomped her foot now, lips pouting with hand still on her hips. Link took the chance to look around them, already knowing several more eyes were on them, though not as many as he expected.

He supposed, for this time group now of day, it was normal. Time could only tell what else was acceptable.

"Well I think it's great you're here!" Link saw Ruby lean back in her seat, arms in the air with a bright grin under her silver eyes. "Cause Yang's right, it's been _way_ too long since we last talked. Well, I talked and Blake told us what you said." She was leaning with her words. Link didn't understand why.

"But it _is_ great that he's here!" Yang picked right up after her sister. Her gaze shifting quickly from her to him and back again. "Cause, that means we're talking to just him. _Not_ that it's bad talking with Elrora or Impa, but we're not guessing who we're talking _to_." She was biting her lip now.

" _And_ now we can talk like when we first met before!" Ruby raised her arm in the air as if she had a point. Link couldn't see it, only Nora following her hand towards the ceiling. "I mean, like, before before, when before was the first time. Not like before a teacher, but before a student."

"Ye- _yeah_!" Yang eagerly picked up. "Back when it was cooler to talk, a-and easier, not like now. _Not_ that you're hard to talk to, cause you don't really talk- _not_ that that's bad!" Link could see her teammates rubbing their hands over their eyes.

"Wow, I can finally see the resemblance," Link picked up Jaune whispering to Pyrrha. The corner of his vision caught the red-head nodding in kind. He agreed with both of them.

"Yang," Blake finally spoke, eyes on her partner. Link watched the blonde whip around to see the Hylian-in-hiding. "I think now would be a good time to do what we talked about." What had they talked about?

"Wait, here? Now?" Yang asked looking at her teammate with clear unease. "Okay, that is _not_ something I wanna say here. A-And I'm pretty sure Link wouldn't want that either." What didn't he want?

"We promised that you would do it the first time we saw him again," Weiss added on, wagging her finger at Yang. She really did look like the heiress others referred to her as. "And out of everything we discussed, that, I believe, is the most important to show your willingness to improve." So they had talked, that was good.

"C'mon Yang!" Ruby encouraged her sister, three against one. "It's like you always told me, never hold back a punch!" Link, though hearing it for the first time, was rather sure the quote was taken out of context.

"Um…" Jaune began, but was silenced by a hand from Pyrrha. Link nodded silently at the action. At least he wasn't the only one.

"Uh… dammit Rubes," Yang muttered under her breath, hands moving across her face. Whatever she was going to do, it was far from normal, or comfortable, for her to do.

Link wasn't on edge, at least in the sense of worried. But any conversation of action he was not aware of was something to be innately cautious of. You did not survive battle grounds by dismissing idle chatter of soldiers. Nor by ignoring what they were doing.

And Yang, but Link's observations, was nervous. Her hands were balling and releasing themselves, lavender eyes looking from the table to him and to her teammates again. It took only a glance for Link to see they were looking at her, with expressions ranging from expectant to acceptant. It was odd, but he recognized it.

He saw the same faces at Hyrule's Barracks, when soldiers were admitting their faults in the field.

"Right, yeah," Yang finally started, moving around her chair. It was clear she was trying to stand across from Link, too look him in the eye.

But Nora was in the way. Nora, grinning brightly and spinning from him to her without a care for what the blonde was trying to do.

"Nora, maybe you should sit down," Ren suggested to the girl. Link didn't need to see her face to know she was considering otherwise. Previous actions showed she was not a fan of being told to do nothing.

"Just for you Renny," Nora responded, before flipping over the table, feet overhead, and landing in the seat next to the pink-striped boy. He took in stride. Jaune, however, was rapidly trying to move his food out of the way.

"Kay, thanks," Yang waved a hand at the dark-haired boy, who nodded in response. All eyes were on her again.

All eyes, including many more of the nearby students.

Link kept his arms crossed as he looked over them, many eyes looking down as his gaze fell on them. He knew they would look back up swiftly after he passed them. It was normal for children to try and avoid attention, in a bad situation at least.

The idea that this was one was not a grand thing. Maybe it would be preferred to talk somewhere else about this, or at another time. That would be the responsible thing to do.

But then again, these were children, and everything for them happened quickly or not at all.

He turned towards the blonde, seeing her playing with her hands. Her fingers were grabbed and twisted by the opposite hand, one after the other. Her teeth played with her lower lip, maybe as an attempt to keep herself from talking.

It all showed that she wasn't offended by what she had to say, but nervous. It was an important distinction. Enough to let Link know what it was she was going to say.

That wasn't something to say in public.

"Link," Yang began. "I know, before, I _really_ screwed up when I wanted to fight you, or Elrora, actually both." It was both, but he didn't need to correct. He only needed to stop her, respectively.

What she was about to admit was not something others needed to hear.

"What I said before the fight, like right before… I want to apologize for-" She stopped as Link made a move.

He had to stop her from talking, because what she was going to say was not for others to hear. But stopping her with force would grab too much attention, would show an improper method of dealing with problems, and would likely anger the Headmaster.

Thankfully, he knew how to stop a child from talking. He had years of experience.

And, like he knew she would, Yang stopped talking when Link had his hand atop her head.

Her lavender eyes stared up at him, body stiff. She was likely confused. She wasn't the only one, as a single glance from the corner of his gaze showed the rest of the table was in a similar situation. A little odd, but not important. Yang was important right now.

He simply waved his other hand in front of her gaze, smiling kindly as she shook his head. Simple and quick, hard to construe, and easy to see. He made sure to ruffle her hair as well. A fork dropped by a nearby table.

"Uh…" someone drooled out nearby. Link didn't need to check who. It was probably a sign he was doing this for longer than necessary. Yang was clearly a bright girl, able to find the hidden rules in the document and develop a plan for them.

She'd understand he was forgiving her. Words were unnecessary.

So he dropped his hands, letting them fall to his waist. He kept his smile on the girl, who continued to stare at him. The only odd part about it now was how stiff she still was. Yang, and the rest of her team. JNPR as well.

"Welll, uh…" Yang began, rolling her shoulders as she stepped back. "I guess we can call us even with that. Yeah." Even? Link wasn't aware there was a debt on either side to be paid. He did watch her start to comb her hair with her fingers, pulling down the strands he had 'spun' up.

"So we're all okay?" Jaune asked now. "No one's going to be thrown across the room or given a beating or anything like that."

"We're even," Yang stated again. "Yeah… we're all good." She was giggling now, which Link knew was a good sign. "Just s'long as… _that_ doesn't happen again." Link agreed.

So long as they did not carelessly bring up his family again, all was settled.

"Excellent," Weiss spoke now. "Then Link, may I be the first to thank you again for your diligence in teaching us new things regarding our future as Huntsman." He was not prepared for the sudden flattery, least not from a student that he had spoken little to directly.

"That's… very forward of you," Blake picked up as well, leaning over to look at her monochrome counterpart. "Anything else you want to add?"

"Yes, in fact there is." Weiss sounded very sure in her words, not hesitating for a moment. Link could see Blake's surprise at that. "I am deeply sorry that the any… that we did not see your potential to be an instructor before the unfortunate incident involving the Military."

"That was weird," Link heard Jaune whisper. He was sure Blake heard his Gerudo counterpart, but neither he nor she made not of it.

"But I am thankful that you have not only agreed to teach us your adapt methods of Grimm Hunting, but…" she was hesitating, eyes very quickly drifting away. They returned quickly. "But for also mentoring us in the mindset of Huntsmanship." Link was fortuned to see he was not the only one confused by the word.

"Is that a word?" Pyrrha, aside Jaune, asked. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I've heard that word before."

"Yeah princess, you gotta use actual words if you're gonna make a motivational speech," Yang spoke to the alabaster girl. She had her fangs showing between her grin. "Figured the pride and joy of the Schnee would get that right."

"You understand what I meant, and that is enough!" Her face reddened at the teasing of her friends, giving them her attention. "And are you one to criticize my missteps in proper speech, Xiao Long?"

"Rubes and I ain't gonna rule an empire one day, Schnee." Link could nearly see the mockery emanating from the blonde brawler, complete with her resting her head on the underside of her wrist.

She may have been the most instinctual of her teammates, but he supposed that was what made her so adaptive. Afterall, Yang was acting like her previous apology was already a thing of the past. And he was okay with that.

"But Weiss does have a point," Ren spoke now, directing his partially covered gaze towards Link. He returned the quiet squire's look. "There is no lack of lessons in your classes, both in combat and philosophical questions. Because, I confess, I would not have thought of strength as the ability to build." Few do and, as proven here, few would.

"Oh yeah! That was a great point!" Ruby shot up next, one hand on the table and the pointing at the boy opposite her. "Cause there's no way you can be strong without building awesome things. Like how my baby took a lotta time to set-up and calibrate, right?" She wasn't entirely wrong.

"No, actually," her partner returned. Link swore Weiss had her nose to the air a she responded. "Strength refers to building tools to assist in living, such as housing, agriculture development, transportation, and other devices that assist those who require them." Link found himself nodding, remembering the many commands given by the Hylian Military to protect such things.

"They don't have to be physical things," Blake added on. "Sometimes just building better relationships are what are needed to be strong. Because it's easy to destroy something like peace, but making it… is difficult." Link felt a smile pull at his lips, correct again.

"Hey, we're making small steps, right?" Jaune asked now, leaning over the table to face the conversing girls. "I mean, yeah, a lotta of what we've been doing is beating up the White Fang, or the Grimm, or that Roman dude… or each other." Link hid his own smile, but he could hear Nora and Yang snort at the boy's comments.

"Way to sum it up Vomit Boy," Yang returned. Link had no desire to know where the nickname came from for his Gerudo counterpart. "But we're doin' a lot of good though. Not like we're picking fights, just ending them." She threaded her hands together behind her head, leaning back with her words.

"A defensive stance does work in many matches," Pyrrha added now. Link did not miss her hand on Jaune's shoulder. He was sure it was far preferred over the elbow in his gut. "But failure to capitalize on an enemy's mistakes only gives them an opportunity to attack again."

"Then we just gotta hit them harder!" Nora finished, the cheer in her voice not matching the meaning of her words. The smile did nothing to help. "Smash 'em, bash 'em, and make them into a villain stew!" Looks of questioning disgust around the table was what Link observed, but there was something more to it.

He wasn't watching a simple conversation between friends, at least not just that. These weren't things that adults would discuss even with free time. No, it was rather obvious what the conversation was about.

It was about learning from the lessons he was teaching. It was him watching the children grow. How odd it was for him to not realize that fact sooner.

But Time would never stop teaching him, and now was no exception. Link pulled out a chair, moving around it to take a seat. This felt like the beginning of a lengthy conversation, and standing amidst a mess hall of children was hardly being subtle.

"Important as it is to be able to build things, you gotta be able to defend your stuff." Yang put up her fist with her words, flexing her arm with a sharp grin. Her muscles were well defined, of that Link knew few could deny. "Am I right or am I right?"

"You're delusional," Weiss spoke back. Link held back a snort of laughter. "It is appropriate to defend, but our very title of Hunters means we have to _hunt_ things or people that may generate violent or destructive responses in the future."

"It is true that striking first, and accurately, can force an opponent into a defensive position." Pyrrha complemented Weiss's words, a hand on her chin as she spoke. "And an opponent that is trying to stop you from harming them has fewer chances to retaliate."

"That sounds kinda dark," Jaune spoke without a glance at his partner. Link, however, was looking at her, and he could see the flash of discontent at his words. Wide eyes and a quick silent gasp. "I mean, yeah I get why we have to attack the Grimm and stuff, but wouldn't just doing that nonstop be dangerous to? It's not like we can just wipe the Grimm out of existence. Can we?"

"Doubtful," Ren answered his leader. "Grimm don't come from reproductive means. They, for lack of a better term, just appear. Where and how they appear isn't well known. So unless we know where they come from, we can't stop them. Only prevent them."

"And that's why we're here!" Nora shouted as her partner finished, raising her hands into the air in some pseudo-celebration. "Cause no one's getting' past the queen and her guard!" Link rubbed his temple at her words, confused. Her friends were snickering, but he was not. Clearly there was something there he wasn't aware of.

"I'm sure it was the same in Hyrule." Link looked at Blake, the Hylian-in-hiding staring at him with golden eyes. "Stopping monsters from attacking others, saving the faunus from them, and you were likely the best at it." Tatl had been bragging again, that much was certain. Thought Tael probably didn't help.

"Oh yeah, you've probably done tons!" Link shook his head to look at Ruby, the youngest of the children leaning over the table and looking at him with wide silver eyes. Her squad mates followed suit, all of them looking at him with expectant gazes. He had no mysteries or questions as to why. "I bet there are a bunch of really cool weapon systems set-up all over Hyrule to help prevent Grimm invasions!" Systems for managing armaments, yes. They had those.

"Of course they do," Weiss's head nodding with a light smirk. "The tools Link has shown in combat practice and in the Badlands show a level of skill and craftsmanship for infantry weaponry. In order to develop tools of such sophistication, larger counterparts had to have come first." Link was only sure of a few of her words. He could only tell the alabaster heiress was complimenting his weaponry.

"And development of the larger tools into smaller ones was done in parallel with improving the larger tools." Ren finished for Weiss, his hand scratching at his chin. "Like computers and Scrolls." Computers were those large electrified pieces of metal, if Link remembered correctly.

"Exactly!" Weiss proudly declared with a point of her hand. "Similar to how ballistic weaponry has been improved to be used by Huntsmen while also being improved for stationary systems." Link remembered the cannons on the flying ship in the Badlands.

He dared not to think what that could do if fired at him.

"Wait wait wait, that doesn't make sense!" Nora whined her words, shoulders falling with her grin. Even her frown was an exaggerated display. "Computers are big and clunky and control the world! Scrolls are just… little fragile screen. Extra fragile." It was enough to have Ren put his hand on her shoulder. Link did not miss how she leant into the contact.

"Well, they're both technically computers," Jaune explained to his subordinate. Link believed that was the term still. "One's just a lot bigger, so it can do a lot more. But you can't really move and use them. It's, um, like having your cake and eating it too." Link did not understand the metaphor for even a moment.

"Yeah, I've always wondered about that saying," Yang, of all present, interjected. "Seems kind of impossible to eat your cake unless ya got it. I get it's supposed to mean you can't keep something and use it, but there isn't much use for a cake 'cept for eating. Or pulling a prank." Her grin was feral as ever.

At least now Link understood the confusion. They were equating his tools to larger counterparts in Hyrule. It made sense with some thought, especially with the children rattling off explanations to one another.

Unfortunately, he could hardly think of the use of a bigger sword or shield. Unless they meant castle walls.

"So like…" Ruby began again, silver eyes sparkling as her hands moved in front of her. It took him a slow moment to realize she was 'making' something in front of her. An active mind for an active child. "If Link is able to fire hyper-coolant tipped arrow heads that can create solidification of air molecules, then _stationary_ systems could use higher mass bolts to be threaded with _more_ hyper-coolants to turn even _more_ air into ice!"

She was shaking with excitement, Link realized. How odd of a child to be so excited by the idea of weapons of mass destruction. Maybe it was the culture.

But he didn't have those things in Hyrule or the Gerudo Desert. He even shook his head in dismissal of the idea.

"Oh! Oh!" Nora was shaking her hand in the air, trying to get attention. "Or like how Mikau can make those giant lightning storms, so they're gonna have _mega hyper_ storms at their castle!" Of that, Link new firmly the Zora did not have. He shook his head to dismiss the idea again.

But they weren't listening, or watching.

"If that is true, then it is likely they also have fan equivalent systems capable of producing _hurricane_ like winds." Weiss was tilting her head in thought now, lips moving as she thought. "If the simple boomerang was able to lift those CRDL barbarians into the air, then a dedicated system would be able to make movement of even heavily fortified transport vehicles difficult, if not impossible." That one gave him pause.

Link had… seen objects similar to that, but never along Gerudo walls or Hyrule's fortress. And they were hardly strong enough to move a box of wood, let alone the steel carriages he had seen fly through the air. Strong, but far from immeasurably.

A solid amount of iron kept him on the ground.

"I bet the safes are super small there," Jaune added in. "You've seen how much stuff he carries on him all the time. He pulls out swords from his pockets! Bet they could stuff a whole Bullhead in a chest or something." The largest item Link had found in any chest or ruin was his favored shield.

He was waving his hands no in dismissal of them all, hoping one of them was not too observed in the ideas to at least offer him a glance. And, as Time would dictate, one did.

"Wait, Link?" Blake asked, the Hylian-in-Hiding having a firm eye on him. And just like before, all at the table turned to him. He did not bother to check those around them. "Do you not have tools like this?"

Her hands move over her teammates, and the question was clear. He shook his head quickly, lips moving in a silent no. If tools like that did exist, no war had ever come to Hyrule or the Gerudo grand enough to call for their use.

"Wait… none of that?" Yang asked. She almost sounded hurt by the truth. But so rarely was the truth kind to hear. Link shook his head again in answer. "You don't have, like, iceberg ballistas or super-storm fan factories or any of that stuff?"

Link gave a quick snort of air through his nose and shook his head. Ballistas and fans, to be sure, but nothing capable of rending a battlefield from the earth.

"But that doesn't make any sense," Weiss countered him. "Tools like yours are commonly researched into larger counterparts for the purpose of defense, or at the very least for sieges." He felt a brow rise at her inquiry. It was audacious, to say the least. But curiosity was a natural part of any child.

"Maye the faunus in Hyrule aren't so blood thirsty to plan for constant war." Blake answered the heiress's questions, but with eyes on her, not Link.

He did not need to know her and her team to understand the chill that fell over them was a warning. He hadn't spoken, so it was not for him.

"Or," Ren now, attempting to break the ice. "Maybe instead of investing in tools for an army, Link's kingdom and country was more invested in… the individuals." Link grinned at the pink-striped boy.

He had a good sense of judgement.

Link grinned at him, watching the boy nod in response, his own smile subdued, but present. Nora more than made up for his lack of excitement at the discovery.

"See?! I told you Renny was super smart!" She cheered with her words, as she did with most of what she said. It was a small wonder why she and Lana got along so well. "And now he and Jaune-Jaune are gonna make up a killer strategy to take you down flat!" Link kept his smile, even as his brows rose. He looked at his Gerudo Counterpart, already watching the boy's face pale.

" _Whoa whoa no no_ ," Jaune quickly let out, shaking his hands as quickly as he could. "That's _way_ ahead of where we are, Nora. We're still trying to figure out ho-OW!" He let out quickly, rising quickly in his seat.

Link only needed to glance at Pyrrha to see her own posture was stiffer. She had likely slammed a heel into his foot. Or some other painful act below the table.

"An emphasis on infantry…" he heard Weiss whisper, eyes back to the table and fingers folded in front of her. She was thinking, deeply. "That… makes a surprising amount of sense."

"Wait, how? Just cause Link's strong?" Yang question, her hand motioning passively towards him. Her arm jerked when she realized what she was doing. Link only grinned. " _Not_ that you're not a kickass Huntsman, just… it's kinda hard to imagine someone saying a guy on the ground with a gun is worth more than a tank. Tanks always win."

"Did you forget that Adam and I were able to destroy an Atlesian Spider Mech?" Blake described a situation to her partner Link had not heard of. And judging by the confused glances of the opposing squad, neither had they.

"Adam?" Pyrrha asked, head tilted in curiosity. However, in place of Blake, Ruby was the one to answer.

"It's _super_ complicated. We'll tell you later, promise." Or answer in a way he expected a leader to. Link smiled again.

This young Rose was growing well. It only took a turbulent storm to show where she had to grow. Still, Saria would likely want to apologize later.

"The point," Blake started again, chopping her hand through the air. "Is that Hyrule sounds as if it values and trusts its warriors enough to invest better equipment for them over heavily reinforced vehicles." She was correct, in that Link could not think of a carriage in Hyrule built for war.

Still, they didn't need to know about the Guardians.

**Beep! Beep!**

He recognized that sound.

Link pulled out the paperless Scroll, opening it to observe it. It was blinking red in the corner of the screen, indicating the time of day. Just beneath that was a reminder, as Glynda had referred to it.

He had half an hour before classes were to start.

Of all the new things in this strange new land, Link could admit one clear thing. The ability to measure time was far better here than hammering the Sheikah stones of old.

He pushed the device together, pocketing it along his belt and moved to stand. He knew the others wouldn't miss what he was doing, especially when he pushed back his chair to stand.

"Hey wait, you're leaving?" Yang asked. "You were the last to get here and now you're the first to leave?" That was a poor way to describe the situation, but Link could not dispute the simple facts.

"He has to prepare for class," Blake spoke up now, grinning quickly towards him before looking back at her teammate. "When it comes to making sure we are learning, he has to take time to prepare before the lessons."

Impa, mostly, but he did as she said was best. Recollect names, review battles, remember faults, instruct on improvements. Simple, but effective, so long as they were vigilant.

"Well that's true. Can't really be a good instructor if you're just rushing in and outta class." Ruby added to her teammate, waving her finger towards and away from herself. He was sure she was speaking of another instructor. "And Link _is_ the best teacher we've ever had here!"

"Um, we've only had, like, four other teachers," Jaune added. That seemed an appropriate number to Link. Too many and it was hard to remain calm during lessons. "And one of them is usually-OOF!" He jerked forward with the expulsion of air.

The elbow in his side was the clear culprit.

"And Link has done an excellent job moving from foreign student to instructor," Pyrrha added in the absence of Jaune's words. Link watched as the boy nodded towards them.

Clearly, by the indifference of those around the table, it was normal. In which direction and context, Link couldn't say.

"Thank you joining us," Ren now, nodding towards Link. He did the same in kind. "We look forward to your lessons this evening."

"Yeah! It'll be super-duper I bet." Nora chimed in. "Betcha it's gonna involve giant swords cutting Godzilla monsters in half while a battlefield rages on outside!" That was very specific and incredibly unlikely.

"I think you shouldn't watch action movies before you go to bed." Blake addressed the girl. Her response in kind was a stuck out tongue. By the rolling eyes from the Hylian-in-hiding, that was normal. "But thank you again Link, and we'll see you later."

"Well, you _and_ a friend." Ruby moved her hands with the words, like she was trying to save something that didn't need saving. "Probably Impa, but Elrora would be cool to talk to again, or Saria even!" And all would like to speak with her. Of that Link knew.

"Wait, Saria?" Jaune asked, rubbing at his side still. "Who's Saria?"

Ah, that was right, JNPR had not met her yet. And by the nervous glances RWBY started to give him, they had not intended to tell in such a way.

"Um… uh… ah…" Ruby floundered for a response she couldn't give. It was adorable in a few ways, but necessary in others. "Um, Link! Do you… want to…" Her hands rolled in the air, their meaning obvious.

Link responded only with a quick wave of his own. The girl's expression fell at the sight.

Turning back, he walked away from the table, sure what their conversation was going to be about. He had no intention to stop it. Because they were friends, together and to him.

" _Thanks again for hanging out Link_!" He turned head to see Nora standing in front of her seat, hands cupped around her mouth. " _Lets do it again before you have to fight more ancient Grimm, okay?!_ " He smiled and waved in return.

They were friends, despite their age difference, skill difference, and position difference.

Friends.

The Unknown had the advantage, but it was sacrificed for allies.

The squires made a path for him through the cafeteria, conversation dipping as he passed, he knew that the girls of RWBY would have to tell their friends in JNPR about his old friend and mentor. What little they knew at least.

And it was because of how little they knew that he knew it mattered not. They only knew her as an old sage of the forest in the body of a child, a girl who loved to tease with questions over actions. The worst that could come of it was a request to duel her.

What a mistake that would be.

It took little time for Link to find himself in a vacant hall. It was too early for the squires to congregate to the lessons. For now, he was alone in the tall and porcelain white hall, alone with his thoughts.

He hated being alone, and Nora had done enough to keep him from that. They were his friends, distant as the gap between them now was. It was a ravine he was used to with many of his friends, intentional or not.

The ease of conversation often died when they saw examples of what he was capable of, or her tales of what he had accomplished in the past. Because he had already been a knight. And now, he was teaching squires.

Children, Link reminded himself.

Children that valued what they had, worked hard to keep what they held, and thought the best of nearly everything they saw. Kids, though hardly little ones, having no lacking in naivety.

There were wiser members of the group, Weiss, Pyrrha, and Blake, seeing more than what shown and hearing more than heard, but just as easy to grab the first possible answer. Even then, they were still kids. If not for what they did, then for what they didn't have.

They didn't have a lover to embrace at night. They didn't have children to teach and raise. They didn't have homes to protect and maintain. They didn't have a past they sat to reflect on. They only had a future they were trying to shape.

Link stopped in the halls, his boots the only sound so far. It wouldn't stay that way long, not with his lessons approaching, but he knew he had long enough to think in silence.

He hated to be alone, because he was reminded so often of what he had lost.

Link let his hands trace the masks beneath his tunic, the wood material guarded by magic and skill. Reminders of his past he wouldn't let go of, actions of his friends he would not let become vain. That was not who he was. And that, among other things, was what separated him from the children.

They were looking to create memories in their future. He was left carrying his own.

He drew out the Mask of Truth, the porcelain white mask marked by the blood of Sheikah. Carrying the mark of their history, signifying their purpose to all who saw, it was as vibrant now as it was decades ago in the fortune teller's booth.

And now he had more than merely the power to see secrets. Now it held the memories of the Sheikah Captain that guarded those secrets. Memories that guided him, taught others, and strengthened his resolve to do what needed to be done.

The children, new to the world, had a million things left to do.

Link, new to this strange land, had only a few.

And thanks to Oobleck and Ozpin, he, Tatl, and Tael came closer and closer with every passing day.

His boots clicked as he continued his walk down the hallway, leaving the mask in hand. He would need it for lessons as only a few of the Hylians could hear his soft voice. Besides, Impa was a born teacher, in every sense of the word. And classes were about to begin.

He had to teach his friends how to fight.

* * *

Coco Adel thought proudly of herself. She was everything a leader had to be. Well-read, wealthy, focused, social, and charismatic. Add in experienced and she was the whole package Beacon tried every year to sell, successfully at that.

It was why she knew it was okay to wince when she saw the Atlas kid get thrown across the arena floor.

Wasn't exactly a light blow Impa had used on the poor guy, throwing around that sword that could, and did, make Yatsu blush. And the half-pint of a woman was swinging it faster than the big guy could swing his. Even if everyone was talking about the glyphs she made for her Semblance, Coco was starting to think that strength was the real one.

"Coco," she heard Fox call her name. She really hated looking away from a fight, but the outcome was kinda obvious. "Are you sure now is a good time?" Didn't need to think long on what he was talking about.

"Gotta do it sometime, and the sooner the better," she spoke in turn. He trusted her, but that didn't mean she had to be rude to him. They were partners. "We do it now, we still got another chance against him before the end of the semester. If we're lucky, maybe before the big wigs put the Festival back on track." That would be nice to attend either way. There were gonna be great accessories there.

"I understand," Fox replied almost automatically. He was cool. Coco knew that. He just liked to sound like a sage. Too bad Yatsu had him beat on that front. "Just… be careful." Against a super powerful form changing faunus? What could go wrong?

"By aura depletion, Impa is the victor." The usual half-assed claps came with the announcement. Not even Goodwitch sounded all that into the obvious. That was the typical response for when average information was being given out. She clapped her hands to match the beat. "Now we will move onto our final match."

Coco began to stand before Ms. Goodwitch even announced her name. There might not have been a rush, but if she acted cool then lost, it'd be a serious hamper to her cred. It made much more sense to treat this like what it was, a lesson. She just hoped she'd be part tutor somewhere in what came next.

"The challenger to Impa of the Shiekah is Coco Adel of team CFVY." The clicking of her heels was muffled by the whispers of students who watched her pass by. They were smart enough to not make a move on her. Not after the last one.

She rode the platform down to the arena center, watching Impa come back into view behind her thick glasses. Tinted glasses. She could see Impa clear as stars at night. Impa seeing her eyes? Not so much. It did a lot to intimidate most kids, but Super Faunus Link and his friends weren't kids or average.

"Well met Coco Adel," Impa spoke politely across the stage. Massive pillar breaking sword still strapped to her back. Coco had her own mega-buster in her purse. Well… part of her purse. "I hope to be impressed by your acts during this duel."

Coco sighed before she began her plan.

"Actually, I got a curveball for you. If you'll hear me out." She watched a single silver brow raise on Impa's head. It was kinda impressive how her eyes didn't even flinch. "It's something that's got to do with this fight, trust me." She pushed one of her hips out, crossing her arm with her purse over her shoulder. Comfortable, confident, and not to be messed with.

"Hmm…" Impa hummed audibly. That was a pretty universal sign someone was thinking. Looked like the ancient faunus from a foreign land wasn't much different. "Very well. Do you have questions? Or perhaps… a discovery." Coco didn't flinch.

"A bit of both, actually. See, after Yang read that line in the rules you made up, I got to digging, too." Coco, adjusted her glasses, staring at Impa carefully. She had a good eye for detail. People weren't much different. "I figured there must have been something else good in that packet you called a rule book. And wouldn't you know it? I found it on my second read-through, buried right under the item regulations." She threw her arms out, letting the confused whispers wash over her.

"And what was this secret you found?" Impa asked in turn, arms folded over her chest. Coco did not miss the slight smirk over the old faunus's face. She knew what was going on. "Pray tell the rest of your fellow squires what this is." Oh, she would.

"This," Coco spoke up, not actually holding anything. Wasn't anything to hold. "Is me figuring out that instead of fighting you as teams of four or going solo, we can face you in a team of _eight!_ "

She loved the feeling that came with the rushed conversations around her. Sure, it was above and around her, but she could just see the rest of the teams piecing together what she said. Probably scrambling to figure out how it worked. Well, if she knew any teacher by now, she knew she was gonna have to explain her answer.

"See, most of the rules are built around how much of your Aura we gotta chip away at," Coco spoke as she pointed at the board above them. Neither she nor Impa looked up at it. "Solo, just a third. Teams, the whole thing. But that's all based around choosing who we fight _or_ where we fight." This was the important part. "The freshman figured out that if we chose both, you'd have to fight solo and get all your Aura down."

"All true so far," Impa agreed with a small nod of her head. Her grin had yet to go anywhere. Coco had a pretty good idea why. She could feel the stare of the other students on her. "But how does this secret you found relate to it?"

"But if we let you, _you_ , choose both, we get to pick a bigger team! Right?" She was careful with her gestures, like a corporate business meeting. Pointing at the faunus with the first question, the twisting her hand till her palm was right side up for the question. A show of confidence and confirmation.

Her reward for the actions, next to the pretty high level of whispering through the stands, was watching the stoic Impa blink in surprise. If nothing else, that was worth it.

But then it got a little less rewarding when the sharp-eared woman started to laugh. That was usually bad, at least when teachers did it before a lesson.

"Well done, Coco Adel," Impa spoke warmly, smile bright on her face. She had to admit, even with the platinum hairdo going on, the faunus had the golden oldies look down pat when that smile came out. "Well done indeed! I can see you are fine leader of your team, finding such details to ensure your victory." She sucked in the praise.

"Can't be a second year team led without something to show for it," she admitted, popping her hip out to get a better balance to her stance. She felt the weight of her purse pull down on her other side. "Only thing I can't figure out is why you'd hide something like that in there." She held out a hand to the question.

"Is it not obvious?" Impa asked like it was. But no, it wasn't. Coco would have heard it by now otherwise. The whispers from the students seemed to agree to her sentiment. She really wished Velvet was down here. At least she could hear any of the good conversations going on. "I did design these to simulate, nearly, what you can expect as a knight."

"Yeah, well… it isn't obvious enough," Coco spoke up, scratching the back of her head. She had to adjust her hat, but at least it kept her eyes off of the doubtless glare from Impa. Teachers tended to not like back talk, and Coco was full of it. "Least I can't figure out the promise of going eight on one."

"It's an ambush." Coco had to shake her head like she just was ambushed. That wasn't Impa who spoke.

"Ms. Schnee," Goodwitch spoke up, looking into the crowd with her words. Coco traced her gaze, seeing the familiar Schnee Heiress standing in front of her seat. She had her arms crossed like Impa, but more dignified, somehow. Never doubt a Schnee when it came to making something simple look fancy. "I appreciate your attentiveness, but you were not addressed for an answer."

"It's quite alright, Glynda," Impa spoke up. Coco turned in time to see the faunus holding her grin. "After all, Weiss is correct. It is to imitate an ambush. Would you care to explain why, Ms. Schnee?"

The students seemed to either stop talking or talk louder, depending on where they were. Coco was just staring at Impa, wondering what the heck an ambush had to do with this. Like what, she was entitled to attack them in their sleep or something? That didn't exactly promote good safety.

"When we challenge you," Weiss began, silencing all the talk in the room. Coco wished she had that kind of power. "It is as if we are hunting a Grimm. We don't know where it is, but we can research and prepare for its abilities. If we chose a location, we are instead imitating a defensive post, unprepared for whatever kind of Grimm may come our way, but knowing the landscape thoroughly."

"Correct, so far," Impa spoke up, ending with what Coco could only hear as an ominous tone. Must have been the mean glint in the faunus's red eyes. It looked like she was challenging Weiss to keep going. Probably was, actually. "But then what of your teammate's actions? What was the purpose to Yang choosing both her opponent and the location?"

"A high risk hunt," Weiss spoke almost immediately. She seemed to know what she was talking about, but Coco had none. Heck, even Impa looked like she was agreeing with the heiress, but what did that even mean? High-Risk Hunt, she'd never heard that before. "Otherwise referred to as an ambush. Setting up in foreign territory or unmarked land to attack a Grimm that has unspecified details regarding it. They are usually performed outside low-populated villages or in Grimm Infested Territories, due to the inability to collect clear information." Guess she wasn't the heiress of the company for nothing.

"A bit overdone, but otherwise correct," Impa noted with a nod of her head. It was still kinda cool to see the smile on her. Coco's opinion changed rapidly when Impa looked back at her. "But if that was the ambush why does the scenario Ms. Adel just suggested also qualify?" That was a leading question, probably because Impa already knew the heiress had the answer.

"Because the roles have changed," Weiss spoke up as fast as Coco expected. "Instead of one of us initiating the ambush… you are going to do the ambushing." That sounded bad when explained point for point, like knowing a sniper was aimed at you and you had zero aura. That kind of bad. Coco flicked her tongue against her cheek to keep herself from biting her lip.

"And it appears you are proposing such a task against me. Allowing me to choose your opponent, your location, so you may have a team twice as large as normal." It took coco a full moment to realize Impa was talking to her now. She spoke up as if she were paying attention, like in class.

"Sounds about right to me," Coco responded back confidently, putting her hands to her hips and donning a light grin. Confidence was in appearance. If you looked confident, you were confident. Simple as that.

"Very good," Impa replied with a bow of her head. Coco began to nod her own, confidence building just like she knew she would.

This was perfect! Not only did she prove she could make a plan better than that boxum blonde, but now she had a good chance of making it work!

"You have five minutes to pick out your teammates."

Coco whirled at Impa, mouth already moving in shock.

"What?!" She shouted at her teacher, too late to notice the faunus was already nearly out of the arena. The heck!? Where was she going? "What does that mean?! Where are you going?!" She shouted at the golden oldie's retreating form. Impa didn't even look over her shoulder as she walked into the locker rooms. She did, however, respond.

"It's an ambush, Coco," Impa spoke with a voice that sounded too mirthful to belong to a teacher. More like a sociopath. "You don't get to choose where or when. Better think fast before I get back." Coco started thinking the moment Impa passed through to the locker rooms, not an ounce of flare in her movements.

Coco was not so relaxed.

"You guys!" She looked up and shouted at her teammates. She hardly needed a clue to know they were the best first three she could ever pick. "Get your butts down here ASAP, we gotta go!"

She watched Velvet nearly jump in shock, looking left and right as if one way was better than the other. She made a decision and started to move, thankfully. Fox was right in front of her, making way across the other kids as fast he could. No need to worry about Yatsu when it came to a blockade. He usually was the one blocking paths.

Her team was good, probably the best, but they were only four. She needed to get four more down on the floor in five minutes! If this was an ambush, Impa was NOT going to wait for her to get ready. It was going to be strike first and fast. So she had to start calling names and hoped they jumped to the challenge.

There was one name Coco knew loved a challenge.

"Nikos! C'mon!" She shouted to the Invincible Girl, waving for the star of the freshman class. If there was a good choice amongst that lot, it had to be her. "If you're down here we got like a guarantee to win!" Coco already found herself putting her hands to her head when the red-head started to shake hers.

"I decline," she spoke simply. Coco felt her glasses fall a bit. "I am waiting to assist my team in any duel we participate in." Coco would have found it heart-warming, especially the gleeful looks the rest of the team, were it not for the fact they were still down four people and about to get _ambushed_ by some super-soldier faunus!

Fine, couldn't get them all. But if they couldn't get strength, then they needed smarts.

"Weiss, you wanna join?!" Coco called up, already feeling Velvet stiffen behind her. It was gonna be cool. Weiss was like ice, but she was smart as an elephant. "This has got to be a good chance for you, right? Cause Yang can't fight and all."

"I also decline, Coco." Said leader felt a groan move through her throat at the words. "I need more time to prepare before I rush into a combat situation such as this, especially against someone like-"

"I'll join!" Coco didn't need to whip her head to see who yelled that. She was standing right next to Weiss.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled at her sister, pretty audible actually. The room was getting louder though. "Sit your butt back down. This ain't the time for us to go charging in." It was amazing how loud Yang was, voice echoing above the cacophony that was rising in the room. Doubtlessly bets being placed against them.

"Nope, it's the perfect time!" The young team leader spoke up. "We did agree that we had to scout out Link's friends, and this is gonna be one of the best ways." Coco couldn't have been the only one confused, but hell if she was gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.

She liked gifts, especially those that came with high-caliber rifle scythes. The leader of team CFVY was already waving Ruby down when another voice spoke up from the crowd.

"I'm up for joining, if you don't mind a stranger that is." Coco looked at said stranger… she recognized him. He was that visitor from Vacuo, Mercury something.

Standing up like Ruby, arms crossed over his chest, he had a look of confidence that was assuring as it was off-putting. Looked kinda like poison. He forfeited his duel against Pyrrha a couple of weeks back for whatever reason. Only time Coco ever saw him fight, but if he was gonna use that fancy footwork and not throw in the towel, it was good enough for her.

"Can't have a bad friend in an ambush," Coco called back. She wasn't sure how she felt about the grin he gave. She took it as a good sign, seeing as he seemed to catch her joke. Intelligence wasn't a bad thing either. Maybe he was the full package looking to collect. She could roll with that.

"That makes six," Fox spoke up next to her, eyes looking around uselessly. Coco gave him a glance before looking at Ruby already heading towards the locker rooms, Mercury moving a heck of a lot slower to the same place. "Should we keep asking for two more?"

"I'm not going into a fight against Link with a half-full purse," Coco spoke back. Fox held up his hands, relenting quickly. She knew where he was coming from, tough guy who was best at sneaking around in the midst of fights. Too many players meant it would be hard to keep himself concealed, at least in the long-term. They'd work around it.

They had maybe a minute or two left, at least until Impa's arbitrary deadline ended. Coco still didn't have an idea if anything was going to happen by the end of it. She wouldn't be too surprised if she just told them the test was tomorrow or something. Then again, Impa had pretty much proven she wasn't a normal teacher. Close as she was to a Goodwitch, she certainly was no Glynda.

"Um, Coco?" Said leader turned her attention to Velvet, the faunus looking up into the stands. "I think they might want to join, probably." Coco would have cheered for her teammate's ears, but she knew that was a no-go in public. Later though, she'd get a carrot for the assist.

Following Velvet's queue, Coco saw a couple of students having a conversation. One was maybe her height with a thick red beanie covering one of her eyes. A bronze eye was out and staring at the partner she was having a pretty… lively discussion with. Said partner had thick dreadlocks running down his back and a green sleeveless hoodie across his chest. Neither of them were getting bonus points for style. But if they could help…

"Hey!" Coco yelled up to them, hands cupped around her mouth. "You two want in? We have two spots still. Positions open, waiting for you to apply!" That got a chuckle from Fox, unsurprisingly. Bit of a giggle from Velvet, but that was about it. Coco kept her attention on the pair of students now looking down at her.

"We're talking about it, give us a sec!" The one with the dreadlocks called back. He began talking to his partner again, who kept pointing back down at them. Good sign so far… maybe.

"Her name's May, a-and she wants to join us," Velvet spoke up from behind Coco. It was getting really hard to not turn around and give the girl a bear hug. "His name is Roy, he's afraid that if they win they won't get anything for it." Oh yeah, the prize for victory. That thing.

"Hey, you two!" Coco yelled up again. "If we win, I promise I'll buy you both a custom mod for your weapons!" Okay, her dad would pay for it, but if he heard that she lead a team to take down some foreign super hunter in a fair fight, she could spin it into being a congratulation gift. And when it came to the spin, Coco was top of the game.

She knew she was right on the money when the two kids, May and Roy apparently, gave looks at one another before waved his hands at her.

"We'll be right down!" Roy yelled, May already stepping out of the chairs that lined the arena. Coco felt a grin split her face. This was it, she did it! A full team ready to go, almost ready to go!

Adjusting her gaze, she looked around at the team members that had made it to the floor. Counting May and Roy, who should be here soon, they had eight players. Yatsu, the obvious muscle. Fox, a quick brawler. Velvet, a wildcard by definition. Ruby, the crimson sniper. Mercury, lots fancy footwork. Coco knew she had smarts and distance at her aid. But it was kind of hard to make a full plan without knowing what May and Roy could do.

"Hey, Velvet," she spoke lightly to her teammate, not letting her eyes drift from the party looking at her, well, mostly her. Ruby was adjusting that huge scythe of hers. "What are the kids saying about our odds?"

"Um… hold on," Velvet spoke lightly, ears doubtlessly trained to the crowd. The girl was as gifted with numbers as she was with tech. "It sounds like Link has the advantage, b-but odds are 5-1 we lose when he's at half health. 20-1 He doesn't get hit." Coco didn't really know how to feel about that.

"Hey, at least they know we'll know knock him around a bit," Mercury spoke up. Coco saw him stretching his legs, crouching down and twisting them around. "But I'm pretty sure we can knock him out cold. You know, as long as you're all as skilled as you're supposed to be." And there was the downside to confidence.

"You're the one on watch, Mercury," Coco shot back, just enough bite to get his attention, not nearly enough to drive him off. They still needed him. "Pretty sure you're the only one here who forfeited a match you started." Even though it was a jab, the silver-haired boy didn't do much more than shrug. Cool as ice, apparently.

"So what is the plan?" Ruby spoke up now, flinging her scythe until it was notched over her back. Coco did her best to not get intimidated by its size. She would never say those words out loud. "Are we gonna split up into groups? Try and divide and conquer? Oh! Are we going to circle Link and attack all at once?"

"Too much too quickly there Red," Coco spoke up, reaching up and pulling down on Ruby's hood. She gave it a flick back before she let go, leaving it only as a minor prank at most. The pout the freshman gave her was priceless. "But we can't divide a single fighter, circling him just means there's gonna be someone across from him you could hit, but groups are a probably gonna be like partners at a dance."

"Keep moving and trade often, ya?" The leader of team CFVY turned to see who spoke. She was rewarded with May, the girl with the beanie over one of her eyes. Roy was just behind her, but Coco was a little more interested on the weapon on her back, the high caliber rifle that was. Two snipers then, awesome. "Can't stay in the same place too long. Makes things dull."

"Right on the mark," Coco agreed, giving the new comer a nod of the head. The grin May gave back was a good sign. Positivity being positive and all that. "Means that you and Ruby are gonna be the support. You've both got the best reasons to keep whatever one of Link's partners moving."

"Those were my thoughts," Roy spoke up now. He had saw blades on his gauntlets. Huh. Kinda like Fox, but about half a foot up the arm. He'd know best how that'd change the fighting style. Maybe more defensive? "Then the quickest of us have got to keep whoever comes out busy long enough for someone to nail 'em to the ground."

"Corner and strike?" Yatsu spoke up. Coco looked at the heavy hitter of team CFVY. It was always hard to ignore a guy who was heads taller than you. "A suitable plan. Difficult given our lack of familiarity."

"Probably the best reason for us to keep trading partners," Coco spoke up again. She was the leader of this group, or whatever they wanted to call it. "If there's any kind of conflict, we're going to have to separate. So, like if Ruby and May can't shoot straight next to one another, then they work off of someone else." She intentionally ignored the glares both girls were giving her. "There's no use trying to make something work when we got a chance to take Link down."

"I can agree to that," Mercury spoke up now. Coco kept a wary on him, now just because he had some cool grin going on. Least his partners seemed alright to talk to. "I'm best at sword's reach anyway, but not much further than that. Hard to shoot accurate when you're swinging your legs." She'd give him a point on that.

"Noted, then you'll probably want to lay back at first, at least until we have a good idea of what to expect." Guess it was time to bring up the game plan, seeing as she was already starting to give orders. "Ruby and May will be doing the same thing, but probably from far ends of the arena. Last thing we need is some kind of surprise attack knocking out all of our support."

"Works for me, lassie," May spoke up easily, crossing her arms behind her head. "Give me some cover and I'll give ya headshots."

"And I can be the surprise!" Ruby shouted. Coco wasn't sure where the young team lead was going with that comment. "I'm the fastest one here, so I can move around the arena really fast! As long as someone is in between Link and me, I'll be able to change station easily. And don't forget that I'm pretty tough up close, too!" To prove her point, Ruby unfolded her scythe. The bang it made when fully extended was pretty hard to ignore.

"Yeah, noted," Coco spoke up, if only to relent the point. "But that does mean you're probably at point Yatsu." She turned to the tallest member of the team. "You'll probably be able to take one of… whatever Link dishes out, so that'll give Fox and Roy time to move in when he's recovering." The tall member of the team just nodded his head. Always short on words.

"Works for me, but I do like to strike high," Roy commented, waving his hand above his head. "Easy to get grapples when you go for the torso. No one likes to get grabbed by the guy with blades on his arms." That was an understatement. Coco was pretty sure people would be pretty scared just by that.

"I can work that," Fox noted, thankfully. People working together was a good thing. It made cohesion on the battle field easy. "I prefer lower torso to leg sweeps. But I am about speed, quick attacks, not tackles."

"Then just let him hold Link down for us," Mercury spoke up again, cracking his neck this time. Coco felt herself grimace at the noise. It was as if he couldn't make himself known without doing something weird. "Pretty hard for anyone to dodge a good kick to the gut if they can't move, right? Enough of them and I'm willing to bet our hammer here could knock him out." The silver-haired boy patted Yatsu's chest plate with the words. Coco knew her teammate well enough that he wouldn't retaliate, only look down at Mercury. She only scoffed when her thoughts became reality.

"Alright good plan, great plan," Ruby spoke up, raising one hand with each phrase. "Then what do we do until Link comes back out? Just wait around? Talk?" Actually, that was a pretty good question. It wasn't as if this was a test they could review before taking. It was them waiting for someone to come out and attack them. Simple as that.

So instead all Coco could do was shrug as she turned around, looking at the seven other students who were waiting with her. Velvet was playing with her ears, combing the fur on them. Fox was going through some training motions. Yatsu was doing nothing, at all. Ruby was hopping place. May looking through the scope of her rifle. Roy spinning the blades on his gauntlets. Mercury was just… looking up. That was all they could do, because doing anything else would just risk missing their time to strike.

The tension of waiting was pretty amazing. No wonder it was called an ambush.

"So how long's it been?" Coco found herself asking the group, before turning her head to the one person who would obvious know. "Ms. Goodwitch, is Link gonna be out here anytime soon? If he wants an extension, I got no arguments." She only grinned when Glynda gave her a sharp glare through her glasses. She'd gotten used to that look freshman year.

"It is not my place to interfere with a duel until it is time to decide on a victor." Well that was one of the most cookie cutter answers she could have given. Coco made no attempt to hide her displeasure with the words, rolling her head as she stuck out one of her hips.

"Oh c'mon, you can't even tell me when the fight is gonna start?" She waved one of her hands uselessly as she spoke. Some movement was better than none. "Isn't that like the whole job of the ref? To say start and stop?"

To answer her, Glynda just looked up from her Pad. The Pad kinda looked new, but that wasn't too important. Instead, the blonde professor answered Coco plainly.

"As Impa said nearly eight minutes ago, you have five minutes to prepare."

It took Coco a solid second to sift through the words. When it clicked in her head, she whirled, grabbing her purse, and securing the necessary buttons to let the lead fly. The quickness to her actions at least startled the rest of her team, Yatsu gripping his blade and Fox pulling his arms. But the others like Ruby only looked confused.

"Get ready, now!" Coco shouted at them. "Whoever Link's bringing out is gonna be here soon." There wasn't much point in debating that point. Given all the mysteriousness Impa left the room, an ambush seemed likely. Funny, considering how they were the ones meant to ambush.

"You're probably right about that," Mercury spoke up. Coco stared at him through her glasses, watching as the silver haired boy looked around them. "Something tells me they're already here, too. In fact, I'd say they're rather… close." The joy in his words only made him creepier than usual. That was until he swung his leg in a brutal kick.

It would have secured Coco's ideas that the boy was insane, were it not for the dull thud of his leg hitting something.

Coco watched, stared, as sound came from nowhere. She was staring at nothing, the floor of the arena and past that to the walls, but seeing nothing that made the sound. Mercury had put his boot down, but there was still something clinking across the ground, moving almost. Before she could even curse in curiosity was that was, the answer was given to her.

Impa, like silent lightning, just popped into view.

Coco would have felt her jaw drop if she weren't gritting her teeth like her grip on her minigun. It was already unfolding, aimed at the tall faunus. Said faunus was standing crouched, one hand holding what looked like a piece of stone just in front of her face, the other gripping at her leg. She wasn't injured, no way, so that was probably a weapon or something. A single glance showed Coco the knives that were secured about her upper thigh. That sight made the Team CFVY realize something else.

Impa wasn't holding that giant sword she usually carried. It made her look… smaller. Yeah definitely smaller, but so small that she was unnoticeable? Was that a glyph of hers? It was a pretty common rumor at this point that she was some mixed descendant from the Schnee Family, but Weiss had never pulled out that trick before. But there was something else new about the Faunus.

She did have some new artwork over her eye, left eye. It… looked like a larger eye? A large red bleeding eye that trailed down just one of her cheeks. Whatever, it was something. And against a Faunus like Impa, Coco knew something was worth watching out for.

* * *

The silver-haired boy, Mercury, was faster than Link gave credit for.

To his defense, Impa saw nothing special in the boy either. He had not fought any duels with other squires, did not attempt to answer questions in class, and his very name was unknown until he volunteered to fight. It was the combination of unknowns that made him more dangerous than anyone else on the arena.

It was also why Impa was only barely able to block the roundhouse kick he had aimed for her head.

Because of the surprise of the attack, even though she was the one cloaked in stone, a sloppy defense was all she could throw up, one that resulted in too much force being placed against her arm. It forced a retreat, lost her the position of surprise. By extension, removed a critical piece to remaining the unknown.

Impa made a passive sound of annoyance as she removed and pocketed the Stone Mask. Link's memories told her where it belonged, just as they had explained its use. The gasps of the crowd were matched with a few startled expressions from the eight squires before her. Perhaps only Mercury saw through the passivity of the mask. It mattered little now if he was. It would have been only a hindrance to continue to wear it.

A pocket of silence took the arena's floor. Impa took to studying the squires who joined Coco Adel. Ruby was obvious, as was Velvet, but the others were unknown. Their attire suggested their class, the heavy set warrior, taller than the others, the close-ranged fighters, very like active shadows, and the girl with a long stick upon her back. She was likely a mage, very likely to fight from a distance. But Impa could waste more time thinking on them. She was studying them, but they were studying her.

"Tch, I was hoping to get a good hit with that," the boy commented, resuming a combat stance with speed equal to Impa. Link noted that he did not continue his assault. Impa took note that the others were struggling to keep up with what had happened. "But I guess if you're a hot shot huntress, it makes sense it wouldn't be that easy, huh?" And he was still smiling. Yes, Mercury was fast, but he was also clever.

"You are quite the unknown," she admitted to him. Flattery was an easy means to reduce one's guard, though it did not last nearly as long. "I am curious if you are a clever Warrior, or a walking Shadow. Both are worthy to fear."

"Wouldn't mind being the Shadow," Mercury coolly replied. He was hopping in place, too low to the ground to possibly be an opening. He must have known that. Link agreed the boy was well trained or well learned. "But I gotta say, it's a lot more fun to fight in the open." He didn't give any clue towards the spinning kick he directed at Impa, aside from ending his sentence. This time, however, she was ready.

The back of her hand wove and caught the junction between the boy's foot and leg, pulling back to disrupt his stance. Rather than falling, however, Mercury put a great amount of force into his other leg, flipping over Impa and redirecting his legs back at her. She saw the holes in the ends of his boots. Link knew what that meant. Impa wove left and right to dodge the blasts, simple given their straight trajectory. It was only after Mercury landed, smirking, that Impa realized a small mistake.

Her back was to the rest of the squires, a few of whom would doubtlessly catch onto her opening. Link couldn't hear them moving, but Impa was not to take a risk. Retreat then assess, do so with a distraction.

Impa brought her hands to her, calling forth her honed magic. Escape was best in the cover of smoke, smoke came easy following explosions. Link and Impa had experience with both. When her magic was bounded tightly, Impa took in a quick breath of air. Breaking her laced fingers apart, she threw one hand to the ground, letting her magic erupt.

The explosion was minimal at best, small compared to what both she and Link were capable of, but it was good enough. Impa could hear the cries of fright and confusion. Link could tell the difference between those who were annoyed and worried. Both retreated to the wall of an arena, feeling Impa's magic dissipate as she faced the squires once more. She had more time to judge them now.

The explosion had forced Coco Adel to her side, caught by the large warrior beside her, Yatsu if Link's memories were to be believed. The close brawlers were wiping soot from their eyes, the Hylian Velvet holding her large ears to her shoulders. A small wonder why. Mercury, however, appeared nonplus with the explosion, his eyes still trained on her. He may not have expected it, but he was prepared for it. He was a dangerous one.

That was when Impa's gaze caught a flurry of petals shot out to another far wall, filling her with confusion. Link knew it was Ruby, her swift ability making itself known. Petals were in the clear indicator she was using it. And while she was, she was fast, far faster than Impa or Link were. She was dangerous as well.

It was a pity, almost, that Tatl and Tael were both with Ozpin for the day. But for promises broken, favors were recompense. Any annoyance she had for their lack of presence could be thought of later. The now was far more important. And the action of now, through Link's thoughts, was to warn the squires of their coming defeat. Both Link and Impa knew it was inevitable.

"Be ready, you all," Impa's words spoke, earning the immediate attention of the distracted knights-in-training. They turned their weapons to her. "Against unfair numbers, I cannot risk to hold back." Impa spoke only the truth. Link knew that the truth was far more terrifying than any lie.

And the truth was, in the midst of a battle, those who supported their allies from afar were the priority targets. With them, movement was restricted, caution had to be put into every action, and one mis-timed movement could be the end. Without them, the enemy was prone to anger and irrationality. Link knew Yang would be furious with what was coming next. Impa would deal with the brawler when the time came.

Impa dashed towards Ruby and the other student, both still preparing their weapons. Foolish. They would pay for not being attentive before a fight. One of the other students, the one that appeared blind, struck at her with his elbows. Impa saw it coming very quickly. Link knew what to do. Impa knew it was brutal. Both knew it was necessary.

She easily ducked his blow, seeing his leg rising with his own anticipation. It wasn't fast enough. Impa twisted, catching the underside of the Gerudo's arm. The moment of her run made flipping him over her simple. The trick was what came next.

Link was used to carrying shields, but only Impa had the knowledge to turn a body into one.

As the dark-skinned squire flipped in the air, Impa deftly reached out and caught him by the throw, facing towards them. It made the blades on the back of his arms useless, their proximity between them too close to give them any purpose. Link remembered that the others were still training their weapons on them. Impa had not forgotten.

She kept her run towards Ruby and the other squire, holding up the dark human in front of her. He was struggling, gripping at her arm and attempting to strike her head. The later was a good objective, disorient and weaken. But Link knew where to strike a Gerudo to render them unconscious, or at least weakened. It was a good thing Impa had given her warning before, because it was not a kind maneuver.

In the midst of her sprint, Impa slammed her fist into the boy's stomach. She felt him curl in her grasp. Link heard the on-lookers in the stand give sounds of discomfort. Impa heard someone shout behind her, likely in fear. Fear was the mind killer. Ruby and her friend were the threats. Impa struck the Gerudo teen again, and again, and then trice more. Each blow gave out less and less air, reducing his struggles to weak motions of his arms. Good, because Link knew what came next would be far more brutal.

Ruby and her friend were readying their ranged weapons, aiming at Impa even as she approached. They were close now, and as soon Impa released the Gerudo boy, they would fire. They were not inexperienced, far from amateurs. It would be unlikely for them to miss so close. The alternative to taking a blow, however, was to turn a shield into a weapon. Impa knew how to use a body shield. Link knew how to use any tool masterfully.

Impa pushed the boy forward, ducking as his body fell. She didn't waste a moment to grab the boy's legs, all the while keeping his body between her and the weapons the squires used. This next moment was crucial. Fortunately, Link knew exactly what to do.

Pivoting on her foot, Impa used Link's memories to spin the Gerudo boy like a mace.

She was quickly rewarded for the tactic. The boy's head slammed into the squire neither Impa nor Link recognized. The blow was devastating for both parties. The boy she held was clearly dazed, the capped girl was nearly done in. Clearly a mage, lacking a suitable defense. It was easy to capitalize, so long as Impa moved to Link's memories.

She released the boy, letting his body fall like a doll onto Ruby. She let out a noise of surprise, but Impa did not relent. She was quickly on the girl she had dealt the cranium blow to, raising a fist the moment she was on top of her. A single blow would do, enough to take her out of the fight. But she felt someone preparing to intervene.

Impa directed her hand and summoned her magic, bringing forth a large glyph between her and the party she had fled from. No sooner than she did than did she feel something heavy slam against it. A quick look showed it was the silver-haired boy, Mercury. His whole body had gone into the kick he had delivered, enough to leave him airborne from the blow. A poor consequence to his choice.

It was an opening Impa could not ignore. Link told to remove the girl first, and Impa agreed. Her hand swung back down, delivering a brutal backhand to the capped girl. The blow made a crack of bone, sending the girl toppling the short distance to the wall. She stilled at the structure. She was alive, clearly by both Link and Impa's standards, but removed from the battle. That left six to confront. Still an up-hill fi-

"GAH!" Impa let out a cry of pain as something slammed into her gut. It sent her tumbling back, twisting to put herself back on her feet, but in an exposed condition. It wasn't good. She had just enough to look up, to see Ruby aiming that scythe of her at her. In that moment, she saw the girl pull back the lever once more. It was going to fire again. "No."

Impa threw up a Glyph, red as the fire she felt. She grimaced as another blow was dealt against. Far preferred the glyph than herself, but it was still keeping her immobile. Not good while outnumbered. Far from acceptable when Mercury, the clever warrior, saw the same opening. It was horrendous when Impa saw Coco spinning up some over-sized weapon at them. Link recognized the same tool from the Badlands. It was not something they could stand long against.

So the Shiekah threw up another glyph, then another, and the last above her still. Arms outstretched to support their strength, she could only grimace as blow after blow was dealt against them. Ruby's weapon was like a small cannon. Mercury's kicks lacked nothing in force. Coco's weapon was like a volley of arrows without rest. Their collective tools filled the air with explosions and booms, deafening Impa's trained hearing.

This was an extremely poor position. Only a quarter of their team gone and trapped in a corner of her own making. It would not be long before the other members gained courage and wove through their teams attacks. If the large warrior chose to strike at the perfect moment, it would cost Impa a great deal of her health. It was already draining to keep up the glyphs. The situation could not last.

Impa could hear the crowd talking of her predicament, whispers both excited and terrified as she focused and spun her force into the glyphs. Link could tell they were thrilled by the idea of their defeat, seeing the undefeated be crushed.

Both Impa and Link knew it was not something they could allow to happen. Not this soon and certainly not this early. These squires still had much to learn. Fortunately, Link had a plan. Impa knew it would work. Both had seen its success in the past. They were for opposite reasons, but it would work.

Impa knew how to do it. Link knew how to use it. They only had to be quick.

She drew in the glyphs, backing herself into the corner. Less space meant less error. She could not afford any, not with the constant onslaught. It was still risky, but the odds were in her favor. These squires were clever, smart, well-trained, but inexperienced. That lack of understanding would be what caused Link's plan to work. Impa trusted his memories.

"Ho!"

Impa shouted loudly, swinging her arm with the effort. The rune above her accelerated, descending through her as it was meant to. Her own magic surrounded her, read her, copied her, then did as she had commanded it to.

It made another version of her. It made a shadow of herself.

It was not a true shadow. It was not dark as the starless night nor staring with eyes of red. It was colored the same as her, dressed the same, and moving the same. But it had no thoughts of its own nor intents to live. Only orders that it followed, and it had its orders.

No sooner did her self-made doppelganger come to life than did it take off running about the edge of the arena. Its appearance brought an obvious lull to the attacks over Impa, as Link knew they would. These warriors in training were so surprised by most of his skills that the rarity of this one, even back in Hyrule, would ensure their shock. He was not wrong.

With her runes gone, exposed as she was, she saw the remaining six parties follow the shadow of her, running towards the bunny-eared Hylian. She was the obvious target, another mage preparing something that Impa could not read. Her plan mattered little if she was gone. It was the thought process Impa was sure the others would expect of her, especially given her assault on Ruby and the other squire. She was not wrong.

Coco's heavy machinery followed the trail her shadow left behind, the saw-bladed warrior chasing it with great intent. Mercury was frozen, staring at it before looking back at Impa. Ruby was not firing at her either. They were all shocked. That was good. Impa knew what she had to do. Link trusted she would not go too far. She was the one friend who controlled her emotions the most.

She took off for Ruby, running with a speed she knew far surpassed the silver-haired Mercury. But, for good measure, she laced a knife on the ground, letting it strike out as he took a step towards her. She was half-way the distance to the red-hooded support when she heard the boy fall back from the trap. It was only a distraction, but a distraction was all she needed. She was upon Ruby before the girl had a chance to raise that scythe again.

Impa grabbed the girl's neck, holding her off the ground and removing the support she needed to work her weapon. The Shiekah quickly spun until her back was to the wall, making a shield of the girl once more. But when all those were set, the General of the Hylian army began her work. Link still trusted her, but he knew this was beyond what the girl suspected of him. She would forgive, hopefully.

"I'm sorry, Ruby," Link spoke through Impa's voice. It made the girl still, staring at Impa with wide eyes. It was exactly what the Shiekah needed. "This will be over swiftly. Then we can speak again."

Even as Link spoke, Impa stared into Ruby. She saw through the gown of red, past the eyes of silver, and into the core of who she was.

She saw everything that was Ruby Rose, the youngest of the squires in Beacon, and likely one of the most deserving of the title of Knight.

She was full of hope, and full of sorrow. She was full of determination, and reservation. She was full of love, as much as a child could.

Ruby Rose was full of speed, ready to charge towards any danger, just as quickly as she wanted to end it.

Impa's Eye of Truth, framed by her clan's red markings, let her see it all.

And because she saw it so clearly, she understood it. Because she understood what Ruby Rose was, she knew how to use it. Impa had not taken anything, but she had certainly forged something from memories that were not her own. It was far and removed from the first time.

The Eye of Truth showed all to the Shiekah blood. They were the clan taught and trained to use knowledge as the strongest of weapons. Impa saw more than any other with her eye. Link had mastery over all she saw.

"And we are done," Impa spoke now, dropping the girl from the air. Ruby moved to settle on her feet, but it was not to be. The drop was a feint, and Impa did not let opportunities pass her by.

Her leg raised itself to deliver a brutal kick to Ruby's gut, knee nearly embedding itself into the young girl's frame. The cough of pain was as audible as the surprise on her features were visible. Impa chose to ignore the sight. Link knew it was necessary. Both knew the uselessness of mercy in a duel without death.

Impa swung her fist, colliding with Ruby's face in a near instant. She continued the momentum, carrying the girl until her head slammed into the wall of the arena. There was no crunch, thankfully, but the daze in the girl's gaze was obvious. It wasn't enough, but nearly there. Link used his memories, spinning through his attack until Impa's opposite hand landed on Ruby. The back of her fist slammed into the girl, making her drop her scythe and fall to the ground. She was out.

"Three down," Impa noted, staring back at the others. They only just began to look at her, figuring out what she had done. If they had been a few seconds sooner, it would have been clever. Now, they were fools. And fools met their end swiftly. This time, not painfully.

But they were just wise enough to wait for her now, to not uselessly rush her after being tricked. That showed they were learning. It was enough to bring a small grin to Impa's face. Link agreed. It was a shame that three of them were not awake to share the lesson. But they had been given teachings of their own.

Moments passed in silence, complete absence of noise kept far away by the chatter of the crowd. But the others were not moving. Coco had her machinery aimed at Impa still, long section spinning in preparation. Mercury had taken a crouch, likely prepared to jump once more. The saw-bladed warrior was much the same, but his blades were literally spinning. The Hylian was watching silently, fearfully, and the tall warrior had a grip on his blade Impa knew promised pain.

Link chose the time to act.

"Five to go." Impa raised a glyph in the air, jumping on it.

In the next second, she was shooting across the arena, the wisps of shadows falling behind her.

* * *

Yang was gonna hurl. It was that or run into the arena and start a killing spree.

She thought they were on good terms with Link and his friends, the super-faunuses actually helping out. Heck, they even had a good time over lunch, teasing included. You don't tease people you're not comfortable with! But right now, she didn't feel much love for the faunus, not after what he'd just done.

Ruby was just taken out. She was lying on the ground of the arena with her precious weapon lying outside of her reach. She had been beaten, kicked, strangled, then punched again, and again, and then th-

"Yang!" Someone shouted, nearly making the blonde throw up her lunch. "Yang! Calm down! Ruby is okay!" Was she moving? Oh yeah, she was, standing up and trying to find a way down to the arena.

That was funny because she was so sure that Link and his friends had made it clear that he was teaching them. But Yang couldn't see the lesson in beating her sister like that, not after one of the other teammates had just gotten a roundhouse-kick.

"You sure about that?" She turnedon Pyrrha, the red-head looking looking her with a narrowed gaze. "My sis was just… just destroyed! Did ya miss what just happened to her!?" She waved her hand at the arena, making it clear she was waving at her sister, still lying on the floor, still as a log, not moving, not- "Now what's gonna happen? I... I-I can't even imagine!"

"Just remember what you did last time," Blake spoke up instead, voice just loud enough to hear. Yang focused her lavender gaze on her partner's golden eyes. "Ruby is removed from the fight and Impa would hardly break her own rules of engagement. That isn't to mention Ms. Goodwitch would stop any fighting if they were seriously injured. Ruby's knocked out, but that's it. She _will_ be okay."

"How sure are you?" Yang asked her partner, still trying to walk as she did so. Man, her body _really_ wanted to get down there. "I-I've gotta get her out of there. She's not supposed to be that close to a fight if she can't do anything! They've gotta stop the match or-or-"

"Sit down, Xia Long!" Weiss shouted at her, standing up as well. Yang was startled by the girl's voice. She was hardly something to be afraid of. She didn't matter when it came to Ruby's well-being. "We only _JUST_ finished apologizing to Link about the last incident. Now is not the time to create another!" Wrong.

"I don't care if I blow that to all hell!" Yang shouted back. A part of her told her that some of the other students were looking at them. A dozen other parts told her to put Weiss in her place. "I'm not letting my sister get _crushed_ by some pumped up maniac of a-"

"Yang, look at the arena!" She didn't bother to look at Jaune. If he yelled at her, it was for a good reason. Yang turned away from Weiss with a snarl, looking at whatever it was that gave Vomit Boy a hint of courage.

She felt her jaw drop with her legs as Impa shot across the arena floor, dark shadows falling behind her.

The faunus, the old as bones with ears like an elf faunus, was jumping from glyph to glyph across the arena just like Ruby would trees back home. She was standing on one, staring at CFVY in the arena, before jumping off and turning into the hauntingly familiar cloak. But it wasn't red like Ruby, it was dark and black. Petals didn't fall, but wisps of shadows.

Yang had no idea how, a million questions why, but only one definite conclusion.

Impa was straight up using Ruby's semblance.

"That's… that's not possible," Ren, of all people, spoke what no one else could. Yang wasn't sure if she could say anything. Her muscles too weak at the sight, falling back into her seat without a strong leg to stand on. How was this possible? Impa's semblance was _glyphs_ , the same as Weiss for Dusts' sake! So was… wait…

"Her semblance isn't magic, despite appearance," Blake spoke up, speaking what she had told their team a few nights ago. That was supposed to just be a warning to Weiss, but now… oh geez. "She never told me what that meant. But this… what is this? Mimicry?"

"That is… possible," Weiss spoke up, voice as breathless as Yang expected it to be.

Yang felt her hair getting warm, blazing actually. She could be talked out of storming the stage. That was a mistake last time and she'd made damn sure to let her team know to stop her before a second one occurred. They were doing a pretty good job, like her dad holding her back after Signal teacher had called Ruby dense.

But that was _so_ much harder right now.

"She could… could she have stolen…" Weiss couldn't finish the sentence. Maybe she did, but Yang couldn't tell. She could only hear her heart drumming in her ears. The sound got louder the longer she stared at her sister lying on the ground, not moving, laying still, unarmed, hurt, _injured_!

"No, no way," Blake spoke before anyone could let in another word. "She's too proud, Link too honorable, to do something so impossible... _heinous_ as that during a simple challenge. That isn't even possible, stealing a part of someone's soul like that." She could talk all she liked, but Yang couldn't care. It was becoming really hard to care the longer she stared at Impa running around and using Ruby's-

"Stay calm," Impa's voice spoke up. Yang whirled to her in the arena.

Impa was standing some distance away from the rest of the crew down there. Ruby was at the far end away from the maniac. That was good.

But she was still lying on the ground, exposed. That was bad.

Hopefully whatever came next didn't affect her. Better not, or Yang would be more than willing to risk some kind of detention with Goodwitch. At least the rest of the punks down there were aiming their weapons at Impa. That'd keep her from rushing Ruby.

"You began this fight valiantly, but you have begun to strike out vainly," the old faunus was talking, holding up a few knives in her hand. It would have looked cool, if Yang hadn't seen the same woman beat her sister into the ground! "I am doubtless my skills have surprised you, the Unknowns working against you, but you cannot allow that. Stay calm, focus, and you may still have chance."

A chance? Seriously? Yang wanted to see Impa get beaten into the dirt now more than ever, but even she knew they were all screwed. The faunus had taken out three of them in like a minute! How they hell were they supposed to beat her. Yang even looked at the screen to see the proof.

Impa had just barely lost a fifth of her Aura, something that Yang had done to Elrora with a single punch. May was out of the ring, Fox too. Mercury was down like a sixth of his aura, Roy three times that, Coco another fifth! Only Yatsu and Velvet looked like they were unscathed, but honestly how long could that last if Impa could take them out with a few hits! Even Ruby… huh…

She had Aura still. She had like half her Aura still!

"Weiss," Yang found herself whispering. Probably because the room had gotten so quiet. "Do you see that, or am I just going crazy to stop myself from going psycho." That made sense, maybe. Defensive mechanisms or whatever a psyche would want to call it.

"Yang what are… oh… _oh_." Yang could pretty safely conclude that meant she wasn't crazy. The relief almost made her melt in her chair. She felt her hair cool a few degrees at least. "She's playing possum to surprise Impa. She's setting up an Unknown where her opponent believes in a fact." Yang was pretty sure Weiss meant it was a trap. She found her grin returning.

"Oh Grimm and Dust, Ruby," Yang spoke out in an exasperated sigh. "It's like you're trying to give me a heart attack."

"I think it'd be more fun to see you with a heart _burn!_ " Nora spoke up, quipping the boxer. Yang chuckled at the joke; that was all.

Couldn't laugh yet. But it was funny. Still, couldn't laugh yet.

Ruby still had gotten kicked and beaten before being thrown away. That was still… there. But she wasn't knocked out. Yang just had to focus on something else, something else that wasn't exactly Ruby. Like… one of the other five kids still left down there.

Well, more like four. Yang was having a hard time calling Velvet a fighter, seeing as she was just standing off the way and watching the fight. Didn't even have a weapon on her. At least Coco and Yatsu had those beasts of tools, and one of them being a literal Dust-blessed minigun! If she got a good track on Impa, that'd be the show, probably. Roy and Mercury were kind of opposites. Both close range, but so far no one seemed to far all that well close up to Impa. That was before she did… whatever with Ruby. There _would_ be talks later about that.

"Smart," Yang heard Blake whisper next to her. Didn't take the boxer long to figure out she was hearing something they couldn't, probably a conversation on the floor. A double tap on her shoulder gave the hint to her partner. She blinked before responding. "They're going to attempt to corner her again, at least that is what Coco is proposing. It looks like Roy is the only one not on board." Weird, Yang swore it would've been Mercury as the odd man out.

"Most likely because he just saw Impa whip his partner to the floor," Jaune spoke up. He could say something smart, once in a blue moon. "I don't think he's on board for just guard duty after that."

"Well, can't blame him for that." Yang could easily understand that feeling. "Gonna be trouble if it costs the match though." That beanie girl must been the one with the cool head. The saw-bladed teen, Roy according to Blake, looked ready to jump at Impa, who was… what was she doing?

Yang had to squint at Link's friend, watching as the faunus, moved her arms through the air in one of the weirdest fashions she'd ever seen. It looked almost like she was trying to drag her hands through sand, making large deliberate motions as she positioned out her stance. She was pretty far away from the knives on her thigh, so it wasn't like she was gonna throw one. But then why the heck weren't the rest of the kids doing anything?

"A battle is hardly ever won by skill alone," Impa spoke with her action, dragging one of her hands past her chest. Would have been ten times more exciting if she ripped off that chest plate of hers. No such luck. "Knowledge is the keeper of victory. Those who possess it before the battle own its end. But the few who gather it in the midst of conflict… they are the ones who can turn the tides of war."

She was starting to sound like one of those poets Yang always fell asleep listening to. Ruby had better get up and kick butt soon… or stay down and wait it out. Either were good with Yang, so long as her little sis was alright.

"The Shadows are the Knights that gather the tools of victory. We Sheikah live and breathe in that realm." Yang understood that one. Weiss reminded her about it over the past few days. Shadows were like the ninjas of Hyrule. Made a lot of sense, especially given how Impa was dressed now. "So now watch closely, prepare properly, for what a Master of the Shadow can do."

Her sentence ended with her hands drawn together, stopping just above her shoulder. Weird, usually that kind of talk ended with someone holding something dramatic, or just striking some corny pose. The way Impa was standing, it looked like she forget her giant blade wasn't with her. Funny, but given everything Yang had seen so far, that was pretty impossible.

That's when she threw her hands, or more accurately, threw something forward. The arena floor was covered in smoke the next second.

"You gotta be kidding me," Yang heard herself mumble, staring at a literal cloud of whatever cover the floor. She lost track of basically everyone down there as soon as the smokescreen went up. No Ruby, no Impa, not even Glynda wherever she was in the cloud. "Ain't that illegal or something? Blocking the ref's view?"

"Perhaps in duels between students, but apparently not when we are facing Link," Weiss spoke up. She was leaning forward as if she hoped to see something. Her and about every other kid the place. Yang had to throw a hand back to stop whoever it was from leaning over her. "But if we can't see, how can she expect to see either. Universal sight impairment is a military tactic for retreat, not attack, not unless a means is available to see through… or sense…" Yang felt the gears in her head click in time with Weiss's.

"Blake?" Yang asked, seeing her partner give a glance before looking back at the arena. Her bow was moving. "What's happening? C'mon. Speak up." She snarled at the words. Yang would get over that later. Right now her sister was still in the game, and if she got found out in the fog…

"Nothing yet," Blake spoke. "Coco and Roy are being very… vocal of the screen. Everyone is else simply stepping around. I can't tell from where, not with all this noise." She glared at the kids around her. Small mystery what the feline meant, given that everyone was either talking or screaming to know what was going on. Yang was used to loud booms though, given she had shotguns on her hands.

"The Screen," was all Ren simply said. Yang didn't need to look at him to know what the boy meant. She looked up above the smoke cloud. She still saw the same thing as before, Aura wise at least. Impa was down, yeah, but pretty freaking far away from out. Wasn't looking good…

**BAM**

The boom of impact was the first warning that something was happening. The shouts from the rest of the students didn't help. The next high sign was the dull thud that came from something hitting one of the arena walls. Yang felt her seat shake. Something like, had to be someone getting hit. She stared back up at the screen.

One glance told her Yatsu was in for a bad time.

That feeling got worse when she saw the mini-giant's Aura go down by tenths with every blow Yang heard through the smoke screen. It was only after the fifth hit that she realized she could see the billows in the smoke where the blows were likely being dealt. Not like it was gonna save Yatsu though.

Three more blows, quickly in time and all just as deafening, then Yatsu was out.

"She wasn't kidding about the not holding back part," Jaune muttered from Yang's side. She could nod her head at that, blowing away a stray piece of her hair. It was almost painfully obvious how much Link and his friends were holding back before now, given that Impa was pretty much destroying the star team of the second years plus her sister… not quite yet that last one.

**BAM**

Another colossal blow echoed through the smoke screen, met with the same tremor through the stands. Yang felt like she was walking on needles, horrified to look up and see Ruby's face next to a red bar. But she had to look, because cowardice was not going to make her a bad sister. It was guilty sort of relief to see Coco's face next to an Aura meter that went from green to yellow.

"Aw, I wanna see the fight!" Nora shouted, like every other student. "It's not cool if we can't see!" She had a point… childish, no doubt, but still kinda valid. If Yang were to make a BS excuse, they couldn't learn from the teacher if they couldn't see her.

But then the smoke started to move. Not dissipate or rise or whatever smoke did to go away. More like it started to… spin. It wasn't until the puffs of gray air began to move inward that Yang really understood what she was seeing. They weren't just moving, they were being sucked in! She only knew one person who could do that.

Yang was not disappointed to see her sister's petals start to appear through the dark cloud.

"That's Ruby, isn't it?" Pyrrha asked like she didn't see what Yang did. Kay, it was possible, but given how the girl could pinpoint throw a spear from like a mile away, Yang kinda doubted it. "She's making a vortex to dissipate the smoke. That's very clever." Well, if there was one word for her gun-crazy, admitted-to-Beacon-early, prodigy of a sister, it was clever. Not that Yang was complaining.

As the smoke left, the rest of the challengers came into view. Yatsu was knocked out on the ground, his massive sword thrown away somewhere. May and Fox weren't in much better conditions. Velvet was huddled up, crouched down with her ears down. Probably had the best chance of avoiding Impa. Mercury and Roy, the two probably most vulnerable kids, were just spinning around like they were ready to fire at the first thing they saw. Made sense to Yang.

Then, finally, Impa came into view. She came into view with Coco held up by the back of her head, minigun discarded like Yatsu's sword. Impa wasn't even looking at the CFVY leader, she was just holding Coco like she was gonna give a cranium crush. Her eyes were instead looking around the arena, probably following Ruby.

Speaking of, Yang felt a grin pull at her lips when her sister skidded to a stop, sliding right in front of Velvet. She was panting though, a lot. Yang would've been surprised if she wasn't.

"Impressive," Impa spoke, still holding Coco up. The girl was grabbing at the hand that held her, clearly not getting anywhere. Given the sword Impa usually swung around, Yang was pretty sure Yatsu was the only one who had a chance to dislodge that grip. Herself aside, of course. "I thought you were already removed from the fight. That is my error for not checking. Though you wasted a good opportunity to strike at me."

"I couldn't see you before," Ruby spoke up, twisting her scythe back at Impa. The faunus moved to put Coco between her and the barrel. Yang grit her teeth. It made sense, but damn if the sight didn't make her want to check Impa in the back of the head! Who used a body shield like that? "Really couldn't see you through the smoke, but I wasn't gonna let everyone get hurt while I did nothing!" The cocking of her rifle was pretty hard to miss, the sight and the sound.

"Noble, but again mistimed," Impa spoke as if she weren't being stared down at gunpoint, without a gun of her own. "We can discuss later what would have been wiser moves. For now, let's conclude this du-."

"No!" Ruby shouted. Yang wasn't sure what got her more, the fact her sister yelled like that to a teacher, friend even, or that Impa did stop. On some thought, definitely the latter. Given that Impa did just nearly knock Ruby out, it kinda made sense she'd yell. Hell, Yang would've been screaming… with fists. "I… I want to know what you did! How come you can run like me now?!"

Oh yeah… yeah! Yang had almost forgotten about that! Between Ruby getting beaten down, the smoke screen, and stuff it… wait… was Impa laughing? Like… oh geez she sounded creepy… It was creepy enough to make the whole room go quiet.

"Unknowns have the advantage, young Ruby Rose," Impa spoke in a drooled out voice. Hearing her talk like that, sounding so different just… in control... Yang was getting ready to vault the stands to help Ruby again. Weiss must have realized something was up, because she felt the girl grab her wrist, like that was going to do any good. "But… to set at ease the tension I wish not to see propagated, I will say honestly that I have taken nothing from you. All that you had you still possess. Not a thing of your mind, body, or soul is missing from you."

That was one way to turn a conversation around. Yang felt her own breath of relief from her lungs. Weiss must have done the same, cause she let go of her hand as soon as Impa said those words. Didn't stop the rest of the room from chattering though. Hard to blame them.

"Despite the circumstances now, you are still a squire that I am teaching to be a knight." It was amazing to Yang, how Impa could say all of that while holding Coco up in the air. The chick wasn't struggling as much as before… maybe she was listening, too? Actually, that was possible, seeing as struggling was going nowhere fast. "I promised that your defeat of me would prove your deserving for the station. However, that only means I cannot afford a mistake."

Huh? What did that mean? What kind of mistake could Impa make that would mess them up? Like what, she went too all out and knocked them around? Yang was pretty sure there were a few bodies lying around that put to rest that idea.

"You're victory would boost your confidence. Your confidence would invite challenge. A challenge too great would lead to a tragic end." Yang was sure of only one thing right now. Impa was a master at changing the mood. She'd gone from chilled by that laugh to understanding then right back to the-hell-is-going-on. "I wish to see you succeed, but I will not hold back to allow such a thing. Not against you, or your friends, or anyone else in the audience who one day dreams of wearing the mantle of knight."

Take away the 'knight' and put in 'huntress' and Yang was pretty sure that took up like 95% of the room, give or take the kids who were here just to make a name before doing something else. Kinda like Weiss. But hey, big woman had a point. It was a point Yang kinda wanted to beat into submission and let fester for hurting anyone close to her, but the logic was there. It was kinda like 'the strong survive' or whatnot.

"So to claim victory, Ruby, I will use all at my disposal, especially when you and your friends are clever enough to find new ways to challenge me." Yang felt herself chuckle at that one. She almost had Elrora beat… by about a margin of four to five. Eh, better luck next time. "And that includes trying to sneak up on me."

Wait, what?

Any short question Yang had was quickly answered. Impa turned and threw Coco like a freaking rock, hurtling the girl at the wall behind her. It wasn't until Yang followed the unfortunate team leader of CFVY that she saw Mercury circling around Impa. The dude had to dodge the girl flying at him, throwing off any game plan he was coming up with. Yang could almost hear his tongue click in disappointment, which was something he'd probably do.

But no sooner did that happen than did Impa charge, pulling back a fist at it. Mercury pivoted probably trying to lift up his leg to block whatever the Faunus was gonna throw at him. But to his surprise, and doubly so Yang's, Impa ran right past Mercury. She stopped when Coco slammed into the arena wall.

Impa stopped because she delivered a savage hit to Coco's head. Yang didn't need the score screen to know that the CFVY leader was out. The hissing, 'oh'ing, and all around pained noises were evident enough that the girl was down for the count. That was a smart move… in the worst of ways, Yang realized.

"Now four of you are done, of that I'm sure," Impa spoke as she turned back around. Yang could see her red eyes looking at the rest of the kids around the arena, probably figuring out who to take out next. Probably the one time Yang hoped Ruby was last on a list. "And four left to go, all without your usual partners, without a plan, and without a clear means on how to stop me."

"Intimidation," Yang heard Weiss whisper next to her. Then she kept talking. "Stating of simple undeniable facts to create a mindset of defeat. It would make them predictable to counter." Great, mind games. Just what Yang needed to watch.

"You're being pretty brutal for a duel against us students," Mercury spoke up. He sounded cocky, per usual, adjusting his neck as he spoke. "Doesn't that make you feel bad at all? Going all out on us. It's not like we got much of a chance against you."

"Guilt," Blake spoke up now. Yang knew exactly what her partner was talking about. "Make the opponent regret choices. It would leave her open for attack more often than usual. Even if it works, it wouldn't last for long against someone like Impa." Yang wasn't sure if she ended it that way cause she honestly that Impa was all that or if she was a Faunus. Knowing Blake, probably the latter.

"You should be proud I am holding so little of my abilities back," Impa returned. Unlike when she spoke to Ruby though, her eyes were moving with her hands. Hands that were making weird signs around her body. That was important, probably. "Though you are less experienced than myself, or any other instructor at this Academy, you are all skilled enough to require my absolute focus and effort. I find it a testament to your past, all of you, that I must so readily alter my plan of action."

"Praise," Pyrrha now. Figures she'd be next. "Put your foe on a pedestal so they assume their next action is the right one. It makes the capitalization of any mistakes a truly damning thing." The Spartan of team JNPR was definitely speaking from experience. Yang couldn't see it any other way.

"But as I said before. Defeating me means you are ready to be a knight. I cannot see any of you at such a level," Impa continued to speak. She drew her hands back, holding them to her sides like she was trying to push a giant wall back or something. "To allow you to win would only mean mockery of your determination to succeed, make light of the trials you have overcome. I will not give an easy battle, but that does not mean I am being cruel for cruelty's sake."

"Honesty," Yang spoke up now. She could tell Impa wasn't lying, stupidly. "It's gonna put everyone on edge. Set them off like a firecracker." The Faunus sounded just like her teachers back at Signal, all high, mighty, and preachy. Never said a made-up word though, just too many words altogether.

Yang watched Mercury twist his grieves, jumping on the balls of his feet. She watched Roy spin his gauntlets, revving them up like some kind of motor. She watched Velvet, _finally_ , make her way out of the ringside, taking deep breaths and standing beside Ruby. Ruby… Yang saw her little sister adjust her grip on her rifle, getting ready to fire away. There was a scowl on her face. That was probably the weirdest part of all of this.

"Now, let us finish the match."

But no matter what happened, Ruby had better come out okay.

* * *

Ruby wasn't okay.

It wasn't that she was staring down Impa, sort of Link, with Crescent Rose. It wasn't that she'd basically seen three good friends of hers getting beaten so effortlessly. And it wasn't even that she couldn't help the new girl May from getting clocked by Impa when she was right next to her, but that did hurt. What wasn't right was… something. She didn't know a word for what it was.

She felt fine, really, aside from the bruise that was probably gonna show up on her face after the match was over. But it wasn't like she hadn't had that happened before when she was trying to figure out how to use Crescent Rose before… or just running through the woods. This was different. It was like… she just realized something. But she couldn't put a word for it.

Ruby didn't know what she was feeling, and that wasn't okay.

"Roy," she spoke up, earning the boy's attention. Ruby kept her eyes on Impa. She was fast like her, somehow… that means she could attack fast. "Try and protect Velvet." The boy gave her a quick glance, enough to show that he didn't get what she was thinking. She didn't either, not fully. It just felt right. She'd do anything that felt right to get this weird feeling to go away, or at least make sense!

"R-Ruby," she heard Velvet whisper next to her. "What are you doing?" She didn't know, so it was hard to answer. But… Elrora did talk about peace, inner peace, making peace… she'd have to try that. It was better than doing nothing and letting this weird feeling get worse.

"Coco didn't want you to fight," Ruby spoke up. "But she wanted you in the ring. So… you probably are planning something, right?" She wouldn't look at her upper class man. When she did, Impa would probably charge. She needed to remember that, not that Impa was now moving like she did when her semblance was active, or that Impa had just wiped out four of the higher class fighters like she was… no… inner peace, like Elrora said.

"… I do," Velvet admitted. Ruby saw Roy shift closer to them as she talked. At least that meant he was listening to her. It helped her feel better, a little. "I just need to watch Impa for a bit longer. If I can… I think I may be able to pin her down." Ruby really wanted to know how that would work, but now wasn't the time for it.

Impa was scary, and if she stopped looking at something that was that scary, it'd attack. Inner peace, accept what was there… she could do this. Elrora told her she could. That would make the feeling go away, at least for a little bit, hopefully.

"Okay… Mercury and I will distract her, right?" She didn't look at Mercury, because Impa was still looking at her. She wasn't attacking though, like she was waiting for them to make a plan. That was scary, too. She heard the boy make some kind of noise. That probably meant he was on board. "Right, okay." Ruby took deep breaths, trying to change that feeling she had. It didn't do much.

"Are you prepared?" Impa spoke again. She was waiting for them. Ruby had to swallow on nothing, fingers flexing against Crescent Rose. "Then I'll begin." Two things happened after that.

Ruby saw Impa turn into smoke. Ruby felt the feeling in her change.

It wasn't just different, it was _leading_ . It was like the feeling she got when she first met Link in the woods or when Penny told her about her real self. It was telling her something, like it was guiding her on way to do. But it wasn't just like that. It was so much stronger that. Ruby… she didn't have a word for it.

But if the feeling was this strong, like it felt wrong to go against, then she could at least see where it wanted her to go. Ruby lifted and swung out Crescent Rose, turning the sharp edge towards the path Impa had come from.

She felt her baby hook onto something. The feeling didn't want her to stop. Without seeing it just yet, Ruby fired Crescent Rose, feeling the fulcrum of the force spin her scythe about her body. Whatever was latched onto her baby was thrown away. The feeling got weaker after that.

When Ruby looked to what she hit, she saw Impa across the arena again, arm along her torso and wide eyes focused on her. She wasn't the only one.

Did… Did she just catch Impa off guard?

"Nice catch, Red," Mercury spoke up, breaking whatever quick shock Ruby found herself in. Now she looks at the boy, who's grinning at her. So she did catch Impa with that… "Guess it makes sense, you're faster than she is." No, no it didn't.

Ruby was fast, but she had a hard time keeping track of Impa before. She could, yeah, especially during her duels with the other students, but if she was running like Ruby usually did, there shouldn't have been any chance in the Grimm's domain she could've done that. Yet she did? The feeling was getting worse, the bad kind of worse.

"That was new for you, Ruby," said girl stared at Impa. Did she know what was happening? The faunus was only staring at her, hand leaving her metal plated chest and sliding against her outer though. "Tell me, do you feel something?"

Actually, she did. It was the same feeling as before. If it worked once, it could work twice!

She shifted to her side, feeling petals fall where she was just standing. In the split of a second, she reached out her hand into the petals, catching on something. It was too hard to be one of the rose petals, and it definitely was too small to be anything she normally carried. With her.

When Ruby looked at her hand, she was holding a knife, the same kind that Impa had strapped around her leg. She never even saw her throw it. But… she managed to catch it? What was going on?

"That confirms it," Impa spoke. Even with her scarf, Ruby could see the grin. No, wait, what did she mean? "Do not worry, we will speak of it later. For now, there is a battle to finish." Oh right!

Ruby dropped the knife and grabbed Crescent Rose with both hands, getting into the right stance. Couldn't charge, but she had to be ready to jump in any direction. Yup, dodge and shoot, that was the best way to handle someone like Impa. And if Mercury was helping… he seemed pretty fast. He'd know when to kick, like Yang and when to punch.

"But Ruby," Impa spoke again. "You should be wary of speaking plans in front of your foe."

With those words, Impa disappeared with trails of black smoke. She felt something bad behind her, but her body wasn't moving! Oh no…

"Roy!" She screamed as she turned. "Get ready for-" Her voice died as she spoke.

Impa was already behind Roy. She was in front of Velvet. She was standing on a red glyph. And, worst of them all, her hands were on both of her teammates heads. That was bad… really bad. The feeling was way worse than before, but she had no idea what it was telling her to do. She had to do something, but what?

It wasn't until Ruby heard Velvet and Roy's head cracking together that she knew she was too late. They hit again thrice over before she was close enough, but then at least she knew what to do.

She jumped forward, raising Crescent Rose above her head. She fired it mid-swing, sending its tip careening down towards Impa. She saw the Faunus look up at her for a moment, the literal blink before the tip hit. Apparently that was all the time she needed.

Another rune appeared to stop her. It was a lot smaller than the usual ones. Weiss told her ones that the smaller runes were weaker, but were quicker to make. Ordinarily runes so small were useless, like throwing pebbles at a Grimm. But Impa had just shown their use, if you were fast at least. Because the moment Crescent Rose hit the glyph, Impa dropped Velvet and Roy to jump back. Ruby's scythe hit air.

She didn't stop though, she couldn't. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she was running with petals again, looking for Impa anywhere she could. Shadows or glyphs, either of those was what she needed to see, because she didn't have that huge sword on her back anymore! Was that why she dropped it? No wait, she had to focus!

"Gotcha!" She heard Mercury shout. Ruby turned to see the boy locking his boot against one of Impa's knives, the two holding each other in place. "You're pretty fast all of the sudden, but you're still striking at the obvious spots."

"Indeed I am," Impa replied. Ruby was listening… but she should be attacking! This was an opening! "I suppose I will need to be more extravagant for you." Ruby got a really bad feeling when she heard that. But this time, she knew what to do!

"Get away from her!" She yelled those words as she jumped back, petals falling away. She saw Mercury jump back himself before even looking at her. His guns went off to push him, flipping like Yang would with her own gauntlets. Not a moment later did Ruby see a red glyph appear above where Mercury was before.

A very large spear slammed into the ground a moment later.

Ruby held up a hand to stop the dust from getting into her eyes, feeling her cape billow at the force. She could feel Mercury slide a distance away before stopping. He was safe, which was good. She couldn't feel anything coming at her, which was also good. It gave her a moment to see just what Impa had done.

The spear that was in the ground was… an odd spear. It's point was drastically oversized. It looked more like a blade attached to the end of a metallic pole than a simple point. But even that wasn't enough. It looked like the steel was lain out in a fan like pattern, the similar sheet folding techniques that would be used on a lot of high end swords, but just really apparent. Actually… oh!

"That's a Naginata!" Ruby yelled. She couldn't help her excitement, even as Impa grabbed at the pole, lifting it from the floor. She was being smiled at from Impa, which probably meant she wasn't going to be attacked, which was also good. "That's an iteration of the combat scythe that was meant to prioritize weight and balance over raw power! Low-Carbon alloys of steel that allow for higher deflection, making it good for both cutting and defending. It can still hide explosive cartridges in its length which can double as strike-weight in early parts of a fight!" But it was really hard to attach any kind of ammunition to one, while prioritizing speed. Scythes were just better for that.

"Impressive, Ruby Rose," Impa spoke, even as she swung the naginata about her body. Swung wasn't the right word… more like spun it like some umbrella in a bad children's song, sideways. It almost looked like a fan with how fast it was twisting. It stopped with an almost audible thud behind Impa's back, held by her hands with the blade downwards. "Though I will allow you to know I keep no tools within my blades. It is my duty to bring out their strength, not to alter them to be stronger."

"Ain't that cheating though, bringing out some new weapon in the middle of a battle?" Ruby looked at Mercury. He was still kneeling, probably ready to jump at a moment's notice. Good call! "We too good for your knives now?"

"I never was very good with knives." Given the way she handled them, Ruby didn't believe her. Wait, did she just answer Mercury's question? "I always found it simpler to keep my foes away with weapons that excelled in reach, and did not require retrieving them with every swing." Well a naginata was good for that. So was that giant blade she liked to carry around.

"That isn't the only reason," Ruby whispered to herself. There was a reason Impa was using that weapon now. Link used all his weapons like that, with some really conveniently cool purpose. Freeze a bunch of Grimm, then turn them into a staircase. Put a bunch of bullies into a whirlwind, then knock them out of Beacon. If Impa wanted to just have reach, she could've used that giant blade. But the naginata… "Why is she using that?"

"You're slow Ruby." Ruby didn't think. She acted on what she felt.

Her body jumped up as she fired Crescent Rose. Her body flew across the arena, her semblance making her lighter than air. She felt the air get pierced beneath her, her eyes catching the wisps of smoke that were Impa doing… well, doing what Ruby did. The naginata was being held up like a bowstaff, but a sword was a lot harder to shake off than the dull end of a staff.

Ruby didn't stop though. The feeling in her kept moving. Even in the air, she twisted Crescent Rose until her baby was sidways to her. Not a moment later did she feel, then see, Impa's naginata slam into her baby. The feeling flared again.

She extended her legs, as she felt was best. Her feet hit the ground, fast enough for her to catch herself from being turned into paste… or at least heavily bruised. Still bad. But… it wasn't like she could hold herself up against Impa! She was kneeling into the ground, both hands holding Crescent Rose, and Impa was swinging down with just one hand on the naginata.

But then the feeling flared again, and Ruby listened. She fired Crescent Rose, letting the moment swing her over Impa's weapon. Not a moment later did the naginata swing through where she just was… wait… how did she swing over a naginata, on a naginta? A quick glance told her how.

"Oh," Ruby managed to get out. Impa had two of them.

By the time she saw the first spear-blade swinging at her again, she let the feeling tell her what to do. Her legs flexed to her chest, avoiding the blade. Before it passed her, she kicked her legs out, jumping off of the spear like a platform. It was probably cause Impa was so strong that she was actually able to jump off of it… that meant that it would really hurt if it hit her.

Naginatas were supposed to be lightweight, so Impa using two of them wasn't weird, in terms of just weight. But the momentum required to swing them was _really_ high. That meant that if they hit, it would _hurt_!

It would be like trying to swing a scythe with one hand. That was what a sickle was for! But Impa was using two naginatas, and they weren't even designed like usual Mistral weaponry was. That wasn't even including how much it hurt to get hit by them.

Ruby could tell at that moment she had to block one of them. It was WAY heavier than Crescent Rose was. Sure, her baby was meant to be light weight, with a small amount of lead rounded in its curve for striking and cutting power, but it felt like Impa's weapon was just pure lead. It hurt just to block it.

"Oh, c'mon!" Yang yelled from the stands. Ruby recognized her sister. She saw her standing up with arms outstretched. She, and everyone else, were staring at them. No surprise why. Impa was using things she didn't even understand. Unknowns really were unfair!

"This just gets worse and worse, huh Red?" Ruby didn't look at Mercury as he walked up next to her. She couldn't. Impa was staring at them from across the arena, a naginata in each of her hands. Long, sharp, and glowing like unrefined Dust. Was it unrefined dust? That would be dangerous. "Got any ideas? You seem to be havin' a pretty good string of luck against her." She couldn't argue with that.

"It isn't luck." But apparently Impa could. The old faunus, something Ruby would NEVER say out loud, was standing at her tallest. That wasn't how you usually stood before you attacked. Was that a good thing? Probably a good thing, at least right now. "Luck is the beneficial outcome to events that are beyond your control. Ruby had nothing but complete control of her motions, and she avoided every knife, grab, and naginata I swung at her."

"But I couldn't before…" Kay, true, Ruby knew she hadn't actually fought Impa before, but she couldn't even follow her when she was taking on Penny! Now here she was catching knives like her dad when she was still a kid. It was weird. Good, no doubt, but weird. "A-And your running like you couldn't before. Or didn't."

"Both true points," Impa replied with a nod. "And that raises questions, does it not? Where do these abilities come from? Why have you neither seen nor heard of them before? But those are questions of the present." What other kind of questions were there?

Ruby could hear a lot of the other students talking in the stands about it. She gripped Crescent Rose tightly, ready to fire if need be. She had… two, maybe three shots left before a reload. She'd just have to be sure to do that when Impa was vulnerable. Doing it now would be an opening. Mercury must have been thinking the same thing, because he was looking from her to Impa, and back again.

"But better questions would be those for the future," Impa spoke on. She had yet to move anything more than her mouth. She was still kinda scary, tall as Goodwitch, strong as Goodwitch… but a-whole-lot-more-willing-to-attack than Goodwitch. "Better questions would be, what else is she capable of? How will I prepare for what I cannot predict? What is the-" Ruby's feeling flared. She didn't ignore it.

Her semblance came to life as she jumped to the side, moving with her feeling and against the wind. Her feet hit the ground and she pivoted on them, pulling Crescent Rose above her like Uncle Qrow had taught her, high enough to guard by low enough to adjust. Turns out it was completely unneeded.

She had just enough time to see Mercury get caught by one of Impa's naginata.

It knocked him off balance, making him vulnerable. He knew it, but so did Impa. And Impa was stronger, faster, and like she said, better.

Impa twisted her second naginata around Mercury, effectively the Death Cradle that Qrow had taught Ruby, but without the edge. It altered Mercury's descent, spinning by Impa's command. And she wasn't being nice with it. Her first naginata came back down, smacking into his head and twisting him even further. He was flailing now, completely disoriented and at Impa's mercy. But there was none to be had.

Ruby's feeling was screaming at her, but it wasn't telling her what to do. She'd hit Mercy if she went in now, she'd definitely make it worse. She could only watch on with a bad feeling that got worse and worse.

It reached its peak when Impa made a third naginata appear. But it didn't stop at just showing up.

The Sheikah general slammed her two naginata around Mercury like a cross, twisting his legs together and pushing one arm against his chest. Immobilization. That was bad, but that wasn't the worst. The worst was what Impa did with the final naginata. She used both arms to knock Mercury into the air, caught like a ragdoll tied to strings. She let out a great war cry as she slammed the mast of the naginata into him, much the same Ruby knew hammers were used. It sent Mercury flying, with Impa's third naginata flying next to him.

"Ho!" Impa shouted as she threw her arms down. Then Mercury exploded.

Ruby felt herself jump more than anything else. That was before she blinked, whipped, and rubbed her eyes. But no matter what she did to her vision, there was still a smoking body of a silvery dressed teen lying on the ground with nearly mangled limbs, unmoving, and a depleted aura. The screen up above confirmed it with just a glance.

The crowd was talking, loudly. Ruby couldn't blame them. She'd be screaming if she wasn't still a part of the fight, probably with Nora or Yang. The explosion used had to involve either unstable dust, maybe energized by Aura… but Impa said there wasn't any dust… She could even hear a few of the other students saying just that!

"The… hell…" she heard the boy whisper. She saw a bit of smoke come from his words. He should really get that checked out. "You… said…"

"I said what I wanted you to think," Impa spoke up. It took Ruby a quick moment for Ruby to remember what she was talking about. She said she didn't alter the naginatas, but they just exploded. Normal weapons didn't just explode. That was… no one could afford that! "You assumed much about my tools, as you are still creating assumptions. Are you any different, Ruby Rose?"

Ruby tightened her grip on Crescent Rose as Impa turned to her. It was just the two of them now.

"You are making assumptions as you follow your feelings. You are acting on impulse as you analyze what you see," Impa spoke as she stalked. Another red rune twirled above the silver hair of the faunus. Unsurprisingly, another naginata came out of it, gripped by its mast by Impa's hand. "Though we started with eight students, you are now the last. You were the mage to keep me at bay, but now you are the Unknown, an unknown even to yourself."

How did she know that? Wait, why didn't Ruby know that? She was acting on feeling, but not before, and not now. That was cause she didn't feel anything just before, not while Mercury was being attacked!

Why didn't she feel anything? She felt something every time Impa swung out before, so why not now!? But she did feel something, didn't she? It was why she moved! She moved to avoid the danger… so… Mercury…

"You see it now," Impa spoke as Ruby felt her jaw begin to unhinge. "I said before Unknowns had the advantage. Unknowns most certainly include misdirection and inversions. Those are as true with actions as they are with words." Her words were followed up by Impa summoning up another naginata, of course, because anything less than two now just didn't seem as scary.

But then Impa brought out a third, letting it stick up from the ground behind her. It was like a reminder of what she could do, making things out of the runes that Ruby had never seen Weiss do. And she could make three of those exploding sticks now! Wait… but then… why was there another rune. That made four!

No, five! Six… eight… twelve… Impa wasn't even holding them now…

"That isn't very fair," Ruby spoke, her shoulders slumping as she stared at her faunus teacher. Even through that weird eye paint, Impa was grinning as she gazed at her. "How is that even possible?"

"Through time, experience, and a bit of magic," Impa spoke proudly to the red-hooded girl. "Is it any different a question I should be asking with you turning what was once a tool for farming into the odd conglomeration of ballistic archery and spearman ship?" Well… when she put it like that. "Besides, I still wish to see where we stand, now that the duel is one-to-one.

Ruby's feeling flared.

She lifted Crescent Rose's tip, pushing away, barely, the front of one of Impa's naginatas. She turned her back and fell to avoid the swing of another, pulling her scythe around her to where the feeling was telling her. The center of her scythe hit one naginata, then two, either stopping them from hitting her or just pushing them out of the way. Either way, it was what the feeling was telling her to do. But that was just it, it was her feeling that was doing this.

Ruby wasn't faster. Ruby didn't know what she was. Things weren't slower and she definitely wasn't losing track of herself. She could still feel Crescent Rose, her metal baby, swinging around her arm. She could feel her feet run across the petals of her semblance. She could feel… more of herself? It didn't make sense. All she knew was something else.

She felt something near her. So she threw up Crescent Rose, twisting her feet. Not a moment later to Impa swipe at her, three naginatas all hitting the reinforced shaft of Ruby's precious Scythe. It would need damage control later, but it was okay for now.

What wasn't okay was how quick Impa suddenly appeared in front of Ruby, dark smoke dissipating around her.

"There it is Ruby!" Impa yelled as she swung one naginata against the shaft of Crescent Rose. Ruby pushed back, but found her feet sliding across the floor. It still gave Impa room to stare her down. Good thing the faunus was using both hands! "You are acting off impulse, but you trust those instincts! Don't deny them, but don't depend on them. Act _with_ them!"

Ruby had no idea what Impa was talking about. Like, at all.

Was Impa saying this was a new semblance or something? That couldn't be it, because she was still fast. So why was there something else? She could see it, _feel_ it. She could feel the danger coming, she could see where Impa was going to punch, kick, throw, grab, anything. She knew and she was fast enough to get out of the way, to get in the way, to stop her… Ruby was…

Ruby wasn't just fast enough to stop the danger, she was fast enough to see it coming.

She found herself smiling at Impa.

Elrora was right. Accept what brought her here, and she was ready for anything.

She could accept whatever just happened. She'd just find out later what that was. Right now, she knew what she could do, and she'd have to use it. Just like Impa said, sort of what Elrora implied, definitely what Link did. Just the same as all them!

She fired Crescent Rose, letting the kick-back of her baby push her away from Impa. The faunus let one hand release her naginata, grabbing another. The feeling said to duck, so she did. Ruby pulled her scythe close as the naginata swung over her head, the one that was clashing with Crescent Rose already hitting the floor. That gave her an escape.

Her semblance flared fast enough for her to jump back, another quick fire of her baby sending her away from Impa had a quicker speed. She pounced back and landed with petals falling behind her. Ruby already had Crescent Rose back up, the main chamber aimed at Impa and loaded with two more shells.

"You ready Impa!" Ruby yelled out to the proud Shiekah General. She made sure she was smiling, because you always were supposed to smile when you were happy. And if you were at peace, how couldn't you be happy?

It didn't matter that it was just her against Impa, didn't matter that everyone else around her was knocked down or out, and it really didn't matter that they were both close to being removed from the fight. Okay, so the last one did matter, but not right now. Cause that she could make peace with. Everything else she could forget about.

She could forget about how cool Link was for teaching them how to be amazing Huntresses. She could forget how easily Impa had taken out all of them. She could forget the dozens of students all staring down at them like vultures, of sorts. Yup, she could forget all of that.

So long as she had Impa in her focus. Impa, Link's old friend, who was smiling back at Ruby behind red paint, silver hair, and at least a dozen fiery red naginatas in the floor.

"Come Ruby Rose!" The faunus yelled, pounding one fist to her metal chest piece. "Show me the strength of your will!"

Ruby knew she was going to lose, but it was going to be an awesome loss.

She let out a cry of her own as she turned her semblance on, flying at Impa with petals behind her.

Shadows surrounded her not a moment later.

* * *

"Ow ow ow!" Weiss blew a strand of hair from her eyes as her partner yelled in pain. Yelled in pain as they applied small ointment and bandages to her arm. No matter how much time they spent together, Weiss was only constantly reminded how much younger Ruby was from the rest of the team.

"Hold still you dunce," she scolded the younger teen, ignoring the hissing Ruby gave out when the pad touched her arm. Seriously, the nerve of the girl, fighting a Huntress like Impa until she was scabbed and bruised. "You're lucky this is the worst of it."

"She's not kidding, Rubes," Yang spoke out of Weiss's eyeshot. She could imagine her teammate leaning against the door to their room with crossed arms. "You have any idea how close I was to lettin' loose in there? That's not even including your possum act."

"It was a good idea!" Ruby shot back, but Weiss pulled her arm in. She wasn't about to let her hyperactive team leader go until her superficial wounds were addressed. "And it almost worked, too. Impa didn't see me coming, and I was the last one knocked out!"

"Knocked out by flying spears and explosions," Blake commented from her bed. She was the only one who perched on her bed so often. "Hardly seems worth it when the other side was a simple smack of the head." Six of one, half a dozen of the other, as Weiss's father would say.

"But I did keep up with her!" Ruby fired back again. She was rather energetic for someone who had been knocked unconscious only a few hours ago. "You heard her herself, she wasn't holding back against me! I was going toe-to-toe with a professional Huntress!" Ah, there was the reason for the excitement.

"And we are all awed by your efforts, Ruby," Weiss spoke as she undid some gauze. A light amount, to be sure, but she couldn't risk the skimmed wounds tearing. Given it was Ruby she was working on, a wild extreme act was highly likely, so therefore had to be prevented properly. "Truly I am. I did not think it was possible to stay ahead of a woman who can strike like Yang yet run like you."

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me," Yang spoke up from behind Weiss. "How did she start running at Mach 2 and all that? She was already strong as diamonds, throwing that sword around and all, but she was moving like you, Rubes!" That was a point Weiss hoped to hear an answer to. She just didn't have much hope the answer would come so quickly.

"I… don't actually know," Ruby's words came out with a significant loss in energy. Weiss stopped wrapping the gauze at the words. "I mean, yeah, it freaked me out with how fasts it came out but… it never actually felt like anything was missing. Maybe that's just Impa's real semblance. Copy and Paste?"

"The implications of that are wide and substantial," Weiss noted, tying off the gauze before she forgot. She stood up from Ruby, the girl cared for as well as she could be after a thrashing from a trained Huntress. "And you seem remarkably calm about this, especially against how you reacted before."

"You were rather vocal during the fight," Blake agreed. Weiss gave a small smile of appreciation. If Blake agreed with her, the logic was infallible. "Something must have happened to make you think differently."

"Well… it's not like something happened," Ruby began, arms waving with the motion. Animated as always, RWBY team leader. "More like, I realized what Elrora was trying to tell us before." Elrora? Not Impa? Weiss spared a glance at Yang, seeing the blonde avert her own gaze in kind.

"You mean about the peaceful thoughts, right?" Blake continued. Ruby's eager nod was answer enough. "And that's it? You just took what happened and moved on that quickly?" Weiss had doubts that were mirrored by Blake.

"Not like that. Wasn't easy," Ruby spoke in return, arms waving in denial. "But… it was like in the middle of catching her knives and dodging those naginatas that I began to realize something was different. Different like… better." Weiss felt her brow rise.

"Different with you?" Yang asked. Her sisterly instincts taking over. "It was something that Impa did, wasn't it?" Weiss felt a slow sigh leave her lips as Ruby hit her own. She took a chair as Yang began to walk over towards her younger sister and leader. "Don't hide this from my Ruby. If she did something to you during that fight, I gotta know about it. No secrets, remember?"

"But it wasn't bad!" Ruby pouted back, even with the powerhouse that was Yang above her. "I don't even really know what it is yet. It's like… I can sense things now. Or just sense bad things about to happen."

Wait, what?

"Sense, like instinct?" Blake asked. Weiss could hear the faunus rising from her bed. "You heard something clearer?" Ruby rapidly shook her head at the suggestion.

"No, nothing like that. It was just a feeling, like, knowing that if I were take one of Weiss's creams I'd have to run to Vacou to be safe." Weiss chose to ignore the offensive metaphor in place of analyzing what Ruby meant by it.

Instinct, as in innate sense independent of the five common sense.

"And I know it sounds crazy, cause I think it's crazy, but I just took Elrora's advice to accept it, and it let me go one-on-one with a General!" And there was the excitement. Weiss an unusual amount of glee with knowing what she had to do next.

"Ruby, focus," she scolded her partner. "Are you saying that whatever Impa did to you during that fight, she _copied_ your abilities while _giving_ you one of her own?" If the implications of a copying semblance were huge, this was strategy changing for wars.

"Uh, I don't know if she gave me part of her semblance," Ruby responded, far too calm in Weiss's opinion. Then again, this was the girl who slept on a bed that hung from rope in the ceiling. "I mean I haven't tried using glyphs or anything, but that'd be pretty cool, too!" Weiss's sigh turned into a growl.

"C'mon Ruby, be serious. Wow it sounds weird when I say it," Yang comment on the obvious. "But seriously, are you saying that you were just giving a new semblance or something?" '

It took Weiss a moment to realize how much quieter the room had gotten. Without Ruby fidgeting in her arms or making noises to fill the vacuum of space, then it was just Blake, Yang, and herself staring down the team leader that implicated what was impossible. Semblances didn't change or grow, not after they had developed.

"Well… I-It's just a theory," Ruby started with a roll of her head. "But we get our semblances cause of things we do, or are, right?"

"History lesson is unimportant right now," Weiss tried to put the girl back on track. "Yes, you're right, but stay on course."

"I am, I mean, I'm fast because I want to help everyone!" Ruby smiled at the words. She just as easily could have cried, in another setting. Perhaps Elrora's words were sinking into the girl. "I'll get to trouble faster than anyone else. No one can stop me from helping people no matter how far away they are!"

Her hands fell back to her lap, staring at them. Weiss could only imagine what the young girl thought of those hands, especially after the battle she had been through.

"And now I can sense where the danger is."

Weiss felt her eyes bulge. That wasn't what she imagined.

"You… you're serious," Yang began. Her hands were held up like she was debating either hugging Ruby or strangling her for the lie. It had to be a lie. "You're telling me that… your Semblance _grew_!"

"Close to that." That wasn't Ruby. That wasn't even Blake.

Weiss saw Yang and Ruby turn towards the window only a breadth of time before she did. Their eyes all fell on the same sight.

Impa of the Shiekah kneeling outside their window, gazing in with blood red eyes and a calm smile. Perhaps it was the frequency of entries and exits from the window that kept Weiss from screeching in shock. But it certainly didn't keep her from standing from her chair at the speed of the wind.

"I promised we would talk later," the woman spoke easily from the balcony of their window, as if they weren't high enough a fall to kill the average human. Impa, then again, was far from average and certainly no human. "Is now a good time?"

Weiss wasn't sure if what she felt was excitement, unease, or just plain terror.

* * *

It was difficult to describe what Cinder felt now. If there was a word for it, she did not know what it was. All she could tell was it was equal parts of three things. Amusement, Agitation, and Anger.

She was fairly amused at watching the worst threats to her plans be taken down simply and effectively by an unknown warrior. Cathartic without intervention or consequence. It was a wonderful thing to experience, it always was.

Agitation came when she knew that her pawn was in a game she did not place him in. Mercury was as expendable as the White Fang and Roman, but he knew too much to let slip this publically, this early. A simple mistake in any field could jeopardize all plans, plans that were still rapidly changing the more was learned about Link and his tools.

But Anger, the smoldering flame she so easily controlled, was reserved for the present sight. Mercury Black black and blue.

"Are you satisfied now?" Cinder asked the bruised boy beneath her. She didn't need to stand tall, not with him slumped against the lockers, dabbing a wet cloth at his eye. "I pray you tell me you found out something interesting with that display of yours."

"Hey, no reason to get heated over this," the boy spoke up with a smirk, as if he deserved to wear it. She suppressed the thought to discipline him. It was too public a venue. Any passerby could see too much. "I just wanted to see if there was any trick to that faunus's battle play. Sad to say her tricks have got nothing to do with how tough she is."

"Link, and by extension the memories of his friends, were given an expedited position at Beacon by Ozpin himself," Cinder spoke the words as if they were birthed from ember. Hot to touch, warm to glow, but dangerous if unchecked. It kept the boy silent as she spoke, wary. "Even if the stories they tell are slightly exaggerated, we have documentation of him slaying Ancient Grimm with minimal preparation and likely far from his maximum effort. You are capable, but you are not near his level."

"That's why I joined up with those other kids," Mercury attempted to defend. He was doing a poor job. "Made sure to wait until someone worth investigating got in the ring. Yeah, we lost, but it's not like I was trying to win in the first place."

Cinder crossed her arms as she narrowed her eyes to slits. She knew the power behind a glare, a well-placed look. For someone like Mercury Black, who prided himself in reading others, he could see the smolder behind her spoken and unspoken words. He was walking across embers, in danger of setting himself ablaze. He knew that.

"You best then tell me something you have learned from the farce of a duel. Something that I would not have seen from the stands without you in the stage." She had seen much as well, enough to know that Impa was as capable a threat as she had perceived the faunus to be. But she also now knew of Ruby and Velvet, two other fighters that appeared to have skill behind them. Thankfully, they clearly lack in experience.

"Well, ya probably know the power copying thing Impa pulled off of Red, right?" The cool glare Cinder gave the lame-excuse for a man was enough of an answer. Words weren't needed. "That means all that glyph action she must've gotten from another Schnee somewhere, cause the princess snob sure didn't recognize her."

"I believe my instructions were for you to tell me of something I would not have concluded myself," Cinder spoke again. Mercury was fortunate he was still of some value to her plan. Otherwise he would have been discarded like the White Fang dogs by now. "And you are my toy, not the reverse." His uneasy laughter was a sign of his obedience, as undesirable as it was.

"Well, then how about making Little Red's Semblance get stronger?"

Cinder was only barely able to keep her brow from rising.

"See, that's something, right? Cause I bet to everyone else it just looked like two speedsters playing tag."

She would not use so poor a terminology, but it was like that. Watching two experts of high-speed duels clashing against one another. Blows deflected as quickly as they were given, the grounds they fought on changing as often as breaths taken. It was something that required absolute attention. But Cinder saw not a clue of what Mercury was boasting about.

"Explain, quickly," Cinder spoke with smolder in her hands. She would singe the boy's hair if he lied to save face. There would be nothing left to publicly show if he had played with her. She took his confident smile as evidence to his claim. But not enough.

"I'll start with how Red was moving before she even made a thought. She didn't even know what she was doing till after it was done." He spoke of trained instincts, but Ruby Rose was both too young and inexperienced to have such a thing. "And Impa was talkin' about how she was confirming something in Ruby, like she'd done it before."

Those events Cinder could recall. Impa's words shouted amidst clashing steel. They were spoken not with fear or trepidation, but cool observation, as one would do with something they either expected or planned. Mercury's words were ringing true.

"See, the old faunus didn't change Little Red's semblance. She added onto it."

Those words alone made Cinder think of terrifying, and exhilarating, ideas.

* * *

Oobleck ran. He loved running. It made things faster. Faster meant higher efficiency. So he ran a lot.

Right now, he was running because it helped, and he had to. He would be running even if he couldn't run! Biologically impossible, but required. He had to run. Running was currently a requirement.

The requirement was high enough to only shout passing apologies at students that had to jump away from him. Common occurrence, but unfortunate. Higher grades next assignment possibly, worthy exchange. Worthy because Oobleck had to run.

He was in the Headmaster's Tower quickly, because he was running. But the elevator was too slow. He couldn't stop running. He only had to run up the stairs now. But that meant he was close. Running faster made him closer faster. So running was imperative. Information was imperative.

Oobleck slammed his shoulder into the door as he barged into the required room. Dangerous, but necessary. Danger was obvious in a single quickly processed glance.

Ozpin was standing at his desk, aiming the tip of his cane towards him. Brows were narrowed. Head down cast. Arms bent. Legs the same. He was ready to strike. But he didn't, which was good. Oobleck would not stand a chance.

"Bartholomew?" He spoke. Obvious question, Oobleck didn't have to answer. He currently didn't have enough air to. "What on earth is going on? Why did you ascend the tower stairs? That's meant to be a punishment for the students." Obvious punishment to walk vertically down hundreds of stories. Unimportant now. Speed was still necessary.

But Oobleck stopped himself. He saw two glowing orbs. Tatl and Tael! They were here as well! Superb!

"Geez Superbuzz! What in Time's name happened to you?!" Obvious question with an obvious answer. He only needed to speak to make it so.

"I found it!" He shouted, an effort that took much of his energy with it. Acceptable, as it mean only explanations were left. Declaration was given.

"Found what? Calm down and speak," Ozpin had lowered his cane, lowered his voice, but Oobleck had to politely refuse. He could not stop. This was too important to slow down for!

"I have found Navi!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	12. From Better to Worse

"Kay, we're all here. We're all ears, too." Yang spoke with an ill-concealed smile. That was another poor attempt at a pun. "So can ya start talking about what the heck you did to my sis?" It was the fact that Yang had eyes of violet and outstretched palms that kept Blake from assuming her partner was feral. Again. Besides, their guest was worth far more attention now.

"In a moment," Impa spoke, raising her hand up with a slight bow of her head. Standing in front of the window, she appeared almost sanctified. "First, I wish to know how you all are faring recently. Our last conversation was hardly entertaining." The implication was obvious.

"Oh we're better, _loads_ better!" Ruby spoke up first, stretching her arms up and making an embellished circle with them. "We spent like the whole night talking about everything that we were keeping secret and started making battle plans and strategies and even a cleaning schedule." All true, though one of those was not like the other. "One of our ideas was to have Blake fight-"

Weiss, not Blake, had her hands over her partner's mouth before she could speak on. She was closer, both sitting on the edge of her bed. She let out a sigh of relief, hearing Yang do the same.

"I can see," Impa spoke while crossing her arms. Blood red eyes stared down at the youngest in the room. Blake could see the small smile across her fellow faunus's lips. "And I'm grateful to hear you've taken my lesson so readily. I feared I did more harm than good with my previous words." Had to be Link talking though, because Impa wasn't here before.

"Yeah, well, wasn't an easy night," Yang spoke up, still honest though nearing the edge of discomfort. "Pretty sure you know best that spilling secrets like that isn't easy. Felt like screaming half the time." Blake had a vivid memory of what those times were, mostly around the blonde's raven haired mother.

"Again, as it should be, Ms. Xiao Long," Impa returned easily. "Wars have begun for both loose lips and stubborn minds. Knowing who to speak to, and doing so cautiously, is a trait that is needed for any knight to stay alive. More than that, it is a requirement for any kingdom to remain strong." True words again. Blake simply refused to recall where she heard a similar mantra.

"Ms. Impa, while I am humbled that you are rewarding our growths in communication with praise, I do hope you can explain further what it is you did during the duel earlier." Weiss spoke as she always did, skating flawlessly between praise and condemnation. "Because if what Ruby assumes is true, you have shown us something… life-changing."

"World-changing, to be accurate." The swiftness and ease to which Impa spoke did nothing but fray Blake's nerves.

She didn't even need her feline ears to hear a pin drop in their room.

"Wait wait wait," Yang spoke up first, hands waving in front of her as if to clear away smoke. "You're serious?" She pointed at the professor as if she were an equal. Link likely thought they were. Impa… Blake was still unsure. She was too tall, poised, proud, and _old_ to see them as piers. That didn't stop the Sheikah from responding.

"I am not jesting," Impa shook her head lightly with her words. Her singular silver bang waved with the effort. "I would not lie about the improvements of my students nor the powers they have."

"Kay, kay," Yang spoke again. Blake only noticed now that her partner was standing up and walking around the room, near the door. "So… Ruby's right about what ya did to her?" Her hands motioned to her sister, who appeared nearly ignorant by the attention.

"In only that she indeed grown in her abilities," Impa continued to speak simply with a simple smile. Her eyes did turn to Ruby, who finally gave a small beam of pride. "And I will further add it is not something that will fade in time."

"Permanent, right," Yang spoke, likely more for herself. Blake understood Impa's meaning perfectly. Her partner however, only continued to pivot on her foot as she spoke. "So in the middle of a battle, you stared at my sister, did somethin' still pretty vague to her, and made you both stronger."

"In the simplest of terms, you are correct." Impa appeared equally unaffected by the conversation, though she was accurate with the word 'simplest'. Yang may have impressed Blake with her planning and research, but her vocabulary was still in need of some growth. "But you are both understating and exaggerating what has happened."

"Then can you _please_ explain?" Yang stopped to twist her arms outward with the question. "Cause I think we've got enough examples at this point that show _assuming_ we know where you're coming from isn't gonna work." Blake slowly blinked her eyes at the choice words. A vocabulary in desperate need for growth, as it were.

Impa, however, chuckled at the blonde's words, unfolding her arms until they swung at her sides. They drifted back just enough for the digits of her fingers to press against the desk behind her. It only emphasized how tall the faunus was, even while she was leaning back.

"Forgive me if I wish to avoid an outright answer," Impa began, still smiling kindly down to Yang. "It is a habit from my previous post; asking trainees to find their own answers." Her eyes diverted for a moment, but only a moment. Blake doubted the others saw, as she was the only one above the faunus.

"Can you… make an exception?" Ruby asked now, head twisted with the words. Blake saw Weiss hovering next to her leader. "Because, I mean, it's _amazing_ what I was doing, but I'd like to know _how_ I was doing it, you know?" Given how often she disassembled and reassembled her own weapon, the quirk was not something that was difficult to understand. At least not to Blake.

"I did promise some answers," Impa acknowledged, nodding towards the girl. "And it would be a stain on the pride of the Sheikah to deliver none of what I promised." Blake, even more than before, wanted to meet the shadowy group Impa belonged to. They were everything the White Fang was _supposed_ to be.

"May I take notes?" Weiss spoke, hand raising slightly until she realized there was a bed hanging above her. Impa turned her head too far for Blake to see her face, and Weiss's sudden trepidation made her wonder. "That is, if it is not a secret we must keep…"

"Actually, this is something I am trusting you all to keep." That wasn't what Blake expected, not after the light heartedness Impa had been showing up until now. The faunus must have seen, or perhaps sensed, the tension that came from the room. "Was it not obvious when I said it was world-changing?"

"You _were_ serious about that?" Yang asked for the third time now. Impa only turned her head towards the blonde as a response. Her red eyes were narrowed, though smile, softly, present. "Yeah you said you wouldn't joke about that, but I mean, you pulled our legs last time, right?!"

"Last time I spoke half-truths to see the trust you had in one another," Impa easily explained. Blake supposed when you were as old as Impa was, explanations came easy. That was a word for a wisdom. "Now, if I were to remain silent, I would sow seeds of distrust against myself… Link and myself." It was impossible to tell who spoke first.

"Whoa, no, there's no way that'd happen!" Ruby jumped up before Weiss had time to reach forward. Too little too late, as it were. Ruby had hands to her hips and a stern expression. "You've done too many awesome things already for you to suddenly make me worry about you! I feel freaking awesome right now, and that's not gonna make me doubt you." She was even wagging a finger now. The girl must have been imitating someone.

Impa, instead of taking the stern approach Blake would expect of a huntress, instead merely folder her fingers over her lips, as if holding her chin. Her head cocked itself, staring at the red-clothed teen. Ruby's confidence was standing strong against the gaze. Given her family tree, it wasn't difficult to expect.

"Perhaps I used the wrong word then," Impa explained, lifting her fingers from her lips. "My thought is not that I will be ostracized by you, any of you." Her gaze looked over the room, making her audience clear. "But that I do not want you to question my actions. My words, perhaps, but I would do nothing to place you in harm. Given the scale of what I have shown thus far, I am sure you can see where that concern comes from."

Blake listed the history in her head. Transforming into the bodies of his deceased companions, slaying Grimm that were easily centuries old since a young age, double-crossing the Military and Council in a spectacular fashion, producing armaments from some form of pocket dimension, the ability to single handedly defeat teams upon teams of young huntresses in training and, most of all, unconcerned with the thought of danger to himself. Caution hardly seemed strong enough a word for the level of wariness Impa deserved.

"Well, kay, yeah, that makes sense," Yang was listing off herself. She likely thought only of Link's superb strength. "But you can trust us, I mean now at least." Blake wasn't sure if she was the one who hissed or not. It echoed too quickly. Yang's reaction was just as instantaneous. "Whoa! Hey! Hey! I just meant I get that she, you, are not goin' to hurt my sis. After the last being you gave me, the mind and body experience that was, I've got my ears open. Kay?" Blake took a slow deep breath to calm herself.

"Unlike the brute, I understand both of your concerns, Impa," Weiss spoke up next. She was tugging on Ruby's skirt, likely to force the younger teen to sit. It wasn't working. "And I thank you for your thoughts. You have my word as a Schnee that nothing you say to us in confidence will leave the room." She did have her pride.

"Me as well," Blake spoke up, for perhaps the first time. Impa gazed up at her, as did the rest of her team. Her fingers played with the fabric of her outfit, crisscrossed over her lap. "I would never betray another faunus, ever. Anything you say I'd die to protect." It was exciting, maybe, to see Impa's eyes spark at the words.

"I pray that never comes to past," Impa spoke with a shake of her head. The idea of someone dying for her secrets was bad, obviously. "But if it does, and should it give you life, say whatever you wish of me." Blake didn't have time to question the statement. "My secrets are not worth your life. They are just worth more than pretty promises and words." Oh… Blake felt a little warm at the reminder.

"I don't get it, what does that mean?" Ruby asked. Blake was glad she was the one to ask, and not her own partner. It meant Weiss was going to answer.

"Impa means that she's trusting us to not tell her secret to others. Least of all just because they say they can be trusted." Were Blake human, she may have missed the way the heiress's nose lifted. Maybe, but she didn't know. "But Impa, Blake spoke honestly. We wouldn't betray you or Link, not after the past two… weeks? Wow, it has only been two weeks' time." Now Blake felt a smile crawl at her lips.

"I hear that, feels like a lifetime longer," Yang spoke up, scratching at the mane she called her hair. "But she's speaking for all of us when she says your secrets are safe with us. Seriously. I mean, you think with how tight lipped we all were a couple of days ago, that we're gonna suddenly go around screaming whatever you tell us?" Blake gave a sigh as she saw Weiss roll her eyes. Overly spoken, but still honest.

"A fair point," Impa returned. "And you have shown me confidence and trust in the week past that few show over a lifetime." Blake was immeasurably happy to know that was true for a fellow faunus.

Impa raised a hand to her eye, the one painted with red markings. It was another eye, doubtlessly, but given far more artistic detail than a simple oval with color. It appeared to be bleeding, weeping even, blood. It was a harsh and ignore marking to ignore on the Sheikah's otherwise porcelain skin.

"The Sheikah Tribe are people of the shadows," Impa began to speak. Blake hard Weiss reach for something, but stopped herself, wisely. "We are born to train and fight to live. We improve our bodies to nigh-perfection. We work our minds to reach the wisdom of our ancient elders. But, we know that victory is never certain unless you know what is to come."

"A Shadow!" Ruby shouted. Blake whipped her eyes to the team leader, as did Yang and Weiss. The young girl only appeared minorly apologetic, but with her bright grin, it was hardly an action she regretted. "Sorry, sorry, just remembered how you were talking about Shadows being the ones to find information and all that."

"Correct, Ms. Rose," Impa replied to her outburst. Patience must have been part of the mental training, Blake reasoned. "It was the true separation from the rest of the Hylian citizens. All others are trained to defend in some way or another. Only the Sheikah actively worked to learn of others in equal measure we did ourselves."

"So you were ready for anything, right?" Yang spoke up now. It appeared to Blake the sisters would be the ones asking majority of the questions. "That's pretty cool, but I'm still not seeing how this comes back to whatever you did with Rubes." Her thumb indicated her younger sibling. She had a point, if it was again poorly worded at that.

"The truth, Ms. Xia Long, is that we Sheikah are given many tools to learn of these things." Her hand left her face as she began to list objects Blake did not recognize. "Inscribed Slabs, Sheikah Stones, Philosopher Stones, but there was one item that was vastly superior to all else, and it was one that was carried only by those who were permitted to be known to the world." Blake remembered what that meant. Only one Sheikah was ever known to Hyrule, the rest in hiding.

But that faunus then had the most powerful tool of the Sheikah on them. That was odd, carrying around something of such importance in the open. Then again, it was impossible to say Impa was incapable of handling herself. But further, Blake could not think of what the object was. Her blade? The Naginatas? Her scarf?

"But you didn't use anything when you fought me," Ruby spoke up, following her sister. Yang would doubtlessly interrupt next. "I mean, you just stared at me _really_ intensely before pretty much knocking me out. Hard." She rubbed her stomach, obviously where the blow was struck.

"The most powerful tools are usually the most unobvious," Weiss now. Blake wondered briefly if that broke the pattern for Yang speaking. No, because Impa hadn't spoken yet. "Dust can be woven into clothing to be nigh-invisible, but still increase durability of materials by magnitudes. It makes sense that a tool designed to collect information would be small or impossible see without augmented vision."

"Nearly there," Impa noted, nodding her head. Weiss was right then?

"Or!" Yang nearly yelled, restoring Blake's counter for interruption. "Or it's _not_ a tool at all. And it's somethin' that you guys keep secret, cause you're _born_ with it!" She nearly threw her finger at Impa, speaking her thoughts like an accusation. Blake would have reacted, if the blonde's word weren't so true. "Whatever you did, it's your Semblance, right?!"

"Correct." There was not even a breath of hesitation on Impa's part. Only, from what Blake could see, a coy smile.

"She is?" "I am?"

"You are," Impa replied again. "For the one who carries the ability is the one who gains entrance to the outside world. We are the ones who can see beyond the veil others wear. We see into the shadows leaders cast. And most powerful of all, we can see the reasons for actions being taken."

Ruby's words nearly screamed within Blake's head. Impa had _shown_ Ruby who she was, because she was _looking_ at what made Ruby who she was. There must have been a telling feature across her face, because when Impa spoke again, it was to her.

"You understand then, don't you Blake?" The alabaster haired faunus spoke, arms crossed again. "I took nothing and borrowed nothing. I only shed light upon Ruby's soul, to see how she moved with such speed. But as I did, she saw more of herself."

"And I got… better because of that?" Ruby asked now. Blake noted the girl had her arms raised in confusion, like she was looking herself over. "But that doesn't explain why my Semblance feels different. Yeah, I mean, I get know why I'm so fast, a-and it makes sense. But now I can _sense_ when things are going to go bad. That shouldn't be possible, right?"

"You are right," Weiss quickly placated her partner before turning to Impa. Though Ruby was clearly far from distraught, at least to Blake. More likely unnervingly curious. "Once we finish puberty, our semblances stop growing. Suddenly developing a new ability in the span of a single duel, if even over the rest of your lifetime, is simply unheard of." Those words were directed at Impa.

But the old faunus returned with a comment Blake swore to never forget.

"I can think of no better way to impede yourself than to say you have no more room to grow."

Impa spoke the words with shrugged shoulders and twisted palms. Her face was calm, red eyes seemingly caught mid-blink. It was easy for her, easy to say that you could change your very soul.

The idea didn't make Blake shake, it made her smile. The same could not be said for the others, at least not with the combined reactions of disbelief and dismissiveness. It was obvious who expressed what.

"Geez, can't we have a talk with you that doesn't come back to some major life lesson?" Yang broke the tension with an ease only she likely possessed. It was one of the few times she was thankful for her partner's bluntness. "Like, how about why you're not going around makin' all of us super powers. Wouldn't that be like what you do with something like that?"

And there was the negative side.

"Because you can't be sure those who benefit from her Semblance will use it wisely," Weiss answered the blonde. Blake could see the heiress's eyes narrowed to daggers. "Reckless misuse of something that powerful would upset power balances on all sides, likely resulting in violent internal struggles that would affect extrinsic policies and relations."

If anyone understand the importance of balancing power, it was the daughter of the world's most powerful company.

"Astute, Ms. Schnee," Impa agreed. "It is why I keep it a secret as I can, using it when I trust it will not be used improperly. And Miss Rose, if anyone, has shown her devotion to friends and strangers alike."

Blake did not miss Ruby's face changing colors to match her hair. "Though I will confess, I saw a grave disadvantage on my part in the match, and your speed was the key to assuring my victory. I hope you do not mind to know… more about yourself."

That was probably the only word that was appropriate. To Blake's utter lack of surprise, Ruby responded as only Ruby would.

"It's amazing!" The girl beamed with her answer. "It's liking getting told some big secret because I'm old enough to understand now, like learning about alcohol!" Like what now? "Or what all those magazines underneath Yang's bed were for!" Oh Grimm no. "But it's _really_ like Weiss's-"

"Ability to keep those secrets private!" Weiss put her hand against Ruby's lip faster than Blake believed they could in reverse. "And I hope you are not implying that you learned something… _vulgar_ about yourself, Ruby!"

Given the examples the girl had listed, it was a viable fear now. But her leader wrestled the heiress's hand out of the way to give her answer.

"Nope, no, nothing like that, just that no one would ever tell me that stuff till I was older." For many good reasons, Blake realized. "Knowing the stuff I do now, wanting to help people, knowing where the danger is… it's like being told the _best_ kind of secret!"

"I'm glad you have no fear for the information," Impa spoke up. Blake could not imagine a soul that would be fearful of knowing more. She'd seen lives lost to learn more. "But do understand that it is a gift you have been given. One I bring up now… so you do not spread it unwisely to others."

The drop in Impa's voice was terrifyingly audible. Like watching water freeze. It felt all the same.

"Oh, yeah, of course," Ruby hastily replied waving her hands frantically in front of herself. "All anyone's gonna think is that you just pushed me to train harder. Cause I'm not going to go blab that you made my semblance like super strong or anything. I mean you did, but telling others that wouldn't really show you can trust me, _which_ you can."

The girl was rambling again. Blake knew her leader did that often under pressure.

"Chill out Rubes, you can keep a secret," Yang spoke up for her sister, giving comfort in a was only siblings could. "Pretty sure we all proved we could. Sides, we got your back 'n case ya need to talk. It's what family's for, am I right?" Ruby was glowing with Yang's words, but Blake had some to add.

"Family _and_ friends," she added as she leaned a bit over the edge of her bed. She gave the ruby haired teen a gentle smile. "I'm not about to let any us of be put in jeopardy."

"Agreed," Weiss continued. Her business tone was unmistakable, and likely unfixable. "We all assist one another so that we may become the very best huntresses, with the aid of our friend and professor." Ah, flattery. But Blake would be the last to say Impa, and by consequence Link, did not deserve it. "And we do thank whole deeply for all that you've done." The heiress bowed her head, still sitting on her bed.

"Yeah, what she said," Yang continued, crossing her arms to emphasize her bust. Why, Blake was unsure, at least when speaking to another woman. "Been a long time since Rubes and I were this open with others. Kind helps you kick our asses for fun, too."

"I best you to help you, Yang." Impa quickly corrected, still standing far above the blonde teen. Blake was sure she was the only one who could see the faunus's short smile, perched on her bed as she was. "Though it is cathartic to beat the ego of out of individuals."

Blake heard Ruby giggle softly at the notion. She did not join them.

"That all being said, do you have any more questions for me?" Blake watched Weiss shoot her hand up, stopping only when her fingers brushed the underside of Ruby's bed. "Those that I can answer in short term?" Her hand slowly fell. Impa knew her well.

"I got one," Ruby spoke instead. "Just a quickie, but you said you 'shine light' to see what makes up my Semblance, or me I guess. But does that mean someone else could make their semblance super strong without your help? I mean, it just sounds like you made me more honest with myself." Blake rolled her head with the idea. The words were crude… but her leader had a point.

"The short answer is yes, Ms. Rose." Impa responded. A thousand and one implications appeared in Blake's head. "But having one learn about themselves to a degree that I showed you takes years of self-reflection and often events that could be akin to traumatic. All life, Hylians to Gardo, can justify anything, including themselves. The truth rarely so often is found." Then they all left just as quickly.

"See, this is what I mean," Yang spoke with a small chop of her hand. "Everything gets deep real quick around you. I mean, yeah, I get it's your job now, but it's like every time we talk I gotta get ready for a sleepless night or two." The sister spoke differently, but both equally without large vocabularies. But just as often were they on the right path with their logic.

"You came to school to _learn_ Yang," Weiss spoke responded to the blonde. Blake would happily pointed out such obvious logic had the heiress not done so. "You should be grateful you're receiving an education well beyond anything your parents likely received." Were they speaking to any other professor, Blake would have taken the words as an insult.

However, she also doubted her parents spoke to a foreign faunus from a kingdom unknown and holding the memories of his deceased friends. That was a plus not many huntresses could say they had.

"I'm not against learning, most of the time." She added the last part with a dip of her head. Her hair waved with the action. "But we also came here to have a good time, and pretty much nothing fun has happened in the past week. Well, fun for fun's sake at least. Most of the fun has come from learning." Blake would not stop herself.

"You're a rarity Yang, to say your fun is less relevant if you learn something new." It was hard for even Blake to describe the expression Yang gave her back. One part a scowl, another part a grin, and final part could have had a bit of sardonic pleasure, if the wagging of her eyebrows had the same meaning.

"Yang, this is fun!" Ruby stood up from her bed and away from her own partner with the declaration. "Just think of all the cool ways we can use this stuff next time we go hunt Grimm! Or even better, think of how much I can modify my baby to help me out with this! I can reduce the weight of Crescent's frame to make me faster, since now I don't have to worry about durability as much with knowing where things are going to come from. But maybe I could modify her cartridge to carry fewer shots…"

Any point of logic the young teen had swiftly fell apart under her imaginings. It was a good place to lose one's self, in Blake's honest opinion.

"Geez, we're talking in circles, aren't we?" Yang started to rub her head. If anyone in the room, Yang was easily the most accustomed to Ruby's tangential trains of thought, seeing as they were raised together. "But my point is the weekend pasted us by and all we did was just plan on ways to take Link down. _Not_ in a bad way, just with those duels you… what's that mask for?" Blake whipped her head at the blonde's question.

In Impa's hands was indeed another mask, this one pale as a rock's shadow but outlined with the most striking gold. It made the for appearance of a porcelain doll, eyes removed, and coated in a sun's light. Majestic, as Blake was sure all of Link's masks were, but she did not recognize it.

"The mask is for myself," Impa responded. Blake was still the only one who could see the faunus's small grin. "And it is because I concur with your words. However, I prefer to teach, not to entertain." The implications were obvious.

But without any more warning, Impa placed the mask over her face.

There was no scream, not the sound she was used to coming with Link's masks now. But there was an impossibly bright light, coming with the feeling of the air expanding. It felt to Blake like she was being forced to take a breath. Her nails dug into her bed to keep herself upright. And as the light faded away, the pressure did with it.

In Impa's place was left another one of Link's friends. One she had seen, but her teammates had not. The smile the young girl had was as gleaming as ever.

"But I _love_ to hang out with my friends!" Lana jumped with raised hands as she yelled her words. She almost looked like she was floating, like raised back as if she were a cheerleader. She certainly looked the part… "And with Blakey here, I've got _plenty_ of friends!" Ah, she had almost forgotten she was the only member of her team to formerly meet Lana.

"Lana! It's Lana, right?" Ruby eagerly shouted than questioned, eager to take the blue-haired girl's hands.

They were jumping up and down together, almost in time with one another. It raised many questions for Blake, specifically how old the young blue-haired human was.

"I'm so glad I finally get to meet you! You almost scared us at the Badlands, but you saved Link and Penny at the same time with that awesome magic gate. And you were amazing in Vale when you sang for that little girl, it was all so amazing!"

"I know, wasn't it!" Lana eagerly returned. She was certainly far more vocal than Impa or Link. "And I miss Moraine already. She was such a kind girl, and a natural at the ocarina. I'm just so happy I got to show her the piano and those songs and the Gates and everything else!"

"And it was just incredible to watch! Penny showed us everything and it was as cool as adding a new custom modification to Crescent Rose." Blake could see stars in her leader's eyes. "But you did all of that with just those gates like they were being controlled with some telepathic resonance. That's the kind of stuff I want to install into Crescent's unlatching chamber!"

"Lana. Lana." Blake's more sensitive hearing picked up Weiss's muttering, far lower than the cheerful conversation going on between Ruby and said girl. "Human, which is Gerudo. Young. Witch… energetic." She was rambling to herself.

"Hey Lana," Yang now stepping up to the giggling girls. She placed a hand on Lana's shoulder, stopping the girl's jumping. "It's a joy to finally see ya. All I've gotten up till now are just a few TV appearances and some pretty kind words from Blake." Blake would be hard pressed to speak poor of any human that embraced friendship with any faunus.

"And I've heard great things about!" Lana replied with no damper on her energy. She stepped closer to the blonde, who was a good fist's width taller than the blue-haired human. With arms outstretched, Lana wrapped Yang in a deep hug.

Then she lifted the boxer off the ground.

Blake could only chuckle at the familiar situation, this time on the outside. Yang looked perplexed, but be it for the sudden embrace or the human's strength, Blake couldn't be sure which.

"Blake said you were a great partner to have and Link's memories tell me you can be one of the most driven members of your team. But most importantly, you make jokes!" Was that the most important? "And nothing in this world is more important than making other people laugh, so it's amazing that you laugh so often!"

Yang didn't appear capable of responding, at least not to Blake. Probably because she was debating on how to push her way out of the hold Lana had on her. Blake, from experience alone, knew it was best to stay high up on her bed. Weiss had yet to realize this. It made the faunus smile when Lana released Yang.

"And Weiss, you're here, too!" The heiress looked up, broken from her musings as the young witch approached her. Rather than waiting for the Schnee to stand, Lana grabbed her hands, pulling back until the girl was standing from her bed.

Then she began to twirl.

It was hardly surprising, given the actions of the human up until now. But it was still amusing to watch Lana spin Weiss about the room with a definite amount of skill. The heiress, unlike Yang, was far more vocal with how she was feeling.

"Wait! Stop! I-I can't focus!" It was clear Lana was paying only partial attention at best, given how the human was laughing while she spun.

It took Blake till now to realize both were wearing their hair in pony-tails based off the side of their head. They acted more like whips now, spinning as they were. Again, it was the wise decision to stay up and above the girl.

"But I can and I _know_ you're smart enough to find a way to do anything!" Lana sounded as if she were gushing to Weiss, even as she spun the girl in a merciless twirl. Blake could hear Ruby giggling. Yang was just laughing. "You're always answering questions and looking for answers and making plans for more answers that it just sounds like you have so much going for you!" Then she was laughing, as if it were expected. Maybe it was, because Blake could tell Yang was laughing harder, nearly bent over now.

It turned into a holler, of both laughter and fright, when Lana released Weiss mid-spin. The girl fell over herself and onto Yang's unmade bed. It was the most elegant mess Blake had ever seen, and she considered it worthwhile to lean over her own bed for the full view. The pout Weiss had on when she managed to raise her head was, to Blake, worth kissing a human for.

"And Blake!" She heard her name shouted. She looked up, moving back to avoid any grabby hands Lana may be reaching with.

But she didn't see Lana. Instead, she saw a golden hoop on the ground, an ethereal blue glow emanating from it. She had just enough time to observe it. It left her no time for what came next.

And that was Lana appearing from the golden hoop above her.

It was an ambush.

"Here's Blake!" Was all the faunus heard before she felt the full weight of the human land on her.

"It's amazing to see you again!" Blake yelled in response, flailing helplessly as the girl locked arms around her. Bone-crushing would have been preferred to the strength behind the embrace. It wasn't helped that Blake found herself twisting till she fell off the bed.

"I thought I'd have to try and run away from the tower again just to have a chance to see you! I know we didn't get to talk a lot before but now we can talk all day about all that stuff you said you'd help me understand and I guarantee I can tell you some amazing stuff about Hyrule!"

Blake couldn't respond, not between the weightless feeling her gut and bone-crunching embrace of the girl.

Otherwise she would have yelled as she tumbled through the blue of the golden gates.

Especially given that the fall was now, by definition, _perpetual_.

"And now that everyone's here we can have some _amazing_ conversations!"

Gravity righted itself with a lurch, quick enough for Blake to realize Lana had finally let them hit the floor. She had enough time for a single breath of air. Then she was pulled into another full embrace with the hyper-active girl.

This time, being crushed by Weiss, Ruby, and, of course, Yang's favorite attribute. Because it wasn't awkward enough.

"Oh, it's so wonderful to be able to _talk_ to other people and find out just how _amazing_ the world really is! Everyone from next door were great, but you guys know Link _so_ much better than they do!" Blake wasn't sure what she could take out of the conversation, nausea aside.

Because, of course, they were spinning. How was she picking them all up? She'd have to ask that after her stomach settled. Falling, spinning, and choking did not make for a happy Blake.

"L-L-La-a-a-an-n-n-na-a-a-a!" Ruby forced out. Forced being the operative word. " _Stop_. Sp-i-i _-i-i[/i-]_ ning!" Blake would have embraced her leader, if she could move her arms.

Lana stopped on a Lien.

"Oh! Is that bothering you?" She asked, apparently not out of breath in the slightest. "My mistake! I was just so excited to finally be able to meet all you!" And the hug was stronger now. Of course.

"And… let us… _breathe!_ " Yang now. Thank Dust Yang. Blake wouldn't have been able to speak a word through her… chest. "You're gonna. Mess. With. My… _Hair!_ That'd be bad, too. For everyone involved.

"Right! Breathing is good!" Blake would have commented, if she had air to speak. "Sometimes If forget to do that, I just get so _excited_!" Blake believed that.

But she also believed Lana releasing her was a blessing of the highest magnitude.

She took in a deep breath of air, even as she fell to her butt. The rest of her team did the same, minus Ruby. Blake had her hand to her chest as she sucked in a few greedy breaths.

She could make out Yang and Weiss from the corner of her gaze. One was sprawled on the ground like a thrown doll. The other had managed to turn her posture into a kneeling position. Blake would offer no credit to anyone who guessed who was who.

But, as she noted before, only Ruby still stood. A glance upwards told her why. The young teen was being held up by Lana, hands beneath the younger girl's arms. Ruby looked dead on her feet, with only the slow groan showing she was still alive.

"But it really is _amazing_ I get to finally see you Ruby!" Lana spoke as if they were all the pinnacle of health.

Blake found her gaze narrowing, but more of annoyance than disrespect. Lana was Link's friend, and she showed her care for the faunus by saving him. She trusted actions over words.

"Tatl and Tael are always so happy to talk about you and how you're so open to meeting Link's friends and wanting to protect him so much! And even Impa trusts you enough to _really_ show you what you can do, and you showed her by showing you want to show others safety! That's a _show_." That was a joke, Blake would have voice if she could.

"Yeah… amazing," Ruby drooled out. Blake could offer the girl only sympathy. "Didn't _feel_ a thing…"

Was that a double entendre? Clever girl.

"Speak for yourself, sis," Yang added in. She was pushing herself to her feet. If any member of the team could recover quickly, it was the brawler. "I feel like I got shoved through a wind tunnel. By Nora." That would do it.

"Nora _is_ strong, too!" Lana voiced. It took Blake a moment to remember who 'escorted' the blue-haired girl to Vale before. "Buuuuut I think it'd be more fun to use magic over muscles. Easier, too!"

"Easier?" Weiss asked. Blake could tell without a glance the heiress was watching the glowing portals in the room.

In truth, Blake was as well. She didn't want to fall into one again.

"You think that the manipulation of Dust constructs and its interaction as a power-source for your devices is an… easier to understand tool that muscular strength?" She spoke all of that while rising to her legs again. Blake, herself, was content to stay away from direction conversation.

Lana likely didn't know as much about the faunus kingdom as Link's other friends.

"Well, yeah, I've been doing it longer!" Lana's answer implied it answered all worries. It did not, to neither Blake nor Weiss. Blake left her own worries remain silent. "And it's so much more fun to talk to old friends and play instruments and dance and sing and create light shows and do all the other things magic lets me do!"

"But… you're level of strength is beyond normal!" Weiss pushed. She had a difficult time letting go, in most things Blake would argue. "You lifted us all up like we were _paper_ , and without showing any forms of fatigue _and-_ "

"Ruby! Ruby! Are you currently occupying your room!?"

Blake could _hear_ Lana's sigh of relief, just as well as Weiss's grunt of annoyance.

She, on the other hand, recognized the voice. There was little way she could _not_ recognize it. Not when it came to someone who talked so technical, yet so innocently.

"Oh, Penny's here!" Ruby cheered as she jumped at the door, before most in the room could react. Blake only shook her head as her young team leader gripped and threw the door open.

Said leader was in the air a moment later with Penny on top of her, hugging the girl tightly. Blake giggled, noting Ruby's face was a similar color of her cloak. Blake idly wondered if the young teen was becoming used to the situation, between Lana, Penny, and her own sister.

"It is grand to see you Ruby!" The newly-realized animatronic girl spoke. "Ms. Nora Valkyrie told me of hugging a sure sign to show friends you care, and I am glad that I can show you how much I care for you."

Now Blake giggled aloud. It was rare to see her leader out-done in childishness, if not by her own sister. And now, it had happened twice in the same day.

" _O_ kay, that's enough," Yang spoke up, getting behind Penny and lifting the red-head off the ground. Ruby followed, with unspoken protest.

It was the second most impressive display of strength today, after Lana lifting the three of them up.

"No, seriously girl, gotta let go now." Yang started to pat Penny's head, vigorously. Blake could hear the dull echoing of metal, barely. It was enough to make the girl open her eyes with awareness though.

"Oh! My apologies!" Penny spoke as she spread her arms wide, releasing Ruby. Blake's team leader proceeded to fall into a mess on the floor, eyes nearly spinning in her sockets.

She'd be okay, given how fast Yang followed to watch over her.

"I was simply overcome with joy and I supposed through quick analysis this was the most appropriate action!" She'd need to have those parts of her code looked over.

Then her eyes rose from Yang and Ruby to the other guest in the room. Her gaze was filled with admiration again. That, and her arms were outstretched once more. Blake was glad she was higher up in the room.

"Lana! You are present, too!" The robot girl quickly approached the human, arms clearly seeking to embrace the oddest one in the room.

Perhaps now second oddest.

"I have not spoken at length with you for nearly four days' time. But now I have superb news to speak to you with!" Lana didn't shirk or fight off the hug perhaps out of her own surprise, if the bulging eyes were any indication or clue.

Blake didn't even attempt to hid her smirk at Lana's predicament. It was rare for her to witness karma so instantaneous.

By the way Weiss had her hand over her lips, she was little different. If only Yang were not so focused on her sister. Then perhaps she could add her own laughter to the silent mirth Blake and Weiss were reveling in.

Lana still appeared shocked still by the android's hold.

Though she was not crushed like Ruby, Lana didn't appear to be faring much better than the young girl. She was easily being lifted off of the ground, head craned back as if to keep her back from being crushed. The most vacant expression was written over the aqua-haired girl's features.

It was comical, seeing the bubbly Lana being outdone by the animatronic. And to think, Blake had known them both for hardly a week's time.

"It is… wonderful to see you too, Penny." Lana replied from her lifted position. Oddly though, without any difficulty, despite the evidence of Penny's strength still lying on the ground behind her. "But can you please put me down? I-I don't like being picked up."

Well that would explain the discomfort.

"Oh! My apologies again!" The redhead quickly replied, dropping Lana. She landed on her feet with nearly bounce. "I am genuinely happy to see you again! Many of my recursive algorithms said reacquainting with you would be difficult, but I am _happy_ to see them disproven!"

"Me, too!" Lana responded with a surprising among of vigor. It made Blake blink, witnessing the mood whiplash from the blue-haired human. "But I'm glad to see you're okay! Last time I saw you, you were so _sad_ , but now you look so _happy!_ "

"And it's stupendous that I am!" Penny cheered back.

They were hopping up and down now, like rabbits. Couldn't they have done this anywhere else but their room?

"Because since I've come here _so many_ amazing things have happened!" The animatronic continued on. "I've gotten to attend the educational curriculum with other students, had removed oversight by my peers, conversed with strangers without fear of remedial lessons, _and now_ I've been invited to attend an extra-curricular archeological study with a professor!"

She what?

"That's wonderful!" Lana cheered back. Had to be Lana, unless Link was unaware of what the last part meant. "Buuuut what does an extracurricular thing mean?" Or neither of them did.

Penny blinked twice at the question. Knowing what she was now, Blake couldn't help but imagine literal gears turning in her head. Odd, a robot with a computer for a mind _not_ responding instantly.

"It means she's going to be doing activities with professors outside of classes." Apparently, Weiss thought faster than a super-computer, or at least could respond faster. "And Penny appears to have been invited to attend one… before other Beacon students."

" _Oh_! But that's why I am here! I was told to come find Link _swiftly_ as possible!" Her gaze turned back to Lana, eyes gleaming like her smile. "Both Tatl and Tael were _very_ clear on how important it was I find you. They wanted to find you first _buuuuut_ Headmaster Ozpin and Ms. Glynda Goodwitch said _they_ had to stay."

"Wait, wait, wait." Yang spoke up, shaking her arms back and forth. Blake could tell she interrupted Lana, at least before the girl could speak. "Ozpin _AND_ Goodwitch are inviting you to go digging with them? No, wait again, scratch that. How are Tatl and the Peeping Tom involved?"

Was Yang still referring to Tael like that?

"The reason is simple and extra-ordinary, at least using my _recent_ data bank of activities!" Given that the robot had fought ancient Grimm, had been released from the Military, and revealed herself to them, that was a significant statement.

"Well what is it? _What is it?_ " Lana, had to be Lana, seemed very excited by Penny's words. How odd it must be for Link, being given the emotions of others. His sense of self must have been strong, to not be altered by the thoughts of-

"Dr. Oobleck has likely found _Navi_!"

Blake's mind _grinded_ to halt.

She didn't need to be a faunus to see the same was true for Lana, let alone the rest of the room. Penny seemed to be the only one unaffected by her words. Knowing what the energetic teen truly was, it explained a lot.

"Where?" Lana answered. No, Link. Had to be. The expression on the blue-haired girl's face was far too serious to belong to the bubbly girl.

"I do not possess that information yet!" She was the only who sound excited right now, that was a fact. "I was only given choice information by Dr. Oobleck and Headmaster Ozpin, done so to lower the intimidation levels of Tatl and Tael." Most likely the former over the latter.

"Where are _they_?" Link asked again, clarifying his question. Penny answered all smiles.

"Everyone is present in Ozpin's tower! I was recruited to find you, both Tatl and Tael saying they would stay to prevent discussion from continuing until you arrived! Well, Tatl did." There it was.

Blake expected a hundred more questions to be asked. If not from Lana, then from anyone else. She had a dozen of her own, but knew better than to include herself needlessly in any conversation she could get out of. But she heard no questions. Neither Link nor Lana said a word.

Instead, she acted.

One of her Gate of Souls appeared, in time with her Guardian Gates vanishing. Both with hardly a sound. The golden hoop that was present quickly began to spin as Lana rotated her arm, a silent command to spin faster. The blue aura began to form in the center of the ring, hiding anything that was behind it.

Lana made one more quick spin with her body. The gate's rotation increased with it. Spinning as fast as it was, it managed to turn the golden hoop into a halo.

It felt almost natural to assume heaven was beyond the blue fog.

"Oooookay," Yang drawled out. If anyone still had the voice to speak, it was her. "That's pretty different to see in your face and not on some screen, but what are you- _hey!_ " Yang's yell was justified.

Lana, quick as the gate appeared, jumped through the ethereal blue.

Blake had enough time to blink to see Penny skipping through just after her. A flash of rose petals told her Ruby just followed. That was three people who had jumped through the portal within seconds of it opening.

-And now it was closing!

" _Hey!_ I said _Hey!_ " Yang yelled as she jumped forward. The gate was already much smaller than before, from doorway sized to chair sized, and shrinking. Her partner had enough time to take two steps forward before it got even smaller.

Blake jumped from the bed, ready to join her leader through the portal. By the time her feet hit the ground, Yang had jumped through as if it were a hoop of fire. Given the speed it was spinning at, it might as well have been.

Weiss was just behind the blonde, her entry much more elegant, but lacking nothing in speed. That left Blake, forsake herself if she was going to be the _slowest_ member of her team.

She was a Shadow, and that meant she had to be as decisive as she was agile.

The gate was the size of her body, but she leapt through it with arms forward. She felt nothing, she same nothing she experienced when Lana had her falling through them before. But whereas she fell from floor to ceiling perpetually, now she landed somewhere else.

Blake had jumped from her dorm room, and landed in Professor Ozpin's Office.

Her body rolled when she hit the floor, stopping when she was in a kneel. It was a practiced maneuver, though never quite practiced for teleportation. It still kept her from flailing on the floor I some desperate fashion.

"And I see Team RWBY was quick to follow," the Beacon head spoke as his eyes turned to her and her teammates. They must have followed some quick introduction. "I'd be more surprised if you four had failed to appear."

Blake let out a long slow sigh.

Her head twisted to see the golden portal behind her ceasing its spin. The ethereal blue of its center fading away to reveal the far wall of Ozpin's Clock Tower. It took away any escape she might have had.

That just left her and her team in Ozpin's office. Her team, Professor Ozpin, Doctor Oobleck, the fairies, Penny, and, of course, Link. A part of her was surprised that Ms. Goodwitch wasn't present.

Wait, Link? Not Lana? Nope, that was definitely Link. The foreign faunus with ears longer than her own hand and hair as gold as his heart.

" _Hey! Listen!_ Back on track," Blake instantly recognized the voice and ring of Tatl. The golden fairy flew around Ozpin before darting over to Link. Link, who was standing some distance from the Gate they had entered from. "Link, _awesome_ that you're here, cause now they can talk."

" _Almost_! Nearly, but not quite," Dr. Oobleck interrupted. Tatl rang with a response.

"Oh what now?!" The fair let out as she turned. How long had she been waiting. "Are you gonna tell me we got await for Big Stiff to get here _too_!?" Ironwood? He was coming.

"Preposterous! No, of course not. But another. Yes, waiting on _Glynda_ to arrive." So she was coming.

_Bing_

No sooner did Blake hear the buzzard than did the doors to the elevator open up. And out walked Ms. Goodwitch, Scroll in hand and eyes forward. At least she gave a glance towards them. Apparently she was just as unsurprised as Ozpin that her team was here.

"Correction! Glynda _has_ arrived!" Dr. Oobleck swung his arm with the delayed announcement. " _Now_ I can discuss the details of my findings!"

And out he produced a pile of papers large enough to make a tree with. Where had he been hiding those?

* * *

Link was focused. He was at peace. He had reconciled all events that had let up to this moment, so that he could be aware of everything that was happening.

He needed that level of concentration to stay on top of the Professor's erratic words.

"… the ability to construct aura fields in high-Grimm activity without alerting the beta wave sympathizers of the beasts was the first indicator. Difficult, incredibly. An undocumented method in many areas. _BUT!_ I found some, yes. There were _five_ key areas, all highly classified due to risk of health. Rubbish I say!"

"I hardly consider risk to life "rubbish", Bartholomew," Ozpin returned. It was the first time Link had seen the headmaster interact with any instruct aside from Glynda. He had the charisma assumed he would. "But of these areas, how did you narrow it down to one option?"

"Yes! Of course! I'll explain," the doctor continued. Then with as much fanfare as he knew the man to possess, he lifted his scroll from his pocket and _threw_ the device to the ground. It was not a toss, it was a throw.

Link watched as he threw open a map on the ground, projected from his scroll. And it was quite a map. Even with only shades of blue to color it, transparent in some parts, he could make the oceans, the land, the curves, and even the islands of the world, and it very much was the world.

"Wow…" he heard Tael let out quietly next to him. "That's… that's a lot bigger than I thought it was." Link had few objections to the fairy, and he knew the world to be far larger than what he had explored before.

He would have to do that in the future, likely at least.

"Here!" Oobleck's shout drew back Link's attention. He was jumping and pointing at a dot on the screen, on some land mass far to the west side of the map. "And here, and here as well. And _one_ one more here!" Dots littered the map as he spoke, the brightest white over the otherwise blue.

"Around the world, around the world…~" Link heard Yang mumble in a sing-song voice. He didn't mind. She was right, and she had a nice voice.

"Five locations with sufficient information. Not encompassing, no, but conclusive _enough_." His hands rapidly began to point across the screen, each in time with a twist and jump of his legs.

Link only now realized that the professor was quite acrobatic. It was why Ozpin had hired him, likely, being proficient in more than just information.

"A failed housing project outside of Atlas, one. Remains of a cargo shipment in Vacou too large for safe removal, two. An Oasis near Vacou rumored to be housing an Ancient Grimm, three. The dead forest of Mistral, four, and _finally_ , most important, _magnificently_ , an abandoned mining facility beyond Mt. Glenn! _That_ is the key."

Link had no idea why. But he knew, from the only passive descriptions, he would not be the only one with questions. Others would ask for him.

"Um, Dr. Oobleck." And sure enough, one began. Link turned to see Ruby raising her hand, as he had seen students do in class before, that one time. "Why are those important? Like… why is it important you chose those?"

"Excellent questions Ms. Rose! Good to see your paying attention." Link grinned as Ruby beamed, but his attention was rediverted. This was about _Navi._ "In simple terms, for simple minds, these are locations that meet all previously established requirements for fairy occupation, or are most ideal conditions for living."

Dangerous, isolated, and hidden. Link rattled off the key areas to all the fairy fountains he had discovered before. On top of volcanic mountains, beneath houses of the dead, or residing just next to the homes of evil.

"Interesting," Ozpin spoke next. Link did not take his eyes away from the map now. He was committing to memory all the areas the professor had named. "But why is the location beyond Mt. Glenn the most interesting, Bartholomew? You seem invested in it."

"I am!" He shouted back joyfully. Doubtlessly joyfully. "It not only meets the feasibility requirements, but reaches the highest scores in merit criteria as well! Age and depth within the earth are obvious, but its rocky structure ensures hiding spaces and coves that would be hard, _most difficult,_ for anyone else but fairies to reach. Simply, perfect."

"Kay, this is great and all, but how'd ya know you _found_ Navi?" Tatl asked. She would always argue, Link knew. But she was always loyal, Link knew that also. "Just sounds like you got a great start goin' here."

" _Reasoning!_ Ms. Tatl, both deductive and historical reasoning. Cornerstones of research." Link would take his word for it, Oobleck seemed very happy with his words. "Research into said mining operation indicates it to be the most likely location for Navi, and historical data maintains strong evidence as well."

Oobleck, quick as a leaf in the wind, whisked over to his Scroll. He literally lay on the ground to adjust it, rather than lifting it up. Link was unsure if it was habit, or if it was faster in some odd way. He did not think long on it, least right now.

The map of the world disappeared, as quickly as Link had seen the other apparitions of light before it. It was quickly replaced with an image that had color. The technology of this world was amazing to witness.

"This is the mine, pre-abandonment, fully functional," Oobleck began. "Few pictures available, this is one. Need to discount support structures and vehicles, those would be absent now." He meant the large objects with wheels.

They looked like carts, if the wagons in Hyrule were forged by smithies and not carpenters.

But the mine was what it appeared to be. It looked similar to those that were made by the Gorons. Link could see the support structures leading into the mine, supporting the rock as it was removed, preventing cave-ins. The lanterns were there as well, because it was dark in the depths of any hole.

"I recognize that place," Link heard Weiss speak. It was more of a mumble, but she spoke louder next time. "That appears to be the Monument Mine, one of the prospective projects my grandfather attempted early on in the Schnee Company's history."

"Correct Ms. Schnee!" Oobleck congratulated the second member of their team. "Excellent memory, use of visual ques. Yes, this is a Schnee mine, abandoned due, reportedly, to low-returns and high-risk. Both obvious, very clear."

From the image, neither of those were clear to Link.

"The mine produced an insubstantial amount of Dust despite costs for excavation, maintenance, workers, tools, and other required spending. _But!_ Official reason contradicts worker testimony!" Well that wasn't too uncommon. Link trusted a general's assessment of a field over a foot soldier.

"Hmm, that is odd," Glynda responded. Guess it worked differently here. "But it depends on how substantial the differences are." True, Link could understand that.

" _Very_ different! Surprisingly different." Oobleck appeared very happy with his words. "Executives claim cost and return. Workers different. They claim dangerous presence, ominous feelings. Claimed to be like the Grimm, but not Grimm." It could have been paranoia. Link knew the average Gerudo hated being underground for very long.

"That is interesting, but could it have been paranoia onset by claustrophobic conditions? It's very common for workers to become stressed in a mining environment." Apparently Glynda thought the same, even as she tapped on her own pad.

She was making odd glances at team RWBY… maybe she didn't like them being here. Link didn't see much wrong with it. They'd probably be involved in the future anyways, knowing the red-head at least.

"Percentage is key!" Oobleck retorted again. "Average case of paranoia in mining conditions is 12% depending on working hours and conditions, 6% if optimal. Cases in Memorial Mine _exceeded 54.6%_!" That was a lot more…

"Super Buzz sure is buzzing, huh?" Tatl asked from above Link. He nodded at her. He knew they were both staring at the screen. "But I gotta admit, I'm impressed." Link felt the same.

"Others areas indicated also have history! Rich in it!" Oobleck ducked again, tapping on his scroll to change the image. The map was back in the blink of an eye, maybe two. "However, problems exist for each site. Either too far away for ease of study. Or, consequently, too small to house fairy fountains, at least with reason to not be seen before."

"This is very impressive Bartholomew," Ozpin continued. "But, I believe you told me you had more substantial evidence than this."

Link had almost forgotten that Oobleck was here before. At least long enough for Penny to be recruited by him. It didn't matter much now. He was learning everything he had to.

"Yes! There is!" Oobleck raised hand, pointing to the ceiling. It quickly swiped and swung to Penny. 'Speak of the demon', Link thought. "Penny! Please provide the previously discussed information!"

"Yes, professor!" Penny replied with nearly as much energy. Nearly, but not the same. There were similar, but at least Penny had whole sentences. It made her easier to understand.

When Penny started talking again, easier to understand was an understatement.

" _According to Atlas Military report, Date_ Classified _Log # 34, interviews with miners at defunct Schnee Operation reports of both extreme unease, paranoia, claustrophobia. However, in contradictory claims, other miners reported extreme feelings of euphoria, peace, and in extreme cases serenity."_

" _Suspicions documented do not match statistically appropriate significance. Symptoms of gas leaks and other biological factors lack the pre-existing signs that result before mental instability, including fatigue, loss-of-appetite, and fainting. The report concludes the mine be abandoned indefinitely."_

Link blinked at the girl. Tatl and Tael were right. She was golem.

"Oh, I forgot to give warning about my record protocols. My mistake!" She gave a lopsided grin and shrug of her shoulders. And there was the girl again.

"Good thing we knew she was a robot before this." Link turned to look at Yang. The blonde was leaning towards Blake, probably trying to whisper. Too bad she was as loud as whistling arrow.

"Truly your addition to Beacon was a fortuitous occasion." Oobleck replied to the girl's monologue. He looked close to tears, of joy… "It almost makes me believe we can answer all questions Remnant has left."

"I shall apply above the maximum allotted energy to accomplish that, 110%!" Penny replied in turn. Her grin was as bright as Ruby's was during the match.

"Back to the matters at hand," Ozpin spoke, correcting the course. _Navi_ was involved, and Link was glad he kept that priority in mind as well. "Tatl and Tael, do you agree this sounds like something that would occur near a… fountain?

"Uh, yes, actually," Tael spoke before his sister. What a rarity. "It's said that the presence of the fountains draws those that are weary and scared. I-It's why we like to live where it's dangerous for others… so we can help them if they get hurt, sometimes…"

"Call it an instinct we got," Tatl spoke up next, right as her brother began to drop off. Link felt the yellow sibling jump off his hat as Tael settled on his shoulder. "Most of the monsters can't do much to us, but helping out someone in danger is kind of our thing. Way you described it, both of you, ya got something going with this place."

And Link could not help his grin. _Navi_ … he might just see her again…

But he needed to remain calm. He could not assume what was not before him. That happened before, and he was disappointed before. It was all still so unknown.

And the unknown had the advantage. It was why he would search the mine within and without.

"So when do we head out?" Tatl asked for Link. "Guessin' tomorrow, cause it's already late in the day and you all seem to like sleeping at night so much. But I guess you fall into that net, too, don't ya Link?" He only rolled his eyes. Sleep was nice, but dreaming was the best.

"Not even _close_ to that time," Glynda spoke up. She sounded irked. That was a bad sign for any discussion.

"What?" Tatl asked again, but there was truly no need to. The instructor would explain.

"Any excursion by Beacon Faculty into Grimm Territory or unmapped areas must be signed and approved by the appropriate parties. Said parties include the Headmaster and appropriate Military Personal." She was looking down at her pad still. It was impossible to tell if she was reading off it or not.

" _Those_ guys again?" Tatl asked incredulously. "Yeah, cause it worked out _so_ well the last time." If he weren't used to it, the fairy's words might have put off Link. The grimace on Glynda's face was evidence that she was not used to it. That was not to mention the squires and Oobleck.

"I believe you will have no fear of James refusing this," Ozpin spoke up. "He has been trusting of my word and the Council only needs notice of our actions, not their consent. They will not be involved." Link heard Tael ring with relief. He had no wonders why.

"Well that's a plus," Yang admitted, likely speaking Tatl's thoughts. "Wouldn't want those guys watching over our shoulders the whole time. Glenn was bad enough without having someone watchin' what your doin' 24/7." Link could agree with some of that, but what she said… had a meaning he didn't like.

"What do you mean _you,_ blondie?" Tatl rang as she floated over to the buxom girl. "Last I checked you were still training to go out on trips like this. What makes ya think you're coming?"

"Beacon's Instructor Code, actually." Weiss now. She was raising her head as she spoke, arms folded behind her back. "Unless instructors are attending to personal events, trips into said territories are to be done so with a team of students chosen by said professor."

Link was sure Penny was the golem, but maybe she wasn't the only one… She had no pad to read off, but it sounded very rehearsed to Link.

That, however, was not the issue.

" _What?_ " Tatl once more spoke for Link. "You got to be kidding me? This is like… the _most_ personal thing Link can do! He's lookin' for Navi, ya know, one of _us_? How's that not personal!?"

"Personal means attending to family matters within one of the four kingdoms or territories," Glynda spoke again. She was tapping on her scroll. "The rule _is_ in place to ensure students are able to learn of actual missions following graduation. Education in a classroom, or a ring, only goes so far."

Of that, Link could not and would not deny.

A sigh left his lips, thumb playing with his brow. He didn't like it. Taking anyone on tasks such as this was always more of a burden than privilege. Then again, they were making no hint that it would be for his gain. He was given a source of information and safe housing from greedy hands.

If taking squires on a mission to save his friend was the price for said tools, it was from unacceptable. He only wished they were more upfront before. It was an unknown he hadn't realized, because he hadn't asked.

"Link?" Tatl spoke his name.

He looked toward the fairy nodding at her. She would understand.

"Wait, you're sure about that?" She questioned. Tatl was as cautious as she was boisterous, and goblins were quieter than her on a bad day. His answer was simple. "…Fine, whatever. You're gonna be doing the fighting anyway…"

She rang as she flew around him. He grinned in turn.

"At least it'll just be a bit of babysitting, right?" She asked before she settled next to Tael. He could feel their glow. "We're not taking the school or anything."

"I am also coming!" Oobleck shouted at her words. "So much work done and history to be found! Marvelous findings, records to be kept, cataloging as well. I'll come to be a chronicler of this new finding!" Link had no objections. Oobleck had done a lot of work.

"Kay, you too." Tatl sounded like she agreed. "At least you look like you can run for days. Hopefully we won't have ta watch out for you too much." Link said nothing to her words.

"I am also accompanying you!" Penny now. She had said she was. "Dr. Oobleck has said that my expertise in data management and processing will be invaluable in field expeditions, and I'm combat ready and ready to go!" She said that earlier, too.

" _FINE!_ Both of you!" Link leaned his head at the high ring of the fairy. "But that's it! More than that and it'll feel like an escort mission!"

"Actually Tatl, there is going to be another party involved." Link was unsurprised.

Ozpin was not the king of the land. The actual rulers would want to be involved.

"In accordance with our Balance of Powers, any off-campus exploration into areas classified as _'Uninhabitable'_ must be informed to the Council and… be _accompanied_ by a Military Personal." So there was more than simply approval after all.

Link was wholly unsurprised. He expressed that with a soft sigh. Tatl was likely the same, but she chose her usual emotion. Anger.

"Oh _c'mon!_ " His companion let loose with a ring, jumping again from his shoulder. "After all the crap that happened last time, you think it's gonna be okay to try that all over again? What, did they promise _extra hard_ they wouldn't do it again?"

He hid a smile at her words. They were funny.

"To show our cooperation, even in light of morally gray actions, Beacon is dedicated to upholding its due share of power," Glynda spoke, eyes down on her pad. Link would never be entirely convinced she wasn't reading off it. "As long as we are documented to be acting within the law, we cannot be judged for moral ambiguity."

"Cheaters never prosper, as they say," Oobleck added in. His head was nodding almost sagely, even as he pocketed his scroll again. Link wanted to see the map once more. "Similar mindset of students cheating in exams. Some do, but none should."

"Yeah, great, so they can hop-scotch around the rules as much as they want, but Link here's got to play nice with them?" Tatl seemed to be making a point that he would be doing most of the work.

She wasn't _wrong._

"And what were you talking about not heading out anytime soon? What's left to do?" Tatl floated to Glynda, sprinkling the professor with her dust.

"Aside from debriefings and study on the area you will be traveling to," she began, adjusting her glasses as her eyes lifted from her pad.

Guess she wasn't reading that.

"Link has to choose the students that will accompany him, the Military personal has to be informed of needed classified information, transportation must be secured, classes arranged during your absence, and emergency transport secured in case an instable situation occurs."

"That's a lot to do…" Tael whispered from his shoulder. Link nodded in agreement to the dark fairy.

"Every two steps forward have three steps back, huh?" Tatl seemed to be mocking Glynda. Yes, she definitely was. The ringing was the key indicator. "Well how much padding your putting on this, you better guarantee something nice out of this. Like a bonus or something for giving the kids a field trip."

She probably meant money. Link didn't need it while he was under the headmaster's housing though. Tatl, however, was likely just watching out for him again. She was the one who would chase away thieves.

"Before we start discussing _those_ details," Ozpin spoke up now. He was leaning over his desk, staring at the screen Link ha d played chess with him. There was something else there now. "Perhaps we should meet with the Military personal who will accompany you. I just received word from John that she will be arriving shortly."

"She?" Weiss asked. Link could hear a ring of hope in her voice. It was only made clearer when a quick glance showed a small lift at the edges of her lips.

She knew one of them, likely personally.

"And I have just received a request for landing," Glynda spoke up now, eyes back down on her pad. Guess she was reading it _now_. "Permit authenticates and is only awaiting a landing zone. I'm assigning her to Lot 4B."

Link had no idea where that was or who 'she' was. Hopefully both would be answered soon

"Excellent," Ozpin said as he lifted his head from the table, sipping his mug in the same motion. "Then I suppose we should go and say our guest. Link, you especially." He had no arguments, only agreements.

"Yeah, great, least we can _learn_ about the next wolfo who's gonna try and stab us in the back," Tatl grumbled in a low voice. She rang highly with the words, hopefully too high for the others to hear her words.

He looked about the room, but none seemed insulted. Except for Blake, evidenced by her wide golden gaze. She said nothing in disagreement, however.

"Introductions, a _brilliant_ idea!" Oobleck added quickly, hand pointing towards the clockwork ceiling. "Discussion of aspiration and abilities, a stable means to communicate ideals. Yes! _But first_ , what is the soldier's name? Proper introductions require this prior knowledge."

"She's a huntress that was taught under John himself," Ozpin began. That wasn't a name, but Link found the information valuable. The general did do his utmost to correct his mistakes from the Badlands. "But I believe Ms. Schnee would prefer to give the introductions." Weiss?

Link looked over to the alabaster haired girl. She appeared socked by the statement, her teammates included. Link had concluded she was from a well-connected family weeks ago, just by the conversations around her and the title of heiress, but how did that lead into this?

"I-It's her? Really?" Weiss _sounded_ overjoyed with her questions. So it wasn't just an acquaintance, but a long-time friend at the very least.

Ozpin, from Link's glance, had on the warm smile that a leader mastered before he took the post. The inviting grin that spoke more than any speech could properly convey. It was more than an answer for Weiss.

Her smile was blooming like a flower in the snow.

"Whoa, Ice Queen, got somethin' ya want to tell us?" Yang asked. She looked unsure to be even near the suddenly happy girl. "Last time I saw ya this happy was when ya got to beat the cream out of Jaune." Before Link's time, he realized.

"I-I apologize, I… I just can't believe she's coming." The young girl quickly wiped her eyes, taking deep breaths, and straightening her pose. Her smile did _not_ fade. "I-I haven't seen her in _years_."

"Who's 'she'?" Ruby asked. Where Yang moved further away from Weiss, Ruby got closer. The girl was inviting. "Your teacher, a friend, _oh_! Maybe your _best_ friend!" She sounded as happy as Weiss looked.

And the answer the alabaster teen gave justified it all.

"My sister." Her two words were worth a thousand.

"Winter Schnee, my older sister."

Knowing that, Link found Weiss's self-control to be _humbling_.

* * *

If there were ever a similarity between the academies, it was the naivety of students.

Winter had concluded the fact only shortly after she had finished her training at Vale. Under the tutelage of General Ironwood, she followed him to the four academies at least once a month. And each time they arrived, students flocked to see the excellence of the Military.

They all wore only slightly varying expressions of shock or awe. Mouths agape, eyes wide, yet focused, a hush interrupted only by quite whispers. From the cold of Atlas to the heat of Vacuo, students never seemed anything less than enamored with Military technology. Or, appropriately, the huntresses that used them.

The cycle was repeating again as Winter stepped out of her airship, arms folded behind her back and rapier on her waist. Her poise was perfect, stride in form, even as she marched down the sheet of metal that connected the hull of her ship to the ground.

Students flocked to see her, likely would for any Military personal. She could already hear the questions of why she was here, wonders as to who she was. They would never be told the former, and with luck, only a few would know the latter.

But Winter did not offer her gaze to any of the students she passed. To do so would only delay her and distract them from their own studies. They were wasting their time gawking at her, gaining nothing but a false sense of pride.

General Ironwood had given her strict orders to speak with Headmaster Ozpin in his tower, assuring she would be given clearance. Henceforth, she had to head there as a priority one. Any other interaction would only interferer with her goals.

That train of thought was stalled when the head of an Atlas Robot fell at her feet.

A moment later, the robot behind her fell to pieces.

She only sighed at the display, even as the children spread out with varying levels of unease. There was a reason they were students and she was the huntress. She could use logic quickly. They still depended on emotions to guide them.

"That was Atlas Military property," she began to speak, turning around with arms folded behind her. Her head tilted to move her thick white bangs, just enough to let both eyes fall on her attacker. "I hope you have suitable compensation for the damages."

The man took a swig from a canteen, tilting his head back to guzzle the drink. Winter sneered at the display. Truly disgusting, least of all in the middle of the day.

"Sorry, don't have any Lien on me," the dark haired drunk replied. He was already slouching to one-side, doubtlessly trying to stand straight. "Figured this would get your attention any way, especially after seeing your gaudy ship earlier."

Winter refused to take such obvious bait.

"I don't have times for your immature games, Qrow." She responded coolly. She saw the mech next to her take a step forward.

Winter raised a hand to her side, stopping the other android from opening fire. There were students nearby, and Qrow would use that to his advantage. He was despicable enough for it. Instead, the drunk would have to listen to her speak.

"I was sent her by General Ironwood to meet the headmaster. It'd be best for us _both_ if you didn't interfere any further." A wise huntress would see the barb in her words and the truth of her statement.

Qrow was too drunk to notice either. That, or his sleazy nature was showing again.

"Yeah, I hear that a lot. Kinda believe it myself." Winter highly doubted that, given the crude man's nature. "But, sometimes, I just can't help myself. 'Specially when I gotta check on something." That made her raise a brow.

"What could you possibly have to 'check' on?" Winter questioned. She did her utmost to ignore the growing body of students. Their whispers and murmurs were growing louder by the passing moment. "The only thing I know you to examine is the bottom of a freshly polished glass."

He snickered at that, brushing a hand through his greasy hair. The children made sounds of appraisal, assumingly. It was a similar sound she heard from foot soldiers during their pub games, before she or the general entered the room.

"Got me there, princess," Qrow seemed to admit. "But, actually, I'm pretty good at checkin' something else." He attempted to straighten himself, attempt being the operative word. Qrow appeared ready to topple over at any moment.

It was a feint.

Winter drew her rapier in time to meet Qrow's sword.

Their steel clashing made a ring. It resounded through the courtyard, scaring the students around them. Winter had no more time to dedicate thought to the young hunters and huntresses in training.

Qrow twisted in a circle, bending low to swing the blade over his head. She pulled her blade back, side-stepping in tune to a parry. His blade blew the stone walkway to rubble, but she had her blade aimed towards him. Winter thrusted with a quick yell.

He dodged, falling lower the ground. Just as she pulled back, angling the blade to drag at the cobblestone, he pulled himself by his blade, out of her reach. She saw him flip and hold his over-sized sword up, landing with undeserved grace. She reset her stance as well, aiming the point of her steel at him.

"An ambush, Qrow?" She asked, unimpressed. She waved off the sentries that were preparing to fire. With the drunk's luck, they were privy to hit a bystander, an unacceptable outcome. "Even I thought you weren't so low."

"I'm actually pretty bad, Ice Queen," he admitted with a lop-sided grin. Pride less and miserable wretch. "But whenever I win a fight, I'm usually higher than whoever lost." He blew a breath of air as he pulled his blade back.

"Despicable to the end," she noted to herself. "It's the only facet of you I can count on." He laughed the, with strength and bellow.

"Uptight and wound like an engine," he returned. "Wouldn't recognize ya if you were anything else." She blew air from her nose, dismissing the petty jab. It wouldn't matter, not in the immediate future.

He jumped forward with the speed that she knew him to possess. Winter matched it, preparing a glyph aside her rapier. It heated the air, loosened the molecules, making the resistance that much lower.

Winter swung up as he swung down. The pathway beneath them blew apart at his strength.

A harsh grunt left her lips as she felt herself fall to a knee. She deactivated her glyph, speed meaning nothing whilst she was trapped. She had to act before he did, and that was to return to neutral ground.

Her finger switched the latch of her rapier, loosening the attached blade. She bent forward, forcing Qrow to follow suit. It was enough for her to reach forward with her other hand, grabbing her secondary blade and pushing it forward.

Qrow jumped high to avoid to the blow, putting him in the air. It was difficult to dodge in the air, even for filthy birds. She summoned the glyph of doves, center the power at the tip of her blades. She swung it forward and towards Qrow.

In hardly a moment, doves matching the strength of her aura flew forward, charging the still air-bound drunk. He may have been prepared for a single strike, but not the barrage of birds pecking at him. Winter couldn't help the smirk as Qrow tumbled ungracefully to the ground, in a deserving fashion.

She held up her glyph staring at the man as he spun his body and blade, striking, and dodging at the few members of her semblance that he could manage. It wasn't enough, Winter made sure of it. She fed her Aura into her semblance to ensure it wasn't.

But the trailing beam that shot at her was more than enough.

She broke her glyph, swinging her superior blade to increase the speed of her pivot. The slash of Qrow's sailed by her, dissipating into the air. She turned her attention back to him, the drunk now standing again with the flat of his blade resting on his shoulder. He was entirely too confident.

Qrow swung his blade forward, but too far away to even jokingly be a threat. That meant something else. Winter was fully aware what.

Her head swung left as Qrow's blade fell forward, but hilt stayed straight. Bullets sailed past her, one then two. She turned forward her blades, charging at Qrow as he attempted to shoot her down. Her training and focus would not allow it.

She felt the vibrations of her blade as they struck the sharped metal of his bullets, sending the splinters of metal to the ground harmlessly. She had no effective means to attack from a distance, but Qrow was loose and predictable up close. Winter, however, was quick and precise.

She was stabbing distance away when Qrow pulled his blade back together, twisting his stance to a defensive one. Winter struck regardless, swords swinging from both flanks. His blade blocked her main blade, but his wrist guard caught her other.

Winter scowled towards him. Qrow smirked in return. Even a battle that risked life was a joke to him.

"Ghya!" Winter let out as she twisted her grips. Her blades pulled against his guard, sliding to slice him. He rode her swings with an insulting amount of predictability. Winter kept her blades up in front of her as he punched forward with is free hand. It caught her steel, but she still retreated. He would swing down, and then she would parry.

She pushed a glyph into her crossed blades, forcing Qrow to remove his hand. No force was given to him, but as she thought, his sword swung over his head and down towards. Winter uncrossed her blades, leaving her secondary armament angled.

Qrow's steel slid down her own, her main blade free to strike at his vulnerable form. She did just that, stabbing with an accompanied lunge, but it didn't connect. The drunkard bowed over his blade to dodge hers, rolling down his hilt and jumping past her.

She twisted her guard to position it behind her body, where she knew any experienced Hunter would strike. Winter felt the heavy metal of Qrow's blade strike her, just as predicted. She twisted in kind, swinging her arm to deliver what would hopefully be a damaging bow.

But the drunk just twisted his blade, catching both her blades by the single flat of his own. She pushed against him, struggling to hold him back. It was impossible to not see his grin as a sneer.

"C'mon, princess," he cajoled her. "You tellin' me that's all you Military brats got?"

Perhaps if there was one strength Qrow had above her, it was his ability to annoy her. Because no one angered Winter quite like Qrow.

Because he always ended up _pissing_ her off.

Her foot swung out, sacrificing their stale mate for a blow. She took _great_ satisfaction in connecting with his side, but she wasn't done. Her boot pushed off him, sending her summersaulting back. Winter reconnected her blade mid-flip, channeling her glyphs through the dual-chambers of her ice crystalline Dust.

She heard the tell-tale sign of twisting gears and spinning turbines from Qrow. His sword was "activating". They were both preparing themselves. Good. Perhaps this would end quickly.

She let ice trail across her palms, securing the grasp to her blades. Winter would not be disarmed, not before the drunkard at least. His cocky grin was as visible as his over-compensating blade.

"Ready when you are, Ice Queen," Qrow called, baiting her. He was planning to strike from the ground, to knock her away. Whoever moved first here would be at the disadvantage. "I got all day. You're the one who's late for a date." The bait worked.

Winter gave no cry nor warning as she jumped forward, Blade set above her ready to strike downward. It was telegraphed and easy to see, but the glyphs in her hands were not. Block or dodge, she would impale Qrow with ice or steel

_**BANG** _

Winter dug her heels into the ground, stopping on a Lien.

A rather large naginata was embedded into the stone in front of her, separating her from Qrow.

"What the-" Qrow seemed to ask. But he was cut off. Winter never even had to begin to voice her confusion.

_**BangBangBangBangBang** _

No less than a dozen more of the red fiery spears pierced the ground around Winter. She had a moment to react, and she did so.

Her glyphs dissipated in her hand to reappear at her feet, allowing her to jump high above the pseudo-fence of blade-headed lances. She flipped quickly, determined to right herself before she hit the ground.

" _Gah!_ " Winter yelled out as pain flared down her leg.

She hit something in the air. No, that wasn't right. Something hit _her_.

That was only made more evident when the pain turned into a grip. Winter had only enough time twist and see a hand holding her leg. She didn't have time to swing or counter. Her sense of direction was obliterated, her positioning to the ground destroyed.

That was natural to happen when you were being spun like a top in the air.

Winter raised her blade and crossed her arms. A glyph moved through her steel, condensing the air to slow her movement. It would make counter-action impossible, but any blow that followed equally as dull. It was a necessary trade.

It was dulled, yes, but being slammed into the concrete ground hard enough to shatter stone still hurt. _A lot_.

A harsh cry of pain left Winter, arms flexed to keep herself from a compromising position, but she soon found it to be of little good.

Another naginata slammed into the ground aside her head, stopping her from rolling away. Another just as she realized she was trapped. And finally, to complete the humiliation, she felt a boot on the back of her head.

Winter was wrong before. She wasn't pissed. She was _livid_.

"Release me!" She yelled to her unknown captor. "You are striking out against Atlas Military! State the reason for such a _heinous_ act!"

"My reason is the protection of the squires you so nearly killed," a voice spoke above, feminine and commanding. Winter only snarled into the ground. Winter sucked in a breath. It was filled with dust and gravel, given her unfortunate position to the ground. Her lips snarled still, even as she coughed. "And this would not be the first time I acted against your Military." A traitor then?

"Then release me or else- _HAUGH!_ " A breath of air was shoved from her chest as a the butt of a polearm was slammed into her back.

Arms caught beneath her, head pinned between the flat of two blades, and a boot on her head, she was truly, in demeaning fashion, trapped.

"You're finished," the woman above her didn't change her inflection for a moment. "And you best sheath your blade there, or else I'll give you the same treatment." Whoever this woman was, she clearly didn't know priorities, placing herself beneath Qrow!

"Heh, no worries, not inta doin' that kind of stuff in the open." He was enjoying her position, it was evident in his self-praising voice! Only her training kept Winter from screaming into the ground. She settled for a harsh snarl. "But I'm gonna guess you're the new teach here, am I right?"

Winter's mind raced. There was only one new teacher at Beacon. General Ironwood had made that clear. But it was the faunus warrior with a quiet tongue. Not some pole-armed woman? Unless this was one of his so-called friends…

"I am," the woman replied. "I am Impa of the Sheikah, former General of the Hylian Army and friend of Link's in a life past. You, however, I do not know. You _or_ her." Winter felt the woman grind a boot into the back of her head.

That was enough.

Winter pushed her semblance through her body, focusing on the tip of her blade. She let the glyph of the Schnee line grow at the edge of her steel. She'd made a rune of distortion, lift the woman off her, and turn the tables in kind. She-

Watched her glyph turn to empty air as another fiery red naginata slammed into it. She would have screamed, if she hadn't seen where the weapon had come from.

Another glyph. A fiery red, twisting glyph. This woman… Impa, had glyphs.

A Glyph. But… how?

"Hey hey, we're all friends here, really." A bold-faced lie. "Ozpin invited me over here 'bout a week ago. Had to take care of some business first, but I'm here now. And… you're kinda steppin' on one of the officers for the general. Big guy, I'm sure you met him." Doubtful, or else Impa would know the consequences of blatantly attacking.

"I have spoken to Ironwood before and I consider this fair treatment to the deceit he conspired against me." Winter felt her mind race at those words. What was the woman speaking of? "And I'll ask you to wait there until Ozpin arrives. I do not trust you." At least those words were wise.

"Fair enough," she heard Qrow relent. "But at least it looks like that won't be long."

Oh no. Winter knew exactly what that meant.

"Impa? Why are you… standing on Ms. Schnee?" Winter controlled her breathing as she heard Ozpin's voice. This was easily the most humiliating, degrading, and mocking position she had ever been put in, especially before a headmaster.

"She and this… Qrow were amidst a duel." At least Impa was honest so far. "I intervened swiftly and took down the one I saw on the offense. Qrow knew better than to attack me." Winter found her breathing was becoming harder to control.

"I see… Well, since I am here, can you please… step off her?" There existed no manner to ask the question gracefully, just as there would be no way for Winter to keep her pride after this.

"Of course." Winter gasped not a moment later. Not because of the command, no, but because of what Impa did to release her.

The naginata's that held her in place vanished in puffs of flame and smoke, like they were colorful pieces of paper consumed by the flame. It was too fast to watch, even with wide eyes. But it did leave her grounded only by the woman's boots, which were quick to leave her back.

"Alright everyone, return to your lessons and practice," Winter heard Ozpin yell to the crowd of students. "You all see duels every day. If you wish to see more, attend your classes."

Winter gave a growl as she pushed her arms forward, crouching her legs until she was able to rightfully stand. Already she could see the students staring at her questioningly, even as they left. No doubt they concluded she was the inferior of the tree, falsely. It would be a stain on the Military, and one she'd have to bare.

But standing now, she could judge the woman who had ambushed her. Winter looked, up.

The woman did look extremely fit, befitting a huntress, foreign or not. A faunus as well, just as General Ironwood had told her, evident by her long ears. Alabaster hair that so nearly matched the shade of her own was tied back into a bun, a single bang hanging down, not nearly enough to obstruct vision.

Red eyes stared back at her blue, doubtlessly judging just the same. Winter could see nothing concerning in her gaze, nothing more than the idea the woman behind them was able to quickly level her. Any grin she might have had was hidden beneath her scarf.

"Winter?" She twisted her head at the voice. She already knew who spoke, even before she saw her head in the crowd, pushing past her fellow students.

"Weiss," she returned to her younger sibling, offering a nod of her head.

They'd speak later, but not before she had spoken to Ozpin. The smile her sister offered was a sign she understood.

As for Ozpin.

"Headmaster," Winter addressed the man standing in front of the crowd. His cane was in one hand with his eyes set on her. She folded sheathed her blade, folding her arms behind her back as she finished. "I have come at the request of General Ironwood to offer my services as needed. I apologize for being late to our meeting, but I was _side-tracked_ by someone." Her eyes bore on Qrow with the words.

"Hey, don't blame me for being tardy, Ice Queen," the man continued to mock her. "You stay on top of things like that. Isn't that supposed to be what you military types are all about?" She half expected him to pull a bottle of liquor mid-sentence.

"My training teaches me discipline and humility, Qrow." Winter returned coolly, befitting her upbringing at Atlas. "I believe that is something you can spend time to learn."

"I believe you both you could use some lessons in discipline," Impa spoke. Winter turned her gaze towards the taller woman. Her words meant nothing. She was not present for the beginning of the fight. "No matter who is at fault, fighting as blatantly as you were in front of squires was as dangerous to them as the monsters they are being trained to face."

Her words offered no parley. With crossed arms, the faunus looked from her to Qrow. At least he was being included in the scolding, humiliating as it was. Maybe now he'd-

" _Uncle Qrooooow!_ " Winter blinked. In that time, an explosion of rose petals erupted over the drunkard. The second after, a young girl wearing a red cape was clinging to the man by the neck, swinging on him like the child she was.

That was, with little doubt, as unexpected as Impa's interference to their battle.

"It really is you! I can't believe you're at Beacon! Why didn't you tell me you were coming? Did you forget again?" The girl yelled and questioned as if it were normal to do so. Winter only shook her head at the display. " _Oh!_ Maybe you're here to meet Link, right? I bet you wanted to see who was taking over your job!"

His job? Winter found the idea of the man employed around any age of children nothing short of terrifying.

"Really, and this is the… gal?" Qrow leaned over until the eager teen had her feet to the ground. His eyes were set on Impa. "Heard about you bein' able to change shapes and all, but I was pretty sure that was the whiskey talking. The vodka was the one making me believe it."

"I am taking responsibility for instructing Ruby Rose and her team of combat," Impa answered with professionalism, enough for Winter to believe she was a former general. She'd still need to see authentication of such a high rank. "Ruby is very gifted with her weapon and I'll confess I was curious how her instructor performed with it."

Impa took steps towards Qrow, no doubt judging him as she had just finished judging Winter. She kept her ground stiff. With Ozpin present, she had to wait for his orders to relocate. Until then, so long as no confidential information was discussed, this was suitable.

"I musts admit," Impa spoke when she was closer to Qrow. "I am less than impressed." Winter did an unsatisfactory job of hiding her grin. "You've shown neither the discipline or control of a knight."

"You bite like old bourbon, you know that?" Qrow attempted to joke off the deconstruction of his character. Winter only continued to grin. "But I'm not gonna say I got all that stuff. I'll settle for winning fights over impressing during them."

"Hmm," Winter heard Impa hum. "Perhaps you can tell me then the wisdom in staring fights with others. Specifically, with Ozpin." Now she had to turn her head for fear of being seen. "While you do, I'd like to speak to the knight that will accompany me." Winter steeled herself quickly.

Impa was walking back towards her, arms folded in front of her and lips hidden behind her brown scarf. She could see the red-cloaked girl looking back and forth between her and Qrow. How unfortunate to have him for an uncle.

"Winter Schnee," Impa spoke when she was close enough. "I do hope you overlook my interference with your battle during our coming conversation." She extended her hand outwards with the inquiry.

"For what you've said to Qrow, I consider any debt already paid." Winter returned easily, gripping the faunus's hand. The grip that returned her own was strong. _Very_ strong. "Though I do have questions about those glyphs that I saw."

"From what I have been told by your sister, they are a… Semblance carried through your blood line." Winter turned an eye towards Weiss. Her sister ducked head at the gaze. "Do not judge her. She was similarly curious when I demonstrated it before."

"For obvious reasons, I am sure," Winter nodded her head with her words. "Can I assume she knows why you have a Semblance so like ours?"

"She does," Impa returned just as quickly. Winter enjoyed the quick conversation. It was pleasant after the drunkard banter Qrow appeared to enjoy forcing other into. Even as he spoke to Ozpin. "She and her teammates were able to deduce a great number of my skills, after witnessing them enough. You have every reason to be proud of your sibling."

Winter's grin held no malice when she spoke next. Though when she did, it was bare but a whisper.

"I am," she spoke again. "She is a member of the Schnee family, and from what I have heard she has done an excellent job at representing the name with he every action." She could see Weiss, watching them from a distance just too far away to hear from. So long as she spoke softly.

"There's no shame in telling her that." Impa spoke just as softly. She the courtesy of a general as well. "There is no shame in love between siblings, least of all two who share the same path." The faunus didn't understand.

"It's not a matter of shame, but practice," Winter corrected. "Weiss has exceled in her training through drive to impress. Her studies of Dust and fencing skills have risen sharply with every subsequent visit I make with her. That's to say nothing of her practice with our Glyphs."

Weiss was still watching them, intently. Another girl dressed darkly, yet scantily, was next to her. She was leaning in rather close to her sister. Perhaps it was her partner. Weiss did say she had little respect for boundaries.

"You believe the rod over the carrot?" Impa questioned. Winter didn't understand the full meaning of the phrase, but she knew enough to deduce the meaning.

"Belief has little say in the matter," Winter took her gaze from her sister as she spoke. The dark-ribbon girl next to her could distract her for now. "Evidence is what I base my actions upon, and the evidence says a life of resistance builds strength to defy it. A life of leisure grows compliance for the future."

Impa made no motion at her words, not even a blink. She only continued to stare at Winter with crossed arms and hidden lips. She could see why General Ironwood spoke highly of the faunus. But then she turned her head away. Winter, curious, turned to match.

Her eyes set on the android developed by Dr. Zepp, Penny Polendina.

Winter narrowed her eyes at the red-haired android. Her movement from Atlas Military operations to Beacon Academy had stirred a lot of talk amongst her subordinates. More along surprise that she was not charged with crimes for destruction of property. It was a question she shared.

Penny, however, was not looking back at her. Her eyes were to the ground, staring at the a lower-grade model of herself. Head decapitated, body still, it was the one Qrow had destroyed to gain her attention.

Winter would have to tell Zeppeto about her when she saw him next.

Though just next to her was Glynda Goodwitch, evidenced by the riding crop and Pad she carried. Her semblance was being used to full affect, reconstructing the broken walkway and charred grass from her fight with Qrow. Winter saw not a single student give it a second thought.

"You were skilled in your fight," Impa spoke again. Winter diverted her attention back to the faunus. She was still not looking at her. "Your form changed at a rapid pace to match the battle. It was an impressive maneuver." Winter could take compliments, but not those that were undeserved.

"It's a required trait for any professional huntress," she returned in kind. "Much as I loathe the man, I know even Qrow to be capable of as much. And I am sure, if only by the praises I have heard from General Ironwood, you can do much the same."

Now she turned to look at her. Impa's lips were still hidden by her scarf, but by the dip of her brow and gleam in her eyes, she could see grin across the faunus's face. It was becoming more and more likely the woman was a retired general. She'd have to inquire from Ozpin or General Ironwood for details.

"In so many ways you are correct," Impa agreed. She nodded her head, to which Winter returned. "But you are here so we can discuss searching the mine Doctor Oobleck discovered. An old friend of mine may be housed there, so I would like to hasten any process necessary." Ah, of course.

"I agree," Winter spoke. Impa only nodded before she turned towards Headmaster Ozpin. He and Qrow had since stopped talking, though the odd red-head was still standing close to him, now in the additional company of a long-haired blonde.

Winter looked toward Weiss, who stood diligently by the side. The black-bowed girl had since moved away from her, but she also had eyes on the pair. Winter almost took comfort in it.

The remains of their battle aside, what little Ms. Goodwitch had not already fixed, it appeared everything was in order.

That was until Impa froze.

Winter took not even a stride past her before she noticed. She glanced up, seeing the faunus had turned her head away from her and Ozpin, focusing out across the bay. This time, when Winter looked, she saw nothing but water and Vale on the horizon.

"Impa? Is something wrong?" Winter questioned, but received no response from the faunus. The most she had done was uncross her arms. "Impa?" Winter questioned again.

But still, the faunus didn't respond. Whatever it was she was focusing on, she was transfixed.

"Impa? Impa?" Winter heard Penny cyborg approach from behind. "Is something wrong, Impa? Though brief, this is the first encounter registered with you in that you do not respond to outside stimuli." Technical, but worthy of note.

It definitely meant something was off.

"Blake?" Winter heard Weiss asked. She turned, seeing the raven-haired girl next to her, looking off as well. What was going on? "Blake, what is it? What do you hear something?" The girl responded in much the same way Impa had. Not at all.

"Weiss, what is going on?" Winter questioned her sister as she approached. Her younger sibling was looking between herself and the other girl, Blake apparently. "Do you know something?" Winter was a huntress. Her sister was only in training.

Because of that difference, she could see the evident panic on her sibling's face.

"I-I don't know," Weiss supplied quickly, her gaze switching from Winter to her friend. "She had an… an _ear_ infection… before, yesterday." Winter narrowed her gaze at Weiss. Why was her sister lying to her?

"… they're crying…" Winter nearly missed the words, so quiet and so brief.

She turned back around just in time to see something else. She did not miss the two colorful mini-drones flying towards Impa.

"Impa? Link? You hear that, right?" One of the drones spoke. Curious, but not highly impressive. What was more concerning was what it was talking about. "It's Moraine, it has to be. She's playing Saria's Song, right?"

"She is." Winter cocked her head in confusion. She had far too little information on the subject. Her gaze immediately shifted to Penny, staring at the ginger haired automaton. When their eyes met, she understood the silent order.

"I can sense no outwards indication of any song or audible soundwave," Penny spoke. Her head rolled for a moment, eyes looking up as she did so. "Buuuuuuuut, I _can_ hear something on the supersonic frequencies. And…"

Her head began to lull to the side. A pleasant smile fell over her features. Winter wasn't sure what was more concerning, the apparent emotions from a cyborg or the idea there was some unheard signal being broadcasted around them.

"I… don't understand." Winter was not taking the absence of explanations well. The only consolation was she didn't appear to be the only one.

"Link? Is something happening?" Winter fought her hand from offering a salute to the headmaster as he approached. He wasn't fond of the action, and his eyes were focused on the tall faunus. That was until his attention diverted to the colorful mini-drones. "Tatl, Tael, what is happening?"

"Moraine's playing Saria's Song." Four words spoken from the yellow ball, and Winter could only make sense of two. She raised her lip as she continued to stare at the mini-drone, but it either didn't care to explain or didn't understand the need to.

"Moraine was a young faunus Link, I-I mean _Lana_ , met in Vale," her sister began to quickly explain. She saw Weiss looking from the black-bowed girl and back to Winter. "She, um, tried to, o-or did help-"

"Speak clearly, Weiss," Winter instructed. It helped to keep Weiss's focus on her. There wasn't a threat, not yet, so there was no excuse to fumble over simple words. "Now explain, again." Her sister took in a large breath of air before continuing.

"Moraine is a faunus child from Vale," she spoke again. She continued much more clearly now. "Lana… supplied her with new clothing, a sword, a-and… I believe a flute of sorts." A flute?

"It's an ocarina, actually." Winter turned to see the other, darker, glowing ball approaching her. It had a low ring to it, likely due to an improperly set gyration module. Zeppeto could fix that swiftly. "A fairy ocarina from the Kokiri Forest. I-It's a sign of trust… between friends… when you exchange it."

"And this ocarina is being heard by Impa and…" her head turned back to the bowed girl. She had yet to show any outward signs of notice to Winter. "Weiss's partner?"

"I-I think-" the mini-drone began to speak, but was quickly silence.

" _Whoa!_ Hey there, Blake is _not_ Weiss's partner." Winter saw the blonde with egregious long hair walking towards them. With narrowed eyes and a sharp grin, it was difficult to call her expression angered or pleased. " _I'm_ her partner. Blake's that is. We're all just teammates, kay?"

Oh, was that how it was? Winter raised a brow as she looked back to her sister, who had not taken a step towards or away from her. Her head was nodding in confirmation. Words were preferred, so that wouldn't do.

"If that is true, then who is your partner Weiss?" Winter asked. Quick answers were usually more honest than long explanations. "And why are you worried about… Blake if she is not your partner?" And trapping questions revealed dishonesty.

"She's my _teammate_!" Weiss spoke quickly. Her round eyes were evidence enough she did not mean to raise her voice. Winter simply narrowed hers. "A-And my partner is here. She's-"

"Weiss? What's wrong with Blake?" And again, another interruption. This time from a familiar character of sorts. At least Winter recognized the red cloak of Qrow's niece. The idea was still an odd one, the drunkard teaching a young girl the art of war. "She's like… really out of it…"

The dark crimson haired girl was waving her hand in front of Blake, but the golden eyes of the girl didn't seem to do so much as dilate. It was a curious development. Winter gave a quick glance back to Impa, but saw the faunus only looking towards the horizon, the golden mini-drone circling her.

"Winter," Weiss spoke slowly, oddly slowly. The reason became clear when she grabbed Qrow's niece by the shoulder, turning her towards her. "This is my partner. Ruby Rose, and leader of team RWBY." Winter was pleasantly surprised to see the girl smile up at her.

"Oh, you're Weiss's sister?" She asked an obvious question. She thankfully didn't wait for an answer. "It's great to meet you! You must be really strong if you can fight my Uncle Qrow." She held a hand out towards her. What a pleasant surprise.

"Winter Schnee," she returned, grasping an shaking the girl's hand. She was strong, but only a sliver compared to Winter herself. The grimace on her face made the difference evident. "But now I have a question. Do you know what is happening right now?"

"Uh, no actually," Ruby responded with far less confidence. "I mean, Blake's gotten weird before, but that was like for… um, really good reasons. Bad things happening and all that." They must have been catastrophic to explain such behavior. "Impa though, or Link… or whoever, not really. I mean, usually they're making us go into shock, kinda at least." Likely due to her combat abilities.

"Th-they're just listening to a song," the dark mini-drone spoke again. "I-It's, um, called Saria's Song. You guys, uh, I think you guys, heard it before, right? It was the last song Lana played in Vale. You remember, right?"

"I remember the crazy chick using _literal_ magic hoops to summon instruments, people, and walking copies of _herself_!" The blonde's reply dripped with sarcasm. She would have been famished in the desert that was the Military. "Gonna have ta forgive me if I forgot a specific song, Peeping Tom."

"Peeping?" Winter questioned with a raised brow. Weiss only shook her head, almost violently. Disrespectful again, but not a high concern. She'd ask later.

" _Sorry!_ Sorry." What an odd personality to install in a drone, timidity. "I-It's an old song, written for travelers, yeah. You play it, w-when a Kokiri blesses you, a-and you can talk to them. You know, like, um, a beacon, I guess?"

"How odd, but oddly… effective," Winter admitted. A song to warn of monsters seemed like a pleasant idea. "That does not, however, explain the song currently. Why can Impa hear it? And, further, why is Blake apparently so… _transfixed_ by it?"

None of the girls would look her in the eye, not even Weiss. Winter narrowed her gaze at the girl, but her younger sibling only stiffened her shoulders in protest. Apparently she had not learned to respect authority yet.

"Impa?" Winter shook her concentration to look at the dark-haired girl. She had finally spoken. The girl's golden eyes, however, were not on her. "Impa? Link? What was that?" She walked past Winter, approaching the tall faunus still staring out at the horizon. "I heard it, but what was it?"

"Supersonic waveforms have attenuated to insignificant values," Penny added in. Winter took it as clear conclusion as any that the 'song' was finished.

"Link, I _heard_ that!" Winter blinked. Did Impa truly allow her students to speak so loudly to her? Perhaps she was overestimating her ability as a general. "Was that real? Was that actually happening?" And yet, Impa did not respond.

"Blake, what's going on?" Weiss now, her sister even. Winter narrowed her gaze at her sibling. She recognized it, clearly, but only bowed her head to walk towards Blake. "Stop attacking Impa and explain what happened." Ah, she was controlling the situation, that was good.

"Guys?" The red-head and blonde tried to walk in. That was two too much.

"Wait," she told the pair, holding up her arm. "I want to see how my sister handles this situation." It would be an excellent testament to her abilities, diffusing a situation through words over violence.

"Kay, look, I know you're Weiss's sister, but she's our teammate," the blonde began. Did she believe that to be worth more than family? "Both our teammates, partners actually. I get bein' protective, but so am I." Her position made sense, her words less so.

"Yang, hold on," Ruby now. At least she showed some semblance of being a team leader.

"Did something happen? What happened?" the verbose mini-drone now. Too many questions were being asked, and not nearly enough answers. "Link, gonna have to start talking now!" But she didn't. What was Impa's ploy with her silence?

That question, apparently, was answered.

When Impa produced an alabaster/gold mask from a pocket five sizes too small.

Before Winter could so much as raise a question, a blinding flash took over the courtyard.

She raised her hands as the light over-constricted her pupils, to the point of pain. She knew what was happening, but the reports given to her by General Ironwood. But she didn't hear a cry of pain, only the light she was warned about.

The light left though, and Winter was quick to remove her arms to see what had happened.

An impossibly tall avian was standing where Impa was now.

"Elrora?" Weiss asked. She knew the new faunus then. "Please, tell us, what's going on?" Her sister was quick to focus on the important matters. That was a positive development. The answer Elrora gave, however, was cryptic and ominous.

"Moraine's in trouble. I'm going to help." No one had time to speak a response.

The bird's wings unfolded. Winter had seen exploding Dust less spectacular.

The span of Elrora's wings easily doubled her already massive height, gold feathers reflecting the harsh sun. It was nearly as blinding the flash of light before it.

"Wait!" Someone spoke, Blake maybe. "This is too fast!" The girl's words were matched by her reaching and grabbing at the bird's feathers. Elrora gave the darker girl her gaze. Even Winter had to admit what she saw.

The bird had sharp eyes.

"I heard _everything_ ," she spoke with emotion. "I heard what was happening and I am _not_ choosing inaction after that!" Curiosity was not strong enough a word to describe Winter's confusion.

Apparently not Headmaster Ozpin either.

"Elrora, what has happened?" The headmaster spoke quickly and directly, just as Winter was used to. He strode towards her as he approached. "I am unfamiliar with what is going on, not nearly as much as Blake or yourself."

"Moraine is in danger," Elrora began again. "She is being attacked. She is scared. Her friends are scared. I am not waiting to explain anymore."

The unspoken question was answered by Elrora lifting her arms above her head.

" _Hold on_!" Weiss yelled. Elrora did no such thing.

Winter squinted as an explosion of air blew through the courtyard. She heard the younger girls yelling in surprise. She did no such thing. Not even when her blue eyes settled on the empty stop in front of her.

Elrora was gone. Blake was gone.

And Weiss was gone as well.

The faunus, the now clearly dangerous and unhinged warrior, had left with two girls, including her sister.

She was snarling at nothing, before turning her gaze towards the headmaster. _That_ got her to regain some small amount of control.

Headmaster Ozpin was gripping his staff with clear rage, staring up at the sky. Winter followed, and just in time.

Just in time to see the speck of gold that was doubtlessly Elrora beat her wings again. She vanished into the sky line, faster than most ships available to the Military.

Gone with her sister to Grimm knew where. As Ironwood would say, this was a mess.

This was a mess she had no knowledge of and very little preparation for. An Unknow threat had appeared to threaten a child she had no previous knowledge of. A nearly equal Unknown, Elrora, had taken off for it.

And she had recklessly taken not only a dark-haired girl with her, but Weiss as well. Winter's sister.

Of all people to speak, Qrow went first.

"Wow, guess the whiskey was being honest. This is one _hell_ of a show you got goin' on, Ozpin."

Winter would kill him later, after she got answers.

* * *

Weiss wanted to scream. She wanted to scream for a reason she really wasn't used to.

Normally, she wanted to scream out of exasperation for her teammates, namely her partner. Other times, she would scream out of spite for a problem that refused to present a logical solution to her. Those were always resolved, eventually. Right now, however, she wanted to yell for a different reason.

She wanted to scream because she couldn't breathe.

It was hardy a wonder why. She was gripping the side of Elrora for dear life, fingers knitting into the long feathers of the avian faunus as she shot through the air. Shot was the most appropriate word Weiss could imagine in her panicked state.

She pushed her head closer to Elrora's body, hoping with what felt like false hope that the vacuum pressure of the displaced air would not rip her body in two. It had yet to do so, but the feeling of her body moving at speeds no machine was capable of did little to settle her nerves.

And Weiss was still unable to take a breath of air, even to scream.

Time dilation and its perception were lost to Weiss. She wasn't sure if she was counting minutes, hours, or seconds as she clung to Elrora. She only knew that she needed ten fingers to be woven into the golden feathers of the avian, or else she would fall to her likely death.

The feathers had no indication of even coming close to being loose. Even as likely supersonic winds were whipped by the faunus's wings, she couldn't feel a feather loosen. Maybe it was because she had more fear of her own fingers falling off first.

She still really wanted to scream, but she needed air for that.

And Weiss got it.

_Fwoom!_

In the form of an implosion.

Her momentum was ripped forward with an immeasurably powerful gust of air. She would have flown clear off of Elrora and into the horizon, if she had had slammed into the extended wings of the avian. Her mass barely budged the limbs.

Weiss's orientation was rocked, her lungs sucking in air that had been kept from her. Her fingers continued to thread into the golden feathers of the avian, her body still deciding whether to adhere to gravity or cling to her deacceleration driven momentum.

Her eyes strained open, blinking to wet themselves. The first thing she saw were the feathers she clung to. The second the sky above her, already tinting gray. And lastly, most unfortunately, familiar mini-drones fluttering around her.

"Hey! _Hey! Listen!_ " Tatl was shouting at her, flying around her body to coat it in dust. Elrora's wings were beating again, sweeping away the material. "Take a breath and relax. There's no way your used to this."

Weiss had little reason to argue. Her entire body felt violated by the sudden forces exerted upon it. She looked over Elrora's back, seeing a familiar dark bow peeking through the gold. It only then occurred to her Tatl was speaking to more than just her.

"A-Are you guys okay? Maybe, um, need some air?" Weiss narrowed her gaze at the purple mini-drone. The Peeping Tom of a function was either making fun of her lack of air or misspeaking in a fashion that would require a reimaging of its software.

Neither mattered fully right now. She needed to speak to someone, preferably with a soul and not circuity.

"Elrora?"

Weiss spoke the avian's name, twisting her head until she was facing where she presumed the faunus's bead to be. On her back, position thrown, it was hard to tell. "What… Wha ha…" She could barely get out two words without needing to suck in a fresh breath of air.

Her chest was tight and constricted, like her muscles after a marathon of training, or a run with Ruby. It took all her energy to suck in a simple gasp of air. Her body shook with the effort. Elrora, at least through her feathers and broad back, felt unperturbed.

"There's a fire."

The words came so quickly and so quietly, Weiss nearly missed them. Perhaps it was the deadness in the air, or perhaps her ears were still adjusting from the vacuum of sound. But she heard them, well enough to draw a conclusion.

Her eyes tapered down, hesitantly peaking to what was doubtlessly the ground below.

The more apt way of describing it would have been the ground _far_ below.

Weiss was no truly amazed her fingers were not ripping the feathers from Elrora's back. Primaries were strong, but perhaps her aura reinforced the already tight feathers.

Weiss's eyes strained at the distant earth, staring at what little details should could make out. They were above a forest, but the trees blended into a constant green. There was an opening, but it appeared no larger than a Lien. And there was an orange glow…

If that was the fire, and she could see it so clearly from so high… Weiss gripped her fingers as she realized what was going to happen next.

"Hold on." Elrora commanded. Weiss was already prepared.

The great avian faunus stopped beating her wings, letting gravity take her. Weiss felt the familiar weightlessness. Unlike the sudden acceleration of flight, however, she was trained to endure this. Her stomach flexed as the fall become faster.

The wind rushed past her, blowing her hair and clothing up. It was not even comparable to the speed Elrora flew with before. But despite that, likely the distance, the descent ended much faster than the flight.

And the first thing Weiss felt was heat. The first thing she heard was a continuous roar.

Her back, immediately through her clothing, felt as if there were was a blowtorch behind her. It made her back shirk, fingers releasing Elrora's feathers. It was a quick fall to the ground, one she was far more prepared for.

It didn't stop the growing roar or immense heat. A twist of her head showed Weiss why.

It was unlikely anything would stop the inferno that consumed the building behind her.

She could only glance at it before she had to turn away, the heat drying her eyes faster than winter's cold. Weiss saw Blake making her way from Elrora as well, dwarfed and hidden beneath the golden bird.

A bird that looked like a phoenix with the flames at her back. The power she knew Link had pushed the fantasy closer to reality.

"Weiss!" Blake spoke as she hurried next to Weiss, shaking off the heat of the fire behind them. Her golden eyes seemed to glow with the fire behind them. "Are you al…" Her voice withered and died.

Weiss was sure that it was the roar of the flames that was drowning out the sound, much like the moisture in the air. But instead, she had her eyes focused behind Weiss. She turned to see just what it was.

'It' was a collection of dark dressed and red-goggled thugs wielding various implements of harm.

'They' were standing over bodies that weren't moving.

The heat was singing Weiss's dress.

Her eyes were transfixed on the figures, lit up by the fire behind her. It was more than obvious they had been frozen at the sight of their appearance, Elrora descending from the sky. She could see a few of the men stuck mid-swing. But all eyes were towards them.

Not a word was spoken, however. Maybe they were trying to catch up to what they were seeing, like Weiss herself. Blake was likely doing the same. Elrora, perhaps, but Weiss was suspect Link was preparing more on his next action.

And still the fire roared behind them.

"What have you done?" Elrora spoke over the flames. Her voice was that of a queen. Weiss knew who she was speaking to. So did the brutes that stood before them. "What have you _done_?"

Before a faunus taller than most machinery and colored like the sun, there many correct and incorrect responses. The first words spoken from the crowd of mobsters were as incorrect as logically allowed.

"Get her!" One of them yelled. It was followed by battle cries.

They were just as swiftly followed by cries of pain.

It was impossible to tell which came first, the cries or the gust of wind that shot past Weiss and Blake. All the heiress was sure of, watching amidst the glow of a raging fire, was that the former Watarara queen was attacking the brutes.

She was doing so with little mercy.

She watched the beak of the avian slam into the caps the thugs war, piercing them and knocking the unlucky few to receive the blow unconscious. Others attempted to beat at her, but the golden wings, glowing against the fire, beat them away flies amidst a wind.

And whenever a pocket of them the thugs were dealt with, Elrora jumped to the next, her wings pushing another gust of air. It confirmed Weiss's earlier suspicions.

Elrora was going easy on them in the duels.

The avian used everything at her disposal. Her talons grasped a brute, pinning them to the ground with a vice like grip. The wind of her wings would unbalance a group of others, before the primaries of her wings turned to steel, likely, and sliced through them.

The sudden transformation of her feathers was the only way Weiss could justify the light-weight feathers cutting the bats and blades into fine shards of metal.

Weiss didn't worry about helping Elrora. She and Link had the brutes covered.

"Weiss," she heard Blake ask beside her. She didn't turn to her teammate. "What's going on?"

The heiress had no idea. This had all occurred far too quickly.

Not but a few minutes ago, she was speaking to her sister, she was planning to travel with Link to find his friend, she was at _Beacon_. Now? She was in the wilderness, before a burning building, and watching a former queen destroy the thugs that had made the flames.

Weiss turned back to the fire. It was a blaze. A horrible all-consuming blaze.

The flames roared like a Beowulf, far louder than any cries of pain Elrora was drawing from the thugs that had attacked the building. The building was three stories tall by a quick count, but quickly falling the longer the fire continued to bloom.

Weiss looked away from the fire, the heating reaching here even from the dozens of meters between her and it. She could feel burns beginning to form on her bare skin. It was hardly surprising, the flashover of the heat likely igniting whatever grass was nearby.

She caught Blake doing the same, her teammate crouching low to the ground with her weapon in hand. With wide eyes, Weiss fumbled for hers. Blake was hissing towards the brutes that had brutalized the building. Weiss only watched as they were pecked off one by one.

It was no pun. She watched Elrora, the royal avian, fly like a cannonball to and fro across the clearing. Each flash of her appearance came with a gust of wind and fallen thug.

There was nothing Weiss could do to aid her. Not right now. Elrora, Link, was destroying the enemy at a rate she would only slow if she interfered. Blake's inaction meant she reacted the same conclusion. It gave Weiss time to think.

They were here because she and Blake had heard Moraine play a song, a song that operated a wavelength above human hearing. Moraine was in danger because these monsters, the _real_ monsters, were responsible. The fire was undoubtedly, undeniably, their doing.

Fires in buildings operated off of an oven mechanic. Temperatures increased rapidly in enclosed areas so long as no means to reduce the heat was present. Oxygen accelerated the process and there was no water to reduce the combustion of the materials present. That led to autoignition.

The autoignition was forcing everything within _meters_ of the building to catch on fire. The autoignition of most lumber and plant life was fairly low, in relation to human skin. Lumbar and plants needed between 300-400 degrees Fahrenheit to ignite. The human body needed four times that.

But it needed only half that to lose the ability to breath. And that was for a fully-grown adult, not children… children…

Weiss looked from the slaughter Elrora was committing to the blaze that continued to grow. The realization made her body chill, even with an inferno at her back.

It was an Orphanage.

It wasn't just a building, it was an orphanage. It was an orphanage with _children_ and it was _on fire_! Why was it on fire? Why was a building meant to house and care for _children on fire?!_

Weiss didn't know. She honestly didn't have an idea. All she had was a thought, and it was one she was sure not even sister could talk her out of. She pushed herself to her feet, turning towards the flames with a hand raised.

"Weiss, _Weiss!_ " She heard Blake call her name, even as she put up a glyph to reduce the draft of heat slamming into her. Slam was the correct word, as it was anything but gentle. "What are you doing!?"

"There are _children_ , Blake!" Weiss shouted in return. She had to shout, Blake had to shout. Between the inferno and the battle, nothing else could be heard. "I am not choosing inaction now of all times!"

"What?!" Blake yelled in return, but Weiss pressed on. Inaction was an action of cowards.

Her words were easy. Actions were tough. Only a few strides forward and she already felt her eyes water, her skin burn. She was still dozens of meters away. But her aura would protect her, long enough at least.

A few minutes was all she needed, she could endure ice encasing her and trains plowing through her. Weiss knew she could endure a simple bonfire, even if the pseudo-oven was likely reaching temperatures with four significant figures.

If she had a few minutes, maybe she could save someone. Maybe there was someone left to save. Maybe was enough.

Even as she felt the chill of her glyph give way to the smolder of heat, her eyes shut to keep them from drying out completely, she kept pushing forward. A dozen more steps, maybe twice that, and she'd reach the front door…

"Hold, Weiss." The words didn't stop Weiss. It was the massive hand upon her shoulder. It was no mystery who it was. "Allow me."

"I can't! You can't!" Weiss yelled back. She had to. The roar of the fire was far louder than any normal conversation would allow. "There could be _children_ in there!" And she was the only one who could do it.

Elrora was weak on the defensive. Yang's brutal hit had proved as much. Blake was the same, fleeing any hit that she could. Weiss had glyphs to alter temperature and speed. She at least had a _chance_.

Weiss sucked in a dry breath, dry from the fire, as she watched Elrora dig her talons into the dirt. Her wings unfolded and raised themselves above her head, in time for Weiss to act.

In time for the heiress to push against the avian's chest!

" _Don't_!" She yelled above the roaring flames. Elrora must not have known. Link must not have known.

"Move Weiss. I may be able to blow away the flames." They didn't know. How they didn't know was secondary to stopping them from making a large mistake!

"You can't!" She shouted again, but she knew she needed more. "The fire is likely in the third stage of development and reaching flashover effects! The only thing preventing it from expanding to the woods is a lack of fuel! If you were to push _air_ at it, the oxygen in the air would cause another _combustion_!"

The fire made the confused expression across Elrora's beak plain and easy to see. Her eyes, reflecting the gold of the flames, looked from Weiss to the fire, still screaming like an ancient Grimm. Her head turned, to a degree only an avian was likely capable of, before turning back to face Weiss.

"She's right!" the golden mini-drone flew into view. Her color was ethereal with the fire's light. "That'll just make things a whole _hell_ of a lot worse!" The drone's rings were hardly audible above the fire.

"Something… I have to do something…" Elrora was either muttering or her voice was being drowned by the fire. Both were possible. Weiss's hands were still on Elrora's chest.

An in the instant following, the Watarara raised _another_ mask to her face.

Weiss had enough time to jump away, into the height as the brighter light began to shine in front of her. She blinked against the now familiar light, hearing not a cry to accompany the transformation. It was too quick for her to recognize the mask.

But the light faded quickly, likely because of the iridescence from the fire behind her. And when it did, the figure left behind was both familiar and unexpected.

Weiss was staring at Lana.

Lana, and four swirling gates above her.

"Take this!" Weiss shook her head as she heard Lana yell. It gave her just enough time to see Lana reach into one of her portals, pulling and hurtling something a her. Weiss grabbed it quickly. It was instantly clear what it was.

A book. Just a book.

Granted, it was a very pretty book, detailed with silver design and precious stones of varying colors sitting at its four corners, glowing with the fire. Even the center of the cover had what appeared to be a garnet of its own. It seemed powerful with the screaming flames.

But it was still a book, and what was Lana pulling out of her gates now?!

"Blake!" Lana yelled out as she whipped something else out. Weiss turned to watch her teammate catch the thrown item. Much like the book, the item in question was instantly recognizable. It belonged equally on a fire-laden battlefield.

"This… is a cloak." Blake's voice was calm, loud, but muted over the fire. Her eyes, golden and sharp, were looking everywhere at once. From the cloak in her hands, to Lana, and to the remaining brutes behind them… oh.

Weiss turned head towards the crowd, noting their appearance. Many were still on the ground, dotted amongst the other… bodies. They were unconscious, likely, as Weiss could not see Elrora shedding blood. She could see the opposite in the brutes. But that still left several of the thugs standing, armed, and waiting for a chance to strike.

"They're magic!" Lana's words surprised Weiss twice now. The heiress's body was focused enough to not jump at the shout. Lana was doing the opposite, jumping as she turned to and from Blake and Weiss. Her blue hair whipped with the motion. "They're magic, they'll help you, you'll do _great!"_

"Great with what?" Weiss knew the answer. She loathed the answer.

"Keeping them away!" Lana shouted as she pointed at the thugs. They moved back from her. Oh, they were probably wondering where Elrora went, the idiots. "So that I can go in there." Lana's hands spun as she pointed back to the burning mansion. The fool.

In time with her declaration, a piece of the roofing fell in.

It blew the already spouting flames out further, sending a shrill cry of fire into the night, drying Weiss's skin from decameters away making her wince. She heard Blake do the same. Lana only hastened her already quick speech.

" _O_ kay, _no_ time, gotta go _now!_ "

She jumped with her words. The gates followed.

Weiss watched, clutching the book thrown to her, as the gates began to spin around Lana. She watched as the gates kept Lana afloat. And she watched as the mysterious White Witch began to glow a fiery red, vibrant enough to match the flames.

And she finally blinked when the gates exploded with a cry from the girl inside.

"Sodále!" She shouted in some language. Her body fell a few meters at best, hitting the ground boots first in a crouch.

And she was off to the fire a moment later, gates following her.

"Wait! Lana!" Weiss yelled, stretching a hand towards the already distant witch. She squinted and pulled back her hand as the heat of the flames grew, the very same flames Lana was being swallowed by. A blink of her eyes later and she was gone.

Like a suicidal fire-fighter, the Mage had jumped into an oven doubtlessly hot enough to smelt steel.

"She'll be fine!" Weiss heard the ball of yellow yell before it flew into her vision. "Lana's got this covered! _You're_ the one who's gonna have to cover her!" Weiss had no wonder what that meant.

And the truth of it was obvious. Lana, through her magic, could endure the flames. If the children were alive, she could help them. Weiss could not. But she could keep the thugs around her from doing anymore.

From hurting anyone else.

"Weiss," Blake spoke quickly, already by her side, like the Shadow she was. "They look like Junior's guys, the ones that Yang said she fought before." Weiss didn't realize that until Blake brought like to it.

But it was difficult to escape the similarities now, from the red trip and black clothing to the motely amount of weapons, all lacking in effectivity.

"That they are," Weiss agreed. "And Ruby did say that they were working with the Fang now. Or, more accurately, Roman." At the mention of the name, Weiss's eyes scanned the crowds. She knew Blake was doing the same.

Blake and Ruby were the only two to actually confront the bowl-capped villain, though Weiss was familiar with the luxurious thug. However, neither his white cloak or round cap were visible along the crowd of villains, even with the bright light of the fire.

"Maybe, maybe not," Blake spoke up beside her. Weiss didn't ask for her to continue, she knew her teammate would. "Yang said that Junior lost track of his men after Roman 'used' them the first time. Maybe… they went rogue." That was a possibility.

"Found a new outlet for their lack of commercial skills," Weiss spoke on. The fire was still yelling behind her. "Attacking and robbing _children_." It was what they had done, but Weiss knew there was more to it than that.

They were far from the city, likely near Grimm territory, and attacking youths who likely had not the means to defend themselves. As her father would address start-up dust shops, they were the 'low hanging fruit'.

Her grip on the tome tightened.

"We have to subdue them," Weiss spoke sharply, blue eyes scanning the faces around her. None of the brutes looked ready to leave. If anything, they looked prepared to attack. It was a poor decision on their part. "Or else they will make this situation even worse."

"Agreed," Blake instantly returned. "I don't know what this cape does, but I-" Weiss blinked as Blake's voice fell off midsentence.

"Blake?" She spoke her friend's name, just loud enough to peak over the fire's roar. She turned head to find her teammate.

But she found nothing but charred earth and bright lights.

"Blake? _Blake!_ " Weiss whirled as she yelled her friend's name, but finding nothing. She couldn't see Blake near her, the crowd, or the fire behind her. No black bow, no shadowy clones, nothing. Weiss's mind raced.

"Hey! It's just one of them now!" Her heart joined in as one of the thug's yelled over the fire. It was the only thing keeping her blood from going cold. "Rush her!"

Leader or not, the rest of the barbarians listened to the lone thug. With a battle cry like the fire behind her, they began to charge, raising the dull daggers and bats above their head. Huntsmen they were not, but anything was dangerous in numbers.

Extending Myrtenaster, Weiss knew it didn't matter. She was dangerous alone.

Even with her rapier in hand, the book weighed heavily in her opposite. Weiss gripped the spine of it and held it in the crux of her arm. Lana gave it to her for a reason, though why she couldn't imagine. What was important now was that it was kept safe.

Weiss placed a glyph on the tip of her blade, preparing a cartridge of wind dust. She'd blow a hole in their approaching forms, then pick off the few that were unaffected. She'd decide on a new course from there. She pulled back her blade, preparing to strike forward.

She had to stay at peace. Blake had vanished, a mansion was aflame, Lana had ran inside, and she was now alone against the brutes. She had to keep her peace, just as Elrora had told. With that, she could win.

Two of the brutes were rushing at her ahead of the others. There was likely venom in their eyes, but it was hidden by the fire, flames, and red glasses they wore. It was still obvious they wanted her head.

"Ragh!" Weiss pushed Myrtenaster forwards. The brutes were blown away.

By something other than her Glyph.

Weiss froze, eyes wide with a roaring flame behind her. A piece of wall must have given way, because a surge of fire exploded in turn. She didn't care to turn and look. She only stared at the men who were blown away by some unseen, indiscrete, and powerful force.

"What was that?!" One of the other thugs screamed. "She didn't even do anything!" And it was true, loath as Weiss was to agree with the brute on any subject. But what had-

"- _eiss!_ " The heiress jumped as Blake popped back into view.

"Wha- _Blake!_ " She shouted her teammates name, whilst the thugs merely yelled. All the better if it kept them away. They mattered far less to Weiss than her friend. "What on Remnant was _that!_ What happened to you?!"

"I-I'm not sure," Blake spoke quickly, barely audible above the flames behind them. "I put the cloak over me, because I thought that was where it was supposed to go, and then you just stopped listening to me, or even looking at me."

The faunus held up the cloak Lana had thrown to her, the simply colored fabric draped over one of her arms. It clashed harshly with Blake's bare skin and dark attire, given the vibrant red of the material. But that was far from the reason Weiss stared at it.

"I couldn't see you," Weiss spoke more to herself than Blake. The inferno was doubtlessly muting her. "I couldn't see you or hear you or find you. That… that cloak made you _invisible_."

Weiss saw Blake's head look from the cloak and back to her. Clearly, she did not see herself as invisible. Whatever the cloak had done to her, it was the perception of those around her. So it was obvious-

"Are you two done ogling Link's stuff?!" Weiss looked up at the golden mini-drone, flying past her face. Be it the fire or her building rage, her glow appeared to be a fiery red. "There's a bunch of _monsters_ over there doing the same to you, and doing nothing is a pretty dumb thing to do right now!"

Her head whipped fast enough to make her ponytail spin. Blake did the same.

"You wanna know about those things, I'll you, but _after_ you make sure the rest of those guys don't put Link in anymore danger than he's in. O _kay?!_ " She was ringing in Weiss's face.

The heiress brushed the drone away with the face of the book she was carrying, enough to get the offensive light away from her eyes. But it was right. They didn't have time to sit and wonder at what they were given. Inaction was the action of cowards.

"Yes, you're right," Blake spoke before Weiss. She moved closer to the heiress again, boots dragging over the charred earth until they were shoulder-to-shoulder. The reason was immediately clear. "I'll hide again and pick their numbers off from behind. Can you keep them focused?"

Weiss was the heiress to the most powerful corporation in all of Remnant, standing guard in front of a burning building, and holding the tools of likely the most talented for Huntsman.

It felt like a Tuesday to her.

"I can do that," Weiss spoke back to her teammate. The fire was loud, but their close proximity made it mute. "Try and stay to my back. It will keep me from accidently hitting you." Blake nodded at her words. It was quick, sudden, but it was a plan.

"Kay, you do that," Tatl spoke up. "Tael, go with the cat. I'll stay with the princess." What was the drone thinking?

"That won't-" Weiss was cut off quickly by the mini-drone, flying right into her face again.

"You don't know how to use that book. I _do_." That was a point. "The cat's going to go invisible, and my brother is going to be a _lot_ safer there than following a rank amateur like you." That was not.

"I am no amateur!" She growled back at the drone, pushing her face into the harsh light of the machine. It was loud, but Weiss was told she was as well. "Further, you should both go hide until Blake and I deal with these thugs."

"Not happening!" Tatl yelled back. Weiss felt her lips twist into a scowl. "Last thing I need is _you_ messing up Link's things cause you didn't know how to use them! Sides, I am _not_ twisting my wings and flying away!" She could understand the latter. Weiss took issue with the former.

"We are moments away from a brawl and you believe you can _teach_ me how to use a tool now?!" Weiss suppressed the idea of flicking the mini-drone away. It was not hers, and she would not break another person's property.

"Heck yeah I do!" Tatl shouted back. "And it looks like the black cat agrees with me, cause she's already gone!" She was what?

Weiss turned around and found Tatl's words to be, horrifyingly, true.

Blake was gone, just like before. And now the Peeping Tom of a drone was gone with her. Great, amazing, just _perfect!_

Weiss slowly drew in and released a breath of air, dry from the fire and dusty from the earth. It was far from enough to clear her senses, but it was just what she needed to remember her circumstances.

Link was helping children in a burning building, thugs were surrounding it with some malicious intent, Blake and her were given tools to help suppress the individuals, and there was no excuse to lose because of a disagreement with a machine.

This was where she was at. Nothing else mattered until the situation was settled.

"Fine," Weiss spoke as she readjusted Myrtenaster. Glyphs littered the edge of her blade, ready to attack as she promised before. "You'll have to speak quick and loud, because I won't be taking breaks form delivering punishment to these brutes."

Like the call of a match, the brutes charged.

Weiss stabbed her blade forward, this time releasing a cartridge of wind dust with her Glyph. The crystalline Dust was channeled through her Semblance, turning the raw power of the material into a fine blade. She made what would have been an annoying breeze into a wind tunnel.

Three brutes were blown off of their feet, one colliding into a fellow charging thug. Their weapons fell out of their hands as they went down. It was a start, but so very far from a called match.

Her feet repositioned, left foot forward as she drew her blade back again. A defensive stance so she could prepare for another strike. A thug that was attempting to flank her, poorly at that, ran up with a mahogany bat raised above his head. It was even sloppier than Jaune.

The round of her debole met the bat before it could even be considered mid-swing. Her body twisted with the flick of her wrist, easily redirecting the bat. It left the brute open for retaliation, one she quickly capitalized on.

With a stab back, she allowed the tip of Myrtenaster to slice twice across the man's chest, before thrusting forward with an anti-gravity Glyph. It pushed the brute hard at the chest, sending him flying whilst separating him from his weapon. Weiss could already feel the next set of thugs taking aim for her.

Her arm rotated above her head, legs crouching to prepare for she knew would be an impact force. The grip on Myrtenaster was tight, and good for it. Because not a moment later did she feel the steel of two weapons strike down on her. Both met her blade.

Weiss placed a glyph at her feet, pushing her forward and out of the path of the dull weapons. She twisted on her heel a moment later, summoning a secondary Glyph to reverse her momentum. It was done with the speed and precision she was trained for, rounding on the thugs before their weapons were even pulled back.

She sliced down the length of one's chest, then quickly twisted her wrist and pressed forward with her rear foot. The tip of Myrtenaster met the aura of the thug, pushing him back and away. It gave her ample time to change the cartridge of her blade, preparing a-

"JUMP BACK NOW!"

Weiss shook at the words. Maybe it was because the voice sounded desperate, maybe it was because she was at peace, but she heeded the words and did as instructed.

Her feet kicked the earth, hard, pushing her back and away in a summersault, one handed due to Lana's tome.

Not even through her first flip, bullets began to pick at the dirt where she stood. Weiss knew what to do.

In her second rotation, with the bullets trailing towards her, she turned to the ice cartridge of her weapon. When her feet hit the ground again, she placed a Glyph a few scant centimeters in front of her, aiming at it with the tip of Myrtenaster at the circle.

With a single command, a wall of ice shot up before her, durable and thick.

She watched the bullets hit the dense material, cracking but not shattering the compact molecules. It was enough to allow her time, time to see where the bullets were coming from.

She saw a few dozen thugs still standing, a couple dozen knocked out on the ground, littered around hopefully unconscious bodies, more charred earth, and, finally, a chain gun mounted near the rear line. Either they trusted the accuracy of the operator, or they were even stupider than Weiss initially thought.

And she believed the dead earth possessed more intelligence before.

"Okay, your wall's good, but it's not gonna last." The mini-drone flew up to Weiss's ear, ringing as she flittered about. Weiss scowled, but did nothing more. It was painfully obvious, truly painful, that it was the one who warned her. "Your gonna have to knock out these guys then get in closer, or wait for your friend to knock out the operator."

"Her name is Blake, drone," Weiss hissed back, but she knew Tatl was correct. Blake was smart and would doubtlessly prioritize the operator. The problem was he was still some distance away, and she couldn't afford to be seen before she reached him.

"And you keep calling my brother a Peeping Tom, so I'll call you and your friends whatever I want!" Tatl shouted back. She wasn't worth it. She wasn't worth freezing in the ice, even if accidentally.

Speaking of ice, Weiss could feel her glyph cracking under the constant force. She had a few seconds at least, but hardly more than a dozen at most. She needed to act now.

"Kay, look, you wanna take these guys out in a hurry?" It was a stupid rhetorical question, and Weiss wouldn't humor the drone with an answer. "Then drag that sword of yours over the Spirit's Tome before you attack!"

"What?!" She yelled her question. Her blade was sharp and the tome felt as old as it was heavy. It was a miracle it wasn't falling apart in the battle. Her blade could skewer it! "I'll ruin it if I do that!"

The ice was failing, the bullets kept coming. Blake may not reach it in enough time. She needed an out still.

"Trust me princess, you won't. Heck, _couldn't_!" Couldn't was a sure word to use. But the ice was being chiseled away now. She didn't have much time. "So just do it!"

With a grunt of annoyance, effort, and exasperation, she did just that.

Weiss drew Myrtenaster back, lowering her body to reduce the area bullets could hit her. The ice fell apart as if it were thrown from a moving train. Weiss ignored it as best she could. Instead, she let the forte of her blade rest on the tome, twisting her wrist so the metal pushed into the cover.

The leather had give, but hardly much, and none where it hit the jewels. It didn't matter, she had to act. The thugs were trying to flank her while the turret continued to assault her. She had hardly a second to act.

With a cry quick cry, she whipped Myrtenaster from the book, brutally committing to a horizontal swing. If she had used her Dust, she would have sent out a wave of heat to push to thugs away. She did no such thing.

Instead, lightning whipped from the tip of her weapon.

It slammed into the thugs like thunder, forcing them away as if they had been struck.

Weiss blinked. Her mind thought quickly.

She had used no Dust. No. She had created not glyphs. Also true. She had pushed away no less than four of the brutes with that single swing. Confirmed. And the turret was no longer firing at her. She hadn't done that.

Her blue eyes quickly looked up to see the turret was no unmanned. the thug who had operated it pulled left lying on the ground, removed from the fight. Blake had done her part with a cape of invisibility.

And apparently, Weiss had done hers with a book of lightning dust.

"What in Remnant was that?" Weiss asked in hardly a whisper, her voice doubtlessly drowned by the fire. She didn't know whether to cast her gaze on the book, her blade, or the thugs who appeared equally unsure of what to do.

"That was the Spirit's Tome!" The mini-drone, apparently, heard her. "And if you want a chance against these guys, you'll keep it up!" Well, it was hardly the time to have a discussion. And there were still many more of the brutes to go.

Including the one bearing the heat of the fire to sneak up behind her. Weiss had not missed him.

She risked an opening to the crowd in front of her in order to address the brute behind her. Weiss pivoted on her heels, drawing Myrtenaster's hilt up and placing the forte again against the tome. This time, she held the tome to the blade.

She swiftly drew the blade down, in a commanding swipe the made her blade spark, again without an ounce of Dust. The man froze at the sight. Impressive, given the heat of the fire at his back. Weiss didn't off him time to recover.

Her arm twisted until the point of her blade aimed at the charred earth beneath poor excuse for a man. A blue Glyph was conjured at his feet, its purpose clear. With as much hesitation, she flicked her blade upwards, both returning Weiss to her neutral position and activating her Semblance

The Glyph was supposed to stun the man with a high voltage charge.

Instead, it appeared as if she conjured a quick lightning strike on the man.

The light that was generated by the blow outshined the fire, if only for a fraction of a moment. But it was enough to make Weiss blink. And when it was gone, the man who had attacked her appeared to have crawled out of the fire himself.

He slumped forward, unconscious, hitting the ground without any give. Weiss was beginning to see the immense benefit to this tome.

Even if it felt she was performing sprints with her Glyphs.

It was very hard to temper, but it was very effective all the same. Perhaps she could use this as training then, seeing as-

"Look left!" Weiss, unfortunately, did look left. She did not dodge.

It was all the time some other sneaky thug needed to get closer to her. This brute, oddly, was female, given the size of her chest and width of her waist. But she was dressed all the same and likely carrying all the same intentions.

And that intention was to grab the Spirit's Tome.

"Hey!" Weiss shouted, at the brute. "Release me!" She yelled even as she repositioned her feet, sliding a foot between the thug. It undid the poorly dressed woman's balance, taking from her any ability to pull the book from Weiss.

Pull the book… the woman wasn't trying to attack Weiss… She was trying to steal the book.

Maybe it was the foolish idea of disarming her, in one of the most ludicrous methods she had ever seen. Maybe it was the idea that it would set her off-guard, were Weiss not already trained to fight unarmed. But the idea that had few fallacies was the most terrifying to her.

"They want these…" Weiss repeated as she pulled her arm away. A fresh glyph pushed the offending brute away from her, sending her careening into the charred and dried trees. "They're after these because… Lana had them? No, Link had them."

Link. That was why. It had to be why.

These _monsters_ of men had set fire to an orphanage, threatened children, and attempted to murder them because they wanted his tools. Because Link had shown just how powerful they all were.

"Blake! If you can hear me, don't show yourself!" She shouted into the air even as she twisted with her weapons in hand. It still was weird calling a tome a weapon. "They want Link's tools! They must have done this to lure him… here."

She almost froze at her own words.

It wasn't enough to let the thug screaming at her actually hit her. A flick of Myrtenaster and a wall of flames pushed him back, as well as his accomplices. Still, her thought rolled in her head until it clicked into place.

When it did, her eyes scanned the burning building, flames still spewing from the windows as she imagined water would from a faucet. Link was in there, with Lana. The flames were eating away at their Aura. Weiss remembered seeing it when she dove into the building.

The building was set to such a blaze that Link, Lana, or any other Hunter or Huntress would deplete their Aura trying to save those inside. Whoever organized this was a cruel malicious genius, Weiss realized.

Lana was using her life force to protect herself as she searched for the children, for _Moraine_.

She was tiring herself out by helping the kids, in a building that was clearly beyond saving.

This was more than merely a ploy to lure Link here, to lure anyone else here.

Link wasn't just lured here, he was put into a trap to tire him and Lana out.

Weiss scowled, drawing a glyph from the tome before sending it outwards. Be it her growing familiarity with the book or her now boiling rage, the ball of lightning that was thrown from her glyph erupted into a veritable storm. She ignored the screams of pain.

As far as she was concerned right now, they were justly _deserved_.

Her pommel spun until she aligned another wind cartridge. The thugs were congregating and she needed them spread out. Weiss didn't need to wait for their approach now.

She placed a Glyph at her feet, accelerating her time, letting the dials spin until it felt like the rest of the world was holding still. When the roar of the fire became muted, she ran forward. She was before the group of brutes in a second. She struck forward with Myrtenaster in same motion.

The brutes were blown away in the hurricane she created, spinning in the air without control. But she was on the ground, and she had complete control. She spun in a parley, lifting the tome outwards to let her blade ride across it.

It felt like she was cleaning her blade, but the sparks that danced upon her steel told another story.

Weiss swung in the air, striking as she would were she using flame cartridges. Each whip of her blade sent a line of lightning outwards. And, through her diligence in training and form, she watched every strike land true.

The thugs, already twisted in the air, convulsed as the electricity hit their bodies, sending what minute amount of control they had out the metaphorical window. Six brutes were blown away, and six hit the ground without the will to stand again.

Weiss felt like she had swung four dozen times. The Spirit's Tome was powerful, no doubt, but it felt like trying to control a performing firehose.

"That was impressive, kid." Weiss readopted her stance in a second, forte of her blade just above her face, point aimed upwards, and the tome in her flexed arm. She heard the mini-drone fly behind her, ringing just audibly above the screaming fire.

Her eyes settled on a brute of brutes, standing with arms crossed off to the side.

His every point of posture made it clear he was the leader of these monsters. If not, higher ranked than them. Red glasses replaced by goggles, blazer of his suit stretched farther than the others, and a sickly confident smirk across his lips.

"But I gotta bet that's a pretty hard thing to control, whatever that is." His head bobbed towards her, obviously towards the Spirit's Tome. Weiss did not react. She would not reward him. "You keep that up, you'll probably just end up like blue collar on Saturday night, passed out in the gutters."

His tongue could use some work, but it was more than obvious he was observant. He could tell, either through her actions or power of her attacks, that Weiss was using more Aura than she normally would. It meant she needed only half as many strikes to render the thugs inconsequential, but at three times the cost at least. Practice was a necessity, that she did not have.

"So tell ya what. You've gotta have figured out we're not here for ya or the kids." He unfurled one arm to indicated the burning manor. Weiss let her eyes sharpen like her blade. "Only reason we got here was cause one of the mutts got that faunus's weapon. Those things are worth ten times their weight in gold."

It was a point Weiss knew was likely true. Her eyes looked around the smug brute, looking for any signs of Blake. But it was like trying to spot air. Knowing it was close was different from knowing where exactly.

If she was nearby, she was waiting for something. Likely for an opening. If only for show, the thug looked as if he could do a lot of damage with a single hit.

What was worse, Weiss realized, was that Blake was likely in the same situation as herself. Wasting Aura on the tools to ensure a swifter victory.

"Don't know how ya got on the girl's side, but how's about you just throw that book over to me and we'll call it good. Hell, good faith, we'll leave first so you can help the sick or whatever." A half-truth, but one that had truth nonetheless.

Weiss knew she wouldn't be allowed to leave alive, but it did confirm for her the true reason these monsters were here.

"Fat chance Lardy!" Weiss felt her eyes narrow not in anger, but annoyance. The mini-drone was worse than Ruby on a sugar high. "You want Link's stuff, you can ask for it in the next life!" But Weiss was loathing to disagree.

"Actually, I'd like ya, too." The thug nodded towards Tatl. It was becoming difficult to think of him as clever, with statements like that. "But I can tell when a situation is goin' south. Guess that just means, I gotta get ready ta get dirty, too."

This thug was different. Weiss reminded herself of that fact.

From the inner linings of his blazer, he produced a simple dagger. It was unimpressive in design, but Weiss needed to remind herself that with Ruby as a partner, anything less than a finely tuned blade was mundane.

However, she reminded herself, its simplicity did not mean it wasn't a threat. Hardly. The thug holding it was clearly just that.

He was taller, more-muscled, and judging by the specialized knife he was holding, more skilled. There were few other mooks around him, and those that remained were likely to be picked off by Blake. This man was no amateur, but neither was a Huntsman.

Therefore, he would be best for her to practice on.

"You've got ta have this figured out, girly," the brute of a brute spoke. He tossed the knife from one hand to the other, letting it flip through the air carelessly as he did so. "You don't got a lot of time ta keep me down. Pretty sure I can out last ya now."

He wasn't wrong. That only meant she had to resolve this quickly, swiftly.

And she had a plan.

"Maybe," Weiss coyly stated, hitting the proper triggers on Myrtenaster as she spoke. The cartridges in her blade flipped by her command. "But it's important to remember that I am a Schnee. And a Schnee practices one trait, above all else."

"Is this where ya make some big speech about loyalty?" The brute had an ear for cliques. How ironic, and unfortunate, that his brain was not inversely proportional to his body. And further a shame he didn't do more with it than be a common thug.

"No," Weiss spoke, channeling a Glyph to the edge of her blade. "This is where I subdue you."

Then, with as much warning as the first time she witnessed it, one of the spare brutes aside the titanic thug was thrown away. The rest of the dark-dressed men swerved heads to see their compatriot being destroyed in a moment.

It was the clearest call sign Weiss would have to strike.

She pushed forward with her Glyph sending out the last of her Wind Dust. It met the brute head on, but either from experience or a testament to his size, he squared himself, taking the blow head on. It pushed him back at worst. The grin he sported showed the success of the attack. It was also a sign to not stop.

Her footing twisted to place her back towards the brute. Vulnerable, perhaps, but she was doubtlessly faster than he was. Her heel twisted as she crouched, knees extending in the same motion she resettled her feet. Her arm arced, creating a mighty up-swing with the true edge of her rapier.

The brute, however, proved he was above the average thug.

He did not challenge Weiss. Instead, he took a step back, knife spinning in his palm until he held it in reverse. He jumped forward when Weiss was at the apex of her swing. He was planning on skewering her. She would allow no such thing.

Weiss rapidly flexed her arm, placing an anti-gravity glyph at her feet. It propelled her upwards, out of the way of the charging brute. He lunged past where she stood, quickly regaining his footing and twisting towards her, whilst she was meters in the air.

Weiss had a moment to observe, another to strike.

Two more of the thugs had fallen under Blake's invisible hand. She could rely on her to take care of the small fries. That left her with the brute. He had good battle instincts and she had already tested his strength. That meant she had to immobilize him to strike him safely. She could do that.

Before Weiss returned to the ground, the monster of a thug had charged her again. He held his knife close to his body, likely for a controlled swing. He was no amateur. He didn't seem to understand that Weiss wasn't either.

The debole of her rapier hit the steel of his knife, quickly sliding until it met the hilt. His strength was proven twice over when Weiss was pushed back. She was prepared for it. She pushed her weight to the balls of her toes, letting herself slide across the ground, controlling herself by directing his swings.

She back stepped as he continued to swing, controlled motions that left little room for redirection. Weiss found herself moving to avoid him, unable to place him on the defensive. Each attempt to push Myrtenaster forward was met with the brute extending his arm out, taking her well outside his striking range.

Weiss saw another thug had fallen over, before convulsing on the ground. Blake was still hard at work keeping her guarded. Weiss had gained no ground. In a tournament, she would be classified as losing it.

But she kept the defense.

He struck out towards her, aiming to disarm or dismember her first. Her rapier parried each blade in the same fashion she was trained to as a child. Flicks of the wrist combined with alterations in footing. Leaps backwards, twists to the side, a pirouette when necessary, all to avoid a simple blade of steel.

But it was working.

The brute, no matter how close he got, never laid an ounce of the steel on Weiss. True, neither had she to him, but her objective was to stall at worst for Lana. _He_ was the one working on a time-table, not her.

What was more, Weiss made out Blake taking out more of the nearby thugs one-by-one. Just as the monstrous brute had proven his battle prowess so far, they were proving their lack thereof. Despite the clear advantage of being separate, the continued to spread out further and further.

Even if, by some odd circumstance, Weiss had never met Blake, her actions right now spoke of her skills.

She only hoped the opposite was true.

"You gonna start fighting soon?" The thug spoke to her as he took another lunge. He was clearly attempting to impale her, but her took too long to lunge, leaving ample time for Weiss to place the forte of her blade on his dagger guard, pushing against it and twirling away from danger.

However, the brute was just as smart to step back before she could slice Myrtenaster upwards. She missed, so she quickly threw up her guard again, twisting her arm holding the Spirit's Tome to her back, away from the brute. Myrtenaster aimed towards him.

He was grinning.

"I get you're trying to play keep away, but you've gotta know you'll get tired 'fore I will." He wasn't wrong, he was just misguided to think she didn't have a backup plan. That being Blake. "But you've given me a good work out, so why don't ya just throw me that book and we can call it even, deal?"

He understood his own timetable, it seemed. Perhaps he was the one who organized all of this. It made him dramatically more loathsome and intelligent. Plus, it was all the more reason to not hand over a thing to him.

It was a good thing Blake thought the same.

Weiss knew she and her teammate agreed when the feline faunus popped into view behind the thug.

Like the silent lightning of Impa before her, thought from likely entirely different means, Blake simply appeared above the thug. Her posture was that of a bounce, the red cape Lana had gifted her billowing behind her, Gambol Shroud bladed in one hand, and a dangerous gleam to her golden eyes.

All of that silhouetted by the fire of the house behind them.

Blake struck the man across the head, _hard_. It rocked him, destroying the sure footing he had so far in the fight. Rather than recover, he swung out madly at Blake, knife trailing through the air. Weiss saw her teammate's semblance push her from harm, but she also saw the monster's back. She saw a chance to strike.

Her fingers play with the triggers of Myrtenaster, activating the Ice Dust in the cylinders. At the same time, she placed the forte of her rapier against the tome. She felt her Aura feed into it, she heard the electricity cracking around it.

It was exactly what she needed.

"Brute!" Weiss yelled at the man, only in his third swing at Blake. He twisted his gaze towards her, pulling his arms in for a guard. It didn't matter anymore. He must have realized it to.

Once he saw the crystalline Glyph Weiss had focused at his feet. The fight was over… but Weiss had one more thing to say.

"No deal." Weiss swung Myrtenaster from the Spirit's Tome to the Glyph beneath the thug.

In an instant, ice encased the man up to his neck.

In the neck, electricity crackled around him.

"GhaAAAAaaAAAAAAA _AAAAA_!" The man bellowed under the electric current. Weiss watched as his head whipped side to side violently, enough to give the average man whiplash. His body would have doubtlessly been doing the same, were it not encased in her Glyph-powered ice.

But the attack was draining to Weiss, still draining. She was panting for breath before the match, this was not helping. With a flick of her wrist, the assault ended.

"AAAAAAAaaaaaAAAAaaaaaaggghh…." His voice tapered out to nothing as the electricity died down, his head lolling against the ice. His goggles made it impossible to see if he was wide-eyed in panic or truly unconscious. In the end, it didn't matter.

Weiss was too low on Aura to continue. She'd have to trust the ice would hold, unlikely beside an inferno, or the battle was won, which seemed highly plausible.

A single glance around the charred earth told her as much.

Aside from Blake, not another soul stood in the land, not even blades of grass or trees. What wasn't burned by the flash point of the fire was knocked unconscious in the swift battle. Weiss stood tall, however.

She stood tall next to Blake, with the Spirit's Tome in hand, and her pride intact.

Until she felt her limbs nearly give out.

"Whoa! _Hey!_ Easy there!" The golden mini-drone let out, sparks of dust flying off of it as it bobbed around her. Weiss was far too weak in her arms to bat it away. "Take a breath and relax. You did it princess!"

Indeed she had. She could take the compliment of the malfunctioning drone as evidence she had succeeded. It would be, after all, the first to count her errors.

"They did great!" That was the Peeping Tom now. Weiss twisted her gaze to see the purple drone, flitting about Blake with the energy she wished to possess. "Blake handled the Magic Cape like Link did! A-And you took care of everyone!" More honest words from semi-functioning machinery.

Blake was standing with as much energy as Weiss, and that was evident by a glance. The red cape, contrasting as it was, hung only by the tassels tied about her teammates shoulder. Her hair clung to her body, her blade by the ribbon in her hand, and the ears in her bow hunched over in fatigue.

They were both, simply, exhausted. The fire was _not_ helping.

"Are you okay?" Blake asked as she leaned closer. It wasn't for a better view. Weiss saw her teammate catching her knees with her hands. She was out of breath and exhausted. They both were.

"I'm… unharmed," Weiss hesitantly returned. That was true, but she was far from unaffected. "I just need some time to catch my breath… and restore my Aura levels." Her fingers clenched the tome in her arm.

"Yeah, you'll need that," Tatl spoke from above them, ringing as she flew about them like some large halo. If she was representative of heaven, Weiss was satisfied with hell. "But hey, you both picked those up pretty quick! Nice job!"

If it weren't for the fire, Weiss would have sworn that hell just froze over.

"Yeah, you did great!" The Peeping Tom now. He was keeping himself close to Blake, wisely. "You knew just how to move with the cape, a-and you didn't let anyone get a hold of you. And you were combining different elements together, like the sages used to!" Weiss didn't know what that meant, but she understood a compliment.

"Thank you," she replied honestly. "Thank you both." There was a breath between her words. She was tired, so _very_ tired.

The thugs may have been subdued, but they were still far from done. Lana was still within the fire of the housing, and until she came out, there wasn't much they could do. Weiss knew that. She knew it as soon as she pulled out an examined her scroll.

"My Aura is low," she spoke aloud, a confirmation for herself more than anything. She hit the necessary commands to bring up her teammate's levels. "Yours is, too."

"Yeah, I could feel it," Blake confirmed with a nod of her head. "But we're okay, for now. Once Lana is out of there, we can-"

_**CREEEEEAK…. BOOOOOM!** _

Weiss flinched and spun in the same moment. The source of the sound was immediately obvious.

The many floorings of the mansion were caving in on themselves. They couldn't support their weight, at all. They were collapsing and Lana was still inside, still inside looking for the kids!

Weiss looked at Blake, and the terror in her teammate's was clear as the flames. They thought the same thing. They were going to have to either brave the heat to rescue Lana or find some way to douse the fire before it got worse!

"Hey, there she is!" One of the drones shouted. Weiss couldn't tell which one. She only heard the words then proceeded to squint and stare into the inferno.

Then she saw her.

Jumping from the second floor, Gates following her, and clutching something in her arms, was Lana.

The witch hit the ground easily, taking off in a run with the Gates following her. It was too bright and too hot for Weiss to tell much as Lana ran forward. All she knew immediately was that she was okay.

"Thank Dust," Blake spoke next to her. It was an agreement she profusely held. Lana was jogging towards them, out of the fire and all right

But… on closer observation, perhaps 'all right' was not the best word to use.

The Gates were not following her as they did before, spinning in an ethereal fashion. Rather, they were shaking and dripping in the air, like Weiss imagined would happen to a balloon being dragged by a child. No sooner did she make the observation than did one of them land and slide on the ground, lacking the energy to stay afloat.

Lana herself must have had only the barest amounts of her Aura left. Parts of her green clothes were singed, her hair appeared to have been burned and smothered, and the cape from her shoulder was missing. That was all not to speak of the child in her arms.

The child that was covered in black soot and singed clothing. The faunus that had her ears rolled atop her head, curled into Lana's embrace.

The child did not look healthy, but Weiss could tell the child was _alive._

Then it was worth it.

"You're okay!" Lana shouted as she approached Weiss. One of her arms released Moraine waving as she continued her run. "I knew you could do it! Keeping me safe while I made sure everyone else was safe! That was the safest bet!" Weiss nodded at the childish words. Lana was far from any 'child'.

"Yes, Blake and I subdued the ruffians," she quickly relayed their success. Quickly, because success was discussed after all threats and problems were dealt with. "Is she okay?" Hey eyes looked towards the young faunus in the witch's arm.

It was difficult to tell if the young child was horrified, enraged, or an unfortunate combination of the two.

"She's okay," Lana responded, adjusting the girl in her arms. Moraine responded by curling closer to Lana, gripping possessively at her. Lana only rubbed her back, cooing at the girl's silence. The flames of the building were licking themselves dry. "Others are safe too… some of them are safe."

"Some…" Weiss turned to Blake at the word. The insulation was clear. "When you say some…. What does that mean?" Weiss didn't know why Blake asked the question. The meaning was rather obvious.

An orphanage for children hardly old enough to attend school was ablaze like the core of a smithy. They had not been here when it started... Bile rose in her throat again.

"I used my magic," Lana spoke without looking at Blake. Her eyes were on the back of the girl she was holding, brushing the green tunic and ashen blonde hair. "I saved some of them. Sent them through the Gate of Souls. They're at Beacon. They're safe there."

"And you're safe, too!" Blake winced at the high ring from the mini-drone. It didn't last, as Tatl was quick to dive towards Lana, bouncing atop the blue hair of the witch. "Aw geez, you gotta stop scaring me like that. It's getting to be too much."

"It was really scary," the Peeping Tom now joined in, settling on the witch's shoulder. He just wanted contact, of course. "But Moraine's safe, too. That's good, really good…"

Weiss let the words linger, listening only to the dying roar of the fire. The orphanage was beyond salvage. If at once it was three stories, now it was one. The collapsing floors had smothered the flames, but taken any items within with it.

It was then she realized she had no idea what the building looked like before the fire. Weiss had first laid eyes upon it from the talons of Elrora, and even then, it was but flames and smoke. But for the girl in Lana's arms, it was a home lost.

"Thank you for helping me," Lana spoke again. Now she looked towards them, eyes haunted by something Weiss didn't want to know. "I'm actually, like, very sure if you weren't here, I wouldn't have been able to save _anyone_." Perhaps, but Weiss had doubts.

"How low is your Aura?" Blake asked. It sounded like an automatic question. Weiss gave no thought to the reason it sounded as such. "You were running through an inferno, and using your semblance." She was listing why it was a concern.

"It's low, like _really_ low." Somehow, someway, Lana giggled at that. Weiss swallowed at the sound. The girl was trying to be funny. She was failing. "I-I don't think I can use the Gates again. Not right away 'least. Gonna have to give me a few minutes, bit of rest. I'll be good then."

"There's no rush," Weiss informed. "The _monsters_ are dealt with. We can wait for you… we can wait." Her eyes drifted to the tome as she spoke. It felt heavier than before.

"Did those help you?" Lana asked again. Weiss looked back up. The girl was still stroking the child's back, but passively now. Her blue eyes were on the tome, then the cloak, then Blake, then Weiss. "I hoped they helped you."

"Oh, yeah, they helped." Blake lifted the red cloak as she spoke. Weiss watched her golden eyes appraise the material again. She had time now at least, not being thrown the garment amid a fire fight. "Turning invisible in a fight really helped."

"I concur," Weiss agreed. Her hand played along the encrusted surface of the tome again. "The magic altered by glyphs in a way I thought only Dust capable of. Channeling lightning through ice, and thunder through command… once I adjusted my stance, it was invaluable."

Lana smiled at her. It was far more genuine than the empty stare from before.

"They _are_ powerful," Lana agreed, as if she needed to. "The Magic Cloak and Spirit's Tome. A cape used by an adventurous Mage, and the book he embed his life into." Weiss's eyes bulged at the word. "Sahasrahla was a cool wizard. Kinda weird, but cool."

"Yeah, but… it was really hard to use," Blake continued to speak, hand playing with the fabric of the cloak. Weiss could hardly blame her. She wanted to throw it on to feel what it was like. "Constantly using my Aura to power it, but being unstoppable with it on. I-I need to learn how to use it better."

It was only then Weiss realized it was the same for her. The tome was invaluable on the field, assisting her in taking out far more thugs than her Semblance alone could have managed… but only now was she thinking of the cost-to-gain of the tool.

Her ability to tame the beasts may have been twice as effective… but she used likely triple her Aura to do so.

"I… want to know more," Weiss admitted. She stopped her question with the admittance. "But now is not the time. Not… right now." She extended the tome back towards Lana. She didn't know how the girl would grasp the item. "But you can have these back now."

"Oh, you can keep them." Lana didn't even glance at them. Her attention was on the faunus child.

"What?" Blake spoke for Weiss with that question. She must have misheard, the both of them.

"You can keep them." Maybe she hadn't, but it was still unlikely. "You were both knights today. You've shown me that. Lives you didn't know where at risk and you put your own at risk to save them."

This wasn't Lana talking, Weiss realized. It didn't sound nearly the same.

"You used what was given to you to help others, and you offered to return them when you were finished." Lana grinned broadly at the Weiss and Blake. Weiss wasn't sure if it was Lana or Link who was smiling at them. "You wanted to help before you had help, and wanted to return what you were given when you were done. That sounds like a knight to me."

Oh… _oh._

"So you better get better them," Tatl now. "Because if the rest of your friends find out about this, and you act like a rank amateur with them, it's gonna make Link look bad!"

"Sis, that's asking too much," Tael somberly countered his sister. Rings were exchanged, none of which Weiss could understand. It didn't matter to her, siblings bickering that is.

"But you're right, Weiss. We should go. Like _really_ soon." And Lana was back. Her arms twisted the faunus in her arms. The child was still shaking, but looked up at Lana. The smile she gave the faunus was soft. "Moraine's tired. I'm tired. And we shouldn't be here anymore." The faunus curled softly at the name.

"Moraine," Weiss spoke the child's name, more for herself to remember it. The faunus looked at her, and Weiss returned the stare. Mostly because she couldn't look away. Her ears were shaking like her eyes.

She had never seen a child looked so haunted before.

Weiss shocked herself when a hand fell on her shoulder. She glanced at it, seeing Blake staring back at her. The cloak was over her shoulder, but her golden eyes were fixed on Weiss. The heiress understood. If anyone knew the faunus's pain, it was her.

"Do you want me to hold her?" Blake asked Lana with a divert of her attention. "We are all tired, but you are the one who will bring us back to Beacon." Lana smiled at response.

"Nah, I'm good." She spoke with a broad grin. "The fire's out, the bad guys are beat down, and we're all _A_ -okay." Maybe not that good, but Weiss understood what the meant. This was hardly the place to point out discrepancies.

"Still… thank you," Blake spoke breathlessly. Weiss turned in time to see Blake bow her head, sucking in a deep breath of air. She was unsure what due to the emotion and what was from the battle fatigue. "Thank you for saving them. For… saving the faunus from _them_." The heat of the word was one Weiss shared.

"You don't need to thank _me_." Lana returned, sounding as up-beat as she had before. She still held Moraine with a strong arm. "It's what heroes do best, and I promised Moraine I'd be a hero for her!" She looked at the faunus in her arms. Weiss followed the gaze.

She was met with the teary smile on the girl.

Weiss gripped the tome in her hand a bit harder. It felt heavier each time her gaze fell on the child.

A tunic of green, covered with dust and ash, but not a burn upon her. Whatever Lana did to save her, it must have been miraculous. It left no wonder the White Witch was tired and low on Aura. Her semblance, whatever it was, must have taken a toll from her.

"Ya know… there is _some_ good news in all of this." Lana gave what could only amount to a sly grin. Weiss wasn't sure where it came from, let alone what Lana meant. "Now you-"

_**BANG!** _

Lana's head swung back. Weiss felt her body turn to ice as she watched it.

The witch fell back like she tripped. She hit the rubble as gracefully as a thrown towel. Lana, Link, their body collapsed into a still mess on the ground.

Moraine was clutching them. She was screaming.

Tatl was ringing, Tael was ringing, Blake was screaming. Weiss wasn't screaming.

She was staring at the hole bored into Lana's skull. A blank expression stared back at her.

Her limbs wouldn't move. Her voice wouldn't speak. She could only stare.

Lana was shot. _Link_ was shot. Shot in _the head_!

But where? How? Who? _WHO?!_

* * *

He was a simple man with simple needs. He needed food to eat, water to drink, air to breath, and people to rob, listed of course in opposite order importance.

Simple needs, though, didn't translate to simple items. Oh no. As the a criminal mastermind of Vale, and soon to be Remnant, he needed the best of the best. He needed sea-caught lobster for breakfast, Atlas spring water for leisurely drinks, and Vale summit air to breath.

But his most important need needed some pretty high standards. Robbing a Dust shop? Petty. Robbing every Dust shop in Vale? Better. Having underlings? Megh. Having an entire criminal organization? That's something. Robbing a kid? _Way_ too easy.

Robbing a child blessed by a faunus with amazing gifts and guarded by said faunus? That sounded like Roman's kind of party.

Sure, it helped he had the backing of some pretty iffy people, even by his standards. But when you're trying to steal from a guy who kills Ancient Grimm like a morning routine, you use every card on the table.

And better yet, when you succeeded, it made the payout all the sweeter to grasp.

Of course, right now, that was just watching a tranny boy getting her/his head blown backwards.

" _Boom!_ Headshot!"

Oh that was worth laughing over.

If not the timing of it all, then just the way the brats screamed about it. Like it wasn't set up enough, out in the middle of nowhere by a burning building. Kay, well, ex-burning building, but still. These kids today had no sense for genre savviness.

"Well that was worth it, huh?" Roman twisted his head towards his half-pint partner. He knew better than to refer to her as that. She looked up at him, heterochromatic eyes grinning like her lips. Talk about convenient. "Your semblance never stops, being useful, you know that?"

Roman tipped his Melodic Cudgel towards Neo, who cocked her head in response. Her grin turned cheeky at his compliment. But hey, he could say a good word about a good partner.

Especially one who could create glass vacuums in space.

Seriously, a mega-faunus that could take out an Ancient Grimm didn't even have the foresight that he was getting a lock on her head… his head… whatever's head. Whatever-the-hell did he even call someone that had a gender-bending Semblance?

"Oh, but just look at them now," Roman went on, lightly tossing and grabbing his cane in the air. He let his arms spread wide as he walked to the edge of Neo's little glass dome. "Look at them crying over spilt milk. I mean geez, if they had a brain cell between the three of them… five of the, you'd think they'd realize there's a gunman out there."

As if to emphasize it, he lifted his cane again, aiming down the length of its diaphysis. The small notch of his reticule lifted, exposing the barrel beneath. He could see each of their heads, even count the hairs on their heads. Wings for the fairies.

"Seriously, there's shooting fish in the barrel, then there's getting them to swim into the oven. Stealing the mechs was harder than this!" Oh yeah, the mechs, he had almost forgotten about them.

Maybe they had a chance to use them still. Would it be villain stupidity to bring those out now? Roman _could_ just knock off the rest of them one by one. Wasn't like Neo was against the idea or anything. If she had a voice, he'd bet ten Lien she'd be laughing. Hell maybe-

_Bing_

-He'd get a chance to shoot himself.

Roman let out a groan as he turned to see the familiar shape of floating tan diamonds, only to see them vanish in the next second. The "fashionable" faunus standing amidst them, however, didn't disappear. It was to his great misfortune.

"Oh _Roman~_ , did you take care of the big bad hero all by _yourself?_ " A single sentence and he wanted to turn his cane and shoot the thing. Yeah, he was a thing. No second thoughts about that one. Faunus or human, the guy didn't dress right by any standard. "You truly are something… _spectacular_."

The alabaster haired faunus threw his head back, waving his hands into the air, grinning all the while. First time they met, Roman thought he was high. Now, he was convinced the faunus was stoned, permanently.

_Bing_

His idea was only strengthened when the leotard thing vanished in another shower of little diamonds.

_Bing_

Then to suddenly reappear on Roman's other side. No wait, he went the extra mile now. He had a hand on the small of Roman's back.

Oh, Dust and Non-Existent Gods. _This_ guy again. This guy, right here.

"Hey… Girahim," Roman spoke slowly. "I know we _really_ get along and all, what with you popping in and out of existence like a gopher on diamond crack Dust. But, ya think maybe you could get your hand off me?" And of course, he gripped tighter. Yup, that made sense.

"Now no need to be nervous, darling~," the flat-out monster sang as he wrapped an arm around Roman's shoulder, like adding insult to mockery. "You've done a _marvelous_ job at rending the young hero asunder. A simply _marvelous_ plan!" Ghirahim released Torchwick, only to make a show of his arms at the declaration.

_Bing_

Before exploding into diamond confetti. Again.

_Bing_

Then to reappear right next to him. Again.

Roman hated it as much now as the first time. Pretty easily to tell Neo felt about the same, _if not_ stronger. There was a saying about pent up rage and all that.

"And you've even managed to take care of a few _brats_ along the way." Of course, he could say that grinning, playing with his fingers even. That wasn't messed up at all.

Yeah, burning children, something to celebrate alright. That was the difference between them. Roman knew when something was worth keeping or not. That simply.

This guy just liked the idea of killing them flat out. Talk about a waste of supply.

Roman risked a glance at Neo, watching the one keeping them hidden looking equally as disturbed about Girahim as he was. Good. That meant he was still sane compared to this thing. A baseline in this world was pretty damn important to have, especially with Grimm and Monsters working together.

"Now, just to add the icing on the cake, why don't you go ahead and procure those items from the hero?" Girahim spun, letting his red cloak twirl with him. He looked _way_ too happy to be talking right now. No doubt on the best trip of his life.

Well, Roman could play that game. Probably beat the green snake at it, too.

"Hey, here's a novel idea," Roman began, wearing the biggest crap-smearing grin he could. He had a lot of experience from growing up in the streets. "Why don't you go get it? You've got a _magic warping_ ability. How _hard_ could it be for you~?"

He bowed deeply to Ghirahim, arm extended outwards and the other wrapped around his chest. Roman even caught his hat for good measure.

Only on second thought did he realize how bad his idea was.

_Bing_

Namely after he felt a couple dozen daggers around his neck.

Roman felt the tips of the steel pocking at his neck, every little shake of his body feeling like it was forcing the blades into his skin. His eyes looked sideways, focusing on Neo. She gave him only wide eyes and silent lips. _Of course_.

"Human," he heard Girahim speak. "You have many uses for my lady. One of them _is not_ comedy." Roman could take that. Yeah. At knife point he could take anything. "Your tongue may be sharp, but I believe my steel is sharper."

"Y-Yep," Roman agreed with what little breath he could muster. Even a little breath just seemed to make those mini-blades dig deeper. Damn it hurt! At least those brats crying reminded him it could be worse.

"But to satisfy your _poultry_ question, I refuse to play my hand until I have… assurances." Roman could feel the faunus's tongue sliding above his head. Oh Grimm around them, it was _above his head like a snake!_

"And those fairies seem _awfully_ sure he isn't dead." He heard them? Roman could just make out scream- oh.

Of course, the faunus could hear whatever they were saying. But what the hell could a couple of mini-drones know about a bullet wound to the head, _aside_ from the obvious.

Roman wanted to talk, but he really didn't want to get his throat slit. It was pretty easy to decide which one was more important.

_Bing_

But like a blessing from the devil, Roman felt the knives pull away from him all at once. He sucked in a breath of air greedily.

And the brats were still screaming in the distance.

"I do only as my lady says, for she is the voice my _true_ master~." The slimy faunus made a show of his tongue with those words. Roman just rubbed his neck as he sneered at the psychopath.

Literally, he started to wave it around like was trying to catch a fly. Would have been funny if he wasn't a foot away from Torchwick's face! Hell, even Neo was grimacing!

"But, you have a point~," Girahim twirled his finger in the air as he spoke, like tracing a circle in front of Roman. He sighed at it. At least the Cinder girl attempted to be polite. She could have at least put this guy in his place, too. "Why sully an advantage by not taking a few risks, hmm?"

"If I had to guess," Roman started, literally finding the moment in his head were he decided to 'screw' it. "Because you don't want to break a nail." Kay, that was funny, mostly because he could see this thing screaming about his make-up.

"Oh, how _cold_ of you to say, especially with a _torch_ in your name," the faunus laughed away his words, as if forgetting that he had just threatened Roman's life. Given the way he acted, that was pretty possible, actually. "But no, I do have a gift for you."

_Bing_

Roman raised his arms to his eyes as soon as he heard the noise. Whatever it was, he'd guard himself against it. But… that was pretty unnecessary. At least right now.

Instead of daggers, Girahim dropped something else in front of Roman. He flinched, ready for whatever it was to jump at him, but it didn't. Hopefully it couldn't either. He stared at the object that had fallen to the ground.

On top of the rubble laying on the grass was the weirdest looking thing Roman had ever seen. And he'd seen drugged up prostitutes hit on Grimm… just before the obvious happened.

It was giant scepter, at least that was as close to what he thought it looked like. Thin shaft, overly gaudy top, and having some of the most ridiculous details he'd ever seen. It had wings coming off the top of it, like it was trying to look like some bird holding up the sun. Oh yeah, because there was a ball on top.

And by the Dust, the color of it all. White was a good color for a cloak, red was the perfect color for a hair top. This thing was a poor mixture of silver and blue, the worst shade of the one color and the opposite of the other. Only acceptable part of it was the silver globe on top. At least that made _some_ sense.

"Please don't tell me I have to take it," Roman spoke as she stared at the rod some more. "That's like asking one of those Fang Faunus to grow a brain. They don't even have those." And, of course, Girahim just laughed at him.

_Bing Bing_

He laughed at him as he disappeared and reappeared just behind Roman, putting both of his hands on his shoulders. It was only the idea of getting stabbed again that kept Roman from decking the faunus in the chin. That, and the idea of getting the freak's make-up on his gloves was disgusting enough.

"That, my dear sweet Roman, is the _High Dominion Rod_." Still didn't make him want to use it. "It is a gift from my mistress to aid you in your endeavor, and do remember she only aids those who have the promise to succeed." Compliments helped, but Roman still wasn't going to touch it.

He gave a desperate look at Neo, but the half-pint mute just shook her head hard enough to wave her hair like a whip. Great, he was getting screwed by a stranger while his partner just _watched_.

Least he could make out the kids still screaming around the way. Hey, they were crying now, too. Bonus.

"Any object possessing form, but no life, is something the _dominion rod_ can control." Sounded cool, but large, gaudy, and way too impractical. "You can use it if you wish, or throw away a gift from my mistress. I am _sure_ she'll consider the same when you offer your own treats~." And the tongue again.

"Wonderful," Roman let out slowly. He bent and gripped the Dominion Rod, or whatever the hell it was. It felt like it was weighted at the top on purpose, making it some weird garish club. Guess if nothing else went right, he could use it for that. "I'll get _plenty_ of use out of it."

"Oh, I know you will." Girahim smiling was something Roman could _never_ smile back at. Ever.

_Bing_

And then he was gone with more diamonds in the air. Roman spat at them. They couldn't even be kept and sold. Stupid faunus never left anything good behind. Even the dumb "rod" was just a weight in his hand.

"Kay, his plan," Roman started, looking at Neo. Looked like she was shaking herself out of whatever horrible hole the thing's attitude put her in. Guess it was his "good luck" he had to talk to the faunus. Luck of the inbred six-eyes faunus and all that.

"We're not doing his plan." Roman spoke right at Neo, dropping the Rod for good measure. She nodding vigorously at the idea. "The old plan, we're doing that, right?"

The heterochromia hair thief put on her usual grin with a nod of her head. Roman did the same.

"Great, awesome, just had to make sure we were on the same page." Roman raised his cane back towards the dome of Neo's Semblance. His cross-hairs aligned on the group of kids.

They'd move a little, like they tried and stopped to move the chick. Probably remembered that was a bad idea. Too bad, cause if that man-girl was still alive, and they killed her by moving her, that'd been hilarious.

" _Al_ righty," Roman started again, shutting one eye and focusing down Melodic Cudgel. "Gonna shoot me some fish in a barrel." That was the most apt description he could give. "Aaaaaand I think I'll start with daddy's little girl. Nothing says _gotcha_ like your daughter's head on a platter."

He flipped the trigger under the crux of his cane, letting the dust cartridge load inside. He grinned as he put the heiress's head in his sights.

"Or whatever lefts of it."

_**BANG! TWANG!** _

Roman blinked. That didn't sound right. The first part did, but not the second. He blinked again. This time, to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

He expected red, but not a cloak full of it, and especially not with a scythe ten sizes too big for whoever the… oh the hell with it all, Roman knew that red cloak anywhere.

"Are you _kidding_ me here?!" He shouted at the scythe wielding brat. He even stomped his foot on some gravel for good measure.

And about ten more times after as he continued to rage at the ridiculousness of it all.

"I can't even kill a faunus like a league outta Vale without _her_ showing up!? I pretty much did all this out here just so she _couldn't_ get here in time!"

Maybe that wasn't entirely true, but it was a nice bonus when the plans were coming together. He could see Neo tilting her head to the side, staring at the same group he was.

They weren't crying anymore, _dammit_ , and now they had a new member to their little party. The heiress was there, the kitty was there, two over-power mini-drones present, a whiny brat of a fox, one finished contract, and now little _Red_ Riding Hood.

Oh, no, wait, _bonus!_ There was a fresh full head of blonde right next to her.

"Good _demon_ below and all the _Grimm_ he made!" Roman shouted at the top of his lungs. He threw Cudgel to the ground, almost ready to stomp on it.

This had to be one of the worst screw ups to his plans, ever. So close and yet so far had never been presented to him in such a grand ratio. His prize was utopia, the finish line a step away, and his plans were almost literally cut by _death itself_.

"I was _so_ close! I was like right there! No big deal, just killing a _super_ faunus with nothing but some street smarts and technology. But _noooooo_ another faunus just had to keep me busy for the five minutes little Red needed to get here. _With her SISTER!_ "

His rant ended with hands on his head, bowler cap pushed to the side, and cigar on the ground. Oh right, he had that. Almost lost track of it during the whole shooting the super-faunus and life-threatening thing.

Roman took in a deep breath of air.

"You know what? It's okay," Roman said more to himself than Neo. She still looked at him regardless. He just kept his eyes on the group of mentally imbalanced teens. Red was keeping lookout, of course. Blonde was with her friends over the corpse. "It's fine, it's fine."

He nodded his head with the words, convincing himself bit by bit. That was what he needed. Just a nice reminder that nothing was too off from the original plans. It was all good…

"It's fine, it's okay. I'm fine with it. I'm okay with it. I'm not fine with it. It's not okay. It bothers me. It bothers me a _lot_." Serenity failed, rage reawakened. "Neo, get ready to drop the mirror." Roman instructed his partner.

She just gave him the usual look, number four or five he learned. It usually meant 'why are you wasting an advantage.' Good thing he always had an answer for it.

"Can't tell the rest of the sheep in wolves clothing to get ready to rumble while this thing is up," he made it clear. And that was true. They had _Mechs_ back there. Like, the super Military kind. That actually didn't take a lot of convincing for them to get.

Tell them he was going to put down a "traitor" faunus that took down Ancient Grimm, and the Toothless Fang were all on board. Cinder gave him a grin for that one.

Yeah, the Atlesian Mechs. He had, what, four of them? Five if he counted the one the blonde blew to pieces. That didn't count. Still, it was spare parts, and it would count for something someday. But for now, there was something else worth spare parts…

Roman gave a deep sigh as he bent down and picked up the "Dominion Rod" Girahim had "gifted" him. If he were talking about it, the sarcasm might have drowned Neo. Still, it was heavy, and it could be a good club if the brats _somehow_ got close.

"Kay, Neo," Roman started. "Drop the shield." She grinned in response.

For a reason he just couldn't put his finger _quite_ on, Roman loved the sound of Neo's Semblance shattering. Maybe it was because it sounded like the hopes and dreams of his past? Nah, he was living the good life. Speaking of.

" _ROMAN!_ " He heard little Red roar at him. That was new. Usually she just growled a little. "What did you do?!" Maybe she was hanging out with the boxer for too long.

"C'mon Red, it can't be that hard to figure out!" He shouted back. All the while, his hand played with the tip of his collar. No better place to hide a transmitter than within chin's reach. He'd have to lose his head to lost that.

He'd knock on wood when he found some.

"I told ya I had big plans, and did you think super-faunus showing up wasn't going get me interested?" He made sure to smile. Cops really hated it when he smiled. Huntresses were probably the same. Tough to tell from so far away. "Sides, I was kind enough to give your friends _plenty_ of time to run."

And that was the truth. Seriously, the kitty and heiress could have been half way back to Beacon or Vale at this point, whichever was closer. Like judging the distance from the feet to either eye.

"Why'd you do this?! _Why?_ " Was she crying? Maybe. She was still just a brat. No wait, wrong emotion. That was anger. That was a little more obvious with the Super Saiyan Sister next to her. But that was okay, as long as they stayed waaaaaaay over there.

All he had to do was keep them talking. No way was little Red gonna attack him, not when he had stuff to say. And he _always_ had a good word to put into any conversation.

That was the trouble with teenagers. No genre savviness.

"I can tell you _all_ about it Red!" Roman lied with the same ease of breathing. He heard Neo slid the blade out of her umbrella. Guess she was getting serious, too. That was good. "You wouldn't believe half the stuff I have to say."

And hopefully she wouldn't be around to repeat it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	13. The Tri-Colored Duo: Roman and Neo

Blake had seen more violence in her life than she cared to admit. She had seen even more injustice on top of that.

She'd seen her people be persecuted and beaten simply for being. She'd seen stores burned down for being made on the wrong street corner. She'd seen faunus with large hearts being belittled for helping human children. She'd seen almost everything.

But this was the first time, the only time, Blake had seen a human die to save a faunus child.

"LINK! TIME DAMMIT LINK!" Tatl was yelling, loudly, as she jumped around Lana's still body, still and unmoving body. "What are you thinking!? What?!"

The fairy wasn't gold. She was red, like a blood moon.

Her brother wasn't lavender. He was blue, like a the untouched ocean.

He wasn't saying anything. He was just ringing.

Kind of like how Blake was just screaming. She was screaming with a voice she didn't even knew she had.

She looked at Lana's green clothes, stained with ash, soot, and dirt. She looked at her blue hair, messed and damp with sweat. She looked at the girl's eyes, wide and vacant. She looked at the hole between them, and she could look nowhere else.

Blake felt more than heard her own voice, saw only the body of the only human to ever risk so much for a faunus she hardly knew. Why did she die?

But she was more than human. She was more than simply Lana. She was Link. But if she died, and she was Link, then was he dead?

Her voice screamed louder. Ringing and screaming was all that she could hear. Lana's still body was all that she could see.

"Blake! Blake!" Someone was yelling her name. She didn't look. "Dammit Blake!" Now someone grabbed her shoulders, spinning her away from Lana.

She to resist striking out in rage, failing miserably to even shake free of the grasp. Yang was strong like that.

Wait, Yang?

She felt a pair of impossible strong arms grab her by her shoulders. They steered her head away from Lana's body, forcing her to look at Yang. Yang, with hair was flaming gold and red eyes to compliment. There was even a scowl.

Yes, it was Yang.

"Y-Yang?" she spoke her partners name a shaking breath. It was a miracle she could speak after her screaming. It was the only miracle she could name. "What? How did-"

"Ruby grabbed me and ran as soon we got Uncle Qrow to let go." She explained quickly. The fact that she was talking over punching meant something. Blake just wasn't sure what. She wasn't sure she cared. "What happened. How did… Why did…"

She was seething. Hot air blew from her clenched teeth, making Blake squint her eyes. Her partner had yet to take her hands from her shoulders, but Blake wasn't afraid. She wasn't anything, not right now. Not after this.

Blake just gripped the arms of her partner, squeezing until she was sure she was leaving indents in her the blonde's flawless skin. She didn't care. She just squeezed and pushed herself closer to her partner. She couldn't say why. She didn't care.

The only thing she refused to do anymore was scream. Because Moraine was still screaming. Tatl and Tael were still ringing. There was enough noise. She _wanted_ silence.

"I-I failed," Blake let out, voice hoarse and throat dry. "Lana's dead. _Link's_ dead. They're dead." She spoke off the names with her lips shaking.

Yang pulled her closer, glowing hair that felt like a gentle fire encompassing Blake. She greedily sank into it.

"I failed," she spoke again. She couldn't deny the truth. She couldn't lie anymore. "I failed. I failed. I failed. Link's dead _because_ I failed." Yang's hand was on her back. Blake grit her teeth at the touch.

"It's a… not your fault," Yang lied. It was such an obvious lie. "You… you helped save the kid, a-and Weiss." She didn't, Blake hadn't saved anyone.

There was more screaming, with new voices. Blake didn't care. She knew what they were screaming about. It was what she _wanted_ to scream about. But she couldn't, not with Yang holding her.

Because she couldn't do anything, she would do nothing.

"YOU TWO!" Now Tatl screamed, screamed with a ring. It was impossible to miss or ignore the red ball of life that lingered next to Blake's head. The red light lit Yang's gold eyes like a knife...

"Tatl," Yang let out. It was so much more controlled than Blake remembered Yang being. At least she wasn't screaming. Blake wanted to scream. "I'm… I'm sorry we-"

"Don't you _DARE_ be sorry for anything yet!" The fairy yelled again. "You only get to be sorry if you don't _help me save LINK!_ "

Blake clenched her fists. The fairy was mourning already. She knew the signs well.

Years in the White Fang had taught them to her, how to see and ignore those feelings. Blake was keeping her emotions as wound as she could. The fairy was not. She was disgracing Link's memory with her outburst.

And there was still screaming happening, outside of Blake's vision.

"Tatl," Yang spoke again. No, she growled. Blake had to remind herself through the fog of all of this, Yang's semblance was active.

Yang didn't listen well when that was on. But she was protective, to a fault.

"Lana's… gone. That's a _bullet_ hole in her _head_." Blake wished she could close her ears like she could her eyes. She settled for scraping her knees on the charred earth. "So… _please_ stop saying that kind of stuff."

" _Link_ and _Lana_ are not _dead!_ " The fairy rang again, loud and grating. Blake could no longer hear the other voices, the other screaming words. "I'm not stupid enough to ignore what happened, but thank _Time_ I'm not blonde enough to just accept this!"

" _Lana's dead TATL!"_ " Yang shouted now. Blake moved her hands to her feline ears. They were hearing too much. The anger, the sorrow, the words themselves. She wanted none of them.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to run away.

" _She got SHOT in the head with no AURA!_ " Did she have to be so loud. " _I_ … I wasn't even here and I can see that. So just… watch over that kid till help gets here for the rest of us, _okay?_ "

Blake couldn't imagine any amount of help would be enough. Nothing would help where they were now.

Lana was dead. _Link_ was dead. And all she had done was allow it to happen.

"For the last time goldilocks," Tatl kept speaking. " _Link. Is. Not. DEAD!_ "

If only it were true.

" _She's alive!_ "

That was _not_ Tatl. That wasn't Yang. That was Weiss.

Blake forced her gaze towards Lana again, forced herself to stare at what her partner was keeping her from. She took in everything she saw, quickly and desperately.

Weiss was bent over Lana, Moraine clutched close to her side. Both were tear stained, both were staring at Lana, Tael hovering a somber blue above them. And there was Ruby, too.

Ruby was only looking at them over her shoulder, scythe unfolded and in hand. She was facing the forest, the part of the land not scorched by the orphanage's fire, a fire that now seemed so long ago.

Blake noticed everything, just as she was trained to do.

It was how she noticed Lana's hand lifting off the ground, not a weight to support it.

"What the… holy _shit_." Blake had not the care nor reason to even acknowledge Yang's curse. Because she was very close to saying the same, or something close.

She settled for letting her tears burst from her eyes.

Alive. Link and Lana were _alive_.

" _Told you!_ " Tatl yelled at them, still an angry red, before whisking herself to Lana's prone side. "Link! Lana! Whoever's thinking of moving, _stop it!_ "

"Sh-She's right! Stop moving!" Weiss, the closest to the blue-haired mage, yelled aloud. Her hands reached out and grabbed the lifted hand, perhaps to stabilize it.

Blake could not ignore Moraine's wide and hopeful eyes. She couldn't ignore the tears that continued to stain her face, mixing with the soot. They were the same tears that cascaded down Weiss's normally kept face.

They were the same tears blurring Blake's vision now.

"Any movement could exacerbate your injury _further!_ " Weiss yelled her gained knowledge. Blake doubted none of it, the same way she could not question Yang's strength. "A-and don't speak! Winter will surely be sending us aid now!"

Winter? Oh, her sister. She didn't matter right now.

Lana was alive. _Link was alive!_

"Link," Blake whispered. She didn't want to waste any strength talking.

She pushed herself out of Yang's embrace. A distant part of her mind told her it would have been impossible if Yang hadn't let her. But that didn't' matter, at all. She was free, and she was pushing herself to Lana as quickly as she could.

It took little time for her to be kneeling by the girl's side. She looked, horrifically, no different than before.

Except for her lifted arm.

"Okay, whoever in there is mobile, listen up!" Tatl was still yelling, and she was still red, but she was over Lana's face. Over the bullet hole. "There are _apparently_ a bunch of people in the forest that were waiting to attack you, and guess what? _It worked!_ "

Blake said nothing as Tatl yelled. She was too busy controlling herself from swatting the fairy away.

But it was new information to Blake as well. So she listened and controlled herself.

"But, thank _Time_ , the kid and goldilocks got here to stop them from doing more." That would explain why Ruby was facing the woods. Maybe she was yelling, but Blake couldn't remember, or tell. "So the Ice Queen's sister is apparently sending us help, or so she keep mumbling."

Blake risked a glance away from Lana. She saw Weiss wholly dedicated to keeping the girl's hand in the air. Blake still, and forever would, notice the joyful tears on the heiress's face. They were the same on Moraine.

She could always tell the difference between tears of joy and sorrow.

"And, just cause you couldn't help being the hero, you're gonna have to stay still till you can get us out of here, kay?" Blake would not let that question lay.

"There is _no_ way Lana is moving." She focused her golden eyes on the red ball floating in the air. It could ring till it deafened Blake, she didn't care. "Even if she's okay right now, her doing anything is out of the question." Bullet wounds in the leg would have you leave active duty in the White Fang.

Lana had taken one to her _head_.

"Yeah! We'll keep these guys busy until Uncle Qrow gets here!" That was Ruby. Blake saw her scowl over her shoulder before looking back at the woods. This was… a different Ruby. "No way am I going to let them hurt you."

"You can't be serious she's still alive!" Another voice yelled from far beyond the charred earth they were sitting in.

Blake recognized that voice. She _loathed_ that voice.

With her voice was not burning from screaming and eyes inflamed from crying, the human's name, made a trifecta by having her blood boil.

"Roman," she hissed out, baring her teeth at the name. _Of course_ the manipulator of her people was behind this, using the life of a child to try and kill someone else.

Only a monster like him was capable of such a thing.

"Believe it, Roman!" Ruby yelled back. She sounded just like the child she was, hopeful that is. Blake _greedily_ sucked in the feeling. "You got lucky cause you were sneaky! That won't work with me and my sis here now!"

"She's dead right about that." Blake heard Yang. Specifically, she heard Yang over her fists hitting once another. It was a loud sound. "And the creamsicle you got there ain't gonna be enough against me now."

If Blake recalled, and was correct in her assumption, Yang had lost to the ice-cream colored mercenary who was beside Roman before. It may have been after a night of searching and worrying for her sister, but it was still a loss.

However, Yang, with her hair a sunrise gold and eyes a bloody red, didn't have the face of someone you wished to argue with.

"I can't _freakin_ believe a bullet to the skull didn't do the trans-kid in." Blake's heightened hearing heard the words. She knew no one else did, else Yang would have screamed a threat. "That's a whole new level of unfair."

Blake let him stew in his words. The longer he thought, the longer action was put off, the closer help was to arriving. Be it Weiss's sister or her partner and leader's uncle or the Beacon Academy entire, it didn't matter. Help was coming.

So she focused on Lana, the by appearance young girl and once friend to Link. Lying on the ground with soot covered clothes, vacant eyes staring to the sky, and a too-neat hole in the divot where sellion of her nose cross her eyes.

"This thing had better do something, or else the gray clown is gonna be underneath gray stone." Those were words that didn't matter to Blake. They were pathetic means to escape the inevitable. There was something else she was focused on.

Perhaps it was now, with hope rising and the area secured, that Blake noticed it. Perhaps it was now with her team here and the screaming subsided, that she noticed something else.

There was no blood from the wound in Lana's head.

"Sis, something's wrong." That wasn't Ruby or Yang. That was Tael.

"You're gonna have to clarify that," the female fairy responded. No longer red, thankfully not red. Her light had dimmed to the usual gold. Tael's had darkened to his typical lavender. "Cause there isn't much going right."

"I-It's that guy, the who… shot them," Tael's voice quieted as he spoke. Blake could still hear him, but she realized something else.

She knew her teammates could not hear the fairies. They were not faunus. They lacked her acute hearing, her sharp eyes, or her basic instincts. It was the commonly known downside to being human.

But Moraine was not human.

And her eyes, wet as they were, were trained on the fairies, even as her fists gripped Lana's clothing. It mattered little to nothing to point it out now. But Blake would remember it for later. It was her duty as the Shadow… just as Impa had told her.

"Kay, swinging nothing." Blake heard Roman say again. Ruby wasn't yelling, neither was Yang. So he was doing nothing of note or use. "Gripping, nothing. This rod is a six-feet of solid disappointment so far!" Blake was joyed to hear his anger.

"The guy's a dead man as soon as Link pick's himself back up." Blake had no reason to disagree with the fairy. She only wondered what Lana, or Link, had to do to make such a thing happened. "Little Red and Super Bimbo over there can take their slab of meat." Names aside, Blake still agreed.

"But he's got… something he shouldn't!" Tael rang with the words. Blake felt her brow raise in question.

Suddenly those words he was saying were making sense. But too much was happening.

Blake dug her fingers into the air, willing away the noise. She was loosing control of her emotions. That meant death in the field of battle.

She dragged in a long slow breath, arcing her back. The smell of soot over took her nose, but it helped liberate her mind. It helped her to reconcile what she knew against what she didn't.

Lana and Link were alive, though she knew not how. Her teammates were here, and two of the three able to fight. Roman and his dual-colored haired partner were in the woods, though what they had she did not know. Moraine was safe next to Weiss, and hearing the words of the fairies with fingers dug into Lana's clothing.

Nothing was fine, but nothing was ruined. Now she only needed to listen for answers.

"That _stupid_ double-gendered _snake_ gave me a busted tool to try and fight off those brats!" Roman yelled again. Blake heard something heavy and metallic hit the ground, like a sword being thrown in anger.

Ruby could probably see that, but she wasn't attacking, because it would leave them alone. AT least it meant Roman was not threatening, at the moment.

"Sis, he's got the Dominion Rod," Tael spoke now. His wasn't ringing loudly with the words.

Tatl did.

"What!?" She yelled with her high-pitch. Blake was sure the others could hear that. Her suspicions were confirmed when Weiss looked up at the pair of floating orbs, her hand still holding Lana's arm still.

Her golden eyes spied Yang and Ruby sneaking looks at them, but it was obvious their attention was on the forest, watching the demon of a man and his partner. That was smart.

"What? What is it?" Weiss spoke in a hurried breath. She had not heard the conversation, as Blake had suspected. "Is Lana still alright? Is Link?" Blake had far from forgotten the human and faunus, she was only sure of the fairy's words that they were alright.

"They're fine," Tatl shot back, still a golden glow though with no change to her ring. "Just somethin' that Tael pointed out has made this situation go from horrible to you-got-to-be-kidding-me."

"And what is that?" Blake asked. She was careful to not mention the Dominion Rod. She did not want the fairies to know of her abilities. She'd tell her teammates later.

"That guy out there, Roman or whatever the heck Little Red called him," Tatl started out, bobbing with a ring towards the forest. "He's got a weapon that I'm _really_ sure shouldn't be here." Tael added nothing to his sister's words.

Instead, he floated away from her settling on Morain's head, between her sharp wolf ears. The girl took obvious comfort with the fairy's presence. For not the first time, Blake was sure the younger sibling of the two was made for just said purpose.

"Are you saying he has a weapon from Link's Kingdom?" Weiss asked now, eyes narrowed even as she kept herself close to Lana. Moraine did the same. "How is that possible? Where could he have gotten it from? No, what can it do?" The last question was easily the most important.

"I-It's called the Dominion Rod," Tael began again. It was the second time Blake heard it, but the first for the others. "It was, um, used in ancient times to direct pillars of worship, to move the giants of eons from places of slumber. Legends call it the, the um… _oh_ the Scepter to the Sky."

Blake understood only the words, but not an ounce of their meaning. And, thankfully, it sounded as if Roman was faring little better with said weapon. She could hear Yang chuckling even as she cracked her knuckles.

"Thing is, I can't think of a single reason why he'd have something like that," Tatl spoke on, floating above Lana's face. It was clear where her real focus was. "Not that it really matters. The thing is only good for controlling soulless things, usually no matter how damaged they get."

"Soulless things?" Ruby asked. Blake's eyes darted to Lana's head, her _face_ , at the statement. She knew she was not the only one. "What does that mean? Dirt and rocks?"

"Anything that's never been alive, but made to look like it." Tatl spoke on. Tael was still on Moraine's head. The girl wasn't screaming and the fairy wasn't ringing. "Think statues and stuff like that."

"C'mon you stupid, worthless, hung of-OH, hey, there's something." That was Roman. Blake couldn't hear what had made his voice turn from annoyed to gleeful, but it wasn't good.

"Hey, the lights on." That was Yang. Blake risked a glance to see that she was still staring at Roman, out across the forest.

"Great, he turned on the Dominion Rod in a forest," Tatl spoke on carelessly. "Kind of like starting a fire over a lake." It was impossible for Blake to not notice how the fairies were focused on Lana and Link. She could hardly blame them.

But Blake also noticed it was getting dark. With the fire out, with the sun setting, it made glowing objects all the more apparent. That included the fairies, Yang's hair, and doubtlessly the Dominion Rod.

Blake didn't try to look at it. That would mean leaving Lana's side. And she was too tired for that.

"So that's working, wonderful. Worth every Lien I spent," Roman was still talking. "But if nothing else, I'm a creature of habit. And what habit's better than the ones you enjoy?" Blake didn't know what he meant.

Then she felt the ground shake. Not an earth splitting rumble or a mountain carving quiver, but a shake. Enough to make her look at the ground and wonder.

It was when she devoted a moment of thought she had an idea what Roman meant. It was the perfect idea.

"Uh, Tatl?" Ruby spoke up now. Blake could hear the wobble in her voice, the nervousness. "Is there, uh, limit to what that Rod can do? Like, can things be _too_ big for it?"

"Hey, I didn't tell you guys to come out yet? What gives? Both your ears fail?" Roman was shouting. If only one of his lackeys had made a detrimental mistake. Perhaps breaking a limb or ruining some method of transport.

But Blake was a black cat, and her luck was never good.

"Yeah, no, size doesn't matter." Tatl seemed wholly underwhelmed by her own words. Blake kept her focus on what was at hand. Lana, Link, Roman, her team, whatever was happening. Not hypotheticals. "If it's not alive and was ever meant to move, the Rod can move it."

Blake knew Weiss would have a hundred questions for such a power. Blake, herself, had a few of her own. Hers involved what was happening in the moment.

"Kay, that's _really_ bad." Ruby spoke again. Blake watched her young leader, pivot on her heels, spinning her scythe, until the barrel was aimed, presumably, at Roman. Yang had crouched down low, likely getting ready to charge.

"Who the hell is in there? Any of you? Hello! Still alive in there!" Roman was yelling across the charred earth still.

Something bad was definitely happening.

And Blake knew, because the ground was still shaking. Actually, it was shaking _harder_.

"Yeah, like… whoa… what is that?" Blake glanced to see the fairy much higher in the air, likely moving at Ruby's words. It was enough of a reason, just barely, for Blake to stand up, to look over Lana and her teammates, and see what was happening.

She saw the line of the forest trees. She saw the separated dead earth. She saw Roman Torchwick, holding a red glowing staff. She saw the dual-hair colored girl standing with her parasol open.

And she saw six Atlas Class Mechs tearing through the clearing.

That was more than simply excessive. That was incomparable.

Those mechs were meant to replace hunters, singularly. Ironwood had given a verbose lecture about teaching Aura unlocked soldiers how to operate them, so they could assist Huntsman in high-risk areas.

But there were six over there now. Even assuming they were being operate by novices, Blake remembered it took her entire team to have a chance against one. Now there were six _and_ Lana was a vulnerable immobile target.

Blake's blood was boiling. Why did Roman bring this much force? Why did he do all of this? The orphanage, the goons, the mechs, the weaponry. Why? Was it all just for Link?

She had to remind herself what Weiss said during the fight

Roman was here for exactly that purpose. He was here to take from Link, and he brought everything because he thought he was fighting the best.

Now it was his best against her fatigued and injured team. Blake's hiss into the night air was visible.

"So if I do this," Blake heard Roman say, though too far away to read his lips. He swung the long staff with the motion, red aura flying with it.

The mech closest to him oved at the command, gun raising into the air, high and ominous. The dark skyline was not helping. Yang's hair was.

"Or, if I decide to do this." Now he faced another mech, swinging the staff down again. This mech pushed its fist into the earth, uprooting a tree near it and shaking the ground as if a bomb had gone off.

Blake didn't need to feel it to know it was powerful, but she did anyway. It didn't help.

"That's bad," Tatl, of all people, spoke up. "That's really _really_ bad. Those are huge, and he controls them, a-and Time _dammit!_ " Tatl rang highly with her words again.

"What!? What is it!?" Weiss asked. Blake glanced down to see Weiss had yet to release Lana's hand. She also noticed that Moraine had yet to release either of them. "What is that cobbler thief doing?" Cobbler thief?

"Looks like Roman's got new toys is all," Yang answered, cracking her knuckles. Blake imagined it did little to intimidate the likely millions of tons of steel, Dust, and machinery that was looking back at them. "Good thing he's still learning how to use them."

And that was a point Blake had not even realized.

"Now a loopy-d-loop!" She heard Roman yell again. She looked at him just in time to see the bowler capped genocidist spinning on his heel.

 _Two_ of the mechs spun just like him. Blake was sure they were pushing air harder than most industrial strength fans.

"I take most of what I said back. That clown knows how to give a gift." He kept talking, with only the girl at his side. "Maybe I should get him a cigar next time I see him. Or ice-cream. Hey, Neo, do you think that jester likes Ice-Cream?"

They were too far away and the sky was becoming too dark for Blake to interpret whatever motion the girl was making. It hardly mattered at all.

"But he's getting better," Blake spoke the words softly. She doubted her friends could hear her. "He's improving quickly with the weapon and we don't have time to wait for him."

"Then let's _pummel him!_ " Yang yelled, golden hair flaming. Blake knew it was because she had taken a second look at Lana. The sight not enraging someone was an act she could not understand. "Strike first, fast, and hard!"

"And get slaughtered on the way!" Weiss yelled over her shoulder. She still refused to release Lana's hand. "Those are advanced mechs with long-range capabilities rivaling stationary rail-guns! With six shooting at you at once, the chances of avoiding all damage is too small to risk!"

"I can avoid them!" Ruby yelled. Blake believed her, if her duel against Impa was any indication. Thankfully, her leader soon realized the problem. "But… Yang can't…"

"I can take a hit, sis!" Yang yelled back. Her anger was getting the best of her. The tension was not helping. "And I'll dish it back with a _Yang_!" Neither was Blake.

" _Now is not the time for you to make jokes!_ " Tatl, thankfully spoke up. "You need to… t-to think fast about something! Anything!" The fairy… didn't know. It was the first time Blake had seen the golden orb confused in any manner. "You! You know what those things are! How do you stop them?!" She flew to Weiss as she spoke.

"Normally?" Weiss questioned. "You remove the pilot from the cockpit, but if I'm correct in presuming that the Cobbler Thief is controlling them, then you're best bet is to remove the Dust Batteries from its rear generator." That made sense.

"And _1_ , and _2_ , and _3,_ _4_ , _5_!" Blake heard Roman yell from across the woods. She could see, through the grace of her faunus eyes, the mechs rising one after the other by his commands.

"He's almost ready," Blake announced. She saw everyone glance at her, but not question her. That was the only good in her statement. "We need to do something, because we will not last until someone helps us." It was the truth, and she swore to not run from the truth.

" _Augh! AUGH!_ "

Blake whipped her head fast enough to make her hair spin. She focused her eyes on the young faunus child, only to see that was screaming

That was Moraine crying.

"Whoa! What is- _The Hell!?_ " That was yelled by Yang, and it was a very valid question.

She felt the same as she watched one of Lana's portals spinning above her head.

The portal was spinning with the same blue she had seen on the stage, as when she ran into the burning building. Her other hand, the one not held by Weiss, was reaching up towards it, eyes in the same vacant state as before.

Her hand was reaching _into_ the portal. Blake knew well enough what that meant.

"You _idiot!_ " Tatl yelled aloud, ringing high as she dashed through the air. She set herself above Lana's head, yelling still. " _Stop it! Save your magic! If you keep that up its gonna take us even LONGER to get back to that Academy!_ " She wasn't wrong, in any regard.

"Lana, stop! Please!" Weiss joined in. She still refused to move. "You're risking more harm to yourself with every action you commit! Any... Any further use of your aura will put your life in irreparable danger!" Weiss continued to yell, but yelling was all she did.

Because yelling was all she could do. What else could they do?

Blake knew well that she couldn't grab Lana to stop her, not without risking harm to the wound in her head, to the fragility of her body. She couldn't move the portals, not without risk of harm to herself or Lana's Semblance.

They could only watch, and wait, with trepidation and fear.

"They got something cooking over there, huh?" Blake whipped her head, begrudgingly, when she heard Roman talk. "Doesn't look like they're jumping through them. Eh, better not take chances, already lost a few tonight." She could see the girl nod. That much she could tell.

That was bad, very bad.

"He's getting ready," Blake announced again. She bent to her knees and lowered herself to the ground. "He's going to attack soon. We need to do something, now!"

"H-H-H- _Hooooo_ -l-l-l-d-d-d-d-dddd OOooooOO _OO_ oonn-n-n."

Blake wasn't sure she what she felt when she heard that long disjointed voice. She didn't know if it was fear, shock, wonder, or just unfiltered confusion. She didn't know because she could think of no reasons why she would hear it.

She could think of no reason for Lana's voice to be so off.

"Lana! _Lana!_ " Weiss was yelling again, putting herself over the girl just a bit more. All that she could do while holding her hand carefully. Moraine was crying still. She was gripping the human tighter than before. "Stop it! You've done _far_ more than enough!"

"You heard the Ice Queen!" Tatl now. "Stop it or… or… _aw geez_ …" Her voice let out. Blake wasn't confused why.

In the same moment the fairy's voice dropped, Lana removed her hand from the blue portal that was her gate. She had clutched in her hand something that looked insulting, offensive, and otherwise out of place for the field of battle.

As her hand was released, the portal fell to the earth, clattering against the charred dirt and exposed stones. Blake paid it no mind. Her gaze was on the new item the human witch had revealed.

It was on the yellow bunny-eared hood.

"Ta-ta-Taaake i-i-i-i-i-i-i-it!" Her hand had swung like a shaking leaf forward, holding it out and up away from her body. Blake didn't touch. She didn't _want_ it.

"Hey! Goldilocks!" Tatl was yelling again. Blake acknowledged, but didn't listen. She was focusing on Lana, watching the girl staring at death's door hand off an item that looked to insult her entire heritage. "Grab it! That's for you!"

"What!?" Yang yelled. "But that- it- what! You know what! Fine! Screw it!" Blake felt before she saw Yang quickly move over Lana, as delicately as she could with her Semblance flared. "Not like I'm gonna say no to something you're literally _killing_ yourself to give away!" She wasn't wrong, and that was what was horrible.

"Kaa—aa-ay!" Lana's broken unnatural voice spoke again. What was going on? "Now you…. Y-y-y-y- _ooooUUUUU_ can d-d-d-do i-ttttt-t-t-t, YAAAaaaaa…."

Her voice fell away like a fading horn, her strength with it. Her hand fell over her chest, bouncing, and settling and in place. Her head lolled side-ways, lids half-way to closing as she did so. And her other hand…

Fell apart in Weiss's hand.

"Wha! HYAAAA!" The Schnee Heiress yelled, ripping her hands away, pushing back on the charred forest floor. Blake hardly faulted her at all. "What is that! What happened! What… What is _she_!?" It was a fair question, a good question.

Because it was highly unlikely Lana was the human she claimed to be.

Humans didn't survive bullets to the head.

Humans didn't speak like malfunctioning equipment when injured.

Humans didn't fail to bleed when injured and losing aura.

And Humans, most importantly, didn't shatter their limbs into shards of clay.

And that was what was remaining of her hand. Shattered just beyond the 'wrist', Lana's hand was nothing more than stray pieces of clay, colored and formed as her palm and fingers. No blood, no muscles, no tendons, not even bone. Just… clay pieces.

"What the hell! _What the hell!_ " Yang was yelling, and with all good reason. Blake could imagine Ruby was dumb struck silent. She didn't bother to check. "What is that! What did she do! Wha-! I-I _don't get it!_ "

"The hell's going on over there?" She heard Roman, distantly, ask. She only acknowledge, she didn't act.

"Okay, _fine!_ You want the bullet points?!" Tatl screamed as she circled around Lana, protectively, constantly. Even over her shattered hand.

Her returning red glow was rivaling Yang's Semblance.

"Lana _was_ a Gerudo! Now she's _not_ a Gerudo. She's a _golem!_ "

A… golem? Blake knew the term from fantasia stories and philosophical papers. Beings that were made by human and faunus, a combination of the arts, but possessed a soul to match their own.

They were the debauchery of life that spat in the face of the gods, using the gift of life on something that was never meant to have it. A denial of death that was meant to be certain, replacement of a body meant to be permanent. All those things were what a golem was said to be.

And Lana was one of them?

It was hard to think of anything else while staring at the shattered remains of the human's… golem's hand.

"So she is _alive!_ That means you've got to give us ten, no, _twenty_ minutes, cause of her _giving you the BUNNY HOOD!_ " The fairy flew quickly around the offending hood Yang held. Her partner didn't flinch, but her red eyes stared.

"Why?" Weiss asked now, eyes caught between glowering and squinting. The soot on her face was running. Moraine had buried herself into the heiress's arms. "What happens in twenty minutes?"

"She's gonna _wake up!_ Then we're all gonna get the _heck outta here!_ " Tatl screamed. "And for this to work _at all_ , you need to _shut up, pucker up, and put on that damn hood!_ "

"Wha- _Why!?_ " Yang fired back. Blake was still trying to find the time to breath. "The hell is this thing! _A Scalp!?_ " It was a very real, and horrifying, possibility to Blake. Those were not the ears of a basic rabbit.

" _That_ is an enchanted hood!" Tatl fired back, leaving Lana only to slam into Yang's face. Neither gave an inch, but Blake could tell Yang was not the only one gritting her teeth with rage. " _No one_ got killed making that!"

"Sh-She's right! She's telling the truth!" Blake, along with Yang and Tatl, swerved their heads towards Moraine. Towards the teal colored fairy on her head, between her ears. "The bunny hood was fashioned after the extinct rabbits a-a-and to give you their vigor! It's not… It's not like Lana…"

Those words brought a small, but noticeable calm. Blake felt it, if only because it allowed her the time to release and take in a fresh breath of air. She needed it.

"It's not like Mikau… o-or… anyone else," Tael spoke on, his color shifting as he spoke.

"Kay, fine, _whatever!_ " Yang still bit back. Blake told herself it was her partner's semblance. IT wasn't the unease at realizing Lana wasn't real.

Because if Yang didn't feel that way, then Blake only had to mimic her.

"But why _should_ I wear this?" Yang asked again, thrusting forward the bunny-eared hood, colored to match her own hair, likely ironically. "Cause it sounds like the statue's got a screw loose when she gave me this."

Blake heard Weiss gasp. She could feel Moraine shift and sniffle. She saw Ruby look at Yang with bright silver eyes. She had no sense that could pick out Roman.

She didn't do anything. She couldn't because she _felt_ Yang was right.

Blake wouldn't trust a malfunctioning Bullhead with flight. How could they say Lana was in the right with a ruined head… and removed hand… all still so free of blood.

But Tatl had an answer no one could deny.

"You're gonna wear it cause your resident Ice Queen used the Tome Lana gave her for her whole fight." Blake watched Weiss push said book behind her as Tatl dipped towards her.

"The kitty over there is _still_ wearing the cloak Lana gave her!" Now Blake raised a hand to her shoulder. Sure enough there it was.

She had honestly forgotten she was wearing it all. Too much had happened, as the excuse usually went.

"And I'm _damn_ sure Moraine isn't about to complain about the ocarina Lana gave her days ago!" Blake did not have eyes on that device, but she knew, if the faunus was still a child, it was tucked possessively and safely on her person. Like a precious blanket.

"Then if all that still ain't good enough for you, _bimbo!_ " Tatl shouted an angry red, bouncing off Yang's head again. Blake was sure the fairy was about to be slapped from the air. "Then trust that if Lana _and_ Link just put themselves closer to death to give you that thing, then you had _better as Time use it!_ "

"Are they fighting each other? Seriously?" Blake heard Roman ask himself, or perhaps 'Neo'. "Well, like mom and pop always said, don't interfere with an enemy destroying itself. Am I right, or am I great?"

That was good, because that meant time… if he was incorrect.

"Good thing I never listened to them." Blake felt her already sinking pit drop.

" _Roman's attacking!_

" _Move!_ " Ruby yelled before Blake. Her improved Semblance.

"Wha- _No!_ " Blake heard Tatl yell.

Blake couldn't feel the earth shaking. She couldn't hear the Mechs approaching. That meant only one thing.

They were going to fire. And with no means to move Lana, with Weiss and Blake low on Aura, and no means to protect themselves, they were going to get hurt.

**BOOM!**

They were going to die.

**_BOOOOOOM!_ **

Blake felt hot air rush past her, soot and charred earth flying into her eyes and past her ears. She let out a quick cry. It turned into a pained one as the force of the wind sent her backwards. Hardly flying, but more than enough to destroy any sure footing she had.

Her weak legs turned to putty when she hit the ground, her arms baked in every charred form of nature there was. Blake felt the last of her Aura remains whither and die. Her hearing fled with it, ringing loudly in both ears.

But she didn't die. How?

An Atlas Mech had the gunnery batteries of stationary cannons, Weiss even admitted so. Blake _knew_ it wouldn't have taken much to finish her off. Did Roman just miss? She had to check. She had to check on her team, on Lana, on _Link_.

Blake groaned as she curled her spine, pushing herself to sit up. The cloak softened the grating of the stones beneath her, but not by much. Only a partial though was given for tearing the fabric.

But even sitting up, it was hard for Blake to see much, and it was still difficult to hear much. The soot from the fire and dust from the burned foliage was scattered through the air. The battery blast had stirred it up like a broom to dust. Visibility was gone.

Thankfully, the air was dry, the night was cool, so the dust was quickly beginning to settle. Her hearing was returning with it, much faster than when Elrora has pierced the air with her screech. The difference in octaves, if Blake was being curious.

And as the air cleared, Blake witnessed the sole fact for her survival.

 _Yang_.

Yang, standing with a boxer's pose. Yang, with her hair a flaming gold. Yang, with a fist thrown out towards Roman and the Mechs.

Yang, with bunny ears on her head.

"S-Sis?" Blake's partial hearing heard Ruby speak. She twisted her soar neck, begrudgingly, seeing Ruby crouching only a few feet away. "What… W-What did you do?" It was obvious what she had done.

Ruby had dodged the attack. Yang had _beaten_ it.

Yang had _punched_ an Atlas Mech's _cannon fire_

"Oh Dust," she heard Weiss whisper. Blake didn't look at her. "Yang, you… you _stupid_ brute! A-Are you alright? Well?! _Say something!_ " Blake understood Weiss's fury, her rage.

Yang wasn't moving. She wasn't speaking. And the air was too hazy to see if she was alright. She was just standing there, arm outstretched and wearing _Lana's Bunny Hood_.

"Kay. Something." Blake blinked.

She watched her partner roll her shoulder, twist her neck, then spin on her heel. She ended facing them, her usual cocky grin bright and easy to see. Just as easy as the reds of her eyes, gold in her hair, and bunny ears that matched the length of her mane.

Blake was sure, 100% sure, the heat she felt was from the residuals of the fire. For sure.

"And I… have _no_ idea… what I just did," Yang spoke out breathlessly. That may be true, but she was smiling. A lot.

"Th-The vigor of the… rabbits," Blake heard Tael speak. She looked towards him now, finding him still atop Morain's head. Moraine, who was being guarded by Weiss's body.

"It's said, by, um… Ikana Legends, th-that the rabbits were, uh, blessed by Time." The fairy spoke on. "She took pity on the rabbit, that was p-preyed on by wolves, starved by th-the earth, and, um… haunted by nights. So, um, that meant, with her blessing, they could move faster, react quicker, and, ah, um… _sense_ its flow."

A legend indeed, because Blake could think of no animal that was 'blessed' by something so abstract as time.

"And good thing you used enough of your brain to put it on!" Tatl now, of course Tatl. She was not nearly as meek or kind as her brother.

Blake saw the golden orb flying over Lana. Of that she could not fault the fairy. Lana appeared horrible, as she did before, but no different. Her hand was still shattered stone, a whole between her eyes, and vacant orbs looking to the night sky.

Like a statue that had been carefully made… then carelessly thrown away.

Blake took a deep calming breath, holding her hand to her mouth to keep the soot and ash out. It helped, marginally, to calm her mind.

Yang had saved them. No one was hurt, only rattled. She had to focus.

"Cause if you hadn't, we'd _definitely_ all be dead!" Tatl bobbed with her words, ringing highly. "And just in case Tael's quick tale doesn't cover it, that hood is gonna make you _feel_ time. That means you're gonna be able to know _when_ something happens as long as you _know_ its gonna."

"Like punching cannon fodder out of the air?" Yang asked, as if she hadn't already done that. "Kay, yeah, that's _awesome!_ " Blake watched her partner, flex and unflex her fists. "Even if it _does_ feel like I hit a truck."

"You hit a _CANNON_ Yang!" Ruby now, her sister at her side in less than a moment. "You _punched_ a cannon that was moving at Mach 15 speeds! Those are specialized Dust rounds with solid copper molded jackets! They're like 10,000 Lien a round and you _punched_ it out of the air!"

Blake was having a significantly difficult time telling if Ruby was angry or excited. The line was blurring.

"Wait, they're _all_ okay?!" Blake's feline ear perked. That was Roman, definitely Roman. "Aw C'mon! I know Red's got some insane plot armor, but couldn't of one of those balls of light gotten snuffed out at least! I mean, was it _too_ much to hope for some logic!"

He was ranting, but rants always ended, and that's when action followed. Ruby had her Semblance, but that was only when an attack was coming. Yang had the… Bunny Hood, but that was only when she saw something coming. Blake _knew_ what was coming.

"Roman's getting ready… to attack again," Blake spoke slowly. Her voice felt weak, very weak. It made her draw in a slow breath. She wasn't used to having her aura depleted like this.

"Whoa, really?" Yang asked, head spinning towards the forest. Blake could only focus on the bunny ears that swayed with the motion. It was so conflicting to see. Bunny ears on a human, like a trophy from some hunt, sick and twisted.

But so oddly appropriate on Yang's glowing golden mane.

"Blake's right," Ruby spoke up. Blake heard more than saw her move her scythe. The blade did not lack in weight. "I can feel something, so… we better get ready."

"More like you'd better _charge!_ " Tatl yelled again. Blake saw the golden fairy fly up to the sisters, floating about them as she spoke. "If you think sitting _and_ waiting next to a couple of knocked down kids and a broken golem is a _good_ idea, then you've got another decade ahead of you for classes!" Was she giving a lesson?

Blake wasn't sure if the world was going crazy or her mind was just spinning. Both were equally likely right now.

"Tatl is correct," Weiss spoke again. "You said my sister was coming, so… your objective should be to keep the pair of barbaric thieves away from us long enough for help to get here." Blake understood the undertone of the statement.

They, Lana, Weiss, Moraine, and Blake herself, were liabilities. That was the thing she never wanted to be.

"Yeah… yeah that makes sense," Ruby was nodding her head. "But are you… gonna be okay? I-I mean, maybe I can move you out of the way or-"

"Ruby." Weiss spoke quick and hard. "We don't have time, energy, or means to do that. Just take out Roman. If you're semblance is as… improved as you feel it is, you'll know if something goes wrong."

"And if she misses something, just yell." Yang now. Blake looked up at her partner, seeing her looking back down with red eyes and a glowing grin.

And she was kneeling down to Blake's sitting form. The hair was doing a lot to help her image.

"You kicked ass Blake, I can tell," Yang congratulated her. Sort of like an older sister would, Blake imagined. "So take five and let your partner step in. I'll settle this quick, just for you."

"Just settle it long enough for Lana to get up!" If Yang were not so close, Blake might have missed the low growl that came from her throat. Alas, she did not. "Once she's got enough magic, it'll turn this whole thing around."

"Guess I better give them a second barrage." Bad sign.

"She's right though," Blake spoke up, getting Yang's immediate attention. "Roman's going to attack… again, so… you gotta go and… and…" By Dust it hurt to talk. Blake didn't know if it was the air, fatigue, aura, or a combination of all three.

It just _hurt_. And Yang could tell.

"Kay, then relax, alright," Yang put her hand on Blake's shoulder. It felt like a warm stone was being placed on her tight joints, melting the pain away.

If that was how Yang felt all over, her semblance made an incredible amount of sense.

"Keep Lana and the kid safe. Ruby and I'll take care of the rest." And she kept giving her winning smile, one framed by large golden ears atop her head.

Blake, weak as she was, returned the gesture.

"Y-Yeah! We've got this!" Ruby shouted behind her sister. "We've just gotta kick Roman's butt _again_ , then we can get back home!" Ruby, the leader of them all, with the magical ability to simplify the impossible.

If envy had a name, it'd be her.

"Guess you can call me the human torch, cause those suckers are gonna burn!" Yang yelled, likely to boost her own confidence.

There was always a downside to every improvement. Blake let it slide. She didn't have the air to argue.

"Just get out there and _stop them_!" Tatl, however did. "Or do I gotta go out there myself!" Blake was sure she wasn't kidding. Though, as a strange thought, she'd be an easy target despite her size. A golden ball glowing in the night. Like trying to spot a firefly.

The sisters nodded at one another, just within Blake's vision, and then they were off running.

She watch the soot and dirt kick up behind them, speed clearly in their favor. Ruby was no surprise, having seen the leader exceed the normality of human speed hundreds of times before. Yang, on the other hand, surprised her. She was hardly in step with Ruby, with the little Blake could see, but she was far from trailing behind her sister.

They were a crimson reaper and golden thunder. Facing off against a mountain of steel and Dust.

"We have some very spontaneous teammates, don't we?" Weiss asked from aside. Blake turned to see her, the heiress's own eyes on the forest. "There's no lack of surprise when it comes to those two." She didn't respond, voice still soar and pained.

Weiss didn't appear to be waiting for one. Her head turned instead, looking towards Lana, still on the ground with Talt bobbing over her. She was ringing, and Blake was sure that was the fairy laying curses on the those who harmed Link.

"Though I'm not complaining," Weiss continued. "With how exciting our lives our becoming. It's hard to see a downside with being on their team." Blake gave the heiress her attention now.

It was only after focusing on Weiss, Blake realized something. It was something she'd never thought she see a Schnee do.

The heiress was holding Moraine close. A hand over the girl's back, another clutching the thin arm possessively. It was a sure hold to protect the faunus.

The young faunus was clutching Weiss's dress. Her head was twisted to the side, staring at Lana's still crumbling body. She was squirming closer, Weiss holding her closer.

They looked like sisters, the elder protecting her younger.

This was a day of firsts, great and terrible.

**_BANG!_ **

Blake turned her eyes back to the battle beginning to unfold before her.

* * *

"Is there any indication of where they are yet?" Ozpin asked the witch next to him. His eyes rolled over the glass of his office umpteenth time. The only thing to have changed was the setting sun. He was starting to reconsider his bi-hourly brew of coffee.

"Still only a general location," Glynda returned shortly. Ozpin could hear her fingers dance across her Scroll. "Elrora is incomparably faster to the mini-drones that were shadowing Link. I can only say that they have ended somewhere in the forest, as not Atlas fighters or carriers have reported UFO's in their airspace."

Because if they had broken past the forest, they'd be over the ocean. James had carriers around the whole of the continent. And, knowing the military man, they would have their sensors active for foreign fighters.

"As helpful as ever, aren't ya?" Ozpin heard Qrow speak. His voice was jumbled, filtered and layered through an audio speaker of only adequate quality. "Least you could do is tell us if we're getting warmer."

"You are getting closer," Glynda returned quickly. "Your direction matches the path Elrora took and I see no reason for a one to turn in mid flight." There was a proverb for the logic.

"The shortest distance between two points is a straight line," Ozpin spoke automatically. His fingers fidgeted on the handle of his mug as he spoke, a frown deep on his lips. "And Elrora did not appear as if she would take anything but the quickest path."

"Could have at least left us a trail of feathers or something." Qrow spoke once more, voice just as digitized as before. "Bet this is what they mean when they say flying blind." It was close, Ozpin would give him that.

Ozpin's mind was only half-dedicated to finding Link and his students. An important half, to be sure. The rest was focused on why and how this happened.

Elrora gave mention to Moraine before she took off, Blake and Weiss gripping her tightly as she ascended. It was the name of the child that Lana had met and befriended at the Vale Docks. Impa, Blake, and Penny heard an ultra-high frequency sound, then Impa became Elrora and took off.

The girl was in danger then. That was easy to assume. Even with assumptions aside, Elrora said the child was in danger, so it was indisputable. But why in the forest? What had happened to her? Where was Elrora going?

"I'm not going to pretend I can walk faster than this thing." Qrow's voice spoke up from the adequate speakers again, breaking Ozpin's train of thought. "But can't ya do anything to pick up the pace? Not exactly enjoying myself back here."

"Then we share the discomfort, Qrow," Winter's voice spoke up through the same port. Even filtered through multiple devices and transmitted over an increasingly large distance, Ozpin could hear the disdain in her voice. "But to push the craft further will likely result in damage to the Dust Infusion system."

"Oh no, damage, can't have that." Qrow's sarcasm was not lost, even through the same filters Winter's voice had carried through. " _Not like we're racing to save a bunch of kids or anything._ "

" _And if we rush too harshly, we will fall from the sky before we find them,_ " Winter countered fluidly. Likely something gained from experience or training. With Qrow, the former. " _Would you're crude sense of morality find that a humorous situation?_ "

"Calm down, Winter," Ozpin spoke to her carefully. She had a point, but she was also the pilot. Aggravating her would be troubling. "Ensure you are moving at maximum allowable velocity, but do not risk engine failure."

" _Understood_." Came the immediate reply. James had trained her well, as he had near all his students at his Academy.

Silence returned once more, and with it Ozpin's train of though.

Elrora, and Link by extension, spoke with concern when describing the message. Hasty as it was, it was clear it was not something either he or Elrora found doable or understandable. That, from a Huntsman that was capable of fighting the oldest of Grimm, was troubling.

It likely wasn't a Grimm, or a threat of such magnitude. He believed in Link and the fairies enough to relay a problem such as that before leaving. It was a common sense shared amongst all developed armies, young and old.

But it did mean the child's life was in danger. Perhaps a natural disaster. It was likely, but not definite. Natural disasters of such scale would be circulated over the CCTS by the proper parties. But what could happen in a forest? Why was the child in a forest?

" _This would've been easier by myself, Ozpin._ " Qrow answered the silence, uncaring to the companion with him. " _You know I don't work well with others._ "

" _And I see little merit in having the prophet of collateral damage accompany me to assist my sister._ " Winter returned, her bite matching her bark. " _You're just as likely to harm as you are assist._ "

" _Haven't failed a job yet though, and I'm not looking to make this my first,_ " Qrow was talking directly to Winter now, that was obvious to Ozpin. He and Glynda were just listening. " _Guess that's why I finish work faster than you. I don't need someone else's approval to do my job._ "

" _What you need is a leash to match your animalistic logic!_ " Ozpin sighed as Winter yelled. " _I am thinking of more than myself when I finish my tasks. As I now with my_ sister's life at risk."

" _Case you forgot, my nieces aren't exactly far from danger either,"_ Qrow returned, calmly. He was baiting Winter. And with his Semblance, it was working. " _And your general's gonna have to hold me back if I get there and their anything less than A-okay_ "

" _When_ we _reach the destination, there will be-_ "

"Enough." Ozpin spoke harshly.

Both voices over the intercom ceased immediately. Glynda stumbled over her Scroll for a moment, but quickly resumed her tapping. There was so little else going on, the room seemed as dead as the night beyond the glass walls.

He turned towards his desk, staring at the small box that relayed the vocal messages. Staring at it would do little good but focus his mind. Focus, right now, was imperative.

"Both of you are going because there is a likely a serious threat wherever Elrora flew to," Ozpin began, addressing all questions and concerns. Leaving no room for argument. "For Elrora to chase after Moraine's transmission, however she sent it, means there will be more children at risk than just the members of team RWBY."

There was a continued silence, both waiting for him to say some critical word. He knew what it was, and as such, he would not speak it. They needed to think on his words, not merely hear them.

Children, they were all children to him.

"Link, who fought two Ancient Grimm by the Vale Council's underhanded tactics, expressed concern and fear when he heard Moraine." That was a warning unto itself. "As such, to ensure the survival of all members of Beacon, and the civilians unfortunate enough to be caught in the middle, you are both to work together."

It was a simple demand, a command that Winter would listen to and Qrow would acknowledge. Only one of the two was beholden to listen to him, but the other would not question his word. Not when he and the general were such good friends.

But now he spoke the word he was holding off from.

"Is that understood?" His voice had no rise or fall in emotion. Ozpin was a leader, first and foremost. He needed to show that now of all times.

" _Yeah._ " " _Yes, sir._ "

Very, good.

"I know where Elrora is."

Ozpin looked up to see Glynda, already marching towards the monitor in his office. With as many words as she had spoken till now, she rapidly sent the information on her scroll to the screen. With a flash of light, the images began to display through the room.

It was a map of Vale, specifically focusing beneath the residential district. The deeper parts of the Emerald Forest were being projected. However, the more apparent item of question was the red conical shape projecting from Beacon into the forest.

"Using the projected area from Elrora's flight, accounting for an error in 5%, I have the likely area for where Elrora flew over." Ozpin nodded, understanding the image. "Using this area, I looked for relevant places of interest, including industrial, residential, or historical. Qrow, you should be seeing the same display in the Airship."

More taps along her pad, and the information was projected both onto the large display and to Winter's Airship. Only one did Ozpin see, and for only one did he devote his attention.

Blue dots appeared over the area of the red cone, spread out further the more distance they gained from Vale proper. Not difficult to imagine why.

"These are either facilities or noted historic locations within Elrora's projected flight path," Glynda pointed out still. "Going as far as the ocean, they are numbered at forty-three."

" _That's a lot of places to check,_ " Qrow added. He was not incorrect. Ozpin stared at the screen himself, thinking of ways to narrow the scope of search. He had a few ideas.

"It is, but as was said by Elrora, she is seeking Moraine," Glynda continued. Ozpin watched her through his lenses. She was thinking the same track as him, it seemed. "So I limited the areas to locations children of her age would be during late hours and so far from Beacon. I removed all factories or military depots to begin with."

Ozpin watched the blue dots become more transparent, fading out until only the noticeably darker ones remained. They were spread out far and wide, similar, he imagined, to how one may point out the Kingdoms.

"Knowing that, three remain," Glynda continued. The screen quickly changed, flat static images popping up over each of the remaining dots. Scenery captures, no doubt. "One is an Out-Kingdom village close to the shore line, dubbed Calypso. A town that sustains itself on marine life."

" _Doubtful she's heading there,_ " Winter interjected now, likely from Glynda's monologue and not the picture itself. Because she was flying. " _Any towns located close to shore lines have direct communication with Atlas Military in case of emergencies. Nothing has been reported upon said lines._ " That was also true.

" _Also hard to believe the CCTS not being flooded with picks of the big bird,_ " Qrow added, agreeing with Winter. Ozpin would accept any circumstances that allowed for such a thing. " _That ain't exactly a small place either._ "

"Agreed," Glynda quickly dismissed the image, focusing on the second of the three. "Next is a defunct Huntsman training area, once used by Undergraduate Hunter Schools." Ozpin perked his brow at the image. It appeared to be far from merely unmanaged.

" _Kay, now I gotta ask, why bring this one up?_ " Qrow questioned for Ozpin, though in a far straighter manner. " _You told me this Morana kid was like seven or something. This place looks a little outside her age group, 'specially at night._ "

"The area has not been used professional for several decades," Glynda explained. "It has instead been used as a form of shelter for those outside of the Kingdom, primarily low-income families and faunus." Ah, safety then. However, there was a snag.

" _Possible_ ," Winter began with. Ozpin played with the handle of his mug. " _Moraine may be an orphan from the area. Living inner city as a faunus would be comparable to outside Vale Walls._ " A modest conclusion, but lacking in a clear area.

"No," Ozpin interjected. "A child's emotions, fragile as they are, attract the Grimm too easily. It is highly improbably Moraine is from there, or remaining there still." And it was true. Children born in small families outside the walls of any Kingdom rarely survived.

"That leaves only one facility," Glydna closed the image of the defunct training ground, bringing up the last of the images. It was a manor, or that was Ozpin's first thought. Though not as well kept as the housing of the elite in some areas of Remnant. "It is Coloroi, an orphanage."

" _A what?_ " Qrow questioned. He was the only to voice his curiosity, he was far from the only one with it. " _The hecks an orphanage doing way out there? That's like worst case scenario if a kid has a tantrum._ "

" _I agree._ " Winter added. " _There must be an error with logging the facilities purpose in the CCTS._." Possible, but unlikely.

"There is no error," Glynda defended herself. "The orphanage can more accurately be described as prolonged care facility for children. The owner uses funds awarded by Vale to operations located external to the walls but dedicated to uplifting the Kingdom."

And raising children qualified as much. Of that, Ozpin had plenty of experience.

"Further, it is well guarded and maintained by some Ex-Hunstman and Military Soldiers." That was interesting, but also concerning. "Due to majority of its budget being placed in security, orphans present are often left in a less than desirable state."

" _Deplorable_ ," Winter added quickly. " _Not caring for children in such a manner._ "

" _See, this is what I was talking about, Ice Queen,_ " Qrow countered to Winter. " _Not everyone gets ta grow up in a secure facility. These kids are lucky they've got protection at all._ "

" _The costs for security likely triple that of a reasonable sector in Vale to raise the children, which could then allot for funds for upkeep,_ " Winter countered. They were missing the point entirely.

Ozpin let out a low sigh as the intercom continued to recount the pair's conversation.

"Winter, Qrow, focus," Ozpin instructed simply. They would listen. The silence was the answer.

"Thank you," Glynda added. Ozpin offered her a nod, both of understanding and a request to continue. "Though the facility is ranked poorly with hygiene, it does rank adequality with children growth, encouraging trips to various parts of Vale proper, including the Public Docks."

That was excellent.

"Unfortunately, there has been no external uploads to CCTS from Coloroi in the past few hours," Glynda began. That was ominous. "This is following a usual upload rate of 312Mb/hour, even averaging 125Mb/hour after hours."

That… was unfortunate.

"Winter, do you have coordinates?" Ozpin asked the intercom. Priorities dictated them first. They had to reach there first. "Proceed there post-haste."

" _She's got 'em_." Qrow spoke up. " _System does at least_."

" _Coordinates received and acknowledged,_ " Winter returned. Very good. " _ETA fifteen minutes, I'll… try and push it._ " Ozpin could feel Qrow smile through the intercom.

"See that you do," Ozpin added. "Report anything abnormal you see until then."

" _Got it,_ " Qrow this time. " _Wish us luck_." Then silence followed.

Ozpin turned back to the screen Glynda was projecting, focusing on the image of the manor. It truly did look run down, but still livable by many standards. No broken windows, no major external damage, only some flora around the place.

But it lacked the colorful upkeep that was expected in Vale, in most parts of the city at least. It lacked color, it lacked decoration, it was too weathered, and many other unfortunate traits for a home of such size.

But though the manor did not look completely satisfying, he could tell it was no less than refuge to the many children it housed.

He could only pray to whichever god was listening that no one was harmed.

* * *

**BOOM!**

Ruby was already out of the way of the Mech's firing range. Dirt and ash blew up behind her, but she didn't turn to check. Her silver eyes were forward and focused.

**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOMBOOM!**

She let her body move on its own. Jumping, springing, and dashing out of the way of the cannon fire as it rained down upon her. The only thing to touch her were the pebbles that flew afterwards, but they bounce off her Aura without a trace.

It was amazing, really, just how great her Semblance was. Something she was given out of trust, told about out of loyalty, and congratulated out of care.

**BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!**

Moving at flower-exploding speeds and knowing right and where the danger was coming from. Even as she flipped and twirled over the soot covered ground, even as she used Crescent Rose as a vault, even as she moved through the dark sky like a reaper, she couldn't forget who gave her this awesome ability.

The friend that was near death behind her.

**BOOM!**

And she was chasing the one responsible.

"Dammit Red! Hold still!" Roman yelled again, swinging the rod at her like it was a bat. He was easily a couple hundred yards away, a distance Ruby could easily catch up to. He was also slow, weak, and something she really wanted to hit.

**REEEEBOOM!**

But it was made far more difficult by the six Atlas Mechs under his control.

Ruby had to fire a round from Crescent Rose to push herself back, avoiding a swinging fist from one of the Mechs. Just as quickly, she had jump to her side, avoiding another from swinging at her before grabbing onto its arm.

It gave her the velocity necessary to avoid the last from stomping on the ground she was just standing on. That left her in the air above the robots.

But she wasn't exposed

**BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM**

Ruby used her Semblance to the greatest ability she could, turning her body into an explosion of petals. The same Semblance, greater in strength and scope, told the petals were to fall and how to fly to avoid the cannons that fired her way.

They went high, low, to the side, just near, and too close for comfort. But none of them went through.

She hit the ground fully formed, ash spitting up beneath her, Crescent Rose aimed behind her, and two more of the mechs aimed at with meter wide barrels.

**WHAAM!**

No, a mech and a half. Yang had literally punched off one of the other mech's arms.

One of her hands was gripping the chassis of the Mech, her other punching through the weakest point between the servo motors of the cannon and the wiring. It was probably the most effective way to beat the mechs, but Ruby knew from Weiss that it was similar to catching rain with the timing.

The connection point was only exposed in the brief moment the Mech prepared to fire its cannon, the routing system requiring room to holster the necessary Dust. But it was optimized to the point that nay further decrease in exposure time reduced the impact of the cannon.

But Yang had torn into it and pulled the Mech apart with her first try.

Then Ruby got a feeling.

"Yang! Behind you!" She shouted, even as she was jumping forward with a shot from Crescent Rose. She sensed danger approaching Yang, and she knew what it was.

The other mech was aiming its cannons at her sister, both ready to fire. She knew they were going to any second. It was nothing less than a certainty when her feet hit the metal frame of one of the cannons, feeling it rumble beneath her.

**BANGWHAAM!**

In the same moment the cannon fired, Ruby saw and felt Yang punch the Dust cartridge back into the cannon. Ruby's next feeling was to jump.

She launched off of the Mech's arm, hitting the dirt behind the massive Robot Yang had already pulverized. A bit of ash was kicked up by her boots.

**BOOM**

It hardly compared to the 'wave' of the stuff the collapsing Mech kicked up. Wasn't much of a surprise, the Atlasian Mech falling over at least. It took only a glance to see that Yang's punch had put a hole through its central power source. Robots couldn't move without a battery.

And her sister was like an Ancient Grimm when she was angry.

"That's what I call a Yanging good time!" The boxer yelled into the air, standing over the fallen Mech. She looked like a freaking pyre standing over it, her hair literally glowing and tall rabbit ears to match.

Ruby grinned, just a little. Her sister was kinda awesome.

"What's the White Fang to me, the Golden Yang!" Her sister cheered with fists pumping into the air, Aura practically bleeding off of her limbs. The rabbit ears Lana had given her flopping with the movement.

Ruby shut her eyes. Her sister was really corny sometimes… all the time.

"Aw, c'mon you brats!" Ruby heard Roman yell. Her lips flattened as she turned towards his voice. He was still standing across the clearing, a few Mechs between him and her. "Do you have any idea how much those things cost!? I could'a retired with that kind of money!"

"Maybe ya should have!" Yang yelled back, louder than Ruby knew she ever could. She was fine with it, because she knew that she and her sister were both angry at the same person. As her dad once said, 'Gods help the poor soul who crossed their paths.' "Cause now you're not leaving here without broken limbs and a twisted neck!"

**Boom**

Ruby felt the dull noise of Yang's Aura surging. She felt it through her body… and through her Semblance. That meant it was dangerous… but she trusted her sister. She knew she could.

Ruby twisted Crescent Rose until her baby was aimed at the bowler capped criminal. He was someone Ruby knew she couldn't let get away. Not again. Not after everything he'd done.

Not after Lana.

"Even with this stupid thing it's taking too long," Ruby just heard him mutter, waving the Rod through the air. Ruby watched the Mechs swing with the motion, but she didn't feel anything. They weren't attacking, yet. "Damn if I'm gonna be here for another hot minute."

Now Ruby felt something.

"Jump Yang!" She yelled to her sister, even as she shot Crescent Rose to swing her body sideways. The feeling grew stronger, even as she was far out of the way, nothing but a trail of flowers petals.

The ground where she was standing erupted like a bomb went off. The Mech Yang was, hopefully was, standing on just blew up… like bigger bomb. Hot steel and shards of glass flew through the air, the ash and soot of the fire hanging into sky.

As soon as her boots hit the ground, she turned her baby towards the Mech that had fired at them. It was removed from the remaining four, trying to flank them. It failed. Now, it was going to get taken out.

"Get the Trap, Neo! I'll handle the Orange Twins!"

Ruby's feeling grew, immensely. She didn't ignore it.

She hoped into the air, just enough to lift her off the ground. Aiming Crescent Rose forward, she fired it towards Roman. Ruby had just enough time to see him look panicked before she activated her Semblance, firing off in the opposite direction.

Because she was aiming towards Roman, not at him.

She had to go somewhere else.

Somewhere else, after an explosion of petals, was half-way across the ash covered clearing, twisted backwards, and holding Crescent Rose up for a batter swing. Her target was the double-haired color girl.

Because the girl was charging towards her team.

" _STOP!_ " Ruby yelled as she swung her baby full tilt, leaning with the force. She hit air though, passing over the girl that ducked, tilted, and pirouetted away from the attack. But that took her a lot of time, and Ruby was fast.

She jumped back at Neo, swinging Crescent Rose shy of impact. She aligned the end of her baby with the girl's chest, because that was hard to move quickly. She hit the trigger of her baby even as she pulled away. The bullet hit, but it didn't hit the girl.

It hit her parasol, opened up covering almost all of her. That was unfair, especially if it could take hits from her baby! But Ruby didn't have long to think, because she had another feeling.

She jumped left as the girl jumped forwards, weapon collapsing and point running at Ruby. The point, now, being a very sharp piece of steel that would hurt very badly. She avoided it, but the girl wasn't done.

Just as Ruby's feet hit the ground, Neo dug her blade into the dirt. Ruby's feeling told her why, by having her duck quickly. The girl's lavender shoes sailed over her head half a second later, hitting the same air that Ruby had. They were far from even.

Ruby extended her legs, pushing forward as she swung up with Crescent Rose. Her body spun with the action, putting force into her weapon. But she hit the same empty space, Neo having fallen over her parasol and deftly moving past her. Ruby's feeling continued to churn.

She held up the diaphysis of her baby, rewarded to have Neo hit it and not her. But she couldn't move her baby, and her side was open to the ice-cream girl. But she could still act. Ruby kicked out with her foot.

And was rewarded with having the sole of her boot hit the girl's chest. She grinned as the girl took the blow.

But she felt her instincts scream when the girl fell apart like glass.

Ruby turned her Semblance to high-gear, jumping high as her body exploded into petals. She didn't feel like any other direction was safe. And when she hung upside a good dozen feet in the air, it was obvious why.

Neo reappeared behind where she was standing, but without even trying to attack. Ruby didn't need a feeling to know the girl was waiting for her. She was waiting to know where to strike.

And she was grinning. Ruby scowled.

"Smile at this!" She yelled as she fired her baby at the girl.

Neo danced around her bullets, skipping around past a few and letting them bounce off her parasol for the others. Ruby grit her teeth as she fell back to the ground, out of bullets to keep herself in the air.

She unlocked the magazine from her baby, letting it unload itself as her feet hit the ground. Gravity took it out, but she latched a new cartridge back in. Twelve more bullets, standard casing and dust munitions, 50 caliber tapered rounds.

If she hit, they'd hurt

But the girl just continued to stand still, grinning with a tilted hip and Yang's battle behind her. She wasn't even taking a glance back to see how Roman was doing. But Ruby couldn't call her out on it.

She knew that if she did the same for her friends behind her, Neo would attack in a second. If she took her eyes off this girl at all, she'd lose ground. And the ice-cream girl must have known, because she was smiling about it.

Why wouldn't she stop smiling?

"Why are you doing this!?" Ruby finally yelled, screaming as she swept her hand around her. The ash, the building, the bodies. Even Yang tearing through the Atlesian Mechs! "Why are you trying to hurt everyone?!"

The girl didn't answer, not really. An answer for Ruby would be words, something, even a bad excuse for all the violence. She was with Torchwick, so she could take a bad excuse at least. She could beat the crap out of her then!

But she didn't. Neo just shrugged.

She shrugged, like it didn't even matter. Ruby, who wore red and died her baby in the same crimson hue, felt a veil of the color fall over her vision.

Ruby screamed as she Crescent Rose above her head, running at the girl with the intent to bisect. The girl was small and her baby was huge. At least she knew it would hurt her!

Her body bent as she swung her the scythe, letting her momentum swing the weapon. Neo effortlessly ducked under it, spinning with mockery as she avoided the attack. But Ruby wasn't done. She continued her swing until her baby was falling down like a guillotine. Now Neo had to jump back.

Into Ruby's line of fire.

**BANG BANG BANG**

She fired round after round from her scythe, aiming for where the ice-cream girl was going to land. But it wasn't working! What she didn't dodged just hit the stupidly durable material of her parasol and bounced off.

Ash and dirt were kicked up by her bullets, flying through the air before falling down yards away. And the girl danced through that as well, treating everything that came at her like distractions to ignore.

Ruby suddenly understood why Yang wanted this girl. She wanted to knock the smug look off her face.

And she'd deserved it, because nobody hurt Ruby's friends and got away with it!

 **BANG** Click

Ruby hastily ejected another magazine as her bullets ran out, never taking her silver eyes off of the girl. The same girl that was now kneeling on the ground with miss-colored eyes looking back at her. And the stupid smile that was just begging to be knocked off.

Ruby could handle that.

Without reloading her baby, she charged forward, the same way as before, but it was different. The girl was kneeling, so it'd be harder for her to dodge low. Ruby could use that. Even if she felt something.

But she ignored that.

She ignored her feeling. Ruby knew it would go away if she hit the dual-haired girl, taking her off her feet and away from her friends. Once she hit her, it would all be better.

And Ruby got kicked across the face for it.

Ruby followed the blow, her training telling her just how bad it would be to resist it. Her body spun backwards, flipping with Crescent Rose treating itself as her center axis. It was all practiced, all hard-wired into her.

It helped her land flat on her feet, kicking up ash and soot, staring at the grinning ice-cream girl, and sporting a dip in her Aura. It wasn't good.

But it was a hard-enough kick to push her back to her senses. That was sort of good, maybe. At least now she realized what Link and Goodwitch meant by not rushing in head first.

"Ruby!" She heard Yang cry, scream actually. A lifetime of living with her sister told Ruby exactly what she was going to do.

"I'm okay Yang!" She yelled back, not taking her eyes off of the girl in front of her. She knew that if she did… she'd attack again, her or Lana. "I've got her. You… you handle Roman! Get rid of that Staff!"

"Yeah! Do that!" Now Ruby heard Tatl yell. She still didn't look at the fairy. She kept her silver eyes on Neo, hard, even as the girl only smiled back with a twirl of her arm. "Get the High Dominion Rod away from him and all those golems will stop moving! Heck, you could use 'em!"

Ruby felt something.

She ducked as the pointed end of Neo's umbrella sailed over her. Ruby jumped back as the same umbrella unfolded, likely as a shield to stop Ruby from counterattacking. That, and to knock her off balance.

But she hit the ground with sure feet, already swinging Crescent Rose. Her baby missed high, the girl 'dancing' under her swing only to jump over the next swing of the scythe. Ruby knew three was one too many. So, digging her feet into the dirt, she fired a round from Crescent Rose, reversing her momentum.

It shot her past Neo with a large swing, the girl jumping over her scythe. She was still grinning. Ruby wasn't. This girl was Roman. Roman had almost hurt her friends, almost killed Lana. She wasn't going to let her win this.

Even as… she ran away from Ruby.

And as she did, Ruby's Semblance surged, horribly.

"NO!" She yelled as she shot Crescent Rose again, her Semblance activating in tandem.

Petals exploded around her as she dashed at the ice-cream girl, already nearing in on Blake and Weiss. Ruby could see her team mates grabbing at their weapons, too exhausted to stand up and face the girl. She could see the fairies ringing over Lana.

She could see the smile on Neo's face. And Ruby knew she had to take a risk.

She didn't appear attacking Neo, that hadn't worked. It hadn't worked and her dad had told her all about how insanity was doing the same thing over and over again. Nothing was going was go change if she kept attacking.

Neo would keep getting closer and closer and Ruby would have to risk seeing Weiss screaming or Blake screaming or the fairies screaming or just screaming and screaming. And she couldn't take that.

So her Semblance deactivated when she was standing in front of her friends, Crescent Rose at her side. Neo was in mid-swing, and Ruby had a feeling.

She moved the diaphysis of her baby to meet the parasol, stopping the attack dead. Her boots were pushed against the charred earth, stopping only when they were inches from her teammates.

Too close, too close!

If she dodged anymore of Neo's attacks, she was going to get to her friends! Weiss and Blake could probably avoid the girl, but they were both too weak to stop Neo from attacking Lana or Moraine. There was no way she could let that happen.

"Ruby!" She heard Weiss scream. But she ignored her partner. Ruby knew she'd have to apologize later, but she couldn't take her eyes off Neo. The girl was just way too dangerous. "Ruby, you dunce! You're attacking all wrong!"

"Weiss, now is _really_ not a good time." Ruby spoke over her shoulder. She was focusing on Neo's parasol. Namely how it was trying to push her out of the way! "I-I can talk later, okay?"

"She's right! You're not attacking at the right times!" Now that was Tatl. It was a bit easier to ignore the fairy, only a little. She didn't share a room with the fairy, as amazing as that would be. "You're supposed to attack when she's stuck! _Like right now!_ "

Huh?

Ruby saw a panicked look flashed over the miss-colored eyes of Neo. It was quick, something she'd definitely have missed if she weren't a couple of inches away from her. But seeing as they were close enough for the girl to be pushing against Crescent Rose with her own weapon, they were close enough.

She could at least try.

So Ruby pushed a littled harder against Neo's blade, spinning towards the girl till her back flashed her. It gave Ruby a moment to look over her teammates with her silver eyes.

She could see Blake kneeling over Lana with Gambol Shroud drawn. She could see Weiss holding Myrtenaster up, pushing Moraine behind her. She could see the Tatl and Tael flying over all of them, and the broken from of Lana.

Seeing all of that, she knew it was worth the risk. When her back was to her baby, face sideways to both her teammates and Neo, Ruby kicked out her foot.

It slammed into Neo's face, knocking the girl back.

She lost distance. That was _good_. But not good enough.

Ruby spun Crescent Rose as quickly as she could, slamming the blade of her baby into the ground for support. With the momentum and the leverage, it put her in a position to do Uncle Qrow's attack, the one he said she'd have to learn if she wanted to pass Signal.

It let her jump and drive her knee right into Neo's gut.

The girl fell back with a lurch, a noiseless cough that sent her rolling back along the ash-laden dirt. Ruby didn't follower her. She had to get her baby out of the ground first, and that required more strength than a simple tug.

By the time she did get Crescent Rose out, Neo was further away, wiping away spit from her mouth. But she had dirt and ash over her suit, from rolling across the ground. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough for Ruby.

They were further away from her teammates, and right now, the further the better.

"Perfect!" Weiss shouted from behind her. "Maintain that level of competence, Ruby!"

She bit her lip, thinking. Her fingers clenched around Crescent Rose, even as Neo kept grinning at her. That was bad.

Neo had just taken two good blows, from Ruby's feet, and she was still smiling. Smiling bad guys were never a good thing. She'd seen enough movies to know that. And the feeling didn't help much.

It was the same feeling she got from around Yang, her sister still tearing through the Mechs without much of a problem. Even as the dull thuds of her fight echoed around her, Ruby didn't focus on it, she couldn't afford to.

Neo wanted to hurt her friends.

If Ruby dodged her attacks, she hit them instead. It was bad, really bad. But her partner had gone through worse. Weiss had come here when the building was still standing, and Moraine's friends were still around.

She and Blake had fought off all the goons that were scattered across the ground, and now they were out of Aura and targets for Neo. Even Yang was fighting off a bunch of the Atlesian Mechs, using some faunus hood to help her. But Ruby wasn't like that.

She was fighting just one girl with only Crescent Rose and her Semblance…es to help her. But Ruby could do this, she had to do this. She couldn't call herself the leader if she waited for someone else to fix it.

Ruby could do this, the same way Blake had, the same way Weiss had, the same way Yang _was_ doing.

And the same way Link had to all of them.

**KaCHINK!**

Ruby pulled and released the firing lock to her baby, loading the next round. Neo grinned at her, leaning on one foot and spinning her parasol like it was sunny out. Ruby could at least understand why Yang was angry at this girl.

But didn't matter. She didn't have to beat her, she just had to stall her.

She had no idea how much of twenty minutes had passed.

"Come and get me!" Ruby yelled at Neo, pointing her baby at the ice-crema girl. "Cause there's no way you're going to get passed me!"

The girl only grinned back.

* * *

Penny was programmed to handle many events, both domestic and foreign. She was programmed by Papa Zepp to handle 21 different forms of Grimm in over 1273 different scenarios. She was programmed to operate Bullheads, Atlas Mechs, and many other high-skilled operation machines. She was programmed in several different languages as well as knowledge of code deciphering.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

But no language, code, or combat program helped her with the problem at hand.

"Nora! Put her down on the bed! Ren! Help me get this shirt off this one!" One Jaune Arc, denoted as the most recent male descendant of his line, ordered his teammates around the room. "Pyrrha! Try a-and rock her, yeah! That!" He pointed to his partner with the command.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

The 14 different children screaming in team JNPR's room was not something Penny was programmed for. And, by quick observation, only Jaune Arc had retrospective data related to the current event. Her code told her to follow his commands.

"Penny! Uh…" His voice pattered out and was drowned quickly by the many screaming children, including the two in her arms. One a boy, likely only two or three, and a female as well, significantly different due to the tail on her back. "Oh! Get a bucket of water for them! So they can put their legs in it!"

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

Penny could understand the reasoning for the request. Fast as the electricity that powered her, she was able to recall that water on soft tissue often elicit a soothing response due to the desired equilibrium between pure water and the contaminated surface. It also aided greatly with scars, bruises, or other abrasions upon the soft tissue layers.

Much like the burn marks all the children were covered with.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

Penny had turned her audio inputs to a minimal level, reducing the chance for harmonic damage to her systems. The children were loud, but they were not operating at low frequency sounds, thankfully. She could and would endure damage to her external systems if it meant helping the children.

"It's not working Jaune!" Nora yelled, above the screaming of the kids. "She's not letting go! How do I make her let go!?" Penny recorded the girl in Nora's arms grabbing at her forearm with significant strength.

The girl of interest was also perhaps three or four years of age and had significant damage to the side of her face. Parts her scalp were singed with red and disfiguring skin. Her face was also contorted into a universal image of pain. And she was screaming, loudly.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"Then don't let her go!" Jaune yelled back. "Try a-and, uh… get water for her! Yeah, and rock her as well!" Said boy was doing the same thing for a boy in his arms, the only one of the many children who wasn't screaming. But he was still in pain.

It was obvious the antler adorned boy was still in pain by the scrunched face he was making, holding one of his arms into his tiny chest. Jaune was doing a superb job at keeping the boy comfortable, as Penny's observations concluded.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

But Penny could not repeat his actions for subduing or calming the two children in her arms. It left her processors running in an over-clocked state to find a possible solution or reason.

"Shhh…" She attempted to soothe the two children, bobbing up and down to induce motion. The screaming did not subside. "We are going to help you~" She attempted to make her voice sing-song as well, as recorded incidents showed children preferred to hear.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

Quick observational data processes concluded that the pain due to the first and second-degree burns was causing too a pain reaction to great for the children to be soothed. Fire-damage to soft tissue often resulted in frayed nerve endings that induced either high pain or extreme numbness, depending on the severity of the burns.

Internal functions ran at high speed to reach a conclusion on what to do, but she lacked critical information in her folders on what to do. She only was able to conclude that the low degree of the burns meant that the afferent neurons within the children were not damaged. That still meant they felt pain.

Of all the events she was programmed to do, care for children was not one of them.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"I'm sorry!" Penny heard Pyrrha speaking loudly to the child in her arms, rocking her as Jaune had instructed. "I-I'm so so sorry. I'll… you'll be okay." Penny was having difficulty hearing parts of her sentences.

But she was aware the child in her arms was not being soothed. She was screaming and crying in pain, as almost all the children were, minus the few that Jaune had interacted with.

Children that were not being cared by the five of them were still laying on the ground. No, that was too broad a term. The many children of ages ranging from one to five were lain upon the ground in supine positions, curled balls, or huddled in groups.

And they were all crying.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"Okay! Okay," Jaune let out and relaxed. Penny could see him setting the boy he was holding down on his bed, lifting the covers and placing them over the boy. The child curled up, reducing the surface area of his body dramatically, but he was quiet.

The two children in Penny's arms were not. Neither were they for Ren or Nora or Pyrrha. None of them had the aptitude for taking care of children in the same manner as Jaune did. Whatever his training regiment was before being admitted to Beacon, it was clearly focused around rescue and retrieval.

Penny was having a difficult time seeing anyone not trained for children being able to care for them as well as the leader of team JNPR was. It was evident enough with her decision matrixes that he was adapt at this.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"This isn't working Renny!" Nora yelled again at her partner. She still did not possess the usual cheer in her voice. Even with reduced audio sensors, Penny could tell. "They won't stop crying no matter what I do!"

"They are in pain," Her partner responded, almost unheard above the screaming children. "And they need us to remove that pain." He did not make a face of discomfort as he continued to rock the crying child in his arms.

"Penny! Weren't you going to get water!?" She was? She was!

She was told to and Jaune was the superior commander in this positions due to his clear prior experience! But she was distracted by the numerous inputs and developing functions within her code. She hadn't had time for the command to even reach the decision matrix yet!

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"No! I can go!" Penny turned to see Pyrrha volunteering, still attempting to soothe the child in her arms. It wasn't working. "Please allow me! I-I-I can do that much."

It was only after Penny devoted more than 2% of her external energy to her visual inputs that she noticed something else about Pyrrha. It was something her previously saved experiences indicated the others on her team were likely already aware of.

She was crying, tearing. Face a similar shade, though not exact, as her hair.

Penny's auditory sensors were too low to pick up any sound that Jaune made, even though her visual processors indicated his lips were moving. The room was simply too loud to hear.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"Y-Yeah, yeah you can go," Jaune's words were just audible over the screaming. "I-I'll take her for you." He spoke with outstretched hands, taking the girl from Pyrrha. The Mistrian Combatant hastily put the girl in his arms, caring only not to touch the young girl's disfigured face.

She was gone not a moment after, stepping around the injured children and out the door hastily.

Penny looked down at the two children she was still holding. Despite her own attempts to soothe them with cyclic motions, calm words, and a strong grip, in kind to what Jaune Arc had done, they had not stopped crying, or even quieted.

Yet, this was just a part of something she had to improve on. Papa Zepp had programmed her memory and storage functions to develop new code processes as new information was gathered. Right now, she was learning from failed attempts and successful gains. He called it Machine Learning.

It was modeled after human learning. So why didn't Pyrrha want to learn more?

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

But this did mean that Penny had an opportunity to reassess the room, in consideration to the 12.39 minutes since the children arrived. It was significant enough to warrant a second look.

Currently three of the 14 children were not-screaming. All were present on beds belonging to various members of team JNPR, under covers per Jaune's instructions. Of the remaining children Penny was holding two and the other members each holding one. All were crying very loudly.

Further, all 14 children possessed first and second degree level burns, evident by the denaturalization of the soft-tissue yet presence of pain reception. As previously documented, it removed the possibility of third-degree, which frayed afferent neurons.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

Further, the remaining 6 children were on the ground in varying states of undress and pain. The lack of clothing was immediately attributable to the same fire that had harmed them. This was further confirmed by the scorch marking that made up the few pieces of fabric they wore.

What was evident upon assessment of facial structures and body size were the averages ages of the children, none of whom were older than 5 with a 90% confidence interval. This implied, depending on the location they came from, further serious injury to their older counterparts, if present.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

But Penny could not find anything on the CCTS regarding fires in Vale that were for schools, nurseries, or other likely places for children of said age group to reside. So, with a lack of information and low importance level, Penny canceled the search. She knew the required information would be presented when Link returned.

This was immediately evident when noting that the children all came from one of Lana's golden portals.

Said portal was no longer glowing and no longer hanging in the air. Instead, it was discarded in the corner of JNPR's room, moved by Pyrrha following the need for room as the children came through.

They were the priority now.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"Renny, you know I'd never take advantage of you~" Nora was speaking in a sweet voice. Penny recognized the over inflection in the specific constants. It was meant to be pleasant for males to hear. "Buuuut seeing all these kids screaming, maaaaaybe you coooooould…?" She spoke half a question. Fortunately, Ren appeared to have surmised the rest of it, providing his answer.

"There are too many, Nora," The boy spoke, even as he lifted one of the crying children in his arms, brushing off the soot that stained the child's marred skin. The screaming was still very loud. "And it wouldn't stop them forever. They would be in pain as soon as I stopped."

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

Penny had only minimal information and conclusions to reach. Curiosity functions developed the necessary questions to ask.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"Ren and Nora, what are you talking about?!" Penny had to increase her volume to overcome the screaming of the children, or else she wouldn't be heard. The two members of JNPR looked at her, both caring for other children as they spoke.

"Renny's Semblance can help us!" Nora called out, even as she tried soothing a girl sitting on her bed. The child screaming even as she clung to the orange-haired girl's arm. "He can make all bad feelings go poof!" Poof was a good thing, a common onomatopoeia indicating something vanishing.

"Just poof?" Nora asked as she bounced in the air. She made sure no children were at her feet before she did so. The children in her arms sucked in a breath as she did so, but promptly resumed their screaming.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"Yup! Poof!" Nora jumped in the air as well. Hop would be a more accurate word, as the girl that clung to her still refused to let go.

But if they were bale to remove the negative feelings from the children, would that also remove their pain? Penny's recollection functions searched her memory folders for tangentially related results for comparison.

It may be similar to removing one's hand from an electric current to remove the pain, but it also had similarities to removing an abstract source of pain, such as a violent animal. However, the fire and burn marks were physical, so it could likely remove their pain as well!

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"I mask it," Ren, the owner of said ability emphasized. He paused only to slow his rocking of one of the children. "It is like I hide it away. I have only ever used it to hide from Grimm." And that made sense to Penny.

Grimm hunted using the negative emotions strewn from the conscious state. Feeligns such as anger, sorrow, fear, or hatred would commonly draw the Grimm in. Hiding said emotions would be able to make you effectively invisible to Grimm, at least the qualified subjects that did not hunt by sight.

"But it's temporary," Ren said again, teeth gritting as the child in his arms momentarily wailed at a high volume. "If I stop focusing, the emotions return. And I've never done it to more than a few people at a time."

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"Yeah, that wouldn't work!" Jaune yelled to them, brushing his hand over the girl's face. She sniffled at the contact, calming. She kept screaming after though. Penny recorded the action in her comforting memories folder. "Not unless we got a way to keep the pain away!"

That was also true. Children were not especially good at adapting to new circumstances, as evident by frequent outbursts. Penny had deduced this through knowledge of most academic areas, and how early years of schooling were focused around comfort with new ideas.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

So they had to keep the pain away if they were to use Lie Ren's semblance. That would be what Papa Zepp called a quick and dirty fix. He hated those. Penny had a lot of memories of him bad-mouthing other engineers that did the same, as he corrected their errors.

Penny ran through several possibilities, dedicating 12% of her core system memory to the process. It took her approximately 1.73 seconds to deduce a possibility that was easy, nearby, and applicable.

So she yelled the solution with a smile!

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"Oh! I have morphine!" Penny knew she did. Approximately 500ccs of morphine intended to dull significant pain to soldiers and fell Hunters in combat operations. "I have enough to sustain a highly injured soldier for approximately 1.32 days!"

"You wanna stab the kids?!" Nora yelled. Penny noted how she quickly lifted the child she was holding back into her arms. The child clung to chest then, but her screaming did not cease. "That'd be really mean!"

"But it would reduce their pain," Ren countered, still attempting to rock the child he held. "And any reduction to that is something I am sure we all want." Penny had not even a node of her memory dedicated to the possibility he was wrong. There was another concern she had, however.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"But my morphine reserves are meant for combat injuries and trained huntsman!" Penny yelled only because her voice would not be heard otherwise.

"I'm really sure that these kids didn't come from a basic accident! Not out of Lana's portal!" Jaune yelled back. Penny realized he was correct, and corrected her code to reorder the priorities in her code to match his correct assessment. "B-But uh… how are we gonna inject them! That'll hurt, a lot!"

Penny was aware that intravenous injections were often harmful, due to piercing the dermal and sub-dermal layer of the soft tissue, but was it more painful than the first and second degree burns the children suffered from?

If she were to apply the logic to wounded hunters, she had innumerable datasets of one being unable to control their body due to pain, a result of the sympathetic nervous system trying to evade sources of continued stress. That meant that straight injections were highly improbable to work on the children.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"I can calm them!" Ren yelled, the first recorded time Penny had of his voice being above conversational speaking thresholds. "I can calm them and then Penny can inject them!" Penny let her hypothesis testing algorithms run their course at his suggestion, even as she bounced the two children she still held.

Lie Ren's semblance would mask the fear and likely uncontrollability of the body, allowing for the injection of intravenous liquids and medication. Continued use of the semblance for approximately 2.75 to 3.11 minutes would allow time for the morphine to run its course.

However, with a higher dose and supplied to a major arteriole such as the brachial artery would allow the time to be reduced to 1.98 or 2.45, and possibly allow for immediate relaxation of the body. That could work!

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"Yup! That'll definitely work!" Penny cheered her words. Positive attitudes were meant to encourage positive behavior in others. "And I've already run the necessary calculations, with syringes to spare!" she could not produce said needles with the children in her arms.

"Okay! Okay!" Nora was cheering! "Then let's start right away!" She was bouncing the girl in her arms, but Penny believe it was well above the threshold for comfort. However, she had minimal computational power to devote to telling her to stop. She had to focus on calculating the appropriate level of morphine injections and wound sterilization for the children.

"Right, okay, Ren, we'll start with him," Jaune noted to the boy Lie Ren was holding, wailing into the boy's green attire. A sub-routine of Penny's feminine programming told her the stains would be difficult to remove. "Just relax him and Penny'll take care of the rest, right?"

"Absolutely!" Penny agreed. She hopped her way over to Lie Ren, her efficiency functions instructing her the duel process of rocking the children and moving towards him was best. "Now just let me put them do-"

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

Penny stalled. Her function hit a break in its performance, a critical break.

The children she was carrying, much like the girl Nora was caring for, did not let go of her arms.

"I-I just need to set them-"

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

And again they wailed harder, clutching at her external fabric with a tight grip. They did not possess a significant amount of strength, but past studies on muscular and bone strength of children showed that force removal could further harm them.

And they really did not wish to let go.

"Um… I-I just need you two to let-"

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

Penny bit her lip as the children refused once more.

"Okay, okay, that's bad!" Jaune yelled again, now further away from them. "B-But that's okay! Yeah! We just have to wait for Pyrrha to get back with the water a-and she'll help us out then!" Yes, of course! Another adult to remove the children!

It was likely the children were acting on instincts and refusing to release the mature figures in the room. IT was the same instinct she was sure that prevailed in the numerous family cohesion folders she had in her memory banks.

That just meant they had to wait for-

**BANG!**

Penny turned at the sound, as did everyone else in the room. The room was small, though packed above the Beacon specified maximum occupancy, and the source of the noise was immediately obvious. Penny was sure it was a good thing.

However, it was immediately apparent that it wasn't Pyrrha returning with water. But the new arrival did little to damp her smile.

Because even if it wasn't Pyrrha, Penny knew she could count on Cardin Winchester!

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"Wha… What the hell!?" Her tall friend yelled out into the room, eyes looking over all the kids present.

"Oh Dust, Cardin…" Penny nearly missed the boy's words. If it were not for their closer proximity, his words would surely have been drowned out by the children and Carin's entry. "Cardin, please. Now is not the time to be dealing with you!"

"Well tough, Arc!" Cardin yelled at Jaune. Penny was confused why, unless loud noises easily irritated him. That appeared to be a common trait now. "I came lookin' for you cause your girlfriend decided ta take out my team!"

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

Penny was confused.

Why had Pyrrha Nikos attacked Cardin's team in such a way? Had she? A rudimentary deciphering algorithm focused on dialects showed that 'taking out' referred to subduing or removing a threat. Is that what Pyrrha had done?

"Wha-? The heck are you talking about!?" Jaune yelled back. The girl in his arms, who Penny's visual information told her was close to calming down, starting wailing in full force again. "Pyrrha would never do that!"

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"That's exactly what she just did!" Cardin took a step forward, or tried to. Penny observed his leg rise and fall, careful of the children scatted on the floor. It was an excellent observation on his part, though hard to miss. "We were just passing by her and she threw Sky and Dove into Russel like they were bags of trash!"

"Not inaccurate." It was only Penny's close quarters to Ren that allowed her to hear the boy, even with her reduced auditory sensors. What an odd thing to say.

"Then she just ran off without saying anything!" Cardin yelled again. It was obvious he was yelling due to the noise. "I can kinda figure out why she left the room now, but I sure as hell don't know what's going on here!"

"Isn't it obvious?!" Jaune yelled back. "It's about as obvious as you making this situation even worse than it already is!"

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

Penny was deeply confused.

Why was Jaune upset at Cardin? He had been really helpful to her the past few days. He'd even gone so far as to help her with the purpose of Mr. Port's lessons. All she had to do was beat him in an arm-wrestling contest.

Oh… Penny's internal servos recalled the descript memories of Cardin from her conversation with Impa. His short-comings, faults, and need to develop a larger group of friends. She smiled brightly as the thoughts coalesced into a single idea.

It was the perfect idea!

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

The children were merely screaming with high magnitude, non-attenuating, waveforms, causing damage to inner cochlea of the humans.

"Where the hell did all these brats come from!?" Cardin yelled into the room, towering over the children. The phobia folder in Penny's internal process told her that it was common to be fearful of large moving objects.

Cardin was feet taller than any of the members of team JNPR, and a factor larger than the children. That likely meant they were screaming now out of pain and fear.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

It was the only reason her processors could conclude for the increase in volume.

"We. Don't. Know!" Jaune yelled back, trying to again soothe still the girl that Pyrrha had handed to him. She was going to come back soon, likely. Pyrrha had expressed only positive values towards diligence and loyalty in stressful situations. "But… dammit! Help us out here!"

"Yeah Cardin!" Penny picked up. It was obvious between her logistics functions and Jaune's request now that Cardin was a needed entity. And she knew the best way for him to help "Hold these kids for me!"

"Wait, what?!" He yelled, but the noise was rather simple now, considering the average decibel volume of the room.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"Yeah! Here!" Penny moved over to the boy feet taller than her, holding out her arms with the two kids on them. Cardin backed away. That was odd. He was a hunter in training like the rest of them, so why was he shirking training? "C'mon Cardin! You have to help out!"

"No way!" He took a step back. Penny was utterly confused now. "I'm not touching a bunch of bacon-skinned kids! 'Specially not if you guys have no idea where they came from!" Bacon skinned? That was an odd metaphor.

Bovine skin as close to human skin in terms of cellular matrix array and make-up, but bacon was a… oh… he was insulting the children.

That was bad.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"Cardin Winchester!" Penny yelled his name now, stomping her foot once her external sensors had confirmed no other children were beneath her. "That was an very mean thing to say! Apologize and assist us this instant!" She pouted her lips. Previous data showed that Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose were more effective in negotiations with said feature.

She could tell that he was thinking at least, which was good. He was wearing that same look that Russel Thrush said he used a lot, especially when giving orders. That meant he was getting ready to take control of the situation, likely.

"No… I-I'm not good with kids, 'speciall screaming ones!" Penny reminded herself that he was yelling only because of… the yelling.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"Don't worry!" Penny made sure to smile brightly with her answer. Positive reinforcement and protection. "Jaune is superb at caring for the children! We just need you to help us give them medicine!"

Cardin grimaced again, looking past Penny. She could tell from her memory folders and visual inputs that he was looking at Jaune, Ren, and Nora. Them, and likely the injured children they held. He was thinking at least, which remained a positive thing.

Then he looked back down at her, past her. Her ocular sensors were able to deduce he was looking at the children she was holding, staring at them intently. The longer he stared, the higher the likelihood of his cooperation climbed.

He had better help though, Penny's internal memory unit noted, because he had to redeem himself for the insult to the children!

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"Fine, FINE!" He yelled, holding out his arms. "Gimme the brats, hurry!" A few memory sensors told Penny that he was not in a highly desirable state to be handling children, but their cries were a reminder that they did not have suitable time to coach him.

"Stupendous!" Penny cheered, handing out the children in her arms. Compared to her arm-wrestling contest Cardin Winchester, the weight of the children was much lighter. She felt no fatigue in her frame by holding them. "Make sure you hold them tight and _secure_!"

"But not too tight!" Jaune yelled then, adding in to her statement. It was acceptable, as he did possess superior knowledge on child care. "Hold them like… like a glass bowl! Yeah, that'll work." And it was an appropriate metaphor, emphasizing their small frames and brittle structures.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

Cardin continued to grimace as he knelt down, reaching Penny's standing height. His arms were held out like he was about to grab a weight-lifting bar. It was the improper stance or method to hold children, as simple memory observations told Penny. So, she quickly engaged her instructor functionalities.

"No, hold your arms closer!" She yelled only for the sake of being heard, not to demean the boy now willing to help. "You don't want to drop them! That'll be _really_ bad!"

"That's why I'm no good at this sorta stuff!" Cardin yelled back, though he did as she asked. Excellent! "I'll definitely drop the brats. I just know it." He was speaking far quieter, but their closer proximity made it possible for her to hear.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"No you won't!" Penny further encouraged him. She knew he wouldn't! He was very good at following instructions, and so long as they both did, they would be able to help the kids! "Trust me, I'm here to help you like you're here to help them!~" She smiled with her words, even as the kids continued to scream around them.

Gently, carefully, the children in her arms met Cardin's. And, just as her functions had predicted in regards to children instincts, they latched onto his arm as well. Or more appropriately his uniform.

The boy rubbed his head into Cardin's arm, as if to shake off some feeling that he could not in Penny's. The girl, however rolled over. It was odd to see, odder to note, but nevertheless carefully documented both visually and auditorily.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

They continued to scream in his arms, even as they moved over completely, but Penny had no data to indicate they would stop. The objective was to free her arms so that she could access the 500ccs of morphine and appropriately sterilized needles.

Now she could!

"Awesome Cardin! You got this!" She cheered for the boy, even as he kept his crouched posture. He must have a phobia of damaging the kids. But phobias were, by definition, irrational fears. She had little data to suggest he lacked the muscle strength or dexterity to hold children.

"Yeah… you hold those kids…" Penny was only just able to make out Jaune talking behind her. But that was unimportant data currently. Important data sets involved around Lie Ren's Semblance and the presently harmed children!

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"Ready Ren?!~" She asked aloud and loudly, already running through her internal torso servos to produce the needed needles and syringes. Her fingers produced a light ethylene alcohol spray to ensure a lack of bacterial materials.

Ren didn't speak. Instead, he simply put a hand over the boy he was holding, letting his palm rest over the boy's scarred forehead. Penny was able to observe the immediate effect.

The visible spectrum was altered around the boy, colors dipping into lower wavelengths and intensities. It implied immediately that his semblance was absorbing the visible light spectrum, perhaps a side-effect of masking and/or absorbing the boy's negative emotions.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

And those emotions were also disappearing, even if his fellow children's' weren't.

The boy's cries fell softer and softer, eyes hazing over as the colors continued to run from his form. The bright colored second-degree burns that were over his face became a darker gray, as did his singed clothes and pale skin. Everything seemed to gray, including his emotional spectrum.

Penny recorded all of it, even as her external motors performed the primary function of preparing the necessary amount of insulin for the child. At the same moment, her other arm rolled up the boy's now still arm. Still, relaxed, and showing the necessary artery for injection.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

The needle pierced the boy's skin with little hesitation, watching to ensure he would not react violently. But so long as the gray Semblance of Ren was over the boy, he did not stir.

"Told ya he could do it!" Nora cheered next to and for her friend. "Renny's got the best semblance in Beacon!" That was a highly subjective statement, but it was easily the most suited for dealing with injured comrades. Of that Penny knew her functions were concluding.

"The ambulance better be close!" Penny tilted her head at Cardin's words. She momentarily paused in adjusting the child's shirt, ignoring the sight of Cardin Winchester trying to rock to little boy and girl in his arms. His words were odd, but also induced a cold feeling in her Aura.

It was odd.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"The… what?" She heard Jaune ask. Perhaps he had a similar feeling. Though it was difficult to judge with altered audio inputs and many sub-tasks currently engaged. Cardin snorted as he looked at Jaune.

"The ambulance, you know, the one ya guys called." He bounced the kids in his arms, looking down at the room, eyes moving around them all. Penny saw his eyes end on her. "Cause you got a bunch of screaming and fire-charred brats in your room?"

"Ambulance… right…" Ren now spoke. Penny saw his head nodding slowly, his eyes focused on the boy he had successfully swaddled in his Semblance. "Because we aren't supposed to be trained for this…"

"We aren't?" Penny asked. That seemed odd to her processes. Hunters were supposed to be trained in all forms of protection and preservation in regards to the well-being of the citizens of Remnant, both within and without the four kingdoms.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

She was sure that was what this was. Training.

"Wait, I thought you called the doctors Jaune!" Nora spoke up, before immediately quieting among the calmed children. "Isn't that why you were looking on your Scroll?"

"Uuuuuh…" Jaune let out. "I may have… been… looking at something else…" Something else? What else? Penny was thinking of what was appropriate to look up during a time of high importance such as this. A few results came out because of it.

"Was it the emergency treatment of burns?" She asked in a subdued voice. The boy shook his head.

"Where you looking for where the fire was?" She asked again. Again he shook his head.

"Oh! I bet you were trying to ask where Ruby and her team are!" she asked thrice. And again, Jaune's head shook.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

"I was, um…" Jaune started then stopped. "Trying to call my Mom?"

That was odd.

**WAAAAAAHWAAAAAH!**

**AAAAARC!**

It was odder hearing Cardin scream with the children, but she dismissed it. They had work to do. And her memory banks did not let her forget the important variables. Namely, that these children came from somewhere dangerous.

She hoped with her remaining Dust reserves that those present at the source of the danger were okay.

* * *

Yang was doing okay… **Boom!** At least as okay as she was sure she could be right now.

It was hard to say she was doing amazing, what with the all the Atlesian Mechs gunning for her. Then again, considering what Ruby and Weiss were screaming about, and given how hard she knew these things hit, she'd have to say she was doing pretty good.

That was one way to describe her ducking the giant fist that swooped down at her, then jumping out of the way of another's foot trying to crush her.

Also a good way to describe watching the firing of those cannon's in slow motion, knowing which ones to leap out of the way of… and which ones to punch into the shattered moon.

And, despite it all, the bunny-ears on her head were helping. She was still conflicted about that.

**BOOM![/b**

But not as conflicted about avoiding the heavy artillery. And heck, knowing when they would fire and land, that made it easy. It was like taking a test with a cheat sheet handy!

Even better? It was taking a test with a cheat sheet, and the teach wasn't allowed to take it away!

"Are you two blessed by the devil or somethin'?!" She heard Roman, the coward shout over the Mechs. She tried to look for him, but that was hard between five Atlas Mechs. "Because you two have got his luck in spades!" She'd take the compliment.

"Part and parcel for bein' more kickass than a drag queen with a bowler hat!" Didn't mean she had to give one back. She dodged another kick from a mech.

What she owed him was a hell of a lot worse than a compliment. Especially after what he did to her team and Link… After all the carnage he basically celebrated in…

Yang felt her muscles warm at the thought.

Two of the mechs lined up a shot with her, the other three somewhere outside her vision. These two though, they were more important. They were going to fire, and she knew that.

She knew that because she could see the giant rounds flying out of the cannons, dust and fire exploding out of the exhaust pipes of the mechs' arms. She saw them the same way she felt her feet plant into the ground and throw her arms forward.

Yang swept them in front of her, like when she was trying to break open the barn door back on Patch. She did that enough when she was at Signal that it was as practiced as a regular punch.

And right on target, the back of her gauntlets hit the edges of the cannons, pushing them off of her and to the sides. It looked like shew as brushing past boulders. It felt like she was redirecting trucks.

Good thing her Semblance helped her to bench-press them. Too bad she had to remember Blake and Weiss crying over Lana's pretty-much dead corpse.

She scowled through the soot, ash, and dirt that shot up from where the cannon fire fell. She glared through the dust with red eyes, looking at the Atlesian Mechs that tried to kill her, and almost killed her team.

Oh yeah, they were gonna be scrap metal soon. No doubts there.

That only became more obvious as she saw one of the mechs reloading its cannon. With the barrel aimed at her, and being about as wide as she was tall, it was kind of hard to miss the giant mass of metal.

That was cute of them, thinking she was going to give either one a second chance.

Yang dug her feet into the dead earth, pushing forward like she was getting ready to break a 100 meter record. With how fast she got in front of the mech, how quick it was to lose track of her, and how damn fast she felt with the bunny ears on, she might just have.

That only meant she had to break a new record. And she had choices. So many amazing choices.

She could break a weight-lifting record, maybe add it to a shotput score. Or, if she was gonna get creative, it'd have to be just an Atlesian record for scrapping steel.

That one sounded great.

Yang pulled her fist back as she shoved herself forward, aiming at the joint at the mech's leg. She could tell the moment the pistons or whatever inside it moved, watching as they pushed outward to twist the leg.

If being Ruby's sister taught her anything, it was gun mechanics. For example, how weak a hollow chamber was. And what else was she supposed to call that metal joint but hollow, what with the piston pushing on the ground.

Her first landed a solid haymaker on the steel, her red eyes staring with a heat that matched her mane. She watched the steel crumple under the blow, dent and buckle at her fist.

It was good, but it wasn't enough.

She pulled back her other fist, swinging her body to send it into the same spot as the first. The metal screeched in protest. Good!

She pulled back and gave another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another! And at the end of all that, the leg of the mech was as open as she wanted Roman's skull to be. One step at a time.

**Reee-BOOM!**

Speaking of…

Yang turned in the midst of one of her punches, seeing the second mech aiming at her. The others were still out of the way, watching her with raised guns of their own. Dammit all!

"Wait your damn turn!" Yang yelled at the other mech, aiming at her with its reloaded canon. Gripping pieces of the steel leg she had torn into, she hurled them into cannon's chamber. Pretty easy when it was taking aim.

The difficult part was having them crash into opposite sides of the giant bullet inside the cannon. She really had to hand it to these new ears, even if they'd make Blake tear her a new one.

Yang watched, knowing the exact moment the cannon was gonna fire. Again, thanks to Ruby's obsessive nature, she knew what happened to a bullet in a gun when it was stuck. Hint for the less knowledgeable, it didn't get pushed out the normal way.

Using the torn leg for support, Yang pulled, shoved, and blitzed past the mech. Her feet beat on the ashen ground the same as before, putting her some distance away from the Mechs, least far enough that she wasn't going to get caught in the fireworks.

**KER-BOOOM!**

And, oh, it was a beauty to watch.

The mech that had taken aim at her had its arm cannon literally blown off, as in into pieces. She held up her gauntlets, the same defensive pose her dad had taught her for dealing with bullets. Shrapnel was close enough, she figured.

Said shrapnel and explosion blew the rest of the robot into a giant metal carcass, tearing into whatever the hell was supposed to be a cock-pit and turning a solid leg of support into a useless pile of scrap. Least that was comparable to the Mech she had torn into.

That mech looked like it had been turning to fire at her. Probably was. But now it had one leg torn into and another torn off! Two beatings for the price of one!

Both of the Atlesian Mechs hovered on their good legs, swaying like the trees on Patch. Yang almost wanted to blow a puff of air at them, sending them toppling over. But they took care of that themselves.

The first mech fell forward, plowing into the one that had its arm blown off and sending them both into the ground. A crumbled mess of metal, dust, and wiring.

Looked like the funeral was included!

Yang kept her grin broad, even as the flaming golden locks of her hair settled over her red eyes. Her gauntlet brushed the 'meat' of her mane over her shoulder, feeling the 'bunny' ears on her head bob and sway with the action. It stayed on a lot better than she thought it would.

Still, awesome as this was, it wasn't time to relax yet. Yang wasn't out here fighting for herself. That was something she couldn't forget.

Two more down. Three more to go. Or however-much time was left. Whichever came first.

Either was good, but if yang had a preference, and she did, it would be breaking Roman's candle-cane over his head like a reverse piñata.

"Dammit! Did those ears make you a jack-rabbit!?" Even as she back-pedaled out of the way of a charging mech from the side, Yang had to smirk. Nothing felt quiet as nice as pissing off a madman. "Is cosplay your super power?!"

"Nope!" Yang yelled back at the man, looking for that ugly black hat and white coat. Hard to see between the soot and giant white mechs at night. "Just gave me a real yang of energy!"

She hoped he was growling with rage. Couldn't hear it without him screaming, between the Atlesian Mechs and the **BOOM** ing, but she could imagine it.

Yang could easily imagine the slimy ball of human existence screaming in pain and agony, the same way he had made her partner look defeated and dead when she showed up. She could see it like a dream she'd keep with her till-

**BOOM!**

"GAH!" A yell of pain ripped from her throat as the feeling ran up her back.

Yang flew forward, debris and dust flying around her. Her body hit the ground in a tumble, her perception of up and down as clear as the sky through all the ash and dust.

That hurt, a lot. A lot more than she even remembered it hurting the first time one of the things hit her.

**BOOM!BOOM!**

"AGH! GAH!" And the second time didn't feel great either.

Yang was just able to see the over-compensatingly size cannons fire through the ash and dust, hitting the ground in front of her before exploding like Cardin's stupid mace. Seeing it didn't help her much, aside from raising her hands.

That just let her feel every rock, pebble, and speck of ash slam into her as she was thrown backwards again.

Her body tumbled over the dead ground, feeling charred roots and rocks scrape at her Aura. Yang clenched her teeth as her tumble came to a stop, pushing herself to her feet as quickly as she could. She seethed past the soreness of her muscles. It wasn't anything new.

"Bet ya felt that one, blondie!" She heard Roman yell, through the ash-cloud hanging in front of her. He'd probably start singing soon, with a cheer like that in his voice.

It made Yang glared at it with red eyes of rage.

"How 'bout you stay over… wherever-the-hell you are, kay? Kay." She heard the Mechs moving through the ash, but with the sun gun, she could only just make out their outlines. "I've gotta job to finish and a promise to crush."

Now that made Yang glow gold, from the edge of her locks to the tips of the faux bunny ears.

She lunged forward, pushing herself until her body fell forward, till her knees nearly reached her head. Her hands could have dug into the dead earth, she could've used that to pull herself even faster across the ground.

Yang may have had on rabbit ears, but she wasn't some jackrabbit to run and hide. If those two balls of light were being honest about that story, then 'Time' gave its power to the wrong being.

She wasn't going to run and hide in a hole. She was going to charge like a freight train.

Dust and ash blew past her as she came out of the cloud of debris, eyes as red as a Grimm's and fists just as ready to kill.

She could see the mech's the three death towers all moving towards her team. Two had cannons raised, one was marching forward, and none of them had an eye on her. Bad move!

And Roman, the fucking coward still hiding like a snake in a hole, was still nowhere to be seen. She'd just have to make him regret that!

"And I've got a sister to protect!" Yang shouted at the top of her lungs, pushing off the ground with both feet. Her run turned into a lunge, forcing the air to rip past her like she was on the wing of an airship.

She barreled into the side of one of the mech's feeling the metal crumble under her like cardboard. It teetered to the side at her blow, so not ready to deal with 120 pounds of blood and fury. That was its problem, not hers.

Yang's problem was how she was figuring out how to tear a mech a new one.

The Atlas Mech swung its arm cannon, probably trying to right itself. Yang wasn't going to give it the chance. She beat into the side of the cockpit's glass like a grunge drummer in the middle of a solo.

Fire and ash blew across the frame of the Mech, Ember Cecilia shooting round after round on the rebound of her punches. Every blow felt like she was punching a brick wall, a brick wall that was crumbling into dust and mortar under blows!

But it wasn't enough, it wasn't enough because the mech was still standing! It wasn't enough because the mech was still standing, the other two were starting to aim at her, and her team was… wait…

The other two were aiming at her, and no way was Roman going to be smart enough to not shoot at her. She grinned wickedly, even as she dug her fist into the mech's cockpit, tearing through the glass and metallic frame.

"C'mon!" She yelled at the only pair of undamaged Atlas tools. "Gimme yer best shot, tranny!" She yelled into the night sky, knowing that the thief had to be listening.

"Only cause you asked so nicely, slut!" Yang could only grin as she watched the pair of cannons aim at her. A bad insult with a bad plan of action. Things were working in her favor.

She had the timing down. Maybe it was because of the bunny ears that put her one step away from a risqué magazine cover, or maybe she was just used to fighting the mechs already, it didn't matter. She just knew the timing of things now.

Yang knew the cannons were beginning to ignite the dust in the copper jackets of the rounds. She knew the one that was on her left side would hit the mech she was on, aimed right at her like the bullseye of a target. She knew all the same the other one was going to tear the mech apart from the bottom, probably Roman's way of catching her if she jumped down.

Thing was, she wanted to get hit, because a solid blow to her semblance now would turn these mechs from ten tons of metal and pain into three pounds of cardboard and misery!

**BOOM!BOOM!**

Of course, that meant she had to feel like crap as well. Yang braced herself for the coming impact.

**BANG!**

The over-sized bullet that she knew was going to hit first hit right on the mark. Her. And, true to her guess, it felt like shit.

Felt like the worst day of training after Qrow got bored drinking and she was sent through a couple ruined buildings in a practice match. Replace the rotten wood with solid metal and it was basically the same.

Exactly the same considering how the houses on Patch and the Atlesian Mech were both beyond saving.

That just left her rag-dolling from the blow. Thrown into the air like a fire. Yang would've bet she looked the part, thanks to her golden hair. Of course, that wasn't where her thoughts were.

"YEOWCH!" She shrieked as her body slammed into the charred earth. She forgot about that. "Agh, DAMMIT!" she yelled again, body sliding to a stop. That hurt a lot more than what she was thinking.

Patch had dirt, like actual dirt. This was charcoal, like the stuff that she put in the fireplace in winter. One had give, the other gave nothing. Big difference when you were waiting for a hand out.

"Okay, I'll admit, that was fun to watch!" She heard Roman yell out. "But times money and you're costin' me a fortune!" Yang looked up to see one of the mech's aiming at her again, one of the only two left. "So how 'bout you at least let me break even, kay?" She didn't need Weiss's nagging to know what that meant.

"Just try it!" Yang yelled out, getting to her knees and watching the mech. Her red eyes could still trace the bullet in the chamber. Never got hard with how large that barrel was. "Your track record says your due for another bad split!"

And, just like before, Yang knew when it was all gonna happen. The ignition of the over-compensatingly sized bullet, the trajectory, and the impact. Wasn't going to hit her directly, but close enough that it would hurt.

That is, hurt someone who didn't have a semblance that made pain strength. And she was strained all over. The bullet didn't have a chance.

Yang swung her fist in a left hook, ready to beat the bullet out of the way. It'd hit the ground somewhere behind her, she'd take off running, and she'd tear into the mech like a waste bag!

**BOO-RRRIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

Except her fist hardly moved the bullet.

It hit, just like she timed it to. She moved it, about the same as the last few times, but that was it. It slammed into the ground next to her, sending her ears into a ring that sounded too much like an alarm clock.

The hell was that?

It didn't go flying like she'd sent that mech months ago, it didn't even shudder the way she'd made the other over-sized bullets before. Like almost nothing happened.

She strung her thoughts together as she picked herself up off the ground, grabbing at her ear. Pulling it back, she found the worst possible thing on her glove.

Blood. Her blood. Her ear had popped and it a bad way.

The hell? Why the hell was she feeling weaker? That was not how her Semblance worked! She was supposed to turn pain into strength, dammit! It had worked that way since… ever!

Didn't matter if it was her getting bullied for losing her mom or watching the same _damn_ thing happen to Ruby years later. If she _felt_ pain, then she _felt_ stronger.

She _was_ stronger, but not _as_ strong, and it was _pissing_ her off!

Screw it, she really had no time to waste now.

If she wasn't going to be strong as she expected, that just meant she had to be faster. Cause if she was neither, than Ruby and the rest of RWBY were screwed. Now that was a bad thought.

Things were against her though, _less_ strength, _less_ time, and _less_ hearing. That sounded like proper English. Didn't matter, Yang didn't care.

Roman getting cocky with his new toys. Like the bullies on Patch, she had to break them to make it stop.

Her feet were quick on the charred ground, pushing her around the place like she was a Zwei chasing a ball Ruby threw. Crazy, unpredictable, and absolutely not stopping for anything.

Because if she did, one of the Atlesian Mechs would definetly get her.

**BOOM!BOOM!**

And the devil was listening to her thoughts apparently!

Yang threw up her hands as soot and dirt blew into the air, blinding her again to Roman and the Mechs. She was just trapped in another cloud of debris that was to be considering anything but cover.

"You know Blondie, I'm not one ta let a good chance pass me by," Yang heard Roman yell through the crowd. Now she really wished the rabbit ears worked like ears. "That means I've gotta keep track of every possibility I get."

"That mean you've finally wised and are gonna high-tail it outta here?" Yang yelled back, squinting her red eyes through the ash. It would fall soon, but it wasn't falling fast enough, not for her.

"Nah, just means I know it's hard to dodge what ya can't see." Yang felt her eyes widen. Not good.

She twisted, turned, and started to run out of the ash-cloud. Didn't help that it was night. Didn't help that every direction was the same. And didn't help that she was starting to feel like beaten meat!

But what really didn't help was running face first into one of Roman's mechs.

A mech with a gun aimed right behind her, like it knew where she was.

Maybe it was aiming for the cloud in general. Maybe it was gonna shoot thinking the ash was a barrel and she was the fish. But really, that didn't matter. Cause it was going to shoot.

"Oh fu-" Yang didn't get to finish. She didn't have time, even knowing when everything was going to occur.

She didn't have time as the bullet was ignited inside the chamber, sliding and spinning down its length towards her. She didn't have time to raise her arms, too tired and weak to do anything more than lift. She didn't even have time to cuss.

**BOO-RRRIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

Yang felt the bullet slam into the earth behind her, exploding like all the others before it. And all she could do was feel.

She felt her body get thrown over the dead earth for like the umpteenth time, bruises screaming at her and Aura flickering away. She felt her _other_ ear give out, leaving her hearing about as much sound as Uncle Qrow after a mean binge.

The way she got to her feet made her _feel_ like that, too.

Her sense of equilibrium was swaying with the damage to her ears. It wasn't good, at all. She wasn't falling over, but she was maybe 80% sure this was what drunk felt like.

For the first time, she was rather sure she'd never want to touch the stuff. This felt _awful_.

But not as awful as knowing that there were still two Atlesian Mechs with size-compensatingly sized bullets. Two of them.

Not six like before. She'd taken out four. She had the scars to prove it now. Scars, and _maybe_ a bit of fatigue. Yeah, just a bit.

It wasn't like she was struggling to breath, or getting hazy vision, or finding her Aura flickering or anything like that, _no way_. She had a Semblance that wouldn't let her quit. And if she couldn't quit, that just meant she had to keep fighting.

Her fingers flexed into fine fists as she kept her red eyes forward, feeling her hair wave without a breeze. Pain did a lot for her, anger helped, but determination? That was something she didn't need her Semblance for.

Besides, she didn't need to beat these guys, she just had to stall them. It was always a choice between the two. Now, the choice was just made for her.

"If you can hear me Roman!" Yang yelled, her own voice little more than a dull far-off sound. "I'm gonna tear you a new one with those mechs of yours!"

Her feet dug into the ground, sending her forward with all the speed she could manage. If nothing else, she could at least know when everything was going to happen. These damn ears were helping. Now if only they could make up for her busted ones

* * *

Weiss watched on, horrified, at all that was before her.

Lana was just beneath her, a cracked and gray husk of the girl that had run into an inferno to save the lives of children.

Ruby was dodging and fighting a illusionist that was aiming to take their lives.

And Yang was fighting mechs designed to combat Ancient Grimm. Atlesian Mechs, when properly piloted, could combat

The very fact that they were still alive was nothing short of a miracle. But even when gazing at one, she had to note the reasons for it.

Lana wasn't human, no matter what the mini-drones and she said, or did say. She was a golem, a machine of clay, and likely alive because of that. Every part of her was vital, but simultaneously able to endure removal so long as enough of her remained. She was in no hurry to find out what that percentage was.

Ruby was not fighting this 'Neo' girl in a fight. She was playing keep away. That meant that every opportunity the girl had to kill Ruby, she instead took as a chance to get closer to them. Ruby's speed, bless her Semblance, was making it increasingly difficult for the villain.

Yang was not fighting professionally piloted Mechs. She was fighting robots controlled by a B-List criminal and some foreign tool that she had never heard of, and he had likely not either. It made their movements slow, their coordination poor, and ability to flank a mute point.

They were the reasons they had survived this long, but she couldn't tell how much longer they would last.

Lana had not 'regrown' or altered her body as the mini-drones appeared to swear she would. Ruby was losing, not gaining, ground on the assassin. Yang was fighting well, but she could tell her boxer of a teammate was on her last legs.

If this kept up… it would all be for nothing.

She had to do something, but what? Her Aura was exhausted from using the tome Lana had given her. A still marvelous tool that she apparently had used in such a reckless fashion it made her attacks less efficient than possible. Blake was no different.

Though a quick glance told her the faunus was still wearing the red magical cloak, Weiss had little doubt using the tool again was out of the question for the same reason. It needed power to operate, like all things, and their Aura was all they had to give.

So, Weiss knew she was out of Aura, she could suspect Blake was in a similar situation, and Lana was far beyond such a point. It would be nothing short of indirect suicide to join either fight.

She bit her lip in annoyance, squeezing her hands into fists.

Something similarly squeezed on her dress.

Her blue eyes looked down, seeing the small faunus gripping her tightly. Both hands were balled into her once alabaster dress, now stained a dark gray with the ash and dirt of the ground. IT hardly compared to the soot that clung to the child's once brilliant green gown.

A tunic that was given to her be the same golem that now lay shattered next to them. The child was crying for obvious reasons, reasons Weiss could not allow herself to share.

She was a Huntress, if only in training. She could not indulge in the sorrow and pity of her circumstances, not until they were resolved.

Carefully, she laid her hands upon the child's own small grasp. Weiss watched the faunus's ears bob before she looked up at her. And she was correct. The young wolf faunus had tears staining her auburn eyes. A pitiable sight.

"It will be alright," Weiss whispered to the girl. She blinked through her tears, the young girl that is. "Ruby and Yang are superb fighters… as strong as they are determined."

The young faunus didn't speak, but she pushed herself closer to the Schnee Heiress. It was all Wiess could do to hold the young child close. It was all she could do.

"How much time is left?" She heard Blake whisper. She was not speaking to Weiss.

"Three minutes, maybe four…" Tatl spoke, perched atop Lana's cracked chest. A wound that had extended through the golem's arm.

It was impossible for Weiss to believe that anything of benefit would happen within that time, short of Roman and Neo being taken down by her teammates. You did not regain strength as your body underwent more harm. Nothing did.

She could not believe Lana would have some magical jump of energy, enough to sway the battle, while her body was still falling apart.

They needed to escape, to help Lana in some way.

She could still think of none.

**BOOM! BOOM!**

Weiss turned away from Ruby, against her wishes, to see the remaining Atlesian Mechs doing battle with Yang. It took their team to deal a death blow to one, and even that was Yang then. Now there were six.

There were six. Now there were two. It still wasn't a victory.

Even hundreds of feet away, Weiss could tell Yang was in no position to declare victory or appear confident. Pride was not something she could even claim until the battle was over. And her appearance beget nothing of pride.

Her stance was as solid as melting ice, appropriate given her fiery nature. Shaky feet with red eyes focused on the stolen mechs Roman controlled. Her golden mane, still burning like the songs she loved the screech, still framed her body, even as the pair of faux bunny ears stood high upon her head. How humorous the image would be in any other circumstance.

It was neither horrific nor awe-inspiring. She had too many qualities of both. Her wounds too plentiful, despite the scrap metal that once were mechs surrounding her. Her stance too unsure, in spite of the strength that her fists still held.

She was a pillar of strength, wavering under an onslaught. Ruby was a flag in the wind, avoiding blows but gaining no ground.

This was a waiting game in the worst of words.

"Tatl," Weiss spoke again, hand still holding the faunus child to her. "How much time does Link still need?" It was Lana who was injured, but she was only memories. Link was the one who had put his life on the line, and who was now gripping it with but a finger.

"A minute… maybe more?" The normally vocal fairy responded, still resting on the golem's chest. The cracking of her hand had ebbed up her arm. Weiss no longer dare to look at it.

**TWANG!**

Weiss eyes shot to Ruby, looking at her fighting Neo. The sound came from them, and too quickly was it clear what that sound was.

Somehow, someway, Neo had hit Crescent Rose from Ruby's grasp.

Her partner's scythe sailed through the air, spinning quickly and away from her. It hit the ground in an unspectacular fashion, kicking up dust and ash. The scythe itself was not Weiss's concern. It was not the reason her blood felt colder.

It was the distance it was from Ruby, her partner, currently embroiled in a death match.

She didn't need to see Blake's eyes to know she thought the same thing. A huntress without her weapon was at a sever disadvantage. Against an opponent as experienced as this bitch of an assassin, it was detrimental.

And the ice-cream bitch knew it. Weiss could see her grinning, snarling, tilting her head at Ruby. She was holding up her parasol, hand on her hip and leaning towards one side. She was confident.

And Ruby wasn't moving. Why wasn't that dunce moving?!

"You… You still have to get through me!" Ruby yelled out again, spreading her arms out. What was she doing? What was she thinking? Weiss couldn't even begin to comprehend! "You still won't hurt my friends?"

"Oh no…" Weiss heard the pervert of a fairy let out. Weiss, coldly, agreed with him. The dunce was risking too much. The feeling in her gut only worsened when she saw the assassin shrug her shoulder.

"Move Ruby," she felt herself whispering, staring with unblinking eyes at the sight. "Get out of the way." Both her hands came around the young girl still pushing herself against her. If rose came to worse… "Get out of the way!"

**BANG!**

Weiss's cold blood froze as Ruby's aura faltered. It did not improve as Ruby fell to her knees.

The brat! What was she thinking!? Did she take the bullet on purpose?! Could she not dodge it?! No, of course she couldn't, because she didn't want to risk their lives.

"You idiot! Ruby! Get out of the way!" She was screaming now, not caring if Roman and his stolen tools came after them. She would not witness her partner sacrifice herself!

"Run Ruby!" Blake shouted next to her.

"You've done enough! Get out of there!" Tatl even, the fairy's color similar to her brother's.

Weiss felt the faunus in her arms shake.

But Ruby wasn't moving. Not even as Neo unsheathed a long blade.

"Ruby! Dodge it! Dodge it you idiot!" Weiss curled her fingers into Moraine's dress, holding the young child to her mid-section, even as it bellowed with her cry.

She couldn't tear her eyes away, no matter how much she wanted to. She settled for screaming with her voice.

Screaming as Ruby stared up at Neo with both knees buckled, refusing to move even as her death approached.

This couldn't be happening. This was not real. Her head shook, her arms trembled, her eyes watered. This couldn't be real.

"Ruby!" She yelled again, even as Neo slice with her sword.

**TWING!**

And it bounced off a silver a glyph.

Weiss could hardly breathe for a moment, her eyes so wet she though her vision was false. She rubbed them against the sleeve of her dress, looking again towards her partner. When she did, she saw the same sight.

Ruby protected by a spinning glyph and Neo taking some large steps away.

"Weiss… is that you?" Blake asked from her side, but she knew it wasn't. She knew because she barely ad the Aura to summon a shield let along a glyph at such a distance and density. No, it wasn't hers. But she had a strong hope of who's it was.

And said hope landed in front of her immaculately.

A figure, though dressed so alike to her, was far taller, far more composed, and far more able than her. Holding a curved sword in one hand, knee bent with her fall, and her free arm aiming towards her partner, Weiss had no doubt who it was.

"Winter?" Weiss spoke her sister's name in a breathless whisper. Her elder sibling did not even turn head.

"It is alright, Weiss," her sister spoke, with the same cold voice she knew her sibling to carry. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes, even as she felt her hands grips the young faunus's ash stained dress with clenched fists. "You are safe now."

And Weiss, for the first time of the night, believed it.

Her lips trembled as a relieved breath of air fell from them, corners tilting up as relief swept over her. She gathered the faunus in her arms even tighter, so glad that no lives were lost. Miracles must have felt like this.

"Yang, what about-" Blake's question remained unasked, because the answer was wholly obvious.

It was hard to mistake one of the Atlesian Mechs faltering and falling over, even in the dark.

Weiss watched her blonde teammate stand still, staring at the toppled monolith as they doubtlessly all were. It wasn't difficult to figure out why, seeing as its transversal cannon arm had been severed rather cleanly. But it wasn't obvious how.

Until a white jacketed slob was seen in front of her, a blade as large as the mess of a man himself. It was only just after Weiss noticed the man that she noticed the missing arm from the Mech standing in front of her teammate. What she did not see was the strike that disarmed the machine.

The injured blonde fell down the moment after, in tandem with relief washing over Weiss. She was safe, like they were safe. They were all safe.

"Grimm damn Deus ex Machina bullshit!" The snake in white clothing yelled somewhere across the dark battlefield. It was music to Weiss's ears. "If there's a god up there, he's working overtime to PISS ME OFF!" Orchestras were less satisfying than this.

"Thanks… thank you," Weiss heard Tatl speak, doubtlessly floating to her sister's side. A quick glance was all she needed to see to confirm it. "You're a real life saver… seriously."

"Thanks are unnecessary," Winter returned, eyes focused on the enemy ahead of her. It was a lesson Weiss knew well, to neve lose focus. "I would suggest taking care of the girl now, if she still lives." The… oh, Winter didn't know either.

"She's a golem, Winter," Weiss spoke quickly, before any of the others could insult her sister, even if accidentally. "She's alive, just recovering. Ruby… Ruby was keeping us safe."

Ruby, her stupid headstrong leader, now pushing herself away from Neapolitan and her sister's spinning glyph. She was safe, as they all were.

"I see… she is like another of Zepp's creations then." Weiss recognized the name, from their time at the Badlands with General Ironwood. He was responsible for the Pegasus model. She supposed it made sense that it was animatronic. It was hardly the most surprising thing she'd heard or seen. "Then care for her while Qrow and I deal with this."

Her sword swung out in front of her, the familiar sing of the steel in the air music to Weiss's ears. She held the faunus girl in her arms a little tighter, the relief palpable.

"…Wait," Blake spoke up. Weiss turned to her, seeing the faunus-in-hiding staring out into the dark woods.

Or, more accurately, lacking the relief she should have had.

"There's… something else coming." Weiss fought against her instincts to brush away the comment. Blake had the senses and hearing of a cat. It was not the time to rob her sisters of potential information, especially regarding coming threats.

"What is? Is it another Mech?" It was the likely culprit to Weiss, given the six that Roman had produced before. Perhaps it was.

Neo was still holding still, wisely know that her sister could strike at any given time. It was just a matter of it until she was done for.

"Maybe…" Blake responded. Tael was calm on her shoulder, far better than moments prior. "Roman… he's confident it will give him time to escape." Then not a victory, but equally poor an outcome.

"Then he'll be doing so alone," Winter spoke as she marched forward. Weiss watched, captivated as she always was about her sister, as glyphs began to sparkle around her. She tried to subdue her joy at Neo's clear unease. She failed spectacularly, grinning widely. "For his partner will not be pardoned for what she did."

And Weiss knew she would. She knew her sister would do as she promised, just as she always had. They were safe, and they were being avenged. It was truly working out.

"Alright, comin' in behind ya." Her head twisted to see the depraved uncle of her partner bouncing over to them. She held back her disgust, letting it disappear underneath the relief that continued to wash over her. "Just droppin' off the injured, and this looks like the spot."

Weiss didn't need to think long on what he meant, not when she saw Ruby and Yang in his arms. She had completely missed him sweeping up either of her teammates. But she did not miss catching her partner as she was dropped near her. Neither did Blake for Yang, moving swiftly around Lana to do so.

"Ruby!" She called out her partner's name, feeling the younger girl settle like thick putty in her arms. "Be careful with her! She is your niece."

"It's fine, Weiss," Ruby spoke up in her arms, before pushing herself off onto the ground. The distance gave the heiress time to see the look in her partner's silver eyes, her tired and hazy eyes. Her Aura really was gone. "I'm fine, it's fine, we're all fine. Wait… is Link fine?"

At least her tact hadn't changed.

"Jeesh, I said injured, not dead." Weiss wiped away any idea in her mind that Ruby and the deplorable man above her were unrelated. "Man, is that bullet wound? In the head? You girls got nerves of steel ta be stickin' around her."

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby shouted up at her uncle, lips pouting as she usually did. It was oddly comforting, seeing a familiar sight in an unfamiliar place. "She's not dead! She's just hurt… really bad." That as well.

"Yeah, I got that," the man returned. "Gonna need more than a band-aid to patch her up." And here Weiss believed no one could be more revolting or polarizing than Ruby and her sister. She had yet to meet the whole family.

"Okay, booze-dog, time to get your nose outta the bottle!" Weiss saw a flash of gold ring in front of Qrow's face. She felt her lips pull into a smirk as the fairy went off on the man. "Lana almost got herself killed helpin' out Moraine and the rest of the kids from being burned alive, only ta walk out here and get shot by that creep along the way. If you wanna piss us off, can it wait until after we're outta this place!?"

Using her father's negotiating skills, Weiss saw that as an excellent compromise. The slob of a man clearly lacked any form of business etiquette.

"Probably a good idea. Not like she can take any blow, right?" Weiss almost felt a tooth crack as she grit her jaw.

She felt a weak hand grip her dress again, Moraine gripping her dress once more. The poor child, putting herself between the injured golem and the Aureless heiress.

"Qrow, prepare yourself, something is coming." Winter's words came a pleasant break to the man's horrible discussion. Even more so, he appeared to listen.

He approached Winter in the same step that he stood, he large blade in hand positioned over his shoulder, eyes down the ashen land. Neo still stared across at them, wary of the glyph floating in front of her. Roman still out in the woods somewhere, as Blake had said.

Blake… and Yang. Weiss had nearly forgotten about them, Dust forgive her. A quick look to her side gave her a good view of the pair.

Yang was draped over Blake, blood pooling slowly from her ears and blonde hair crusted with dust and ash. Her Aura was gone, doubtlessly, and it her Semblance could not take the abuse that the Mech's were capable of supplying. It made sense to Weiss, but it didn't make the sight any less horrific.

Her invincible teammate, a brute that fought better the harder the fight, nearly unconscious in Blake's arms. Yang's eyes loosely blinked, chest rising with labored breaths that belayed the intensity of her fight. The only thing miraculous about her appearance, her state of having no broken limbs aside, were the faux- bunny ears still on her head.

But she was safe now, with them, behind Winter and Qrow. She had fought hard, and well. Link and Lana… all of them had survived thanks to her intensity. She'd be sure to repay Yang with a new set of clothes later, maybe a trip to Vale if she were willing. The same for Ruby as well, perhaps offering to give choice parts from the Schnee Dust Catalog.

Speaking of Ruby…

"Hey, you see Crescent anywhere?" Her partner's voice spoke up, her head shifting across the charred land. "I'm sure I had it a minute ago… right?" Weiss could tell her partner was teetering on the edge of unconsciousness as well.

Clearly, given her rattled mind, she was not used to Aura depletion. She hadn't trained like Weiss had with her father and sister, under militaristic procedures. Certainly not like Yang or Blake, their skill coming from the seedier of Remnant's locals. Thankfully, Weiss could care for her a little more now.

"We'll find your scythe in a bit Ruby," Weiss spoke up, extending a hand towards the young girl. It settled on her shoulder. "For now, just… just stay here with me. Okay?"

"I can't." The words made Weiss grip her partner's shoulder even harder. "I can't do nothing. Nothing doesn't work." A slow sigh left her lips as she heard the words.

"You've done far more than enough," Weiss comforted Ruby again. "Your uncle is here, my sister is here, and those miscreants are minutes away from having their due being given back to them." She was not about to let the girl run out again, even to find her weapon. Dangerous didn't cover the hazard that would present.

"But Link's hurt still," Ruby replied loosely again, using words that were far from loose in meaning. "I wasn't fast enough, so I gotta make up for it. I have to move, o-or it'll get worse. And worse is worse than bad."

"Ruby, listen to me," Weiss spoke louder to her teammate, doing what she could to grab her attention. "Everyone is here, right here, as in Yang, Blake, Tatl, Tael, Moraine, you, and I. All of us. My sister can defend us if we are closer together. After those heathens are taken in… then we can go find Crescent Rose." Weiss knew her partner well. More than that, she knew how to use her knowledge.

"… You promise?" Ruby asked, relieving Weiss of some minor stress. "Everyone's going to be okay?" Only for it to pile back on.

Her eyes looked towards the golem, unintentionally. One arm completely caved in, head following suit, cracks lining her exposed abdomen, and clothing losing its color.

It was a miracle to even consider the thing alive in the first place. It was a curse to realize that it's safety is what guaranteed Link's. For that, their safety had to be just as sure.

"I promise," Weiss spoke back. She felt Moraine grab her, going further to rub her head and ash covered ears into her abdomen. She did not push the child away. "I promise we will be safe."

"Princess ain't wrong, kiddo." The heiress looked up, seeing the degenerate man standing next to her. His grin was sloppy and undeserving of the circumstances, in any measure of them. "Me and the Ice Queen have got this. You just sit tight here with your partner and we'll clean house."

What Weiss wanted to do was scoff at the man, believing he was capable of any compassion while speaking like he was steps outside a bar. What Weiss knew she had to do was accept the man at face.

It did help significantly that he was holding Ruby's precious scythe.

Her partner grabbed it, holding the folded weapon to her chest. Even in an altered mental state brought on by Aura depletion, Ruby still held her 'child' close. It was endearing in a 'Ruby' way.

"Keep her safe for me, kay?" It took Weiss a moment to realize the drunkard was speaking to her. She stiffened her lip, but nodded towards him.

"You don't need to tell me to do something so obvious," she still spoke against the man, earning a callous laugh. It was like sandpaper against her ears.

"Oh no." And that was like ice down her soul.

Weiss looked towards Blake, still holding the unconscious Yang in her arms. Her golden eyes were not on her equally golden partner, but into the dark woods far beyond her sight could see, for Weiss at least. But Blake still looked towards them, a look of unease clear on her face, the same unease she saw moments before Lana jumped into the fire before.

"What is it?" She asked immediately. Weiss could already tell Winter and Qrow were paying equal amounts of attention. "Blake what did he do?" It had to be Roman, she would not have been concerned otherwise. Neo was still under her sister's heavy guard.

"He has a Spider Mech." That was not the correct name for it, but the tech behind it was unmistakable.

**GRRRAAAAAA**

And if it was by name, the appearance of it corrected it.

No sooner had Blake spoken of Roman's hidden trump card than did it appear from the shadowy trees, roaring like a disturbed Grimm with red lines to match. It was too far off to shake the ground, but still so close that they could see it tear through the tree line with ease.

The Atlesian Mechs were scrap around it, four having been taken out by Yang and the remaining two by her Uncle. But Weiss knew she'd prefer for six more of Atlas's Mechs than one of those spiders.

The difference was in their core usage. The Atlesian Mechs were before were designed for support and artillery distraction, too big to ignore and too heavy to simply topple. The Spider Mech was designed for mass suppression. Four cannons for twice as many arms and six legs to make crippling impossible.

Even if her sister was here, having to defeat such a thing without a single shot of its cannons hitting them… it was difficult, compounded by the fact that none of her teammates had Aura left to spare. Even that was foregoing the mini-drones, young faunus in her arms, and the broken form of Lana.

And the Spider Mech was already beating across the ground towards them. Now the ash covered ground rumbled.

"Course he had an ace up his sleeve, crooks love that trick," Qrow spoke as if he had prior knowledge. Weiss was sure it was first-hand experience. "Still not the best decision though, trying to piss me off." The slob of a man hooked his sword, forcing the motor within it roar. He truly was Ruby's uncle, using such a ludicrous weapon.

"I have his accomplice cornered," Winter spoke up, Neo truly still staring down at the rotating glyphs. "Take care of the Mech, and we should be able to retain Roman with minimal issue."

"Gotcha covered, Ice Queen." Even with the barb, Weiss could tell they were working together. Of course they were. Winter was a professional huntress, the pride of the Weiss family. Qrow, deplorable of a hunter as he was, was still a hunter.

A threat was being levied against them, and the professionals acted as such to prevent harm. This was what she was aspiring to be.

"He's not trying to capture us, or Link," Blake spoke up. Weiss stared at her, even as she looked towards Winter and Qrow. "Roman knows he's lost, and that Mech isn't to help him win."

Then what was the point? He was wasting valuable resources against them for fun? An Atlesian Mech wasn't a simple thing to commandeer, but a Spider Mech was leagues above it in difficulty to take. To simple throw them away like… distractions…

"… It's to help him escape." Weiss realized it as she spoke it, the same way he had acted in the Train Car on its way to Vale. He was throwing his tools… as he ran away. "Winter! It's a distraction!"

**BOOM!BOOM!**

The Spider Mech fired two of its anteriorly mounted cannons. Neither of them were aimed for their group. They were aimed towards a target that Weiss knew was now obvious.

Winter's glyphs, the ones surrounding Neopolitan.

Like crashing glass, the dust-charged cannons slammed through her sister's semblance, turning them into useless shards. The ice-cream themed villain was running from them moments later, already hidden by ash, dust, and the night around them. Weiss heard someone curse, but could not tell who.

"You are not escaping!" Winter yelled out, thrusting her sword forward. In time, thrice as many glyphs appeared around Neo.

CRASH!

Only for the charging Spider Mech to slam through them like the brute that it was.

Strong as the glyphs were, Weiss knew it took time, patience, and the proper dust to form glyphs able to endure the blow of charging Mechs. They were too heavy, too large, and possessed too much inertia for spontaneous glyphs to stop.

Neo possessed no such problem. The little assassin was already beyond Weiss's eye-sight, forcing Weiss to bite her lip.

"I'll handle the Mech," Qrow spoke up now, running ahead. "You get the dwarf." He was gone in a second, charging at the mech. It wasn't optimal, but it was satisfactory.

Surely Qrow could handle one Mech, at least long enough for Winter to subdue the fleeing thief. Roman wouldn't risk a partner that could talk to be captured, or else he would soon be apprehended himself.

"Watch out!" Weiss shirked at Blake's sudden shout. Qrow had no such hesitation. Thankfully so.

**BOOM!**

For another Spider Mech appeared from the forest, running towards them with as much ferocity as the former. Weiss felt her blood boil, even through the frigid air.

How had Roman gained these resources? Ironwood himself would have had difficultly gaining these number of mechs! Was there a traitor? Where the councilors aiding him in this mess?

But worst of all, was this the sum of their efforts?

Was this it? They were safe, but were the Tri-colored thieves truly about to escape with little more than wounded pride? Was this all for naught?

Weiss gripped her hand till her pale knuckles turned white as snow. It couldn't be.

Even as she watched her sister throw up glyph after glyph, attempting to stop the fleeing thief, each one of them was shattered by cannon fire from the Spider Mech. And even Qrow couldn't aid her for a reason, even she could understand.

Distracting one of the mechs was difficulty enough, let alone attempting to stop another at the same time. It was simply too much, and worse now, they were on a time scale they could not afford to lose.

Because now it was Roman and Neo escaping, not them. And that would be as bad as losing.

"It's time." Weiss looked towards Tael, the perverted dark min-drone whispering with a ring. From Blake's shoulder, he floated above Lana's broken body, hanging above it.

"Yeah, she's ready." Tatl joined him. Her words, their words, meant a great deal. Was Lana going to repair herself? "Cause you're not gonna let those child-killers get away, right?" She wasn't talking to them. She was talking to Link...

But Lana didn't respond. Her body, crumbled on the ground, still refused to move. Weiss watched her with bated breath, ignoring the fighting across the ashen ground. If something was going to happen, it was going to be right here.

"Those worms will not see the light tomorrow."

And it was, just from above her.

She looked up, seeing one of Lana's golden gates circling above them. It was the same gate she had used at the Vale Docks, from Penny's Holo-Screen. The blue aura that fell from it carried another being, someone else she had seen before.

It was Mikau, or Impa, or any of Link's friends. It was someone she felt terrified to look at.

It was Lana, garbed in darkness, and with the eyes of the Grimm.

She floated down from the swirling portal, heels touching down just above Lana's head. Weiss stared at her, in her risqué outfit and darkened skin. The eyes were warm with hatred, but pierced with an apathetic cold. Vibrant blue hair replaced with shadowy wisps, and a smile that seemed to promise nothing but pain.

And in her hand, carried like a deadly tool was a scepter. A scepter that had gear-like objects rotating about it. She did not recognize them, not at first. But Weiss was an academic, well-studied and able to apply knowledge where she needed. So she knew by consequence of the objects around her what they were.

A single Gate of Souls hung above them, with two others on Beacon grounds. The gates of Time were discarded across the ground, having fallen followings Lana's fall. But spinning about the scepter were the last of the trio.

This scepter was either powered, or being powered, but the Guardian Gates. All at once.

"How's Link?" Tatl spoke up. The mini-drone appeared utterly un-phased by the new arrival. Not unexpected, but still unnerving on its own. It would be like a civilian greeting an Ursa Major. "Guessin' it was his idea to have you help."

"Indeed," the woman spoke eyes on the cracked body of Lana beneath her. Her eyes focused for a moment on the body. Weiss didn't have the air to ask a question. Blake fared little better. "Lana refused to take a risk. So now I am here to correct her mistakes, once more."

The scepter waved over Lana's body.

Then Lana's body turned to dust.

"GAAAHHH! GAH!" Weiss wrapped her arms around Moraine, the wolf-faunus simply howling at the sight. She could blame the child for nothing. Weiss could not even lift her blade to strike down the woman.

But Ruby could, and did.

Her precious Crescent Rose was aimed at the woman, even in shaking arms. Weiss knew her partner would fire, wanted to, but didn't want to kill someone. That didn't mean she was above threatening. Weiss could take care of the words her partner couldn't speak.

"Why did you do that?!" Weiss yelled at the dark woman, at the mini-drones that seemed careless for what happened. Truly they were machines, having their authorities gifted to another 'user'. "Why!?"

"Calm yourself," the woman returned. "Lana is being repaired through time." Weiss did not know what that meant. She didn't care. "Her spirit is already within another golem, thrice like the models that came before her."

"… thrice?" Blake asked. Yang still said nothing. Ruby, beside Weiss, didn't lower her scythe. "What do you mean?"

"Something that will be explained later." The woman spoke, eyes forward and beyond them. "For now, there are flies I need to squash." The woman raised her scepter.

Wiess watched as the Gates of Time followed her motions, rising into the air and swirling like they had in their room, only hours ago. The dark copy of Lana threw her arm down, sending them outward.

They flew like disks, and struck the far-off Spider Mech like lightning.

Sparks of blue flew from the spider mech, as if the ethereal portals of the gates had been forced open. But that was hardly a fitting comparison. It implied that the gates were injured. It could not have been more incorrect.

Because in those sparks of blue, the spider Mech was blown to pieces.

Bombs, carrying explosive dust, carried less harm than those gates did. The monstrous Spider Mech was stripped into pieces, flying about the ashen land without grace or care, parts of its body disappearing into the far off woods, others crumpling to the ground unceremoniously.

The disks did not simply strike once. They were like bees. Overly-sized, especially deadly, completely merciless bees. They swiped through the Spider Mech once before circling around it and striking again. An orbit without pause or burden.

In the matter of seconds, this woman had turned one of the hallmarks of Atlesian Engineering into scrap. And she did not even act as if it were difficult.

"Now… for the other." Weiss felt herself gulp. She did not check to see what her teammates did, let alone her sister.

This woman was all that mattered now.

* * *

Lana was dying, Link knew this. She was a golem, born through the magic of her sister and cared for the family of her clan. She was strong, she was endearing, and she was one of the most loyal allies he had ever had.

And she was dying. Dying so similar to how she had died before. On the ground, friends beside her, and the lives she had saved watching her. Link couldn't save her before, because he did not know how to save a golem.

They did not drink red potions. Fairies could not rejuvenate their injured limbs. There was nothing to regrow. As Lana now reminded Link, she wasn't alive. She was just moving parts, moving by the will of another.

But her soul was real, as real as the thoughts she had and actions she took. The same actions that she failed to regret, even if they led her to moments like this.

Moments with Link looking in, seeing his friend dying to save lives she hardly knew.

Lana knew she was dying, the same way that Link did. One knew, so both knew, but only one was refusing to accept the end. The same one that had fought for lives he did not know, in lands he did not recognize.

But he knew how to save her. Even Tatl and Tael knew how to save her. It was simply a way Lana was nervous to follow. But Link wouldn't let her die.

Cia wouldn't want her to die again.

And so Cia would save her like she couldn't before. The dark sorceress, creator and sister of the white witch, seer of time and professional of magic. She could help Lana now.

She could help by swapping places, through the Gate of Souls and soul of another.

Lana's broken and fallen body could return to the ethereal portals of the Gate of Souls, to repair in a place beyond Time's river. And in her place, Cia could stand, to act as Lana would.

Or, more accurately, as Lana should.

"Pathetic thing," Cia spoke coldly, a tone that matched the dark and dreary land. Her lavender eyes focused on the metallic beast, a poor Gerudo creation of the monster Ghoma, if she were to guess. "Do you believe you had even a chance for escape? From me?"

Her heels stabbed the charred ground as she walked, scepter slapping her hand impatiently. Her magic bound the limbs of the metallic thing, threads of time brought forward from the matching Gates. Link knew of their strength.

"Attacking children, attacking Link, for the inane thought of thought of besting him? Ha!" Cia swiped her scepter downward. A gate of time following her motion.

It cut one of the large creature's metal limbs swiftly, like a headsman's axe through a repeat offender.

Sparks and whirrs of noise came from the creature, flailing uselessly still in Cia's strings. She had no intention of releasing it. Link was fully aware why.

"Using squires like pawns, using weapons without skills." Another swing, slicing through the end digits of the creature's limbs. The grinding of metal was similar to the smithies of Gorons, but producing the opposite effect.

The Gohma like thing was held up by the string alone. Link knew it was more by Cia's whims than by t Time's decree the creature was about to die.

"Then you belittle us, believing falsely in your victory!" Cia raised her staff, directing the Gates of Times to fly upwards with the motion. The strands of time weaved between them followed the same. The metal structure was not so capable.

The strings of Time cut through it simply and unceremoniously, reducing the few parts of the metal beast into fine sheets of steel. Scrap to be given to smithies and refineries. Far from a threat, useless on a battlefield.

And it crumped upon the ashen land, leaving not a trace of the monstrous beast that so nearly threatened them. It was gone.

But its masters were not.

"And worse than that, you believed you could escape from ME!" Cia's swept her scepter into the dark woods, letting a duo of gates fly into the wounded trees, quickly out of sight.

They cut through bark and foliage without consequence, their speed and trajectory unaltered. She did not need to see them to know where they were. She did not need to see them to know they had capture the fleeing killers.

The portal that remained behind settled in the air, glowing the same ethereal blue as the others. Cia waited, ignoring the others around her. They could wait for her. They would be rewarded for their patience, and soon were.

Soundlessly, the two criminals dropped from the spinning gate, landing on backs and awkwardly bent legs. Their landing was far from graceful. Their appearances were much the same.

Cia stared at the two, recognizing neither. Link recognized one, only by the name that she was referred to as through the night so far. It meant the other was the other name that was being cursed, but Ruby, Weiss, and Blake.

Roman Torchwick, the white gowned man with flaming red hair, and Neopolitan, the double-haired colored short woman. They both gazed up at Cia with a mixture of contempt and fear. She far preferred the latter. She cared little for the former.

"Two thieves, caught in their treachery," Cia spoke down to them, batting the Scepter in her hand back and forth. "What grand torture awaits the pair of you?"

The things she could do to them was vast. But she could only do so many before their bodies gave out.

"How about we don't do anything like that. Least not yet." Cia turned her head, only enough to gaze a the poorly dressed man behind her. His weapon was the only thing impressive about him.

Compensation, the kind that Link did not need. Link did not put any of his focus onto Cia's thought. Besides, there was something more important to think about.

"Nothing?" Cia repeated. "After the horror they wrought and attempted to do, you believe nothing is the proper way to handle them?" The thieves would be paid their due. If the man was to join them, more's the pity.

"What Qrow means is this is not the proper place to conduct and interrogation," the other woman spoke now. Link recognized her as the elder sister to Weiss, Winter. She had the stature and skill, supposedly, to be thus. Cia did not believe it. "For their crimes, the two will be taken into custody for information."

"Great, back to the slammer." Cia turned her head towards the man who spoke, Roman. His voice was snide and full of undue confidence. "What's that, the second time this month? Eh, maybe two for two. Least now I'll have a roommate to-"

**SMACK!**

The man was silenced as Cia slammed the head of her scepter across his face.

"Gah! AGH!" He yelled once out of shock, twice for the pain. Both were what Cia wanted to hear. Link, remembering the children he could not save, felt no pity for the man either. "The fuck! What is that stuff!?"

"Beyond your compression, clearly," Cia noted down to the man. Her eyes flashed over his shorter companion, still mute as Link in his rest. "But don't fret, perhaps before I knock the brain from your skull, you'll understand the forces you've upset."

"You've got an 'A' game when it comes to intimidation, anyone ever tell ya that?" the man spoke again. Link whispered his name was Qrow, the uncle to both Ruby and Yang, the sisters whom had nearly given their lives saving Link and Lana. By that much, he was worth some breath of air. "But seriously, we do too much to them and we're not gonna have the chance to talk to 'em later."

"He is correct." The sister now. "There is proper procedure for handling the heinous criminals such as these. Following it, we will be able to both punish them and find their hidden compatriots." They truly were asking her to do nothing.

Cia knew them to be fools. Link knew them, more simply, to be naive.

"Course, if they come back with a broken limb or two, gonna be hard to pin it on you," Qrow continued. "There was kinda a lot goin' on. Who's to say one of those flyin' pieces of scrap metal didn't hit 'em?" Perhaps he had some good points, Cia realized.

"That is what we must not do." The woman was another story.

"I don't know, I'm liking booze hound's plan." Tatl spoke up now, the loyal fairy flittering about Cia. Her gold worked well with her palate, though not as well as Tael's lavender. "Pretty sure they're do that much. Hey, why don't we ask the kids?"

Cia grinned. An excellent question. The squires had given nearly their all to defend Link. They were due their pound of flesh. Link knew they were due the tools they were gifted, not much more.

"Absolutely not!" Winter bellowed back, befitting her name. "They are due medical attention before anything else. You should be thankful I have already contacted Glynda, having her send the proper equipment as we speak." That was good, tools that uses for them.

Speaking of tools, however…

Her darkened eyes floated towards the High Dominion Rod, the source of troubles for the girls. It truly was no replica, not by her astute eye, nor by Link's memory. It was the genuine article. It's very existence in this time left too many questions to be answered in a single session.

But those would come through the working of these assassins, time and patience, that is. Tael and Tatl were safe, as were the squires from Beacon. And perhaps, most importantly, the child Moraine.

Cia's eyes looked at her, the girl that Lana had very nearly given her life for. She clutched the alabaster girl, staring with hope filled eyes. Cia found it odd, disgusting even. Link found it redeeming, calming.

It had all so nearly gone wrong, but for now it was just.

The criminals were apprehended. The Rod was secure. And the children were safe. Nearly… all the children.

The few that were not surely would be avenged. Cia was sure of it. Link simply knew it.

That was, until, the last expected action occurred.

_Bing_

It was a noise Link knew well. It was one Cia had heard only a handful of times before. The figure it produced, however, was instantly recognizable to them both.

A demon, standing behind the duo of criminals, encased by floating diamonds.

"Why hello there!" The demon spoke with a brought grin across his gaunt face, eyes focusing hard on Cia's own. She did not break eye contact.

Even as she swung the scepter to surround the man with Gates. The noise beside her was all she needed to hear to know the other knights had done much the same with their tools. They were secondary to her own.

"My my, such the violent response," the creature spoke again, hands unfurling like blooming flower petals. It was a ghastly image across his pallor-like hands. "Is Beacon truly filled with such deplorably mannered creatures?"

The alabaster hair, the matching lips, the sickly skin, the checkered clothes, and the ever so coy bow.

Cia… no, Link recognized them in a moment.

Girahim, the Unholy Blade of the Demon King.

"You… I remember you," Qrow spoke from behind Cia's vision, trepidation on his voice. "You were at the bar. You were in Vale." The city beyond Beacon. The city next to the academy. The man's concern was evident.

A powerful warrior was so near untrained squires was never a reason to relax. And the demon that stood above the wicked man was very much that.

A deadly threat.

"Oh you do remember me. I'm thrilled to hear it!" He bowed with laughter, gray and tan diamonds floating about him as he spoke.

It was a defense, a shield, that Link was familiar with. He could sense any attack, he could avoid any attack. But the consequence was that he could not attack. But attacking wasn't his objective here, that was obvious.

One attacked when they wanted battle. They defended when they wanted to escape from it.

"But, as you can see, I am a not to have another round of drinks, sweetheart." Cia made note of it for Link to recall. He would need to address that. "My friends seem to have taken a wrong turn on the road to success, so I'm here to… give them a life."

_Bing Bing Bing_

Cia's eyes flashed about the charred field, watching as, one-by-one, the important objects vanished in exploding diamonds.

The bi-colored mute, gone in a flash. The High Dominion Rod, gone in a flash. The foul-mouthed assassin, gone in a flash.

It left only Girahim across the way, smiling fearlessly back at them.

"Pathetic worm," Cia scowled as she swiped forward, guiding the gates and their strings.

She would bind this creature the same as the monster of metal, then strip of him of his limbs before his words! It would have worked to.

_Bing_

Where the creature not gone in another flash of tan diamonds.

_Bing_

"Tsk, tsk, how unfortunate," the demon spoke from their side. Cia turned to see him standing beside Winter, hand extended as if to caress her, like a poison tempting flowers.

But the woman showed her metal as a knight, swinging her blade in a way that Link knew to be effective.

_Bing_

Against anyone but the Demon of diamonds and darkness.

_Bing_

"It appears this was all for naught, at least nearly." His voice came from behind Qrow now, the man's weapon far larger and more unsteady than Winter's simple blade.

But he was still able to swing it as Impa did the Goron Sword, effective and controlled. It sliced through the air quickly and decidingly.

_Bing_

Hitting nothing all the same.

_Bing_

"Though I do appreciate the attention, perhaps you're focusing on the wrong thing." He did not need to explain his words. They were clear to Cia, but vivid to Link.

There were few other ways to take his meaning, standing over the squires with a pair of dark long blades. And if that were not even, the faces of the girls was more than just.

They lacked the strength of their spirit, they lacked preparedness for such a foe. They were being held at sword point, and all knew the terror of the demon, if only by observation.

And Moraine staring forward, wondering for what wrong she had committed she was being punished, was enough to make Link grit his teeth. Cia shared his fury.

"You strike even one of them," Winter spoke now. "And I will join Qrow and Link in their retribution." A breaking of a devout oath, as Link recognized. Hard, but not heartless. It mattered little right now, only enough to know she valued her sister.

That was what Girahim wanted to know. His long smile told all.

"Then be glad that I am merely passing through," the demon spoke, blades not retracting. "I couldn't let my dear… associates spill their guts. Least not before I lay my hands on them."

His laughter was as sickly as his diamonds. Sharp and colored like decaying flesh. Cia pulled her lips in disgust.

"Just be aware that you are not as safe as you'd like to be. Though I will admit, also not helpless as I thought." His eyes were not on Cia as he spoke. She, herself, gripped her scepter as his own dark eyes fell on the girl's just beneath him.

"Such a wonder children are," his words taunted. "A pity they so often follow in the footsteps of their parents. All the way to the bitter end." And now his gaze was upon Cia.

Link knew he was speaking to him.

"Who the hell are you?" Qrow asked. He did not know. He didn't know what Link and Cia were both well aware of. He didn't know Girahim, even if he recognized him. "Seriously, the fuck are you?"

"I offered it before, but you were so against accepting it." The demon's taunt was a question that Link would ask later. Cia would remind him, if not the alabaster woman. "And that, is what we call a win-win."

_Bing_

And he was gone.

Cia let out a slow breath of air, summoning the gates back to her scepter. Her eyes shut in concentration, feeling not a trace of the foul demon around her. It was mixed between fortunate and cursed.

"Sister?" Weiss spoke from the squires. "What… what was that?" She truly did not know. It was unsurprising.

"Control yourself, Weiss," her sister began, sheathing her own blade. "I do not know, but we will see what we find in the debrief."

"Find what?" Blake now, Link reminded. "Just… the hell was that thing?" For her to call another living creature a thing was a remarkable deal, as Link reminded. He was told of her devotions to all life by the Headmaster of Beacon.

"He's bad, really bad," Tael started to speak. Cia focused her eyes on him. He saw her dark gaze. "I-I could tell. I just could." She calmed her sight, sight lightly.

"Yeah, no kidding. Hell of a semblance that guy's got." Qrow added as he walked towards the kids. He knelt as soon as he was close enough to them, hands on the heads of the redhead and blonde. Only one recognized his touch. The other was too beaten to care. "Glad he didn't scratch either of ya."

And it was true. Though a scratch would be preferred to a fight, nothing was the best when dealing with the Demon Blade.

He was a cruel fighter and maniac tactician. With strength of steel and wisdom of millenia, it was not something a crowd could fight and how to deal with simply. And that was not something they needed to know.

Help was coming, and the others needed to be cared for. Even Link needed his care, as Cia was to remind her champion. The squires were injured, Moraine in tears, and the orphans still back in Beacon through Soul's portal.

They didn't need to know about Girahim… yet.

The unknown had the advantage, even among allies and friends.

"So…" Qrow spoke again, eyes turning towards Cia. Link knew what was coming, as did she. "Which dead friend are you?"

And unknowns included her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	14. Testing for Exploration

Qrow had to admit, he hated meetings. It was probably the one thing he had in common with the common crowd. There was literally never anything accomplished during them.

Heck, he knew the only time meetings were good for anything was bragging. About what you did, had done, or were going to do. Bragging was the best, especially when it was in front of people who didn't have much to brag about, like a certain Ice Queen.

Of course, most meetings he was in revolved around him or what he had to do, usually at the expense of his booze or free time. Probably the biggest reason why he hated them so much.

Right now, though, he was glad that the meeting hardly involved him at all. It was all about the shape-shifting super Faunus in the room.

The current mere-man faunus sitting slumped in a chair and chugging on water. His kind of guy.

"Once more, for the record," Glynda spoke, glaring at her palm. "Explain the usage of Lana and Cia at the orphanage." She had the voice of a computer. A killer computer from space, that is.

"Geez, how many times I gotta tell you," the fish-man spoke, head lolled to his side. If Qrow hadn't seen the guy underneath the mask seconds from death earlier, he'd be marveling at the balls on the fish. "They're not tools. And they ain't ever gonna be."

"Need I remind you that there are currently several students being nursed for injuries in the infirmary." She looked up as she spoke. That was never good.

Qrow could hear the leather on Glynda's riding crop tighten.

"Students that either were carried by you or followed you to the unprotected lands beyond the Kingdom and engaged with enemy combatants in a manner they were clearly not prepared for." Even Ozpin was just staring at the desk.

That didn't say anything about the Ice Queen that was keeping herself out of the way. Far cry from the usual Schnee attitude.

"Further, there were students that were forced to care for nearly a dozen fire-burned children in their room without any training or notice of the event." Only found out about that one when they got back.

Have to give them a drink, if they were old enough. Dealing with that crap wasn't easy on a good day.

"And to add further misfortune to this tale, the bodies found both within and without the burned orphanage are likely to haunt the minds of those children for years to come." Okay, probably true, but it wasn't like they were never going to see that kind of stuff.

These kids were becoming hunters, and Qrow knew at least one of them had seen it before.

"I am not, saying this isn't a big deal." The fish man held up his web-fingered hands in defense. "I'm just saying that… I don't know. Guess I'm just saying that this a hell of a lot more than I thought I'd be dealin' with this morning." He wasn't the only one.

"Then be succinct and quick about it." As usual, Glynda had the patience of a house-fly. Too bad she had a bit that far out-matched it. "This report will be given to the Vale Authorities and likely the Atlas Military due to their presence around the city. Failure to be clear here may lead to further investigations involving you and Beacon."

This was something that Qrow had heard a hundred times before. No telling how many for the new faunus on the block.

"To be fair, Ms. Goodwitch," the Ice Queen spoke up. Honestly, that was big of her. Too bad it was probably going to fall flat soon. "Link and his… companions, were able to save many more lives tonight than would be possible otherwise. That is not to say he also supplied my sister and her teammates with tools necessary to hold off a clear ambush by the enemy."

"And in return, Ms. Schnee," Glynda spoke, her glare now, unfortunately, on the Ice Queen. Like a freaking Inferno raging against a glacier. "I'll have you know that it was likely due to the tools Link gifted one of those children that led to this circumstance."

Qrow felt his skin crawl. Cat fights were never supposed to be this tense.

"Lana is a golem," the fish-man spoke again. His hand had fallen over his eyes. Must be tired, no surprise there. "Using the magic of Gate of Souls and Guardian Gates, we were able to transport all of the children we were able to find to Beacon. The usage of them left her body drained and vulnerable to any blow, like the one delivered by the thief."

Yeah, him. He'd be dead soon. That was assuming Qrow didn't get to him first. That'd save his life, ironically.

"Using the same gates, I was able to give tools to Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long that helped them out." It was hard to tell who was talking. The mute faunus, the fish, or the sleep deprivation. "Lana then used the gate to switch herself with Cia."

"Cia being the dark woman that… destroyed the other droids." Yeah, the scary one. The one that basically made the hard work of the kids look like a morning workout. That freaky lady.

"Cia is not… a friend I saved." Must've been Link speaking, not that Qrow had actually met him yet. "She is the elder sister of Lana. Her body you saw was not like this one. It was like… Malon on the harbor stage. A memory that Lana and I recalled."

Qrow had no idea who that was, but by the way Glynda was nodding, she had an idea. Good enough for him. Be perfect if he had booze to wash all this down with.

"But Cia is a hammer-head shark when it comes ta magic," the fish-boy kept talking. "We'd be here all day and night going over what happened, but the high and low tide of it is she put Lana back together, and now Lana is cool."

Cool wasn't the word that Qrow would use. Cool was supposed to be for bear, or his nieces kicking ass. Not some clay thing being put back together before dancing with that kind of power. But whatever, he was three drinks to hammered-drunk, so he could take it.

"I still find the idea of friends within friends a puzzling one." Glynda even had her lips all puckered to match, even if she was tapping down this information at the usual light-speed she operated at. "And friends that don't qualify as friends."

"Oh, trust me, she's a friend." The shark teeth of the fish faunus gleamed with his smirk, even if he was still lain over the chair like a wet rag. Looked like one with all the blue. "Sides, seein' as she is Lana's big sis, be kinda hard not to trust her."

Of that, Qrow had a very good argument against. But it was one he was not going to say in front of the Ice Queen. He didn't need to give her any good information on himself.

"Now this guy, right here," his webbed thumb struck his bare chest, eyes still looking up and away from the glaring Glynda. "Is Mikau, the Zora you've already strung up after he was all strung out. The same guy that's lettin' the family jewels work their magic."

He meant that weird sapphire thing on his chest. Qrow knew that because one of the fairy things basically screamed it after the faunus took on the fishy form. He knew that when Ozpin said it made sense and Glynda agreed.

But Qrow was pretty damn sure there wasn't a word or phrase the kid could have used that would have been worse. The faunus would be remembered as a hero in his book.

Because only a hero could make the Ice Queen and Glynda take on those shades of red.

"I believe this qualifies as harassment," the Ice Queen spoke up. Weird, as she wasn't the one being spoken to, and she was good about that kind of stuff, at least when she was in front of her owners. "And I would enjoy taking the appropriate action in response."

"Hey hey, calm down seafoam," the fish-man spoke back again. "Just talkin' about the crest, ya know that. Keeps the magic flowin' while I'm lettin' the body rest. Get your mind off of the crag, you look too good to keep it there."

Qrow had no idea what a crag was, but he knew what a death sentence looked like. The blue-scaled faunus was walking right towards one.

"That's enough, Link." And now the big man spoke.

Qrow looked at Ozpin as he stood, seeing the faunus do the same from his chair, lifting his head to do so. The Ice Queen and Glynda did the same. No one could say he was bad at getting attention.

"I will confess that I do not know if it is Mikau or yourself that is speaking now, but Glynda is trying to follow all requirements and file all documents necessary given such a travesty as this." That was his serious voice, which meant Qrow had to pay attention.

A shame, because he was getting ready to take a swig while the fish-boy was still alive. It would've made the fall more fun.

"No one here is saying you acted inappropriately or due punishments for saving lives." Nice as the words were, his voice didn't really match. "The problem is that there are many questions left unanswered, and we want to be sure you do not have the answer to any of them."

Oh yeah, there were a few of those. Actually, Qrow had hundreds of them, all the time. But he just knew better than to look for the answers. Never worth it in his mind.

"Aside from the abilities of Lana, and her apparent sister-in-memory Cia, we need to know of the tools you gave team RWBY, the weapon the Roman Torchwick used… and the man who helped him get away." Oh yeah, that guy.

Qrow felt his alcohol levels drop. Usually a good sign to focus. He hadn't focusing, because that meant he had to be sober.

"I'm not tryin' ta be a pain," the fish spoke back. "Mikau is… I'm probably the best guy you'll ever meet at pickin' the spirits up. Zora magic helps with that." His webbed fingers ran along the scales on his face.

Was that considered massaging? Qrow thought scales when in only one direction, and if pushing on them was like shaving against the grain, that could hurt. He really was too sober to be thinking about this stuff.

"But quickly, all the items the squires got use one's innate magic or spirit to use them, and they assist as they were designed." Too formal, had to be the yet-to-be-seen faunus talking. "Weiss Schnee got the Sealing Tome, Blake Belladonna got the Magic Cloak, and Yang Xiao Long got the Bunny Hood."

"In detail now," Ozpin kept on. "What do they do?" Really wiggle room with the boss. Good thing he didn't call Qrow often. Better that he wasn't the one being grilled. Too bad for the new guy.

"The Sealing Tome is a holster of magic that's supposed to focus the magic in the air." His webbed hand waved with the motion. "The Magic Cloak copies the outside world ta' make people looking at it not see you. I didn't make either of them, so askin' me how they work is like asking a monster why they eat."

Actually, a good metaphor. Qrow held in his chuckle. He didn't want to be impaled before the kid.

"Bunny Hood is a blessed hood from the Goddess of Time." Who now? "Least that's the story. Found it a long time ago… but it's just supposed to let you know when events happen. That's really all I can tell ya."

"I'm still surprised you simply gifted these tools to the students." The Ice Queen may have had at least some skill, but she wasn't really up to pace on tact. Or at least timing. Maybe that was his fault. "Though I will confess, I doubt my sister or her teammates would have lasted as well as they did without the aide."

"Kinda what I was thinkin'," the fish-boy spoke back. Qrow couldn't remember his name exactly. Kima or something like that. "Considering I was going to pieces."

Qrow couldn't help it now. He laughed.

He was shaking his head as he looked at the floor, but he was laughing. He knew every eye in the room was on him now, looking at him with the usual expressions of 'why', but he still laughed. It was a funny joke and that deserved to be laughed at.

"Really, Qrow?" Glynda asked. "Is that really appropriate?" Well if she had to ask…

"Hey, it was funny," he responded. He was just being honest, just the same way he was told to be in these kinds of meetings. Couldn't get mad at him if he was following their rules. Still, he had to make a joke to get out of this now. Good thing he had one. "Plus, I'm tryin' to figure out why a fish doesn't want to go swimming." He couldn't be the only one who thought this odd.

The usual sighs and mutterings of his name came from the usual people, mostly the Ice Queen. That was just his high sign.

Qrow took out his flask, undoing the top and dropping his head back in time with the metal casket. The best liquid on Remnant poured down his throat, straight whiskey.

"Wouldn't mind it," the fish-man spoke back. "But somethin' tells me you're inta swimming in somethin' else, right?" The sharp-toothed grin between the blue scales was everything that Qrow could have hoped for.

Smug, confident, and completely apathetic. The faunus really was his kind of guy. Too bad he was going to be killed by Glynda soon.

"If we are done, I believe there are two important questions that need to be addressed." The Ice Queen spoke up with her usual bored tone. "The more major concerns relate to the escape of Roman and his partner." That lead into the other major point.

"Or more accurately, the man who assisted their escape." And it figured that Ozpin would drive it home. No escaping a conversation topic if he was leading it. Like avoiding sunlight on the beach. "Because there is nothing on record of him." Were they sure on that?

"I checked twice over before you were able to return." And leave it to Glynda to answer a question that wasn't asked. She was scary no matter what way Qrow thought about her. "Co-opting the Atlas Information banks also revealed no information about him." Guess the Ice Queen was here for more than just show than.

"I don't know who that guy was," the fish boy spoke back.

His wasn't waving his hand like before, but damn if he didn't sound cold as ice. Couldn't blame the kid, considering how the guy helped a couple of low-lives get away scot free. Probably be weird not to be pissed at the gray ghost.

"Pretty sure he recognized you though." But now Qrow was plenty pissed at the blue fish.

Qrow found himself glaring now at the faunus, head tilted over his seat and blue eyes slotted by whatever a fish's eye lids were called. He wasn't the only one though, not that he needed to look to tell.

"He was familiar with you, Qrow," the Ice Queen spoke up, because of course she did. "He mentioned a bar and a 'win-win' situation." Figures it couldn't have been one of the brats that heard that. At least then Qrow could blame battle trauma. No luck from the army brat.

"Do you know the man's name Qrow?" Ozpin now. Guess that meant he had to answer.

Answer with a roll of his head, locking of his arms, and getting ready for either yells or laughter. Given the crowd he had, it could have been both.

"I got no idea," he started. Really didn't, and he'd have to speak up before the Ice Queen started calling him a liar. "He walked into a bar I was at a few days ago, 'round the same time I first got here. Didn't catch his name because he was literally hitting on me, asking to exchange names and numbers. Not the kind of thing I wanna keep track of."

Qrow had to admit, he'd never seen a Schnee smile quite like that before.

It almost matched the fish-boy, minus the shark teeth.

At least Ozpin and Glynda were keeping straight faces. As straight as rivers tended to be at least.

It figured his bad luck would come to bite him like this. Too much to hope that it would be the Ice Queen or even Glynda getting a bit of the bad omen. At least the faunus had already been close enough to hell.

"Well," Ozpin began, lifting that coffee mug of his to his lips. Not hard to figure what he was hiding with that. "Though unfortunate, I find that something you'd be… unlikely to lie about."

"Really hopin' it was just the booze," Qrow went on. He was not going to let them forget he was drunk. He was always drunk. Like now, just not enough. "If I knew the guy had that kind of Semblance or connections, I'd have gotten the word out to you ASAP."

"But you would've kept a close eye on him till then, ya?" The fish-boy was asking. That was not something the fish-boy should be asking. The fish-boy should shut up. Unfortunately for Qrow, the faunus wasn't getting what his steel melting glares meant. "Bought a few drinks for 'em?"

"Oh no, despicable as Qrow is, that is far from his usual manner of business." Qrow had to admit this much. Ice Queen was the dead last person on his list of potential saviors. "He'd more than likely get a private room so they could converse." And she was still there.

"I am sure that we could have supplied a monetary amount of the budget for that," Glynda now. Why Glynda? Why was Ms. Business being a jokester? He needed a lot of whiskey, now. "I'm sure you would have been given ample room to converse even publicly." Maybe some Moonshine to really kill the brain cells.

"Yes, despite the many methods Qrow had he failed to ascertain the man's name." Ozpin now. Please, not him. He was his last friend in the room, maybe the world after Tai. "However, we can at least surmise what he is doing with Roman and Neopolitan. Or more specifically, the contribution he was able to give them."

"Only thing I can tell ya on that is he was probably the one who gave 'em the high Dominion Rod." Yeah, the magic staff. "Tatl and Tael said that the red-haired bastard was figuring out how to use back there. Not something they would've done if they brought it themselves."

"A fair point," Glynda added. "That adds that this gray man is not only in possession of a powerful Semblance, but also tools. Do you have any idea what other weapons he may have?" It was weird for Qrow to call that glowing staff a weapon.

But it was also weird he had to take a gay gray clown like a serious threat.

"Triple B, the guy wasn't even supposed to have the damn staff." Triple B? He'd have to ask about that name later. Maybe over drinks. "That thing's, like, a big deal back at my kingdom. Least it used to be."

"So, it did come from your lands," the Ice Queen spoke up now. Oh yeah, she was here for military interest. Guess this counted in her books. "But you are certain you simply did not lose some of your cargo on the way here? Or were there others traveling with you."

"You did say your ship was lost during the midst of a storm," Glynda added on. "There is reason to assume that the associates for Roman were able to salvage some of your gear."

"Except fer Tatl and Tael, it was just us on a one-way trip and food ta spare." The fish man waved his hand through the air. "And c'mon, you think with all the crap I got piled up in my tunic I'd leave the big guns like the staff out fer someone to take?"

Minus the fact that Qrow couldn't see the kid hiding a staff that size away without making a young, and hilarious, joke about it, he had a point. Wasn't exactly going to let the sensitive out of sight if you were experienced, and the faunus wasn't exactly new to the block. Least for fighting.

Qrow saw the Badland videos, per Ozpin's orders.

"Then there may be a third-party from your kingdom that had access to heavy or dangerous weaponry," Glynda surmised. "One that you were not aware of. Capable as you are, I very much doubt you had knowledge of all members of your country leaving the land."

The faunus just rolled his head. Qrow got a good look at the jewel on his chest glowing at that moment. Given what Ozpin and Glynda had said earlier, it was like an Aura battery for the kind of faunus that he was. Awesome, even if a little convenient.

"That'd be… bad, yeah, pretty damn bad." The faunus basically slopped into his chair like he was thrown there. Wasn't till then that Qrow realized the fish was too damn big for the seat.

But when you were pushing seven feet, that wasn't too surprising, just fun to look at.

"But I don't hot got a wisp or shell of an idea for who coulda grabbed those things and gotten out of Hyrule like that." The fish faunus went on. "One or the other, sure, but some long-ears bein' able to get into the Vaults _and_ surf the seas away? Can't even think of a name on the list."

"Troubling, but understandable," Glynda returned. Tough but fair incarnate. Tough as steel and fair as a carnival game. "It certainly means that'll likely have to work with the Atlesian droids to have more cameras along the streets, or so much better observation of suspicious characters."

"Agreed," the Ice Queen added on. "If needed, I can forward my report as well to the general." She just got a nod in response.

"Before that, let us discuss the critical issue of their motive." Oh yeah, that was kind of important, wasn't it? "It is fair to assume this attack proceeded as it did, costing the lives that it did, because you were assisting the orphan faunus Moraine, correct Link?" And that was kind of unfair.

"… Yeah, yeah that's fair." Geez, he sounded like Tai after a long day. Or life. Both kind of worked here, and he'd seen both. "Trust me, I'm already thinkin' of a dry plot of land to lay myself on." Suicide? That sounded like suicide, least for a fish.

"Now now, I am not insulting your intentions," Ozpin quickly placated. "Far be it from me to criticize you on how to help the youth. Not while I train them to fighting monsters alone with light trainings and some kind words." Okay, that got another grin out of Qrow.

At least the old guy was self-aware. He was already leagues above the general in that regard.

"I am only pointing out that Roman, Neo, and whomever they are working with, will likely try another attack of some similar magnitude again in the future, so long as the girl remains alone and unprotected." Yeah, and that made sense. Kind of was the reason why they had all the students learning at a guarded school, and not just throwing them into the Badlands and saying good luck. Did sound fun though.

"If you're askin' in a whirlpool kinda way if I'll keep the kid safe, the answers yeah, I will." Well geez, that was fast.

Qrow felt a corner of his mouth pull into a smirk, probably in the same time the Ice Queen's twisted into a pout.

"Do not take this decision lightly," she spoke, like he was a kid. Then again, he was calling the blue scales a kid. "Though she showed great intelligence by calling for help, she will need many things that she cannot readily have, things that a caretaker is necessary for."

"That is not to mention that you are due to go on the expedition for Navi in a short time." Kind of the reason Qrow and Ice Queen were in the same room. Not a lot of other reasons for that. "And to think of taking her on that kind of expedition is impossible."

"I never even gave that strum," the Zora-boy fired back. "But whether I meant it or not, and I didn't, I'm gonna have ta watch out for Moraine. Ain't like she's gonna be safe in whatever dump you drop all the other kids at off."

It was amazing. Qrow could watch the veins pop out of Glynda's head. Where was this kid all his life?

"The surviving children are being cared for by the Atlas Military and Vale Community Organizers," Ice Queen explained. "Horrific as the situation is, it is not so uncommon for the young to be displaced by unpredicted assaults such as this. They will be sent to alternative housing within the kingdom's walls."

Pretty sure attacks by crazy hostile thieves being supplied by unknown super-powerful armies wasn't something people had to attend to that often. Grimm were probably a lot more common than that.

"And the homes they are being placed in are not 'dumps'," Glynda added on. "A substantial amount of kingdom funding goes towards the protection of its citizens, as that is the primary purpose of the kingdoms. They are far safer where they are now then where they were before." Qrow was sure of two things now.

The vein popping on Glynda's head, and the crack in the Scroll she was holding. She had to go through those things like wild fire through dry woods. Probably wouldn't see that for much longer now, and that wasn't talking about the likelihood of the witch killing them all while the queen watched.

Sun had way past down and was probably getting ready to start coming back up. They were all working off the remains of adrenaline, coffee, and pure rage. No two guesses on who was on what. Besides, he was pretty good at predicting when meetings were going to end.

And that was when Ozpin started to push for them.

"I agree that Moraine should stay within your care," Ozpin spoke to no one's surprise, least of all Qrow's. "And, given that nearly gave your life for my students after they threw themselves into harm's way for you, I will watch her while you are away."

"Whoa, really?" the fish asked, lifting his head up. His sharp-looking fingers scratched at his smooth head. Was it bald? Did that count with the massive green fin? "That'd be awesome if ya could."

"Quite," Ozpin returned with a nod of his head. Oh, Qrow knew what was coming next. He hid his smile with practice. "But when it comes to the care for the child, including her room and board, that will come from your service fees for us, as well as any another articles or services that she needs."

She was a little girl who grew up outside a kingdom in an orphanage with more guards than trees, and watched it burn down. If counseling wasn't on that long list of things she needed, she was screwed.

"That's fair," the faunus spoke up, as he got up. Got up with long arms over his head and straightening his posture. "It'd be a hell of a favor from ya to pay for everything like that. But if this is like everythin' else around here, I'm guessin' there's gonna be something I have to sign." Guess he was smart.

"I will draft up the necessary papers shortly," Glynda added on. "And that includes moving you to a larger room such that Moraine has a bed to sleep in. Your orphan single is not enough." Qrow rolled his head. If that was a pun, it was just horrible.

"Then that settles the major areas for concern," Ozpin announced, stepping away from his desk, cane tapping on the glass as he did so. Qrow always wondered how much force it would take to crack the floor and grind the gears. Probably a bad question to have, but hey, he was drunk enough to think about it. "Are there any questions?"

"Only for what we are planning to do in regards to the gray man," the Ice Queen spoke up. "Or a designation for him. I believe he is far too much of a threat, with too little information, to simple take guesses around him."

Qrow kept his arms folded as he watched Ozpin turn towards the Ice queen, brown eyes through emerald frames staring at icy blue. His boss had a way with words, and stares, and basic manipulation. There was a reason he kept coming back here.

"The Gray Man, Ms. Schnee, is an excellent name for him," Ozpin announced, putting in the usual amount of flattery. "But seeing as we have one of the most well-designed security systems, as well as being inhabited by some of the world's current most capable hunters, the possibility of him making an attack to Beacon are far too slim."

Qrow watched as the Ice Queen took it with a stiff upper lip. Must have been the military training, or from daddy yelling at her so much. Both were actually possible. Heck, even the faunus was paying attention to this.

"There will have to be an added level of security to the students when they go beyond the Kingdom's walls, for certain, but we are benefitted somewhat in the object of their desires." Qrow could watch the confusion flash over the Schnee's eyes. Eyes that clear, it was impossible to miss.

"You mean the items that Link leant the child?"

"Pearl in the Oyster," the faunus spoke up. Whatever the heck that meant.

"Precisely." Guess Ozpin understood it at least. "And with Moraine staying within our premises, and no more of Link's items being beyond the walls, they are likely making new plans, which will take more time, to attempt such a brazen theft again."

Yup, that was where they were at. Just waiting for the wolf to bite again, so they could catch its teeth and rip off its head. Maybe not that gory, but a drunkard with a bad past could dream, or so Qrow liked to imagine between the nightmares.

"Probably gotta add onto this, but there is something ya forgot," the faunus spoke again, this time as he stood.

And damn, he was tall. And bare-chest for some reason. If he was showing off, then Qrow could get behind that, in a purely metaphorical sense he wouldn't voice to this group of people ever again if he could help it.

"If the Gray Man dude does have a weapon from where I came from, no telling what else he has in fin's reach." Hands reach, probably, but yeah that was a good point.

"A fine point," Glynda added on. "Perhaps it would be best if you made a list of the most… likely tools that this mysterious benefactor from your lands may have procured. I can assume that the most egregious of weapons are cared for in more than a simple vault." Oh yeah, she was still angry.

"Yeah, no doubt," the faunus spoke while… stretching? Maybe, it looked like it. Did fish need to stretch? Qrow had no idea. Then again, if he had to, and he drank like a fish, maybe a fish would have to stretch. Yeah, that was grade A logic. "I can do that with Tatl and Tael. Shouldn't take too long with their help."

"Agreed." Ozpin's cane tapped the glass he spoke. He was grinning, of course, probably cause the meeting was almost over. Qrow knew he, himself, was grinning for that reason. "But now, I feel it is impertinent to discuss the expedition you are taking."

Qrow saw his chance.

"Can I leave then?" He thumbed the door, already taking a footstep towards it. Any second sooner he got out of here, the better. It got him out of the eyeshot of the women and earshot of the boss.

"In a moment, Qrow," Ozpin stopped him. He felt the knife in his back. "There may be something you can add to this." Twisting it, too.

"Can't say I can," he argued. Probably not really worth it, but if there was even a shot to get out early. "I'm not joinin' the crew and I ain't that curious about which of the brats gets tagged along." Insults would get him kicked out by Glynda, maybe.

"No, not for the trip itself," Ozpin admitted. "But with both Bartholomew and Link leaving, as well as Winter Schnee with them, you may be benefitted to know where I will need you over the next week." What he was talking about hit Qrow hard, just not hard enough to sober him up.

"This is payback for not talking up early, ain't it?" The grin from his boss was answer enough. The silver hair wasn't long enough to hide it. "Fine, whatever, not sure I'm gonna add much." He reached into the pocket of his jacket.

If he was going to be here for any longer, he was going to need some encouragement. Liquid form was the best form, and that was a fact.

"Not to agree with Qrow." Great first sentence, Ice Queen. "But now does seem rather in opportune to talk about this. We did just undergo an assault on one of your… teachers and students." That was an improvement. "No more than four of them are in the infirmary now." And a clincher.

"Team RWBY was assured to be suffering from Aura Depletion and minor wounds," Glynda spoke up. Her eyes were back on her pad, so not from memory then. Less impressive. "They have been given excuses from classes until they are given dismissal forms. Classes will otherwise proceed as normal."

"And just because you had a rough night doesn't mean you can skip practice the next day," the faunus spoke up. Sounded like something Ozpin would say. "Doesn't matter how dry the mouth or how hard the head is pounding. Can't surf the wave till ya jump in the ocean." Qrow was sure the booze was doing its job. His best friend.

"Staying on track," Ozpin began, the great conductor of this horrible meeting that he was. "Link still needs to determine the group of students that will be accompanying him. The earlier the better, so that passes and temporary licenses can be issued from the Military." Oh yeah, they had those.

Qrow listened the little sloshing liquid left in his friendly botte. He'd been a hunter for so long he forgot you had to earn those things. Guess that was the price for doing dirty deeds done dirt cheap. Booze tasted like it at least.

"RWBY's not goin'," the blue-scaled faunus spoke as he bent over. He was damn flexible at least. Bending like he was made of rubber. Then again, with how lanky those limbs were, he had to have something. "They've done enough, and you don't grow a school by ignorin' the catch." That sounded like another fish metaphor.

"I am pleased to hear you are focusing on other students." Actually, Glynda did sound happy. "Would you happen to have names already prepared?" Happy indeed, then no way that was going to last.

Given that Qrow was still in the room, he started to count how long it took until that changed. The record was two minutes.

"Nothin' written in the reefs yet," the faunus spoke up, as he bent backwards now. Qrow watched the blue eyes look back at him, upside down grin with it. Good thing he was drunk, or else he'd be questioning reality. "But I got an idea that ya might like, or least listen to."

Qrow stopped counting at twelve seconds. Wasn't even a contest.

* * *

Pyrrha kept herself small. It was a difficult task even in the rather moderate, and cramped, room. Sized slightly larger than their dorm rooms, but filled with medical beds, cabinets, monitoring equipment, and chairs to sit in.

But small was good right nw. She was always the center of attention, so she knew the important ways to avoid it. Don't talk when others were talking, avoid eye contact, never stand in front of anyone. And most importantly, keep the attention on something more interesting.

More interesting right now were their friends RWBY laid up in the infirmary.

"Kay now, one more time," Jaune asked, hands chopping the air as he spoke. He was one for detail, in everything. It made him a fast learner, as his swordsman ship was quick to be evidence of. "I keep getting confused at the part where you were attacked by a teleporting, and I'm quoting Yang here, 'gay clown'."

Details were hard to gather, and even Pyrrha found it hard to follow the chain of events.

"You're asking an awful lot of questions to the injured," Blake spoke up, leaning back in her bed and rubbing temples. Aura exhaustion was debilitating only the sense that one was injured after an endurance run. She and Weiss were fine. "And to be fair… I don't quite understand that part myself either."

"I'm both disturbed and curious to know the individual who wouldn't be off put by that creature's appearance," Weiss added in, hissing the denomination of the teleporter. "The calmness with which he stole those brutes away…" It was clear rage was high on the heiress's mind.

But like the huntress in training that she was, she kept herself calm. Pyrrha did so through breathing and isolation, habits to perform before competitions. Weiss, however, did something the spartan was sure she couldn't have done before.

She petted the head Moraine, asleep in her lap. A child sleeping away during their conversation.

"But you guys did fight them off though, right? Roman and that Neo girl," Jaune continued, rolling his hands as he spoke. "You said they had Mechs? And soldiers? And… what else?"

"And an extremely advanced command stick, of some sorts," Weiss scrunched her face as she spoke. Clearly, she wasn't happy about the device either. Pyrrha just felt confused hearing about it. "Using vector based movement and coordination, he was able to control multiple Atlas Mechs, like toys." And there was the confusion again.

"B-But you guys had your stuff too, right?" Jaune, ever the optimist, pointed towards the collection of items the team had brought in with them.

Pyrrha, keeping herself small as she could in the infirmary, had to admit they were not the first things she thought of when she thought of tools or weapons. Yet each of the team members had wanted to keep them close as they came in.

"They were helpful," Blake agreed. "Problem was we weren't trained with them." The darker member of the team held her hand out in front of her, flexing her digits one by one.

Pyrrha recognized the motion. A control exercise, to make sure muscles moved like you wanted them to. Judging by the way Blake's fingers shook, she wasn't there yet.

"It felt like firing rockets from pistols," the faunus-in-hiding continued. "Powerful, very powerful… but very tiring." That made sense to the spartan."

"Useful though, and the likely uses for them are only going to be greater once we learn how to use them." Pyrrha watched as Weiss continued to pet the faunus in her lap. Until Blake said otherwise, she thought it was adorable. "The replacement of Dust with Aura, properly mitigated, can lead to a large variety of attacks, or even subterfuge and confusion."

"And I wanna see Yang fighting with bunny ears again," Ruby added on. Her demeanor was always that of a cheerful child. Pyrrha loved that about the young team leader. "If she were awake though, she'd probably say she'd want to dress the part…" And she knew her family well.

Said family member laying down on a bed aside the group, bandaged about her ears and seemingly dead to the world. If she wasn't aware that her hearing was injured, she would have believed the muteness of the blonde to be troubling.

The sight of her, bandages around her head and heedless of their entry, had nearly made Pyrrha gasp in fright when they had first come in, seeing the strongest member of their partnered team lain up in such a way. Jaune had actually screamed.

But Ruby was quick to say her sister was alright. Just tired from fighting half a dozen Atlesian Mechs by herself. As far reasons to be in a hospital went, Pyrrha was sure no one would say it was a bad one.

"You can do a lot with those tools, but you gotta be careful with them." Pyrrha turned to see Tatl bobbing in the air, voice ringing with her wings as she flew about Ruby. "But if you pick them up as fast as you did earlier, you'll probably be giving Link a run for his rupees in a few weeks."

Pyrrha had to be honest. She was not used to kind words from the normally brash fairy.

"I would hope so," Weiss agreed. "But that does mean we have to wait longer to recover. Risking the exacerbation of injuries through training is an efficient way in slowing progress."

She was tired. Pyrrha didn't need to speak to the team to know it. It was foolish almost just saying it.

They were all lain up in beds or resting on chairs, eyes half lidded and speech understandable on when they focused on their words. They hairs were a mess, clothing no better, and general lack of excitement from the team members a high sign if Pyrrha ever saw one.

"But you… you all did so well," Tael spoke now. Pyrrha saw the sibling fairy float around Ruby, the same as his sister. The crimson leader didn't appear to mind in the slightest. "You saved Link, a-and Moraine, and… a lot of the kids."

And Pyrrha looked away.

The kids, the children, the little ones she had run out of the room and away from.

Children in pain, burns, screaming for help, right in her arms. So loud, so many, and nothing working to calm them down. Their already mediocre sized room filled with the faunus and human children, all charred with some amount of coal or burnt flesh.

And she had run. Pyrrha had run away from the children begging for help by RWBY and her team ran for help. She had run from them in tears, with regret, and wondering how she could possibly have been able to help.

There was no one to beat, to force to submit, no threat to take down. So, what could she have done? She did everything she could have done. Nothing.

"Yeah… the kids," Jaune spoke up, the joy in his voice removed. Pyrrha hated that noise, Jaune's voice without joy. "They… a lot of the Vale hospitals are taking care of them. Ms. Goodwitch got them taken care of. I-It's great that we were able to save them."

"Not all of them…" Pyrrha recognized Ren's voice from across the room. Sitting in a chair across from the team, but not so far to be an onlooker spying on them. Removed, much the same as Pyrrha wanted to be. "We know Link didn't… save them all."

It was a horrible truth that Pyrrha knew. It made the bile rising in her throat all the bitter.

"We saved all that we could," Weiss added in. Her fingers were wrapped tightly around the slumbering child on her lap. "We are not to blame for the horrors that the criminals love to spread. The moment we are, there were no longer be hope to share."

How philosophical. Pyrrha knew that Weiss was the well-read member of RWBY, by acquired knowledge through texts and class. She wasn't aware that she held the philosophical end as well. She would have assumed Blake more adapt at the role.

"Forth Sermon of Sir John Wick." Pyrrha looked to Blake, still on the bed and balling her fists. The fanged grin was unmistakable. "He gave it during the founding of the Atlas Military Academy."

"I'm well aware, thank you Blake," Weiss responded with a tilt of her head. Even Pyrrha felt a grin slid across her face. "It is a necessity for a Schnee to be well-read on the history of our craft. The founding of the Military is well within that regard."

"Makes you wonder why all we do is fight, when there are definitely going to be more kids like them out there." Pyrrha didn't have to look to know that her partner was indicating the green-garbed child resting in Weiss's lap.

Still carrying the soot of the fire, cleaned within arm's reach of Weiss when she was brought in, and never letting go until she had drifted to slumber.

She was the same as the dozens of children that had flooded their room before, if not even better. She didn't bear the wounds of her friends, likely friends. The same wounds that Jaune and Penny were able to treat until the medics had come, far after Pyrrha had fled.

Run away from her duty as a huntress… and she was supposed to be the star of the first year. Truly a joke.

"There'll be more, probably," Ruby added in again. Her legs were swinging in her seat. "But we're just learning, a-and we did a lot of good! Link saved a lot of the kids, Weiss and Blake saved him, Yang and I saved them, sort of."

It was difficult to tell how that was the chain of events, seeing as the individuals last to arrive for the fight were the most injured, and vice-versa. That was Pyrrha's assumption, given that Link was having a talk with the headmaster in his office, and not a Hospital Room.

"How 'bout we talk about something more fun?" The bombastic bomb of JNPR. Pyrrha saw the orange-haired girl grinning next to Ren. It was difficult to tell who was cheering up who.

One was definitely encouraging the other.

"Oh! I know! Tell us more about those super cool Hylian weapons!" Her fingers pointed towards the cape, tome, and bunny ears on the nearby table. For the uninformed, they would be toys or clothing. "You only kept telling us they're super cool and powerful. But I bet my hammer is better than all three!"

Pyrrha, instinctively, raised her hand towards her teammate. She didn't need the energetic girl to brandish her mighty hammer in the crowded room. Thankfully, she didn't have it.

"Now that's a stretch," Tatl spoke up, ringing still as she floated around Nora. "Those weapons were gifted to Link by Ancient Scribes and dedicated Wizards, imbued with their magic and will to give strength to any who wield them." How odd. Pyrrha was sure that Tael was the story teller of the pair.

"Th-they all have stories with them! Tall tales and legends…" Ah, that what she thought. Pyrrha watched the darker of the two siblings flew about the 'weapons' as the Team RWBY kind to call them. "And I-I know them all!" Of that, she didn't doubt.

"Oh! Oh! Tell the one about the cape. Capes are cool!" No surprise from Ruby Rose. It didn't look as if Nora had any reason to argue.

"Oh, right, th-the magic cape," the dark fairy hummed as he flew about the long red fabric of silk. It was folded on to keep it from falling off the table surface. "A relic from the elder of Sahasrahla, woven by the trees of two realms, and left to ferment within an undisturbed tome."

There was a lot to unpack from that sentence.

"It was made by Sahasalad?" Ruby asked. No, that wasn't right.

"Actually, Ruby, he said Sadasrahla." That wasn't right either.

"No, no, no, it's Sasasahasrahla!" That was probably on purpose, if Nora's grin meant anything.

"Sahasrahla, and without a 'd' in the name," Ren finally added in. Pyrrha was thankful somebody spoke other than her.

"Yeah, that," Tael answered back quickly. "The elder made it when the monsters of Hyrule were… rampant, a-and he didn't want the villagers to risk their lives simply to live. So, he, by himself, traveled between the lands of light and darkness, taking from the trees of both worlds the silk to weave the cape."

Most modern invisibility constructs were methods to play with lighting, so the idea, even if metaphorical, made sense to Pyrrha. If only she could make sense of the children she still saw with shut eyes.

"When he passed on, centuries ago, the people laid his cloak with him, so that his tomb would be undisturbed by the monsters of the darkness, keeping him safe even in death." There was poetry in there.

"Wait… then for Link to have that… did he rob a grave?"

And Jaune did an excellent job at destroying the romanticization of the story. It brought a quick smile to her face.

"Wha-No!" Tael yelled back, unsurprisingly. Even as Ruby snorted with laughter at Weiss's appalled look. She never let her hand raise from Moraine's head. "Why would you even think that?!"

"B-B-But he said it was in a grave!" Jaune tried to defend. It was something he was skilled at in battle. "Did he take out?! O-Or I don't know!"

"Link got it trading with Sahasrahla, the Elder's descendant!" Tatl was ringing rather loudly. That was the fairy she recognized. "Why would you think Link would rob a grave?!"

"I don't!" Jaune spoke back quickly. "I mean… c'mon, Weiss, you must've thought the same thing." Pyrrha, oddly, was thankful her partner didn't look to her for confirmation. Not now at least.

"Me? Why on Remnant would I think that?" Her free hand was held to her chest, obvious disgust on her face. "How could I possibly assume something so heinous of Link after seeing him nearly… die…" And the words trailed off.

Blake and Weiss both looked away, for the same obvious reasons. They were far braver than Pyrrha was. They stood by Link after he was falling to pieces. She ran from children yelling for help.

"H-How about the book?" Ruby added in quickly. She was fast. "Weiss, you said you could use lightning with it? That's awesome! Right? Lightning is still cool?"

"Lightning is very cool," Tatl spoke back, floating over the youngest Beacon student once more. "But it's more than, so much more. No offense to Snow White, but lightning is just the tip of what this baby can do."

As she spoke, she drifted over the dark tome, embraided with jewels and fine details. One upon each corner of its cover, and a mighty gem in its center. It looked praise worthy on sight alone, and the evidence showed it was more than just an expensive piece of leather.

"Sahasrahla wrote it. Sort of," Tael now, joining is sister over the tome. Their light shined over the cover, contrasting with one another. Pyrrha felt far worse than the gray the siblings' light made. "It's a tome of Hyrule's history, spoken and transcribed by the spirits who lived through it."

Something about that sentence wasn't right. But this was a story, so fiction could find rent.

"The Sealing tome was written when Sahasrahla communed with the spirits of the past, of Hyrule's forgotten legacy. As the words were given form, so to were the souls of the spirits, born again through ink and page." Tael really was a talented story-teller.

He had Ruby and Nora leaning in close as he spoke, as well as the measured gaze of Weiss, Blake and Ren. She was okay looking at anything that didn't remind her of her failure.

"And as their forms returned, their emotions with them. The emotions that lingered after death, upon witnessing the fall of their home. The horror, the sorrow, and the rage." The story was getting dark.

Pyrrha could feel her hand gripping the handle of her chair tightly. She heard Jaune do the same.

"Sahasrahla, with ancient words, sealed the spirits within the tome, across their own words, so that the words that are read convey the depth of the soul they came from. It leads to a tome that carries the fury of lightning and the sorrow of ice." It sounded powerful. A mythical tool, even. That was kind of what a story was meant to do.

"Hold on," Blake spoke now, the quiet girl speaking up. "You said the spirits were sealed in the book?" Pyrrha was afraid this was going to turn into Jaune's question.

"Y-Yeah," Tael rang with the confirmation. "The embroider and gems on the cover are a seal, to keep the spirits from whispering words of fear and fury into those who wield it." It sounded like an item out of a horror novel now.

"So, it's a haunted book!" And Nora, of all people, appeared to pick up on that.

"No, Nora," Ren added on. "That is haunted. That's cursed." He shouldn't have added that.

"Wait, Weiss is using a cursed book! That means she could be possessed!" Ruby stood up from her seat, looking between her partner and the fairies. Pyrrha didn't know where her eyes belonged.

"I doubt it's not safe, Ruby," Weiss corrected her partner. "Or else Lana wouldn't have given it to me in the first place." She paused, and the rest of the room with her.

Her hands curled over Moraine's ear, shielding the child from the growing noise in the room. The noise that returned with a single question.

"It is safe, correct?" She looked to Tatl for an answer.

"I don't know, probably," was the hummed response.

It was funny, at least to Pyrrha.

Tael was a story teller, and stories were about lessons, not history. History wasn't a story that had such a melancholy ending.

Looking at Moraine, still curled tightly in Weiss's lap, that was all the clearer. Sometimes horror came to pass, and it never left.

"Hey Pyrrha, you okay?" The spartan turned her head to see her partner looking at her, not at the display of the fairies explaining the near mythical tools. "You've been really quiet." That was on purpose.

She was quiet to avoid attention, like how it usually worked. It only made sense that the boy who never knew who she was the only person who saw her silence as a bad thing. She'd damn him, but it'd be a betrayal to her heart.

"Yes… no…" Pyrrha spoke both answers with a shake of her head. "So much has happened so quickly, a-and I feel as if there's just something wrong with it." With her.

She whispered her words, unwilling to draw in the others to her plights. Jaune had no such reservations. As she shirked away, he drew close.

"Not going to lie and say that you shouldn't feel bad, but this isn't the first time this has happened." Pyrrha already knew what he meant. "We had to deal with the explosion at Mt. Glenn, a-and we had to cover for RWBY before with the White Fang investigation."

"But this is different," Pyrrha pushed back. She knew she was right. "It wasn't a monster to fight or criminals that were stealing something. There were people to save, children, a-and I…" Ran, like a coward, away from what a huntress was supposed to do.

The opposite of what her friends, teammate, and partner had done.

"Okay, it's not the same," Jaune whispered back, thankfully. Pyrrha risked a glanced to see the other still talking about the 'ghost book'. "And maybe I'm handling it better because it feels like I've been in the deep end since I got here. But this is… kind of what we need."

Pyrrha listened as he spoke, even as she understood that he didn't understand. He was assuming what she was okay with. And he was wrong. But she still listened.

"I mean… Blake and Weiss almost watched Link die, Ruby and Yang fought super criminals and Mechs that were supposed to replace hunters. I can't even imagine what Moraine is going through."

Pyrrha didn't either. She hadn't even thought of the young girl, not as anything more than a child looking for refuge with Weiss. And Pyrrha felt her failures starting to mount.

"But that's why we're talking like this," Jaune held out his hand, showing how Ren was holding Nora back from grabbing at the Spirit's tome. All while Ruby was praying over it with her necklace in hand.

Pyrrha had the odd question of how that had happened, but chose to ignore it. Jaune was talking.

"Talking helps, a lot," Jaune added on. "I've realized that… we're all dealing with things that seem easy to some, but really hard to others. I don't think Yang has to worry about any endurance tests, not like me."

Self-deprecating humor didn't fit Jaune, and Pyrrha loathed to hear it.

"Thing is though, you don't really realize who's dealing with what until you do talk." Pyrrha blinked at his words. "Talking is… well, borrowing words from my Mom, 'the best way to connect.' Funny how I don't appreciate her till I'm gone."

That humor fit her Jaune better. A little green, but full of heart. It helped to lighten the gray in Pyrrha's heart.

"I can't say that's why Link is talking to Ozpin, but I know that talking is why he told us to come here. Because… talking helps?" He was losing himself, and Pyrrha could see it. That just meant it was time for her to step in again.

"Thank you, Jaune. I understand," she nodded her head as she spoke. And she did, at least enough. Her partner was explaining the light-tone of the room, following the tragedy that had occurred. His name suited him for that quality.

"I… don't think you do." Pyrrha looked to see Jaune's head shaking.

She looked at him, seeing him biting his lip and looking away. She looked at her teammates and RWBY, seeing Ruby and Nora holding the Spirit's tome over Yang's head as the fairies bobbed around them. Ren and Blake just watched them, silently.

They weren't going to ask Jaune what he meant, but she didn't want to.

"Pyrrha, I'm worried about you." She ignored the flutter in her heart. "You've been helping me non-stop since I got here, a-and I know you well enough now to know that something is bothering you. But… I don't want to guess what it is."

Because he could be wrong, because he could make a mistake. And while Jaune Arc was not afraid of failure in himself, he was terrified of failing his friends. And that made him so much braver than she was.

Because Pyrrha Nikos was afraid of failure at all.

"So please, if you can I mean, tell me what's wrong." And with the request, Pyrrha saw what was wrong.

She had run from crying children, injured and burned by the atrocities of the Grimm and Criminals. She had pushed away those trying to help, waiting until someone else dealt with what she wasn't prepared to.

She couldn't help with a fight, something she had been trained since she was young to endure. And she couldn't help with the children, something that all hunters, all people, who have to one day. And that made her a failure.

She was terrified of failure.

"Jaune…" she spoke her partner's name, swallowing on the dense ball that filled her throat afterwards. If he was honestly asking, she could only respond honestly. That was what made sense. "I-"

Bi **RING**

She nearly screamed.

"Whoa," Jaune let out as well, hopping back in his seat. Pyrrha shook her head dazed. "Was that you or me? I couldn't tell?" She still didn't understand.

Until Jaune fished his Scroll from his sweater pocket, pulling it apart to reveal the transparent screen. Pyrrha reached for hers in the same time.

"Wait, I got that, too!" Pyrrha and Jaune looked up at Nora waving her Scroll in one hand.

In the other was Ruby's cross, held in tandem with the shorter girl over the Spirit's Tome, resting on the foot of Blake's bed with the faunus curled up and away from it. Pyrrha smelled smoke, but she couldn't tell from where.

She could see Weiss still laying on her bed, holding Moraine's head close. She couldn't tell if the faunus child was awake, or what 'ceremony' her friends were trying to perform on the Tome.

"I… did, too," Ren spoke up, from his place next to Nora. Pyrrha only now noticed he was holding a pitcher of water, though she could say where from. "Oh, it's from Link."

"Wait, what?" Jaune spoke as his eyes turned down to his scroll. Pyrrha, reaching for hers in the lapels of her outfit, did the same. Her eyes turned to clear screen, a message flashing over it.

Students of Beacon Combat Classes

In lieu of an upcoming and high-priority excursion by Professor Link, Combat Class will be replaced tomorrow with a Hunting Assessment Test.

The most successful team in the exam will be joining Professor Link on his trip, and will be counted for class credit in field training exercises.

Participation is voluntary, but encouraged. Participation in the Exam will excuse individuals from the remainder of classes.

Teams willing to participate are to report to the Beacon Landing Docks by 10 AM tomorrow, equipped and prepared for hunting Grimm in the Emerald Forest.

Classes for the remainder of the week will be supervised by Ms. Glynda Goodwitch.

"Oh my," Pyrrha let out as she finished reading the text. This was… unexpected. "I… didn't think something like this would happen."

"No kidding," Jaune agreed. "I mean, yeah that's cool, but… wow."

"Wait, what's cool? What's 'wow'?" Pyrrha looked at Ruby, the girl still holding her necklace above the Sealing tome. But, she didn't have her scroll.

"You guys didn't get a message?" Jaune asked. And looking around, Pyrrha knew what she meant.

Nora, Ren, Jaune, and herself all had their scrolls out, the same message likely written across all their screens. However, not Ruby, Weiss, or Blake had their scrolls out. Either they hadn't got the message or… something else happened.

"No, we didn't," Blake confirmed. "What does it say?" By the tone of her voice, the confusion was not kept to Pyrrha alone.

"It's a notice about class tomorrow, or a surprise test, or… something like that," Jaune explained first. "It… looks like we are going to go on a Grimm hunt?"

"Oh yeah!" Nora jumped as she read her scroll, dropping the cross she held in tandem with Ruby. "It's a competition to see who goes with Link on his gallant quest!" She struck a pose as she finished, arm held out as if she were bearing a sword.

The form was off, as Pyrrha noted.

"It does?" Weiss questioned. "What are the details? Where is the test at? In the antechamber?" Ren was the first to shake his head.

"No, it says we're doing a Grimm Hunt, in the Emerald Forest," he spoke as his finger ran up and down his scroll, doubtlessly looking for details. "Classes are cancelled for the day, and the winner is going with Link."

"And we didn't get an invitation?" Ruby asked now, shoulders slumped. "But… that's so mean! Why wouldn't Link invite us?" Despite the words, Pyrrha could tell the young girl already knew why.

"Because after last night, I think your team needs a break," Pyrrha chose her words carefully, smiling at Ruby as she spoke. "Besides, and to be fair, Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch likely had some say in this."

"That is true," Weiss agreed with her words. "It would be irresponsible for a teacher to show favoritism to a specific team. Even if said team was acting above and beyond the call of their post…" Pyrrha chuckled at the heiress's words. Clearly, she was trying to keep and stiff upper lip.

She wasn't the only one, what with the way Pyrrha saw Ruby mope in her chair, the pair of fairies lingering over her head. Even Blade twitched her nose in annoyance, staring at the Sealing Scroll still situated at the end of her bed.

"H-Hey, it's not like that," Tael spoke up now, from his place atop Ruby's head. "Link is… probably trying to help the other teams out, l-like you said. Even you guys, Jamiper."

Now that got a snort out of Ruby.

"Juniper, actually," Jaune corrected. It still didn't keep the faint grin from appearing over Nora's face either.

"Tael's right though," Tatl joined her sibling. "But I'm guessing the reason he's not looking to take you guys on the trip is that you've got a bit more to deal with then the rest of the kids."

She ran as she jumped into the air, her bright form ringing as her wings fluttered through the air. She ran around the table with weapons Link had gifted RWBY, settling over them, still in the air.

"Like, learning how to use these things." Pyrrha actually hadn't thought of that.

"It would be a good idea to learn how to use them before we go running against the Grimm," Blake agreed, even as her fingers continued to massage her temples. Pyrrha couldn't tell if it was for a headache or just fatigue. "And Yang is… probably not going to be ready."

"The brute will be fine," Weiss added on, her name more endearing that insulting. Ruby must have seen it too, if her bright grin was anything to go by. "But it would be best for us to… acclimate to the new tools. It will prevent accidents from occurring on such important missions."

"Aw, such a good sport!" Nora teased back, grinning like Ruby, but with far more mirth. The heiress turned her nose at the look. "Don't worry. We'll win and tell you guys aaaall about it!"

"And you have to!" Ruby yelled back, jumping out of her seat. Tael rang as he was thrown for a, literal, loop. "You have to win and then follow Link and tell us everything that happens! Like about what it was like, how he fights, what kind of weapons he has, if Navi is really nice and… all that stuff."

Her concern, even through her excitement, was evident.

"We will, Ruby," Ren spoke in return, patting his partner's shoulder and grinning at the young girl. "Link and his friends are… unique."

"That's a small weird way to say awesome!" Nora cheered back. "I can't wait to win and then go with him to wherever he's going! Hey wait, where is he going? Do you guys know?" The way her face scrunched up and eyes squinted at Ruby said she suspected. And in truth, Pyrrha did as well.

"Actually, we do," Blake confirmed, much to Nora's apparent glee. "Would you… like to know?"

"Would we?" Jaune now, grinning like the first day they had met. Pyrrha stared at him for a moment, seeing the boy who knew almost nothing, grinning wildly at the idea of an adventure. "That'd be awesome!"

And Pyrrha felt her the energy of team. It was contagious, just like her partner's optimism.

"If it's not too much trouble," Pyrrha added on, looking towards Weiss as she spoke. Ruby was excitable, and eager, but Weiss was definitely the one to ask for details. "We would love to hear about it."

Whatever was going to happen, Pyrrha was confident it wouldn't be too crazy.

* * *

Link was sure this was going to be very different from what the squires were sued to. Lana agreed.

He was sure that the kids, most of them reading as much as fighting, hadn't been on a proper excursion like the one he had planned. Lana knew that he was an oddity even from Hyrule, but it was part of why she was so attached to him. Aside from the memories they shared and mask he wore.

The blue eyes of Lana looked out over the landing pad, where the flying ships tended to land. He rocked back and forth on Lana's crisscrossed legs, grinning at the students that slowly filled the expansive area before him.

It was always weird to Link, seeing a room full of people look so small outside. Like the difference between a bomb inside a mountain to a bomb on top of it. Lana was just happy to see other people.

But the one person she was most happy about was sitting next to her, dressed far better than last night. A friend being entertained by the sibling fairies.

"You really are a lot like Link," Tael spoke as he flew about Moraine, ringing lightly as he settled on her shoulder, before flying off around her head. "You're very quiet… and very focused. You're like him when he was small."

"Pretty sure the clothes are confusing you, Tael," Tatl spoke to her sibling, the bells of her voice far higher than her little brother's. "Kind of impressed how fast Triple B was able to patch work them. Never would've thought they dirty in the first place." Link watched Tatl through Lana's eyes.

It was never a good idea to tell or remind a child about something so horrific. Thankfully, Tatl didn't even ring as if she were to continue.

Instead, she just joined her brother with circling around Moraine, keeping the young faunus's attention. And like small balls of winged like were adapt to, they excelled at.

Lana grinned as she watched Moraine's brown eyes follow the pair of them. She could see her tiny hands gripping her legs, trying to keep herself from grabbing at them. Link knew the feeling well. He had it often when Navi first came to him.

His friend that he now had a chance to see again.

Lana asked him if he was okay, her memories reaching out to him, recalling his melancholy. With her lips, he smiled. He was alright, as he had been for years now. He was old enough to know to not look forward to things that weren't guaranteed.

Especially not when there were children to raise and squires to teach.

"There's a lot of them, huh Moraine?" The faunus looked up at Lana, mouth slightly parted and eyes far wider than before. Beneath the long green hat, Link knew her wolfen ears perked. "What do you think they're thinking about?"

The young child's eyes looked back at the crowd of gathering students. Lana did the same, and Link watched through her eyes.

They were elevated, slightly, but not so much that they towered over the group. Merely enough to see the edge of the squires, and just enough to be able to count their numbers. A few lacking from the numbers that usually filled the dueling hall, but that was to be expected.

RWBY was not to join, and likely could not, and others were not members of the class or academy. They were guests present for a postponed tournament, and were likely watching his matches alone for just that. Practice. They thought they had little reason to joint his exercise.

Too bad. Link would have taken them should they be victorious. Lana agreed, expressing it with a cheerful smile.

And the young Hylian by their side continued to stare out at the crowd, stiff as a rock and just as silent. For Link, one who grew up in very similar circumstances, the sight was not one he enjoyed. Lana took his memories as a warning.

It was of little surprise that Moraine wanted to be so close to Lana now, especially after the horrors of seeing her body fall apart. Lana didn't like the feeling either.

But she was healed in the Gates of Souls, she was rebuilt to how she once was. Cia was the catalyst that help her, and she was okay now, but Moraine wouldn't understand that.

She couldn't understand that Lana was more than what she appeared, and what she was once was a broken shell near death. Link was used to it, Lana had come to accept it, but Moraine was a Hylian child only slightly knowledgeable about the world.

On another day, Link would have taken Moraine for a walk about the Academy grounds. In another place, Lana would have shown her as many wonders as she could. A child was meant to learn, to explore, to enjoy life. It was difficult for an instructor to teach both squires and children.

But the squires were either unaware or all accepting of her being here. They had not seen Lana in shambles, not like Moraine. Moraine needed more than simple teaching, she needed comfort. Though it was difficult when the squires were still present.

Plus, the students were growing in number, though far from the organized crowd he had come to expect of training soldiers, let alone knights. A squire in Hyrule was meant to be silent before their officers, or hidden from view by royalty.

The children, as they were, huddled into groups within the crowd, cracking jokes and ruckus laughter that was mellowed only by the expanse of the outdoors, metallic as it was. If they were inside the auditorium with the same conversations, Link doubted he'd even hear clashing steel. Lana doubted that, with how great his hearing was.

Moraine, however, was tilting her head back and forth. Link watched through Lana's eyes as the girl did a number of things. Though sitting obediently by him, her eyes were following the sibling fairies, cap twitching with her ears at the conversation, and body swaying as she yearned to jump and run around.

A young Hylian was never a simple thing to raise. Lana had not the experience. Link had only broken memories and partial experience. But it would have to do.

He at least had a place to start.

"I have an idea!" Lana popped her finger into the air, straightening her back with her legs still crossed. Moraine gave her undivided attention. Link wasn't surprised, even as Lana fished for the one item she kept on hand, and not in the Gates.

Link wanted to be sure to give Moraine back her Ocarina without magic.

He watched the child's dark eyes light up at the sight of the tan instrument, washed of the soot and cured with moisture to heal the damage of the fire. Lana let the young one takes the instrument again, holding it in her smaller hands with a possessive, but enraptured, grip. He smiled upon her.

"You were amazing with this before," Lana spoke, pointing at the wooden instrument of the Kokiri. "Everyone was listening to it here. Like, right over there actually." Her hand drifted to the familiar spot where Winter Schnee and Qrow fought. Moraine was not aware of it.

"It was really well played," Tael agreed, settling on the top of the green cap. "Felt like when Link plays it, now and then." His words sunk in tone and depth as he rang.

"Good thing, too," Tatl now. "Because if it weren't for your talents on that thing, probably wouldn't have gotten to you so fast." Lana pouted at the fairy's words. Link glared at her through Lana's eyes.

The effect must have been great, because the golden fairy rang an apology, dropping until she was next to her brother. It was fine. It was hard for a fairy to fight that much of their nature.

"Anyway," Lana spoke up, looking at Moraine again. The girl hadn't looked up at her. "I thought that since you were so good at playing Saria's song, you might be able to play another song!"

Link could tell from the way the child's eyes glimmered at him, words as far away as his own, she was more than eager to try.

"Awesome!" Lana replied. "Then we'll have to get started right away!" Link knew they had to, and he could tell that Moraine was eager to. But just as aware of the need to learn, Link was aware of the need to teach.

Lana may not have understood, and Impa would have, but Link knew enough.

"But, the catch is I won't play you the song." She leaned back and forth the words, stopping when she was leaning away from the young Hylian. Moraine's eyes reflected only confusion now. Link even heard a ring or two come from Tatl in the same tone.

Lana wasn't worried. She kept her smile, because she knew what Link was going to do.

"When I was traveling before with that Ocarina, he began with Lana's voice. "I learned a lot of songs from other people. Some sang, some whistled, some beat drums, or just danced to beats." He smiled with Lana's lips.

Very rarely would he not grin at the memory of Darunia dancing to the beat of the forest's drums.

"You did great playing Saria's Song with a bit of practice." Though not much as both Link and Lana recalled. "But I think the next step is having you learn from _sound_." It was how Link had learned, as Lana had his memories to tell.

"Actually, not a bad idea," Tatl agreed, jumping from her 'seat' next to Tael, ringing as she flew about the young Hylian's head. "Been a while since we had to teach you anything, so it'll be fun tryin' to teach a kid again." Not what Link was hoping for, but Lana saw the bright side in it.

"Y-Yeah!" Tael joined his sister in the air, ringing a bit louder to match. "I'm sure we can teach you some new songs like… like Epona's song!" Link and Lana grinned in tandem at the mention of the name.

Link kept it when Moraine nodded her head.

The fairies rang as they flew about her head, celebrating the idea, making plans for the young Hylian. And the young Hylian listened as she held the musical tool in her hand. It was excellent, as Lana was sure of.

Link knew that it was important for her to have that. Having nothing to strive for, no matter how well cared for you were, was a horrible fate.

And that lead him to here, where he needed Lana's help to continue. She was more than happy to supply.

"O-Kay!" He shouted with Lana's voice, grabbing the attention of all around. Tatl and Tael settled on Moraine's head, the Hylian looking up at them.

Lana's eyes looked about the field of students, all of them holding their weapons and likely in their groups. Link only had ideas of a few of them to be sure. Lana had none at all.

Lana jumped to her feet, putting her hands over the top of the green skirt, looking about the crowd with a proud smile. Link recognized JNPR, all wearing their battle armor and watching silently. He recognized CRDL, the armored teammates standing around their muscled leader, all carrying the same tools that he had fought them before with, and defeated them.

There were other students he had seen, that Impa had fought with, that he had fought with, but with others that he did not recognize. The team collective of CFVY was present, but as was the archer and tonfa user from before. Link recognized a few of the other students, those who had fought under Impa's guidance. Garnet of the bow, and her teammates among them.

He had eyes on the ones he did not recognize, among those he did. Lana paid attention to the black-haired woman and dark skin girl by Mercury Black, the man who near kept pace with Impa. If he was not the leader, then one of the other two were. By the stance they held, likely the elegantly dressed among them. She had the confident smile to be one.

Speaking of, all eyes were on Lana now. Link knew it was time to start.

"Thanks for coming out everyone!" Lana began, waving to the crowd of students like she did at the docks. It was a lot smaller group though, obviously. "Just in case we haven't met, my name is Lana, one of Link's bestest friends!"

The students laughed, and Link was well aware why. Lana did not, because she spoke only the truth. Link knew it to be a half truth.

"We're out here today because there is an _extra special_ trip coming up that I have to go on!" Link reminded Lana not to mention Navi's name, after Ozpin reminded him to do the same. Lana was good to the word. "Normally I'd go by myself. _Buuuuut_ it looks the Headmaster said I have to take a team with me!"

They were murmuring now, questions that both Link and Lana could guess. Wondering about what was going on, about where they were going, the like. Of course, the only question that would be answered was the one that mattered most. What were they being tested on.

"Because I'm going to a really scary and _dangerous_ place, I wanna make sure the team I take can handle themselves!" Glynda had said it was above normal expectations for them to at this stage in their training, but Link, kindly, disagreed. "So, I'm makin' up a test to see which team does the best!"

The questions were getting louder, but Link told Lana to not answer them. It would be giving away the answers.

"Calm down, calm down," Lana waved her hands like she was fanning a flame. Her green outfit bounced with the motions. "I'm going to explain it all, so just keep your ears wide and open!" Her hands cupped themselves around her own round ears.

It worked well enough, most of the crowd calming themselves at the display. Link was sure it was a few of them noticing the absence of his long ears. Lana wondered why it mattered at all.

"Because where I'm going is really unknown, _and_ super dangerous, I'm going to need a team that can think fast and stay strong!" A proper knight, honestly, but Link knew a team of students could supplement well if needed. "So, to test that out, I'm sending you all out on a hunt!"

The questions weren't louder now, just larger in number. Link wasn't surprised. To squires who wanted to be hunters, the term must have been applied to a great number of things. Lana thought it was pretty straight forward what it meant.

Her eyes looked down at Moraine, who had her own large eyes upon her. She still had tiny hands grasped around the Fairy Ocarina, with Tatl and Tael flying around her in circles. Lana flashed her a bright smile.

"The hunt is simple!" Lana declared, raising a hand in the air. Link told her it would quiet them down, and it worked. "There are gonna be a lot of Grimm out in the Emerald Forest, and you're all going to be dropped off there!"

There weren't questions now, probably because they knew more was coming. They were right.

"We're keeping track of all the monsters, and which teams are killing each one." That wasn't the right way to say it, but Lana didn't mind. The squires would understand. "Each one is worth so many points, based upon how _hard_ they are to kill."

Link reminded her to not say how much each was worth. A knight did not forgo one job simply because the reward was greater. It would be good to teach the squires the same. To attack all threats with equal impunity. Lana agreed.

"The team that gets the most points when _all_ the Grimm are dead wins!" She threw both hands into the air now, grinning with enthusiasm. Link watched the crowd through her eyes.

Either by Lana's infections nature, or the nature of the hunt, the students did appear more eager now. CRDL and CFVY, especially, looked ready to go. The leaders of the respective teams had near feral grins, gripping their weapons as if they were to use them in a moment.

Others were smiling confidently, double checking their tools for the endurance test they would likely undergo. Some were whispering reminders to their partners, words Link couldn't hear with Lana's ears. It was alright, as it was likely just advice.

"I have a question!" Lana looked towards Jaune Arc. Link knew he was an inexperienced squire with a sound mind. He reminded him much of Romani. "The Emerald Forest is kinda huge. How far out are we allowed to go?"

And he always had great questions.

"It'll be obvious!" Lana shouted back, leaning forward with hands cupped around her mouth. It was unnecessary, but Link knew she liked the action. "Plus there are _two_ kn… er, _hunters_ that will be watching over the area!"

Link, with Lana, grinned at the memory of Qrow and Winter having been requested to watch over the area. Glynda agreed if only because she knew they were more likely to watch over the squires then others were.

"How many Grimm?!" Another squire yelled, one that Link didn't recognize. Glynda probably knew her, but it was another good question.

"Can't tell _youuuu_." Even if Link knew he couldn't answer it.

There were a few grumbles from the crowd, but nothing that Link was surprised about. Lana was only a little disheartened to hear them. But they really couldn't tell how many there were.

Mostly because Cia was the one who placed them.

And she had to, as Cia would know best the monsters to summon, and how to control them. Link knew of the kind of monsters she would summon, but far from the quantity or location. Even now she was working, as Malon had don on the stage by the harbor.

While Lana talked by Link's commands, Cia was dropping monsters within the heavy forest with the Gates of Souls. It was the best way for Lana and Cia to work, as sisters. It made Link thankful Tatl and Tael were so compliant together.

Link did wish to use the Gates himself, but Lana cautioned against it. Cia was just far more experienced, far better learned, and far conservative with their use. And Lana did know herself, and her sister, best.

So, Link did not argue. He only requested the types of monsters that would be used.

"Buuuuuuut, I can tell you the kinds of monsters you'll be fighting." She grinned, as Link did as well, when the students perked and listened. They did not want to mishear, which is good. Though Link could see the few students who did not, though outnumbered as they were.

Clapping her hands, summoning behind her a golden Gate of Souls, Lana began.

"First, we have the Wolfos!" The image of the dark creature appeared through the mist of blue behind Lana, howling into the air amidst the trees of the Lost Woods. Link remembered the name was something else here. "Otherwise known as the Beowolves, these guys will be aaaallll over the place."

Perhaps that was too much of a hint of their worth.

"Next, we have the Ursa!" Lana hung her arms over her head and growled, even as the gate spun to reveal the monstrous bear-like creatures. They were simply bears where he came from, but here they were something else. "Be careful of these guys. They hit extra hard."

Stating an obvious fact, Link was aware, but Lana had fun acting out the monster. Moraine seemed to enjoy it as well, more so than the image behind them.

"Then there's the Dodongo's!" Lana curled her fingers in front of her mouth, a juvenile example of sharp fangs. And to match, the gate behind her swirled with a new image, one of the slithering beast jumping from its hole. "They're nasty creepers that burrow underground, so watch your step out there!"

They were obvious upon sight, but were excellent at concealing themselves in foliage. They would be most dangerous to the students that were focused on what they heard over saw.

"But there are also some super dangerous monsters out there!" Lana threw her hands up at the reminder from Link, a reminder to not throw these students against creatures far above their training. Though skilled for squires, and working in teams, it would be too easy for a foreign threat to do serious harm.

And to explain one of the terrors, the golden Gate of Souls spun the ethereal blue within it, until it formed the image of a mountain ghost. A monster that buried itself in the densest of rocks, at the foot of mountains, within the embers of magma, or the edges of cliffs.

"Watch out for the TALUS!" Lana lumbered as she spoke, walking with stiff legs. It mimicked best the massive stone body of the monster, covered without a speck of flesh. "The Geists of this land, they only have one area on their hard bodies, something you have to find and destroy to keep them from reforming."

Link spoke through Lana's lips. Much of this he had to find out himself, but it was not his duty, or desire, to put these students at risk by facing a foe they did not know how to defeat. The Talus's were rare in Hyrule, and likely just as uncommon here.

And that led to the next monster of rare appearance, the giant of the forests. The massive creature that lumbered with its steps, that towered over homes, and ate farms whole for a day's meal. The largest of the many monsters that existed within the woods of Hyrule, and likely here.

"But keep a careful eye out for the Hinox!" Lana cupped the lids of one of her eyes, opening it much like the image of the great monster in the Gates behind her. "Though large and slow, they can crush wagons and chariots with their weight alone. Be careful, and maybe even quiet if you find this monstrosity!"

The students paid attention to her, if with grins and chuckles of laughter. But that was okay, as Lana was quick to remind that you had to pay attention to find something funny. Link knew that was true.

As true as he knew that shaking Moraine was not one of humor, but terror.

There were monsters in the gates behind her. Images, pictures, no different than those made by the picto-box, but still terrifying to a child of barely seven years of age.

So, that was enough. They had said enough for the squires to understand.

"So," Link finished with Lana's voice. "Keep a careful eye out in the woods, and make sure you work as a team! The most points are the victor, and the victor goes a hunting with me!" Lana jumped as she finished the statement.

And just in time with the roar of the ships from the sky.

Airships, as Link remembered, though still sailing ships of the sky. They were similar to those that took him and the teams to the Badlands before, but not nearly as powerful, and they looked more weathered. Like the chariots of Hyrule's military retired and sold to the farmers for use.

Now they would be used to take the students to the forest. In honesty, Lana was a little mad about it. Link knew why. She was one who loved to be useful, and the gates of her power were more than able to move the students. Far faster than the airships would.

But Glynda had put a foot down in protest, to which Link had to comply. This was already beyond the norm for them, so it would be rude to request more. Lana understood, and was thankful enough to help with Cia as she did.

Besides, the flying ships were already here, just like Glynda said they would be. A little late, but seeing as she, quoting, 'had to request the transport as low-level emergency movement', Link understood. Lana thought they were a lot of big words to mean, 'it was difficult'. Link knew she was right as well.

The ships were still just as massive and metallic as he remembered them, though missing the cannons Lana was used to. Their hulls opened up, like the wooden transport ships from the seas of Termina, and showing their hollow interiors.

It all meant that the students were ready to go, and that she had to go as well.

But Lana was sure there was another monster that she forgot to talk about, something that Cia said was to be avoided, but present to test the skill of the squires to avoid, not to attack. It was something that all knights had to learn, the limit of their abilities.

She was so sure about it to. She remembered thinking that it was a challenge for the regular knights of Hyrule, that it was something only the most skilled of the Gerudo dared to face. She remembered that one of them was in the forest.

But Link was right. Moraine was scared of the monsters, and she took priority for now.

"Well, to everyone who's participating," Lana began with Moraine at her side, standing within the same Gate of Souls she had used before. Link waved with Lana's hand, smiling brightly with her lips. "Gooooood luck!"

She waved to the students still watching, a few waving back in turn.

Then the gate turned blue as it spun, and Lana and Moraine fell through it.

They reappeared in Ozpin's office, walking across the glass floors atop the gear heads and around the windows. Moraine's grip on her arm was terrifyingly strong, but Link did not shirk at the grip. He kept the grin on Lana's face as she walked forward to the Headmaster's desk.

"Alright! I think they are aaaall set to go!" She announced proudly stopping with a short salute by the large desk of the odd man. Lana thought he was odd. Link knew he was wise. Lana did trust Link, and her own eyes.

Eyes that were looking at screens all about the glass room, easily a dozen of the screens that looked very similar to the ones that popped up on his desk before, when they were playing the Chess game. Link saw the similarities, and Lana did as well when she saw his memories.

But these 'windows' didn't project games or simple images. They were 'video feeds', as Glynda had called them. The scenes of the Emerald Forest the squires were about to be brought to, showing all the different areas of the woods the monsters dwelled in.

A few open areas, the dense foliage of trees, by cliff sides, by river's edge, and even a skyward bound view of the terrain entire. Lana thought it was looking through all of her Gates at once, and marveling at them one-by-one. Link knew it was something unseen in Hyrule before.

They were supposed to watch the trials as they took place, to judge beyond the promise of word and other observers. A far more effective means to watch the squires, and one that Link had no qualms or objections to. Lana just wanted to add her own.

"It appears that we are on our end as well," Ozpin spoke as he sipped on the dark beverage in the cup. His eyes were on the screens, but he twisted to look at her. His smile was evident as the giant windows. "A good thing that Moraine was able to remain strong for so long." The headmaster's kind eyes looked down at the Hylian girl.

And he really did have kind eyes. Lana told Link through her memories, and he told her they were trustworthy. Neither were qualities the other argued about. Moraine, however, was still far shyer.

Like the child she was, she hid herself behind Lana's half-clad leg, head peeking out from behind the green filled skirt the elder of the two wore. Link found it endearing, and Lana adorable. It was difficult to tell what Ozpin thought of it, as he laughed at the display.

"I see I am still an intimidating figure," he remarked, cane tapping twice on the glass as he spoke. His smile did not falter. "But let's hope we fix that before you head out on your journey." Though his eyes were on Moraine, Link knew it was him he was speaking to.

"Let's focus on the matter at hand," Glynda spoke, walking from aside Lana. Moraine gripped her leg now, tight enough that Link felt the fingers dig into the faux-skin. Lana, ever sisterly, only rubbed the top of the Hylian's capped head. "Such as the awaiting… and rather sudden… exam." Lana grinned despite Link's desire not to.

It was clear Glynda was not as thrilled about the sudden test as everyone else was.

"I think we are about set, correct?" Ozpin turned towards the odd perforated device on his desk. Link remembered it was called a 'microphone', similar, though extremely different, to the megaphones that that were sometimes found in the hands of the eccentric in Hyrule. Their purpose was, again, similar but different.

"We're about good here," came the voice of the eccentric man from before, Qrow as link and Lana recalled, recalled through Cia's memories that is. "Just doin' 'nother lay over ta make sure there aren't any stragglers or bad luck tourists." To be in the forest at that time would be rather poor luck.

"The examination should be secure by the time the students arrive," followed the much more well-mannered Winter. "Let us know if there is anything we should be on the lookout for." Link didn't need anyone to tell him to know that she was the elder sibling of Weiss.

The two were almost identical in all but age. Lana found that funny, because she was different in Cia in almost every other way.

"Okay! Enough with the head rubbing!" Lana pulled her arm back as Tatl flew from Moraine's cap. She had forgotten she was there. So, had Link. "Geez, it's like you were trying to drown us in there!"

"Well, it wasn't so bad at the tip of the hat," Tael joined his sister, ringing lowly as he flew out. "Just dizzying…" His meek nature was more than evident.

And now Link was realized how opposite most of the siblings he knew were. IT appeared that Winter and Weiss were the exception, not the norm. It was odd, which Lana found hilarious.

"Kay, we'll be sure to look out for head-rubs." Link found that humorous, as Lana did as well. "Main worry there is Winter. Never know when someone wants to rub that head of hers." Even with Lana's ears, Link heard Ozpin chuckle.

He also heard Glynda growl.

"We will be fine, so long as Qrow minds himself." Moraine was giggling, Lana could feel it. So were the fairies, ringing as they bobbed about. "And if that is all, we will remain on standby. Winter out." And the microphone went dead.

"I do love partners that are able to manage such a dynamic," Ozpin set his cup down as he turned back towards the monitors, both hands over the head of his cane. "It makes speaking with them so much more enjoyable."

Link, and Lana, agreed immensely. Apparently, Glynda did not.

"If that is, all then, perhaps we should focus on the students, and not these antics." The proud woman spoke, even as her hands danced around the glass pad that she perpetually held. Link knew she was right, and Lana was forced to agree. "Given the spontaneous nature of this event, we do not possess the luxury of leniency with our observation." There were a lot of big words to basically say they had to pay attention.

But Link agreed that was important. They had to watch, because the students were going to compete.

"Guess now we really get to say how much of what these kids say is bark or bite," Tatl rang out as she floated around the room, settling on Moraine's head. Link was unsurprised, given how she and her brother were going to teach the Hylian soon. "Might want to keep an eye out for the that Cardin kid."

"I-I hope the JNPR team does well," Tael added on, continuing to float lightly as he rang. "I think Jaune is really nice, a-and Pyrrha, too." Well, he wasn't wrong. It was just hard to say that was important when hunting monsters.

"This is often where students either prove their worth or show their inadequacy," Ozpin added, eyes looking about the dozens of screens, a gleam to them that matched his glasses. "And no matter the results, everyone grows." Link knew the wisdom of the words. Lana trusted him.

The students would arrive soon, and then they would watch.

Link was patient, Lana was excited, and Moraine, watching from their side, was taking it all in.

* * *

Glynda was holding in a growl of frustration. It was hardly a secret why, at least to anyone who had an iota of intelligence. All procedures regarding the testing of the students was being over-ridden, with approval, by the new instructor. Not simply altered, or improved, or tested even, but completely and wholly changed.

And the worst part was, Glynda didn't know what was worst. The desire to perform the tests in such a manner from Link, or the shear openness of the testing by Ozpin.

It was beyond such a simple matter of improving the program with new variables. Variables were supposed to be tested and validated before being applied to the curriculum of the students, especially in such an extreme manner.

Yet here they were literally throwing the students at monsters manipulated and conjured by one of Link's deceased friends. The implications of that sentence alone were far more than Glynda ever hoped to honestly convey.

To her usually tight kept schedule and well-managed itinerary, this was a disaster. Classes being postponed for what amounted to a sudden field-trip, sudden use of the designated Emerald Forest training zone, and even the Bullheads for the transport.

If there was any one positive, any at all, it was that the newest member of the Beacon faculty let her organize it.

"Bullheads landing on the drop point," she noted across her pad, doubling sure on one of the many monitors lit up in the Headmaster's office. "The clock will begin once the first student steps off." An unfair advantage in time, but hardly any different than the launching parameters for the Initiation exam.

"And the Grimm are far enough away from the point?" Ozpin asked, as he did with all projects that involved transport. And Glynda had the answer already prepared.

"By Lana's earlier declaration, the nearest Grimm is four minutes away by foot, and the lesser Grimm species." Simply, nothing that a well-placed bullet wouldn't be able to dispatch. "Transport should be able to deliver the students and depart well under the time frame."

"And the monitors are prepared?" Glynda looked up at the Headmaster's question, seeing eyes coasting about the many screens. His question was obvious, and it was not in regards to the monitors being able to work.

"The mini-drones are set to track the student's scrolls through the exam, per the same regulations in the Initiations." In that no student was abandoned or lost within the forest, always having a mini-drone in view of them. "Monitors 12 and 13 are set up to display the Aura levels of the students."

Her hand motioned away from the pad she worked on, indicating the only dark screens along the wall of monitors. She could tell the other occupants in the room looked up at it, but nothing more. There was nothing to show until she synced the mini-drones to the students, and that wouldn't happen until the Bullheads landed. It was why she had to focus.

"Excellent, and we have an emergency transport available just in case?" They did, but Glynda was not in charge of that. However, she did have the necessary procedure already established and in line.

"Qrow Branwen and Winter Schnee are aboard the monitoring airship along the perimeter of the Emerald Forest testing area," Glynda began. It was important to establish what was already known. "They have communication channels open and prepared with Bullheads should any student be critically injured during the testing. James has agreed to keep traffic off of the frequency until we are clear."

And the rest was simply following the well-established procedure of Beacon Academy. Monitoring progress, recording battle systems, ensuring power levels in all necessary equipment, and keeping an eye on all students present.

A day's work for her.

"Wow, you're really good at this." Glynda turned to the over-eager blue-haired woman, the friend of Link that acted so much more a child than the children she taught. "I mean, you did all that super quick. Can't even tell you how long that would've taken me." Her smile was disarming.

Almost as disarming as the young faunus child that clung to her leg, but not so much that Glynda was willing to let lose all restraints.

"I doubt it would be so far an impossibility for you," Glynda replied honestly, even as her mind swiped through the various notes and documents on her scrolls. She had to be aware of any short-coming possible in the testing area. "To be able to summon and control Grimm his hardly something one would consider minor."

And in truth, if it were not for Winter Schnee, Glynda would have insisted on Military monitoring of Lana's powers. The ability to summon monsters were not a small thing.

Thankfully, as both Lana, Link, and Winter were quick to point out. It was not the same.

"I thought we explained it really well before!" Glynda could not recall a time she heard Link speak. She must have been referring to Mikau, or a time when Link used the golem's voice. "We aren't actually summoning the monsters. Don't think of someone that scary." She even rubbed her arms for effect, as if there were a chill.

Glynda, quick as the scroll she operated, jotted a note about how the texture of the golem's skin altered itself. It must have been soft, soft enough to hide her true nature. Yet it still crumbled like clay before.

"All Cia did is use her magic to bring them out, basically using my magic for it. It's the same thing Winter does. I mean, didn't she agree to it?" Glynda was aware that the elder Schnee sibling did endorse the technique. She had her name on the document.

It was only through the agreement of the Schnee sibling, and her demonstrated expertise with the summoning of the Grimm through the Glyphs, that Glynda was placated enough to not wonder about the golem's power.

She had power, no doubt, but it appeared only marginally superior to Winter, at best. And it was unlikely she'd put herself into a state that would frighten the young Moraine. Not while she, Lana, bent down to entertain the child, putting hands over the tan ocarina.

"Besides, it's not like I can just make a lot of them non-stop," Lana spoke, even as she kneeled down to put herself at eye level with Moraine. She was attentive to the girl, if nothing else. "I'm using my magic to keep them out there, same was Winter. Or Weiss, if she can summon things. Can she summon things? I haven't seen her?" Glynda dismissed the question.

The golem's words explained why the golem was stuck in the Headmaster's office during the test, and not popping around the forest to see how the students were doing.

"Instead of the members of team RWBY, whom you are far more than simply acquainted with, perhaps you should be watching these screens with me." Ozpin's words would likely confuse the normal man. Thankfully, Glynda wasn't a man, normal, or untrained in the headmaster's ways.

She knew the students had departed from the landing sight already, the mini-drones tracking the necessary teams through the woods as the Bullheads returned towards Beacon for maintenance. They were already deep into the forest foliage, separated by the team designation.

The monitors were showing the teams one-by-one, properly labeled with title figures regarding the drone active and the team being monitored. The geographical positioning was included along her pad, and the distance from the drop point as supplementary information. Unneeded for ensuring their health, but paramount for their safety.

And along the monitors earlier established, the green bars of healthy Aura levels were displayed under the names and heads of the various students involved, grouped by the teams they now hunted in.

JNPR, CFVY, CRDL, NDGO, ABRN, CNEM and FNKY. Visiting teams as well as local students. It was a troublesome development to Glynda, in all honesty, but their inclusion was a necessary addition to the test.

They had to justify the presence of foreign students without making it a permanent vacation for them.

"Regardless of the means of the test, we should be aware of the mentality of the winning team," Ozpin spoke up, turning the conversation like the gears on his famous clocks. "It is why you should keep a careful eye on the students as they fight."

His cane lifted and pointed towards the newest member of the Beacon faculty.

"Scoring is important, but we need to be aware of what you think of them, Link." It was a good mentality for an instructor to have, looking beyond grades. "If you see something that is concerning, let us know so that we can make a note of it."

"Wait, I'm confused." The proctor of the exam being confused was grounds for concern. "If we're picking who's going with me, then why isn't Dr. Oobleck here? Shouldn't he help pick the teams."

Glynda let out a breath of relief. She wouldn't know what to do if the woman… golem was confused by her own test.

"Bartholomew is already volunteering to take Penny Polendina as his student for observation and training," Ozpin answered for her.

His eyes remained on the monitors, watching the various teams of students wander through the forest. It reminded her that she should be keeping a close eye on her own pad.

"The students that you take are unrelated to his own. You are independent teachers of Beacon, and therefore determine the merits of your students separately." Glynda nodded at the words, the creed that she upheld. It was why she dared not to utter a word to Peter Port through his lessons, aside from his rambling nature. The same for the professors dispersed around the Academy.

Judging by the look of confusion upon the girl's face, it was not the same in the foreign country she and Link hailed from.

"Wow, that's different." She rolled her head as she spoke, stopping when her eyes were down at the faunus child, dressed in mimicry to Link with the pair of mini-drones hovering around her. "But hey, if it works, why fix it?" And Glynda was glad she got that.

"Indeed," she spoke, tapping on her pad a few times. She was taking over a monitor. "Now, before the students find the Grimm your… sister conjured, perhaps we can review the scoring system once more."

In truth, it was something that Glynda hoped to do twice before any testing, but as the majority of her efforts were dedicated to preparing the test itself, she had to go off of only the words of the experienced hunter for the worth of the Grimm.

She needed to be sure the numbers in Link's head matched those on her pad.

"Well, starting with the little guys," Lana began, flicking her fingers in front of her as she spoke. Glynda kept her eyes on the pad as the woman spoke. "The wolfos are two points, the bears three, and the dodongos five."

Beowolves were two points, Ursa three, and Creepers four. The differing naming convention was not odd to Glynda, as she expected as much from an isolated foreign nation. It was simply one more thing she had to keep track of.

One more detail in an ever-growing list.

"Then the Talus's are worth twenty points, and the Hinox's as well." Her hands balled and opened as she spoke. The numbers matched the values for the Geists and Cyclopes in her databanks as well.

"Excellent," Glynda nodded, satisfied. Her finger double tapped the scoring system, returning the primary display to controlling the mini-drones. "I believe we are all set to observe the children then."

"And not a moment too soon," Ozpin spoke, eyes on the screen above them.

It was on the monitor following Mini-Drone 3XD, devoted to team CFVY, consisting of Coco Adel, Fox Alistair, Velvet Scarlatina, and Yatsuhashi Daichi. A second-year team with an interest in Link following his dismantling of team CRDL publicly.

They were already facing off against a collection of Beowolves.

Glynda put her thoughts aside. While the students were training, she was watching.

* * *

Hunting was not a favorite past-time for Velvet. It wasn't even one she considered for her future.

The role of Hunter in her, hopefully, graduation diploma would merely be a spring-board to other opportunities, and a door opener for more dangerous volunteer efforts.

The many outreach programs of Vale were hesitant to take on work too far beyond the kingdom's walls, at least not without the support of hunters or Military efforts. It was something that often dug too deep into the charity funds.

But if she was a hunter along those tasks, then the safety would be secured and the funds better used. To be a Hunter was to be a protector, not an assassin or vigilante. It was for her to protect those who could not protect themselves.

A hunter could hunt, but they could also defend. It was what she wished to do.

So, when it came to being the hunter for the Grimm, she wasn't the best. She was the support, as Coco had spelled it out. A couple of her class mates called her the Blue Mage, or something like that. It meant staying in the back, keeping focus, and helping out where-ever you could however you could. She liked that.

It meant she wasn't the best at much, but she was good enough to help out. She couldn't lift like Yatsu, shoot like Coco, or fight like Fox, but she could do a bit of all three. All that being said, Velvet was sure of at least this much.

"Are Beowolves supposed to be that color?" She asked the question under a hushed breath, pointing at the small collection of the Grimm in the minor clearing.

There were five total, not a lot, but enough to mean that they had good senses, especially together. Grimm were enhanced by numbers, it was why they traveled in packs. They could vary in size, but they were almost always the same in terms of color.

Black coats, red eyes, and white hard chitinous plates.

So why in the name of the Dust that they used were these Grimm white, tan, or gray all over?

"Supposed to, no," Coco spoke up, whispering the same as Velvet. "But are they, yeah, they are." Her leader adjusted her glasses, kneeling down beneath a tree's lower branch to hide in its foliage. "Considering how they're lacking those plates, they might be easier to kill."

"They may also be quicker to react," Fox spoke from behind Velvet. She was used to him doing that. She was sure he wasn't used to her being used to it yet, considering how much he did it. "They are missing the weight of their shells. But their color of coats alarms me." He was trying to speak like Yatsu again.

"They are creations of our instructor," Yatsu spoke up now, voice coming through the radio in her ear. He was too large to sneak, and so was left far enough behind to not alert the enemy. He must have been approaching by now. "Perhaps the remnants of her magic are working through their appearance."

"Good enough for me," Coco let out, her voice sounded per usual to Velvet. Tired, but excited, like she usually sounded when she wasn't shopping for more clothes in Vale. "Now who wants to start scoring points so we can score a week without classes?"

Velvet wanted to point out that the trip with Link with whomever and to wherever they were going was likely not going to be a carefree as a class-less week, but her concerns were immediately thrown away, by force.

The force of Yatsu jumping over their group and slamming his signature blade into the ground.

Per the practice routine with the training dummies, the Beowolves were thrown into the air, thrashing like fish out of water. It was exactly what Fox needed.

He ran from their spot in the foliage, elbow-mounted blades tearing through the Grimm as he spun at the usual high-speeds he was accustomed to. Without the plates to guard them, there was nothing stopping Fox from tearing into them.

With careful eyes, however, Velvet saw what Fox said hold true. Two of the Grimm were able to bend and twist out of the way of his blades, either through instincts or the showing of their age. It let him land in the clearing with raised claws and feral fangs.

BAM

Only for one of them to be shot by a single well-placed pullet from Coco's purse. Its head lolled to the side as the light died in its eyes. Not long after, it fell to the ground with a dull splat.

**BOOM**

And her ears, more than her eyes, picked up Yatsu beating the last one to death. It may have been dexterous, but Yatsu's blade was too large to simply dodge, at least for these oddly colored Beowolves.

Beowolves that were all leaking out the same, and thankfully familiar, dark smoke upon their death.

Velvet let out a sigh of relief as she walked from the foliage, joining her team in the minor clearing. That was four Grimm taken down, and in not much time either. Hard to tell how good that was in consideration to the other Grimm their instructor had spoken of.

But it was safe to say that there were more dangerous Grimm to hunt, which logically meant more points. Beowolves may not have been a low-class Grimm, but they weren't the highest either.

Regardless of the scoring, that was four Grimm down, but no telling how many more to go.

"Alrighty," the team leader of CFVY spoke, adjusting her shades with one hand. Velvet could easily see the grin on her face. "Now let's start looking for the big game."

Yatsu hoisted his large caliber sword to his back, letting it rest on his shoulders. Fox's knuckles cracked as he adjusted his arms, threading his fingers together. Velvet simply ran her hand over her camera. She had forgotten to take pictures.

At least there was going to be more opportunities. It was hard to say there wouldn't be, seeing as her ears could easily pick up the sounds of the other teams fighting. No telling how they were doing though.

It only meant there was a lot more to do.

* * *

Fifteen minutes into the hunt and Ren knew they were likely behind the other teams.

He didn't need the acute senses of a faunus to hear the crack of guns or boom of weaponry cracking the earth, or the skulls of Grimm. He just needed to watch his team leader jump at the smallest of the sounds.

Fifteen minutes into the familiar foliage, however, and they had only fought a pair of creepers that had intended to sink their teeth into Nora's ankles. It was difficult to feel pity for the monsters, but it was just as troublesome to fuss over a friend that enjoyed cracking their bones.

"If we think about the order that Link/Lana talked about the monsters, then the Creepers may be worth more than the Beowolves or the Ursa." Ren's leader spoke as they walked, shield out and eyes on Pyrrha's back. It was the safest place for them to be. "So, we should think about fighting them more, which is good. But then could also be worth the same…"

"I believe you're thinking too hard on this, Jaune," the spartan of their team whispered back. Whispering was something Ren suggested, and he was glad they listened. "Prioritizing targets is important, but we should fight all Grimm we come across."

"Huh? Oh! Y-Yeah, of course we are," Jaune quickly explained. If the foliage weren't so dense, Ren was sure he would be swinging his arms to throw away his own dismissal. "I-I'm just trying to figure out where we are in the rankings."

**Boom**

Ren looked in the direction of the boom, a bit louder than the dull cacophony of other noise that followed around the forest. Likely a dust-discharge gone wrong or some area-encompassing attack. It was all just as likely, now that foreign teams were allowed to participate in this.

He breathed a low sigh, calming himself. They were supposed to hunt the Grimm, not lure them in.

"We aren't likely at the top," Ren responded to his leader's question. "But if we keep moving, and keep hunting, we have a better chance of finding bigger prey."

"Like those guys?" Of course, Nora was the only one among them speaking with a noise louder than a whisper.

And turning head towards her, of course she was the one to find the next pair of Grimm. Ren would have been shocked if his partner was anything less than the first one to find the beasts, by bait or luck.

Sure enough, through the foliage of trees and high bushes, Ren could just make out the dark brown outline of a napping creature, far larger than any scavenger or herbivore species native to the region. It was likely carnivorous and, given the off color-scheme of the Creepers before, likely another Grimm.

"Ursa, those are Ursa," Jaune spoke from above Ren, their leader leaning against a tree, hiding behind it. He had the height to see more than Ren's crouching form. "But it's sleeping, or waiting. Do Grimm sleep? I didn't think they had to."

"Not common, but not impossible," Pyrrha responded back, voice far lower than even before. "And this one appears larger than normal." And per their 'Ace's' above average skill, she was right.

Ren could tell that the napping Ursa was easily a Major, and likely growing larger than that. Difficult to say why, or how, but unimportant for now. What was important was that the beast was larger than normal, and by the law of the Grimm, likely far more intelligent than normal.

That meant there were likely another Grimm around it, either waiting, hiding, or napping as well. It wouldn't be so exposed so easily, not without good reason. And a good enough reason for any carnivore, one who was hunting, was to be bait.

"I'm a smash it." Ren's hand grabbed Nora's arm before his head even looked in her direction.

"Nora, no," Jaune spoke up, scolding his partner, properly. He didn't need to look, or listen, to know what Nora was going to say next.

"Nora, yes!" She spoke up louder. Ren saw the Ursa shift in its prone position. He also felt his childhood friend easily shirk her way out of his grip.

"RRrrr…" And just in time to see the Ursa shaking itself awake.

"Aw, dangit," Jaune let out with a sight. Ren did the same, silently. He could tell the rest of his teammates were tensing for a fight, as they should be.

The Ursa was on its legs, shaking its body to show the massive weight behind its frame. A heavy coat, lacking in the usual protrusions, waving with the heavy fat content it likely held. That made it thick and hard to cut, meaning that Jaune and Pyrrha would be disadvantaged.

"Okay, quickly," Jaune started, to Ren's relief. "It's fat, so slicing is hard. But, Pyrrha, we can cripple it." She must have nodded towards him, because Ren didn't hear her respond. "Ren, you keep Nora's back safe." He would do that regardless, for any of his teammates, but the reasoning now was clear. "And Nora, you-" and said reason started screaming.

"Nora SMASH!" And the bombastic hammer maiden of JNPR jumped from the foliage like the goddess of pain. Ren found the title matching.

Especially when Mjolnir slammed into the ground right where the Ursa was just resting. The operative word in Ren's mind was just. As in, just missed.

He was right about the Ursa. It was smart. It wasn't in the clearing to bait, it was in the clearing to have room to move. As in, room to avoid Nora's might strike.

Jaune and Pyrrha rushed out soon after, Ren trailing behind and he let his Aura flow through his arms. He would need to be dexterous to both protect his friends and keep guard over the area. A hunter didn't allow for variables to interrupt a hunt.

"Pyrrha, go 'round the other way. We'll flank it!" Jaune started running with his weapons out, Pyrrha running the opposite. She had her ballistic form out for her weapons, for peppering fire. It made sense, Nora was going to be the damage dealer this time around.

Ren kept himself back, letting his Semblance trail over the area, hiding him from the view of the Grimm, keeping him in a position for ambush or assault, just as Jaune had them practice before. It had always worked, and Ren saw no reason to stop it now.

It let him keep eye on the Ursa as it circled itself, keeping a claw up to strike at any of his approaching teammates. Nora was the only one to worry about, but Ren wouldn't voice that. It gave him time to double check the small area.

Unlike what he thought, there were no other Grimm actively around, that he could see. No resting Beowolves, no smaller Ursa, no signature burrows of the Creepers, nothing obvious. But in obvious didn't mean nonexistent.

Crack

"Nora! Now!" Pyrrha shouted in time with her weapon. Ren glanced to see that Pyrrha had shot the Ursa in the head, obviously concussing it. That was all the preparation Nora needed.

"Alrighty!" His longtime friend shouted, running forward with hammer to her side. "It's hammer time!" Yang was going to be spoken to after this test, and her hearing returned. Ren was glad thou-

Ren stopped, something was off.

Even as his body felt Nora smash into the Grimm, doubtlessly doing serious damage to it, he could tell that something in the ground wasn't right. There weren't Creepers, as the usual burrows they dug were missing, but something still wasn't right.

He kept his calm, Semblance pulsing, as he looked around. His eyes washed over the Grimm, seeing Jaune stab at the Ursa's leg as Pyrrha jumped on top of it. Nora was waiting for another swing, and they were all okay, but there was still something off.

Then Ren saw a series of rocks, no bigger than his fist, rolling across the plain. Over roots and up small hills.

"Everyone get back!" He yelled out, eyes straining as he looked around.

"Wait, h-UH!?" Jaune let out as he was thrown by the Grimm. Ren would apologize later, for breaking his leader's concentration. But he knew he would be okay, with the Aura bank that he had.

Not that it mattered, as Ren saw Pyrrha catch him easily, her abilities proficient once more. Nora jumped back to them, pouting as she did so. Ren knew instantly why, and swore to apologize later, but not now.

"What is Ren?" Pyrrha asked, Milo in her hand. "Was it about to attack? Is there something nearby?"

"Nearby," Ren spoke quickly, eyes still trailing around the forest. He couldn't see anything obvious, but he saw what show he was being more than a nuisance. "Rocks may roll, but they don't roll up." He pointed towards what he was referring to.

And the long sound of appeal from Nora showed that they recognized the significance.

"Wow~! That's cool! How'd you do that Reny?" He didn't answer, as there was no answer that would satisfy her. Only continuing to look for the Grimm, or thing, that was making it happen. "And hey, even the unbearable Grimm is scared!" Pun aside, Nora was right.

The Ursa was pushing at the ground, eyes not on them, but at something else. It was beating at stones, at pebbles, at loose rock that was moving about the floor. It was becoming more aggressive, and the movement of the forest more obvious.

"Uh, guys," Jaune spoke up now. "I think… we should spread out." It wasn't a bad idea, not as long as they were close by. And he was a leader for a reason.

Ren tiptoed around the clearing, one eye on the Grimm and the other still searching for the beast that was moving the stone. Nora skipped around and Pyrrha sensibly moved. Jaune stumbled as he walked, but was careful nonetheless.

BOOM

Until a jerk of the earth sent the leader of JNPR to the ground. Ren couldn't fault him, as he felt his own balance being thrown. Thankfully, there was no reason to wonder why.

The emergence of a giant boulder tended to disrupt the ground. Especially when it was rising from the effort of smaller stones.

The Ursa ran in that moment, into the forest and out of sight. Ren only noted the direction it had gone in, confident that the Grimm wouldn't chase why there was something like this happening. This something still moving.

Boulders rolled from the forest towards the giant rock, forcing Ren to move out of their way, else be crushed. They plowed into the larger stone boulder with a cracking force, but they didn't bounce away. They stuck, like glue.

And then they rose, like magic.

"Oh dear…" Pyrrha let out above the noise. She verbalized what Ren thought.

This wasn't any average Grimm, and a Grimm that it was.

As Lana had called it before they were transported. It as a Talus.

"That's the Geist, right?" Jaune asked, though he was already correct in his assumption. It was the alternative name. "That's the big thing that Lana/Link said was a big game hunt. Like, dangerous game. Hard to kill. That sort of… thing." All of that was true. It was, unfortunately, not what Ren wanted to hear.

He wanted to hear one of his leaders odd, but highly efficient, plans for attack. As the giant golem of stone rumbled above them, taller than many of the trees of the Emerald forest, he knew it would not be a fight so simple or clean as a normal Grimm. The Grimm that lived alone were never easy to take down.

"Hard as stone!" Nora cheerily yelled out. Ren didn't know if he should sigh or chuckle. "But that just means it's gotta be dense." Sigh it was.

The mighty mass of stone did indeed tower over them, with limbs of matching stone that hung from its larger body. Pebbles and pellets held it up, but the frame of its body was far more than intimidating. It was like a giant ball of steel and death.

Ren spread his Semblance out to his friends, keeping them calm. It would be reckless to attack a giant of stone.

"Thanks Ren," Jaune called out, as he always did. Ren nodded in response. It was his duty to the team, now the others had to fill their roles.

"Jaune, a plan?" Pyrrha asked, even as they moved around it. Her sword and shield were ready, and Jaune's was up as well. But they needed more than that.

"Okay, a plan. So… it's big," Jaune began, their team continuing to encircle the Talus. "And… it's watching us, somehow." Somehow indeed, impressively, as Ren could see no eyes, nose, or even ears upon the large stone being. "That means… we can-"

"Hit it harder!"

Not even Pyrrha had time to stop Nora as she vaulted forward, raising her hammer above her head like the namesake of her weapon. Ren had just enough time to jump back, knowing that whatever was going to happen, it would be loud.

"Nora! WAI-!" Apparently Jaune wasn't as astute about his teammate was Ren was. Understandable.

CRACK!

The sound of metal slamming into stone resounded like a covered grenade, matched by flying debris and pelting stone pellets. Ren felt the scraps of stone slam against his Aura, painfully. But it was far from worrying.

And as he lowered his pair of pistols, he saw that the goliath of stone was missing something important. An arm.

"See?" Nora yelled from her place just beneath the giant, hammer over her shoulders and, doubtlessly, the usual prideful grin on her face. Ren was sporting his usual grin of satisfaction. His friend was hardly boring, only worrying. "I've got him disarmed!" Ren held his eyes clothes for a moment longer than a blink.

"Nora," he began, even as he kept his eyes on the stone Grimm. "We are going to talk later about how much time you spend with Yang." Only she was capable of corrupting his friend in such a way.

"Talk later, smash now." She wasn't entirely wrong.

"Nora, JUMP!" Jaune yelled out. Unfortunately, Nora wasn't Pyrrha. She was trained to listen to her leader that well.

"Huh?" Ren already answered her question with his eyes. Jaune said to jump because the Talus was falling. Right on top of Nora. "Oh!" At least she rolled.

Far enough away to avoid the giant slab of stone from crushing her. It didn't stop the force of the fall from blowing her away.

But Ren was there, arms outstretched and catching his flying teammate.

"Nora!" he shouted as he looked down at his partner. One look and he didn't need a response. She was grinning too brightly. "Good to see you are alright."

"Can't be anything else when you hold me so close," Nora responded with pout lips. Ren sighed at the sight. Yang would have been given a serious talking to later. "But hey, I already toppled the giant! Just… like…" Ren didn't need to question why she stopped.

A look at the fallen Talus showed that it didn't remain so for long, already lifting itself back into the air in an affront to Physics and basic Static forces. But that was a secondary concern of Ren's.

The primary, and doubtlessly what Jaune and Pyrrha were staring at, was the new arm-like boulder protruding from the side of the Talus. It hung without difficulty from the massive frame of stone.

"Huh," Nora let out, struggling her way, easily, out of Ren's grip. "That's not fair."

"Words right out of my mouth, Nora," Jaune returned from across the small field. "But I think I got a plan!" Ren smiled at the words. That was his leader.

But his plan had to wait as they spread out further, avoiding the giant Grimm stomping forward with a collection of stones that did not appear able to support the colossal weight of the monolith. It was slow, per being made of stone, but it meant little else for them.

"It didn't fall apart when its arm broke." That was a start, but Ren didn't follow.

"What does that mean Jaune?" Pyrrha sked her partner in return. It was odd how in sync they were together.

"Part of its body probably controls the others, so if we destroy that part, it'll far apart." Ren could understand that well enough. "And it's probably part of the main body…" And there was the problem

"Okay! I'll smash _that part!_ " For anyone other than Nora.

And like the Valkyrie she so often appeared to be, Nora was gone in a blur of colors. Jaune looked worried, but he honestly should have been a little happy.

This Grimm was definitely worth more than a Creeper.

* * *

Cinder sighed deeply as she set herself down, too much on her mind and too many pawns moving simultaneously. It was almost infeasible to keep up with it all.

Years of planning and preparation had gone into the infiltration of Beacon and the corruption of the Atlesian CTC systems alone.

Virus programmers being paid and put to work, then moved off the board. Dust thefts being done in a manner spread out enough to avoid common knowledge linking them. Infiltrating and organizing the White Fang to assist them. There was simply an immense amount to manage.

And none of it was helped by a lone faunus popping into the Beacon and uprooting all the carefully laid plans and systems put in place. It was doubtless that Glynda was not proud of the many actions he took, actions that were permitted only by trading goods and services that she knew were beyond any research project of the Military or Beacon.

That was only worse for her. New technologies meant new road blocks, which meant new ways her plans could be foiled, or even tipped slightly enough to make them irrelevant.

Even a bit further than all of that, she could not ignore the warning of her mistress.

Though he hardly showed himself garbed in green anymore, Link was clearly the warrior she was forewarned about. Underestimating him was not permissible, in any field she wasn't sure she could out maneuver him.

For now, it was only the advantage of surprise that she had, and that alone. And that was an immense advantage, one that Cinder was willing to risk much for, her and her allies.

After all, it was enough to nearly kill the faunus, and steal all of his gear.

Uncouth and trigger happy as Roman was, he was skilled in strategy far more than the average low-life in Vale streets. It made him desirable to have, if only to keep away from being a monkey-wrench to her plans.

She was able to read the necessary reports from the Military, the loosely coded messages so easily translatable with a simple Scroll Application. And from what wasn't written in obvious redacted messages or loose language painted an obvious picture.

Roman had done it, him and the little bi-colored mute.

A surprise assault using the illusion of rescue, placing the overly powered faunus warrior into a position of extreme vulnerability. He had even done it using all the pieces given to him over time. Miraculous, if admittedly a bit rushed.

Cinder supposed the inevitable failure was proof enough it wasn't perfect.

He had failed to secure the area of newer rescues, hence the appearance of team RWBY. The airspace was open, allowing Winter and Qrow to appear and disrupt his plans completely. Small things, admittedly, when dealing with a list including murder, kidnapping, and theft, but important for survival in a thief's world.

Roman and failed, and yet, he was not being held in an Atlesian Airship. Far from it, he had escaped. He had escaped with Neopolitan and hardly a break in his sources. The only thing that had slipped was the one thing Cinder was hardly aware of herself.

The appearance and display of Girahim's powers.

The hidden ace of her mistress, here and present in Vale. Cinder wasn't aware that he was here, but evidently his presence was required, and useful, to Roman. She may did not need it, at the moment, but neither did she plan on Link's presence at all.

Perhaps… her mistress had gifted one with the appearance of the other. If that was the case, it was only a matter of time before the mad clown of her queen appeared before her.

"Heads up!" Cinder twisted her head to see a Creeper lunging from the ground towards her.

Slice

Two halves of it fell it away behind her.

Now probably wasn't the best time to be thinking of the failed plans of regretful colleagues, not when she had the opportunity to stow away and spy on Link without Beacon's heavy security or armaments against her.

She looked over the patch area of the Emerald Forest she and her 'teammates' were in. With the charred ground, crumbled trees, and otherwise destroyed landscape, a 'scar' may be a better word for it. It suits her tastes more.

It helped that there were the bodies of several Ursa and Creepers about the area, a testament to their progress. There just was not enough of it.

Clearly the victor would be the team that managed to subdue the larger targets the faunus-in-hiding referred to, the Geist and the Cyclops. They were likely spread out further in the forest, perhaps farther replaced from the other Grimm. Unlikely in an uncontrolled environment, but Link was a Hunter of many surprises.

Besides, his friends were not the only beings capable of controlling the Grimm.

The issue the Cinder and her team currently faced was their capability, or limited access thereto. They had a sizeable handicap, one that was risky even to mention aloud while they were being observed by eye and camera.

Emerald could hardly use her Semblance to lure or trick the Grimm, or else risk one of the talented members of the Beacon Academic team deducing said ability. It would make the finale of the festival impossible to pull off without risking themselves in the process.

The rest of the young and ignorant children didn't have that same disadvantageous situation. They were working with familiar faces and all their strength to come out on top. Cinder, metaphorically, had hands tied behind her back.

If nothing else, it made the competition fair. However, that was simple not her style.

"Check," Mercury let out as he ducked another Creeper, positioning himself into a crouched handstand, legs up at the beast. With a satisfying boom, he pushed himself of the ground, planting his feet into the underbelly of the subterranean Grimm.

The beast was sent flying by the paraplegic boy's assault, landing top down on the charred earth. Cinder was amused, but not by the fight itself.

"My turn," Emerald spoke up, jumping over the Creeper with her sickles at the ready. Her twisting maneuverability, combined with her high dexterity, was something of a wonder to watch in action.

Jumping over the prone Grimm, weapons slicing through the soft flesh in the midst of her jump, onto land and continue to spin, generating more force all the while. Force that accumulated into a single stab into the now trashing Grimm's head.

The lights left it soon after.

"Well done," Cinder complimented the two. "Perhaps we still have a chance to succeed in this."

"Hope so," Mercury let out. "Any chance you can double check the next place to search?" He waved his hand at her hip, the implication clear, to her at least. She let it go, only because they were under surveillance still.

"Not without risking Ozpin's lapdog from noticing what we are doing," she returned, never letting her smile fall. "I believe our best luck will come from finding the Cyclops, and I am sure that no one else has found it yet."

"How?" Emerald asked. Cinder gave her a long stare, one that she was sure was far hotter than the ruined forest. "I-I mean… how do you know, for sure?" There were two questions there, and Cinder felt the need to only answer one.

"The Cyclops is a colossal Grimm," she explained. "Ursa may make the earth rumble, by the attacks of a Cyclops can make it shake." And it was the truth of the Grimm. She knew of their capabilities well.

Her mistress had done much to make sure she was more than merely familiar with them.

"We should look for dense foliage, as it enjoys to rest in the denser parts of the woods." A Grimm that valued rest over hunger, a rarity and its clearest sign of weakness. "It would be best if we also avoid the sound of battle."

"That one's got me confused, why?" Mercury returned. In truth, if it were not for the mini-drone the former Beacon Fighting Instructor had on them, Cinder knew she would have burned the boy's arm. He likely knew that as well.

"Because the sounds of fighting would rouse a giant. So, it is likely still resting where no one has yet to venture." She didn't wait for a moment longer before marching back into the emerald foliage of the forest.

Her subordinates followed in kind behind her, as they were told to do.

They had to find the more dangerous Grimm, so they could put themselves next to the ultimate prize.

* * *

Ozpin had been the headmaster of Beacon for near the entirety of its construction.

He had been responsible for an almost uncountable number of students, and by consequence, lives. How they learned, how they acted, and how they interacted was the primary method of his observations, and he used that to teach.

To teach through classes, through lessons, through activities, and through lectures. They were all so important, and a failure in one could easily be seen as detriments in others. The success of his students was paramount, and he wanted to do everything to see them succeed.

And watching the teams of his Academy near effortlessly plow through the Grimm in the Emerald Forest, Ozpin smiled.

"They are doing rather well, aren't they?" He noted as his hands wrapped around the head of his cane, eyes on the monitors that littered the glass of his window. His face was hidden from the other occupants in the room, and most certainly the duo listening in from the observatory airship.

"They are performing to the level expected of them, yes," Winter responded through the speaker. "It is not being noted that they have not suffered any serious injuries, yet." She was at least aware the testing was not over.

"I think they're doing super!" Ozpin hid a chuckle as Lana cheered behind him. "Especially those guys. They're fighting with instruments and dancing! My kind of team!" He ignored the pang of betrayal.

"Team FNKY of Atlas," Glynda noted. "Visiting for the Vytal festival, and active in the testing to see how they rank. They are placed 6th." And the grin returned.

"So, who's first?" Tatl, the golden fairy companion of Link asked. Her voice rang with her wings. "My rupees are on JNPR. They got the bears and the Talus. Those things can wreck a farmer's day." Or life, as Ozpin silently added.

"JNPR is placed second, trailing by four points to Team CNEM, pronounced Cinnamon." Ozpin turned his gaze to see the image of both teams take up a vacant monitor.

Jaune, the unlikely leader of the experienced team, resting against the remains of a Geist he and his team had managed to subdue. Out of breath, but far from lacking in Aura. Only Nora was of some concern, but she was from the danger zone. Pyrrha, however, hadn't lost a sliver.

In comparison, the Cinder girl from the Mistral team continued to walk confidently through the forest, the Mercury boy leading ahead of her. They had killed a larger number of Grimm, and were likely looking for the bigger game. Given the area, perhaps the Cyclops.

"She looks cool, huh Moraine?" Lana asked the faunus child in the room, as silent as Link without a friend. "Kind of impressive wearing a dress that long. You'd think it'd start snagging on some of the trees."

The repressed chuckle showed that Lana was as talented at entertaining children as she was a harbor full of people. Hardly a surprise to Ozpin himself.

"Regardless, there are only a scarce number of Grimm left, and the majority of the time now will likely be hunting for them," Glynda continued to speak. The monitors fell from the exploded images of the teams.

"The Grimm are hiding now, recognizing the danger," Winter spoke through the speaker again. It was likely her role beneath the General that made her note facts in such a way. Ozpin didn't fault her. "How much longer are we estimating for this test?"

"Can't be that much longer," Lana spoke up now. Ozpin glanced over his shoulder to see her laying on her back, Moraine held up in the air by the golem girl's extended legs. Like mother and child. "Cia didn't make too many monsters. She was worried it'd be too hard on me."

"Considerin' what we saw before, can't blame her." Qrow's comment had the usual coarseness, and sincerity.

"The testing field is nearly satiated," Glynda agreed. "The test has been ongoing for one hour, and it is likely to cease before that time is doubled."

"It's only been an hour. We seriously almost done?" Qrow's question, while drenched in the usual sarcasm that Ozpin had come to associate with the man, held the same amount of wisdom he usually threaded into his words. A fine question with poor wording. "Ain't against it, just makin' sure we aren't bein' cheap to the kids. Be cool if we saw a broken limb or two."

"If you are drinking, Qrow, I urge you to stop at least temporarily." Ozpin had no need to hide his grin, not while his back was to his compatriots in his observatory. Glynda had the right words for the odd Hunter. "Given the number of students' teams hunting, as well as the supply chain of the Grimm, I believe this length of a test is more than enough."

"Yeah! It's hard making that many monsters!" Lana added in. He heard the child with her giggle, likely because she was being picked up by the golem. "And I'm not looking for how they handle the wild! That test comes at the end of the year!" And Ozpin was fearless as he chuckled aloud.

"You are planning far too ahead of yourself," Glynda reprimanded the new faculty members, as Ozpin was sure she would do. "This test was meant to measure the capabilities of the teams to track, hunt, and cooperate. The short time is a testament to their accumulated skill." And of that, Ozpin agreed.

"And to think my sister hadn't even a chance to participate," Winter added on. An odd thing to hear, from a member of the Military. But if there was any corruptibility to be had for the proper mannerisms in communication, it would come through time with Qrow. "Regardless, do we have an estimate on the number of Grimm left?"

It was a good question, and one that let Ozpin turn away from the screens long enough to look at Glynda. His longtime companion was pushing commands across her Pad, looking for the necessary information. Her face never betrayed any emotion.

The contrast between her and Lana, the bubbly and maternal friend of Link, was direct and obvious.

"There remain two packs of Beowolves, consisting of five and six members, four Ursa, five Creepers in hiding, the Hinox, one more Talus, and a centaur." Ozpin nodded at the information. Far less than the double digits that existed before.

He turned back towards the monitors, watching the majority of the teams searching for the missing Grimm. Only FNKY was actively fighting Grimm, and two of the four missing Ursa at that.

Their roles were clear and distinct, with distraction and baiting being a large part of their team maneuvers. Hit-and-run, though falsely perceived to be cowardly, truly allowed for the engagement of-

"Wait, centaur?" Lana interrupted his thoughts. Her question was short, and disturbing.

"Yes, centaur," Glynda repeated back near verbatim. "A sole centaur that has not been encountered by the students thus far. I…" Ozpin watched her eyes narrow at her pad. That was enough to force him to turn away from the monitors. "I forgot to inquire on its score."

"Wait, you forgot what now?" Qrow's voice came over the desk-top speaker. "How often does that happen? Like as often as I'm sober?" Another crude observation, but one not entirely incorrect.

But that was not the critical question. Far from it.

"Glynda," Ozpin quickly interjected. "Do you have visual on the centaur?" If it had not been encountered yet, the possibilities were low, but it was still worth a shot.

"Currently, no," Glynda spoke. "All priorities for mini-drones were given to the active teams, not the Grimm. Observation was given only to count their number and general area, then the mini-drones were flown back to the deploy site." Another basic procedure, and done so for necessary reasons.

"If you may, please pull up an image of the centaur on… Monitor 13." It was used to look at the Aura of the students, but no one was in jeopardy. Hopefully this was only temporarily anyways.

There was tapping on Glynda's scroll, the changing of the screen as her commands went through. And hardly a breath later, the still image of a Grimm appeared on screen.

Ozpin didn't recognize the atrocity he was staring at.

It was the combination of many things, a combination in a way that made it both terrifying and mesmerizing to behold. Horns that grew from a thick head. Tusks and teeth jutting from a mouth appearing ready to tear stone asunder. Eyes with the familiar piercing red gazing forward. And that was just the head.

It had the body to make the goliath's of the Badlands falter, arms thicker than the Atlesian Mechs and carrying itself with a pride and control that was meant to be impossible for the dark beasts. It wasn't helped that it was held up by a horse's body, lacking nothing in strength even compared to its upper torso. Against any wildlife natural to any region, Ozpin would sure it could outrun and outpace them all.

And it stood so tall, easily above even the Ursa Majors, stretching longer than the wingspan of a Nevermore even. Then, like the other Grimm Cia had brought forth, it was colored in ways different than the usual Grimm.

A shiny alabaster mane, dark gray strips, and hooves of brilliant gold. It was impossible to gaze upon the still image and fail to understand the danger of the beast.

A danger accented by the massive steel club along its back, a club that was hug over an apparent bow and set of arrows. Weapons, in other words.

Weapons in the hands of a monster.

A monster whose very image made Lana gasp.

"I heard that. What's up?" Qrow asked from the speaker. Ozpin ignored the question, looking instead at Lana. She had placed Moraine down. She had her eyes staring forward, and she had the sibling fairies hovering behind her head.

And Lana, perhaps with Link, appeared anything but relaxed.

"That's a Lynel," she named quickly. "That's a White-Maned Lynel. That's… that's like one of the worst monsters in Hyrule, I… How did I forget about _that_?!" Clearly neither Link nor Lana were pleased with themselves.

"… may I request details about it." Ozpin recognized the quick question from Glynda. She had dismissed fault, and for good reason. She had forgotten, too.

But the concern was not fault, it was danger.

"The Lynel is… it's like a super intelligent monster," Lana began to speak, arms waving up and down as she spoke, highlighting the Grimm on the screen. "It's always alone, always hunts alone, a-and is easily one of the monster dangerous creatures in _all_ of Hyrule."

Ozpin felt his cane strain under his tightening grip.

"That's no joke," Tatl spoke up, the golden fairy ringing quickly as she flew about Glynda, settling over the Pad. "The Lynel is an extremely cunning monster that is known for its extreme territorial mindset… and ruthlessness in a fight. And smart wasn't a joke. It _knows_ how to use those weapons."

An extremely unfortunate event in Ozpin's mind. He was hoping they were macabre trophies of the beast.

" _A Grimm with intelligence?_ " Winter asked through the speaker again. " _That is preposterous, unless you are speaking of an ancient entity_."

"It's not ancient, not usually, but it's _freaking_ rare," Tatl went on. "Even knights in Hyrule are told to avoid them unless they're in larger groups, cause those guys can tear soldiers apart like water over sand."

"Lynels were born as the darkness's answer to the knights of light." Ozpin turned from the monitors to see Tael, the story-telling fairy, hovering over Moraine. "Th-They are said to train in the shadows of the night, and kill during the warmth of the day. Hooves to race their prey, a mind to gain the upper hand, and the arms to rip them asunder. They are… the darkest parts of the abyss."

Truly not good in any light Ozpin dared to shine on them.

" _And you're sure it's not like, ya know, an ancient Grimm or anything?_ " Qrow followed Winter's question. " _Cause it sounds like yer talkin' 'bout an ancient Grimm_."

"It's _not_ an ancient beast." Lana now, though very likely Link through her voice. "The Monsters of Ancient Times gather their kin to protect a home, build a nest to nurture themselves." Ozpin nodded with the analysis.

It was, in truth, what made the Ancient Monsters so dangerous. Their tendency to be complimented by large numbers.

"Lynels _don't_ do that. They are _always_ alone, and they are _always_ dangerous." Lana appeared to be trying compose herself as she spoke. "Cia… C-Cia said she was putting one there for… a-an intelligence test, seeing if the students were smart enough to know they were outmatched."

"That is a horrible idea by every measure." Glynda spoke and Ozpin agreed. That was a truly horrible idea.

"I _know_ it is!" Lana yelled back. She was aware, but again, blame was not the issue at hand. "I-I thought I stopped her, I said it was a _bad_ idea… but-"

" _Big sis pulled a prank, got it,_ " Qrow spoke up now. " _Guess that just means we should take it out 'fore one of the brats finds it, right?_ " Ozpin was thankful, and reminded, why he kept the drunken huntsman around.

Even if his semblance was likely the cause of this.

"Agreed," Ozpin spoke. "Glynda, do you have an approximate location for where the centaur… or Lynel may be?" It took a moment to answer.

A short moment, but a moment nonetheless.

"I'm sending the likely area now." Glynda was already tapping across her pad as she spoke, doubtlessly referring to Winter and Qrow. "The ETA from the destination is six minutes. No student teams have paroled the area, making it the most likely region."

" _Coordinates received_ ," Winter commented back. " _The automated driver will maintain low-altitude while Qrow and eye look for the Grimm_."

"It'll shoot as soon as it sees you," Tatl spoke up now, the more informed of the two siblings. "And I mean shoot, like stupid accurately. You're going to want to attack on foot once you see it. Trust me."

" _Probably prefer that anyways,_ " Qrow answered. " _And hey, LinkLanawhatever, don't go blamin' yerself too much. Glynda forgot the baddy was out there too, and you told her_." His communication cut out not a moment later.

Ozpin didn't betray an emotion on his face. Qrow was speaking from experience, the experience of his bad-karma semblance affecting the situation in ways that always hurt. It showed itself rather blatantly now.

Both the provider of the monsters and the monitor of the test forgetting that an extremely dangerous Grimm was out in the forest with inexperienced teams. That kind of thing did not happen, not without interference.

It was a harsh reminder why Qrow was not going to assist Bartholomew, Link, or Winter in the search. Too many things could go wrong.

Ozpin only hoped the bad luck didn't persist any further.

* * *

"You blame 'em, don't ya?" Qrow's question was as callous and unneeded as his very presence.

Winter didn't look at the man, the question an obvious bait to rile her nerves. She had seen too many of them to not recognize the pattern. Her eyes were better used surveying the dense foliage of the Emerald Forest, looking for the terror that was the Lynel.

"C'mon. A new teacher screws up like this, breakin' protocol. Gotta be their fault, right?" And the questions kept coming. Winter only hoped there was a working camera in this airship, to better capture her astute nature in the face of a problem and Qrow's aloof recklessness.

"I don't blame the faunus, or Glynda Goodwitch," Winter spoke to Qrow's drunken glare. "No one has yet to be harmed and they are sending capable individuals to neutralize the issue. Us." The slurred chuckle by the drunkard only made the Winter's temple throb.

"You think you can handle somethin' like that?" Qrow questioned. She still refused to look at him, not when there was something she was meant to survey. "The new-kid ain't exactly a push-over and they weren't exactly laughing the thing off."

"We possess superior position, firepower, and, possibly only, skill." Now Winter dared to look at Qrow, who's smirk didn't betray her already low expectations. "And, Dust willing, we may be able to neutralize the threat before any of the students find the beast."

"Yeah, nice bet." She watched, angry at herself, as the drunkard uncle of her sister's team pulled out a flask from his jacket lapels. "I got a hundred Lien sayin' that it'll knock out someone. Double that if it's you 'er me."

Winter would have gladly paid a thousand Lien, let alone two hundred, to see Qrow knocked by the club of some monster.

Unfortunately, she had work to do.

"Could you possibly reserve your currency to pay for some attention?" She asked the poor man, who chuckled at her words. "If nothing else, Ozpin expects you to help me, and I hope you can follow his orders at least."

"Eh, more like guidelines," Qrow returned, shrugging his shoulders and swigging on the thin metal canister. "Too common for things to go sideways, least fer me. Must not be used to that when yer marchin' to the Military's drums."

Winter glared at the man, watching as he threw the canister from the airship.

She followed in the air for a moment, watching it fall down and away from them as the ship continued to sail. Her glare turned from one to anger to confusion as she stared at Qrow. Why had he done that.

"It was starting to smell," Qrow answered the unasked question. "Harder to sneak that into a big-wig meeting, smellin' like a fun night." And Winter only shook her head.

"How the Headmaster for an Academy as respected as Beacon trusts you is beyond every sense that I have," Winter spoke as she kept her eyes to the forest, determined to do as she was tasked. "I find it only more difficult to believe you are a help to anyone you claim to call an ally."

"Sometimes the best way to help people is to stay away," Qrow returned. From the feeling of impact on the metal, Winter could at least be sure that he was leaning out the open door at least. If he was watching the forest for the Centaur, or Lynel, then she was satisfied. "You said it yerself, Ice Queen. I ain't exactly a model hunter."

Hardly a model at all in anything but buffoonery.

"Course, that doesn't mean I'm not good at my job." And the snark was proof of it. "after all, I think I see the thing." Winter whipped her head.

"What?" She looked at the drunkard, seeing his hand pointing to a patch of the forest far below.

She followed his gaze and hands, peering into the depths of the untrampled Emerald Forest.

And she saw balls of lightning rising to her ship.

"Evade!" She yelled to the automated system, already gripping a leather loop hanging above her head. The ship lurched with the command, veering hard as it did what it could to avoid the rising munitions.

BING

Two of the three missed. The third stuck into the wing. Winter cursed.

"Damage, starboard wing, mid-tier extension," the airship spoke aloud. "Damage assessment, minimal." That was good, but it wasn't the more important question.

"I'm not seein' much else coming our way," Qrow spoke up to her, already arguing with her early points of his validity as a huntsman. His instincts for danger were on point. "Too dense there, and nothin's heading up our ways now." A lull in the barrage.

And it was a barrage, when three shots were fired near simultaneously. Winter turned her attention to the damage of the wing, hoping to see a quick measure of the weapon's caliber, left by the hole of the Dust round it had fired.

Instead, however, she saw an arrow. A yellow zig-zaggingly shaped arrow, notched into the steel of the ship.

"What in Remnant?" She found herself wondering, but then quickly banishing away.

She saw another three rounds firing up at them.

"Evade!" She yelled again, keeping her grip strong on the belt of the ship. Said airship lurched once more, bending in the opposite direction, against the measured trajectory of the upcoming arrows. Winter watched them sail from sight, missing them.

"Wha-!"

Just in the same time she saw Qrow fall from the side of the ship.

"Qrow!" She yelled at the falling huntsman, her voice already muted by the distance and speed the drunkard fell. He was rag-dolling, hard, through the air as he fell. Limbs over limbs and hardly a sense of direction to the man. He was already far too out of range for her to do much at all.

How had he fallen? Why had he fallen? Wasn't he gripping the side of the ship? Wasn't he holding the securing loops? Hadn't he done anything to keep himself in the ship?

She didn't want to entertain the possibility he was too drunk for the thought. For that to be true, he would need to be far beyond help.

But it wasn't a loss, not as Winter saw the drunk correct his fall. She let out a quick sigh as she saw his belly aim down, arms outstretched and weapon in hand. He was correcting his fall.

And now he could use his landing strategy. All hunters had one, and Qrow must have fallen at least once while drunk. It was conforming only in the farthest stretches of the word.

Someone was still firing at them.

BING BING **BANG**

Winter lurched at the sound and impact. The steel underneath her shook, violently. Her free hand pushed against the wall of the hold as the airship was forcibly shoved into another direction. No matter how sturdy the craft, it was an event that always left serious damage.

"Damage, stern engines 1 and 2." The notifications were evidence she was right. "Warning, damage to port wing. Severity, critical. Ejecting wing." Though opposite of the norm, Winter was furious she was right.

The wing flew off as was designed, to prevent shrapnel from bursting from the damaged part and hitting the occupants. Unfortunately, further, in combination with the ruined engines, it meant another dire consequence was coming.

"Warning, altitude dropping. Warning, altitude dropping," the monotone voice came through her system, the hull lights flashing red. Even in the day, they were evident. "Warning, altitude dropping. Prepare landing gear and jump. Repeat. Prepare landing gear and jump."

Winter had no choice.

" _Winter! What has happened?!_ " The worried voice of Glynda Goodwitch came from her comm piece. Winter responded as she worked.

"The ship has been hit!" She yelled, securing her blade to her waist and ripping the medic patch from the wall. It would not survive the ship crash. "Qrow has fallen out of the ship and I am abandoning ship. I will respond when I can!"

" _Wint-_ " The voice cut off by Winters command. She had to focus now.

The trees were getting closer. If she didn't jump soon, the last stabilization functions of the airship would rupture and send it the craft into a tumble. Her Aura wouldn't protect her from the crash.

"Warning, stabilization features slipping." In tune with Winter's thoughts and the crafts warning, Winter felt the secureness of her footing, slip, the airship shaking like a woken child. "ETA Failure time in 7, 6, 5, 4," Winter was not to wait.

She jumped.

With more grace than the fool that fell, Winter jumped with arms spread, and hands prepared before her. Before hardly two seconds had passed, glyphs opened up beneath her, forcing her body to fall through them. Anti-gravity glyphs, mixed with translucency runes.

Her acceleration slowed, keeping her falling velocity to a level easily endurable with her Aura. It was the quickest way to remove herself from the danger of the falling airship.

 ** _BOOOOOM!_** And not a moment too soon.

In her slow descent, Winter looked up, seeing the ship now spiraling in a free fall downwards, all control lost. It fell past her altitude quickly, but far enough away to not pose a danger.

**_BOOOOOOMMMMMM!_ **

She could only hope that no students were nearby when the airship hit the ground. She raised a hand to her ear as she thought of the question.

"Ozpin, are the students alright?" She waited for a response as her body slow fell past the canopy of the trees. Her dress did not catch in the loose twigs. They were too high up.

" _Winter, good to hear you are alright,_ " The headmaster spoke first. She nodded, thought she wasn't sure he could see her. " _The many teams are spooked by the sound, as are the Grimm they are in combat with, but no teams are injured._ " Winter was relieved.

"Good," she began. The students were alright, but that was now not be thought of. What was important now was the source of the possible danger. "If possible, can you direct me to where the shots came from?"

" _Approximately 650 meters due north-west of you,_ " Glynda Goodwitch responded. " _Are you certain you wish to approach?_ " It was an odd question given the circumstances.

"I was just shot at and nearly killed," Winter returned. "Atlas Military protocols dictate a firm counter response, first requiring contact with the offensive party." Besides, even Qrow was going to be at least a little upset at something that threw him from an airship like that.

" _Very well_ ," Glynda Goodwitch responded. " _Be cautious on approach, as the altitude and velocity of the airship, in combination with the successful hits, means the monster is highly accurate with its weaponry_."

In just the same way the golem had warned. Winter had not forgotten the warning. But it had shot three arrows at once. That was something she had not heard.

" _Lana, is there anything I should be concerned with?_ " Winters boots touched the ground as she landed, her arm immediately drawing her rapier in time. " _A precaution or weakness I can exploit?_ " The beast was far away from her, but there was no telling if it was trailing her or hunting Qrow.

The animosity with which it shot the arrows implied that it was either or.

" _Oh? Yeah! It's a way to stun them, for a bit._ " Winter nodded at the words, again likely unseen. She began to walk, stepping over roots and double checking the Dust in her canisters. They had not changed since she entered the airship. " _Because they have a larger brain, to be cunning, they have a larger target."_

That didn't help.

" _What Link's trying to say is that the Lynel can be stunned with a_ strong _hit to the head_ ," the more feminine mini-drone spoke. Even through the comm, Winter heard the ring. " _The size of it makes it easier to shake the thing, with a strong blow. Same way a Hylian gets disoriented if you knock them over the back of the head_." That made more sense, but it was still odd to hear.

" _I think I understand_ ," Ozpin spoke for Winter, oddly to her even as she marched through the woods. Likely 500+ meters to go and still no immediate noise. " _A brain is made of fatty tissue, so goes through deflections under forces. The tiny brains of other monsters prevent significant deflection in the matter when struck, but for a brain of our size, the force of the blow can temporarily override the usual impulses_."

Now Winter understood. It was like striking a pressure point.

Too much force generated too high an electrical imbalance, resulting in usual signals from the brain being ineffective, as they could not change the shifted potential. A large brain likely meant the same thing.

" _But you still gotta hit it_ really _hard!_ " The voice of the golem yelled back. " _Lynel's are able to tear horses and bears apart with their own hands, and out race chariots with hails of arrows! It'll take a_ really _strong blow to stun it._ " That made sense as well.

The image she had seen of the beast didn't appear to be something that would bow to glancing blows. Thankfully, she was a Schnee, and accuracy was her aim. Be it with words, strategy, or strikes.

"Understood," Winter responded back. "I will be sure to mark the target before-"

 **BOOM! BOOM!** _RROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARR_

Winter stopped for a moment at the sudden noise. She was walking away from the ship, and the noise had come from in front of her. Even a novice could deduce what is what. It was who was involved that made her worry.

A dunce and drunkard that he was, dying to a Grimm was not the path Winter wanted any Hunter to go, let alone one that was respected by the General.

" _Winter, do hurry for the Lynel, if you can_." Winter did not pause in her step, but she did raise a hand to her ear, her other firmly grasping her weapon. She knew what news was coming.

"I will, but may I inquire why?" Her legs were already picking up pace as she spoke. If the headmaster had a reason, it must have been a good one. The obvious problem was the one she did not want to be true.

When her comm spoke again, it was filled with Ozpin's voice, and the screeching of the mini-drones behind him.

" _It appears one of my teams has come across the monster_." She ran with the aid of glyphs, haste and all. It shouldn't take much longer now.

"Which team?" Winter questioned. It would be extremely important to be aware who. "I am familiar with the teams indicated by Glynda Goodwitch's report." She would have been a fool to not know who she was tracking in the woods, or who would need aid.

JNPR was capable and lead by an inexperienced, yet quickly adapting, young man. CNEM was full of mystery, but proved their expertise in unspoken teamwork. FNKY used unconventional weaponry to outmaneuver foes.

CFVY relied upon the classical job system through Warrior, Shadows, Mage, and Unknown. NDGO had specialty classes derived from their parents' previous occupations, leading to very high proficiency in common weaponry. ABRN were martial arts derived, meaning their weaponry was more beneficial than required.

They all had the capabilities to defend themselves, possibly help against the foe. All except one over-eager team.

" _It appears to be team CRDL._ " Ozpin spoke, even as the mini-drones rang and even the other women yelled in the back. " _And they are in_ dire _need of assistance._ "

**BOOM** _ROOOOOARR_

Of course, they were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	15. The Beast of the Wild: White Lynel

He knew that Lana forgot something. Link knew that he forgot what Cia had done. He knew it, he really did, and even Lana suspected it, but neither of them paid attention to it.

That was the first mistake.

Then he failed to listen to the list of the monsters. Glynda had spoken of them, wanting to go through more of them. It was a smart strategy, the right strategy, and one that he and Impa had partaken in when testing recruits in Hyrule. But she didn't finish, and he knew it.

That was the second mistake.

And now, the transport flying ship that carried both the elder sister of Weiss and the uncle of Ruby and Yang was on the forest floor, shredded to pieces like in the Badlands, with one of the most terrifying of the monsters stalking them.

That was the third, and now final, mistake.

Link knew they couldn't afford anymore. Lana didn't want to risk another. Which was why Tatl and Tael ringing around Lana's head perfectly symbolized Link's thoughts.

It was difficult to think of much else when team CRDL was facing down the White-Maned Lynel.

"Students have been given orders to leave the forest immediately," Glynda spoke up, keeping her eyes on her pad as she talked. "All that remain are currently battling the Lynel." That was good, only because it didn't make the situation worse.

The situation, as Link and Lana agreed, was horrendous.

"Crap! Damnit!" Tatl rang as she bobbed and flew through the air. Link had very similar thoughts, and Lana wore an appropriate expression. "The heck! The hell! How did we forget about that thing?!"

"I-I don't know!" Tael yelled now, taking Link's words from Lana's mouth. "I thought… I thought Cia stopped it!" And Lana had, too. So Link thought they both did. One mistake down a line was being paid in full now.

Or, more accurately, a collection of mistakes were collecting their debt at once.

Link watched, gripping Moraine's shoulders tighter than Lana may have liked, but neither she nor the child spoke up loudly in protest. Both had eyes glued to the monitor showing the fight between the young and brazen team CRDL and the overpowering Lynel.

Fight wasn't the right word. Probably attempted retreat. It was the smart decision, Link knew. But one that wouldn't work, Lana was aware.

For every jump back and fall to the ground one of the team members made to avoid the swinging club, another had jump back, or else get hit by the back lash of the club. And when the club rose up, the Lynel almost effortlessly slapped them with the back of its hand, far faster than the heavy club it swung.

They were being chased and beaten around the clearing, being kept both at bay and within range by the beast. Even outnumbered four to one, it was the monster that was holding the advantage.

Only Cardin, the most brazen, ambitious, and perhaps ludicrously over-zealous member of the team dared to raise his weapon against the monster. But it did as much good as Link was aware.

Nothing. Nothing to slow it down at least. And all the good it had done so far was allow Cardin to take a good hit from the mighty club, sending him flying into a pair of thick trees, toppling them both over.

He was already in the yellow in his Aura, as indicated by Glynda's other screen. Another hit and he would be gone. That wasn't to mention that his teammates were likely far less blessed than him in Aura, or physique.

So, running and dodging was all they could do.

"How much longer until Winter reaches them?" Ozpin asked in a calm manner. Lana didn't understand how he could be calm, but Link did. A leader had to be calm to lead his followers. "I do not believe CRDL will be able to last much longer."

"Forget the Ice Queen!" Tatl yelled from above them. "Where's the drunk at!? He's got a gun like Red on that stick of his!" He did? Well, that did appear similar in shape. She would know best as well. "That thing would definitely keep the Lynel down long enough for the kids to escape!"

That was a good point, that Lana was eager to agree to. But Link knew better. And with his friend's voice, she voiced why.

"The Lynel has their scent already," Link spoke through Lana. "And… even if the CRDL manages to escape, its agitated now." And a monster that was on edge was not one that could be calmed.

"Meaning it will rampage until it is put down," Glynda answered now. Her tongue clicked with the words, even as her fingers danced over her pad. The screens moved with her commands, and Link watched them, concentrating deeply.

There was already a colossal mistake. They could not afford anything else to go wrong.

"Qrow will be better suited from a distance, anyways," Ozpin spoke up again. "He has a tendency to… bring out the worst in a situation." If that meant he was easy to antagonize others, Link could understand. He had seen as much with Winter earlier the previous two days.

But right now, agitating the Lynel may force it to forego the squires in place of the knights. That seemed to be a much-improved situation in his mind. But the headmaster did not agree. Neither Link nor Lana understood why.

But Link was aware that this was the Headmaster's operations. It was not his place to intervene with his own charges. Only to provide help to keep everyone alive.

And the CRDL team seemed capable enough to keep themselves just that. They were keeping their distance from the Lynel better and better, even Cardin, easily the more blood thirsty member of their team, no longer swinging at the mad monster.

Instead, they circled the beast around the trees, trying to stay out of its sight and far from its club's range. That was smart, though the combination of the weight of the club and the strength of the monster would make even the wood of the thickest tree nothing more than flimsy parchment.

Staying out of eye-sight, however, was a better idea. If only that idea could be given to the team of young, and inexperienced, squires.

"At least it isn't picking on any one of them," Tatl rang out, floating about Moraine's head now. "Cause I can't see any of those kids willing to take the heat for the other." A cruel but true statement, as Link knew. Selflessness was not a trait belonging to any member of CRDL.

"Winter is close, very close," Glynda added on. "Provided the situation does not become any more drastic, we should be alright." Link wished he had wood to knock on. But there was nothing of the sort in a tower of metal and steel.

Instead, he could only bite Lana's lips as the Lynel of a white mine swung its mighty club again and again. Lana let her breath catch every time the crack of impact resounded through the now primary monitor along the wall, only to be relieved when it was a tree one of the boys had hidden themselves behind.

And if nothing else, the way the dull club shattered the thick tree trunks without any resistance or pause was lesson enough of the Lynel's strength. It must have been, for Cardin was no longer baiting it to attack.

They were all just avoiding it, which Link knew was optimal.

"Don't blame yourself for this, Link." Said Hylian, with Lana's Gerudo eyes, looked towards the back of Ozpin. The headmaster looking up at the screen, hand on his cane and focused, as a leader should be. "More than an error, I can relieve your nerves and let you know this is not entirely your fault."

Link didn't get it, and neither did Lana. Even objectively, they couldn't figure out how it was anyone else's fault. Even Glynda was far from at fault in this, having so much to balance and measure.

"I'll give you details after this is settled, I promise." Ozpin truly did capable of reading thoughts, or at the very least reading situations superbly. "For now, just be aware that guilt is not something you should hold on to."

That was a lesson he had learned long ago. It was one Lana had witnessed. Neither spoke of the situation.

BING

Lana gave out a noise of distress as an Aura meter on the accompanying screen dipped, harshly. It was hardly a mystery as to why.

On the primary monitor, Link watched unblinking as Russel Thrush was thrown through the forest. Barreling like a ball struck by a mighty bat. It was the best way to describe being hit by the Lynel's club. Even from the poor substitute for direct contact, Link could tell the rest of the boy's team couldn't even tell where he had flown off to.

He was gone from the screen almost instantly, accelerating too quickly for the screen to follow. He was lost into the thick of the woods, out of eye-sight, but far from mind. Lana only gripped Moraine's shoulders as she looked at the boy's Aura.

From solid green, strong and healthy, to a single strip of blinking red, so near death.

"Russel Thrush has lost his primary Aura shield," Glynda iterated, fingers tapping madly at her pad. "From superficial scans, he may have suffered hairline fractures, possible internal bleeding." Bad, very bad. Horrible.

"Winter," Ozpin spoke now into the device on his table. "You must hurry, quickly. Qrow, find and retrieve Russel Thrush. Get him to a safe location for extraction."

"Got it," came Qrow's voice, not a word of protest or question.

"I am seconds out," Winter followed suit. Lana only hoped it was true. Link could tell the female knight was not one to lie or exaggerate.

Through Lana's eyes, Link kept watch of the Lynel as it circled its territory in the deep woods, looking for another one of the boys to strike at. It had either assumed, or given up, on chasing Russell. That was some good news. And the rest of CRDL were wisely keeping far away from it now, even better.

But then, through the silent screen, Link saw it rear back and roar into the sky. That was bad.

"Tell them to shield!" Link yelled with Lana's voice, the golem relinquishing control. "It's going to attack! It's going to use a fire-storm!" It was the best way he knew to describe the attack.

And, as testament to his ability to lead, Ozpin didn't even question the meaning.

"Winter, the Lynel is about to commit to a large-scale attack," he spoke into the microphone, quickly and surprisingly accurately. "When you see it, shield the boys, immediately!" No, that wasn't right!

"No!" Link yelled again. "It's club! Tell her seal it's movements! Tear it from its hand, hit it sideways, but don't let it swing it!" Because if that swung over its head, if it hit the ground with the force the monster was capable of…

Everything with rock's throw of a distance would be turned to ash.

"Winter, did you copy?!" Ozpin spoke more forcibly into the microphone. "Did you hear that?!" No call returned, and Link felt Lana's heart, fake as it was, sink. Had she not heard it? Was she not listening? All Lana was sure of was the time before the Lynel struck its club down.

Two seconds, one second…

BAM!

Link's mind filled the silent void with the likely sound of impact.

Not the impact of the Lynel's club, but the blow it was dealt across its face. Lana gave out a relieved sigh at the sight of the monster swaying to its right, a muscled hand releasing its club. Link was familiar enough with the sight to know it meant the onslaught of pain it was prepared to give was broken.

And across the primary screen, crouched with a curved blade drawn, was Winter Schnee.

A rune was present in her unarmed hand, still spinning rapidly with the remnants of the magic it had cast. Doubtlessly the blow dealt the tusked monster was from those same arts. It must have required some concentration, hence her earlier silence, but the efforts for it were clear.

The red eyes of the Lynel were no longer searching and moving for the boys of team CRDL. They were now focused upon the white-haired woman. And hers were the same in kind to the white-maned monster.

"I have distracted the Grimm," Winter's voice came through the speakers now. A confirmation of actions to superiors, as was common in most militaries, small or large. "Should I kill it or prioritize the students?" And like a soldier, she left the prioritizes to the generals.

"Tell them to run," Ozpin instructed, calmer now. "But you should prioritize killing it." Link nodded with Lana's head. That was the right course of action. The Lynel would not stop attacking now that its domain was intruded. Shifting the focus to her was prudent.

"Understood," Winter returned. Her voice was silent then, though Lana watched her shout from the screen towards the squires. The commands were obvious. For one by one, in quick succession, the members of team CRDL began to run away from the Lynel.

Even though Lana released it earlier, Link felt a sigh of release itself from her faux-lungs. He then watched, for the first time, a knight of this world charge at a monster.

Or, as the headmaster he had played in chess might say, a huntress begins her hunt.

Winter swung her blade towards the Lynel, stopping when it was aimed poised at the beast. She pulled at some subtle trigger on the handle, letting the bullets, as Lana reminded Link they were called, fly at the monster at a ludicrous speed.

The beast shook as the tapered balls of steel hit its hide, though doing little more than angering the beast. Red eyes furrowed, it raised its club above its head again, slamming the thick pillar of steel down again. Winter, clearly, was prepared.

The rune she had spinning above her hand must have changed without Link's noticing. It swung to meet the Lynel's savage club, something Link believed to be detrimental to any tool. And by the way the rune shattered upon the strike, he was correct.

However, it gave Winter enough time to evade the club, placing her arm's length away from the steel while it embedded itself into the forest floor. A process that shot up roots and visibly shook the otherwise mighty trees. But the white-haired knight showed no discomfort.

Her blade swung at the Lynel again, ripping in a sense as it tore through the Lynel's carriage. It made contact, but Link was aware how effective it would be.

The Lynel possessed little fat in its body, and was made of muscle nearly as dense as bone. Nearly though not the same. It was enough to turn the what would be otherwise lethal blows Winter gave into nothing more than obvious wounds.

Wounds that still made the Lynel buck and roar.

It rose again onto its rear legs, hoisting the club above its head with murder in its red eyes. Neither Link nor Lana could see hesitation in Winter's eyes, narrowed in focus. So as the club swung down again, faster than before, she did not wait.

The military knight dove beneath the undercarriage of the Lynel, a feat possible due to the monster's large size, working against it. And Winter did not waste the opportunity, her blade running along the underside of the monster as she made her way out from underneath the beast.

And the Lynel roared in pain again, this time spinning to swing its club at Winter as it did for Russel. But again, Winter was no squire.

After the beast took its first step to swing she had turned to face it again, her free hand forming and placing a rune at her feet. Its use became immediately obvious, shooting her into the air above the beast as it swung where she once stood, hitting only air yet still managing to blow away all the shrubbery that remained on the ground.

Above the monster, Winter did not hesitate. She made another rune, in the path of her ascent. Her feet touched it, a platform to stand on. Or, as it appeared for the brief moment it existed, hung from.

Then she jumped down at the beast, her sword beside her head at the ready. Link knew what was coming, Lana cheered on silently. Neither doubted Ozpin and Glynda were doing the same.

And Winter landed on the back of the Lynel, her blade now piercing it to the hilt. Lana clapped in cheer.

Silent as it was from the screen, the room deathly so, the actions that Winter were taking were obviously having an impact on the Lynel. Its eyes did not have to shine red to show the bloodlust it had for the woman now.

"She's good," Tatl admitted with a light ring, bouncing above Moraine's head. Link and Lana were too glued to the screen to look at her. "Definitely knows what's she's doing. About time I've seen that around here." Link knew she was still sore about forgetting the Lynel. Lana was sorry for her.

"A top student from Atlas Academy," Glynda spoke on, all eye still on her fight with the Lynel. Watching as she held to the monster's mane, jumping off and away from its monstrous hands. "She shows her aptitude well." Link had no room to disagree.

She had been dancing around the Lynel and continued to do so. A foe that with a single blow could render a chariot to rotwood, and the cunning to match the average squire. Winter had not missed a step while battling.

She only needed to continue down this path, and she'd be fine. They'd all be okay.

"Hey, you guys there?" Lana nearly jumped at the voice. Link recognized it, listening intently as it went on. "How's the Ice Queen doing?"

"Winter is doing well against the monster," Ozpin answered, though his eyes never left the screen, as far as Lana's own eyes saw. "Where are you now, Qrow?"

"I got the kid." Link let out a sigh with Lana's voice, recognizing Qrow's voice. "He's out of it, but he's breathing. I'll make tracks out of here."

"Wait! Hold on!" Tatl shouted now. Link could guess why. "Should he help the Winter?! She's good, but it'll take just one mistake for it to be a bad situation!" She wasn't wrong, even as her concern showed by naming the knight correctly.

"Sh-She's right!" Tael now, helping his sister, as the pair was known to do. "A Lynel is said to-"

"If Qrow is any closer to the fight, it's liable to turn against Winter." The finality in Glynda's voice was more than troubling to Link. It was worrying. Lana couldn't understand the reason behind it. "Speaking quickly, Qrow can be thought of as a bad luck charm. The closer he is to a situation, the worse it will get."

And Ozpin's warning and suggestions made sense. Even the words and suggestions of fault slipped away. It made much more sense now why so little anger was being thrust on them. It was hard to blame someone when fate conspired against them.

The guilt, though put aside for now, was absolved. The danger, however, was still present.

"Aw, crap." And apparently, so was Qrow's apparent 'bad luck'.

"Qrow, what's wrong?" Link listened as Lana watched. Capable, and clearly skilled, as Winter was, assuming victory before the jaws of a Lynel was no different than saying a gamble was guaranteed. "Is Russel well?"

"The kid's the same," the man returned. "But it looks like other kids have shown up." As soon as he heard the words, Link searched the other screens with Lana's eyes.

CFVY was fighting the last of wolfos, the same foes they had dealt with all this time. They were safe.

NDGO was still searching in the wounds, having found the minimal number of monsters to begin with. They were safe.

CNEM were looking for bigger game after having the lead but had done little more than slay another group of Dodongos. They were safe.

FNKY had managed to find the Hinox, chasing it around its feet as it stomped at a sluggish pace. Dangerous, but far from disastrous. They were safe-ish.

Then Link's eyes fell to the specific screen.

Team JNPR, staring at Qrow as he carried an unconscious Russel Thrush.

"You've got to be ripping my wing," Tatl let out. And Lana could agree. Link only prayed they didn't get worse. Unfortunately, he knew, his prayers were so rarely the ones answered.

"Hey Link," Tael spoke up to Lana's ear, past her memories and to his thoughts. "I… recognize those trees." And as soon as the dark fairy pointed them out, so did he. And he knew that his prayers were not reaching the deity he meant for them to rise to.

That was the tree Saria used as a marker. That was the bush she made sure to pass three times and ask for nourishment. That was the location where Saria had planted one of the magical seeds.

There was a magic seed tree there.

Things were about a lot worse.

* * *

After they'd killed the Geiss, or Talus, or whatever the giant stone Grimm was called, Jaune was on cloud nine, or close to it. It still felt great. Nora hammering away at its limbs, Ren and him distracting it with bullets and sword strikes, and Pyrrha finally hitting its weak point, shattering it. It was awesome!

It was so awesome until he realized that it wasn't enough to actually win the competition. It was one giant Grimm, and he knew that, but there were others. And if there were others, and they didn't get them, then some other team could win.

So, they were looking for bigger game, and Jaune would swear by that.

Lana/Link had made it very clear that the bigger Grimm they killed, the better chance they had of joining him on that hunt RWBY told them about. They fought a few Grimm, but bigger was better, and they needed to go deeper to find the bigger game.

It wasn't that hard to figure out. What was hard to figure out though was the seen they were all staring at.

Ruby and Yang's uncle holding Russel, unconscious and bleeding, all the way out here in the woods.

Jaune kept flicking his eyes between the gruff man leaning over himself then back to the clearly beaten up boy in his arms. Out in the woods, away from most civilization, and alone, it seemed really weird. Thankfully, in context of a competition, it made more sense.

It just meant that there was something bad nearby, which was worse.

"Whoa, what happened to him?" Nora, brash and quick, asked pointing at Russel. "He looks like he took a hammer to the face, and it wasn't even mine!" Jaune hoped it wasn't hers. Then again, she usually aimed for the legs.

"… Bad things happened," Qrow responded. Jaune was pretty sure that was his name at least. "And bad things are coming. Real bad. So, you kids gotta run, okay?" He pointed at them as he said it.

"Is it a Grimm?" Ren asked now. "Perhaps we can help with it." Definitely Ren. That was a Ren comment. Jaune knew it was because he was offering to help, with something they were being told to stay away from, by an instructor.

Jaune wanted to help, too. But when a guy like Ruby and Yang's uncle was telling them to go… maybe sticking around was a bad idea. Maybe.

 **Boom**. No, definitely.

"What was that?" Jaune asked, even as his head turned towards the sound. It wasn't that far off… and it wasn't a bomb that went off. Around Cardin and Nora, he knew what bombs sounded like. That was like… something heavy hitting the ground. And that was bad.

"That's the bad thing," Qrow answered again. He shuffled Russel onto his back as he spoke. "Now, hurry up and go. That way." He pointed back from where they came, pretty unsurprisingly. "Then I'll go this way." And, oddly enough, he pointed in almost the opposite direction. Now that was confusing.

"Wait," Pyrrha spoke up for him, stepping forward even. "I apologize, but… wouldn't it be safer to stick close to you? You are a professional hunter, and we assist you if you need it." More like his team could assist and Jaune could distract, but she wasn't wrong.

Running away from danger and separating themselves from a hunter at the same time didn't real sound smart to Jaune. That was coming from a guy who knew strategy was about the only thing he was good for on the team.

"Not this time, sweet cheeks." Sweet cheeks? "Trust me, you gotta hurry or…" He stopped talking, but he wasn't cut off by anything. **Boom** **Boom** At least while he was talking. He just tilted his head, putting a hand to his ear. Probably a headpiece then.

 **BOOM!** Didn't matter though, because Jaune had his mind on something else, something louder.

"That's… getting closer," he spoke up, lifting his shield even as he took a step back. "Maybe we should head out. I mean, if the hunter is telling us to run…" Usually that was the time to listen, when the pros got worried.

"Huh? Why?" Nora asked. For not the first time, Jaune worried about his teammate. She really did seem selective about the parts of reality she paid attention to. "That noise must mean there's a monster coming, and I wanna smash!"

"Nora, I think the issue is it is too dangerous to attack," Ren, ever the voice of reason to his friend, spoke up. If he was a cartoon character, he'd definitely be a cricket, sitting someone's shoulder. "Perhaps we should heed Mr. Branwen's advice." Branwen? Oh, that must have been Qrow's last time. Jaune didn't really care how Ren knew that. He knew a lot of things out of nowhere.

"Yes, I agree," Jaune pointed at him, spinning on his heel. "So, we'll go this way and… um…" It was kind of hard to go in the direction he wanted. Or, more like, the direction Qrow told them to go in.

Because now he was walking in that direction. Wasn't that the opposite of what he said?

"… Should we follow him?" Pyrrha asked from his side. It was a good question, and one Jaune kinda wanted to know the answer to. Right now, it was just time to guess.

"I think… yeah…" he let out uneasily. There was never really a right an answer at times like this. Just the least bad one.

So, they did start to follow. Even if John was gripping his shield like it really would hurt letting go of it. Probably would, but not because he let go. Just that whatever made him would. The whole 'extension of himself' and all that.

He focused on that, and the Ruby's weird uncle carrying Russel. That still needed questioning, later.

"I don't know, he seems sketchy," Nora spoke up behind them. Jaune saw she was still following, even with Mjolnir over her shoulder and Ren by her side. "I say if he offers candy, we're outta here." Actually, Jaune agreed, and he even nodded his head for it.

If some guy was in the forest this deep, carrying a classmate of theirs, and offering candy, that was just too much weird to follow.

"Hold on, here?" Qrow, Jaune was 80% sure, spoke up again to… no one he saw. So definitely an ear piece, or defiantly crazy. Hopefully the former. "Yeah, hold on."

The man lifted up his arm, the giant blade he was holding extending with a SHIIIIN. It really did ring like a bell. Didn't offer much time to appreciate it before he swung it in front of him.

And it wasn't until Jaune took a breath of air that he trees and bushes had cut through started to fall. Must've been a sharp blade.

Of course, the 'booming' sound still hadn't stopped. And it did sound like it was getting closer. It made Jaune shift his shield. Pyrrha always said to hold it slightly angled to a blow, to divert more of the force, reducing it. Problem was, explosions were a bit different than a sword, or a fist, or hammer, or whatever else is used at Beacon.

But that was focusing on the wrong thing. The right thing was following Ruby and Yang's uncle, eccentric uncle to… wherever. So, he followed Qrow as he ripped through another set of trees, like paper, pre-paper, and kept moving forward.

Right to the weirdest tree Jaune had ever seen.

"The hell?" Qrow asked for him, well, sort of like him. "This thing sick? Does it got a tumor or somethin'?" And honestly, staring at it, the question was one Jaune felt like asking.

Because the tree was weird, weird by the sense of even his weird. Weird for Beacon weird.

It was short, like maybe a few feet taller than him, and basically a solid trunk into a solid mass of branches. It looked like a cartoon tree, but in real life. The kind of tree his little sister might draw. But that wasn't even the weirdest part.

It was freaking shaping like a wing. Not sort like a wing, not squint your eyes and it's there, but an actual wing. Like Ruby's crest was a rose and his shield was a shield, this tree was a wing.

"That is… abnormal," Ren spoke up behind them. He certainly said it. "What is it?" And he had all the right questions.

"Don't know. Hold on, not you," Qrow spoke up from the front. He was definitely talking to someone else. "The kids are following. Yeah, good question." What was a good question. "Hey, why are you guys still following me?" Oh, that question.

"We are following you because… you told us to go this way?" Jaune knew that it was a bad excuse. Not weak, just poor. The kind of third grade response that his Snow Angel would slap her forehead over. But it was why they followed him. Well that and something else. "Plus, there are those 'booms' getting closer."

 ** _Boom! BOOM!_** Actually, a lot closer. Jaune was starting to feel the ground shake.

"Huh, is that Yang?" Nora asked now. Jaune turned to look at her. "Because it feels like yang. It felt like this when we were fighting the Nevermore, right?" Sort of, yeah, but Jaune was pretty sure it wasn't her.

"Yang is still resting with her team," Pyrrha pointed out. "So, no, it isn't. However, I have a feeling that Qrow… oh…" Oh? Jaune turned to look at Pyrrha, who was looking at the weird tree. He turned to look at the weird tree too.

"Oh," he found himself saying. Oh, was obvious now.

Oh, was Qrow was gone.

"Oh no," Jaune spoke on. That seemed like the right word to say. "Maybe… maybe _we_ should start running now?" It seemed like a good idea. Qrow had to have run so… they should to.

"Yes," Pyrrha instantly agreed. Perfect partner through and through. "Yes, I-"

**_BOOOOOM!_ **

Jaune was blown backwards.

He didn't even have time to see what it was that had blown up in front of him. A grenade, a blade of grass, his luck, but something blew up. And the blowing up sent him firing backwards, hard. All that he knew was that he slammed into a tree and fell aground the ground, hard.

The world was crooked when he managed to sit up. Or at least it looked it. Either way something was off. Maybe it was the fact that there were four people in front of him instead of three. Maybe it was that one of them looked like Weiss. Maybe it was the idea that everyone else was fine and he wasn't.

Or maybe it was the fact that there was a giant horse mounted Grimm holding a club twice his size standing where he had before.

Yeah, that was it.

" _Everyone hold!_ " Not-Weiss shouted, holding out her palms, some semi-curved blade in one hand. It looked familiar.

The Grimm stared at her, kind of obvious given the bright red eyes in the green forest.

"Do not move. Do _not_ antagonize it." Could Grimm be antagonized. Jaune thought they were mindless.

Either way, not moving was easy. He didn't feel like moving was a good idea right now.

Instead, he watched the Grimm stand to its tallest, holding its super huge club in hand. Funny thing was, it was average size to the Grimm itself. The Ursa Major probably would have whimpered at the sight of this thing. Jaune knew he was.

"Um…. What's going on?" Nora, precious little situationally dense Nora, asked. Jaune saw her holding Mjolnir at her side, ready to swing. "Should I hit it? I can hit it _really_ well." That was a fact.

" _No!"_ Not-Weiss hissed. "It is... a dangerous Grimm. One that I was attempting to keep away from you all." Oh, so she was a hunter. Well, that wasn't too surprising at least. "It is referred to as Lynel, a monster from Link's homelands and one of the deadliest creatures to roam it."

Well, that explained a lot.

"How dangerous?" Ren asked again. Jaune wished he could be that calm. He could only act it, with some help of fatigue and beatings, like right now. "Simply strength or is there more to it?"

Not-Weiss didn't seem to answer. Honestly, Jaune wasn't surprised. The monster was staring at her and he wouldn't want to talk if it was staring at him. That sounded like goading death. And death was no friend of his. Only pain was that close.

"…It is a Grimm capable of some higher order thought, such as reasoning and evaluating circumstances." If he could, Jaune would have hit his head again. Of course, they found a smart Grimm. A _giant_ smart Grimm. "It is skilled with its weaponry and it came here knowing I would struggle to face it with you all around."

Actually, just him. Jaune was the only reason there. Everyone else could help, a lot. He was the odd man out.

"My name is Winter Schnee, the elder sister to a classmate you may know." Oh, so not-Weiss was Weiss's sister. Well… that made a lot of sense, thankfully. "And I am ordering you all to run, to scatter, as soon as I strike the beast."

Like it could understand her, which it might, the Lynel thing growled at her, moving so it was snarling through two giant tusks. Something told Jaune none of them would be able to survive a hit from that thing.

Wait, no, he was focusing on the wrong thing. He was told to scatter, so he should run, now.

That meant pushing himself up, as well as he could. He grabbed at what was nearby, branches and whatever on the ground, using his shield as a crutch, and pushing himself up. If he was up, then he could move, and if he could move, then he could let Winter, Not-Weiss handle everything else.

He managed to get to his feet, still grasping the loose branch in his hand. Wasn't his sword, but it still felt strong. Not weird, just weird to think about. Looking at the branch though, it was kind of obvious it was a part of the weird tree.

Because every leaf was shaped like a freaking wing, again. It was just weirder now, wings in wings, like circles in circles. Wing-dings. The leaves were shaped like it, the branch probably looked like it. And even the seeds looked like it. Wait…

"Those are… seeds?" Jaune found himself asking, staring at the branch he was holding. He squinted his eyes, still slightly reeling, and looked at them closer. They were seeds, just different from the tree.

Different in that they were blue, not green. Still wing shaped. He held up the branch, looking at them closer. But only for a second. Mainly because it took him a second to realize he was looking at something else.

Looking at the Lynel that was now right in front of him.

The giant tusked, four legged, super muscled, and literally weaponized Grimm. The rock monster was less intimidating than this thing. Then again, it made sense.

The Grimm had a hunter like Ruby and Yang's uncle running off and away. The Grimm that was, presently staring down at him with low growls and flexed arms. It felt like death was judging him.

But the monster didn't attack. It just… stared.

"Jaune!" He heard Pyrrha hiss his name from somewhere beside him. He didn't want to look. It felt like a staring contest with the Grimm. "Get back! Drop the branch and get back." She was right, of course, in that was probably the smarter decision. Getting away from the Grimm was probably the safer option.

It was just… something wasn't right. If the Grimm wasn't attacking, there was a reason for it. He was plenty terrified enough, and everyone else was holding back in case the monster swung that giant club again. No way he'd survive a hit from that thing. Russell barely did.

So why wasn't it attacking. Maybe if he was slow, he could grab his shield. He just had to… slowly move the branch away and grab it. His arm slowly, carefully, moved the branch.

And the Lynel's eyes followed it.

"Huh?" Jaune let out, staring. That had to have been a coincidence. He did the same motion, in the opposite direction, just as slow. Just a test, just to make sure it was a trick of the red eyes in the dark forest.

But then its head twisted, growling at the same motion. Not a trick, just… completely impossible to understand.

The Grimm was following the branch. For some reason. Maybe the seeds, maybe the color, maybe because it was toying with him. Jaune didn't get it.

"Jaune Arc," he heard Weiss's sister harshly whispering now. "Do not let the monster get those seeds." That was probably the weirdest thing he could imagine hearing right now. But then again, he didn't have the breath to argue.

He was stuck just trying to figure out what to do. Maybe the Grimm was thinking the same thing. Probably not. Grimm weren't exactly smart, unless they were super old or in packs. This guy was dangerous, but not like that.

Maybe Jaune could throw it away, then attack. Or drop it and let it lunge, then let the others get it. Maybe something like that, baiting it.

"Jaune, the Lynel is thinking of how to take that from you." In one sentence, Weiss's sister had basically blown all his possible ideas out the window. "Link and Lana have informed of this beast. It is strong, smart, and among the deadliest monsters from their homeland."

And now it was here, in front of him, staring at something he was holding unintentionally. Bad luck didn't cover it. This was just fate laughing at him for a good joke. He was always the butt of jokes.

"They have also said that those seeds were grown by an associate of theirs by the name of Saria." He knew that name, but he'd never met her. He was one of Link's friends, sort of. RWBY didn't like talking about her. "They are capable of manipulating the Aura reserves within the body for miraculous results. There is no telling what will happen if the Lynel gets ahold of them."

Bad things, just like that. Bad things would happen and bad things were going to happen unless they did something. But he had no idea what. He was still struggling fighting freaking Beowolves, not super Grimm from Hyrule!

"It likely cannot understand us." Well that was good, or at least something. "So, listen carefully. When I say to, you will drop the branch." He got that. "You will jump backwards, arming yourself." He got that too. "Then you and your team will strike at its legs while I go for its head." That made… some sense. Not a lot, but he got it.

Get it off balance and strike at where it would hurt. Made sense that the pro huntress would take on the most dangerous part to.

"I'm ready," Ren spoke up in agreement, just as quietly as the others.

"I as well," Pyrrha joined him.

"Same!" Nora, maybe a bit too loud, added on.

But his team was ready, so it was on him. Well… he couldn't disappoint them now. Kind of too late for that to happen. It just meant he had to act. And that meant dropping the branch and running back. He could do that.

Slowly, carefully, he put the branch just in front of him, just well enough that the Grimm couldn't see his sword. A little stupid, but it worked in most movies he saw. Now he just had…

… watch as the Lynel raised its club above its head. His life flashed before his eyes.

"Jaune! Now!" And he didn't hesitate.

Jaune practically threw the branch on the ground, falling backwards before his legs started kicking at the ground desperately. He might have jumped backwards, but not well, per usual. He was on his butt, pushing back as the Lynel went to slam his club.

At least before it got ripped sideways. Jaune looked for Pyrrha, seeing her pulling her hand back. No surprise then why the Lynel missed.

Nah, the surprise was kept for when the Lynel let go of his club. He let go of it and swung out with his fist instead.

Pyrrha ducked the blow, perfect like she was, just in time for a glyph to appear above her, angled towards the Lynel. Its shaded fist hit it, sliding off the floating panel. His partner was out of harm's way in a second.

**WHAM!**

Of course, Nora was pounding on the giant Grimm pretty quickly. Her hammer hit its hide with all the explosive nature she knew she could manage. And the Lynel shook like he felt it.

He just didn't fly like Jaune expected. That was bad.

Then Winter was on him again, sword raised and jumping through glyphs she threw up faster than Weiss. She was over his head in a second, slicing over his back like a bat out of hell. Or maybe ice in a blizzard. Whatever it did, it lined the white back of the Lynel with red scars.

But it didn't even mind her. That was worse.

And then the Lynel ate the branch. The whole thing. Branch, leaves, seeds, and all. Like it was normal. He didn't even have time to see how it managed it.

Somehow, Jaune knew that was the worst. Somehow.

He just knew that the Grimm monster, something apparently so badass and strong that it had another pro huntress dealing with it, and being told to run from it, had eaten something that it apparently wasn't supposed to. Things were probably about to get bad.

It didn't help when the Lynel started to waver on its four legs, holding his arms up over his head like a guard. Jaune just put his shield up, wary for whatever was coming next.

"This… may be bad," Pyrrha spoke beside him. Jaune was already sure it was.

RAAAAAAWWWWWRR! The shout to the sky didn't help.

Jaune literally felt the wind blow past him with that scream. It was a like Elrora's, just deeper and way more monstrous. Though maybe not as harmful. Jaune still found himself wishing he was fighting a giant golden bird over this white maned giant centaur thing.

One had hands.

"Students!" Winter yelled out. Jaune saw her forming a glyph in front of her. Guess she had the same instinct. "Run now!" That sounded like a good idea.

**BAM!**

At least before she was blown away.

Jaune didn't even see it happen. He just saw the aftermath. He saw the white glyph, like twice her height. He saw her standing with her sword raised, and he saw the Lynel look at her, red eyes glowing and mane billowing.

Then in the next, the giant Grimm was standing where she was, fist through the glyph, and Winter sailing into a tree. It took that long for Jaune to realize the 'bam' wasn't her getting hit, it was her hitting the tree.

He didn't even see the giant pain-train of doom hit a pro-huntress, and that worried him. It worried him almost as much as watching her slip down the tree, sword gone from her hand, and hitting the ground with an almost dull thud.

"Kill it!" Nora shouted now. Jaune saw her launch herself forward from the trees. It took him that long to realize, he couldn't stand by and watch.

"Surround it!" Jaune yelled out, mind racing as he ran forward. "Nora! Break its legs! Ren, get Winter out of there!" At least that made sense. It was hard to run fast if you couldn't run, and Ren could cover Winter while she recovered.

"On it!" Nora shouted, hammer already above her head, jumping like the maniac she was. Even if it was only for a bit, she'd be able to distract it. That would give them time to get Winter out of-

 **BAM!** Jaune almost shook at the noise.

Again, like freaking lightning, the giant Grimm had moved, now lunged forward with a fist into the ground. That was bad, but what was worse was realizing why it was in the ground.

And the first clue was Nora's hammer flying into a nearby tree, ownerless. Jaune almost fell when he changed course, slipping on the grass as he turned back towards the Lynel. The Lynel that was raising both fists into the air now.

 **WHAM!** Slamming down on top of Nora!

"NORA!" Ren yelled as their bomber was slammed by the Lynel's fist. Jaune heard the earth shake at the blow. That was no excuse for inaction though!

 **WHAM! WHAM! WHAM WHAM!** Especially not when Nora was being pulverized!

"Shoot it!" Jaune yelled out, sword raised as he ran forward. "Go for the head! I got the legs!" His safety be damned, Nora was in danger! He didn't need to see his scroll to know she was in trouble.

Ren was there first, his pistols firing as he rounded in front of the white-maned beast. He was moving where the Lynel was pounding, definitely trying to get it off of Nora.

The problem was, it worked.

 **WHAM!** Jaune didn't even see it happen, at first.

The Lynel had just moved from pounding on Nora like an un-hung punching bag lying on the ground to pinning Ren against a tree. A tree that was now cracked through and just about right to topple over.

"Ren!" Jaune didn't stop his legs, only his direction. Nora might not be okay, but Ren was trapped! Trapped, held between the palm of the raging Lynel and forest giant thick tree. The pain across his face said it all.

Shots fired out from beside him, Pyrrha making use of her rifle. He saw the sparks of impact dance across the Lynel's face, the sparks of impact. But it was barely doing anything! The monster wasn't even flinching! That just meant it needed a more direct approach!

"Hey!" Jaune yelled, jumping up into the air, sword raised. "Eat this!" Probably better battle cries he could have let out, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was hitting the Lynel…

… Even if he could see it swinging its other fist at him, too fast for his shield to catch. That meant it was gonna hurt.

Boom. Or would have hurt.

The thick and meaty fist of the Grimm hit a glyph, hanging in mid-air. It looked just like Weiss's during training practice. Seeing as she wasn't here, it wasn't hard for Jaune to figure out who it belonged to.

Bin- **BOOM**

The explosion that ruptured along the Lynel's side was evidence enough. And Jaune was thrilled to see it. Mostly because it forced the monster to let go of Ren.

His teammate fell down the tree trunk in a slump, body almost bouncing off the ground. His StormFlower pistols bouncing away. He wasn't moving, wasn't squirming, he was slumped against the tree. Jaune just had to get there quick!

WHOOSH But he was suddenly far away.

Jaune was thrown head over heels as something blew past him. Even disoriented, flailing to stop, he knew it was the Lynel, just like he could tell he wasn't actually hit, because he was still breathing.

When he could finally see shapes and not blurs of color, Jaune found himself in a bush, tangled in its mess. He shook his head, sense on high alert as he looked for the monster. If he didn't have an eye on it, he'd be dead. _They'd_ be dead!

And he saw it. **BANG! BOOM! RAAAA!**

With Winter fighting it. Great! She was okay and able to fight. Bad! She still didn't have her weapon!

No, fighting wasn't the right word. Dodging was better. She was dodging the Lynel as best she could, throwing up glyphs like Weiss did during practice. He didn't need to be a life-long hunter to know that she was good, too.

She put the glyphs at angles, so the Lynel was being deflected even as he broke them. She jumped up and away, but not always away. She wove between his legs, only to accelerate out, leaving the Lynel striking at her trail.

But it was always on defense. She wasn't defenseless, but she was still _missing her sword!_

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled, suddenly at his side. He looked at her. She must have recovered faster than him, even if she was sporting wind swept hair. "Get up! We have to help Nora and Ren!" Right of course! No… No that wasn't right!

"No! Not yet!" Jaune yelled back, even as he struggled out of the bush. "We gotta get Winter her sword! If we go running in again and she doesn't have it, they might be screwed!" He knew that was the case.

They barely got out the first time, so the second time wasn't going to be any easier.

"I can't!" Pyrrha yelled back. He whipped his head at her, terrified.

"Wha- Are you okay!? Is anything broken?!" She looked okay, but she normally looked perfect. IF she was hurt, then it was bad. _Really_ bad.

"Jaune, I _can't_ get Winter her blade!" She threw her arm out towards Weiss's sister, even as her free one gripped his arm. "There isn't a window to give it to her, not without the Lynel noticing!" Oh, that was what she meant.

And she was right. The Lynel was just too damn fast now! Damn it!

Jaune clenched his fists, teeth grit till he swore he felt them crack. This was all kinds of bad, and it wasn't even something they could handle on a good day! What were they supposed to do?!

Ren and Nora were in the danger zone, Winter was being treated like a leaf in the wind, and Lynel was nothing short of an absolute wrecking ball, with the speed of, apparently, light on its side!

But they were close to beating it before, at least distracting it. And he knew they could do it. Hell, he knew Winter could do it. They just needed to be faster! Just a little bit… faster.

That was it!

"Wait! The tree!" Jaune rolled out from the bush he was thrown into. Thrown into by the freaking wind of the monster running by him. He still wasn't over that!

"The tree?" Pyrrha asked behind him, keeping her weapons raised. "Jaune, what are you talking about?!"

"It has to be those seeds the thing ate!" Jaune yelled, never taking his eye off Winter or the Lynel. If he did, he'd lose them. Couldn't afford that yet. "Maybe… I don't know, maybe we could try them!" At least the idea sounded good in his head.

"Try what, Jaune? Eating them as well?!" She wasn't yelling because she was mad. She was worried. She yelled when they were practicing or facing teams and he was struggling. Right now, they were fighting a giant super Grimm from Link's home and losing.

Screaming was appropriate. Especially if Nora and Ren were in the same place for much longer.

"I don't know, maybe!? Maybe if… if we get eat more seeds from that tree, we can keep up!" Or more like Winter could keep up. But that was a plan at least! Do as the monster did to beat it!

And Pyrrha, helping him up, had a shine in her eyes as she heard the idea. He knew her well enough to know she agreed. That just meant they had to hurry.

 **RAAAAWR** "HYAAAA!" Because if that was any indication, Winter was probably doing her best to just keep Ren and Nora safe. His job.

That was only more evident when the fighting started to dance over his friends. Jaune felt like his legs were hollow watching it. The Lynel's stupidly big fist swinging at Winter, Winter ducking and throwing up a glyph, both just to stay out of its range, then doing it again and again as it continued to chase her.

It really didn't help that she was stepping over the pit Nora was beaten into and the tree Ren was slumped over. Even as he saw her putting up Glyphs over them, purple things with designs he didn't even try to remember, it really didn't help his nerves.

Because he kept watching the Lynel beat threw the ones she threw up between the monster and herself. But she was keeping it busy, even as she protected his team.

So, if she was busy doing his job, then he'd just have to help her with hers.

Jaune didn't spare a glance at the Lynel or Winter as he ran back to where they came from, Pyrrha catching and putting distance ahead of him. He didn't care. Only one of them needed to get the seeds, whatever the things were.

Wasn't hard finding the tree again, short, shaped like a freaking wing, and showing the signs of damage from when the Lynel had swung its club through the bottom of the thing. But that was just the first step.

"Okay! Grab some! Eat some!" Jaune spoke quickly, grabbing at the few he could see. Pyrrha didn't say a word as she did the same, reaching into the branches and grabbing at the weird blue seeds.

There weren't nearly as many as he would have liked. What kind of tree didn't make a lot of seeds! It was against every rule of biology she had ever learned. Didn't matter though. Not now.

The sooner he and Pyrrha got these to Winter, the sooner they'd be able to save Ren and Nora. Each time his hand swept through a branch, he grabbed one, maybe two. No telling if that was a lot or not. The Lynel had eaten an entire branch and who knew if the branch itself helped. Too many questions, and they didn't really matter.

He grabbed at as many seeds as he could find, knowing that right now there wasn't such thing as not enough. Seeing another bunch of them, he grabbed at them quickly. Only for his hand to hit someone else's. Someone with hands thicker than his and standing feet taller than him.

Thing was, Jaune knew exactly who it was. Trouble was, Jaune couldn't believe it.

"Cardin?"

* * *

Winter was being outpaced by the Lynel. It was a fact she could not ignore. It was nearly impossible to suggest it was thinking fasting than her, reacting faster than here, or merely just moving fast her than her. But which one didn't matter.

All that mattered was the simple unavoidable observation that this monster of a Grimm was stronger and faster than her. A deadly combination by any measure in any situation.

**BOOM!** **RAAWR!**

Winter grit her teeth as she ducked her head, the massive white fist of the beast just passing over her head. Vacuum of the wind it created nearly threw her off balance, stopped only by her reinforced body. Just barely. But it swung wide, so now she could-

WHOOOOSH!

\- lean back to avoid the uppercut from its other arm. Winter jumped back for distance, knowing that the Lynel's arms would easily reach her otherwise. Even as she summersaulted, she clicked her tongue. But maybe with some distance now she would-

**BAAAM!**

\- throw up a glyph for protection, because the Grimm had thrown forth both of its fists towards her. It had closed the gap almost instantaneously, already striking at her again. Winter gnashed her teeth.

Instinct or some ability gained by the damnable seeds, the Grimm was too fast for her to react to. Everything was just dodging out of range at this point, no room for her to react. She couldn't even grab her blade, let alone prepare an opening to strike at.

WHOOOSH! WHOOSH-WHOOOSH!

And every large swing the monster took and whiffed was accompanied by the pull of the vacuum of air. Here she thought only the highest grade of the Atlesian Class Mechs were capable of such feats, and with sufficient Dust to burn.

But this monster from Hyrule was capable such with just swings of its behemoth arms. Truly Link spoke no falsehoods in warning to the monster. She only wished to have him here, perhaps to assist in taking the beast down. For at the moment, she couldn't' strike its head, let alone any other part of its body.

**BAM-BAM-BAM**

Not while ever action she took and glyph she threw up was for her own defense and welfare.

Hers and the two students now knocked unconscious.

**BAM! BAM!**

The Lynel pounded on, and through, the pair of glyphs she had raised, the hard shields and pride of her family. The Grimm needed only a pair of fists to ruin them. It gave Winter only the moment to put herself beside the Grimm, at a position disadvantageous for it to strike from. For now, that was all she could afford.

For no amount of time could put her far enough away and she hardly had the time to write the glyphs strong enough to resist the beast's blows. Any excuse of timing she may have had was for not, for the beast was hardly taking the time to real back in its strength.

This unholy monster, empowered by the cursed seeds, was beyond her to face alone. It was treacherous having to distract it, to keep it from truly ending the young students as well.

Winter could only trust in her training and strength to keep her alive, for however long she could.

**RRAAAAWR!**

The Grimm lifted its head again, muscled fists interlocked together. Winter had just enough time to recognize the coming blow, but she wasn't sure she had time to dodge. She threw up her arms, crisscrossed with a glyph above them.

It may not have been enough, so quickly assembled, but it would give her time to run between the creature's legs. Then she could-

 **BOOM!** All her plains, were blown away. Literally.

The Lynel never attacked it. It never even damaged her glyph. It was, instead, reeling sideways with a pained cry as something exploded across its side, like a modified explosive round or unstable Fire Dust. Winter didn't waste the opportunity, unexpected as it was. She jumped back, her glyph dissipating, and she searched for the cause of the explosion. It required hardly a flick of her eyes to see.

The largest of the boys she had saved earlier, Cardin Winchester, and his mace already in the follow-through of it swing.

The sight confused her, baffled her, and made her want to shout in anger. The boy was supposed to run away, not back. He wasn't skilled enough, let alone now! He was going to get hurt and-

 **BOOM!** SHINK!

\- and he wasn't alone. In-between the boy's first and second strike, while the Grimm was still reeling from the attack, the Invincible Girl jumped over his head, her lance at the ready. It made an excellent lunge into the creature's side, and at a speed Winter knew she'd need the enhancements of a well-constructed Glyph for.

The attack, or perhaps the combination, was a success, forcing the Lynel to back away with flailing arms and a cry of pain. It gave Winter ample opportunity reassess the situation, to retrieve her weapon, and, more importantly, to check on the pair of unconscious students.

"Ren! Nora!" Winter turned at the shouting. Apparently, their team leader had beaten her to it. The Jaune Arc boy, kneeling over his teammates with blade sheathed and shield strapped to his arm. "C'mon guys, you're not gonna stay passed out here. I'm the one who's supposed to get knocked out first." His self-deprecation served little aid to the current situation.

"They're alive," Winter spoke up as she approached the boy, quickly as she could. "Glynda Goodwitch is monitoring their vitals." It was unnecessary to tell the boy how her glyphs had made them unconscious. Too much information in a hectic situation. "They'll be okay as long as they are moved."

"Huh? Oh! Good, yeah, great!" The boy spoke quickly, very quickly. "I'll move them! You can help Pyrrha and Cardin!" Winter felt her brow raise. Was the boy giving her orders? Like a professional. He must have seen he made a mistake, or his instincts told him as much. "I-I mean, you're going to be more helpful than I am, and I'm faster right now." Right now?

"What do you-?" **BOOM!** Winter began to ask, before her eyes flashed back to the Lynel.

The beast, still disarmed by Pyrrha's hand, was lashing out as the talented girl and brute of a boy. It wouldn't take more than a glancing blow to destroy their Auras, something that made Winter more than merely warry as they continued to rage against the beast.

Rage against it, but not get hit by it. They weren't getting hit, because they were faster, far faster, than before.

"Hey! You!" Winter turned at the new voice, suddenly shouting from her side.

She turned to see a boy standing by her, never once even hearing him approach. She recognized him as one of the members to the squad she had saved when she first confronted the terror. Likely the partner to the boy battling the Lynel with Pyrrha Nikos. He had the long hair, a sharp halberd at his side, but then something she recognized more than anything else.

Her blade. Her personal, though clearly damaged, blade.

"Here!" He held it out to her, quickly, no room for discussion. "Jaune told me where to find it! You need it!" Indeed, she did.

"Thank you," she spoke quickly to the long-haired student. "But now I must insist you all run now before-"

 **BOOM! BOOM!** Even if it was a battle, the constant interruptions were starting to grate on her nerves.

"GRRRRRAAAA!" The Lynel was roaring again. Winter turned back to it, fingers dancing around the hilt of her blade, as she saw it swing at the Cardin Winchester and Pyrrha Nikos. She knew a single blow would ruin them.

But it wasn't hitting them. It kept missing, even if just barely.

Her eyes were trained through years of practice to catch the movement of bullets through the air, and she could just make out the monstrous Grimm striking at the two. She was little surprised to see the lithe and well-versed Pyrrha jumping and sliding beneath the blows, at speeds that Winter felt a wonder at.

But for Cardin to avoid them, without the aid of glyphs that Winter was well aware she needed, left her near speechless. The boy was strong, but fast enough to avoid the behemoth? Something was not right.

"Hey Winter, you copy still?" Qrow? Winter immediately put her hand to her ear as she heard the voice.

"Qrow! Where are you?!" Feelings of disdain were not important on a battlefield. "If you can, leave Russel at a safe place and return! This monster has somehow strengthened itself!"

"Sorry, can't do it." Winter nearly screamed through the headpiece. "Ozpin told me to keep back and keep the others students safe. Sides, the Arc kid just dropped off his teammates." How? The boy was…. Where?

Winter looked beside her, seeing that, indeed, Jaune Arc and his teammates had been moved from their spot. She looked about quickly, swiftly, trying to find the bleed of pink or vibrant orange hair of the teammates, but she couldn't see them. Let alone the gleam of the boy's silver armor.

"Before you start wondering, the kids got some more of those magic seeds the monster was chomping on," Seeds… as in the branches of that tree? The Lynel was interested in them. "Link filled Oz in. Long story short, hell of a story that is, those seeds were grown by one of Link's friends. Some forest kid or something like that." That didn't make any sense!

Even as Winter continued to stare, focus and watch, on Cardin and Pyrrha dodge through the sweeping fists of the Lynel, she knew that the speed at which the tree grew was just unreasonable. It had only been less than a month's time; not even saplings would be grown by then!

"What you gotta know is that those seeds make whoever eats 'em faster. Don't ask me how, I don't get it, I just know that the Arc kid is already on his way back from you. Count how long it takes." And then the line went dead.

Winter bit her lip. It was good information to have, but it wasn't enough for her. The situation only explained why the Lynel, and now the students, were moving at above average speeds. It didn't explain a good opportunity to tackle the beast. And watching it from afar did little to help.

 **BOOM!** RRAAAAAAAAAWW!

All she could discern from the few moments the Lynel roared at Cardin and Pyrrha was that the Invincible Girl was keeping Cardin alive. It was obvious when she watched the movements.

A needless wave of her arm, a push of her hand, all in the direction of Cardin Winchester. Then, in time, the boy ducked a fist, jumped out of range of a swing, all keeping him at bay of the beast. Doubtlessly her Semblance, be it telekinesis or some other form of manipulation, it didn't matter.

She was only sure the Lynel would last far longer than the stamina of the boy and girl

"I'm here!" Winter whipped her head to see the Arc lad. He was faster. "So, what do we do? How can I help?" Winter opened her mouth, ready to tell him he had done enough.

"Yeah! Cardin's not gonna last much longer!" And now the long-haired member of the CRDL team. Sky, if she was correct. "I mean, if I strike wrong, I could hit him!" And it was a true fear.

The issue was they were not skilled enough for the beast. On equal ground, Winter was only winning through tiring the beast out with flesh wounds and scraps. She never found perch to truly strike at its vital spots.

Even as it jumped forward, aiming to grab at Cardin, Pyrrha pushed him with her undiscernible Semblance, keeping him out of range. They were still avoiding the beast, hardly able to do much else. And they were matched in speed.

BOOOM! It was also becoming obvious that Cardin's weapon was nearing the last of its charges. They needed to cripple it, even if temporarily, so that they could truly take it out. And Winter remembered how to do it.

The Lynel couldn't handle a blow to its head.

WHAP! "GHA!" Cardin was struck by the beast. Winter threw up a glyph the moment her eye caught it, directly in the path of the boy's flight.

He hit it like a pillow, dampening his trajectory. What could have resulted in a debilitating blow against a tree resulted in a slow roll to her feet. He was safe, by Pyrrha was still by the monster. Momentarily.

Her skill as a fighter showed, jumping up and away from the quick handed beast. Over his arm, under the other, before jumping onto his swinging arm and pushing herself through the air. She landed deftly by her partner's side.

"Are you well?" Winter asked, blade raised at the Lynel, the Grimm turning to stare back at them with beady red eyes. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm okay," she spoke quickly. It was clear her partner was fretting over her as well. "Nora and Ren, are the-"

"I got them, they're safe," Jaune spoke in turn. "It's just this guy we gotta deal with now. But we have a chance, now that we're faster." And the boy was right.

It was still more of a stalemate, but with many of them at higher speeds, it was a greater chance than before. They only needed a few openings to make the victory possible. Though as she thought, Winter kept her eyes, and blade, towards the beast,

But it wasn't charging, not yet. The white-maned Grimm was still staring at them across from the small clearing its brawl had made. It wasn't screaming or charging, let alone raising arms to attack. It was just standing and staring.

No, waiting, Winter realized. It was waiting on them. It was intelligent which meant it learned quickly. It knew, on some level, that they had more numbers, which meant a greater chance. But it was a still a monster, meaning it would not let them go. For now, it was a stalemate. It wasn't a position Winter enjoyed being in.

"Sky Lark," Winter spoke, eyes moving as her head remained still. "Where are you?" The boy wasn't beside her anymore.

"Up here!" He yelled, above her. It was not what she expected. "I thought I'd be able to surprise it… but… it's too fast." His head wasn't in the wrong place. It was obvious, as he realized the limits of his abilities against the beast.

"It is fast," Pyrrha added on. "And very durable. I could hardly do more than scratch at its hide." It wasn't normal to find such a durable Grimm. Let alone one so durable, large, and smart. Truly Link had no jests regarding the ferocity of the beast.

"Guuuh," came the low moan at Winter's feet, obviously the Winchester boy. From the groans he gave off, he was clearly disoriented. "The hell happened?" Disoriented, but not in critical Aura states at least.

"The Lynel struck you," Winter spoke simply and quickly. "It's across the clearing and waiting for us. Stand, now." This was not a time for pleasantries. Thankfully, the boy was good at following orders.

"Yeah, I got it," he started to stand, his tall form becoming more and more apparent. Leaning on the crux of his mace and shrugging his shoulders, he stared out at the beast across from them. "Gimme a moment and I'll-" His feet started to move, and Winter was prepared for the boy to make a foolish mistake.

But instead, he felt to his knee, panting.

"The… hell?" He spoke out. "Where did… I feel like… freaking dirt." Winter never took her eyes off the Lynel, still glaring at them with red as blood eyes. Yet, she didn't imagine she'd be able to follow the boy even if she had looked at him.

"Huh? Cardin? Oh… Oh…" Winter held back glancing at the Arc boy. "I… Yeah, I get what you mean." Winter did not.

"What is happening?" Winter asked. Something bad was happening to the students and she didn't have an idea what. She could not take another Unknown upsetting the battle and risking their lives.

"I… sorry, we feel… slow again," Pyrrha answered for the four of them. Assumingly, if Sky was the same in the tree. "Perhaps the seeds… they wore off." How? They had them after the beast did, and likely to a greater amount.

"Doesn't matter," Cardin spat out. It did, very clearly it did. "I'm still gonna knock it's head off, with or without magic seeds." Winter held herself back from throwing up a Glyph, the boy wasn't worth it.

"No, you will not," she ordered. "If what you are saying is true, and the magic has already passed, then so has our even ground against the Lynel. It, clearly, has not lost its speed." Perhaps not clearly, but it was a fair assumption.

The children were groaning and panting with the loss of whatever stimulant was in the wing shaped seeds, from the equally shaped tree. The Lynel, however, was not. It maintained its rigid and tall posture, flexing more than grimacing at them.

Past the tusks of its mouth and growling of its throat, it had not lost the effect of the seeds. Why though? It was a question that mattered greatly, but one they could not afford to answer now. They needed to survive first.

And they needed a plan to do so.

"What do we do then?" Jaune asked. "We gotta… disorient it maybe. Throw up a smokescreen? Light a fire for the smoke?" Winter was impressed, and disappointed. His ideas weren't bad, merely impractical given the circumstances.

"Fires would take too long and I have no smoke pellets or similar devices on me." The disorientation idea, however, was one that held much merit. She had remembered it early and Winter had yet to forget.

The Lynel was weak to blows to the head.

The difficulty was, hitting its head without it dodging or diminishing the blow. Truly like hitting a blade grass in a dust storm.

"Maybe… we can run away?" Sky asked from above them. "We got everyone away from it, right? And its disarmed! Couldn't we just get out of here?" No. They had their chance to run and it was gone now. The Lynel would easily chase them down.

"There was no flight now, only the need to fight," Winter answered simply. "And we best think quickly before the Grimm makes a gamble of its own."

"C'mon! It's gotta already be half-way dead!" the largest of the boy's shouted, even as he rounded his shoulders. "I just need one good whack at his head, and he'll be a goner! Just _one_." Winter doubted it was half-way to anything, other than attacking...

The beast across from them was riddled in minor wounds, no different than scraps through shrubbery. Disarmed, perhaps, but far from non-threatening. And now it retained a speed advantage. That was not to forget the lack of skill on the part of the students.

The boy, Cardin, had yet to demonstrate any control to his technique, let alone discipline to his style of attack. And her previous assessment of his weaponry was correct as well. A good fit for his large build, but situational and the best of times. Inopportune at others.

"We got to think of something soon here," Jaune spoke up. "I don't think it's going to be waiting for much longer." It wasn't as if the boy could do much else to help either. Neither of them was fit for avoiding danger, though Cardin seemed to relish in it.

It certainly didn't help that he was horrendous for any kind of teamwork, liable to hurt allies with the concussive blasts of his weapon. If there was term for a hunter like this boy, it would be 'Agro', as any other partners would need to be able to stay out of his range.

Right now, however, dealing with a Grimm that struck like Atlesian Mechs and as if it were the wind, he was exactly what they needed. It was detrimental that the seeds had worn off, having an oddly long effect on the monster over their own Aura's, but that was not a concern that needed focus.

"It may not be near death," Pyrrha Nikos added on. "But we do have it outnumbered. Perhaps we can… try and divert its attention?" The right mindset, but the wrong word.

The Lynel was not waiting for an opportunity, but a weak link. It likely wouldn't fall for an obvious ploy, the danger of an _intelligent_ Grimm. However, it could be distracted.

And though nearly everyone else was more capable than him, they all lacked the tools to truly finish the job. The Lynel was too strong, too thick, and now too fast for most of them. If they could open up one opening however, and let Cardin hit it…

"I agree," Winter spoke up, twisting the hilt of her blade. The Lynel shuffled across from her, preparing something itself. "But we will risk more than we need to."

"Then what's the plan?" Cardin asked again. Winter could hear his hand wring his mace. "Just get me close and I'll take care of it." His eagerness was both appreciated and concerning. Now was not the time to voice either.

"I was informed by Link's drones that the Lynel is susceptible to head injuries," she recalled. "A strong enough blow will render it weak. To do that… we need to cripple its legs."

"I can strike the legs," Pyrrha spoke up quickly.

"Me, too," Arc added in. "Together we can… get close enough." Knowing of the girl's ability, having witnessed it, Winter believed it.

"I'll deal the blow," Cardin added. "I'm definitely the strongest one here." In terms of muscle, perhaps, and now was not the time to correct him.

"Indeed. Sky Lark," Winter spoke upwards, never taking her eye off of the growling Lynel. "I will create an acceleration glyph. When I do, launch your weapon through it with all your strength." The monster may be fast, too fast for her to hit with the lance on point, but it would at least have to move predictably to dodge.

"Got it!" the boy yelled from the tree. Winter nodded.

"Good," she spoke. "Then prepare yourself." There was no more need to speak on. She raised her blade parallel to her body, hand rising just behind it. Her Semblance worked through her Aura, shaping the familiar texts to the glyphs in her mind.

She needed to be quick about this. As soon as it was visible, the monster would doubtlessly attack. There was no room for failure. But so long as the students were capable, there would be none.

 _FWOOSH_ Her Glyph came to life. **RRAAAAAWW** And the Lynel roared.

In time with her command, Sky threw his spear through the glyph, with form and speed that showed his skill. It ran through her Semblance, its speed increasing fivefold easily, the best she could do with so little time.

 **BANG!** It shot towards the Lynel.

The beast through up its arms, predictably, shielding its head from the blow. Winter watched as the spear sailed like the launch of a ballista.

WHOMP And it struck true all the same. Though it did as much good as she thought it would. The Lynel being almost completely unfazed. Thankfully, that was not the attack.

"HYAAA!" Jaune yelled as he and his partner rushed forward, already upon the Grimm by the time it's massive arms were lowered. It was fast, doubtlessly, but it was also large and lumbering. It couldn't avoid a strike all together. Let alone from two directions.

SHINK-SHINK The blows the pair dealt were marvelously accurate.

A pair of blades, a thick broadsword and a thin lance, slammed themselves through the forelegs of the monstrous Grimm, crippling its forward motion. In an almost identical flash, the two were gone, pushing in opposite directions from the Lynel.

 **WHAM-WHAM** In the same moment its massive arms swung down at the pair. But it was too late. And it had made the critical mistake. That being exposing its most vulnerable part.

That part being its head to that of Cardin Winchester.

The boy was already in front of the beast, mace reared above his head and gait jumping forward. He was a massive student, but he was small in comparison to the Lynel. The blows before had barely done much more than superficial damage to the Grimm. But Cardin Winchester wasn't striking at easy chances.

He was aiming for a crippling blow.

 **WHHAA-BOOOOM!** The blows were deafening.

It clearly struck home on the Grimm, the cloud of dust from the dust explosion rolling off from where it had hit. Winter watched, staring as the mace swung through, showing Cardin before the monster.

But the Lynel wasn't dead.

It reared back on its hind legs, bellowing into the sky.

Winter raised her rapier once more, preparing a series of Glyphs to prepare the remaining students from whatever the Lynel was preparing itself. The students did the same what little they could.

This had to be near the end. With her Aura so dangerously low, Dust reserves empty, and students already worse off than she was, there wasn't much that could be done against this demon of a Grimm.

And as its bellow softened, Winter prepared to defend, ready to deflect the attack it launched as it came off its hind legs. Its arms fell first, then its head.

Then the Lynel's body crumbled to the forest floor.

Winter watched as the red drained from its eyes.

She nearly mimicked the beast, what with the way her form slouched and limbs crumbled around her. The fatigue had settled in now that her adrenaline had run its course. The battle was won with the ancient Grimm dead, and she could allow her body to recover.

They had done it. The Lynel was dead.

* * *

Dead, dead as a doornail.

Cardin stared at it, mace gripped tightly in his hand and legs feeling like they weighed the same. His breath was coming out like he'd try to take on the Golden Girl one-on-one and had a chance. And now that chance was lying dead under his feet, slumped over and gone to the wind! Or starting to.

And it. Felt. Great!

A grin pulled at his mouth, large and wide. Even through pants of breath, limbs of lead, and the remains of his Aura flashing on a lifeline, he knew that it was done. They had killed some super Grimm that not even an Atlesian Military woman could handle!

And he'd dealt the final blow! He'd caved the monster's face in! and it was awesome!

"YEAH!" Cardin yelled, as loud as he could. As loud as he could with tired lungs and half his brain working, but it was his loudest, and it felt good! No way was he going to get brushed away for this. He was…

… falling actually. Yeah. He didn't even realize until the trees started growing sideways.

Then he was caught.

"Whoa! I got ya!" Jaune Arc, of all people, managed to catch him. Honestly, Cardin was just surprised the faker could even pick him up. Then again, what did he care. He'd killed a freaking Super Grimm! "You're good, we're good." Yeah, he was.

"Careful Jaune," Little Miss Perfect spoke up from behind him. "He's likely injured from Aura depletion, and there's no telling if he has any internal injuries." Cardin felt himself snarl now. What a way to ruin a good mood.

"I'm good Arc, so let go of me," Cardin spoke up, gripping the faker's hand. And of course, he didn't let go immediately. Like the boyfriend to Miss Perfect, he had to wait until Cardin was at least at ground level.

He managed to right himself pushing himself until his feet were on the ground again. Kind of a pity. He was sure him standing on top of the Grimm would make for a badass picture.

Actually, still could.

His sense of balance was off, like crazy. Cardin found himself leaning on his mace, a mace missing its Dust core and probably going to need a few hundred Lien to get back to fighting condition. Still, it was good for a cane at least.

His hands fished under his armor, looking for his Scroll. He could get a good selfie with this thing, or maybe get someone else to take a snapshot. They'd owe him that much at least for saving their lives. He snorted as his fingers found the metal brackets for his scroll. He managed to fish them out.

Then find that he had two halves to two pieces of a Scroll. He clicked his tongue.

"Dammit," he cursed, dropping the broken device. "Must have cracked when I got slapped by that thing." What good was his armor if it couldn't even keep his Scroll intact? Yeah, he was okay, but Aura was good for that. Weird trade-off.

"Your Scroll is broken?" Jaune asked now. "Oh! Yeah, it'd probably be a good idea to call for some help right now." Cardin couldn't help but snort.

"Shouldn't they be on their way already?" Pyrrha asked from behind the faker. Considering how she was his polar opposite, it made sense she had wit. "I'm sorry Jaune, but… not sending aid would be rather questionable."

"O-Oh! Yeah, I know that." Cardin doubted it, but he didn't speak up. Penny and Impa did tell him to at least try to get along. Not acting like his father was the first good step. "Just thought… just in case? I mean, they don't always show up."

Considering how this was the same guy who forgot to call the ambulance after a bunch of literally scarred and burned kids popped up into his room, Cardin would just comment that the faker was learning.

And, speaking honestly to himself, learning a lot. He did do a decent job holding back the monster's legs with Sky. At least enough for him to get the final blow. No taking that accomplishment away from him.

"Wha-? Dangit!" Cardin raised a brow at Arc, the short stack holding up his hand. Cardin saw the strips of metal that were once a Scroll. Guess it was an epidemic. "Guess mine got fractured, too."

"That's a whole lot worse than just a fracture," Cardin noted, even as one of the pieces to Jaune's Scroll chipped off, falling soundlessly to the ground. "I'm just surprised your neck isn't as busted." He took a good hit from it.

And Jaune laughed at the joke, aimed at him.

"Haha, yeah," Arc spoke up, nodding his head. "I thought I was a goner for sure. Than Dust, you were there." Cardin gripped the end of his mace, tightly. He had saved Jaune, no denying that. Trouble was trying to figure out if he regretted it yet or not.

Penny was pretty clear that JNPR and RWY were good friends of hers, and that she was willing to help train him if he stayed on good terms. Problem was, she didn't know how much of a faker the Arc kid was.

"Yeah well, we'll call it even." Cardin spoke up, rubbing the back of his neck. This really was even, at least by their score. The school still owed him big. "For the Ursa, way back when." The smile on the Arc kid's face dropped.

"I'm surprised you remember that." Nikos spoke up from behind Jaune. She had a hand to his shoulder, like she was trying to keep him steady. The wimp probably needed it. "I would have thought for certain you would have banished the idea from your mind. You, making a mistake." And there was the bitch.

Cardin snarled at the girl, ruining his good mood. He'd just killed a Grimm capable of taking down some pro huntress and now he was having old memories dragged up from the dead! The hell gives!

"Whatever," Cardin snorted out. Turning around to face the Lynel again. It was already starting to fade, making him click his tongue. It'd be hard to stand on now without having it collapse in. "I just want a picture of this thing first."

"Picture?" Jaune asked, like an idiot that he was. "Why would you want that?" He really was an idiot. It wasn't even an insult anymore. Like calling the sky blue or water wet.

"Because this isn't exactly a kill you get on Tuesday, Arc!" Cardin spoke up, thumbing at the behemoth of a Grimm. "I wanna get a picture of this and mount it on the wall! No way is anyone gonna believe this happened otherwise."

"I certainly don't," Nikos added on behind Jaune. He felt his bad mood rising again. "But… you have a point. This is an occasion to be remembered."

"Yeah, I agree," Jaune added on. If he wasn't an idiot, he was a Yes-Man. Or maybe just whipped. "Giant Grimm is dead, we're all alive, and nothing else bad happened. Except for Nora and Ren almost getting killed."

Their teammates, yeah that was… oh crap!

"Wait, what about Russell?" Cardin asked, looking Arc and Nikos. "C'mon Russel, my teammate. He got knocked out by this thing when we first ran across it. Is he okay?" He'd better be, or else the school would owe him a hell lot more than a reward.

"Your teammate is fine, Ms. Winchester." He turned around, seeing the military woman approaching again. Her and Sky. "Both of them."

"Sky!" Cardin spoke up, happy to see one member of his crew wasn't knocked out or running for the hills. His teammate grinned back at him, still tired, obviously. He was entitled to that much. "You alright, man? Nothing broken right?" That be an obvious answer.

"Nah, I'm good," Sky returned, shaking his long hair and waving his hand. Cardin grinned at it. He had the toughest teammates, no doubt. "Ms. Winter stopped me from hitting that tree, too hard, thankfully."

Yeah, that was good. There was no way Cardin was going to let one of his teammates getting knocked out like fly. Someone else's plan failing and they paid? No way in hell.

"I'm happy to report that my associate Qrow Branwen was able to move Russel Thrush and the remainder of team JNPR as well." Wait, there was another hunter out here? Well… if he was getting everyone else out of the way, at least he was doing something. Still, he could have helped.

"That's good, great actually," Jaune started to speak up. "I'm just gonna… sit down for a while. Maybe a few years." And he began to slump down, falling like his strings had been cut. Would've made Cardin chuckle on most days.

Problem was, it was looking like a damn good idea right now.

"Gotta agree with Arc there." Sky added on. He was already sliding down the staff of his Halberd. That thing was going to need some serious work. "I could go for a nap, and a hot-tub, and… maybe some chocolate. I'd love some chocolate right now." Cardin had to chuckle at that.

"You all did well," Winter, apparently, added on. Cardin guessed she introduced herself to him after he killed the Lynel. "In my eyes, you have all proven yourself capable of handling the impossible, as hunters should."

"It helps that we're alive," Jaune, the faker, added on. "Everyone's alive, and okay. Alive and okay are great things to be after a fight like that. Yeah, definitely." Cardin blew a snort of air out of his nose. The joker wasn't wrong, but the least he could do was sound like he was bumbling over himself.

Still wasn't worth commenting on. Even if it felt like he should. Besides, there were more important things to do. Like take a picture.

"Hey Sky," Cardin called over to his partner. His blue-haired teammate looked up from his posture on the ground. "You got your scroll working?" From the look on his partner, he probably hadn't heard them before. "I wanna get a picture of this. Gonna make something to brag about later."

"Oh! Yeah!" And like a good partner, Sky perked up at it. Cardin had to admit, sometimes the system worked, getting him a teammate like Sky. "Yeah I got mine. Hang on." His fished through his legs, patting up and down his side.

And he was the first one among them to pull out an undamaged Scroll. Cardin had to grin.

"Perfect," he let out, pushing out his chest and straightening himself. Had to, or he was liable to fall over. His was tired. "Let me just… get a good picture."

He turned to face the fallen Lynel again, really appreciating what he had done.

A head caved in from the back, eyes blinked out and gone, a tusk broken from its mouth, and still keeping enough muscle up and down its body to make him, the seven-foot giant of Beacon, feel inadequate. It took a lot for that.

Cardin shuffled his feet, turning around too look at Sky. He put his mace on the ground, hands over the hilt like the broadsword his dad used. It was a knight's pose, and in front of the giant dead Grimm, he knew it was a badass one.

Until Arc god next to him, kneeling like he was at a sports game, blade in the ground in front of him and holding his hilt with two hands. He stared the faker, wondering what the hell he was doing then. Then for good measure, why Nikos was behind him.

Specifically, why Nikos was posing next to Arc with a hand on his shoulder and holding her lance like she was some bronze statue, head tilted up and grinning. What were they thinking? This was his shot!

"Mr. Lark, why don't you join them?" Cardin looked back at Sky to see Winter offering to take the Scroll from him. Was she saying no to this? "You deserve to be in there just as well. You all had a part in this victory." Oh, that was how they were playing it.

A team effort. Didn't matter who put in the most work. Everyone got the same payoff. Typical. Fine, whatever. It wasn't that big of a deal anyways. He was still in front of the Grimm, the biggest in the group, and it wouldn't be hard to tell who did the most work.

"C'mon, Sky," Cardin spoke up, tapping his mace on the ground next to him. "Before the monster turns to air." They had a bit of time, but not a lot. Still, it was hard to miss the grin his partner gave him.

Pushing himself up with his halberd, Sky pretty much wobbled over to Cardin, spinning around when he got next to him to face the Scroll. He pushed his chest out, sticking the flat of his weapon into the ground and letting the pike raise straight up. It was like how he posed for their team picture.

It was cool, but weird to Cardin. Really weird they were posing like this with an ace and faker just next to him. Then again, the giant dead Grimm made up for it.

"Steady now," Winter instructed. "I'm… not accustomed to doing this often." Military chick, probably not. Not that he would call her that to her face. If there was one unspoken lesson got, it was insulting strong women.

From Penny to Goodwitch, it just never paid off.

Click. "Done. Excellent shot."

Cardin felt a bit more pride swells up inside of him. There was no calling him a liar about this later. There was proof now that he'd done this, and he wasn't going to let that lie.

"Mister Lark, may I make a call with your Scroll?" The military woman asked Cardin's partner. "Mine was fractured during the fight, and I need to convene our coordinates with the Headmaster for pick-up." Jeeze, was everyone's Scroll broken? It almost made Cardin's head spin.

Then again, if the choice was some flimsy piece of metal or his bones, he'd let the whole factory go up in smoke. Yeah, that made sense. Besides, she should make that phone call. Cardin was not going to walk back to Beacon. At all.

"Yeah, it's cool." Sky was nodding with the comment. "I want outta here and I'm not stopping you." The Winter chick just nodded in response, putting her attention back on the scroll.

"So, what now?" Arc asked, looking up from his kneeling position. Was he gonna move? "A trip to the medic? Debrief with Ms. Goodwitch? Cake?" Cake? Cardin shared a look with Sky, his partner equally confused. At least he wasn't hearing things.

"He's referring to Nora," Nikos spoke up. "After we win fights, as a team, we tend to eat cake in our room. She's actually an excellent baker." Cardin rolled his head. With the Invincible Girl on their team, it was a wonder they weren't all fat as elephants.

Then again Arc did help to even it out.

"Um… probably gonna need a rain check on that," Sky added on. Cardin could already hear him getting ready to babble on. "Not that we don't deserve it, we do, yeah, but half your team aren't exactly high in spirits." Cardin shook his head.

"Maybe, but it beats them being six feet under," Cardin commented. "And if this Qrow guy saved their ass, they're probably gonna want the whole cafeteria when they wake up." Actually, probably just the hammer chick.

Cardin hadn't faced her, yet, but he'd seen the fights she'd come out of. If Nikos was the Golden Girl, Nora was the Hammer of Thor. There was no light bruising when she was involved. And that kind of power needed a major appetite.

He'd seen her eat. A lot.

"Well… yes… I suppose," said Golden Girl added on lightly. Cardin twisted his nose at her. If she was gonna dodge a compliment, fine. No business to him.

"Yes, they are all okay," the Winter woman spoke up, Scroll to her ear. "And Qrow delivered the other children? Excellent." And it looks like Russel was alright, too.

"Thank Dust," Arc added on. Cardin actually agreed with him on this one. "Aw, hopefully their just put up on a bed when we get back."

"They had active Auras when Winter took care of them," Nikos added. "All they'll need is some time to rest. At least, I'm rather sure of it. Yang didn't need more than some rest, and she went through far worst." Wait, the Xia-Long girl?

"What happened to her?" Cardin asked. The faces the pair gave him were pretty telling. The same one his mom used to give him when he asked where she went last night. "I mean really, what happened. I didn't even see her on the bullhead."

"Her whole team was absent, actually," Sky added on. Cardin saw him thinking of something. "Where they being punished for something?"

"What? No! They just… gotta a little carried away yesterday." Cardin raised a brow at the idea. The hell could the freaking brawler of the school, a chick that literally lit herself on fire for strength, to do go too far? Did she piss off Elrora again? "I-It's nothing, really. Next time you see her, she'll… I don't know, do something."

"Smooth Arc, real smooth," Cardin nodded down at the kid. "Whatever, doesn't matter to me. This is what matters to me." He turned around as he spoke, facing the giant Lynel again.

The dead giant Lynel. Killed by him, with the help of others. This really did matter a whole lot more than some long-haired blonde.

"Yeah… actually, it raises a good question." Cardin looked at Nikos, the girl holding her chin like she would during a test. He knew because he tried looking off of her answers sometimes. To no success. "If we were being judged by a point criterion, how do these points factor."

Actually, that was a good question. Good thing he had the right answer.

"Their ours," Cardin spoke up, hand hitting the steel of his plat mail. "I dealt the killing blow. My team gets the points." Sky backed him up on that, definitely. Didn't matter if the Golden Girl was glaring at him. This wasn't a fight, at least with fists.

"Yeah, but, we were the ones who disarmed it, and knocked it around, a lot," Arc added on. Cardin snorted at him. "I'm serious. Besides, with Winter being here as well, how does that play into the points." That he didn't have an answer for.

"I believe I can answer that." Spoke the woman herself.

Cardin turned to look at her, to see the woman marching towards them, hands folded behind her back and posture straight. If it weren't for the fact that he'd seen her fight, it would've been hard to say she had at all. Guess that was a pro for you. And he was gonna be that someday, even better.

"First, Mr. Lark," she spoke as she held her hand out. "Thank you for giving me use of your Scroll. We will have a bullhead present in a manner of minutes." Well that was good at least. Sky took the Scroll from her, pocketing it away.

"Secondly, I spoke to the exam proctors regarding the testing parameters." Cardin straightened himself to his tallest, ready for the good news. "Due to the unexpected difficulties associated with this fight, as well as the lack of preparation for scoring the monster, a special decision has been reached."

Special how? Cardin didn't like where this was going. Saying something was special was a kinder way of saying it was messed up.

And wouldn't you know it, he was right.

* * *

Ruby knew her friends would make the cut. Well, knew may have been a strong word, but she had extremely high confidence that they'd make it.

JNPR was _amazing_ , and everyone knew it. Weiss always said earlier in the year that they should follow their team's lead, minus Jaune's lack of form. And really, Ruby knew what she meant, except for the Jaune part.

They were _awesome_ friends, like the coolest. Nora made great pancakes, Pyrrha was great for sparing, Ren made tea _and_ coffee, and Jaune was just funny! Funny in a good way, not Yang's way.

So yeah, she knew JNPR would make the cut. But, she honestly thought they'd _all_ make the cut.

Not half of them.

"Just you two?" Blake asked, eyes moving between the 'winning' pair of team JNPR. Though still exhausted from the ordeal of battle the night prior, she wasn't bed-ridden. That was Yang. "Jaune and Pyrrha, and _just_ Jaune and Pyrrha?"

"Just the two of us," Pyrrha agreed. Ruby couldn't tell what she was thinking. That was a bad sign. It was _always_ a bad sign when you couldn't tell what a friend was thinking. "According to Ms. Goodwitch, Ren and Nora failed to qualify because they were knocked out early on." 'Knocked out' was the right way to say it. Ruby could tell just by looking at the JNPR pair.

Lain up on beds in the same infirmary room as her own team. Their own beds, of course, because sleeping in the same bed was a _bad_ thing. But a worse thing was the fact they were knocked out cold _still_.

Ruby couldn't say they looked _bad_. Actually, it was like they just went too far during a duel. It wasn't like they were _seriously_ hurt or anything, not with Uncle Qrow and Winter around them when it happened.

But getting hit over the head by that Lynel thing wasn't exactly something anyone could shake off. Yang would probably have been put in the bed, too. At least, if she wasn't still in her bed with bandages around her head to protect her ears.

Ruby felt like groaning again. She hated sitting in an infirmary room, no matter how many times she was told that they were all okay. If they were okay, then they could just wake up.

"Which really shouldn't matter," Jaune added on. Added on with his hands rubbing his temples and head bowed down. He looked tired, like Jaune tired. "But when we have to team up with _other_ students, then apparently it does. It shouldn't, but it does." And Ruby agreed, it shouldn't.

"Well… the logic is there that Ren and Nora failed to complete the examination." Ruby whirled back at Weiss, her partner sitting on the edge of her bed. Well, the medical bed, not her bed. Difference enough. "However, I do agree that the very effort of confronting and stalling the Lynel was a group effort. Additionally, separating a team designed for teaching communication in the battlefield seems dubious."

"Stupid, the word you're looking for is stupid," Ruby added on her partner's sentiments. It was stupid, and she knew that Yang would agree with her. Actually, she knew Yang would be screaming, but that was too much. Everyone was too tired. "I mean, yeah, they got hurt early on, but if you're going to the mines with Link and Winter, then wouldn't it be good to have your whole team?" Ruby couldn't think of taking a mission without her whole team. It just seemed dumb.

"Wait, mines? What mines?" Jaune asked aloud. Ruby kept talking though.

"I mean, and it's even _stupider_ that you have to go with _Cardin_ and _Sky_." Ruby still didn't like them. They were bullies. Bullies that bullied Jaune and even Velvet early on. Bullies weren't good people.

They become bigger bullies. Bullies that took advantage of others and tried to hurt them for enjoyment. The kind of bullies that really shouldn't be walking around and making jokes. Bullies like Roman… There had to be a way to fix this.

"Maybe… maybe if we tell Link about how Cardin has been acting, he'll reconsider!" Ruby looked up at the idea. It seemed like a good one. There was no way Link would take a bully with him, and he wasn't here long enough to know what Cardin had done.

"That likely won't work." Ruby puckered her lips and narrowed her eyes at Blake. Her teammate didn't seem insulted by the look. "I don't disagree, Ruby, I just suspect that Link was given that information by Ozpin earlier." And, yeah, that made sense, too.

"Plus, he did help us, kinda," Jaune added on, scratching the back of his head. Then wincing as lifted his arm too high. " _Not_ just with the Lynel, I mean. He did help us when all those kids ended up in our room."

Wait, he did what?

"Penny did, too. Actually, Cardin started to help after Penny told him to. I don't know _why_ , but I know that he did." Ruby didn't get it at all. She was going to have to ask her friend about that. "But really, yeah, I _really_ want Nora and Ren to come with. That'd be better, so much better, the absolute best."

Ruby felt a grin pull at her lips as her friend rolled his head with her words. Like she thought before, Jaune was funny. The good kind of funny. The funny that made her smile.

"But I mean… I-I don't think he'd do something bad to us while we're alone with a couple of pro-hunters, right?" His eyes looked around the room with the question. Ruby wasn't sure where to look, at him or her friends.

"He does prefer to act out when alone," Weiss agreed, stretching her head while rolling it. She said she needed to work her muscles to accelerate her recovery. Ruby was just ready to get the ice when she needed it. "But I'm curious what you said regarding Penny, the… sudden-exchange student."

She was going to say robot. Ruby could see it in her partner's eyes. She was going to say robot then stopped herself. That was good, but it would be sort of funny to have Weiss screw it up before Ruby did. At least for a little bit.

"Actually, I didn't really get it either," Jaune continued. "Penny was helping us taking care of the kids that were… burned and stuff." Ruby clenched her fists at the memory of the fire, the forest, the building, and _Roman_. "Cardin came in and, well, Penny said that he owed her. So, he, like, owed up." That didn't sound like the right word.

Then again, this didn't really sound like a good situation either.

This was just all… too fast. Even for her, it was just too fast.

She was supposed to be able to sense danger faster, and get to it, thanks to Impa but… This just didn't feel right, and she didn't know what to do.

Her team had helped save Link and Moraine and a bunch of orphans, but now her sister was letting her Aura heal her ears and her teammates building up their own reserves. Her friends had taken down a Super Grimm, like Jaune called it, but half their team wasn't allowed to go on a hunt.

And both of those things happened within a couple of days of one another. What happened to special events with boring weeks in between? What happened to Beacon being fun? This wasn't fun, this was tense.

And tense things made her nervous. Nervous like being in a room with her teammates and friends, seeing bullet sand fire when she looked at her team, screaming when looking at her sister, and disappointment looking at Nora and Ren. It was just… too much.

"I'm… going for a walk." Ruby stood up as she spoke, turning around just as quickly. She didn't get far.

"Wait, Ruby, where are you going?" Weiss asked her, talking to her back. Ruby was looking at the door. She didn't answer though, because she didn't know. "Did something happen?" Yeah, too much. Too much had happened.

"No," she _lied_ back. But… lying felt needed right now. Not lying would mean telling the truth which would be adding more stress to her injured teammates and friends. And that was worse than lying. "I just… don't like doing nothing." Well that was true at least.

"Yeah, well, I'd trade you for fighting that monster again," Jaune spoke up. Ruby turned and looked at him, his smile on his face. And it was his smile, the kind of smile he made when he was trying to be cool. A Jaune smile. "Cause here I thought clubbing was supposed to be fun."

Clubbing? Ruby looked at him confused. He hadn't done that. That was what Yang did on Patch. What was…

The Lynel's weapon. The giant metal _clubs_. She felt her head spin with conflicting emotions.

That was funny, yeah, but it was _puny_. That was Yang talk. _Yang_ funny.

"Oh Jaune, please don't," Pyrrha spoke for one side of Ruby's emotions. "I'm sorry but, though I appreciate the effort, that was just…"

"Bad, it was bad," Blake finished. "It feels wrong to even hear it." In Ruby's opinion, that may have been a bit extreme.

"Uh, sorry then," Jaune added on. "Just trying to cheer up the mood, you know? I mean, not that anyone's upset, at least majorly upset, I think." And there was Ruby's kind of funny, the kind of funny that made Jaune her friend.

"Just… forget about it," Weiss instructed. "And Ruby," said team leader looked at her partner. She stared at the worried blue eyes looking back at her. "If you do go for a walk… promise me you'll come back before you do anything extreme, okay?" That confused her, a lot.

What did Weiss think he was going to do? It was just a walk, the kind of walk her dad went on a lot back on Patch. Just to relax, calm down, and focus a bit. Then again, her team wasn't exactly at 100%.

"Okay, I promise," she replied, nodding with her words. Her partner was worried about her, but Ruby was the team leader, so she could do more than simply worry. "And you and Blake make sure you sleep, a lot. I can get cookies and hot milk if that'll help." Cookies and milk helped everything.

"I'll take some cookies!" Jaune spoke up, raising a hand up at the idea. Ruby grinned at him, even as all eyes turned to him. "What? It's been a long day and I'd a cookie. It'll help calm me down." Like Ruby said, her kind of friend.

"Okay, I'll get some," she promised. "Be back soon." She opened the door and walked out, shutting it behind her with a snap.

Almost immediately, she realized how alone she was.

It was night time now, with most of the other students and faculty members asleep or in their rooms. The hallways, especially those connected to the infirmary, were pretty much as empty as empty could be. It was pretty far away from relaxing.

But it was quiet, and quiet was good. At least right now. Quiet meant something wasn't happening. That was good.

Ruby walked down the halls, boots clicking against the floor. Her breathing was slow, arms folded over her chest, rising and falling with each breath that she took. Her chest felt tight, and her arms weak, it wasn't a good feeling.

Was this what being a team leader was like? Ruby didn't think it was, at least to her. She thought it was about finding problems, fixing them, and depending on her teammates and friends to make it happen. All she had done recently was worry.

And like her dad always said, worrying made you go bald. She should have been like Yang, who must have been worry free. With hair as long as hers, that made sense.

Then again, Ruby did have the shortest hair on the team. Jaune, too. Was that they were team leaders? So that when they went bald from stress there wasn't a lot lost? Well that was stressful to even think about!

Being a team leader was _really_ stressful.

Ruby flexed her fingers together as she continued to walk. There was a lot to think about. And as a team leader, it was her job to assess everything in front of her and make a decision, aware that her decision would affect people other than herself. No matter how stressful it was.

That was what Weiss told her. And Ms. Goodwitch, and Ozpin, and her Uncle, and Yang, and her dad. Actually, everyone told her that.

It didn't mean she had to like it.

Thinking was what she did a lot of when she was alone but thinking while alone didn't do anything! She couldn't make up new designs for Crescent Rose by just thinking. She couldn't make her team better by just thinking.

She needed to act. But right now, she didn't know what to do. So, she did what she did a lot of back on Patch.

She walked. Just like her dad. At least she wasn't walking out like Yang's mom.

Eyes to the ground, focused on her thoughts, and walking up and down the hallways. Walking was what her dad told her would keep her mind on an 'even-keel' as he called it.

The only thing Ruby needed to when she walked-

**BOOMF**

-was focus.

"Ow!" Ruby let out, as she ran into someone. Maybe it was something, because it was hard.

Hard enough to send her tumbling off balance and her butt hitting the ground. Now she was stressed and sore! There was just no winning tonight.

"Owwwww," she moaned now, rubbing her back and sitting up on the floor. It didn't hurt, but sore was bad. Her eyes looked up, wondering who it was she had run into.

And the person in question was obvious.

"Link?" Ruby asked, looking up at the familiar figure.

If it wasn't the green cap and fairies, then it was the ears that sealed the deal. She felt her mouth widen into a grin.

"Link!" She jumped back up, hugging him. Hugging was good, and it was important for good friends to hug. Family was even more important.

They weren't family, but Link was _definitely_ a friend. Tatl and Tael too, but they were too small to hug. Smaller than babies, even if they were just as loud.

Best of all, they were friends that weren't in the infirmary or in trouble. Right now, they were stress free friends! Those were the best kind.

"And hello to you to, Red," Tatl answered back, ringing above Link as she swooped around her. Ruby giggled, stepping away from Link and balancing herself on her heels. "Good to see you still got a spring in your step."

Ruby giggled to that. Yang said that a lot, and Tatl was like Yang. Blonde, loud, protective, and flashed red a lot when she was angry.

Actually, the two were a lot alike. Not that they'd ever admit it. She'd have to tell Jaune later, or maybe Blake. They might get it.

"Yup, springy steps," Ruby let back out, rocking on her boots as she grinned up at Link and his pair of fairies. "Just a girl with springs in her boots." She didn't, at least she was sure she didn't, but that sounded right to say, for some reason.

"Wait, seriously?" Tatl questioned. Maybe it wasn't the right thing to say. "Is that why you're so fast? Your boots?"

"N-No!" Ruby spoke back, maybe a bit louder than she should have. At least, Link blinking at her was a pretty good sign she was too loud, or just being weird. Weird was bad, but maybe not stressful?

It was all confusing at least.

"Actually, you know what, never mind." Ruby shook her hands as she spoke, like she was trying to beat of oil on hands from working on Crescent Rose. "Put that aside. Like, really aside, so far aside you forget we ever talked about it." That would be ideal.

But Ruby only ended up biting her lips as she looked up at Link, slowly nodding his head. And he had that look on his face. _That_ look. The look Yang or her dad gave her when she talked a lot. She didn't know if it was good or bad.

"How about we talk about… where _you_ are going!" She asked the point as she pointed at Link. Talking about him was a good idea. At least it wasn't talking about her, which was a bad idea.

"Us?" Tatl asked, ringing as she bounced in the air She did that a lot, at least as far as Ruby saw. "Well, guess that's a fair question. We're actually going in different directions." But that didn't make sense.

"We're going to keep Moraine company, actually," Tael answered. And it wasn't what Ruby expected. Weren't they always around Link? Like, that was what they had promised? "We're not going to see her for a while… a-as in a week or so. So…" Oh! Oh, she understood now.

"You want to make sure she's okay before you head out!" That made sense to Ruby, and she nodded her head in agreement. "Yup, that's a great idea! She'll love to see all three of you!"

"Two, actually, just us." Ruby blinked, even as Tatl hovered around her brother, making that same gray light that was so much fun to stare at. There weren't many lights you could stare at. Wait, that was off topic. "Tael and I promised to teach her how to use the ocarina later, but later is gonna be a while."

"But... it'll be just as long for you, right?" Ruby asked as she turned back to Link. "You're not going to… leave and just… come back later, right?" That would be a bad decision.

Her dad had always told her to make sure you say goodbye before you leave. That was something he always did before he left for work and she left for school, her and Yang. So… so it would be _really_ bad if Link didn't do that.

Link didn't answer. Or maybe he did, and she just couldn't hear him. He just looked… like her dad, actually. Not in the way he looked. Too young and too long ears, even if the hair color was right.

But the way his eyes were lidded, the small smile to his lips, the relaxed shoulders. It was how her dad looked a lot, mostly when he thought she was asleep and _not_ sneaking another cookie. It looked… tired.

"We aren't leaving yet, Red, sheesh," Tatl answered, not Link. Not Link who was staring down at her still. It was the golden fairy buzzing around her. "Sides, Link's going to meet with Superbuzz and the Ice Queen right now. Pre-departure meeting, or whatever the Shad-wannabe called it."

Shad-what-now? Wait, meeting? Ice Queen? Weiss was going to be there? No way, Weiss was with Moraine, who was talking to Penny and JNPR, about CRDL…. It made a lot more sense in her head. But Weiss with Link didn't make sense. But…

"Wait, you meant Winter?" That was Weiss's sister name, and… they were kind of alike. Sisters were supposed to be a lot alike. Supposed in that it was what her dad kept says she and Yang weren't.

"Yeah, Winter," Tatl agreed. "Because those _idiots_ up in their high tower _insisted_ on someone from the Military coming with us…." That made sense actually. Even if it sounded like there was a lot more that Tatl wanted to say. Ruby just couldn't hear it over the low ringing.

It sounded like Yang when she was talking about the bullies at school. Now that made sense.

"Point is that Super Buzz wants to talk to Link and her about the trip. All parties agreed that it's important to talk about the place before they head out, in more detail." Ruby nodded at the words. That did make sense.

"Link will talk to us later," Tael added. Ruby caught the will, not can. They were good friends, or family, or something else. She wasn't sure what else it could be. "So… we thought we could talk to Moraine, because we won't later… and… um…" What else was there?

"Jeez, really Tael?" Ruby blinked at Tatl's question, even as the two fairies rang and drifted apart from one another. She didn't get it. What was wrong? "Long story short, we're talking to Moraine because Link ain't exactly the most active participant when it comes to talking. So, he's going to _listen_ to Super Buzz while we _talk_ to Moraine."

Ruby's mouth opened wide as she raised her head.

"Ooooooooh." She let out slowly. "Ooookay, yeah, that makes sense." Her eyes shot open at the statement, and she whipped back to Link, hands waving like her hair. "I-I mean _not_ that you _can't_ talk, or need to talk, j-just that… Tatl and Tael are _good_ at talking, _not_ that you're bad at talking either or… um…" Her words died in her throat, like her self-esteem.

Ruby bit her lips, pushing her clenched fists to her temples at her own stupidity. She talked too much again. And here she was thinking she was over that.

At least now she stopped herself.

_Poomf_

And she really stopped when she felt the hand on her head.

Silver yes looked up to see light blue gazing back at her, with an arm stretching between them. And between those two, she saw Link's smile gazing down at her. It was a really nice smile, like her dad's after she'd had a long day.

Except Link wasn't her dad, even if it had been a really long day, or week.

"I-I'm fine!" Ruby weakly spoke, batting the hand off her head. Thankfully, unlike her dad, Link didn't persist on keeping it there. "You know you really do act like a dad sometimes."

And just that quickly, Ruby wanted to die.

Her entire body froze as she looked up at Link, feeling her heart stop as well. Link didn't have his grin anymore, but he was still staring at her. And that didn't feel good, at all.

"I-I'm _sorry!_ " She shouted as loud as she could. The way Link flinched, Ruby was sure she hurt his ears.

"I'm _super sorry!_ " She yelled again, this time bowing like her dad told her was important when you were apologizing, like she did at school.

"I'm _really really really really-_ " Ruby stopped when she felt Link double pat her shoulders.

Not tap, pat. The opposite of tap, at least when you spelled it out. His gloved hands were on her shoulders, both of them. It made it hard to look anywhere but at him. So, Ruby did. He was a friend after all.

A friend that was smiling down at her, grinning like professor Ozpin when she met him in the interrogation room. But they weren't in an interrogation room. They were in a hallway. That was much less intense.

And Link wasn't being intense. He wasn't even being stressful, at least not really. He was just… smiling, patting her shoulders and smiling. Maybe he was talking, but Ruby couldn't tell.

But if he was smiling, and he was smiling at her then she should smile back. He was being nice to her after all. And what kind of friend would she be if a she couldn't smile in front of her friends?

A bad friend.

"Better?" Tatl asked from above Link, ringing as she floated around his cap. "Calmed downed at least?"

"No, yes?" Ruby started and stopped, thinking on it. She was still stressed, stupidly so, but it wasn't _as_ bad. So, had she calmed down? "A little I guess. Just… I'm just really stressed. Sorry." She bit her lip as she apologized again.

"It's okay," Tael now, ringing like his sister. "A lot has happened. As in… a lot to think about." Yeah, a lot had happened. Ruby had almost forgotten how majority of it hadn't happened around her.

It had happened around _them_.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked now. If she was stressed, then maybe he was too. And that wasn't a good thing. Weiss was stressed a lot, and she yelled a lot. Maybe Link wouldn't start yelling, but stress was still bad. Or maybe he would yell… but she just couldn't hear him. "Like, mentally okay?"

"Wait, are you asking if Link is mental?" Ruby's silver eyes whipped so quickly to Tatl, she was afraid they'd fly out. "That's rude for you Red."

"N-No!" Ruby quickly yelled back, waving her hands manically. She beat of Link's hands with the action. "I-I'm just worried! I mean, you had to rescue a bunch of kids, and see everything they went through, and help Moraine, and deal with the Lynel, and now you're going on an adventure with Jaune and Pyrrha, a-and that's a lot of stuff!" It was stressing her out!

But Link was still smiling. Actually, maybe he was laughing. It looked like it at least. Looked, not sounded. Did that mean he was laughing at her. No, he wasn't mean like that. He was her friend.

"Okay, Red, chill out, seriously," Tatl instructed, flying about Ruby's head. She was careful not to hit the fairy's bright light. "Link's okay, we all are. Things _were_ kinda stressful, yeah, but this ain't exactly the first-time things like this have happened." Wait, seriously?

"You've been an instructor at other hunter academies?" Ruby asked. Link blinked in response, the fairies ringing. "You've done this before?"

"I said like, Red, as in similar, not the same." Tatl gave a low ring with her words. She sounded a lot like Ms. Goodwitch. That was a different kind of unnerving. "And you need some fresh air, pronto. I'm afraid if you wound yourself any tighter you'd explode."

Well, she was stressed. It was why she was out here, talking to Link… after she tried going on a walk… then running into him. Things were taking a longer time than she thought they would.

"How about… we go see Moraine?" Tael spoke up now, taking over for his sister. "You can talk to Link! At least, I mean, until he gets to the meeting with Doctor Oobleck, right?" She could do that? He could do that?

"That's okay?" Ruby asked Link. It was him she wanted to talk with. Well… talk to. "That's alright?"

He didn't even hesitate before he nodded. Ruby beamed up at him. He really was her friend.

"Okay, sounds good," Tatl agreed. She agreed too? Maybe it was because her brother suggested it. "Just promise to come get us when the meeting's out, kay Link?" She rang above him, bobbing around him as he went. "You're gonna have to fill us in on what happened before we leave. You'll do it a lot better than Super Buzz." Ruby understood that at least.

He nodded at the fairy, grinning the same. The fairies rang in response, flying around him and sprinkling her faunus friend with their dust. Fairy dust, not combat dust. Big difference.

"Alright, play nice you two," Tatl spoke again, flying away from Link with Tael following. "Make sure you get a good night's rest too Red. You need it." Ruby was right, Tatl was _a lot_ like Yang. Too much, actually.

The fairies were out of sight quickly, their glowing bodies lost in the bend of the hallways, even at night. It left Ruby alone with Link. He looked back at her, grinning between his long ears. She smiled back at him. It was easy to smile around him. That made him a good friend.

"I like them," Ruby spoke up. "Tatl and Tael. I mean, when Tatl's not being too mean, I mean. _Wait_ , no, that was rude! I-I mean-" And she was already falling over herself.

She stopped quickly this time when Link patted her shoulder, again. Looking up, this time she saw him waving his free hand side-to-side. He had that look on his face, the look her dad had when she told him about Yang going partying. It was the 'I get it' face.

She guessed that meant Link got it.

"Thanks," Ruby started again, rocking on her boots. She leaned back, taking in a deep gulp of the air. It wasn't fresh, like Tatl told her to get, but it would do. "So, where's the meeting at?" Link didn't answer her. Or maybe he did, but she just couldn't hear.

He did point down the hallway though, the same direction she had come from. Made sense, since she had run into him. It was probably in the conference rooms. Those were near the non-risk infirmaries at least.

"Right, well, should we go?" Ruby twisted towards the hall, pointing down it with a boot raised. Link nodded in return, smiling still. She grinned back. "Awesome!" And she began to walk.

Link walked besides her, arms swinging with eyes forward as he strode on. Ruby had her own eyes on him, watching him as he walked. It wasn't the weird kind of watching, like a lot of guys did to Yang. It was the friend kind of watching, like she did with Weiss. Was that still weird?

Ruby didn't think it was. At least Link wasn't making a big deal out of it. He would just glance at her, smile, and then look back down the hall. Natural, and a bit cool. He really was her friend.

"You know it's kinda funny," Ruby admitted, keeping pace with Link as they walked down the hall. She held back on skipping, as that would be rude to him. "I'm _pretty_ sure I'm the first person to meet you in Remnant, and _definitely_ the first person to bring you to Beacon."

Link nodded beside her, his long-pointed hat waving. His blonde bangs joined suit, making ruby grin.

"It was really cool too, seeing you go through all those tests for Ms. Goodwitch and Ozpin. You were _really_ good at them." She looked up at him on her tiptoes, even as she walked by him.

He nodded again, shrugging this time. Weiss called that 'rude but humble'. She just thought it was humble. Rude was ignoring her, which he wasn't doing.

"It's why it's kind of weird we haven't been able to talk a lot." Really, Ruby didn't even know where those words came from. Sounded more like something out of a movie she'd watch with Yang before bed.

And Link was watching her now.

"I mean, like, just the two of us talking alone." Wait no! That sounded so much worse! " _I-I-I_ mean like when we first met!" Her arms were waving like crazy, and she was sure she was going to fall, walking and flailing like that.

But Link caught her, catching her hand for her to straighten herself. Ruby watched him, and he watched her. It was all he did, too. Just watch her.

Tatl was right. He wasn't much of a talker. But he was easy to talk to.

"Thanks," she started. "And what I mean is… it seems like whenever we get to talk, it's when I'm with my team, or in class, or in front of the headmaster." Those were the only times that Ruby could recall talking to Link in great detail.

She saw his hand rub at his chin, the ends of his fingers pushing the square jaw of his. And it was a nice jaw, firm too. Something that made Ruby want to punch Yang for making her ever realize.

"Funny thing is, I get why, too." Ruby really did. It was something she had to think about when she told her team about it. "When you were just a student here, you were, well… a student. A compadre that was looking to join forces with us and conquer the world!"

She jumped and struck a pose, the same way she knew Nora would. Link stopped walking and stared at her. And he just stared, even blinking a few times. Ruby stopped when she felt her face getting hot.

"But instead… you kinda proved that you were just… _amazing_ ," Ruby fought for a better word and failed. That was honestly the best she had. "I mean, watching you go from new student to lab-experiment then certified teacher _was_ amazing, especially the parts where you took on the Grimm."

She still had to ask how, or why, he asked her team and JNPR could come the Badlands, but that was a question for another time.

"I knew a lot people were going to be talking to you then, too." And Ruby did. Well, Weiss did, and she reminded her. She was the one who knew how the Military and people acted, at least people like the General and Council. She had Yang for street-knowledge

"I just… I guess I thought we'd be better friends than just this." This time Ruby meant to say those words. And because she did, it allowed her to get a good look at Link.

Link watching her swinging arms and contemplative face. He didn't look hurt or offended, which was _good_. But he also didn't look like he was going to stop her. That was also good.

"I mean, we're not _bad friends_ , just… we're not like you and Tatl and Tael." From the way his brows rose, she knew that was a bad example. She wasn't small or loud enough for that.

"Okay, bad example. We're not… _oh_ , we're not like you and Ozpin!" That was a good example. She'd seen them talk a lot, and as friends. Well, when Link was Impa or Elrora and talking, but still talking like friends and not teachers.

And the way Link nodded, eyes looking left and right, she knew he agreed.

"And I get it!" she quickly spoke up. Friends didn't make other friends feel bad, at least on purpose. "You're a super strong hunter from some far off cool land that Blake will give up Gambol Shroud to see." She said she would at least. "And I'm just normal-knees Ruby, trying to get stronger at the best school in Remnant."

She spun on the heel of her boot, keeping pace forward as she did so. Link didn't try to stop her.

"I guess, I just never thought you'd be doing all this crazy stuff when I helped you get here." She admitted as she stopped spinning. "I never… thought all this stuff would happen." And a lot of stuff was happening.

She looked at Link, and this time it was different. Not that she looked at him differently, but he did to her. Because he wasn't just looking at her, he was frowning at her.

He was sad. Oh! Oh!

"Oh no! I-It's not just about you!" She quickly waved her arms in front of him, like she was able to beat away the thought. She could do that to a lot of other stuff at least. "I mean… there was an attack on the city a month ago, Yang said she saw her mom here, Weiss's sister showed up, and… and this isn't what I expected a hunter's life to be like."

And it really wasn't. All the problems were too personal! She wanted to be a hunter to help others, like her mom, and her dad, and her Uncle Qrow. Dealing with stuff in the team… that wasn't being a hunter. That was being a leader, and that wasn't what she had wanted.

"If my dad was here, he'd probably said that this is growing up." Ruby listed in her head. That was something her dad would definitely say, probably after he beat Yang in another boxing set. "Dealing with things you can't beat up, using words instead of weapons… it isn't easy." It really wasn't.

It involved a lot of talking and crying. More crying that she wanted to, or her friends to. Crying just sucked. But then again, if it was growing up, then that meant everyone did it.

Including her adult faunus friend.

"Link," Ruby started as she stopped, walking that is. He did the same, looking at her. "How… how do you do it? I mean, you don't have to tell me, or can tell me, but… I-I know you haven't had an… easy life." He didn't look happy just saying that.

Not mad, but she could tell it wasn't like talking about a game he lost, or a fight. This was bad territory, like mom-in-front-of-dad bad territory. She had to be careful.

"How do you… stay you?" She asked, poking at his chest. He didn't move. "I… I feel like I'm minutes away from throwing my cape off and running into the streets screaming my head off! I won't! But… it feels like it." And it was a weird feeling.

What was weirder though was probably the way Link just grinned at her. Not smiled, grinned, like a dad grin. He had a lot of those. But that usually meant something good was coming, hopefully.

And instead of words, which she couldn't hear him speak, Link reached into his tunic. That meant a tool. Was it going to be a note? Maybe a message? She let her silver eyes stare as he searched into his folds, pulling out what he wanted.

Out came Mikau's mask, staring back at her with hollow eyes.

It wasn't what she expected, at all. But… quicker than she thought she would, Ruby understood. And she _really_ understood.

"Friends," Ruby spoke up, staring at the mask. Her eyes drifted up, looking at Link. He nodded back at her. Ruby nodded in return, slowly. "You've got your friends… so you stay strong." And that made a lot of sense.

It made sense why Tatl and Tael were so against being split up from him. It explained why he did so much for Moraine. It explained why he was trying to help them so much. It explained… everything.

Maybe… maybe Link's wasn't such a big mystery.

Maybe he was just trying to be a good friend.

Ruby smiled, slowly, as she realized that. He really was, too. Even when she was being a poop, as her dad would say, Link was trying to help her. Advice, tips, combat training, even singing once. It was all just to help.

"You're amazing, Link." It was the second time Ruby had said that to him, and she meant it all the same. "I'm _really_ glad I met you in the Everfall." Cause otherwise someone else would first, and that'd be a big deal.

He nodded again, confirming the feeling. Ruby was glad he felt the same. Otherwise this would've been pretty awkward. But he did put Mikau's mask away, the Zora going back into his tunic. Except Link didn't start walking again.

He just turned around and grabbed the door handle. Ruby looked up.

"Wait, this is it?" She asked, pointing at the doorway. Link turned to her, nodding in return. "Geez, didn't realize we got here so fast." And for her, that was doubly weird. She was supposed to be good at keeping track of where she was.

Link's hand rose, palm up and towards her. A goodbye wave, at least Ruby thought it was. The kind of wave old people gave. Link was older, yeah, but not _that_ old.

Still, this wasn't something Ruby wanted to end on that kind of a note. Friends made promises, and Ruby had to be a good friend for link's good friendliness!

"Hey Link!" Ruby spoke to Link, lightly, as he gripped the door. He stopped to look at her, but she kept her grin. "Promise me you'll tell me all about the trip, okay?"

And he grinned back, giving her a thumbs a up in response. That meant it was an iron-clad promise!

As he went inside, Ruby turned away, this time skipping. Now as a good time to skip. Skipping was what you did when things were going well, and things were going great!

Link was going to talk to her later, she was still good friends with him, and there was no way this was going to go wrong! The only thing she had to worry about was-

**BOOMF**

-her focus.

"Ow!" Ruby let out, as she ran into someone.

 _Again_.

* * *

As a doctor, it was important to be aware of the variables that existed in all experiments. These variables could range from simple changes in the value of the outcome or making the test inconclusive.

The variable he was addressing at the current moment was the clear lack of energy both of his surveying partners possessed.

True, it was a variable, meaning that days ago they were just as likely to be this tired and equally likely they could have been refreshed and prepared for an in-depth discussion. But the current environment was what mattered when conducting business, and the current environment showed that both Link and Winter were tired.

Tired, but very much awake. But awake did not mean good health. And health was very important.

"Link, Winter, are you both well?" Dr. Oobleck asked as he looked from Winter to Link.

Both of them were sitting at the simple table in the simple room, a simple place to hold in depth conversations. Free of distractions, meant for equal exchange of voices, no leader of the conversation, and excellent room.

It also let him have good visibility of both Link and Winter. They being only on opposite sides of the table and not other ends of a classroom.

"If this is a bad time we may discuss later. Not much later, but later." Much later would be too late. "We could reconvene in a few hours' time. Two hours, maybe three." Perhaps late, but a good nap would solve most issues.

Sleep was unnecessary when one napped enough, he knew this.

"That is unnecessary," Winter spoke first. "I am fatigued, yes, but I am more than able to listen to the discussion of our coming departure." Oobleck nodded at her. Diligent, effective, a fine huntress indeed.

Link did not speak, as Dr. Oobleck knew he would not hear him. Instead, the foreign faunus warrior gave a thumb up, grinning confidently. Confident smiles were good, showing the obvious. It was excellent!

"Excellent! Very well!" He started, clapping his hands and grinning with delight. There were many reasons to be happy. "Then to begin, first, congratulations to you both on a successful test. Dangerous, unplanned, a bit flawed, but an effective test nonetheless."

Both of the hunters nodded, though with diverting eyes. Shame, perhaps guilt, unimportant though. Merely a conversation breaker regardless.

"To begin, first, most importantly, we talk about the location." Dr. Oobleck began, placing his Scroll on the table.

The holographic image he had shown in Ozpin's office came to life, projecting up off the simple table and showing a far from simple image. He had added much to it, researching the location over the past day, while much else happened. Research was important.

"All prior data regarding the location remains unchanged, invariable." It didn't deviate between the few sources he found, which was excellent. Conflicting reports caused many problems. "Monument Mine, a high-surface mining operation headed by Schnee Dust Corporation sum 36 years ago, during the observation of Schnee Senior."

Winter made no noise of curiosity or question. She understood. Link had heard this before. He understood as well. Excellent students.

"The mine is perhaps 100 meters deep at its lowest with parallel and concurrent tunnels. It has the properties of room and pillar extraction but is underdeveloped due to the cancellation of the extraction process."

He paused, tapping on his Scroll again. This was the time when students, the eager and curious, would ask questions. However, Winter remained perfectly poised listening to him, and he doubted Link would question either way. So long as they understood, it was okay. Preferred, in fact.

"The mining town, external, underdeveloped, is lacking in significant threats. Buildings too deeply decayed, rot like material, using present resources, trees." Few wooden buildings survived so long without upkeep. These homes were not among them. "Good location for base set up, preparation for mine entrance. In other words, secure more current information."

"Question," Winter spoke up. Dr. Oobleck was quick to turn his attention to her. It would be improper of an instructor to not. "What further information are we hoping to gain from the town? If it is as decrepit as you describe, would not all reasonable data be lost?" And she was as astute as her sister! If not more so. Perfect!

"Excellent point! Well observed," Dr. Oobleck indicated with a point of his finger, before dancing along his scroll. The town came into view, in more detail, or at least the last observable picture of the location. "Information we are seeking are not documents, data, or otherwise similar forms. In truth, we are seeking current data."

The hologram altered itself, showing the many airchutes that populated the mine. They were common amongst many mines, low-surface at least. More chutes meant more air. More air meant better conditions. Important for miners.

"The stability, and safety, of the mine is contingent upon the air chutes," Oobleck began, pointing up at the image his Scroll projected. "Decades of nonuse undoubtedly made them decrepit, contaminated, clogged. Many bad things, harmful things. Need to ensure the capability of the chutes, clean them, then descent."

Winter nodded in understanding. Link did the same. Excellent. Few students meant few heads to check. They could proceed quickly.

"Now, old schematics are well-documented, but outdated." Oobleck tapped on his Scroll once more. The images were replaced with schematics, blue-prints scanned and designed by the Schnee company themselves. "Many circumstances for altering the design of the cave. Burrowing or nesting Grimm, natural seismic activity, unrefined Dust explosions, many capabilities. Will make travel slow, to ensure safety on approach."

"Question," Winter once more posed. Oobleck nodded to her, happy to answer. "Would it not make more sense to split up once we are in the mine? By my count, we will have three hunters with us, as well as a proto-type Atlesian battle mech. Could the students not divide amongst us?" Oobleck noted Link's sight at the statement.

Not curiosity, not confusion, disdain. Interesting. Not a bad plan, not impractical. Knowledge was there, but wisdom was not.

"Division of groups must be done minimally as possible," Qrow continued. "Too much division within the excavation of the mine's interior may lead to a lack of conversation, groups being dispatched before reporting dangers. However, larger numbers ensure greater safety."

Winter was unsatisfied, as Oobleck could tell. Like a student that didn't understand the answer to the question. Quite the same, actually.

"In truth, division of two best. One to explore one path, another the other. Or, ideally, one for stable communications, the other for exploration. Ensures safety for exploring and minimizing Grimm ambushes. More, however, is risky. Risky in a mine is dangerous." In truth, it was dangerous anywhere, but a mine more so.

Cave-ins or burials were all too common. It was not to be forgotten it was also a defunct Dust Mine. Low yield, perhaps, but far from non-fruitful. Simply not substantial.

"Very well, I defer to your judgement," Winter relented. A military woman indeed. "When are we to be satisfied in the mine, assuming no fruitful items are found?" Removed the obvious answer for an in obvious question, and a good question.

"Yes! Excellent point. Need a break off point." Link looked at him, confused. Perhaps he didn't understand. "Not abandonment, not that. Simply, the idea that this is not a guarantee to find Navi. Lower than 100%, though greater than 82, perhaps 83." He wasn't entirely sure which. Every new fact altered the chance.

"Doctor," Winter spoke his title, correctly at that.

"Right, Link, we must be prepared for this trip to be unsubstantial," Dr. Oobleck spoke on. "Similar to an idea of searching the entire Everfree. Need a substantial crew, and time, and resources. None are available. Similar situation here. The mine may be explored, thoroughly at that if size is maintained substantially to records. However, major alterations, many changes, may lead to a slow progression."

The faunus did not reflect any confusion. He was nodding slowly, the same way eager students did. Oobleck continued.

"If little information is gained, or insubstantial resources gathered, the exploration will need to be determined. Conclusion, Navi is not present. However," Doctor Oobleck held up a finger. "Difficult to discern without data. Require indications that would precede finding said fairy fountain. Similar aspect, sighting palm trees or flora in a desert for an oasis." It was similar.

And Link nodded again, in understanding. But more than that, held up his own hand, while another grabbed his chin. Thoughts, thinking, perhaps of signs as well. He had few from Tatl and Tael, but not enough. No such thing as too much, however.

He held up his hands again, finger waving above his head, both of them. A pair of fairies.

"Your companions?" He guessed. Link nodded. "They will assist? Of course, not your conclusion. No, oh! Will they be able to sense the presence of another fairy?" That made more sense.

And Link's pointing hand was point enough.

"Excellent then!" Dr. Oobleck agreed. "Then, upon the confirmation of Tatl and Tael regarding the absence of similar fairy activity, we may conclude the investigation of the mine, upon searching approximately 80-90% of its recorded size, reducing as damages become apparent." Exciting as the prospect was, they could hardly excavate the mine entire. Some, but not all. Perhaps two or three tunnels.

"Another question, doctor," Winter spoke. He was more than happy to listen to those who addressed his title properly. "What tools will we be bringing with us? In a mine, I suspect we will need more than standard equipment." Truly a Schnee like her sister, always prepared.

"Correct, Ms. Schnee," Oobleck returned. His fingers danced across his pad as he began to answer. "A list has been generated regarding tools we are capable of bringing, hand or carry tools of course being priority. No major excavation or vehicles. Too costly, too large." Too cumbersome, in truth.

The list popped into view on his Scroll, just his Scroll. He lifted it off the table to read, the hologram fading.

"Ignoring rations, focusing on extravagant tools. We need lightly ground fire Dust for reigniting lanterns present, a few spare lanterns as well, six-to-seven foot expanding support poles for damaged wall sections, and perhaps high-density shovels and pickaxes." Those were the basics, but any additions, with reason, were acceptable to hear.

Or, in the case of Link, a wave.

"Is something wrong?" Winter asked for him. "Do you not agree with the list." And in response, the silent faunus shook his head. That was an incorrect descriptive term, however. Link was not silent, merely quiet, like Fox of team CFVY. Similar, though not entirely the same.

So it was of little surprise to see Link motion for his Scroll, leaning forward as he did so. Curiosity in controlled environments often lead to great rewards, and now was such a case.

"Certainly," Dr. Oobleck spoke as he handed the tool over. "Do you need help reading it? I understand our characters are different." Different enough at least, he believed so.

Yet Link only lightly shook his head as he turned the Scroll around, displaying the text to them. He and Winter watched, curiously, as Link drew his finger over a couple of lines, perhaps to indicate removing them from the list.

Specifically, the pickaxe and shovels.

"Those are important, necessary, tools for excavating any damaged tunnels," Dr. Oobleck explained. "As well as further digging into any areas your companions indicate have a high probability of non-Grimm life. Without them, further exploration will be extremely difficult."

When Link shook his head again, he was grinning. Smiling in response to a negative comment usually implied implicit and immediate knowledge. That was interesting. Did Link perhaps have a tool that would better supplement for basic mining equipment?

"What are you proposing?" Winter asked for him. "Do you have something that we may use for assistance?" Ah, the wording, that was key! It gave Oobleck the idea, the realization!

It wasn't something.

"No, someone!" He pointed at Link, knowing what his faunus compatriot meant now. "A friend to assist us, yes! The cave dwelling and mining experts of Hyrule, if suspicion is correct!" And he was confident in them.

The sure smile from link was proof of it.

"I'm confused," Winter added on now. "Are you suggesting… one of Link's… masks can assist us?" Correct, but incorrect. Correct answer, improper grammar.

"No, I am not," Dr. Oobleck continued. "Link has the assistance of a friend. Darmani, if I may guess without my notes. Limited knowledge currently, only superficial, related to the races entire."

He picked back his Scroll from Link, shutting down one application and loading the other. His notes were extensive, and simple software for documentation was not sufficient enough. There was hardly ever enough room.

"Yes! Here!" Dr. Oobleck cheered as he found the page. "Gorons, the rock-dwelling faunus species of Hyrule. Predominantly subterranean, unmatched experts in mining excavations in even extremely hazardous environments. High durability complemented with few requirements for nourishment." No water in truth. A diet consisting of flavored and specially melded rock. An interesting species to be sure. He was sure.

"Gorons," Winter repeated. "It sounds akin to a clan from the wilds." Perhaps her family's heritage showing through, but not incorrect to assume. Hyrule was not like the kingdoms, not divided and scattered. But divided and well-balanced. A critical difference. "But if I am understanding this, then Link's… friend will be of great assistance."

Link nodded in confirmation, a sure stance that held little difficulties. Likely based up prior use. Undoubtedly. The experience in link transferred to his friends.

"Excellent, superb!" Oobleck cheered again. "An excellent opportunity then, more to see and more to document." If they were no fairies to be found, then there would be a new race of faunus to document in person.

This was likely to be one of the most exciting excavations Dr. Oobleck ever embarked on.

"That's my que!" Oobleck heard the shout. **BAM!** Just before the door was slammed in.

Link and Winter were up and in battle stances, appropriately, but unnecessarily. Commendable given the swiftness of the entry, but unneeded given the individual entering.

Oobleck was familiar with Qrow's odd ways. He was used to odd variables.

"Heya," the loosely dressed man spoke as he entered, saluting with a hunched position. His posture was awfully, worthy of sectioning by military terms. Clearly meant as an insult or jab. "Hope I'm not interruptin' any important parts." He was well aware he wasn't.

"No, Qrow. But if it eases your conscience, your very presence is a distraction no matter the moment." Dr. Oobleck was impressed with manner in which Winter retorted. It was practiced, like science.

"Ow, princess," Qrow returned, grinning all the same. "You really gotta watch your words. Given me frostbite over here in Spring." Glaring eyes was the retort from Winter. Confusion in Link's. Interesting.

Was he unaware of the seasonal difference, or perhaps their names. He had not posed to Tatl or Tael yet the names of seasons in their homeland, only times of the year. Snow fall, leaf fall, heat waves, but never names. Perhaps that was the confusion.

"Besides, this meeting is information regarding our departure the day after tomorrow. It does not involve you or your interferences," Winter returned. Her punctuation with her words was impressive, and clearly practiced. Perhaps she had spoken at length with Qrow before. Highly likely.

"Aw, don't be like that. I even brought a friend with me." That was hardly new by Qrow's terms. He often brought in unsuspecting individuals with his dealings, normally to provide cover for himself. Often, actually. "And last I heard, she wants ta know aaaall about this trip."

He reached beyond the door frame, grabbing at someone. The 'eep' Oobleck heard was familiar. Not intrinsic or familiar, merely familiar. Curious, not troubling.

"Wait! Uncle Qrow stop!" Ruby Rose protested as she was dragged into the room. That was troubling. "You heard Weiss's sister, we shouldn't be here! This is bad!" Yet she did not leave before.

Thinking back on Qrow's entrance and words, a reasonable conclusion was that he was listening in. Assuming Ruby was present long enough to be aware of the conversation, then she had ample time to leave.

A pity. Being caught was a poor outcome to any scenario.

"C'mon Rubes, when's the last time you listened to your sis?" Qrow asked his niece, with his usual smile. The young Miss Rose ducked her head at the question. Familiar relationships. The ultimate variable to outsiders. "See?"

Regarding Ooobleck's previous thoughts on Link's confusion, perhaps Link was merely more like the young Ruby Rose. They did look oddly identical in the moment. Superficial, of course, purely superficial alone. Link did have the same look of disbelief.

"Sides, it sounds like yer all done, aren't ya?" Qrow now asked the room. In truth, they were. Or at least Dr. Oobleck was satisfied with this meeting. Perhaps more could come from preparations tomorrow, but unlikely. "And I'm not here ta eavesdrop, anymore." Oobleck heard that. "I came cause you both had a hell of a past two days, and there's only one way to make up for wild hunts like that."

Though Oobleck was aware of both the events and Qrow's insinuation, he was not pleased with his friend's usual habits. That is the constant non-variable of his drinking.

That, and pushing it on others. Constantly, frequently, often.

"Uncle Qrow!" Miss Rose now protested, again, still caught firmly in her uncle's grasp. "It's too late for that." And astute observation.

"It's drinking time somewhere." A poor retort.

"I'm too young!" An excellent point.

"Ya won't be drinking." A reasonable counter.

"Bad things happen when people get drunk!" Not always, but not false either.

"So, do the best things." Less true than Ruby's objection, but also not whole false.

"I must object to the drinks," Dr. Oobleck found the time to intervene, holding up his hand. To control variables, timing was everything. "The combination of high caffeine and alcohol, especially with content above a 12% threshold, is disruptive to the digestive process." He would vomit, for sure.

"It's after nine at night, what are you still drinking coffee for?" Qrow's question was too simple to not know the answer.

To stay awake of course.

"I… will have to decline as well, Qrow," Winter, however, retorted to the arguing uncle and niece. "The consumption of alcohol is prohibited during my hours and times of deployment. Doing so now would be a detrimental to the rules of the Atlesian Military."

A practiced response, calculated, even, monotone. It meant one obvious conclusion to Oobleck. She was lying.

"Nah, you want some," Qrow retorted. Given Oobleck's observations, he was correct. "C'mon. It's like ya said, you got a day to sleep it off. Who wouldn't want a drink after the day you had?" Many people, in fact. Dr. Oobleck was aware he'd prefer some compensation pay and a day off to document his experience.

But Winter was apparently keen on some form of inebriation, or similar to there. She was eyeing the glass of alcohol rather fondly.

"I suppose… in good company." Ah, a key limitation to the act. Smart, clever. Limiting the chances of misdoings by having compatriots nearby.

Then again, perhaps Qrow was not the greatest man to have around if such was occurring. At least Link would be present, and the faunus seemed many times more honorable than Qrow.

"Oh, you up for it?" Qrow asked, the emerald garbed faunus. It just as long for Dr. Oobleck to notice said faunus had his hand raised. Dr. Oobleck was ashamed to admit he had missed it. Perhaps he was too focused on addressing Ms. Schnee's mental state.

He didn't have time to deduce Link's.

"Heh, probably different than any stuff you're used to back home. Don't' worry, you'll love the stuff." Qrow threw out the remark as his foot caught and dragged over the end of a chair. "C'mon Red, take a seat." Miss Rose appeared now, in Oobleck's professional opinion to be a metaphorical deer in the headlights.

"You do not need to if you don't want to, Ruby Rose," Winter spoke up now. "I would, in fact, encourage you to retire for the evening. Perhaps to relieve my sister of her worries." A commendable choice of words.

"Actually, I… kind of need a break from the team." A curious sentiment to have. Usually most following long missions or infighting through disagreements. As far as Oobleck was concerned none of those had happened. Then again, they had assisted greatly in the nasty business with Roman Torchwick. Perhaps that had something to do with it. "Besides I'm… good at helping people get to bed. Slumped over, lazy, tired, dragging, people to bed."

There were few variables or names Oobleck could think of to give Ruby Rose such an experienced history. One such name was present.

"That's harsh Red," Qrow answered, no denying his place in her past. "But yer not wrong. Heck, maybe you'll get a good story out of this later, fishing me out from the table before classes start." This was not a classroom, and likely never would be.

Regardless, there were other matters to think about. Namely, himself.

"I shall be retiring for the evening," Dr. Oobleck spoke up. "I must ensure all equipment is acquired before travels, as well as securing the means." Standard Bullhead, of course, but those were so often to be taken for joy rides these days.

"Sounds good, take care, doc!" Qrow waved him off. A conflicting emotion arose at the name, but he brushed it off. Miss Rose waved to him tentatively, perhaps hoping to join him outside of the room.

Then again, she looked just as eager to see where the night went when her teacher and the elder sister of her teammate were drunk together. It was quiet the odd combination of variables. If they were of similar individuals in his life, Oobleck would have loved to observe them.

But they were not, and he was tired. He needed a few hours to rest, and the weary waited for no one.

Swift as he was known to enter, Dr. Oobleck departed.

* * *

As far as Qrow was concerned, everything was perfect. Perfect as could be.

He was hanging out with his niece, the school was safe, Grimm were being slaughtered who knows where, and he had a drink in hand. That was just a good night, though, like a long night with his old teammate Tai.

What made it a great night was getting others drunk. What made it perfect was who was getting drunk.

Those being the prim and proper princess of the Atlesian Military and the savior faunus of some far-off who-knows-where land. It was something worthy of an art piece, or just some good memories down the road.

Seeing the pride and joy of the Atlesian Military, holding her posture like some Victorian painting ready to collapse, was a prize in itself. Looking at her face flushed as she tried to hold it in was even better. He was about a hundred percent sure she was using her legs to keep her straight under the table.

Then again, she was able to at least keep _most_ of her prime-and-proper posture intact. Four glasses in and still talking, that was something to brag about later, if she remembered.

The faunus though, that was a fun story. Clearly the Hyrule place wasn't big on alcohol, or just didn't have the good stuff, because Link wasn't exactly what Qrow would call a good drinking buddy. Least not if you wanted a night on the town.

Seeing him leaning back in the chair, like he was in the middle of the longest lecture of his life, was great. And man, seeing that much red on a man in green really did something for the imagination. At least it made it easier to imagine old Oz like this.

"This is bad." Then again, not everyone was drunk. Even Qrow knew better than to give his niece that kind of poison.

Seeing her sitting stiffly in the chair next to him, looking around like some kid who walked down the wrong alley, was all kinds of fun though. The good kind of fun, the fun her dad might get mad at, but not angry at. That was how Qrow knew it was a safe kind of fun. Then again, maybe that'd change soon.

"Relax, Red," Qrow cautioned his partner's daughter. "You don't gotta worry about much right now. In fact, think of this as nights to come with your sis." He knew Yang would be one heck of a partier when she hit the right age.

Then again, maybe she wouldn't wait. He didn't, and he turned out great!

"That's what I'm afraid of!" She whined back. That got a chuckle out of him. "Link looks like he's going to be sick, and that's bad! But Winter looks like she's going to punish me, and that's worse!" Well, at least she had priorities, even if they weren't that straight.

"You will not be… punished," Winter tried to speak. Least he could understand her. Maybe she needed another glass. "You are my sister's… … partner." He was sure the glass was going to fall out of her hand with the gesture she made. It didn't, but it was close.

Probably meant they were both under enough to get started.

"Okay, gut spilling time." Qrow clapped his hands together, ringing them as he looked between the foreign faunus and high-horse heiress. Or ex-heiress.

"Really, Qrow?" The Ice Queen returned. Not even a gallon of alcohol could change that glare of hers. At least her voice was shaking. At least she was still put together better than Link. Poor guy was waving.

"You're goin' on a dangerous mission, one that'll probably have ya depending on one another. And, as tradition says, that means you gotta spill some beans before you head out." Qrow had never done anything of the sort in his entire life.

Drinking, yes, all the time. Before a mission, during a mission, after a mission. Ozpin told him once he did it in his sleep. Probably true. But that just meant he was a pro at keeping his lips shut.

From the way the two hunters in front of him were waving though, that wasn't a trait they shared. Alcohol really was the language of the soul. Or was that music? Tough to say right now.

"I-Is this okay?" Qrow looked at Ruby, his niece looking about as comfortable as Glynda at a rave. It was hard to miss the way her hands were gripping her seat. Kind of the same way Qrow remembered Tai gripping the bottom of the Bullhead. At least she wasn't angry. "Is this safe? Is this allowed? I don't know if this is safe. We probably shouldn't do this."

"It's safe, trust me Red," Qrow put an arm around his niece as she spoke it, pulling her closer as she let out an 'eep' of surprise. "And when have I ever put you or Yang in trouble?"

"You got drunk when Dad was away for a week. You invited a group of Vacou hunters to our home. You burned down the barn, and part of the forest. You fought Grimm with a stick, calling it a challenge. You cut Yang's hair and threw me the scissors…" Qrow grimaced as she leaned away from his niece.

With the peppiness, it was hard to forget she had a mind as sharp as her scythe. Figures she would to, seeing as she was probably the only one with an alcohol level below 7%. Hopefully.

"That is rather harsh, Qrow," Winter, through her now clearly drunken stupor, spoke. Even Link was shaking his head, with the oddest grimace on his face. The blush of red didn't help.

"'Kay, well, I _always_ saved you though, right?" He grinned at her, sure it was straight as his scythe. And que his knowledge of the little girl, she struggled and shifted in her seat, trying to hide the answer. She was about as well-hidden as an Ursa Major among Kindergarteners. "See, so trust me on this."

"O-Okay." Qrow grinned as she slapped her back. The noise of surprise she made was cute as it always was, complete with the pout.

"Awesome." He let out rotating his shoulders and sucking in a breath of air. He had to keep his own head straight if he wanted to dig out the good stuff. "You wanna start Ice Queen? Show that decorum you're so proud of?"

"I am… willing to participate," the Ice Queen began. Because of course she would. Unless her boss was present no way she'd say no to a challenge. "But what is expected of me?" She was talking straight mostly, but that was about it.

She looked about as proper on the chair as a Grimm at a tea party. Fun to imagine stuff.

"Not much, just gotta spill some secrets." Qrow grabbed the neck of the bottle, pouring himself a new glass as she spoke. His flask only did so much, and parties was for bottles. This was close enough. "Somethin' ya probably wouldn't spill at one of yer fancy events. Doesn't have to be big either."

"Why are we doing this again?" Ruby asked. Because of course she did. She asked a lot of question when she was nervous. At least her sister just hit things. That was easier to deal with. "This seems like a bad idea. I mean, telling secrets can be good, but is this okay? I know I'm not a part of _this_ team."

"Ain't a team Red, just a group," Qrow corrected the squirt. "And tellin' secrets is the best way to get relationships goin'. Hard to call the guy you told you about his petty thievery anything less than a friend." At least in the right circumstances. Cops were the obvious exception.

"Well… it did work for us…" The heck? Qrow had no idea what she was talking about. "Right Link?" The hell? Now how was he involved.

And he was nodding in turn. Well, nodding like his head weighed like an anvil by nodding. So, he knew something that happened with his nieces, maybe nieces. Maybe that'd be a good question to ask… Probably would be the first question he'd get out of him.

Nah, that'd be a waste. Rubes would confess for a cookie. He could buy some good stuff later.

"So yeah, secret spilling," Qrow started off again. "You wanna start now princess? Be cordial and all that stuff?" That seemed like the right word.

"Of course," Winter replied, probably missing or ignoring the grin Qrow wore. Alcohol wasn't just a man's best friend. He was the star player of every blackmail event. "I will have you know that I… once… stole a pen from General Ironwood's desk."

Qrow really hoped the blush was from the booze, because otherwise this chick really was pure as snow. Figures.

"That's it?" He asked, making sure the slur of his lips wasn't slowing his own brain. Dangerous thought. "Seriously, just a pen?"

"It was a… _very_ nice pen." And the Ice Queen nodded sagely at it, slowly like her head would fall off if she wasn't careful. What a sight that'd be. "I imagine I could… use it, here… and there. But I never _ever_ returned it." Still not good enough to hold over her head. Doubted the lug of a man even remembered it.

"Kay, well, can't say you didn't try," Qrow answered, sloshing down his drink. Burned so good. "So, Link, what have _you_ got to spill?" Qrow grinned at the faunus, the one among them who was _really_ red in the face. He was easily the drunkest of the three of them.

Qrow looked the pointed eared man in the eyes, looking at them shaking with red rims, then realized something he'd forgotten. Something kind of important.

Link couldn't speak, at least not well.

He was watching him at least do something. At least it looking liked something. Maybe nothing, but everything looked like something when you were drunk, or nothing. Hard to tell the difference.

All Qrow knew for sure was Link, with his head lobbed over and more of a sack of meat than hunter, was moving his lips and nothing was coming out. Kind of felt like he had an eardrum blown out. Not a good feeling.

"He must not remember that we can't hear him," Rubes spoke beside Qrow. He grumbled, twisting his body. Figures he'd forget that detail, too. Not really something you're able to plan for, well at least. "Usually Blake helps us, or Tatl, or Tael, or Penny, or a lot of people."

"Just no one here," Qrow pointed out, looking at Link still. Man, he could talk forever about nothing. First guy he ever met who sounded like nothing. "Well that sucks, and here I was hopin' for a grand ol' tale. Looks like one at least." His arm lifted and fell at Link, who reacted about as much as he expected to it, not at all.

"Indeed," Winter spoke from across from them. Weird, but she was a weird drunk. Better than an angry or sleepy drunk to deal with. Usually made for the best blackmail. Second only to the happy drunk. He was just a pro-drunk. Same sober as he was drunk, minus the smell. Benefit of losing a few livers to the drink.

From the looks of it though, Link wasn't any of those. He was definitely a talking drunk.

"You… are talkin'? Right?" Qrow asked, leaning over the table until he was practically laying on it. As far as tables to fall asleep on, it was a very nice table. "I mean, can ya write it down? Or something?"

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby admonished, even pushing his side. He had to catch himself on the edge of the table. Ruby was strong, but he was drunk. She could seriously put him down. Besides, what was the big deal?

"What? I just wanna know what he's sayin'." He spoke to his niece, puckering her lips up at him like a pout of a kid. Then again, she was one. "How'm I supposed to talk 'bout this later if I can't hear him."

"Truly tragic… depressing indeed." Qrow shifted his head, looking at Winter nodding sagely again. Her eyes were shut as she did it.

"See? Even Ice Queen gets it." He threw out his hand towards her, letting it flop on the table like a wet noodle. Noodles sounded good right now, actually. Maybe with some deep-fried grease.

"Such a tale of guilt… terrible," she spoke on. Now Qrow was confused again. His brows rose as high as they could as the booze in his system tried to pull them down. "Perhaps council is in order. The Military… some militaries, offer great counseling. I can… _attest_ to it."

That, Qrow pocketed. The last bit at least. The first bit, however, was nagging him. Drunk was one thing, but delusional was another. And drinking got rid of illusions or made them quieter. He knew that from experience, _lots_ of it.

"You, uh, okay there princess?" Qrow asked now. Though Winter didn't do much more than usual. Just kept nodding her head with shut eyes. Maybe she was asleep.

"And your daughter… your misery is not shared, but… it is understood." Now that was weird, even for him. Where did kids come into this, Red aside.

"Daughter? Link's daughter?" Speaking of, the pipsqueak nearly jumped up on the table, palms slamming down as she leaned over it. Qrow had to scooch over to get her room. So much for being nervous about this. "What about his daughter? What about your daughter?" Who was she talking to?

No, better question, who was talking? Qrow had never been so drunk he stopped hearing some voices. Booze tended to be an all-or-nothing solution.

"Yes, Link's daughter," the Ice Queen went on. Did them hearing voices make him sane or them crazy? "The guilt involved… truly I understand." Qrow didn't, and he was pretty sure he knew guilt pretty damn well.

"Hey, can you, either of ya, fill me in on what's goin' on?" Qrow had to look from his niece to the Ice Queen. Neither one of them was giving him a lick of attention. Figures, family friends to strangers in a bar, always the same reaction.

Start the party but get forgotten during it.

"Oh? And those fights… your determination… strength," Winter was nodding her head deeper and deeper now. Kind of looked like she was trying to rock herself to sleep. Man, Qrow just couldn't win.

He got all of this about as well as a good day out of the city. Then again, Winter was looking at Link like he looked at an unopened bottle of free brandy. Or close to it.

Sure, Link's eyes were still bloodshot and red-rimmed, probably not used to good old-fashioned whiskey, but at least the Ice Queen looked okay, flush and waving aside. Must be the contacts she had. Still, contacts only helped with how the eyes look.

They had crap all to do with those eyes being half-lidded and her smile looking sultry. That was even weirder knowing what she was talking about before.

That was the face of a woman eying a prize. Maybe there was some blackmail to be had.

"Such a dutiful father~." That was a voice that got Qrow to sober a bit, like a hundredth of what he was at before. He'd never heard Ice Queen sound like a Spring Maiden before. "Your courage against those beasts… those odds… yet you still carried on. Oh~"

Without out a doubt, this was probably the fifth… sixth fastest Qrow had ever sobered up. It was a long list.

"What's he saying? What's he saying?" Ruby, however, pestered Ice Queen from across the table. Maybe she didn't get what was happening. Then again, Qrow got only half of it. Better than nothing. "No wait, how do you hear what he's saying?"

"Hmm?" Winter looked at Rubes, probably noticing her for the first time. "Hear him? Oh, of course… these…" Her head tilted side-ways slowly to probably make sure it wouldn't fall of.

Her finger, dainty and painted, pointed at a small device lodged in her ear. Looked like the mics from before.

"Zeppeto offered them… some… to General Ironwood. He… in turn… at a time… offered them to me. Helpful for… Link~" And there was the song. Qrow only wished he was recording this on a mic. Pictures would have to do.

"Let me see that!" Qrow groaned as Rubes tried to vault over the table at the Ice Queen. Oddly, not the first time she'd done that. Just the first time she'd done it to someone he'd wish would get it. But priorities were important.

And the first priority was getting good info out of the faunus and military star.

"Gah!" Ruby let out as he caught her by the back of her hood. She floundered on the table before being pulled back into her seat. The look she gave him was cute, but not worth much. "Uncle Qrow! Please let me see those! I really want to talk to Link, as in¸ really talk to him, no _sorta_ talk to him." Again, priorities.

"Shhh," Qrow hissed out past his index finger. Rubes listened to him, like a good girl. "Hold on a minute Red. I wanna see where this goes." She pouted at that, but at least she listened. That gave him time to watch.

Of course, watching right now was just watching Link continue to mouth some odd words he couldn't hear and the Iciest of the Schnees bobbing her head with a lusty grin. It was pretty good, but there needed something a little… _more_ to make it picture worth.

Right now, it was just a hassle, like being caught in his boxers. A little embarrassing, but laughable really. What he needed something way worse. Like getting caught making out on Tai's bed bad. Something like, and he'd be good.

"You have a… _beautiful_ voice," Winter spoke on. With how Rubes whined after that comment, Qrow almost missed it. Guess she really did want to hear him. "Such a pity… truly… you only tell such… sad tales." And now Ruby was kicking her feet. Geez, that bad?

Still, not like the story had much to go on other than sad and un-drab. If that was a word. Probably be fun to ask about later… with the right blackmail. For now, it was just listening to the commentary. Boring.

"I apologize…" For what now? "For your child." Oh, something reasonable. "She sounded… lovely, innocent… loving…" Those were some pretty bad words to be saying in front of a kid that lost her own mom.

A quick glance though, looking at Ruby with her fingers about to break the chair she sat on, showed she wasn't focused on that. Was it a good thing? Maybe, Qrow couldn't tell. Least she wasn't crying.

"So, what now? Hero… what are you… to do now?" The Ice Queen pointed at Link as she spoke, likely she was the innocent dumb cop in an interrogation. Then again, Link was acting like the bumbling criminal with the way he was 'un'-talking. Best way to describe talking without speaking.

And Link just kept on talking. Qrow didn't know exactly when his eyes got to eye level with Winter, across the table, but they were there now. Still bloodshot against lulled and sultry. Maybe that was worth a picture.

"So now… how… do you plan… to find… your daughter?" From the way Ruby gasped, Qrow knew that was at least worth remembering.

"She's alive?!" forget the gasp, the scream was enough. "He said she's alive?! You said she's alive?!" Clue enough what the big deal was, too, for her at least. Qrow was still focused on Link and Winter.

Or more specifically now, how Link was standing up.

The chair fell out behind him as he stood, shoved by the way he got to his feet. Qrow knew that look. Link put his hands to the table, standing to his tallest and reaching to his back. Qrow knew that stance. So, he had a good guess at what was coming next.

Like crooked lightning, Link drew out his sword.

It rang out of its sheathe, shinned quickly in the air, and kept itself above him for a good second. And for that one second, he did look kind of impressive. But he was drunk, and Qrow had seen a lot of drunk hunters. So, he knew now what was coming next.

That was Link falling on the table, THUNK hard, then rolling off it to the floor, **THUNK** even harder.

Grumbling a bit, with Ruby already dashing out of her seat, Qrow looked over at Link. No need to get up yet. Sides, he didn't look like he was in a bad shape. He wasn't impaled on his sword, he wasn't bleeding, and he was conked out on the ground. Better than a dirt nap to some people.

"Admirable…" Winter spoke up. Not the first word Qrow thought of. "But your form… can improve." Was she still talking to him?

"Uh, Ice Queen?" Qrow put out there, trying to get the Schnee's attention. "He's gone for the night, clocked out upstairs, if ya catch my drift." She probably would have if she was awake upstairs. But that was the problem with alcohol.

Tended to make the body work without a brain.

"You should draw… your sword… like…" And Qrow knew what was coming next. "This!" And the Schnee pulled out her blade.

 **THUNK** Before falling out of her seat and hitting the ground. At least she missed the table. And, by Qrow's account, probably made the perfect shot.

It was the only way to describe the prime-and-prim Ice Queen laying on top of the Super Faunus of Beacon. And if that was it, then it'd just be funny.

Right now, though, it was 'Ice Queen' Winter laying on top of 'Super Faunus' Link with each of their heads in the other's crotch. That made it priceless.

"Eh, I wanted a dirty story, but this works," Qrow muttered as he pushed the chair out from behind him, reaching for his Scroll in the same kind. These light weights couldn't even handle four glasses of whiskey. Their fault for challenging a pro.

Or for accepting the challenge of a pro… whatever, didn't matter. Blackmail time.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby was whining. "Help me! This is bad! Really bad!" Aw, she didn't get it. Really was a kid, not understanding what just happened. It was alright though, she'd get the full lesson tomorrow, from him or her sis. Either was okay.

"Relax, Red," Qrow spoke up, patting her matt of red-tipped hair. She made some kind of gagging sound at the contact. "Just let your old uncle get some good pics of this." Because a picture was worth a thousand words, maybe a thousand lien. Or, maybe, just a good favor latter.

And honestly, seeing Winter crashed on top of Link, face to his crotch and hand arms over his legs, no way it'd be worth any less than that. And what really helped was Link's face, heads up and visible, between the thighs of the Schnee Princess.

Imagination wasn't necessary to know what it looked like. Really was a profitable night.

Probably something important going on between all this, something to get Red as worked up as she was, but whatever. It wasn't like they could do anything about it tonight anyways.

"Qrow! This is really bad!" Rubes kept saying. It made him groan. Didn't she know it was rude to repeat herself, to a drunk man? "I-If Link was talking right, a-a-and Winter could understand him-"

"It was the gizmo in her ear, kid," Qrow explained again. Seriously, he hated playing the translator for the drunk. It was the wrong end of the line for him. "Now would ya move yer hand? I gotta get a full-body for this." He'd split the cash with her later.

"Uncle Qrow! GAH!" Ruby let out as he pulled her cap. If she wasn't going to move, he'd move her. And he was gentle… ish. "Fine! I'll get my team to help me!"

"Wuzzat?" Qrow slurred out, only to catch rose petals in his mouth. He spat them out, gagging. They had the wrong kind of taste for whiskey. "Bleh, Rubes. You gotta clean up after yourself." He shrugged at her departure. She'd be fine.

It wasn't like they were lost in Vale or anything. On Beacon, her teammates probably just down a hall or three, she'd get home a-okay. Then she'd have a story to tell as well. And he'd have the evidence to back her up, if she wanted to use it.

Rubes was a smart girl. She'd know what to do. She'd be back, probably. If not, then he'd just help two adults to their rooms. Wasn't a first for him.

He just hoped this all happened again.

"Now then,~" Qrow tried to sing out, holding his Scroll between his eyes and the picture perfect sight of Link and Winter entangled in limbs. "Time to print some cash~"

Click

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	16. Conflict Resolution

Late nights were nothing new to the educational scene. Be it the younger students trying to test their limits or older years trying to memorize one more page before a test, late nights were often the common medium to which the paths were taken.

Professors often joined in, unintentionally to be fair. Having to break up a 'spontaneous' party here, help with studying habits there, and then the rare occasions of having to help ease the frayed nerves of the students nervous for the coming day.

Ozpin had been the Headmaster of Beacon, and professor of many other schools, long enough to recognize both the necessity and benefits of the long nights. Just as he was aware what they did to the youths who were far too young for the rigorous training of the Academy.

It was sentiment he kept in his mind as he walked down the barren halls of his Academy, appropriately vacant for the time of night. It made the conversation echoing around him all the louder.

"She's really conked out, isn't she?" The golden fairy rang above him, circling as she dropped fading dust around her. Ozpin hummed in agreement, but said little else. "Didn't think she meant she'd sleep like the dead when she wanted to take a quick nap." Few children were aware of how much they needed their own rest.

"I think it's normal, right?" The darker pair of the fairies rang in response. Ozpin could tell by the shadows at his feet that the fairy was spinning along with his sister. "I mean, we don't take care of kids like the Guardian Fairies do, but… kids sleep a lot, don't they?"

"Not arguing that they sleep, just how quick it was," his sister replied. "Seriously. It was like she was just trying to get comfortable then she was curling up like cat for warmth. Would've been adorable if I wasn't still talking." Ozpin didn't have his mug to hide his grin.

"Sh-She was listening!" Tael gave a high ring back. "She was just… tired. She can't help it. A-And she's had a long day, few days." That she had, and of that no one could disagree.

Indeed, Ozpin knew that the worries and trauma of fire, battle, and the charred land between was likely something that would bring much change in the girl in the future. Sleepless nights, wonders of purpose, and many other questions that millions of children had asked before. But that was in the future. In the moment, her body was recovering as it would to any other form of stress. By resting.

Resting, of course, in his arms.

Mat of brown hair pushed into the crux of his elbow, body curled in to shape like a ball, and all complimented with twitching ears from some unknown dream. It was a sight that would have made many coo over the small faunus.

"And do you seriously not mind carrying her?" Tatl asked once more, hovering in front of him as he walked. Her distance must have been practiced with Link, far enough away to not blind him, but hardly something he could even pretend to ignore. "I mean, you got a cane for a reason, right? She may not be like carrying an anvil, but there's gotta be a better option here."

"I do no believe there is, actually. Or at least not one that would appear to be similar to abandoning or ignoring the child," Ozpin spoke softly, eyes looked at the wolf-eared youth in his arms. It was a miracle of life just how often holding a child like Moraine righted the world one stood on. It was a common problem that no one, especially not himself, was immune to.

Teaching children how to fight and watching their powers grow with each passing year had a powerful effect of separating him, and others, from what was important in life. The purpose of the fight, as it were. It was hard to think about the village in the woods while you were polishing your sword, difficult to imagine the slow day at work while you boxed through training regiment, or cared for a new home while you assisted others out of a burning one.

But holding a child as small as Moraine, resting easily and ignorantly, often had a way of reminding one the purpose of the fight. It certainly helped that she was gripping his long sleeves like a protective blanket.

His feet tapped rhythmically beneath her as she rested, hopefully a close substitute for how a mother would rock their children to sleep after a restless dream or horrid day. A calming act to ease the mind of their little one. And, by the inevitable extension, the guardian caring for them. If nothing else, Ozpin would be hard set to deny the soft feeling of relief he had holding Moraine.

Truly children possessed an inviting, yet dangerous, charm to them.

"She's a cute little thing, though," Tatl rang lightly as she washed over Moraine. Her glow was soft as a night-light, likely intentionally on her part. "Always kills me how things like this happen. And Link's probably gonna be blaming himself for this, too."

"He is?" Tael replied, oddly enough. Ozpin suspected that he would have been aware of the nature of hunters such as Link in situations like this. Then again, he knew little of their journeys until Beacon. "But h-he saved her, right? All that stuff, that wasn't him. That was that… that bad guy." And the venom in the word was well deserved.

"You're not wrong, but you're not right," his sister continued. "Course that bastard is at fault, but Link's not gonna see like that. Freaking never does." Ozpin hummed in understanding. Few did. "He'll probably think that if he just ignored Moraine in the crowd back at the harbor that she'd at least be sleeping in her bed. Freaking idiot."

"Hardly seems fair to call Link such names until he has a chance to speak," Ozpin added in a whisper, smiling at the fairy. Moraine stirred lightly in his arms, but hardly more than a twist of her head. "Though I cannot say you are entirely incorrect. Powerful hunters have a habit of taking on more than they are normally capable of." Such was the nature of the beast.

"Least it sounds like you get it," Tatl rang, bobbing in the air with her transparent wings. "And yeah, Tael, happens a lot. Maybe you missed it before. Like… um… _oh!_ " The fairy rang with a small flash of light. Ozpin could not ignore the imagery of a light-bulb flashing. "Remember Lanayru Village, after the rockslide exposed those Luminous Taluses?"

"Um… yeah, I think so…" the younger fairy sounded unsure. He was swaying above Ozipn's head as he spoke. "Link got there right after one of them… knocked down the storeroom, right? The room that had all the fishing supplies for the boats."

"Yeah, that one." It wasn't hard to tell Tatl was keeping her voice low for the young charge in Ozpin's arms. "He got there when it tore down the building. He didn't get there before one of them tore through the blue-thatched house." Though the term the fairy used escaped Ozpin, the implication didn't.

"Uh, yeah, yeah, I remember that," the darker fairy returned. "It was blown through and… parts of it were in the harbor, right?" Depending on its location, that could have truly a traumatic blow.

"Yup, the door, most of the wall, and just about everything inside." Ozpin shut his eyes in a silent honor for the words the fairy was going to say next. "Even the family that was huddled up inside."

Ozpin hated deafening silence. Not simply for the feeling, but for the situations that often brought them out. It certainly didn't help that the only thing keeping it at bay were the soft snores of the child wrapped in his arms.

"Link… blamed himself for that?" Ozpin knew many hunters would. He could not discount himself from the list even. Loss of life when savi8ng lives often was a failure. "But… he didn't even get there yet. A-and why didn't I know about it?" That one Ozpin could answer.

"Because speaking of death is never easy," he kept his voice neutral and low, easy to wash over Moraine without disturbing her slumber. "Though internalizing it hardly is any better."

"Who says you're heartless?" Tatl questioned above him. Hopefully no one, otherwise he was doing a poor job as Headmaster. "Point is though Tael, Link's not gonna be thinking he's free from guilt. Hasn't said it yet, but I'm willing to bet a wing that he's wishing he never gave the ocarina or sword to her. Maybe then that _freak_ wouldn't have attacked her."

A possibility, Ozpin thought, but by no means a guarantee. If time had taught him anything through the many years he had lazily and actively rode it, predicting the future by actions of others was as trust worthy as guessing the paths of starts without a guide.

"Getting off topic though," Tatl rang again. "What I _want_ to say is that you really don't have to carry her you know. I'm sure Link would probably love to do that. Just need to tell him where she was napping at. Not like he'll ignore her." A well-established fact now.

"And again, I do not mind," Ozpin repeated himself to the insistent fairy. "My cane is for little more than appearance, I can assure you. A nice accessory that goes with the cloak and glasses." The ringing of the fairies was not unheard, though their meaning escaped him. It was fair to guess it was somewhere between a mirthful chuckle and grunts of agreement. "The fine point aside, I am sure Link will be tired after his meeting with Bartholomew and Winter. If I can assist him by helping with Moraine, it is a small trade."

And as many students and faculty members would agree, meetings with Bartholomew Oobleck were hardly relaxing experiences. The dip in both the fairies was proof enough they did not have a wing to flutter in disagreement.

There was an expression he never believed he'd have to say.

"Well I'm not turning down help," Tatl agreed above him. "Plus, if you're gonna be looking after the girl while we're gone, I guess it's a good place to start. Helping her sleep that is." Hardly what he was doing at the moment, but also not an unfair statement.

"She does talk like Link though," Tael added on, floating about the resting girl. Ozpin felt her hands clutch at the folds of his sleeve, a tight grip during her rest. Perhaps the sound of the fairy disturbed her. "Maybe that's normal for being alone? Is it? Like, the stories of children born at sea enjoy storms?" An odd analogy, but one that Ozpin could see the sense of. For a story at least. However, there was a mistake to correct.

"I doubt it," he responded to the fairy's inquiry. "There are many students at Beacon who have been raised in homes, due to various situations, not far different than Moraine's." It was a solemn idea that time never dulled the truth of. Ozpin sighed as he gazed at the young child in his arms. "Grimm tearing through homes at night, desperate bandits taking advantage of stable houses, and many other tragedies that few can predict, or prevent."

His steps slowed, eyes on Moraine as her breathing rhythmically continued. It was an appeasing sight, and certainly a feeling. It also reminded him just how fragile life was.

"No, I believe Moraine is soft spoken like Link for other reasons," Ozpin listed easily. "A strong sense of self, perhaps. Or maybe a way to cope with pressures of the world, a type of focus to retain what is important." There were many methods others had taken, both similar and disparagingly different. "If possible, I would hope her time with Link draws her confidence out."

"Same," Tatl rung out above him. "Not that she's hard to hear for us, but if Link's any indication, translating everything he says can get kinda annoying." That drew a soft chuckle from Ozpin. "But hopefully she never goes as far out as- Ruby?"

"Perhaps," Ozpin began. "Ms. Rose may not be soft spoken, but there are few I believe would call her-"

"No, like, is _that_ Ruby?" Tatl rang as she bobbed ahead of Ozpin. His brow rose in curiosity, following the fairy's assume line of sight.

He stopped right before a cascade of rose petals barreled into him.

"Whoa!" Ruby Rose let out, bursting into existence from her storm of roses. Wide silver eyes looked up at Ozpin, hands held up as if to keep herself from running into him. It was very close. "Headmaster! Professor! Ozpin! You!" She let out all at once.

"Yes, Ms. Rose. Me," he returned simply in kind, keeping his voice low to contrast Ruby. His eyes fell from her to the charge in his arms, stirring now with clenched eyes. "Me _and_ her." The quick gasp from the red-adorned girl was evidence enough she didn't see Moraine.

"OH MY- I-I mean… oh my gosh…" Her voice fell dramatically as she spoke, barely whispering as her boots rapidly backpedaled her down the hall and away from them. Her hands were now over her mouth, as if fearful she would awaken the girl with a shout.

Ozpin was beginning to reconsider Tatl's earlier assessment. She may have been right to contrast Link's soft voice with Ms. Roses's verbose, and often sporadic, one.

"I didn't see you there, honest." Ozpin strained his ears to hear the poor girl, still whispering for fear of something he didn't understand. At worst Moraine would awaken and be disoriented. It was hardly the same as a criminal offense. "Or Moraine. _Or Tatl and Tael_." Her voice let on as her silver eyes searched above him.

"Yup, still here," Tatl let out in agreement, floating over to the girl. The fairy pirouetted about the girl's dark red hair, Ms. Rose doing her best and failing to keep track of the glowing ball darting in and out of her vision. "Good thing I caught you before the green wizard here did." Green wizard? Was that what he was called by the pair? He honestly had no reason to discredit the name.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The young girl continued to whisper harshly, from some distance away. Ozpin made no move to approach, not while the even younger Moraine attempted to right herself in his arms. "I'm _really_ sorry! I was just in a rush and I thought the halls would all be empty cause it was late and we have classes tomorrow and I didn't think about skipping classes _but Uncle Qrow_ dragged me into a meeting and now I have to find my team o-o-or maybe do something else I don't really now."

Ozpin chuckled, well humored, by the rambling of the petite girl. Hardly a rare trait in the youths at his Academy, let alone the feminine ones, but still adorable nonetheless to witness. Though, to be fair, it was hardly the only reason he found the sight endearing.

With every conversation Ozpin had with the young girl, he saw her mother in her a bit more.

"It is alright, Ms. Rose," Ozpin spoke on. "Moraine is still asleep, at the moment." He let out, looking down at the girl who had eased following Ruby's quick retreat. "You caught yourself before any real damage was done. At worst, this will just be humorous story to retell later." He did not miss the ring of the dark fairy above his own head.

"Y-Yeah, it can be," Tael added on. "Maybe need to add some detail, a-and a moral cause… right now it's just… convenient." Ozpin offered a light small to the timid fairy, eyeing him through the small shades of his spectacles. Stories did need lessons to be complete.

"Is she… okay?" Ms. Rose asked now, voice still a low whisper, though her silver eyes trained on the wolf-eared girl in Ozpin's arms. He looked down at the charge, snuggling closer to his chest with the noise reduced once more.

"Quite alright," he confirmed for the team leader. "Merely recuperating from rather eventful past few days. Something I am sure you both have in common." The flush across Ms. Rose's face was evidence enough she understood. "The difference being she is a growing child still ignorant and learning of the world. You, on the other hand, are merely learning."

She looked up at him, silver eyes trained to his own. He had seen the same look before, upon a number of different faces in times past. They always managed to remind him of the one preceding it. Of students enraptured by a seed of wisdom, waiting for a veritable shower to help it grow.

It would be an insult to his title as Headmaster to not oblige.

"You have seen many dark things in the past few weeks, Ms. Rose," Ozpin spoke carefully as he walked closer to the cloaked girl. She didn't retreat, but neither did she approach. She simply waited. "You are wise enough to see these things and learn from them. Learn from them as you work tirelessly to fix them. It is a rare quality you have, one that I noticed the very first time we met."

Tatl and Tael rung above their heads as Ruby Rose continued to watch him. Ozpin wished he had a free hand to hold his mug. It would make hiding his smile a bit easier. Still, it was a fair trade off to keep hold of Moraine.

"Was that why you made me… you know…" her voice continued to whisper, even as her hands spun in the air. The implication may not have been obvious, but he was not an instructor of students as a hobby. He understood.

"Indeed it is, Ms. Rose," Ozpin confirmed. "Though you may not be the strongest, wisest, or most patient of your team, you are the most devote in your dream to fix the world." Another fresh chuckle worked through his lips as the girl hid herself as best she could between her shoulders, face flushed red. "To make you the head of your team only seemed appropriate. It is from that position I believe you will do the most good."

Her head slowly nodded, though her eyes now avoided him. Ozpin hardly blamed the girl, seeing as he had spent the last few seconds complimenting her very nature. Hardly a shy girl, but easily timid like many her age. Though, that was a rapidly disappearing trait of hers. Time always did march on.

"Do you think… _Moraine_ is going to be like that?" Ozpin tilted his head at the question. What an odd thing to ask. He made sure the curiosity was written on his features, as Ms. Rose quickly backpedaled her question. "I-I-I don't mean like a leader! Not like _me_ at least. I mean, um, sort of _learning_ about the world and being less igran- _ignorant_! Cause you said she was like me but _not_ like m. So she's, you know, growing up okay, despite… everything?" Ah, a more reasonable question, if phrased poorly enough to make Glynda mark off points.

"She'll be okay." Tatl, oddly, answered for Ozpin. He looked up at the glowing ball, watching her as she gently drifted between Ms. Rose and Moraine. "Trust me, she will be. Half the reason why she's here is to make sure that she is okay. Link's too much of a softy to just let her go off and assume she's okay." Certainly not, Ozpin agreed. It hardly seemed in his character.

"Y-Yeah, because… even if this is bad, it's… not like it's the end. Of everything." Tael joined his sister, flittering through the air with a low ring. They merged into the air, as they so often did, colors mixing into a relaxing gray. It reminded Ozpin of a cooled glass of tea. "She's lost a lot, a-and we know that. Same as Link. But, that doesn't mean it's going to be bad forever, you know?"

Ozpin said nothing as the fairies spoke on. They had yet to say anything he disagreed with. Besides, Ms. Rose was enraptured with their words.

"There are plenty of kids in Hyrule who lose things important to them," Tatl continued. "Sometimes monsters, sometimes storms, sometimes just a jerk with a big idea and no sense of decency." Her body rang almost violently at the last one. "But there's always somebody to help. Somewhere."

"And that's why Link is helping Moraine. Because she needed a hero." Tael's statement had more weight than Ozpin initially gave credit for.

"Needed a hero?" Ruby repeated the words, voice growing from the whisper that it was. Thankfully, Moraine, the subject of their impromptu conversation, had yet to stir. "You mean Link helped her just like that?"

It wasn't surprise, disbelief, or concern that Ozpin heard upon Ms. Rose's words. Those would be common for someone who failed to understand the magnitude of the phrase being spoken. No, hers was carried by an emotion that elated and held strong the soul.

Her voice was carried with hope.

"Of course," Tatl rang out, bobbing up and down in front of Ruby Rose's eyes. The girl followed before blinking. "I mean, yeah, sure, wasn't exactly _planned_ when Link, or Lana I guess, just jumped up and picked her up like that, but it's not like he did it out of boredom or anything. Just look at her. Doesn't she look a heck of a lot better than she did before?"

The pair of fairies moved like a curtain of grey for Ms. Rose, the young girl's silver eyes falling to Moraine still wrapped and curled in Ozpin's arms. He did not move as she approached now, boots clicking until she was just above the napping faunus.

Ozpin saw only the mop of red-tinted black hair as Ruby Rose gazed down at Moraine. Her hand hovered over the girl's brown hair, debating to touch the soft locks or pet the sharp ears protruding from her head. It was an internal struggle whether or not to disturb the girl, and one he understood well.

However, she settled for a sigh, her voice carrying the smile she wore, even as her hand dropped back to her side.

"She looks amazing now," the team leader admitted. "Like… like she knows that tomorrow's going to be a great day and she can't wait to wake up and experience it." That was a rather lengthy way to describe at peace.

"I cannot say you are wrong, Ms. Rose," Ozpin agreed, the girl looking up at him again. "And I am sure Link would be thrilled to hear you say the same. Perhaps he would even ask of you to assist me in watching over the young girl while he is gone."

The words sparked something in the girl's eyes, her brows flinching in the same time that her mouth dropped. She blinked, looking down at Moraine then back to him. It was a curious reaction, as he was rather sure nothing he said was so extraordinary. At least not intentionally so this time around.

"Wait, talk to Link… about…" her voice dropped again as she spoke, moving from a quiet tone to a low mumble. Ozpin raised a brow at the girl. Searching his own mind, he could not conjure an idea for what she was thinking.

He blinked again as the girl nearly shot up from where she stood, her face riddled with the very expression of one experiencing an epiphany.

That, or from the way her eyes darted along the fairies, remembering something embarrassing.

"Is there something you wish to share, Ms. Rose?" he spoke carefully to draw the girl's attention, even as he lightly adjusted his arms for the other youth he was carrying. "You appear to be suddenly on edge. Was there something unfortunate you remembered? Something involving Link perhaps?" It was only a guess, of course, as questions often were. But educated guesses were the best ones to make.

And the sudden shiver of the girl's eyes spoke all that he needed to hear. It was the same for the golden companion fairy of the faunus in question.

"What's this about Link?" Tatl asked from above the shaking girl. "Did something happen to him with Super Buzz? Did Ice Queen conjure up a blizzard or something?" Odd nicknames aside, there were valid concerns with the individuals involved. There was a reason why so few survived Bartholomew's personality in the long term.

"Is he hurt?" Tael now, voicing the obvious, though unneeded, concern. Link would not be harmed in his Academy, not unplanned at least. "Was there an accident?"

" _No!_ Oops! No," Ms. Rose shouted and whispered in all but three words. Ozpin watched the wolfen ears on the young Moraine in discomfort before unraveling. "I mean, I don't _think_ so!? He was playing a _stupid_ game with Uncle Qrow a-a-and, Weiss's sister was talking to him and _listening_ to him and I wanted to hear him, but I couldn't, but Winter, Weiss's sister, kept talking and repeating him. So they went back and forth and she said that he had an amazing voice and I couldn't hear it but Uncle Qrow didn't care because he wanted to hear something cool and I don't think he knows what's cool anymore if it doesn't involve his scythe."

Though hardly an unknown fact, it was humorous, if admittedly concerning, to see Ms. Rose ramble in the ways that she did. For the average observer, it would be a nuisance. For him, however, it was a chance to learn a great deal. And he was always keen to listen closely before answering honestly.

It was important to note that Winter Schnee had, somehow, obtained a means to listen to Link's soft voice. Link held a conversation with her beyond the earshot of Ms. Rose. And, most unfortunately, it sounded as if Qrow was playing his honesty game again. He'd have to inform Glynda. That would be punishment enough.

"But then Weiss's sister, big Schnee, said that Link had a sad story and I _wanted_ to hear the sad story and not just parts of it because I'm a good friend and good friends want to know everything about their friends, so I listened to Winter and tried to pick up everything she said, but she was being _honest_ as well so I don't know what she was saying when she was mumbling and grinning and poking Link with her feet."

And there was more to be had. Such as Link telling a tale that he, clearly, would not have told openly otherwise. Doubtlessly the hand of alcohol playing its part. Good to note if he obtained similar means to listen to Link in the future, likely through James. However, hearing that Winter was taking a physical approach to Link was… odd.

It was beyond him to judge others relationships, but it was certainly in his purview to make educated assumptions about individuals. Winter Schnee instigating contact with anyone was an oddity.

"Then _he_ passed out when he was talking about the end of his story and drawing to draw his sword before big Weiss tried to pull out _her_ sword and she just collapsed on top of him and Uncle Qrow was taking pictures and I ran and was running before I saw you because I needed to find someone to help stop Qrow and talk about what Link said."

"Passed out atop one another," Ozpin repeated, imagining the scenario and concluding quickly what Qrow Branwen, the most laid back yet mischievous partner he'd ever had, would do in such a situation. The options weren't good. "You were right to seek help Ms. Rose. Your uncle can be… stubborn with his practices. I'll be sure to speak to him promptly on the matter." He was holding in his arms the reason for finding Link, after all.

"I-It's not just that!" Ruby spoke in a harsh whisper. She was learning, even if Moraine was disturbed enough by the harshness of the sound. "I heard _some_ of what Big sis Weiss was saying and she said something bad that… that I don't want to say here because I don't want to get in trouble." _That_ was a concerning fact.

The knowledge that the information was dangerous, the foresight to not speak it recklessly, and the decision to not speak it in front of her headmaster and professor. Ruby Rose was maturing, clearly though not in the sure direction he wanted.

"What did he say, Red?" Tatl spoke up now, unsurprisingly, drifting in front of Ms. Rose. "What'd he say? What'd he _do?_ " Good questions that Ozpin also wanted answered.

"I-I-I-I…. I-I-I-I-I-I," her voice rattled and mumbled, silver eyes searching for a way out. Perhaps she could find one, but she was wise enough to realize it would do little more than worsen her situation. She did develop the 'feeling' for it. It was his job, however, to alleviate it.

"It is alright, Ms. Rose," Ozpin assured her. "You are not at fault for listening to a conversation you were invited into. I just believe Tatl and Tael are concerned for their partner, as I am sure you would be in the reverse." The fairies rang in agreement.

"Yeah," Tael added first. "Cause, like, Link's important to us so… if he said anything that was that scary or bad… we can help. Or he can help when he's better, and we can remind him. Or… something else." His confidence could do with work, much like Jaune Arc's, in truth.

"It's not _bad_. Well, no, that's a lie, it _is bad_." Ozpin felt his curiosity well and truly peaked. "But it's… it's not like that is bad for the future, I don't think. Just, I _know_ it's not something he wanted to share. As in ever." She was hesitating, stalling. There was something clear and sure she was aware of regarding Link. Something that he, oddly enough was not.

This curios inquiry was rapidly becoming a necessary debriefing. It was neither the time nor place for it.

"C'mon Red," Tatl spoke up again. "Quiet flying around the branches and get to the point already. What. Did. Link. Say?" Each word was punctuated with a bob in the air, golden form sparking as she did so. He kept his mouth shut as Ms. Rose dove for an answer.

"It was… about…" Her fingers flexed and relaxed in front of her, trying to grasp at desperate straws, perhaps. She'd find none but the answer, he knew. "He said, no… _Winter_ said that Link said he was looking for her."

"Her?" Ozpin repeated. There were many hers, and it seemed obvious one of them was not the her Ms. Rose's sentence implied. However, the sharp forms of Tatl and Tael were another tell he did not ignore.

"Her as in… his daughter." The silence was, unfortunately, well deserved now.

Link's daughter, unfortunate as it was, was not something Ozpin was ignorant of. The details he may have been firmly in the dark on, but her existence, present or past, was known to him. It was known to him the moment after Ms. Xiao-Long dueled Elrora days ago now. To think he wouldn't investigate the transgression was foolhardy thinking.

However, hew as of the opinion that his daughter was gone, spirits be with her soul. If Ms. Rose was speaking honestly, and she had no reason not to, then the implication he was searching for her. That had many implications, none of which set well with him.

"What did he say, Ruby?" Tatl's voice showed it was prepared to offer no quarter. "Like _what_ did he say?"

" _Winter_. I-I heard Winter, _not_ _Link_ ," Ruby emphasized. It was an important distinction. "A-And she just asked how he was going to look for his daughter. Before he, well, passed out." So nothing more than that.

"Then you missed something." Tatl made sense to gain a sharpness to her voice. However, hearing Tael speak in a darker tone carried an extra weight to it. Ozpin could only eye the darker of the fairies as he hovered by his sister.

"Tael?" Ruby spoke his name.

"Link's daughter is… she's gone." The fairy's hue was warping before Ozpin's eyes and through his shades. Sorrow, perhaps, or at the very least discontent. "She's gone and she's… she's not coming back. Link didn't… h-he didn't…" Definitely sorrow.

It was evidence when the fairy began to dip in the air, as if slowly falling. Ruby's hands extended, perhaps on instinct, catching the dark fairy. Her face held none of the glow it once had when she saw the fairies.

It bore only pain and regret. The girl was experiencing far too much of it for his taste. For anyone, in truth.

"Tael, it's okay," his sister spoke, descending to Ms. Rose's cupped hands. The glow made it impossible to see what was transpiring. "It's okay. It's alright. We're here… we're here." And now, with the pair of them in hand, she could hardly escape. She was left holding misery before her.

That meant it was time to intervene.

"Ms. Rose," Ozpin began, waiting for the young girl's misty silver eyes to look back at him. "You said that Winter Schnee was who 'translated', for lack of a better term, Link's speech, correct?" The girl nodded mutely, not trusting her clenched throat. "Tell me, was she speaking clearly, similar to how I am now?"

"U-Uh, no," her voice answered, small and petrified. There was no reason to doubt her words.

"Were her sentences complete? Did they make sense to hear them without context?" There was much that could be misconstrued with poorly formatted speech. Wars had been started for less.

"No, a-and no. She was… mumbling, like… me, right now," Ruby returned. She wasn't wrong, and it was precisely what Ozpin wanted to hear.

"Then are you sure that she mentioned Link's daughter as the one he was searching for?" He questioned carefully, waiting for the eyes of Ms. Rose to look at him in confusion. "Her, and not his longtime companion Navi?"

Her mouth fell open, shaking for a word she couldn't speak. He rather disliked making students appear dumb in his presence, but it was far preferred to miserable or despairing.

"I mean… she _could_ have," Ms. Rose strengthened the possibility herself. "I didn't exactly… stay to listen." Ozpin knew his intervention was not done quiet yet, however. He had only opened the door the possibility. Ms. Rose had to walk through it.

"Perhaps you should take the remainder of the night and think on it," he suggested, adjusting Moraine in his arms. He was thankful once more to the stubborn nature of children, not waking through the ordeal. "I am sure Tatl and Tael will be able to assure you of this alternative, won't you?

"We will?" Tatl asked, incredulously. Clearly shew as not in favor of the idea. Well, he was hardly in charge of them. They were not faculty and Beacon and certainly not objects of his possession.

"I would appreciate it as a favor if you would," Ozpin returned to the fairies still nestled in Ruby's hands. "I will be finding Link and returning Moraine to him. I'll doubly make sure he returns to his room. Without any ill effects. Of that, I promise." And he was a Hunter of his word when it came to those under his charge.

Moraine was his at the moment, but Link, as a professor at his Academy, certainly fell into such a category now.

"We can." Ozpin looked down at the darker of the siblings, ringing as his wings lightly beat without flying. "I would… I'd prefer it, probably." Ozpin offered a kind smile, though he could not tell if it was seen by the pair or not.

"I thank you," he spoke earnestly. "And I believe Ms. Rose feels the same." The address was like a bucket of water to the poor girl, shocking her from her reverie.

"Yeah! Yes, of course! _Oh!_ Quiet of course…" This time, Ozpin let out a chuckle at her insistence to raise her voice. He felt Moraine's nails now. It was hardly something to be concerned with.

"Very good," Ozpin let out. "Well, do be on your way. The hour is late and the sooner this is resolved, the better for all." Ruby stood to her tallest, perhaps out of instinct, and nodded her head. The pair of fairies in her palms rang with the effort as well.

"Better take care of Link though," Tatl added before Ms. Rose could turn. "And I mean it. The brats are the only ones who've had long days." Ozpin ignored Ruby's look of terror at being called such a thing. He knew she meant it in no deprecating manner.

"I will, Tatl, I promise you I will." The fairies rang again at the words, perhaps the sound-off to Ms. Rose for her to depart. She did so with very little hesitation.

Ozpin watched them go for a moment, the team leader's boots clicking as she made her way down the hall. Much slower than when she was barreling down with her Semblance, but far preferred when thoughts were heavy on her mind.

She was not the only one.

Ozpin stared down at the young girl in his arms for the umpteenth time, the faunus who had seen fire, blood, and murder together, now being cared for by an enigma in his employ. It was hardly the most ideal outcome for any situation, but the alternatives were too far gone or too risky to pursue. Risk Link joining hands with the villainous White Fang or Grimm masters, risk the child being left on the street, risk knowledge of his friends' ancient powers being made common, it was all to risky.

All he could do was bear the consequences before him and march on. As he had done for years before and likely years to come.

"I promise," Ozpin spoke again, continuing his march down the hall. Qrow was in need of a lecture.

And, likely, some protection.

* * *

The world was spinning and so was she. Spinning like a top or the tip of her blade. Just around, then stopping, then back around again. Never stilling, never holding, and certainly never giving her a rest. Just around and around and around. It brought groans from her throat that would be reprehensible for anyone else to hear.

Fortunately, she was alone. Alone in the spinning world that had her lying down to right herself on an unrightable surface. It was hardly the hardest thing she had done in her life. This was just another challenge in her hurdle filled existence, one more thing she had to deal with, an annoyance like any other.

But it was a rather persistent annoyance.

Her limbs felt as if they were uncontrollable, like Aura exhaustion, or missing her second cycle of sleep. It was only worse when it appeared to be non-improving, something that kept her from doing little more than perching herself on the hard surface beneath her. But the world was still spinning, back and forth then forth and back. And she was still stuck groaning.

If this was the case, then she couldn't stay here. Something needed to be done. It would be unbecoming of at Atlesian soldier, a higher ranking captain at that, to be left in such a unsettling state. Some action needed to be taken, or committed, to right her sense of the world. It certainly didn't help, however, that everything was as hazy as it was blurry.

And even less so that she felt more fatigued than she could easily recall. Recollection alone was a troubling thing right now. It all seemed… far away. How odd.

"Guhhhh," her voice let out, head rolling with the direction of the spinning. It did little, if anything to placate it. It certainly helped even less that it felt as if she had lead in her brain, making the already sluggish movements of her body feel weighted and uncontrollable. Nothing was going right with her body, and she couldn't remember why.

Winter was only aware that she loathed this feeling and whomever had forced her to feel this way.

Slow breaths came and left her lungs, an old but well-practiced means to control her body when it was under stress. Careful measured breaths that were meant to show her level of control of her own body, honed through years of training, discipline, and tutelage within the Atlesian Military. It was her pride to be able to have such strength, complimented by her ability to remain firm in the face of danger.

"Gah…" she let out a useless groan as she failed to hold in her second breath. Her chest felt heavy. If the skull in her head was replaced with lead, than her chest felt like it was being crushed by a mech, or twenty. Everything felt off and odd. And she continued to loathe the feeling. A spinning world with a hazy gaze and a body that felt more fit to be thrown into an infirmary bed than wherever she currently was.

And currently was was a grand question to ask. For Winter had little to now idea. Far be it from her to forget such important details, but with her recall as sure as her sense of balance, it was difficult to say how she had gotten here. And even more than that, stringing together where she was was becoming an increasingly difficult task.

A spinning world filled with haze, from her vision of course, was not the most apt way to describe an area one belonged to. But that was where Winter found herself, laying in this spinning void and letting whatever surface she was perched on hold her steady from drifting away. It was hard to call it a bad thing.

In truth, whatever object she was perched on, as indescribable as the rest of the twisted world she was falling through, appeared to be the one comfort that she had at the moment. Comforts were not things to be coddled and especially not hoarded within the military, but when the stress of an unknown situation was beginning to grow on the mind, comforts were what kept the talented sane.

"Haaaaa…" Winter let the breath out as tried to maneuver the length of her body onto the hard surface beneath her. Even if it spun with the world, it was a better perch than feeling her arms and legs dangle and spin in nothingness. A point of reference was always preferable, especially when the alternative was blindness.

She moved her lips, trying to wet her mouth, feeling drier than usual. Perhaps it had to do with the spinning and the lead-like weight of her body. Or perhaps with her seeming inability to move properly. Maybe they were all connected, or maybe she was somewhere unknown with something unknown having happened to her. The first was clear and easy to confirm. The later less so.

Winter merely continued to sift through the seeming nothingness, hoping the hard perch her body was on remained loyally hard. She knew not what else to do, especially so when it appeared that there was nothing she could do. That thought alone was enough to aggravate her, or at least she knew it should have been. Yet, the emotion was kept far at bay.

Perhaps because of the spinning, her seeming amnesia, or the hard surface she rested on, she didn't know.

She only knew that the desire to sleep was mounting, if only to let the time pass without her having to watch it. If the odd sensations and seemingly unknown area she was in was the result of some extreme sleep deprivation, then the idea of sleeping was a demanding, if not pleasant, one. Yet, it continued to evade her as well as the course of events bringing her here.

Vision hazy and hard surface beneath her, one that continued to hold her body up, she thought it the most wonderful time and place to sleep. But it still wouldn't come. It was an aggravating feeling, even with the dizziness, back and forth, continuing to keep her twist her around.

She ceased trying to twist her various body parts, it doing nothing to quell the dizziness and certainly not helping the already sore limbs. Winter's only solace was the surface beneath her. So, if she could not escape the boredom and tedium of the hazy spinning word, she would at least hold the refuge that kept her from being truly at odds with it.

She twisted what little of her compressed and heavy torso that she could, stopping when she felt it rub against the hard body of land. Her arm draped over it in kind, pulling it closer to her. Eyes shut and no longer caring on the hazy world, she buried her head into an oddly satisfying notch of the thing she clung to. It helped, if only a little.

Though Winter did not stop. If it was helping, it would be counter intuitive to stop. Rather instead, she lift her upper leg, heavy as a container of unrefined Dust, and laying it over the mass all the same. It wasn't nearly as large as she hoped it to be, but it was nearly her size, if nothing else. Broad enough to keep her from wrapping around it completely, hardly making it halfway. That was enough.

And, thankfully, a bit of peace returned to her frazzled and seemingly hay-wired mind. That was all she could hope for now. Truly the only thing that would make this a bit more suitable, if possible, would be her Scroll. At least then she-

Ring-Ring … Ring-Ring … … Ring-Ring … Ring-Ring

Winter cracked her eyes, seeing again the haze around her. The figure she clung to was no clearer than her own hand, but she didn't dare let go of it. Instead, she looked up, searching for the sound that had hit her thoughts, so sure that her obviously sleep deprived mind imagined.

Ring-Ring … Ring-Ring … …

And instead, she saw something floating in the haze and mysterious world.

Her scroll.

That was the ring of her scroll, an important message doubtlessly if someone were able to reach out to her here, wherever here was. Her hazy gaze lifted up, searching for the familiar device and its even more familiar ring.

Ring-Ring … Ring-Ring … …

"Huh…" She let out slowly, unclear if it was real or not. It was floating above her and well within reach, at least reach that was normally measured with active and unobstructed limbs. With limbs of lead and metal, it was difficult to lift her arm, but it would be best to try then nothing at all. To do nothing was not an allowable option in the Atlesian Training.

Her arm lifted up, earning a dissatisfied groan from her lips, as her fingers flicked the edges of the scroll. It hovered there for a moment, before a final reach of her arm grabbed it. Her harm fell like a rock in water back to the hard surface she clung to, far more satisfied than before. Still, with scroll in hand. It would be good to answer it.

Ring-Ring … Ring-Click. "Hello?..." Winter carefully let out, lungs having a difficult time pushing the word from her lips. But she managed, just as a Schnee always would. She was rewarded with a swift answer from the other end of the line.

"Let go." Came an unfamiliar voice. She didn't understand. "Let go so we may move you." Let go of… the figure she held? No, that wasn't allowable. The hard surface she clung to was the only amount of piece she had at the moment, and far be it from her to trust a strange voice in an unfamiliar land.

"No," Winter groaned back out. "Later." She spoke simply again before tapping the Scroll.

Click.

The line died with the action. Good. She carefully flicked her wrist, releasing the Scroll in the same motion. It flew into the void and out of hazy sight and frazzle mind. Better. Winter let out a slow sigh as she pushed herself in closer to the hard-comforting mass. Until true help arrived, and not some purposeless voice, she would remain her.

* * *

"Now that's an answer," Qrow spoke up as he watched the Ice Queen squirm back into place next to Link. He couldn't have hidden his smirk if he tried, so he didn't bother. Oz, on the other hand, standing above the pair, appeared far less pleased. Go figure why.

Qrow leaned on the door of the room, facing in and watching the four people in it. Well, three and a half, but he was sure the Oz would give him a look if he called the tike a half a person. Still, wasn't like he had a reason to talk at all, not when three of the people in the room were dead asleep. Or, again, two and a half. Only one awake and alert was the big man of Beacon himself.

And he didn't look happy. Not even patient. Usually that was a bad sign. Right now, though, Qrow just let his grin where itself. It was, after all, a rare event for his Semblance to work out so well for him. Usually it'd have bit him in the ass by now. Yet, if it be Lady Luck or the God of Dust, he was still above it all.

"Told ya, she's not going anywhere." Qrow commented softly to Oz, the silver-haired man standing to his tallest, grabbing the shaft of his cane. Couldn't bang that on the ground in this room, not right now. "Put 'em both to bed after they knocked themselves out. A bed that's in a private room without a show. Just pick up and drop off, easier than most the other trips you put me on."

But he continued to glare at him, through those weird zig-zag frames of his. Only an old man like Oz could pull of that look. Not that Qrow wouldn't try it out sometime, maybe he started going full gray.

"I coulda put them somewhere a lot worse and you know it." He held out his hands, even as he continued to lean on the door frame. "Sides, I'll confess that I knew Ice Queen wasn't exactly a tank when it came to holding her liqueur, but the Super Faunus surprised me. You'd think someone whose from around the world would've been used to a few exotic drinks."

And really, he did. True, the end goal was reached, just a bit faster than he expected, but he thought it'd take half the bottle to get Link to being a bit sloshed, not less than a quarter. It was almost like the faunus was trained to drink on milk and water. And there was no way a hunter of any nation was as good as him without having at least having tried some hard liqueur before.

"Even though they got swashed 'fore I expected it, I still took care of 'em," Qrow continued on. He'd have to, for as long as Oz had that gaze on him. "Sides, look at 'em. Closest thing to inappropriate you got goin on here is that they ain't exactly of matching genders." Right now at least, considering how he witnessed Link changing back and for the between his friends.

But the situation was tame, even by the standards of his nieces! The Super Faunus and Ice Queen were inn bed together, yeah, but they were lying on top of the sheets and with all their clothes on. No muss and no fuss. And even truer, the Ice Queen was turning Link into either the luckiest or cursed bed on existence, with him here the latter, but she wasn't grabbing anywhere questionable or vice-versa. He knew the trigger areas, having invaded them all once or twice before.

And the tike that was around the Super Faunus, the gender-bent mini version of him, was out like a light on the other bed in the room. Pretty much reason enough to not put the Ice Queen somewhere else. Course, Oz was still glaring at him. And here he thought he got enough of that from Glynda and the rod up the ass general.

"Taking Ms. Schnee to her personal craft to rest for the night was undoable because…" Ah, the lead off question. Guess he couldn't play that one off.

Good thing this wasn't the first time Qrow had learned how to prank someone. Meant he had as many excuses to give as he had drinks at five. Enough to down an airship.

"Even you gotta agree that carrying her out in the open bridal style would set off a few alarm bells to anyone who catches me." Oz didn't let up. "C'mon Oz, with my Semblance and the Ice Queen right in my arms, she'd be lucky if it was just some random student who caught her. Realistically, James would probably wanna sit-rep from her." Wouldn't be the first time it happened either.

But man, Oz had the glare of the witch at this point. Damn scary thought to have them both in here. Would've been easy to retreat, but it would've made for a damn hard explanation later when he was sobered up to only a quarter drunk instead of a half. At least when he was half drunk he'd only care about half the words.

"So… situation explained, I'm guessin' your still disappointed, huh?" He scratched the back of his head as he asked. Still needed a shoulder on the door frame to keep himself from falling over. The kid waking up would be a bad thing. "You got that look, and I got that luck."

"I'm glad you realize that I am disappointed. However, I feel the need to ask you again, as I would a student, just what you were thinking?" Oz asked softly as well. Maybe he wanted to be louder, maybe he didn't. Pretty hard to get up and forceful with his voice when there was a kid sleeping two feet from him. "Do not forget that before Glynda joined me, I was superb at receiving honest answers from unruly students." That wasn't something Qrow was gonna forget, not as long as he called the big-man boss.

"Now hold on, ya don't need to threaten me with compensation work or somethin'," Qrow held up a hand. That would be the worst! Less drinking time. "I was just tryin' to get some info outta them is all. Whole reason you play the truth game." And to blackmail material. Thankfully, ten pics on his Scroll ensured that was all set.

"What truths could you possibly be looking for that I was not already aware?" Was that a serious question? "Or, better phrased, what questions do you believe could be answered without serious consequences following?" Okay, that was question.

"Don't know," Qrow started, honestly. Lying to Oz would just bite him like an Ursa later. "No surprise that Ice Queen is a happy drunk, least close to it. Didn't get much out of her asides from a guilt complex about pens. Honestly thought that the quiet faunus would turn into a talking drunk, spill something that he might be holding back."

"How do you know Link had secrets at all?" That couldn't have been serious. Qrow could have been completely hammered and he wouldn't have thought that a serious question, not from Oz.

"Cause you're the one who told me everyone's gotta secret. Hell, most people might say me workin' for you is one." Least what he did was secret enough, that was for damn sure. And if a gallon of booze couldn't get it out of him, nothing much would.

"A fair point," Ozpin returned. That was Qrow's semblance working on him. "But you do realize that even if Link had spoken, you wouldn't have heard him." Because of all that soft spoken stuff going on, right. He could kinda remember that, and how mad Ruby was about it. Figures the Ice Queen could though.

Now that he thought about it, his luck was probably biting Ruby the whole time. Maybe have to get her a dozen cookies later to apologize. Or just a bunch of strawberries.

"Yeah, that… that didn't occur to me," Qrow admitted, waggling his finger. Honestly a miracle he was still speaking so quietly. Probably because Ozpin wasn't moving from the sleeping couple, though not really in any measurable way. "Figures only the Ice Queen could hear him."

Oz sighed at that. Wait, seriously? He know?

"You knew?" Qrow asked carefully. Letting a confused grin grow on his face. He really wished he figured out how his Semblance picked its targets one of these days. "Heh, go figure that."

"How? I assume you know?" He did, he just had to remind himself to keep his voice low. He was getting back on Oz's good side and the last thing he wanted was to ruin it cause the tike couldn't handle adult talks.

"Somethin' in her ear," he noted with a push of his finger. "Rubes asked her about it when she started relaying parts of Link's long speech. Knew he was a talking drunk, just not stories I can repeat." He watched the big-man rub a hand under his chin, thinking about it. Not a time to interrupt.

"Interesting," he said that infamous phrase now, least it was to Qrow. "I'll have to ask James if he can procure more of those devices. It made sense the technology exists, if Penny can hear him as well." Penny?

"Who's that?" Qrow returned.

"A prototype Atlesian android, creation of Dr. Polendina." Ah, that guy. Qrow like him. At least he could handle his liqueur. "James used a clever tactic to get her away from Atlas and join the Beacon curriculum. She's currently unassigned to a team, but partnering with Teams RWBY and JNPR." Good to know.

He watched Oz drop his hand, staring at the pair of knocked-out drunk huntsman. Would've been creepy if it weren't for the fact that he carried, definitely not dragged, them here. Course, the big-man was probably making sure it was safe to leave the faunus tike alone. Had to be careful to stay on Link's good side.

"Now with that small mattered settled," Oz began, turning back to Qrow. Bad sign. "Please explain why Ms. Rose was present for this game." And that was Qrow's Semblance falling back to himself.

"Eh, boredom?" Qrow shrugged his shoulders with the answer. It didn't make Oz happy. Big surprise there. "Seriously, I was just thinking that she was tighter with the Super Faunus than anyone else in the room." Not untrue. "Figured that if she was there, he'd trust me enough to give the game a try." Complete lie.

"Ruby Rose told me of what happened." Ah, maybe his luck really was biting him harder than he thought.

"When you say what happened," Qrow began carefully. "Do you mean just the drinking or… what?" He rolled his arms carefully. Oz didn't respond. Still a bad sign. "So everything then?"

"Everything until she ran from the room," Ozpin continued. "And I had to stop her before she ran to her team and told them of what happened." That would've been bad, mostly cause the Ice Queen's sibling spawn was on her team, if he recalled correctly. Hard to tell while half-drunk. "That didn't stop her from speaking to the pair of Link's fairies.

When Qrow's Semblance chose a target, it certainly didn't let up easily.

"Seriously?" Oz only nodded at the question, wearing the wry smile he kept whenever he knew he was in control of a situation. Perfect, back to square one. Still, wasn't a complete loss. "Eh, could be worse. Just a couple of floating balls of dust, or Dust, whichever one. Not like they can do much." No sooner had the words left his mouth than Qrow knew he had messed up. "Better question, what did they do?"

"I honestly do not know," Ozpin replied, but that smile was not to be trusted. Even if he was walking out of the room and past Qrow. "I only know they accompanied Ms. Rose back to her room, with her teammates, and were likely to eagerly discuss where she had been." Because of course they would.

"Okay…" Qrow started slowly. Once the big-man was out of the way of the door, he shut it, making sure it didn't create a 'boom' or else he'd get the heel for that, too. Enough was piling up on him. "So what are the chances she'll cut her favorite uncle –

"Only uncle."

" _Favorite_ uncle a break?" Oz wasn't going to ruin that for him. "Better yet, what the chances the fairies will keep quiet if she does?"

Oz started walking down the hall again, can slipping through his hands and tapping as he went. Qrow followed behind him, keeping an eye on the boss and listening closely. Any hints were good hints when they came from the man in the high green tower.

"I would not put a number on the chance you have," his boss replied. "I would only point out that one of the fairies is aplty named 'Tatl' and has a preference to yell over speaking."

Ah crap.

"And I imagine that a brother named 'Tael' would have little difficulty in painting the situation." Well wasn't that peachy?

"You're screwing with me, right?" Qrow questioned as he caught up to Oz, walking side-by-wide with him. The big-man just kept walking, tapping his cane and looking none the wiser. "I'm not sayin' I'll get away scott free, but I didn't exactly leave those two for a couple of wanderin' newbies to find. C'mon, you're a tough guy to figure out Oz. Throw me a bone here."

"I've always said Qrow, even while you were a student of mine, that your actions are you own." Oz gave that usual look of his. Hard to say the big-guy was ever wrong when he had that sure smirk. Not hard to realize why Raven hated it. "The only aspect of them that I truly felt the need to intervene with was your constant dereliction to use your Semblance against others for poor gains." Oh yeah, that cryptic bull-crap. Shame that he understood it for once.

"Hey, I've gotten better," Qrow pointed at his boss, letting the silver man raise a brow. He could raise both for all he cared. "I'm here helpin' you out after all. Not to mention that the Ice Queen and the Super Faunus in room A." He thumbed the door, they had left. "Even got a daycare rolling in there from what I saw."

"A child in need of guidance offered it from Link himself, the 'Super Faunus' I believe you are referring to." Grade A detective work on the big-man's part. Even if he had to adjust his glasses to keep that usual wry smirk from showing. The kids could fall for it, but Qrow wasn't a kid anymore. He'd been in too many beds.

Just like Winter now~.

"As I was saying Qrow, your actions, no matter what they may be, I believe come from a place of genuine care for others." Qrow blew a strand of hair out of his eyes at the words. Oz wasn't wrong, but a hell of a way to say it. "You are, after all, the most knowledgeable of how your Semblance works, and I am aware that you would not recklessly endanger others with it. Though you would never hear the words from James or Glynda, you are a careful individual."

"Only with where I sleep," Qrow countered, smirking like he was sure Oz did whenever he made a point. His old headmaster made some sort of grunting noise in response. "Sides that, I may be half-way to drunk, but I'm not dumb enough to risk things that don't got a benefit." And the benefit from his little meeting was tucked away on his scroll.

"That is why I trust you, Qrow," Oz spoke up, pointing at him as they walked. Talk about a compliment. Too bad he didn't have that on camera. "However, I also know better than to interfere with your mistakes unless there is something to be gained from them." Oh crap, more cryptic bull crap.

"What's that-?"

" **HE DID** **WHAT** **TO WINTER** **!?** "

Qrow felt his ears ring. He didn't have much more time than that. He'd been in enough trouble to know that when people, or fairies, sounded like that, it wasn't a time to start wondering what was going to happen. It was time to start running.

And his sister had taught him all about running away.

Qrow ran ahead of Oz, thanking whatever God was in charge of his Semblance for leaving the hallways empty as he barreled through them. School hadn't changed much since he'd been here, and that was a good thing. Problem was, those fairies probably knew it about as well as he did. Booze was not the friend of the mind.

Slam! Qrow turned and locked a door behind, remembering right where he was, about at least. A lab room with two exits, and a storage room. Few windows to boot, so exits. That was good. Problem was, they probably wouldn't last.

He peeked out the door-window, looking for shadows before figures. Enough time running from angry ex's and bar tabs had taught him how to stay out of sight. Now he was using those tricks to hide from a pissed off little girl.

" **I'M GONNA BITE HIS NOSE OFF!** "

Scratch that, a little girl and a faunus's fairy companions. Great.

"Having fun yet?" Qrow whipped around, falling down till his butt hit the floor.

He stared back at Oz, leaning against a table with his cane in hand. Qrow blinked. He was half-drunk before, but he was sobering up fast. That was hardly ever a good sign.

"How did you-"

"You believed you could out pace me in my own school, Qrow?" His former Headmaster spun his damn cane around his hand, stopping when it tapped the ground. Because of course he couldn't give a straight answer. Then again, now wasn't exactly the time to act wise.

" **FIND THE COCKROACH!** "

" **PLUCK HIS WINGS!** "

No, now was the time to beg.

"Hey Oz," Qrow started, already thinking of what doors to run through and hoping the windows still opened upwards. "You think I can ask a favor? For bein' such a loyal worker of yours?" He heard the big guy give a chuckle of some kind.

Never a good first sign. He was moving through the room in the next minute. Had to prepare the bunker and all that fun stuff.

"That depends," Ozpin returned, like he didn't know what was coming. Qrow had known him too long to fall for that dumb guise. He knew exactly what was going on. That was the problem. "You know it is against proper protocol or moral standards in Beacon policy to interfere with a family matter." Oh like hell it was!

"The consider it a wish from a dying man," Qrow shot back, fingers already spinning latches to the doors in the room. "Or how 'bout a forward bonus for me making sure the pair of them don't wake up with headaches tomorrow?" Was the tilt of the head really necessary? Qrow was only four drinks down before and he was sure the stress of the situation was burning through them fast. "C'mon, it's like ya said, I'm not gonna do anything to risk yer students or projects."

"I did say that, or amongst those lines." Ozpin admitted. "Though I fear the coming retribution is due less for things you have intended and more for what you've done." Isn't that what it always came down to? Since when was he ever let go for trying to do something right?

"C'mon Oz," Qrow spoke again, keeping his eyes on the man, even if his boss kept up that wry grin. Maybe Raven was right about that thing, needing a good 'shave' and all that. "If ya wanna keep me 'round for whatever you got planning, I'm bettin' it'll be easier if I'm in one, piece, right?" Kinda hard to keep the city and his nieces safe if he was being torn apart by them.

And it was stupid how he considered silence from the big guy a good thing. Silence meant shut-up everywhere else he got it.

" **I WILL NOT STOP! MY SISTER'S GOOD NAME WILL BE AVENGED!** "

Was that pounding or stomping he heard? Silence would be great there. Dust Oz had better speak up soon.

"Give me your Scroll."

Qrow whipped it out and handed the collapsed screen to the big-man's outstretched hand. Oz pulled it in, opening it and flipping through it. Dust knew how he got the password, but that was question for another truth game, maybe.

 _SNAP_! The question for now was obvious.

Namely, the two pieces of metal and shattered glass in his boss's hands. And that freaking smile was clearer than the shards falling to the floor. Qrow felt a headache coming and the alcohol had nothing to do with it. Or maybe only a part of it.

"The hell'd you break that for?" He asked. Answer was pretty obvious though. More muscle memory than necessity asking for it.

"I hardly need more than a glance to know that you would likely find… something to hold over Ms. Schnee's and Link's collective heads, given their unfortunate situation earlier." He was a smart as he was cryptic, go figure for the freaking big-man. "I said it once already, I have been an instructor to students before." Yeah, to him.

"So, we're good now, right?" Qrow asked, making sure he was out of sight of the windows. Brats tended to find what they wanted, if Yang and Ruby were the class average for detective work.

" **HE'S GONE THIS WAY!** "

" **DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE!** "

And maybe they were, but apparently the fairies were a cut above the rest.

"I actually need one last thing from you." Qrow felt his brows rise as he stared at Oz. What, his bank account? He already spent it all on booze. "Just a small favor, actually, to be paid up later once you have been… rescued, as it were."

Of all the stupid…

"Okay, okay, and the last thing is?" Qrow asked. He could already hear those fairies yelling. Considering how the golden one was like a smaller angrier Glynda Goodwitch, that didn't bold well. 'Specially when she got all red like Yang pissed off… "You know I'm gonna say yes Oz, so please don't test my Semblance. It'll win any game of chicken you play."

"I need your help with watching Link's charge," he said, cane rolling between his fingers. "You remember her, I'm sure, the tike as you called her." The brat? Oh you had to be kidding.

"You're just giving me younger and younger kids to watch, you know that?" Qrow argued. Start with some fellow hunters, move down to young 'Maidens' then literal kids who can't even talk yet. What's next, a baby?" And the boss didn't even flinch.

"I believe the last person on this planet I would trust you with is a baby, Qrow," Oz noted easily. "Least of all because of your nieces as examples." They were great kids! What was the problem?

Oh yeah, one of them had helped rat him out.

" **I WILL PULVERIZE YOUR UNCLE!** "

" **I'LL HELP!** "

"Frick," Qrow let out. Great, now there were even more brats after him. Who knew when that number was gonna stop. "Alright, fine, ya got a deal Oz. I'll help ya watch the kid."

"Excellent." Oz gave a proud smile at the words. If Qrow wasn't getting used to situations like this, he'd have thought the guy planned it. Then again, there was a God in charge of how it worked, he could've been looking at him. "I'm sure Moraine will be thrilled to meet the Huntsman who helped save her before. Be sure to pick her up from me late tomorrow so we can avoid any issues."

Wait, that was it?

"That's it?" Qrow let out, peaking out the window above him. "You're not gonna get the brats off of me? I can take 'em in a fight, but I'm old enough to know how that'll look." Experience helped as well.

"I will be sure to relieve Ms. Schnee and her companions from our tail, Qrow, at least for now." For now? Oh great, now he was being blackmailed. One hell of a way for it to all turn on its head. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have students to calm and rooms to prepare." Okay, rooms now?

"Rooms for who?" Qrow asked. "Is one a morgue? Or a bunker for me to stay in?" If the Ice Queen's younger spawn was gonna stay here, he might it. Least his nieces would probably help her out, and he couldn't sleep with an eye open, not if he wanted to catch up on his drinking.

"No, actually," Oz returned. "I need to prepare a conference room." The hell? "Now, you stay here, preferably for the night, maybe next day, depending on how Link and Winter react to your little prank of yours."

Oz slipped out a moment later, hardly making a noise. Qrow slumped against the wall he huddled against, wishing he had a least a bottle of booze to pass the time.

" **RING HIS THROAT!** "

" **TEAR HIS SOUL!** "

And here he had hoped that banshees were just another fairy tale. Figures that nothing in his life ever stayed in his head.

Dust Damn bad luck.

* * *

'When in the course of a battle or mission, personal emotions are to be considered a detriment and interference to proper action.' Those were words her General Ironwood had spoken to Penny regarding the affects of personal conflict of soldiers before going on missions. It was, as he explained, a valid reason to remove a soldier from their post.

The reason being was simple, and logical, if they were distracted or thinking about a prerogative aside from the shared goal or target, then the success of the mission would be put at risk. It was very logical, and simple to. At least, as her recall protocols spoke, simple to describe in a verbal manner. Resolving the issue never involved the same protocol, which made it a complex issue.

The general had resolved the issue through a myriad of ways before, with her present. In her recall folders, a random selection of 10% of data included cases including immediate dismissal, paid leave, observed confrontation, emotional debriefing, and temporary compensation. Different issues that often-required different actions, all stemming from the same problem.

Hence, as her memories and adaptive protocol reminded her, a simple issue with a complex answer.

But she was Penny Polendina, the first Aura-Powered Android of the Atlesian Military and best-friend to Ruby Rose and Link Last-Name-Undisclosed! IF she was unable to resolve the complex issue, then she would unable to fully assist her second best-friend on his mission to find his assumed first best-friend and confirmed previous partner!

So, her algorithms had determined the course of actions she should take, collecting a pool of data from previous recorded memories and the Atlestian Military folder regarding troop personality traits.

That is, namely, why she was speaking to one Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester.

Both boys sat across from one another, per her previous observed meetings involving conflicting parties, and with her aside and beside them. As the general had pointed out to her, it was important that she be present by out of sight, so she would not be considered during their verbal discussion, not in the means of resolution. The multitude of data sources pulled from the CCTS also indicated an analyzed time of 67% that resolutions dependent upon a middle party often fell apart when said party member was removed.

Hence, Penny had to put herself in the position of meeting mediator, and not resolution coordinator. The definitional differences took her computing algorithms approximately 21.33 minutes to tell the difference. But now that she had them, they could continue.

"Jaune Arc," she spoke firstly to the blonde boy, shorter than Cardin and only a touch taller than herself, physically weaker than the both of them. "Cardin Winchester," she now addressed the tallest, and second strongest, in the room, who had arms folded and glaring at the boy across from him. "Are you both present minded of why I requested you both here?"

'Always begin with common ground, often neutral preferred. Otherwise the conversation would never proceeded as so desired.' A coordinator of her calibration team had told her that during her 213rd test. She saved in the respective folder for review and use, which she was stupendously happy to finally be using.

"Had to guess, to try and figure out the… bad blood?" Bad blood? Penny was no aware there were any toxins or aqueous diseases present in either boy. Oh! Her bad. That was meant to be a metaphor for the relationship between two individuals, often stemming from a specific event.

"Yes! Correct, Jaune!" She congratulated the boy, slapping her hands together. Both boys looked at her, perhaps because she was too loud. An analysis of noise levels in the memories of the general's interactions showed a moderate decibel level, which she already exceeded. That was improper then. "Yes, that is why I desired us to meet here. Am I incorrect in assuming there is a negative relationship between the two of you?"

"Yup, dead wrong," Cardin spoke now, confusingly. Penny could admit that her social algorithms were still dependent upon more data to grow her machine learning, but the avoidance of eye-contact, interaction, and general negative comments regarding one another made it evident to her something was wrong. In addition, Dr. Oobleck said something was wrong. "Arc and I already got our relationship figured out. I don't bother him and gives me the same curtesy."

Ah, avoidance behavior then. Penny made note of it in the meeting notes. A common tactic that was employed by individuals seeking to avoid conflict without resolution. A temporary fix, as clarified by the CCTS transmissions. That would assume it would not be sufficient for long-term interaction between the two.

"Well… he's not wrong." Oh? Confirmation on the side of the second party? "We had a… disagreement early in the year. That's all taken care of now though. Just… easy going between the two of us." In 89% of the applicable cases she found relating to this, Penny found that failure to address the underlying issue would result in a likely catastrophic meeting which was likely to result in physical harm or mental trauma.

That wouldn't be fair to her best friends or good friends! No friends were allowed to be harmed if Penny was within the boundary of interference, so said Papa Zepp!

Then the next question was where to begin? The question could relate to either the incident described by both parties or relate to physical observations of the two. The conflict resolutions examples she had in her memory banks had them existing in equal measure, within the likelihood of error. That meant she had to make a 'guess'! Penny hid her excitement.

"I disagree!" Penny spoke up, trying to hide her excitement. Her protocols for reducing her endorphin simulations was difficult to program, however. Papa Zepp it was meant to be on a different protocol from her usual access ports. So, instead, she 'ignored' the looks of confusion from both boys. There was a 74% chance they would understand. "I have been present for two interactions between both of you and I have observed and statistical anomaly regarding your interactions in comparison to others around you, data sets including friends, teammates, professors, and unaffiliated members."

"Wait, you measured that?" Jaune Arc asked. An interesting question, given that it was unrelated to the topic at hand. "Why? No, wait, _how_? Like… is your memory just that crazy?"

"More like she's crazy," Cardin answered. Crazy was usually used as an insult when describing an individual, given only positive connotations when describing actions. Was she something negative to him? "Just don't question it Arc, you'll hurt your head." Ah, deflection, that was given a positive statement here as it removed the chance of revealing herself.

These were her future compatriots in her quest with Link, but they were not members of Team RWBY, and therefore, unaffiliated with her true nature. That was to remain undisclosed at this time, per Papa Zepp's protocols… and her own modifications.

"Avoidance behavior!" She noted, raising her hand. Both boys stared at it again. Good, perhaps, at least enough for her to correct the direction of the conversation. A resolution was still desired. "The topic of this conversation and discussion is not me, but the relationship existing between Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester. This meeting is designed to…" Penny quickly ran through her 'slang' folder for a proper term the boys' could understand. "Oh! 'Air the dirty laundry' between the two oppositional parties."

"Then this is gonna be a quick meeting," Cardin added, confusingly. How was he aware of that? Was there data he had that Penny did not? He waved one of bulky, but fleshy, arms at Jaune. "Jaune and I already got an understanding. Nothing to air that we haven't already. Right, Arc?" A question! Perhaps it would give her useful data on their relationship.

"Yeah, that's basically true," Jaune returned now. Was that good? It wasn't enough information to draw a conclusion. That made it an unacceptable response to her discussion algorithms. Fortunately, her new function was calibrated to the extent to provide possible responses. As such, it was Penny's duty to offer one.

In this case, counter-examples.

"If that is the case, then why were you antagonistic to Cardin when you were assisting the orphans two days prior?" The boy looked at her confused. That, but the deflection of his jaw also showed a level of confliction, a mixture of emotions. She let her algorithms run on those for a moment. "You had positive responses and advice offered to your teammates Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, as well as myself, but you offered Cardin only insults in return. Why is that?"

The boy didn't respond to her, a likely indication of either being caught or not-knowing the answer. As Penny had enough information to deduce a conflict between both team leaders, then she was aware it was caught in deceit. Non-malicious, she footnoted, but still deceit.

"Tch, nothing new there," Cardin responded. Penny looked at him now, carefully as the general would. Her machine memory perfectly adapted General Ironwood's features, enough to show she was disappointed with the boy's comments. He was being rude!

"And you, Cardin, were willing to leave many children behind to avoid Jaune Arc, even though they were in need of assistance." His arms left their folded position, a clear indicator that she was affecting him. Excellent. "That is not how a Huntsman is supposed to act, and clearly indicates there is something negative separating both you and Jaune Arc."

Now it was the taller boy's turn to be quiet, leaving the room quiet, at least at normal human level of hearing. Penny had to remind herself they were not able to attune their decibel range to that of radio frequencies. It would be unfair to call the room noise saturated at this moment.

However, now may be a good time to restate the primary purpose of the meeting. So long as both of the team leaders were listening to her, which their non-verbal responses gave a likely 65% indication of.

"We have been chosen to assist Dr. Oobleck and Link tomorrow morning. The venture will take an estimated six days' time and require a demonstration of physical abilities, mental deduction, and most importantly, teamwork." _Hiccup!_

Penny told a lie. She had no data indicating teamwork was a higher prerogative than the physical or mental abilities of any member present. Her systems and databanks called it a 'necessary lie'.

"To accomplish this with minimum risk of failure or error in operation, it is a requirement we come to an understanding as students before we depart." Cardin gave her a hard look, denoted as having a furrowed brow and a narrowing of occular gaze. Penny was aware it was common for him to give this appearance when he was about to make a retort.

"Then how come just us then, huh?" he asked, waving his hand between herself and Jaune. It was an unnecessary act. "I don't see Sky or Miss Perfect here. Heck, if this is so important, why are the Huntsman here?" Valid questions, to those Penny had been given pre-determined answers.

"We are respective team leaders or solo-operatives that are held responsible for the actions of those beneath us." It was the response General Ironwood gave when addressing captains of individual squads. "And we are an assumed pubescent age to be able to handle conversation and discussion without adult supervision." Papa Zepp had told her that.

Jaune chuckled at the comments though. Was that good? Laughter was often an important sign of positive responses. However, through time with Team CRDL, Penny had no less than 25 instances of it being used in a negative connotation as well.

"Sorry, sorry," Jaune spoke. He was apologizing though, which was superb! "Just… you're not wrong. It's just… kinda funny is all." Penny was unaware how. Her curiosity algorithm, given high priority by her Papa told her to ask why.

However, her efficiency algorithm overrode it. Resolving the conflict before departure tomorrow was of a higher priority.

"Look, things are working out between us cause… we each basically got something on one another." Cardin's answer confused her. Penny found her head tilting, biasing coolant fluid to her processing unit. They had a gift for one another? An article of clothing? "Arc over her did something, that I'm aware of, and I did some stupid stuff, too, which he's aware of. Long as we both keep our mouths shut, we're all square. Make sense?" The larger boy was looking at her, but Penny was unsure why. Jaune was the one he was supposed to be addressing.

"He's right," Jaune Arc agreed. Oh, and he was also looking at her. "We… can't say it, because that's what it means to have an agreement. Just… you can understand that we're both good to our word, on _this_ at least." And now Jaune was looking at Cardin, which was excellent! However, the reducing in the distance of his brows and firmness of his voice implied a response originating in antagonistic behavior, which was bad.

"My word is gold, _Arc_." Now Cardin was responding the same. This was a bad scenario, at least in the moment. Penny had little data on how to respond to return to a neutral conversation. "There ain't a single time I've ever lied to someone to get my way. Sides, you know I'm not the _liar_ , Arc." Oh, a heavy emphasis on the noun liar.

Was that perhaps to be used as an address to described Jaune? The guilt her facial recognition software deduced showed that it likely was. Unfortunately, she did not have enough historical data to make an assumption of the topic being lied about. It did clarify the antagonistic relationship from Cardin to Jaune, however.

"Yeah, you don't lie," Jaune added in now. Penny watched, silent as the general in such meetings, as the boy's face hardened. His shoulders straightened in the same time, signifying confidence growth. "You just use _people_ to get what you want." And another response back! Better for her data, giving clear indication of the confrontational relationship between the two on both levels! Hooray!

 _BAM_! Penny stared at Cardin's fist, flat against the table.

"You wanna say that _again_?" The boy growled, similar to how he did after Penny was victorious of him in 'arm-wrestling'. "C'mon, try it. Unlike you, _I_ don't need my partners to fight _for me_!" That was an indication to Pyrrha Nikos, the partner of Jaune Arc.

Battle records were quickly downloaded by Penny from Beacon's servers. She'd apologize to Glydna Goodwitch if she found out. There was a 95% chance she would. Therefore, a correction, she would apologize when she found out. That was not the current issue at hand.

The records indicate a perfect win-streak of Pyrrha Nikos in combat testing underneath Glynda Goodwitch, but the opposite trend apparent for Jaune Arc. She Boolean searched similar matches between the two. A conclusion was quickly reached.

"Are you referring to how Pyrrha Nikos tends to claim victory in fights that Jaune Arc loses?" She asked Cardin carefully. The boy looked at her with a knit brow, blowing air out of his nose. A masculine trait to relieve anger, she deduced through many observations.

"Yeah, that." Stupendous~! "And so much more, right Arc?" Horrendous. There was more outlying data she was not aware of. "It's almost like she actually gave a damn about getting into the school, no _short-cuts_." Cardin's words were documented and stored through Penny's auditory receptors.

Jaune Arc's flinch was recorded through her ocular inputs. She had enough data, both collected and documented by others, to show the likelihood of that indicating a deceptive action on the accused's parts, one they were aware of and trying to hide, poorly. It was a 'tell' of inexperienced liars.

Was Jaune Arc a liar? The data was beginning to indicate he was, which would be unfortunate.

"Yeah, she did…" Jaune admitted. Was this a confession then? "By trying her best, by working hard, and by helping _everyone_ she sees, no matter _who they are_. Can you do that, _Cardin_?" Couldn't he? Penny was not aware of Cardin Winchester possessing an inability to aid those not meeting specific physical requirements.

However, the boy gripped his fists against the table. _SNAP!_ He had also cracked the wood of the table. His physical strength was above average, but a few kilonewtons below her own.

That was unimportant. The situation was escalating.

"Still a hell of a lot more _capable_ than you, Arc!" Cardin was standing now, glaring down at Jaune. Not good.

"Maybe a few _months ago_ , but unlike you, I better _myself_ for _everyone_! You only care about yourself!" Now Jaune was standing, yelling at Cardin. Not good!

"Least I know who I am, no lies attached! Nothing about me is _fake_!" He was leaning over the table. Definitely not good!

"Better to be an optimistic _faker_ than a _sadistic bully_!" Jaune wasn't backing down as her data banks indicated was the likely outcome. Really really not good!"

"I'm _strong_ enough to take care of myself! You can't lift your _shield_ without your team giving you a hand!" Cardin pointed at Jaune, menacingly. Penny determined it through observation alone. _Horribly_ not good!

"And I'm getting _better_ everyday for it! You're the _same_ as you were since day _freaking one_!" Jaune threw his arms out, a 'come at me' posture! Monumentally not good!

"Anyone can look at me and tell that I've gotten here _by myself_!"

" _Anyone_ can look at you and tell you're a _sadist_! Least I actually _want_ to help others!"

"You wanna help _yourself_! It's all you've ever done, even back when I found out 'bout you! It's _always_ you _you YOU_!"

Not good, not good, not good, _not good, not good, not good, not good_!

_"Lying piece of trash!"_

_"Stupid sack of jealousy!"_

_"You fucking faker!"_

_"You damn racist!_ "

_**SLAM-CRACK!** _

Both boys jumped away at the sudden explosion of noise… and the explosion of the table. Penny just looked down.

Her hands were through the table, or what was left it. Odd. She didn't recall doing that.

Her fingers lightly extended and flexed, servos rotating and reversing to ensure there was no debris or improper excitation voltage in her circuits, shorts from her other systems. Nothing happened.

But here she was, staring at the ruins of the table.

"Oh dear," she spoke, staring at her hands, balled into fists. She still had trouble finding the log indicating the motion of her servos. How odd. "I think I broke the table."

"Yeah… I think you did, too." Jaune added. He was in agreement at least.

"Probably wanna watch yourself. Dust knows you got an arm." Cardin added, inaccurately. Dust was an inorganic compound and possessed no awareness. He was aware, as was his team, but that was it.

However, human auditory level silence returned to the room afterwards. The boys remained standing by the mangled table, Penny have retratcted her fists from the ruined surface. She would have to apologize to Headmaster Ozpin later. She made an important note of it next she saw him, likely tomorrow morning.

That was unimportant now though. The conversation was don't. At least, Penny's analysis centers hoped it wasn't. She hadn't had enough external data to reach a conclusion, about either the origin of the boys' conflict or its resolution.

What was a young android girl to do? Her hard-coded functions had no answers.

"I believe… we are getting 'off track' as they say," Penny carefully said. It was an expression she heard many soldiers say when they were discussing operations and formations, usually when someone made a comment unrelated to the procedure. There was a very high probability it could be applied here. "We, I, us, yes. WE need to focus on the hunting trip beginning tomorrow."

Instead of a direct and easy answer, she was settling for looking from Cardin to Jaune, watching them eye one another with harsh gazes, like the generals after one of the Councilmen assumed something over him. Something mean or unnecessary. That was bad. It was still unresolved.

Perhaps… a few more words were necessary.

At this point in time, it was important to restate the shared goal.

"It is important we are all in agreement before we leave so that we are best able to assist Link and Dr. Oobleck with their research." Both boys watched her, Cardin Winchester with folded arms and Jaune Arc with a stiffer posture. "A conflict on our parts or within our student body may result in a dissatisfactory outcome of the endeavor, which would reflect ourselves negatively on the professors of Beacon Academy."

Penny observed Cardin roll his eyes through her own ocular devices, noting the dismissal of her words. Jaune gave no such negative indicator, but she observed no positive acceptance either. This was not enough. Hence, an emphasis on the goal.

"It is important to remember that we are doing this to help Link find his old partner, a fairy denoted as Navi." Cardin Winchester blinked at her words. Was he unaware? "She is a precious companion to Link, observed by both Tatl and Tael through conversation with Dr. Oobleck as well as Link himself. If we are not careful as a team, we may jeopardize the retrieval of his friend."

Cardin looked away, but gave no verbal response. Her algorithms gave a 45% chance of it being reluctance acceptance of her statement. A 43% gave it to be that he was not willing to accept it, but had no obvious counter-measure to speak of. The other 12% were of undistinguishable answers holding no significance.

"Yeah, but… we'll work together when that happens, right?" Jaune asked now. Penny believed it was best to always work together, independent of environmental situations or hazards. It was the most efficient manner of working. "And, I know Cardin at least works when he has to. So, as long as we just… keep our distance, we'll be fine. Right?"

" _Hmm_ ," Cardin snorted in response. Given her observational data through interactions with his team the week prior, Penny was aware that was the response given when accepting a statement from an unfavorable party, which Jaune Arc was. However, historical data showed many errors in Jaune Arc's logic.

They needed more examples to push their conclusions away.

"Given the location that we are due to explore, an underground mining shaft, failure to cooperate or work together may lead to a cave-in, dust explosion, loss of direction, pit-falls, or many other previously documented mining hazards." The list she had was extensive, but Papa Zepp had warned her about listing everything to humans. They didn't have good memories and weren't impressed.

"Yeah, no different than any other kind of hunt." Cardin was incorrect, but Penny did not interrupt. "You can get lost in the woods, fall off a cliff, dehydrate in the desert, drown in a lake, or 'bout anything else. No such thing as a safe environment." Of that, hew as correct. Varying degrees of safe, but nothing of guaranteed 100% safety.

"Correct," Penny added. "However, I am unable to determine any factors to observe to predict when such hazards may befall us. I can only estimate that, through close interaction and moderate levels of trust, we can prevent damage from occurring." The boy glared at her again. Maybe now he understood.

Hopefully. Penny's data bank indicated he gave the same appearance between acceptance and annoyance. An odd boy, in any regards. Then again, she was an odd girl. The ruined desk beneath her metallic and latex garbed phalanges was proof of that.

Something else had to be said. This remained an unsatisfactory discussion, and she would not let her first discussion amongst fellow students be for naught!

This was why her curiosity and learning algorithms wanted to come to Beacon. Interaction!

Perhaps… now was the time to remind them of something positive!

"I cannot determine what is the source of the negativity between you two," Penny noted, pointing form the taller to the shorter boy, both far from frail by appearance. "However, I have one key and non-superfluous datapoint indicating that you both can work together in a positively engaging manner."

The team leaders looked at one another, maybe for once both equally confused and looking for an answer. Her facial recognition algorithms could not detect animosity in the gaze. Stupendous!

"When it came to helping the children before, you both worked together!" Penny omitted the transit data points including the argument regarding Cardin's presence and his lack of ability to speak pleasantly to the severely harmed children. He had helped, and helped enough to give them comfort.

When a task was concluded, only the end results mattered.

"Jaune, your coordination of resources was commendable, unaffected by the external stimuli that was otherwise catastrophic to Pyrrha Nikos." She looked at the boy, watching him blink at her words. Bashfulness or unease, her algorithms couldn't determine which. "And Cardin, once you began to help, your size and strength were a great help, and you took direction from Jaune with little need for correction."

"That's cause…" Cardin started, but Penny kept her eyes on him, like General Ironwood would. Her data banks declared it a statistical anomaly whenever it failed. "It's cause Arc was the only one with a head for what was going on. It made… sense, he'd know what to do."

"Yeah… guess I did then," Jaune added on first. Excellent! Penny felt her oral servos bend her lips to an smile, 89% capacity! "Yeah, it took a while, but… you really made it easier to give those kids some help." And positive reinforcement! More excellent. Now for Cardin…

Penny looked to him, not letting her facial expression shift. The boy looked at her, blinking, before turning back to Arc. Humans required longer time to react to stimuli than she did, so patience was key. And Penny could be patient, even if it was called 'sleeping'.

"And you… really knew how to calm those kids down…" Card spoke positively as well! Penny nearly reached the maximum character length of her footnote detailing the grimace Cardin had as well as the distaste in his vocals, indicated by her auditory and ocular inputs, but the words were very positive in context. Steps forward were to be celebrated! "Better they ended up with you than somewhere else."

"Heh, yeah, I guess so." And Jaune was smiling! Excellent! Wonderful! "Now I just hope I do the same thing on this mission now." Oh? Penny's auditory sensors and emotional algorithms detected the unease. A sign of a lack of confidence, perhaps.

"It's like I said, Arc," Cardin spoke now, grinning. "Your whole team helps you lift yer shield. Long as your girlfriend is with you, you'll do fine." Penny turned her smile's intensity to 100%!

Truly this was a fortuitous meeting! Though, if the average indicator of positive to negative indications was to be properly examined, it only offered her data while 'exposing wounds' for the boys, as General Ironwood would say, likely 86% of the time.

And further notes indicated that she had yet to reach the source of the boy's discomfort for one another, the likely reason for their conflicting personalities and actions, but the positive reinforcement of words between them indicated a positive growth in their relationship! Such a marvelous thing!

"If we're done here, I'm gonna go," Cardin spoke again, thumbing towards the door. "Gotta talk to Sky about packing and getting ready for tomorrow." Oh yes, preparation of physical needs. The student body likely did not carry all of their necessities for living on hand like she did. Efficiency would be detrimentally decreased if they did.

"Yeah, same," Jaune spoke up. "Pyrrha's going to be wondering what we need. Not like I can let her pack everything alone." He laughed, and laughter was excellent! Even if his was noticeably below the mean laughter in terms of pitch and volume, it still implied a jovial situation!

"And _I_ will talk to Dr. Oobleck about our _excavation equipment_!" Penny threw her hand up, pleased with herself.

 _Slap! Slap!_ Then blinked at the impacts to her hand.

She looked up at it, seeing her latex exterior unmarred, then at the two points who had hit her. They were both smiling, their own hands in the follow through of the impact. They had hit her. Why? Had she… done something wrong?

"Relax," Cardin spoke up. His grin was present but… her databanks of prior engagements showed it lacked the malicious tick usually present in the fourth upper quadrant. "It's called a high-five. Something you do with teammates. She doesn't get a lot of stuff." The last sentence was direct to Jaune, not her, though it was accurate. She was still learning.

"She doesn't? Oh! Well, yeah, this is good thing!" Jaune added on. "It means… 'good job', I think." Good job? They recognized that she had done a good job? More than that, they were awarding her for it?

Penny felt her elation rise, in tandem to an unusual increase in heat for her internal core temperature, outside the normal levels for the activity she was conducting. However… it was bad too feel, despite the warnings that her system was giving her.

It felt… like she was being included.

And that was worth a little venting.

* * *

Ruby hated feeling uneasy. She was sure everyone did. When she felt like this, it felt like she was trying to figure out something important, but not even having an idea of where to start. Even worse, she didn't know hot to fix it if she did. Was she supposed to talk? Wait? Act? She didn't know. And because she didn't know, and still did nothing, the uneasy feeling just got stronger. She really hated it.

She really liked that Impa had helped her fell things that were off, of danger and stuff like that. It helped save Weiss and Blake, and Link, too. It helped her to reel things that were off, things that could be avoided, and what to do about them, most of the time, so far at least. It was hard to decide when she hadn't had it for so long.

But right now… it wasn't telling her what to do.

Ruby was watching the Bullhead, watching Dr. Oobleck load a few more supplies into the back of its hangar. He'd done this all before when it was for her team. A lot of papers, a lot of packages, a lot more coffee, and a lot of junk she didn't know the name of. Weiss probably knew, because she was the smartest member of her team. But it would be hard to ask her for anything at the moment.

She was talking to her sister, her older sister, obviously. They looked a lot alike, kind of different from her and Yang. They both had white hair, and white clothing, and white skin, and blue eyes, and… well, the Glyphs helped, too. But they both acted a lot alike. Ruby knew Weiss, cause they were partners and partners stuck together, but she felt she already understood Winter, the bigger Schnee, because of it.

Just the way they talked to one another and, from what she could tell, acted like. The way how even when she was drunk, horrible a memory as that was, she was just so… even. Was that a good word for it? Ruby wasn't sure. She was sure the stiff backs both the Schnees had Uncle Qrow would probably call 'with a stick up their butt' posture. Well… he wouldn't say butt…

But they were talking to one another, and obviously getting along, which was great! Sisters were supposed to get along, family was supposed to get along, so that was awesome. It wasn't why she felt uneasy, and Ruby knew that. There was no way she could feel that way around Weiss and her sister, no matter who they were, important army person or not. Even if they were walking towards her now…

"-ure to train your summoning abilities," the older Schnee was saying. Calling her Winter might be rude, at least to her face. "Quality may be preferred over quantity, but outnumbering the enemy is never a tactical disadvantage. The sooner you learn to control your abilities like that, the sooner you will prove yourself of the Schnee name." She had to prove herself?

"I will, sister, I promise," Weiss added back. She was nodding her head a lot, enough to make Ruby's head hurt just by watching her. But that definitely wasn't why she felt nervous, just weird. "Do you think… I'd be able to speak to you about my progress? Perhaps to offer me some advice when I reach obstacles?"

"Conversation during operations, both inter-military or otherwise, is limited to required personal alone," the big Schnee returned. That… wasn't normal, at least Ruby hoped it wasn't. cause Yang helped her a lot. And her dad, and Uncle Qrow, and Blake, and… everyone basically.

"I-I understand. But… when you are _not_ performing your duties, do you think-" _Slap!_

Ruby blinked, twice, then thrice. No matter how many times she did, Weiss's head was still bent a bit to the side and her big sister still had her hand out. Yup, definitely not normal. Really not normal. But… she still didn't feel anything _threatening_ at least. And the unease was defiantly there now, but it still wasn't what was there before.

"Weiss," the important-military-person spoke. "I understand you wish for me to council you on the use of the Schnee Glyphs, but _you_ must understand there is only so far I can teach you. At some point, you are going to need to be able to instruct yourself. Perhaps… as well as you are at instructing others." What did that mean? Was Weiss ordering someone? No, wait, better question, why was the bigger girl looking at her?

"Uh… hi?" Ruby questioningly introduced with a small wave of her hand. But the glare was still there. It was a _hard_ glare, like really strong. Did she do something wrong? No, wait, she was there when something _went_ wrong. That was it! "It's… good to see you're alright. A-And I'm sorry about Uncle Qrow. He's-"

"A drunk, a buffoon, and a frequent prankster to his piers regardless of the situations we find ourselves in." That wasn't how Ruby would have said it… but she wasn't wrong. "And I am aware that you are different from your unfortunate relative. You, at least, will listen to others. That alone is a remarkably important trait." Oh, that was good. Good words from the bigger Schnee!

"Thank you," Ruby responded quickly. Weiss had always told her it'd be rude to not say it, and this was bigger Weiss she was talking to. "So, um… is everything okay?" Both of the sisters raised their brows at Ruby. There was _no way_ anyone could think they weren't related. She wished it was that easy between herself and Yang…

"I don't understand the question." The adult Schnee spoke. Ruby really needed to get used to calling her Winter, if she allowed it. "Nothing is amiss currently and we are preparing for our venture to the Monument Mine. Unless you are aware of something we are missing, I fail to see the purpose of your question." Oh crap, that was bad then. She had to think of something!

"I believe Ruby is referring to… last night," Weiss spoke up. Thank you, Weiss! "Ruby is _deeply_ concerned for those around, her empathy being one of the key reasons, I deduced, Ozpin made her team lead. After seeing what her Uncle did to you last night, she is concerned for your health." Bad Weiss! Ruby didn't want to remember that! Because then she'd think about Link and his-

"Ah, yes, the 'truth-game' of Qrow's." Ruby focused _hard_ on the older Schnee sister. She _really_ had to or else she'd start thinking about Link and how he had a daughter-which wasn't important until she learned more! Wait, hold on… that wasn't a bad thing, _this_ wasn't a bad thing…

Because Winter had _heard_ Link! She knew about his daughter! Ruby felt her spirit lift.

"I will confess, I… have few memories of the night prior." Or not, her spirit swiftly falling with her shoulders. "Before waking up this morning, the last event I can accurately recall is discussing the venture between myself and Dr. Oobleck, before your uncle and you barged in of course." Wait, that wasn't how it happened!

"Th-that wasn't on purpose!" Ruby responded back, waving her hands. When the bigger Schnee glared at her, she knew it was a mistake. She really was Weiss 2.0, but without all the progress she made. Stupid non-congruent sequels! "I-I was heading back to my room. Uncle Qrow wanted to talk to me and he dragged me to the meeting! Honest!"

"I believe you."

"No, you don't… huh?" Ruby stopped herself, forcefully. It would have been really rude to keep talking to Weiss's sister like that. "You do?"

"I do," the older girl repeated. "I can recall your clear lack of desire for being in the office, _especially_ when your reprehensible uncle of yours drew out that alcohol." Wow, she eve scoffed the same as Weiss. Did she scoff the same as Yang? "No, while I am not pleased that you saw me in… such a state, I cannot place blame on you for being there."

"Besides, Ruby," Weiss spoke up from beside her big sis. "I believe Ozpin made it rather evident that Qrow was solely at fault for what happened to Winter and Link. And, as he said, he did ensure us that he would handle the matter of Qrow as well as keeping what happened to my sister and link private."

"H-He did say that, yeah," Ruby agreed. "After you and Tatl started running through Beacon and threatening to tear my uncle in half and-"

" _AND_ I believe that merely shows we were dedicated to seeing the matter was well compensated for o the side of the perpetrator!" Weiss interrupted her, leaning forward at that. Oh, and bigger Weiss had the Weiss look of 'I-don't-recall-this'. Guess that meant she had to be quiet.

"Did Headmaster Ozpin say something to you last night, sister?" Army Weiss asked. Oh geez she wasn't going to let it go, just like normal Weiss wouldn't. "Something I should be aware of?"

"N-No Winter, honest," Weiss shook her head at the words. Well, that was _kinda_ untrue. "Headmas- _Ozpin_ said that our actions were _very_ well understood and intentions well placed, b-but he had already assigned _the bird_ a new task." Well, Qrow did sound like crow… so yeah. "Isn't this true, Ruby?"

"Eh?" She asked, looking at her partner. Her silver eyes looked up at the military Weiss looking back down at her. Oh! They needed an answer! "Uh, yeah! Yeah it is!" Ruby shook her head up and down frantically. Partners had each others back, especially around family!

"I see…" Big Weiss spoke coolly. Well, she had a cool voice, so that made sense. And her appearance was cool, too. Not temperature wise, that would be weird. "Well, I must say that I am pleased you had little to do with your uncle's provocative incident last night. It does my heart well to know that my sister has an honest partner." Ruby saw normal Weiss blushing, but she didn't say anything. Probably because she was, too.

"You're… happy?" Ruby wasn't sure she was. Oh yeah, she knew why. "I mean, I _am_ , but… do you seriously believe me? I've been told that a lot and it usually doesn't stick…"

"Your uncle attempted to prank Link and myself by putting us in bed with one another."

Ruby felt her face flush a hot red. She could tell normal Weiss doing the same, mostly because there was no way her partner ever wore _that_ much red. It was _her_ color. And she was wearing _way_ too much of it right now.

She loved her uncle, a whole lot, almost as much as strawberries with cookies on bottom, but she _really_ hoped Ozpin did something bad to uncle Qrow to make up for this. Otherwise she'd have to get Yang to help her do something in return.

Pranks were a thing in their family…

"A juvenile prank, I am well aware, and one that likely will hold little consequence aside from a scolding from his peers." Probably a laugh from Yang, actually, when she woke up. Well, woke up and got over how much she missed. It was like the day she first learned about her Semblance all over again. "So, to resist an overly worded response Ms. Rose, I believe you over your uncle because you appear to be far more mature than he is. Mature enough to at least have the grace to seek apologies for your actions."

That was, actually, a _huge_ relief. It didn't get rid of her unease, yeah, but it definitely _helped_ at least a little.

"Thanks! Thank you!" Ruby quickly relayed. That was some good news. Hopefully enough to ease the sense of unease she still had. It didn't, but it was worth a try. "Did you know your sister was this amazing Weiss? Cause she's really amazing." Her partner practically glowed with the compliments. Like, literally, maybe even enough to make Yang jealous if she could see.

"I am aware, Ruby," her partner responded. She couldn't hide that smile with a serious voice! "I'm satisfied to see that even you are able to appreciate her intelligence and patience." Well, she got the intelligence part. She couldn't really call slapping her a patient thing.

But saying that would be bad, and if she didn't have anything nice to say, she had to say nothing at all.

"Speaking of the meeting, Ruby Rose." Ruby adopted the same posture as the sisters, straight as a board and head held high. "I must ask if you remember anything of significance that occurred." Uh oh. "If classified material was mentioned, I would ask you relay it to your Headmaster so he can _properly_ handle Qrow during my absence." Huh?

"You… don't want me to tell you?" That seemed like an obvious thing to do, tell her what she heard. But the older sister just shook her head.

"I am departing soon and your uncle will not be accompanying me," she began. "Further, if such details _were_ discussed, having them spoken in this public environment would be demonstrate a rather poor level of judgement. Wouldn't you agree?" Her hand unfolded from itself to wave across the bullhead launching platform.

Namely at the collection of students that were around. Not a whole lot, granted, but definitely more than there should have been on an average day. Ruby may have been two years behind everyone else, but she could figure out why the crowd was here. She'd know it for sure once she saw him.

"U-Uh yeah! Yes, you're right!" Ruby quickly spoke back to the army Schnee. Not answering her would be rude, which was bad, which would make Weiss angry. _All_ bad things. "Just… _maybe_ something was said, but I was already told by Ozpin that _maybe_ I heard it wrong, so _maybe_ I'm making a big deal out of nothing. Am I right? _Maybe?_ "

Weiss looked awfully angry at her. Ruby knew she probably deserved it. At least he unease wasn't settling and it didn't look like it was about to anytime soon. A shame, because she still _hated_ the feeling.

"Headmaster Ozpin is a very wise individual when it comes to decisions regarding conversations and tact," big Schnee answered. But it… wasn't much of an answer, at least Ruby didn't think so. "I would advise heeding his advice. If nothing else, you can be sure he would not ask of you something that would fail to benefit you." Okay, _that_ was an answer. And it made sense.

"Yeah… that's true," Ruby nodded her head in understanding. Big Weiss was lot like normal Weiss, just… a lot more patient. Huh, she was patient. Go figure. Then did that make Weiss her Ruby? Now _that_ would be weird, and normal Weiss probably wouldn't like that. Nope, easy to remember that.

"Ruby," her Weiss started talking. Ruby blinked her silver eyes at her. Was it because she was thinking of her? "Something is obviously bothering you, and it wasn't settled all of yesterday. Instead of speaking to my sister about this, wouldn't it make sense to speak to Link himself?" Her hand pointed back towards the bullhead, where there were still a lot more people crowded around than she was used to, at least used to at Beacon. Still, it wasn't hard to tell what Weiss was referring to.

No way she could miss someone wearing that much green. And ears like that? Had to be Link.

Then wouldn't you know it, the unease in her gut _finally_ changed.

It got worse. _Great_.

"You _obviously_ are dealing with something," normal Weiss went on. "From what I can recall, he has been thrown about Beacon from one task to another with hardly a break between himself. That's not to mention the number of curveballs we have been dealing with as well." Well, that was true. Didn't make sense for Weiss to lie, either of them actually. "Perhaps you are feeling let out, as you are the one who introduced him to Beacon."

"I-It's not about that," Ruby replied. And she _knew_ it couldn't be, hopefully. Otherwise, she would have felt like this a couple of nights ago when they _did_ talk. And big Weiss and Ozpin told her to not mention what she heard, _because_ she could be _wrong_. But what if she wasn't?

"Maybe not, but it is clear there is some present issue." Man, Ruby didn't stand a chance against normal Weiss, but now she was being powered up by being near her big sister. This really wasn't fair. "While I cannot say there is any singular action to clear your conscience, not that it needs to be, I do feel that a… conversation would be prudent to engage with Link, especially before he leaves."

"I agree." It really was two against one! "We are departing for a week's time, and it is statistically unlikely anything you feel now will resolve itself without conflict. Better you make that confrontation one of words than _swords_." Was this about her or her uncle? Wait, no, definitely her, her and _Link_.

But would it make it better? Ruby still wasn't sure. She just watched Link for a bit, staring at him as he talked to Blake. Yeah, Blake got it. Super cautious and careful Blake talking to Link was a good sign, like Yang approving above a boy to hang out with.

Still, she just didn't _feel_ right.

"If it's possible, I would ask that you talk to him sooner rather than later." Ruby looked back at Weiss, the girl keeping her eyes on her. Even if she kept trying to glance at her big sis. Oh yeah, Ruby could tell. "Because you can be sure Blake and I will ask what this is about later. Most _especially_ when Yang wakes up as well." Crap, Ruby had forgotten about that. No secrets in their team.

"You will?" Big Weiss asked. Wait, no… that wasn't right… demanded? Oh crap, that was an angry Weiss face. "Is it common that your team exchanges personal and likely damaging secrets so easily?" She wasn't looking at her though. Big Weiss was looking at normal Weiss. Although… it didn't look like normal Weiss knew what to do.

Ruby could try something.

"Well, yeah, actually," Ruby interjected. She was the team leader. "We mostly talk about stuff we think is gonna be problem for the team. You know, normal stuff. I-It's not like we know anything super secret or damaging like that. Nope, no way _any_ of us would know that.

Wow, that was like a super duper 'tell-me-everything' Weiss gaze the big Weiss had going on. But normal Weiss had her extra strength 'don't-you-dare' face on. Which one was stronger? Ruby couldn't tell!

Wait, yes she could.

"Kind of like how I became a huntress to be closer to my mom and Yang is doing this so she can go out and look for hers, who have already found her, and Blake is trying to encourage faunus cooperation which is why she's around Link so much and _really_ like how Weiss loves a ton and wants to be closer to you but doesn't know how or what to say." Ruby _sucked_ in a breath of air, chest nearly collapsing in on itself.

"Oh?" Was all the big Weiss said. Too bad it wasn't what Ruby was focused on.

It gave her enough time to stare at Weiss's face going red, really red. It wasn't a 'oh-Dust-why' red, it was a 'you-have-ten-seconds' red face. The kind of face Ruby didn't do well around, or anyone actually.

"So yeah, I'll talk to Link. Thank you! Be safe!" Ruby quickly ran away. The safe option. She knew Weiss would be okay. It wasn't like there being two of them would be a bad thing…

No, the more important thing right now, and _just_ right now, was Link.

Link talking to Blake and having talked last night. About things that… she didn't hear per say, but that the older Schnee had heard, but couldn't remember. It was almost a joke how that worked out, but Ruby didn't want to laugh. She wanted to know _what_. Obviously he said something about his daughter, the daughter that he told her team was _real_ , but _dead_. Her fists clenched even as she walked.

It just… made sense that she had to talk to him. It made sense even if that feeling she hated go stronger with every step, the closer she got to him. It made sense even though her body wanted to run away. She was supposed to be a leader, and leaders didn't run from danger. They reacted to it.

So, pushing her way through the small crowd of students, she walked up to the faunus that she just didn't know how to feel around. Or at the very least the one she didn't know how to act around. Blake was _so_ much easier than this. Speaking of, she was still speaking.

"-again, but… I really want to thank you for helping the children in the orphanage." Oh yeah, that. Ruby didn't want to think about that. "We saw the ones you saved back here at Beacon and it…"

Link was probably talking back, but Ruby couldn't hear him, because of course she couldn't. She could just see his lips moving and Blake watching him. He was talking and she was listening, not that _anyone_ else could, especially _herself_. Link nodded his head, grinning at her teammate. Blake smiled all the same. It took her _weeks_ to get Blake to grin like that!

"Still… it's something that I feel can't be said enough. For what you did and what you're still able to do." Do what? "You helped out all those children, and now… you're going off to find your friend just as fast? It's something that I feel would show the dedication and loyalty of faunus to the world, and I know it will."

"More like show off what Link is to the world," Tatl rang. Ruby agreed with the fairy. Kind of hard to think of Link as just anything now. "And really, what's the big deal? From the stories Super Buzz was giving Tael and however the heck Mister Portly was talking about, it doesn't seem _that_ weird." Those names were funny.

"'Dealt death to the Dodongo beasts with only a pair of boots and belt buckle, all while separated from helpful hands of his friends'." Ruby watched Tael ring out from above Link. "'But the fierceness of his strikes and determination of his soul kept the hand of the reaper away.' Doing this just seems normal next to that." Ruby didn't believe it when Mr. Port said it. Why did Tael believe it?

"Yeah, not to mention all the crazy people Super Buzz keeps mentioning. If I got his numbers right in my head still, there are like a dozen of your knights walking around today with a good thousand kills under their belt, from _single fight_." Ruby had no idea who she was talking about. "Granted, Link's the best, but can you really say that what he's doing that weird when you got people like that walking around?"

"Those aren't… good examples," Blake returned. "I mean, for example, you offered us some of your tools just for helping us." That was something Ruby also hadn't forgotten, not with how she felt _right now_. "That isn't something that-"

"Link gave those to you for helping us, and to help you." Tatl spoke on. "I mean, c'mon, you basically were running into death and the only thing you complained about was why anyone would want to fight you in the first place." Ruby looked at Blake, her teammate blushing. She had really done that? Well, if it was around the faunus kids, that made sense, for her at least. "You aren't asking us to take them back, because if you are…"

"No! No," Blake shouted before stopping. She even had her hands up to probably stop herself. "My team's actually trying to figure them out. And they're amazing, it's… it's because their amazing." Wait, Ruby hadn't heard any of this before. What was Blake talking about.

"Feeling guilty about them?" Tatl again, because of course it was Tatl. The fairy was even glowing as she rang out the question. "Thinking their too good for you, maybe? Think that they're better off with Link?" Fairies were supposed to be nice!

"… Maybe." Ruby pouted at Blake's muttereing what was she thinking now? They were past all this angsty dark stuff after the last few weeks they had. No, after the last semester they had! This was all too much! "I mean… we don't even know how to use them properly. They helped but… it didn't work out well."

"No kidding it didn't." Ruby felt her eyes narrow at Tatl like she was Weiss. Tatl was rude, but this was too far! "It about knocked you and Ice Queen out just using them from what I saw. Gotta say I don't know if I should call it over dedication or asinine stubbornness." Really too far!

"Hey! That's not fair!" Ruby finally interjected. She was glaring at the fairy, even as she and her brother rang out as she approached. "Blake and Weiss were _amazing_ with those tools, and they totally deserve the help. They deserve it more than anyone else I know!"

"Ruby…" She gave her teammate a huff, cheeks puffed out.

"Be quiet Blake, you were being all self-doubty again." Weiss, act like Weiss. "And I am serious, you deserve that cloak. Maybe you deserve _ten cloaks_!" More like a whole factory full if it was possible.

"Whoa, calm down there Red," Tatl waved through the air as she approached Ruby's face. She held strong in front of the fairy. "Relax, I'm just giving her a hard time is all. Nothing serious." She was… wait…

"Really?" Ruby immediately softened. That seemed possible. It was something Yang would do, and Tatl was a lot like Yang…

"Yeah, seriously," the fairy bobbed again. "You think I'd let you and your team hold onto those things if I think you _didn't_ deserve them? _HA!_ " Her ring was high pitched with the laugh. "If the big man in the tower can't hold me back, how're a bunch of girls like you gonna stop me? It'd be simple, really all I'd have to is get Link to-"

_CLAP!_

Ruby blinked as her head shook. It wasn't a loud clap, granted, it was just surprising.

Namely seeing a pair of open fingered gauntlets clapping around Tatl. Wait, hold on…

"L-Link?" Ruby stuttered out the name, looking at the faunus behind the hands. He smiled back down at her, even with his hands cupped in front of him. How was he so calm!? "D-Di-i-id you just k-kill-"

"What in the name of _Time, Link?!_ " Scratch that, fears were unfounded. Tatl was A-okay. Of course she was. Why would she _ever_ think Link would hurt a friend. It wasn't like he was a liar…

The dust literally exploding out from the holes in Link's hands were proof of that. That, and the ringing that was getting louder and louder.

"Can't you let me have a little fun with them! Not like we're gonna be seeing them for a while, right? I gotta get this outta my system!" That was the same excuse Yang gave her before she went to Vale ahead of her… by pranking her with wet-fingers at night and popping paper bags behind her… they really were a lot of like!

"This isn't the right way to do it, sis," Tael now, the little brother, the _kind_ fairy. He was a good fairy. "I'm sorry about Tatl, she's just… she hates saying goodbye."

"Who _likes_ it!?" Tatl continued to yell from Link's cupped hands. They were shaking, a lot, and she knew he wasn't doing it. Then again, he didn't look like he minded. Was this… normal? Dad did have to hold Yang back a lot whenever she was teased at school, mostly because there were too many fire complaints when she wasn't being held back. "You're _not_ gonna convince me you're looking forward to this!"

"I-I'm not!" Tael whined back. Okay, that was adorable. "I just… I-I want to say goodbye normally for once." He rang out as he floated around Link's hands, stopping in front of Blake. "A-And you do deserve the Magic Cape. I saw you and… I-I know that you'll get used to it, fast. I-I can even tell you stories about it when I get back. If you want."

"I would enjoy that," Blake responded easily. Yeah! And Ruby wanted to hear them, too! "In fact, I believe my team would enjoy hearing your tales when you return. I'm certain you have far more to share than about your past experiences."

"Y-Yeah! I do!" Ruby grinned as the fairy rang, bobbing with joy. He was adorable! "So, um… w-we'll be back soon and then… I can tell you stories, tons of them." Blake giggled at that. Giggled! Ruby now wished she was Penny and recorded everything, assuming her robo-friend did that. Because it would have made this moment worth it.

"Please do," she returned. "And Link?" The faunus looked back at her, the green one. "I hope you return with your friend. I… hope you come back with everything you want." Oh yeah… that was why he was leaving again, wasn't it. Navi. Ruby felt the unease in her gut churn. She _wished_ it was just hunger. It would have made it easier to deal with, and Blake walking away wasn't- Hold on!

"Blake!" Ruby called to her friend as she turned away. She stopped, looking back. "Where are you going? A-Aren't you going to see Link off?" Yeah, that was what friends were supposed to do! Be a good friend!

"But I already have," Blake responded. "To him, Dr. Oobleck, and Jaune as well. You were there for him and Pyrrha, weren't you?" She was, of course she was. She knew because she was giving breathing tips to Jaune to help him out with the bullhead and he thanked her for not calling him Vomit-boy like her sister. "Besides, I think you want to talk to him now."

She did, but not alone! It felt like her gut was on fire!

"B-But-" She stuttered and stopped.

"Ruby," Blake began again. "I know you're nervous about him leaving. I am, too." She was? Wait, was _she_ nervous about that, too? Blake, however, was just looking at Link. "But I've seen him fight and I know he'll be okay. I wouldn't want to lose such a great instructor at Beacon so quickly." Ruby felt her head hang.

"Not like we wanna leave either. Too much to do." At least they all agreed on that. Ruby couldn't handle one more thing to be nervous about, there was just _way_ too much eating her up right now.

"I agree," Blake added on, because of course she did. "But I do have to check on Nora and Ren for Jaune and Pyrrha. They may be resting, but they may need some assistance while they recover." No, that wasn't it, Ruby wasn't fooled. She knew her friend.

She just wanted a quiet place to read. The coy smile she was wearing was proof. That was a Blake 'I've-got-a-good-new-book' look. It wasn't a bad look, but Ruby knew it well. Mostly because it meant she couldn't stop her, and she really couldn't.

Blake was already making her way through the crowd of students, most of them shuffling around and moving and acting like they weren't watching Link, because of course they were watching Link. Who else would they watch?

It wasn't like Ruby could blame them. She was watching him, too. The unease in her gut made sure of that, making her _hate_ it all the more. Even worse, she couldn't think of what to say, or ask. Heck, Ozpin told her not to ask. Then what was the right thing to do?!

Ruby looked up at Link, who looked back down at her. She continued to look up at him, and he continued to look down on her. Wasn't he supposed to talk first? He was the one leaving, so that made sense, right?

No, wait, Link wasn't going to talk… well actually he could, to Blake… Dang it! Everyone could hear Link except for her, couldn't they?!

"U-Uh, so…" Ruby began, tripping over her words again. Double dang it! It was like their last talk never happened!

The _stupid_ amount of _unease_ inside of her gut was about to erupt and demand dominion of the world!

She had to ask something, something appropriate. Yeah, that was good. What would Yang ask about. No, that wasn't appropriate. What would her dad ask about? Yeah, dad was normalish. If she acted like him, she could get through this.

"A-Are you waiting for Ozpin?" No! Bad Question!

"Actually already talked to him." Ruby looked up at Tatl. Right, Tatl, of course she'd answer. "Probably watching us from up in that tower of his. Weirdo." Okay, yeah, that was weird. Friends were supposed to say goodbye in person.

And friends were also supposed to talk about things they didn't understand. She had to do that! Just ask the question!

"Is everything going to be okay… with Jaune and Cardin?" So close and so _wrong_!

"You mean because of the big guy's temper?" The fairy again, the rude fairy, but the one that talked a lot. "Yeah, kinda nervous about that myself, but apparently, according to Super Buzz and Triple B, the golem girl was able to get a truce between them or something close." Golem girl? Was that Penny? It was probably Penny.

"And is Penny already here?" Good to know, but _not what she wanted to ask_!

"Yup," Tatl shot out, Link giving an affirmative nod as well. "She was helping Super Buzz with the checklist of theirs. Pretty sure they were only on the fifth time through it last I checked. Time knows whose fault it is that once wasn't enough with them." Link chuckled, but Ruby didn't.

"So Professor Ooooobleck is…" Why couldn't she just ask the question? Link was her friend!

"Um… he prefers Doctor," Tael added, because he was right. The small adorable fairy was dead on about that. And of course a fairy would remember that. "But he's inside the bullhead already. He's telling everyone else, um… warnings, I think. About what not to do when we get to the mine shaft. Probably like what to look out for." That made sense, too.

"Then he's… waiting for you?" That was the worst question to ask if she wanted to talk to Link. She didn't even get angry at herself anymore. And hey, at least link was nodding at her. Did that count as a conversation even if she couldn't hear him? Maybe, but it'd be hard to tell someone else it did.

"Gah!" Ruby blinked at the noise, only to see Tatl jumping out from Link's hands. It did look cool to watch, like a slow-motion Dust Round being faired from Crescent Rose, complete with dust blowback and disperse. "Warn me next time you do that Link!" He just shrugged, which was kind of funny. At least he acted cool in front of fairy-Yang.

Instead of talking to Link some more though, Tatl just flew down around Ruby, ringing like a bell. It sounded nice, even if Ruby kept herself a little stiff as she did so. This was usually when Yang would tease her, so it made sense fairy-Yang would, too.

"Anways, they _sort_ _of_ are, but it's not like we're the only ones holding them up." Or not. Tatl rang as she bobbed sideways. Was she pointing? Ruby looked and saw both Weisses standing across the crowd, talking still. Oh yeah, the army Weiss was joining them, right. "Not like we're gonna be the ones to rush a couple of sisters from saying goodbye to one another, especially if they haven't seen each other in a while."

Ow, something hurt. Was she hurt? Ruby felt her chest, but didn't feel a wound. No, that was just the _unease_ creeping up in her again. Great, awesome.

"It's why you're here, right? Say goodbye to Link before he runs off on another magical adventure?" Ruby blinked up at Tatl as she floated and bobbed through the air, raining the non-Dust dust as she did so. Was she being teased again? Probably, especially if she imagined her as Yang. "You're obviously not here to just watch and be amazed, not like the rest of the Gerudo over there." Oh yeah, the crowd of students.

"No, I'm not," Ruby quickly agreed. But this was her chance! Tatl was giving it to her! "I'm… I-I want to ask Link something, if I can." Both fairies rang, even as Link continued to watch her quiet as ever. Well, quiet to her at least, which was still annoying. She _really_ wanted that earpiece big Weiss had.

"Well, go on," Tatl rang. Wait, now? "We might not be in a rush, but we don't got all day." No, of course not, but that wasn't the problem!

This was her chance, she _couldn't_ mess it up!

"Can I ask him… alone?" That would be easier, even if she'd only get yes-and-no responses, or talking that she couldn't hear. Stupid non-faunus ears! Both the fairies rang.

"What, really?" Tatl asked, bobbing lightly in the air. "But it was so easy to talk to us before, wasn't it? like last night after the whole incident with Bird-Brain." Oh yeah, Uncle Qrow, it had to be him. The grimace on Link's face was clear enough of that, not that she could blame him. He played mean pranks. "After that, I'm not sure if we can trust anyone in your family alone with the big guy."

"Huh?" Ruby questioned. "B-But I wouldn't do anything! Honest! Link's my friend and… and I just want to talk to him alone cause I have an, um, ah, _weird_ question to ask." Not embarrassing, totally not that. Couldn't be.

"And… we're not alone." Tael floated around her as he spoke. She followed him, and got what he meant pretty quickly.

"Right, them," Ruby let out diminutively. She heard Tatl give out a ring at that, too. "Okay, not _super_ alone, but just alone enough that I don't, um-" She stopped when a hand clapped on her shoulder. Ruby nearly jumped out of her skin it was so sudden. Wasn't hard to figure out who it was.

Link was smiling down at her still, nodding still. Then he looked at his fairy companions, _probably_ said something she couldn't hear, then _they rang_ something she could only hear part of. This was a no-sided conversation on her part!

"Yeah, that's fine, sure Super Buzz is gonna be dragging us into that airship son." Tatl let out. Well at least she heard that. "Just don't take him for too long, Red. Sooner we head out, the sooner we can get back. And, really, we know we can trust you." That felt good, at least. Without another word, they floated away, ringing away, actually.

It let Ruby stare back up at Link, him drawing his hand back and standing up straight, so she could swallow that ball of unease that had travelled up from her gut and was trying to crawl its way out of her throat. Now she knew how Jaune felt on airships at least. She'd have to apologize to him later.

"So, um…" Ruby began, trying to figure out what to say. Why was that so hard? She knew exactly what she wanted to ask. "Looking forward to the trip?" And she was still asking the wrong questions. She almost wanted to pull her hood over her head and hide away, but then she wouldn't be able to see Link's response!

Which, by the way, was him nodding positively with that same grin. At least he looked excited about it, or eager, or hopeful. She didn't know which was better, or worse. Yeah, that one. Because she had to ask the question soon.

"Yeah, I bet… I bet Navi's really looking forward to seeing you again." Oh great, and now he was sighing with her. Probably wasn't for the same reason. And he was still nodding, but nodding like her dad. The same nod that said 'yeah-eventually.' "I know because… because I know how hard it can be having to leave friends behind." Or family, but close enough.

And Link was watching her again, like he did when they were in the hallway before, before she found out about that conversation she might not have heard properly according to Ozpin. Then again, it wasn't like Tatl or Tael would answer her without Link. And Link, he's her friend!

"And I know its even harder to… leave others behind. Like family." Yes, she said it!

Link lost his smile though. No, she ruined it!

He was staring down at her, but not glaring, couldn't be glaring. He didn't look mean, and she knew mean with her sister and Weiss. No it was… it was like dad's face again, whenever they went to visit mom's grave. That look, that super sad I don't like it here look. Ruby knew that look.

She hated it as much as she hated the unease bubbling in her chest. She knew this was a bad thing to ask! Ozpin was right! This was the right time or place.

She needed a distraction, fast. But she was usually the distraction for Yang. Who was going to be the distraction for her?!

Poof! Ruby looked down at the noise, right after seeing Link sway a bit on his legs. Didn't take long to see why.

It was kind of hard to miss the wolf ears on Moraine.

She was hugging Link around the waist, reaching up to do it. Her leg pushed against his leg and not wanting to let go. And Link was leaning down, patting her back and probably trying to pick her up. But she wasn't letting go. She was the best kind of distraction!

"Sorry 'bout that. Little tike really knows how to get away from you." Ruby knew it was before she looked around. Didn't take long for her to see Uncle Qrow walking up to her, scratching his head and everything. He was the worst kind of distraction!

If the fairies were… oh wait, they were gone. So then… it was all okay?

Ruby looked at Link, who was looking at Moraine, before looking at uncle Qrow, who smiled and looked back at him, then he looked down at her. Well… it looked like nothing bad happened at least.

"Hey, wanted to 'polgize for that prank I pulled on ya earlier." Never mind, Ruby knew it wouldn't last. Good moments usually didn't around her Uncle, not unless there were guns involved. "Juvenile on my part and all that stuff. Just figured it'd be a fun way to sorta haze you into the Beacon academy and all that. Not sayin' its normal, but it ain't rare, if you catch my drift."

Was that true? Ruby doubted it, especially with Ms. Goodwitch as an instructor. Would Link buy it? She didn't think so, normally because he was just too smart. Link was smiling though, and waving his free hand. He did believe it!? Well…. That was good, she guessed. It meant there wasn't going to be a fight at least. And those were bad.

"Hey Rubes, how's it going?" She shook her head, hard enough to wave her cape, before responding.

"Hey Uncle Qrow! Hi! Hello, good morning!" Ruby rambled. "You're here, and that's awesome, but why are you here?" Really, why was he here? Moraine was a distraction enough!

"Cause the girl can run and she had some place special in mind." He pointed at Link's leg as he spoke. Well, he wasn't wrong. "Figured it'd be easier to just meet her here than do something stupid as chase her through the school. Got enough rumors floatin' around 'bout me."

"That's because you keep doing mean things to people," Ruby pouted back in return, stomping her boot for good measure. Her uncle just chuckled at her. He was supposed to be taking her seriously! "Like, it was really mean when you made Link and Weiss's big sister pass out like that. Because even I was there to see that was mean."

"C'mon Rubes, it's a prank, and a pretty good one at that. Doesn't it count that I was just forgiven?" Why was everyone in her family a prankster except for her? "Not doing anything mean with it anyways. Just having a bit of fun. That's important, you know. 'Specially when you got a bunch of big wigs looking down at you and wondering where to push you off to next. Like, say, baby sitting a six-year."

Ruby knew her uncle was bad, but he didn't get that helping Moraine wasn't a punishment. A good punishment for him would be taking away his metal container he liked so much, the one he kept drinking out of. It would have been like taking away Yang's gauntlets for putting itchy powder in her shampoo. Not that Ruby would dare do it in return.

"Not all bad though, cause it looks like one great chance to say goodbye for now, am I right?" Ruby twisted her lips. He wasn't wrong, cause he was always right whenever she tried to argue with him. Was this an argument? "Isn't that why you're here?"

"Yup! That's right!" No, it wasn't. "Just… saying goodbye to Link before I go off and think about everything we have to do this week like classes and training, and talking, and wondering about the long winding distant future!" Not at all about the really mysterious past of her new and great friend who was also her teacher.

"Right, right, nothing else at all." Uncle Qrow, why?! "Well, don't let me stop you," he spoke as he held up his hands, walking backwards like it was cool. It was cool, but that wasn't the point.

Ruby faced link again, him having his hands on Moraine's back, awkwardly. Well, she was like less than half his height, so it was awkward, but that wasn't what was important. She had to say goodbye, or at least say something, but do something before he left and she didn't get the chance to ask him. Again.

She could do it. She could do it!

"Stay safe, Link. And good luck finding Navi!" And your daughter.

Ruby left without another word. She knew she couldn't do it.

* * *

It was important to always seize opportunity as it appeared. Cinder was aware of this. Ignoring hesitation and but benefits before risks when rare cases of chance presented themselves. It was the hallmark of a decisive planner over a cowardly deceiver. A deceiver only ever waited for one plan to come to fruition. The planner saw a dozen paths with the same goals, seizing at the opportunities that quickened the pace or ensured success.

Link, this 'hero' as her Mistress called him, was one such opportunity.

At first, nothing more than a vague warning offered to her, in the same vain of Ozpin's resourcefulness or the drunken bird's luck. Something abstract that had physical consequences related to its existence. Something to plan around, to avoid, and to be wary of.

The faunus hero, or Hylian if his orbital companions were to be understood, was such an enigma to her. A warning that was an opportunity. The words of her Mistress combined with the observations of her subordinates and self.

Masks that appeared to grant 'powers' related to the individuals they had been shaped from, an innumerous number of tools that appeared completely against the normal logical of Remnant Technology, and a level of skill with both of them that put him firmly in the area of confrontation avoidance.

Cinder disliked enigmas, but she loved opportunities. It was why she felt so conflicted watching the bullhead with said 'hero' flying away. It was a chance to breath a sigh of relief, but knowing nothing could be gained with him gone. The unfortunate consequence as it were.

Her lips puckered as she stared at the retreating ship, leaning on the walls of Beacon. Many of her fellow 'students' were lined at the windows and walls, a few more at the launching platform watching him go. That close was too high a chance to be spotted by Ozpin's bird, as so distance was necessary. It was still close enough to watch the faunus in green enter the bullhead, watching it fly up and away. Perhaps a week's time of absence on the schedule.

"How annoying," she spoke aloud to no one. Her golden crimson eyes shut for a moment, focusing to control herself. She hated conflicting emotions, making it even more difficult to plan ahead. "The moment something of consequence is discovered about him, he flies away for his departed partner."

"Yup, real shame," Mercury spoke up behind her, with a tone that was close to being worthy of punishment. "One week free of watching the dumb brats getting their faces beaten in by every faunus under the sun." A quip of words would be punishment enough.

"Do not forget you are present on that list, Mercury," she spoke to her 'teammate'. "You have only earned forgiveness thanks to the information you had found. Nothing more." She could feel him adjust behind her, wary of her tone. He was well-trained.

"H-Hey hey, I'm not saying I'm not," he answered quickly, wisely at that. "Just, c'mon, even you have to admit its fun to watch the brats think they have a chance against they guy, then get slammed into the ground without a lick of mercy." Oddly, he wasn't far off. There was a level of catharsis to be found in the beaten egos of others.

"Perhaps," Cinder added to his words. "Though the larger loss is not being able to study the faunus that Link has in his employ during said tests." If her companions were worth anything, they would have been studying their 'instructor' as well as she was. It was very likely they would be confronting him when the time came to strike.

She watched the bullhead containing the object of her discussion, and the students that had been chosen to join Link on his excursion. The professor and Schnee Captain were of little consequence, no more than the students themselves.

They only earned Cinder's ire for taking their place on the 'trip'. The intel she could have gained on Link, or the possibility of acquiring tools or aid from him, would have been phenomenal.

"Are you… upset, that we didn't win?" Emerald asked from her side. Cinder gave the girl a cool glare with her sharp eye, making the dark skinned child shirk back in unease. She was well-trained, if nothing else. "I mean… we likely had the point advantage until they decided the defeat of that Lynel Grimm was superior to all other points. If it wasn't for that-" She spoke too much.

"It hardly matters what could have been, only what is," Cinder interrupted. She pushed herself off the wall, the body of students already dispersing. It would only draw attention if they did not do the same. "All that matters is that we did not succeed because an opportunity presented itself to the leaders of those children, and they took it." If for nothing else, they were commendable in their desire to succeed as well. That would serve as no shield for her rage later on.

"It loos like the Heiress had that thing covered though, till it-" the boy spoke no further.

Not when Cinder put a hand to his lips.

She watched his eyes widen and stare at her, fear palpable in his gaze and tremble beneath her fingers. Frozen like a statue, yet ready to melt like ice beneath her touch. Emerald, behind him, was perhaps even more careful than the boy was within her grasp. It was because she was well-trained and loyal. The boy was merely doing as he thought necessary. That was no good.

"Mercury," Cinder spoke carefully. "Do not forget that we are in 'competition' with the students here should and when the 'Vytal Festival' begin again. I hardly think it appropriate to discuss our 'plans and observations' in the public eye. Do you not?" Her turned an eye to the passing students, glaring at them.

They did little more than snicker, the action she wished to see. They thought of this as little more than a disagreement between a leader and her teammate, an act that every child in the school had likely endured and witnessed. They could not see the fear in the boy's eyes.

They couldn't see the fire in her hands, warming, nearly charring, the boy's lips.

However, he was wise enough to shake his head in confirmation, not flashing some symbol of affirmation with his hands. She desired minimal movement with maximum gain. And he was learning, if slowly, but surely. She smiled coolly at him, ignoring the look of unease he returned it with.

"Good," she nodded. "But I do agree its something we should discuss. How about we adjourn to the room, hmm?" Her voice was sweet and false, the same as she spoke with whenever there were students passing by.

Such as the young Ruby Rose, quickly passing them with hardly more than fidget of her lips. Cinder watched her but did not stare. Minimal attention, but the absolute greatest level of observation. It was easy to see at even just a glance the child was distraught with some thought, likely related to the departed faunus.

To find out what it was, however, was beyond necessary, to great a risk at that. She would speak to her teammates, and likely her drunk of an uncle, that would eventually lead to a question to her. Risking exposure in such a regard was not necessary, or required.

Besides, the girl was already gone, quick as she was known to appear and disappear. A pity she was so easy to attract and catch. Even Roman had realized that.

And Cinder felt her questionable mood slide into the territory of dissatisfaction.

"Come," she spoke more forcefully to her group. "I just remembered a subject of discussion that I need to vent about." She ignored the look of unease on the face of the boy and girl. They were present for her benefit and nothing more. Their aid only ensured their survival.

In no time they were in the modest room provided by the Beacon staff, a quant abode that offered room with essentials. Enough to keep them satisfied, but far from complacent. However, all she needed was the bed and her Scroll. There were matters to discuss and goals to make.

"Now we can speak," she began as the door latched shut. The familiar room bug-free per the sweep performed by Emerald and Mercury. She could trust the thieves to not botch that up. "We have to review our knowledge of Link's faunus masks, methods of approaching Link safely, and Roman's failed heist." If they were wise, they knew to save that for last.

"Well, we can start with the green midget himself," Mercury spoke up, plopping down on the floor before leaning against the wall. Cinder ignored his disrespect, for now. It depended upon the skill of his notes that would determine his worth to remain unharmed. "That Trogan spyware of yours pretty much lets us see everything he does with Ozzy, so we know more than the average brat in the halls."

That was not good enough an observation, as it was unnecessary fluff. She glared at him, earning his lips to twitch in unease. At least he understood the rod when it was shown. Perhaps he could still earn the carrot.

"Net to have an Semblance maybe related to energy projection for those sword swings and shields of his, like the ones he used in the forest and against that heavy-metal CRDL team, he's got a level of swordsmanship that pretty much beat down every brat who challenged him without a scratch. Maybe he hasn't fought anyone spectacular yet, but he's stiff efficient with how he uses it, making sure he aims for the chest and head for damage and difficult to avoid any damage." That was better, though still far from satisfactory.

"He also has some skill with the other tools of his," Emerald added on. "Although we were unable to collect video due to the Military software of the Badlands being outside the infection, Ozpin's notes show that Link was able to use a 'hookshot', noted to be some ball-and-chain latching mechanism, a bow and arrow, modified with heavy Dust loaded rounds, and amplified foot ware that allowed for swift movement and weight gain. Although it is to be taken with a level of suspicion, his 'fairy' companions say that Link is able to use these items to a level above anyone else in his homeland.

Better, Cinder noted. Mentioning of tools, assumed levels of proficiency, and acknowledgement of areas that were unsure. However, better still wasn't good.

"So we still know little about Link himself," Cinder noted to the pair. "Assumptions based upon notes and light observations. No obvious weaknesses or limits to him." They shared a look of distress between them. The rod was raised above them.

"N-No," Emerald began. "B-B-But that's likely on purpose!" Cinder raised a brow at the girl, waiting patiently for her to continue. "The fairies… no, Impa, one of his masks, emphasized that the 'unknown has the advantage', relating to the act of hiding abilities or powers until such time that they were necessary." That she did.

"Yeah," Mercury added on. "She even said that heroes were people who had those four groups or whatever mastered. Warrior, shadow, mage, and unknown. If Link is the 'hero' that she's claiming, and he really isn't, he's gotta be aware of keeping his cards close to the deck."

To be fair to them, it was a wise excuse. But an excuse nonetheless. However, there were other mattes to discuss. Waiting for information that wouldn't come was not something that would be appropriate for future planning.

"Not at all incorrect," Cinder noted, ignoring the relieved sigh of the pair. "It will be noted that Link is keeping his cards close, but if an opportunity for information presents itself, I highly recommend it is pursued." Hopefully now they understood her lack of satisfaction for missing on the ability to observe Link on his trip.

The lack of cameras out in the wilderness would make them dependent upon notes, again, which were always secondary to live observation. They could only wait until he returned, then gained some knowledge through the manic wording of Oobleck's letters, Schnee's documentation, or perhaps one of the students. All secondary, and therefore, all merely semantical.

"How about Mikau, the 'Zora', as I believe he was called." Cinder looked to Emerald, the girl who was present in the pool during his display. She was present during the display. "Please relate what we know of him."

"The 'Zora' is an aquatic species of faunus that are highly adapted in Hyrule," the girl began. "They are able to survive both above and below water, yet prefer to be submerged, as Mikau asked to be bathed in water during his display in Oobleck's class." Cinder noted the heat on the girl's face. The Maiden's powers were decidedly not active. "His tools include his detachable pelvic fins that are able to be thrown in a boomerang like nature as well as the ability to produce electricity from his body."

All good observations, and necessary in battle. However, as was expected of Cinder, she needed more. It was thankful then that Emerald was the more well trained of the two.

"Further, he has a crystal that is assumed to be made of Dust, but is undetermined." She at least knew how little Cinder appreciated the word. "I-It is known to provide a phenomenal boost to Mikau's Aura preserves, allowing his Semblance, the electricity, to grow to extraordinary levels and likely is useable only to his species, as specified by his fairies."

"Still worth nabbing if we get the chance," Mercury added on. He wasn't incorrect, but he had best add onto the statement before Cinder did for him. "Problem is going to be doing it without starting an uproar." Good.

"The connection that he has with it is likely too great to risk the theft, not without some form of significant distraction." The death of a student would suffice, but highly unlikely without outside factors as well. "Very good. Now, regarding Impa?" She looked to Mercury, the boy that had faced her.

"Impa is a member of the Shiekah tribe, some kind of ninja clan in Hyrule, and stupidly old at that." He was much more crase than she cared for, but she endured for his other benefits. "Going on a thousand, according to our video between her and Ozpin, she is amazing at tactics, able to learn and play that Chess game in one sitting. She's also got a level of strength that makes using that giant sword or ten of the exploding Naginata seem like nothing. Course, that's when you get into her 'real' skill."

This was what Cinder wanted to hear. The boy had been beaten by her, but what he gained was likely hidden information to most of the other staff or students.

"Impa's Semblance isn't about glyphs, like she told us before, but about 'copying' others, in a sense." Mercury scratched his head as he went on. "Don't really get the semantics for it, but it works by copying some one else's semblance, like Little Red's, at the cost of making the person they copied a bit stronger with their own. Like how Red can apparently sense danger now, which is almost crazy."

"Combined with her speed, it makes her ability to react to ambushes very impressive," Emerald added on, pleasing Cinder a bit more. "Though it is not invincible, as she was able to be trapped by Impa during the same fight." Mercury nodded.

"Yeah, sort of like baiting a fish to bite a hook, actually," he noted. It was a good metaphor to Cinder's ears. "Basically made her jump into an area she couldn't escape, the bam. Be pretty sweet to get one of us decked out by that Semblance, but I'm willing to bet that it has to do with seeing the soul to work." And there was the rub.

"I agree," Cinder noted. It was something she had noted. "Convincing or tricking her to do so to any three of us would likely expose our plans. If a conversation can be carried out with Ruby Rose regarding the ability, without alerting Impa, it would be preferred how much was seen. I doubt Link would leave the girl alone." It was a likely reason for the child's unease, as far as she had seen.

Perhaps that was a conversation topic to start on. No, more likely lead into. Perhaps with Mercury adding compliments to her abilities to placate her. It would certainly keep the heiress entertained, and her sister pushing her forward. All subjective, but likely.

"Tell me about Saria," Cinder continued. "She is the other nigh-immortal we know little about." But doubtlessly more than the average student.

"Right, Saria is a member of the Kokiri, and… likely someone who raised Link." Cinder raised a brow at Emerald's words. That was not what she had heard before. "I-It's a guess, but… but for how old she said she was to Ozpin, combined with her appearances being limited to interactions with him as far as we know, she appears to be maternal to Link's well-being, as well as very knowledgeable with how to teach someone, like a kid."

"Interesting," Cinder noted with a growing grin. "I honestly had not thought of that." She let the dark girl beam with pride as her own thoughts swam. A mother was both a place of refuge and weakness when it came to children. It was doubtful Link was any more mournful of Saria's passing, but that left a wound for pleasant commentary, perhaps even opening up to speak to her.

And an ability to speak to the forest child was very important for one noticeable, and important factor. One that her two underlings had best note soon.

"She's also a sage, according to Ozzy at least," Mercury added on. Cinder hid her grin beneath her Scroll. His observations skills were still up to par. "She responsible for those magic seeds, as well as, supposedly, growing a tree on top of the Beacon Tower. Can't really check that without setting off some bells, but she's got three growing around the area, and one of them turned a dangerous Grimm into a powerhouse that nearly took out the Winter chick." That was true, but he was missing the point.

"If we… were able to find the other tree she planted, somewhere in the forest, those seeds would be extremely beneficial to giving us or the White Fang an edge when the attack begins." That was also a fair observation, but now both of them had missed the point. It was honestly disappointing.

"Rather than on what she has made," Cinder noted between them. "I'm more focused on gaining what she has on hand." To emphasize her words, she held out her hand, extended from her body and for both the girl and boy to see.

She let out a plume of fair, watching as their eyes went wide with realization and terror. Appropriate reactions.

"Saria is a sage, a Maiden by Ozpin's own declaration." She rolled her hand, letting the fire tumble between her fingers and the embers roll down her sleeve. "Her powers, given to anyone on our side, would be a boon to our abilities, making the coming attack easier, if not more detrimental, to the standing of the Atlesian Military and Beacon as a whole."

She clenched her fists, letting the fire die with the act. Neither the boy or girl spoke, their error realized between them. Good, but not enough.

"Attacking her, however, has to be timed, as doing so before the Festival or other plans are in place will doubtlessly lead to a massive surge in guard and protection, not to mention Link likely losing himself." Heroes always tended to lose a bit of their sanity when loved ones were threatened. It was practicable as wind in the sky. "Keep the idea in mind but wait for confirmation to do so. Understood?"

"Roger." "Yes, Ma'am."

She nodded at the pair, acceptably. If orders were followed as she specified, then it would be alright. But only just.

"Makes sense to talk about that Lana girl next, right?" Mercury added on. His bravery to start the topic was allowable, only because he was correct. She nodded lightly for him to continue. "She's the weirdest one in the bunch, too, seeing as all we know is what came off of the Vale cameras and a few stories the fairies shared with Ozpin after that…" There was another source, but he didn't want to say it.

He was wise not to say it yet, not until they reached that part of their discussion. But not yet. Or else she'd be tempted to speak of the matter of the failure first, which would be inappropriate. Not until they were done with this.

"According to the fairies, the combination of her 'Gates', speculated to by nested glyphs by the Schnee, allow tampering with Space and Time, to degrees that are… difficult to explain in detail." As much as Cinder hated the idea, she knew the girl was right. Even logical assumptions in this case would be wildly guessing about the true nature of the Gates.

"So far we got mass storage of everything from musical equipment to weapons, illusion creation to a level that's about rivaling Emerald's here, and craziest of all, teleportation." All were abilities that would be threating enough alone, and this girl had all three in the variety of gates she had. Cinder nodded at the powers.

"Is there any observed limitations to them?" She knew of one answer, but not the others. Guessing now was appropriate, or observations she may have missed whilst she was memorizing the members of the crowd.

"It appears the gates come in pairs, or more appropriately sets, three rings belonging to each." Emerald continued on. "The teleportation mentioned previously requires at least two rings active, but it doesn't appear any amount of space between them limits their capabilities. The storage was also able to hold singular items as large as a Grand Piano, but the gate needed time to adjust to bring it out."

"Should make note that it's hard to tell how much of that was literal and the rest playing around," Mercury added on. Cinder quirked a brow to the boy, waiting for him to continue. If he was familiar with the rod now, he would know better. "She was entertaining that faunus kid during the whole set. Way I saw it, a lot of what she did was sort of keeping the kid's attention. Pretty much looked like showmanship to me."

"That is… possible," Emerald added on. Cinder turned her golden eyes to the girl, letting the girl compose herself before continuing. "Her words, mannerisms, and indications given by the fairies suggest that Lana was an entertainer in Hyrule. To what level or degree, I am not sure, but the span of her abilities and tools implies she may have had royal connections or powerful allies." A royal entertainer.

"A jester then?" Cinder added mirthfully, allowing the boy to chuckle at the statement. "Appropriate for that clown of a woman. Yet, you are not incorrect. Her Gats and apparent skill at using them is something to be mentioned and noted. And yes, we will speak of them soon."

The boy and girl were well aware of what she was referring to. They would have to be fools to not. She did not employ fools under her leadership.

"Elrora's next," Cinder spoke on. "An avian of the Watarara tribe of Hyrule. She has exposed herself the most after Impa, implying an ability of super-sonic flight, high-volume screech, and a near impregnable wall of golden feathers." She tapped on her Scroll as she spoke. "The fairy, Tatl, spoke of only the screech being a part of her Semblance, the rest related to her physical training. It should be noted that while she was able to endure a great many of blows from the Xiao-Long girl, an unprotected blow dealt a serious amount of damage to her."

Nearly a quarter of her Aura, she believed. Enough to make it noted that she was quiet frail beneath those wings of hers. It explained a great deal about her mannerisms.

"It can be assumed that there is either some lining or trait to the feathers she is adorned with that allow for her to fly at speeds not physically possible through air propulsion and endure a subsequent number of blows without issue. If it can be determined through some means, either conversational or observational, it would be greatly desired." Both of the children nodded at her words.

"Speaking of conversation," Mercury spoke up, raising a hand as if he really were some college bum. "You mentioned you wanted us to get closer Link, yeah?" Yes was correct.

"I do, similar to a combat team over Ozpin." She noted it across her Scroll as she spoke. "It is unlikely he will see us as anything more than students at the moment, so it is advantageous of us to approach him in such a manner. To converse like professors, or Ozpin, would only raise suspicion." Likely in the fairies more than the faunus himself, but suspicion anywhere was to be avoided, especially in a confidant of their target.

"It… wouldn't be as simple as speaking to him, would it?" Emerald asked, confusion on her face. It was appropriate this time, if no where else. Conversations made whilst undercover were of drastic importance to keep in character. Unnecessary action would not be tolerated.

"Only if we approach with the correct conversation topic," Cinder added on. "Perhaps regarding tips for combat, should we know of a faunus ally of his who uses weaponry similar to ours, or for tips on how to hunt, if only to entertain his fairies." They were just idea, suggestions, hardly answers. The thief had best be aware of that.

"Or we could go through that team who found him. RWBY, right?" Cinder grinned at the boy. He was finding his way back to her good graces at least. "Red is the one who found him in the first place, and its pretty much an open secret how they all look up to him, especially after they all either helped or pissed him off." Odd, but true.

"Ruby Rose found him, Weiss Schnee asked Impa for assistance with her glyphs, Blake was fascinated by the faunus history, and Yang attacked Elrora for a yet-to be known reason." Emerald listed off Indeed, it was more than any other team individually.

"Is the suggestion then to ask the team for assistance with speaking to Link?" Cinder questioned them carefully. She had an idea, likely superior, but she needed to know their answers as well. It would determine the worth of their thought process.

"Nah, that wouldn't do much good." Mercury waved his hand. Good. "Best thing to do is talk to the faunus midget and name drop them here and there, like, just an example here, how Ruby seems kind of messed up about Link, at least regarding something." Excellent.

"You saw that too then?" Cinder questioned, earning a nod from the bow. "Good, and you are correct. Establishing a connection without an intermediate party will make conversation with Link easier in the future, as he and the fairies will not feel the need to have another member present. It does, however, mean we have to be careful of the information we speak." A bit redundant, but the children were slow compared to her.

"Got it." "Understood." Both responded easily. Well-trained indeed. Unfortunately, the speed of the second topic only meant she had to pursue the third. And Cinder was loathed to venture into it.

She disliked disappointment, was loathe to accept conflictions of her emotions, but one things she true and welly hated was failure. And failure was what she needed to speak of now. Not hers, granted, but failure at all.

"For an example," she began, tapping her Scroll. "One such area to avoid conversation about is the miserable failure that was Roman's assault on the Orphanage a couple days prior."

Both the boy and the girl wisely remained silent and still at the words. There was little that could be said to placate her at the moment, very little indeed. Short of her Mistress answering a question she had mulled over her entire life, or the Torchwick failure as a thief were to offer his own head as an apology, there was nothing to be said.

"Roman's failure, disastrous as it was, is something we must straighten out before going forward," Cinder replied with a level voice, keeping her fingers wisely off her Scroll as she spoke. Else, she was likely to burn a hole through the device. Replacing it would be complicated if she did. "Namely, the loss of resources, advantage, and likely exposure he has opened us up to."

Yet still the children remained quiet. They wanted her to begin, or else the feared retribution for incorrect words. Their fears were not unfounded. However, she was in no mood to simply be an entertainer for her underlings.

"Emerald." The dark girl stiffened at her name, perhaps even shaking at that. "By numbers, what number of Atlesian tools and Lien did Roman use during the failed assault." She felt an ember warm and sniffle out across her arm. Her breathing, measured and soft, kept it under control.

"U-Um… h-he lost four… four Atlesian Pilotable Mechs as well as… two Spider Mechs." A slow sigh left Cinder's lips, eyes shutting briefly for the effort. "H-He, um… I can only guess the cost of the Lien used to purchase more men from one Hei 'Junior' Xiong, but with the number of men that were arrested, i-it is likely seventy to eighty… thousand."

Cinder pinched the bridge of her nose, trying vainly to hold back the blossoming headache creeping up her skull. Even an adult, a 'professional thief' as he entertained to call himself, had made such a childish mistake as this…

"Are there any… speculated reasons, on the part of Ozpin and his lackeys?" With some grace, they would be able to merely sweep Torchwick under the rug. That was a fool's hope, Cinder knew.

"It looks like they think he was gunning for the stuff Link gave the faunus kid, Moron or something." Cinder gave him a hard look, the heat in her hands burning the air till flames erupted. The boy corrected himself, wisely. "Moraine, it's Moraine, same kid that was out there with Link earlier. She came back with him after all this went down. Rest of the kids that survived are in hospitals or redistributed 'cross Vale."

Absolutely wonderful. Enough loose ends to make the idea of destroying Vale all the more pleasurable.

Cinder wasn't sure anymore if hiring the thief was worth it. At least when he failed before he was an acceptable scapegoat that deferred attention. But now… now there would be questions as to how he got his information. Speaking of the red-haired failure.

"Is there any information at all we received from this?" Cinder questioned. "I am well aware he failed to acquire anything of merit from either Link or his companions, but is there any information we can use?"

"Team RWBY were responsible for his safety!" Emerald added on, louder than she should have. Cinder kept her sharp gaze on the dark girl to remind her of her place. It was quickly found. "They… they were apparently responsible for thwarting Roman Torchwick, according to Winter Schnee's records. Further, it is apparent that Weiss, Yang, and Blake have all received tools from Lana, or Link during the encounter."

"Only got small notes on what they do right now," Mercury added on. Cinder watched him bring up his own scroll before continuing. At least he was being thorough, if nothing else. "The book that the heiress got acts like lightning Dust, the cape the cat got is a basic invisibility cloak, not broken at all, and the bimbo managed to snag a pair of bunny ears that, and I'm reading this as written, 'allows her to note the moment in time all actions occur'."

"All actions occur?" Cinder repeated carefully. She wrapped her brain about the meaning, trying to ensure the possibilities were limited. "Is there any mention of an example that occurred in there? Something to make it evident what was happening?"

"Not for the book and cape, since those two were down for the count by the time Qrow and the Schnee arrived," Emerald continued for Mercury. "However, Winter makes note that she observed Yang Xiao-Long punching a round from the Atlesian Mech from the air. And, from the testimony of her friends while caring for her, she did it multiple times." Now that was something.

"Perfect timing?" Cinder mused aloud. It was hardly the most important skill in one's arsenal, but it certainly gave greater effect to every one of them. Aiming the perfect shot, dodging the multitude of bullets, blocking quick blows, avoiding sharp ones, it was an apparent necessity in one's line of work. "Any note of those limitations?"

"Actually, yeah, and it's a hard figure," Mercury continued. "All three of the chicks were down for the count for Aura exhaustion, even though only two of them got a beating. The heiress and cat were losing their Aura as they used the tools, and the same thing's what probably happened to the blonde."

"You said hard figure, Mercury," she spoke the boy's name. He reacted appropriately to her words, stilling with complete focus on her. "I need more than speculation to consider something a fact."

"The bimbo is lain up in the team infirmary. She got knocked pretty hard, which is good, but her Aura kicked in like a gun once the bunny ears were taken off." Mercury made an example of lifting his hand off his head. "Apparently it was acting like a drain on her, so all she needed was a hard nap to recover. No medication or intervention necessary." Unfortunate, given the sever lack of gain on the operation already.

Having one of the students dismembered or permanently altered due to the attack would have been beneficial. But, as was the case with all Huntsman, the ability to use Aura often placated the need for medical intervention as long as it was available. All at the low cost of strengthening your humanity and separating yourself from the strength of the Grimm. Unfortunate.

"That is something, I suppose," Cinder noted carefully. It was little she could add on now. But her mind was already drifting toward the next question, no matter how much she loathed to speak it.

She could feel her throat heating with the flame of the Maiden, as if she and the original owner, wherever she was hidden, agreed with her on the deplorability of the subject. Still, it was not in her to avoid conflict or duty to her Mistress. She'd hardly start now.

"Do we know where Roman is?" She asked carefully. It wasn't as if they could stroll out, snuff him out, and return. The amount of security had increased dramatically throughout Vale after his failure. If they found his body, or sounds of a scuffle, they could easily be exposed.

But Cinder would be damned if she didn't keep a leash on the mad dog now.

"Not… yet…" Emerald answered her. It was the wrong answer. From the fire the snuck through the corners of her gaze, the girl at least realized it. "P-Please, Ma'am! The notes we were able to get from the reporting of the Schnee said that he escaped through the use of Neopolitan and an individual noted as the 'Gray Man'."

Of that, Cinder was not aware.

"Gray Man?" She repeated, testing the title. She knew of only a few individuals who wore gray enough to be considered for the title, and her Mistress would have been clear if they were present, let alone working with the thief. "Describe him."

"Um…" Emerald spoke quickly, eyes digging through her Scroll. She heard the boy doing the same, wisely at that. He would have been burned if he was negligent. "Estimated 6'6", olive gray skin, alabaster come over hair, large tri-furcated scarlet coat, white leotard with a diamond motif, and a large jeweled belt." Cinder once more, was unsure of what to feel. A confliction in her emotions.

On one hand, she knew who it was. More than that, she knew who was involved. Only her Mistress, wise and kind as she was, would have knowledge enough to send that particular servant. Whether to aid or merely watch, she wasn't sure, but it did make it clear to Cinder one hard fact.

Her Mistress was aware of where Roman was, and that was far preferred to him holding himself up for a likely escape.

On the other, she was not involved. Her Mistress had not invited her or acknowledged her. Why?

"Ma'am?" The girl spoke, shaking Cinder from her thoughts. "A-Are you well? Do you need some tea?"

"No, I do not," she dismissed the affections of the child with a wave of her hand. She settled it on her forehead when she was done. The question had far from left her. It was still resting on the forefront of her mind.

Why him? No… how was it him? Oh, she didn't need to ask who. No one else in all of Remnant, let alone those who would aid that failure Roman could be described in such a way.

Ghirahim… her Queen's _Retainer_.

Cinder put her mouth against her folded fingers, letting her eyes fall to her knees, crossed and pensive. She needed to think, she needed to understand why. No, more accurately, how. How had the retainer for her Mistress come to Vale? How had he gotten wind of Link, so quickly?

Her Mistress may have had ears along the world, but Link had been present in Beacon for less than two weeks' time. Had word of him spread so far so quickly? Given his abilities it wasn't unreasonable for him to be known through the kingdoms, but for one of her wards to return and speak to her in such time, and for Ghirahim to be present just as fast?

No… it wasn't the word of the kingdoms… Man was too unreliable, too cautions, to possibly get word to her Mistress so quickly. She was only ever offered a warning of the man, and she was at the center of one of acquiring a Maiden, then a treasure for her Mistress. If Link were likely to appear, she would have received far more than a mere word.

No, it wasn't man that spoke to her, it was the word of the Grimm.

They had seen him. Seen him the Emerald Forest, in the Forever Fall, and, most importantly, in the Badlands themselves.

He had slain Ancient Grimm… so the word was sure to return to her Mistress then.

But if it was Ghirahim that had come, the Retainer, then was Link more of a threat than she believed? Powerful, without question, resourceful, just as much, but for her Mistress to react in such a way? There must be more at play than she realized.

The more than that, why had Ghirahim not contacted her? They had met before in their shared Mistress's presence, enough to know the capabilities of both. Perhaps before she was rightfully beneath him, given the ability for him to command the throne in the Queen's absence, but now? She could likely be threat, would be a threat.

Was that why? Was he being cautious of her? Maybe, but he knew of her devotion to her Mistress, their Mistress. She would never act in a way that would betray her trust, and his life was just that. Just as she was the same, doubtlessly now.

Caution, perhaps then, regarding the presence of Link on the grounds. Did they recognize one another? Was the warning of her Mistress given through word of Ghirahim? That was a possibility, likely so given his presence throughout the world before the establishment of the Kingdoms. Perhaps he was aware of this Hyrule and its capabilities.

Yes… that made sense, but only so far as they _why_ he was _here._ It did not answer _why_ the _failure Torchwick_.

The question unnerved her, plagued her, and Cinder was loathed to admit it. Truly this was a despicable day. Too many questions coming to roost and not enough answers to feed them all. Worse yet, the timetable to act was still unknown so long as the Festival was on hold. A damnable decision she hoped was swiftly resolved.

And perhaps, with any luck, she'd be able to speak to Ghirahim before then.

"Ma-am?" the voice interrupted her thoughts.

Cinder turned a burning eye to the girl, watching with a low amount of mirth as she scuttled back, frozen with terror. At least they were remained loyal to her. If only her Mistress's servants and Retainer was so inclined.

"Boss," Mercury spoke now. The idea of burning the boy was becoming a pleasurable one. "I don't know what's eating you, but… I think you'll want to see this." Oh? Perhaps it would be something to distract her. Most preferred if it was an answer to her self-damning questions.

She lifted her head from her hands, staring at the scroll the boy had presented to her. An image was caught on it, a camera angle she did not recognize. It was not of Glynda's drones, let alone the stationary system of the school.

"Th-That's my camera," the girl spoke again, hoping to earn good graces, perhaps. "I… looked for hiding spots, places someone one might try and hide in." Cinder was well aware what a hiding spot was. "And… we caught something."

Cinder, wordlessly, took the device, staring at it. She recognized the image of a young girl in the frame, hiding behind a set of stairs. The green garb she wore gave away her identity, as well as her ears.

"Moraine," she spoke simply, the child that Link had adopted, for lack of a better term. His ward for certain. Her golden eyes peered at the image, studying it for something of significance. The child was hiding, which meant there was something to hide.

Her fingers touched the display, bringing it up and zooming in on the various aspects of the pixels. The child's hands, for example, were one often clutched things they didn't want others to see. With the child bent over, that fact was all the clearer.

But not as clear as the object itself, which there certainly was.

"Hmm…" Cinder hummed, certainly intrigued now. "Is there a secondary view?"

"Y-Yes! Yes there is!" Emerald responded, quickly tapping along her own scroll to procure it. The carrot certainly had its merits now. "Here," the dark hair girl responded, holding out the photo for her to view.

It was lower than the first, at an angle she'd suspect was for 'creep shooting' were she not aware of Emerald's devotion to the plan. The true purpose of the lens, however, became evident when it showed the contents of Moraine's arms, what it was that she was hiding.

And Cinder, finally, felt a smile crawl at her lips.

"It certainly appears that we are not without things to do during Link's absence," she kindly noted to the pair of her underlings, handing the Scroll back to the boy. The relief was clear over Mercury, and joy over Emerald's face. The carrot was rare to be offered, but it was enough to entice results. "We will continue to observe the others, but give emphasis on interacting with the RWBY team and Moraine, when available."

"I can get in close with Ruby Rose," Emerald volunteered. "She's a kid and… kid's are easy to entertain." That they were, Cinder agreed.

"I can probably get a conversation going with the bimbo or heiress, if I focus on something they like. Probably of some fact they don't know." Examples respectively given, as they were. Both were appropriate.

"Good," Cinder noted. "And be aware, though it is desirable to approach Moraine, I am aware that Ozpin and Qrow will be watching her through Link's absence. Hence, leave interactions with her only if she is being observed by others, such as Professor Port or the others."

"You think that'll happen?" Mercury asked. An obvious question, given the importance of the girl. And, more accurately, the item she had. Cinder smiled easily at the boy.

"I do," she answered surely. "As important and valued as she is, Ozpin will not be kind to have her sit in on conversations regarding the Maidens and secrets of Beacon. She will be treated as any other guest and kept in the company of another individual who has his trust." Hence, the fellow professors of the school, or teams that had assisted him in the past.

"Okay, we can do that," Emerald nodded confidently. Cinder knew she would, or else the rod would be offered again. Cinder nodded at them both, standing from the bed.

"See that you do. I will be alone for a while, 'practicing' as it were." They did have to keep appearances and a lack of training on their part would be noticeable to the students and, eventually, the staff. Neither the boy or girl made a comment as she left, the door clicking behind her.

There was a deplorable amount of bad news that had been thrown on her, but the last piece of information her lackeys had found proved their worth fullness. It had turned an otherwise detestable meeting into one with a grand find, an 'Easter Egg' as it were. Something that if they found, would hold an unprecedented amount of worth.

After all, a fabled mask of Link was being held by the hands of a child.

The golden mask of the Forest Sage Saria, protected only by a child's frail arms.

Cinder pondered, for a moment, how true the metaphor was of taking candy from the hands of babe's. It would certainly be interesting to try. **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	17. Monument Mine (Part 1)

If Pyrrha were to be honest, and it was very rude to lie, the trip to the Monument Mine was both quicker than she expected and unnecessarily long.

By measurement by time itself, it only took a Bullhead approximately three and a half hours for the trip, far shorter than international flights or other forms of transportation. There was _very_ little reason to complain there, even if the seats _were_ harder than she as used to for such long flights. And the amount of cargo in the adjoining hold was large enough to make her wary of the ship's weight.

On the other end, however, she found herself checking her Scroll's timer approximately every few minutes, because each minute felt like hours. It took her little time to deduce why.

Namely, it was the absolute silence.

Despite having the brute Cardin Winchester and rather verbose Dr. Oobleck in the same cabin, not to ignore the equally loud Tatl fairy, no one had so much as coughed for hours. They all had remained rigid in their seats since their departure, staring at whatever pieces of the cabin appeared the most engaging to them.

Pyrrha found herself moving her gaze from the shut hangar door, ghosting over the other riders of the Bullhead, then back to the door. It felt uncomfortable to her to stare at any one person, even if it was at a spot on the wall above them. Being in the public eye for so long made her very much aware of how awkward it was to be given attention like that, intentional or not.

From her glances, however, it was rather clear that was not the same mindset for the other occupants.

Cardin Winchester, the obvious worst offender and boy she swore now existed in a perpetual state of distrust, would not take his eyes off of Jaune. A furrowed brow was focused on him, sometimes shifting from a hard glare to scowling curiosity. Arms folded in the chair he sat in, he didn't so much as gruff as he kept his gaze even. Jaune, her partner quickly learning his place as a huntsman, appeared to match the larger boy's gaze.

Her partner didn't have the same furiousity in his gaze, not with a heart as kind as his, but it was hard to ignore the clenched jaw when he sat next to her, leaning forward so his elbows rested on his knees, hand supporting his chin. While Cardin shifted his gaze as he stared down Jaune, her blonde knight kept his straight and neutral.

Perhaps it was a challenge that he didn't wish to back down form, not after how much he had grown and how obvious it was to the better part of Beacon that Cardin was a bully through and through. However, the shear stiffness of his posture had her concerned. It was as if he were flexing every limb and muscle he had control of to keep himself from jumping out of his seat.

There was likely a good reason for that, as Pyrrha couldn't imagine Jaune being needlessly antagonistic, even in defense. But she didn't dare ask him, not while the cabin of the Bullhead was quieter than an empty classroom at night.

Winter Schnee, Ms. Schnee as was appropriate to address a huntress of her standing, kept her cool gaze on Link. Pyrrha couldn't fault the elder Schnee for it, not when link was still very much an unknown to them, and she had only met him a day or two ago at best. Although, it was fortunate her gaze held little of the animosity that the two boys in the cabin shared.

Hers was calm, cool, and perhaps even contemplative. Drawn up as she leaned back in her seat with a slow bob to her head, matching the fluxes in the air outside the Bullhead, possibly. Pyrrha had heard from experienced military servicemen that they moved oddly on air and sea ships. Still, it never distracted her gaze from Link, the ever silent faunus in their exploration group.

The only other two people in the cabin who appeared either unaffected or uncaring towards the silence were Dr. Oobleck and Link. Their instructor, the verbose she added to herself, had taken to reading through several books that were strapped to the seat next to him, hands flipping pages more often than Pyrrha stole glances of him and the others. It made sense that the doctor was keeping himself well-read, it was just odd for her to see him and _not_ hear him talking.

And Link was… sleeping?

It took four sideways glances, swift enough to avoid being called nosey, for her to realize the very real possibility. Her fingers threaded through her hair, tucking it behind her ear as she exchanged her fifth glance at the emerald clad foreign faunus. And with a bit of focus it was clear he, and the pair of fairies likely nestled in his cap, were fast asleep.

His arms were folded beneath his chest, held up with a lazy unconscious grip. His entire body slouched to the wall next to him, either ignoring or heedless of the small gap between his armrest and the wall itself. The cap on his head was pulled down, hiding more of his golden bangs and hiding his eyes from view, not to mention his head was still ducked down into the nape of his neck. And he was breathing rhythmically, if his chest was any indication.

Pyrrha looked away before she could judge anymore. It was embarrassing enough studying her professor while he was sleeping, like he was some child on the playground. Even if he did look an awful lot like Jaune…

Her head shook slightly at the thought. It was true what her father said, silent air allowed for loud thoughts.

It could be much further though, at least not by her estimates. The trip was meant to be blessedly short, on paper at least. Even if the absolute quiet nature of the cabin made the minutes to hours and far beyond, it had to end soon. She only needed to wait, patiently, for her internal clock to strike true.

" _Salutations everyone!_ " Pyrrha let out a breath of relief at the voice. " _We are aaaaaaalmost there! ETA approximately 1.273 minutes and counting._ " A muttered prayer of thanks left her lips with it.

"Penny sure is relaxed for a pilot, huh?" She almost missed the question from Sky. She looked over, seeing him staring up at the ceiling. He had done that most of the trip, perhaps sensing the same unease that she had from her partner and the bully of a leader. "Sure, does love to be loud, even with she's with us. Right Cardin?" With them?

Pyrrha got no more of an answer from the large boy, the bully only letting out a gruff note of dismissal, eyes remaining focused on Jaune. Her partner didn't so much as flinch.

"Not bad, not good, just different when you're gettin' someone that bubbly and strong." Was he not aware that he was still talking to the ceiling, or that no one was listening? "She's like a little kid with the muscle and smarts of a freaking huntsman. Really makes you second guess yourself when she's _cheery_ about _learning_." Perhaps that would be odd.

But still no one spoke to him, in response or otherwise, letting the cabin descend into silence once again. He didn't seem to mind.

Pyrrha kept her gaze roaming as she waited for that abhorrent minute to run out. Penny was intelligent, as Sky had said, so she had to be accurate wit her time. And she could feel the ship descending slowly in response to her warning. It made her fingers plays with the ends of her seat impatiently.

The ship rocked lightly around them, a clear indication that they were indeed contacting the ground. It was enough to shake the daze out of Cardin and Jaune, though little to ease Pyrrha's sense of unease, yet at least. She just need to keep her patience.

 _KrSCHHHHH_! And her patience was rewarded with the hiss of the cargo bay hydraulics activating.

" _We have landed!_ " Penny exuberantly cheered through the intercoms. A cold shower after a long workout was less relieving than those words. It took a great amount of her self-control to not stand and weight by the slowly opening rear of the ship.

Dull light peaked through the opening, enough for her to see they had, indeed, landed in some small clearing. It was also enough for her to justify standing up from her seat. The rustling behind her was enough of a tell that the others were gathering themselves as well.

Pyrrha almost jumped out of the back when it hit the ground, thankful to finally have solid ground beneath her and _much_ more to look at. She took a deep breath, savoring the air she took in as much as the free space. She let herself take in the space around her.

And immediately regretted it.

She froze mid-step, stopping the gasp of air before it passed her lips. Mouth parted an involuntary hair, her eyes remained wide as saucers as she took in the town around her. No, that wasn't right. Dr. Oobleck called it a town earlier, and Penny said the same, but… this wasn't a town.

Towns, even abandoned, had the remnants of society about them. An open street, market stalls, houses with windows and doors, no matter how desolate they may have been. Perhaps she wasn't as well-read as the huntsman with her but… this was far beyond what she believed anyone could describe.

There were many failed settlement towns Pyrrha had passed through before she attended Beacon. Tours meant to promote her 'compassion' to 'humanity's will to fight'. A fighter as she was taking in the sights of fights against nature. No matter how clique they sounded, she _understood_ what they meant, and she _agreed_ with them.

It was why she didn't find herself perplexed or shocked by buildings with chipped paint, destroyed windows, wild overgrowth, fallen walls, or even unmarked graves. They were settlements that had failed, and as such, had no reason to be cleaned once they were abandoned.

This town… Monument, it was too different.

There weren't just chipped buildings, there were claw marks and scorches across the walls. There wasn't just simple overgrowth, there were pits of stone and dirt upturned in the road. There weren't merely a few shattered windows or broken walls, there were sword, claw, and battle wounds that ripped through the town. And even with all of that in front of her, there was no ignoring the feeling of the town.

A deep heavy blanket of somber remorse clung to it, pushing against Pyrrha the moment her eyes lain upon the past carnage of the settlement. It pushed and emanated from every clawed crevice and heavy burn upon the land, sticky and wet with every breath taken in. A monument indeed, so aptly named for the town, a monument to failure and regret. It all made Pyrrha, the so-called Invincible Girl, swallow a tight ball clinging to her throat.

Monument was an abandoned town, there was no question of that. Towns had been abandoned by the Grimm before, usually the sole reason why. Constant attacks that lead to slow migration, until the last few remaining gave up and left.

This? This looked… looked like the Grimm stormed all at once, and no one had the power to resist. And survive.

"Whoa…" Jaune let out next to her. She agreed with his breathless word. "This is… normal?" That she could not agree with.

"No," Pyrrha immediately responded. "This is far… far worse than any _normal_ town that has been abandoned." She turned to look at him, seeing him staring with an open mouth at a particularly decayed and destroyed building. She could _see_ the path of an Ursa's claw through one of its brick walls. "This is… much more devastating than what typically occurs after a failed town." And she had no idea why.

Was it because it was tucked away from normal trade routes, like Dr. Oobleck said? Was it because it was near a Dust mine, perhaps attracting a stronger Grimm response? Or had something else happened, a natural catastrophe that was impossible to judge years later.

"This could have been far worse." Pyrrha looked for the voice, quickly finding Ms. Schnee standing off to the side, a gloved hand running down the charred remains of a post. It was impossible to tell if it was meant to support power lines, support some other fallen structure, or anything else. "The ruins are truly decrepit, but the lack of human remains shows a great effort in their evacuation. I'm pleased the reports were not grossly exaggerated."

"Reports?" Jaune spoke up. "Like what? The evacuation numbers? Damage report?" The cold eye Ms. Schnee turned towards him was _very_ similar to Weiss, especially after being questioned.

"Evacuation protocols, as given by Dr. Oobleck." Her hand waved at the professor, who was stepping out of the Bullhead with journals still in hand. Half of CRDL team followed behind him. "It is standard procedure to have a tally of occupants successfully evacuated from failed settlements in times of Grimm attacks or other natural disasters. Old as the facility is, they were able to rescue a fair number of their citizens." But not all. And that was what hurt Pyrrha.

She could tell it wasn't all of them. There was no _lying_ to herself that the place was merely abandoned. It had been attacked, sacked, and then left to burn. There _were_ people present when it happened.

"I-I apologize, Ms. Schnee," Pyrrha spoke quickly to Weiss's elder sister. "But… I have toured through many other towns that were deemed failed settlements before and… and this is so much worse than anything I've seen before." As was expected of her, she kept her gaze on the huntress as she spoke. It let her see the slow draw of her elder's brow.

"Then you were likely coddled by whomever was offering you those 'tours', as you referred to them." It was strict training that kept Pyrrha from speaking back to the woman. She heard Jaune say something quietly next to her. "I will not jest and say this is typical of all settlements or towns, but it is far from being declared abnormal. I'm sure the doctor agrees with me."

"Hmm?" Dr. Oobleck spoke up, Pyrrha turning her eyes to him. He lifted his nose from his book, looking between her and Ms. Schnee. "Oh? The town? Grimm attack? Present results and physical reminders? Yes, yes, _very common_. Actually, highly common. _Unfortunate_ , _deeply_ , yet common. Common enough for Hunters to be trained, needed, requested, all the like."

Pyrrha blinked at Dr. Oobleck as he walked past, eyes still to his books as he spoke. Was he… unaffected by this? She looked to Jaune, watching him shake his head and shrug, face still as marred by the place as she felt. At least she wasn't alone in her horror.

"If it helps, this commonly occurs in towns that have their survival dependent upon a singular resource, such as timber, minerals, or tourism. A single unfortunate event related to that resource can result in a rapid flux of negative emotions, attracting the Grimm." Ms. Schnee continued to speak. "Given this town's expected dependence upon the mine, I would surmise that it shutting down lead to enough negative emotions to result in the Grimm Raid."

"Is it really that… easy?" Pyrrha found herself asking. Just a single bad event led to all this? "Just one bad day? That's it?"

"Yeah. That's common." She did not expect those words to come from the fairy floating around Ms. Schnee.

She did _not_ expect Tael to agree with this.

"Monsters follow sorrow, and they plant seeds in nourished soil. Every abandoned building, every forgotten grave, every… failed society, i-it just attracts them." He rang long and deep with his words, Pyrrha watching him with disturbed fascination. "There are _so many_ stories of brave travelers trying to create new lands but failing once and leading _hundreds_ to their deaths because of it. Lorule, Lanayru, The Wastelands, Ikana… their all there." She recognized none of the names… but she didn't need to.

"Bad things happened to them, huh?" Jaune spoke with a lighter voice than she expected, even chuckling afterwards. She looked at him, both understanding and perplexed to see him carrying all the usual signs of his nervousness. He was standing close to her.

"They all met a _terrible_ fate." The words were _sickly_ as they fell from the dark fairy. "And… they aren't fun to walk through." Of that she couldn't deny.

"Perhaps not enjoyable, but often necessary," Ms. Schnee added onto the fairy. "Such as now, we are present for an expedition. The knowledge of the danger and past violence is necessary for preparation, but it is not an excuse for inaction. You would both do well to remember that hunters are called for the most dangerous of operations." Her eyes moved form Pyrrha to Jaune as she spoke, then back again.

"Wait, as in _all_ the time?" Jaune threw out the question, likely before he had time to think about it. She knew her partner well.

"I'd venture not _that_ often," Ms. Schnee returned, with a face that was so much like her younger sister's. It was difficult to tell whom it was copying who, though Pyrrha could admit her bias from meeting one sister before the other. "But I believe you are both intelligent enough to assume that a civilian, no matter how well armed, will not dare venture to a place as decrepit as this when they can afford to hire a hunter to take the risk." That Pyrrha could understand.

"It's why knights are all over the place in Hyrule." Tael spun around Ms. Schnee as she spoke. The low-banged woman gave the fairy a glance as she dropped his dark dust around her. "Stationed to save the curious children, armed to march into the pit of monsters, and sworn to serve no matter the time or task." It was poetic how he said it, and the fairy rang after he finished. "I-It's sort of like that. Just… being proactive, like sis would say."

"And indeed, it is an intelligent way to operate a kingdom of hunters," Ms. Schnee agreed, eyes turning back to the ruins. Her only visible eye, as far as Pyrrha could tell, was tracing the path a Grimm had taken through a building and pair of walls, tearing through them like wet cardboard. "But the four kingdoms are far larger than your 'hyrule', and hunters themselves are not so easily compensated for their work, hazardous as it is. And even then, hardly ever so completely successful."

Pyrrha heard someone swallow dryly and she hoped it wasn't her. She focused instead on Jaune shuffling his feet next to her, enough acknowledgement that she wasn't the only one disturbed by this. They had always _known_ about the danger of being a hunter. But this?

This was just… throwing _futility_ into it.

"We can discuss this more at another time." Ms. Schnee's words pulled Pyrrha from her thoughts. "We have perhaps another seven hours of daylight to us, so we must make camp. We should be quick about it so we have time to at least survey the mine entrance." Pyrrha flushed a red as vibrant as her hair at the words. She'd forgotten about that.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Jaune spoke up for them both. "Sorry about jumping out like that. The ride was just… kinda awkward." And even now he took the shame for her.

"Apologies are unnecessary," the military woman dismissed. "Just help Dr. Oobleck and the other students with the luggage. Follow his direction on placement." Pyrrha nodded at the command. "I'll return with Link shortly." Wait, what?

"Return?" Pyrrha perked at the words. Her emerald eyes scanned the ruined town in the same moment. "Did he disappear? Is he already missing?" That wouldn't make any sense? She and Jaune were the first to leave the Bullhead and Link was _asleep_.

"No! No, not he's not." Tael quickly rang out in response. Pyrrha hoped _he_ missed Ms. Schnee's scowl. "Link just went on ahead first, that's all. H-He's just not used to working in teams, like this, around you guys, that kind of stuff. It's just… we work different."

"And I am going to retrieve him before that difference leads him into the mine before the rest of us are prepared." Pyrrha nodded at the words. Simple was it was to see Link was a foreign faunus, and hunter at that, she had to remind herself that their procedure for missions wouldn't necessarily align.

If their previous discussion with him was true, about the preference for individualistic strength over large-scale forces, was true, then his sudden disappearance made some sense.

"M-Maybe he's just exploring one of the buildings?" Jaune supplied next to her. The uncertainty in his voice was plain as the blonde of his hair. "I mean there's not _a lot_ , but… hey, abandoned buildings."

The cold look Ms. Schnee sent Jaune was so very much reminiscent of Weiss. Even if their hair colors and names differed, Pyrrha was sure she would see the family resemblance through action alone.

"… I will consider that, Mr. Arc," Ms. Schnee added on. "In the meantime, you both will help Dr. Oobleck make camp. Is that understood?" Pyrrha straightened herself before responding.

"I understand," she returned. "And thank you for the lesson." And the truth of what hunters were volunteering for.

"You are students, still learning about what is expected of you." The elder Schnee talked the gratitude away as duty. "I have confidence in your abilities. It would be a great shame to see you disheartened so early." And with little more than that, she walked deeper into the town, charred stone and gnarled roots crushed beneath her boots.

Pyrrha heard Jaune sigh as she left their sight, Tael following close behind her. She turned to put her eyes on him, not the town that apparently so similar to so many others. Not that, or else she starts to think of the families that had been abandoned, the many other failed attempts of civilization, swallowed up by the Grimm from a single poor thought.

She had to focus on why they were here, like focusing on a fight. The goal was to find a fairy within the abandoned mine, not mourn for the lives that were lost. That could be done later.

"I'll ask Oobleck what he needs help with," Jaune drew Pyrrha out of her musings. "Probably have us start to set-up the stuff, seeing as Cardin and Penny have got a handle on the boxes themselves." It took only a glance to see the truth of his words. She nodded in agreement.

"Yes, let's get started." The Invincible Girl pushed away her unease, at least for now. The time for worry was not now. Now was the time for preparation, as Winter had said.

There was much to do.

* * *

"Is it common for Link to venture away from his comrades so early?" Winter posed the question to the floating mini-drone beside her, ignoring the obvious fault in its circuitry letting how high whines of its motor. "Ignoring protocols and the safety his comrades?"

"I-It's not like that!" The mini-drone let out with a faulty speaker. "It's just… Link always does this, by himself at least, l-like I said before. So… he's just… doing what he usually does." Then this would make the expedition even harder. Dealing with a hunter that wasn't familiar with proper protocols. Worse, a _professor of Beacon_ that wasn't aware of how to teach his students. The Headmaster would need to be informed when they returned.

Perhaps Link didn't even think of them as comrades. Or, more pragmatically, the faunus may have assumed she and the doctor would care for them. Not incorrect, but without a doubt a dereliction of his own duty. He was a professor as well.

Winter kept a hand on the hilt of her saber, never too careful around the ruins of failed settlements. Grimm did not nest, but they were known to frequent the sites of their own destruction. Residual memories, as Dr. Zepp had once called it. All that mattered to Winter was the knowledge that Grimm could, and likely were, nearby.

Her cyan eyes scanned the ruins again, stepping over a rotten piece of wood. It was far from an expansive town, smaller than most settlements, given his young age before it was toppled, but with still over a dozen or two buildings lined together, there were many paths to take. And many paths made for a long search.

"Any idea where he might have gone?" Winter posed to the mini-drone companion of the faunus. "Perhaps a type of building he might look for first?" Guard Barracks for supplies, farmers homestead for food or sharp weaponry, the Prospectors home for information on the mine?

"Um… th-that's a question for Tatl," the mini-drone meekly released. Winter sighed instead of rolling her eyes. It made sense the drones had differing uses for their memory. Prevented wasted space. "B-But, he might try and find… something related to the mine?" The drone didn't sound too sure of its own words. It's programming would need a once over by Dr. Zepp later. Link would hopefully agree.

"… Prospector's office then," Winter noted more to herself. The location was in the original plans for the settlement, simple enough to find. Close to the entrance of the mine with heavy barricading in case of cave-ins or Dust-explosions.

The trip, if it could qualify as one, was uneventful and quiet, much like the Bullhead ride over, though blessedly short in comparison. It was impossible to ignore the deathly silence that loomed over the town, kept away only by the distant caw of crows, or perhaps Nevermore. Those of inconsequential size.

The office was right where she suspected it would be, though to a quality even below what she had suspected. A two-story building, but with an entire section of the support wall having fallen away. Dark scorch marks marring the exterior shielding, the growth of thin limbs invading the floorboards. It would be a truly impossible task to refurbish such a place. Total reconstruction would be necessary.

Perhaps that was why the Nikos girl and Arc lad were so perturbed by the town. Nothing could be fixed here, only rebuilt.

Winter focused as a scratching sound reached her ears. Her hand tightened on the hilt of her blade, focusing on where the sound had come from. Cyan eyes were hardened towards the interior of the Prospector's Home.

It was simple by any means of measurement, made extraordinary only by the damage rout upon it. Doubtlessly the children would be just as upset by the state of the building, even if Winter found it all too common in these failed settlements, so much more common in the outskirts of Vale and Mistral over Atlas or Vacou. It made the damage a harsh contrast with the otherwise abundant land.

Gray and dead as the Grimm themselves, entire sections of wall having fallen down, the windows reduced to little but moldy shards, then with claws and burns marring the wood like scars from battle. And they likely were. But most damning of all, and what truly set Winter on edge, was what was next to the otherwise plain building.

Monument Mine itself.

The entrance was, she was sure, impressive, once upon a time. Sized and scalped to allow major transportation of Dust out of the prospected shaft, vented to prevent death in case of cave-ins, and strutted with steel beams to support the chiseled walls. It would be fair to say she felt dwarfed by it.

But it was the harsh whispering wind, and cold chill of death, that made her stand on edge.

It was a feeling that she had felt far more than simply once before, but all so often while facing down a foe that she had been instructed to slay. A particularly vicious Grimm preparing to raid a settlement, a herd of Goliath's incited by a mournful man, things that would make the average citizen balk and run in fear. This, however, was just a cave. Or it was supposed to be a mere cave.

Her militaristic mind fell back on the reports she had been given by Dr. Oobleck, documentation regarding the psychological responses to the mine from the miners and other nearby citizens. Experiences of unease, paranoia, loss of appetite, and fatalistic tendencies. Common enough with harsh hours, though an extreme rarity in massive groups, especially volunteers.

Standing before the mine now, Winter could understand those feelings. The dark depths of the shaft, hidden by a lack of light, seemed to bade only misery. Walking into it would offer nothing else.

And they were destined to do just that within a day's time.

"Got _anything_ yet?" She nearly tore her saber from its sheath. But she steadied herself, realizing no true threat would ask a question, not when she was on edge.

Thinking further on it, Winter recognized the shrill voice of the 'sister' drone to Tael.

"C'mon. There's gotta be something in this dump still. Monsters don't care about paper or keys. We could use those." Her body relaxed at the words and voice. Truly nothing to be wary for.

She stepped into the building, over fallen joists and rotted tables. An unhealthy amount of dust and dirt was kicked up by her feet, but it took only a glance to see she walked near parallel from a fresh tread. Doubtlessly a pair of boots.

In an office taken over by dust and grime more than rot or destruction, Winter found Link bending over a file cabinet, hands pulling at the rusted metal.

He ripped them out with little issue. A further credit to his unspoken strength.

"Oh, hey Tael, Big Schnee," the golden mini-drone rang out from above Link's head. Big Schnee? Winter cocked a brow at the nickname. She was called something different earlier. "Glad you could make it. Took you longer than I thought. Grab a corner and start looking when you're ready." Her brows fell again at the thought that this was an appropriate reaction.

Link stood up next to her, leaning to stretch his back, likely. His emerald clothes stood out harshly against the muted grays and greens of the decrepit and rotting town. He looked at her with innocent, eyes as if this was an appropriate action to take.

And here Winter came expecting to teach children, not 'master huntsmen'.

"I came to find you two, actually," Winter corrected evenly. The pair of 'fairies' rang out, in time for Link to blink as he focused on her. "You both left before any amount of equipment could be transported off of the Bullhead, or camp being set up for the night. It left the students to wander and Dr. Oobleck to guide them. That is _not_ an appropriate action to take."

Link, thankfully, had the good graces to blush and look bashful about the action he had taken. Though it gave an impression a far cry from the ferocious warrior she had heard of, she preferred it to raising poor defenses of his actions.

"Huh, I forgot about those kids," the mini-drone, however, felt the need to add. "Yeah, that's a bad on our part. Should've given the heads up before we took off. Guess its true what they say about creatures of habit and all." That was to be discussed later, for sure, Winter vowed.

"What are looking for anyways?" Winter questioned, stepping into the room and looking around it. Link had already taken to many of the drawers, not caring to put them back in place once torn from their metal hulls. "I can assure you that anything of significant value has been either destroyed by Grimm, time, or the evacuation itself." Because anything of truly grand value would have also been reclaimed.

"Value for back in the Vale place? Yeah, you're right, there's probably nothing." The golden drone let out, flittering about the gray room with her golden light. If her attitude was a bit more refined, she would have been majestic. "But hey! If we're about to go spelunking in some Dust-growing mine, there's probably gonna be something in here we can use or _need_." However, it didn't take much to ruin elegance.

In tandem with the 'fairy's' words, Link turned back to another unopened metal stall, rusted along its edges from elemental exposure. It came out of its hall with an angry hiss, but little observable issue to the faunus.

It did not stem Winter's rising annoyance.

"To understand then," Winter began coolly, crossing her arms behind the faunus that sifted through the charred remains of the office. "You are searching for objects that _may_ be of assistance, before we have established camp, spoken to the students, informed Dr. Oobleck, or even established any safety measures." Any one of those would be disqualifying of a higher position in the Atlesian Military.

"Pretty much!" And the blonde mini-drone spoke with a voice that beget her color. Winter settled for scrunching her eyes in place of a scowl. "Sides, maybe you've forgotten this, but Link's used to doing things solo back in Hyrule, except for me and Tael of course." Of course, because why allow for a counterpoint when you can simply make retorts _unfair_. The 'fairy' was as flitty as a child.

"That is an excuse for a mistake or misgiving," Winter followed. "It is _hardly_ reason to _continue_ your search. More than that, it would be idiocy to believe that anyone would leave an item of value related to the mine, let alone in such an accessible space." Those were to be kept in storage lockers and safes, per regulations to keep track of current 'owners'.

"That's not idiocy. 'Idiocy', or just basic 'stupidity', is thinking that some super dangerous mine that can _literally_ explode with the wrong wave of the torch _wouldn't_ have some kind of safe guard or even just a fence down there." There likely would be, but a combination of steel, heat, and decades of inactivity would make them easy to by-pass. "And we _are_ heading back, it'd just be a waste to not look over the _entire_ room, right?"

Winter opened her lips to turn down the drone in a heartbeat. It was, of course, a dereliction of duty and, therefore, a waste. She found herself stopping herself when she saw Link stand again, turning around with his hands grasped around something.

A long-jagged key, formed of some kind of carbide edge and appearing heavy as a Dust-infused dagger. The grin Link had was duller than what the edges of the key looked to be.

"Guess that settles that question, huh?" Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Tatl's voice. However, Winter would not indulge in the banter.

Silent, sure that Link would be satisfied with this _untimely_ search, Winter made her way out of the Prospector's house. Tael let out a quick ring as she passed by him. It was impossible to tell whom he was talking to, if talking at all. It didn't matter.

She had found Link, and now they were expected to return to camp. It would be improper to expect the children, no matter how capable, to set up the area with minimal direction. Especially if they were not used to the usual 'carnage' that befell settlements outside of the kingdoms' protection.

The gruff beating of boots behind Winter was clue enough to her that Link was indeed following her. It was satisfactory enough, at least for the moment. A conversation would need to be held later with Dr. Oobleck to ensure this little excursion of the faunus did _not_ occur within the mine itself. A desolate village was one place, a collapsible mine was another altogether.

The blessedly small square footage of the settlement made the return trip far quicker, even if it was through the same suffocating silence. When Winter caught eye of the Bullhead again, it was with majority of the cargo unloaded from its hull. Cardin Winchester and the Penny android were carrying the last of the cargo, the boy far more winded than the 'girl' half his size. It was a not a point she needed to speak up as to why.

"Ah! Back, returned! Excellent, most excellent!" Dr. Oobleck called over, waving from behind a crate matching his size. In a blink he was in front of Winter, his manic grin dulled only by the thick glasses he wore. Winter was warned about his 'eccentricity' by General Ironwood. He had not exaggerated. "Nearly done unloading! Now unpacking. Important, vital, _but_ requires an order. Proper procedure is important to _proper research_." Of that, she could agree.

"I concur, doctor," Winter spoke an acknowledging nod of her head. "It is why we need to speak later to Link regarding his _unannounced_ departure." She looked over her shoulder to see the shorter faunus approaching, broached by the pair of mini-drones hovering beside him.

"Oh, come on, we already went over this once." Winter gave only a cold look to the blonde drone. "Link and I just went off to see if we could find anything in the town like we always do back in Hyrule. We're not exactly used to doing these kinds of things with a freaking troupe behind us." One of the children because… I knew it would be bad to be separated for too long."

"Yes, yes, troublesome to depart unannounced," Dr. Oobleck spoke back. "Common problem with many hunters. Used to working alone, efficiently, unaccompanied. Unfortunate, but expected." Expected? Perhaps it was to the doctor. There must have been a reason he stayed behind with the children. "However! Curiosities. Anything found? Discovered? Questioned?" He approached the faunus with the questions, nearly causing the shortest of the three of them to bend backwards.

Link, silent as Winter had come to expect him to be, only raised his golden gauntleted hand up in response. The sharp jagged key was in his grasp, sticking out like the dagger its length so nearly measured. Even through the thick of his glasses, Winter could tell the doctor was enthralled with the find.

" _Stupendous!_ " The manic man shouted, snatching the key from Link. It was difficult to tell if he grabbed it after Link dropped it or if it was stolen from him like a thief. The emerald clad faunus only blinked while the doctor peered at the formed steel. "A _grand_ find indeed. Access to secured areas, abandoned facilities. Likely important, fortunate discovery. A question, however, _where_ was it found?" Winter put her head into one of her palms as the doctor rambled.

It was the only way she could be sure she would not see the golden drone flittering about like she was 'smug' about something. Truly Dr. Zepp would have to have a look at her when they returned. If not, perhaps Penny could assist her.

"Pretty sure it was the head office." Winter shook her head lightly. "Door to the office was rotted through, making it easy to knock over. Right next to the mine entrance through, which was a plus." Not wrong, but the inaccuracies were bothering her. "Probably a master key, seeing as it was in the big guy's room and all that." That was far enough.

"It's called the Prospector's house," she interjected. "And you are correct that it was likely the location central to the mining facilities, but _nothing_ in that room implied it belonged to the mine head or any similar role." She raised her head to let a cyan eye glare at the fairy. She cared little for the ring the drone gave off in response.

"Interesting then, _very_ interesting." The doctor appeared, and sounded, heedless of the fairy's gross inaccuracies. This was likely what she had been warned about. His tendency to enrapture himself with his research. "Little documentation in the archives regarding safety rooms or storage. Likely the result of routine storage or secured locations. Non-specific."

"Wait archives?" The darker fairy responded. Winter could at least stand 'him'. "Is that what you were reading before?"

"Yes, of course, most certainly," Dr. Oobleck nodded, glasses still nearly glued to the key in hand. "Digital archives convenient, simple, easily accessible, but risk inaccuracies, missing data, lack personal touch of author. Difference between machine construction and hand tools. Differences small, but noticeable." And here, Winter realized, was the benefit to his obsession. "Another question, any other keys present with this one? A ring? A collection?"

"Nope," Tatl responded, complete with Link waving his long-pointed hat in time. "Just that one in the back of a cabinet. Probably paper or something else in their way-back-when, but it was mush and rot now." The effect of the elements, obviously.

"Unfortunate, but helpful," He went on. "Lack of collection implies it _is_ of singular purpose. However, documentation lost. Means only speculation for purpose. Unfortunate, but not unusable." His deduction was spot on.

"Perhaps it would be best to leave it among our supplies, at least while we explore the mine," Winter interjected. "It would be best to congregate anything we find that may be useful for the exploration, so they may be easily retrieved without reconvening." The difference as to why a singular individual did not possess the keys to the Atlesian Mechs, as it were. They needed a common location.

"Yes! Excellent point, Ms. Schnee!" She accepted the compliment, though it was difficult to take pride in the man's exuberance, considering every word he spoke came with the same tone. "That raises the next question, however. Operations, truthfully." He held his hand up as he spoke. "Time is short, so efficiency must be high. Plans are made, but review is necessary."

Winter listened intently as the Doctor spoke on, Link doing the same next to her, arms crossed and eyes focused.

* * *

Getting ready for anything always sucked. Cardin was sure of it. There was literally _nothing_ enjoyable about preparation, no matter _how loud_ someone screamed at him that it was important.

Necessary did not mean enjoyable.

It was _necessary_ to keep ta room clean so that it made the everyday workflow easier. It was _necessary_ to work out five times a week, or else he'd be easy pickings for the Grimm. It was _necessary_ to maintain his weapon constantly and consistently, so it would never fail in the field. And, as it was apparent as the deathly sick air of the place, it was _necessary_ to unload every tool, book, and knapsack from the cargo hold for the camp.

It wasn't even that any of them were that heavy. Cardin was consistent to push almost his weight on the bench whenever he went to the gym, and over twice that on squats. These boxes were lucky to be half his weight or height. But by the Dust were there a _lot_ of them. A lot of them and _literally_ no good place to grab them.

Made him think of a new workout routine, doing weight carries with fully extended arms. Worked the core, that was for sure. Unfortunately, it was also working his mind.

"Is this _all of it?_ " He seethed out to Sky, his partner unloading one of the boxes the professor had told them about. Taking a peak, Cardin could see there were more books in it. More than he dared to read for the rest of the time he was at Beacon. "Cause I'm pretty sure we've taken out _more_ than what we put in the first time!"

"Incorrect," Penny spoke up quickly. Cardin bit back a moan. "Oh! Apologies, I meant incorrect regarding the _amount_ we took out. I am confident we have taken out as much as we have initially put in!" Her smile did nothing to Cardin, the much taller boy looking down with a thin line for a mouth. "But in answer to your _initial_ query, then yes, everything is out." That was almost enough to make up for the smart-alecky remarks.

"Thank _Dust_ for that!" Sky let out, before falling straight to his butt. Cardin knew he'd be okay. No one on their team was a slouch, but the guy who liked to hang back in a fight didn't do a lot when it came to heavy lifting. "Think I can fall asleep right now and no one would mind?" If only.

"I'll bet a hundred Lien that the Ice chick will freeze you to the ground if ya try." She had the looks that could kill, like the 'princess' of the RWBY team but with a few extra feet, and grit. "That's not counting if that dust ball decides to have at you."

"Dust ball? Oh! You mean Tatl, correct?" Cardin didn't correct her. "She _does_ have a statistically higher occurrence of being, I believe it is said, even keel, with her actions." Now Cardin gave her a brow in confusion.

"Even… oh, no, got that wrong," The taller boy waved a finger at her. "It's 'over the top', like extreme. Kinda like that _stupendous_ thing you keep saying." And just for the effort, he raised his hands above his head with the declaration, mimicking the odd ball girl.

And like every other time he tried to jab at her, it fell off her like a wet rag.

"Yes! That's _stupendous!_ " She mimicked his actions, while mimicking her. Cardin groaned, even as Sky snickered from his flat-on-his-back posture. "Tatl exhibits 'over the top' actions and remarks in regards to other individuals! That does sound 'superior' as well!"

"Better. Word is better." Cardin shook his head, already sick of it all. "Superior means 'bout the same, but it ain't right. Like saying water is damper." He really should have sked for a Lien every time he did this. He'd have paid his way through Beacon by now.

"Damp water?" Penny returned, her stoic hair not even budging as she tilted her head. Too much gel, the chick. "But dampness refers to a measurement of water upon a solid object. Water, as a liquid, cannot be equated to in the same way." Sky wasn't giggling anymore, he was one octave away from laughing.

One week with this chick and she still couldn't get the grammar right. According to Impa, Link, whoever the hell, the chick was from military family on the kingdom's border, like that was _supposed_ to explain why she didn't get basic conversation.

He didn't have that excuse with a military family, so why did she?

"Whatever," Cardin dismissed. He needed to focus on something else. "So, what's the deal with this place? I've seen ruins before, but this is like some bad horror set. It's like a monster's gonna come crawling outta the buildings soon."

"Grimm are known to frequent darker locations in daytime hours." Cardin shut his eyes and grit his teeth. There was no losing his temper next to two profs and some military chick. "And ruins such as this are commonly associated with dens, mostly for less mature monsters unsure of the typical travel patterns of humans." He had dealt with her for a week, he could manage another few days.

"Preeeeetty sure Cardin was talking about a made-up monster." Once in a while, his partner came through, Cardin realized. "You know, like, Freddy Vorhees, the killer of Elm Court?"

"Are elm trees known to court? That's _wonderful_ to learn!" Cardin dragged his fingers over his face. "Perhaps I can request special documentations regarding their seasons and methods for courtship. Is it randomized as in ant colonies or are they more monogamous as in mammalian creatures?" And she was serious. Even if she looked like a freaking child.

It was all so messed up. Too messed up for Cardin.

"Penny, that's a street name." And to think, if they were back at Beacon, he'd just walk away by now. True, she'd follow him with those questions, because they were 'friends' a-freaking-pparently, but that wasn't an option while a hundred miles from the kingdoms next to some Grimm mine. "So please stop asking stupid questions. I've got enough to think about."

"Oh? What kind of questions? I'm _very_ good at recalling information. Maybe I can help!" And of course, she was the one person who _didn't_ walk away after being insulted.

Sky was just grinning at him right now, Cardin was sure of it. He'd have to up his training regimen when they got back to Beacon for this. Maybe another set of curls, or an extra ten pounds on the dips. Something to make him lose his breath faster than he can waste it on laughing. Yeah, that'd work.

"I said I was thinking, not asking questions. Don't need help with that." And really, how could anyone help with that? It'd take a five-year-old to _actually_ think they could.

"I can still be of assistance!" So here she was, the legendary five-foot-five five-year-old. "I first need to know what you are thinking of. Is it a location you have been to in the past? Is it an aspiration of a location or goal for the future?" With the vocabulary of Goodwitch, apparently. Cardin _wished_ his growl would get the girl to back off. All it ever did was just make her ask _more_ questions.

"I'm not thinkin' about anything," he did his best to dismiss her. He even turned away, waving a hand at her. Maybe he could look busy with the boxes, just moving them around.

"Thinking about a nothing? As in an absence of logical thought, reasoning, or deduction? That is not a healthy habit Cardin Winchester." And she was using his full name now. Was she a toddler or a freaking parent? Definitely overbearing enough to be both.

"Nothing means _nothing_." He turned and chopped his hands in the air. Hoping she'd see that straight at least. "As in I wanna focus on doin' _something_ important instead of thinking of things that are just _stupid_. Can you get that through your skull?" Insults usually turned people off, even if it got him on the bad list with the profs.

"I believe I can manage to process the thought, yes." Of course, this chick was the exception, again. And from the way Sky was laughing, he'd _definitely_ be getting that training regiment later. Hell, maybe tonight if the profs and Military woman gave him permission. "Though I do not believe that thinking about nothing will allow for a higher level of productivity with other tasks. It is my assumption that you must think _of_ the task to do it more efficiently!"

She looked proud as she finished, rocking on the balls of her feet and grinning up at him like she had just given him a present. It figured that the silence with her nearby was more damning than her talking, like waiting for a freaking lightning strike. If only _that_ could happen, maybe it'd save him having to talk to her some more.

"Fine, whatever." Cardin tried to dismiss her. "But I'm done talking, especially after that ride here and the freaking box lifting afterwards. How 'bout you rattle off what _you're_ thinking of instead?"

He regretted the words as they left his mouth. Mostly because it made Penny grin like a maniac. A true dark-blooded psycho maniac, who loved to talk.

"Oh, _certainly!_ I will be _exceptional_ when it comes to outlining and detailing my thoughts! I keep excellent logs for just this purpose!" Logs? As in those journals the prof was reading? Cardin pinched the bridge of his nose as he realized what that meant.

The craziest chick in a school of psychotic women was going to be reading him her diary. Even Sky was laughing at him now, probably rolling on the ground with laughter. There had to be some way out of this.

"Hey! Are you guys done unloading?" For the second time in his life, and only the second, Cardin was _thankful_ to hear the Arc brat coming. Didn't mean he owed him one. "Because we should probably get camp ready, for tonight I mean. Because of the Grimm." Cardin couldn't miss this chance.

"No kidding." He started off, already grinning like a wolf. Wolves were badass. "Here I was worried 'bout the mosquitoes." Sky chuckled behind him, even as Jaune groaned with a twist of his head. He ignored the golden girl, looking like some owner who just watched her dog get scolded.

"Mosquitos _can_ be hazardous in heavily forested areas." And all the good cheer from the joke fled with penny speaking up, again. "Many have been known to cause harmful diseases related to the injection of their toxins, often mixed with bacteria that remains on their-"

"Right, right, yeah, got it," Cardin quickly dismissed. Dust, he couldn't even jab at Jaune with the girl her. Either of them, actually. "And yeah, the bullhead's unloaded. Already got a bunch of crap for Oobleck out, too." He waved over by Sky, were all those journals and stuff were piled up.

"That is… helpful," Pyrrha tried to supply. Cardin scoffed at her, little miss invincible obviously trying to bite back her own retort. Too bad her eyes were as sharp as her spear. Least Cardin knew his could match. "However, I do agree with Jaune. We should prepare camp, primarily by setting a firepit and locating a supply of water nearby. We'll need it for the next few days."

Because they didn't bring enough food and water to last that long. Right, of course, she'd know that. And dammit, he couldn't even say she was wrong. Not without looking like an idiot in front of Penny. And if that happened, she tries and _lecture_ him again.

That wasn't happening. Ever.

"I'll dig. I can move more dirt than either of you." He just didn't want to go walking into the woods. Not after walking back and forth for a few hours. "You guys feel free to go on your nature walk. Take a nice pic or whatever." He was already moving toward a crate that he'd pulled off the bullhead, marked 'Excavation' by the prof. Good place for a shove to be.

"Right, yeah, we'll do that." Jaune pointed at Cardin, even with a grimace. Probably trying to bit back a retort as well. He _had_ been growing backbone recently, just not enough to handle his own weight. "Maybe if we get done fast enough we can start exploring the mine today."

"That's probably not going to happen, Jaune," his partner, as reliable as the _freaking sun rise_ , corrected the freaking liar. "It is unwise to explore any subterranean areas before twilight, at least not without a heavy supply of lighting fixtures and support."

"Coooorrect!" Cardin leaned over the crate as Penny shot up. He didn't need to look at her to know she was grinning, madly, again. "Lighting is a _crucial_ element to any form of exploration where solar light is unavailable! It is _very_ often used to help create guide markers within branching tunnel networks, most common for spelunking, mining, and other forms of subterranean activity."

"And the sun is like a giant guide post." What do you know, he wasn't a complete idiot. "So, we're going to explore when we have sun, a lot of sun, and the suns not going to run out. Like… in the morning." Still more idiot than much of anything else though.

Cardin sighed, even as he grabbed a hold of a metal pole. His finger flicked over a switch, making the pole rapidly expand, shaking in his hand as it did so. When it was done, a flat blade flew out of its end, expanding laterally until it created a flat sheet of metal. That was a shovel.

"Just go find the water, Arc," Cardin instructed the other team lead. Wasn't a hard guess that he didn't like being told what to do. Tough. "I'll get the pit dug 'fore you two get back. Don't worry, I won't bury you in it." He couldn't help that jab though. It was just too easy.

"Don't worry, Cardin." The blonde replied, grinning wolfishly. The hell? "Wouldn't want to stop you from digging your own grave."

The _punk_.

"What did you say?" Cardin turned towards the brat, even as his _freaking lifeline_ stepped in front of him. She didn't make Cardin stop though. She was too far away and she wasn't intimidating even with a perfect win record. No, he stopped because something _made_ him stop. Took only a glance to find it.

Penny, the _stupidly_ strong girl, had a hand on his arm.

Good news, she wasn't grinning like an idiot. Bad news, she was glaring at him, like she had in that weird meeting before. Great, she was angry.

"Whatever," Cardin brushed off, turning as he pulled his hand out of Penny's grip. "Go find some damn water already. You're wasting your time here." In _so many_ more ways than one.

"Yeah, we'll be back." Cardin didn't watch him leave. He only heard the pair of feet walk away. Kind of hard to miss with how dead everything else was. Realizing that, Cardin had the sudden hope the dirt wasn't the same. Dead dirt was hard to dig into. Not enough moisture to push around.

 _Shink_ A single strike into the ground and he groaned. Dead as a doornail and hard as steel. It was going to be a tough dig. Good thing he was doing this, or else anyone else would need the entire damn day. Well, almost anyone.

"That was _very_ rude of you Cardin." Said outlier talked to him from behind. "Jaune was just misinformed and trying to talk things out. He didn't actually _do_ anything bad. Right?" He did, oh he did, just not now. And not anything he could say without his Rapier Wasp incident coming out as well. Cardin bit back a sigh, even as he dug into the dirt again.

"I just don't like him and he doesn't like me." That was _no_ secret, at all. He punctuated the statement with another jab in the dirt. "Slinging names is what people do when they wanna tear each other's throats out but know _that'd_ be a bad idea." No matter how great that sounded.

"Hmm…" the girl hummed, watching Cardin as he dug into the ground. "I can't analyze if that is a _wonderful_ way to restrain yourself or an _extremely rude_ method of projecting." Was she the psyche or the kid right now, Cardin couldn't tell with those words.

"Restraint, definitely restraint," Cardin answered for her. "Anything's better than throwing fists with the profs nearby." His head angled towards the trio, even as they were talking too far away from there to hear. Whatever, didn't matter what they were talking about till they were done.

"Then con _gratulations, Cardin!_ " He nearly dropped his head onto the handle of the shovel, even as it dug into the cold stiff earth. "It's a truly _monumental_ moment to see you growing up in such a way!"

"He's grown up enough, if ya can't tell." Cardin was going to flat out _murder_ Sky with their next workout. If he couldn't bench two hundred, he _wasn't_ leaving the gym.

"Oh? Oops! Silly me, I mean to imply his mental faculties have developed in a more mature manner, hence 'growing up'. Did I use that correctly?" Insult her. Insult her and get her to _go away_. It would be so _easy_ to do that.

But then he'd have to explain to two profs and super-soldier why he suddenly got in a fight with another member of the team. Great.

"Yeah, that's right," Cardin admitted. "Sky's just being a dick."

"A dick?" _Shink_. Cardin's shovel dug into the dirt and froze. No way. "I have a few means of interpreting that word, including a name, but Sky Lark is no dick, and doesn't have Richard in his name."

Cardin glanced at Sky, _hoping_ that his teammate wouldn't be a total _douche_ this time. The shocked looked on his partner's face said it all.

He was struck too dumb to act.

"However, iiiiiff we are referring to _anatomy_ , then you are saying Sky is a-"

"No! Not that!" Cardin dropped his shovel, pointing at the girl before she could talk about that kind of stuff with teachers _literally in ear-shot away_. There was embarrassing then there was kill-yourself-humiliating. " _That_ is _not_ something you talk about! Not like you're tryin' to talk 'bout the weather!" She really was a freaking five-year old!

"You don't?" She actually _tilted_ her head. "Then my bad! I did not mean to enter an improper conversation topic!" Why did she sound happy about it? Cardin felt a headache coming. A bad one at that. "Then will you please educate me on the proper meaning of the word dick."

Cardin about felt to his knees in pain. Of all the different kinds of annoying he had to deal with…

"Later, _much_ later," Cardin spoke through his hands, about clawing at his face. "Just… help Sky out with the unloading, please. I got this." He'd say _anything_ to get her to go away now. Damn near it at least.

" _CAaaaaaaan do!_ " She literally popped with the words. "I'll be sure to help Mr. Lark with everything he needs! And judging from his inactivity, he needs a great deal of help!" Okay, but that. That was funny. Even the gruff 'hey' from his partner didn't do much but make Cardin grin a little wider. The joked _definitely_ wasn't worth the mental trauma, but it was something.

He looked up at that moment, looking for _something_ else to focus on. Anything to get his mind off of that who mess of activity.

And he found the hunters all looking back at him. Great.

This trip could _not_ be over soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	18. Monument Mine (Part 2)

Nervous was how Jaune usually felt. He was used to that by now. But nervous didn't really sum up what this felt like. This being his _actual first_ mission as a hunter.

Not a random call to action. Not a sudden need for support. Not some crazy terrorist needing to be put down. No, this was his actual first planned-out, trip-intended, fully-executed mission as a hunter. So he was nervous, or something stronger than that.

Because nervous to him was last night. Nervous was what he felt walking into a freaking _ruined_ settlement that more akin to a graveyard than anything else. Nervous was trying to _sleep_ in that place next to two people who just about wished to have him dead. Nervous was waking up the next morning and realizing that he had skipped out on his turn for patrol with Pyrrha, and Penny had to cover for him. No wait, that wasn't nervous, that was worried, because Cardin knew.

Point was, that was nervous. Nervous was what he had felt about every second since he came to Beacon Academy, and now, was _finally_ being treated like a student of it. What he felt no wasn't him being nervous, he knew because he was nervous _seconds_ before this.

He was nervous when Dr. Oobleck said that the first group to enter the mine would be Penny, Link, himself, and Jaune. That made him nervous, being part of the first group to go in, with a couple of professional hunters and a girl that could butt hard enough to go one-on-one with Impa. That was nervousness.

Right now, _terror_ sounded more accurate. He hoped that was alright to feel.

The mouth of the monument mine certainly seemed like it wanted to look that way.

The destroyed town around the mine was bad enough, looking like it was out of some horror movie his sisters would make him watch. But the mine? Oh, it was _so_ much worse.

The metal supports that were around its mouth were bent and angled like something had grabbed and ripped at them, pulling themselves _out_ of the mine shaft, a shaft that was probably large enough to drive a car through without any problem. Yet, despite that, it looked like it was darker than a starless night only a few feet in! That wasn't even to bring up the fact that the shadows just _looked_ wrong.

Jaune knew that was a weird thing to think of, but he blamed the _terror_. That and his eyes. But the shadows did just look _wrong_. They were supposed to go _into_ the cave, because that was where the sun was aimed at, but instead they looked like they were crawling _out_ of it. The stone around the mouth of the mine was black and misty looking, the metal bars shaded, not just bent, and he still felt the need to bring up how _dark_ it looked. Not even the Deathstalker gave was this dark.

But all of that was just how it looked. And that affected how he felt. Terrified, for sure, but also just wrong. Wrong like the shadows. Wrong like being told that Pyrrha wasn't an amazing partner or Beacon wasn't a great school or Cardin was an alright guy. Those were all just wrong, and this mine felt the same way.

It all felt… wrong to him.

"Are you well, Jaune?" He almost jumped at the question. Actually, no, he did jump. A little. He saw only Penny looking at him, green eyes blinking in confusion. "Friend Jaune, you appear to be nervous, if I understanding your appearances correctly." His what? No, wait, that wasn't what was important!

"I-I'm fine," he lied, because, no matter how much he hated Cardin, he wasn't wrong that he did lie, a lot. "Just… yeah, I'm a little nervous about this. First time into some place like this." Had to be true for her too though, right? Penny didn't _look_ too much older than him. Then again, she did come from General Ironwood's Academy…

"Nervous. Uneasy. Perhaps possessing trepidations towards current situation," Dr. Oobleck summarized. Jaune looked at the professor… before taking a step back when he saw how close he was to him. Close enough that his long overcoat was being pulled up his back. "Common emotions for first time missions. Understandable. Relatable. So be well, Mr. Arc!" He left off with his hands clapping on Jaune's shoulders.

"You say that, b-but… I-I'm the only one who's thinking this, aren't I?" Actually, he didn't know for sure, but how weird would it be for him to _not_ be the odd man out. There were dreams, then there were fantasies.

And this couldn't be a dream with something as terrifying as the Monument Mine looking like that right in front of him.

"Because of experience! Experiences, numerous travels, in addition to importance of exploration!" Where those synonyms? Jaune didn't have time to ask, not before Dr. Oobleck threw a finger to the sky as he went on. "Knowledge can only be expanded through experience, and experience of the unknown gives more knowledge than retreading old ground. Cannot learn same lesson twice. Needless activity, I assure you. Don't attempt that if possible, ever, in the immediate future."

"What?" Jaune asked aloud, looking to Penny for help. All he got back was a grin and some confident nod of her head.

"Point to make, Mr. Arc, is the necessity for experience to grow. Requirement that experience is fresh, new, and lacking oversight where possible." He blinked, again. Wasn't the whole point of teaching to let them experience things _with_ oversight? "Experience of these things makes you confident. Knowing you are the first gives you strength. Both make you worthy to be called upon again. In conclusion. Explore the new, don't be afraid of the old, and study your texts before class." One of those was not like the other.

"U-Uh…" Jaune let out, uneasily. And _that_ wasn't going to inspire the idea that he had taken the professor's words to heart. Great. They hadn't even gotten _into_ the mine yet and he was making a fool of himself.

"Still uneasy, perhaps an example will be beneficial, observable known with prefacing predicaments to lead to a logical conclusion." Didn't that just mean cause and effect. "Penny is of new experience as well. Myself then!" The doctor shot up with excitement again.

Jaune watched him, keeping his mouth as immobile as possible, despite how he hung open with an unasked question. Really, there was just too much to ask. So, standing still and listening would be best, yeah, like nodding and smiling in a conversation you couldn't follow.

"I have experienced _many_ expeditions before. _However!_ Always a first, an initial experience, one time for the first-time experience." That made sense. "An experience to research the happenings of a deathstalker nest, presumed location for nesting, danger to nearby settlement, disturbing location." That gave Jaune flashbacks.

Walking into a cave in the middle of the forest, thinking the existence of air was a _good_ thing, and playing rodeo to a giant Grimm with a carapace harder than his shield being his reward for it. Yeah, that could be disturbing.

"Traveled into the tunnels with my partner. Great man, wonderful hunter, unfortunate did not pursue higher education." Oh yeah, because Dr. Oobleck was a doctor… "Unimportant. Importance being what we lacked and learned in the exploration. Advice given _before_ the exploration insufficient for preparation for _all_ activities that occurred within the cavern." It sounded like a heck of a story happened there.

"The cavern itself was of little merit. Slightly smaller than myself. Required slouching and crawling in sections." Sounded uncomfortable, making Jaune rub his back at the idea of walking like that. "Uneven walls created harsh shadows. Optical illusions, perception of Grimm with no Grimm. Unassisted by the harsh shine of walls present in some areas, mineral deposits that reacted to the light of First Dust."

"Some forms of iron ore, with impurities from either Dust crystals or sedimentary stone, can create a red glow near Aura-charge Fire Dust," Penny spoke up, rocking back and forth on her feet. Shew as listening to and appeared to know just what was going on. Good to know someone did at least.

"Excellent deduction, Ms. Polendina! Correct as well." Jaune watched the red head give a proud grin with the praise. Dr. Oobleck's hands on his shoulders, however, brought the boy straight back into the conversation. "However, such information was difficult to procure before experience. Even more difficult, no advice or recommendations given to find them. Result, or conclusion, mission left my partner and I with high levels of Cortisol in our system, requiring time-off before our next mission." Cortisol? Was that poison.

"Cortisol is a non-tropic hormone generated by humans through the endocrine gland to create emotional and physical responses in the body. Often nicknamed the stress hormone, due to its levels being related to stressful activities or experiences." Penny, once again, sounded out as if that was common information… Was it? He still couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Heh, guess I've got a lot of that stuff in me then," he muttered to himself. Be weird if he didn't at this point. His slight grin was ruined by the stern expression of Dr. Oobleck.

It made Jaune gulp.

"An improperly timed joke, Mr. Arc." Yeah, it probably was. "Understandable response to nerves or stress, jokes designed as a means to reduce stress levels subconsciously, referred to as comedic brakes, however, require proper timing and delivery." And he lacked both. No way he was going to argue that.

"S-Sorry, didn't mean to offend like that." He really didn't. "Just, um… s-so the mission was a bust then?" Best change topics, like how Ren did. Probably not as smooth, but it worked, a little.

"A bust, as in a failure or inability to complete objective, yes." The doctor admitted that was bad, at least for Jaune who was on his first mission. "Bust, referred to inability to have net gain of experiences, resources, or tools? Incorrect!"

Jaune blinked, again, at the statement. Usually failing a mission meant you _didn't_ get enough of something, like enough sap in the forest or kills on the combat training… or reduction of a teacher's aura in a fight.

"Learned _many_ things from the experience, including and excluding Grimm activity." He leaned forward with his hand out, extending his digits as he spoke. "First, nearly all subterranean tunnels have minerals in them, though to quantities vastly different from one another, often excluding Dust." So like iron and stuff? That seemed… hard to believe. "Number two, great physical strength only partially useful in caverns with heavy dependency on archway constructions intended for support. Simplified, tunnels without man-made supports are hazardous to modify without proper securing of walls." That made more sense, and June nodded with the words. "And third, the illusion of tunnels, monsters, and other ill-natural beings are common in non-illuminated tunnels. Inability to fully perceive things in front of you can lead to mind falsely filling in vacant information. Optical illusions intended to create action in sympathetic nervous system, generating immediate responses."

"You mean… scaring yourself?" Jaune felt his face twisting at the question. That didn't make sense even saying it out loud.

"Precisely!" But apparently, he was right. "Fourth lesson perceived through your own observation! Well done Mr. Arc." Wait, that was a lesson? Jaune shook his head.

"Wait, hold on," Jaune held up his hands. "I… I think I got lost in all that. I-I'm sorry about that, but… but what was the point of telling me that?" Jaune _really_ hoped it wasn't to inspire him, because that didn't work. At all. Even a little.

"To _demonstrate_ to you the importance of _experience!_ " The taller professor clasped his hands on Jaune's shoulders with each word. It left a rumble in his ears, probably because of how dead still the rest of the air was. "Perhaps I remain unclear. Clarification then necessary. To begin, Mr. Arc, my experiences with the cave have _influenced_ me greatly in my preparation and understanding of other subterranean alcoves in the land, including man-made mining shafts such as Monument Mine before us."

Oh yeah, they were here for this. Jaune had honestly almost forgotten. And, secretly, he kind of wished he had. The place still felt like all kinds of wrong to him, not to mention that, outside of Dr. Oobleck talking, it was quieter than a mouse on Christmas Eve.

"Monument Mine will have many similar hazards as the cavern previously explored. Reasons for errors, places to be wary of, necessary tools required." Did that include therapy or medicine, like for the Cortisol? "Demonstrate my reasoning. Mr. Arc, can you address the tools we have brought with us?" Jaune blinked, again, before responding.

"Uh _yeah!_ Yup, I can do that," Jaune nodded, looking over at the small pile of tools that they'd brought over earlier, per Dr. Oobleck's and Weiss's sister's instructions. "We brought extendable beam supports, a-at least a dozen or two lanterns, extra fire dust crystals, uncharged, a-and some… water?" Pretty sure it was water, but he still didn't know why.

"All correct! True, correctly addressed and labeled. But now, true question." Dr. Oobleck leaned in with his words. "Can you address _why_ each item is important?" Probably not, Jaune realized, but he could at least try and guess.

"Um… the supports… are for areas were the other supports have failed…" he began carefully, watching Dr. Oobleck as he spoke, but the professor didn't so much as blink as he spoke. Great. "And the lanterns are for… lighting, same with the dust."

"Yes, yes, _that_ reason is obvious. _However_! Their number, focus on their number. _Why_ so many of them, Mr. Arc?" He was awfully close as he asked the question.

Intentionally or not, he wasn't sure, but he looked at Penny for some help. But she just kept rocking on the balls f her feet as the professor addressed him. Did she know the answer? Probably. She was a better student than he was, and probably a lot more honest as well. Cardin was right again.

"Because…" his voice almost immediately fell off. "Because some might break?" That made sense at least. The shaking head of Dr. Oobleck said no.

"Incorrect, false answer." Did false mean incorrect? "No, reasoning is reasoning I obtained through _experience!_ And experience dictates the importance of well-illuminated pathways in subterranean areas. As such for an example, Monument Mine is observable dark, correct?" Jaune nodded at that. Kind of hard to miss it. Quiet, too, outside of the professor at least. "Extreme low levels of illumination only compensated by decreasing distance of illumination sources. Underground, hangable lanterns such as those brought with us provide a greater area of illumination and allow for simply attachment to wall systems. Quite simply, it will make the exploration of the cavern easier! Though many required due to the unnaturally low levels of radiance."

Jaune stared up at the man, through the thick of the well-versed hunter's glasses. He could only imagine the harsh glare being given to him through the other side of the ocular lenses.

"This is not assisting you fully, insufficiently mentorship at least." The sudden observation threw Jaune.

"Huh?" he asked aloud, like Cardin had just called him strong. "No! Uh, no prof- _doctor_. I-I'm getting it! I understand!" And he did! He was good at listening.

"Understanding of experience expected, appreciated, but not the goal of conversation." It wasn't. "Goal was to reason the importance _of_ experience, demonstrate your lack of experience is not abnormal, and to give reason for why new experience, outside of traded ground, is important." That… he didn't get yet.

He looked at Penny, the red-head tilting her head back and forth with an odd rhythm to it. Was she listening? He really couldn't tell. He could tell with Pyrrha, seeing as she'd remind him on what to do at least…

"My experiences are outside of your own. Too far outside, exponentially so. Therefore, a hunter closer to your experience or aspirations may be appropriate. Then perhaps you may _aspire_ to be like Link of Hyrule." The faunus in question was pointed to as he was addressed. Jaune looked towards him, only to see that Link wasn't watching them at all.

He was standing probably a couple of feet into the cave, Tatl hovering around him and ringing like a bell. She was loud as thunder with how quiet the rest of the cavern, and town, were. But more than that, Link didn't look terrified, uneasy, or even questioning of the place. He looked… curious maybe. Maybe that was right, or excited. Jaune knew it _wasn't_ normal where he was from, or at least not universal.

Tael, the other fairy, the _only_ other person from Hyrule he could talk to and not realize how pathetic he was, was back with the rest of the group at camp. Something about not liking caves, preferring to be around Winter. Like Jaune could blame him. About the caves, not Winter. She was a bigger, scarier Weiss with none of the inviting nature.

The foreign huntsman was cupping his long faunus ears as he leaned into the cave, Tatl ringing as she flew in and out of the darker shadows, lighting the dark shaft only a bit with each of her quick movements. She and Link were talking to one another, probably, a conversation he couldn't follow. Too bad none of them could either, seeing as they were, well, talking too quietly or something like that. Still didn't understand why he couldn't understand Link like Blake could.

"Link has experience _differing_ from my own. Results, prepares differently for events similar to past experiences." Well… that made sense. "Observably, brought fewer supplies that I did, suggested fewer as well. Purpose, easier to prepare, more mobility, less to carry. Tradeoff, less room for error or deviations from central plan." Jaune couldn't tell if Dr. Oobleck was giving him a lesson or making notes himself.

"Link also has taken to discussing the observable differences between this mine and others he has been in." Jaune looked at Penny as she said that. How did she know that? Her green eyes fell to his blue, head still rocking as she spoke. " _Oh!_ Sorry! I was listening to the conversation. Was that inappropriate?" Well… normally…

"Unimportant!" Jaune wasn't so sure of that. "Purpose well-demonstrated! Mr. Arc! Link is observing differences and preparing actions dependent upon those differences. Planning possible due to his experience. Planning prevents the release of Cortisol resulting in lower stress levels and higher measurable values of confidence and frequency of positive decision-making trends." It did? Well… the experience part made sense at least.

"So… what you're both saying is… it's okay to be nervous _now_ because," Jaune spoke as he pointed to the ground. Dr. Oobleck and Penny were both nodding at him, vigorously. "Because I'm going to learn a lot through _experience_ after this?"

"Precisely!" " _Stupendously so!_ " Both the professor and student threw out encouragements for his reasoning. Jaune _wished_ he could take pride in it. unfortunately, it still felt like he was being babied by them… just like Cardin said Pyrrha was doing with him.

Well, she wasn't here now, and he was going to prove himself to the others. Baby steps and all that.

Except not baby steps. Actual steps, made from his training and preparation… and experiences. Yeah, all that.

"Well then, I suppose now would be a good time to-" "GYAAAAAH!" Jaune almost joined in with the scream he heard. Almost.

Instead, he settled for drawing out his Corcea Mors as fast as he could, still seconds behind Dr. Oobleck's thermos hammer and Penny's… numerous swords. But he had his shield up, body crouched, and facing the entrance to the mine. The entrance that was momentarily completely engulfed in light, right were Link was standing before.

Oh. Jaune recognized that now. Another one of Link's old comrades coming to help. Well, that was good at least.

But as the light fell away, whatever was standing where Link had before was definitely _not_ something that Jaune recognized. Not in the slightest. Nope, not even a little.

 _None_ of Link's friend's he knew had arms as long as his body. _None_ of Link's friend's he knew had rock plating up and down their back. _None_ of Link's friend's he knew had white spikey hair that looked more akin to the carapace of a Grimm than actual hair.

And as the creature turned back to them, showing off a _massive_ gut, Jaune was sure _none_ of Link's friend's that he knew had a grin that large, that massive, and that terrifying.

The thing looked like it could _eat_ his shield, in a _single bite!_

"Greetings!" The _creature_ bellowed. Jaune didn't care what he was called. Nothing human or faunus looked like a rock. In fact, none of them had _literal_ rocks growing out of their back. "Sorry 'bout the scare. Didn't mean ta give ya pebbles something ta worry about." Pebbles? He was a living rock!

The creature, and he was going to be called that until _someone_ told him otherwise, walked over to them. He had some _seriously_ stubby legs. Just looking at them as he moved, it wasn't even crazy for Jaune to say that the thing's arms were _three times_ the size of its legs. That was supposed to be the other way around if _anything_ at _all_.

"Good ta meet you all! Sure, my brother must've been chewing on granite ta keep himself from tellin ya 'bout me"! Jaune just stared at the creature. Sure, Jaune was _just a bit_ shorter than him, but… the thing still looked like he could curl him with one arm or _bite his head off_ with a single chomp!

The creature held out his hand, and given how _huge_ it was, Jaune knew, for a fact, that it could crush his arm with a single flex. Who knew how much his Aura could help him. Actually, no, he knew. Not much at all.

"The name's Darmani," the creature spoke, still grinning madly for the effort. "Hero of the Snowhead Gorons and here ta help ya with your mining trip! Ghahaha!" And he laughed. He laughed as Jaune was debating about running, or at least screaming. Of course, he laughed. When didn't' the freakishly strong laugh?

"My word…" Dr. Oobleck spoke up. Good, _one_ of them could speak. "Gorons, subterranean race of Hyrule, high density skin, superior strength, aggregation of sedimentary, stone, and similar non-carbon-based lifeform." So, he knew what Darmani _was_. "Truly astounding, no, _magnificent!"_ That was a yes. "It is my extreme _pleasure_ to meet you. You make call me Dr. Oobleck."

And Dr. Oobleck had his hand basically, as far as Jaune was concerned, engulfed by the much larger hand of the Goron. Goron Goron Goron Goron. Jaune repeated it in his mind, memorizing the name. looked like a monster, grinned like a monster, but not a monster. _Not_ a monster. Just… completely different from everything else he'd seen.

"Ha! You know of us!" Darmani shouted, had to be a shout, as he shook Dr. Oobleck's hand. No, wait, that wasn't right. He shook his arm, which shook his body. And the grin under his professor's glasses said he didn't even mind. Jaune would mind. Mostly because he could almost guarantee his arm would be broken afterwards. That'd be bad. "I bet the pair of forest fairies told ya a _great_ deal 'bout me, huh?"

"Actually, no, sorry big guy," Tatl responded, ringing as she flew around the stone thing. Jaune was thankful, he could understand her, and _comprehend_ her. Just a mini human/faunus with wings, and pretty much completely engulfed in light. That was straightforward. "Told Super Buzz her about your race more than anything else. You know, the super strength, durability, rolling, and rock eating stuff."

"Rock eating?" Jaune found himself asking. He was cursing in his mind the next second, when Darmani turned his tiny beady eyes on him. They looked like pinholes next to that _freaking smile_.

"Of course! Stone's what's ya gotta eat ta keep the skin thick!" _BAM_ Jaune almost jumped as he slammed his fist against his chest. It sounded like pounding stone. Which made sense, he supposed. "Can't skip on your gravel, make sure ta chew your boulders, but always leave room for some good old _Rock Sirloin!_ " Rock couldn't be a sirloin. He knew that.

"Logical, given known biology of race," Dr. Oobleck went on. "Necessity to replace the decayed, damaged or otherwise misalign elements of your body through time. Similar to proteins in humans. Replace and maintain cellular function. Similar function, radically different methodology. _Most_ intriguing!"

Weren't they supposed to be exploring a mine right now?

"Ghahahah! I like ya!" The Goron let out, slapping Dr. Oobleck's shoulder. The professor, who Jaune had seen tank blows from Grimm, nearly fell over from the playful slap. It was playful, right? "But we'll have ta save the stories fer later, and I've got stories ta fill your noggins. Oh yeah I do!" He put his fists to his hips, and Jaune _couldn't_ ignore how massive they were in comparison.

He looked like a gorilla. A giant stone fisted, rock skinned, slasher smiling gorilla. It wasn't something eh thought he'd ever see or imagine.

"But first! We gotta mine ta explore, don't we?" They did! Oh wow, the Goron was putting them back on track. That was good. Less time for him to worry about… the Goron. "Got shafts ta clear, paths to lay, maybe clear out some nestin' creeps, maybe a whole day's worth a work a head of us." He hadn't stopped grinning. At all.

"Stupendous news!" Jaune looked at Penny. Good old Penny, who he'd known for shorter time than Link. She had a grin that was bright, but not big enough to eat his head whole, he assumed. "And it is a _pleasure_ to meet your acquaintance Darmani, Hero of the Gorons. My name is Penny Polendina, current assistance to Dr. Oobleck and currently charged with handling approximately 34% of the supplies necessary for the surveil of Monument Mine!" Yeah, she was getting the line's share, because she was strong.

"An honor ta meet you as well, girl!" The Goron let out, slapping the girl over the back as well. She nearly fell forward, like a plank of wood, all at once. Jaune swore he saw gears turning in her eyes as she caught herself. He couldn't blame her, at all. "And who's that make you, boy?" the Goron asked, eyes on Jaune.

Oh crap.

"I-I-I'm Jaune Arc. Just Jaune, only Jaune. Simply Jauney boy to some, most everyone. Or Vomit Boy to others. No one here though. Juane's good." He was rambling, even as the Goron began to grin wider at him. Great first impressions and all that.

"You remind me of the Zora tikes!" Darmani bellowed, because he was almost _shouting_. Zora, like Mikau? Was that a good thing? "Actin' like I'm gonna chomp you up like a sturdy boulder!" Not a good thing then.

_WHAM_

And when the pat on _his_ back sent him to the ground he knew it was _definitely_ not a good thing. He could only groan into the charred and hard dirt beneath him. Cardin was right, the ground _was_ harder than it looked, and it already looked like a rock.

"Sturdy as one too. Good thing ya got some fine armor on ya." His armor? Oh yeah, he was wearing that… over his bunny hoodie. He probably shouldn't take it off. "Ain't comparable to a Goron's work, but it'll do ya just fine."

"Goron's work? Yes! Nearly forgot! Lapse in memory. Gorons _excel_ in metallurgy, geology, and mining, correct? A natural benefit to subterranean and often mountainous territories?" Dr. Oobleck was still thrilled at least. "Correspondence with Tael have described the longevity of tools crafted by Gorons, including blades, hammers, shields, and often machinery used by royal members of homeland."

Jaune pushed himself up as the professor rambled. He couldn't play dead for long, not unless he wanted to risk the Goron, because it was a Goron, which was okay, and not a monster in anyway, getting curious about him. Curiosity killed the cat. That was how it went.

"I _knew_ I liked ya for a reason! Only tha' smartest of you Gerudo get the strength in Goron steal!" And another boom nearly sent Jaune to the ground again. A boom made by Darmani pounding his chest. Seriously, what was that made of? Thad to be stronger than stone. Titanium? "But don't smelt your glasses too soon. We've gotta start lookin' into this half-chiseled mine, then you'll get ta see the true strength of the _strongest_ of the Gorons soon enough!" Strongest huh? Yeah, that made sense to Jaune.

Because honestly, what did he expect when it came to Link? When someone as amazing as Link was making friends, it only made sense that he was friends with people as great as him. Power of attraction and all that.

"We are _ready_ and _prepared_ for mining exploration Darmani, sir!" Sir? Jaune looked to Penny, seeing her standing in a salute.

Well, she was with the military before, or at least General Ironwood. Hard to tell if she was being serious or not with that smile. At least it wasn't as vicious as Darmani's, even though Darmani was just an overly friendly being that had no ulterior intent. Had to remind himself of that.

"Great ta hear!" Darmani yelled back. Yeah, it was _definitely_ yelling. Jaune was kind of curious why the others hadn't come to investigate yet. Maybe they were given a heads up… "You get the lights and stilts and I'll handle the rest!"

"All of it? Takin the totality of burden for all necessary mining supplies?" Dr. Oobleck questioned. All Jaune could think of as necessary was a chisel, and he could _easily_ believe Darmani _punching_ through stone, arms that big and tough. "Including guide posts, setting screws, shore durometer measurements, seismic cavity searches?" Jaune knew what one of those meant.

"Yep. _All_ of it!" Darmani's grin could have eaten Jaune's shield, sword, and probably his cuirass if he wasn't careful with it. "I'd be a shame of a Goron if I needed the tools of a Gerudo for doin' mining work. Ghahaha, but don't ya worry, I'll carry yer slack goin' in!" That Jaune could believe. He was used to people carrying it for him.

"Understandable to be confident in work, natural given totality of experience both personal and cultural," Dr. Oobleck started again. "But perhaps it would be beneficial to bring secondary or tertiary supplies incase stronger than average minerals are found within. Prevent delays, disturbances, drawbacks."

"Bah, that's excuse making." Darmani waved his massive hand at the professor. Was that okay? Well, they were both teachers, so maybe? Jaune wasn't sure.

He only had time to look at Penny, seeing her glancing back at him with her own curious look, even though she was still saluting, for some reason.

"Lemme tell ya somethin', brother." Brother? "There ain't a form of rock or metal I haven't chomped on or broken in half. I've been given diamonds ta sell and ate them for snacks. There's been steel thick 'nough ta shatter stone and I broke 'em over my head. There ain't a single piece of stone in this shaft that's gonna give me trouble, and doubtin me is gonna make you feel like a piece or rock salt later." Salt now? "Trust that I've in my element an' I'll show ya what it means ta be called the _greatest_ of the Gorons!

Without another word, the Goron twisted on his stubby legs, massive arms swinging as he marched into the pitch-black tunnel without a moment of hesitation, Tatl ringing around him. Jaune _wanted_ to ask if he could see in the dark. He _wanted_ to ask if they needed to come at all. He _really wanted_ to ask if this was normal for Gorons in the first place.

Instead, he asked something he believed Dr. Oobleck could answer.

"Dr. Oobleck?" Jaune asked his professor, eyes never leaving the stone man that was standing in front of them, grinning like Nora with a table full of pancakes.

"Yes Mr. Arc?"

"Is this a part of that experience you were talking about?"

"Quite so, very much indeed."

"Okay, good, that is good," Jaune relaxed a little. Only a little, because he was still terrified. "Because I'm not sure how I could've prepared for this."

Then again, he still didn't know how he would be ready for next time either.

* * *

Link wasn't surprised that the others were nervous around Darmani. Not in the since that they didn't know what to do.

The expressions given by Penny and Jaune, it appeared that they had never seen a Goron before. Considering their lack of knowledge when it came to Zora, Kokiri, or Shiekah, that was hardly surprising. And because they didn't know about Gorons, Link easily forgave them for their trepidation. Darmani was of the same mind.

He could recall many young Hylians venturing from the Clocktown to Snowhead, all screaming in fright when they saw their first Goron. Little bags of water and tears, the only hard parts about them hidden beneath inches of meat, he knew it wouldn't take much to scare them. So _of course,_ the first time seeing the _pride_ of the Snowhead Gorons would be a terrifying thing!

It was enough to get him to swell with pride, knowing that his physique alone could inspire terror and awe. Link let him indulge in the feeling, knowing that his boisterousness was a part of who he was. It was not in him to disgrace he memory of his friend.

However, that did mean he would let himself forget that it was the difference in nature between the Hylians of this new world and his own that was so jarring to the Gerudo. There were no Zora, no Shiekahs, no Kokiri, assumingly, and no Hylians. Just faunus, as they were akin to be called. General and all encompassing.

And as far as Link could tell from the lessons in Beacon, none were so far separated from the Gerudo as the Gorons were from the Hylians.

But that was neither here nor there. They were in Monument Mine looking for Navi. Navi was in here somewhere, and they were going to find her. Darmani was here to help.

This was _not_ the time to wonder. It was getting dark in the cavern again. Tatl could only light so much with her Dust, and both he and Darmani would rather not treat her like a lamp again. Not if he wanted to keep his eye and Link his sanity. At the moment, it would cost them both each.

"Light ready?" Darmani's voice asked behind him, echoing through the dark and musty tunnel. The sounds of shifting metal echoed around them to his question.

"Ready and waiting!" Came back the eager decry of Penny. Link believed it and Darmani appreciated it. His grin, though probably still unseen in the darkness of Monument Mine was proud and stretched.

The Goron Hero raised his hand, extending one of his fingers towards the dark grimy appearance of the walls. The Goron held back his scoff of disappointment for the rock, even as he pushed his hand forward.

His finger drove into the hard rock, the same way as it had a few times before now.

The sound of shattering and crumbling stone filled the tunnel they were in, bouncing off of his rigid body and down the expanse of the tunnel. Link listened with Darmani for the end of the sound, hearing too many echoes to ascertain a clear end. There were likely multiple routes ahead, as was to be expected in any kind of mine. It was common knowledge to Gorons, and thus, Link was well aware of it.

It was Darmani that noted to him that they had gone _far_ deeper than what was normal for a singular route in a mine. There should have been a few other paths by now, if they were diggers worth their weight. Link did not doubt the Goron's memories, as he could also not recall a mine so narrow and straight.

Narrow and straight for now, that is. It certainly wouldn't last.

Darmani pulled his finger from the stone, letting the dark gravel fall to his boots and scatter. He moved back, keeping his hands on his hips and letting the golem girl approach the wall. The Goron could not hide his grin with the knowledge of what the girl was.

Not of stone, but metal. Veritably the next best thing to a Goron.

He watched her with focused eyes as she lifted a lantern above her head, effortlessly balancing the metallic rod it was attached to, aligning it with the hole his finger had dug. The Zora-like boy, Jaune, Link corrected, had difficultly holding the lantern and aligning it. Too heavy, apparently. It didn't appear to be a problem that the girl shared. It only made Darmani beam proudly at her.

"Allllll ready!" The metallic disguised being let out, hopping back on the balls of her feet. Her back quickly hit the other side of the tunnel, giving room for the boy to approach.

He couldn't handle carrying the lanterns, but he appeared apt at handling the fire gems at least. Link remembered he was a very cautious team leader, instructing his members to not duel him or his other friends until they had enough knowledge. It showed off now as he carefully balanced the gems in his hand, Dust as they referred to it still, and placing it inside the metallic cage of the lantern.

Darmani scoffed at it as indecision of the boy. Waiting for information you didn't know would come was like waiting to dig until you knew what was underneath you. You couldn't know that _until_ you dug. It wasn't any different in a fight, and the Gorons who refused to swing their hammers were the first to turn to rubble.

_Poof_

Another spark blossomed from the stone, alighting the tunnel once again. Far from illuminated, but more than enough to see what was ahead and behind. And Darmani, even with his narrow eyes, could still see the trail of fire hanging down the path they had come.

"Good! Excellent work! Good Aura control Jaune." The crazy man complimented the boy. Dr. Oobleck to Jaune, as Link corrected. The boy only nodded at the compliment, focused on the crystals he held. Darmani could admit at least the focus was good, not abandoning duties due to kind words. "Estimates put us approximately 240 meters within the mine's central chamber."

"Current measurements are 243.67 meters, doctor!" Darmani grinned once more at Penny's declaration, pride for whomever created her. Such accurate measurements would be _invaluable_ to the Snowhead Gorons, making it pebble's play to mine around the mountain without overshoot or misalignment. Link reminded him she was not for digging. "And continued rate of progress estimates we will be able to travel nearly 287.75 meters before requiring to stop due to shortage of supplies. So, we are _nearly_ there!" Her excitement was contagious like a celebrating Goron!

"Ghahah!" Darmani finally let out. He opened his eyes from his mighty echoing laugh to see Penny looking up at him, a look of supreme curiosity on her well-sharpen face. Her smith did excellent work! "You gotta fine head on yer shoulders, girl! Fine enough ta make the pebbles back home grind their granite!" Though he doubted even the sharpened stone would damage the metallic girl.

She was, even by Link's standards, extremely well-built. Navi would have much to say about her, and she could speak of her at length when she was found. Eventually, soon, to be found. Darmani was just as excited to meet the fairy as he was to meet the metallic being.

"I thank you for the compliment and concur that I am constructed of _extremely durable_ materials. They assist me in being combat ready and ready to work!" The girl lifted the remaining lanterns and supports above her head as if they were twigs of wood. Darmani didn't try to hide his grin, even if Link noticed Jaune struggling with his crystals.

Darmani wasn't focusing on them, though. He was focused on the mine.

And by Din and her Greatest of Flames, this mine was in _horrible_ condition. He already knew that any foreman in a Goron village would be crushed to rubble for letting a potentially prosperous mine decay like this. It took effort to make something _feel_ this wrong.

But he didn't say that, not out loud. Link was clear that the Gerudo weren't too keen on taking unnecessary risks, not like they were. Couldn't speak up yet, not like the boy who couldn't walk without a question.

"H-How much further are we going?" Speaking of the boy, he interjected his thought. "I'm just… not used to traveling like this or anything so… I don't know if we keep going till we run out of supplies or… something else, I guess?" Darmani rolled the question in his head. It wasn't a good one, but it had merits to it. Other things _could_ happen. Link had to remind him that they were novices in adventuring, let alone lacking the skills of Gorons.

"We keep going till we run outta lamps to put up," Tatl answered first, ringing as her sharp yellow light flittered around the mine walls. "That, or something else blocks our way and we gotta work around it. half the point of this trip _is_ to explore the mine, not just poke our heads and say it looks kinda bad."

"You mean like a dead end or something? O-Or maybe a pitfall? Something like that?" If they hit a pitfall before Darmani knew it was there, he'd _let_ the fall turn him to rubble.

"Yes and No, Mr. Arc," the crazy man spoke up. "Your examples, though certainly applicable to our location and necessity to retrace our steps, are extremes that are unlikely to happen given our foresight and preparedness." The Gerudo got that one right. And foresight was a word Darmani could agree with. Namely that this mine had none of it.

The place was in _horrible_ condition.

He was having difficulty imagining _anything_ being worth mining in these dead stone walls. Even Link's reminder that they were digging for 'Dust' or what not didn't help. A Hylian didn't grow trees in the desert and this mine wasn't about to produce a good chunk of stone.

The supports that they had passed up till now didn't only have cracks and rust on their metallic frames, but poor welding, a lack set screws, nuts, or anything else to ensure rigidity. Designed to support a mountain that was being hollowed, and the Gerudo were cutting corners with the supports! Big Goron would have thrown his head in shame. Time could excuse only so much.

That was to speak _little_ of what Darmani noticed what was missing. Tracks for carts, storage units for tools, safety chains, canary cages, and many other necessities that were simply missing altogether! It was as if the mine was made without the intent to actually mine! And worse yet, Link could offer nothing to him but short agreements.

He ran one of his large fingers over the dark stone again, staring at it beneath the light of the newly set lantern. He watched the edges of the stone crumble away under the strength of his touch, but in sizes far too large. There was no strength in the stone, no rigidity, nothing _concrete_. It was all charred, dead, and sapped of life.

It disgusted him. Link took the Goron for his word. The idea of Navi being in here was a disturbing though. To be somewhere so opposite a forest, a place lacking any life in stone, in contrast to a forest full of life. It made Link's thoughts churn in time with Darmani's gut.

"-mani? Darmani? Link?" The Goron shook his head, spiked white hair waving and brushing the walls. He looked back at the group of Gerudo, and Tatl, looking at him. "What are your current thoughts? Ideas, perhaps?" And it was the doctor asking them questions, the cool one, as Darmani noted. Unfortunately, he didn't note the question. But Link could guess.

"I say we keep goin' till we either find what we're lookin' for or a column too loose to shake." Because there was no obstacle that could stop him, but that didn't' mean the cavern could survive without it. The fragility of the stone made that clear. "No use in wastin' light by rollin' idea 'round. We gotta make good with the time we got, or else this is like waitin' for an avalanche."

"Avalanche?" the boy parroted. Was he a Zora or a Watarara? Neither, Link corrected Darmani, but he could tell the Goron was short with the boy's lack of confidence. "You mean l-like a _cave-in?_ "

"It's a Goron expression, don't read into it." Tatl rang above the boy. She twirled and landed on his head, making the boy's blonde hair look almost white. How ironic. "And if it was just us, I'd agree with you. But, we gotta remember that the Ice Queen and her minions are waiting for us. Can't spend too much time kicking things up down here."

Darmani wanted to snort but thought better of it in the limited space. Having to consider stopping so early in an expedition. When Link was a child the idea was silly. And Link agreed, but also knew that he was an exception, not the norm. Darmani was no different.

"Yes, true, a fine point," the doctor added on as well. "Cannot disregard companions. Data important, immensely so, but taking undue risks for such not viable. Poor example to set, bad tutelage." Link agreed, but Darmani only held himself still as the stone he was made of.

He held back his disappointment however. They weren't stopping _yet_. Maybe they'd listen if he talked a bit more.

"There's somethin' off 'bout this mine though." And sure enough, as even Link agreed to, the three other Gerudo turned their attention to him almost instantly. "Stone's too dead, too brittle. Like picking up that charcoal from a fire. Falls 'part too quickly. It just ain't right, 'specially this deep in the dirt. Not 'xpecting solid granite 'er anything, but not this loose soil."

"Loose? As in simple to separate, remove, or tear apart." Lot more words than Darmani would have liked, but he wasn't wrong. "Apologies, but an inaccurate statement. The stone is still measured to be of a substantial shore with enough static strength to maintain a shaft this deep with elemental protection, such as a cavern door." Was the Gerudo seriously trying to pick a fight with a Goron about stone?

"Now listen here, brother," Darmani began, pointing a finger at the taller Gerudo, though lankier in every limb. "I'm tellin' ya the stone is loose and brittle cause it's _loose and brittle_. This ain't Snowhead, where ya can throw a bomb to the wall and watch the mountain scoff. I so much a flick a piece stone here wrong and I might send the stalactites down on our heads." Well, their heads, Darmani always had a thick skull. Link wouldn't disagree.

"Perhaps, though unlikely, require significant strength?" He was doubting him! "To cause that level of vibration in the stone, though an excellent conductor of waveforms given _rigid_ structure, would be comparable to exothermic reaction of Dust in close quarters."

Strength? The Gerudo wanted to see a display of strength? Link could not deter Darmani from a test of strength!

"Perhaps it would be best if we-" _BAM!_ The Gerudo stopped when Darmani slapped his hand onto the stone wall next to him. Dust and debris flew from the impact, echoing down the long chamber of the mine as if a special crop had gone off.

"Darmani, what the heck!?" Tatl rang into his ear. The Goron ignored it, even if Link was silently apologizing to his companion. "If you're gonna be all macho, can you give a heads up! That was like a freaking bomb going off in my ear!"

"Or ten… or… a whole ship…" the boy was complaining again, though he didn't appear to be the only one. Tatl was waving in the air rather loosely and even the professor seemed to balance to balance on the wall. Aside from himself, only the golem of a girl was unaffected by the noise, despite the confusion that riddled her face. Darmani _knew_ she was stern enough for it!

Still, he didn't do this to annoy them. He was a Goron, and he had to prove himself through actions.

"Jus' provin' a point," the Goron Hero spoke, even as he pulled his massive hand back from the wall.

And a chunk of stone with it.

It was a fairly large stone, even by Darmani's standards, even if its size was misleading. It was easily large enough to require his hand remain palm up and fingers outstretched, probably just large enough to make a full meal for himself as well, if it was worth eating. Half his height, little less his girth, it wasn't bad.

But the fact that he could rip it out of the wall with no issue was proof enough that the stones were _loose_. You couldn't do that to solid stone like Snowhead or the Stone Tower.

"See this?" Darmani spoke up, angling to the stone so he could look the professor Gerudo in the eye. Didn't' leave a lot of room in the tight cavern, but he made do. "I'm _the_ strongest Goron yer ever gonna meet, but me doin' this _in_ a mine is just a plain sign of how _bad_ of quality these rocks are. There ain't no granite, igneous, or iron minerals in these stones. They're all dryer than yer Gerudo Sands and Deserts." At low tide, but still.

The man wasn't responding, he was just flicking his eyes back and forth between the boulder and the hole in the wall. Well… that one was worth an explanation, at least by Link's demands. He couldn't scare colleagues, at least until they trusted him, Darmani amended.

"Don't worry, I tore it outta an unsupported part. Part of the reason it was so easy." He ran a finger of his free hand along the opposite wall and above the ceiling of the cavern, tracing the dirty and dry stone. "Too much strength in these parts, not enough in where this thing came from. Still, I'm just showin' that this mine _ain't strong!_ " And that was important to know.

Still, didn't mean he could just leave the boulder alone. It would make it rather awkward for the others to move around. Couldn't eat it either, too dry and definitely too stale.

So back into the wall it went. Darmani was curious why Link seemed to disagree in his mind.

**_BANG!_ **

Another special crop went off throughout the cavern walls, shaking dust free from the surroundings. No rubble though, no cave ins. Darmani would not make such an egregious mistake, not atop of the already pitiful work of those who had made the mine before him. Navi would have to tell the tale of why the mine was in such a state when she was found.

Course, this time the Gerudo had their ears covered, Tatl even settling on top of Penny, probably to cover her ears as well. Link asked Darmani to apologize, but the Goron would have none of it. They'd prove themselves first, then they could earn his apology.

Link, however, was not one to let misunderstandings lie when they could be corrected.

He opened Darmani's mouth, large enough to eat his own shield, and ready to apologize to the professor, boy, and his fairy companion. But before he could, something else resounded down the cavern walls. Not a groan of pain, not a screech of question, in fact, nothing from his exploration companions.

The sound came from the darkness they hadn't traveled yet. Link and Darmani didn't need much thought to know what that meant.

"What was that? A-An echo?" Apparently, the boy did. Link remembered Jaune was inexperienced. Darmani reminded him the threat wouldn't care. "Like… a delayed echo." But there was no excuse for ignorance.

"Statistically unlikely," the girl responded back. Her cheer was gone, her face stiff and serious. "Possibility of threat far greater."

"Change 'possible' for 'definitely', and then you've got it." Tatl rang out the words as she floated around the group, like muted by the lantern. Link noted it, but Darmani ignored it. The monster in a cavern like his home was worth more his focus. "As in, that's definitely a monster. Bonus points for adding on 'definitely going to fight it'." But the Goron loved her assuredness for the necessity of a fight.

"Really? Seriously? E-Even though I've got all this Dust?" Darmani was losing his patience for the boy. Link knew his concern was valid, knowing even partially the properties of the uncharged stones. "W-We should run then, like now."

"No, we shouldn't." Link responded through Darmani. The Goron allowed it, for now. "Any beasts home in caverns will fare far better than you in running in them." And it was truth, Darmani agreed, from Dodongo to Skulltula and beyond. It still meant he had to determine what the grating sound was.

Not Wolfos, who tended larger areas, and not keese, who would be screeching by now. There was only scratching coming from the tunnel, frequent and growing.

"The threat is approaching rapidly," Penny spoke up again. Darmani put himself in front of the group, raising his arms and steeling his stone form. Magma couldn't move him and the monsters of caves would fare little better. "Suggested plans in place. Should I engage first?" Darmani loved the enthusiasm, but Link tempered the Goron's will.

They were students, and he was the master.

The Hylian Hero that knew the Gerudo who fought with blades, hammers, and sickles on strings, weapons that would cause as much damage to the walls of the cavern as the monster itself. The Goron Hero knew that too much damage to the already brittle and loose stone would do far more harm to them than any easily replaceable beast of burden.

If they were to fight, and fight they would, they needed to be quick, decisive, and above all else, accurate. They could not afford to miss.

"Stay behind me," Darmani instructed, rolling his shoulders, even as the scratching came closer and closer. Link began to recognize the sound, as did Darmani once the Hylian spoke of what it was. "I'll handle this."

"W-Wait? You sure?" The boy asked. The same boy that sounded more prepared to run than fight. Perhaps he would fight for empathy, which was only slightly above running for fear. "You don't need help or anything?"

"Too crowded, too little room, too dangerous," the crazy Gerudo added for him. Tall, lean, but with a brain that Darmani could at least respect, like the Elder Goron. "Listen to Darmani, assumed expert with encounters below ground level. Possess the matching physique for it." And the Goron grinned with all his teeth, even as Tatl rang behind his head.

"Keep your weapons sheathed. He's got this," the fairy instructed the others. Link thanked her, as did Darmani silently as well. There was, however, no time to actually speak the words.

Not when the monster finally burst from the dense shadows. A monster Link and Darmani were both familiar with and loathed to ever see.

A monster with limbs black as the stone of the cavern, a dense upper body of brilliant white, curved around an abdomen that could have been competition for Darmani's own gut. Its limbs grew from that dense body, and each one, long and spindly, appeared sharp, strong, and vicious in the tight and only barely lit walls of the cavern. And, unfortunately as Link remembered, long and thin meant fast and vicious.

It was why Darmani only caught two of the eight limbs that struck at him, swiping at his side after tearing through the dark wall of the cavern wall, sending shards of loose stone and dust into the limited space. It gave the already monstrous beast a terrifying silhouetted. Terrifying to all but the Heroes who had faced dozens, if not hundreds, of their kind before.

A monster that had eight long dark limbs, eight beady eyes on a tiny head, and a heavy thick central body, all carrying enough silk and poison to kill the average Hylian three times over. Darmani struck it with his other first, the quick monster pushing out of the blows way with its remaining six limbs.

It gave the Gerudo behind him a perfect shot of the monster.

"Loliths!" the crazy Gerudo screamed, even as Darmani kept his hand clenched around two of the monster's limbs. He was wrong anyways. This was a skulltula.

A skulltula that attempted to sink its long fangs into Darmani's exposed neck. Tried, and, with fangs sharp as blades and long as knives, succeeded.

Navi had told Link of them the first time he had faced, so long ago now in the Great Deku tree. Her words and advice had kept him, a child from being poisoned by their fangs, wrapped in their webs, or torn asunder by their claw like legs. Darmani, however, was used to finding them lurking beneath the boulders of food of his village. There was a certain enjoyment that came with crushing them.

" _Hey there_ , spider," the Goron spoke through large grit teeth, watching as the free six legs of the Skulltula scraped and scratched at the loose stone. "Tryin' to take a bite outta me?" He rumbled through his thick throat, heedless of the fangs that pierced him. "It's gonna take somethin' harder than that." Link knew it to be true, and Darmani demonstrated it well.

Link heard Penny give a cry of shock, Jaune sounding just as terrified, but Darmani paid them little mind. He was not made of flesh and water. A monster's poison would do nothing to him.

It just meant he had the skulltula trapped. Trapped behind three types of hard places and himself, the rock. Darmani tightened his grip on the two limbs of the monster, bending his neck to the side as Link kept a watch on the other six limbs. The monster was focused on the stone of his neck. It meant it was a good time to capitalize.

_SLAM_

By twisting his neck sideways and headbutting the creature's tiny skull.

Darmani and Link both felt the carapace of the creature's bend and crack at the blow, the monster letting out an angry hiss as it released the Goron and tried to push itself away. It only gave Darmani room to grin at the beast, massive hand still wrapped around two of the monster's limbs. Fleeing from a fight was something monsters _never_ had the privilege to do.

Instead, Link reminded Darmani of the skulltula's blind spot. The underside of its thick carapace. A location easily reached with the creature's limbs pinned as they were. The Goron hero was only too happy to comply.

The length of his stone arm made it easy to reach up and grab the thick of the monster's underside. It screeched and hissed at the contact, trying fruitlessly to escape, knowing what was coming. Unfortunately, its attempt to flee were causing damage to the very walls Darmani was reminded to preserve.

Dark limbs flailing, swiping, and scratching at the stone, creating a veritable storm of dust and dead stone in the cavern walls. It would have been to much for any other race. But Darmani was a hero, and the greatest of them.

"Eight limbs and nothin' to show," the Goron spoke through his grin, even as he tightened his hold on the skulltula. It's thrashing intensified, making even the limbs held in his other hand difficult to hold. "Well let me show ya ta _always_ choose quality over quantity."

And he did so, with a single strong grasp of his hand.

_SQUELCH!_

Turning the monster into putty in his hand.

An ooze of black felt from between his meaty fingers, disgusting to both the Goron and Hylian housed within. Disgusting, but necessary. Far better than tearing through the greater majority of the cavern. Still, it was necessary, just as necessary as the feeling he had. The lack of fear or disgrace for his actions.

Fearless, that was what he needed to be. Link knew it for the safety of others. Darmani lived it for the strength of his spirit. Link was fearless so the monsters, if more existed, would not pursue. Darmani was fearless because his title mandated it. No Hero of the Gorons would tremble at questions.

He looked back to the group, hands rolling from the dissipated and misty body of the monster, mush already turning back to the shadows it had crawled from. Hardly a challenge, likely a warm-up for the rest of the trip if anything else, but still enough to keep the iron in his blood hot. It only took a glance at the wide eyes of the boy under the lantern light to see that he was more than just a little impressed.

"Geez, you _are_ strong." Darmani beamed at the Zora kid. Maybe he had a bit more backbone than he thought.

"Ghahaha! Good ta see one of ya notices!" He let his hand fall on the boy's shoulder, so much larger than the boy's arm that only a few of his fingers made it. Didn't help that the Gerudo's body nearly crumbled like a bombed Armos. "But you've seen _nothin'_ yet, boy. Not till ya find me a foe capable of lastin' past a punch!" Because then he could truly go all out!

But perhaps that wouldn't take too long now! The Skulltula, massive as it was, had scurried itself up from the depths of the mine, no doubt searching for the source of the noise. If it was a monster truly _stupid_ enough to think it could challenge him to a fight, then perhaps there were _more_ monsters lurking deep within.

Link counted on the possibility as well, remembering and sharing with Darmani the truth of monsters in the dark depths and hollows of caves, ruins, and mines. But he also emphasized to speak with the others, to wait, and to not go forth. Darmani ignored half of what he said then.

"Come! Come! We can see what else lurks beneath the mine now!" The Goron Hero _cheered_ with excitement.

How could he not? He would have a chance to clear a mine of evil and perhaps avenge the stone for whatever had drained it of its life!

"Already? No way!" And the boy's worth dropped faster than a Goron in the Great Bay.

"No, disagreement with you, agreement with Mr. Arc, we shall not continue." Darmani looked back at the crazy Gerudo.

Why was he trying to act sane now? This was the moment when crazy was beneficial! Then again, Link told him to listen, and this wasn't Snowhead, so he it was his due to listen the Gerudo who came from these lands.

"Just affirmed the presence of Grimm _deep_ in mine. Deeply embedded, _very_ likely dug in and waiting. Traps, danger, overly unnecessary risk currently." Oh, he thought the monsters would be _too_ much?

"A tactical analysis of the situation does suggest that reconvening with our allies would be an _excellent_ move." And the golem girl, too? Darmani tried to hide his surprise, though Link sighed in response. "I apologize Hero Goron Darmani, but one of my primary objectives during this mission is to maintain good health amongst all present."

"I agree!" Tatl's ring was almost as loud as the boulder's, at least to Darmani. Maybe it was because she sounded like a Goron babe waiting for his lullaby. "We are _not_ ready to go marching into the mines like this. We gotta talk to the _others_ , get some _supplies_ , and make sure that _whatever else_ is down there we are ready for!" How could she say that? _Navi_ was down there somewhere. Link could not forget that, and Darmani would not abandon a friend of a friend.

"Are you saying we are not ready now?" Darmani questioned, holding his fist to his chest. He just destroyed the Skulltula with his bare hands, something the Gerudo could not _possibly_ match! Perhaps the girl, but she wasn't a full Gerudo. "What do you say we need we don't already got?"

They had his muscle and the golem girl's metallic body. That made for an army!

"You know, I don't know? I'm not sure, but I think it's something _like a PLAN!_ " The fairy raged in his face, ringing with that harsh light she _knew_ he hated. He kept himself from swinging at her. Less fearful of actually hitting the slippery forest fly and warier of knocking away a support beam. "And I _know_ that's you talking in there Darmani. Listen to Link if you wanna here about how a _Hero_ is supposed to act!"

She had a point that they were both heroes, but Darmani was sure that the Hero of Time would also wish to charge into the danger with him. The Goron let surprise mare his face when the Hylian told him that was not the case.

He spoke of how the need to plan was great, as they were entering a mind confirmed to be unstable, nestling monsters that the others didn't have the room to fight, and with other pathways they couldn't see. Striking randomly may do them little harm, but it could ruin whatever the ruins were also hiding.

They needed to be smart, because blindly challenging danger was what killed Darmani the first time. It was a lesson that Navi had gifted him.

He wanted, _needed_ to find her, but they couldn't risk the students and themselves to find her. It would only make finding her more difficult, if not impossible.

Darmani mulled at the idea, scornful of Link for so easily reminding him of his death, but it was a reminder given with purpose, not for spite. He reminded the Hero of Time heroes did not run, but the Hylian reminded the Hero of the Gorons that they needed to live to be heroes. It was a solid case, sturdier than the beams that supported the tunnel at least.

"Bah, Link agrees with ya." The Hylian was thankful he was spoken for, as Darmani would not so willingly allow the Hylian to speak through him. They were sworn brothers, but that did not carry the weight to borrow his body so easily.

Aid, but not stone. There was a delicate balance to that.

"It doesn't matter fer now, I guess." The Goron rolled his shoulders as he spoke. There was an itch to scratch deeper in those mines, and he was being told to wait. "Jus' means we'll be comin' back here sooner rather than later. After all, can't risk them monsters getting' wise to us all, huh?" He grinned broadly at the question towards the group.

Link was thankful for it, letting them focus on Darmani's words. It would keep their mind off of their actions and thoughts.

Navi always taught him the art of diversion and unknowns. He practiced one of her lessons now, with the aid of a Goron Hero.

The unknown had the advantage. It was why they could benefit in more ways than what was told.

* * *

Penny did not have lips, but a part of her progressive improvement functions determined that it would have made her appear more human like. It not meant to a visual enhancement, as her latex covering, supplemented over her metallic body, already provided an extra layer of viscoelastic liquid around the entrance of her oral cavity to simulate lips.

However, after spending much time in the presence of Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck and Special Operative Winter Schnee, she determined that lips had a secondary purpose aside from improving auditory communications skills. It was one both had frequented the action of during the recent discussion.

It was minor, she had admitted, which further enhanced her understanding for why it was not a prerequisite feature her father had given her. Because, from her visual sensors and individual diagnostic software, she had determined that licking one's lips was a very human method of enhancing thoughts.

It was the most likely conclusion she reached after watching the three senior hunters discussing amongst one another.

"We are talking in circles," Special Operative Winter Schnee continued on. Facial recognition software determined to Penny that she was either agitated or in pain. Lacking and superficial wounds implied the former, which was to be taken as reason to reevaluate the conversation. "Tell me again why you are so against entering the mine today?" Penny could, but she was addressing Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck.

"Because of Grimm presence! Disturbing Grimm presence, uncommon and wary species thereof." Penny made note of the hunter's trepidation. Perhaps he possessed some of the same irrational fear as others had expressed. "Monsters in the cavern present a new problem, not unprecedented, assumed in fact, but of species that makes further operation more difficult."

"Not to mention that the wrong one in the wrong place could be about as bad as bad can get," Tatl rang out from above the Goron's head. Goron being the new designation for the rock creature, earning the coveted 'new species' function within her databanks. She had not used that yet and suspected she would never have to, until Link appeared. "Only reason we aren't missing a lot of tools, fancy rocks, or even one of the kids is cause Darmani had the fists to kill it quick. This isn't something you just rush into, you know. Monsters can be a pretty big deal in a tight cave."

"They are Grimm, no matter where they are huddled," Special Operative Winter Schnee countered. "Grimm that we have found on several occasions and I am willing to wager in this conversation will fight many more times throughout our careers." That was a logical assumption, according to probability calculations run by Penny, once inserting the career field, international Grimm density, and similar variables. "Refusing to continue on immediately is a sign of cowardice as we are meant to guide the students with quick reactions in the face of such threats."

"Logical fallacy, totally untrue." The doctor waved his hand in response, earning the ire of Special Operative Winter Schnee's gaze. Penny noted a contraction of her pupils, indicating an intense focus on the doctor. Per the vocalized wariness of Weiss Schnee and Jaune Arc, that was not something to desiring of receiving. "

"It is not a matter of great concern that Grimm are present, that was to be expected," Ms. Schnee began again, her lips pursed as she looked at the other two men. Well, one man and another biological fallacy that Penny had yet to determine the exact mechanics of. "Given the condition of the town and otherwise uninhabited forest, it is logical to deduce that monsters would present. We made as much an assumption earlier during the planning for this excursion."

"True, valid, yet other conditions apply, new limitations," Dr. Oobleck followed. "Darmani, master Goron, excellent subterranean skill set, has deduced the mine is _very_ unstable. Unlikely to support brawl with heavy blows, Aura or Dust infused rounds, explosions, all apply."

"That's true, brother," The rock-like creature returned. Penny was unaware that he had any biological relation to Dr. Oobleck, despite referring to him as 'brother' close to 25 times now since his appearance roughly 5.43 hours ago. "Big reason I ain't lettin' the bigger boulders in this group go in swingin'. Couple of ya have got maces and hammers on ya. Hit the wall wrong and the mountain will crush ya those pesky skulltulas."

Skulltulas were the Goron, or perhaps Hylian, terminology for Loliths. The deduction was easy to surmise with a comparative algorithm with the discussion fed into it. Loliths, per her downloaded databanks on Grimm populations, activity, and characteristics, reminded Penny's active processor that Grimm were known to frequent dark and often damp areas, commonly related to spiders and other arachnid like insects, though of vastly disproportionate size.

The discomfort Friend Jaune Arc and even Special Operative Winter Schnee expressed at knowing such creatures were present in the mine was, per the psychological notes of frequent encounters, understandable. Penny's supplementary databanks provided additional information regarding the irrational fear of arachnid and arachnid-like creatures. Monsters bearing their form, therefore, would like elicit a similar response. She would have to remain vigilant for further responses.

"If we are concerned about the stability of the mine with the Grimm present, then we have, as I have been _attempting_ to discuss, then we only need to have ourselves prepared in groups that best relate to the conditions of the mine and Grimm. This is _not_ a complicated issue." Penny agreed with Special Operative Winter Schnee. Her deduction algorithms, being updated a frequency of 32Hz, suggested similar actions would build a higher probability of success.

"Mine's weak cause the stone's loose," Darmani spoke, though Penny was now 83% confident he was using a term for loose she had not present in her language bank. The stones were not loose, but brittle, more accurately. Low energy required for fracture, often due a highly chained grouping of internal elements and crystalline structure. "Loose 'nough fer that monster ta swipe and scratch the stone. If you go whippin' 'round your weapons carelessly, ya'll take out a support boulder, putting the ceiling four feet shorter and blockin' all the exits."

"Yes, yes, I am aware, a cave-in _is_ something we are trying to avoid." The special operative was very dismissive, per the auditory analysis Penny performed. Perhaps she should have it calibrated later to ensure its accuracy. "Which is why I am curious we are _talking around_ my suggestion for group pairing." Penny had the suggestion on file, given by the Special Operative shortly after the attack with the Lolith was discussed.

"Pairing of teams likely, optimal, perhaps required," Dr. Oobleck addressed it statistically similar to how he had the first time, by Penny's analysis. "However, unsure if there is a proper separation of teams available for dig. Require too many characteristics between them, skill sets, necessities." Penny had deduced three of them by her algorithms, but was unsure if others were present or not, requiring the information of previous missions she had not been given permission to access.

"It is a _necessity_ to do such in order to progress further into this mine, especially with knowledge now that it is a Grimm nest of some sort." Penny's threat algorithms had not yet reached the conclusion of nest. Nest implied growing numbers and sustained presence. Den was perhaps a more accurate threat level, a temporary hold for the Grimm to rest in. "And I have not forgotten that there were meant to be further passages within the mine, correct? At those times it will be a necessary risk to divide our teams."

"Yup, agree with that." Goron Her Darmani pointed at Special Operative Winter Schnee with an overly sized smile. It was a _very_ big smile, one Penny was unsure if it would be appropriate or not to imitate. "Last thing any pebble or rock needs is ta be caught in a mine with dead-ends on one side and beasties on the other. Take a damn long time ta dig yer way out if somethin' were to go wrong." His words took the assumption that victory was guaranteed. Penny made careful note of his confidence.

"Not untrue, valid statement, but brings secondary problem as well," Dr. Oobleck spoke carefully, by Penny's relation to his previous remarks. "Assume singular split in path, one division in the cavern. However, given nature of mine, necessity to dig deep within a mountain for minerals and subterranean goods, division of pathways likely far more numerous. Justification given through maps obtained previously, though clearly lacking finer detail now."

"More paths… I see." Penny believed she did as well. "Your concern is that if we split and continue on, we still risk the same issues. Too much potential ground to cover and too little manpower to do so." Penny was correct wither analysis.

"Precisely! Indeed! Unfortunate but realistic issue with exploring the subterranean cavern," Dr. Oobleck continued on. "Further, proposed possible ambush by Grimm suggested by Darmani very likely given smaller numbers an unease commonly created through cramped spaces. Any one of the students feeling ill, claustrophobic, fearful, or unsure may attract. Attraction of singular Grimm likely to promote infestation further."

"And finally result in the students, or anyone in fact, being completely overwhelmed why we are split apart." Special Operative Winter Schnee sighed at her words. Penny could understand, if by comparison to General Ironwood following information regarding failed raids on White Fang and other Grimm Dens. "It would also be unreasonable to ask the children to split into smaller groups than two. After all, it is unfeasible to ask the students to progress individually down an unsafe and Grimm infest mine."

"A mine ain't a place to explore alone," Darmani added in. With his arms crossed, he appeared to increase his volume by approximately 33%. It was an optical illusion, Penny deduced through secondary analysis, but it was still designed to be intimidating, she was sure, given the size of his arms. "The Goron got a sayin' fer pebbles that try doin' that, workin' a mine alone. 'It only takes one bad guess to turn a tunnel of food into a tomb."

Ah, because his species gained their nutrients from rocks and other igneous materials Penny still had little idea on how that worked, as no other species in Remnant were even comparative, but it explained the metaphor. She would need to ask Friend Cardin Winchester later if it was clever or not. He was honest.

"Morbid as that is, it ain't wrong." Tatl added on, ringing above them all. "Doesn't help that the mine is as unsteady as it is. And trust me on this one, saying Darmani could _possible_ be wrong about that is like saying Super Buzz over her might have missed something in his notes. Doesn't seem likely." Though normal human error given the comprehension of reading material made that statistically likely, given the length of many forms of literature, Penny did understand the expression. It was similar to one that her friend Cardin Winchester had spoken of before.

A perceived impossibility related to an unknown action to give the speculative reasoning that the unwitnessed action was just as likely to occur. He had been more vocal and used words that Penny had been instructed to not replicate in her programming, but the deiminated meaning was the same.

"Perhaps we were overzealous with this exploration then," Special Operative Winter Schnee spoke, a moment after licking her lips. Penny found her previous note desiring the ability to do such a thing. "Already a slightly larger scouting part than the norm, and we finding the ability to properly explore the mine this difficult."

Did that mean that Special Operative Winter Schnee desired to stop?

"Hey! That doesn't mean we're giving up on this though!" Tatl let out with a ring, her odd speech pattern echoing through the otherwise auditory dampened town. "Difficult, yeah, but that's just because this mine is _way_ worse off than we thought, and it's got a _lot_ more paths than a natural cave. We just gotta think differently. It's difficult, not impossible." Penny agreed, though had difficulty understanding how one was able to think differently.

"Indeed, difficult, though not impossible," Dr. Oobleck added on. "Further resources may provide more ease of the operation, simpler tasks, easier to quantify, but lack thereof does not discredit possibility to explore mine. Only leads to conclusion that a newer method of exploration is required."

"Of course, forgive me for speaking out of turn," the she held up her hand as he did so. "I did not mean to imply an inability to complete this task, only noting the facts associated with it. I have _no desire_ to abandon something so easily." That was positive! At least Penny's analysis determined it to be a positive message given its general correlation to the desires of the others present.

However, a gruff noise from the Goron Hero earned her more immediate attention.

"Bah, not like it matters now." The Goron Hero rolled his large head, grimacing with statistically disproportioned teeth as he did so. "Sittin' around her and talkin' our heads off as 'lready killed the day light. Too much yammerin' and not 'nough hammerin'."

Penny was confused, as her conversation predictors, and important part to understanding the flow of her conversations, did not predict such an outburst from the Goron Hero. She was having extreme difficult determining what brought this out.

She wished she had lips to lick, as she believed that would help. Unfortunately, she did not, and could only maintain a log for a future request when such time was she could submit it.

"Hold, confusion, deeply unsettling," Dr. Oobleck spoke up first. "Are you suggesting giving up, removing the possibility of further exploration or digging?" If such were the case, Penny knew she would require _extensive_ recalibration of her algorithms related to personality recognition, as that was _not_ what she believed the Goron Hero would ever do, though based upon verbose claims alone.

The Goron Hero Darmani, however, shook his heavy head in response, affirming the accuracy of her internal code. Penny was thankful, as calibration was an annoying process when it involved her central data banks.

"Nah, you don't get it, so I'll tell ya. There's no time ta go inta the mine taday." The Hero Goron Darmani waved his hand towards the mine entrance, currently out of visual sight due to the ruined building structures. "Need the sun ta leave the mine and ya don't go walkin' inta one without knowin' it'll be there when ya get out. Lost the day cause we couldn't talk straight 'bout what to do." Given the requirement of no longer proceeding into Monument Mine, Penny knew he was correct, though he, understandably by her compassion function, was not pleased with it.

"Apologies, Link… no, Darmani," Special Operative Winter Schnee corrected herself. The unusually small eyes of the Goron, by comparison of ratio to his facial features, focused on her. "It is never an intention of hunters or the Military to waste time. However, it _is_ our duty to ensure the wisest actions are taken to ensure the greatest number of lives with the highest level of satisfaction towards the mission. Risking the lives of the students, or our own, for the idea of discovering your companion's possible whereabouts is not a risk I am willing to take." Penny was unsure of her words. According to her backlog of the conversation, Special Operative Winter Schnee was the one primarily for reentering the mine, spoken within context at least fourteen times.

"Agreeable, though detestable, is necessary," Dr. Oobleck agreed with Special Operative Winter Schnee. "We are hunters, true, on a mission, correct, but also professors towards the young, important. Failure to instruct with wise instructions, to teach proper hunting traits and procedures, may risk future operations with our lack of presence. Damaging to their future, unnecessary, unacceptable."

"I gotcha, I got it," Darmani approved in return, though in comparison to the other soldiers who fell in line with orders, he had a very similar level of interest in the agreement. It was a most curious thing for Penny's analysis filter. "Jus' a bother that we spent a day doin' almost nothin' and got nothin ta show for it. Ain't like a brother ta promise ta work hard and deliver gravel fer results." By every method of analysis Penny had on hand, she could confidently say there was no 'gravel' as a result of their work today.

"Hey, feeling's mutual, but it ain't the first time." Tatl drifted and rang as she spoke. "Sides, not like it's your fault. Gotta keep track of a lot more people than just me and Tael now. Lot of people who aren't built for this kind of thing." Built for it? Oh! Friend Cardin Winchester told her what that meant!

"I am built for this!" Penny held up her hand, looking at the three hunters as they spoke. All turned to her, which by analysis of prior meeting involving similar circumstances, implied she deliver more information to suitable establish her orientation to the conversation. "I was designed to use higher grade forms of steel and Dust in order to reasonable overcome physical obstacles and hazards! Therefore, I qualify as being 'built for this'!"

It was odd that her visual sensors applied facial recognition software to Dr. Oobleck and Special Operative Winter Schnee's features, only to find that they were wearing expressions of confusion and dissatisfaction, to a likely chance of 76% and 8-9% of inaccuracy. The expressions, by analysis of prior conversations, implied she had either spoken improperly or out of turn. Had she spoken out of turn?

" _GHAHAHAHA!_ " The bellowing laughter of the Goron Hero Darmani implied she had not.

Especially with his head rolled back and exposing a rather large gullet to release the laughter from.

"Ghahaha! That ya are, girl! That ya are!" The Goron Hero Darmani spoke up, raising a slapping his large hand to Penny's back. She had to quickly readjust her internal servos to accommodate the impact load delivered to her, otherwise improperly offsetting her balance. "Ya got the mind and body of a Goron in ya. Ya'd make a great brother to the Snowhead Gorons!"

"Brother?" Penny found herself using the terminology, her internal dictionary and thesaurus pouring over the possible applications and definitions for the term.

It appeared possible to be referenced as a family member yet could also reasonable apply to a lack of blood relation if given enough context, including emotional trauma, long-term friendship, or otherwise established level of trust.

But that would imply she was of the male gender in biological terms. Penny ran through her self-identification routines, confirming her father had designed her to not be of the male identification. She was referred to as 'she' in the personal logs far too often to be statistically inaccurate.

Perhaps the Goron Hero Darmani did not understand what she was designated as by Papa Zepp. It would be rude of herself to not correct that.

"I apologize Goron Hero Darmani," Penny let out, bowing lightly. "However, I am incapable of being identified to you in a familial sense as a brother. As I am female, I cannot be classified as a brother." But spoke honestly, but several of her newly written emotion-checking functions returned dissatisfactory variables.

Her 'well-being' algorithm was returning the 'un-well' return at too high a frequency for long term management. Therefore, to correct this, she needed to speak with the Goron Hero Darmani about a possible trade off.

"However, I am _very_ happy to hear that you wish to think of me as a brother!" Though Penny was sure it was too soon to establish such a relationship. "I am sure that you implied as such as reference to my harder than average physique, though I can promise you friend Cardin Winchester and Assumed-Friend Pyrrha Nikos are also made of sturdy material, though of likely lower density than my own." Because they were human, and she was made of a heat-treated steel alloy.

"Your… what now?" Tatl asked, ringing above Goron Hero Darmani.

The Goron hero had a clear smile to his large mouth, one that Penny believe she'd be able to positively recognize with even a major defect in her facial feature recognition algorithms.

"Am I incorrect in assuming that brother is being referred to a familial relationship between individuals of non-biological relation?" It was the assumption that her programs most likely reached. However, if he was referring to the assigned gender of her frame…

"Of all the topics to all into," Special Operative Winter Schnee added in. Was that necessary? She was unsure but made note of it regardless.

"Curious deductive skills, though not incorrect, not completely. Flawed, perhaps." Her logic was flawed? That _would_ require heavy recalibration.

"Nah, she's not completely wrong," the Fairy Tatl added in again, still ringing with her responses. The Goron Hero remained stationary as the assumed material he was made out of, having a very low vibrational frequency associated with another biological organism. But that was unimportant.

"I am not incorrect?" That was the more important query to pose, as the fairy of the Goron Hero had superior knowledge to Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck, assumingly given context and longevity of relationship.

"No, you're not. Not entirely, but you're making it too simple." Really? Penny was under the impression from others she made things overly complicated. The common complaint given to her by General Ironwood and friend Cardin Winchester related to her 'over-thinking' situations, implying an increased level of detail. "Brother is just something the Gorons call their friends and stuff. Like pal, or ally, or something like that." Truly?

"Then he thinks of me as an ally? One with significant similarities towards a human family member such as some sibling or relatable kin? Perhaps more closely related to another form of familial relation such as cousin, niece, or perhaps by law induced union?" Penny watched the fairy's wings fall as her body drooped in the air. Was she incorrect? Perhaps she needed more details to reach a more accurate conclusion.

"Okay, _now_ you're overthinking it." Ah, that was more accurate to her history of discussions around undocumented subjects. "Just… Just think of it for what it is. Darmani respects you and he's calling you out for it." He did?

"That I do!" Penny reminded herself the bellow of the Goron was in response to the fairy, not the logical algorithms of her processor. "I gotta lot of respect for someone who's gotta mind inside a sturdy body!" Penny wasn't sure what that meant. None of Friend Cardin Winchester's sayings were being flagged in the conversation.

"I apologize, but I do not understand." She was sure that was the proper response.

"She isn't the only one," Special Operative Winter Schnee added on. That meant that Penny spoke properly, which satisfied her variable flags. "Did you think of something, or is that another one of the Gorons odd remarks?"

"There ain't nothin' odd 'bout my remarks, brother," Goron Hero Darmani retorted. Penny's analysis of his speech pattern showed a great number of dissimilarities with common speech, making them by definition odd.

She also made note that Special Operative Winter Schnee was also marked as a brother, satisfying the floating question of the preference for gender. There was no question what gender the right hand of General Ironwood was.

"And no, I ain't talkin' 'bout a sayin' of the Snowhead Gorons." One of his large fingers pointed at his skull. Her ocular sensors immediately took a comparative analysis between the width of his head and the length of his finger. If a normal human was 1:1 for head:finger, Goron Hero Darmani was 1:3. "All I'm gettin' at is that the girl here has a gotta mighty strong mind in her head and a sturdy body to match." Was that all?

"Yes, I do have a sturdy body and an undisclosed thirty-two core processor capable of individual clock rates of 12.6 GHz. So, comparatively, I have a 'strong' mind." The Goron Hero continued to grin at her, so she must have spoken to his satisfaction, which was satisfying to her flag variables once more!

"Okay, terminology aside, what are you getting at?" Tatl spoke up, ringing above the group before floating in front of the Goron Hero. "Trying to throw around compliments again?" Again?

"Nah, just had an idea!" The Goron Hero beamed with his words, even as his disproportionate eyes looked down at Penny. Did that imply he was speaking with regards to her? "And the little missy here gave it to me like a hard knock on the noggin'!" That was affirmation, tough she was not aware of the blow she had dealt.

"I did?"

"She did?"

And apparently neither did Special Operative Winter Schnee.

"Yup! Like a spark flyin' from Snowhead's Forge, it's a grand idea that'll keep everyone of the pebbles safe in tha' mine and keep us movin' forward!" He settled his fists on his hips, appearing comparatively intimidating next to the much skinnier Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck and Special Operative Winter Schnee.

"Is it a plan that satisfies all related elements and concerns relating to the safety of the mine, students, and other equipment?" Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck questioned.

"Yup!" Came the expedient reply.

"Then does it also make for efficient use of said resources without risking an unnecessary drain on the students or ourselves to collect the information and layout of the mine?"

"Yup!"

"Does it finally account for the possibility of other form of Grimm monsters nesting in the caverns aside form the above average size Loliths?"

"Better! Considerin' how it's gonna work and all." The Goron Hero rolled his head with the comment. Penny's static member calculations suspected it would roll off, but the tension of the Goron's neck appeared to be satisfactorily strong.

"Well, I'm willing to listen to the idea," Special Operative Winter Schnee added. "We have time to talk it over, now that we are not returning to the mine tonight."

"Plenty of time ta talk it, smash it down, and build it like arcs of the race track!" Penny assumed the meaning of those terms, implying an improvement of the plan through input of multiple other sources, in order to remove flaws and strengthen unclear areas.

"Glad you keep reminding me you got more than stones in your head," Tatl rang out, floating around the Goron with her jaundice light. "But seeing as your not just a Goron up there, guess it makes sense you're using Link's smarts. You willing to tell me that your grand plan was _all_ your idea?" A vocal analysis of the fairy's rings implied a near antagonistic tone, similar to rivals in many tournaments she had memorized. Was this part of that teasing ritual she had seen before?

"Well, not… _entirely_." With the perceived tone, Penny's affirmation functions labeled Link as the new author of Goron Hero Darmani's plan. "Point is though, it'll work, least better than standin' round like boulders waitin' for a shove."

And so, the Goron Hero told them of his idea, born likely from the shared processing with Friend Link's mind.

Penny concluded the discussion of the plan with affirmation and positive reception within her flag variable check and log file notes. It sounded to be a successful plan to both the mission objectives in both the merit and feasibility qualities.

It satisfied majority of the unsatisfied variable flags raised by the three hunters as well as making use of majority of the resources available to them, including all members of the excursion party.

Unfortunately, her predictive functions related to her friends related unfavorable reactions on their parts.

Hopefully she could help Friend Cardin Winchester and Friend Jaune Arc understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	19. Monument Mine (Part 3)

Exhilaration was an overused and overly embellished term. Too often was it used as a bolus word of some impractical or unrelated event, usual in the case of something rather mundane or repetitive by nature. More often than not, the word, despite it's meaning, would be spoken by someone who was merely enthused or energized.

Exhilaration was meant to be used as a method to describe one's mood after a rather extreme event, most often in one's favor. The exhilaration from completing the thesis defense to your colleagues, from slaying the first major Grimm on a mission outside of Academia, or even seeing a new child in your life that will one day grow up and follow in very similar footsteps, thank you all the while. Those are the proper uses of the word exhilaration.

Knowing this, Oobleck knew without a shadow of Goliath's doubt, that he was currently experiencing a rather high level of exhilaration.

So much so that it felt as if he were betraying himself by not recording every word, action, or demonstration being presented to him. Quite simply, it was the culmination of all of his dreams and fantasies somehow given form in a way that most would call childish, but now could be related as euphoric. Oobleck knew of no other feeling that could possibly be related to how he felt.

Not while he listened to Darmani speak of a Goron tradition through demonstration.

"We're going to block the mine's pathways?" Winter Schnee spoke. A good soldier, no doubt, better huntress, questioning commands of her colleagues. A rare skill for ladder climbers. "I understand that we need a way to guard them, and I have no doubt you _can_ block them, but why on Remnant would we possible do so? It would only make further travel more difficult."

"Only ta a field walker like yer self would it look like I'm messin' with the mine like _that_!" The Goron, a wonderous and absolutely illogical combination of organic life and metamorphic rock structures. "There's nothin' but sense ta keepin' the mine covered when its not bein' emptied. Safer fer the youngin's and fer the explorers. All 'roughd." It was a true statement, mostly.

"Usual procedures for mining explorations is to have checkpoints between major portions of the mine." Oobleck related the information he had memorized a few days ago. Namely the safety procedures for mining and subterranean exploration. "Normal to be secured, positioned, with gates and heavy scaffolding. Lack those, sad oversight, regrettable. However, durable rocks may substitute, if allowable due to Darmani's ability to move. Not unethical, unconventional."

"So, we're gambling on this plan working because Darmani is capable of not only moving and blocking the passages, but also removing and clearing them without issue?" Winter's question was rhetorical. It had to be, must be. It would be insulting to assume otherwise. "I find it a dangerous plan to gamble so much of the success of it on the abilities of a single member of the team, capable as they are."

"Not incorrect, fine logic." Oobleck could agree with Winter's words. She was a Schnee, so likely possessed higher than average IQ given her lineage. Likely reason for her rise in the Military. After obedience. "However, many plans rely upon singular member with specialized skill. Unlikely for additional members of party to have similar skillsets, or efficiency." And truly it was.

Even by looking over his notes from Glynda, he was sure the same applied for Link's kingdom as well, naming their soldiers and knights, pseudo-hunters, after such specializations.

Warriors, Shadows, Mages, and Unknowns. Perhaps the unknown would have some higher benefit, as they would be able to operate in ways not easily understood.

"You're both actin' like I'm the one whose gonna be able ta lift and push some boulders!" Darmani bellowed, his rather prodigious gut pushing forward. Oobleck was no fool when it came to anatomy. He was aware of the implications of such mass. Admittedly, he understood little of Goron physiology. "I may get the muscles and stones ta lift and through tha' mountain if I need ta, but brother, you gotta be chewing on granite if ya thinkin' I'm gonna push the pebbles outta the way!"

His massive hand waved forward and Oobleck understood his meaning rather quickly. And it was a fine point.

The five students who had accompanied them, Penny Polendina, Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Cardin Winchester, and Sky Lark.

Ah, Oobleck had almost forgotten about them. Odd, as their facial expressions were those that he tended to enjoy memorizing. It was so refreshing seeing expressions overcome with the shock of knowledge being thrust upon them. Far superior to the dull and overdrawn expressions of melancholy and depression that purveyed his classroom, usually, typically. The issue of early classes with students preferring late nights, unfortunately.

"Us?" Jaune asked. A fine lad with a fine question, though perhaps over simplified. "Us, as in, we? I mean… you're asking if we are going to, sort of, rip _stone_ out of the wall?" A bit more specific, but overly so in the wrong direction.

"Nope!" The ring from Tatl came next, followed by the fairy taking her usual action of flittering about the boy before she spoke, scolded actually, though by some measures instructed. "For the argue-with-this-and-I'll-laugh-at-you-reason of we just can't trust a bunch of kids with ripping supports out of the wall and risking a cave in." Scolding now, with a bit of mocking. Average Tatl.

"Not you or anyone else, actually," Tael added in. Calmer, as per usual. "The Gorons, l-like Darmani, are the smiths and diggers of Hyrule. It's… It's in their blood, like the stories so. Or… whatever Gorons have instead of blood…" Ah, not even the fairy knew. That was intriguing, interesting, and mildly perplexing.

"Magma, it's magma Tael." It was _WHAT!?_ "Anyways, he's not wrong, about-"

" _Pause! Refrain from continuing!_ " Oobleck held up his hand as he quickly dug for his Scroll and pen. He would need to document _everything_ from here on, no longer merely notes. "You are accurate, effectively so, to say that Darmani has molten metal ores for blood?!" The fairies and Goron were staring at him, stunned. A typical and understandable reaction, but his questions _required_ answers.

"Uh… yeah, kinda there thing." Oobleck was incorrect, exhilarated did not accurately cover the emotion he was feeling. "I mean, you're not seriously gonna be thinking that he's got blood in his stone, right?"

"We Gorons don't joke when we say we're feelin' like we're on fire!" Darmani laughed, _joked even_ , at the revelation that he had, the singular most _destructive liquid pumping through his appendages!_ "'Swhy we live up in the mountains, and hate the cold. Gotta get that heat back up somehow, right?"

"Unfathomable! Extraordinary!" Oobleck yelled again. "The amount of external heat required to maintain the internal temperature of a molten body _immense_. Requires constant heat capable normally of melting steel, recycling entire Atlesian Army Drones, possibly causing flash over of nearby combustible elements!"

The questions were so immense, so numerous, so _in need_ of answers! The very idea of not asking at least some would be… catastrophic!

"Implies that rocky exterior bellies an _extremely insulator_ element capable of withstanding high temperatures of magma. Low heat coefficient, _superb_ durability. Possible new element? Yes! Indeed! Does this imply the likelihood of original home being near molten core? Likely so! Cannot annul the knowledge of heat energy collected within body structure may be capable of powering entire dust engines. _Pause!_ Cannot _ignore_ the _internal organ_ associated with maintaining motion and heat exchange of magma!"

Someone was likely talking to him, but unless it was one of the fairies, or the Goron himself, it was inconsequential.

Hold a moment? The Goron!

"Darmani!" The muscular and _highly curious_ faunus looked at him with the small-to-frame eyes. Possibly linked to extreme temperatures housed within his body? Possible, as it would account for lowering the heat exchange. "Are your people common to indulge in any liquids or substances that are deemed hazardous to health, aside from rocks and other similar items?" Rocks were curious, but not so much as the _magma circulatory system_.

"Heh, yeah, gotta a few things yer kind of people wouldda run from." His grin was broad and proud and _magnificent!_ Truly anything or anyone so wonderous deserved to be proud! "I got one thing. Best thing I can think off, after tha' _gut fillin'_ gift that's a rock sirloin." Impossible to combine words used to describe something Oobleck definitely wished to experience, no matter the pain involved! "Probably haf ta be the lava juice. Great stuff, really fills ya right up!"

The Goron _slapped his gut_ as he spoke. Oobleck knew _nothing_ of Goron biology now, though suspicions were immense! Was the size of his belly and by extension gut, related to the ability to intake something such as magma? Very likely! Reduction of pressure to ease _some_ of the intensity of the molten material.

" _Wonderous!_ So how then-"

_CLAP-CLAP_

A clap of hands from beside him interrupted his speech, rudely. He turned too look at Winter, her own eyes drawn beneath the obstructive bang that was her hair.

"You're off topic." Oobleck could not keep the displeasured look from being directed at Winter. Inappropriate, perhaps, but she was as well. Who would ever wish of stifling information as rare and grand as this? "We need to focus on the task at hand, that being the exploration of the mine. So, coming back to you Jaune, I believe what the mini-drones are meaning to say-"

"Fairies!" Oobleck cheered Tatl's high ring.

" _They_ are saying that Darmani will handle the removing and use of the boulders, as he has an innate ability to know the support rocks and the… let's call them decorative stones. Is it understand." She stood above the boy with arms crossed, both Pyrrha and Penny looking up at her. Perhaps she enjoyed the position, Oobleck mused. Authority, power, corruption. Two out of three.

"W-Well yeah, I got that, but… then what are we for?" His arms spread out as he asked. "I know we can do a lot, really, but… this seems a little outside our field."

"Jaune's right," Pyrrha spoke. A loyal partner, through and through. It appeared not to be any different between the field and Beacon. A good sign of a strong partnership. "Most of our skills are related to fighting, or protecting camp. This is… not something we can typically do."

"What? Gonna have a hard time pushing rocks?" Mocking now. The ring of Tatl was mocking now. "Hate to break it to you, but you're gonna be doing a _lot_ of stuff like this on the job of exploring. If anything, this is cake in comparison." Harsh, very much so. Yet true, equally so. Oobleck would have words of her behavior later.

How odd it was, being on the other side of such a statement.

"What we _mean_ is… we are not sure what you are expecting us to do. Hold the rocks in place?" Pyrrha continued. She held herself back well. "That's possible but, wouldn't the act of pushing them in place be a dangerous action as well?"

"If ya were doin' it blind, then ya!" Darmani took over! Oobleck held out hope he would talk more of his vastly alien and _enthralling_ physiology. "But I ain't gonna throw ya a bomb flower and say ta light it. I'm just gonna need yer help with puttin' them in not only carefully, but also _keepin'_ them in place. Least fer the short term." Ah, not as enthralling, but still fine knowledge.

"Many hands make light work." Tael rang lowly as he used the phrase, an apt one at that, rather casually. Humility against his sister's arrogance. Curious, but not so much as _Darmani's physique!_ "Just… Darmani can do a lot, but it helps to have more people there, right?

"Aaaafirmative!" Penny Polendina yelled out, jumping lightly with her words. A good girl, excellent transfer from Atlas. A fine move on Ozpin's part, and perhaps Ironwood's if he was involved. Likely possibility. "I understand and endorse this plan! I know I will be able to contribute _immensely!_ I am action ready and ready to go!"

"You got it that fast?" Tatl, floating around the red-haired girl. Her ringing was carrying the same level of disbelief that appeared prevalent on the faces of the others around the fire. Unfortunate, but not unexpected. "You wanna tell your friends then? Cause it sure doesn't look like they got it."

Rude, again. However, looking at Jaune, Pyrrha, Sky, and Cardin, still accurate. An unfortunate combination. Fortunately, Penny nodded her head with great enthusiasm, swinging her head and torso as she spoke.

"We are going to be using the boulders and wall structures available within the mines to cover unexplored and uncleared paths of the mine, in order to protect our flanking positions. We are then tasked with ensuring their position, structure, and ensuring any possible threats are dealt with. Accounting for Goron Hero Darmani's ability to move and digest rock, that is a 93.2% logical plan!" Her intelligence was something Oobleck wished many of his students shared.

"Wait, hold on, this makes sense to you?" Such as the boy next to her.

Cardin Winchester, sub-average intelligence possessing above average physique. A fine soldier, a poor leader, though only by Oobleck's personal knowledge of the boy. Such knowledge that came from observing the boy in and out of his class.

Such as his behavior of crudely leaning over the much smaller girl, leering at her in a fashion that did not befit a future Hunter. Not a proper one at least.

"Of course! Is there something you do not understand friend Cardin?" She was not perturbed by the boy, however. An excellent quality as well. Though it may be related to their nearness as of late. Possible, though not guaranteed. "It sounds to be a very specific order of operations in regards to the procedure to follow."

"That, I got," he pointed at her as she spoke. His hand was quick to swing back towards Darmani. Truly no respect for elders or betters. A pity, thoroughly. "I wondering why you're not asking questions about the fact that this'll _literally_ have us splitting up inside the mine. Isn't that like the first thing we were told not to do?" Oobleck was impressed to hear the question. It was a fine one to ask, even if directed poorly and phrased even worse.

"Actually, the first messages we were given related to the Monument village and the surrounding areas." Again, she was correct, though Cardin was not satisfied with the response, given by his grunt. Oobleck, hid his smile. How odd to be slightly elated at a student's discomfort. Perhaps it was karma for the boy. "But if this is related to that phrase you implied before, that being related to the rule having great weight or importance, then yes, I do agree. We were instructed to not be separated within the mine itself." And that they were.

"You don't need ta worry 'bout that, cause let me tall ya somethin', brother!" Darmani spoke up, having no need to be embarrassed by his actions. If anything, Oobleck was _enthralled_ with the idea that his fiery attitude and jubilation was related to the high temperature of his pseudo-circulatory system. Would relate well to the terminology of cold blooded. "Ya'll are _gonna_ stay in yer pairs, cause while one of you is holdin' the boulders steady, the other's gonna be watchin' your back! Can't have us thinkin' a bunch of fresh-cracked pebbles are gonna know how ta feel the threats in a mine, can we?" Oobleck was not aware how to himself.

"So… yeah," Tatl took over for Darmani. Disappointing, but expected. "Gibberish translated, you're going to be staying in pairs at minimum, but going in groups. The boulders are going to be put in place, and one of you is going to be holding it there, but someone _else_ is going to watch their back and the other tunnels. Make sense?"

"It does," Winter admitted with a nod. Oobleck could not stop the thought that perhaps she had some form of coolant for blood. That was unlikely. "Though it does mean there are only so many paths we can take before we will need to retreat, or else we would have to risk leaving some pathways open in place of others." But a fine point she did make.

"Eh, shouldn't be too much trouble," Darmani responded with a roll of his shoulder. The idea of _magma_ bursting from it was too keen an idea for Oobleck to ignore. He jotted it down. "Can' be tha' many paths. Couldn't even find one tha' first time down, there did we?" Given his focus on the alien faunus, Oobleck had no issue noticing attention was being given to him.

"Oh? Yes! Quite right, very true. Few paths before, exploration long. Unlikely to find further paths than listed… than documented…" And another thought came to his mind, one strong enough to push past the amazement that was the magma blood of the Goron.

But it was just a stray thought, something to ponder later. Unrelated to the current discussion.

"Good enough for me," Jaune Arc agreed. A bright boy, slow, but bright. "Guess that means were going to be paired up then with strength and skill, er… someone strong and someone… fighting strong?" Such a good boy at demonstrating both his strength and weakness in a single sentence.

"Got it one!" Darmani cheered, raising a large fist into the air. Oobleck wondered if it was hot enough to melt steel. It could certainly bend it. "Penny over here was the one who gave me the idea in tha first place! Had ta think of which of you were 'sturdy', cause yer gonna be the ones holding the boulders in place!"

"Guess that means me then." Cardin's voice was mirthful as he spoke. Understandable, as he was correct. Aside from Darmani, perhaps the most physically strong of the group. "Cause you know I-Whoa _HUH!?_ " The second reaction was equally as understandable.

As Penny Polendina was lifting him into the air with a single hand.

"Aaaaand _me!_ " She cheered, standing up while holding the boy that was assumingly thrice her weight. Truly a grand girl. "Because, as you instructed friend Cardin, I do indeed _lift!_ " And even a sense of humor.

"Gahahahahah!" One that Darmani seemed to share. "I knew ya were a strong one!" The Goron cheered, even as his off-ratio legs carried him to the boy and girl, being carried respectively. "But ya shouldda know better than ta start showin' off yer strength in front of a Goron!" Oobleck was immensely curious as to why.

"Hey! _HEY!_ Let me down!" Cardin appeared to be yelling from his lifted position, even as Darmani approached. "Seriously! I'm _way_ too old for this ta be- _GHAAA!_ " And thrice now, his reaction was understandable. It was Penny's silence that was confusing.

Namely as Darmani lifted the pair of them off the ground with a single hand of his own.

It was truly just that. The Goron Hero Darmani was lifting both the largest student Beacon had following Yatsu and a transfer from Atlas with a single hand. It was not being strengthened by any Aura, semblance, or external tool. It was simply pure strength. Pure stone-like arms lifting nearly 400 lbs without so much as a measurable level of exertion. That was assuming only 120lbs for Penny. It could be more, but that would be rude to assume.

She was, however, the only one silent at the moment.

" _GAHAHAHA!_ What do ya think of this?" Darmani asked, his massive jaw pulled into an equally sized grin. "I could throw ya cross tha town and straight into the mine!" Perhaps not the best course of action.

"No! _Don't!_ Just put me _down!_ " Cardin continued to yell, no far higher than he was before. Not a dangerous hide, mind, but certainly unnerving. The poor lad, though not really.

Cardin was left with restrained thrashing from his position above two individuals, each holding him as if he were a pebble. Curious metaphor given his large stature. However, it was fun to see him in such a state, even if Oobleck's professional pride forbade him from expressing such outwardly. Unbecoming of a man of higher education.

Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos, however, did not stifle their giggles. It was rather obvious they were enjoying the sight.

"Too high up for ya?" Darmani was mocking, likely, the boy. No, not that. He was being too jovial. It was banter, though to a terrified student. Perhaps it was the magma blood speaking again. "Yer talkin' a lot more than the gal between us!" Another observable truth, but poorly phrased, fact.

"I'm gonna _crush_ her at this rate! Just… _Just put me the fu-_ " Quite thankfully, the boy spoke no further than that.

As he was dropped, rather unceremoniously, back to the ground.

The boy was quick to right himself, even brushing off his back as he hit. His glare was fierce, a sure sign of his statue and training coming through, but little more than that. He was physically unharmed as it was. Penny, however, was odder.

She landed on her feet, true, and she did not look any more perturbed than Cardin, also a fact. Yet, she had her head spinning, lightly in circles, as if trying to right something in her head. A similar sight when giving heavy information to students, usually regarding the migratory patterns of wild life against Grimm activities.

However, it appeared to be little more than temporary, beneath concern.

"What the heck was that!?" Cardin yelled now. Worth much more attention Penny's unassuming behavior. "Lifting me up like a freaking rock and tossin' me around. What the _hell_ were you thinking?" Likely more than Cardin was, seeing as he was yelling at a faunus who taught him in class. Rage had such odd ways of dulling one's actions from reasonable to unwarranted.

"Jus' given' ya a 'pick me up' is all." The broad grin on the Goron somehow deepened, matched by the chuckles from Jaune and Pyrrha. Sky appeared to be the only student keeping a straight face, if more worried than anything else. Loyal, if lazy. "Looks like you were built for it an' all, given' an old hero a good workout." Banter, it was most assuredly banter now. Unfortunately, it didn't appear that Cardin understood that. The poor boy.

" _I'm_ built for it? So, we're just gonna gloss over the fact that you've got lava for blood and could probably kill us just by _bleeding_ on us?" The question was rudely phrased, though Oobleck did possess a similar level of curiosity for the question. That being monolithic, of course.

"Better, cause I'm ignorin' the fact that ya got out lifted by a gal half yer size!" And the retort was well phrased and delivered, enough to earn the scowl from Cardin, not to mention the good-humored laughter of the group.

However, it was odd to see the look of filtered rage move quickly to Jaune, as he had not said anything. Hardly unknown that they had an antagonistic relationship, but he had said nothing. Most curious, but ultimately a moot point.

"Tch. Whatever," Cardin muttered, turning away from the group. "I'm gonna get some water." A good excuse to leave, needed on both accounts.

"Do bring two buckets if possible," Oobleck instructed his student. "Necessary for tool cleaning in the morning. Maintenance a priority before we explore again." The boy did not answer him, but he did carry a pair of buckets as he did so. Good following of instruction then. A fine improvement.

The boy was scarcely out of sight before Winter, however, began to speak.

"Was that a just move?" She questioned, looking at Darmani with furrowed brows. Oobleck had perhaps assumed her intentions incorrectly before. Her invasiveness spoke less for observation and more for interrogation. "Manhandling a student like that, for little more reason than he was confident? Your actions clearly were not enjoyed or well-received by him." Darmani, however, was unaffected by the words.

"Bah, he's just gonna have ta cool his head. Shoulda showed me what he could do, 'stead of screamin' his head off." The Goron rolled his shoulders again, neck and all. How fascinating to think that _magma_ was moving through his brain as well. Did Gorons have similar structures such as brains? Questions _had_ to be asked in due time! "Nothin' more than what Gorons do fer fun. Not my fault the boy can't enjoy himself."

"No, perhaps not," Winter relented, thankfully. "Though I dare to say you set a poor example for the other students to follow. You _are_ meant to be an instructor and mentor." Correct, yet incorrect.

"We don't mind," Pyrrha, however, oddly, questionably, was quick to answer. "Sorry, I mean, I don't mind. I don't believe Jaune does either. We understand it was merely playing around, just having good fun."

"Yeah, definitely," Jaune agreed with his partner. Good to see, better to hear. "Don't usually get to see that kind of stuff… professors playing with us that is. Because that was playing around, right?" Hopefully so, but Oobleck was not certain what else it may qualify to be.

"Course it was!" Darmani agreed, thankfully. "Wha'? You thinkin' I'm just gonna be pickin' you up and threatening you? Ha! Hardly! Tha'd mean I was given Penny here a hard time, and I wasn't aiming for that!" He turned to the girl in question, though it took Penny a moment longer than Oobleck suspected was normal to look back at him.

"Oh? Oh! Yes! I agree 100% with your statement!" The girl's jubilation returned quickly. "You merely surprised me, as I had a very low measured chance of you or anyone else being able to lift me in such a way. However, knowledge that you can do so is _stupendous_ to have!" Curious thing to be surprised of, given her stature, but the broad grin of Darmani was prize enough.

"Good ta hear!" The Goron bellowed. "Buuut, I'm thinkin' that' this is a good place la leave it off for the day. Too late ta go back into the mine and not much else ta talk 'bout is there." There wasn't? Nonsense, of course there was!

"Untrue! We can still discuss-" Oobleck was cut off a moment later.

" _ACT_ ually, why don't we talk in private." The Ring of Tatl was one of the few things that Oobleck would admit he would allow himself to be interrupted by. That, and good knowledge, and a lack of coffee… and a great many of other things. "Cause I'm _pretty_ sure those kids are ten steps from collapsing right now." They were? How dreadful.

Though perhaps they weren't not by the way Jaune, Pyrrha, Sky, and especially Penny appeared perplexed by the fairy's own response. Further oddly, Tael and Darmani appeared to agree. Then absurdly oddly, the fairies already began to fly away! Was that a common action in Hyrule then, proposing an end to conversation and assuming all were in agreement? No, couldn't be, shouldn't be.

However, it was far more common for those who wished to speak in private… Ah, that was it. A fine explanation. A good explanation for Darmani's passitivity towards them as well. He understood. Both understood.

"Very well, good idea," Oobleck commended the retreating fairies, turning to join them. "Students, make yourselves busy for tomorrow. Actually, further assignment, decide on role to play in pairings. Supporter or lifter. Teams will be decided tomorrow." It was always a good idea to leave students with work.

Oobleck turned and left the remaining students, looking amongst each other and pointing fingers. They would be judged on their accuracy later. Winter would help, doubtlessly. A good mentor, if instructional. Darmani the same, though perhaps too blunt. Very blunt. Unimportant.

For now, it was _far_ more important to learn of what Tatl and Tael wished to discuss. Much more important.

The small excursion to find them was not difficult. Simple with dead silence of Monument village combined with high rings. Light helped, Tatl's especially. The fairies rang as he approached, spinning about a decayed and fire etched wall.

"Very good, here in solitude, alone for now." Oobleck commented. "Solitude unnecessary for my questions, however. Biology questions, or perhaps geology in this case. Speculation only go so far." The fairies bobbed as he spoke, with Tael's wings dipping. Curious, as Oobleck had yet to discern why. It was a frequent action in his presence.

"Your questions aren't why we're looking to talk like this," Tatl spoke up for her brother, circling him to produce the oddly comforting luminescent gray. An enthralling sight. "Actually, it's somethin' you said that got _my_ attention, and I wanna make sure of it." Oh, curiosity on the fairy's part? For a matter unrelated to Beacon or Remnant? Interesting, most interesting.

"Oh, curious of what? Interest in Darmani's physiology? Knowledge of the subterranean exploration of Remnant? Perhaps the varying discipline of students dependent upon physique and mentality?" All were viable curiosities.

"None of that," Tatl, sadly, replied. "Actually, it's about what was brought up about the map." Oh. "You know, how its _not that accurate_." Ah.

A fine curiosity indeed. One Oobleck almost had banished from his mind.

"Yes, that," Oobleck noted as he nodded. That was something worth discussing away from the ears of the curious students. Too many fears and doubts could plague them, inability to maintain self-control. Required secrecy. "An… unfortunate truth."

"So, it really is that way, huh?" Tatl pushed forward. "The map isn't right? It's all messed up?" A gross overstatement.

"Not quite so extreme, hardly so extreme." It was never true that partial information was wholly useless. That was a novice mistake. "I am merely wondering if the paths found are perhaps planned expansions that never came to fruition. Common occurrence in subterranean exploration. Seismology determining the safe exploration paths and markings occurring therefrom."

"Then… are we not sure how accurate that map is?" Tael now, the subtler of two. "I-I get that it's not all there, or too much is there… but how much of it is _true_?" Discrepancies. That was what his curiosity was focused on. Curiosities for how much trust could be put into the map.

"There are discrepancies with the map, correct." It was actual a bit darker than that, more dire, direr. "Paths that I believed we were to cross never seemed to appear, that is to say, they appeared to be nonexistent, undug for the matter. Very odd, with considerations to the map." There was no need to present. Too laborious for a simple conversation.

"Isn't that _kinda_ a bad thing?" Tatl asked him now, wisely, though rhetorical again. Rhetorical questions did no deserve immediate, or accurate answers. So Oobleck merely nodded. "And before you go wining like a lotta the kids at the school, I'm not blaming you. I'm just curious why you're not making a _bigger_ deal out of this?" Her ring had the ring of truth to it. Odd attribution of the cliché saying aside, her question deserved answers.

Especially so with consideration with the previous arrangement of questions for questions and answers for answers.

"I am not overly concerned as this is not something completely out of the realm of possibility when dealing with abandoned and failed settlements. Monument not an outlier. Rather average." For destruction and lack of information. The lack of response or rings from the fairies told they agreed of some of his words, if not all. "I am aware of dangers present with lack of information, very much so. However, I am confident it will have minimal effect."

"Oh, how do you know that?" Tatl's ring came as she floated about him. Her usual habit, unlike her brother. "Got some magic trick you're not sharing?" Magic, hardly. Science was only ever magical in the metaphorical sense.

"Actually, I have faith that Link and his friends are capable of handling anything we find."

Oobleck was not a prideful man, but he did take a bit of egotistical boost from watching the fairy ring wordlessly at his comment. Tael did much the same, floating about his sister.

"Wow, guess… yeah, that works," she admitted. Oobleck was above something as juvenile as sardonic praise, so he settled for only a small nod in appreciation for her admittance. It was satisfactory. "We'll make sure to keep on that as well. Cause, you know, it'll be helpful to map out the _actual_ layout of the place."

"Already started," Oobleck quickly intervened. "Steps measured and distance taken, lacking structural supports, weakness, temperaments, but satisfactory for directional uses. Agreed?" He had yet to produce the map, but he fairy nodded regardless. A fine way to demonstrate trust.

"Satisfies me," she admitted. "It'll do the same for Link. Just need to know where to go and where we've been. Hard to say you've explore the place otherwise, ya know?" Actually, he did. The same way how one could not say they had read a book if they only memorized the cliff notes. Repulsive behavior it was.

"Agreed." Oobleck nodded as he finally tucked his Scroll away. There was much data to analyze from it. "If we are agreed, we shall convene next in the morning, else any other required matters arise." The fairy rang in response, bobbing in the air. Humorously, it was her brother who responded.

"Sounds good, yeah," Tael responded. "Course, we'll probably see you at dinner, and before we go to bed. But… yeah, next time for sure will be before we go back into the mine. Probably at least." Doubtlessly more like.

"Very good," Oobleck spoke. "Then I shall see you then." And he eagerly awaited the trip again. So much more information gain, so much more to learn of Darmani's methods of exploring mines, the mine itself, and the way the two would interact.

That was not to forget that he would be able to study more of the faunus's biology, geology, whichever term best fit the _stupendous_ find that was Darmani. Preparation was needed, however.

Blind questions lead to obvious answers. He needed to prepare the best questions, those that would supply the greatest gain and boon of information. Yes, that was a requirement.

He only needed to prepare. And there was much to prepare for.

He would need to make notes of what Darmani said, how the main expanded, his notes about the mine from a Goron's perspective, the discrepancies and similarities shared with how Remnant miners saw the mine, and then to correlate that with other cultures to determine similarities. Perhaps they would find justification then for the oddities within the mine, both the 'brittleness' described by Darmani and the lack of correlation to his map.

Oobleck would do that, all of that, with only the texts and journals he had collected. It wouldn't take much longer than the usual all-night run. It would be necessary, too.

Anything was to rid himself of the decrepit feeling that this journey was doomed.

* * *

In truth, Winter didn't have much love for Darmani's plan. Not from a sense of duty or ire, hardly. More from an inability to grasp the advantages above the disadvantages.

The purpose was, truly enough, necessary to keep the investigation of the mine otherwise safe and manageable. It would be counter intuitive to all known military tactics to knowingly enter a Grimm holstered mine without means to reduce assaults from the rear, the commonly most vulnerable area of any unit. Blocking the entrances, temporarily made sense.

However, barricades were meant to be temporary things, especially in the cases of when it was desirable to explore the caverns sooner or later. Gates were optimal for such a case, or guarded checkpoints if tools were insufficient. Yet, instead of gates, they were using boulders, no different than the walls around them.

The same boulders that the same 'Goron' had called brittle before during their meaning. Boulders that, apparently were to be drawn from the wall with little to no consequence to the stability of the 'brittle' cavern.

So yes, there was much to question about the validity of the plan. Were it not for the 'Goron's' supposed history and cultural past in mining, it would have been discarded rather quickly. However, the pair of malfunctioning mini-drones and Dr. Oobleck seemed rather keen to listen to the idea.

And Winter was not here to disagree or argue. She was here to observe, assist, and procure anything relevant for the Military.

To assist with the observation, in place of Oobleck, it was Darmani, Penny, Cardin, Pyrrha, and herself entering the mine now. Some distance in now, far enough that the lanterns that Jaune had placed the previous day were all the light they had to observe with now. Not surprising, but certainly unnerving for one who operated best in combat in an open field.

It was a secondary thought, as her boots clicked at the hard stone beneath her feet, the same sound echoing through the cavern the same as the others, but she would need to be careful if anther Grimm or Lolith attacked. Her blade would not be able to swing the full distance of the cavern walls, and her Glyphs would be nearly catastrophic for the stated instability of the mine.

Precision over power, as it were. If the enemies were the spider Grimm, then she only needed to prioritize their undersides, the only pieces of them not contained and wrapped around by their thick alabaster exoskeleton. She did not have the endurance of the 'Goron' to, as she recalled Dr. Oobleck describing, enduring a bite from one then crushing it with his bare hand.

Impressive, doubtlessly, but beyond her own abilities, depending far more on speed and grace.

That power, however, was necessary. Necessary enough to bring the Cardin boy with them as well, likely the second or third strongest member of their group, after Penny. However, unlike the Military Android, lacking the brains that went with his muscles. His strength was likely his only major benefit.

"Weird." Winter perked at the voice, far louder now in an elongated cavern. The ring of the drone was unmistakable. "Thought we'd reach one of the other paths by now." Ah, a reasonable concern.

"Hmm, I agree," Darmani added, his rocky back at the front of the group almost being mistakable for a wall they were about to run into. Except, and odd to comment next to describing stone, there was more color to him, even under the soft light of the burning Dust. "It's a bad way ta dig a mine, keepin' all the major tunnels deeper in. Corin' out the mountain ain't the best way ta dig, just the laziest." Winter was sure that was not the drone's point.

"I believe she is referring to the map that Dr. Oobleck discussed with us earlier," Winter pointed from the rear of the group. She ignored the students turning their heads to her. They were listening, and nothing more. "And I agree, even with reasonable error for drawing a map, there should have been a side passage by now."

"Could it have gotten filled?" Cardin asked, demonstrating to Winter his lack of knowledge. "Like, a cave in or something like that?"

"Not unless you see a dozen other boulders blocking _this_ path." That bright mini-drone rang as she flittered through the air. "It's too clean for there to be a cave in of any kind. Walls are too solid, too. No rocks piled on one another. Just solid stone."

"Brittle stone, but she's right," Darmani added on. "Ain't a cave-in in here yet, not fer a lack of tryin'." A lack on who's part, Winter wanted to ask, but held her tongue. A snipe such as that in front of the students would be unbecoming of Atlesian Military. "Still, gotta be somethin' up a head. Can feel it up my back." Dr. Oobleck would have curiosities about such a phenomenon.

Winter had none.

"There must be at least a 59% chance of there being another entrance within twenty meters," Penny added on, her voice as falsely jovial as the programming made her to be. Dr. Zepp did a wonderful job with her. "I suspect that the low visibility of the mine, combined with the tight corridors, has made visuals of the entrances harder to determine within otherwise reasonable distances."

"Uh… yes, that makes sense," Pyrrha politely added on. "So… we should be there soon?" Her nerves were obvious, though Winter did not fault the Mistral Champion. This was her first official mission according to General Ironwood's records. It made sense she would be on edge.

"Yup!" Darmani cheered. "In fact, it's right here!" Winter blinked as she focused on him.

But she couldn't see anything, not with how dim it was. She scoffed, sure that the Goron was playing some juvenile prank befitting his manner of speaking. Even the children in front of her seemed unconvinced of him.

How would he even be able to see an entrance in the dark cavern? With how low the light level was an the general constriction of his small eyes, the amount of light needed to be able to see would be too minimal for him. Her eyes were dilated to their fullest and the mine shaft was only hardly being able to be made out.

"Can't see anythin' can ya?" Perhaps he had noticed their lack of belief towards his lie. "Ha! None of ya got the eyes fer the mines. Welp, gotta fix that. Pyrrha! Cardin!" His voice boomed _painfully_ as he called the children like soldiers.

The general tightness of the hall they walked through, and the way his voice echoed, did _nothing_ to help. Even the mini-drones shook in pain.

However, like fine students willing to learn, the pair of Ms. Nikos and Mr. Winchester came forward, holding the necessary items. The lanterns for wall mounting and spare Fire Dust for igniting. The Cardin boy walked up next to the Goron, fitting the hole of the lantern in place easily. Only a moment later did Pyrrha place the Fire Dust within, flicking her fingers to ignite the purified Dust.

And the lamination showed exactly what Winter _didn't_ expect to see.

Another dark cavern hall, perpendicular to their own.

"Whoa!" Cardin let out, perhaps louder than needed. "Geez, that just popped right out!" She couldn't fault the boy, at least for the reason for his surprise. Not when she had experienced much the same. It was just her fortune that put her in the rear of the group.

The entrance itself, the shock of the appearance of it now gone, was rather unassuming. Slightly larger than Darmani himself, appearing to be chiseled out of the central path, supported by standard I-Beams along its width, though showing the signs of age and neglect. It was all just there.

That, and the Goron standing proudly beside it with hands on his hips and wide smile on his face. Over all visage and appearance aside, his personality was simply too similar to that of a drunken bird for her taste.

She was sure if said avian was here, flitty as he was, he'd make a quick friendship.

"Mine's gotta habit of doin' that to ya. Don't know where ya goin', yer gonna get spooked by the clearest things." Clear how, Winter once more wanted to ask. She bit her cheek, as the 'Goron' _had_ pointed it out to her. It was not his fault she doubted him. "That bein' said, can't be wastin' time in a mine like this. Gotta keep movin' if we're on a time scale." And once more, he was correct. Enough so that Winter suspected it was his better half speaking, the 'Hylian' faunus she had yet to hear this trip.

Winter watched as the Goron turned from them, gripping a piece of the wall opposite the shaft. No… that wasn't entirely correct. It wasn't directly across, perhaps a few meters further in. It made sense from statics, not taking a part of the support that created the arch, anymore than already necessary.

_BOOM!_

What didn't make sense was the was the ease with which he ripped the boulder from the wall. And it was, indeed a boulder.

Winter threw her hands up to keep the dust from the stone from entering her lungs. An action that was mimicked by all except the Military Android. Though Cardin and Pyrrha let out more vocal cries of protest than she did, the boy more than the girl. The absolute volume of the boulder being freed did not help.

Though, as it was quickly apparent the boulder was, very much, just that. A boulder. A giant hunk of stone being held barely off the ground by the 'Goron' and yet nearly scrapping the walls and ceiling above them. No matter the brittleness of the stone that the Darmani spoke of, the boulder would do more than simply 'harm' them if it was dropped.

_Boom!_

Instead, it was slammed into the open cavern.

The boom was much duller now, though still with plenty of volume to speak of, accompanied by a rush of air. Little dust was kicked up, giving Winter a perfect view of the 'Goron's' overly sized arms holding the boulder in place, fingers digging into the stone like drills with carbide tips. The grin on his face was as apparent as that under the lamination of the Fire Dust lantern.

Pebbles and crushed stone felt to the floor as he removed his hands, fingers of hard stone unmarred by the act he had done. It was impressive, if not a bit disturbing.

This 'Goron' truly was a fearsome creature, warrior or not. It made sense he had his pride.

"Ha! Told ya it wouldn't be an issue." The pride in his voice was as palpable as the dust his actions had kicked into the air. "Never doubt a brother when he says he's gonna get somethin' done!"

"Ya ya, you did good again Darmani," Tatl rang out, the golden mini-drone flittering about. It didn't take Winter long to realize her extra rings were coming from her shaking, shaking the dust off of her body. It must have made it hard to keep flight, as even a minor amount of dust could be detrimental to an engine of that size. "Now can we hurry it up? This place feels off and I wanna hurry up and find that fountain." It felt odd to her?

"You're not wrong, as per usual," Darmani spoke with a tongue that was different from usual. Likely Link again. "Hey, Cardin! Come over here and put yer back on the boulder!" The large stony hand of the Goron pointed from the tallest member of their group to the boulder he had placed.

"What?" The boy's confusion was genuine and understandable. "You want me to… just lean on it?" It was less than what Winter was expecting as well.

"Not lean on it, _feel_ it!" Winter still didn't get it. The rings from the mini-drones may have meant they were explaining things to the boy. "I need ya to put as much of yer body on it as ya can, so ya can feel if somethin' is scrappin' or pushin' on it from the other sides. Gotta keep yer hands free, too. So yer back it is." Ah, that made a bit more sense.

"So, I'm just… feeling out the rock?" Cardin asked again, even as she approached, forcing Penny and Pyrrha to move against the wall to let him pass. He turned as she looked at Darmani, smaller yet doubtlessly stronger than the boy. "Wouldn't it be easier if I just put a hand on it?"

"Depends on what ya think is easier?" Darmani asked, his grin almost feral now under the lander's light. "Feelin' a monster scrappin through the stone with a couple of thin bony digits, or the same thing with the length of yer back on the rock!" The larger the area, the easier it would be to sense a disturbance, in theory.

Cardin rolled his shoulders as he looked at the boulder, perhaps unconvinced himself about how to work it. If he did have doubts on how to lean on a boulder, Winter was much more concerned about him than she originally thought.

But the boy easily settled his back onto the boulder, leaning on it much like Winter imagined any school yard delinquent would. The image suited him almost too well, but that didn't matter in the moment. Not while he was doing as was told. Though the lanterns he was still carrying, perched in his arm, didn't look too comfortable.

"Shouldn't be hard," the boy mumbled from his stance. "So, I'm just gonna stay here then, right? Make sure there's nothin' coming and all that?" That should be the extent of it.

"Yup! That's all!" Darmani, once more, very proudly told the boy, hands on his hips and pushing his gut out. It was only the knowledge that magma was his blood that kept Winter from thinking of him as out of shape. It was hard to call anything that was kept alive through magmas substances as dull. "Jus' hand over the lanterns and we'll be all set, brother." Ah yes, they would need those.

There was something else they needed.

"Best you hand over the Fire Dust to Penny as well." Winter kindly spoke to Pyrrha, the girl looking up at her for a moment before clarity shown on her face. Her quick nod was appreciated, as much as Cardin holding out his arm, holding the collective of the lanterns in them.

Maybe a dozen or so of the long metal poles, all holding the lanterns themselves at the distal ends, being held up under the boy's arm like rolled up mats. It spoke of his strength, if nothing else, as there was easily two to three hundred pounds in his arms.

But the admiration for his strength was squashed when Darmani took hold of the lanterns with a singular hand.

Without any sign of exertion, force, or trouble, the 'Goron' lifted the collective of the rods from Darmani and held them up.

He fit all the lanterns the boy was holding into his fist. Singular fist, not even his arm. They poked out as Winter imagined pine needles would when one grasped a branch from a conifer tree. Long thin, but securely held. In contrast to the already large frame of Cardin needing his entire arm to hold them, it was a heavy contrast.

The jaw-dropped and slowly blinking face of Cardin was evidence enough he didn't think it was that easy, and was either appalled or insulted Darmani did so without effort. Winter was just having a difficult time deciding if Darmani was trying to emasculate the boy, show dominance over him, or was merely as thick as the skin he was supposedly made out of.

The latter made more and more sense.

"And _I_ will _handle_ the Dust!" Penny's usual jubilance as she procured the Fire Dust from Pyrrha was visible and bright as the lantern that slowly burned next to her. The Mistral Champion handed them off with little argument, perhaps motivated by the clear joy on the android's features, false as they were. "Thank you _fully_ for handling these friend Pyrrha!"

"Oh! Um… of course. You're welcome, Penny." Winter sympathized with the girl, if only because few knew how to interact well with Penny Polendina. Winter, herself, was among them. "So then… Cardin and I will wait here for you to return, correct?" The animosity with the boy's name was clear as the snow on a mountain top.

"Yup, just gotta keep watch for us and make sure to keep any Grimm that come running out." Tatl rang as she spiraled around them. "Shouldn't be too hard in a cave. Noises echo and all that." Another true fact, further much so if there were in battle.

"Simple 'nough," the boy gruffly added. It was truly appalling to hear for Winter. Too similar to those who didn't care for their duties.

"Though it is simple, Cardin," she began evenly with the boy. "Be aware that failure to accomplish simple tasks often becomes the reason for complicated endeavors to fall apart. You would do well to remember that while you are here."

"You expecting me to fail?" The boy asked back snidely. His uncaring tone was as obvious as the look of disgust on Pyrrha, though she hid it behind the boy's large shoulder.

Truly now the animosity that Pyrrha and Jaune had for the boy was only so obvious and simple to understand now. As simple as the instructions the large student appeared eager to complain about. However, it was not her place to correct the boy's abhorrent behavior. She was no teacher, let alone an instructor, to newer students.

That same excuse was not available to Link and his friends.

"The girl's got a point, brother." Girl? Winter looked at Darmani as he spoke under the Fire Dust lantern. Good for him to speak up, but detriments to him for labeling her as something so… inexperienced. "If ya think yer gonna be havin' a hard time leanin' on that rock, then let me tell ya something, brother. I'll roll on back ta the camp and get the Jaune boy ta do it. He may be stiff as mud, but he's got a molten core in him 'least."

Winter understood only the bit of terminology that didn't relate to geology and human experience. It was all so quick yet spoken so naturally by a clearly ill natural creature. Her focus came back when the Goron stuck his finger at the boy's chest.

"Yer actin' like y've already lost the boil in your blood. It's like yer actin' like ya don't wanna be here. But brother, if that's the truth, then yer gonna wanna leave fast and quick." Even with eyes the size of Winter's clenched pinky ring, the glare in them was obvious under the harsh Dust light. "Otherwise, put some stone in yer spine and perch yerself up."

When the Goron was finished with his short lecture, he pushed on the boy with his singular, yet thick digit. The force was nearly pushing the Cardin boy _into_ the boulder he leaned on. Strength was clearly the stone creature's 'strength'. She would fine a synonym in her report.

The Cardin boy didn't bite back though, not with words. The glare was harsh and obvious, but who wouldn't after such terms being thrown at him. It was necessary however, necessary as bootcamp to undue the unruliness of the promising youth. Cardin Winchester, whether Winter would acknowledge it or not, had been chosen by Headmaster Ozpin for a reason during the initiation ceremony.

The boy just had to prove himself now.

"… fine," the boy finally muttered. "I'll keep my back on this thing, give a holler like a freakin' wolf if I feel somethin'. That's good, _right?_ " No, it truly wasn't. But it would have to do.

"Good enough for now," Tatl added on, in agreement with Winter's thoughts for once. "Shouldn't be long for us though, not so long as we don't find another tunnel to quickly. Shouldn't be happening with the mine layout the way it is." The map that Dr. Oobleck had spoke otherwise, at least in terms of the branching paths.

However, it was clear there were errors in the document. So, Winter held her tongue, nodding instead as Penny did the same, far more jubilantly than the Specialist cared to repeat. Darmani appeared close behind, or perhaps ahead, of the Android, his grin capable of swallowing a head.

"Ghahah! Good ta hear! Time's a wastin' though, so we'd better get ta rollin'." There was an extra term in there, Winter was sure, but it was still an understandable sentence. "We've got lanterns ta lay an' a mine ta explore. Ain't gonna learn tabout the bounty in this place starin' at the same wall, are we." That one was less understandable.

"I _absolutely_ concur!" Apparently, Penny did, however. Perhaps it was her translation software being put to the task. Dr. Zepp had given her an extensive library of languages and dialects to chose from. "We are _satisfyingly_ prepared to explore the length of Monument Mine!" Her voice echoed as Winter knew it would.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just get going." Tatl called from above them, tiredly almost. The mini-drones had extensive work on their AI, as it was apparent. The mini-drone was already ringing down and away from them, the dark light of her 'brother's' aura following her.

With a cheer, Darmani followed shortly behind them, swinging the pair of his arms even as one held nearly three hundred pounds worth of steel and support. Winter almost expected him to start whistling a tune out of some old fairytale. He had met every other criterion as it was.

The specialist sighed, already tired and thoroughly confused how Dr. Oobleck enjoyed these trips, let alone conversations, with a creature as alien as Darmani. At least Link proper had respect, poise, and civility to his mannerisms. Darmani was a brute who merely knew about objects as thick as his own body. Still, there were other concerns. Namely the pair of students.

"We shouldn't be long," Winter addressed Cardin and Pyrrha, the boy and girl looking at her as she spoke. "If we find another channel, we will need to retreat, as we do not have the party necessary to explore further. Just be ready to fight in closed quarters, preferably without your weapons, to avoid a cave-in."

Winter watched the boy open and shut his mouth, biting back a snide remark, doubtlessly. No such actions were taken on Pyrrha's part.

"Of course, and thank you Ms. Schnee." The Mistral Champion even bowed to her in response. Truly the finest example of what a Hunter could be. She nodded at the girl in passing, sure the boy wouldn't follow suit.

They would be well, as she knew there was little danger behind them. Only the path ahead of them was for concern, but Darmani was a blockade in the mine shaft, if nothing else. They would be well.

"Are you prepared to assist us as well Specialist Winter?" Winter looked down at Penny, even as the android began to walk forward. Winter was not far behind her. "I have high confidence and _stupendous_ amounts of good faith that we will be at least 90% successful with our objectives today. What do you think?"

Winter didn't know what to think as she stared down at the girl, the light of the Fire Dust lantern quickly dimming the further they walked. Her smile didn't seem to wane with the light, an obvious sign of her lack of humanity. Another Android, simply more intelligent, than the drones that accompanied her first landing and the flying obstacles that circled Link and his comrades.

"Hey! Need a light!" Winter looked up to see the barely outlined form of Darmani standing ahead of them, hand raised to the wall as he spoke. Ah, the lantern.

"Present with materials!" Penny returned as she nearly skipped forward, placing one of the Fire Dust gems into the lantern proper, sparking it to life with her faux-Aura. A truly marvelous creation of Dr. Zepp. "The lantern is _luminescent_ and _burning!_ " The personality could use some work, as she would note later.

"Hah! That it is, but we've got a way ta go still." Perhaps, perhaps not, but they had a while to explore as well. Winter said none of this, instead continuing to observe. "Just gotta keep at it and we'll be done in no time!" A few hours perhaps, that was Winter's estimation.

The pair of mini-drones twirled about the Goron as he spoke, enjoying the way their master spoke. Penny, however, the object belonging to Atlesian Military, appeared to be mimicking them, as if their behavior was an ideal source for her to act on. It was not.

Even as she followed behind Darmani, and Winter behind her, lighting the lanterns the Goron placed in the halls, Winter knew the android was acting in a way counter-intuitive to her programming. Given a face, a gender, and a personality as well, yet acting as if it were autonomous and independent.

It was not.

Winter was correct. She did not know how to interact with Penny.

She only wished she understood why she felt so neutral about so damning a fact.

* * *

Cardin didn't enjoy many things, he could admit that. And as a consequence of there not being a lot for him to enjoy, there was a lot that could annoy him. Mostly because the things he did like, almost no one else did, at least not a lot. The reverse was just as true.

He enjoyed going to the gym to work on a new workout regimen. Everyone else liked to practice their forms. Forms were what you did when you weren't strong.

He enjoyed pushing his teammates to work harder and never stop working out. Everyone else did their own thing unless it came down to orders. You couldn't be a leader if you didn't take command.

He enjoyed messing with the weak links in the school and around Vale. Everyone else loved to stick up for them. They didn't realize that protecting the weak for the sake of it meant leading them to the slaughter.

It was safe to say that anything that wasn't on that list was something that he didn't enjoy. Case in point, he didn't enjoy waiting around for something to happen, having nothing to do, and having to be quiet as a freaking cemetery because a 'golden girl' was standing right next to him. _Really_ didn't help that he could stand her about as much as the noodle that was her partner, otherwise always attached to her hip.

Or more like pushing on her like a crutch.

Cardin snorted at nothing, turning his head away from the dark cavern wall, glancing at the red-head as he did so. She didn't have to 'lean' on the stone like he did, for some stupid reason. So instead, she was working on that mini-lance of hers. It had a name, stupidly, but he couldn't remember it. Things like that really did matter to him. You don't name tools.

She was working on it though, checking the Dust cartridge, the gears for operation, spinning in through the air, acting like it was all child's play to her. It probably was. The same way how Cardin didn't think much about swinging his mace around like a stick, despite it being modified to hit like a truck.

Who needed precision and balance when you could knock a Grimm out with a solid blow to the head?

His head rolled against the stone he leaned on, still feeling nothing shaking about it. No surprise there. Hell, he'd be surprised if he felt anything at all. Yeah, it was probably like hitting the ground when he was holding his mace, letting the vibration of the impact run up his arm, but there was _no_ way a Grimm was going to start barreling into the stone like it was some sort of hassle for them. That'd be stupid, because Grimm _were_ stupid.

Stupid enough to let themselves get buried alive for years, walk around uninhabited forests for no reason, and lurk in abandoned cities for the hell of it. They were stupid as stupid could get. Only reason they were _any_ kind of threat was because they made up their stupidity with absolutely _stupid_ strength.

Cardin's mind immediately flashed towards the memory of that centaur thing. He shuddered.

"Feel something?" His head shook after his body, looking at Pyrrha as she looked up at him. Her lance was held out in one hand, eyes focused on him. Just the way she was looking at him pissed him off, making him click his tongue.

"No, nothing," he quickly threw back. "Just thinking about that stupid Grimm from the forest." Because even though he _had_ gotten the killing blow on that thing, because he cared more about strength than looking cool, it was still something that was _way_ stronger than he was.

Strong enough to get even an Atlesian Specialist a run for her money. Cardin was good, but he knew better than to throw shade at military types like that. It was the quickest way to get your face beat in and weapon disarmed.

That, or just thrown out of the house for a night.

"Hmm…" the golden girl hummed at him, before turning away and working on her lance again. Pretty obvious she was ignoring him however she could. Pretty _damn_ obvious she was more interested in working on tools than actually having a conversation.

Probably for the best though, because no way through Dust or Grimm was there _anything_ that he wanted to talk to her about. Not some golden girl that had gotten everything she could ever want or need straight out of the crib. Everything from wealth and fame to freaking fighting skills. Every day at the gym and he couldn't even _touch_ her. So, no, conversation was a bust.

Still, it pissed him off. Stuck on a spot on the wall in a dark Grimm infested tunnel and he couldn't even talk to someone next to him. What a joke.

"Tch," he clicked his tongue again, folding his arms and twisting his head. He could reach out and pull the small bits of stone that clung to the ceiling. Brittle stuff like that 'Goron' or whatever called it. Really, it was just because it was so damn small, like rubbing sand paper of low grit over wood.

He was strong, no doubt, but watching the Goron freaking _tear_ the boulder out of wall was something else. If it was his Semblance or some crap like that, then he'd understand at least. But it wasn't, at least not obviously.

The freaking stone monster had just straight up torn it out of the wall. Wasn't even a thing that Cardin could relate it to. Breaking stone, fine, whatever, hit it hard enough and it'll shatter. Shaping it, people make a stupid amount of money doing that, more dumb skill other than brute strength. Carrying the stuff, maybe just, seeing as stone usually weighed more than steel, cheaper to mine on top of that.

Tearing the boulder out of the wall, carrying it, and then putting it in place of the side-shaft like it was taking care of a light bag of trash. That was just stupid. Stupid _and annoying_.

Seriously. It was the golden girl all over again. Just born perfect for the job. A freaking of monster of stone with literal _lava_ for blood, apparently, and able to handle objects like they didn't weight a thing. Giant boulders of stone didn't slow him down and he packed on that few hundred pounds of steel like it was a weightless dumbbell from the gym.

Just another example of how stupidly unfair it all was.

A guy who hadn't done any training his whole life getting into Beacon and becoming 'popular'. A golden girl with everything she could ever want being treated like a goddess for just doing enough. A freaking faunus with enough 'faces' to be called a serial killer and he was called the next great thing in Remnant. Then an air-head red-head with more brawn than common sense, but brains to make up for both.

And then Cardin, just a guy trying to get through this dumb exercise without breaking down the boulder he was leaning on and hunting the Grimm himself. At least if he did that it would be _close_ to what those fairy-drone things were talking about. Exploring dangerous parts of the world for some lost friend of theirs, like a kid's book.

Instead, he was playing 'watchdog' to a freaking rock. Even worse, he was alone with someone who outright hated him. At least _that_ was a mutual feeling.

… Actually, that was a good question. Cardin knew why he was here, or more like why he was _supposed_ to be here. Fight and hunt Grimm, show off that he had the endurance and strength to do it all. Pyrrha though, the golden girl and little miss perfect, she didn't have that issue. She could fail a test in front of Port and he'd apologize for making it too hard.

The hell was she here for? Fun?

"Why are you here?" Cardin found himself asking. What was supposed to be a mutter was loud as an actual question, no thanks to the damn shaft they were in. Hell, his voice nearly sounded like he was shouting.

"Pardon?" Cardin almost wanted to ignore her, hoping she'd drop the question. A quick glance showed that wasn't going to happen. "You're wondering why I'm… here?" Great, now she was asking dumb questions to.

"Yeah, that," Cardin pointed out shortly. Shouldn't little miss perfect get what he was asking? Sure, as hell wasn't something as stupid as why she's in the damn cave. "Why'd you come here at all. Got something you wanna prove? Tryin' to show off just how great the invincible girl is?" Cause that made sense at least. People who were strong loved to brag. Had to, actually.

"Oh, that," her voice dripped out. Cardin _wished_ he could have just not heard her. But of course, the damn mine shaft was playing against him again. Hell, he'd probably be able to hear freaking professor Oobleck's _thoughts_ at this point. "I'm here because Jaune and I were able to best the Lynel in the Emerald Forest. You do remember, right? I believe you were there." The snarky little…

"Kinda hard to forget dealing the _killing_ blow on that thing," Cardin spoke back with a sneer. No idea how much of it she could see with the lantern. Hopefully enough. He could see her narrow her eyes like she could do anything. "What, you goin' to say you did that?"

"I never take credit for things I have not done," the girl replied smooth as ever. Cardin swore he could hear someone chuckling at him again, just like back in Beacon. "Similarly, I do not undermine the success of others for my own benefit. Or have _you_ forgotten that your killing blow was only viable after Jaune, your partner, and I were able to hold it down." Cardin's sneer grew.

"Never forget that, especially with how much _Sky_ helped out." Because no way was Pyrrha going to talk about his team like they were less than her own. Especially Sky, probably the best damn lancer in the school. "I'm just makin' sure that you don't forget we wouldn't be here if it weren't for me _and_ my partner."

"Of course," the golden girl replied with a tone that Cardin just _loathed_. "That is the only reason, I am sure." Of all the stuck up…

What the hell was going on with this girl? Was she really so perfect that she could just _act_ high and mighty now that the teachers were gone? Or was she throwing away that little-miss-perfect schtick now that it was just them and no faker of a teammate to impress? Cardin didn't get it, and he hated that, a lot. But first…

"Still didn't answer my question." Cardin pushed on again. This time, he kept his eyes on her, watching as they narrowed at him. He made sure his back was up against the 'wall' still. "You gonna answer me, or are ya going to act like that wimp of a leader of yours and wait for someone to save you?" At least she scowled now.

Cardin could enjoy _that_.

She didn't answer him though, not quickly. She looked like one of those punks that was trying to think of something damning to say to him, probably to get him to either shut up or lash out. And of course, she'd try that, because with someone as fake as Jaune as her partner, there's no way she wouldn't.

"I came to Beacon to try and escape the 'fame' that came with my successes." Cardin snorted at the answer. Fake as her partner, for sure. "But, I am _here_ in this mine because I wish to help my friend. Because I believe that if I can help someone without expecting a reward, I can make myself a better hunter for it." Now that didn't make sense.

"You're coming here to try and prove yourself to be someone kind of saint?" That just sounded stupid to say out loud. And hey, Pyrrha's scowl deepened. At least she knew how stupid it sounded at least. That was a plus he could get behind.

"No," was the short answer. "I'm here to prove I can be a friend, to someone who doesn't have many." Still about as lame an answer as you could get. Cardin could only shake his head at how dumb it really was. "That leaves me to only ask why _you_ are here, Cardin Winchester." Oh, his full name, she must be serious.

"We talking about Beacon or the mine?" Cardin mimicked her question with a grin of his own. Nothing better than seeing the self-righteous and self-proclaimed perfect being beaten down. He shifted his back on the boulder, making sure he hadn't gotten off of it. "Cause I'm just here ta show I can be the best damn hunter out there, to both answers." And that was the truth of it.

He was going to beat the crap out of Grimm that came out him and beat down ever student that tried to take him. Cardin knew he could show off how hard he had worked, how far he had climbed, by just doing more than anyone else. Study the dumb lesson sin class, work out at the gym six times a week, lift more than anyone else, hit harder, last longer, anything to show that he was as far from the bottom as possible. That was all he needed to be.

"That's a lie." Cardin's grin fell at the accusation.

"What?" He asked thinly in return. He was sure the Fire Dust lantern was doing his look no favors.

"That's a lie," Pyrrha repeated again, eyes as hot as the Dust. "You may have come here due to some special circumstance of slaying the centaur beast, but it doesn't take a careful eye to see that you're on thin ice at Beacon. Everyone knows it, from the upper classman to even other freshman. You've been in trouble since day one."

Cardin felt his knuckles tighten, teeth gritting at the words. The hell did she knew about being in trouble? He was just struggling to get a chance to prove himself, and this was it! Now she was saying it was all his fault somehow?

"You're a bully to upperclassman for the fun of it, you blackmail your peers to get out of work, you cut corners to make up for time, and then you blame everyone but yourself for the shortcomings that come from it." His back left the boulder, letting him tower over the girl.

"Watch it," he spoke carefully, pointing a finger at the _bitch_. "You don't know what you're talking about, and you're only going to look like an idiot if you keep guessing as you flap your lips." Maybe they should just be held shut…

"Why else do you think Link took such a hard focus on you." She kept talking, and Cardin kept listening, trying to think of the best way to get her to _shut up_. Because he hated _every word she said_. "Giving you extra work, having Penny shadow you, calling on you in class as often as he has." She wasn't paying attention then!

"Case you were in lala land with your boytoy, I was _answering_ all those questions right! That Jaune faker of yours couldn't even do that." And he had at least _three_ times to pull from. "What, you gonna say that Jaune's being tested next to for it?"

"Was Jaune thrown across the front garden by Impa?" Cardin's nostrils flared. "Everyone knows what happened. I don't know who saw it first, but it was obvious that Impa had demonstrated a superior method of fighting to you, outside of the ring. Many would call it disciplinary, as I would." Of course, she would!

But she still only got half the story!

"And I would've taken _her_ to town if I had my freaking mace with me!" Yeah, that was all he needed back then! And hell, Pyrrha had to realize how much of a handicap it was to fight without it.

"I don't believe Impa had hers either." Cardin's teeth almost cracked with how hardly flexed his jaw was. "More than that, she approached you and allowed you to swing first. She was purely reactive to you, and you still lost." Her hand flicked as she talked.

"Shut up." Cardin growled out. He hated _everything_ she said. But she just kept talking!

"You are trying to intimidate everyone around you, and when you fail, you still don't have anyone to blame but yourself. You'll _act_ like you've learned something. You'll _pretend_ that you're different. But yo won't be. So, you're not here to try and make yourself the best or prove anything. You just want to succeed at something."

"I said _shut up!_ " Cardin finally yelled out, pulling back and swinging his arm.

And out, with a heavy shink of extending metal, came his mace. The heavy explosive weaponry self-designed and built to last through explosives, heavy impacts, and high torque environments without any issue. The absolute strongest weapon there was, that could be held.

"Wait, Cardin." And hey, the _bitch_ looked terrified. _Good_. "Cardin, we're still inside the mine shaft, the _unstable_ mine shaft. You can't wave your weapon around in here like that." He couldn't? Why? Was she trying to say that she could decide what he could and couldn't do?

"Why not? You think you're better than me? Get to take out your lance like it belongs here?" Her eyes flicked to her spear and back, but she kept her focus on him. Even _better_. "Got nothin' to say!?"

"You're over reacting," she kept trying to placate him, now that she knew she was _wrong_. "Cardin, calm down before the others return or-" Others? Like everyone else who acted better than him, and kept having to prove it _on_ him? Did she think he cared?!

"You think I care?!" He finally yelled at little miss perfect, swinging his mace out.

Cardin felt his mace impact something. He felt his rage die as quickly as the impact.

_BANG!_

He dropped the mace as he felt the usual vibrations of the explosion from the modified dust letting loose. The same explosion that was able to tear up concrete, tear down aura, and make a mess out of anything it hit. And it had just gone off inside the _unstable mine shaft_.

Cardin took a step away, twisting to get ready for whatever was about to happen.

But he didn't see a cave-in happening. He didn't even see any loose rock being thrown about, around, or falling down from the shaft. The only thing he saw was his mace hanging in the air, the head of it being gripped in a massive stone hand, completely encompassing the material.

A stone hand that had smoke billowing out of it, the remnants of his explosive round going off, and barely covering the narrowed gaze of the massive head behind it. It didn't take Cardin long to see the scowl either, a frown large enough to fit his head in.

Somehow, it felt worse than actually seeing a cave in.

"Boy," the Goron apparently _growled_ out. "Didn't I tell ya 'nough 'bout keepin' the explosions down? Callin' the walls brittle roll over yer head?" Cardin swallowed on nothing, watching as Darmani dropped his mace from his hand, still smoking.

Smoking enough that it hit the cavern floor with a heavy thunk, tearing up some of the stone as it hit. Cardin couldn't even look at it, not with the freaking rock monster staring and _snarling_ at him. Couldn't even forget now that the thing had magma for blood. And right now, his face looked hot enough to believe it.

"I-I… I didn't mean to turn it on…" And he really didn't. But that didn't matter, and Cardin hated that it didn't mean anything anymore.

"I get yer a hot-headed boy. Lotta fresh stones are like that, lookin' fer their first cave ta dig or mountain ta climb. Ain't nothin' new here or in Hyrule." His fists were clenched, Cardin realized. His own, and the giant fists of the Goron. "But let me tell ya somethin' brother. If ya think that throwin' around explosives like that is a fine thing ta do, then ya got a thicker skull than I do _fists_!" And that wasn't a growl, it was damn near a roar.

Cardin shook at the voice, staring at the Goron. It was smaller than him, shorter than him, but that didn't matter. In the mine shaft, it looked like freaking _monster_ ready to tear him apart.

Didn't help that Penny and Winter were behind the thing, watching Cardin with weird looks. Didn't help that the fairy things were ringing far off and away down the cavern. Didn't help that he had no defense. Because it didn't help he had swung his mace, ready to explode, and was stopped only because the Goron was apparently stronger than steel. Strong enough to tank an _enclosed_ explosion from his mace.

It would have been something that pissed him off even more, if he wasn't already so terrified he had screwed up in the worst of ways.

"It's… It ain't that simple," he flutily tried to argue back. He could almost _hear_ Pyrrha scoff at his words. "I wasn't gonna-"

"Even if ya weren't _tryin'_ ta, you still _did!_ " Cardin grit his teeth, gnashing them almost hard enough to make his gums bleeds. His eyes burned. "I may keep callin' ya a boy, but I've been 'round 'nough Hylians ta know that you're not some fresh-outta-the-wall pebble lookin' ta see the world! Yer supposed ta be a fighter! Hell, how bought just smarter!" No, that wasn't it!

"I was jus' talking to her-" Cardin didn't have nearly enough time to finish.

"You were 'bout to _attack her!_ " This time, it was undoubtedly a roar.

Cardin stared at the Goron, even as his voice shook the cavern about as much as his own mace had. He could only stare, knees trembling from the vibrations, and hoping to look _anywhere_ but at the freaking monster. He'd take weakness if it meant not being stared at by that thing.

Penny looking sad at him. The Schnee looking lowly at him. The fairies things ringing something he couldn't hear. It was all about the same. All things that he hated.

This was wrong. This was all so _stupidly_ wrong. And Cardin _hated it_.

"If ya can't even admit ta bending the steel 'stead of shaping it, then yer not doin' 'nough ta show yer worth yer weight!" The Goron kept _yelling_ at him. Like his _dad_. Cardin _hated it so much_. Cardin hated it, but he couldn't stop it. "

He looked down at his mace, the thing that could have easily blown the entire mine shaft to hell and buried them all alive. Enough to make their entire work, hell their lives, all for nothing. And all because he had just swung it as carelessly as his first day with the thing. Something he'd thought he'd never do again. But he just had to do it at the absolute _worst possible time_.

Cardin felt his knees slowly give out, sinking until he hit the ground with a careless thud. He didn't care. He hated too much everything else to possibly care about how uncomfortable his knees were. Not his knees.

His respect, his pride as a hunter, his _future_ as a hunter. It had all almost gone up in a freaking careless explosion. Something stopped by the freaking monster of stone that was now exploding at _him_.

And worst of all… he deserved it.

"I'm… I didn't mean to… to do that." He spoke again, the words coming off like freaking _vomit_. Tasted about the same. He _hated_ it. "I'm sorry for… for doing that."

And he hated saying that even more.

The mine shaft was deadly quiet, quiet enough that Cardin almost believed he was dead. At least then he could convince himself that this was all just some horrible test for heaven or hell. At least that would make some more sense than how he had reacted to some petty words from some superfluous have-it-all girl.

But it wasn't. This was reality. A reality where he was being scolded for a reason he damn well couldn't argue against.

It all just sucked, and Cardin hated it.

"Tch." He heard the Goron let out. "Goof first roll, but ya'v got a mountain ta scale after pullin' that kind stunt. Weren't fer me, whole place would be eight feet shorter and nothin' ta show for it." And the worst part was Cardin couldn't' even deny it. "Hey, Pyrrha, was he tryin' ta take down the mine?"

The question threw Cardin for a loop, and he was already on the rocky floor. He turned see the golden girl, looking about as shocked as he felt, thought probably without the verbal beating he'd gotten. She blinked at him, hardly seen under the lantern. She was going to turn him in, wasn't she?

She was going to say something like he was trying to beat her by taking the mine down because he was stronger than her, because that was what people around Jaune Arc did. They lied to get ahead, and if Jaune did it, then it only made sense that Pyrrha would do the same. She was going to snake oil salesman her way out of this, and there was nothing that he could do…

"No… no he didn't." Cardin couldn't believe his ears.

"That so?" He heard the Goron let out, unsure if he'd heard the girl right. She didn't even glance at him. "Just started swingin' like pebble then? No thought to it or plannin' ahead?" That… wasn't it either.

"No, not that either. I'm sorry but… I don't think Cardin or I were in our right minds when he took out his mace." Wait… was she defending him? "We were having a heated argument, one that escalated the further it went on, and we had no reasonable way to defuse it, as we were assigned to be together until your return."

"Oh? So, it's my fault now?" The question from Darmani got Cardin, hard. He even heard Penny let out a gasp and a fairy-thing ring. Maybe he wasn't the only one.

" _N-No!_ I'm sorry if you thought that, but no!" That seemed almost as surprising of an answer. "We only got heated because… because we don't get along well. Usually we keep our distance but… we couldn't this time. So… things came to a head and we both lost our temper. That's all." She really was defending him. How? _Why?_

"All just some big misunderstanding then? Jus' a boulder that was carryin' less weight than it was braggin' 'bout?" Cardin, still on his knees, didn't understand the question. Pyrrha, however thankful Cardin could be for it, did.

"Cardin had no intention of taking down the mine for malicious intent. I'm sure of it."

And that was it. She really had stuck up for him. Even after all that crap he'd thrown at her, and her right back at him. Name-calling, threatening, calling out the lies each other were holding onto, and she had the perfect chance to throw him under the bus and let it drive off, but she didn't take. It Cardin didn't get why.

He didn't get it, and he hated it.

"Ah, what a mess." Cardin looked up at Darmani, finally, for the first time since he got back, looking far less serious than before. "Mine's already got 'nough problems ta keep me rollin' in my sleep, now I gotta deal with this as well."

"I believe that is part of your occupation, Link." The Schnee spoke up from the back. Spoke up and to the other side of Darmani, apparently. The Goron only huffed. Cardin just watched, unsure if he should say or do anything. Didn't feel like he should.

"Not wrong, doesn't mean I have ta like it." The fairies rang with his words. He didn't catch what they said, if anything. "But yeah, gotta discipline ya for sure. Gotta talk to the crazy Gerudo first, make sure he's got the same level as me. First thing though, you ain't comin' back into the mine with yer mace."

Cardin gulped at the idea. Hard. No mace in a Grimm infested territory?

"Wait, hold on, that ain't right." Now it was just confusing torture. "Gonna need yer muscle fer the boulder paths, but that mace has gotta be under watch, especially if yer gonna be as stable as an unrooted tree with it. Probably have someone else hold onto it. Speakin' of."

The Goron leaned down, large hand _digging_ into the stone to grab Cardin's mace. The boy could only stare as his weapon, capable of ripping steel apart and heavy to swing for it, was held in Darmani's hand like a toothpick. Humiliation on top of humiliation.

Cardin hated it.

"We'll be talkin' more once we're outta the mine. Gonna be headin' out now. Follow when ya can." And that was it.

Darmani walked right by him, like Cardin on his knees and weaponless wasn't the most pathetic thing in existence. Cardin sure felt like it. Right down to his _core_. Didn't help when the fairy drones flittered by him, ringing like freaking church bells at a funeral. Didn't help when he heard Pyrrha twist and walk away. Didn't help when the Schnee _sneered_ down at him. None of it helped, and Cardin hated it.

Almost as much as knowing that the only other person in the mine was kneeling in front of him, probably staring at him. He could _feel_ her doing it. And he hated that Penny was probably looking at him like a kicked dog. Like he was _weak_.

"Do you… need assistance friend Ca-" She wasn't his friend.

"Get away from me." He growled out, catching the girl before she could finish.

Maybe she was reaching out to him, maybe she was going to try and do something nice, but that wasn't likely. Not with Cardin. Not after he just screwed up in the worst of ways. No, that wasn't what was going to happen. And Penny finally walking away proved that he had stopped her from doing something that she was going to regret.

At least now… now he was alone. Even if he hated it.

… This wasn't right. None of this was right.

This wasn't how Cardin was supposed to act, and he knew it. But screw just not how he was _supposed_ to act, it wasn't how he _wanted_ to act. He wanted to just yell at the golden girl and get her to admit she was just as messed up as the faker Jaune. He didn't want to swing his mace like that. Hell, he _knew_ better than that.

He knew it was a freaking _horrible_ idea to swing around that thing after he blew out a support column in his dad's house and just about brought the roof down. Cardin remembered having to hold up the freaking _ceiling_ while his dad got a servant to prop it up, two hours later. That was _not_ something he would forget or even liked to remember. He freaking _hated_ it.

He hated it so much that he made sure to _never_ bring out his mace unless he was in a fight, or about to go into one. It was the rule about as golden as little miss perfect and her band of misfits.

But Cardin broke it, himself, over some dumb argument he didn't even _care_ about.

Why the hell was he so… _angry_? **  
**


	20. Monument Mine (Part 4)

When it came down to describing himself, Sky was pretty sure he could be called a laid-back dude.

Sure, lazy popped up from time-to-time depending on the crowd. More than once he'd been called an enabler or something like that, usually because he'd just side with the guy who was strongest in a fight. But that was because there wasn't much point in trying to get in front of a run-away train. Didn't solve much but make you work harder for something you really wouldn't care about later.

Taking it easy though? That was his thing. Doing just enough to pass the class, hitting the scores well enough so he could hit the snooze, making sure that the team flowed well enough together to avoid a fight, that was all he needed. The less he had to fight, the better it would be.

Sure, he'd been called out by a few people about how important it was for Huntsmen to be motivated and all that, but really, Sky just couldn't do it. Heck, he didn't need to. Getting motivated for something that could kill you just didn't' seem right. If he was going to get motivated for something, it'd be something he could actually enjoy. Like a date with that hot chick from prep school, or getting an advance on his allowance. That was okay to get excited about.

Getting pumped up for jumping into the middle of a Grimm infested mine? Nah, didn't hit a high note for him. Good thing for him the new faunus teacher seemed to notice that.

At least, it was the best explanation he had for why after five days of being at this mine he'd yet to actually go into it.

In and out of the long dark and apparently cursed shaft for the past five days, bringing with into it the giant rock monster, the hyper-caffeinated teacher, the Atlas soldier, the ex-student from there, his boss, the wimp, the jock without jack, and a couple of drones that were too bright, loud, and talkative to be worth much else. Seriously, it all made his head spin.

All Sky wanted to do was find a nice place in the ruins of the mining village to see if he could catch some z's. But, apparently, Dr. Oobleck had a pretty harsh rule about going off to explore alone. Sure, it made sense, but that was something he just really didn't care about. He wanted to relax somewhere quiet, and it was pretty obvious any Grimm in the area were either Underground or poking around the woods.

Rules were rules though, and with a couple of chicks from Atlas here, rules w ere basically the written Gospel to them. That, and he wasn't in the mood for messing with the six-foot rock thing that literally tanked Cardin's mace. Maybe he hadn't seen it, but his boss wouldn't stop speaking up about, not that he could blame him.

 _That_ was something he could understand getting pumped for. Seeing as his boss's lance had torn literally through feet of concrete, the Aura of most students, and even that freaking monster of a Grimm that won them the ticket here, hearing about some half rock, part magma, creature of the mountains grabbing it as it exploded set of more than a few bells. Also made Sky pretty sure he was stoned, cause no way was something like that talked about with something in the drinking water.

A long sigh left his lips, even as the annoyances swam through his head again. Unfortunately, not a lot else for him to do while the rest of the squads were exploring and he was up top. Not a lot of desire to go down, granted, unlike his boss, but there wasn't a lot to do up top when there were too many rules about what not to do.

Don't go off exploring alone. Don't practice weaponry with live ammunition. Don't make too many loud noises near the edge of the town. Don't take anything from the camp site without the approval of one of the professors. Don't try and fight the Grimm alone.

That last one he was fine with. No desire on his part to charge at whatever monsters were here. All he knew about for sure were the Loliths, and that was because his boss talked up the rock monster literally crushing one to death. Again, would have been pretty cool to see, but definitely not worth risking his life over. Just not something to scoff at when he knew what he did about the monsters. Heck, only reason his boss could take his napping was because he knew the ins and outs of most of the Grimm they'd run across.

Except that Lynel Minotaur like thing. Not even the Atlesian chick knew about that thing.

What Sky Lark _did_ know was that Loliths were the rare monsters that tended to nest and wait for prey instead of out right scavenging for it. Despite not really needing to eat, the lucky sods, they still practiced some instinct of catching and dragging away the idiots who got too close to their nest. Seeing as they preferred dark damp places like, just suggesting, caves, it made for some pretty good incentive for not wanting to go down.

That wasn't even to mention the fact that they were second only to beowulves for pack mentality, usually having a queen or something nearby to keep them all organized while they built nests, made traps and did whatever else Grimm did when humans were watching. Least nothing out of the ordinary from sleeping, screaming, and killing. He envied one of those things at least.

Especially given how on edge the rest of his camp and 'team' were. Well, most of them.

Most of them included his boss and the faker from the other team. It seemed like every little thing was setting them off now. Sky would admit, he'd be hard pressed to say that it took a lot to make Cardin sweat, but he'd been getting a lot better recently. At least enough that he wasn't being dragged into a bunch of death matches underneath Good witch's eye. His back still hurt from Pyrrha kicking it in.

Now though, it seemed like just commenting on him being a little dumb, which wasn't true, was enough to get him to nearly scream. Sky had never seen that before. At worst, he'd just plot a prank for later. Now? His boss was just about raging at the stuff.

Didn't help that the kid who was _mostly_ responsible for it was doing the same thing. Maybe he really was as much of a coward as he looked like, but Sky had to admit, skipping sleep because he was just that afraid was a bit extreme. Really didn't help that he refused to be alone, basically gawking at the Rock Monster and Atlas chicks to boot. Yeah, the Goron thing was weird, but not after a few days.

Didn't even touch on how freaking careful the craziest teach was being. Yeah, true, Sky couldn't really use safety and Oobleck int eh same sentence, mostly because it was a hassle to say such a weird name, but he was basically making sure of things they _should've_ been cleared to handle. At least the Schnee chick at least. But even she was being asked to double check her work, after _he_ looked it over.

It all just felt… wrong. It felt even worse that he couldn't care that much. Even Sky had to admit, without much pressuring at that, he felt _way_ more relaxed than usual.

Sure, yeah, usually he could sleep through class and just bear with the onslaught of scolding's Goodwitch or Portly may give him, not that Oobleck ever noticed, but right now, he did even really seem to care about that. At least _normally_ he'd try and hide his laziness, the perfectly natural desire to sleep through boring and unimportant things. Right now, though, he didn't even feel a thing of fear for the idea of sleeping in the middle of the town and flat out _letting_ Goodwitch find him.

Like his boss would say after he dragged Russel away from a Beowulf pack. There's brave, there's confident, there's stupid, then there's flat out retarded. Sky was falling pretty hard into the last one.

His fingers, laced together behind his head, scratched at his mat of blue hair back and forth. The end of his lance beat against the edges of his thumbs, just close enough for him to whip out if he needed to, but out of the way of his head to lean back. Practice really did hammer home some traits. One of them was even being used right now.

Namely, critical thinking.

His boss was spot on for muscle and leadership, Dove for handling the speeches and getting information, Russel for being the suck-up and sneak, but Sky could at least think ahead more than most on his team. Kind of a necessary trait if he wanted to find some place to snooze and had to think ahead of where was safe. That, or just knowing how to finish the homework fast enough so he wouldn't be chopping into his naps. No one liked that.

Kind of like how no one liked being at an abandoned mine that didn't match the maps, didn't make sense to the freaking mining monster, and apparently was making everyone feel ten degrees off kilter. Didn't take a super computer to know there was something messed up around here, and seeing as there were three hunters with them, helping with the supplies, he'd already crossed out the food and water.

Didn't leave a lot else to play with though. And that was annoying by itself. That's why he found himself doing something that he really wasn't a fan of doing. Something that he had to do or else he was afraid he'd fall into that crazy mentality as everyone else.

Sky Lark was exploring the mining village. Not alone though.

"See anything yet?" His boss was him. "Still got nothing over here but battle scars and debris. Hell of a fight we missed." At least he sounded the same as usual, which was definitely better than biting back rage. That was a lot to handle on most days.

"Nothin' major yet," Sky spoke back. He could have whispered with how quiet the air was. He was sure it probably sounded like he was screaming when he spoke. "Just lotta of what you said. Scorch marks, claw trails, and a lot of rot in between." Most people would be afraid of two of those three. Heck, he'd normally be wary of them. But again, apathy on override somehow…

Not that there was much to be afraid of in the town. How quiet it was, a Grimm sneaking up on them would be flat out embarrassing!

"Gotta admit, kind of hard to believe there's nothing in this town. At all." Sky looked to his boss as he spoke, watching the much larger man kick a boulder away. It crumbled to dust against a charred wall. "Not thinking I'm gonna find gemstones or Dust, but I mean, not even a sword or bow? You'd think there'd be something left to show there was a fight." Sky rolled his head with the thought.

"Yeah and nah," he responded. He knew his boss was looking at him, but Sky was ducking his head to slip into a building. Namely through the punched-out hole in it. Something big had to of done that, not a Lolith. "Not surprised there's not much left here after how many years the Atlesians were talking about. Especially if you factor in any scavengers who mighta though they'd get somethin' good from an old town like this."

Despite what the profs were talking about, it was very common. Whenever a settlement when heels over heads into the ground, a lot of people would tend to swoop in to pick apart what was left. After a couple of weeks so the Grimm could roll of course. Not to mention usually with an airship of their own for quick running and all that.

"Weapons, even basic ones, tend ta sell for a lot. Can give them to frontier folks for a discount and they won't ask questions about it. Easy way to save Lien on one side and avoid the law on the other." Least that was what his dad said worked a lot. Sky pushed his hand over a desk he walked by, watching the dust fly off of it. And he thought old books in the library were bad. "For everything else… well, c'mon, if you were scavenging for loot and you saw a gem box, would you even bother to open it first?"

"No, I get it. It all makes sense," his boss waved him off, even as he joined him inside. His boots crushed the rotted wood, crumbling the stone. It just made it that much harder to believe Darmani tanked his mace like it was nothing. Monster really was a monster, Sky guessed, or something like that. "I'm just used to people forgetting things when stuff like this goes on. I mean, just because they were here scavenging doesn't mean they weren't in a hurry either." Sky picked up a book at the remark, eyeing it.

"What do ya mean?" He asked without looking, noticing the spine for the book had fallen out. He twisted it over, watching half a dozen pages fall to the ground with it. No surprise there.

"You know what I -!" But that was a surprise.

Sky turned his boss, looking at Cardin as he stood a good few feet taller than him. Bent over inside, fists clenched and rubble crushed beneath his steps, he'd after to be literally stupid to not be a little wary of his boss. But then again, he _had_ to know what set him off. Didn't ask though, not that he'd get an answer.

From the way the boss blew out a hot breath of air, pulling his arms back and turning towards some unassuming wall, it was pretty obvious he didn't know either. Sky just shook his head, not blaming his boss for it. This place was like magic for the nerves. Dark magic and all that.

Because Sky still didn't fell much aside from curiosity when his boss pulled the gasket.

"Yeah, yeah, I get ya," he responded, knowing that his boss angry _was_ a bad thing. Grimm loved that sort of stuff. No telling if they'd be beowulves of the forest or the Loliths from the mine. "This ain't exactly the kind of place to go exploring for fun, is it?"

Sky made sure to flash his brightest grin at his boss when he growled at him. His cousins said that with his long blue hair, he could've passed for a model. Too bad he _knew_ that was harder work than being a Hunter. Besides, he had other plans.

"Better than going into that damn mine again." And of that, Sky could not argue with his boss. Not that there was hard competition to.

"Agree with you there." Sky added on. His hands trailed a wall as he walked further into the building. Lack of an echo beneath his feet made it clear there was no basement. Not uncommon in buildings like this, built quickly for housing or storage. This one was definitely storage, given the complete lack of beds. "I hear that the map Oobleck's got is worth about as much as throwing a stick." He heard his grandpa tell stories about doing that to decide forks in the road. Not exactly something he wanted to try out.

"Ain't that the truth," his boss snorted with the comment. "Tunnels are there, tunnels aren't there. They dead end, they don't. They have another split, they _literally_ wrap back around. 'Bout the only thing he's got right about the place so far is that we're no where near the end of it. Least it doesn't feel that way."

"Gotta be embarrassing for a guy teaching us about being prepared bringing a map that's worthless," Sky joked as he put his hand on another desk. It was the biggest sign this was more than just storage. A work place, maybe. Probably a work center for the miners to collect pay from or something. Too bad he couldn't read the 'books' to tell. "Gotta be hell going down there so much."

"Yeah, the only guy who doesn't really care about it is Link." Link? Not Darmani? That was the rock monster's name. "Guy and his 'friend', hunk of rock that he is, can't seem to go deep enough. Must really want to get to the end of the shaft." Huh, yeah, that made sense. Didn't explain why his boss was calling the faunus out for not being there.

Then again, Sky still wasn't over how weird it was to have a transformable professor. Probably would send a lot of activist groups into a tail spin. That'd be fun to watch, from a distance.

"So much going wrong and nothin' to show for it." Sky noted as he walked through the awning of one room. His boots made the wood creak as he went through. His boss made them crack behind him. "Makes me wonder why you waned to come here so badly in the first place."

"Are you kidding me with that?" Sky took in a slow breath, forgetting how short his boss was recently. That quick? "Why wouldn't I wanna come here? This is like the last chance I got to show that Impa chick I'm worth something."

"Huh?" That… was not what Sky was expecting.

"You heard me," his boss went on. Oddly. Sky had to turn around and focus on the big man as he spoke. Even if he looked like he was going to take out his mace and blow down a wall with it. "Ever since that crazy chick _beat the crap_ outta me at Beacon, I've been skating by in everything. Port's laughing at me in class, Oobleck gives me zeros almost outta _impulse_ , and Goodwitch gets sour every time Link calls on me in class."

Sky blinked. Yeah, he'd noticed that. But… it just felt like it was the next step up from the teachers. At least it wasn't drastically different from before. And they weren't close to failing or anything, were they? Sky was pretty sure he'd at least keep track of that much.

"Now we find out that not only is he and his friends basically handing out charity ta a bunch of kids out on the street, that I _helped_ to take care of when that went south, but he's also giving pretty much private lessons to the RWBY girls and half of JNPR!" Sky knew about the former. Heck, the whole school did. Not so much the latter. "And all the while, even though _I'm_ the one answering the questions right during her lectures, all I get is just a good job then more _scorn!_ I mean, what do I gotta do to get her to actually _help_ me out?"

He was listening to his boss ramble on, even if the deadness of the air made it incredible easy. It also made it impossible to ignore the heavy breathing he was giving out. Both of them were.

"It seriously pisses me off that while I'm trying to actually prove that I'm stronger than the rest of the class, they get to skate by for the freaking _stupidest_ reasons!" He was almost yelling now, Sky new it. And with how quiet the town was, complete with being inside a building that was ready to fall with a good punch, his voice echoed. A lot. "Because they've got powerful family members, because they met Link first, cause they _tried_ to take her down during class, or maybe just because they won the lottery and gotta take that _crazy-blue haired_ chick into town to boot."

Sky didn't know what the whole story with the rocker girl was, Lana or something. All he remembered was that the girl she helped was the one that was at Beacon now, and her fellow orphans, orphanees(?), were scatted throughout Vale cause of the White Fang and Roman. Not exactly small stuff… and it had basically flown right over their head.

"So yeah, _I'm_ here tryin' to show Link and Impa that I'm actually _worth_ a damn!" His fist beat against this chest. Strong as he was, his armor didn't dent. Strong stuff. It took his boss taking a step forward, just about shattering the floor, for Sky to realize he _might_ be thinking about the wrong thing. Apathy was weird to work with when it was this strong. "Not like I can do anything else _except_ beat the crap outta monsters!"

_SLAM!_

And now there was punching. Great, that was always the start to a fun afternoon.

Sky took a step back from his leader. Still no fear, not after seeing his boss do this a lot in the early weeks of Beacon, a lot more as the training sessions went on longer. But this was the first time he did it in a building that was viable to collapse. That'd be bad. Cause hey, he was still in it.

"So, I've _gotta_ do something while I'm here to show Impa and Link that I'm _worth_ it, cause they're probably the only ones who're keepin' me from outright being _kicked outta Beacon!_ "

Sky felt his eyes widen at the scream. That was news to him.

_SLAM!_

But because of that, he missed Cardin put his fist through the wall. Pretty hard to miss the wall coming down.

The lurching sound was accompanied by a slow groan that traveled throughout the building. Maybe two floors above them, and he was suddenly aware of just how much weight that was, rotted, broken, or anything else. When the town was as silent as the buried dead and they were inside a house that was suddenly losing support, it made it kind of hard to not notice just how much weight was piled on top of him.

Really, probably more than an Atlesian Mech. Point being, too much to ignore. That wasn't something he could just walk off.

Sky hit the deck under the awning of the doorway in a moment, hearing Cardin do the same next to him. There was room, or maybe his boss made it. Too hard to tell with how loud the groans were getting. _Really_ didn't help that his ears were adjusting to the noise, making it sound like a freaking Ursa was growling in his ear.

_CRACK-SNAP!_

It really was coming down! Sky held his palms to his head as he crouched, getting low to the ground as he could. His boss grabbed either side of the doorway they were in, keeping himself covered by the upper support. It was weird to Sky how he took the time to note this was pretty solid proof his boss wasn't an idiot, knowing what to do instead of panicking.

_SNAP-SNA-SNA-CRRAAAAAAACK!_

Too bad it was in the middle of a suburban cave-in!

Sky shut his eyes and sucked in a pocket of air, just in time before a _gust_ of dust slammed into him. He could feel the debris and ash from the collapsed building shoot past him, trying to push him out of the door's awning and beneath the upper floors. That wasn't happening! He kicked his feet out, pushing against his boss's back feet to hold himself against the opposite wall. He was heavy, he could take it.

Muffled through his palms, he heard the sound of crumbling wood and falling timber. Just as well, Sky could feel it hitting the floor they stood on, shaking it as it traveled up his legs and to his head. For the second time, he was _really_ glad that they weren't standing over a basement, or else it could've been a lot worse.

A lot was a good word for it, because it seemed like it was over pretty fast, too.

Hesitantly, making sure he wasn't about to get an eye-full of decade old dust and ash, Sky peeked out to see the house. The first surprise was that there was, in fact, still a house. At least enough to qualify for one. The bad side was that there was no way to make this look like an accident.

The outer wall that Cardin had punched, slamming right through the concrete and wood associated with it, had made the better part of the upper two floors fall down in the room they had just stood in. And it showed, with probably half a dozen more desks having spread themselves out, flipped, chipped, and smashed to pieces, across the floor. That _wasn't'_ to mention the amount of dry-wall and shattered wood that littered the space between the upper floors and the ground level, making it a bit more than evident that it wasn't just a bad timing on their part.

Even if it was, Sky wasn't dumb enough to think he could convince the teachers that it was. The boss was right that they were high up on the totem pole of self-respect. Had to be high up, cause totems were more powerful the lower you went. His grandma told him that, and the _major_ case of apathy he still had was making him think of it.

Too bad neither was giving him a solid idea on what to do. At least aside from one.

"You think we can convince Penny to keep this quiet from the rest of the big wigs?" Sky asked as he stood next to his boss, patting off more dust from his armor. Gray wasn't his color. Had to be sky blue, pun totally his parents' fault. "She's gotta soft spot for you at least. Maybe you can sweet talk her with a date or something."

"… No, no." Sky nodded at his boss's words, _hearing_ the way he held back his seething remarks. His apathy was higher than the three floors right now. Made sense his boss's anger matched. "That ball of crazy wouldn't know how ta keep a secret anyways. Probably blather everything the moment we told her." Yeah, that he could believe.

"Heh, not all bad though," Sky spoke up, taking steps into the room. Again, no basement, no fear. _Really_ helped that he was wearing armor. And Aura, that was nice. "Got more to explore now." He commented it as his boss sighed behind him. Probably to keep himself from screaming. He'd probably save that for after they were tone into by Oobleck and the Atlas woman. Neither were exactly friends to them.

"Just… just see if there's anything worth grabbing." Guess he really was grasping at straws, not that Sky could blame him. Actually, he could, but he didn't want to. Not everyone knew about how bad a life his boss had. "Maybe we can get lucky and find somethin' to make Oobleck worry less." Longer shot than the Ruby chick could make, but worth it.

"Worth trying out at least," Sky agreed. "Who knows, could find something cool. Like, an old compass, a mining pick, some canary cages-"

"-a map-"

"- a map, yeah, that'd work, too." Sky noted with the word. He stopped when he felt his boss's huge hand on his shoulder. He was spun around a second later, if that. Saved him the time to spin himself.

"No, Sky, I mean I _found_ a _map!"_

His boss held up a thick piece of paper in his other hand. Sky stared at hit through the blue edges of his hair, looking at it as it was shoved into his gaze. He only needed ag lance to see that his boss wasn't kidding. Heck, he wasn't even wrong, far off, or any other word for not as promising.

Cardin was, without a doubt, holding a map.

Sky reached up for it, hand grabbing at the thick paper as he did so. The boss let go of it, but he was still staring, hard, at Sky as he stared at it. He had his mouth wide open, he knew it, but that was pretty normal. Normal for finding a piece of paper that had the freaking mine drawn on it, surviving outside after Dust knew how many years, and when all the other books and the like fell to pieces. Yet here it was, right in front of him, labeled right at the top and everything.

"Monument Mine," Sky mouthed quietly. "Property of the… Schnee Mining and Dust company. Are they still even called that?" No way they were. "This… is this real?"

"Gotta be, right?" His boss asked. "The hell would they have a _fake_ map for? Pranking people after they _knew_ the place was gonna fall to crap in a handbasket? No way." He was right. It had to be real. At least, he was having a tough time coming up with reasons for why it would be fake. Who would keep fake mine maps on them anyways?

Sky's thumb traced over the top of the paper, feeling for anything that would be suspicious. More suspicious, he guessed. Maybe bumps that weren't supposed to be there, some kind of marking that was too new to belong to an old piece of paper, _something_ that showed that this wasn't the piece of gold they had been looking for, half-assed at that.

His stomach fell when he felt the top layer of the paper peel away, revealing another map beneath it.

It rose to the back of his throat when he thumbed it again, and found another map just behind it.

He blinked, twice, as he stared at it. His eyes traced the _same_ details, the _same_ markings, the _same_ paper, same _everything_. Everything, except the one thing that kept them from being just multiple copies of the same map. That being, they weren't.

Sky's finger was tracing the paper up from the 'entrance' of the mine across the paper, noting how the caverns turned, tunnels opened up, and dead-ends were marked with either good checks for dust or crosses for warnings. He traced it on the top map his boss had found first, then the one beneath it, then the one beneath that…

"Correction boss," Sky spoke up, holding the pamphlet in his hand. Holding it, and letting it unfold further and further… "You found _maps_. As in plural."

"As in… different mines?" Actually, a question he had, too. That was the obvious first thing to think when you were looking at a bunch of drawings lain out with diagrams, markers, pathways, footnotes, and the like. Why would you think they were all the same when they _blatantly_ were all different?

And they were different. Different enough that Sky's tracing was just to make sure he wasn't completely crazy. With what this place was doing to his mind, that wasn't an impossibility though. More than once sense though? He may not have been a psyche by any measurable term, but he knew that was beyond crazy, _especially_ if he was _sharing_ it with his boss. That made it an impossibility.

"Different… but all labeled the same." He noted as his eyes traced the top of each page. "Monument Mine. Schnee Mining and Dust. The hell are these?" He as much a miner _as_ a psyche, but there was no way they were all different mines from the same damn place. That was just… _impossible!_ "Were these plans or… something else."

"No clue," his boss agreed. This time, after taking them from Sky. He let them go, giving his mind a moment to relax. He _felt_ crazy looking at those things. Probably a good idea to take five then. "But I do know one thing about these." Even with his apathy, he knew his boss, so he had an idea of where this was going. And hey, he had no argument.

"What's that?" Sky almost didn't have to ask. The sharp grin his boss gave back was _so much_ better than the rage before.

"Pretty sure we just proved it was worth bringing us here." To that, Sky could agree.

Maybe he earned an early night with this.

* * *

Penny knew that her Friend Cardin was an amazing individual. It was information that Friend Ruby and fellow Friends Yang, Jaune, and Pyrrha did not appear to agree with. It was confusing to her and her dedication analysis algorithms for how information so obvious to her sensors was somehow unavailable to other humans who spent a significantly greater amount of time around Friend Cardin before her.

They apparently, by recorded testimony filed under third personal observation, believed Friend Cardin to be of unsatisfactory intelligence, teamwork, and looks, as testified by friend Ruby and Pyrrha, questionably. When she was not analyzing data regarding Friend and Teacher Link, she didn't understand the lack of physically appealing characteristics. Her sensors and filters for commonly referred to as favorable traits indicated tall and strong as highly beneficial.

That was not to ignore, however, Friend Cardin's above average rate for answering questions for Instructor Impa, especially when included with the sample set of answers that were answered incorrectly by other students. Such a comparison related to him having an above average intellect! So the near unanimous decision that he was mentally inferior amongst her other friends was not understood by her algorithms.

However, Penny had several datapoints indicating that emphasis on his intellect without number able and indisputable pieces of evidence would only make Friend Cardin and herself appear questionably close. The many forms of media she had documented and decimated showed that was an undesirable form of contact to have unless true, so should be avoided. It made for Penny to be forced to run her 'patience' function on a near recursive loop, waiting until new information came forward to show Friend Cardin had superior intellect.

She was thankful that now, she did.

"This is… real?" Doctor Oobleck spoke as he thumbed through the papers that Friend Cardin and Associate Sky had given him. Her sensor immediately indicated a large variance with his usual speaking pattern. "You found these… exploring? Not made up, conjured, or falsified?"

"Nope, found them in an old desk," Friend Cardin returned, smiling broadly. Penny made sure to smile as well. It was a fine time to smile at her friend's success. It would benefit all of them after all! "Sky and I were just diggin' around and that caught my eye. Figured it'd help us out with that mine shaft and all." Indeed, it would. Penny already had no less than fifteen different ways in which to use the numerous maps Friend Cardin had found.

The number of them, however, was an area of analysis her algorithms had not yet completed. Numerous maps for the same location should not have the variance that they did, especially when collected together in an assumingly low difference of time. That was not to mention or included the data sample of their own map, still constantly referenced by her Global Positioning System.

"The number of maps here is disturbing…" Specialist Schnee responded. She was looking over Doctor Oobleck's shoulder, scratching her chin. A common human gesture for thought. Penny did not find it generated a significant increase in her own processes when she attempted it. "Could they possibly be designs or plans for tunnels to dig, redrawn as newer issues or obstructions were found?"

"Nah, that can't be it." Friend Darmani, friend of Friend and Instructor Link, spoke now. He was funny, especially with how he laughed at her jokes. No one laughed at her jokes, but he did! "Could be different fer ya'll and how ya plan yer digs, but fer the Gorons, we gotta mark the tunnels we've dug and those we've left alone differently. 'Er else any new pebble who gets their hands on 'em might get lost in tha' mountain. Ain't fun tryin' ta dig yer way outta a mine without knowin' up from down." That did sound difficult to Penny as well.

"Agreed, affirmed, positive correlation with likely events," Doctor Oobleck returned. "Similar to construction lines of ongoing construction work, detailed analysis of lumbar work, possible connections in heavy research. Differing lines indicate differing reasons. Complete lines indicate complete process. Common trait typing to documented work, very common. Indicates _completed_ jobs here." His voice was normal now, according to Penny's previously recorded sessions of Dr. Oobleck.

"Plus, you're missing out on the fact that there _are_ some dashed lines on there." Penny looked at Tatl as she rang above the trio, bobbing down in the air to indicate something on the page. The fairy pointed at the paper, though it was not evident if the others saw. Humans were unable to lower the intensity of light, or their ability to filter it. "Considering how _those_ don't line up either, you have to figure that they are all working off of something different."

"Right, so we're lookin' at… somethin' I don't get." Friend and Instructor Darmani scratched his head with his much larger hand. "Can't think of any reason fer these ta be drawn up, let alone exist. Ain't somethin' a proper Goron would do fer mining, tell ya that much. Ya got any thoughts on this?" Penny saw his rather disproportionate eyes looking at Doctor Oobleck with the question.

"Theories, ideas perhaps, no certainties, not definite." Doctor Oobleck pushed another map picture back from the packet that he held, looking at another, assumingly, map beneath it. "Perhaps _all_ theoretical mines design by alternative foremen. Perhaps they are measurements taken by differing miners, with high variability. Also, possible they are different mines… no not possible. _All_ labeled the same."

"That's what had me and Sky so confused when we found it." Penny looked at Friend Cardin again as he spoke. "Figured at first they were a bunch of previous projects the company did or something, but unless that had somethin' wrong in the head, we figured they wouldn't name all the mines the same thing." True, that was a statistical anomaly for humans to do, independent of culture, age, or sex.

"Vulgar terms, correct deduction," Doctor Oobleck complimented Penny's friend. She beamed at him, even as he grinned back. "However, dissatisfying for identifying purpose of documents." He flipped through more of the images, the maps hanging by the back of the pamphlet they were held in. "All appear to be significantly different from currently labeled 'accurate' map given through records."

"Pretty sure that _accurate_ map of yours was down the drain for accuracy after day one," Tatl again rang as she flew about Doctor Oobleck. Penny found her logs constantly referencing the odd way her voice rang, not speak. A truly unique form of communication. "Then again, I'm not seeing a lot of consistency in these things either, least not the first fifteen of them."

"Perhaps we should consider that they are not relevant to the mine at all?" Penny looked to Specialist Schnee with the question. Her processor was not sure how to filter the question when generating a response. "It is common among my… father's worksites for the workers to label documents based upon their location of work or station."

"Unclear, don't follow. Can you specify?" Doctor Oobleck questioned before Penny could. She was grateful once more for his quick words. Most people were insulted or annoyed when she attempted to speak so fast.

"I mean this," Specialist Schnee began as she traced one of her gloved hands over the map image that Doctor Oobleck had presented. Given its orientation, she was likely addressing the title of the page. "Monument Mine may not refer to the mine itself, specifically at least. Instead, it may be indicating that the individual who prepared this specific document, or page, is merely _stationed_ at Monument Mine."

"As in a sort of reference title to the origin of said document. Easier to understand than abbreviations, codes, and to assist in avoiding confusion." Doctor Oobleck returned. Penny was familiar with the process as well in the Military. Many reports that General Ironwood received had a similar writing pattern on them. Though those were related to which sections of the Atlesian Military, it was a relatable variable for comparison.

"Possible, doable, yet… unlikely," Doctor Oobleck returned. Penny agreed as well, as far as she could determine with her limited access and data sample. "No indication _of_ mines being referenced otherwise. Nothing evident, clear, straight-forward. Unlikely to be professional documentations if lacking such critical details. And yet, _contradictory_ to known sample sets."

"Gotta point there, brother," Friend and Instructor Darmani spoke up. He sighed, loud enough to force the breath to move the papers Doctor Oobleck was holding. Penny was unsurprised given his assumed lung capacity, and highly foreign interstitial fluid. "Wouldn't make sense if they were gonna start makin' up plans with no order. Ain't a safe dig if they that."

"Indeed, true, indeed again," Doctor Oobleck confirmed as well. "However, question is not for validity. Detail too great and relation to the mine confirmed. Further, highly unlikely to be forgeries. Too great of detail and number." Perhaps it was because Penny made it clear for at least 10% of her processes to be focused on her friends, but she did not miss Friend Cardin stiffen at the idea of them being fake. They were not, however, so he had nothing to fear. "However, need a _reason_ for their existence. _Something_ to explain them. No known reason as of yet."

Penny looked to Cardin as Doctor Oobleck went on. Her sympathy processes began to run the moment she did. They had done so ever since he had metaphorically snapped in the mine before with Friend Pyrrha. Since then... only Associate Sky had been able to get close to him. She understood from her conversations with Friend Ruby that it was referred to as 'alone time', but she had no measure or metric to determine the length of alone time necessary for Friend Cardin.

She greatly disliked that. Not being able to judge or properly guess the amount of time for a necessary action to occur. It left too many of her functions and algorithms running on near recursive loops. That was dangerous for her processors to handle long-term.

Penny sighed, unnecessarily physiologically, but necessary to activate the refresh function in her programming. It cleared the stray variables in her code, leaving only the vital processes running as she did so. On the boot up, she focused on the area around her, ignoring Friend Cardin to her great chagrin. However, there was little other choice she had.

As the Instructors for the exercise spoke, Penny did as was appropriate for her sensors in likely hostile territory. That is, they performed a threat analysis. She took note of the variation of movement in tools. Not extreme, all accounted for. Those she had observable or referential data on at least. She analyzed the level of sound from environmental sources. Far below average to normal circumstances, unchanged in reference to GPS Coordinates for Monument Mine Settlement. Tatl and Tael were only unknown auditory signature she kept track of through previous sample sets.

She let her ocular sensors swim over the varying visible wavelengths available to her, searching for any hostiles attempting to hide. She found nothing obvious, only noting that Friend Pyrrha and Friend Jaune were walking away hand-in-hand. Not uncommon, documented only for posterity. Friend Cardin was also speaking to Friend Sky, likely about the papers they had found. She wished to join the conversation, but had no previous data sets to indicate the best method to do so, and Friend Cardin deserved the best at this moment.

Especially with his mace being confiscated from him by Friend and Instructor Darmani. Necessary, she would have her variables agree, but still harsh, as her emotional simulation processes would indicate.

"Penny." Her sensors moved back to the three hunters, instructors, and pair of sibling fairies as her name was called. Her gaze focused on Friend and Instructor Darmani, holding the maps in his hand. They looked very small in comparison to his oversized and high shore-durometer fingers. "We're still thinkin' of reasons these things exist. Ya think ya might have an idea you could roll our way." His grin was large and broad as he spoke.

To analyze the maps was an obvious function she would perform, as she had confirmed it would happen with 98% probability. Timing was regulated to either 74% that day or 20% that night. That was not what made her emotional simulation process excite however.

It was the knowledge that she could help Friend Cardin by proving he had provided _excellent_ assistance with the mission!

Penny made sure to return it with exuberance. This was her chance, for both herself _and_ Friend Cardin.

"Ab-so-lutely!" She cheered, skipping forward to the much taller, thicker, and heavier being. Not human or faunus, she corrected her variables and denomination functions. "May I have them to scan?" Similar to how humans scanned with their eyes, of course.

"Course, brother," Friend and Instructor Darmani returned. She ignored the male word when directed at her. She already had data indicating it was a verbal tick for Gorons, unrelated to her feminine form. And she was feminine, very feminine, as designed by her Papa.

That was unimportant, tertiary need in comparison to the maps. Penny focused her gaze on the papers as she began to work.

There was a great number of images present to analyze, far too long for most humans' minds to be able to properly associate and disseminate information from. Such a scenario had occurred to her before, though for a variable reason unrelated to the current circumstances. Referencing the log file that was generated from the vent, Penny took the action that was determined to be most appropriate. That is, Penny raised her hand.

Penny, however, had taken a quick picture of the stack of papers that Cardin had found he had returned. Taking the known size of the stack of pictures of mines and placing a comparison of the thickness of a single sheet of one such map, indicated and measured by the act of flipping the pages, Penny was 93.4% sure there were roughly 173 different maps present, assuming all sheets were individual mines.

That was a great deal many more than she was aware a human mind could properly memorize.

Fortunately, as her fingers flipped through the roughly 83-year-old pages per spontaneous carbon-dating of the ink involved, it took her only a few moments.

"Processing, processing, processing," she spoke aloud, eyes shutting to limit the amount of incoming data. Her system was focused on internal process and algorithms for now. External factors would slow her CPU. "Processing, processing, processing, processing."

She heard one of the fairies' ring, but immediately turned off her auditory sensors. She was focused on the feel of the paper through tactile senses, through the amount of ink used, through the patterns associated, legible text, order of the pages, any mares unassociated with age, and several other undescriptive variables that were associated as either positive 1 or negative 0 with each.

"Stopping, possible conclusion reached." The words left Penny before she was aware of them. As her two parallel computing functions reached one another, realized what she had discovered through her analysis.

It was… unexpected. A statistical unlikely choice.

"It appears that none of these maps were drawn up or detailed within the same day as one another. The largest difference in manufacturing remains nearly one week with the shortest nearly one day." The other critical variables came to her, being saved to her central data memory. "Further, all are apparently written by the same individual, determined by the extreme similarity and repeating patterns in lines, crossed t's and origin of the individual papers."

"Then… they were someone planning out an exploration of the mine," Specialist Schnee deduced. Incorrect, Penny noted. "These were oddly detailed, but repeating, plans." Further incorrect.

"Nah, no point in that," Instructor and Friend Darmani countered, correctly. "Can't plan a new dig less ya break stone first. Ya'll are brothers, but let me tell ya somethin', even a Goron needs a day ta know what's under the dirt."

"That is to say that these were… likely devised _following_ the mine's dig." Doctor Oobleck's point could not be confirmed or denied with the information that Penny had. She had only tangentially related data to the mine with the maps. "Then they were plotting out the mine… But they _why_ are they so different? An impossibility, _travesty!_ "

Penny watched, ensuing the maps in her hand were undamaged as Dr. Oobleck turned around and kicked the dirt. Nothing came up, but she recognized the action of disappointment. She saw Friend and Instructor Darmani grinding his teeth as well. She could not be sure if that would adversely affect his health, given his foreign biology… or geology. Her data could not determine which with accuracy.

Friend Cardin, however, appeared to be equally distressed. It was evident by his overly extended to highly contracted fingers, wrapped about his forearms. A common position for tension, associated with stress in humans. Penny had two variable conclusions of statistically similar likelihood as to why.

Either he was disappointed he was not of more help, and therefore unable to fully redeem himself in the eyes of the professional hunters and instructors, or he was looking for a way to earn back his mace. Both depended upon maps she was holding, their origin, and both related to his personal worth.

Penny was not sure, no longer sure, how she could help.

"There… might be a reason why." Penny focused her auditory sensors on the fairy Tael. She was not the only one, just the only one with sensors over ears.

"There is?" Specialist Schnee questioned. "Is it related to facts… or a story?" Stories were often based on facts, as Penny was sure of through multiple references.

"It's… It's a story, _but!_ B-but a lot of stories are based off of something true, right?" The dark fairy bobbed heavily with his comments, comments that Penny agreed with. So, did his sister fairy and Friend and Instructor Darmani.

"True as the stone beneath my boots, brother!" Friend and Instructor Darmani bellowed, slapping his heavy belly. It had a lot of elastic deflection given his high shore-durometer body. "True enough ta tell 'bout dragons in mountains and beasts in caves. Can't say I gotta tale fer changin' mines though. Usually just what's gonna be in them."

"Yes, true, _however_ , curiosity!" Dr. Oobleck followed quickly. He was quick to approach Tael with his words, Penny observed. "What does this story entail? Truth, fiction, speculation?" The fairy visibly dimmed at the direct question. Penny wasn't sure why. It made the question easier to understand to her.

"Um… speculation and truth?" His ring did not have the charm of his sister fairy. "But its… it's about a monster that… that _changes_ things to make people afraid." Penny had no historical or theoretical data on such a Grimm.

"Changes things? As in the environment or… something else?" Specialist Schnee, however, was interested. Penny was as well. The dark fairy bobbed around Friend and Instructor Darmani before responding, the stillness of the Monument Sit making his rings loud and clear. He was auditory and ready!

"It's about… a-a thing that lives in the shadows," he began, and Penny recorded his words for future dissemination. "Something so rare, so powerful that… that they can be seen more of as legends than warnings. It feeds on the thoughts, the feelings, of those that approach it, and its hordes it. It doesn't try to use that strength, that fear, so quickly it… i-it tries to _grow_ itself, further and further."

The camp was still as the fairy went on. Tatl rang as she approached her dark fairy sibling. The soothing gray was determined to be _pleasing_ to Penny's gaze.

"It's smart too, wise enough to not confront those that could kill it so… so instead i-it _changes_ the world to make those near it question themselves." Penny was sure he was frightening himself with his own tale. Curious, but unimportant to the information he was providing. "Doors would lock when they were kept open, windows would open when they were locked, chairs would move, crops disappear… or caverns fill when backs are turned."

The implication was clear to Penny. It was also something she was having difficulty fully recording and relating to the previous data sets. She was not sure where it should go for analysis and action.

Disbelief or skepticism.

"Intriguing, but perhaps not fully true." Doctor Oobleck held up a hand before Tatl could fly to his face. Penny was confident she was about to do so. "The information implies there _exists_ either a creature or force capable of this, and has been observed before. Observed, thought not studied, not analyzed. Implies existence, but dubious on origin, on purpose, on _meaning_."

"Basically, there's somethin' dangerous in the mine, we just don't know what." Penny was pleased, _very pleased_ , to hear Friend Cardin give the correct response and analysis to Doctor Oobleck's words.

"Correct, Mister Winchester." She smiled with her friend. "Course for investigating naturally leads to full-scale search, non-sector based. However, dangerous, hazardous. Further complicated by the presence of _other_ Grimm in mine." Those were valid reasons to not investigate.

"We also lack the supplies to dedicate that much time to such a potentially massive problem." Specialist Schnee interjected. She was correct, as Penny's supply management variables indicated they had only a couple days of safe consumption left. "Plus, we don't even know if your friend's in there anymore. The original purpose for us being here."

"Can't deny I wanna keep lookin', 'specially fer that last reason." Friend and Instructor Darmani spoke as he scratched his head. Penny watched him, curious, but waiting. "But if ya'll gotta get back, I can keep exploring with Tatl and Tael." No, that would be inappropriate.

"That is highly inadvisable Friend Darmani," Penny spoke this time, sure that she was correct with 99% accuracy. "Though you have demonstrated high levels of durability and stamina, exploration of a potential Ancient Grimm nest, denoted by Tael's tale, would be highly dangerous and inadvisable for even Hunter Mission Boards." She saw Specialist Schnee nodding as well.

"She's right," she noted with point of her finger. "And I'm not suggesting you give up searching for your friend. It would be an insult to the name of the Schnees to suggest abandoning a friend. I am only advising you to find either more resources, time, or at least _care_ before exploring further."

"Well… yer not wrong that a plan would be nice," Friend and Instructor Darmani added. Penny was unsure if he sighed in defeat or not. "But if ah'm this close, I ain't leavin' just cause the going's getting' tough. Sometimes ya gotta roll up a hill ta get to the crunchiest rocks. Be a waste of a trip ta give up just cause there's a boulder blockin' the road."

"But all we need is a plan, right?" Tatl spoke up, bobbing between the two. "If we can come up with something to make exploring the mine _faster_ , then we'll be all good! Heck, just one trip through it is all we need at this point, probably.

"Not incorrect, though sparse with details," Doctor Oobleck corrected. He readjusted his glasses, an unfortunate need given humans' inability to recalibrate their ocular orbs. "Must also come with a means to protect us all, including Cardin Winchester, Sky Lark, Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, and Penny-"

"Hold a moment," Specialist Schnee interrupted. Penny looked at her, seeing the eldest member of the Schnee dust company's fifth generation looking around the campsite. Penny was not familiar with what she was looking for. "Where are Jaune and Pyrrha?" Now she did.

Penny's orbitals began to scan the area as well, once the query was entered into her ongoing processes. Normally a rather expedient process, given the relative lack of obstructive units to her view and low population density, she found it was taking… longer. That was incorrect, or only 50% accurate. It was taking longer because it was unable to find the two variables necessary to declare the operation complete.

Her head tilted as she changed from regular visual inspection to X-Ray and Infer-red searching operations. They possessed a drastically reduced range of vision due to the inability of her sensors to properly discern or disseminate far-off data points. Her head would nee a 45% increase in size to properly accommodate. And the more Penny looked, the more her 'upgrade requisition wishlist' process filed it away for Papa Zepp.

Because Penny could not find Friend Jaune or Friend Pyrrha anywhere. Then again, she did remember them leaving. The issue was they were beyond her sensors now.

Quite simply, given the available range of her systems and the ability to look through spectrums of light beyond the normal human visible spectrum, above and below, and the inability to spot a significant trace or obvious indication of their presence, her 'assumatory' process reached a likely conclusion, with roughly 73% likely hood of being correct when accounting for available for variables.

"Ma'am," Penny returned to Specialist Schnee, as well as Instructor and Friend Darmani and Doctor Oobleck. "I suspect they have rendezvous elsewhere for a private session."

Her information regarding teenagers of the opposite sexes and solitary environments made a very possible situation. Penny took Friend Cardin's laughter as confirmation, allowing her to beam brightly at the increasing flushed faces of the instructors and professional hunters. Penny took no offense to the looks. Such was also a common reaction according to her reading material. She owed Friend Cardin much for lending them to her upon request.

"Oh…. Oh my," Doctor Oobleck sounded appropriate given the situation Penny accurately described. Specialist Schnee's however, was not. Penny was unable to gather a significant level of observation to her facial features, due to her shaking head, but it was rather clear to a quick measurement of her drawn brown, smaller lip and lowered chin that she was not expressing surprise or embarrassment.

"You… _must_ … be joking with me." Her voice was hissing as well, and it was far from the usual hiss of Penny's servos when they were overexerted with their work. "You mean to tell me… that Jaune, his team's leader, and Pyrrha, the _Mistral Champion_ , have… run off for a… a _fling?_ " Fling? That was not the correct term Penny had documented. Correction was needed.

"Correction, Ma'am," Penny interjected. She saw the three of them look at her, noting and confirming the eye-contact before continuing. An important step to ensure information was properly exchanged. "I do not believe Friend Jaune and Friend Pyrrha are committing to a fling." Relief appeared over Specialist Schnee's eyes. Perhaps she should ask Friend Cardin what a fling was later to make her so upset.

"Heh, that's good," Friend and Instructor Darmani let out, titling his very large head left and right. It was a perfectly normal observation to document his head was the size of her central chassis without her arm or leg attachments. It wasn't a normal body structure, but it was important to note to ensure there would be assumption of a joke on her part. "Then they've just rolled away fer a talk 'er something? Gotta spill the stones how ya know that one." His enlarged finger pointed at her. Penny nodded, her faux hair bobbing with her head.

"Aaaaaabsolutely!" She cheered the response out. "However, I cannot deny nor confirm they are speaking to one another. My data and observations about such activities suggests that the amount of conversation involved is highly variable with a standard deviation dependent upon the length of their moment." There were many words that appeared to relate to the event, but moment was approved as being the most appropriate for all audiences. Papa Zepp was kind to give her a 'warning word' list to scan through.

Although, Friend Cardin was laughing harder behind her now. She'd have to ask him why that was. Or perhaps Friend and Instructor Darmani could respond, as he was grinning rather broadly as well. Although he had one of his enlarged hands cupped over his head, the other cupping his protruding belly. Doctor Oobleck and Specialist Schnee, however, looked embarrassed still.

"Then they _are_ having a fling." Penn's auditory detection programs indicated a 45% chance of Specialist Schnee hiding a warning in her statement. It must have been the tone she struck. Tone meant a great deal to human conversation. Still, she was incorrect.

"No Ma'am," Penny explained again. "Friend Pyrrha and Friend Jaune are unlikely to be throwing anything." She did not detect anything obvious or designed for throwing missing from camp, as superficial as her search was, she was sufficiently sure. "I believe anything that may leave from one will be swiftly caught by the other." That was how it tended to work.

She heard a thud behind her as Friend Cardin apparently felt to the ground. That was an unbecoming posture for him to make. Although, she wasn't sure if it was appropriate given his distance from the conversation at this point. Perhaps it was and she would be odd for drawing attention to it.

Afterall, Friend and Instructor Darmani was also bent over, shaking heavily with large hands on his disproportionately sized knees. Arms were not meant to be magnitudes larger than legs.

Penny also took care to record the images associated with Doctor Oobleck covering his face with the many maps Friend Cardin had found, while Specialist Schnee was walking away from them. Her hands were clenched far tighter than statistically average for her. The responses, however, did not make sense.

"Is something inappropriate about the activity?" Penny questioned to the three experienced hunters. She needed to expand her databanks with their prior interactions with the event. Normalcy was important to establish with reactions for future events. "I was informed that this was a common occurrence amongst teammates, especially those of opposing sexes."

Penny's low-priority inquisitive function wondered if Friend Cardin sounded louder to her auditory sensors because the Monument Settlement was so quiet. It was statistically likely.

"… Intimate encounters between team members or partners during a high-risk survivability and exploration training is not a common occurrence within Beacon's history, or at least so documented by instructors and supervisors associated with them." Penny tilted her head in confusion at Doctor Oobleck's words. She hoped the movement of the cooling liquid across the underside of her motherboard would allow her to deduce the reason for his sudden change in verbal responses. "Encounters of said nature are not uncommon on school grounds amongst post-pubescent students due to high stress environment, often preceding and precipitating the increase in hormonal and often concluded as impulse reactions regarding bodily functions and coupling." That was another term that Penny had for it. _It was a naughty term_.

"For the love of what little dignity I still have from this," Specialist Schnee began with a light snarl. The snarl was not new from Schnee members, as she had seen Sir Jacques Schnee commit such an action many times before. And Friend Weiss, usually to Friend Ruby. "We are _not_ discussing the sexual activities of two students while we try and come up with a better way to explore the mine!" Sexual?

"Sexual?" Penny questioned the word. That was a _very_ naughty word. One that she was told not to repeat out loud unless specifically said in the correct context by another individual. Though Specialist Schnee had satisfied the flag's requirement in Penny's code… she could not understand the situation for requiring the term to be said. "Are there individuals fornicating under consent of the council?"

Friend Cardin was howling. She could not understand that either.

"According to _you_ , while _we_ are discussing the best means to investigate the mine _and_ the confusing layout, _you_ said that _they_ left to go out _alone_ with one another for _private_ time related to _throwing and catching_ parts of themselves with one another!" Penny still didn't understand. "That means they're… they're _sleeping_ with one another." Now she did.

Her face, appropriate to the flags that had been tripped, burned.

Was that what she suggested? Penny looked through her logs to see that yes, in fact, given the order and time between her responses, it was. That was… deeply humiliating on her part.

Papa Zepp would be very disappointed.

"Hey! We're back!" Penny nearly broke the servo controls along her collar-line at the voice. Her ocular sensors quickly found Friend Jaune and Friend Pyrrha returning. She was thankful they were fully clothed.

She was horrified, through the growing number of tripped flags in her emotion simulating program, that Pyrrha was sweaty. Very sweaty. And panting. And Friend Jaune was panting, too. And he was flushed.

This was not good.

"Sorry we left like that. Didn't think we could help a lot with those maps." Friend Jaune spoke. "But we think we found a way to help! We miss anything while we were gone?"

At least Friend Cardin was laughing. That was some good news.

* * *

This was probably the most embarrassed Pyrrha had ever felt. It was something she was rather sure of.

Even though she and Jaune had come up with a new way to navigate the mine, even though _she_ was helping lead them through the Monument Mine, even though Darmani and the other teachers thanked her for her efforts, and even though Penny explained she made a mistake, she still felt incredibly embarrassed. Enough so that she was sure her face was red as her hair, and just as visible in the dark of the cave.

It certainly didn't help that she kept hearing Cardin and Sky snickering in the back, or that Jaune was avoiding standing too close to her. It most assuredly did not help that both Ms. Winter Schnee and Dr. Oobleck were keeping a close eye on her, more than even her instructors when she was training for the Mistral Competitions.

This wasn't something that was supposed to happen yet. Actually, not ever. It was never supposed to happen because she would _never_ let it happen. But all it took for it to have _thought_ to have happened was for her and Jaune to leave so they could talk in private, and Penny misinterpreting their actions at the _worst_ possible time.

She and Jaune had left in order to discuss how to maneuver the mine without the maps. They had left to talk about how Pyrrha might be able to sense the materials in the mine, as she could feel some traces of metal deep in the mine if she concentrated hard enough. Not enough to move it, but like recognizing that something was on her bed, even if she couldn't move. It just felt like it was there.

Jaune had the idea of her following it, seeing as no matter what she felt _had_ to have been left by the miners. And he was right. Nothing in this mine was naturally magnetic, Dust or ore at least, not before it went through smelting process at least. Steel though, shaped and used to hold up deeper parts of the mine, those were definitely magnetized to some degree. She could control that polarity.

When she and Jaune had walked away, to get out of ear shot of the others, so that her secret could stay safe, she had reached out and tried to see if she could feel anything in the mine.

It took a constant period of focus, focusing harder than the first time she had used her powers. She held on a single direction, the mine in front of her, and held her focus on it with eyes shut and temples strained. Her hands remained balled at her side, head bowed as she refused to look up, reaching out with her powers to see if there was anything she could feel deep beneath the dead earth.

Pyrrha did feel something. It was faint, but it was there.

She couldn't move it, again, but no matter where she walked around on the outside of the mine, it felt like it was coming from the same place. It felt like it was there, and she was _thrilled_ that it was there. Because it didn't move, because it wasn't just a constant feeling, that meant it had to be there. Jaune's idea had worked, and now she had a way to help explore the mine deeper without the confusing maps.

Jaune even had the great idea of hiding her ability still by saying it was 'sonar' based. The kind of ability that would explain why she could help move through the mine, but without letting others know about her polarity powers. Pyrrha had grinned at the idea, knowing that he was a half-truth, but one he had come up with for her. It felt amazing, even if she didn't want to ready lie.

She and Jaune were ready and able to tell the others about what she had found, sure that they would suggest exploring in the morning after they watched her demonstrate her abilities in the morning, when they could confirm what she could do. That was what was supposed to happen.

Instead, she and Jaune had to spend nearly half an hour explaining that they had _not_ … _tumbled on the ground!_

Pyrrha's fists clenched hard in front of her, embarrassment still coursing through her. Deep in the mines with everyone at her back, caught in a claustrophobic area and snickers at her back, it didn't help. At all.

Something like this was _never_ supposed to happen in her life. At least not while she and Jaune still weren't together!

"You okay Pyrrha?" Jaune spoke up from behind her. Not beside her, not next to her, _behind_ her. Past Ms. Schnee and with Penny closer to him. "If you need a break, we can stop for a bit." She bit her lip before she turned to look at him, making sure to hide her embarrassment. She had plenty of practice doing that, as with most things.

"I'll be okay Jaune, promise." She returned smoothly. Not even, not nervous, smooth. The same voice she used during her interviews and team discussions. "It hasn't been that long, and there is much further for us to go."

"Not long? True. Not far? Completely false!" Dr. Oobleck's voice was louder than usually in the tight space. It did help that he was further away from her, tailing the back of the group with Sky. "Already descended further than previous exploration teams! Tatl and Tael lighting abilities _phenomenal_!" The pair of fairies rang at opposite ends of the group at that. "Your Semblance is a magnificent boon to this exploration! Wonderful and incredibly useful." Pyrrha let her blush come back with that, knowing that it would be mistaken for the professor's praise… and not the implications from last night.

"Gotta admit that this is somethin' I wouldn't have figured you wouldda had." Pyrrha's head twisted the other way, looking at Darmani as he walked beside her. He was beside her, not Jaune. Just the friend of his older look-alike. Pyrrha knew Ruby was right before, but she would never confuse the two, especially when it was Darmani and not Link next to her. "Know a lotta Gorons that would have given an arm fer somethin' like this." His grin was almost as broad as his shoulders, and he looked as if he could take the blow of a truck.

"It is… useful," Pyrrha agreed. Her gaze turned away, not used to lying so casually. But it wasn't lying, it was half-truths, just the next step from not admitting her Semblance. Just admitting _part_ of it. That was all. "I'm just afraid of admitting what it is when others have abilities so much more… eye-catching than mine." And that was the truth, especially against a girl who generated rose petals or a boy who could clone himself with his hair.

"HA! Now that's a joke!" _WHAP!_

Pyrrha almost fell over. Almost her concentration was shot though. That would happen when someone as strong as a being made of molten rock slapped her back. Professor Port couldn't compare. Heck, a _Goliath_ would have competition.

"You're talkin' about bein' able ta find metal no matter how far away it is! That's the kinda thing that the Gorons would _love_ ta have! Make workin the mines even faster, so we can get back ta the hot springs quicker. And let me tell ya something, brother." She was a girl, not a boy, and _not_ related to him. "Yer gonna have a hard time showin' me any gift ya meat bodies got that can compare ta Goron strength." Pyrrha saw her chance, and took it.

"What kind of abilities _do_ Gorons have?" She swallowed on a lump of air, catching her breath as she focused out again with her Semblance. "I'm sorry, but I'm not very familiar with how they could be different. Not with how diverse other Semblances already are." And come to think of it, she still didn't know what Link's was himself.

"An astute observation Ms. Nikos!" Dr. Oobleck spoke again. She took a likely unhealthy amount of joy at the sound of Cardin and Sky grumbling at his voice. The shouting near them likely wasn't pleasant, for them. "Delves into theory of Aura and Semblance relation! Further, connections and ties to other external and internal influences. Conjecture that location and race related to Aura and Semblance production. Possibly, unconfirmed."

"Well _I'll_ say that the things different species can do in Hyrule and _really_ different." Tatl rang out, her ringing voice like a dinner bell in the dark shaft. At least her light was bright and vibrant. It gave Pyrrha plenty to see. "Unless you can tell me that there a bunch of you Gerudo running around capable of flight, breathing underwater, sleeping under the earth, or have magma for blood." She still wasn't used to that entirely.

"Objection! You have listed characteristics of species, not powers! Similar to suggesting avian creatures in Remnant use Semblances constantly, or have Aura production." Dr. Oobleck's voice lacked nothing in strength, but it did relieve Pyrrha a little. They weren't focusing on her anymore.

"Well I brought _that_ up because I already _know_ you have humans who can scream super loud, and I wouldn't be surprised if you were _made_ of lightning with how much you buzz!" Pyrrha was thankful Nora wasn't here, or else she would have made a comment about lightning as well. Still though, if they were focusing on each other, then she could get back to work.

She turned her gaze to Jaune, who was looking at her. He flashed a grin, complete with a thumbs up and her usual smile. She could just see it with Tatl ringing and flying above him. It was enough for Pyrrha.

Her Polarity reached out again, searching for the pocket of metal she had found before. It was in the same spot, closer thankfully, and still up ahead. It was very close, actually, maybe within eyesight. Eyesight that was limited because of the darkness.

That meant they were close, they were almost done.

She continued to walk towards it at a slow pace, making sure her feet always touched down on rock she could see, never stepping out in front of a shadow before the fairy's light lit it up, and keeping herself calm.

The last thing she needed was losing control while she was reaching out like this, letting one of the _many_ weapons that were around her suddenly flying out of their sheaths because she was spooked. She hadn't done that since she was a child, and in front of her father, but she would hopefully avoid doing it again on her first time in the field like this. And so far, it was so good.

"Hold." Even with commanding words were spoken to her.

Pyrrha did stop though, recognizing Darmani's heavy arm in front of her. She only needed a moment before recognizing what was going on. It had happened before.

"More Loliths?" Ms. Schnee questioned from behind her, voice dropped to a whisper. The large head of the Goron nodded, evidence enough.

"Wait, again?" Jaune knew the same, even if his disbelief was more evident. Pyrrha didn't fault him. She never would.

"Unsurprising, given further exploration. Expected, endearing, though still earning caution." Dr. Oobleck wasn't shouting, but it was clear he was far from perturbed. Still, it didn't give her an excuse to remain ignorant, or put their party at risk.

Pyrrha stepped back, let5ting her concentration drop as Darmani stepped forward. As she did, above the rings of the fairies that circled above them, Pyrrha made out the scratching noise from deeper in the mine shaft, past the 'brittle' walls and clawing closer to them. She used the right word. She lowered herself, instinctually, though needlessly.

It was hard to say she needed her weapons when Ms. Schnee put up a glyph before her, and the Goron Hero stood beyond it. The benefit of the two became clear instantly.

The moment the large black spider jumped through the darkness, legs sharp and screaming forward.

The walls hissed as it dragged its sharp talon-like legs across the rubble, tearing through them like paper. Its bulbous frame held the extension of the legs, towering in the narrow shaft, scrapping at the top of the pathway. Pyrrha looked to its eyes, as she was always trained to do, seeing the sharp red dots peering like speck so blood through the darkness.

Not once through the exchange did she feel dread. There was no need. Not with a Specialist from Atlas Military holding a shield, and a foreign-technically-visiting Hunter standing in front of her.

The spider Grimm's talons hit Darmani's extended arm, stopping dead on his length. His arm was not like the brittle walls, giving to a single slash. The spider barely did more than make the Darmani lower his arm a bit, and that was done while he had the usual large grin on his face. He was still enjoying it, still. Pyrrha could see that even through the clear white of Ms. Schnee's glyph, held before them.

Even as his other arm grabbed the reaming legs of the Lolith before it could retreat back into the cavern, a mistake that had happened once already. It let out a scratching hiss, coming more from its few free legs digging at the ground and walls uselessly for escape. It only succeeded in tearing more rubble to the ground.

Darmani, without waiting a moment longer, lifted his other hand and grabbed the tiny head of the chitinous Grimm.

_CRUNCH!_

The white carapace fell to pieces beneath him, the limp form of the Grimm falling after. The glyph held before them fell with the Grimm, body already starting to evaporate as the pair of fairies flew around Darmani. He bellowed with laughter, not caring for the monster's form it had crushed. Pyrrha heard Jaune give a sigh of relief behind her. She didn't mind.

"Another superb Grimm defeat!" Penny cheered. She was an excitable girl. Pyrrha couldn't help but grin as the girl beamed, even if she was throwing her sense of Polarity off.

Ruby did say that she used over ten swords for her semblance and fighting style. That much metal made sense.

"That makes ten," Ms. Schnee spoke up. She was right. "And though that number is average for a Lolith nest, I am more surprised that they are not attacking in greater numbers." Pyrrha didn't understand the context.

"You mean you _want_ more of them?" Cardin, thankfully or not, asked for her. "That's a stupid thing to ask for." She hid her small smile of satisfaction as the Atlas Specialist turned a harsh glare to the bully of Beacon. If Weiss was like ice, then Winter's glare was glacier.

"Cardin Winchester, son of Dean Winchester," Winter spoke evenly, like her sword. It was the first time she heard his father's name, not that it was of great importance to her. "I am not asking nor requesting for a more dangerous mission, not while one still involves _children_ being led by _trained adults_ into a mine that was decommissioned due to paranoia, Grimm Raids, and other clearly undocumented matters."

"Uh… Then what were you-" Maybe Cardin just couldn't keep quiet. Then again, Pyrrha couldn't really find herself caring that he couldn't. It was amusing to listen to.

"I'm _referring_ to the idea that Grimm are bestial in nature, in that they hunt, track, and _attack_ in _packs_." Ms. Schnee really did have a cold voice with a harsh look. "The idea that these Loliths are apparently _waiting_ for us is confusing and, if not, _worrying_. Would you care to guess _why_ it is worrying, Cardin Winchester?"

Pyrrha exchanged a quick look with Jaune, him looking down to hide his own grin. She'd admit, there was something cathartic about watching Cardin being bullied as well. He said nothing to the question after all.

"It is because Grimm tend to act like this _only_ when there is a far older Grimm of their kind nearby." That… actually hadn't occurred to Pyrrha. "A change in mentality and tactics is common when there is new leadership, and Grimm only change and listen to their Ancient Brethren. So, Cardin Winchester, I do not wish for more Grimm, but I _do_ want to confirm that we are not being slow led to the pit of some ancient monstrosity that-"

"Alright, alright, I think the rock's got it." Pyrrha turned to see Darmani speak, waving his massive arm as if he hadn't just crushed a Lolith with it. "Not gonna do any good throwin' boulders like that off the cliff. Don't know who your gonna hit on the way down." The analogy was weird… but Pyrrha understood it.

Wait, no, that wasn't what was important… Darmani wasn't dismissing what Winter said. Neither was Doctor Oobleck. She looked at him, red hair waving with the speed she turned. She only saw the doctor of Beacon adjust his glasses with a look of minor… contemplation? He was considering it as well?

They though there was an Ancient Grimm here?

"There… really is an Ancient Grimm?" Right now, Pyrrha didn't feel all that good about Cardin's question now. Because she wanted the same answer. "You gotta be kidding me with that. No way some mega monster would be-"

"No where else for one to be, actually." That was Tatl. The _fairy_ agreed with Ms. Schnee, ringing as she floated around them. "Giant monsters like that tend to bury themselves away like this. Usually its just more crowded with monsters and stuff, maybe the remains of some super fight, but yeah. Wouldn't be that weird if one was down here." Pyrrha hoped her light didn't show how terrified she was about the idea.

"I'm not _trying_ to sound like I'm terrified here, really I'm not," Sky started next to Cardin. He was the farthest in the back, and only Tael's light made him easy to see. "But wouldn't that be kind of the high sign to leave then? Like, why are we here for that? Should you bring in the big guns and all that stuff?"

"Sky's right, that… sounds a lot better, actually." Pyrrha agreed with Jaune, nodding towards him when his eyes found hers. Obviously, he wasn't sure if this was normal. It wasn't. "I mean, _you_ guys could probably handle it, a-and Ruby talked about how you were killing Ancient Grimm as a kid Link, and probably Darmani, both, yeah, but us?" He was rambling.

He was rambling, but that was how Jaune handled stress. Pyrrha? She was trying to hide herself. In a small dark mine, probably a good mile or two deep now, and with Grimm surrounding them. Not to mention the new possibility of an Ancient Monster here. And… and Link's friend was here? She was starting to find the idea, unlikely.

She felt worried, scared, terrified. _Why terrified?_ She had trained for this but… she hadn't done it before. But neither had anyone else the first time they did, and they had several professional hunters with them. But this was new, and extremely dangerous. Sky and Jaune were right, and Cardin was too to be wary of this. And she had… led them into this?

Was this her fault? The idea made her cold.

"Alright, alright, all ya better start plantin' yourselves." Darmani's words made no sense, but it was hard to ignore the gigantic rock being as he waved his powerful arms. "Yeah, there's a pebble of a chance of there bein' a super Grimm here an all, but it ain't a great one. If there was one, then there'd have been a lot more goin' on up top. Ya ain't gonna find a volcano burning with grass growin' nearby and ya aren't gonna see a boss monster hangin' around with more Grimm layin' with 'em."

Pyrrha nodded her head at that. Yeah… that made sense. Yes, she could agree with that. There wouldn't be a Grimm like that without more Grimm surrounding it. Port had told them about it, how Grimm of grand age tended to force other Grimm to congregate with them.

"Indeed, existence unlikely." Doctor Oobleck spoke as well. "Existence unlikely due to not appearing during mining operation, subsequent assault documentation, or further damage to surrounding area. Further current mine entrance too minimal to allow extensive travel for elder Grimm. Natural conclusion is there is none. Perfectly safe. Safer, not too dangerous." She was nodding her head now, trying to calm her nerves.

"Still a possibility." Pyrrha's eyes shut as Ms. Schnee spoke. She wasn't wrong… but still. "And justifying the lack of there being a monster without planning for once is foolishness. The danger is present, and we should be wary of it. I would much rather prepare for a non-existent threat then attempt to convince myself there isn't one at all."

"Not illogical, reasonable, true," Doctor Oobleck _agreed_. She could hear Jaune groan. "However, must not _dismiss_ counter evidence as well. Further bad logic to dismiss what is present to presume hazards. Signs for hazards natural as signs for lack of them. Observe for both."

"And there aren't a lot of monsters," Tael now. Tael, like his sister. "It doesn't feel like a temple, like they're… trying to keep a boss monster safe. It just feels… empty." That didn't come out any better.

She had to calm down, so she focused on work. Pyrrha always calmed herself before a fight by practicing, and before test by doing the same thing. She couldn't practice at the moment, but she could keep using her Polarity to find the steel. Once she found that… then they could leave.

The fact that she wanted to leave so quickly now bothered her in ways she wasn't familiar with it. It felt odd… being afraid.

So instead, Pyrrha continued forward, hoping her earlier instincts were correct. Hoping that her ability to sense with her Polarity was not far off. If she could find the metal, then she could move herself back to Jaune. Damn the embarrassment she felt before, the idea of there being an Ancient Grimm beneath their feet took _all_ precedence.

Once she found it, then Darmani and Doctor Oobleck could take over. Perhaps Ms. Schnee would guide them out while they decided to investigate whatever she found.

It wouldn't take long either. She had to be close, close enough that she-

_Bang_

Pyrrha stopped as her hand fell on steel.

"Whoa!" She heard Jaune yell behind her. She didn't look. "The heck was that!" She didn't respond.

"Pyrrha? Ms. Nikos?"

"You still there?"

"You okay, princess?" It was the ring that brought her back, because it was the light of Tatl that helped Pyrrha see exactly what she had found.

She was still standing on the dead rocks of the cavern, the shaft of the mine no larger than before. Nothing about the mine around her was much different, nothing that made it look like what she had found had any right to be there. But no matter its circumstance, it was there.

An iron girded door. Built into the shaft of the mine and covering the exit.

Her hand was pressed against the cool steel, feeling as if it were older than anything else her hands had ever so much as rubbed over. She could feel the density of the material, the hard resistance to her touch met with the sleek feel of the hammered work. Solid, continuous, marred only by whatever had the strength to scratch it, and scratch was all that they managed, unfortunately. Pyrrha shook her head, she wasn't making sense to herself.

"Oh… wow…" The voice rang from above her, but Pyrrha wasn't listening, she was _studying_. She focused on steel that her hands were rubbing on, feeling just how heavy it was with her Semblance. IT only took a quick push, disguised with her hand shoving the steel, to let her know just how heavy this door was.

And it was heavy.

Heavy enough that even with a push that would send Cardin and his team back feet with her Polarity, the steel didn't even groan. Before that, the _rocks_ that were built into the wall it was shoved into let some of their dust fall for the effort. The rocks were giving _before_ the steel door.

"Hey! Hey, easy there, brother." Darmani spoke up behind her. Had to be Darmani. "And why don't ya take a step back… I'm thinkin' you found the diamond store here." No, not diamonds, steel. Steel that was clearly shaped, tempered, and built _into_ this mine.

She could try and force it out, _try_ to break it out, but she didn't, couldn't. Not with everyone behind her. But there was something about that was just calling to her… and screaming at her. It was like the door was trying to force her to come in… but then telling her to run or _die!_

"Pyrrha? Pyrrha." She felt herself being pulled back, and Pyrrha didn't fight it. One part of her wanted to leave. The other…

… Got quitter as her hand fell of the door. The Mistral champion blinked, threading a hand through her hair as she felt her senses re-right themselves. Her breathing, labored, began to gain a tempo she didn't know she lost.

"You okay Pyrrha?" She turned to Jaune, seeing that it was him who pulled him away. He had pulled her away, and Darmani, Ms. Schnee, and Doctor Oobleck were standing in front of the door now, with the fairies ringing above them. Cardin was next to them, Sky behind them and… and they didn't look like they were anything else but confused?

How… How did they not notice this? Didn't they feel _anything_?

"Not what I was expectin', I gotta admit." Darmani spoke up. His voice, loud, was easy to hear. "I was thinkin' maybe a cave-in 'er something. Ya'll got any idea what it is?" Pyrrha started to listen in intently, feeling Jaune's hand on her shoulder. She kept it there, not willing to trust herself without _something_ keeping her rooted to reality. She was close to slipping off of it… at least it felt that way.

"Unsure, ill-confident," Doctor Oobleck spoke. Pyrrha watched him lean in close to the door, staring at it as Tatl hovered around him. It was only as he did that did she notice that Tael was floating above them… wasn't he just by them earlier? "Possible storage, but unlikely. Possible recreation room, safety from cave-ins or catastrophic events, further unlikely."

"Safety? This? This ain't somethin' ya build for minin' or even storage." Darmani almost laughed at the idea.

_BANG_

The bang of his fist against the steel, however, hard enough to shake the chamber they stood in, kept any humor out of his voice.

"This aint' somethin' yer gonna find in any mineshaft that I've seen, and we Gorons have been digging since they day we rolled outta the magma and into the cold." Pyrrha didn't care about his people, not now. She cared about that door.

"Do you have a suggestion then?" Ms. Schnee asked. "Something you feel confident enough to share?" Pyrrha wanted to know, too.

But it wasn't Darmani that answered her. It was one of the other visitors from Hyrule, someone else who was knowledgeable, and about as blunt as well. The answer they spoke said it all.

"This is a lock and key cell here." Tatl's ring was like a drum.

A cell… a… prison cell? Pyrrha blinked at the steel door, staring at it past the three hunters and blonde fairy. The size of it, thickness, weight, strength… it could have been a cell, but… _why_ a cell? It only took a glance, and the knowledge that Jaune was gripping her shoulder harder for her to realize it wasn't a question she had alone.

"A cell?" Ms. Schnee repeated. "As in for convicts? In a mine? Impossible, at least for a condition like this."

"Concur," Doctor Oobleck spoke next. "No indication that Monument Mine was to be used in such a way, in all records and documents gathered. Everything received indicates strictly a mining operation, failed prospect, granted, but mining alone. No incarceration or imprisonment." Pyrrha knew Doctor Oobleck well enough to know he would not sound so sure of himself unless he _was_ sure.

But staring at the steel, and feeling what she did… she wasn't so confident that it wasn't.

"Then how about we open it up and find out?" Pyrrha did a double-take to the fairy.

"Is she serious?" Jaune asked next to her. She wanted to answer, but she didn't have one, not one that we she sure of. It would be reckless for her to just blurt out an answer, now of all times. Not when something like this was here and it just _felt_ wrong on all levels. Guessing now, when she wasn't confident, would be dangerous.

"I believe Tatl is likely to commit to her actions, yes." Apparently, Penny had no such reason to doubt it herself. "And I believe my idea is substantiated by the key Darmani is holding?" Key?

Pyrrha looked back at the Goron, seeing that he was, indeed, holding a key. It was an old rusted thing that looked _tiny_ in his massive hand. But it was still there, gnarled from age and holding a pair of prongs on it. Where had he gotten that from? No… where was it from at all? It just… it felt as good as the door did. It felt like it wasn't something that belonged.

Pyrrha took back her previous thoughts of her Semblance. Unless he learned how to make it sense _better_ , it was just _bad._

"Of all the stupid…" Ms. Schnee mumbled ahead of them, still very audible in the compact and enclosed mine. "I cannot believe that dumb key you found will actually have a merit for its use." The grin on Darmani's face, the Goron, wasn't something that Pyrrha believed she could replicate, or even belonged next to the ominous steel door. At all. It was like contrasting fire and ice.

"Ha! That's the best part! Findin' things that'll come back ta help ya!" The Goron flipped the key in the air, catching it deftly. "Sides, ain't like someone would make a key with no door. That's bad smithin', and even though this mine's a pebble ta a mountain for us Gorons, I trust ya wouldn't was the material." She couldn't' follow his conversation, because it was only tangentially related to the door.

The door wasn't calling to her anymore, and she was glad, really, she was. But now, she just wanted to go.

"Pyrrha, you okay?" She turned again to Jaune, looking at him. No, she wasn't, but why did he ask. "You were shaking." Well that would explain it. And he did have a hand on her shoulder. Maybe the only thing keeping her standing.

Her tongue worked uselessly in her mouth, unable to swallow the ball that had crawled and kept itself in her throat. It felt like it was choking her, keeping her awake enough to see what was happening, but not able to talk about it. In fact, there was only one thing that Pyrrha could say she was completely confident in right now.

Fear felt _horrible._

"She gonna be okay?" Cardin asked, of all people. Why him? Why when she didn't have a voice to properly answer? "You gonna have to carry her back?" He was grinning, mocking her, but Pyrrha didn't care.

"Friend Cardin, that is rude." Pyrrha looked at Penny, the odd girl glaring up at Cardin with hands on her hips. She was only barely visible, thanks to Tael's dark lavender light. "Friend Pyrrha is likely suffering from a claustrophobic incident brought on by her use of her Semblance." But the girl was wrong. Her Polarity could exhaust her, but she had never felt this before. Only once, and that was when she had _first_ used her powers.

She didn't feel like this from just casually using it, even if it was a new use Jaune had made up. This was different and… and she had to leave. They all did. They could leave and just find-

_CLANG_

Her attention focused on the trio of hunters, having completely forgotten about them. She looked to the door, which her mind had never left. She watched as the key Darmani held was twisted in a lock at the door's center, higher than any normal lock and twisted to the right.

The clang was the bolt inside falling away. Pyrrha felt her stomach fall with it.

_CRAASH-BANG-CRAAAA **AAAAAAAAASH**_

**_BOOOOOOOOOOOM!_ **

And a moment later, the floor with it.

* * *

Darmani constantly warned Link of falls for a Goron. Link heeded them well. Gorons were strong, but brittle, able to endure great loads, but not great forces. They could lift boulders the size of houses, but be crushed by hammers that swung with the strength of lightning. It was why Darmani was so proud of his physique and traits, to be able to endure blows that other Gorons could not.

But the greatest of blows dealt by Gorons was comparable to the greatest of falls from mountain tops or cavern's edges. Right now, he and the students who followed them both were falling in such a way. They were all in danger.

Darmani made no comment to Link before he reminded the Hylian who borrowed his form what to do.

His arms tucked into themselves, curling about his body to create a dense ball of stone and granite, tighter, heavier, and more wicked than even the hammers smelt from Death Mountain's flames. But for all the density he had, Darmani kept himself like a rubber ball. It was why Link hit the ground without fear that he was going to shatter.

It did, however, leave his breath torn from his body and small eyes wide with pain.

His legs exploded from Darmani's rolled up state, arms nearly slamming into the ground he had landed on. Craters formed where the Goron's massive arms impacted, Darmani reminding him that the same was likely true for the rest of his body. He was heavy, and proud of it. Link was not. It meant the pain he felt was greater for it.

He had once been told by the wise sages that forces of nature were unbiased towards the objects they interacted with. The wind did not push harder against a tree then it did a mountain, nor did the land pull harder on a man than it did a horse. However, the consequences of that unbiasedness were clear.

The heavier hit the ground harder, when the fell from the same height as those who were lighter.

Such was proven, again, to both Link and Darmani's memories as he groaned from his position on the floor. While he rolled in the curled position of the Goron Hero, trying to right the pain that flooded through the stiff and rigid body of the Goron, he heard the Gerudo calling off around him. Calling, but not looking.

Because they were surrounded in darkness. Complete and totally blanketed darkness.

"Hey! Everyone okay!?"

"I'm good, sort of… yeah I'm fine… Just winded."

"Take slow breaths, Mr. Arc. Slow, deep, controlled. Everyone else, the same!"

"Make sure ya didn't crack nothin'!" Darmani's voice yelled out. Link would have phrase it better, but the concern was genuine. "Can't have ya tryin' ta act tough if ya are hurt, not this deep!"

"How freaking _far_ was that?!"

"Approximately 600 meters given acceleration and relative velocity upon impact. Impact measured to be on an undetermined mineral of high density." Darmani was proud she was correct about the density of the floor. Link didn't care.

"Cool… so we… we fell over a quarter… of a _mile_."

"HEY! ARE YOU ALL OKAY!?" That wasn't form the students. Link recognized Tatl's voice swiftly and easily.

He rolled over on Darmani's back, the stiff and rigged exterior shell of the Goron making it difficult, when there was no momentum to carry him. Link stopped when he sat on the floor, looking forward into darkness. If he couldn't' see Tatl and Tael, then they weren't there. They were too bright to miss in such a dark place.

So instead, as his instincts naturally guided, Link looked up. Darmani's memories congratulated him for the idea of it, remembering that fairies flew, and as such wouldn't fall just because the floor gave out. It was only too clear that the specks of light high above them were the sibling fairies he was so used to being accompanied by.

"SERIOUSLY! ANSWER ME DOWN THERE!" Tatl was not amused.

"I'M WITH THE ANGRY ONE! YOU GUYS _ALIVE?!"_ That was Sky Lark, however. Link could not see him through Darmani's small eyes. The Goron's memories had no shame, knowing that such sight was better owned by the Watarara, not the subterranean Gorons. Link had no argument or reason to complain, yet. "SHOULD I SEND OUT THE SOS _NOW_ OR _TEN MINUTES AGO!?_ " At least he sounded worried for once.

"We're all good Tatl!" Darmani's voice yelled now through Link's command. "Ain't a slow fall, but we made sure ta stop! No long-distance rollin' here!" This wasn't the time to try and play the Goron rolling game. Link had no interest to do that again. It was good to hear Tatl and Tael ring high above.

"SKY? You okay up there?" Cardin called back. His voice echoed, all their voices were echoing. "How'd you avoid falling?!"

"I was hanging back because I didn't want to be near the giant black door buried in a _haunted mine_!" There was sense to his hesitation there. "Now can one of you _PLEASE_ tell me what to do!?"

Link had begun to suspect that Sky Lark had the same mentality as Mido of the Kokiri, given his general apathy and tendency to push work off. He was glad to be wrong. Darmani's memories were quick to remind that the boy, or pebble as hew as referred, was simply trying to wait for a moment to shine, like a gem looking for sunlight.

Link, gently in his head, had to remind the Goron none would be found beneath the depths of a mountain's core. The Goron's past ideas laughed at the idea, even as Link debated on what to do next. Though in a panic, Sky was right to ask of what to do, just as he was right to recognize he should not act before reaching a consensus with those who had fallen.

"FIRST! Calm down Mr. Lark!" Dr. Oobleck yelled out, still in the dark. Link could sense his voice through the ground more than the air, given how dense it was. Darmani's memories reminded him that stiffer metals and rocks made it easier to sense vibrations through them. It was one of the best ways for the professional miners to find the best minerals. "SECOND! Hold with Tatl and Tael as we discuss!"

"Are we okay?" Pyrrha, Link recognized the voice. There was no tremor, and Darmani could tell she was alright. She didn't sound winded to him, something he had picked up from dealing with many Hylians before. "I'm sorry for asking first, but I am alright, a-and I believe Jaune is as well."

"Yeah, I'm good." The boy responded as he usually did. "Little sore, but good. Aura took most of the fall. Like all of it." Link had to remind himself Darmani lacked such a trait. The Goron had no shame for such a fact. Why shield himself with magic when he was already made of metal and stone. "Everyone else good?"

"I am _a-o-kay!_ "

"I am as well."

"Non-injured, but sore. Acceptable."

"I'm good fer now. Just pissed off and ready to break the neck of whoever made that damn fence." In truth, Link could find no fault with the comment. He was wishing to have words as well. Darmani agreed, his memories thinking of many Gorons who did a poor job labeling parts and shafts of the Snow Head mines.

"We should at least figure out where we are first, before we do anything else." Winter spoke then, Link recognized. Darmani liked her, but wished it was Penny speaking. Link had no comment to his preference. "Frist, we are on dense ground, correct Penny?" Given the rise in her voice, Link suspected she was calling out into the dark, unaware of where the golem girl was.

"Correct, Specialist Schnee," said girl responded. Link felt her speak again, as well as stand. He was unsurprised to feel her boots click against the ground, given that she was likely made of steel. She was heavy for Darmani to lift, compared to the humans he lifted before. The Goron's memories laughed at the new one. "I can determine that we are on a mineral surface with density 0.04 g/cm3 lower than standard carbon steel. Further, given the propagation of my voice, I can assume we are in an expansive chamber roughly square in shape, indicating nearly a 600-meter difference between parallel walls."

"Walls… walls… are you sayin' we fell into some kinda chamber some _made?_ " Darmani was impressed by Cardin's question. Link was as well. That was not the first question that came to his mind, but it was one that needed answering, even if the boy sounded as if he was hiding his fear through his rage. "Like someone _made_ this freakin' death trap _for us!?_ "

"Calm yourself Mr. Winchester!" Dr. Oobleck yelled back, appropriately. "Curious though. Perhaps not entirely man-made. Suspect not, given size, hidden area, and relative seclusion. Still, not natural, too large to be natural. Too near the surface with too convenient placement. Convenience is clue towards foreign plan." Link knew he was correct. Darmani's memories trusted his judgement.

"No way anythin' like this just came 'bout naturally, brother," Darmani spoke, upon Link's request. Hidden in the dark, now was the time to share all that they could to ensure the safety of themselves and the students. "Considerin' the fence 'fore, fair ta say that either they knew this was here, or they were tryin' ta bury it. Why? Ain't gotta clue." And they wouldn't, not without more knowledge.

"There is… something here still." Darmani did not hear the words, not clearly. He felt them before anything. It was Link who heard them, and focused on Pyrrha's whispering voice. She shuffled before she spoke again, still in the dark like the rest of them. "I can… feel the metal, somewhere…"

"You sure?" It was because he heard Pyrrha that Link heard Jaune. "It's not the plate we're sitting on, is it? Like what Penny said?" The boy whispered where the girl mumbled. It was evident that he did not want the others to know of her powers, meaning he knew. Darmani still reminded him, unnecessarily, not to push. It was not a harmful secret. Link agreed.

The unknowns had the advantage, but they were only worth letting them lie to let trust grow.

Link ensured he was attempting to make no joke when he reminded himself that nearly _everything_ was unknown so long as they were buried in this pit, far from the surface and away from any meaningful light source.

"No, it isn't," Pyrrha's voice came again. "I can still feel it thought, because it… it's close… over there." Darmani wondered if the girl knew that her words made no sense in the dark. Link wondered the same. Jaune did as well, aloud.

"Over… where?" His words held confusion to them. Link was sure, through experience with the many young maidens who flooded the knight's academy, that the knight in training herself was flush with embarrassment. Hence, she could not, or would not, speak.

But her other words resounded within him, reminded Link that there was something here. Darmani's memories told him little of what it could be. Only once could the Goron hero recall a chamber such as this being made, and that was to house the honored dead. Even then, it was meant to be dug and shaped atop the mountain, not beneath it. They were meant to be buried in a way that showed they would forever watch over the Goron people. This… this was wrong. Link could not disagree. It felt wrong to him as well.

"Penny… do you have any supplies that may help us light the area?" Winter questioned the golem. Link was no fool, he knew what she meant. Darmani, correcting the woman to ask the golem had any built-in tools, did little to prove he was not.

"I apologize Specialist Schnee, but I do not." Link could steel feel her walking in circles, perhaps trying to find a good way to clock where she was. He found it difficult to believe she had no means of being able to right herself in low-lit areas. "Majority of my tools or methods for illuminating an area are for either small areas or room or employ quick heavy artillery. Neither would be preferable here.

"Please don't fire bombs to help us see," Cardin spoke from somewhere behind Link. He was still sitting as well, if the way his voice came out, and the height difference from it, meant anything. "I don't think my Aura can take another hit so quickly."

"Agreed, poor choice," Doctor Oobleck interjected. Link listened, thinking himself of what to do. He doubted his lantern would do much for such a large area. "However, illumination necessary. Need method or alternative light source."

"Alternative to the lanterns and fire Dust. We do not have enough to lit up the cavern, especially with how large the place supposedly is." Winter sounded as if she were dusting herself off. Darmani didn't see the point, noting such to Link

"Perhaps we can-"

"HEY SKY!" Link turned his attention to Cardin, even in the dark of the hall. "Now'd be a _GREAT_ time ta show off your Semblance!" His power? Link was not aware Sky Lark had one relevant to the situation.

"His… semblance?" Jaune parroted with confusion as well. Darmani was confused why no one knew what it was. Link was sure it was either because of keeping to unknowns, or embarrassment. Given it was Cardin's team, the latter. "What does it do? I-I mean, how can it-"

"KAY!" Sky yelled from high above them. "ONE _SKY BOX_ COMING UP!" Sky box? Link had not heard the term before. Neither had Darmani. The sky was the most unobstructed piece of nature anyone could behold. How would it be possible to limit it to a box? It forced Link's curiosity to peak, as well as that of Dr. Oobleck and Winter, apparently.

"Sky Box? I'm unfamiliar with the term." Dr Oobleck's lowered voice was implication enough he was speaking to Cardin, not Sky. The leader of the team, not the user of the ability. "Please explain. What does it do? General purpose, implications?"

"Sorry teach," Cardin responded. To Link, and even Darmani's memories, it was obvious he was grinning. "You're gonna have to see it for yourself." Link was sure that whatever was to come, it would be surprising. And surprising it was, immensely so.

Few other words could be used to describe the sky opening above them.

Darmani's eyes, used by Link, narrowed as a near explosion of light rippled above them. It came with no destruction of the earth or cavern, no thunderous boom to shake the air, nothing at all. And yet, where they were previously shadowed in complete darkness, light began to tear through the ceiling high above them. It was impossible not to squint up at it.

But even squinting, the explosion of light made it clear they were, indeed in a deep dense cavern with the ceiling and hole they fell from high above them. Sitting on a solid surface of minerals that Darmani still couldn't gaze at properly to judge, and all from a fair distance to one another. Pyrrha was next to Jaune, huddled on the ground. Penny was standing upright with eyes high, Cardin sitting on the ground with elbows on his knees, arms folded between him. Doctor Oobleck and Winter were kneeling close to one another, and he was apart from the pack. It was difficult not to be impressed.

Just as it was difficult not to voice the surprise.

"Holy _CRAP!_ " "Sky?" "That's my partner."

"Associate Sky has a useful Semblance!" "Very useful, situational, but useful."

" _HEY LINK! DARMANI!"_ The Goron managed to force his eyes open a fraction more, though still found himself blinded by the immense light high above. Link was sure that would fade as he adjusted. For now, he could only focus on Tatl's voice. "LOOKS LIKE THE SKY BOY BASICALLY MAKES LIGHT! NOT WARM, BUT BRIGHT!"

"Thank you for stating the obvious, Fairy Tatl!" Link snorted at Penny's comment, holding back Darmani's desire to roar with laughter.

"Well HEY! I JUST _THOUGHT_ YOU MIGHT WANNA KNOW WHAT HE'S DOIN'!" It was not that Link didn't want to know, he just believed it was rather obvious. No need to question how a swordsman was swinging his blade, much less who was creating the light high above them.

"Sky can basically make small squares that are bright as the sun." Link was thankful he could look at Cardin now, even though the smile on the boy's face, proud and broad, was unsurprising, as compared to the rippling light high above. "Bigger the box he makes, brighter the light. Really only useful fer keeping track of where we are at night, but damn hard to use in a fight. Guy prefers to use it for all-nighters so he can sleep during the day." He chuckled at that, though Link did not know why.

"A fine explanation, answers primary question, tertiary curiosities related to schoolwork." Doctor Oobleck chimed in. He was quick to stand, now that he was able to see around them. "That is an admirable skill Mr. Lark!" He shouted upwards with it.

"THANKS! FIGURE I GOTTA TRY ONCE IN A WHILE!" Genuine as their efforts were, it was rather obvious it was quickly going to their heads. Link had to remind Darmani that pride was only acceptable if the results were consistent. Cardin and Sky were not there yet.

"Yes! But… oh… oh my…" Doctor Oobleck's voice pattered off, earning Link's attention as well. It was unlike the man to fall off from his hurried speech, not without an object in hand or surprise to focus on, one that related to his work at least. Through the Goron's eyes, Link saw that he was not looking at anything between them or on him, rather, he was looking beside himself, at something that Sky's rippling light slowly began to illuminate.

Slowly, like the clouds pulling back from the sun, it revealed an object stuck in the ground. Several objects stuck in the ground. Stuck out of the ground, whilst buried within the hard mineral. Link felt Darmani rise as he continued to stare through his eyes.

The objects were coils of rope, long, thick and frayed, littered across with slips of paper that hung like laundry, each tied down and drawn with text he was too far away to read. They were tied to the ground by heavy and thick bolts of steel, large and rounded enough that Darmani knew he'd need the full strength of one arm to remove. The Gerudo would need many to do the same. And the more the light showed, the more of them entered his vision, silently greeting him in a manner that was ominous to both Link's history and Darmani's superstition.

They were all pushing out from different areas of the hard-mineral ground, but all flowing towards the same center. The center that was indicated by the increasing number of inked pages. The ropes all flowing to a central point until they looked like they were morphing together, the pages turning from spare laundry to warped curtains, hiding vainly what it was they clung to, and bound themselves for.

The ropes not only conjoined to a center point, they rose. The arced from the many points in the ground their anchor originated and slowly slopped like paintings of hills upwards, up higher than even Darmani stood. Perhaps even as tall is Mikau, Link thought. Already taller than Cardin, who was standing now as well. It came to a point that Link recognized, if only by shape. But it was not something he, nor Darmani's many memories and his people's history, could justify existing in the depths of a cavern.

They could think of no reason why a blade as tall as a Zora Elder was tied and routed to the cavern floor.

"What… the hell…" No one spoke ill of Cardin's words. Link heard far worse running through Darmani's mind. He spoke none of them, but noted all of them. Not even the experienced miners were familiar with the sight, let alone the location. "What's a freaking blade like _that DOING_ here?" It was not a question to be easily answered.

"I do not know," Penny responded beside him. "I lack any significant data either historical or fictional indicating the purpose of this, or likely originations of this design." Not even the memories of a golem could tell what it was.

"My word… my god…" Perhaps it was Doctor Oobleck's words that worried him the most. Link kept himself quiet. Or else Darmani's mannerisms would leak through.

"YOU SEE THAT?!" Sky yelled from high above. "THAT FREAKY SPIRAL OVER THERE!? WHAT IS THAT?!" Spiral?

"Sky, my boy, what's it shaped like?!" Link called with Darmani's voice? "Cause all we see down here is a bunch a rope, paper, and an _over-compensating_ sword!" He bellowed a quick laugh, even as Link sighed at the comment. Perhaps it was good he was the only one who did laugh.

"I'LL TELL YA IN A SEC!" Tatl rang out. She was coming down obviously. In obviously, it meant she and Tael would come.

That would mean Sky Lark, the one keeping them alive with light, would be alone up top with possible monsters behind him.

"No! Tael! You stay up there!" Link called back with Darmani's voice, pointing towards the hole they had fallen from. Though Sky's powers lit the room well, he could still see the dark light of the younger fairy flutter at the surface. At least his eyes were adjusting now. "Sky is alone up there, and he will need your eyes to ensure he is safe! Do not abandon him while he keeps us well lit."

"Intelligent choice! Most agreed!" Doctor Oobleck was quick to follow, though only for a moment. His attention was quickly drawn to the blade and its many ropes again. "Curious age, less curious for material. Stiff surface likely designed to help preserve ropes, prevent decay, rot, time's effect." Link was key to remember it would take much more than a hard surface to prevent Time for affecting something.

"O-OKAY!" The hesitant voice of Tael called back. Little argument, likely because he could still see them. Not separating for a search or time apart, just opposite ends of a very large room, vertically. It would be preferably to keep Tael with Sky, for many reasons. Tatl would be aware of them as well.

It was likely why she spoke no counter as she floated down to him, her golden light seemingly separating from the supposed Sky Box that the boy had formed. Her ringing was clearer the closer she came to the ground, though she didn't approach Link and Darmani first. Neither expected her to.

Instead, she floated around the many ropes and paper, her size showing well the magnitude of difference between what was normal and what was here. Though she could easily sit and perhaps be compared to the thickness of some cords of rope, especially those that harbored boats on piers, she was dwarfed by these bands that apparently hung from a singular sword, anchored to the stiff floor by numerous points.

It was only he watched her flitter through the ropes that Link was aware of Doctor Oobleck's now rigid concentrate on the ropes as well. His eyes pouring over them, focusing on the anchors they came from and following them to each paper that hung from them. He never approached or bent over them, careful with them as he would a delicate flower. Perhaps it could be seen as such, given how it was spiraled by Sky's description.

None of this made sense to Link or Darmani. It was unlikely the others would understand either.

"Uh… Mr. Darmani, sir?" the Goron turned to see Jaune approaching him, Pyrrha close to his side. Both of their eyes, however, were on the blade behind him. He could not fault him. "What… is going on? Is this what your friend made or… was _looking_ for?" Link was embarrassed to even think he had forgotten about Navi. Darmani laid no fault on him.

"Nope, no way," the Goron answered with a shake of his head. "Only fairies that'll make anythin' work swinging in battle are the Great ones. Cool as Navi is, a brother to Link through and through, she ain't no Great Fairy. Just a guardian… and one I'm startin' to second guess was ever here." Link spoke the last part, and Darmani agreed.

"I am glad you were able to say it, and not me," Winter approached now, though again, none had eyes on the other. All continued to stare at the blade and ropes. "Though I'll admit I'm not sure if I should be elated or worried we found the likely source of the anomalies to the mine. Both for the outlay of the area… and the emotions we experienced." So, she felt it too.

"You mean us, 'er the miners that were runnin' 'fore?" Darmani asked with his own thoughts. Link was aware of the answer already. The Goron only needed to ask him, silently.

"Ours _and_ theirs," the alabaster haired Gerudo responded. Her eyes were as sharp as her voice. Darmani almost feared having those turned on the ropes, severing them. "I will hear no jests or denials that there has been a flurry of emotions amongst our group alien to what is normal. These coincide roughly with those experienced by the previous miners, either extremely peaceful or panic-filled moments." Doctor Oobleck had mentioned that during his meeting with Ozpin.

"And you think the blade is the cause of this?" Pyrrha questioned. "I'm sorry, but that doesn't make sense. How can a blade, even one like _that_ possibly influence feelings?" Her hesitancy was understood, but Link was aware how real it could be.

Link kept Darmani from answering for now. It was not an answer they needed to know. Despite that, Winter turned to the strong fighter with an answer on her lips.

"By-"

_SNAP!_

All eyes whipped to the source of the sound. All eyes stared, _petrified_ by the _whipping_ cord of rope.

Darmani watched, his jaw falling to show his full maw, as the taunt rope rose into the air for a moment, hanging under the light of Sky's ability, showing its last great height in the air, before falling to the hard ground with a strong thud. A boom loud enough for Darmani to feel through his boots, forcing dust and gravel to fly into the air with its fall.

Silence overtook the room again, even Doctor Oobleck merely staring at the new splintered and severed rope laying on the ground beneath the many other chords and twists above it. The paper that was died and written on laying crumbled on the floor. It was like watching a lifeline being severed.

And then the ring of Tatl echoed through the air.

"Tatl, _how dare you!?_ " Doctor Oobleck yelled at Link's fairy. The hero was conflicted on what to do, as was Darmani. "That is _inexcusable! Horrendous!_ Destroying part of such an important discovery!"

" _HEY! I_ didn't do _ANYTHING!_ " Tatl yelled back. She was ringing through the air, in front of Doctor Oobleck in a moment, coating his scornful expression with her golden light. "I just _flew_ around the stuff! I never even touched it! You think _I'd_ be stupid enough to do that!"

" _Irrelevant!_ " The doctor yelled as he threw up his hands again. "Your _presence_ alone in the proximity of such _a fragile find_ relates to-"

_SNAP-SNAP-SNAP!_

More of the ropes snapped, just as loud and violently as the first. All eyes turned again, seeing the ropes that had been severed no so far away from the original one, but now clustered together. Now rising into the air all the same, and falling with a boom that left the ground shaking as if to signal a violent earthquake.

 _SNAP-SNAP- SNAP-SNAP-SNAP!_ _SNAP!_

More were following, faster than before, more spread out than before. The nearly Goron-arm sized chords of rope were suddenly snapping one by one, over and over again, rising into the air as the great force that held them still for so many years was giving away, and they were surrendering themselves to gravity, to tear up the ground the blade was anchored to… the blade…

The ropes were severing, and the hold on the blade weakening. Link had no idea why, but instinct told him it was bad. Darmani had no reason to disagree.

"The blade!" Doctor Oobleck yelled out. Eyes turned to him. "We must grab it! Secure it! Before all ropes sever! Prevent its fall, prevent _damage!_ Immensely important!" Darmani felt his magmic blood rise.

" _Stop him!_ " He called with a bellow voice. He was pleased, if only briefly, to see Penny jump forward and grab the man. His legs were short, but the distance to the man small. Rolling would be no good. He just needed to grab Doctor Oobleck, to _stop_ the man and whatever was possessing him to run forward.

Because he did not know the origin of the blade, but it could be _nothing_ less than _maleficent_ were it housed in such a way.

No holy blade, of Goron design or divine creation, would be housed in such a manner.

"Release me! Let me go!" Link reached out with Darmani's hand, grabbing his arm as he nearly forced his way out of Penny's grip. That fact alone was disturbing, but it did not last. He would not beak free from his hold. The near animalistic cry that followed was proof of it.

It was also a clear sign something was very wrong. The _emotions_ were sparking again.

"What the _hell_ is happening!" "What's wrong with the professor!?" "Let him go! You're hurting him!"

" _LINK!_ " Link looked up to see Tael calling to him, but he did nothing more. He could not afford to, not while the others yelled behind him and the doctor struggled in his grasp.

_SNAP-SNAP-SNAP! **SNAP!**_

The final rope broke.

Doctor Oobleck stopped struggling in his arm when it fell, when the last line holding the blade up was gone. It left nothing now but the massive blade protruding from the ground, showing off all of its malicious glory. Darmani was right, and Link was right to trust him. This blade was not meant to be released, let alone touched.

It had arcs and curves along its ends, a design meant to inflict pain, needless and egregious, as it was swung. Its metal was cool and black, a poor mixture of volcanic steel and dark arts used to cool it, forever solidifying the steel as vile. It's hilt, jeweled red like blood and crested with foreign signals, beckoned only death to its grasp, no protection or aid.

It was a vile blade, and blade that was now unbound to the floor by anything but its point.

The sword didn't shatter. The sword didn't rise. The sword didn't fall.

It melted.

Darmani had no words or explanation for the blade as it changed shape without heat and folded without force. Like the paper that was held on the ropes, it slowly began to fall to the hard surface beneath them, churning with the many strands of rope that it had been held up by. It was a sight he couldn't make sense of, neither Link nor Darmani.

"I am _so_ confused right now," Jaune spoke, perhaps necessarily to pierce the tense veil in the air. "Is that normal? Do blades melt like that? Are they _kept_ like that?" The answer was no on all accounts. Darmani had no voice to speak.

"No… And… Th-This isn't good," Winter spoke. It was the first time Link had eve heard her stumble over her words. "We… we should leave. Make a report and quarantine, but leave. Leave _now!_ "

Her words were doing good, as Link noticed. Doctor Oobleck had stopped struggling in his grip, and the others were gaining energy. They were no longer stuck as statues, focused and unmoving. They were looking around, mumbling, talking, trying to find a way out. He began to do the same, though Darmani told him it would be useless.

The design may have been poor, but he recognized now that it was a prison. And no prison of such elaborate make would have an exit so easily reachable by simply walking to it. That still left precious little for him to say, or do.

" _LINK! LINK!"_ Tael was calling him again. Link looked back up at him, seeing the dark fairy nearly _screaming_ around the box of light that Sky was holding up. The terror was obvious, deciding on whether or not to approach and abandon Sky. "I know what that is! _I KNOW WHAT THAT IS!_ "

"WHAT?!" "What?!" Doctor Oobleck yelled. Him… and Tatl. "WHAT IS IT?!" Their voices overlapped.

Link strained to hear the answer, and that was his mistake.

Because in the next moment, the dark mass that was the blade _lunged_!

Darmani didn't react, Link did. Link reacted as he had been trained, as he had done dozens to hundreds of times before. With arms still gripping the doctor, it was obvious what he had to do.

His arm twisted an threw the professor away, out of reach and towards the others. He had time to see the look of panic on their faces, collectively, even as Winter prepared her blade and rune to fight with. But by the time Darmani turned back around face the mass that was the blade, its shadow had already fallen over him.

Darkness swept over him again, taking his vision from it. Link still swung out, pushing forward Darmani's fist, capable of demolishing boulders with a single blow, yet hitting nothing, not even the resistance of the darkness that swallowed him.

He was enveloped, he was trapped and… he was falling… Falling as he heard the last cry of Tael high high above him.

"It's a _NIGHTMARE!_ " **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	21. In Medias Res

There wasn't much Qrow was good with, he could admit that. To the right person, with the right drink, he might brag about it. If he was drunk at three with a good ear next to him, he'd list the few things he was good at then brag about the stuff he never got asked to do because of it.

Most people would hear that and shake their head. It was why Qrow had the 'bad' luck to usually find those kinds of people listening to him. Sure, there were a few altercations with people who wouldn't take his excuses, like letting a dog run away because he couldn't find his flask.

Sometimes though, he'd find that rare friend who'd listen, console, and then let him due his thing with just the promise that he'd pay it back later. Unfortunately for Qrow, as he usually found out later, that was when his Semblance decided to play Tennis and hit the ball into his court. Case in point was where he was now, namely doing the one thing every body in his family and gene pool made his swear to never do, and something he _agreed_ he should never do.

And yet, here he was, doing that same thing as a favor to a friend who'd never let him down. Sometimes his Semblance had a hell of a sense of humor, enough to make him think it had a mind of its own.

Afterall, who else would trust him to babysit a kid?

A kid that had gone through as much hell as he'd seen across the colonization towns and frontiers, probably a bit worse. Probably made worse by the pair of wolf ears that stuck out from the top of her head like a character out of a children's show. Scratch that, definitely made it worse, like gunshots after a night spent drinking a keg.

Wasn't too much of a surprise to Qrow that he'd be put on child duty, not after he tried to get that sweet sweet blackmail on the Ice Queen and Super Faunus. Too bad his luck, and Ozpin's good morals, decided to throw that away, with him _still_ paying the price. Also probably a good idea to have a guy who watched over a pair of rugrats while they grew up over any other stranger on the street, especially after what the kid had gone through thanks to a gender-questionable thief and his posse.

So logic, dues, and time were against him, which meant that it wasn't too much of a shocker that Qrow was in charge of watching the charge of one Link, the newest Super Faunus of Remnant, or whatever the title was supposed to be. Resident badass usually worked out, given what he he'd heard he pulled off recently. Still, wasn't all bad, at least to a guy who'd played surrogate dad twice over now.

Moraine was easily the quietest tike he'd ever seen, or heard, wanted to be alone more than explore, and tended to sleep longer than anyone else he could remember. Even with a shot memory, that still was a pretty good list, especially with drunks and PTSD victims on it. And freaking pre-pubescent brat was beating them all.

Like right now.

Right now being Qrow swinging his one of his legs off the side of the desk he sat on. Chair be damned, that thing would definitely break if he sat on it for too long. Besides, the table had more leg room to relax on, was higher up, and a wall to lean against. Too many benefits to ignore. Near the top of that list was the sun avoiding his eyes, given that it was mid-day and therefore stupidly bright, especially to a guy who was nursing his fourth hangover in a row. Still, with his trusted weapon at his side, about the _only_ thing his Semblance didn't have a penchant for destroying, he was doing pretty okay.

Good enough to watch over the little girl still curled up in the bed Oz had given to her. Probably felt like a freaking king's bed considering the small thing she must have slept on back at the orphanage, before the flames got to it. Then again, probably anything would do after that. Not like a good bed was going to fix it.

Food had to have helped though, seeing as she was at least eating three square meals a day. Probably got the same thing in the orphanage, but Qrow wasn't about to bet that the food there compared to Beacon. Sure, probably rated the same on the danger-scale, but there was a bit reason to up the ante when it came to feeding the next generation of hunters. Orphans in the wild? Not so much.

Man, didn't that bring up some bad memories.

"Couple of kids lookin' to make it big and bring it all back home," Qrow mumbled to himself. And it was definitely just him. Kid was still asleep, curled away from him and towards the wall. "Runnin' out of a bandit gang lookin' to learn how to hunt… and kill."

Yeah, that was a familiar story. Qrow got a little further into his before fate intervened with him though. Sounded as if Moraine barely got to the start before destiny or whatever threw its hammer onto her. Tough luck, and he wasn't helping. Least he could was make sure he wouldn't hurt.

His head rolled against the wall he leaned on, turning until he was facing the still snoozing kid. Seriously, napping in the middle of the day. That was what he wanted to do, but he wouldn't make a very good watch dog if he was resting on the job.

"Caught up in a war that was way bigger than any territory disputes we saw a kid. Longer too, older than anyone I knew, or thought I knew." A long sigh left Qrow's lips. No idea where this was coming from, but if he was going to talk to the room, might as well be the next best thing to empty. Occupied by the sleeping and ignorant. "Ran away from family to save them. Left chasing feathers and tails for the past few years. Cause you know that always works."

Like whiskey to dull the pain of a migraine. Qrow shook his head again, rotating his shoulders to readjust himself. Jacket felt heavy again, always did when he slept on it funny. Too bad he hadn't had a real chance to snooze yet. If he was going to hit the clubs later tonight, he'd have to get in a least a dozen winks.

"Depending on family, friends, and those who just want a fair trade." Count all of them on one had as it were. Still would be able to if he lost a few fingers to a Beowulf on top of it. Hell, a Ursa would cut it. "And anyone else willin' to be the sucker." He grinned at that, knowing the truth of it all. No way anyone left a deal with him for the better.

His musings stopped as he saw the girl shiver in her sleep. The grin fell from his lips, the kid curling into herself, wolf ears pressed against her head. Not a good sign, but a pretty obvious one. Pretty universal for anyone who'd walked through hell, especially those who were in the middle of it.

Another sigh left his lips, another tired sign that Moraine couldn't hear. All for the better.

"You're a lucky kid, you know that?" Now he was talking to someone, just someone who wasn't listening. "You got a Super Faunus ta catch your fall. Better be sure ta pay him back when you get older."

Qrow's head twisted again, stopping only when he was looking at the half-blinded window across from him, showing so little of the outside garden. Probably by Ozpin's design, keep the nosier of the kids out. Least it gave him a good view of the sunset.

"Best way to do that is grow-up safe." He continued to mumble, even as his hands patted his coat for his flask. Had to be on hand. Third tap got it. "Live a long-life and you'll pay him back ten-fold." The metal of the flask cap spun till it clanged against its top. He put it to the edge of his lips. "Otherwise you'll just make 'em worry the rest of their lives."

"Words of advice for inspiring youths?" Qrow would have shot off the table, if he didn't already know who that was.

His gaze turned lazily towards the door, completely unsurprised to see the big man of Beacon standing on the other side of it. No idea how he got it and shut the door without making so much as a peep, not the Qrow at least. Probably had the power to just walk through the dang thing, given everything else he was capable of doing.

"Just runnin' my mouth, same as usual," Qrow responded, grinning as he brought the flask back to his mouth. "Gotta do somethin' if I'm going to be watching a girl that sleeps more than a drunk on his tenth night. Speakin of." He lifted the bottom of the flask up, letting it pour down his throat.

It tasted like the truth. Bitter and cold, just the way he liked it.

He heard Ozpin step into the room, stopping besides the bed, back to Qrow and gaze down. Qrow could see his still had his cane and mug, about as surprising as hearing that Qrow still had his own flask. Might as well be glued to his person so long as he was at Beacon.

"She does rest quite a lot. Though I should not be surprised. Hunters of stricter training would require much cooperation after experiencing much less than her." No doubt there. Hell, Qrow had seen a few of his friends up and leave the business over a few bad sights. Again, no blame to place. He just had too many debts to repay to step out himself.

"I ain't gonna stop her," Qrow responded, waving his hand in the air. "More she sleeps more time I got ta drink. I'd call that a win-win, right?" He chuckled, even if Oz only glared at him through those jagged glasses. Seriously, how long had he had those? "What? I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You know I'd just if anything so much as barked in her direction." He'd done it before anyways.

"Of that, I have little doubt." Oz turned away from him, looking down at the youngest kid at Beacon. Considering Ruby was here, early, that was saying something. "My concern, however, is less of what may lurk around her, and more for what is churning within her." Qrow almost dropped his flask.

Last time Oz had talked about that, it had been about the Spring Maiden in Haven…

"Wait, you're not seriously thinkin' she's-"

"No, she is not a Maiden." The Sniper Scythe wielder blew a hot puff of air out of his lungs. He turned a sardonic gaze to his old mentor, who finally managed to chuckle at the look. Of course, _that_ got a reaction out of him. "Forgive me Qrow, I couldn't help myself."

"Yeah, like Tai couldn't keep it in his pants." Seriously, maybe the reason his Semblance wasn't always on was because it was already paying back on its debts. "Seriously though, you think the girl has some kind of power in her? Or are you trying to sound extra mysterious for a reason this time around."

"No reason for mystery this time," Ozpin dismissed easily, even as he raised that mug of his to his lips. He sure did like his coffee, not that Qrow had a leg to stand on against it. "I simply cannot think of an all-encompassing term for the trauma she must still be trying to cope with." Ah, yeah, that would do it. Qrow scratched the back of his head at the admittance.

"Guess I'm not the only one thinkin' about it." Then again, it'd have to be a strange kind of guy to hear about everything that happened to the kid and _not_ wonder if she was okay. Guess if there was ever a test for psychopathy… "Probably saw 'nough side that fire house to give her nightmares for a lifetime. Ain't gonna try and dig into that myself." Knowing his luck, he'd make it worse.

"The other children are faring no better." Qrow raised a brow, letting it lower only when Ozpin looked over his own shoulder to answer. "I am told they are under going constant therapy sessions. Some have already begun to show symptoms of emotional withdrawal." Qrow hissed. To hear that happening to a kid?

"That bad?" He asked, and hated it as he did. "Fires are bad, I get that, but did anything else happen ta warrant it?" He wasn't asking to sound insensitive, but fires alone didn't usually send kids screaming.

"I do not know," Ozpin answered, probably honestly. Always a crapshoot with him. "I suspect that whatever Roman did to start the fire, and instigate Moraine's call to Link, it did not begin with that. I hardly wish to know of what Link saw in that burning building before he and Lana were able to save the few children present. Heavens only know what the fire destroyed." Beyond what was there before, he meant to say.

Qrow blew at a strand of hair in his face. Leave it to a fire to destroy evidence of some other horrific thing. Wasn't that a metaphor for the world? One tragedy to hide another. If there was ever any other reason to drink, this was it.

"I hope that Link returns soon." Ozpin continued to speak. Qrow listened, passively. He was the man who paid his bills after all. "I very much doubt Moraine will do little else but sleep until then."

"She's eating at least," Qrow offered. Not much good that was. "Better than goin' into a coma or something like that." He'd seen that before, too. About as pleasant as seeing friend burning in a fire.

Wow, his Semblance couldn't save him even in his own head. And people wondered why he was driven to drink.

"Yes… I suppose that is true." Ozpin tapped his cane on the ground, the usual tick over tapping his foot. "Still, I wonder if it would be too callous of me to encourage her to walk around the school once or twice before he returns." Qrow had to raise a brow at that. "I fail to see how telling a guardian that their charge remained locked in a room for the duration of their trip is a good thing." Ah, yeah. Tai would have had him by the throat if he said he locked Ruby and Yang away for a couple of weeks.

Still, not a lot of options on how to fix that.

"Got any ideas?" Qrow asked. Ozpin at least shook his head as an answer. "C'mon, no harm in brain stormin'. You told me that." He grinned cheekily as he tilted his flask towards the Headmaster of Beacon. The grin turned into a chuckle at the tired sigh from the big man.

"I hardly hope think speaking such ideas while the child is present is a wise idea in itself." He was being paranoid.

"The tike's asleep, Oz," Qrow pointed out. "And sides, not like anything we say is gonna make her suddenly scared of us. Sides, could always do the usual stuff I did with the girls. Take 'em out for combat practice, see a movie after all the lights are out, maybe show 'em how ta build their weapons."

He chuckled at the last one, knowing that Tai _had_ very literally threatened to kill him for it. Probably after Yang took Ruby into the forest he decided against it. Savings lives did help, but damn if it didn't take a few years off of his own.

"Or we could offer to show her a police line up of some of the usual suspects." Ozpin rolled his head at that one. If Qrow had a scoring table for getting reactions out of people, that would have been a straight, especially coming from Oz himself.

"How, may I ask, would that be a good idea?" The man turned, making Qrow put in the same effort. Not all bad, but still more effort than he wanted. "I hope it is a jest you are speaking of, as a child who has gone through as much as she has deserves rest and comfort, not reminders of what has happened to her." Ignorance was bliss and all that.

Still, Qrow could understand. Children _deserved_ to be ignorant.

But what was the harm in shooting crap with an old friend? It wasn't like Qrow had a lot of chances to do this without risking a gun fight, fist fight, or just a general rise in his tab.

"Nah, it'll be good for her!" He gestured towards the sleeping kid, her wolf ears twitching on her head. "Just take her down to the police station, put her in a line up with the goons who Link and the girls kept alive, make her point out all the guys who torched her home, makin' her the final nail in their coffins. That's gotta be therapeutic." Least it sounded like it was to him.

The tired sigh Oz gave was probably worth a three-of-a-kind. Got that a lot from a lot of people.

"Should I prepare a Bullhead then?" Qrow felt his flask slip in his grip.

"Huh?" He spoke aloud, before seeing the grin on Oz's face. It was practically framed between his white hair, green suit, and glasses.

"A Bullhead for transport. Straight to the police lock-up. Perhaps we can swing by the other children who were present, give Moraine comfort in knowing that her other friends survived as well." Geez, talk about cruel. "Perhaps we should reminder her of those friends she has lost." Oz could be _dark_ when he wanted to be.

"You sure you're not a secret villain over there Oz?" Qrow questioned. The chuckle came out after it was asked. The idea of it was about as logical as him sober. "That's not somethin' the white knight would think of."

"I prefer emerald, if any color is to apply." Qrow's eyes rolled at the idea. "Secondly, why not-" His words stopped quickly. Qrow didn't need to think long why.

Not when the covers exploded behind them. Moraine was standing on the bed. Crap, had she heard them? The snarling lips and furrowed brow said yes.

Qrow would sacrifice his Semblance at an alter if he could, no questions asked.

"Whoa! Hey kid!" Qrow spoke quickly. Nothing too surprising about a kid jumping out of bed after a nightmare. If she _had_ heard him and Oz… that'd count. "You can relax there, nothing to worry about." That didn't work.

The faunus kid was still squatting on her bed, feet sinking into the mattress and arms hugged around her shoulders. Even her ears were up right and focused. Qrow had done enough assignments with faunus to know that they tended to rely on their more animalistic traits, just as they tended to show how they actually felt.

Made it really easy to see the kid wasn't just angry. She was spooked.

"Moraine," Oz spoke now. He'd had set his mug down somewhere, leaning on his cane as he held up his now free hand. Guess it made him look weak, to the dumb and stupid. Considering how this kid was smart enough to play asleep on them, she didn't qualify. "You are scared, and that is our fault. We were joking about you in a way you didn't deserve, nor is appropriate in any circumstance." He spoke honestly. Guess he could once in a while.

Kid wasn't backing down though, or at least calming down. She nearly snarled at Ozpin when he tried to take a step forward. It was clue enough for Qrow to at least swing both of his legs over the table, ready to do what was necessary. What that was… he didn't know.

Moraine wasn't exactly a kid he had a life-long relationship with. Not like the couple of kids in the practice ring still.

"There's no reason to do anything drastic, nor to be on edge with us." Maybe true, but a kid wasn't going to think that. "Perhaps… there is something I can do to show you we were joking. Is that fair?" No idea what that was, but Qrow was sure he'd show it if he had it.

The kid was at least looking like she was considering it. She kept looking down at her arms, crossed over her body and holding tightly to her chest. It was the same position she had for the past several days whenever she went to bed. Didn't change even when she was spoked by their shared stupidity. And… wait…

She wasn't just holding her chest, she was holding something… It was faint and hard to see, but she was definitely holding onto something. It could just be made out, at least the shape of something, beneath the folds of her fabric, off that dang piece of clothing she refused to wash or take-off for bed. Now it made sense why she didn't want to.

There was something under her tunic.

"What'ch you got there?" Qrow asked now. The girl's eyes could've melted steel with how hot they were. Qrow chuckled as he held up his hands. "Easy, easy, not biting. Just askin'. First time I realized you got something you're hiding from us, and I'm just curious what it is."

Ozpin's gaze turned from him to Moraine, probably because he was starting to see it now too. Figures they missed it though, at least with Qrow's Semblance active as it was. Probably the reason the school hadn't burned down yet. It was too busy keeping them from seeing something right under their noses. Talk about being your own worst enemy.

"I get it, I get it, you're scared, we scared ya, it happens." More to him than most. "How 'bout this? You 'stead of just showin' us what you got, how about you show us what it can do? I bet whatever it is its gotta have some cool feature to it, am I right?"

"Qrow?" He ignored Oz for now. He didn't get kids, little ones at least.

Tikes like Ruby and yang, when they were this age, tended to hide things that just did cool stuff, like the spring of his spare magazine or a ring that changed colors. Moraine had to be in that same kind of boat, hiding something because she probably wasn't supposed to have it, but just did something so cool, to her at least.

"C'mon, won't be a bad thing," Qrow pushed. Must have been working, because the kid wasn't growling at least, which was a plus. "I bet whatever I is, it's so cool that it'll have me and Old Oz here ready ta hit the floor." His employer sighed again, which was only worth a pair if anything. He got that a lot. It was probably the old comment this time.

But Moraine was at least considering it, standing on the bed and barely eye-level with them with the boost. Wasn't much she could do, sure, but the kid running away or causing a fit wouldn't be the best thing in any scenario, let alone a room with two adult males, neither of who were her guardian. And that wasn't even throwing Qrow's Semblance into the mix.

Yeah, placating her was the best. Bonus points because it was working.

He watched as Moraine slowly lowered one of her arms, guiding the object that she was hiding out of her tunic and to the open air. She was being very careful with it, not that it needed it, whatever it was. Still, kind of sweet that she was being so forward. Better than her doing nothing or making a big scene. That was before Qrow saw _what_ it was she was hiding. And when he saw it, he knew his Semblance was well and truly screaming at him with laughter.

Because short term or not, he at least recognized Link's mask when he saw it.

A golden mask that was colored like the sun, having waves coming off of it just the same, grinning on one side with a bright gold sheet on the other, and staring at him and Oz like it was alive. All while being held in the girl's hands like a prized treasure that it was.

A treasure that Moraine was putting on her face…

Just before a flash of white overtook the room…

Coupled with a scream…

And when both were gone, and Qrow was able to see clearly again, there was no one else in the room. Just him, just Ozpin, and no trace of the faunus girl that the super faunus had found. Her, or the girl beneath the mask that came out when Link wore it. She wasn't in the room, at all. Not even by the elevator. It was like she just… disappeared.

Honestly, it was his kind of luck that it would happen.

"Well shit."

"Well said."

* * *

Ren let out a deep sigh from his spot on the training room stands. Arms folded about his chest, leaning back slightly with the small room allotted to him in the empty stands. It was slightly more comfortable than normal, seeing as the seats as of late were crowded with students both watching the battle field before. Though, more for the instructor that commonly took it up than the students themselves.

As of this moment, he desired to be one of those students, taking advantage of the empty classroom due to the absence of Link, practicing his craft so that he could better himself for the future. But that the moment, it was impossible. Both against the orders of those who watched his health and his own abilities being severely limited by his injuries. Light as they were, they were still very much present.

It wasn't the place he normally sat during this time of the day, let alone this day of the week. During such a time, it would be much more common for him to be improving his forms or muscular structure through long practiced forms or endurance training, usually assisted by whatever means were made available to him and the other students of Beacon Academy. Even speaking and thinking on the subject conservatively, there were quiet a lot of them. However, prior events had forced him out of his usual routine, making him adopt the nearest substitute that his body and recovery would allow.

As a consequence, he was forced to sit in the stands, watching the arena beneath him, listening to the students, his friends, that practiced their own craft in it, and let his mind wander on what to do when he was able to train efficiently again.

"This is _sooooo_ boring!" Correction, him and Nora to train again.

Ren turned his gaze towards his partner, his life long friend, watching as the bombastic orange haired girl was splayed across the wide open bleachers. Half of her body was falling towards the set of seats beneath them, the other half reaching for the upper set behind them. It spoke a great deal of the amount of trust she had in him, seeing as her position left little for a curious eye to miss.

"Healing is rarely ever an enjoyable task, Nora," Ren noted calmly to his friend. Her pout was as expressive as her words were vocal. "It is necessary, though I do understand the disappointment in it. It hardly seems fitting that we must watch others improve as we are forced to wait ourselves. However, if we are to fight with our team once again, and assist our friends, we must allow our bodies time to heal."

"I _know_ that! I'm just mad that it's _so boring_." Her body almost appeared to be melting with the groan she let out, head flipping sideways as her chest fell with the slow release of air. "Lying around and doing nothing's only fun when you're tired, but I can't be tired if _I can't smash anything_." Her fists lightly began to swing back and forth. No real force behind them, but he was in no rush to get in their way.

Ren chuckled lightly at the antics regardless. It reminded him a great deal of how she acted when she was told she had a bed time again. Attempting furiously to try and stay up all night, only to reconcile that staying up alone while everyone else around her was asleep didn't work too well. She pouted then, too. And complained. Difference was, Ren agreed with her now, somewhat.

"I'm sorry to say there is precious little I can do to help you there." Because any annoyance she had for not being able to do something, it was an annoyance shared. "The most we can do now, as we wait for Jaune and Pyrrha to return, is watch our other friends improve." His hand motioned towards the arena, uncurling itself from his chest.

He motioned towards the arena, and the team of young girls that battled across it. Across it, over it, around it, and nearly any other describable direction. It was hardly a rare thing to see a team of young hunters in training perform super human feats, not when Ren now was able to proudly consider himself one of their number. That wasn't what he was watching so intently, not directly.

"Yeah, at least _they_ got super powers outta helping Link and Mor-Mor. Dumb mega weapons and stupid powers." Childish pouting aside, Nora was right in noting the key difference RWBY was demonstrating at the moment.

They weren't just practicing amongst themselves. They were practicing their new weapons and abilities amongst themselves.

Yang was running across the field like the ball of fire she so clearly embodied. A concentration of fury and flames that ducked and rolled past and around every blow that so nearly hit her. A collection of guns popped and rose from the ground, at speeds emulating the tactics of militants and specific Grimm. Faster than most eyes could see, they fired munitions at her, all with same precise accuracy they could expect from well-trained soldiers or vicious monsters.

Yet, none of them even grazed Yang's golden mane. It was hard to even call them close when she was grinning so broadly through the barrage. Her body swayed to the side, pushing her out of the way of a high caliber bullet's path, only to twirl quickly, letting the barrage of a machine gun's fire to miss her with every shot. When her body was parallel to the ground, so nearly considered fallen, her fists shot out, sending her into a quick flip away, the gunfire following her fruitlessly.

And all the while she did it, a fake pair of large golden bunny ears were swaying from her head.

Ren didn't comment, fearing the rage of the fiery blonde. Nora only giggled at the sight, once. But where as Yang was practicing her dodging through the new tool adorned on her head, Weiss was doing much the opposite. She was using a tome in her hand, combined with her famed rapier, to generate glyphs about her form. Glyphs, and something more.

Unlike the gunfire that tested Yang, a barrage of explosives, likely only slightly weaker than Nora's own grenadier shots, were being thrown at her at a violent pace. Each canister thrown into the air, shot out with a lit fuse and fragile shell, would doubtlessly spell harm or death for any individual lacking the cover of Aura. It was shown in the size of the explosions, in the small rumble that moved through the stands they sat on. Yet Weiss was unperturbed.

Her rapier swung to and fro, the familiar blue runes of her family's namesake spinning to life with her every movement. They hung in the air like paintings, carrying markings that to this day Ren was unfamiliar with. When he first had seen her fight, they were a cause of focus for him and his studious mind. Now though, what came with them was far more wonderous.

It was hard to call the walls of seemingly ice-like material, forming from nothing and holding where her glyphs hung, anything but eye-catching.

They endured the blows of the explosives with little effort, the ceramic coverings of the volatile canisters doing nothing to them, even with the propulsion of high-powered explosives behind them. It almost appeared like _they_ were the ones shattering against the icy walls _._ And it was clear Weiss was, if barely, partially satisfied by the results. It was clear to Ren who watched her hold the tome of Lana in one hand, instructing her glyphs with the other. He felt little fear for the Schnee heiress.

Ruby, however, was another story. While Yang had a tool that allowed her to 'sense' the timing of things, and Weiss had a tome that seemingly granted her a new ability to her tomes, Ruby had only an improved sense to her Semblance. An impossibility, he falsely said before the team had corrected him in the same way Impa had, apparently, corrected them. An improvement that allowed her to sense danger, seemingly born from the same wish to reach danger fast enough to stop it.

Alone, it made sense to Ren, and it was an endearing wish he could understand. What he could not understand was how Ruby hoped to train it. Because it seemed like an antic out of an unthought movie script.

Running across the near battle-torn arena, unguarded, without her weapon, at her highest speed, _blind-folded_. The only possible grace in it was that Yang was about has happy with the idea as he was.

That said, Ren had yet to see the red-cloaked girl take so much as a glancing blow, in a while at least. Even as he watched ruby petals explode and reform across the arena, the leader of the all-girl team bouncing back and forth within it. He watched, carefully from a distance, as the leader's hood ducked, rolled her body bent and spun, disassembled and reformed, all to dodge the exploding shells and flying bullets that came at her from a multitude of directions. And all of them with her vision taken from her.

It was a vast improvement to how she performed some days ago, head rapidly shaking as she tried to gather what was where, her sense of sight taken from her being more detrimental than she believed it would be. Ren believed at the time it would be enough to shake her. He was wrong. Rather, it appeared to only be a motivator for her to improve.

And in the days of their practice, improve she did.

Blake was… harder to watch. In truth, Ren could only say he was watching all of RWBY because he would catch glimpses of the hiding faunus, hiding now both in plain sight and behind a heavy cloak. A cloak that could only be seen when it was _off_ her person.

Like now, Ren noted as he saw the dark member of the team seemingly popping into existence. It was Nora commented it to be like, and he could not find fault in the descriptive term.

When the last member of team RWBY did appear, she did so with the heavy red cloak of Link in her hands, off of her body, and bent forward with panting breath. Her chest was heaving back and forth, Ren spotting the tell-tale signs of Aura exhaustion already. He had seen it enough growing up in the wilds with Nora, and that frequency only increased when his team began to train here at Beacon.

The flickering color around her skin, the difficulty to maintain balance, the small spastic impulses of her clenched fists. They were all there. All signs that medical professionals looked for when they were treating hunters following a Grimm hunt. Or Ren after combat practice with his team.

It would be far more common for him to go down and attempt to help Blake, in most other situations. He would assist her with fluid intake, rest to replenish her Aura levels, and providing herbal medicine to relax the tense muscles, all small necessities to make recovery quicker, very similar to what he and Nora were doing now.

Blake, however, wanted none of it. Because she _wanted_ to train like this. She wanted to train using the Magical Cloak so she could push her Aura to its limit.

It was a dangerous wish, but one Ren could not fault her for having. It was no more dangerous than Yang dancing through gunfire, Weiss enduring explosives against her walls, and Ruby dodging both with her eyes shut. Compared to them, simply wearing a cloak until one felt tired seemed rather tame. Spoken like that it was tame. Ren, however, held no illusions about the importance of it all.

Every single member of RWBY was practicing their hardest with the tools given to them, gifted to them, to use them as efficiently as their original owner, assumingly, did. He pondered if it would be possible to ask Link, or one of his friends, to demonstrate the tools when he returned. It seemed likely, given his openness to do so with RWBY alone. His team present, after Jaune and Pyrrha accompanied him on his expedition, was likely, assumingly.

Ren sighed, dropping his head into his hands. He was over thinking this, again.

With friends using magical tools from a far-off land, instructed by a Faunus with only barley recognizable characteristics, literal fairies following his motion, and now searching for his friend lost in their land… it wasn't something one was typically trained for. Then again, what was there about his life that was typical.

"I wonder if Mor-Mor is okay." Ren was forced to look at Nora with the comment, head rolling out of his palms with the comment. Long enough to see she was still rolling her head back and forth on the bleachers, hardly watching team RWBY practicing. "She went through something scary. She's too young for scary things like that." Ren had no room to disagree.

"She will be okay," he answered honestly, knowing Nora would not be satisfied with that alone. "She has Link taking care of her, with the headmaster and the uncle of Yang and Ruby keeping an eye on her. She was strong enough to endure the fight following her rescue, and now she is in quite possibly the safes place in the world, bar Atlas." Beacon was nothing, if not a fortress for training.

"Yeah, I know," Nora let out in a voice that couldn't be anything but a grumble. Her head turned away from him, flopping sideways on the bleachers as she turned back to team RWBY on the arena floor. He did the same, though he knew not who his old friend was watching. "Kinda sucks that I can't even tell what someone's feeling, and all I wanna do is make them feel better. Don't even know if they need it."

"There is no shame nor harm in wishing someone else kindness and love, Nora." Ren watched Yang swing out with her first, batting away a grenade canister, milliseconds before it exploded. None of the debris hit her rapidly dodging form. "Rather, you should be proud that you feel such empathy. I can name many who would not be able to comprehend what you feel."

"Lucky them." They were not. "Don't gotta wonder what they've gotta do to help others. Just get to help themselves." Ren hummed at her statement. She wasn't incorrect, about the apathetic and unjust.

"They may not care for others, and work only for themselves, true. But they are not better men for it." Ren watched Blake blink out of existence again, moments before Ruby's ruby exploding form shot past her, bullets chasing her and her long cloak. "They are the individuals who are often forgotten in history's pages, those that let civilizations fall for the sake of a singular life, and care not for the thousands lost as a result."

"That's a crummy way of making me feel better, Ren." He chuckled at that, even if she did not in return. She was attempting to be serious, he knew, but her bluntness was not something that would ever truly vanish. "All I want to do is know who we gotta help. Not guess and check." He dared not try to tarnish that part of her.

"We don't have to for everyone," Ren noted easily. He watched Weiss throw up another glyph in front of her, before arcing her rapier and forcing a column of ice to float around her from it. "And for those who do not speak or ask for help… we can only offer our aid should they be ready to accept it." Forcing aid on anyone was never the correct path. It made enemies as efficiently as burning towns, for those you tried to help saw no difference.

"And what can be done when that happens?" Ren thought of the question, clearly not expecting it. He thought of it as he searched for Blake, hoping to see her pop back in an area he could guess.

"What can be done is anything we are capable of doing," Ren answered carefully. "Comforting words if they need support, a helping hand if they are incapable of a task, truth if they need reason, or safety if they are scared. Anything we can give, without the implication we are incapable of anything." It was important that children saw Hunters as impossibly strong. A childish ideal that built a resounding resolve.

"Are you capable of all that? Or only some of us?" It was another fair question, and one Ren thought of carefully, even as his eyes trailed the ground, watching Ruby duck and dodge a barrage of high-caliber rounds, fired from behind her, and her eyes still blind-folded. "Would you need aid to assist another?"

"I likely would, we all would," Ren answered simply. It was a god question, but not one he needed thought for. "We are specialized in certain areas, gifted in tasks at hand. It would be cruel to assume any of us would be capable of all tasks. No one is."

"No one? Truly?" Truly? Ren rolled the rod around in his head, not used to hearing it in causal conversation. Nevertheless, it was curiosity he could answer.

"Truly," he repeated. "I, for example, would be capable of comfort, offering food and guidance for recovery, tracking Grimm through manipulation of emotions, and perhaps emotional guidance where I could. But Jaune would be a man I would ask for assistance when it comes to holding a line or dealing with larger threats. Yang Xiao Long would be no different, and Ruby Rose would be able to help return anyone, or anything, lost in a far away place." A bit over simplified, but it was all that Nora needed to hear.

"You _are_ a wise one," Ren grinned at the compliment, but spoke little otherwise. It would be rude to turn down praise from a friend. "I can see now why Link thinks so highly of you and your friends."

Wait, what?

"Link?" Ren parroted, looking up and for the first time ignoring the girls in the arena. "What does-" He turned to Nora, only to stop when he saw her sitting up, looking behind him, and with a slack-jawed expression on her face. She wasn't looking at him. She wasn't talking to him. Then… who was…

He turned around completely, looking towards the same sight Nora did. It was not a sight that was terrifying, appalling, or atrocious in any considerable manner. However… it was unexpected.

Ren did not expect to see a young girl standing behind him. He did not expect the same young girl to be dressed in an emerald garb so similar to Link's, but frilled in a manner that made it far more feminine. He did not expect said girl to have emerald hair brighter than Headmaster Ozpin's own tower. He did not expect the girl to be leaning over the bleachers, far enough to warrant falling, and grinning all the while.

He certainly didn't expect the pair of equally green ears poking out from the top of her head, sharp and poignant around her otherwise face framing hair. It was, after all, completely unexpected. For this was not Moraine, but… he didn't know who.

" _S-SARIA!"_ Someone did. "What are you _doing here?!"_

Ren whirled around, again, to see Blake standing along a far wall, Magical Cloak off of her body and pointing at the girl with a look of absolute shock on her face. It was rare to see, no matter the circumstance. But it was clearly something that crated action.

All the bombardments and gunfire ceased in the arena, presumably from Weiss's command. It created a deafening silence that made his ears ring, too used to the sounds of explosions and battle. Weiss had dropped her glyphs and walls, Yang her bunny hood, Blake her cloak, and even Ruby her blindfold. Now, it only left all four girls, adorned in the tools they had been gifted, and staring up at Ren, or more likely, past Ren.

"Hello Blake," the girl behind him responded. Saria, he reminded himself. A girl that… was doubtlessly a friend of Link. It only created an innumerable number of questions in his mind. "It is good to see you and your friends are doing well. Your practice is well-done, and will earn you a just reward in the future."

"Forget about _that!"_ Yang yelled out, stepping forward as she did so. " _How_ are _you_ here?" That was a fine question as well. Ren knew all of Link's friends, or the memories of them, were contained in the masks that he wore, holders for the memories.

For her to be here, for Saria to be present, implied a great chain of events he did not even know the beginning of.

"Here?" Saria parroted. "Here as in this room, this school, or this land?" She leaned back with the statement, standing above Rena and Nora on the higher bleacher. "All have a different answer, so I don't know which one to lead you to." Lead them?

"All, no, not now," Ren just barely heard Ruby mumble from the now silent arena. "Link wears her mask to bring her out, but Link's not here, Link's gone, but Saria's here so… but I didn't feel anything." Her Semblance, Ren lightly noted, in order to answer what few questions he was currently capable of. Because Saria was the source of many he could not.

The best way to answer those questions, however, were to ask questions of his own. Like she had.

"Why did you ask me… if I could help Moraine?" It was how the young girl had introduced herself, by asking questions that sounded far more philosophical than a child of her age should be capable of, or worry of. "Can I presume it is because she is close to Link?"

" _REN!_ That is not something important to-" Yang was interrupted by Saria, whom was far closer than the bombastic blonde.

"I ask because that is how you answer." She was simple with her answers, just as with her questions. Simple, but deep, like an ocean's trench. "You know of what to do, but cannot decide on what to do. A question gives you focus, and so often focus gives you direction. A bit of direction, and you become capable of so much more."

Ren watched the young girl, her small smile as plain as the wolf ears on her head, just the same as the deep green eyes that stared into his own. He wasn't aware he was even breathing as they kept eye-contact, nor of what the other girls were doing as he stared at the youngest presence. RWBY was wary of her, or at the every least surprised to see her. Neither he nor Nora recognized her, and her age should have prohibited her from coming here. And none of that considered that this was very likely one of Link's friends, no different than Impa or Mikau. So how was she here without Link?

While he removed the possibilities for her being here, however, the girl only began to giggle. A light small bubbling laughter that children were often home to, and one he now witnessed as the girl rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"Apologies, I could not resist." Ren blinked at the short girl, colored in hair and dress like shrubbery and with ears long enough to match Link. "I often love leading individuals to answers through questions. Simply telling what is right does not explain why it is just." He was having difficulty forcing his mind back to the conversation he had with her, unknowingly.

It was difficult, given the clearly unexpected, if not impossible, presence of the girl.

"However, I can tell you are making presumptions about me, as many do when they see me." Ren would not lie that he did, but he could not think of what he was false on presuming of her.

A friend of Link's, a forest child, young in age, strong in wisdom, curious, but that was it. Everything else was a mystery to him.

"Wait, wait, _wait!_ " Ruby yelled out now. "If you are here then… then are you going to teach us? Like Impa or… like before?" Apparently that was a question that Ren did not expect. He would never expect children to give lessons to… older children.

"It is not the proper time to ask that, Ruby," Weiss corrected her partner. It was a correction, because Ruby's silver eyes dropped as she nodded her head. Ren didn't understand. A glance at Nora, noting her gawking expression, implied she did not either. "It is the proper time to ask a continuation of Yang's question. _Why_ are you here without _Link, Saria._ " The caution in her voice was clear as the ice of her Semblance.

"You are still sore from my earlier words." Ren didn't understand. She gave Weiss a lesson? No, from what Ruby implied… all of them? He ran a hand through the thick of his hair as he listened and thought at once. "I understand your reason why, though I do hope it is not a wound you carry for much longer."

"Less sore, more worried." Yang spoke up now. "Cause you don't exactly show up with good news when you do." The bite in her voice was as obvious as the bark. So was the answer to Ren's thought.

They had met before, _multiple_ times.

"Yang, enough." Blake now. Ren was having difficulty keeping his eyes on Saria, not wanting to turn around and see her gone. She, however, had her eyes to the arena, as she balanced on the edge of the stands she stood on. "Saria, we _have_ taken your words to heart. Our team, we, have started speaking much more, making it clear where we stand with one another. It is what we promised we would do."

"A promise to me, or to each other?" She did love her questions, Ren realized.

"Each other," Blake answered in return. She was not one easily thrown in conversation. Never was, and it was doing her many favors now. "But they're right to wonder. Are you here now because… you think something is… wrong?" Ren expected another question from Saria, as she had answered all other questions before. What he did not expect was the action from the girl.

He did not expect laughter.

It was the kind of laughter children were home to share, the kind of laughter she gave off before, but now with hands folded about her mouth, hiding if only barely the broad smile beneath. Her wofl ears atop her head bent with the expression, giving her the visage of truly entertained youth. It was a thought that was heart-warming, but kept from truly being such by the unknown of this faunus friend of Link.

"Hey, now what's funny?" Nora asked. Ren saw she had hands on her hips, kneeling on the stands. But she wasn't pouting, as she would normally do when something bad happened. Instead, she had the expression Ren had seen her adorn whenever they were around children before they came to Beacon. It was the kind of face she made when she wanted to bit the elder sister to them, a guardian they could depend on. It meant there were only seconds left before she did something drastic.

"If you're gonna be a meanie about important questions, then you can get be tickled for it!" That was it.

Ren leaned back as Nora jumped up to the higher bleacher, quickly planting her foot to make for a lunge for the smaller girl. Her arms were out forward as a large smile decorated her face, laughing as she did so. She watched Saria glance at her, having enough time to blink before Nora's arms were already stretched past her, ready to surround her and-

She jumped.

Jumped not only up and out of the hold Nora almost had her in, but up three sets of bleachers and onto the palms of her hands. Then she 'jumped' again, by pushing herself with her palms until she was sailing through the air, stopping when she was some distance away, far enough that no child, only a few _Beacon Students_ could have hoped to match her. It made Ren blink, twice.

"Uh… where'd you go?" Nora asked, looking down at her hands, then up at Saria nearly ten times as far away as she was before. "How'd you get over there?" By jumping, Ren wanted to say, but he wasn't sure she'd believe it.

The girl, however, didn't appear to be paying attention. Her eyes were looking elsewhere, not even at team RWBY. It was like they were scanning the walls, the room, or something else that he couldn't see. What it was, he didn't know. There wasn't enough information to make an educated guess either.

"Hmmm." Saria hummed as she looked towards one of the exits to the training ring, spinning on her heel as she looked over them. "It appears I don't have much more time." Time? Time for what?

But before anyone could ask, she jumped again. This time, with a small twirl that had her stopping above the entrance to the arena, by hanging off of it with her hands. It let her swing above the exit, like a child on the jungle gym's, but with the abilities of a Huntress. It was a paradox that lead to only a few possibilities, none of which seemed plausible.

" _Hold on!_ Where are ya goin'?" Yang yelled out. It was only after she did that Ren realized she was running across the arena, as was the rest of her team. But Saria was too far away, and she was already by the exit.

"I said it before, and I will whisper it again." Saria dropped from the door frame, spinning once through the air and landing with a deftness children her size did not possess. It gave much credence to the thought of her not being of young age. Unbelievable as it all was.

She twisted on her heel, spinning on the ground as she eyed the exit. But in the middle of her twist, her let her innocent grin shine, just before she spoke again.

"No answer worth having is unworthy of finding." And then, like a true child, she ran away laughing.

"Hey! _HEY!_ " Yang was yelling after her, already running up the bleachers after the girl, though Ren could tell she was already gone. " _Get back her Saria!_ You gotta explain how _you're here!_ " The statement brought Ren back as well.

"How is she here?" He asked, even as his legs were already moving. There was no reason to not talk as they ran. And there was even less reason to not chase the girl. "I thought… I believed only Link was capable of bringing forth his friends? But… who is wearing her mask?"

"Moraine." The voice was both wholly expected and nerve teasing.

Ren stopped, as did Nora and what few members of RWBY he could see, to turn and eye Headmaster Ozpin entering from another entrance to the arena. His coffee cup was not on his person, and cane being held along its central shaft. To Ren, it meant he did not walk here. It meant he was running. There was little question towards what.

"Headmaster, Moraine?" Ren heard Blake ask. "Those ears… of course it was her. There's no one else in Beacon that… _Saria_ is possessing _Moraine? How?_ " The calmness in her voice bellied the clear tension she was feeling. The conclusion she reached quickly discarded. It was just as clear Ozpin had no heart or humor to dance around the issue, not with his next words.

"It appears she either stole the mask of the girl from Link, or it was gifted to her before his departure." He would not say it aloud, not with Blake present, but the former held more merit to Ren. "Regardless, we cannot know until we find her. I hope I am not asking too much of you to assist me in doing so."

"Are you kidding? We were gonna do that regardless!" Nora nearly jumped at her own declaration. "Bu _uuuut_ , now that you're here, you wouldn't happen to know _where_ she is going, would you? I mean, you _somehow_ knew she was here, right?" Her innocence didn't fool Ren, and it didn't phase Ozpin, externally at least.

"I followed her here, Ms. Valkryie," Ozpin spoke as he walked, eyeing Ren's partner even as he moved towards the door Saria departed from. It was clear he was not going to stay and talk. Ren found himself moving as well, quickly coming up behind the Headmaster as he moved towards the exit. He heard Nora and the rest of team RWBY doing the same. "But for where she is going, I can only assume where a _child of the forest_ would wish to run to."

The implication was obvious, and Ren had no need to speak again.

* * *

Ruby ran, fast.

She knew exactly where she was running to, the same place that Headmaster Ozpin implied they should go. The same place that everyone was probably running to at this point. Only different was, she was running there faster. She'd get there in no time, she knew, and then she'd start looking for Moraine and Saria and figure out what had gone on.

Ruby knew that as soon as she found the Emerald forest, she'd be able to find out where Moraine went, probably, at least likely. It wasn't like it would be harder to find her in the forest than in the Beacon halls. Beacon had floors and rooms and stories and a lot of cracks and crevices to look in. A forest just had tall trees, _really_ big trees, with long branches and canopies, and sometimes caves, and other stuff.

Okay, so Ruby knew it would probably take a bit longer to look for Moraine and Saria than she expected, but at least the sooner she started the sooner she'd find them. There was truth to that at least. It was the same thing her dad and Weiss kept telling her. The sooner she started something, the faster she could end.

So Ruby ran as fast as she could to the forest, out of sight of her friends and Professor Ozpin in a second, way ahead of them the next. She saw the dorms zip by her, the teachings halls, the practice arenas, the landing bay for the Bullheads, all as she ran towards the Emerald Forest. And it had to be the Emerald Forest, because no way would Saria want to go to the Everfall Forest.

She was wearing green, so she had to go with the green forest. It made perfect sense.

That's why Ruby caught sight of the Emerald Forest, easily, and ran towards it with an explosion of ruby petals in a moment. And in the next moment, she was there, right where the edge of the Emerald Forest was to Beacon Academy.

Or at least… it should have been.

There was something very different about Emerald Forest, the more she looked at it. Different in a way that didn't make sense, at least to her and the many times she and her team had gone into it. She could still see the tree line of the Emerald Forest, no problem. She could still see the school behind her, a-okay. She could make out the separation between the two, a cinch.

What she could not figure out, or understand, was where the seeming 'wall' of mist had come from.

That was what it was, without a doubt. A wall of mist. A dense cloudy fog of misty that just filtered through the trees of the Emerald Forest, hovering there like she thought snow did in winter. Except it wasn't winter, she wasn't cold, and mist wasn't supposed to be that dense. Or there.

And dense meant _dense_. Dense as in Ruby could hardly see the second line of trees into it. Outlines at best and barely shapes at worst. Considering how thick the trunks of the trees were, and how _huge_ they were compared to the trees on Patch, that was saying something. She wasn't sure what, but it wasn't good.

Ruby licked her lips as she stared at the woods. They were misty, _really_ misty. Too misty for just normal mist, and it wasn't even morning any more, so it wasn't normal. That meant that it wasn't something that should be here, at least not likely. That meant that… something else was making it? Maybe, but she doubted a fog machine was setup for just making the entire Emerald Forest look 10% creepier.

But she also didn't sense anything wrong with it, with her new Semblance ability at least. Sure, it was true she wasn't 100% confident with it yet, but she was getting better with it! Good enough in her opinion to at least be able to tell if the creepy misty woods in front of her were okay to walk into or not. True again, her abilities mostly worked off of bad things _about_ to happen, not actually happening, but it was close enough, maybe, probably.

Her boots kicked at the grass outside of the forest giants. She walked along its perimeter watching the mist move like… well mist. That dense kind of fog that was wet to touch. Mist for sure. It was getting the edges of her cloak all dewy, the kind of feeling that she'd have to wring out before she did anything for combat practice, or bed. Good thing it was midday and her team was done for the day, probably.

Team… her team! She had to tell them that she'd found where Saria probably was!

Ruby fished into the pockets of her combat skirt, thankful again that Weiss had pointed out how to add pocket space to them. She produced her Scroll a moment later, a triumphant grin on her face.

She could tell the rest of her teammates, and even Ozpin and Uncle Qrow, all about forest! Maybe they knew, or at least seen it, but if they didn't she could tell them! The glass extended in her hands, the images of her teammates popping up for quick dials. Her thumb hovered over Yang's picture.

And it continued to hover, waiting there… Ruby bit her lip as she watched it. Why was she hesitating?

She was supposed to tell them once they found Saria, or where she might be. It was why they all agreed to help Ozpin, with Nora and Ren and Uncle Qrow, and whoever else the Headmaster would ask for help. Because they were supposed to find Link's friend. Because… because she didn't have Link with her.

But did Ruby know Saria was in those woods? Her silver eyes hovered on the misty woods, watching the dense fog-like water drift around the thick trunks, hiding anything from view more than arm's length in. Extra creepy, for sure. Her heels ground into the ground as she looked at the forest, gaze drifting up and down between it and her open-and-ready-to-dial Scroll. She was hesitating.

She was hesitating and she knew it. Problem was, she wasn't 100% sure why. Saria was her friend, and her friends were her friends. It didn't make any sense to tell her friends she'd found their friend… but it also didn't make sense to expose her friend to her friends… if they had something they were trying to do. But would that be okay?

"Geez, this is silly," Ruby muttered to herself. It was silly, even to her, because it should have been obvious. Saria didn't have anything to hide, and neither did Link. But Moraine could be in danger, because only Link had ever used those masks, and Moraine wasn't like Link, aside from being a faunus, so… she should do something to help…

But she didn't _sense_ anything was wrong. And that was what worried Ruby.

She sensed bullets and grenades flying at her while she was blindfolded.

She sensed Moraine and her friends being hurt by _Roman_ and his goons before.

She sensed Impa attacks when they were being launched at her.

She even sensed that weird Yang's pain during their fight before, even if she knew her sister could handle it.

But Ruby _could not_ sense anything now. It was just… a creepy misty forest.

Maybe, just maybe, that meant there was nothing to worry about. Like, as in, there was something Saria was doing _or_ something she needed to do. If that was the case, and Ruby got everyone over here, she could ruin it. It was possible, at least for someone like Saria who was… extra mysterious, like super mysterious.

She was a forest child, like Blake had said she was, and Saria had called herself. So if she was that, then there should be nothing in the forest to worry her. And if _that_ was the case, there was only one thing for Ruby to do make _extra sure_ she had to call her teammate and friends.

She had to investigate first.

Ruby clicked her Scroll back into its docking position, putting it back into her pocket before marching forward with long strides. Long strides with her arms pumping in excitement, as they were held out in front of her, as far as she could manage, reaching into the mist. It was a lot cooler looking than it felt, Ruby was sure. Didn't stop the fact that it was necessary.

Because it only took her a few steps into the mist for her to almost completely lose track of herself. Almost literally, at least close to it.

It was like she was walking through her bed sheets, bed sheets hung up on tree branches and floating past her as she pushed her way through them. The mist was _heavy_ , heavy for something that was supposed to be majority part air at least. Ruby at least _thought_ it should be light, because no way was there anything so dense back on Patch.

Mist wasn't new to her, seeing as she did grow up in a forest that got misty, especially in the spring. Problem was it was never _this_ bad. Bad enough that her hands, held out in front of her, felt like they had been dragged through a small pond with the amount of dew they were collecting. Dew sounded right. At least it _felt_ like dew, on her hands _and_ on her cloak!

"Bleh," Ruby spat out with her tongue, hating the feeling of the mist on her. It was always a bad feeling to her, when she wasn't getting ready to go for a swim or something similar. It just felt weird getting soaked for no reason, or no good reason. And she'd be hard pressed to accept someone telling her that walking through the misty forest of Emerald Forest, which wasn't _supposed_ to be a misty forest, was a good reason. Then again, searching for Moraine and Sari were good reasons.

It was why she was here, after, all keeping her eyes focused as her hands waved through the misty woods, pushing her away from the trunks her wet fingers brushed across or the low hanging branches that would otherwise snag her cloak. None of them were getting by her!

Unfortunately, with how dense the mist was, there was a good chance that _something_ was going to.

"Maybe this'll be harder than I thought," Ruby muttered to herself, even as she kept walking. No use in complaining if she wasn't going to do anything. "This rate I'll be the one who ends up getting lost." At least she had her Scroll still, when she was ready to call the rest of her friends… and deal with them complaining that she had come in here ahead of them.

Ruby dropped her arms, sighing a bit with the action. The rest of the forest was deadly quiet as she did so, without even the chirp of a bird to let her know she was even still _in_ the forest. In fact, it felt almost weird where she was, considering how the whole place seemed to feel like a whole new world. That made sighing appropriate at least.

She was in the Emerald Forest, caught in some magic mist that was heavy enough to drench her cloak and arms, looking for a friend that was wearing the face of a friend to _another_ friend, and all the while believing she could have done it easily.

"I need to start thinking things through." Yang would laugh if she ever heard her admit that aloud.

" _Ha-ha-ha-ha_." Ruby's skin chilled at the laughter.

Her head whipped around in the mist, silver eyes wide and focused on nothing but the mist that surrounded her. That wasn't what she was focusing on. She was looking for what she heard. She _knew_ what she heard. It wasn't like there was much she could confuse laughter with. Not even Zwei, and that was what Yang always told her when she heard her snickering. Hold on a minute…

"Yang?" Ruby tentatively called out. "Is that you?" Silence was her response, the still mist dampening her hand and cloak, but doing nothing else. "C'mon Yang. I'm sorry if you think this is payback for not calling you… oh yeah, that's probably what this is." It made sense at least. She got teased for doing a lot less, like leaving her boots out in the middle of the room, just because they wouldn't fit on the shoe rack.

" _Ha-ha-ha-ha_." Ruby shivered that time.

"Okay! Seriously, where are you?" Ruby held out her hands again, tentatively walking forward once more. She kept pushing away the damp mist, never succeeding in seeing more than a few patches of grass and leaves. At least she hadn't run into any trees yet. "I can hear you! So stop playing around with me! It isn't funny!"

" _Ha-ha-ha-ha_." She sighed now. Obviously the laughter disagreed.

Laughter that was very high pitch… amused… and not listening to her whining. It wasn't Yang.

"Okay, _Saria_ ," Ruby emphasized now. "You got me, I don't know where you are and I'm a little lost in the mist. _A little_ lost, but still enough that you're not being very nice with this!" She called out again, but still got no response. It was a little more than unnerving.

She focused on her new Semblance, or improved Semblance as Impa put it. She used it to figure out where the bullets, grenades, and her teammates weapons were coming from, and she did all of that blindfolded.

Right now though, she wasn't getting anything. She didn't know what that meant.

Even as she kept taking slow, but long, strides forward into the mist, she couldn't tell if she was missing something and was walking into danger, or if there actually wasn't anything dangerous at all. Given the laughter that kept echoing through the forest, and the fact that she felt like she'd fallen into a lake at this point, not to mention that she was still getting used to her Semblance's abilities, the former seemed a lot more likely. Like _a ton._

" _Ha-ha-ha-ha_." Especially given how _much_ of the laughter she was hearing and how little of it she was seeing. Okay, she could never see laughter before, but she could at least see people who were laughing. And right now she couldn't!

All Ruby could see as she took long strides forward through the heavy misty forest was mist and more mist and some grass and misty mist and green clothes and misty mist on her misted…

"Hey!" Ruby shouted, heading spinning back where she was just looking. Her silver eyes caught the vestiges of a running figure, the mist billowing around their path. "Hold up! Wait for me!" Ruby called out again, quickly taking off after the path she'd seen.

She kept her arms out in front of her as she ran, too nervous she'd run head long into a tree trunk and knock herself out. She hadn't done that since she was ten, but now was the perfect time to do it again. She couldn't focus on that though, especially not how Yang would hold it over her head.

She needed to follow Saria, because it had to be Saria. Saria playing tag in a suddenly misty Emerald Forest, just after Moraine put on her mask… Ruby realized there was a lot more going ono than she cared to admit. She really did need to start thinking ahead more.

Right now though, she needed to focus on the billowing mist, and the short figure in green that was running ahead of her. Short green shorts, shirt, and dark boots to match. Ruby was almost on them.

"I'm fast you know!" Ruby called back, starting to pump her arms to catch up. "Faster than anyone in Beacon and Patch and _probably_ in your forest!" She knew she'd prove it just as soon as she caught up to Saria, and got her to do away with… whatever this mist was. Ruby couldn't even think of the questions she'd ask to get Ruby to _think_ of how she did it.

Probably because right now all she could think of was catching the faunus girl wearing a faunus mask as she got closer and closer and closer and-

She tripped.

Not Ruby, Saria.

Ruby barreled past in the mist past the figure, just able to turn around by the time Saria was lying face down on the ground. Given how heavy the mist was, Ruby could _just_ make her out. She made sure to wear her grin as she stood at her tallest a few feet away, arms on her hips and wearing the dew on her like a second coat. Even if it was cold like water.

"Told ya I'm the fastest!" Ruby cheered delightfully. "Fastest runner, fastest tagger, and fastest snoop. Too much practice with a sister." Her silver eyes watched Saria pick herself up off the ground, kneeling as she dragged her legs closer to her body. Hold on a sec, that wasn't right.

Ruby watched, carefully, as Saria buried her face deep into her knees, curling into a ball. That really wasn't right.

Then she heard sobbing. Tiny barely let out sobbing. Ruby felt any pride she had lose itself in the mist like she had.

"Whoa! Whoa, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Ruby hastily let out as she dove back in front of Saria. She hovered over the smaller girl, who was actually super old, wondering how to comfort her without looking weird, even though she'd never helped someone old through a crying fit, or understood why. "I-It's okay! _Really!_ You lasted a lot longer in the game than anyone else had! _NOT_ that you meant for this to be a game, even though you said you wanted to have fun earlier and I'm hearing trying to find you. It's alright because we're friend and friends have fun and beat each other in games, _not physically_ but… but this isn't working."

Ruby bit her lip as her rambling went nowhere, her silver eyes continuously trained on the sobbing appearing-child figure in front of her. Because Saria was supposed to be old, really old, old enough to raise Link. And she was crying like a child, which she wasn't, in front of her.

This was bad in more ways that Ruby could count, and she could at least reach thirty before she needed a breath of air. If Saria was crying than maybe Moraine was crying and if both were crying then it would be bad when Link returned but if they kept crying and they stayed lost then they'd need to wait for her team or Ozpin to come help her and then it would get even worse!

"H-Hey, Saria how about… we…" Ruby's voice puttered off as she started to reach out to the young girl, looking young woman. Her voice fell as she truly focused on Saria, through the mist.

A mist that was slowly dissipating, retreating away and revealing just what lay around her. Ruby should have been concerned about that. She should have been freaked out that the mist that had suddenly appeared around the Emerald Forest was now running away from where she was almost just as quickly as before. It should have been a red flag that Weiss would yell at her for not realizing, and Blake would see coming a mile away. But she didn't pay attention at all.

Because the mist wasn't important, not really. What was important was the child-like person who was looking up at her now. Saria was important, and Moraine too.

And the figure in front of her was neither.

Neither had short blonde hair. Neither had a long-pointed hat. Neither had unsettling blue eyes. They didn't have them. But Ruby knew who did.

"… Link?" Ruby quietly voice, unsure of how crazy she had to be to even think it. Even though the figure looked like him, but younger. And had his tunic. And his boots. And his hat. All smaller, but… all Link.

Ruby continued to stare at the smaller child that was sitting in front of her, wet tears down his face and looking as if he were ready to start balling again. His youthful face, lacking any of the weathered appearances that he had as an adult, as _normal_ Link. He really was just a small boy sitting on wet grass in a forest that was way too misty… except for where they currently were!

Ruby didn't know what to do before, but now she wasn't even sure if there was anything that could be done!

How was Link here? Why was he so small? How had she run into him? Why was he crying? Why was he running through the mist? Why wasn't he talking to her? What was she supposed to do to help him? There were a million and one questions in her head!

Through it all, she still couldn't take her eyes off of Link, off of the _obviously_ smaller Link that was somehow smaller than her, but was the same Link that was able to fight mega-Grimm and teach her team and entire school. That same Link now curled up and sitting in a ball, crying in front of her, lost in the woods. It just didn't make sense. She'd had nightmares that made more sense than this, even the one that involved time-travel and being her own great-grandmother.

But this was now, and the now here was that Link was still here, looking up at her, and waiting for her to do something.

Link… the same faunus who she had saved in the forest once more, now needing her again. Ruby took a breath though. She didn't need questions, she needed action. Because huntresses acted, and she'd get nowhere by doing nothing.

"Hey, it's… okay…" Ruby softly spoke, unsure of her won words, even as she reached out towards Link again. Slowly. "Just… tell me… or… show me what's wrong?" Because Link couldn't talk, at least in a way she could hear. Blake should be here… or Tatl or… Ruby hesitated again.

Ruby couldn't hear Link. That was a fact that was well established by the way he spoke, and how only faunus like Blake or machines could hear him. Or fairies, fairies were included. But Ruby wasn't any of those things.

Then who did she hear laughing?

" _FOUND YOU!"_

Ruby screamed, loudly.

" _HYYAAAAAAGH!_ " Ruby bolted up and fell to her side, scrambling across her wet cloak. It pulled at her cloak, nearly sending her head back into the ground and pulling dangerously hard at her throat. Her fingers pushed back against the damp grass, righting herself and getting off of her cloak as her silvers eyes quickly swept around for the voice. The mist was clear, thankfully, so it was easy to see. It just wasn't what she expected.

She didn't expect to see Saria standing behind her.

The same girl-like woman who Link's friend was wearing who had run into the Emerald Forest. Except now she didn't have hears, or wolf ears. She had her pointy ears, but no hair on them, or fur. Just… Just her like she was before.

Standing tall in the middle of the forest, arms crossed, and looking down at her. It wasn't hard, given that Ruby was still sprawled out on the floor. She was doing a poor job of righting herself as fast as she should have. She blamed the dewy mist, and Saria's prank.

"Do you have any idea I was looking for you?" She was looking for her? "I've been running all day and I didn't see you even once. Not since this morning." Ruby shook her head, sure now that she had hit it when she fell. She didn't expect to have Saria looking for _her_. Let alone getting a scolding from her.

Why a scolding? Ruby honestly preferred the questions! Even if the questions usually had bad answers, at least they weren't given to her with the disapproving glare and crossed arms of her dad!

"I-I'm sorry about that," she replied almost automatically. "It just got _really_ misty and I was looking for you before so when I saw… him, I-" Ruby was half way to motioning towards the mini-Link. A Link that _really_ shouldn't have been here, at all. But still was. Somehow.

Only half-way, because Saria kept talking.

"I know Mido can be mean, but he's like that to everyone." Ruby stared back at Saria, blinking slowly. Who was Mido? "That's no reason to go running into the Lost Woods. Not without a Guardian Fairy of your own." The Lost Woods? They weren't there, this was the Emerald Forest!

"Hey, h-hold on," Ruby quickly let out, standing up as she spoke. She was still taller than either Saria _or_ Link, and it felt really weird to even think that, even if she could visibly see it. "I think you're confused, we're still at Beacon, a-and Link's supposed to be with Jaune and Pyrrha… and this doesn't make sense." She looked back and forth between the two of them.

But neither were looking at her. Saria only continued to gaze down at Link, who looked back up at her. Ruby didn't want to interrupt, not _really_ , but she also hated being ignored. It was very rude.

Then again, it was also rude to ignore the mini-Link crying again.

It was impossible to ignore the way his head ducked back to his knees, hiding his small sobs as she held himself tighter. Ruby bit her lip, unsure of what to do as she stared at the sight. Staring was bad, but so was crying in the forest. Did that make it right? She didn't know. And because she didn't know, she didn't act. Besides, Saria _was_ here, _SOMEHOW_ , so maybe she'd know how to help Link.

"… He made fun of you for not having a Guardian Fairy, didn't he?" The question _was_ a Saria question, or at least it sounded like one. Ruby watched Link's head shift against his knees. A nod, it had to be a nod. Just like how the sound Saria made was a sigh. "I thought so. He does have a poor filter for his words. What he said was uncalled for."

Ruby watched from the side as Saria uncurled her arms, walking the short distance to Link's side. The grass made wet sounds as her shoes slid across them, ultimately making a small splash as she turned and sat next to Link. Ruby kept her distance, not sure of what to do, or even what was still going on. This was one of those times that Weiss was talking about, where she should just stay still and listen.

They sat there for a moment, and Ruby watched. They really were the same size, which was weird to think about. Even weirder was seeing Saria hover over Link, who was crying. That was the weirdest part. This was all weird.

"It's not your fault that you don't have a Guardian Fairy." Guardian Fairy, maybe like Tatl and Tael. Wait, where were they?! "You are still to young, and the Great Deku Tree has not deemed it time for you yet. This is the time for when you must prepare and learn, so that when your fairy comes to you, you can explore."

Saria held her arm out, and Ruby watched, enthralled, as an emerald fairy flew out from her sleeve.

The fairy rang like Tatl and Tael, hovered like them, dropped dust like them, and swayed through the air like a floating lightbulb. He, or she, was just the same as the fairies that taught them next to Link and gave them pointers! She, or he, was the same, they were the same!

"Holy cow Saria!" Ruby let out finally, only in time to realize she was already jumping for joy. Weird how she didn't even realize that herself. Pretty low scale on the list of things that were weird. The fairy began to twirl through the air, and Ruby _almost_ missed how Link was watching the fairy, too. How couldn't he! Ruby was holding her hands out for the little guy to land on. "You have a fairy, too?! That's amazing! That's awesome you gotta-"

Her voice caught in her throat as the fairy flew at her.

Then through her.

She yelled, again, for a second time.

"GAAAAAAHHH!" Ruby fell backwards once more, hands quickly rising to her chest and patting it over and over again. She couldn't feel the fairy there, or any holes, or dust, or guts, or anything else to make her thing that the fairy had suddenly merged with her like one of her old cartoon shows.

The idea was further thrown away when she saw it flying around her, ringing up through the air and lolling about. Saria and Link were still watching the little guy. Ruby was watching the fairy, and Saria, and Link, and the mist, and the forest, and most importantly, herself. She kept patting herself. That wasn't normal, whatever happened. Nothing about this was normal.

Tatl and Tael couldn't fly through people. She held Tatl once! Sari and Link were still ignoring her, and they were still talking and… and this was all too weird!

"Saria!" She called again to the mentor of Link, _hoping_ for an answer this time. "Can you _please_ just tell me what-"

"Not having a fairy doesn't make you less of a Kokiri, Link." Saria spoke over Ruby, interrupting her. It almost sent the girl to the ground, again, while she was already on it. She caught herself, long enough to see the Emerald fairy land on the girl's, but really much older woman's, shoulder.

Ruby stared at it now, back and forth between them, pouting. What in the world was going on? If this was some kind of lesson from Saria, it was too confusing to make any _real_ sense of!

"Someday, the Great Deku Tree will gift you a fairy. And when he does, he will give you a task for the forest." Saria kept talking, and Link was looking at her and the fairy on her shoulder. Ruby pulled her knees up to her chest, the same as Link. He had wet cheeks from tears. She had a wet face from the mist. He was sniffling from his sobs. Ruby was growling in irritation.

Still, this was something she wanted to watch, if only to scold Link for later for not including her, while she and the rest of her team probably drilled him for answers on _what_ was going on. Moraine would have a lost to answer for to, and Saria. Maybe her fairy, if the guy ever _acknowledged_ her.

"Perhaps on that day, you'll be to care for the trees. A chance exists that you will be responsible for defending our walls. I would not be surprised if it were even for you to seek out the souls in these Lost Woods." And she said that again. Lost Woods. It wasn't the Lost Woods though, not that creepy place Tatl described before. This was the Emerald Forest! Sure, a little mistier than usual, but not going to eat your soul and leave you to rot bad!

But Link was looking up though, gazing at her and around them. He wasn't crying anymore, not that she understood entirely why in the first place. It was hard to when they weren't even paying attention to her!

"It's not your fault that your so different Link. It's no one's fault." Then again, it was really easy to pay attention to her words. Especially with how quiet the rest of the forest was. Ruby let her chin rest on the tops of her knees as she listened to the pair of weirdly out of place people, both ignoring her, plus a fairy. "What does matter, and what is your own, what you do with what is given to you. Do you run away into the Lost Woods, because Mido is an idiot?" Link giggled at that. Ruby joined him.

She didn't know this Mido, but making fun of Link did sound like a stupid thing to do. Actually, pretty mean now that she thought about it, considering how big Link was, which was not at all. The Mido guy had to be huge.

"Or do you accept where you are now, and work to be somewhere better?" That was a Saria question though, and one that Ruby focused on. Link did the same, she noticed.

The way he looked at her blinking, sniffling back the few tears he had and wiping his face on his forearm. It was probably snot covered, but given how dewy the air had been, or would be, or whatever, it probably didn't matter. What did matter was what she saw.

Link and Saria smiling at once another, Link nodding his head towards her, probably saying something she again couldn't hear, and the emerald fairy of Saria ringing through the air as it resettled itself back inside of her sleeve. They still weren't paying attention to her, and the fairy still had flown through her. Ruby still, on top of it all, had no idea what was going on.

Then again, Saria did raise a good point. It was probably her easiest question yet.

There wasn't any real use in dwelling on what she didn't have. Not when she needed to focus on what she needed. And what she needed was to be stronger, so that she could be a Huntress, so that she could save others, and so that she would be a hero, just like Link.

No, just like her mom.

Ruby curled her arms tighter around her legs. That was a bad place for her thoughts.

"Now though, I think I know exactly what you are." Saria spoke as she stood, patting off her legs. Link and Saria both watched her, seeing the woman, who looked too much like a girl, stroll around the small mist clearing. Ruby wondered if she was finally going to address her. "Just between the two of us, I'm sure it's something you alone can be." Ruby sighed. "Do you care to guess what it is?"

Link looked around at the question, something that Ruby couldn't help but find adorable. Even though she _knew_ this was the Link who was supposed to be way taller and stronger and more sure of himself, that is without crying, she still found it adorable. Even if she couldn't get the questions out of her head for what was going on. With his age, with his appearance, with Saria and Moraine but without faunus ears, and everything else.

Basically, literally everything that was happening.

"I think you are… IT!" _SMACK!_

Ruby wasn't sure what shocked her more.

The strength that Saria hit mini-Link with, the way she ran off into the forest, the speed at which Link got up to chase her, or the fact that she wasn't following them.

The last one, had to be the last one.

"Wha-WAIT! Hold on!" Ruby yelled out, running after Saria and younger Link. They were already lost in the mist, the creepy mist that swirled around her, but Ruby kept going forward. She couldn't get lost if she just went straight, and that was where they went! "C'mon! I waited for you guys! Just give me a second here!"

Ruby _wanted_ to speed through the mist, but doing that without seeing where she was going was a bad idea. She'd learned that at a young age. And she didn't want to zoom right past where Saria and younger Link were. She had to find them! So she kept running, holding her hands out to make sure she didn't hit the trees as she ran, pushing out the low branches to keep herself from being clotheslined, and all the while keeping her silver eyes open and wide.

And she ran forward step by step by step through the mist, ignoring the feeling of the water on her face, dampening her hair, and getting her cape even soggier than before. She just needed to find her two faunus friends first, so she could ask why Saria didn't pay attention to her, or why Link looked so young, or what they were talking about, or-

_Whooosh!_

Why she was outside the Emerald Forest.

Ruby blinked at the cleared fog, out of the way and out of sight like she had walked through a wall. She looked down at her hands, seeing the green grass of Beacon without a leaf on it, no trees in front of her either. Just the dorms for the upper classmen and a few lesson halls, not Emerald Forest… not the misty woods.

Those were behind her, and still where when she turned around.

The dense misty forest she had just run through, the stuff that had made it _almost_ impossible to see a few feet in front of her, still hung between the trees. The trees she had been running through as she chased Link and Saria, the smaller versions of them at least. She was staring at them, the forest at least, and she remembered running through it, but she never remembered turning around, at least not so much that she would run _out_ of the forest.

How had she gotten here?

" _Rubes!_ " " _Ruby!"_ Ruby turned when she heard familiar voices calling her name, unfortunately, it was not Saria or Link. Unfortunate right now at least.

"Guys?" She spoke aloud, watching her teammates jog towards her. "What are you-whoa! HEY! _YANG!_ " Ruby cried out now as Yang wrapped her arms around her, pulling her into her sister's chest and smothering her. It felt about as great as it always did, like being suffocated by her bed sheets and pillows.

"Geez! You little idiot, you had me ready to start burning down the forest!" She did? Ruby thought as she tried to push her way out of her sister's grasp, to the same avail as always. None. "We couldn't find Saria _or_ you, then we find out there's a weird fog covering the forest and your Scroll GPS _just so happens_ to be broadcasting from inside it!" Ruby kept pushing, unable to answer and only barely hear.

"Yang is right, Ruby. You had us all deftly worried! Not in the least bit because you failed to so much as send out a message as for where you were." Weiss's scolding didn't change either, and Ruby still wanted out of her sister's grasp. But there was no give.

"What you were thinking running into the forest like that!" Yang continued to scold her, even as she held her in the usual hugs she reserved for her little sister. The kind that left said little sister red faced and out of breath. "Were you thinking at all, or were you just hoping to find Saria before the rest of us?" Little of A, mostly B…

"I don't think she can answer you right now," Ruby heard Blake say, and she was so thankful for her sister's partner now. "Maybe give her some room… and air." Both would be great!

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, I guess." Ruby gulped in the air as she leaned back from Yang, the crushing hug holding her close now gone. "Geeze Rubes, don't need to exaggerate. It wasn't that tight."

"Yeah it was!" Ruby shot back, unable to pout while she took in the air she needed. Geez, her sister. "Do you know how hard it is to breath when you're holding me that close? I feel like Zwei is chocking me when you do that." Maybe not that bad, because Zwei was a cute little puppy. Yang was more like the ferocious bear that made Ursa run away.

"I understand." Ruby turned to see Ren, nodding at her with crossed arms. Then she saw Nora jumping up and down on her toes, grinning like she always did. And she kept pushing out her chest… Ooohhh, Ruby got that one. "But if we may return to the matter at hand, what were you doing in the forest, Ruby? At least when it looked like that?" His arms unfolded to indicate the obvious. Ruby glanced at the misty that poured from the forest still, watching it dissipate to nothing before it barely over a few feet away from the edge of the forest.

"And why were you running?" Weiss asked now. "It at least appeared you were running from something, or perhaps towards something." Yeah, kind of expected there would be questions after she came running out of that.

"The last one, actually," Ruby pointed out for her partner. "I was chasing Saria and Link in there, because I saw them and-"

"Wait, back up," Yang spoke first. "You saw Saria _and Link_?" She held up her palms, that look of 'I-think-you're-lying' on her face. Ruby still nodded "As in the same Link that's like a day's trip by Bullhead away, with Weiss's big sis and half of JNPR? That Link?" Ruby nodded her head again.

"Yeah! Well, it was _sorta_ them, but they were both different and weird." Because it was totally weird for Link too like he was younger than she was all of the sudden, and definitely different that they wouldn't even pay attention to her. That was a far cry from the same Link that sang a song for her with Elrora's help… or was it just Elrora…

"Oh! Oh! Were they different like wearing different clothes different or different like walking in a different way different?" Nora questioned as she waved her hand in the air. Ruby wasn't a teacher, so she didn't need to do that. "Then how were they weird? Was Saria super big or a different color? Oh! Was Link not a faunus anymore? No wait! I know! I bet one of them was a dog!" Ruby shook her head faster and faster with each or Nora's statements.

"No, no, no, no, and _definitely no!_ " Her hands were waving with her shaking head. "It was just… well, okay, that third one was kind of close." Nora was jumping with excitement. She really was the only one.

"Yes! I knew it! I told you things grow bigger in the forest Ren. That's why you're so tall and I'm so big!" Ruby looked at Ren in confusion, but his head was just shaking the same way hers was before. "Things are always bigger in the woods! Like trees and animals and plants and Grimm and everything else!"

"That's because of an environmental protection, built up through many _many_ years of evolutionary advantage." Ren spoke like he'd said this before. It was the same way her dad talked to her when she started to run through the forest and he'd tell her about how dangerous it was. "There is no correlation between living in the forest and personal growth."

" _Aside_ from character." Nora pointed out as she leaned into Ren. Ren rolled his head, making Ruby giggle with Nora.

"Aside from character," he relented. Ruby saw Yang make a whipping motion with her hand, whatever that meant. It did make Nora giggle louder, and Ren shake his head.

" _ANYways,_ " Yang spoke us. "You were gonna tell us about Saria and Link, right Rubes?" She was? "Like they were different and weird." Oh yeah! She was!

"Of course I will, and you'll definitely agree that they were being different and weird," Ruby spoke up to her sis, even as she took a step back. Yang might not wrap her in a hug. But she wasn't above giving her a noogie. "Cause, I mean, Link was like younger than I was and Saria kept-"

" _Stop_ right _there!_ " Weiss instructed, and Ruby obeyed. Her head practically rose with the speed her mouth shut. "Just what are you implying when you say Link was younger than you are? Was that a euphemism? An exaggeration of his appearance? Something similar to that?" Ruby shook her head, fast.

"No no! He really was little!" Ruby held her hand out to her side, holding it just above her belly button was. "He was maybe this tall, and had cute pointy ears, and had a really small cap, and he tripped chasing after Saria, so she was giving him a lesson on runnin gin the woods and he listened to her _really_ hard." She made fingers around her eyes, like they were binoculars. Link never looked away from Saria after all.

Kind of the same way everyone was keeping their eyes on her, even though they were all squinted and had really twisted frowns on their faces. Did she say something disgusting?

"Ruby, did you hit your head?" Blake asked her, and Ruby had to blink before she answered. Why did she ask that? "Because if you did, we can get you to the nurse without any issue. We'll keep looking for Moraine without you, so you don't have to worry." And why did she say _that!_

"But I'm not making it up!" Ruby yelled out, arms out at her sides as he did so. "I was even trying to talk to Saria and link, but they wouldn't answer me, so I just listened to Saria telling Link about how dangerous the woods were even though she never mentioned the mist but kept talking about things like Wolfos and Moblins and I'm staring to ramble, aren't I?" There was a collective nod of her friends' heads. "Okay, yeah, I do that, _but_ I am telling the truth! I mean, why would I make up a story about mini-Link and Saria like that?"

"If it helps, Ms. Rose, perhaps you can start from the beginning." Ruby recognized that voice, even if she didn't see him at first.

"Professor Ozpin?" Her head turned, seeing the professor walking up to them. Had he just gotten here? Was he always here? Did he teleport here? Maybe all three, somehow. It made sense thought, because he was the one who was supposed to watch Moraine… with Uncle Qrow… "Wait, where's Uncle Qrow?" Ruby looked around. If her team was here, and half of JNPR, and Headmaster Ozpin, it didn't make sense her uncle wasn't here. And on top of that… "Or Ms. Goodwitch."

"Qrow is not here due to my orders, Ms. Rose," Headmaster Ozpin returned. Ruby noted he had his hands on his cane again, looking towards the woods with a stern expression. "Though the possibilities of you being here, as well as Saria, were high, it would be impudent of me to focus all of our resources on a singular area. And Qrow does have an ability to search over a large area quickly." That did sound like her uncle, at least able to search quickly part. She never did win a game of Hide-And-Seek against him. "Ms. Goodwitch is also looking out for other areas, as this heavy mist is… far from natural."

He turned back to the forest Ruby had run into, and out of. She could tell he was thinking about going in there, the same way she had. Probably, at least she thought that was what he was doing. Considering how he was supposed to be watching Moraine, and Moraine was in there, with Saria, and a mini-Link, that did make sense. Yeah, that made enough sense to her.

"That, and she's trying to keep others from going in," Yang spoke up again. "She just about threw Nora into the back of the building to keep her from running in there, at least when we arrived. Kind of easy to forget how strong she is sometimes." It was? Ruby had a hard time thinking of Ms. Goodwitch without her being intimidating, powerful, or anything else like that. Even when she was giving a lecture. Then again, Yang did have a habit of not paying attention.

"She is trying to keep you all from Danger, Ms. Xiao Long," Professor Ozpin returned. His head only leaned towards them, his eyes still on the forest. Did he see something else? Maybe, considering how Ruby saw something before, too. But that was after she was in it. "Something like this is meant for a professor to explore first, in order to ensure the students are safe. It is our job, after all, to ensure you are safe.

"Well it _might_ be dangerous, but it wasn't for me," Ruby put her palms to her chest as she spoke. "It's like I said, all Is aw was a mini-Link and sterner Saria talking to each other. They were ignoring me at the same time." Which was still very rude, but if they were still lost int eh woods, and they were _that_ different, she could forgive them.

"Why don't you tell us about it?" Blake suggested. Ruby looked at her. "I mean everything that happened. Where you went in, how long it was, and then what you saw. Because if you did see Saria, I have a hard time believing she'd just ignore you. She'd probably ask you a question instead." Yeah that did sound like her.

"And I wanna know about mini-Link!" Nora cheered next to Ren. "Was he like a boyish Moraine? Was he cute and cuddly? Did he still have really long ears?" Ruby was nodding her head at the questions, realizing a bit too late that she was doing so.

"I agree it would be beneficial to hear of your time in the forest, Ms. Rose," Ozpin spoke again. Was he standing closer now, or was that just because it looked like _everyone_ was standing closer to her. Probably the last one. "Before anyone else goes in, it would be a fine point to hear of any oddities you saw while in that dense mist." Ruby felt like a canary all of the sudden. She wasn't sure why.

"Are you asking me because you wanna know what I saw because you're curious, or because you wanna know what's going on before you go in?" B, it had to be B, she thought. It had to be B because she knew everyone else wanted to go in, so of course they wanted to know what was there before they went in. It was like Professor Port said, when he wasn't explaining how he used to be an amazing Hunter in the days before her dad, you had to have information about where you were going to be able to survive. At least, she _thought_ that was what he was always referring to.

"The latter, Ms. Rose." Ruby would have cheered, if she wasn't under so many eyes, and Professor Ozpin's. "While Ms. Goodwitch doesn't wish for you all to be put in unnecessary risk, this is an issue that has likely occurred because of my… negligence. Mine and Qrow's as well." Ruby had to nod at that. The Uncle Qrow part.

It was easy to blame him. Yang and dad did it all the time. And it usually was his fault, because he was asleep. A lot.

"That being said, I do not blame you for entering as swiftly as you did, now that you are safe. Now, I wish to know what you saw, so that I may have a better chance at finding Moraine and Saria within, assuming that what you saw pertained to them." Oh, it did, it definitely did.

"Heh, kinda feels like we're watching a teacher trying to find the naughty student in class," Yang spoke up again. Ruby rolled her eyes. Her sister wasn't _wrong_ , but it was just hard to keep Saria as a kid in her mind, not after everything they'd seen, and heard, and talked about.

"Quiet, Xiao Long," her partner turned up. "Headmaster Ozpin is right, and we are _extremely_ fortunate that he's willing to enter before any of us."

No matter what anyone said later, Ruby _knew_ she didn't imagine the laughter that came from Professor Ozpin. It wasn't something she heard a lot of, true, but there wasn't much she could mistake it for. The same way she didn't mistake the beer bottles in Uncle Qrow's room ending up in Yang's. She knew what they were.

So, she knew Professor Ozpin found what Weiss said funny. _Why_ that was, she didn't know. Maybe it was a professional Hunter thing. Something that made her wanting to understand it even more.

"I believe we are getting off track," said professor spoke up. Ruby looked at him again, watching him nod towards her with his twisted glasses. "If you are able, would you care to explain what you saw in the mist, Ms. Rose?"

"Oh! Yeah!" Ruby nodded her head, even as she glanced at the misty woods, just in case she'd catch Saria and mini-Link running around in there.

No such luck.

"Well, I started by walking into the woods, with my arms held out so I didn't run into any trees. It's why I had to walk, too." Ruby held up her arms as she spoke, making sure to copy her actions as best she could. Like her dad told her, the best stories were visual. "The mist got really dense on me and then…"

* * *

Only a few steps into the Emerald Forest and Ozpin could already tell it was not the woods that were outside of his grounds.

He had walked the beaten paths too many times, watched timber grow for too long, observed countless initiations through the dense woods, to possible mistaken the foreign bark and trunks that now grew and sprouted from the misty land. It was not the Emerald Forest that sat adjacent to Beacon Grounds and Vale proper. This, he realized, was an alien land invading upon his school's territory.

His cane tapped on the soil as he walked, feeling the ground give from the excessive moisture in the air. A phenomenon that presented itself by also clinging to his emerald attire, something he could do little but withstand for now. Annoying as it was to have it cling to him, dense enough to be mistaken for rainfall, his focus was on a far more pressing matter. The matter of this foreign land that mimicked the Emerald Forest his school so closely bordered.

Somewhere in this foreign territory was the friend of Link, the ancient Sage Saria, and the young faunus Moraine, a girl who had somehow gathered the mask of said friend. Ozpin would have to look into how she had acquired said mask from Link, and then hid it from both him and Qrow so well. Her ability to was either a talent or a skill, either one worth investigating. That was only one mystery however, one of many.

What was not a mystery, to him at least, was how this forest of mist came to be. Foreign as it was, he needed no thought to know it was by the act of Saria, or more appropriately, the powers of the Maiden she possessed. Though far from anything he had seen before, it would hardly be outside the realm of possibility, not when put next to the explosion of life and proliferation of nature. A cloud of mist, the moving of trees, would be a hand-wave in comparison.

It did not change the fact that the _motive_ for said action on Saria's part still escaped him, something he thought of as he continued to move through the misted woods. Slowly, carefully, at a pace that allowed him to listen to the odd sounds that echoed through the mist, all while searching for odd billows in the dewy cloud.

If Ruby Rose was to be believed, and he had little to no reason to doubt her, then Saria had somehow maneuvered a manipulation of Link in this mist, an illusion of sorts that was far beyond any basic Semblance. He was certain it was an illusion and nothing more.

For if Link had returned, or something bad had occurred to him, Bartholomew would have contacted him post haste, or Ms. Schnee the same to James. No, the Link that Ms. Rose saw was not the Link that had befriended Moraine, not likely. It was an illusion that Saria had made for the poor girl, one that had her chasing to the edge of the forest and out of the woods.

Unfortunately, Ozpin could not deduce why. A haunting one-word question that so often plagued him.

Why would Saria do such a thing, aside from it being a rather extravagant way to lure Ms. Rose out of the woods. It didn't seem appropriate to Saria, the child-like Sage that often led other to answers through riddles and questions, rather than chasing false realities away from their goals. The two methods were perpendicular to one another, such as a teacher that believed in experience, but never left the classroom.

There had to be a reason for it, and it was just one more reason amongst many that Ozpin took it upon himself to traverse into the woods, before the teammates of Ms. Rose or the remains of JNPR took it upon themselves to do so. He needed to find Moraine, find Saria, and figure out why the girl, either of them, took these misty woods to such a far degree.

Ozpin swung his cane through the air again, watching as the cloud of misty in front of him swam and drifted in the wake of his staff. The billowy mist, wet to the touch, drifted like silent clouds. Silent like the woods the Emerald Forest now appeared to be, but rarely so often was. Were he a lesser man, the unnerving sense of calm would have gotten to him.

A slow sigh left his lips, loud as a scream in the silent air that surrounded him. It gave the improper feeling of being confined to a small space, locked in an endless corridor he could see neither entrance to nor exit from. It was not a feeling he was soon to think he would experience in the Emerald Forest, not the woods that so often straddled the line between safe and dangerous, housing the Grimm for exhibition and exams, yet never dangerous enough to warrant guards or watches.

Now, he heard neither the growl of the Grimm nor the chirp of the birds. Despite the immense size of the trees he continued to slowly stride by, stretching higher than many other woods in the world, he heard not a sound of them straining in a breeze nor of the leaves rustling in any wind. It was as if they were captured in time, them and the rest of nature that took refuge between their thick trunks.

Only the mist moved in the woods now, this forest that paraded itself like his Emerald Forest. It, and himself.

"A curious case," Ozpin mumbled to himself, not speaking to anyone but his own thoughts. "So often I find myself wondering what the Maidens can do, and so often I find myself surprised at what they are capable of."

" _Then do you wish to see more_?" His eyes shifted and his feet stopped.

Ozpin's cane settled on the ground, slowly, as he turned his head in the direction of the voice. Through the lens of his glasses, he peered into the dense mist of the woods, but saw nothing but more billowing dew. His ears had not deceived him, he knew, but neither did he know who spoke or where exactly it had come from. Only that it had come from the outer rings of the mist, and supposedly in answer to his question. If that was the case… perhaps a conversation was in order.

"What more is there to show?" Ozpin gently ventured, louder than before, but no different than if he were carrying a conversation with someone in front of him. "What more is there to see that you are willing to show me?"

 _"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha._ " Laughter was the response, often the response given by youths hiding an answer, or wise figures playing a game. If it was Saria he was speaking to, or some figment her powers had created, it could likely be either. " _If you wish to see, you have to be willing to leave_." Leave the woods? Hardly the proper action to take.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, not just yet." Ozpin spoke, resting both of his hands on the head of his cane as he did so. "I was put in charge of watching over you, or more accurately Moraine, while Link was vacant from Beacon. To leave without thought or care for your safety would be hypocritical to many of my oaths." Those to his friends, his students, and the people of Vale. All were included.

" _Safety is such an important thing_ ," the voice admitted through the woods. Ozpin did not approach still. Something, a honed sense, was telling him to wait. That, or telling him to listen. Perhaps a part of him sensed the familiarity in the words. That, or the voice. " _But why do you watch so carefully without ever reaching out beyond?"_ Ozpin was worried by those words.

Not the vagueness they contained. Too often he was caught in word games that offered much less, even those that were not questions. This… this was something he _had_ heard before. Most worryingly, he could recall where he had.

" _Then come out. Leave behind where you are. Leave it so you can find something more_." Those were _hauntingly_ familiar words. Words familiar enough that he could not ignore them. Not for the chance to be swayed by Saria or to be lured into a trap. For someone, for anyone, to know those words so well spoke of many things at once.

It spoke of age, of convenience, of knowledge, and most importantly, of destiny.

His feet carried him through the forest now, cane swinging at his side and no longer searching the air before him. Ozpin could tell from where the voice was coming, and he intended to follow it through. The laughter that came with his strident march was evidence he was playing into some kind of ploy or game. It was not one he feared, not with Saria of Link's past at the helm, but it was one he knew he'd be disadvantageous during. Still, he carried on. It was a risk worth taking.

" _That's it. Come out and join us all!_ " All, as in more than one. Just as it was before. Every word more the voice spoke was more that confirmed his fears and dreads, his curiosities and wonders. It was all something he needed to see.

And the mist appeared to hear his silent call, billowing away from him at a pace that far outmatched his swift march forward. Falling away into wisps and showing more than the few feet in front of him. It was little different than what Ms. Rose described, but all at once happening in a way totally different than what she told. Afterall, Ozpin was not walking around a boy she had chased, watching an exchange that ignored her.

He was walking into a clearing he had not been in for eons, walking to a cabin that had long since rotted away, and watching a figures no longer of this world hosting a party in the calm plain of the woods. Figures that were colored like the seasons, gowned so differently than one another, but neither appearing to be alien in a group. All looked appropriate, all appeared to be friends, and all busied themselves to a task that befit their looks. Looks that Ozpin recognized well.

The woman in white, wearing a robe of elaborate fur and warmth, was clearing a table with her hands. A word of hard labor that did not befit one looking as if they were royalty. The girl who wore trousers of lavender, short and letting her skin breath, worked in a garden Ozpin had not seen and could scantily remember, pulling vegetables and planning seeds as she went. Another girl in a dress of green, long enough to reach her ankles and matched by an emerald circlet about her head, laughed and danced through the yard, nature almost following her movements as she did.

And the last, a girl who wore clothes similar to that of a hermit herself, dark as bark and showing only what was necessary, was placing food on the table, even as her lips moved in a chant that only she could hear. Perhaps only she could hear, but Ozpin knew the words well, words that he now spoke whenever he sat before a meal he was thankful for, or a lesson he did not believe he'd be able to share.

Even now, watching them move about an area far too familiar to be coincidence, Ozpin felt his lips moving to match hers, his feet slowly caring him forward. It was all to impossible to witness, and yet, it would be nothing short of foolishness to use that as the basis to deny its existence.

"Are you ready to come out now?" The girl in green spoke again, a green that captured his gaze far more vibrantly than before. The dress that billowed like the mist, but hung around her form like a greedy piece of cloth. Ozpin only now, after so many years, stared at the smile the young maiden gave. It was only then he realized how familiar it was. "We're almost ready, and wouldn't there be more to see how here than there is in there?" Those words, again, and that question, once more, was something Ozpin had hardly expected to hear.

And he watched, mesmerized and confused, as a man of age and power stepped forth from the cabin, hand to his forehead and blocking out the sun that barely pierced the canopy above. There was no confusion of what he was seeing, only disbelief that it was possible.

Illusion or not, Ozpin knew he was staring at the origins of a fairytale, and his own long journey.

"See? Isn't this much better?" The girl asked, the one who so neatly embodied the spring air, having a matching step to her waltz. "The vibrant air? The new life? The slow harvest and food? Is there anything in your cabin that so easily trumps this?"

"No, there isn't," Ozpin mumbled to himself, watching from a distance as the scene unfolded. It was almost a sense of vertigo he was suffering now, watching as the familiar, too familiar, old man stumbled out from the cabin and towards the too kind maidens who walked about and flourished the land as they helped him.

"No, there isn't," he spoke again, the him that was no longer him. The old man answered as his steps grew more sure, more sturdy as he walked forward towards the table the woman of tan clothing worked. As he did, the girl in green laughed and spun once more. The air continued to spin around her, as if heading her call.

And Ozpin could not deny, the air was warmed, though he could not decide if it was due to familiarity, or the powers that had yet to be. He hoped it was the former, but suspected the latter. It was a suspicion that almost made his soul shiver, because the idea of it was astounding.

"I'm glad you agree!" The girl cheered, spinning again as she readily plotted herself down at the table, just as her friend was finishing. Ozpin was not naming them, refusing to do so, until this figment of a dream did so. Only then would he know who was orchestrating this dance. "Isn't it important to see all that you can while you can? Or do you think that the safety of a home is always more important than the freedom of nature?"

"Why are you helping me like this?" Ozpin mumbled again, the question that was in no way related to the curiosity the girl had proposed, the girl of emeralds and dancing in leaves.

"Why are you helping me like this?" His ancient double repeated. His hands tightened on the head of his cane, watching mutely now as the exchange continued. "Why assist an old hermit who is busying himself in his home? I have nothing to offer you but time, something you need not me for."

"Because treating those with kindness will lead to kindness in return." The girl of dark bark spoke back, standing up as she clapped her hands. The act came for obvious reasons, that being the display of food she had designed being complete. Ozpin had seen it before, but witnessing it again made his mouth water, even if his jaw felt tight.

The freshly cooked goose that did not fly in this region, the vegetables sliced and diced and sprayed with seasons that grew in far off lands, even ripe fruits that were out of season, perhaps even time. All were carried on plates that he did not own, and never did, sitting on a table that moments again, or perhaps eons now, was dusty and coated with nature's spite. And yet, the girl had made it all look more appetizing than the chefs who were paid well in high castles.

The aroma of the meat wafted through the air, spiced with the vegetables and fruits that lingered on its breath. The steam of the well-cooked meat as enticing a sight as the browned skin of the well-prepared carcass, done up only by the luscious greens that were strewn around it. Though with a tight stomach and nervous glance, Ozpin stared down at the food with some reluctance. The him that was now, at least, did.

The him of before looking down and licked his lips, the strands of his long beard being pushed aside as he sat at the table with little hesitation. His hands played with the cutlery, wondering which would be used for, or if it was appropriate to use any at all. The him of now knew better, the but the him of before, wishing for solitude and peace, did not. It would have been a humorous sight, were he not still attempting to justify all that he saw.

"I have nothing to offer you," the him of before spoke again, the old man resting his hands as he wondered of what to do. Though surer of himself now, Ozpin was still familiar and skeptical of the feeling of loss. Eternity did not aid in finding self-confidence, it only offered more time to lose it. "I have nothing to gift to you nor nothing to welcome you with. Nothing but my old home and land."

"That is more than enough for most," the woman in a blue robe and alabaster features spoke. Her hands were dirtied from her work, but her smile was warmer than the clothing she wore. Ozpin knew of both for certain. "Such would be a blessing in the harsh weather, or even long night. To offer even that is enough for us. Though to be honest with your equal honesty, we do not need it." He already knew why, the him of now at least.

"We wish to offer you food and welcome, because we passed by your home and did not wish to leave you alone." The frolicking girl of green spoke again. "Wouldn't it be rude to simply walk past a man who is alone and not offer him some warmth? What better way is there to offer welcome than to sit and cook a meal together?" Few that Ozpin could name, even now.

It was nothing but good deeds he was showered with, and he watched now as they did it a second time, though perhaps the first. Watching as they gave him something he had not received before, and asked not even for a spade to dig or tent to sleep in. It was something he was not used, and such took an action in kind that he did not think he would repeat.

"Good deeds need to be returned." Ozpin began, though not words that he would speak. He only knew it was the conclusion he reached before, and the him of then did the same, with a determined look in his eyes. Eyes old enough to have seen time drift by, but sure enough to know that it was not so passive as to be uninfluenced by the actions of the present.

"I still wish to reward you," he spoke then, enough to earn their attention, and enough for Ozpin to know what would come next.

He watched as his hand lifted, rising from the table and summoning forth the strength he no longer possessed.

He watched the four maidens observe him, keeping silent as looks of anticipation crossed over and towards him.

He watched as light collected at his palms, bringing forth the very forces of nature the girls so well appealed to, and all that they were capable at once.

He watched… as it all disappeared.

"Done."

As if the call of a curtain, the image of his passed faded away, leaving behind the last shot of himself offering the powers of godhood and greatness to the four women who were so deserving of them. And in its place was the misted woods of the Emerald Forest, no different than when he heard the voice the first time, the now clearly familiar tone and inflection. Now, however, he saw and heard nothing.

No cabin near decrepit in the woods, no table with a feast, no maidens helping him prepare a meal, and not even the act he was close to repeating. He saw none of it.

"What?" Ozpin asked aloud, looking around him again. His hands remained tight on his cane, unsure of what just happened. No, that wasn't entirely true. He knew what had happened.

The illusion had dissipated, like the mist that was there before, and had returned now. It was either complete in its tale or dismissed by the caster, one of the two. Why the timing of when it was dispelled, be it either coincidence or not, he was not sure, he only knew it was too jarring, too unnerving to merely just let go.

That is, until he saw a girl spinning through the woods. A girl with emerald gown, emerald air, and a pair of wolvine ears atop her head. A girl that spun through the forest, turning the air around her with a warmth that reflected her smile. A dance that was met with her giggles, and complimented by her innocence appearance.

He watched, nerves raw from the illusion he had just been lifted from, as the girl continued to weave and move through the woods in a way that appeared so alien to what was natural, and yet embodied the natural allure and innocence of nature to a tee. Perhaps it was the emerald clothing to so easily matched the leaves, perhaps it was the hair that appear to be the canopy of the trees she danced between, or perhaps it was in her mystery nature, all of that being something Ozpin had seen before.

It was all something Ozpin had seen before, but only now knew where.

The similarities between the girl and the maiden were too close, too extreme, to miss.

The clarity and link between Saria of the Lost Woods and The Maiden of Spring were far too jarring to be mere coincidence.

And as Ozpin had observed just before, it likely was not.

"Saria," Ozpin called lightly towards the girl, already taking steps towards her. She stopped at his call, turning towards him. The smile on her face was as evident as the spin in her step.

"Professor Ozpin," she returned in kind. "I'm gad you are here. Did you get lost on the way?" A clever question, though a ruse and nothing more. One he had to play along with, regardless. Saria was a Maiden, for sure now, and it would be foolish to try and be direct with her.

"I had a journey of some kind, for that I am certain," Ozpin returned. "But I must ask how you sent me on such a trial in that mist. Or, to be more precise, how did you create such illusions within your damp air?" He waved his hand with the question, stopping his stride forward only when he stood in front of her, not that she faltered in her own. She only one heel on the ground, alternating, and spinning with great pride.

"Sent you? Did you mean to imply that I made you go anywhere? Were you not the one who stepped into the fog yourself?" It was a mist, not a fog, but it was not the question that needed to be asked or corrected.

"I followed you as I promised Link I would watch over you." That made her falter for a moment at least, long enough to have Ozpin continue. "If not you, then Moraine who wears your mask, and who's features you currently help bare."

The emerald furred ears atop her head were evidence enough, and the way they tilted showed a form of regret, no different than a scolded dog. It was endearing, to be certain, but not what Ozpin was looking for. Saria, after all, was a child only in appearance, a gift of her apparent eternal youth. Perhaps even a benefit to her Maiden power. Either could be possible.

"I see. Then I suppose I did force you on your journey, didn't I?" Her spinning slowed until she was left standing with a single raised leg, her emerald clothes leaning with her, as she attempted to take an exaggerated step forward. "It was not my intention to do that to you, of that I promise. I only hope that anything you saw was not unbearable for you to witness." Two pieces of information came from such a statement.

First, the Maiden truly did possess no intent to harm or maim. That was a benefit to be noted. But secondly, and far more importantly, she apparently did not know of what was seen.

That, Ozpin found a bit less likely.

"Are you saying that you do know now what I saw?" Ozpin ventured curiously. "You recognize that the mist showed me something, but you do not know what it was? That what I witnessed was as likely to be seen by someone else who dared to venture into these woods? Woods that you have altered?" The last question was unneeded, for now, but perhaps a reminder to himself to not forget to critique the Maiden later.

"That is the truth," Saria spoke back, and Ozpin found her words doubtful. "These woods are yours, the Emerald Forest if I recall the name correctly, but I merely brought forward a bit of my own. A bit of the Lost Woods that I guarded and carried for so long, because they carried with them many benefits to me." She was attempting to lead him away.

Ozpin realized it with her statement not being a question. She wanted him to ask on what she needed, not what she had done. She wanted to lead him away from what they were just talking about, but he was no just ready to do that yet.

However… if she truly didn't know of what he saw, then he also needed to bring out an answer to suit him without baring answers to her. The Maiden powers were fickle, so it would not be impossible for her powers to have such an unpredictable effect, even to her.

After all, it was too common that those who wielded great power were heedless of the effects of such might. Eons may come with wisdom, but they did not gift answers.

"Then you mean to say your Lost Woods, this… misty groove, is something you brought forward?" Ozpin began with a wave of his hand, his other still tight on his cane. Saria nodded at him, and he continued on. "And they are wooded groove that show people images of what? Happenings of the past? Predictions of the future?"

"Whatever is lost, in truth." It was an answer Ozpin should have seen coming. "What do you expect to find in the Lost Woods but lost thoughts? The dreams and wonderings of those who ventured through it, ideas that have been lost to the light of day. You may not find them in the depths of a tome or the bed on which you sleep, so where better to find lost thoughts than where you may be lost yourself?" Where they originally where, and Beacon was not where he originally gifted his powers.

"So it was coincidence then, at least your word is such." Saria tiled her head in curiosity to her question. "You showed me something that was too well-tied to me, and you are certain that it was not something you orchestrated on your own?"

"Would you believe me if I said did not?" She asked the question with a twirl, the short skirt laden atop her shorts spinning with her. The very image of innocence, to the untrained eye. "Would it be impossible to believe that I had no say or rule over what the fog showed?"

"Mist. Mist is wet to the touch, fog dissipates due to temperature." Ozpin lightly corrected once, not taking his eyes off the girl. Not again. Not while they were in what could debatably be considered her territory. "And in truth, while I can understand a certain level of uncertainty to your powers, I have a difficult time believing you'd have such a… lack of say over what they conjure."

"But why would I have any say?" Her inevitable question came again. "No more than you can say what students will come to your school when the doors open, how can I have said of what appears in the mist when I give life to the woods?" At least her short slip of the tongue let Ozpin know exactly what she did with those laden Maiden powers, confirmed beyond any shadows of doubts.

The offering of life, to something in the forest around him. Similar, though unspecific compared to the abilities she demonstrated atop his tower, evidence that still grew from above his balcony. It was one question answered, but it left still many more to be asked.

And the best place to proceed was down the path she was pointing.

"I would say that I control the types of students that approach my halls," Ozpin smoothly added on. He took a step forward, following Saria as she swept and danced through the forest. He did not ignore the continuing movement of the mist. He simply believed in the child's lack of desire to harm him. "Much the same, wouldn't you control the type of things that come from your mist?"

"In a sense, I suppose I do." The admittance was nice, but offered Ozpin nothing new. "However, then the question becomes something else. Not my ability to control, but what I control, if I control anything at all. What would you say I control, Headmaster of Beacon?" The title was important. No different than when he addressed her earlier. Cute, if effective.

"Life would be too broad of a guess," Ozpin began. The way Saria giggled in response, he knew it was true. He had never gifted such an extreme power to any of the Maidens. The ability to grow, perhaps, but freely manipulate was another. Raising a child was something any parent could do, but to turn them into your perfect child was something impossible. Life was little different. "I would venture energy, though perhaps you already know this. The energy that _comes_ from new life, from new beginnings or new events. Be they those that create new life or those that create new paths. That is where your energy comes from."

He already knew it did. And perhaps, if Saria was content to no longer play her came, she did as well.

"I _like_ that answer. Enough that I hope it is true." Ozpin knew better than to hope. "Then the question becomes _why_ I would do such a thing. Why would I, after all, manipulate the forest in such a way? Would it be for my enjoyment, or perhaps another purpose?" It was one of the more leading questions in Ozpin's mind, and one he could not afford to ignore. Though, he could be more direct.

"Have you a goal in mind in this forest, Saria?" He asked as leaves crunched beneath his feet. Saria continued to dance around the ones beneath her, neither disturbing their form nor sweeping them away. Not those that were not alright caught in the tailwind of her gown at least. "Perhaps something you wish to see, or do, or… perhaps something you wish to grow?" It was an idea that came to him while he was speaking.

But having said it, he realized just how likely it was.

After all, it was Saria herself that wished for things to grow before, be they on top of his tower or deep in another part of the Emerald Forest. He would not be surprised to hear there were another somewhere in the Forever Fall at this point.

For now, however, the smile that split the girl's face, as she stared at his own face long enough for him to study hers, told the only tale he needed to hear.

"You _are_ a wise one," she complimented, a compliment he heard in many tongues from many people through his many lives. "Though you do have more to work than others, more answers than questions than most have." He did, Ozpin could admit.

"It is the benefit in being a high position. The more the eye can see, the less I have to ask to understand." She giggled at his words again, and he offered a small smile in return. But he kept his nerves up, his senses honed through battle prepared. Nothing was amiss in Saria's actions, but her normalcy had proven itself, quite quickly, to be far and different from his own. "Still though, if a question cannot be asked, perhaps you can show me the answer. After all, this is a part of my forest, and I would not wish for my students to be harmed by your actions."

"Harm them?" Saria's dancing stepped mid-pose, figure falling as she did so. Her disbelief at the statement was obvious, and Ozpin let himself remain silence in the face of it. "I would never do such a thing. It is the Kokiri's job to guide, and those of pure heart especially. No act of my own would ever do such harm." Her answers were direct at least, something about her was thrown. It offered Ozpin room to step.

"Though I will not jest that Ruby Rose was frightened, she was certainly put off by your misty entrance." Or by what she had seen, but such a thing was not to be uttered, not by him at least. He suspected Saria did not know, as she was not aware of the Maiden's birth he had nearly seen. If she was to hear it, it would be from Ms. Rose herself. "And though Glynda and Qrow are keeping other students away, I do not wish to even chance their harm, not without knowing what such a harm is."

"And would knowledge of what I have done excuse my actions?" The questions had returned, but with a binary answer, and one leaning towards a positive. "Knowing that I meant no harm, knowing myself I have done no harm, are you intending to push a consequence upon me?"

Ozpin ignored the chill in the air, nothing compared to Atlesian lands. However, compared to the warm mist and bloom of life the forest had before, the contrast was unsettling in itself. Enough that he knew that steps had to be taken carefully now, now more than ever.

Saria was a Maiden of Spring, as her mannerisms had confirmed if not the visage the mist showed. Her power was grand as her age.

"I only wish to know what is occurring, or have you forgotten that I have given you some permission to act?" Her expression stilled for a moment, appearing as that of an old figure caught by surprise. Quickly though, almost humorously, it shifted into that of a child wondering of what was to come. He'd seen the expression many times before, this time matched with wolvine ears bending with the tilt of her head. IT was cute and, if circumstances were permitting, perhaps a little endearing.

For now, Ozpin simply needed an answer.

"That's understandable. It is the same as I would do. Why would I let strangers plant and move the Lost Woods without permission?" A question that made sense in context. "But as you said, it would be easier to show over tell." Her form spun and skipped again, as if she had never stilled. Ozpin knew that was blessing that came more with her age than her power. "Thankfully, we are already close."

Ozpin didn't ask to where. Instead, he merely watched, hand still ready on his cane, as Saria grabbed and pulled back a stray branch from a tree. The action caused the mist about it to dissipate on command, like a switch on the wall banishing the light. It was a marvelous display of her power. But what was revealed was far more important.

Though Ozpin would have to admit, the tree he saw was rather expected.

It was a tree much similar to that atop his tower and that witnessed during the Lynel fight. However, it was also different. Though it had a similar height to the others, thought it had similar trunk to the others, and thought it was colored the same as them as well, it was also unique and different. Easily distinguished from the others.

One of the threes spun like a twister.

Another was shaped as a feather.

This one, humorously or not, was shaped like a question mark.

"I suppose the tree is curious what it is as well." Ozpin remarked as he walked forward, earning a giddy laugh from the child that skipped ahead of him. She twirled in mid-air, her emerald clothing helping her blend into the forest around her. The smile she wore was just as bright. "Though I suppose, in truth, this is done for a similar reason to before. In that this tree, whatever it is, needs a specific place to grow."

"Yes, and no." Ozpin sighed as his favorite two answers came together, creating a paradox. "The tree can grow wherever it wishes. Rather, I'd say that the more random or unknown the place it grows, the stronger it will bloom. Be that in the remains of an old town, a dense jungle, misty mountain, or anywhere else."

Ozpin listened to her as the girl jumped to in front of the trunk, a distance that would earn her much praise from any instructors of sports. Her hand knocked on the wood twice, like opening a door.

And in response, two seeds fell from the tree like acorns. That was not due to wisdom, Ozpin was quick to remind himself. That was doubtlessly the subtle act of the Maiden's powers at work. No different than having the mist sway with the swing of a branch or leaves twirl with a spin of her gown. IT was the blessing of a Maiden, and Saria had the age to bear it.

He only hoped that the child that wore her mask was not overburdened with such memories.

"Here they are," the girl spoke again, holding up the two seeds to him. She did so with a reach of her arms. It was only then Ozpin truly took note of the size difference between the two. Tall though he was, he realized only now the girl was barely taller than half his height. It was humorous, if only for a moment.

What mattered far more, however, were the seeds that she handed to him. A pair of green curved seeds sat in his hand. Much like the small top of the tree they fell from, they curved around a singular point, dotted by the kernel of their stem. It was the oddest thing Ozpin had seen grown from a tree, and that was against the vegetation that continued to flourish atop his roof.

"They're called Mystery Seeds," Saria spoke once more. She was spinning again, and Ozpin only partially noted now how the mist flittered and change. That, and how the leaves of the forest scampered and rose with her as well. All in the woods truly was at her command.

Even these seeds that Ozpin held. Seeds that felt odd to the touch, odder in shape, and perhaps oddest being the tree they came from. Mystery was a fine name for them.

"Mystery Seeds," Ozpin repeated the name, wondering how something so oddly shaped could be so

equally named. It made sense when you wished for consistency. He only hoped Bart would never hear of it, or else he would insist on a name more befitting of their purpose.

Speaking of…

"And what do these Mystery Seeds do? Are they like the Whirlwind Seeds you have growing upon my tower?" He still did not mind, in truth. It was humorous to know that there was a tree growing above him, while he stared down at the ground from hundreds of feet up.

"They are, and they aren't." The aged wizard of Beacon sighed at the explanation. Even now, a simple answer was not to be had. "It can hardly be easy to explain a mystery, Ozpin. For what good is a puzzle if you already know the answer? And it cannot be simple, for _all_ mysteries are simple once solved." To that, his eyes still shut, he could only nod his head.

"Of that you are correct," he noted again. His gaze opened to find the girl, in appearance alone he reminded himself, walking around her new growth, the tree that now housed itself deep in the Emerald Forest, free of the mist and fog. "And I suppose your answer for why you needed to grow them here will be much the same?"

"It has to be." Ozpin had small amount of pride for guessing her words correctly. Even still, he twirled the pair of seeds in his hand, looking them over through the lavender tint of his spectacles as the girl spoke. "Because any answer to a mystery is like a hint to a question. A hint is also many need to know where to look, but knowing where to look robs one of finding things they never knew. How do you know to grow a flower until you know where it cannot grow, what it cannot drink, and why it cannot live in darkness?"

Her body spun with the question, entire frame titled around the trunk of the sapling she had grown. Her eyes were questioning, even if her grin was teasing. The wolf ears atop her head twitching, a thing he was not used to. Ozpin kept his own smile up, staring at the girl who he knew was one of only a few beings in existence that compared to him in age, even if only in memories. Second… behind another.

His eyes fell back to the seeds he was holding, curved at the end and straightened at their cupules, or close to equivalent thereof. One felt warm to his hand, and the other a dense cold that nearly made him shiver. It was such a contrast, and from the same tree they fell. If he had not witnessed it, he would not have believed it.

"They would be answers themselves, though guards against harm," Ozpin reason in return. "It is a teacher's job to have their students learn without the fear of harm or punishment. To explore without the idea of meeting an early end. It is why my school has prospered, as have the other kingdoms. Because, and I do apologize if it differs in Hyrule, but I do not find the idea of sink or swim appealing to me." Saria laughed in response.

"It would be a marvel for you to sink _or_ swim in a forest." There was the innocence of a child she so easily reverted to, averting away from an answer herself. Truly this was a duel of words. "Do you fear the water so much that you would enter the forest that so easily drinks it up? Would it worry you to know that the woods are so keen on swimming through their own memories, twisting them with their roots?" Swimming in a metaphorical sense again. Ozpin hid his sigh as he lifted the seeds to his face.

Swimming through memories, ideas of a forest that gave new life, growing in a forest, but not needing to… It all sounded so unrelated to him that he believed it would take a story to make sense of it, and one that was dissected through many scholars over many years. Not by himself with a pair of seeds in a forest dark and deep.

A forest that he thought he knew, but Saria's memories both ancient and fresh seeded, scaring his students and sending himself back to a past he remembered now only through regrets. Cold reminders of his failures, even as he worked to remember the happier times he shared with his colleagues in school.

The warmth of being able to see the new students, older students thanking him, parents congratulating their children, life surviving in a cruel world. It was something he could remember. But a dip in the tainted memories, the many that took up his mind, the thousands he had accumulated through his many centuries… it was hard to not feel a shiver of discontent.

It was… something he could feel. Something that was relatable… Something that was constant in his mind but a… _mystery_ to others.

He sighed deeply, ensuring he didn't crush the seeds in his hands.

"These are grown from memories…" Ozpin spoke slowly, watching Saria as he did. The small grin she wore, growing like the sapling she had seeded, was evidence of his correct direction. "Like needing high winds, like needing constant traffic, like needing great heat… these need vast and rich memories."

"You _are_ a wise one, Ozpin," Saria spoke, giggling a she did so. She lacked nothing in charm, that was for certain. "There are many in Hyrule, and even the forest, who never once wondered or guessed how they came to be. Can you wonder of the many who merely assumed they grew because I asked?" A great deal, he was sure, and nearly himself as one.

"I imagine I may be able to further surprise you with another guess of my own." The girl cocked her head, jumping down from the branch she sat on, leaves billowing as she landed. She fell like a pocket of air from the sky. "I can assume that it is not merely because of your gifts of a… sage, that allows you to do this. It is due to your vast memory of experiences as well."

Her smile was bright and the answer just as true. Her wolf ears perked up at the same moment.

"Wise _and_ creative!" Saria giggled with her words, nearly skipping across the forest floor of leaves and twigs. She never once faltered across it. Perhaps evidence of her ease to maneuvering through the forests such as these. She looked up at him with bright emerald eyes, half his height but so much closer in age. "How did you guess such a thing? Did you not know until I did answer? Did you assume and need only the last root for planting your idea?" Neither, in truth.

"Actually, it was the difference in the seeds." Ozpin held the Mystery Seeds to her, the very same that she had handed him. She gaze at them, for a moment, before turning her eyes back to his, through the tinted lenses of his glasses. "I have not held the seeds of your other trees yet, but I am familiar with vessels of power feeling different depending upon the power they hold."

"A furnace housing fire would be hot to the touch. A damp hand is drawn back from full canteens." Her words were obvious to him, and he nodded in agreement. He chuckled, quickly, at how her wolf ears bent at the idea of water.

"These seeds, however, are different, despite coming from the same tree." He spun them in his hand, feeling against the difference in temperature as he did so. Hot and cold, inviting and frightful. "I would not have guessed they were born from different memories, nurtured as if they were fertilizer. Not alone at least."

"Alone?" Saria parroted, rocking herself back and forth on the balls of her feet. Her smile never faltered. "Perhaps you learned of this from speaking to the young Rose, to the child who ventured through the woods before you. Hmmm?" She hummed the question. Ozpin threw away the idea of joining in her game.

If he was close to having a conversation to fully exchange knowledge, jumping off the bridge he hoped to get her to stand on would not be a very wise political move.

"If she had not spoken to me, then yes, I would have never guessed such a thing." Ozpin drew back his hand, pocketing the seeds. He had to be careful with them, but holding them in a clench fist was not the wisest move either. "Not only of the idea of memories being involved, but also the vastness to which they are associated."

"Good times and bad, uplifting or preparing for a fall, all are experiences those who live must endure." Saria spoke words befitting her age, not her appearance. Ozpin put both hands on the top of his cane, watching the 'girl' as she held out her arms and spun in a circle.

It was the oddest thing watching such a childish action somehow having the strength to lift the trees and twigs off the floor beneath them. One did not need _his_ knowledge and experience to know she had great power within her. Or her memories.

She was nothing but memories, borrowing the body of a girl who had adorned her. The ears on her head, upright and green as her hair, were proof of it. Link had ears long and sharp, far more than any human could ever hope to have, but he did not have wolf ears from atop his head.

Those were Moraine's.

"And you are not the only one who has had the cruel experiences of life, not to mention the warmest of them all." Ozpin's cane lifted, the dull edge pointing at the top of Saria's head. A leaf she had kicked rose and fell on her emerald hair, between her wolvine ears. They twitched as she looked up at them with her own emerald gaze, blinking. The smile that broke afterwards was as innocent as a child, though she was anything but.

"She has, she has," Saria agreed, still grinning. "But Link has done much to encourage her to grow, to give her soil to plant her roots, to save her from a fire she had no hand in." That he had, in so many words. Still though, the smile the Forest Sage wore was… troubling.

"I do not think this an honest question, but are you… pleased with what has happened to Moraine?" Her look of confusion was immediate, even as nature danced around her skipping from. "I mean to say you seem… rather happy with her memories. I will admit I do not think I could hold such joy so easily." Now Saria stopped, turning to face him.

"Why would I feel joy at all her memories?" She questioned first, spinning once around until stopping with a harsh push of her heels, hands on her hips titled gaze looking up at him. Ozpin stared at her under the lenses of his glasses, not adjusting his head. "Or yet, why would I feel sorrow at all her memories?"

"You wouldn't, and shouldn't." It would be deplorable idea for either. A mockery to the experience that both represented.

"And yet, you ask me to express sorrow more so than joy, why?" Ozpin's brow quirked. Was that what she believed he insinuated. It was nothing of the sort. "Should I allow my more sorrowful memories to flow merely because they are more numerous in number? Would it be best to deprive the saplings of the forest light, because they are far too often held in the shade of their giants?" Those were extremes, and neither was encouraging.

But they were specific, enough for him to answer. He spun his can back to the ground, shaking his head at his own foolishness. Perhaps he was the child, despite being the elder in both appearance and age.

"I understand," he spoke before another _leading question_ could be posed. "You remember the more joyful times, because they encourage a brighter future. Letting Moraine or yourself slip into sorrow would do no good for either."

Saria's arms fell to her side, swinging as she nodded her head. A confirmation much like a child would.

"Correct again, oh wizard Ozpin." The giggling certainly was juvenile, as was the name. He only shook his head at the clearly teasing title, well aware of the lack of weight behind it. "I will not say that every memory in the mist of the Lost Woods was pleasant, but I'd hardly wish to let the Mystery Seeds house the fruits of only a few specific memories. They need a variety for their nutrients, and my age is vast enough to provide."

"Doubtlessly a reason for why you are among the few who can grow this then." She didn't argue with his words, even as they listened to nature flicker beyond and around them. The Mystery Tree still stood tall, despite its very young age. Truly Saria was a Maiden unlike any he had seen before. "Did Moraine's memories assist, or were those not sufficient?"

"Hmm?" The ears atop her head twitched at the question, causing her to stop and turn. "Oh, in truth, none of Moraine's memories are present. She has yet to awaken within her own mind." Ozpin turned.

"I beg your pardon?" He did not hide his fear, though he had no malice. What Saria just described was not an enjoyable scenario. His unease was appeased only by the small smile and waving hands of the Forest Sage.

"Do not fret or worry. She is unharmed." Saria had no reason to lie, but Ozpin still waited for an answer. "I believe Link once spoke to you of the purpose of his masks, such as my own, and what they do. The pain of revival, the memories and experiences. What do you think that would do to a child who is clinging for comfort?" She turned as she asked the question, hiding herself.

Ozpin knew why, for her felt a mask of horror fall over his own face. Even in a forest that was dancing with life and a tree that literally grew memories from the age's past.

Such a horrifying contrast to the memory Saria now placed in his mind.

"She'll awaken when the mask is removed." Saria tapped lightly on the edges of her face. "Though… that does raise another ill I believe no one could have prevented." Ozpin shut his eyes tightly before responding, calming his mind as he had tried to do before all experiences he took. At least now he had the time to afford the sacrifice.

"What is the... ill that has occurred?" He hoped it was nothing too damning. Nothing that would keep him from leaving the woods without interrogating the Forest Sage. "Is it something reversible?"

It would be awfully difficult for him to convince Glynda and Ironwood of Link's goodness if one of his memories had committed an unforgiveable atrocity.

"Entirely reversible, I'm pleased to say. A rarity for me, who has always lived in the woods." Her smile was genuine, and Ozpin was thankful to hear it. "However, it will not be possible until Link returns, for only he could have prevented the ill, and now is the only one to reverse it." That was curiosity. Ozpin wondered of what that could be.

"May you be more specific?" He ventured. "I trust you are honest with the ill being benign, but to not know it is unacceptable, at least within the walls of my Academy." He would not speak of how they were not currently there. With the wisdom Saria held, she doubtlessly already knew.

"It's simple, as is a tree." Her hands rose to her face, cupping her pre-pubescent cheeks with hands that matched. "I cannot take off the mask where my memories lie."

Ah… that made sense… and it did not.

"You… cannot remove yourself? From Moraine?" The Maiden of Spring nodded at the question, though her smile was thinner. Not gone, not vacant, but surely lacking the earlier joy. Only a small wonder why, and not one that Ozpin wished to pursue. "Is this to do with Link's abilities or… his lack of presence."

"Abilities, I will confess for your ease." She held up her hands to him as she spoke, falling from her cheeks. The leaves still rustled around her, as if heeding her commands. Ozpin doubted little that they were. "Link has had some time and patience with masks such as I, with taking on the memories and lifetimes of those whom he has spent years with. It allows him to separate himself from us, to know who he is, and who we are. However, when he wears the mask and calls either myself or another for aid…"

"… he fuses with you, and your minds near become one." And that was what made it impossible to remove. Ozpin nodded his head at the words. "So in order to not lose yourself, or Moraine to be lost…"

"Link must be here to help. I will be honest with such a statement, as a life is affected by it." Saria's hands fell as she spun on her heel once more, small skirt billowing with the leaves that twirled like a tornado around her. The branches beneath spun to the trees they fell from. "Like I spoke. It is an ill, but hardly one that will threaten lives or well-being. Only cautionary for further actions… and a note that I will be present until Link's return."

For some reason, Ozpin could not shake the feeling that she was pleased with that outcome. It wasn't even something he could fault.

She was only memories now, as he had never forgotten. Memories of a Forest Sage, a Maiden of Spring, carried by a boy she had raised and whom had done much for her and her woods in return. To carry the memories of another was a heavy burden, and the wisdom of the sage doubtlessly knew that.

It made sense Saria would wish to see Link again. Ozpin only wished he did not have to explain away Moraine's disappearance for it.

"If there is no other way, then I suppose I must." He let out a tired sigh, unwilling to debate a subject that had only one conclusion. There would be no gain to complaining, after all. Saria's giggles were evidence enough she was pleased as well. "I suppose you at least recognize that we must leave now. I have a school to run, and I can hardly leave you alone in these woods. Maiden in your home or not." It would be dangerous on too many levels to leave her level of power unattended.

"I understand, and I know the way." Ozpin would be surprised if she didn't. "It certainly helps that the others call came from the same direction, all yelling loud enough to rattle the trees and awaken them from their early rest." That, however was more surprising.

"You can tell who entered the forest?" He posed, even as he moved to join her, walking forward. "A form of clairvoyance of the Maiden, perhaps?"

"No, not that. I recognize they were there, but only there," Saria noted, her feet spinning on the leaves of the forest. They twirled with her, as if heeding her commands. Ozpin knew they likely were. "How do you know what you are stepping on, unless you look down upon it?"

To illustrate her point, the emerald haired youth, in appearance alone, kicked at the leaves under feet. They flipped through the air like flower petals, so unlike the dead leaves that fell from trees. It was as if they were given new life, as if _Spring_ had come to them. Ozpin stared on through his tinted shades, smiling at the display.

"You know _something_ is there, but not what." Saria continued to note. "I knew the students were there, but not who. I knew they were following me, but not why. How could I know those answers without looking for myself?" She couldn't Ozpin knew.

"The difference between clairvoyance and spacial acuity." He twisted his cane in his hand, feeling the familiar metal twirl about his fingers. Without his mug to sip from, it was a quirk enough to calm his mind. That was necessary, and appreciated. "I suppose that is why there are many stories of the forest children spying on those who enter their woods. Looking for those who have entered their woods, always aware of where they are… but having to watch to know _who_ they are." Saria grinned brightly up at him with the words.

"You _are_ a wise one," she complimented lightly, appearing so much like the youth she eternally appeared to be. "I understand why Impa and Link needed me to best you in that game of wit some time ago." Ah yes, the chess match, he had nearly forgotten of that. "So many are unable to understand how I can tell my woods have been intruded upon, but be unable to see who they are."

The way her wolf ears twisted at the idea of there being something around her was proof enough. Not looking to identify what or who, only where. Saria was aware of the where forever in her forest, it seemed. At the very least she implied. The what and who needed investigation. It was hardly a surprising realization, not against how similar it was to _his_ own systems.

"It is no different than any system in place at Beacon," Ozpin admitted. "We can know when someone enters a door, a room, a safe, but until we observe them, we cannot say who they are. Not with any certainty at least." It is, after all, difficult to say that an individual is present because of their ID alone. Not something so easily misplaced or forged.

"And yet you trust those systems to exist?" Saria commented with her question. Ozpin watched as she spoke, careful, but not wary. Her powers, far more controlled than any Maiden he had met in the past, bringing the fallen leaves to life, and stirring a wind with her twirls. "I suppose you trust those around enough, and you reward them in kind."

He watched the emerald haired girl spin again, her hand running up the bark of a tree. It bloomed with flowers. The elder head of Beacon smiled at the display, familiar with the powers he had gifted the girls long ago.

Never before had he seen them used in such a way. Perhaps it was true what they said, experience with power begetting powerful experiences. Enough to not only hear the forest, but reward the woods as well. It was a marvel he hoped the others could experience.

And Amber would have a chance to at all.

"The three of you came from this direction," Saria pointed out as she spoke, arm holding rigid as her body spun. Like a child's toy, being imitated by a child. "I can race there if you like. I may be old, but I assure you I am quite fast in my woods." Ozpin could only laugh.

"Of that, I have little doubt." He replied earnestly. "But if you wish, you may run along ahead. I am sure that Ruby Rose and her friends will be pleased to see you. No need to let an old man like me slow you down." The girl laughed at his words, though she held no contempt for their meaning.

"Of course! I'll be sure to tell Ruby!" Before another word could be said, she fled.

And indeed, she was fast. It was as if she truly were one with the trees, with the speed at which she took off. Ruby rose was one to explode into petals of roses to flow with the wind, charging at rate that was nearly unseen. Saria, however, appeared to have the trees aiding in her steps.

Never once did she trip or waver over the uneven surface of the forest. Not once did she have to catch herself from a spare root or inopportune twig. She sprinted through the forest, around the many giants, laughing as a child should. It was… peaceful, if Ozpin were to confess, if conflicting.

The proof of the girl's immense power, the Maiden of Spring of an untold age, still stood behind him. Still housing and holding the seeds grown from memories past. A thing he would not have believed if he hadn't seen. A use for powers he had not imagined. A testament to the creativity of the Forest Sage, or at least the memories she carried.

Ozpin looked down at the cane in his hand, feeling the Mystery Seeds in his pocket. Such a contrast there was, the point where he could hardly keep track of is own school, yet the memories of a Maiden, aged like himself, could track those entering the woods so easily. Just by-

Ozpin looked up, staring at the path Saria had already vanished down.

"Three?"

* * *

_BANG!_

Cinder didn't care for the students that yelped and turned to her as she kicked open the door. They didn't matter. Never have and never would. The door she had kicked, the black of her heel and impression of her boot emblazoned on it, mattered even less. None of it could generate even an iota of concern within her.

One of her hands, shaking as she lifted with sweat dripping from her palms, lifted up and ran through her hair, combing her long dark locks and smoothing them out, ruining her hair. She could not care about that either. Breathless, uniform disheveled, hair a mess, eyes wide, and being stared at by the collection of _worthless_ Beacon students, Cinder couldn't care at all.

She stepped into her room, head as much a mess as she believed she looked. She didn't care about that. Not now.

_SLAM!_

Her door slammed shut again, cracking either the frame or the door itself as it was banged into place. She would worry about any talks of property damage later, _far_ later from now. Because in the moment she was in right now, she couldn't care about anything else around her. Not the room she and her subordinates had successfully stolen their way into, not the frayed appearances she definitely gave the pubescent students as she made her way here, and not even Scroll that sat on her bed, holding the culmination of her contacts and plans. None of it mattered.

None of it _could_ matter. Not now. Not while her mind was focused, obsessively and possessively only what she saw. She couldn't afford to forget.

Cinder didn't _dare_ let anything else even remotely interest her as she made her way here, heedless and careless _openly_ to anything in her way. Attempting to disguise herself, hide herself, or anything she was _meant_ to do jeopardized forgetting _anything_ about what she had learned, and that was not acceptable Not now.

Not after what she saw in that misty forest.

Not after what she had witness through a _true sage's power_.

 _Click_ Cinder's fingers clenched the bed spread as she heard the door opening behind her. She didn't dare hide her snarl, already knowing who it was.

"Mistress! We-" Emerald's words fell and died on her lips, red eyes wide with fright, naturally, as she stared at Cinder.

The dark-haired woman stared back, near snarling at her and the boy who stood behind her. Neither looked comfortable taking a step forward, even if the girl, pathetic and desperate as she was, oh so clearly desired to. She was weak, malleable, easy to control, momentarily necessary, but right now an inconsequential distraction. Cinder disposed of those without a care.

She already felt flames flickered at the tips of her fingers, possibly charring her bed sheets. She couldn't care.

"M-Misisstress…" Her words were so mumbled she was misspeaking, and that only succeeded in angering Cinder further.

"Get out," she nearly hissed at them. They had to leave, now, or else she would not be responsible for the ashes the cleaning crew would need to remove in the morning. "Leave me alone, this _instant!_ "

"But w-we found out something!" Now Cinder _did_ snarl. She could take no pleasure in even the shiver of fright the boy gave off at her look. They had best leave, their graces for living due _only_ to their loyalty thus far. It would _not_ survive much longer. "It involves the masks Link-" Cinder did not _care!_

"I said _leave!_ " She now howled at them.

Flames flew from her hand, tearing through the air like blades through paper.

The powers she had taken, the strength she possessed, demonstrated again before her very eyes. Controlled even through the singular focus she had on another subject. It should have been uplifting to her. But it was not, because Cinder could not care.

The cry of fright from the pair of them wasn't even satisfying to her. Just an annoying sound that made her snarl deepen, scratching crow's feet against her eyes and making her snarl forwards. The door was shut by the time her fire had vanished, the pair of them having gone, either under her orders or fear for their life, it didn't matter which. They were gone, the useless lot of them, and now Cinder was alone again, alone with the damning memories that her mind would not let go of.

It was the one thing she refused to let go of, the singular thing she _did_ care about. Even if the more logical part of her mind, the facet to her character her Mistress had aided her in growing, honing, and developing, was telling her the girl needed the carrot for she had drawn the stick too hard, she didn't care. Cinder could not care about reward or punishment at the moment, not for those around her and certainly not for submissive little girls and dutiful boys that did as they were told.

Her breathing was sharp as her fire, her body hunched over the bed as she turned back to her. Her pale knuckles turned alabaster with the strength at which she gripped them. The long dark hair she normally kept well kempt and defined was frayed at the edges, matted at their roots, and giving her disheveled look, she was are of this. She knew _all_ of it. And that was not to consider what her actions would likely result, at the very least the most _likely_ occurrence of what was to come.

A student would report her, Ozpin would be wary of her, the elder woman would speak to her, and discipline would be brought down upon her. All would end up resulting in negative light being shined upon her. At the moment though, she couldn't care.

So many possibilities were likely to happen due to her unnecessary outburst. So many small details that now chipped away at the survivability and feasibility of her plans for the festival and taking power from Link, so many wary glances that would be aimed at her now.

That _should_ have scared her. That _should_ have angered her. That _should_ have made her call back Mercury and Emerald to have a discussion of necessary actions in order to redeem themselves, perhaps with rewards for the pair of them including her praise.

But right now, Cinder still couldn't care. From what she had seen, from what Saria had shown her, intentionally or not, she could not care. All that she cared about was what she had witnessed in that misty forest of the Spring Maiden's powers. All she could wrap her mind around, fingers on her bed sheets, knees buckled, and flames _dancing_ over her skin, was the full implication of everything she had witnessed.

It had yet to stop replaying in her mind, and Cinder dare not stop it, for fear she would lose it.

She recalled _stepping through the Emerald Forest and into a misty woods. She had no fear of any terrors that were present, the Grimm knowing she was no foe they dared to face, not that they had the power to do so, and no instructor would harm her more than bruises and cuts, paltry wounds compared to those she would later inflict upon them all. No matter the unease the young girl wished to push upon those who entered the vision obscuring woods, Cinder would have none of it. She was no child wary of change. She was half the Maiden of Fall, and already so near her goal of power and control._

_Her dark heels stepped through the woods, crushing leaves and fallen twigs beneath herself, burning away the small amount that clung to her fine dress and boots, all else wisely billowing away under the guide of the heat her body and powers let out. She smiled as she continued to walk through the dense fog, the mist that flew away under the command of her powers._

_A path was being carved through the dense wood by her, the forest adhering to her unspoken demands. The mist could not cling to her if the Maiden of Fall told it to rise, and the leaves burned to nothing if they tried too desperately to approach her. She was untouchable to even nature itself, and that was as it should be for one who was raised and taught by the Mistress of Grimm._

_Amusing as it was to her, seeing the fruits of her labors and plans, it was not why she was here. Salem had need to find the girl who had stolen away the mask of Saria, the girl that she had only gained quick glimpses of until this time. This was not an opportunity to be easily missed._

_The girl had much strength and knowledge about her, show by her observed exchange with Ozpin, revealing her nature to be more than that of Faunus or man, a critical step in understanding from where Link hailed from. But more than that, a possible opportunity to learn of the powers the girl supposedly held. And there was much to... dissect._

_The notes that they had gathered from Glynda's Scroll, the virus of the CCT still working marvelously, showed that there was suspicion that Saria was a Maiden of Spring before the current girl, wherever she may lie. The misty woods she walked through now cemented the idea of such a possibility._

_Cinder's amber eyes roamed through the tree lines, quickly losing sight of the distant paths due to the heavy mist and dense fog, so easily turning the heavily walked path into a careful stride forward, wary of each movement. Were it only a small location in the woods, a small circumference of a circle she was trapped within, it would be inconsequential._

_However, this was no different than what was happening to Ozpin and the children he had with them, all on different edges of the woods and looking for ways forward to find the girl. The Emerald Forest, despite its peaceful nature against he horror of the world, was no small place. To cover it so completely required a great deal of power, the power of one who had been gifted by nature at that._

_Or, as one could say, a Maiden of the World._

_Cinder folded her hands behind her back as she continued to stride forward, smiling confidently as she did so. She would find Saria, and she would speak to her as a worried student, looking for a girl that appeared so much like the new teacher she was 'inspired' by. The faux sense of worry would beget concern on the girl's part as well, though Cinder knew she referred to her as such only for her appearance. She was no child, neither of them were._

_But adults, and those of age with a lack of wisdom, were so easily misled by the worries of the youths they surrounded themselves with, making it a simple task, to have the Maiden offer her support, and therefore have Link seed some trust in her as well. In conclusion, she would have the first step on the bride of knowledge for this 'emerald warrior' her Mistress had warned her of. Before any action took place, that was always the most important._

_"…Link…."_

_Cinder's steps slowed as she heard the whisper of the name. Her long dress billowed as it carried forward while her legs stopped, her sharp eyes narrowing from where she heard the name drift through. The mist did not drift nor twist at the gaze or her name, but through the curtain of her dark hair, she was sure she was looking in the right direction._

_"… not… her…."_

_She could not understand what was being said, unfortunately. However, and far more importantly, she was aware of where it was coming. That was far more, likely than the others had succeeded in finding. It brought a warm smile to Cinder's face, contrasted by the chill of excitement that ran through her heart._

_Her feet burned the leaves beneath her as she walked forward towards the voice, mist spreading for her as she walked. Her eyes were focused on the supposed path, noting the trees around her should she need to find this place again. Saria had fled to this location, the girl she was 'latched' to wholly unimportant. She only was concerned for the memories that the Maiden of Spring once held._

_"… please Link… need… hear…"_

_The voice was louder as she approached, but still too far away. Perhaps it was for the mist, Cinder mused, a facet of the Maiden's honed powers. She was ancient, or so she claimed. The use of the powers could be formed in many different ways, and the manipulation of sound was hardly something so unbelievable, not against the creation of life, turning of weather, and unlocking of ancient gates._

_However… the trees were what concerned Cinder. Not enough to stall her approach, but enough to make her wonder of where she was._

_These trees that now surrounded her were far larger than those the Emerald Forest usually homed. Though those giants of the forest, soft and quiet, were far from miniscule, even against the pathetic structures the humans and Faunus enjoyed housing themselves in, these giants of the forests were far larger than before. Large enough that she believe they could be hollowed out and used comfortably as homes._

_These were not trees common to the Emerald Forest, or at the very least the edges of its domain._

_"Talk to me… Link…"_

_Though unbelievable as the trees were, Cinder pushed them to a footnote in her mind. The most important facet of this journey through misty woods was fast approaching, and she would not let herself be distracted from Maiden powers by the curiosity of nature, not nature she could easily, and eventually would, burn. For now, she cared only for the girl and her memories._

_With sure steps forward, Cinder kept constant in her approach. The power of the Maiden of Fall, half of it at least, were far more than enough to keep her mind focused and sure. The confidence of interference being kept away let her mind focus on only the task at hand. And so, she stepped forward towards the growing voice._

_And was greeted with the sight of a true giant, built of timber and bark._

_It was enough to stall her, make Cinder crane her head to see the height of the giant tree that was rooted before her. The other trees until this point were large, without question, wide and able to conceal entire homes within them. This, however, was put them to shame in the same way she was sure her own power eclipsed those of the students of Beacon._

_It's tall frame nearly scratched the skies above her, stretching beyond the limits of the mist and fog, the canopy of its leaves out of sight. Her head had to turn to take in the full circumference of its frame, not to mention the age and thickness of its apparent bark. It was a thing of such immense size that it was impossible to not appreciate the age for which it took to grow. For all the legends made of children of gods of the forest, Cinder now believed she was looking upon one._

_Or at least, a dead one._

_One that had no sway to its branches, no life curling at its roots, nothing to show that it was benefitting or giving to the forest surrounding it. It was all a show of size, but any life or magnificence it once held to share was now gone. Not burned, as she would have been well aware of, but merely taken. Offered, perhaps, but here no more. Of that, it was certain._

_"This isn't your fault Link. It never was."_

_K-Shink. K-Shink. K-Shink._

_Closer now, Cinder made out the words of conversation, and the sound of something beating against the soil of the forest. She held no imaginings of what it may be, for she knew the sound well. What some might mistake for the sound of chopping wood or clashing steel, she knew it for what it was. Cinder knew it for what she had heard countless times in her past._

_K-Shink. K-Shink. K-Shink._

_Her feet carried her around the tree, her steps slow and measured, soft to avoid detection. The leaves did not burn and mist moved only as she waved through it. She made no sound to overcome the speaking girl or the sound of the steel, constant and continuous. She did not want to spook whomever was present, not before she could observe them._

_She was thankful for her care, for what she saw she thought nearly impossible._

_Cinder believed it impossible, for she could think of no reason nor method for Link to be present before her._

_K-Shink. K-Shink. K-Shink._

_The faunus warrior her Mistress had warned of was indeed present before her, standing off to some far side of the old forest god, hunched over with the familiar green tunic adorned about his body, complete with the pointed hat that fell past his neck. He wore more than that now, though, wore a red cape that fell from side of his shoulder, wore a belt and sheath that were both held tightly around his waist, and held a shovel in his hand._

_K-Shink. K-Shink. K-Shink._

_A shovel that continued to dig into the earth of the forest, tearing up the hardened soil and past the gnarled roots. Cinder knew it would be such, but she never would have expected who it was._

_"You must not blame yourself Link. Do not punish yourself in the same breath." Cinder heard the voice, but could not see from where it came. Not from a lack of obviousness, but wariness on her part. It came from not only above her, but around where Link now stood. "Not of yourself, not of me… please." To approach to find the voice would mean exposing herself. Such would be too dangerous too quickly._

_Instead she watched, watched as Link continued to dig, face hidden from her with his back towards her, but shovel and deed obvious enough to her and any other who witnessed him. Even still, her mind thought of how he was here, present among the Maiden of Spring's memories, powerful enough to… conjure mist… misty memories in a misty forest…_

_Cinder sighed to herself, but threw away any embarrassment she may have had. She could not be faulted for being careful, but should instead be celebrated for realizing this so quickly._

_K-Shink. K-Shink. K-Shink._

_She strode to where Link continued to dig, or at the very list the figure of Link. She moved around the ancient tree, observing the Faunus as he continued to scratch his way into the forest floor. He did not react to her approach, he did not offer a glance or even notice her when she moved to his side. She knew he would not. Memories were not capable of changing so easily._

_And this was a figment of Saria's memories, her played out imagination. That meant that the voice was doubtlessly the girl… and so finding her would be simple enough._

_"Should I wait for you to stop before I speak?" The voice of the Maiden of Spring spoke. There was no more confusion or wonder if she was or wasn't, not with displays of power such as this. "Will you not heed my words until you finish your task? Am I so unworthy of being gazed upon now by you? For our failure?" Cinder could not help but smile faintly at the disappointment in her voice, a sense of dread she wished to have on the lips of all who lived as they did._

_Still, she needed to see Saria to speak to her, or at the very least understand what was happening. Cinder turned her head, looking for the emerald girl of forest color. It took little effort to find her sitting high up in the already massive tree._

_K-Shink. K-Shink. K-Shink._

_But Cinder's amber gaze widened when she saw for what the girl was._

_No longer was she the simple spirit of a child, appearing to be human in all facets but wisdom and age. No longer was she the embodiment of power capable of such feats, turning the memories to life and changing a forest to her whim. Now, she was what horror stories were made of, warnings to children to steer them from venturing into the forest deep, and doing a fine job of it._

_With skin of gnarly bark, with air of dead leaves, with clothing of ruined cotton, and with eyes of rotten green. She was no longer a child to be held and cared for. She was hardly that of an approachable figure._

_She was a tree, fused with the giant and already dying._

_"You cannot blame yourself, and I will speak such as much as I need until you hear me." Cinder was sure the ability to hear was not the issue for this crime. Disgust was her repulsion. "I offered you the floor for your task, but I had no knowledge you would treat it as the last words you would exchange with me."_

_K-Shink. K-Shink. K-Shink._

_The idea of not gazing at her made far more sense to her now, to Cinder to Link. It made far more sense when she remembered what the Faunus was doing with the forest floor, and why he was digging into the ground. There was, after all, only a single reason why anyone would dig into the earth next to such a giant of a tree. No botanist or caretaker of nature would dare to plant a new sapling next to such a monument of nature._

_The bodies she saw beside the faunus, covered in sheets of white, were hardly surprising. At least for them being there given the task. It was hardly so surprising that one as powerful as Link would not have bodies he had buried. None rose to gain great power without first losing the ties to humanity that kept them weak. It was only unfortunate that Link carried the same trait as many others like him, who mourned those gone over simply being thankful they were no longer there._

_Cinder kept her amber gaze between the three sights of this memory, of this moment in time recorded and being replayed by the Maiden of Spring. Between Link digging graves, between the bodies he wished to fill them, and the decrepit Maiden that sat on the Forest Giant. This was what she was looking for, though only in a sense._

_She wished to find Saria to gain a bridge for information. This, however, was pure knowledge of an ancient being possessing even older power. This was_ not _something Cinder was to forgive herself if she were to pass this chance._

_"Will you speak to me when you are done, Link?" Saria questioned again. And once more Link did not respond. It was humorous to Cinder, watching the aged and horrifically transformed Maiden unable to garner even a word from Link. "Will you talk to me before you leave once more?" And every word was a treasure to hear._

_Her eyes turned away from deplorable being, looking instead to Link's handiwork. Already two of the graves were dug, the third nearing completion, and the bodies for each next to them. She hoped to see him merely kick them into the hole, but his unfortunate optimism would likely do just the opposite. Care for all things, as heroes were condemned to do, even this._

_K-Shink. K-Shink-Shink._

_The noise was different from before, and was differed by Link planting the shovel into the ground. Cinder watched his red cape twist, his clothing shuffle, as he immediately turned away from the hole, going to a knee next to himself. It was clear what was coming next._

_Saria spoke not a word, and neither did Cinder blink, as Link lifted one of the alabaster draped figures from the ground, lifting the figure up and gently holding the body above the hole. Cinder stared at his face, careless for the covered corpse._

_It was clear he had aged centuries while holding the body, hateful of having to do this, mourning that it was necessary. Cinder found enjoyment in both, watching the Faunus so broken by such a natural aspect of life. If only she was there to have witnessed the death of whomever he was burying. Then again, perhaps he wasn't himself…_

_As she predicted, the 'hero' gentle laid the body into the hole he had dug, nearly six feet into the ground with roots of the tree visible around the edges of the pit. The tall giant of the forest hovered over the draped figure ominously, the same way Saria did staring down at her supposed friend. A friend who buried his dead as his last friend rotted under some curse on the tree._

_Twice more he repeated the process, picking up the body, holding them for a moment, then laying them to rest in their eternal slumber. Better for them to avoid the coming years then the hero who buried them, especially a Faunus unable to do so so easily. It was a problem Cinder was proud she did not share, and one now she knew Link still suffered from_

_Something to remember, for sure, but not nearly enough._

_"That is enough, Link." Cinder turned eyes towards the Maiden, curious of her words. "You do not need to do anything more." Cinder's grin grew._

_Was she about to banish him from the forest? Leaving the corpses of his supposed friends to rot in the open? The Faunus, clad in emerald clothes and a cape of red, stared up at her, his face a thin line. Anger then, and an anger that Cinder found herself eager to witness. What a display it would be, to see the hero strike out against the Maiden. Was his tales of their passing lies? Was_ he _the one who had slain them?_

_No, apparently not. That was the obvious answer when Cinder saw Saria raise her gnarled and bark-like hand up, motioning over the graves._

_The ground beneath Cinder trembled for a moment, before roots of the trees slowly grew from the edges of the pit. Like a cage of steel growing from the wall, the roots crossed over the sheeted bodies, their barky exterior and soiled surfaces covering them from the air, hiding them from view. Slow groans of the effort rumbled through the tree, making Cinder wonder if it was the effort of the growing roots that shook the ground, or the slow cry of the forest giant that did its last act, already so near death._

_Or perhaps, it would have been better to ask if it was Saria's last act before_ her _. Either were acceptable to Cinder._

_When it was done, the bodies were hidden from view, a layer of nature over them, perhaps more permanent than anything soil could accomplish. It would be poetic for tales, but it was only inconvenient for her._

_"They'll rest in these woods for all time," Saria spoke again. It amazed Cinder, how easily she spoke despite a body like the one she had. One that appeared to be only a stray arrow away from shattering into a hundred pieces, a hundred_ rotting _pieces. "Beyond my own time, the guardians of these woods will not disturb them. They will be at peace, just as they wanted. Just as you wanted." Ah, so they were of importance._

_It was clearer when Link knelt again to the side of one, hand rubbing over the roots that covered the body. Perhaps a melancholy comfort for who was there, knowledgeable of their demise, yet unwilling to fully let go. A sign of weakness if ever there was one, but one that Cinder would not soon forget._

_"Her desire to see these woods was something I am sorry I could not give her in life." A girl then. A good friend at the very least. Perhaps more? "She fought well before, and she deserves to rest here now. She did often refer to you as a 'fairy boy', if I recall. It is only fair for Malon to rest here then, where the 'fairy boy' came from."_

_Two pieces of information now, two critical._

_The girl, one of the bodies he buried, was named Malon. A dear friend who nicknamed the Faunus for the creatures that followed him. That was important to remember._

_The second, this was the forest Link had grown up in. The files the old woman had on her Scroll told of the "Lost Woods", but it appears that they were housed to giants and guardians as well. More than that, also the bodies of Link's friends. All important to know if ever she should need to break him, or a fellow ally._

_"She was a grand friend to you, to everyone." Sociable as well. Usually a prerequisite for intelligence. "You told me tales of how she would try and have Epona race the other mares and stallions of the castle, often winning each race with little effort. The praise the king and princess would give her would be… grand…" More to dissect._

_A stable hand, perhaps one who raised a race horse that Link used. That was definitely worth remembering, worth holding onto in case nostalgia were to be conveniently used. Naming a few attack or reward Epona could work. But the unease of the royalty, what was that for? Discontent? Another death?_

_"I am sorry about Zelda, Link. All who hear are." Death indeed. "Even now I… I believed she would be the one to guide_ me _as the forest grew, as the castle rose. Not like this… not at all." Death for sure._

_Made only more apparent by the slow cry of pain that came from Link's gauntlets, taunt leather being stretched by clenched hands. His eyes were shut, head bowed, and perhaps willing away the pain that clouded him. What a sight to behold. It was only too unfortunate she could not capture a picture with her Scroll. Not without earning unneeded attention._

_"You can be sure to know that… that no matter what else happens, this is not your fault Link." Her repetition of that implied that, in the very least, the hero was directly involved. Fault could not fairly be passed, no matter how humorous the outcome would be, until all was known. Guilt was common among hunters, necessary or not. "You did all that was expected and more, gathered more strength than Hyrule has ever seen, than Time has ever witnessed… it was too much for you to stop alone, especially while she had planned for so long."_

_Link turned at the statement. More to learn there. A 'she' was responsible for his problems, perhaps another Maiden that had turned against him. An interesting dilemma, but unconfirmed. One who, at the very least, had history with him. A history he wished to ignore. That, or what she was now._

_"Please Link. You listened to me since you were a babe. Please don't throw away my advice now… not… not while everything is falling apart." The desperation in her voice… it was matched only by the despair she near completely resembled._

_Rotted figure of tree-like shape. Clothing near falling from her bark skin, all matched by her desperately leaning forward on her branch, as if to fall and comfort Link with her decaying eyes, but unable to do so without tearing her body apart. It was something that Cinder as marveled she could witness, and thankful for it even more._

_"Link… please… you have to stop her." The desperation was clear and present, and Cinder was on edge for every word. "Everyone, myself… even you. She's made mockeries of us all. You have to… you're the only one who can stop her now."_

_Cinder watched Link turn back, and what she saw made her heart sore._

_The tears that sprung from blue eyes, the hopelessness and lost in them. They were pits of misery that the hero Faunus was trapped in, looking desperately for the convenient exit from. None existed, none ever did, and Cinder was happy to see him desperately fighting to find one. It would only make the realization there was none all the more beautiful to witness._

_"Salem must be stopped."_

_Cinder's fire turned to ice._

_"W-What?" She spoke aloud, though none were there to hear her. No way for the memory to respond to her._

_It had to be something she misheard, some convenient name that sounded so similar to her own Mistress. Something that was just a horrifying coincidence._

_"We thought we could save her, we all did." Save her? It couldn't be Salem then, not her Mistress. There was no reason to be saved from her position, she was the one who offered it to those she deemed wise and worthy enough. "But she's killed everyone Link she… she cursed_ me _. She… killed them all, because she wouldn't let us try and help her."_

_Cinder was torn, torn and ripped asunder._

_That sounded like her Mistress, that sounded exactly like the Queen of Grimm and her dark ruler. Someone beyond reproach who would throw away the useless lives that offered little gain to her plans. Attempting to go against her promised only death for the comrades of Saria and Link. That was what she would do, it was what she_ had _done to dozens to hundreds to_ thousands _through her long and well-lived past._

 _But that only meant she_ was _from here, because she acted like they spoke. But she could still be wrong. There could… there was more than one evil in the world! Another vile human that let themselves fall to greed was likely_ parading _as her, or closely attempting to at best. That had to be it._

 _"Link… please…" the torn voice of the Maiden sounded again, and Cinder fought down the urge to throw fire at the memory. She knew it would do no good. Even if real and not some misty figment, then dying girl of the woods may have_ thanked _her for the act. Instead, Cinder watched bated breath as the Maiden of Spring, fused with the forest giant, stared imploringly at Link. "You cannot save her anymore. There is no one else, nothing else, to try and save her from. You have to stop her Link. You must… or else the world will truly be burned to ash."_

_Cinder wanted to feel joy at the sorrow the Maiden spoke with, the tears and worry of a decrepit old thing that housed power it could no longer fully use. She wanted to feel joy as she saw the tears slip from Link's face, watching as he stared up at what she assumed was his old friend. Watching her die as she told her to kill, something that no hero wished to do._

_It was everything she was supposed to enjoy! But she couldn't. She was_ incapable _._

_"You have to kill Salem." Not if they kept saying her Mistress's name!_

_Cinder hissed heatedly through her lips, staring at Link as he let his gaze fall to the graves he dug and Saria filled, staring at the corpses that Cinder could not recognize. His pain was no longer a pleasure, not if her Mistress was a part of his past… not if they were implying he was a part of_ hers.

_Salem stared at Link longer, harder, searching the Faunus's face for any clues, any evidence, that this was a falsehood. She saw no deception in the blue eyes shading heavy tears, in the tired gaze that aged his currently youthful appearance, of the dirt that stained his uniform or the shaking lips of dread. It was genuine sorrow, mixed with hatred and remorse._

_But then she watched his lips move. She was angry she was incapable of reading them. Something Watts would have loved to hold over her, but eventually tell her._

_"I know Link," Saria replied above them both. Cinder's dark hark whipped to the barky sage, fused with nature. "She was capable of so much, she_ did _so much."_

_Even with an appearance that begged for death, the Maiden smiled down. It was a disgusting sight in every way to Cinder._

_"But… we cannot ignore what is, simply because we loved what once was. We cannot… we cannot remember how she helped us… how she grew with us… how she loved us…" That tore it in half._

_It couldn't be Salem. It couldn't be the Queen of the Grimm. Not_ her _Queen._

_Love was a useless thing to her, beyond consideration and not even worthy of thought. To think that her Mistress, that Salem would ever even dare be associated with it was a joke in itself. She would kill any who dared to jest of it in her presence!_

_"But that's not her anymore." Cinder wanted to scream at the Maiden to be silent. "She laughed, Link… She laughed when she k-killed Malon. She_ enjoyed _walking over Impa. She… She had no mercy in her gaze when she cursed me…" And now the sage was crying, and Cinder was close to screaming, too close to even consider breathing._

 _Link, the damnable hero, was the same way. She hoped he'd speak and she'd hear, so then perchance she could throw these ideas of her Mistress coming,_ hailing _, from this land being a sham! But all she could see were the bitter tears, stained like the rotting corpse of Saria's body, falling to the ground._

_"Her red eyes had only mirth." Cinder shook her head._

_"Her white hair glistened in the sun." Cinder raised her hands to her ears._

_"She thanked me… for raising you… before_ laughing _as she killed me." Cinder finally snapped._

 _"She's not_ from _here!" Cinder finally yelled back, pathetic and useless. There was no reason for the figments of the mist to speak to her in return. "My Mistress was_ never _from you damnable land! She would never hail or even be aware of your pathetic kind!" The words were lies to her own ears._

 _Her Mistress had_ warned _her of Link, of his land, of the coming battle, of his strength, and needed the power that Saria possessed. It was possible, too possible, and it was damning to hear._

 _"My Mistress is the_ Queen _of the Grimm! Not some pathetic associate of your rotten race! She is a savior who has_ always _ruled! Never has she… would she…" But she would associate with them, no different than how she brought forth Watts, Hazel, the White Fang… Cinder herself._

_It was possible, and it was impossible. It wasn't something she could think of. Nothing else mattered._

_Too unbearable to hear anymore, Cinder ran. She had heard enough._

_"Stop Salem, Link. You have to stop her… you have to… please… please… please…"_

Cinder ran it through her head once more, _twice_ more, each time ensuring that she had _not_ misheard that illusion of the girl's power, making doubly sure she had not been _tricked_ by the specter of the Maiden's might. But no matter the scenario she conjured, she could find too many faults to make it a possibility. No matter which way Cinder thought of it, she recognized she had witnessed only the truth.

Saria, that conglomeration of memories, had no way of knowing her connection to her Mistress in the Badlands, no way of knowing her original purpose. There was no way for her to know of her purpose here at Beacon, let alone to _insinuate_ a connection between the wise one and some green clad hero of a far-off land, not when her Mistress had already warned her of his coming.

Cinder could see no benefit to the ploy were she to _completely_ believe it. It did nothing to shake her faith in her Mistress. No, it _strengthened_ it. she was able to harm the seemingly invulnerable hero to his core, and back in his mythical homeland he could no longer find. The memories of the Maiden even told, directly or not, that she was always working towards ridding the world of the pests and parasites that were the humans and faunus. Nothing of her conviction had changed.

And yet… that was not what made Cinder squirm with discontent, what made her entire being writhe as if the Maiden of Fall were scratching to escape her soul. It wasn't about what Saria might have been planning or the schemes she was creating herself. It wasn't about her possible ideas or reasons, it was about the one singular conclusion that was no an inescapable fact.

Link knew of her Mistress. More than that, Link knew of Salem's _origins_.

No one knew of such a thing.

Salem, her Mistress of the Grimm and all the world's truths, was older than any kingdom and more ancient than the eldest Grimm. She lived beyond the years of Aura and was crafted at the time of Magic. She was the watcher of the pests that grew from humans and the gardener that now looked to exercise them from the world.

She was the only path to salvation for this damned world, the only one who could possible cleanse the world of the vileness of man and faunus, and was wise enough to turn their own greed and hatred against them. Only one of impossible age could possess such boundless wisdom. It was a fact that was inescapable and a logical conclusion for any scholar that thought of the subject.

But now… there was another who knew not only _of_ her, but _where_ she had come from. There was now someone who _knew_ of her _beginning._ Her possible _birth_.

The idea was… impossible. In so many ways that Cinder could not even care for the room she mulled the information over in. She couldn't even care of the bed sheets that were no cinders in her hands, staining her pale skin black. It was a possibility she had never even considered before, so beyond the realm of reachable. That was no longer the case.

And the worst part of it all was that it _made sense_ to her. IT made sense why her Mistress would warn her of the 'emerald warrior's' coming, it made sense why Link was so powerful and able to maneuver himself so well in battle, in made sense why those spirits that followed him were so keen to learn and share, and it made sense why he wanted to help these pathetic children. It explained so many curiosities she had.

Link knew of Salem, her Mistress and the ruler of the dark.

Salem knew of Link, and was wary enough of his strength to warn her before her plans were set forward.

At some point, at some moment in time, Link and her Mistress were _associated_ with one another, enough that the Maiden of Spring, cursed by her Mistress to a decrepit form, had to convince him to fight her.

Link had not been able to kill her Mistress… and her Mistress had _not been able_ to _kill Link_.

They were all there now, all indisputable facts that were running through her mind with a force to make the Maiden's powers tremble. She could not turn away from them or ignore them, do nothing but recognize they were very much there, and very much real. That left now only a few _damning_ questions upon her mind.

 _Where_ had Link come from that was so ancient and well hidden it housed the origins of her Mistress? Hyrule alone was no answer. No different than saying Merlin sat in Avalon.

 _How_ had Link survived a battle with her Mistress, but struggled against the Grimm of her Badlands to the point of requiring the pathetic Military to rescue him? She would have snuffed him out without a thought, unless he could do the same to her creatures. Yet he endured a battle valiant enough for her to be wary of him… and for him to survive her.

But most important of all… the question Saria never answered beyond conjecture and possibilities…

 _Who_ was _Link_ to _Salem?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	22. The Unknown and Unseen: Ganondorf

At one moment, Winter found her vision being swallowed by an impossible darkness.

In the next, she was staring into a blindingly bright light.

On instinct, she rolled away, shutting her eyes and throwing up glyphs in front of her, blocking whatever the offensive source was to her temporary blindness. It did little to nothing, her vision still obscured by an impossibly sharp contrast of light. It made her grit her teeth in annoyance, but oddly not of pain. It was an annoyance, but also a detriment, as it meant she was unable to defend herself from any attack, an attack that was sure to come.

Whatever the beast was, the Nightmare as the Tael mini-drone referred to it as, this was merely the first ability it had, perhaps one of many that she was unaware of. Abilities further kept from her due to the odd naming convention the foreign Faunus and his guised mini-drones had. Dodongos for Creepers, Wolfos for Beowolves, and Nightmare for whatever this creature was. A creature that was kept asylumed in chains and ancient markings, the kind that General Ironwood would have Zepp cataloging for months, only to break out the moment they fell into its intended prison.

A prison that now she, and the others were trapped in. Trapped while blind. It was not a good scenario. What made it worse, the longer Winter kept her defensive glyph up for, was the realization of what else was missing. Not just her sight, thought she had her touch, but what she intended to hear with a beast as implied to be powerful as the Nightmare.

She couldn't hear the others. She couldn't hear anything but her breath.

"Dammit all." And her curses. Her fingers flexed, moving the glyphs around her, altering them to allow for high-impact forces, but sensing spatial frequencies. She was looking for sound. All she found was the same as her eyes, nothing. "What in the name of Remnant is going on?"

Winter unclenched her eyes, letting the blinding light that had taken up her vision assault her all the more, though feeling little different than when they were shut. Open or closed, there was nothing for her to see, not even the glyphs she had summoned before her. She knew they were there, as she could feel them through her Semblance and soul, but little else. It was as if she was awash in a blinding room with her eyes separate from her body, a terrifying notion compounded only by the terrible knowledge that there was an Ancient Grimm in this void with her.

A harsh breath of air left her as she looked around again, looking for any one thing that may show this void of light to be not all encompassing, some clue that there was a way out of this. She could not afford to wait, not when there was an enemy apparently so terrifying _and familiar_ to the Faunus and his drones that they were terrified at the name and sight of it. She needed to find a way out, if not for her, then the students.

General Ironwood would never forgive her if the students were lost on her watch.

Her sister would never speak to her again if she lost the lives of her friends…

"…Hey… _HEY…._ " Winter turned at the voice.

It was far off, distant, but something that she could hear clear as day in the otherwise vacuum of sound. An echoing voice that she could recall, and one that she focused on, even as she whirled her head towards it.

"… _Hello… HEY!..._ " It was a ringing voice, one that Winter recognized well, after a near week with it.

"Tatl?" She spoke into the void, eyes already looking around the expanse of white for the drone. Perhaps it being a curse for the color of the mini-drone, but she could not see the ball of blonde among the void of white. "Where are you? I can't see you." She kept her voice calm, as it had to be. The others were nearby, and nothing good would be accomplished by losing herself to panic. Nothing ever was.

"… see you!" Winter's head whipped as the voice grew louder, dramatically and quickly. From a far-off whisper to a nearby call. And when she did, she saw the drone approaching quickly. And she was not alone.

In what she could only describe as a curtain being drawn, the drone of gold appeared from the void of white. It's ringing body bounced into view, spilling gold glitter and dust as it flew through the air. Her appearance was the first, perhaps because she was charging forward, but she was, again, not alone.

Now like water being dried from their bodies, the Winchester boy and Penny android appeared behind the fairy, the boy holding his mace in hand and Penny carrying a pair of her emerald blades at their sides. The Specialist quickly took note of them, looking for anything that may appear alarming or dangerous. But she saw nothing. No wounds, no scars, no blood, no trace of battle. Only the boy wore panic on his features, the Penny android only adopting the small 'o' of surprise, doubtlessly for where they were, wherever it was.

Winter lamented on how poetic, if fantasia even, it appeared to be. But such was a thought that was quickly discarded. This was not something to think about, not when she still had no knowledge of where they were. And, more importantly, where their enemy was.

"Are you all okay?" Winter immediately asked, her hands gripping together to banish her glyphs. The rune inscribed circles vanished quickly per her command, with only the Winchester boy giving their now vacant space a once over. She didn't care for his curiosity, knowing that they were now all alone in this vast expanse of white. "Do you see anything? Fight anything?" There hunters in training, after all. Penny and android for combat. They could have dispensed of some Grimm without the scars of battle.

"We are all a-okay!" The android cheered, even as she lifted her blades upwards. Her confusion was quickly overwritten, per her simulated personality, doubtlessly. "I was able to calculate friend Cardin's position through our linked Scrolls, and friend Tatl was ringing nearby!" That made sense, as she would be one of the few capable of doing something like that so quickly.

"For the last time! I wasn't ringing, I was _screaming!_ " The drone rang. Winter made note not to speak such a verb out loud to the drone. It clearly had an offset personality variable in respect towards the word. "And I'm screaming cause there's nothing here! Nada! We were in the freaking cavern of the Monument Mine, facing that freaking demonic chain set-up and now we're… wherever the hell this is!"

The mini-drone bobbed and waved through the air, coating the expanse with its dust. Winter watched the mini-drone for a moment, sure now that it was malfunctioning. It, however, still operated on its necessary parameters, speech and flight. That would be enough for now. She only lamented she could watch the dust from the droid fall much farther than her waist, or else she'd be able to tell what they were walking on. It was difficult when everything was impossibly white and bright.

"So none of you encountered any Grimm then," Winter attempted to right the conversation. They had to remain focused. "No beasts short of coming here?"

"You mean aside from that freaking shadow thing that attacked us?" The Winchester boy waved his hand as he spoke. The agitation was clear on his voice. Winter shared it, but she didn't voice it. "No, nothing. Just some big black blanket that was basically trying to smother us to death then all of _this_." 'This' was obvious.

"Calm down, Cardin," Winter spoke his name as she would any of the recruits in the Specialist. She was pleased to see he bit his tongue. Gritting his teeth and barring them like a dog, but still keeping his mouth shut. "We have to think of where we are, and that first begins with the question of where everyone else is."

"Why do you think I was screaming before?!" Tatl _rang_ out the question. "I was screaming high and low for Link or Tael, but I got nothing! I don't know where we are and what's worse, I don't even know what the _hell_ the Nightmare thing is that attacked us!" Winter saw two paths for conversation to follow the drone's words. Cardin chose one for her.

"You don't know what it is? You mean you don't know what is going on?" The boy hissed his words, perhaps as some agitating manner to follow Winter's instructions or perhaps his own manner to keep himself from screaming. It still did little to stop the façade of a giant of a student hissing questions like orders. "How the hell could not know!? You're the one who keeps _yelling_ at us for not knowing enough!" Winter could sense the aggravation in the boy growing. Panic was setting in.

"I yell at you about things that are freaking obvious! What the hell is so obvious about some _mega monster that's been chained to the deep dark center of a mine shaft!_ " The drone was no different, clearly, though perhaps due to an unmanaged variable rather than emotional disturbance. "I know everything I do about monsters cause Link and the Skull Kid kept running around them or fighting them, but I've never seen anything like this before! _Where the hell would you think I'd get this kind of information from!?_ " She was clearly losing control.

Now wasn't the time to think about that. Not in depth. Now was the time to keep the calm. That was her job as the chaperone to the students, and her job as the pseudo-ambassador for the Specialists and Atlesian Military.

"Tatl, focus, please." Winter quickly reprimanded, holding up her hand into the air. It was a small act, but enough to get the drone's attention. Most where sensitive to motion near their bodies. "I understand that you're worried about Link, as well as the other students, but we won't be able to effectively find them unless we calm down." It was a conclusion she drew form history alone. Most mini-drones that possessed personalities were latched onto a specific individual, with a drop-in efficiency if they weren't around them. It explained the desperate need for the drones to be near Link, their clear owner. It also gave credence to her inability to focus.

"I _am_ focusing!" Tatl rang back. Winter furrowed her brows at the drone, but little more. "But what the heck am I supposed to focus on except for some story that Tael memorized freaking _years_ ago! It was supposed to be a freaking legend from a legend for Time's sake!" The bobbing was becoming more drastic, and her golden aura hinting a bit of red. Perhaps she truly was getting ready to blow. "And I'll I'm trying to do is remember just _what_ the Nightmare even _is!_ "

"Well can you hurry up and cut to the part where you tell us just _what_ is going on?!" His voice was desperate, but Winter found no fault in the Winchester boy's plea. There was much they needed to know, and all the drone could share was important to hear. "Forget the fact that the freaking Grimm came from a _melting sword_ , or the chains it was, those weird markings or… or whatever the heck else, just… just tell us _what_ is going on?!"

"I don't know!" That was a good first response. Even with the high ring of the drone, it was obvious that it was just as desperate, perhaps reading through a desperation loop conflicting with its memory. It was possible, but Winter wasn't familiar enough with technology to know. "I-I haven't actually ever _seen_ a Nightmare before! All I've got are the _damn_ stories that Link read and Tael gorged himself on!"

Winter ignored the way the fairy was bouncing through the air, like a ball on the end of a puck. It was desperate, and for what little she remembered of technology, hitting something rarely made it work better. It wasn't a spoiled child, it was an already malfunctioning drone with bad code. It needed to be coddled.

"That may be a suitable source for disseminating data, at least initially," Penny spoke up. She, unlike the drone, was not malfunctioning or working off of bad code. She was working properly. "If it has potential information I can use, they you only need to-"

"Stories are just _stories!_ " Winter frowned at the mini-drone, ringing to a near screeching frequency in the face of the Penny android. It was enough to make the ginger haired autonomaton to step back. "Their _Tael's_ thing cause he cares _so much more_ about what sounds cooler so he can tell them to others like they're more important than knowing how things worked or _what actually_ happened!" The exaggeration of stories then.

"E-Even if that's true, perhaps we can discern _some_ truth to the stories then?" Penny tried again. Her programming clearly insisted that she reach some form of usable data, and the source of it was being uncooperative. Per usual, given Winter's history with the things. Zepp would have to see them after this, Link's say or not. "I feel _confident and ready_ to be able to work through the information and tales you have on record to-"

"There's only _one_ story about a Nightmare and it's not even something I can _remember_ well!" Tatl yelled again. Winter shared the Winchester boy's grimace, though more from annoyance than pain. Were this drone in her care, it would have been shut off by now. "All I've got in my head is that it possessed a freaking _giant god of the air and sea_ and trapped it in an endless sleep so _freaking powerful_ that it made any others who so much as _sailed_ towards it get wrapped up into its dream as well!"

"Wait, you mean we're asleep!?" The question caught Winter off guard. It was a logical question, she realized coming from the Winchester boy, but an impossibility. Hopefully she'd wouldn't need to be the one to explain it.

"No! Of course not!" Thankfully, it was the drone herself who spoke up. "Cause if we were, then _something_ would be happening now! Hell! If that were the case, then we'd at least see _some_ part of our dreams at least! Stupid are you are, not even _you_ have a head _this empty!_ " The insult was carried through the void with a grand shout.

She watched the Winchester boy grip the handle of his mace harder, perhaps thinking of swinging at the drone with it. He wouldn't be fast enough to hit it, let alone to get passed her. And from the glance he gave the Penny android, he realized he wasn't faster than her either. It was a dubious peace, but Winter would take it.

She would confess, there wasn't a lot to tell in that short amount of information Tatl had provided. Aside from the confirmation that they couldn't be asleep, not with two robotic and synthetic lifeforms here. In fact, she wasn't sure what she could gain from the tale at all. Aside from the knowledge that the Nightmare was a powerful form of Grimm.

"So you really don't know anything." His manners were atrocious, but Cardin was correct. Even if he was speaking through grit teeth and a hissing breath. "Just some magical tale of a Grimm fighting a god, that looked like a fish?" The drone rang, loudly, before firing back, as Winter predicted it would.

"I know _more than you_ , _meat-head!_ " The insult was childish, so much so it didn't deserve a reprimand. "And if you want the _full_ story, we'd be here for literal days, and I'm willing to bet we don't have time for that!" The drone was correct on that much at least.

"I agree," Winter noted. Her eyes glanced away from the group, momentarily, gauging the void of white again with a pass of her crystalline blue. "Though there are no threats currently, it is impossible to judge whether not it will remain such for long. Time is of the essence, especially if we are to regroup with the others and find a way to defeat this Grimm."

"Big order if we don't even know what the thing is," the Winchester boy spoke on, truly testing the bounds of her patience with his gruff nature. "Some Grimm that was a sword wrapped up in chains before melting into some mass of black and turning the whole place into… _this!_ Can't exactly beat something up without knowing where to hit!" It was clear, to Winter at least, the Specialist who had dealt with many new recruits and their inability to cope with stress, that Cardin was quickly falling into said category.

The inability to reason with recent events was starting to show. If not in his words, then in the shake of his palms and grit of his teeth, when his mouth was shut.

Panic, plain and simple. But, thankfully, they were not in battle yet. She could control it, help him, if only by keeping him from acting out. That was all that was needed for now. Counseling, comfort, could come later. If at all, per his wishes.

"Tatl," Winter began carefully, forcefully, enough to gain the attention of all three around her. "What little you know, no matter how small, can you tell us? Even if it is just some far off exaggeration, it is better than blindly guessing." It would keep their focus up.

The drone didn't speak for a moment, its body bobbing in the air, perhaps in thought. Were it not so close, Winter might have lost it in the void of the white expanse around her. Thankfully, if not for anything else, the harsh contrast of Penny and Cardin's uniform made the blonde ball of light easier to see. Her voice, and ring, however, were truly impossible to ignore.

"A Nightmare, _the Nightmare_ , from the stories Tael told, was supposed to be a monster that cared only about survival." Winter nodded. That was good. That was something unique. "It created realities of the darkest ideas one can possess, and then used those to make an eternal bed to rest within. I only know _that_ because, the Legend of the Windfish is about the Nightmare housing itself atop a mountain while the god-thing it possessed was trapped around it."

"Still a logical deduction," Penny agreed with the drone, to Winter's relief as well. "And the choice of survival over attacking prey is unique in comparison to other Grimm. With the few records I still have at the moment, I can tell that the desire for self-preservation is a unique trait amongst the Grimm." Winter didn't doubt the android's calculations. Zepp had programmed her and he was rarely ever wrong, if only equally tolerable.

"Kay, yeah, _that's_ good at least," Tatl spoke up again, ringing still. "A-And I also… I _think_ that the monster is supposed to… make more monsters, I think. I mean, I can't guarantee it but-"

"Make Grimm? HA! It's failing at that at least!" Winter sighed as the boys' false bravado flared again, at an inopportune time. As if there was ever a beneficial time for it. "Cause far as I can see, in this _literal freaking pit of empty space_ , I don't see a single freaking other monster! Heck, I don't see _anything!_ " The yelling was getting to Winter, even if the boy's statement were true.

They were punctuated by his arm quickly flying out, swinging about the clearly wide expanse available to him, and done so in mockery to the drone that was speaking to him. From the quick chime of rings that came from the blonde droid, added by the quick tint of red that was added to its color, it was clear he was striking more nerves than just Winter's own.

"And I'm just telling you what I can tell from Tael's damn story!" The mini-drone yelled again. The agitation was growing, between them both, quickly. "Cause in _that_ story, the Windfish had freaking monsters roaming around its magical illusion that others had to fight. Others that _weren't_ apart of its same dream! They were like… I don't eve know, super-charged Molgeras? Mega-sized Dodongos? Basically, just freaking _huge and powerful monsters_ meant to keep others from finding the Nightmare and waking the Windfish up!"

If it weren't for the knowledge that the 'fairy' was a drone, Winter might have mistaken for the high-hum of the air vents on the drone for panting. Its ringing was a secondary noise to that at the moment. And it wasn't done.

"And guess what! In that story, there was like, a _dozen_ other things that I'm not seeing' right now!" The drone whipped into the air, its trail of dust falling behind it as it did so. Winter watched, her back straight and arms ready to strike out if anything got physical. She could _not_ afford either the drone or Cardin to snap. "I don't see a mountain, or a freaking town, army, or even that supposed _god-thing_ it had to possess before! I don't know _what the hell_ it's doing right now or how it's even awake!" A word in there caught Winter's attention.

"Awake?" Winter added on after the brief pause in the drone's rant. "Perhaps… does someone or something need to _be_ asleep in order for it to create this illusion you describe?" Though there were Grimm capable of shooting beams of energy, sprouting darkness from their maws, and other fantastical feats, creating illusions from the dreams of others was something foreign to even her high clearance level of information.

Then again, nothing about Link or his companions fit well into her world either. It figured an Ancient Grimm that only the three of them had heard of would fit their own mold of possibility.

"I don't know, _maybe?_ " The fairy rang as she twisted in the air, not bounce. It was like the mini-drone was spinning with its own twisted algorithms. Zepp would have to check it out when they got out of here, _when_ they got out of here. "Maybe it's waiting for something to conk out before it makes the freaking landscape or whatever, or _maybe_ this Nightmare is completely different! I don't even know _where_ it's got all this strength from!"

"What strength?!" The Winchester boy yelled again. Winter would be sure to reprimanded him in front of the Headmaster when they returned. "We're all fine and the freaking _blank world_ around is pissing me off more than _any_ thing else!"

"Actually, friend Cardin, the ability to overwrite the presumed landscape of the mine with this unconstructed landscape of unknown white materials shows both a level of strength, material creation, and aptitude yet unmeasured." Penny's words were as accurate as they were haunting.

"Wait a minute," the boy spoke in a near whisper now. Perhaps the android's words had stolen his breath. They had made Winter take a slow one of her own. "Are you saying… this freaking monster is _remaking this place!?_ " That was a damning thought.

"I find it _highly_ likely." "Sounds right to me." The agreement between the drones was just as horrific.

Making something new out of the world, _not_ just an illusion. Recreating what they saw and replacing it something else. This was… this was insane. Perhaps she would withhold her scolding for the boy, as he was clearly the most inexperienced here, and one that had been thrown into a pit of an Ancient Grimm before much else.

But Winter composed herself, she calmed herself. This may be beyond what she expected, but it was no excuse to lose herself. She had to remain in control. If she didn't, order would be lost with the attack of the Grimm.

"I'm still _trying_ to figure out _why!_ " The declaration from the drone was the perfect thing to focus on.

"Why?" The Penny android repeated. "I do not understand. Are you sure you are not asking to mean how?"

"No, I mean _why_. As in why is this freaking monster of a Grimm that _swallowed us_ like some kind of crumb on the ground just leaving us _here_! Wherever or _what_ ever this is!" The drone rang as it quickly flew the air, practically whipping its dust around. Winter had no reason to be concerned for it now, for it gave her a new thing to focus on.

Why. What was something good to ponder. How was answered from why, why the Grimm, the Nightmare, was doing this, was a good place to start. It appeared to affect even the Winchester boy somewhat, as he lost the growl to his voice. Though his hands and teeth remained clenched.

"A Nightmare _may_ be strong enough to put a god-wind-fish thing to sleep for a near damn eternity, but it had a _reason_ for it!" The drone rang as she bobbed through the air. "Like how the Skulltulas hide in tight corners, or the Wolfos work in packs!" She bobbed through the air in a circle, but Winter could tell where she was going, in both sense and direction.

"The Nightmare is another Grimm, so it therefore must have a reasoning, if somewhat basic, to its abilities." Penny summarized the point easily. Winter nodded in satisfaction, even as the blonde colored mini-drone rang.

"Makes sense to me," Cardin agreed as well. His hands were still tight on his mace. "But that still ain't telling me where everyone else is." Are, are was the proper word to use, not is. "They lost in this big void thing, or what? Or better question, _what_ is this void all about?" The question for now was why, not what.

"Okay, first off, _I'm_ as worried if not _more worried_ than you are punk! And I _still_ have no idea where they are or what this Nightmare is working on!" The drone's words were a literal screech as it flew up the taller boy's face. In the void of white it made the rambunctious boy lean back, a look of irritation on his features. It was well deserved. "Second off… I _still don't know!_ The only story I got from Tael was about what happened when someone wound up _in_ that dream of the Fish God, not watching it get made up!" There was a key word there, one that Winter caught.

"You believe this is the dream… beginning to form?" Winter phrased her words carefully, ignoring the eyes that turned to her. The only one she cared about was the drone's attention, as she couldn't be sure the malfunctioning platform would respond to her well without having its focus on her. "As if its waiting for us to fall asleep? Or… perhaps making up something to show us?"

"Wait, like a canvas?" Winter gave a quick harsh look at the boy for speaking out, but be it the fear or anxiety of the situation, he did not shirk away. She'd have to work on him later. "Like it's gettin' ready to start showing some B-rated horror flick to us?"

"It… could be doing that? Maybe?" The drone sounded no surer of her own words, ringing through the air as it bounced away from Cardin. It floated above Penny's head, the android following it. "I mean, it makes sense, sort of. But then, I've never seen or heard of any monster taking _this_ long to attack before. All we've got so far is that we're in some kind of space it's created, and that's freaking _creepy enough!_ " Of that, Winter could agree.

"I would like to add an addendum to such a theory," Penny spoke up, her hand raising into the air. "Supposing that the stated Nightmare Grimm is indeed of an Ancient form, and by the classification system developed by Atlas of significant power warranting either Military response or multiple groups of Hunters to execute, it would then be warranted to assume it has a higher level of intelligence associated with it, one that may warrant more caution than most other Grimm." That was something else to consider.

"You mean it's thinking on what it _wants_ to do?" Winter could hear the boy's gauntlets crease against the handle of his mace. He was strong, in muscle alone, but still strong, so it was a small concern of hers he would damage his weapon before he had the chance to use it. "Like what? Thinking of what's the scariest thing it can show us?"

"I believe you are taking Nightmare too literally, Winchester," Winter corrected the boy. "It is a Grimm like any other, and therefore it feeds off of the fear and horror that it reeks around it. However, with there being nothing for it to destroy, it can only gather its strength by moving against us." In truth, Winter was talking as she spoke, the most efficient way to handle a conversation of unknowns. She only hoped the drone and boy would play along. She had no doubt the Penny Android would.

"What? What are you talking about?" Her hope for the boy died quickly.

"Grimm are known to be attracted to negative emotions and sensations of the body, so induced by high points of stress, pain, or panic." Her faith in the android was well placed. "It is the same deduction for why towns that are assaulted by Grimm once are usually fated to fall, as the induced panic of one attack strengthens further waves of Grimm, resulting in hordes that may lead to further damage and inescapable damage to said town." Her reasoning was textbook, for obvious reasons.

"Yes, yes, that's all correct," Winter agreed, but carried on quickly. Her hands were waving as she spoke, even as she kept her posture stiff. She was the eldest, the strongest, and had to be the most prepared for when the Nightmare struck, whatever its attack would be. Speaking of… "But that comes back to the fault that there is nothing for a Grimm to destroy to induce panic. Hence, as Tatl has explained, this Grimm is capable of strong illusions, one that may cause extreme forms of panic-"

"-And give it an insane amount of strength." Winter frowned as said drone finished her train of thought for her, but only for a moment. If the ringing drone was following proper logic in this void of white, it was better than having it constantly ringing in distress. "That makes sense, and it actually explains why the town was so borked earlier!" That she didn't understand.

"You mean the Monument Mine village?" Cardin asked for her. He was full of questions, or accusations. "That place has been shut down for decades now! What does it have to do with this?" Apparently, he couldn't' follow his own train of thought either, not in stressful situations at least.

"The paranoia in the miners," Winter answered easily. Her arms folded as she began to walk down the new path of logic. "They experienced varying degrees of paranoia, stress, agitation, and fear-induced paralysis due to the mine, creating a hazardous environment for the Grimm." Saying it out loud now, the reason why was becoming obvious. It was a shame she couldn't tell earlier.

"Huh?" Apparently still not for the Winchester boy. If he lacked his brawn, he would have little to make up for himself.

"Ancient Grimm are known to inspire and induce strength in younger Grimm by causing great fear in the populace, thereby leading to the younger Grimm feeding off of said emotions," Penny, once more, spoke from the textbook. "So… even though the Nightmare remained unseen, and likely caged at the bottom of the mine, its presence created a negative emotional state that gathered the intended downfall of the Monument Mine and its nearby populace." The reasoning was there. But so was the natural consequence.

"Hold on, you're talking about this too quickly." Winter ignored Cardin now. He was becoming a distraction, pure and simple. "If you're being straight with this, then that means that-"

"The Nightmare has been buried here for a long time, _way_ longer than any of you were here." The drone rang with the answer Winter had already reached. Her independent conclusion, however, was validation to the Atlesian Specialist. That was never something to ignore. "A _stupidly_ long time, actually. Probably so long that it was chained put down here way before you schools were built or whatever. So long that… oh no…" Neither was her drop in tone to be put away.

"Friend Tatl?" Penny spoke up in curiosity, one that Winter shared. "Is there something causing you significant distress? Difficulty with the amount of information we are parsing?" Penny parsed data, and so did Tatl as a droid. Winter and the Winchester boy did not.

"I am not _parsing_ anything!" Winter raised her brow at the quick high pitch of the fairy's ring. Despite all of her flamboyant and clearly outspoken nature, such an outburst was unlike the droid. Perhaps she was reaching the critical stages of her malfunctioning nature. "I'm just realizing that… all of this together… the freaking Nightmare is just that, it's a freaking _nightmare_."

"Are you remembering something?" Winter spoke at the fairy's words, a small but necessary glimmer of hope. If there was anything concrete, something they could reach without conjecture, she wanted to hear it. "Something about the Grimm you recall?"

"Not about the freaking monster specifically, but like… what it _means_ for it be chained like it was." The fairy's usual quick bobs were subdued for a moment, perhaps because most of its power was going to processing its thoughts. Winter had no reason to disturb it while it did so. Perhaps it would correct its own error in function. "Monsters get stronger for three reasons. How old they are, what they are, and how scared people are of them." Basic knowledge.

"Freaking _kids_ are taught that, we got it." The Winchester boy's words were, once again, lacking all tact. "How about you explain why this is giving you a panic attack." If the drone was capable of such, she was not alone, not with Cardin so near her.

"Good, great, glad you do!" The drone's usual ring was gone. That worried Winter. "Now _think_ about it! Just how long was that monster _buried_ under this mine? Centuries, _freaking millennia!_ " That was… an entirely possible guess.

"Friend Tatl, I would pose somewhere between 10,000 to 100,000 years, depending upon the length of time and weather conditions necessary to erode the outer structure of the mine into a continuous rock formation free of obvious blemishing." Penny's words were calm, clearly calculated, but obviously damning. "Due to the clearly outlined and dug, out structure of the mine, and given its previously stated ability to 'alter' itself during previous mining operations, it is difficult to tell how much of the mining shaft, and therefore central cavern, was excavated and how much is natural formation. Though the lack of any gaseous substances, and therefore high-pressure bubbles capable of creating cavitation, means it is likely complete an excavated structure."

"I'll take your word on how this place is, cause even your low-ball is making this thing _insanely_ old." Winter had no argument for the drone's correct conclusion. "But you missed something else."

"What is that?" Winter quickly posed. This wasn't the time to beat around the bush. Fast answers meant faster responses. "What are we missing."

"Before _we_ unlocked it or whatever you want to call it," the drone noted. "There were probably thousands of miners here before, _feeding_ it for months." Dread began to fill Winter. "And there wasn't a damn thing outside the town itself, like they were all _too scared_ to make a noise." The feeling began to drip down her back.

"Too scared?" The Winchester boy repeated. Winter didn't need to glance at him to know that even he was starting to realize what it meant. "Hold on, you're not seriously thinking that… no way…" Clearly, she was.

"The Ancient Grimm has been feeding," Penny unfortunately spoke out. "It has been feeding on the fear of others, and has been doing so for many many years." That was bad, very bad. It meant that this threat was far beyond that what Winter had already categorized it as.

"Yeah, and that's not even what has me so freaking terrified right now." Winter barred her teeth before she spoke again.

"What more is there?" She found her own voice carefully on edge. She had to remain in control, or else the others would have nothing to hold onto. If she, as a Specialist in the Atlesian Military, was unable to hold herself up as she spoke, then it would be near impossible to expect the same of the Winchester boy or pair of differently sized droids. "What else is there beside its age and constant feeding on fear and terror."

"It hasn't used it." It took Winter a full second to realize the drone's words. "It hasn't _done_ anything, until _now_."

The Specialists eyes were wide as the implication came full circle.

"It hasn't… done anything?" Cardin repeated, the strength of his voice evaporating. "As in this thing has been… waiting?" That was the last term Winter wanted to hear. "Waiting for what?"

"To attack." The drone's low hum over its ring was as solemn as its own answer. It matched the dread that Winter felt.

Waiting was quite possibly the worst word to use when describing a Grimm. Grimm were violent creatures that acted on impulse, instinct, and feuds. Even if the drone was correct in that each Grimm behaved differently, none of them ever waited. There was no waiting for the pack for a strike, holding off until nightfall to assault, or anything in the realm or manner of tactics or patience associated with waiting.

Even the Ancient Grimm, the only classification of being associated with requiring a major assault due to their 'intelligence', were 'wise' only in that they knew what to attack and when to flee. They did not wait. Waiting was something she didn't want to hear associated with any Grimm.

Because waiting meant measuring strengths, against advantages, against disadvantages, and understanding _how_ to turn them around.

A waiting Grimm was beyond all doubt a worst-case scenario, and one that Winter never believed she'd ever have to face.

Because they were meant to be an impossibility.

"Waiting, yeah, that's it… Getting ready to attack, and… waiting for the best time to," the drone didn't sound any more pleased by the conclusion, even if it shared in it. Winter spared a quick glance at Penny, the android looking down as her eyes rapidly moved from side to side.

Zepp told her she would only do that when she reached an invalid conclusion and couldn't find an alternative answer. It right next to a recursive loop or infinite computational function in terms of computational overload. Involving functions and variables that all had conclusions, but reached a final solution that was an impossibility. That was what this was, an impossibility.

A Grimm that thought was possible, a Grimm that was careful was possible. A Grimm that waited, for the _best_ moment to strike… that was not possible.

"Then… Th-Then we gotta do something first, right?" The Winchester's panic was returning. "Like, get something setup or, I don't know, look for the others! Arc may not be good for much, but the professor and Link are gonna help, right?!"

"Doctor, he's a doctor." The low hum of an answer from Penny was comforting, only in that she had momentarily left the poor threat assessment function she was caught in. "And… and we need to find them, yes, I agree one hundred percent with friend Cardin. Finding the others will be an immense help to us. I am _ab_ -solutely sure of this." Winter nodded.

"Then we do that first," Winter concluded. She ignored the ring from the drone, for now. "We'll search this void for the others and perhaps then we'll find a better method for dealing with this… Nightmare." However, they would do that, she didn't know.

She only knew that they had to find the others. If Tatl's information was so lacking and the only piece of reasonable data was from its sibling construct, then they would find Tael, perhaps with Link and Dr. Oobleck. The sooner they found them, the more likely they would be to fight this Nightmare. Link was said to have much experience in dealing with Ancient Grimm, not including those memory constructs such as Darmani and Impa. They would be a boon on the battlefield, if there was a field to fight on.

But they needed to find them first, and once they did…

"… Hold on… what's that?" The drone's low whirr of noise drew Winter's attention, enough to see that the golden drone had flown higher now, far above their heads. The purpose of such, she didn't know. She could only tell Tatl was facing behind her, the position of her lucent wings a give-away. Winter turned to its direction.

"Yeah, what is that?" The Winchester boy's words spoke on.

"I am unable to increase my magnification high enough," Penny's admittance came next.

Winter wasn't sure what she saw, either.

She could only say it was a spot of tan, a speck of it far off in the distance. She thought of it like spotting a star in the sky, though the colors were reversed and the intensity of the sky far and gone. Instead, it was a dark spot she was staring at, still brighter than dark, but dimmer than the endless white that surrounded them.

The fact that she saw anything in the void of white was something, something both thankful and remarkable given the lack of appearance of anything before. But it still didn't tell of anything. Nothing so far as the students or other hunters they needed to find, not even the Grimm to face. She was about to conclude as such, but her military training kept her eyes trained on the distance, enough to watch it for longer than any inexperienced hunter may. And for that, she saw something else.

"Is it… growing?" The idea would be silly in most other notions, but the unknowns of this void far outweighed the common elements. As such, the idea of that dark spot in the distance, now larger than before, was not a possibility she was willing to throw away.

"… I believe that it is Specialist Schnee," Penny adopted her official title, the likelihood of battle increasing. "Magnification still insufficient, however the object takes up 5 pixels now…" Winter could only assume that before it was barely larger than one. "… 10 pixels, 34 pixels, 321 pixels, 2469 pixels." Winter looked at Penny.

The android's eyes were narrowed into dark dots, the magnification feature of her lenses showing themselves. But before her eyes, the faux-girl's eyes began to widen, as she expected a child's too among presents on their birthday.

Or, more appropriately, upon witnessing a coming storm.

"Holy crap! It's heading right for us!" The Winchester boy's shout was unappreciated, but Winter had no time to scold or even glare at him.

Winter dashed ahead of the group, the command of her glyphs already flowing through her hands as she began to lift them, aiming them at the distant and approaching source of tan. Her rune and lightly hued glyphs spun into existence before them, parallel to whatever ground they stood on and rolling like the wheels of an excavator in front of them. It was easily quadruple the height of even the Winchester boy, a good amount of her focus poured into it.

It shined with her pride as a Schnee, with the heritage inherited from her mother, and used to protect both her people and her men. For now, it would protect the students behind her.

"Incoming!" The drone rang above her, an alarm above her head. Winter grit her teeth and patched the growing tan invade the white.

_Shwoooooooooooooooooooo_

The feeling that ran past her could only be described as blowing wind, whipping past the wall of her glyph, above the tops of their heads, and under the balls of their feet. Breath was lost to the Specialist for a moment, the change in sensation so sudden, so quick, that she needed a moment to realize she was no longer in the void of white, that her defensive glyph had done nothing for them, nothing she could easily tell.

All Winter Schnee could tell was that they were no longer in a void of white.

"Holy crap! What the hell is _this!?_ " She found no reason to question the Winchester boy's outburst. It was a proper question she also wanted answered.

They appeared now to be in a desert, and not even an endless one at that, not that it was shy to try.

Winter felt her glyph falter and dissipate as her hand fell, her crystalline blue eyes scanning everything from the far horizon to the drifting sands beneath her feet. She felt her back shiver as a hot wave of heat rolled over her, the swashes of wind carrying the grainy dust upwards with the breeze. Any sense of chill she had was lost as she realized the heat was not fading, none of this was.

The sun, now high above her in a cloudless sky beat upon her with a heat completely vacant from the white void before. Perhaps it was the shock of the sudden expanse in front of her or more of this unknown land, but it didn't appear to be nearly as hot as it should have been. Not given that they were in a desert, arid regions properly notorious for their high temperatures and unforgivingly low humidity.

And there was no confusion it was a desert, not with the grains of sand that rolled beneath her boots, already attempting to bury her foot underneath the weight of her own body. Her entire figure swayed as she right her position on the uneven ground, realizing with dawning horror the gravity and meaning behind the explosion of this expanse. It was all she could focus on to keep herself controlled.

"No, I'm _freaking serious!_ What the _shit_ is all of this?!" The Winchester boy screamed again, but his voice was quickly lost under the hot breeze of the desert, whipping again into the air. Winter ignored him and focused on that, even as she heard the drone ringing above them, Penny doubtlessly thinking as well.

She focused on the sand, the suddenness of it filling the void, the nature of the Nightmare, the theories of what it could do, knowing what it had already done, and focused on what this could mean.

Winter reached a conclusion without an answer.

"I-I believe that, possibly, the Nightmare has chosen a… dream scape?" It appeared Penny had reached the same conclusion. "I'm sorry friend Cardin, but I am not aware of… the _possibility_ of this happening." Even she sounded worried. Not panicking, as would be odd for a properly functioning android, but worried.

Too many new variables, too many impossibilities, too much to ignore. Winter could understand.

But she had to remain focused. She had to keep the calm.

"Well we gotta do something now!" The Winchester boy yelled again. This time, with a swing downward of his mace. IT was not activated, thankfully as no explosion of dust blew upwards form the sand. Only the billow that came natural from the heavy steel hitting the coarse grains. "If that Nightmare is awake now, then we gotta find it!"

"What we have to do, Cardin Winchester, is focus." Winter spoke up before the boy could lash out again. She turned her eyes to him, keeping her focus on him so he would do the same in kind. She did not ignore the way his barred teeth appeared to shake, nor the way, he looked ready to run in the midst of his panic. "Focus on something, rather than lashing out at everything."

"Focus? Focus on what!?" Clearly the panic was getting to him, even more so than before. "The fact that this freaking Grimm just _created_ land! The fact that we're lost in it! NO! How about the fact that there's freaking nothing here!" His arms were wide and outwards as he yelled, the whistling of the wind answering his call. It made Winter squint as the sand rose.

"You're wrong, friend Cardin." Winter looked to Penny, the android already having raised and pointing with her hand. "Given the expanse, I can now see that there are several objects of interest." Winter followed the android's direction.

In the distance, far closer than she expected, though still appearing miles away, was a tower of stone. One that rose into the sky like a temple to Babylon, daring the sands to fight and rise above it. It was wide at its base, almost mistakable for a pyramid, except that its rising mass never reached a sharp tip. Despite whatever distance it was at, it was clear it plateaued at the top, a flat surface for whatever or whomever it belonged to stare down from it. It was easy for Winter to imagine the tower being carved from a lone mountain in the desert, if not for the lack of any other solid land nearby.

"What… what the hell is that?" Winter did not know, but she was thankful the sight of it brought Cardin's panic down, if only momentarily.

"I do not recall any relatable structures to its design," Penny added to the question, answering it as if it were necessary. "However, I can detect that it is likely 8.23 kilometers away." That was good, knowing the distance at least. Even if it was a little over five miles, that was better than standing in a truly empty desert.

"We'll head towards it," Winter concluded, already deciding for the group. It was her duty, as the most experienced among them. "We don't know what it is, even if it is likely a trap, but the others will likely be heading towards it as well." It would be foolish to think that they wouldn't. "Penny, do you see anything else?"

"I know where this is." That wasn't Penny. The ring gave it away.

Winter looked up at the golden drone, her wings hardly fluttering as she swayed in the air. No bounce, no high pitch ring, nothing of the energy she had in the midst of her malfunctioning state. She seemed far more subdued now. Winter did care about any of that.

"You know what?" She spoke the unnecessary question, but she needed to hear the answer.

"I know where we are," Tatl spoke it again, her voice unwavering. Even if the ring was gone, it was clear she was not speaking from lose circuits or leaking memory. "I-I… I know where this is! I _do! I know where this is!_ " Her voice was coming back, but it wasn't with cheer.

It was desperation.

"Friend Tatl?" Penny, of all present, spoke first. "Isn't this good news? I am detecting worry in your voice, but if you know where we are, then we should find this a stu- _pen_ -dous development, should we not?"

" _No, we shouldn't!_ " The drone's leaked red with he gold as she shouted the statement. "Cause this just confirms… _freaking EVERYTHING about the Nightmare!_ " She was bobbing and screaming through the air, like a horsefly with an engine.

But carrying an important message like a dove.

"Quit flying around and _spill it!_ " The Winchester boy yelled. "Where are we!?"

"The _Nightmare DID use someone's memories! That was what it was waiting for!_ " Tatl didn't answer, her circuits clearly firing off quickly as she screamed. "I-It was looking for something _horrible!_ Something bad, bad, _bad, bad and freaking rotten to the CORE!_ " Winter tightened her hand across her hilt, wondering if she could snap the drone's wings to keep it from flying. But that would worry Link when they found it.

And something none too subtle was telling her he was at the center of this.

"What is it, Tatl?" Winter spoke forcefully. "Tell us, or we won't be able to act!" She raised her own voice, determined to get the drone to answer. It worked, unfortunately.

"I don't even know if we _can do anything!_ " The mini-drone shouted as it flew into her face, gold dust spilling beneath her with the act. "This is… _this is where EVERYTHING went wrong! It's where Nabooru's from, it's where Malon fought, a-and Impa and freaking THOUSANDS of the guards!_ " A war then, and involving names she was familiar with and had never heard. Nabooru was new, Malon had been seen only on display, but Impa was the powerful Faunus that Link used to teach the children.

And apparently, they were all here. Them and thousands more.

"TH-They fought _monsters_ here! Freaking hundreds and _hundreds of them! Wolfos, Dodongos, Leevers, Skulltulas, Moblins, Molgeras, all of them! They're all here! A-And we gotta stop them. We_ have to stop them!" Winter didn't know if it was the panic running its course or the desperation setting in that made the mini-drone lose her screeching voice. She let it run its course regardless. "We have to find Link, Tael, a-and the others! We have to find them before it's too late!"

"What's too late?" Winter asked quickly. It was the obvious question. "If this is some memory of yours, then what happens in it?!" Now was not the time for calm words.

"I-I don't know if its gonna play out the same! But the _Nightmare_ will probably try!" That didn't answer her question, and Winter grit her teeth, even as sand and hot air blew into her as she did so. "Cause _NOTHING_ will get to Link like this fight!" It had to be more to it than that.

"What happens?" Winter growled the question now. Tact was unnecessary. "Tell me, with haste!"

"Ganondorf is here!"

For a moment, and only that, Winter would swear that the sands, filling the air with the harsh grain, beating heat upon her skin, and unsettling her feet, all perfectly stilled at the name. Like the voice of a commanding officer, the sudden shout for respect, everything stopped, for a moment and only a moment. She could not swear to it later, and found it difficult now, but the moment was there.

And it did nothing for her quickly fraying nerves.

"Ganondorf?" The Winchester boy asked. "The hell is that? Some kind of super weapon of yours?" Such was not a thought Winter cared to imagine, though also one she couldn't ignore.

"H-He's… he's so much _worse_ than that…" The drone did not ring, she chimed. Her voice was a subdued growl. She was also not bobbing. She was shaking. Winter studied her, carefully, her every new action given the name unnerving her more and more. "He's… Th-the guys the king of the desert - _was_ the king. H-He controlled the desert, a-and the people and… he controlled the _monsters_."

Despite the sand billowing around them, Winter's eyes were wide with panic.

There were only theories on such a thing in the Atlesian Military. Theories _alone_ , given credence and purpose by General Ironwood, under his firm order that the near militaristic might of the Grimm was not something akin to random attacks. They were ideas that most ignored, but… not because of him, but because it was _impossible_. As impossible as _waiting Grimm_.

"That's why we _have to hurry!_ We have to move, go, _now!_ Because _that_ tower, that _thing…_ that's where he kills _so_ many people." The mini-drone's hissing words were near staticky as they came out. Winter still clung to every word, her horrid fascination growing. "Knights of Hyrule, Rauru, Nabooru… Impa… Zelda…" Her words fell with every name.

So, did Winter's patience.

"Impa? Seriously? No way, that's impossible." It was both concerning, and shortly comforting, to hear the sureness in Cardin's voice at the statement. "She freaking blows through us like paper. No way she's gonna croak here."

"She _DOES!_ " The mini-drone shot towards the boy with the statement, her gold completely engulfed in red. "She dies because she rushes the tower trying to help Link but she gets to the end faster then but… but Ganondorf's stronger… demonically strong…" A man with demonic strength, killing one of the strongest huntresses Winter had ever seen. "W-We have to hurry! _Please!_ "

Truly a nightmare if Winter had ever heard one. Enough to explain away the fear of the drone.

Winter heard the last statement from Tatl, but only to note the desperation of what was happening. Impa died here, in a memory of her own or Link's, she didn't know which. She only knew that it was similar enough to enforce a response in the drone in such a way. And for Ancient Grimm like the Nightmare, this supposedly _waiting_ beast, then it was even more terrible than she could have expected.

Nothing could satiate a Grimm like the terror of a broken hunter. Link certainly qualified, if not the students with him.

They had to hurry.

"Who is Zelda?" "How are we supposed to- _WHOA!_ " Winter ignored the Winchester's boy's shout and Penny's question. She already knew the reason and cause for both. This time, it was her fault.

Her glyphs had appeared beneath them all, her hands flexing into the soft sand as she commanded her Semblance to work at its fastest. Black lines and runes carved themselves into the air in a moment, her eyes forwards towards the tower as she did so. They began to spin with haste beneath her, twirling like a fan to blow the desert sand unaffected by the 'natural' wind of the arid land. That didn't matter. What mattered was what the glyph would do to her, to _them_.

"I'm increasing our speed!" Winter yelled behind her, earning the quick attention of the android, boy, and mini-drone. "We'll run faster with this, but don't lose pace! We know time is now of the essence, so do not stop running towards the tower. Is that _understood!_ " She barked as her general would, for he got results in the midst of battle.

Despite the panic the boy had shown for so long, he nodded towards her, even with teeth barred and his mace at his side, gripped tightly in his palm. Penny did the same, the sureness of her programming promising results. The mini-drone had its golden hue bag, but her wings flittered like a humming bird, too fast to watch. Winter only hoped it meant she'd fly faster as well.

"Then let's go!" Tact was gone in the face of desperation.

And with a leap across the sands, followed by the explosion of her glyph, they were gone.

The wind chased Winter as she barreled trough the arid air, letting her Aura keep the harsh grains of dust airborne from causing her burns or scars. She was sure the others behind her would manage the same. Though she didn't keep track of where they were. She didn't bother to ensure they were following her.

Winter's only focus now, as a Specialist and as a Huntress, was on the tower in the distance.

It was her duty to save a life, against whomever this Ganondorf was, and if Impa, if Link, was truly in danger, then she couldn't afford to be late.

She only hoped the others were arrive in time as well.

* * *

"Duck Mr. Arc!" It was all the warning Dr. Oobleck offered before swinging his unfolded thermos over the boy's head.

**_SMACK!_ **

The head of his thermos-hammer impacted the head of the lunging Ursa perfectly. The modified weight of his weapon sent a high amount of force into the jawline of the Grimm, compounded by the extreme distance from his body, the focal point, that it swung from. Per the rules of basic physics, the outer most point of a spinning object, in this case the thermos head measured from his body, spun the fastest. The higher rotational velocity compounded with the greater distance and increased mass of the hammer led to only a single conclusion.

**_BOOM!_ **

The Grimm as sent rocketing away, skipping across the desert stands akin to stones thrown across a calm pool of water. In other circumstances, Dr. Oobleck knew the metaphor would be apt, appropriate, something worth considering. It as important for a specialist in technology to be aware of the similarities between objects and events, after all.

"Professor! Behind you!" Such as the impossibility for his students to call him by his correct profession.

" _It's doctor_ , Mr. Arc!" The speckled man pointed out, even as he took a leap forwards. Given the explosion of sand that occurred just behind it was for good reason. The green haired historian turned on his heel, already reading his modified hammer. He was faced not with an expected sight.

"A Lolith? In the arid climates?" He noted the Grimm as it let out a shriek of presumed rage, two more of its long sharp arms reaching for him. Dr. Oobleck paid them no mind. He was already leaning in towards the beast, out of the path of its arcing legs and beneath its sensitive underbelly. His hammer trailing behind him, Oobleck swung it upwards, as if to cleave the monster. A poor metaphor for his modified thermos.

The gore of the destroyed Grimm, however, showed the conclusions, final results, were the same.

"How odd to see such a Grimm here," the doctor mused, his eyes already looking past the dust-lined glasses balanced on his nose, seeing more of the beasts charging towards them, their variety far from lacking. "Many of them do not belong. Odd, peculiar, telling."

"How so, doctor?" Ms. Nikos asked from behind him. **BANG!** In time for a shot to rip out of Milo. "Are you referring to-" **BANG!** "-the Grimm out of their natural environment?" He nodded in agreement with the young huntress. Truly a well-red student, marvelous, excellent, well-studied.

"Yes, indeed, Ms. Nikos." Dr. Oobleck's words came as he flipped his thermos about his body, feeling the weight of the unfolded hammer settle in his hands. There was still some liquid in his mug, he could feel it sloshing. He had to be careful. "One curiosity of many. Others being location, appearance of them, number variety, lack of instinct. Many peculiar traits."

"Can we worry about why they're here _after_ we figured out how to get away from them!?" Mr. Arc yelled again. It was rude of him, but appropriate. Appropriate in the circumstance of avoiding the Grimm as he defended himself. He was doing well, in that he still had suitable Aura left. They were also far from being considered over run. "We still don't know where the others are! And if they're fighting these things too, then we've got to hurry up and get to them!" His logic was not fully fleshed out, incomplete, but the sense was there.

Indeed, Dr. Oobleck agreed, regrouping with the others was a priority. Unusual to believe they should try and traverse these arid desert sands with just the three of them. Too few supplies, too many Grimm, too many unknowns to consider.

The most blatant of which being the tower that still hugged at their backs.

Definitely a curious structure, odd by most of his accounts, ideas, and studies structures. When it had first washed into existence, odd, _very_ odd word to use building manifestation, not construction, he had wanted to study it. The massive structure was the only one in the otherwise horizon stretching arid climate they found themselves in. The drastically low humidity, increase in temperature, and harsh granules carried in the low-pressure differential regulated breezes, made the desire to explore it one that he and the students shared.

Their journey towards it, complete with curiosities that his students attempted to help him answer, was uneventful, though short. Quick, to be precise, interrupted to be accurate. They had rounded over a single dune, perhaps two, before they witnessed the many openings of the large tower-like structure beginning to not only open up, but release a terrible source of evil from it.

Science was objective, but it was an objective truth that the Grimm were evil vile creatures. Just as it was unmistakable that their release from the tower, no matter how slow it may be considered in comparison to the towering length that was the structure, was done so to intercept them. Them, and perhaps others.

Those were the curiosities that Dr. Oobleck considered the foremost important in his mind. That did not stop him from wondering about the circumstances they were in now. A proper man of education and mind would never limit themselves to a singular problem. A preposterous notion, silly, perhaps insulting. Just as it was nothing short of humorous that the lurching form of the bone protruded Beowulf had a hope against him.

"We do need to find the others, Mr. Arc. Quite correct, very good point," Dr. Oobleck complimented his student's far-off point as he dug his feet into the stand, pushing off of it once he had a proper platform to push from. It let the swinging cranial palmar claws of the Beowolf's forward legs impact the sand where he once stood, billowing up a small temporary tower of the coarse material. "However, we must not move far from our current position as such. Few reasons, good reasons." **SMACK!** " _Necessary_ reasons." The body of the Beowulf fell to pieces off a far-off dune, the bodies of other Grimm already clawing through the shifting sands towards them.

"What reasons?!" Mr. Arc was still shouting. Still forgivable, as he was pushing off an Ursa's jaw, his blade piercing one of its plantigrade paws, keeping it effectively pinned, only able to push against the young man. Preferable to chomping, most assuredly, definitely. "Like not moving when you're _lost?_ " The schlicking of his blade slicing through the Grimm's flesh came with the end of the question.

" _Indeed_ , Mr. Arc. Another fine point, well done. A good show." Dr. Oobleck quickly noted that Port would be humored to hear his final compliment. Perhaps he had been spending too much time with his fellow academic. Perhaps, unlikely, currently unimportant. "But a singular point. Follow up reasoning, we are standing near the _only_ visually distinct landmark in the desert, making it an attractive location to travel to in this otherwise expansive region."

 ** _BOOM!_** The booming echo of his thermos hitting a burrowing Creeper created a cloud of sand, distracting the other Grimm that were caught in the blast radius. **BANG! BANG! BANG!** Ms. Nikos did an excellent job at hitting their vital areas through the quickly settling sand. An ace marksmanship comparable to her efficient battle scheme.

"Okay! Okay, I got that!" Mr. Arc agreed quickly, a fine quality for a student. Most assuredly, definitely. "Then how about why we aren't going _into_ the tower!" A fine student, but a poor huntsman. Below average for certain. If not for his lack of strategy and knowing the damning position it would give, then using his weapon as a tool of directional indication while they were being assaulted.

He was at least clever enough to raise his shield to block a descending Nevermore's sharp talon from hitting him. Dr. Oobleck quickly dealt with the Avian Grimm shortly afterwards a single well-placed strike along its parietal lobe. Instant death given the force.

"The Grimm are coming from there Jaune!" Ms. Nikos yelled the answer as well. Given the Ursa she quickly, deftly, flipped over, before using her crimson lance to slice upwards along its supposed jugular artery. A fine strike. "We would be trapped and cornered there!" A good answer, but half answer. Half credit.

"As well as risking the aid of the others should we leave," Dr. Oobleck amended the answer. "All the Grimm we slay are fewer Grimm to hunt the others. Few Grimm, fewer risks, quicker recovery, faster escape." Though the escape from the desert, the manner of it, still eluded him. Enemies would be obstructive no matter the reason, however.

"Okay! Okay!" Mr. Arc yelled the agreement, even as he clawed his way up a dune, pushing sand back onto an ascending Creeper's body. A juvenile escape method. _SCHLINK!_ But one that apparently gave him the higher ground to pierce through the subterranean Grimm's mouth as it leapt upwards. A fine show as well, if impractical. Refinement required. "Then… then is there something else we can be doing? I mean, just so we're finding on some kind of even ground, I guess?" The lack of intensity in his voice did not belle the clear agitation he showed.

But Mr. Arc was correct, for the plan of longevity. Even as Dr. Oobleck raised his thermos, letting the claws of a particularly lithe Ursa scrap down its length, his hands readjusting to avoid any damage to his Aura, he knew that the longer they battled the Grimm, on the sand which failed to provide adequate support for strong blows, the more likely it was that they would be worn out and ultimately overcome.

The difficulty, however, came back to knowledge. There was no feasible manner of escaping the sands without putting themselves at high risk. A risk which did not adequately or substantially demonstrate a comparable reward. Thus, the sand was safer, if only because the Grimm suffered the same penalties as they. Grimm aside from the Grammites.

**BOOM!**

Much like the Grammite he destroyed beneath the sands, hitting the moving mass of sand with a quick pound of his hammer, strong enough to make him worry for the liquid within. Hopefully it would survive, likely, given caution.

"Even ground would be suitable, Mr. Arc," Dr. Oobleck agreed with the young man once more. His lack of refinement clear, blatantly so against his partner's display of knowledge and finesse, but his mind was not poor. Jumbled, but of fine quality, adequate for now. "To do so, however, I fear we must surmise the creation of not only these Grimm, but also this desert. Too unnatural to be logical, easily suitable. Powerful forces at work. Grimm for certain. Illusion, perhaps." Perhaps not, perhaps so, points in both categories.

"Illus… you think we're _asleep?_ " The shout came as he jumped forward, getting out of the way of a Lolith's grasp. It's spindly legs, sharp as the young man's blade cut through the sand and nothing else. **BANG!** Ms. Nikos's bullets were far more accurate. "Thanks, Pyrrha!" The young man gave his compliments well at least.

His companion smiled in turn, but nothing more. She was focused on the battle at hand. Given her lack of experience, experience in the field, not battle, certainly not that, it made sense. Dr. Oobleck, however, had no such limitations, excuses. He needed to survive, protect, as her surmised, devised.

"Perhaps, Mr. Arc, only perhaps. Uncertain. Unspecific." Dr. Oobleck affirmed his stance. His eyes glazed over the sands as he spoke, searching, counting, studying the many other Grimm that still crawled and lunged through the sands. Their numbers were not falling, not quickly, not as he would like.

"If it _counts!_ I don't think _we. Are. A. Sleep!_ " His punctuated words came with vicious blows, comparatively to the young man alone, against a retreating Dodongo. It did not survive.

"Curious thought, Mr. Arc. Please, explain your reasoning." Dr. Oobleck didn't believe they were either, but another side of him was unwilling to discard the possibility. Certain possibility.

"Because… Because Sky wasn't hit by this thing, right? Maybe? And if he wasn't, he would've at least _tried_ to wake us up by now!" The look of desperation on his face was indistinguishable between the fight for his literal life or the desire to be right. Inexcusable to not believe they were related. Clearly so. Evidently more.

"We wouldn't all be dreaming together either, would we?" Ms. Nikos posed the question next. Dr. Oobleck gave her his focus, even as she twirled about, stopping on her heel only to push her lance forward and into the ventral region of a nearby Beowulf. "I'm sorry if I'm over thinking it but… but no Grimm can do that. Can they?"

"No, none on record." Dr. Oobleck confirmed, but didn't affirm. None on record, none confirmed. Stories of Grimm, however, were far ranging. Able to shift shapes, corrupt souls, leave off of fear, birth from darkness. Come from dreams? Possibility, perhaps so in a different land that practiced different means to defend against them.

He hoped to find Tatl or Tael soon. Link as well. Clearly, they knew of this beast. Evidently, they did not. A disappointment to say the least. Much longer to say more. They did need to find the others, however.

"Mr. Arc, Mrs. Nikos, a question!" Dr. Oobleck raise his hand into the air, his free and unflexed hand. His other hand was occupied swinging his hammer into the head plate of an Ursa. It cracked. The head plate, not her thermos. He needed the coffee for later, doubtlessly. Perhaps something stronger. "May you devise a plan at this moment for finding the others? Limitations unchanged. Cannot severely deviate from our current location."

He observed Mr. Arc and Ms. Nikos exchange a quick glance to one another, in time enough to show their progression as partners. Commendable given their first year, only room to improve in the future. Truly a wonderful thing, absolute.

"Uh, um, **AGH!** " the meanderings of Mr. Arc's words were cut off by an explosion of sand, a Grammite popping from its soft burrow. _SCHLICK!_ Only for Mr. Arc to immediately pierce the dark beast with his blade. A fine display of his slowly honing instincts. His face showed his stress was unresolved, difficult. "H-How about we… we make a fire!" He raised his shield up with the suggestion, shouted still.

"Disapproved," Dr. Oobleck swiftly shot down. "Insufficient material, time, and inability to confirm a sufficient amount of visibility given the brightness of the day." Sands were rarely dim before the nightfall.

"Marking the tower, maybe?" Ms. Nikos spoke next. Spoke as she dashed past Dr. Oobleck to spin herself around an Ursa, decapitating it before throwing her spear into an approaching Lolith. "That way they know where we are?"

"Again, denied, swiftly so." Oobleck waved his hand, not towards the girl. It was to remove the dust that had started to scratch at his lenses. Damnable offense, but statistically likely in nature. Unforgiving and unbiased, like science and history. "Difficulty to relay message in such a manner, time consuming. Further restriction, unlikely given current assault."

As if to emphasize his point, the doctor ducked and swung his thermos upwards, hitting the underside of a Creeper attempting to sneak up on him. Its poor judgement, his boon. Logical balance. Still, many more to go. Many many more.

Many… many more in fact than he previously thought.

" _Oh! OH!_ How about we make a lot of _NOISE!_ " Once more the young man shouted, and once again his shield was found repelling a Grimm assault with fine dexterity. Commendable further on uneven ground, desert sand unforgiving for such an act. No such limitation for him. "Cause sound travels, right!?"

"Nearly there, Mr. Arc," Dr. Oobleck agreed, and did not. "More noise than currently producing unlikely." There was little that could overcome the sound of explosions and battle, often the reason they were the center of focus during cinematic and otherwise violent events. A captivator of the senses.

 **BANG!** Gun shots. **BOOM!** And explosions were both difficult to ignore. And yet, the Grimm still remained a constant force. Unperturbed assault non-surprising, given their low intelligence. Inexhaustible numbers more so, indefinitely more.

It was becoming difficult, a terror even, worst case scenario.

Not a lack of skill leading to survival, or preparation. Fatigue may be root cause. Unable to continue with the assault of the Grimm. A worst-case scenario for any hunter or huntress in lost lands. A terror, bad dream, horrid experience, living nightmare.

 **BOOOOM!** His thermos stopped mid swing, after connecting with the side of a large Ursa, sending the brute cannonballing into his comrade. Dr. Oobleck did not watch. He had no need to. Something was clicking in his head.

A question he had posed earlier was finding its answer through his growing fatigue. Mental stimulation due to high muscular expenditure or use possible. Desperation also so. Desperation that followed the worst-case scenario of many events unfolding. Drastic actions, last ditch efforts.

Means to escape the _Nightmare_.

"That maybe it. Indeed so." It was such an obvious conclusion that Oobleck honestly faulted himself for not thinking of it sooner. Perhaps if he had this would have been easier to deal with, possibly, maybe, perchance. "Logical in the very least, sound, though not proof, likely if nothing else."

"What is!?" Mr. Arc yelled towards him as he sliced through another creeper, leaping from the sands. Oobleck forgave his raise voice, as they were fighting for their lives, most likely. "Did you think of something? How to find Link and the others?" Though his mannerisms could use some work, as he was going to be a professional Hunter one day, hopefully, maybe. They needed to survive first. On such a note.

"Tael named the Grimm beast as the Nightmare," Dr. Oobleck began, ducking an oncoming swipe from a Lolith. Much smaller than previously seen in the mine, though still deadly. **BAM!** He hammered it away before talking to his students again. "Naming convention implies both motif of abilities and history, important distinction. Further importance given to nature understood by our language and idioms. Unlike previously discussed names. Not Dodongos, not Keese, _alike_ to Wolfos." That was the key distinction.

"I thought we were trying to figure out a _WAY to FIND the OTHERS!_ " Though his comment was needlessly rude, it was rushed for good reason. That is every word he emphasized was compounded by a swing of his blade. Two hits and one decapitation. A solid performance by Dr. Oobleck's measure in the circumstances.

"I'm sorry but… I don't understand," Ms. Nikos spoke in turn, though as she rammed her shield against on coming Nevermore strike. A flock of them, swiping past her as they flew by. She was wise to not lure them, focusing on the grounded opponents first. "Are you saying… that this _is_ a dream!" Her voice rose as she struck out with her lance, piercing an oncoming creeper. It fell with a cry, but she was already moving on. Truly a marvelous student, in combats at least. Academically, she was incorrect.

"Not quite, doubtful at least. Previous answer unchanged." Oobleck paused as he twisted his body, slamming his hammer down behind him, hoping the liquid within wouldn't be significantly jostled by the impact. He had less sympathy for the approaching Wolfo he reduced to a misty mush across the desert sands. "Wolfo name implies the structure of a wolf, much like a Beowolf. Naming convention common to four kingdoms originates from an old English Epic hero, named for similarities in structure. Indistinct heroic alignment, like appearance, unimportant. However, _very_ important when considering the naming convention of Hylian origins, the name Tael offered of the Grimm before its assault."

He paused again, the doctor miffed by the larger group of Grimm charging him in the midst of his lecture. Perhaps not a proper location for one, he would admit, but he was still in the midst of educating his students. So a lecture it would be, and they were interrupting him. Proper action had to be taken.

Proper action on the hands of the older Hunter included dodging the oncoming strike of the Beowulf, just before jumping over the lunging Ursa Major. A flip that was not purely defensive in nature. Pure stances were the doom of a battle. His was one of preparation. Or in this case, setting up for an attack.

 ** _BOOBAM!_** One that ended with him slamming his mallet into the side of the Ursa through his second flip.

The give of the blow told that the Grimm was as clearly dead, perhaps his compatriot next to him, but not even close to the others. The blow slowed his spin, however, leaving him time to observe the other Grimm currently charging at him. Or, in the case of the Lolith, Slashing at him.

Oobleck blocked the blow with the opposite side of his hammer, repositioning his hands to avoid a swipe at his distal digits. The impact, however, in his aerial position, forced him to the ground far faster than anticipated. That was to his benefit this time. It meant his boots hit the desert ground in time to give him something sturdy enough to supply a counter-force against, much better than the malleable air. Though desert sand was not gifted in its stability, it was far preferred in that regard.

And it allowed the good doctor to twist out of the way of two other of the Lolith's legs, counting another pair of Beowolf claws among them, just in time to raise his leg and kick the miniaturized head of the Grimm, distorting it. Such a break in time allowed him to swing his hammer about his head, spinning his body with it along the second rotation. It was already gaining a high force, but not high enough for what he wished.

 _Boom_! So, he activated the Fire Dust core of it, sending his hammer into a racketeering velocity. That was suitable for his attempt.

 **BAM** An attempt that began with hitting the head of the Beowolf he had dodged.

 **BAM** Following with the creeper that was attempting to swing in behind him.

 **BAAAAAM** Digging a Grammite out of the soft sand as it peeked up to bite at him.

 ** _BOOOOM_** And finally ending with a strong blow against the Lolith that he had disoriented, preferably along its hard carapace. The unwillingness to give was immediate evidence that he had struck his target, and for good reason.

The students may not be knowledgeable enough to understand that the hard-outer shell of the Lolith was both its benefit and detriment. It allowed for the Grimm to survive in much harsher conditions than most others, ranging from deep subterranean homes to dangerous high-altitude mountain ranges. IT gave them strong stability against high-force blows and otherwise decapitating strikes. The demerit, however, was in what they lost for it.

 ** _BANG_** As Oobleck's blows sent the Lolith sailing, it became rather clear what that loss was. Stability. The instability to right itself in the air, as it was thrown across the desert, or to stop itself from slamming into its fellow compatriots some distance away.

For a trained huntsman, it was a rather simple task to turn the otherwise durable Lolith into a veritable cannonball against other foes. Next to its demise, and the other Grimm he had outed during his quick assault, Oobleck found the quick moment to nod in approval for his move, before facing his students again. Mr. Arc and Ms. Nikos, both panting above the misted forms of their own felled Grimm, though a more favored pool next to Ms. Nikos.

"Where was I?" Dr. Oobleck asked for a moment, hoisting his hammer to his shoulder blade. Her Thermos still had liquid in it. Wonderful. "Ah yes, the naming convention. Importance for both appearance and ability." He watched his pair of students exchange a glance to one another, perhaps in confusion.

"Is this… really the time, professor?" Confusion, yes, but not the kind he was thinking of. Unfortunate. And he was called by his sub-profession. Deplorable. "Shouldn't we… don't we have to find everyone else still?"

"Doctor, Ms. Nikos," Oobleck lightly corrected. "And in the midst of a battle, it is important to know of our enemies' abilities. Others capable of defense. Have faith. So yes, quickly, assertively, it is important, vital, to understand. Such as the necessary question of where these Grimm have originated from? The Monument Mine, or previous location? This arid region, of unknown origin and specificity? Or perhaps the Nightmare itself, per otherwise specified abilities of previous Elder Grimm birthing and forming new Grimm through their mass and otherwise gargantuan structures."

"So, we're… what? I don't get _iiIIITT_." Dr. Oobleck watched, diligently, as Mr. Arc ducked mid-speech, narrowly avoiding a Lolith leg himself. He raised his shield to repel another one of its eight legs, sword piercing its vulnerable undercarriage in the same strike. He nodded approvingly at the display, truly the young man had improved. Remarkable, wonderful, necessary. "What _are_ we doing? Fighting _nightmares?_ "

Dr. Oobleck snapped his hand, pointing at the blonde man. The confusion on his face was evident, clear, obvious, but so was his own grin. The boy had spoken the answer without realizing it. Humorous, if obvious in though.

"Precisely such, Mr. Arc," Dr. Oobleck spoke, pausing for a moment in order to spin, slamming his fist into a smaller Nevermore, not wasting the effort of his hammer. Exhaustion still a present fear to be had. "Nightmares, terrors, worst case scenarios, all of them may be labeled as such. Grimm, manifestations unknown, likely formed from fears, worries, or other methods to create dissatisfying and negative emotions in humans."

"Because fear creates _fear!_ " Ms. Nikos shouted as she repealed a slashing Beowulf. Her words were correct.

"Correct! Absolute! Grimm formed from grim ideas. Terrors of the woods, hunters of sky, lurkers of the dark," the many nicknames referred to other Grimm. Most often quoted in children's tales. Common place for reality and fantasy to meld. Warnings mixed with suspense. Ozpin knew this well. Was taught as such by him. Oobleck was thankful for it. "So what of a Nightmare then?" The question was unnecessary.

Even with panting breaths, faces whipped by the warm breezes riddled with loose sand and harsh roars of the Grimm, the idea of fighting nightmares ruined their faces. The terror was clear in Mr. Arc's eyes, Ms. Nikos's one of far more worry. Neither positive, both expected.

"We're fighting literal _nightmares?!_ " The young man shouted again. Perhaps the question was necessary. Unfortunate. "But… B-Buuuagh!" He cut himself off as the sand erupted beneath him, a second after he had jumped back. Fine reflexes. Poor form. Still alive. Correction still needed.

"Nearly, Mr. Arc, very nearly," Dr. Oobleck spoke on. "Theory mind, unproven or tested, but the number of Grimm combined with odd movement and transport to unspecified expansive location gives credence. Perhaps manifestation of fear from Grimm, possessing an ability unique to its formation, such as Nevermore wings or Creeper tails."

"Do you… I'm sorry, but are you implying it read someone's mind to create this?" Ms. Nikos kept herself controlled as she spoke. Good on her, fine form. Correct as well.

"Very much so, Ms. Nikos," he offered, even as he lifted his hammer in the air, letting it drop back down on a Grammite that had attempted to sneak up on in. Ground was too uneven and unstable to make such a possibility. "No living off of fear, understanding of an idea that summons fear. To create more fear, creates an environment similar to fearful memory. Similar to positive feedback loop in human body. One response creating another response to strength the preceding response, and so forth." Common biology function.

"Then who's mind is it reading?" Her question was equally adequate to hear, even as she spun on her golden heel, the back end of her lance stabbing through one Grimm before launching her shield at another. Both hit their targets with no fault. Both Grimm destroyed. Did not lose her main source of defending from the Grimm either, her shield returning to her quickly on rebound.

"Inconclusive," Dr. Oobleck quickly returned. "Doubtful either of you, inexperienced with such arid climates due to history. Not fearful for myself, therefore unlikely me." He was familiar enough with their history as students to be aware of where they came from.

Though the question of whose mind was creating these images was still a valid curiosity to be answered, a wonder needing answer. Something was being fed into the supposed and metaphorical Grimm engine currently labeled as the Nightmare. Pure conjecture on form and function, but given one such person had knowledge of such an area, then the creation of such would be justified to give-

"What about them!?" The young man pointed beyond the professor with his sword, ignoring the Grimm still charging at him, them, and all.

Dr. Oobleck sighed. Mr. Arc was shouting his questions again, at a volume far above necessary even in the midst of a battlefield. Still, that did not mean it would be acceptable to ignore him. And so, in the small lull of combat with the Grimm, Oobleck turned in the direction of his blade. Ms. Nikos did as well.

In the distance, in the direction of the blades man, Dr. Oobleck saw another battle raging, one separate from their own. It was a battle of Grimm, and not merely more of the beasts charging towards them. It was obvious, even some distance away, given the number of Grimm charging towards the other side as well. Ignoring them, hurdling towards secondary contact point. Secondary battle meant non-Grimm members.

There were candidates to chose from there. Several.

A few were already plain to see, even against the wavy air rising from the heated desert sands.

"That's… Cardin?" Ms. Nikos proposed beside him, and she found her venture to be in range of acceptance. Far more so than assuming they were unassuming citizens of this undocumented and uncharted desert. "That has to be him! The others are probably fighting with him then!" Her self-assurance was clear. Though Oobleck found himself agreeing, he did so only after he considered what he saw in the distant troupe.

Perhaps it was due to the flying sparks in the sand, the backdrop of the dark bodied Grimm taking up an unsuitable amount of space in his vision, or the manner in which their numbers truly were not decreasing, but Dr. Oobleck could say that the Grimm were favoring the boy, but not the boy alone. For the Grimm to be drawn to him in a proportion equal to their own implied either a great fear in the boy, or the existence of other hunters beside him.

"Maybe… is Cardin the one who the Grimm is… I'm sorry for this, mind-reading?" The apology was unnecessary, but understandable. Such a childish term, though metaphorically accurate.

Cardin Winchester, however, had no history in desert regions such as Vacou. Dr. Oobleck had studied his history as well as the others joining Link and his companions on this journey. He was sure. So this was not his Nightmare being created.

That meant that the others were with him.

"Doesn't matter! We have to help him!" Dr. Oobleck saw Jaune already running forwards, pushing past a Grimm. _BANG!_ His partner silenced it a moment later. "We gotta reach them, now!" His desire to regroup was a tactical advantage. His desire to approach them, in the distance, was not.

"They must come to us, Mr. Arc," the doctor returned to the young man. Both he and his partner were shocked by the statement. **BANG!** Though he still needed to crush the head of the Ursa sneaking up on him. An overhead swing towards its cranium, preferably out of alignment with its cervical vertebrae, was preferred and executed.

"Professor, _WHAT_!" "Professor!" Though their cries back were far louder than he expected. Perhaps it was because they were both much closer to him now.

"Doctor, you two," he lightly cajoled the pair. Necessary until corrected fully. Further correction still necessary. "Further, a point to ponder. What would be best? Pursue the others away from centralized and land-marked location? Or wait for their approach to finish and join with us?" It was a simple question.

But the worried expression of the two, laced with hints and facial tics of surprise, did not change. He sighed, even as he swung his thermos again, hitting a swooping Nevermore.

"They are clear approaching us, and therefore will reach us. Not in danger, not in need, no more than we are." In truth, it wasn't a complete guarantee, circumstantial. The students, perhaps as a testament to their growing ability to think quickly, thought much the same.

"How do you know they aren't?" Ms. Nikos spoke up. "Cardin may be strong, but he's not strong enough on that many Grimm! I'm sorry, but I've fought him enough to know that." Alone, doubtlessly correct.

"Pyrrha's right!" Mr. Arc joined his partner. Good to see he was helping her as well. "He's gonna get over run like that! We've got to help him before-" Both of them were missing the point. Disappointing, but easily correctable.

"He is not alone, as we have established." Conjecture at best, truthfully, but superior to assuming against visual ques and established facts. "Approach has been swift thus far, and will reach us soon. Poor idea to risk position near landmark without true cause for concern."

"We are being attacked by freaking _countless_ Grimm in the middle of a freaking Grimm-created mindscape, separated from everyone else and without an idea of who's where, _except for Cardin!_ " The panic was getting the young man. Ms. Nikos's worried expression was clear. Disappointing, but understandable once more. This was no the Emerald Forest or Foreverfall, no near connection to society or backup. "This is the _exact_ time to take risks for the others that-!"

"I-I think I see Penny!" Ms. Nikos's words silenced Mr. Arc in a moment.

"Guh?!" His noise of confusion was clear of that, though Dr. Oobleck looked as well.

MS. Nikos's eyes did not trick her, as he could also see the near signature, that is copious amounts of, blades belonging to Ms. Polendina. They were swimming through the air via the electrically conductive wires they were attached to. Marvelous feat of engineering, a superb display of newer tools and form of weaponry culling the otherwise unstoppable Grimm horde.

And her skills were well displayed with the blades, compounded by the numerous Grimm that were being thrown away from her and Mr. Winchester, the boy weaving between her to deliver his own savage blows to the Grimm that approached. The booms of his mace, savage as the tool was, were nigh impossible to ignore.

Still though, satisfactory to see the remaining students present, aside from Mr. Lark. Perhaps he was with them, buried metaphorically beneath the sand being kicked up by the fight. Presumably, or free from the Nightmare's initial strike. Beneficial news regardless, for now.

"I'm sorry Jaune, but I'm sure she's someone who can help Cardin reach _US!_ " She shouted, in the same time she twisted and threw her lance like a javelin. It skewered the Nevermore descending towards them, letting gravity return her lance to her. An excellent form once more. "A-And Doctor Oobleck's right, we have to stay by the tower!"

The young man didn't respond to his partner, not aside from panting breaths and gazing at the tower behind them. It was something that needed only a glance to notice, but likely years of staring to truly ascertain the scope of, discounting the high populace of Grimm present within and without.

The tower was something they had to assess, deal with, perhaps destroy. The Grimm were making a clear indication that they favored the tall structure, odd given the otherwise uneven ground of the desert and arid region. Currently unimportant, secondary feat to be considered later. Towers may be fearful to some, but fear originated more from creatures or occupants currently housed or dwelling within such structures. The beasts attacking them, and the others, were likely those currently housed. Still, it left many implications.

Implications that grew when Oobleck looked towards the sands behind them, in the opposite direction of the tower, towards the slowly approaching Mr. Winchester and Ms. Polendina.

Ah, Dr. Oobleck had to amend his own thoughts. It appears they were not alone.

"I-I see Winter with them too a-and… is that Tatl?" Mr. Arc finally spoke evenly, his blade pointing towards the group. And Dr. Oobleck had to agree. The small ball of light billowing through the curtain of sand and battle did appear to have a dramatically similar appearance to the fae. Given the high improbability of finding another fairy such as her, colored the same, and in this odd location, it was a logical conclusion to reach. A fine one at that.

"They will reach us soon," Dr. Oobleck concluded once more. "For now, we must now find the others. Search, defend, and hold." Simple commands, but difficult execution.

**ROOOOO** **_AAAAAAAAAA-_ **

A thought compounded by the roar of terror that shook all the sand beneath his feet. His, the students, and the Grimm around them. It was far more than any singular Grimm should have been capable of, something that was far beyond the power of most activities even to humanity.

Neither Mr. Arc nor Ms. Nikos questioned what the sudden impact was, nor the roar of the supposed source. He only glanced to see that the Grimm they had been jousting with had subdued themselves, still circling and approaching but with a lost of vigor. The students, conversely, were still and looking into the distance of the desert, perhaps at some acute angle to the approaching group of Ms. Schnee, Ms. Polendina, Mr. Winchester, and Tatl.

A glance of his own showed him, once more, that the student's gawked focus was understandable. It was, after all, a natural response of the human mind to marvel and study large and imposing objects. Mountains, valleys, towers, forests, and other feats of nature.

The serpentine beast that swam through the distant air like water certainly qualified.

**ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-**

As did the bouts of fire that were erupting from its maw.

Dr. Oobleck was conflicted upon the sight. For one, it was a Grimm that appeared to be almost similar in nature to the water-dragons that haunted many open waters, easily dispatching merchant and civilian ships with their brutalist nature, compounded by their immense size. And like all Grimm, to truly ascertain the full nature of the beast required studying it in person and in depth, usually in battle.

But on the other hand, it affirmed a conclusion he reached he truthfully hoped he'd be disproven on.

This truly was a nightmare.

**_ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAA-_ **

* * *

When Link regained thought following the attack of the Nightmare, he and Darmani were awash, alone, in a sea of light.

His mind immediately thought of the Sacred Realm, glimpses of the eternal and sacred realm for all to be kept peaceful and content. A moment in the realm, however, showed it was not the case, and memories of the attack of the Nightmare followed soon after. It was only after he concluded that the Nightmare was behind this, the beast that Tael had named before it had lunged, that he knew he needed to speak to someone else. Darmani agreed.

So, with an exchange of faces, Darmani's memories left him. In their place, the ideas and training of Impa took steed. It changed little around them, at first, and only showed the same endless light, this time being observed by a warrior of the dark. Irony was not lost, neither was any truth with Impa's truth-seeing eye.

But they did not see anything in the void, not at first. Not when they were waiting for something to come at them, or someone to speak to them, as was so often and common in the Sacred Realm. Impa had to remind Link that this was not the case, as no monster would bring them to the sacred place. He knew her memories were right.

They were made even more so when the desert warped into existence.

They were made absolute when the tower was summoned around him.

For only a moment, and a scant one at that for even Impa's honed reflexes and Link's keen senses, they had a chance to gaze at the desert. It was a desert both recognized, long and vast, hot and arid, devoid of life, a wasteland of ghosts. It was all Link needed to see, as he had seen it many times before. Impa had seen it only a few, but she recognized it as well.

So it was for that quick glance that Link felt a shiver of recognition for the walls that grew and encapsulated him. There were no others structures in the Wasteland that he knew of, him or Impa, but the one he was in now. It was the tower from which many evils were conjured, many criminals executed, and final fights to end wars raged. A few he had fought himself, and one that Impa had no pleasure to think of. Link had the same feeling for them.

That was what they realized moments after the tower surrounded them, dark tan walls slipping them into the dark. It was Impa that guided them through the walls then, slowly guiding him on how to sneak through the maze of stone. His mask of stone should have worked, but neither he nor Impa knew if it would be the same in a terror that was created from his own mind.

Impa's eye of truth saw only that this was not as real as they hoped, but Link could not see the purpose of the illusion. Fear was the mind killer, as Impa and the Shiekah were often to teach and employ, but monsters favored the fear of the attack, not the slow build of suspense. That was best left for the horrors that pretended to be monsters, until they became just that. It was a twisted maze of stone and questions that Link and Impa had found themselves within.

Impa's hands, calloused in her memories and no different as Link's body wore them for new life, glided across the stone as her feet near silently let her drift through the halls. Her body was low, red eyes focused and looking for trouble, at the same time her ears perked and listened for anything approaching.

The dimness of the light did not help, though Impa suffered far less from it than Link had. She had wondered if Darmani would be best to bring back out, as these were walls of stone and granite, but Link remembered that the Goron would wish for a fight, and he had no idea on what a Nightmare was. Not without Tatl to give him guidance on its history. HE was sure she would know something, and Impa was kind to agree, her memories favorable, if a bit jaded, regarding the fae.

It felt as if hours passed as they climbed through the tower, sticking close to walls and stopping every few dozen steps to ensure there were no lurking beasts waiting to attack them. A small knife in her free hand, eyes unblinking in the dark, they had at worst so far only seen the larger of the monster's crawl by, phantoms of beasts that were too large for Link to recognize, and told Impa they were too difficult to fight evenly. None of it was helped by the knowledge that they were still within in a maze.

A maze that was not helped by three damning circumstances.

The first was inevitable, even if it was still detestable. The stone of the tower was a good medium to feel the shaking of battle outside its walls, rumbling with every harsh crack against it, shifting as monsters clawed over the exterior walls, and raining dust, dirt, and sand down as explosions rattled outside. Link thought for only a moment of who it was, but both he and Impa were aware that the others were fighting. He was annoyed that they were fighting and he couldn't assist.

Impa was kind, as her memories often were, to remind him that they could not leave this tower yet, not in a way to assist that would not also damn them. The monsters _had_ to be coming from this tower, as they had in both his memories and hers. But to destroy a wall to push forward an exit would be to unleash a flood of monsters upon those outside, possibly damning them without a saving grace. The truth of the statement, however, was only made worse when Link reminded her that they could not be sure that was already happening. It was a matter of the risk overpowering the reward.

The second was the constant life that lurked in the tower. Link had knowledge that towers like this in locations as remote as the desert, often held vile lives like monsters and marauders. Even now Impa's ears could hear the roaring, scratching, and tearing that was the beasts lurking within the halls. He was wary of them as she guided them through the twisted chambers, always stopping to ensure they were never about to walk in front of a beast, a monster that would call for friends.

Impa believed it would be a non-issue to deal with them, but Link had several memories of his own of the monsters calling for aid with their dying breaths, summoning forth monsters and terrors that could rend the tower and overpower them in the tight spaces of the Spire. She heeded his words, even in their currently shared mind, as she was the one who had passed from the world, not him.

The third issue was both favorable and damning. His companions.

"Are we still o-okay?" Tael's soft voice, accompanied by a soft ring of his wings. "Nothing dangerous yet, right?" The darker fairy lurked over her shoulders, the light of its body almost blinding, but the softness and wary nature of the forest fairy keeping it dim as the halls they scurried through. "I-I-I still can't see anything."

"Nothing has changed yet," Impa spoke in response, they were still searching through a maze that had grown around them. "We still have to go up, and we can't afford to stop for much longer." Because every moment wasted was a moment that the students and others outside were in harm.

Tatl was among their number, making the idea of hesitation unacceptable. Impa had no argument for Link's dedication. She never had.

"I don't know if… I don't know how much more there is." Impa did not either. Link did not recognize the length of the halls. They were familiar in color in shape, but not with their bends and twists. Even the stairs felt crooked, made of stone as they were. "But there's got to be a-an end, right? I mean, we can't climb forever."

"No, we won't," Impa agreed. "Because we must find whatever is lurking at the end of this maze."

It was a fact that Impa and Link had no proof existed, nothing but their memories of the frequency of it being true.

Impa seeing her beloved princess held captive upon the highest point of the arid land, kept away from all approach by the heat of the sands, whipping of the winds, and monsters of the loose and shifting deep.

Link finding the kings and demons that often made the lifeless land their home, taking it from the Gerudo who fought for the little life they had, but often losing before any Hylian army could march to assist, or giving up in the hopes to escape. It was always at the top that the terrors lurked, he knew, because it was where they could see the true vastness of their dead kingdom.

So up they would go, until they found the terror responsible for it all.

"How are you _seriously_ sure of that?" The boy that spoke was not helping.

Impa stopped, what had to be the dozenth time for the boy alone, to turn and stare at him. Sky Lark, the member of Team CRDL that had both been a fine show of improvement, but a lackluster display of performance in all other categories. Blame could easily fall on Cardin alone, as Link was often to think but Impa had yet to see real effort from the young man, aside from when his life was in danger and no other options were present. Even then, he had chosen to hide high. Link recalled that as well.

Now, however, there was no where to hide in a tower that was ruled, possibly Impa amended, by a monster that was in a cage of its own for longer than either of them could reasonably guess. So, because there was no where to hide, the boy that Link and Impa had found in the void followed with shaking eyes, trembling limbs, and chattering teeth.

He did not look well. Link and Impa both knew what was the cause.

"No, _seriously_ , how are you so sure there is something _up there?_ " He pointed upwards with the question as his voice hissed, thankfully wary enough to not scream in the dark of the tower. "I'm not gonna pretend I'm half as smart as you, _either_ of you I guess, b-but don't Grimm stay below ground? You know, like the freaking _monster_ we just found?"

Link noted that there was a genuine lack of understanding with his question. Impa could only recall that compared to the meek boy that followed Cardin's orders, he had become far more vocal and resolute, though with a lack of respect. Terror was clearly seeping into his mannerisms and logic. Link couldn't deny it, as he had seen it many times. Impa's memories, vast and centuries long, far outnumbered his.

"We are going up, Sky, because that were the monsters so often try and hold themselves in abandoned towers such as this." She kept her voice low, tired of explaining it. Link's patience bled into her memories, keeping her calm for the student. "Even if the beast that did this lies under the tower, we must go up so that we can find a possible exit which can lead us to the others. There will be no exit if we go further into the ground."

"Y-Yeah, but… but do you even _need_ them?" That was a new question, and one that Impa had to calm Link's spike of anger at the insinuation. "Cause you're like the strongest Huntress I've ever seen. Shit, I mean… the rest of the guys in the lockers freaking call you the _super Faunus_." Link was thankful for the patience, even if Impa was perplexed by the response. But the conversation was already long enough. They couldn't hold for much longer.

Another beast was coming. Impa could hear its claws grind on the stone as it made its way down a nearby hallway.

"L-Link!" Tael must have sensed the monster's approach as well, as he hopped on Impa's shoulder for attention.

"Sky," she spoke his name again, trying to keep her voice neutral aware of what would happen to a boy who was terrified something to be scared of. "You have to be quiet, _now_." Her voice hissed as well.

It was not what the boy wanted to hear. His already worried face morphed into one of conflicted anger.

"Why?" He spoke, voice growing in volume. That was bad. "I-I get monsters are coming, but you're so _damn strong!_ Just kill them so we can get out of here and away from this damn place!" He was nearly yelling.

Link's memories reached for the sword on Impa's back, her own memories halting the draw. To draw a blade was to invite battle, but they couldn't find here, they had agreed on it. Sky was only making a problem when there didn't need to be one.

"Just fight them!" He was yelling again. That was far enough. "Just-!" He spoke no more.

Not when Impa's hand, strong enough to swing the blades of the Gorons and guard the Royal Family, gripping his mouth shut.

Her sharp red eyes stared at him, speaking volumes louder than his already too loud words. The boy didn't muffle or beg under her reproachful stare, remaining stiff as the stone beneath them. Though he quieted, Impa did not release him.

The monster was approaching.

She turned her gaze towards the beast, feeling Tael dart behind her back and Sky shiver in her grip. Impa ignored them, staring at the monster as it lurched by. Link watched for its claws, its tools for destruction, anything that would show it was getting ready to attack. Impa watched the eyes, that of a crimson red deeper than her own, rich as blood. If they saw her, they would know.

For a harsh moment, the beast stopped in the junction of the halls, probably within knife's throw distance away. It raised a snout into the air, searching for a scent that Impa was praying it wouldn't find. Link was already preparing on what to do should it attack, Impa let him. Sky and Tael didn't move beyond shivers as it did so.

It growled, it lurched, it shifted in place.

Then it dragged itself down the halls again, the stone echoing its departure, just as it continued to rumble with the battle that waged outside the tower and out of sight. Impa waited for it to leave, nearly a full minute, before looking back down at Sky.

Impa looked at the boy, at the child that was distant at best and apathetic at worst. The boy that she had ignored, and Link had not noted, because his leader was louder, larger, and more damaging to those around him. She looked at the boy she had admittedly missed, because she focused on the problem that was larger and more vocal to her and others. Now the problem was presenting itself again.

Now the boy was looking up at her, weeping, with Tael on her shoulder and equally unsure of what to do. Slowly, carefully, Impa removed her hand from the boy's mouth, the terror that was lurking the halls having passed. Link had checked and Impa was sure.

"Sky," she began, Link reminding her that he was not a recruit for the Hyrule Military. Not the same, in the least. "I understand you are scared." That was as far as she got.

"Scared? _Scared?_ I was scared when you thrashed Cardin into the ground while giving him a reason-he-sucks speech!" Impa recalled the talk, but neither she nor Link could recall such a brutal lecture, so named by Sky.

But the boy was getting too loud. Link was already wary.

"I don't even _know_ what I am now! We were in a mine a-and I was using my Sky Box to light up the place and you saw that stupidly huge sword in the ground and then… then I don't even _know what the hell!_ " Impa watched, Biggoron's Blade tight in her hand yet over her shoulder, as Sky fell further and further into the madness of panic.

Monsters were either starting to shift their routes or sensed something wrong. The fear of the boy must have been attractive, and his words were only sending him deeper into those pits. Link wasn't sure how to drag him out.

"I just wanted ta get in the extra credit with this fer Cardin so we can brag about it later, but now we're freaking _fighting for our lives_ , and hiding from the _deadliest freaking Grimm_ I've ever _seen!_ And in their own home! You don't even want to fight them because you're so scared!" Her senses were dulling if he thought those statements were true.

She had seen it before, and Link knew where. He had felt it, but he had recovered, Impa knew how. It was not something the boy could do, nor something they could explain. Link tried to think of a manner to calm the boy, but ultimately, Impa had been the instructor for the Hylian Army for many years, and this was not the first child looking to become a knight she had seen.

Impa of the Shiekah would know what to do.

_Smack!_

Link of Hyrule second guessed the memories for their suggested, and committed, action.

Sky Lark quivered beneath them now, trembling hand on his hot cheek. Impa's hand was sideways to his face, her eyes focused on his even as he stared with a wet gaze of his own. She did not comment it, and Link only noted it. He was skeptical now, but he had little luck in calming those who traveled with him. Impa was a leader who trained the knights of Hyrule for generations, including himself.

"Are you focused now, Sky Lark?" Her voice asked as her eyes beckoned. "I understand you are terrified, worried even. It would be odd if you were calm in a situation such as this, for anyone." Link did not include himself in that number. Destiny was on his side, and Impa was kind to agree still.

The boy swallowed as she spoke, and she gave him a moment to. Tael jumped off her shoulder, shifting ahead, doubtlessly to scout. Link gave his friend a glance, assuring himself he'd be okay. Impa wouldn't let him leave if he wasn't.

"This is not ordinary, and I understand that. But it is what is happening, and wishing for the drastic to happen will only bring about equal consequences." Impa spoke as she had to many others, but Link did not agree with her words. Neither did the boy, by the way he had yet to shift away from his horrified expression.

So, Link took over.

"At times like this, you don't look for the best way to fight, but the best way to escape," he explained, as he had done in the past. "Once we do escape, we will be able to find the others. When we find the others, then we will be able to fight. And if we all fight together, then we will win. It is just that simple."

The boy's expression softened, perhaps needing to hear the assurance of survival Impa guessed. Link agreed with her.

"We _are_ looking for the monster that likely made this place, but not in a way that would make us fight it and all the others together." Link made sure to emphasize that point. This was not a war fought in a single battle. "If we do find that monster, we are going to fight it with the numbers on our side. If we make too much noise now, every beast in the tower will come to us, and likely the Nightmare as well."

Tael gave a soft ring in time with the name. Link was sure it was because he was still terrified of the tale. He had yet to speak it at any great length, mainly due to the inability to speak at this point. Sky was nodding his head at least, so it was working. Impa remained patient as Link continued to borrow her voice.

"I promise you Sky, that I _will_ get you out of here, but you must help me do so at the same time, alright?" He put Impa's hand on the boy's shoulder, earning his pathetic gaze.

He looked ready to cry, and Impa was more impressed he hadn't done so yet already. Truly the lazy ones were the cowards. Link didn't disagree, but he did remind her he was a literal hundredth of her age. The memories chortled at the reminder.

"O-Okay," the boy let out, shaking but far quieter than before. "Yeah I… I got it, yeah. Sorry about before just… just sorry, really." He was nodding at the words, avoiding eye contact. Impa was glad to see it, recognizing guilt when she saw it.

"It is forgiven," Impa's memories took back control of her voice. "But now we must find a way out, and if you follow me as you have, we will surely find it soon." For the creatures to leave the tower at all there had to be an exit, and Link found it impossible that even a tower made as a maze would keep them truly held within.

If the monsters could leave the tower, and they assumingly were by the constant fighting outside, then there had to be a way for them to leave as well. The only needed to find it. Link had crawled through many dungeons before and Impa was one who was trained in the shadows. Together, even with the trail of Sky and Tael, they knew they could find the way out. It was only a matter of time.

"Hey, Link," Tael called to him. "I think I found something. I-I looks like the exit."

That was far faster than _either_ of them thought.

"H-Huh?" Sky spoke up first, the noise of surprise filled with an elation that Link heard from many saved souls. "Your serious? That's serious?" Impa knew she had to quell it.

"Calm yourself, Sky," she instructed again, patting his shoulder with a low breath. Her attention retuned to the fairy, dark and bobbing only some distance away. He was plain to see in the darkened halls, and her other senses could see nor hear any other monsters nearby. Nearby in a relative sense.

If the fairy had found something, it had to be investigated quickly.

"Tael," she spoke on approach. "How are you certain that whatever you've found is the way out?" She asked with whispers of breath, taking large lunges forward, followed closely, very closely, but Sky. The fairy rang with its response, a soft chime more fitting for wind than a fae.

"Because… because it's a door." That was a good start. "A-And I can feel something coming from it. Like wind, I mean. I mean the wind." That was even better, as he and his sister were a lot more sensitive to the wind as well.

Her steps still soft, Sky a louder echo behind her, trailing at the pace he could best use to match her, Impa creeped towards the fairy. She listened for the way off monsters as she approached, careful to not make more noise than necessary, defiantly no more than the rumbling of the walls from the battle outside. So far, they had been lucky.

It was that luck that told Link that this exit that Tael found likely was not that. Another way forward, he was sure, but surely no exit. His luck had never been so blessed and he found it difficult it would change now, trapped in a tower of the Nightmare's making and with a terrified child following him. Impa had to agree, as she was already dead.

Still, Link stilled Impa's body as they reached Tael, the stone around them little different. He turned the Shiekah's red eyes to the wall the fairy flittered next to, gazing at what the fairy saw. There was indeed a door, of that the fairy was correct.

But gazing at it, he only wished that the darker fairy had a bit of his sister's attentiveness for detail.

It wasn't just a door, like the entrance to a new room or even a way out. It was an ornate door that looked out of place on an otherwise decrepit and shadow cast hallway. The sharp eyes of Impa could trace the lines of gold that littered the door, matched by the shimmering rubies and emeralds that filled the gaps between. The shaping of the structure was immaculate enough to make Impa wonder if it was chiseled from the gold itself, ignoring Link's statement of the requirement to smelt a metal.

His eyes, however, were on the thin crack running up the length of the doorway, reaching forward with Impa's hand to caress it. Even with a thin layer of cloth over her digits, the Shiekah could feel the soft whistling of a breeze through the cracks of the door. It was Link who could recall the type of wind. A harsher and coarser breeze than that which came through the forest. Far warmer as well, as to be expected from the desert. But not one that would come up from any lower floor.

Tael was right, it had to lead outside.

Impa felt foolish, though Link found it humorous. They were due some good luck after the terror of this event starting, and the ordeal of the week leading up to it. If nothing else, perhaps it would help calm the boy.

"The exit?" The hope was in his voice again at least. So was the volume, unfortunately. "That is it!" It looked like his sense was leaving with it as well."

"Sky, calm down," Impa spoke lightly to the boy again, her voice still a whisper, but harsh as necessary. "We still need to-"

_Smack-_ _**SLAM!** _

Link and Impa, likely Tael as well, both stared agape at the doors as they were swung open with a force to echo through the halls. The bells of the Temple of Time were quieter than the roar of the doors as they were opened, and likely called a smaller crowd. It was something horrible that Link was sure Tael was ringing of now. But both he and Impa could only stare at something else.

Stare at the figure of Sky running through the doors and up the stairs behind.

"SKY!" Link yelled with Impa's voice. The roar of monsters echoed through the halls. Tael joined them as well, darting forward through the door. There was no other option then.

Impa took off up the stairs, running with swinging arms. The stones cracked beneath her feet as she powered forward, jumping steps at a time and keeping her eyes focused ahead. Dust billowed behind her as she ran, even as she found herself running headlong into the trail Sky left behind. He was no knight, hardly so, but it appears his speed was something to be admired, though she'd never seen it.

He was ahead of her, given his head start and lack of hesitation once he created the booming noise of the golden doors. It was a spout of anger that made Impa snarl, sure that she would cut off a finger of the boy's hand for risking their lives like this. But she didn't catch up to him, by instinct and request.

Link bade her not to use the abilities of Ruby as she did so, because that would put them past Sky in an instant. And if they did that, there would be no protection for him from the monsters that were coming. Coming as they both heard the ripping stone and cries of hunger from behind them. Impa was aware, though she was angry.

She couldn't let the monsters get to Sky. Not before she punished him first.

Impa continued her swift approach behind the boy, gaining on him even as she heeded Link to not surpass him. She knew not to as an instructor as well, even if the desire to was there. It was the same for Link, amplified by the howls that roared up from behind them. But he was a boy that was scared, and they were the ones who had been here before. Tael followed him all the same, sure that he was safe as well.

They were the ones who had fought across the sand, in the tower, against the monsters, and with the face of evil gazing down upon them. Both knew the horror that brought and were aware that it was not something all could endure. Link understood, Impa the same, but only one had the patience to keep from punishing the boy as he ran ahead. Ran ahead, smacked a higher wall ahead of him.

And flooded the stairwell with light.

Impa raised her hands, the onslaught of the sun temporarily blinding her and the sensitive eyes of Truth. But she didn't stop her ascent, only slowed. She could not stop as the monsters still approached.

She ran up, feeling the wind increase in speed as she did so, the freshness of the air rising as did the temperature with it. The wind wasn't just getting harsher though, but louder. Loud enough that for a few scant seconds, it was more deafening than the howl of the beasts behind them. Impa blinked away the glaring sun, popping her ears so she and Link could hear again. And when she did, she saw the expanse before her.

The top of the tower.

The high sky above.

And the endless sands that coated Link's dreams, and Impa's final moments.

It was a sight that was breath-taking, worthy of a painter's brush and time spent on every shifting land. A sea of sand that shifted like the waves in reverse, carried by the wind and devoid of life. The antithesis to the lakes the Zora inhabited and the oceans that life began against. A place that was filled with warmth, yet chased away all those near, and one that he could still hear the battles fighting across.

A land Link knew well, and one that Impa had guarded against, until the end of her life. It was one that she had never had the time to appreciate. She still didn't, and Link had already seen it all before. Instead, Impa's red eyes sought out the boy she was chasing, ignoring Tael's frantic rings for a bare moment.

" _SKY!_ " Impa yelled the boy's name, the monsters still approaching from behind. The boy didn't turn to her, which was a mistake Link could not excuse. " _Look_ at me _Sky Lark!_ " She barked the command with a rage, just as she had done to many recruits behind Hyrule's walls. Only once before on the field of battle. " _Are you tired_ of running _now?_ Now after you've sent the _monsters_ after us!?"

"Link!" Tael rang above their heads, but Impa told them to ignore the fairy. HE was of sound mind, clearly and apologies could be given later. The boy needed to focus, as his previous actions showed he clearly was not.

"You have to gain _control_ of yourself, Lark!" Impa roared again, already reaching out for the boy's shoulder, ready to haul him away. They were out of the tower, but the monsters were still coming.

But just as concerning, the boy was not turning, he was merely gazing ahead, ignoring Impa as she finally stood beside him. Link was annoyed as the Royal General was, but he knew not the best words or actions. There were none, only close seconds.

"Link, Impa, I s-s _eriously_ need you to focus!" Right command, wrong body.

"Yes! _Focus_ , Sky!" Impa yelled again. "Your leader is fighting across the desert sands below us and _your_ actions may have put them and _us_ in further jeopardy!" Despite the accusation, one that would make many recruits shiver in dread, the boy did not turn. "As fear turned you from the wind to an armos? Have you nothing to do now, to _say?!_ " If he said nothing, then she would throw him from the tower. Better than then hope he would flee further, still as he was.

A growl left Impa's lips, turning towards the direction the boy was facing, making it easier to throw him forwards without disorienting him. She wanted him safe, so she could injure him without risk.

But before she could wrench her arm forwards, thrusting the boy over the edge of the tower and to the sands below, Impa saw what he did, something she was not even aware was there for a moment. She couldn't' see what she wasn't focused on, and Link was much the same, not when they were focused on surviving.

They missed the figure standing on the tower's edge, a thing that looked more of smoke and shadows than any true shape. Swirls of ethereal dark wisps rising and vaporizing from its body, coating it in both smoke and flame. It did not react as Impa stared at it, it didn't do anything at first.

Link did not recognize the monster, and a monster it clearly was. Impa was the same, and the truth of both their memories was a large ordeal for the other. Not in Impa's many centuries had she seen a monster like this before. And Link throughout all his travels and adventures had not seen something as mysteriously wicked as this.

"I-I tried to tell you," Tael rang beside them, drifting until it clucked at the alabaster fabric about Impa's neck. Link recalled he had to apologize to the fairy now, as he was doubtlessly trying to get their attention for this. It was no longer necessary, but he was still thinking of what was best to do.

Link used Impa's ears to hear, straining them to comprehend anything else around them. A noise that would tell what the creature was, a spark of some fire to alert them of coming danger, something to show him what to do next. Instead, a voice reached her ears, one that Link heard as well. But it as not Sky Lark's, nor was it the ringing tune of Tael.

It was… wrong.

"I believe that child is terrified of what he beholds." Impa's gaze grew with the harsh, dark, and deep words that rolled from the figure. "It is the same as what you feel now."

Now Sky reacted, though Link and Impa had no words for him. The boy fell backwards, landing on his rear and pushing away across the stone top of the tower. By instinct or desire, Link stepped in front of him with Impa's legs, she had no argument. Instead, she only added to grip the blade that hung from her back.

The monster spoke, spoke as so few of them did. The few that could were those that were strong, capable, and _smart_. All the things she needed to be now. That began with trying to learn of what this monster of smoke and illusions was.

"Your wariness is expected, Burdoner." Burdoner? Impa tried to recall what the title could mean. But neither she nor Link were aware of it. "And I am truly glad to see that you hold yourself in such a regard. It would be a pity if I wasted a century's worth of hatred on a lost and lonely soul." Link grit his teeth. Impa knew why.

"Wh-What?" Tael rang beside him. Sky was still whimpering, though Link payed attention to it, only to know where the boy was. "W-What are you?"

The creature didn't answer, not at first. Instead, Link watched carefully though Impa's eyes as the figure shifted in a grander way that vanishing tendrils of smoke that lazily swayed and fell from its 'body'.

"When I last crafted a world of illusions for others to get lost, I never intended to be found."

Impa narrowed her gaze, cracking the top of the Biggoron's sword from its sheath, ready to swing it the moment she or Link saw where to strike.

"Before I was sealed away, I was the terror that starved the oceans and made the sky cry in fear."

Link saw dots of red appearing through the smoke and haze that was the figure's body. Eyes, had to be eyes, but too small and too covered by the trailing smoke to be anything more but an intimidation tactic. The continued whimpering and hyperventilation of the boy behind them spoke of its success.

"I was the one that shared in deeds and wrath with gods above, trapping even the ones that ruled the wind in an enteral sleep. A rest for me to feed on."

Tael was ringing again, _much_ louder than before.

"I-I-It's him! It's it! It's… It's it!" His words were as panicked as Sky. Sardonically, Impa was thankful there were no more doors to slam open. Link, however, turned a gaze to the fairy, watching his dark companion and long-time friend bob in the air up and down at high frequency, and terror. "That's it! That's the sword, the seal for it, _everything!"_ Link was prepared to ask what his friend meant.

But the rolling laughter from the figure stole conversation away. Stole it and ripped it as it made the tower beneath them shake and tremble. Link bent Impa's knees, only Impa's caution keeping him from drawing her blade, unsure if it would lead to a fight that weren't ready for. Not yet.

"I am glad one of you knows of me." The dark figure continued to speak almost cordially. It was not a tone Impa or Link were thankful for. Madness would be preferred. "After millennia in wait, I feared I'd be forgotten."

"Tael?" Link finally questioned aloud, coaxing his friend to speak. With a quick spray of dust and ring from his wings, the fairy did just that.

"The story! I-It's how the story ended!" The tale of the Nightmare. Link did not know it well. Impa had not told it many years, likely as many as Link. "High atop a tower, barred and guarded by monsters of the dark and creatures of the deepest terrors, it waits for one the one to approach and cast off the dream with the instruments of Power!" Link didn't know what those were. Neither did Impa.

But they did know that the figure was aware. Aware by the continued chuckling of the dark mass, holding itself back like a ruler more than a monster, appearing to be a bit of both even. It was not a comparison Impa was fortunate to make. It was one that only steel Link's nerves, hardened under a fiery rage.

"There are no instruments here now, Burdoner." The odd title came again, but still no history for it. Only a name that followed with the wispy words of the monster. "Nothing to wake and dispel the illusion. Nothing to drag back the far-off plains of your mine and world."

The tower was shaking again. This time, without laughter from the figure.

**ROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-**

This time, as a glance behind him showed, it was from the dragon that clawed through the sky. A dragon that Link knew well, and felt horror rising at the sight.

"No means to wake you from this Nightmare."

* * *

 **BAM!** "Big mistake messing with me!" Cardin shouted as his mace swung through an Ursa, or what was left of it. **BAM! BAM!** His mace went off twice more, destroying any remains of the Ursa from the desert. Not even streaks of black were left over when his smoke dissipated and sand fell, not that he stayed to watch.

He twisted on his heel, the sand beneath him churning as he raised his mace above his head again. The Beowulf that had snuck up behind him slashed towards him, its claws hitting his chest plate. A Grimm equal to him in size, weaker in strength, and shorter in reach, hit the most heavily fortified part of his body. Cardin smiled down at the Grimm.

He didn't care of his smirk was feral, he was fighting Grimm that were attacking them for the _fun_ of it.

**BANG-BOOOM!**

It was only fair that he got a little joy from killing monsters, monster he was being trained to kill. Besides, at this point, this was just therapy. After running top speed through a desert thanks to the Older Schnee girl and having to fight a freaking _endless_ wave of Grimm, it was nothing but pure joy to kick the crap and snot out of some of the littler fries in the Grimm horde.

Now he could just _realize the terror of how he wasn't making any gains against the monsters, because they didn't stop coming. He was taking hits, they were growing bodies, and he wouldn't be able to last long enough to stop them all. This was going to be an impossible fight_.

"GUH!" Cardin lurched forward, forcing air into his lungs.

His fist pounded on his chest plate, poorly trying to get his gut to relax, for his chest to open up. He felt like he was just thrown into cold water and had the air pushed out of him to double up on it. Then forced to look up as someone was laughing down at him.

But when he looked up, all he saw were more Grimm, more enemies, and a sense of _dread he couldn't shake_.

"The hell was that?"

* * *

"Hyaa!" Jaune yelled out, a habit he was _trying_ to break, as he spun his sword backwards. The read of his blade sliced into a Lolith's leg. Good thing it was that kind of Grimm, because anything else and it would've just been a flesh wound. Instead, he cut off two of its legs. "Not done yet!" He yelled out, more for himself than anything else.

Even with his breath coming out in hot pants, sweat drenching his jeans and coat, he dashed forward just as the spider Grimm stared to fall back. He raised his blade up, ready to swing it down…

Only realizing half-way through that the Grimm was spinning away so he'd just hit the bony white carapace, doing nothing to it. Realizing that meant he had to do something else fast! He thought for a moment, then two, then-

_SCHLICK!_

His blade struck home, point down, through the open maw of the Lolith.

It didn't even have a chance to gurgle before smoke began to billow out around his sword, the clear-cut sign that it was dead. The pun would be fully intended if someone laughed at it. Wasn't the time to say that now though. Too many Grimm and someone to thank.

"Thanks, Pyrrha!" He shouted backwards, pulling his sword free. Had to be his partner that did it, because nobody else was swinging his blade.

"Anytime!" She yelled back. _BANG-BANG_! Even as Milo let out a quick rapid fire of shots. "Jaune, take a knee!" That wasn't the action he was expecting to be told to do next.

"A knee?" He yelled back, still keeping his shield up as he did so. "Why?" He asked, and anyone in ear-shot could attest to it, but he was still bending down anyways. If his partner wanted him to do it, then it had to be a good reason.

And like fate itself was still mocking him, the reason become rather apparent as soon as he felt his jeans dig into the coarse sand of the desert. It wasn't the sand that tipped him off as to why, at least not alone. It was what Jaune felt through it. Vibrations, and vibrations through this kind of sand meant something was digging. Pyrrha already knew it.

And looking up, he had just enough time to see the shifting trails of a series of Grammites, three in number. He gulped, even as he flexed his muscles to keep himself still. He spared a glance backwards, unendingly curious why Pyrrha told him to kneel _in front_ of the oncoming Grimm!

That answer became clear when he saw her running at him. He may not have been as experienced as her, but he'd seen a lot of movies. He knew what she was doing, sort of. Jaune didn't know why.

"You got this one, Pyrrha?" Jaune yelled, taking a knee as he let his partner run up behind him. Even with a freaking crowd of Grammites burrowing towards them. "Don't know how much longer I wanna stay here!"

"Just jump when I do!" His partner yelled behind him, and he nodded in turn. It wasn't anything they practiced, together at least, but for Pyrrha to suggest something like this meant it had an opportunity to help. Fat chance of him not immediately saying yes to it. "Raise your shield above your head. _Now!_ " He did so without hesitation.

The next moment, he felt her kicking off of his shield. As soon as she did, he jumped pushing his partner even higher into the air. Pushing her up, forcing himself to look up, Jaune watched his partner flip through the hot air like she had practiced it, and she probably had.

 _BANG-BANG-BANG!_ Even the three series of shots she put off, each one hitting the burrowing Grimm, was a sight to behold. Per the usual for Pyrrha.

After that, he watched her hit the ground, one knee bent and shield raised for an attack. And Jaune was still standing like he wanted to be attacked. Which he _probably did, because there was no other reason for him to be here. Everyone else, even Cardin, was a hunter who qualified for being here, but he was just riding on the coat tails of his partner, asking her for help in and out of fights and doing nothing to payer her back._

 _He was going to die because he relied on her so much, but he didn't have any good qualities to improve on without her. Just a waste of space that was holding back someone who could be great, and he'd led Pyrrha to her_ _ **own death for it. And it would be all his fault**_.

"Rh-BRah!" Jaune nearly threw up with the thoughts that pounded through his head. He didn't have to worry about standing up and out of place, because he'd fallen onto his back as the cold dreadful thoughts assaulted him. "G-GHraaaa." The boy could only groan as he felt his body sicken at the thoughts.

Because he couldn't all them false.

* * *

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled out as soon as she saw him fall backwards. She had taught him to always crouch if he was feeling weak, never fall. He couldn't defend himself if he did. And he needed to, especially now of all times!

Grimm were still swarming around them.

 **BANG!** Pyrrha fired off another shot as she ran towards her partner, watching the Nevermore that was swooping towards them fall sideways, its clipped wing sending it into the sands and out of sight over some non-descript dune. She didn't care.

She cared about Jaune, and she slid to a stop next to him, ignoring the sand and harsh heat that dug into her greaves and pauldrons with the action. That didn't matter, not nearly as much as her friend groaning next to her.

"Jaune! Are you alright?! What's wrong!?" She was shouting the question, even as she _refused_ to let herself release her weapons. It would be a death sentence on the battlefield. No different than how Jaune's position was inviting misfortune while they were surrounded by Grimm. "Tell me and I'll try and help!"

"It's… It's nothing." Pyrrha didn't believe him for a moment, feeling the same as when he first tried to burden himself with Cardin's blackmail. "Just had a… small panic attack, I-I'm good, really." She believed that even less.

But she watched Jaune as he pushed himself to his feet, picking his sword back up and swinging his shield back to his front. With his back facing her, shield up, she knew he was trying to guard her opening, even knowing that none of the Grimm had the intelligence to attack it. He was still looking out for her.

"Sorry about that, didn't mean to make you worry." His voice was still weak as he spoke and Pyrrha had to _force_ herself to not turn around accuse him of lying. She didn't have the time, and he knew they. They _all_ knew that. "Talk about it later, I guess. Just… not _NOW!_ " This time she did glance at him.

Long enough to see him parry a Creeper's long tail, stabbing his blade forward quickly afterwards. A practiced move, and one that she had taught him. He was learning, and that was good. But it was obvious _he wasn't learning fast enough. He was still not a true huntsman, not by the measure of training and years. Everything he had was forced on him in months, with only his large Aura being his saving grace._

_Pyrrha knew, she KNEW she wasn't going to be enough to keep him safe forever, and he wasn't progressing fast enough to survive. This was the truth of it now. He was fighting just to stay awake. She'd turn around and see him_ _**dead. And then it would be her fault for not doing enough, for not saving the boy that had tried to help her.** _

**_Then she'd be alone again and there would be no one to help her. She'd be alone forever and it would be because of her own faults and no one else's_ ** _._

"Ghiiiiii!" Pyrrha screamed with grit teeth, her back going ridged as the thoughts ripped through her brain worse than even the most damaging of Aura Fatigue. It made her knees lock up, her arms go rigid, and the very idea of moving painful by itself.

"Pyrrha? _Pyrrha!_ " Jaune shouted her name, but not it was her turn to ignore him. The same way the thoughts told her would lead to his death. A death that he was destined for the longer he was here.

And she was the one who kept him here.

* * *

"Burdoner. Do you feel it?" The Grimm _spoke_ to them.

No, it spoke to Impa, not him. Thank _god_ for that. Not much else to thank the guy in the sky for right now. Not while Sky was literally grinding his teeth to keep them from chattering, his lance pretty much discarded on the ground next to him. It was nothing short of a miracle that he wasn't on the ground with it. Maybe it was because he was afraid the Grimm _would_ notice him if he fell.

Because there was no way in hell he wanted to have the Grimm, the freaking monster, capable of _talking and thought_ , giving him even an ounce of focus. And the worst part of it as, he already knew it was too late. Sky could sleep through class and a lecture by his dad without an issue.

Now thought, looking at this Grimm that Impa and Link had _dragged_ him in front of, he knew he'd never be able to relax again.

This monster was going to haunt him for the rest of life, the same way he was already scarring his soul.

"Can you care to guess what that is?" The monster continued to speak, raising what _could_ be called a hand up into the air. If you could call a mass of wispy black smoke anything even close to an arm. Sky had better luck seeing pigs in the sky. "The boon of my power? That terror that creeps up your back? The cold dread that now makes all of your compatriots shiver in fear?" Sky was in that number, without doubt. He was incapable of denying it.

After hearing a Grimm laugh and ask questions like a professor, he was going to expect them from now on. Now that he'd never be able to sleep again. The jeering howls and roars of the Grimm coming from behind them, up he-didn't-count-how-many-stairs, didn't help. Especially when he thought he heard freaking _cackling laughter_ among the growls and bone crunching.

"It's the duration of my imprisonment, the scraps I have devoured and festered for years unfathomable to you and the ilk that are your kind, Burdoner." And the hatred, _oh sweet Dust and Grimm beneath them_. It was nothing short of a miracle to the boy that he hadn't passed out from being as terrified as he was. He'd never give Arc a hard time again, no matter what Cardin said, ever.

"Just your scraps? Am I not worth anything more?" The wind howled at Impa's words, and Sky found himself as silent as murky black shadow they were talking to. He wasn't sure if he should have screamed at his teacher for talking like that are make her the new goddess in his life. Heck, even Link as his god if it was him talking.

Here Sky was unable to do anything but think about how _mortified_ he was, and his Faunus teacher(s) were basically taunting it. If he were of more rational mind, he'd probably be angry. He was too scared for that either. Sky couldn't even dream of what he would do if he was asleep. Not that he could ever again.

Such a thought was made doubly clear as he dark laughter rumbled from the _talking_ Grimm.

He couldn't be sure if it was the tower itself that was shaking, his ear drums, or the freaking air in combination with them all, but whatever the reason, he felt the laughter through his body. It made his already shivering and shaking body nearly go fetial in position, ready to cover anything that he could.

"I know you are worth more, so much more than this," the creature calmly spoke back. Sky still wasn't over it. He was sure no one could, ever. "I know that you have faced terrors on the sands that I have modeled, across skies that you see above, and lands that I have not yet bothered to form in this pit of a cavern." Cavern? He said cavern?

"Then we… w-we aren't asleep?" Sky looked at Tael, the fairy shivering next to Link. The tablespoon's worth of metal was talking and hovering next to Impa, in front of the Grimm, and Sky couldn't even stand up properly. He was too scared to care. "N-No no, that's not important i-it's… you rushed this?" This was _rushed?!_

"Hardly a rush, but done with haste, little fae." The Grimm's non-limbs twisted and folded behind its back, or what was probably its back. Hard to tell if it was even _facing_ them! For all Sky knew, those red dots could be just the pits to hell with how powerful this thing was. It certainly fit the bill! "With the memories of one as old as you, combined with the millennia upon millennia of hatred and terror I have bore within me, I could recreate the entirety of a kingdom, then populate it with those you'd upon the sight of. Do you know what I would do to your kind, Burdoner?"

It could do that? _Anything_ could do that? Sky wasn't sure if that was impressive or down right terrifying. Seeing as he was still shaking in terror, it had to be the latter. And that wasn't even counting that _weird_ name still it kept calling Impa, or Link, or _both_ of them!

"I would scatter those precious in your mind, both of your memories, and have you watch in new ways them suffer. Have the fish in the rivers be swallowed by dragons, wyverns swoop to burn the forests, and perhaps even have the worms of the dessert maw their way to the plains your dear kingdom once built itself on." And of course, it had to laugh.

If ever before Sky doubted that Grimm were evil, for any reason, then that last statement settled it.

"You could, I know you could. But you do not. That only leaves the question why." Impa coolly crossed her arms with the question. Sky couldn't see their face, only the alabaster bun of her hair, but he didn't doubt her own red eyes were staring right back at the Grimm, fearless.

If ever before Sky doubted that Link and his friends were badass, for any reason, then their last stamen settled it.

"A fine question it is, Burdoner." The beast shifted, and that was all that Sky could do to describe it. IT was impossible to judge if it was spinning, adjusting, twirling, or even getting out whatever bony protrusions it had to use as weapons. It was just… _anything!_ "And one I believe your companion fae may well guess the answer to."

"Tael?" Impa asked impartially, without hesitation or thought. The fairy rang next to the faunus's head, and Sky focused on whatever was coming next. He had to, or else he'd start thinking about the Grimm that were still scurrying down the stairs and getting ready to kill him. Too late!

"The… A-A Nightmare once made a dream of the Wind Fish's memories, an island i-i-i-it once ruled and… the people worshipped." Sky heard that part before. "But… But the dream fell when someone else entered the scape and… and he killed the Nightmare. So, the dream… ended?" That was it?

"Hmm," Impa hummed the word, turning her attention back to the Grimm. Sky was so thankful it wasn't to him. At all. "I see then." Though he would like to hear the answer as to _why_ this was happening. "It isn't because you are incapable, it's because there are too many of us here."

All the terror, what little had left, returned.

It definitely didn't help that the Grimm was laughing in rumbling pleasure again, shaking Sky once more.

"Indeed so!" The creature's limbs, misty shadows things, stretched out like it was trying to show off what it had. Given how _massive_ the thing was, it was already terrifying enough. Getting bigger didn't do anything for his sanity but grind it past the form of dust. "Too many of your ilk and kind scurrying in the sands, making battle and destruction out of the Grimm that born from this tower, and now are battling the monsters that spill from it. Too many of them to odd from you, too different to what you are, to be comparable to your memories, no matter the terror they may have."

Sky still didn't understand. He hoped, just about prayed that Tael would ask why, because that was what he did as a fairy, or maybe that was Tatl. HE hoped it was Tael because if it wasn't, _he'd_ have to ask or just be left floundering against the Grimm and this _Mega_ Grimm without an idea. The fairy had to speak. It had to, it had to!

"I-I don't get it…" _DAMMIT!_

Sky grit his teeth till he made his jaw crack. It was all he could do to keep himself from screaming when the Grimm stared back at him, Impa looking over her shoulder to observe him as well. He must have imaged the way the Faunus moved in front of him, hoping that she would to protect. Because he did _not_ imagine the way the Grimm shifted until it was literally some all composing figure that took up the better part of the tower's edge.

"You are afraid of me." There wasn't a question there. Didn't need to be one. "The Burdoner is not." Did he mean Impa still? Well, yeah, she wasn't that was because she was a badass. He knew that for a fact _now_. "Do you believe everything they are afraid of is something that all others would fear?" Well… maybe? Sky wasn't sure. A part of him wanted to say yes, but the other…

"They wouldn't be," Impa answered for him. "Fears are created from dark dreams, ideas of how memories could be corrupted, the worst-case scenarios to events in your future." Sky stared at her, mostly to keep himself from looking at the _terrifying_ Grimm. "The horrors that this _beast_ is attempting to sway me with… many of them would be little more than confusing events to you and the others. Things I am sure you could fight against."

"A-And if they do, then that means they'd start to stop the Nightmare!" Tael was cheering. Sky would have cut off a finger of his to feel _that_ amount of joy right now. Hell, his hand for the hope of it. "Because if fear is stopped, hope takes its place!"

"And hope staves fear, and starves me," the Grimm finished. Sky hadn't forgotten about him. But in only a few second, he had forgotten how his voice made his body tremble. Didn't forget that anymore. "So, I have no need to create what they may destroy, for bringing hope at the cost of my strength. None at all, not until I know I can use the entirety of myself to drag you, Burdoner, into the never-ending depths of despair."

For that, Sky knew why.

**RROROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAA-**

Even if the dragon continued to roar far away in the sky. Still would call it a Grimm Dragon.

Because if someone always felt constant fear, then the Grimm would have a constant source of 'food'. If they had something that was constantly feeding them, then they'd get constantly stronger. And if that person felt _enough_ fear, then the Grimm could become too powerful to stop.

Sky let his fingers scrap at the stone beneath him, cracking a nail and making his knuckles bleed, just to stop the thoughts that ran through his head. He could already see what it was leading to, but he did _not_ want to imagine what was beyond something already as powerful as this. It was just… a _NIGHTMARE!_

"It is only fair, after all." The monster continued to speak. "For a hundred thousand years I have been trapped by stone, chain, and curse beneath a mine forgotten to all, perhaps even that loathsome goddess herself." Goddess? No wait, _a hundred thousand years!_ Were humans even that _old!?_ "For a length a time, I have hoarded all who came near me, witling away what I could in their hopes, seeding despair, and sowing the fields the longer they stayed here." He… It what?

"A beast like you should never have been entombed, I agree." She _what?!_ "A monster like you should have been destroyed the moment you were bested, wicked out of the shadows and skewered by any knight within range. Such would have been the best way to end your useless existence." Sky felt some, a little of his hope returned, just enough.

Impa, the badass teacher that Link had helping him, snarling at the monster as she grabbed that _hulking_ sword on her back certainly helped. She'd help sneak and fight their way up this tower before, and she wasn't anything less than a complete and total badass for doing so.

She could stand up to the Grimm and talk it down like… like it was just a Tuesday for her! And she was going to kill the Grimm… probably.

"Don't give your hope wings yet. Either of you." The rumbling voice of the Grimm certainly helped to ground Sky's slowly rising spirits. "Though I admit my haste with some actions, I did not keep you away from me simply to enjoy the torture it would bring on the boy. His fear, after all, is paltry compared to your hope. A hope that seems to rise when you are faced with adversity."

Sky didn't even bother and try and feel like he was insulted by the Grimm. He didn't care when Cardin barked orders, the teachers gave reprimands, or the others asked him to help on their homework. If a Grimm wanted to insult him, fine, so be it. Getting angry would have probably just made it stronger anyways. Not even considering how he was too scared to do much else.

"No, Burdoner, I did as I commanded so that I may have a moment to find the beast capable of slaying those that may give you hope, while keeping you writhing in depths of despair." Sky's mouth was dry as the desert around them, and the sand and wind had _nothing_ to do with it.

It really didn't help that Tael started ringing. It _definitely_ didn't help when Impa crouched, getting ready to swing.

"Ghahaha!" the laugh of the Grimm made the tower shake this time. And now Sky had _no_ doubt that was what shook. "Yes! Face me! Charge a hundred thousand years of festering hatred, of the rage and disgust that is all that makes up life! Face the Nightmare that I am!" Sky had never heard a Grimm talk before this, but he had _never_ heard _anyone_ taunt a hunter before, especially one as stupidly powerful as Impa and Link.

It was a day of first and Sky wished he could just go back to sleep. Too bad this whole experience was keeping him from doing that ever again

"So now prepare yourself, Burdoner of Time." Of _Time_ now? Did a freaking near eon's old Grimm had the right to say that? Sky didn't voice it, too scared. "Prepare yourself as you witness your greatest fear. Your greatest foe. You _worst Nightmare!_ "

Then the shadows started to harden.

Sky wished, for just a moment, that something about the Grimm would slow down so he could keep track of what was happening. But that never came. Instead, he watched all at once, as the shadowy shapeless and gigantic Grimm began to darken its already midnight black form into something else. No, that wasn't right, he was scared stupid to think it.

It kept its body, massive, huge, and looking _like_ a human, but everything got harder. Its arms hardened, its legs hardened, its body hardened, and as it all hardened, it began to become clearer to see.

The dark armor that was overlain its chest, gauntlets and pauldrons running down its arms, greaves of just as dense metal hitting metallic boots that cracked the tower stones. Each one of them a sickly dark purple that made the churning mass almost _enjoyable_ in comparison, but still only hardly covering up the sickly dark green skin of the figure beneath. A figure that was staring at them both.

Staring at them with shining slit eyes, above an absolutely _flaming_ beard and hair of red. Hair that almost looked like a cape it was so long, probably hotter than the sun with the way it practically burned the stone. No, wait, that wasn't his hair, that was the _dark literal flames_ billowing out from the man as he stood. Man… Sky said man.

Because it wasn't a Grimm in front of them anymore. It was a massive giant of man.

Sky wasn't sure of _anything_ that was happening right now. Not the way he was sure of the fact that he wanted out and that it was all bonkers. Crazy enough to be warranting a life-time of therapy. That was one thing. But that involved him.

The only thing, the _only_ thing, he was sure of that was happening around him, was what Impa did when the Grimm shifted in front of them.

Impa, the teacher that had literally taken out half the class with out a breath of effort, gasped.

* * *

Dr. Oobleck was shaking. That was never good.

Shaking led to his hands slipping across the diaphysis of the weapon that he continued to swing at the approaching Grimm, batting them away as he made room for his students to approach and remove other possibilities for ambush. Shaking also led to a lose in accuracy with his strikes, a break down in recognizable patterns, and perhaps most damning of all in the current moment, an increase in difficulty with focusing on the objects around him. Such as the charging Grimm.

It was a curious biological phenomenon to experience, that is without sufficient environmental or obvious physical strain present. The last time in his easily recount able memory he was caught shaking was following the unintended destruction of his term paper in his doctor program, leading to shake with an unimaginable fury. One he had yet to recreate.

Now however, was different. He felt no fury, no hatred, but an overwhelming amount of curiosity, though hinted and spiced through with desperation and exuberance for the events around him. The necessity for survival, compounded with quickly meeting up with and dealing with the Grimm that continued to horde and charge around him.

**RRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-**

And he was shaking again. Curious still.

Even as his eyes glanced upwards at the slowly approaching Grimm, much like the literary tool known as sunlight breaking over the edge of the horizon, he could feel his body still shaking. The reason was obvious why to any one else, but he found it unlikely, unreasonable, given the circumstances he had been in before and his lack of desperation now.

For anyone else staring up to the shadow of a grand Grimm clawing its way across the sky, swimming much like an eel in water, but spewing a bright orange fire which gave a clear indication of a temperature range above 4000 degrees Kelvin, the sight would elicit a natural desire to flee, run for cover, seek shelter, and other actions similar to the increase in safety. But he was a hunter, though secondary to his doctorate degree, but established enough to not so easily be induced into a shaken state by sight or short experience alone.

For his students, including Mr. Arc and Ms. Nikos, the idea of them shaking was plausible, reasonable as well. They were young, skilled in established areas yet untrained and inexperienced in others. Shaking at drastically unknown sights was a reasonable response. But not for Dr. Oobleck.

Shaking as he was now, shaking as if her were a novice on the field or a civilian seeking shelter, implied something he had not felt for quite some time.

**ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

He was shaking in fear.

* * *

There was an error in her code, but Penny couldn't find it.

It was a difficult task to perform with sufficient efficiency while diverting a majority of her RAM memory and power systems to the servos of her arms, legs, and wiring mechanism, but the current battlefield left no question that it required the majority of her focus. The lack of focus in a battle, as was repeated several times throughout the language of her code, was a clear first step to increasing the possibility of harm or damage. More simply, not focusing on a fight with Grimm was to put herself in jeopardy.

An unneeded risk was an unnecessary action. One of the global variables in her main functions often implied the necessity to calculate risks and take the option that involved less risk, comparatively to possible rewards and gains associated with the Atlas Military and Papa Zepp. Because of that, she was often _fantastically_ ready for anything she came across.

But now it was different. Not different in that it was a unique situation. By reading through her log files and memory banks, she had yet to find any two situations that were 100% comparable to one another, and therefore implied that all scenarios she experienced were unique! Thus, as Papa Zepp often told her, her secondary duty was to experience as much as possible to gather as much data as possible. Situations were never the same, risks calculated were often varied with unequally varied results. In addition to the combination of locations, friends involved, and other variables factoring into the comparative functions, there was much to consider.

However, this was the first time in Penny's code, through her databanks or log files, she had encountered a situation, comparative or otherwise, that generated a risk assessment and gain prediction to the ratios that she had.

This was the first time her memory systems were predicting a risk ratio comparable to complete system failure and destruction… but offering only a chance of minor survival as a reward.

It had to be an error, as her parallel processing routine maintenance system ran diagnosis on all her frequently used variables and parallel functions to determine the root cause. It was difficult to do, when done in conjunction with fighting off the Grimm that were assaulting her and her friends.

**ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAA-**

And giving equal amount of appropriate attention to the approaching sky-faring Grimm above them. Her systems had already comparatively referred to it as a Sky Wyvern, though its size was far greater than any the Atlas Military had on file. It was also spewing out a combustion of gasses which ignited the oxygen and nitrogen in the air to a degree and heat that would be damaging to her system upon contact.

But her peripheral systems had noted the approach and appearance of the Grimm minutes ago, and she had yet to have the new diagnosis of the risk and reward factor. It was something to be concerned about, the benefit of destroying the Grimm was a likely disruption in the lesser Grimm they combated, making the risk of fighting it worthy of a battle.

The risk she felt at the current moment, however, was undetermined.

It was a risk that could not trace its value through her auditory sensors, ocular tools, or tactile sensations. Her risk assessment was handled by an unknown sensor within her chassis, something her code was unable to determine a strict name for. That was concerning. It was concerning because it meant she could not determine the reward for it.

It was a risk that made her feel bad, and bad was bad. And it felt worse knowing that she couldn't find a suitable or calculated way to reduce the risk to manageable levels.

Penny had to wonder, even as she threw three of her blades into an Ursa before pulling herself over its head, slicing it into quarters with the centrifugal force of her movement, if this was a human emotion she had yet to experience. Happiness was most attributed to discovering something knew without the explicit direction of Papa Zepp or General Ironwood. Enjoyment, a close emotional sense to happiness was best correlated with time spent with Friend Ruby or Friend Cardin. This, however was not that.

**ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-**

Penny believed that if it was an emotion, she knew what it was.

Penny truly believed she felt fear.

It was bad. She didn't like it.

* * *

Winter said nothing, made no noise of exertion or effort, as she threw up glyph after glyph in front of her. Her every action was fixated and producing the highest quality runes she could muster, placing them in suspended animations in the air or linked with the rough sands on the ground, to either capture as many of the Grimm as possible or prevent more of them from grouping together and creating an even larger conflict.

It was her duty, assigned by General Ironwood, to protect the students, the doctor, and the Faunus of interest as they explored the mine. That prerogative had not and would not change so long as she was here. Even if the entire world had changed into this impossible and dreadful landscape of monsters and deserts, she would not forsake what she was assigned to do.

She was a Specialist, a Schnee, and it was her duty to do what was expected of her, better than anyone else around her. IT was what she had done her entire life, even when it went against the wishes of others for her to do so.

But this was the first time, in all that time, she felt worried.

She felt uneasy when the white void was present, and even more so when it was painted with the sands, the desert, and eventually the Grimm that the others were dueling with, the same as her. It was concern when she saw how they were beginning to wane the longer the battle went on for, draining more of their reserves as the length of the battle began to put stress on their Auras, on their souls. But it wasn't terror, it wasn't fear.

The cold chill Winter had felt at Tatl's words had not left her, the creepy unease that it was. It wasn't terror. It wasn't horror. It wasn't fear.

But that was what she felt now, even as she kicked a Glyph with her boot, causing the ruined circle to follow her command and spew flames forth at a heavily fortified boarboratusk. A fear that was starting to make her hands feel cold, her eyes shake, her mind cloud, and everything else that General Ironwood had instructed and trained her to _not_ experience while out int eh battle field, when on assignment.

**ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAA-**

Winter couldn't help the feeling. That was perhaps even more terrifying than the fear itself.

She couldn't control the fear that seeped through her like water on damp clothes, like snow on Atlesian Winds. She couldn't control an aspect of herself that was being influenced by the environment around her. It terrified her that shouldn't figure out why.

The Specialist sliced through an oncoming claw, ducked by the remains of the Grimm's affronting assault, kicked upwards with the sharp of her heel, commanded a glyph to freeze a murder of Nevermores to fall to the ground, then another to burn the sand until the Grammites churning through their depths were impaled and entombed in glass. She did all of it with a face of stone harder than even the tower they fought under.

But the fear did not cease to torment her, the terror did not leave. It only grew. And she did not know why.

The Grimm that hung through the air, like a kite of some distant Mistral tradition, did not terrify her. Imposing though it was, in size and doubtlessly in power, it was what she was trained to analyze, asses, and determine the best course of action to deal with. It bothered her, but it did not terrify her. It didn't make her feel afraid.

**ROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAA-**

Whatever was, whatever was in this wasteland of heat and sand to make her feel as if she were trapped again in her manor with her father looming over her, damning her for things she couldn't do and demand of her things that couldn't be done, she couldn't see it, she couldn't tell where it was, and she didn't know how to find it. Not while fighting the other Grimm, while watching the monster in the sky, and ensuring the protection of the students around her.

Perhaps that was what was most terrifying fact of all to her, the one thing, the one action, she couldn't deny or ignore.

Admitting that, Winter Schnee didn't know what to do.

* * *

It wasn't really him, though it looked much like him. Link was sure on this.

It appeared so well to be him, and every part of him embodied him. Impa reminded the hero of this.

Both stared forwards at the creature on the high tower, its dark arms to its sides and grinning with a menacing expression so much like the terrifying visage of a foe the thought long gone and long dead. Impa wished he was also forgotten, so perhaps then the Nightmare would have nothing to make. Link was sure that so long as Nightmares existed, so to would the man he saw.

For Link could never forget the beast of a man looming over him now, towering as if her built of three men instead, hair of the flames and desert billowing down his back. Regalia of gold and skin of olive-green shimmering in the heated sun. A body that towered with mirth and pride, and the figure that would make the people see him as a king. All of it so perfectly telling of who it was that he faced.

Impa swore it was him, even as Link denied the possibility. Knowing that it was a Nightmare, Link insisted, looking for anything that showed it was the illusion that it had to be. Impa could find nothing, and her eyes were that which showed only the truth, by the demand of the Shiekah family.

No matter how Link swore that it was an impossibility, Impa continued to protest. They both could only stare up at the figure that towered over them, at the 'illusion' that was of the most dangerous man in all of their past, either of their pasts.

"L-Link?" Tae's voice quivered beside him, and Link could not afford to even glance at his friend. "I-I-Is… He's ss-s-so…" his voice trembled and pittered to nothing, shaking with taunt wings and dim light. Link remembered why, and Impa agreed through the chain of their memories.

This was the man with evil so great, the very existence of life trembled beneath him, gathering the love and adoration of the beasts and monsters of the land in turn. Navi had to flee from the wrath of the beast, and even then, it was with only great effort she was able to stand so long against him, all for naught. Link remembered the terror of this man. Impa's memories recalled his horror.

Be it for Link and his many adventures, across lands far and wide, through valleys deep and mountains high, it was always to gather the strength to face the beast of a man before him, the malevolent thing the Nightmare replicated before him. The terror that he could not deny.

For Impa, it was for the one figure she could never best in a fight, the one man who gave her challenge more so than any beast or monster, and had put the kingdom and princess she loved in jeopardy. The only one that she ever feared.

The King of the Gerudo, the Killer of Heroes, and the Great King of Evil.

Ganondorf Dragmire.

"Hee hee hee hee hee," the deep rumbling chuckle monster echoed even atop the tower, the very sky bowing to his might, the fire spewing from the winged monster before having ceased by the mere appearance of this thing. The strength of all his horror showing itself now. "Of all the terrors and horrors I could create, I am pleased that neither of you were wrong with this strength of this man. Truly a monster among mortals, whilst he still was one."

Impa had doubted the monster's words when it spoke of only scraps and parts of its power creating an illusion that trapped them all, forfeiting reality itself to a land of desert, heat and ruin. Link did much the same, as it was kind to remember many enemies in the past who would lie for the benefit of an advantage.

But with the bowing of the world around them now, the unease in Impa's stomach, and the sobbing of the boy behind them, neither could deny the truth of it. The beast had held back its power before. It no longer did.

Perhaps, Link's thoughts echoed behind Impa's eyes, he was wrong. Perchance this was the Great King of Evil reborn, as he was destined to do so many times before. Impa was glad he saw it too, for her eyes could not be deceived.

"Y-You're n-n-n-not him." Tael's quivering voice, still holding stronger than Impa's own, was amplified in the space and vacuum of silence created by Ganondorf's reentry, or the thing that so clearly looked like him. "Link killed him. H-H-He's _dead!_ " The fairy shouted the words like a defiant act.

But the monster only chuckled, even as it slowly flexed its massive gauntled fists.

"Indeed so, little fae. Not the true monster that this man was." The words were carried and memorized by both the tactician in Link and the general in Impa. "But though I am not him, I have the terror of his deeds, strength of his fists, and the thousand centuries of torment to use them both with. You will not see a difference, for what little time you have left to witness me."

The beast slowly unflexed its hand towards Tael, and Impa was quick to wrap a hand around the fairy. It was unneeded. The monster did make an attack for the fairy.

But with a simple flick of its finger, the tower shook.

Her knees instantly bent, keeping herself upright as the stones shifted beneath her. Be it a command for the tower to shiver by the single motion of his finger, or the truth force and might of his magic doing so without care, it did not matter. It only proved that the very essence of this illusion, the stone and sand beneath, churned and built by the creature's command.

"GAH!" Sky's voice cried out behind them, but Impa knew the boy was safe. Link believed her, as he could not afford to look away from the terror that was the king of the past.

"Call me by his name, refer to me as what I am, or see me for the _phantom_ of your past, I care not which." The monster held its cruel grin as it spoke on. "For whatever your titles you give me, I will still remember you all as my first kills in so long, and the new source by which I will gain true immortality." A phantom. Link and Impa held onto the word, wisely ignoring the threats that would lead to growing terror.

Focusing on the enemy, not imagining his strength. Labeling him for what he was, not what he could do. The Phantom of their memories, the curse of their past. A phantom given form. Link echoed the idea and Impa agreed. It was the only name that they knew was of the King of Evil, but also not.

Phantom Ganondorf.

"Now then, _Hero_ ," 'Ganondorf' spoke, voice rumbling as both Link and Impa recalled, grin twisted as both remembered, pride high as both scorned. "Prepare to face my curse. The curse of a hundred _thousand years!_ "

Impa only had time to unsheathe her blade and jump back. Only that as the Nightmare raised its hands, imitated green and armored more than any knight, into the air. A dark power swirled in its palms, the collection of flame, rot, and ruin that Link recognized from a life unlived. Impa took heed to the warrior's memories, thinking quickly on how to defend against it.

But he could think of none. Not without his holy blade.

In the next moment, Impa found herself blown from the top of the tower. A wave of pure horror and terror sending her careening through the heated air and hot winds of the desert. Tumbling down the length of the tower. Sky screamed as he tumbled beside her.

Their body flipped and tumbled through the air, contorting as she desperately tried to right herself. Link refused to release Tael in the air, not while the monster was still so close, and without such couldn't grasp the tool to slow their descent. Impa was focused on the boy as he fell with even less control than they did, from a tower high enough to observe the setting of the sun and rising of the moon from a single spot.

Impa had no way to right herself as the wind whipped past her ears, dulling hers senses and slowly muting the cries of Sky. Tael's were heard only as a vibration in her hand as the little fairy gripped her palms and fingers like the lifeline that they were.

But the last of her hearing, what little her acute senses and Link's focus could gather, heard the demon of memories roar with laughter above them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	23. Dreams of Torture: Phantom Ganondorf (Part 1)

It wasn't often for Pyrrha to feel herself being overwhelmed in any fight, no matter the circumstances. Up until now, even against her instructors, she often felt agitation or excitement more than a sense of dread or fear. It was what encouraged her to fight on, even when she had the advantage, or worse, when she was pressed for luck. The thrill of the fight, or the sense of conquering the danger, spurred her on.

It was the same for most of the other students she had talked to, and much the same for other fighters she talked to. The sensation of fighting a stronger opponent was an exhilarating one. It was why, she knew, so many challenged her even off of the tournament floor. Because she was the best, so she was the natural challenge for them to conquer. Not that any ever did.

It was why Pyrrha found herself excited to be with professional Hunters on a trip, where the sense of danger was at its strongest, and her senses were put to their highest test. She had tastes of it against the Lynel, as Impa had later referred to it, and she had seen it when Link battled the Ancient Grimm before. She heard of it from Ruby's team when it came to the foes of Torchwick and his partner. But she had yet to have that sense of thrill, that agitation of the coming fight, truly seep into her.

That was, until the fear of death slammed into her, making her cry out in agony.

And it was followed, too quickly, by the Grimm around her, in a desert made of an illusion grander than any semblance, stopping their attack.

They held still as she bared her lance forward, holding Milo with a tightness that would allow her to strike and parry. But it was not needed. The Lolith she was about to threaten had stilled, its lithe head above its gargantuan body turning towards the tower, uncaring towards Pyrrha. She thought it a fluke, something she should guard against, but she saw nothing to make it so.

Her eyes and senses, honed and on edge, looked around the dune she had fought on, at the Grimm she still fought. None of them looked at her. The dark wisps of their comrades bodies turning to smoke and air, but none of them looked towards her. The Beowolves, the Ursa, the Loliths, Creepers, all of them, all of them were looking away from her. That made her own senses chill, and her sense of dread grow.

Carefully, she turned as well, seeing just in time the falling forms from the high tower. She recognized the body of Impa, the instructor and friend to their current teacher. She watched her as she had in the stadium ring for some time, collecting herself as she fell. The body next to her, scrambling in mid-air, did not recover as elegantly.

 _BOOM!_ The light tremor of impact was dulled by the sand, though a good amount of it was still blown upward. Pyrrha kept her senses up, looking around at the Grimm, aiming her lance and holding her shield towards them, wary for them to attack Impa or the other who had fallen. But they still didn't move, they didn't react. It was making her senses scream now.

"Wha… What the _hell!?_ " Pyrrha looked towards the voice, seeing a hand pull its way over the sand. _Boom!_ Just in time for Impa to land beside it, hardly doing more than billow the dry dust. "The _HELL_ was that?! W-What is going _ON!?"_ She recognized the voice. Cardin's teammate, Sky Lark. He didn't look well. He looked terrified, but he wasn't even looking at the Grimm. He was staring up at the tower. "Seriously! Answer me! Who was that!?"

The volume of his scream, directed at Impa even as he righted himself, was odd for him. Pyrrha may not have known Cardin's teammates well, a choice she did not regret, but she knew he was the more laid back member of the already lazy team. Screaming and yelling… that wasn't what he normally did. Normally he would… Wait, who?

"Who? Who's who?" Dr. Oobleck asked for her. She looked at him, seeing him warily approaching even around he Grimm. They still didn't react. "Later question, curiosity. First, contact. Impa, Sky Lark, Tael, fine to see you well. Startled, worried, but well. Glad to see, a fine sign, good news." It was, but Pyrrha knew it wasn't what mattered. Not now. "But now the question, needing an answer. Who is who?"

" _Th-the_ THING up there!" Sky yelled, above whatever voice Impa was going to use to speak. She shut her mouth, looking at the long haired boy, even as he was heedless of the Grimm around him. Pyrrha did not lower her weapons, though Sky didn't even have his drawn. "TH-there was a-a-a-a _MONSTER_ up there that… that _talked!_ " Talked?

"Communication? Impossible, Mr. Lark." Dr. Oobleck was quick to dismiss. "Even Ancient Grimm at best only possess instinctual abilities that are influenced by their collective years of knowledge related to-"

"He's not lying." Impa's words cut through the nerves Pyrrha was trying to control, for many reasons.

Her words destroyed Oobleck's truth. They were colder than any of her lessons or threats. They were short and to the point. There was no lesson to be had, only a warning, the same kind of warning her earlier instructors gave her regarding the danger of fighting and weapons, about the real possibility of dying that could come from any fight. They had spoken with the same finality.

And Impa was using that tone now, while they were surrounded by still Grimm, and staring up at the tower they had fallen from.

"The monster responsible for all of this is up there… and I fear he is going to strike soon." He was… no wait… he?

"Did you say he? Why a he?" It took Pyrrha a moment to realize that it was Jaune who asked the question, not Dr. Oobleck. "A monster isn't a he, right? I mean, their Grimm, bad things that we gotta kill. It's strong yeah, but… but it's not a he, is it?"

"I-It's an illusion! N-No, that's not right, um…" Tael rang out, his small body lighting the area as he drifted back and forth. Pyrrha watched him, just as carefully as she watched the Grimm. Not even the long spindly legs of the Lolith she was fighting twitched. She dared to think not even the hairs on the Beowolves were blowing in the wind. It wasn't good. "It… the Grimm he, it, the thing um… i-it changed itself. It… It made itself look like someone else. So a he, there." It bobbed with the ring, but Pyrrha didn't understand.

" _NO!_ That is _not it!_ " Apparently, neither did Sky.

"Mr. Lark, calm yourself," Dr. Oobleck started. It was all he did, start.

"I will _not calm the hell down!_ " He screamed out, and Pyrrha was sure it would make the Grimm at least glance at them, but they did not. Her senses only twisted with her nerves. " _You_ didn't see those _fucking_ monsters inside the tower! You didn't see the way they made even _Impa_ here avoid fighting them!" He waved at Impa… as he cursed like a sailor. If she wasn't on edge, Pyrrha was sure she'd have blushed, but now wasn't the time.

"I-It wasn't because of-" Tael got no further than Dr. Oobleck.

" _Shut up!"_ Sky yelled, and Pyrrha was reminded just why he was likely Cardin's teammate, and on good terms. " _You_ didn't say anything about that… that _mass_ of shadows that was talking like it was on a freaking _first name basis_ with your freaking _Burdoner_ or whatever!" Burdoner? "Or even explain the hell the thing meant when it started talking about the freaking _millennia_ it spent down here, or how it was gonna _kill us all_ AND freaking torture us for _FUN_!" That was bad.

"S-Seriously?" Jaune's nervousness was understandable, even if it was still bad to have. "Maybe you just… are exaggerating a bit?"

"Would I freaking _exaggerate_ or _LIE_ about this?! _NOW_?! _HERE?!_ " His arms were wide as he screamed, and Pyrrha only then realized he had seen the Grimm, and the unnervingly odd way they were acting. But he didn't care. Or rather… he was more terrified of something else. "There's nothing that I'd lie about! And right now, _NOW_ , I'm freaking ready to-"

"Sky! That you!" "Tael! Link!" Pyrrha recognized those voices, both of them.

"Sis?" So did Tael. The ring of the fairy came as Pyrrha turned, just in time to see the ball of gold fly by her, slamming nearly into the dark light that was Tael. The resultant heavy gray that came from their contact, complete with raining light dust, was marred by the shaking of the light. "Tatl! You're alright!"

They weren't the only ones. Pyrrha, focus splitting between the Grimm and everyone gathering around them, realized that the others were here now at least. Those that she could remember through her multi-tasking. Penny running up with Cardin ad Winter Schnee carrying behind them. Including Dr. Oobleck, Jaune, and herself, with Impa and Sky here, and the fairies, that was everyone.

Everyone and the stone-like monsters, Pyrrha reminded herself. She couldn't afford to put the Grimm out of her mind, no matter how safe it seemed.

"So are you! Thank Time for that. Should hit myself for thinking Link would let anything happen to you." Link, or more accurately Impa now, nodded at them, lightly, but still nothing more than that. Pyrrha knew why, at least she had a suspicion. It was the same reason why she wouldn't do much more than nod towards Jaune in a fight, or Ren would snap his fingers for Nora. She were focused on something else. "But what's going on? You look spooked more than usual. Yeah, this is bad, or weird, but we've been through worse than this." They had?

"I doubt that." Pyrrha almost groaned at the voice, recognizing Cardin. "Especially with the way you were freaking out earlier to, having us fight our way here before the Grimm got a sudden case of the riggers. Speaking of, the hell is wrong with you Sky?" At least he was addressing his teammate. Pyrrha spared them a glance, even as her eyes sharpened on a nearby Ursa, still maintaining its solid posture. "I get this is bad, but why aren't you just ducking your head and holding still? What's the matter with you?" The leader was towering over his friend, but Sky wasn't acting like it.

"The matter? Weren't you _fucking listening!?_ " The sudden shout and profanity got Cardin to take a step back at least. "The freaking monster responsible for all of this is on top of the damn tower, a-and it _talked_ to use before transforming into some… _freaky green GIANT_ of a monster!" Green giant.

"What?" The soft question came with a sharp ring, the only reason Pyrrha heard it. Rather in response to the question or not, Sky was going on.

"H-He had armor thicker than yours! A-And freaking hair that was acting like it was on _fire!_ Red, wispy a-a-and crackling like his _freaking laughter!_ Oh Gods and all that there are, that _laughter!_ " The groan and whimper of terror were more agonizing and worrying to hear than Pyrrha cared to admit, even if they weren't surrounded as they were. "Cardin, that _thing_ , he, it, whatever the hell… i-i-it was talking about how _he_ was trapped here, a-and he was going to kill _all of us!_ And _enjoy_ it!"

Pyrrha licked her lips as Sky continued to ramble about the apparent monster above the tower. The air was still dry, even if the wind had died down almost in time with the monsters. She almost wished they'd move, just to keep the tension away. Because between their sudden statue like appearance, the chill in the desert air, and the torturous details Sky was giving… it wasn't doing a lot to help her nerves or attention span. There was no eagerness to be had here, not now.

"Calm down, Mr. Lark," Dr. Oobleck spoke again. His voice was sterner though, no give in his voice. "Control yourself, even if for a moment. Your unease and terror, even if justified, understandable, is dangerous among the Grimm. Is that understood?" Pyrrha was thankful someone else said it.

And Sky did seem to get it, at least his lack of a sudden biting retort was evident enough. Pyrrha didn't look at him, too busy still trailing the desert with her eyes and keeping her senses honed. The tension was starting to get to her, her hands readjusting their grip on and off again, trying to ready herself for anything, and everything.

"Better," Dr. Oobleck spoke. "Now, Tael, Impa, primary topic, do you know more about what is happening? Deductions already made regarding nature of the Nightmare, with consideration to previous outburst regarding the creature's name." He was talking about sharing information. Of course he was. Pyrrha held her tongue, keeping the apology that wanted to worm its way out of her throat down. She had to focus on the Grimm, in case they struck out.

"I would also like to know more." Ms. Schnee spoke up with them. "With Tatl's help, we deduced that the landscape is fashioned after some past experience the Nightmare is drawing from. More accurately, we believe it is trying to create fear, and gather strength, from recreating an event or landscape that someone is uneasy with. You specifically." Pyrrha glanced long enough to see her hand gesturing towards Impa.

Their instructor didn't appear insulted or curious about the insulation. If anything, if Pyrrha had to guess, she looked… happy? No, wait, that wasn't right. She wasn't happy. She apologized to herself, shutting her eyes to do so. She still didn't know enough to read people like that. Pyrrha apologized again, softly as she focused on the Grimm again. She'd lost that when she shut her eyes.

"You are correct. And I'm sure Tatl has told you what this place is supposed to be," Impa spoke as shortly as before. "More specifically, of how this is where I was killed."

Pyrrha lost her focus again.

"Truly?!" "You're serious!?" "Okay. That's bad." Pyrrha agreed with Jaune, implicitly. Even as Dr. Oobleck and sky were much more vocal. She was thankful he had his shield up as well, even if he was holding it wrong.

"Yes," Impa returned quickly. "And I fear that it has done more than merely bring about the land of my death." There was a lot to take away from that.

Yes, the friends of Link that he wore were all dead. She remembered that. It was what Ruby had cried about before when they brought up Mikau and they first learned about Elrora. All of his friends were just memories he wore, something that Ren referred to but she couldn't remember. A term for holding their memories for reference. The fact that the Nightmare brought them here though, it lined up with what Dr. Oobleck had been trying to get them to say before.

The Nightmare was trying to bring up their worst fears, and there had to be a substantial fear with whatever was able to kill Impa, someone that Pyrrha knew was one of the most talented Huntresses she'd ever seen. And more than that… like Impa said and implied, it had to do more than just bring up the area where she'd passed. It had to involve the thing that… ended her life.

A monster, the Grimm, or… or whatever it was that had scared Sky to the point of cussing at the teachers.

"I-It is him… isn't it?" And something that had Tatl worried. Pyrrha didn't even realize it was her until she managed to focus on the small floating gray light, brought about by the still unionized fairy siblings. She could hear the soft ring emanating from them. "The Nightmare it… i-it really made itself look like him?" Who was him?

"It did," Impa confirmed, but confirmed what? Pyrrha didn't know, and now she was starting to feel like Sky, with only her training keeping her slowly fraying nerves in check. "And worse yet, I fear it truly possesses the same strength as he did." Who was he?

"No… No no no no no no!" Pyrrha could only stare as Tatl shook herself free from her brother's dark light, separating her golden aura from his own. The trembling ball of light, shaking free specks of dust, did nothing to calm Pyrrha's nerves. It succeeded in shaving the frayed edges of her fears. "Not again, not again! Please! W-We beat him once already a-a-and that thing is… _again!?_ " She was sounding like Sky…

"Tatl! Calm yourself as well!" Ms. Schnee spoke now. Impa didn't scold her, but neither did the words look to be doing any good. "You are doing nothing to help an already tremulous situation. Do not think you are the only one who is confused or terrified right now." Pyrrha found herself looking at Jaune, measuring her partner's hyperventilation. It was only after she did she realized she was close to doing the same.

With the Grimm around them still seemingly frozen, and this mysterious killer of Impa… the very idea of it made Pyrrha's skin crawl with dread. This wasn't what she wanted to feel. She wanted a challenge that she could chance an escape from. This was… this felt like looming death, especially with how it had already claimed the strongest Huntress she had ever seen.

"You don't get it, do you?" The terrified high ring of the fairy was not something Pyrrha found herself needing to hear. "This thing is... h-he's the most dangerous _thing_ in existence! Bare none, there is _nothing_ more dangerous than him! Why else do you think I was freaking out earlier?!" Pyrrha hadn't seen her do so, but the harsh look Ms. Schnee had spoke volumes for what she was referring to.

"Information, we need information." Dr. Oobleck was quick to add in. "Too many unknowns regarding to high a threat. Lack of information detrimental to survival, horrible consequence, _must_ be rectified, swiftly as well." He stepped up to Impa, the difference in their height noted, but unimportant. Pyrrha was trying to keep herself from bending Milo in her grasp. "Impa, Link, we _need_ information now if we are to build a proper countermeasure, defense, against this foe." The request was obvious, and Pyrrha was already readying herself to memorize every word.

Impa's red gaze looked towards Dr. Oobleck, mouth opening to speak as well. She had the breath to do so. But before another breath could be released, someone else spoke up.

The news was not good.

"Unidentified Object falling from the tower's peak," Penny's voice quickly spoke up. It earned the immediate attention of everyone, eyes trailing upwards with the comment. Pyrrha did the same. "No observable methods to slow acceleration or velocity. Reaching terminal velocity, reached…" And the implications were no less comforting.

Because Pyrrha could see whatever it was that was falling. Or rather, she just noticed that it was falling towards them, quickly, and without care for where it was going to hit. She reacted.

"Scatter!" Ms. Schnee yelled, a moment after Pyrrha had already grabbed Jaune and pulled him back with the assistance of her Semblance. She saw Penny leap backwards as well, grabbing Cardin by the nape of his armor as he dragged Sky with him. Tatl and Tael rang as they fled, surrounding Impa as she leaped over the Grimm to escape the impact sight. Dr. Oobleck wasn't far behind with Ms. Schnee in tow.

In a few seconds, scantly that, they had vacated the area of the sand they had been standing on.

 ** _BOOOOM!_** And it exploded a moment later.

"GRAH!" A harsh cry left her lips as sand was blown into her face. It ran through her hair, scratching at her features, before she had a moment to raise her shield to block it. She heard Jaune let out a cry of his own.

But they both held firm against the blast, the sand beneath them giving only slightly beneath them. They endured it and, much like any blow, its impact quickly settled. The sand that was blown upwards settling around them, the _Grimm_ that had still seemingly yet to move, not reacting in the slightest. Pyrrha gave them a once over, confirming they hadn't moved on them. They hadn't, at least using the Ursa and Lolith that she had been as a measuring point.

"Already running from me? That was faster than I anticipated." But something else had appeared. Pyrrha was quick to lower her shield, looking at the center of where the object had impacted, where all the sand had blown away from.

One look, a single glance, and she knew she had to give Sky a deep apology later. His fear and horror were well and justified.

For she had never seen a man as monstrous as the one before, armored as if he were some ancient dark knight, colored as if he were dyed like the Grimm, and grinning with a malicious smirk. A nose that curved over his snarling lips, dark golden eyes looking around as if they were prey, and no more caring for how nearly he had ended their lives than he was for the sand he had stomped upon.

"I do enjoy the taste of fear, and there is comfort in knowing I have chosen well," he kept talking. No, _IT_ kept talking. It was an it, it _had_ to be an it. There was no way that thing was ever a human, or purely human at that.

There was just too much… wrong with it. The hair was too wispy, its voice too gnarly, his figure too massive. Every new detail Pyrrha focused on just made it seem too alien to be human. And that wasn't even considering how he had gotten here, ended up here at all.

"The scent of your trepidation, the desperation to seek shelter… there are thing shave haven't felt in some time." His words were just as wrong, just as… twisted. And that didn't even include the thing's _laughter_. If it could even be called that.

The slow rumble of chuckling that came from the massive figure, echoing through its armor, was more akin to the rumble of an erupting mountain than a fighter's mirth. The mirth of this thing, however, was nothing that Pyrrha wanted to experience. It was… terrible to even imagine.

"It is something I'd far prefer to indulge in from the tower's height, perhaps from a mountain's top, but after so long wrapped in chains and ruined in that pathetic seal of a door, I cannot help but come closer to the source." His words, _its_ words were just… vile. Pyrrha felt her stomach crawling with them.

This was worst, _so much worse_ , than any first fight or experience she'd been through. Because at least for her first match, or first duel, or first time at Beacon, or anything else, there was the promise that it would improve or change later. At least that it wouldn't be the same forever.

This… there was no improving something as vile as _this_.

"I-It is him…" It was only due to the stillness in the air that Pyrrha was able to hear Tatl's terrified ring, the words drifting through her cloak of horror. She swallowed on nothing. "It is… no no no no not again. Not again." The rambling was getting to her as well, as Pyrrha felt her own unease growing at the noise. Tatl, the companion to Link that had insulted _everyone_ and _everything_ with such ease before now acting so… timid. It was just as wrong as the man was.

The man, Pyrrha realized as she kept her gaze glued on his horrendous features, was grinning towards the fairies. Them and Impa as well. Impa, who had drawn her massive blade before Pyrrha could even tell when. A blade that was being held side-ways defensively, and with snarling features aimed up at the vile green man.

"Hee hee hee hee hee." The man _chuckled_ at the sound of Tatl's horror. "And again I find myself amused by your companions, _Burdoner_." The way the man turned even seemed wrong. Not that he did something that was odd, such as twisting a bone or snapping the air. But it just churned the feeling around Pyrrha with his movements.

It was… it was like everything that she was using to observe the man, to keep watch over him, was telling her that something wasn't right. And every action he made just reminded her that something was wrong, but she couldn't tell _what!_ It was gnawing at her, eating away at her, and she _hated_ it. She hated it and she didn't' know what to do about it.

"I fashioned myself after the maker of your demise." The cold confirmation did little, if nothing to settle, the unease in Pyrrha's gut. It was only the contact to Jaune, the small nudge of his arm next to hers, that kept her from completely falling over, perhaps in terror. Maybe. "But here I am finding your companions more terrified of me than you are. Such wonders that come out of your worst fears, are there not?"

The man, the _thing_ let his hands spread out as he spoke, head falling back to let his frizzled red mane hang frame his sneering face of joy. A malicious look that made Pyrrha's limbs churn with disgust, with hatred, with _dread_. She hadn't felt something so intense, so quickly, before in her life. And she didn't know what to do.

She didn't know if there was anything she could do against something so… evil.

"And who are you?!" Her head whipped, fast enough to make her ponytail nearly whip Jaune, as she saw Ms. Schnee demanding the question. "What kind of _vile_ person are you to speak this way!? As a Specialist for the Atlesian Army, I _demand_ an answer from you!" Her courage was to be commended, as were her actions.

 _BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!_ She did so with glyphs rising around her, some banging into appearance with a speed and intensity she was sure Weiss would be pained to try and mimic. Their solid forms, lined with runes she didn't recognize, hung in the air like ominous figures of power, showing the strength of the Huntress that commanded them. Each one of them had an ability that Pyrrha knew could shift entire fights.

Altering the gravity above the plates, accelerating or deaccelerating time, freezing components with massive decreases in temperature, creating solid platforms for leverage, their uses were as wide and varied as the imagination allowed. Weiss was kind to show them off during their practice. But for all their strength they had, and how marvelous they normally were, Pyrrha couldn't feel the same ease she normally did looking at them.

Not when they were aimed at a man, the _green vile thing_ , that grinned up at them without a care or even hint of his own fear. If anything, he looked… _amused_. As if they weren't even worth considering. What was worse, Pyrrha _wouldn't be shocked if it was true_.

"Who am I, you ask?" The man repeated MS. Schnee's question. Even in a pit of sand he had created from his fall from the tower, he was still eye-to-eye with Ms. Schnee. No… that wasn't right. He was _still_ taller. "Are you truly unable to conjure a guess? After all of the wonders and whispers I've heard you all muse yourselves with?" He heard that? _It_ had heard all of that?

"Wait, is he serious?" Jaune whispered next to her, and Pyrrha didn't have an answer. She didn't know, and she was too focused. "That would… that would make him _the_ Nightmare then, right? Like what Dr. Oobleck said?" Of that, Pyrrha was sure he was right. The problem was, she didn't know _what_ the Nightmare was imitating, only that she _hated_ it.

"But for you who are gnawing at the ends of your own nerves, I can offer you so much. It is the duty a king to do so." A king now? A king?! Pyrrha wasn't sure if that was more humorous or terrifying. Because if he was a king, then of what? The tower, the desert, or just his vile nature? Vile like… like…

Like the Grimm… the Grimm that were moving again.

Grimm that were chomping at air with the time the man moved, looking in the same directions that he was, gazing around with a confidence that he carried. They were moving again, and they were moving _because_ of him. That meant… that meant they had stopped because of him as well.

Pyrrha's blood was cooling, and she knew that was a horrible sign.

"You may call be Ganondorf Dragmire." The thing spoke with its hand raised. A hand the Grimm were _following_. "Or more accurately, the phantom of all that he was, and the only one capable of mimicking his might."

Slowly the creature closed its hand into a tight fist, already large enough for Pyrrha to believe he could hold a head within his palm, and crush it in the same move. She stared at it, ignoring the feeling of fear and terror that slowly wormed through her.

It was there only because she was nervous, like her first fight, like her first time in the ring. That… that was all that this was. It wasn't that she thought she was in true danger. It wasn't the idea that this was beyond anything she or the others could handle. That wasn't it at all. She knew that they had a way out, even if it was a small chance. That was how all fights worked, looking for the way out.

Even if Cardin and Sky were scrambling away from the monster, even if Ms. Schnee was holding more glyphs up than she'd ever seen Weiss manage to hold through an entire fight, even if Penny was holding herself up next to Dr. Oobleck, even if Tatl and Tael were hiding behind Impa, and even if Impa was holding her blade up in defense, that didn't mean they were in an impossible situation. It couldn't.

"For you all, I offer you now the same thing I would in life." Pyrrha didn't let slander and trash-talk affect her. It never had before in a fight, and now was no different. She wasn't feeling agitation or fear, it was… it was just nerves, just unease. That was all. That had to be it.

There was no reason for her to feel nervous, no reason for her to be scared, even as the malicious smirk of the evil man, the transformed Grimm, shown down on her.

"Accept this with pride." The massive fist of the man shook as he continued to speak. "A quick death."

A dark cloud of mist and dust exploded from his palm. Pyrrha didn't know what it was for. She only reacted as she felt appropriate. By leaping backwards, as quickly as she could. But she was not the only one.

The Grimm were moving again. The Grimm were attacking again. The Grimm lunged, snarled, beat, and swiped at her and Jaune as the dark mist from the man shot forth and into the sands, the sky, and the tower behind them, but they were all lost as the monsters descended upon them, swallowing them up with a ferocity that Pyrrha didn't know even the _Grimm_ could possess!

"Pyrrha!" She heard Jaune yell. "Hang on! We got this!" He yelled and encouraged her, even as she heard his own blade swing through the air, the same time she lifted her shield to avoid the vicious swipe of a Lolith, jumping to keep a creeper's talons from her legs.

Avoiding, defending, running, keeping away, _fleeing_. It was all she could do, all that was capable while the terror of this fight… as her life was on the line. As the idea of it truly sank into her psyche. She was truly in for a fight for her life… and there was no one to stop or save her. No one that could challenge the monster of a man.

And the monster known as Ganondorf simply laughed above and through it all.

* * *

It was poor practice for a research or scientist, let alone a doctor, to enter a field of study or excavation with the intent purpose to find a specific object. Usually, it was more common to enter with a general understanding of what would be found and using the general area as a term for success when something of similar capacity or merit was discovered.

A cure for metabolic disease or auto-immune proliferation was not discovered upon every trial or drug test, but it was considered a success if such tests or results showed a decrease or trend towards a specific pathogen or gene in the recombination deoxyribonucleic acid to target. Such was the same for excavations, as even Oobleck could admit he found little hope in finding Navi with 100% guarantee. High probability, to be certain, but at best was hoping for merits or clues for her future whereabouts or similar ruins of her species, or relations to Link's Hyrule.

However, there were those rare moments when moments of discovery, or areas of obsersvation, led to findings that were well beyond anything a young or experienced researcher could claim to have hoped to find. As such, this was beyond anything that Bartholomew Oobleck expected to find.

But it was all for the worse.

 **BOOM!** Dr. Oobleck jumped back as an Ursa's claw, far larger and far stronger than before, dug into the sandy dunes beneath him. The sand kicked up by the blast momentarily blinded him. But it did not deafen him. Hence, he was not useless.

He knew where to swing. And he did so with great strength. _CRACK!_ He was rewarded with the sounded and sinusoidal vibration through the diaphysis of his thermos. The blwo followed through, leading to the conclusion the beast he struck was either greatly injured or dead. He far preferred the later.

 **BOOM! BOOM-BOOM!** _"GRRRAAAAAAAHHH_." Because others were still coming.

Dr. Oobleck was only just able to dodge the blows that were thrown at him, body tired from his previous fights, air hot to keep his skin from cooling, feet on uncertain ground due to the granular nature of the sand, and the onslaught of the Grimm not ceasing. Not slowing. Not _tiring_. Not as he was.

"GAH!" He yelled out, letting his ducts tear to force the sand from his eyes. It gave him a blurry vision of his thermos slamming into a Grammite jumping from the dunes, slamming it into the hard carapace of the Lolith attempting to leap over him. He recognized that only barely, amongst the shadows of the Grimm countlessly multiplying behind them.

He had felled three in nearly as many seconds, and he was dreadfully behind task to wipe them out. The recognition, complete with him having to side-step another Beowolf charging from his side, forced the doctor to reevaluate his ideas of this creature and world they were thrown into.

Monsters were attacking with a drastically increased level of strength and propensity for dangerous strikes. A beast, gowned as a man that appeared to be lacking several key characteristics of humanity or Faunus kind, was controlling or at the very least allying with the Grimm. They were as a newly joined collective still overwhelmed by both, and with little means to retaliate.

Before this was a curious delirium, dangerous, but more humorous to him. Now, it truly was beginning to resemble a nightmare, one where he, or his students, or all of them could perish.

Now was not the time for analysis. Now was the time for action. And action required less thought, and more muscle.

" _GRAH!_ " A sudden shout left his lips as he twisted his body, striking the sand and blowing up a curtain of cover. His eyes were shut, he was prepared. The Grimm were lunging and therefore were not. It gave him the precious second he needed to strike, quickly and with great force.

 _BOOM! BOOM!_ He twisted his hammer, letting the liquid within jostle itself as eh let the enlarged thermos strike at the critical junctions of the Grimm before him. The cervical columns of the Beowolves, the undercarriage of the Lolith's, the snout of the Grammites, and everywhere else that he could manage to strike at. Dealing away with them as quickly as he could muster, as all his training had allowed him to.

And he did so with a mind that he was not the only one doing this. He was striking at the Grimm that new clawed through the falling curtain of sand, hitting them into dunes near and far, into the tower they were so nearly standing before, and letting their wispy forms turned to true dust upon contact. They were dead from his blows and therefore left nothing upon impact.

But no matter how quickly he felled, more came. Loliths appeared to multiply from the chalky remains of their fallen superiors, Ursa burst from clouds of smoke like beasts of legends, Grammites clawed through the sand with a strength that was impossible to gauge with their numbers, and even Creepers lunged with an indifference to the crowded nature of the battlefield. If it was true for him, it would be for the others. And the others included the students, who would be far less prepared.

He needed to find them. He needed to save them. Or else he would be a failure as a scholar, as a Hunter, and as a teacher. So he used what he could to force the monsters away.

His Aura flooded into his mace, extending his natural barrier and weakening his defense. A necessary risk for a boost in offense. An offense he had precious little time to strike out during. Glaring through the haze of his glasses, he searched for the Grimm around him, taking note of their position and quick immediate numbers.

"Two Ursa, 3 o'clock. One Lolith, 12 o'clock. Four Grammites, 1 5 8 o'clock." He rattled off the information as he readied the Aura in his thermos, letting the farthest point of his hammer glow as did his soul. It was a necessary sign, a necessary risk, for the gain he wished to possess.

And he couldn't wait long on it, or else risk losing it. His muscles tightened as they flexed, teeth grit as his surged his power, let his clothes already marred with dirt and sweat begin to cake with the heat, and eyes focus on all his enemies around him. Now was the time. And so, he committed.

"Impact!" Oobleck yelled out the familiar call, the warning he had given his teammates in what was relatively a life-time ago. Perhaps it would mean nothing to the others, but if they were as capable of students as he had previously deemed, they would know what it was.

A warning.

 ** _BOOOOOM!_** The ground shook as Oobleck struck it again. The power to before was incomparable. More than a curtain of sand, a wall was raised. More than a small illusion of dust was created, the heat had created specks of glass littered through the dust, like hard interstitial specks of poison to harm any who charged through.

The cries of rage and terror from the Grimm were nearly muted by the explosion he had created, a welcome relief to the hordes that threatened them. There was no curiosity as to why they yelled out in such a manner.

Between the impact of his hammer, the destruction of the dune, and the shoots of glass he had created, a fine number of the Grimm were impaled or injured. He didn't have the time nor means to count them all. It would be a pointless effort.

Instead, Oobleck focused, focusing on the enemy as they were now the new mystery he had to solve if he wished to save his team, his students, and their work. He listened for the cries of battle, more than searched through his hazing gaze and curtain of sand. It was what he did as he already started to move.

"The hell was that!? GAH!" He heard Cardin Winchester yell out, his cry afterwards one of exertion, not pain.

"I believe it was Doctor Oobleck, Friend Cardin!" Penny responded. He could hear her blades, barely, slicing through the Grimm. She had the greatest advantage with their numbers and her control.

"Keep fighting Pyrrha! I got you!" Jaune Arc as well, the under-experienced student proving his tenacity was growing in kind with his strength. "Just… Just keep at it!"

"Is he dead?! Oh god, he's dead, isn't he?!" The panicking voice of Sky Lark was also audible. But he did not focus on that either. They were recognized, and he moved on.

He was searching for someone else, the one who likely was exasperating the issue. When he found him, then he could at least distract him. And that level of mental requirement may lead to a deficiency in the Grimm activity. It was risky, unfounded, purely superfluous, but it was the only idea that he had.

Desperate times called for desperate deeds.

"That was a magnificent show of force you had." And desperation often came in the face of true evil.

Looking up through the wall of sand, settling now as they fell back to the earth, twinkling with the remnants of glass within it, Dr. Oobleck stared up at the man who had fallen from the high tower, and appeared to be every bit as terrifying as Mr. Lark's panicked voice had implied. He no longer blamed the child, as even he would find embellishment impossible in the face of such a thing.

"I surely hope that it was not your last-ditch effort. For it would truly be a sign of _despair_ for it to be so." His chuckle that came afterwards was mirthful and dry, as the desert they fought upon. Carrying the creatures of death, blowing with harsh winds, and leaving nothing to stand on. "Your death may be imminent, but I do wish to have something fresh to enjoy after spending so long surviving on scraps and pillaged dreams." Dr. Oobleck understood only the barest forms of the conversation. The very idea that the Grimm, for this man was a monster, was speaking at all was terrifying to him. "And that fear you have is truly something. Not ripe, not grand, but a pleasant taste upon the otherwise hate-filled dreads I have received."

His language was almost eloquent with the vocabulary to which it used. Words most adults wouldn't be able to recognize without some assistance. But Dr. Oobleck understood, he got it. And it was because he did he felt a fresh wave of unease creep up his back. A Grimm with intelligence was one thing, wisdom was another. But comparable to a well-schooled human's was another entire.

"Do you have a voice to speak? Or must I have the monsters tear your flesh to hear your voice?" The idea of this beast doing such wasn't an impossibility. Rather, it was almost simple and easy to imagine. The very truth of it terrified Oobleck, and the recognition that it did made his conscious worry all the more. "I would prefer words before blades, or hammers and fists as is clearly or case." Hammers and brains were his specialty, such as the mirthful laughter clearly that of this dark creature.

"In most circumstances such as this, I would be enthralled to carry a conversation with a creature inhuman, created from an assumingly non-corporeal entity." Dr. Oobleck spoke his mind honestly, never loosening the grip on the diaphysis of the thermos. His eyes never blinked behind his frames. "However, I cannot risk endangering those entrusted to me for purely academic curiosities or suppositions." Stalling, it was stalling. Stalling mattered against wise opponents. Stalling a Grimm was a horrifying though.

"Is that so?" The oddly shaped and colored man answered. The man was a monster, Oobleck corrected himself. One that folded his arms before his chest, puffing them out and giving the faux appearance of a much larger frame. Incorrect assumption. Its frame was abnormally large. "You are less terrified of me and more of what I may do to the young ones? That is, you have no personal fear of me standing before you?" That was not a truly correct statement.

Not a great amount, no and an inappropriately comparable amount to the level of fear and caution he had for his students, but not an absolute zero. Some fear, so wariness, but not enough.

"Correct, I have none," Oobleck with his determination slowly hardening. He had to make do to ignore the fighting that continued to embroil itself around him. "I aim to battle you, injure or main you, providing cover for my students to retreat to an appropriate area of fortification. Such is appropriate." The creature, if it was as human as it appeared, would have thought of this already. Thus, there would be no harm in stalling by stating the proposed tactics. Just was appropriate.

Inappropriate was lain in the cruel smile, broad and sharp, that the misshapen and colored man returned. An action that seemed to grow only by the void of action occurring directed towards Oobleck. The lack of Grimm surrounding him, the lack of force being thrown at him. Truly this man was in charge of the creatures, as impossible as such a scenario sounded, and was grinning with some level of satisfaction or personal jubilation due to-

_SMACK!_

Oobleck saw red and white. Red spots dance across his vision and white light crackled about his face.

His balance was thrown in a moment, feeling his thermos fall from his grip and hit the dunes beside him. He saw blue after that, blue from the sky above, but no clear direction for how. His sense of balance and equilibrium was thrown, he deduced, likely due to a rapid imbalance to the vestibular system. It persisted with his legs pulling over the sands he was laying on, unable to reason with his mind his vertical position without his lateral vision.

A slow pained groan left his lips, and it was only after such happened that he realized there was a fine amount of fluid leaking from them, too tacky and slow to be over-salivation from his mouth. Likely blood loss, more likely due to sudden and extreme trauma to his circulatory system, further likely deep damage to his dermal and epidermal layers of his skin. The conclusion was obvious.

The beast disguised as a man had hit him, faster than he could observe. And in doing so, caused damage his Aura could no track and reduce the impact of. It was a sobering, chilling, conclusion to reach.

But it wasn't enough. He would not be felled by a single blow. Not by any creature despite age size or magnitude or efficiency to which they were able to convert their primary source of nutrition. Oobleck spun on the ground, letting his hammer generate a storm of dust as he rose. High movement related to more difficult targets. The dust meant lower visibility.

Standing on his feet again, Dr. Oobleck could see where the man was standing, the monster that only appeared to be a man. He saw him with arms crossed, hands crackling with energy almost akin to Yellow Dust. He did not let that deter him. Instead, he focused on his form, letting this muscles twist and push the vast majority of his strength into the speed of his revolution, relating to a proportional increase in his hammer's centrifugal force.

The hammer was swinging towards its target, blowing through the dust and sand, leaving behind more traces of minute glass specks behind. It was going to hit the monster!

 **SLAM!** And he struck true, hitting the beast with a force powerful enough to blow the last vestiges of the sand storm away.

It was all he needed in order to see the grinning features of the monster, its massive fist having caught the hammer with the back of its hand, undaunted by the force and weight of the tool.

_SMACK! SNAP!_

Oobleck felt his head be thrown back again, this time as his spectacles were badly damaged by the blow. A blow he affirmed, through another hazy relapse and destabilization of his central balance, weakening of his legs and grips, was coated in electrical energy. Enough to send his neurons, and the balance of his Potassium and Calcium train, into disarray.

It was little wonder then, with limbs weakened by the force and electrical potential of the blow, that he was on his back again, wind nearly knocked out of him. And all from being hit by the Ancient Grimm. Hit only twice.

Twice, and he was on his back in what could have possibly constituted for a TKO in a professional regulated match.

"Is that all you truly have?" Dr. Oobleck just heard past the sand that slowly filled his ears, head laying across the dunes. "Unprepared for even a simple strike of a outer palm? If that is the truth, I dare to say your fear for your students would be well placed, for there is no manner or method for them to survive if they were instructed by _you_. _HAhahahahahahaaaaa~_ " The laughter that rolled from the insult was making Oobleck's stomach curl and churn.

This wasn't good enough, far from it. Far from satisfactory.

More effort was required, more effort to acquire greater results. Current results were unsatisfactory by nearly all measures.

"Fight, fight, must fight. Must continue to fight." Dr. Oobleck chanted as he rose to weary legs, gripping loosely his heavy hammer. He did not remember it ever weighing so much. As its weight had not increased for any observable reasons, that had to mean he was becoming weaker, but weaker then ever before. It still was no use or reason to surrender.

Even if the reason was poor, and born from fear and desperation, a part of him still believed that distracting, if not harming, this poor shadow of a man's form would surely lead to decrease in the Grimms' strength.

Why else would they become so strong so quickly? Why else would they be able to battle experienced Hunters with such strength? It had to be some mechanism the man held. No, monster, just as Mr. Lark described. It was a monster, and he had to fight it.

Because just like an Ancient Grimm, the Grimm were different around him. Even if it would be the first case of Grimm being stronger in force and will, even if it was different from the usual territorial nature they developed around their elder kin, it was the only reason that Oobleck had for their strength, and therefore the only path he had to rely on.

Leaning on his hammer now, glaring through cracked frames at the grinning man with dark emerald skin, he knew that battling him was the only way to even chance the safety of his team. And he would not risk harm upon them again. He knew what to expect now.

The monster was strong, and fast. A fatal combination, excellent advantage in most scenarios involving survival or aptitude in battle. Best suited for ambushes or quick decisive duels. However, disadvantaged by prior knowledge. And Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck now knew to look out for the creature disguised as a man. This… Ganondorf. The man who hit with the strength of a Bullhead, hands seemingly coating in darkness and lighting and-

_SMACKSMACK!_

The man who had slapped away Oobleck's hammer with another too swift swing of his hand.

"Is this the manner by which you aim to fight me?" The beast of a man questioned, uncaring and apathetic in his voice. Deplorable, heinous as the Grimm that attacked all around them. "It is well made, and I have lain hands upon many weapons and tools in the past. For everything from farming the crops of spring to chopping the woods in winter." The pride in his voice, and the arid region in which they stood, implied a lie.

A lie that Oobleck couldn't speak, only _just_ having righted his footing with his thermos so quickly stolen from him. Enough to recognize the feet the creature towered over him, and his own weapon it held in its massive hands, like fingers gripping a toothpick. Horrible analogy, but relatively accurate.

"I wonder what that fountain of hope you have will do when you lack your source of defense against me?" The question implied no good would come soon. "And the only way to ensure a proper answer, is with a live test."

_CRACK!_

The same monster that bent and shattered the hammer in his grasp, as if it were the reinforced AISI 1045 Heat-treated Cold-Rolled steel that it was. It was… almost too monumental to take on words alone. But Dr. Oobleck did not have words, he had sight. And right now, he did not trust his sight.

For Oobleck had little faith his eyes were properly showing the twisted and torn steel at his feet. The long handle by which he operated the dispersion of liquid and overall torque and required centrifugal force for operation on one end, the other holding the much higher mass and denser packaged metallic head, holding the main point for contact. They were separated, completely torn apart, in a manner that would require near complete part replacement and repair.

Through an innumerable number of battles, and just as many significant and diligently applied modification, the hammer and thermos had assisted Oobleck through many excursions, excavations, and late nights studying for his work. And now, it was ruined across a desert dune.

With a monster cackling above it.

"Hahaha, perhaps that is not the grandest expression of regret I have witnessed, but I do prefer it to the hopeless determination you held before." Dr. Oobleck looked up at the man, the frames of his glasses showing their cracks again. They were beginning to spread. It was not the only thing to start a cold slow crawl atop him. The dread appeared to be doing much the same. "Perhaps that is what the others need to feel the fear of their death topple over them, to drown in the feeling. A taste of what I can do." The implications had not left.

If Dr. Oobleck failed to fight, his students would be harmed. If they were harmed, he would fail and if he failed… then nothing else mattered.

He couldn't stop, shouldn't stop, _wouldn't_ stop. Not for something as paltry as a broken weapon. Not while he could still stand. Not while he was capable of fighting. Action was required, not thought.

"No," he spoke out again, standing unarmed and without a means to defend himself. "My thermos was my tool for some time, but I am the Hunter that guards the students, not the hammer you broke." It was the truth. One was a tool, the other was a multi-directional and individually capable soul. He was more than any piece of metal, broken or dented.

He was Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck, and the terror that was this Ganondorf Dragmire, or the phantom of his image, would not be his end.

"I will stand before you, even if the natural consequences of my actions lead me to an untimely demise. I will stand, so my students will not fall." The Grimm raged on around them, but he kept his eyes, peering through cracked frames, at the imposing figured or the disguised Grimm. The cruel grin it returned was continuing evidence to its true nature.

"I see. Then I supposed I must kill you now." As were its words. "Perhaps then they will show me a fear and terror beneath that lofty hopefulness you cling to." This time, Oobleck saw him.

He saw the sparks of electricity light around the heavily armored fist of the giant man, the gauntlet of his forearm reaching forward with a speed that would make the flaps of a hummingbird's wings seem minute or inconsequential in comparison. He was bale to see it, but he very much doubted he could avoid it. Avoidance, however, was unnecessary.

 _WHAP!_ "Hmm?" As instead, something else blocked it.

A long metallic weapon, stuck into the sandy dune by a long blade comparable to a scimitar's edged portion in comparison. He recognized the blade, the origin of its purpose coming more from Mistral Cultures than Atlesian or Vale. A Naginata, a heavily strengthened pole-arm with a sharp point, bladed to allow for vertical and horizontal attacks beyond mere thrusting or parrying motions. But… he did not know who in their group used such a tool.

"Stand your ground, Dr. Oobleck." Until he looked to his right, and saw a wisp of smoke take the familiar shape of Impa of the Shiekah, the eldest friend of Link, former Captain of the Hylian Knights, and soul doomed against the monster they fought. "Ganondorf Dragmire is a ferocious entity, but you are not destined to face him alone. Never against a beast such as he should rely solely on quality, not when you have access to quantity."

Quantity, power in numbers, tactical advantage usually considered first in most military operations. It was what the Grimm predominantly had over the Hunters that fought against them. It was the primary reason for their younger recruits to fight in teams. Yet, here was a reversal of situation. The Grimm was more powerful, highly intelligent, and outnumbered by the them, when one did not consider the litany of other Grimm about the desert fighting the students and Winter Schnee.

No, for now the focus was on Ganondorf, the Grimm that had torn through his reinforced thermos with ease, after moving faster than his reflexes could reasonably predict, and put him in a near death state with a single blow.

 _SCHINK!_ Dr. Oobleck watched as the Faunus of the shadows, the described liaison of the Shiekah clan, unsheathed and drew forth her massive blade, more than her equal in volume, perhaps even greater in mass. The intense heat seemed to simmer off of the large surface it possessed.

"Take the Naginata, wield as you would your own weapon," Impa instructed, her massive blade, forged by Goron Smiths in the fires of the Death Mountain, as Tael had described in one of his requested tales, aimed at the green-skinned foe. His smile had dimmed, but had not fled. "I will need your help in defeating this beast." Of that Dr. Oobleck had no doubt. For he would need hers, and Link's, in besting the foe in tandem.

His hand gripped and pulled at the Naginata, testing the weight in his palm as he spun it sideways in his grasp. It was not nearly as end-heavy as the Thermos he used, weighed more with solid metal within its core than the hot liquid he preferred. But its size was similar, disregarding the head for a blade, and its durability at least comparable.

Amongst the desert climate they were thrown into, still surrounded by a near never-ending mixture of Grimm unaccountable to the normally arid terrain, and before a foe far stronger than any he had seen before, Dr. Oobleck had no complaints to voice.

It was not perfect, but it would do. Satisfactory tools were all that were needed for a skilled man to do his job.

And Dr. Oobleck was, at the end of the day, a very good huntsman.

"Ah, the strength in numbers," Ganondorf spoke on, arms folded again with his hand drawn back. "The common tactic to overcome one's fear, allowing your weakness to be concealed by the strengths of your allies." The Grimm spoke much of fear, but ultimately unsurprising. Oobleck noted it as he held the Naginata in a parallel fashion, aiming the curved tip of the blade towards the Grimm. Impa, at his back, did much the same for her much larger blade. "But concealing them is not ridding yourself of them. One of you still fears the strength of myself. The other terrified of what I have done in the past." The conclusions for whom was who were obvious, but inconsequential.

They did not matter, not while action was required. Observations followed results, and actions were needed to put the methods to use. They needed to act, and he would have a fellow Hunter's skill at his side.

"Fear is the mind killer," Dr. Oobleck spoke, a quote from a novel he had read long past. It was a whisper almost lost amongst the winds of the desert and roar of the monsters. "Hope is the spirit lifter." He finished it, _SHINK!_ Twisting the Naginata in his grip.

"I agree completely," Impa, or perhaps Link, answered in kind. Either were acceptable partners now. Both had experience with this twisted form the Grimm embodied. "Now, let us rid ourselves of this Nightmare."

 **BOOM!** Sand exploded beneath her feet, the dunes turned to mush and poor remains of a hole as she jumped.

 **BOOM!** Oobleck would not let her fall behind. Not while they depended on one another. And though both of them were swift, both of them enhanced by the Aura they now let swim across their bodies and strength the resistive force of their skeletal muscles, the Grimm they charged at did not appear abated.

If anything, the mad grin it gave, framed by emerald skin and deep golden eyes, appeared enamored.

And, perhaps, excited.

* * *

Sky was going to die, and he knew it.

He knew it the moment he was transported into the tower with Impa and Link, forced to lurk around the halls with only the timid and stupid fairy to guide them and the over-aged huntress trying to lie her way out of how bad the situation was. He had a much better idea of it when he saw a freaking _talking_ shadow acting like some kind of high-king in his tower, looking down on all of them.

It really added onto the pile when he saw the _dragon_ flying through the air, seeing something so massive and obviously so flipping far away, even in the _sky_ , roaring like it owned the damn thing. Probably did, too. But no, one of the absolute most _sure_ signs that he and everyone else were going to die was when the Grimm started _transforming_ into whatever the hell Impa, the invincible Faunus teacher from some magic land, was _afraid_ of.

And when he found out that same thing, not a man, _thing_ , was responsible for everything, and was bragging about how he had _killed_ the strongest damn Huntress he had ever met, that was the final straw.

They were going to die, and the monster named Ganondorf was going to do it.

"SKY GET DOWN!" _SCHWWWIIIII—_ That is, if the Grimm didn't kill him first.

Sky hit the deck the same time that Cardin screamed into the air, narrowly dodging two things. The massive jaw of the Creeper that was leaping for him and the mace of his team leader smashing into it. He felt the heat of the explosion blow out above him, sending the Grimm back to whatever oblivion they crawled and fell out from. Wherever it was, Sky realized that it must have been full.

Because no sooner was he rolling his was back up off the sand, spitting the coarse material from his mouth, than did he see a pair of the same monsters lurking out of the dunes, like daisies in Spring. And they were wood about to get pulverized into mulch. That's at least what all the claws and jaws were promising.

"Stay focused!" Cardin yelled again. This time, Sky reacted. The same way he'd been taught and trained, listening to the big guy who could take a blow and doing as he said so he wasn't taking them instead. "Get up and start fighting or your gonna _die!_ " He knew how to incentivize as well.

He rolled backwards, fumbling behind his back until he was able to pull out the trisected members of his lance, hitting the appropriate button to activate the magnetization Dust along their outboard ends. Almost immediately, they all snapped together, complete with the shink of his bladed ended coming out, aimed upwards and towards the Grimm.

The freaking piles of Grimm that looked almost more like a wave of madness and darkness than individual monsters to kill. Having a weapon, no matter how hard his hands were gripping it, wasn't going to do a thing. But that just meant he had to fight, so he could live as _long_ as possible.

Even if it was abundantly clear he was going to die.

"GYAAH!" He yelled out, striking forward with his lance at Beowolf that had climbed over the dune. It missed, intentionally, forcing the beast to duck away. That gave him time to adjust his feat, swinging his lance at the farthest point and letting his lance hit the beast with the greatest amount of force. He felt it tear through the flush of the monster, complete with a roar of pain.

It also let him look at the new horde of monsters that were coming at him, and Sky still finding himself stuck mid-swing.

 _SHING-SHING!_ The sound of shifting metal reached his ears, the same time he saw a good portion of the Grimm being torn to bits. It made him feel relieved, for all of a second.

"I am handling the smaller forces, Friend Cardin!" Penny yelled out, and god was he happy to hear her voice now. Thankfully they brought the strongest person he'd ever met with them. Physically strongest at least, able to take Cardin in an arm-wrestling competition, while the big guy _was_ trying. "I suggest we find Specialist Schnee before the forces grow too numerous and our fatigue increases beyond the ability to recover!" He loved that suggestion.

"I like that _plaAAAAAN!_ " He started to yell out, but stopped as he saw a Grammite jump up from the sand, forcing him to step back. It missed by hair's width from chomping his face, letting him see the alabaster plate of its face, and the glowing red eyes to match.

Grimm didn't have emotions, but he would have sworn on the death bed he was so close to reaching that it was grinning at him.

 _SHINK!_ He made sure to stab upwards with his lance in retaliation, even if it forced him to stumble back just to find room for it. Now that a single stab to a Grammite was enough, not with how it still weighed like a monster's worth of dark flesh on his lance, and wiggling with pain, probably. So he ripped upwards, pulling until the was swinging his lance over his head, like a child with a sword.

The freedom came with the monster's death, he could tell from the black gore that came with it. He made sure to plant the blade of his lance into the sand when he did so, to keep its long reach from hitting anyone else. And it was a good thing he did, too.

 **BANG!** Because it gave Sky _just_ the right amount of cover to keep the Ursa's claw from tearing into his gut, probably doing a larger number on his Aura than the fall itself did. He didn't even have time to scream out a cuss or sound of fright before he grabbed the bottom of his lance and jumped back, again. Backwards, backwards, and more backwards, all to avoid the wall of Grimm that were coming at him.

"Then where the hell is _she?!_ " Sky let out, even as he held up his lance defensively. Had to be, because he was going to need to find an opening against an Ursa. He wasn't able to beat it to death like Penny or Cardin. **BAM!** Or more accurately, how Cardin was apparently doing. Not that Sky had a voice to mind.

Not with the way he blew apart the Ursa he was defending against with one great swing, per usual. But that was just a reminder that he couldn't let his leader to all the work. Not now, not while they had to find a way out of here still. Definitely, and… even if they died, he wouldn't die like that.

He jumped forwards, the first time moving forward so far, stabbing with his lance at a Grimm that was crawling up the hills. Another Creeper. His lance ran through its eyes, spearing it and coming out the other end with a satisfying glurching sound. He ripped it out, pulling it back and looking for the next target. Sky found it.

The problem was, the massive Beowolf, probably older than the rest, noticed him, too. It was already in mid-air, lunging at him and making use of the open back Cardin had. Sky tried to shout for his leader to run, to let something out. But he didn't have a voice, like he was already dead. Just the shouts and screams of the Grimm around them, over a wind that roared with sand and heat.

 **BAM!** And then there was the sound of the Grimm hitting the solid wall of a floating glyph. Sky knew exactly who that was, and he didn't have a mind to argue with that either.

He watched as the glyph shot forth beams of light, or whatever the hell else it used. Spearing and stabbing the Grimm into the oblivion it came from. He kept himself crouched to the sand, as that same light fell back to the earth, hitting probably another five or so Grimm climbing the dunes and falling down the sand towards them. That wasn't even counting the Grammites and Creepers that were burrowing on top of that.

"Found her!" Penny shouted out, and Sky was thankful for the voice. He was even more thankful to turn and see the Atlesian Specialist running towards the, glyphs floating and following her like an easy to hold shield. Sky was confident, he'd given an eye and a leg for just a pair of those right now.

"There you are! Are you well?!" She shouted at them. Sky didn't care, not when he was screaming just to scream. She was yelling because there was more noise around them than the worst concert he'd ever been to in the most enclosed concert hall in Vale. She looked like she had just come out of it, too. Considering how her white hair was sticking to her face and her uniform was already showing some signs of wear and tear. A scratch there, cut there, and he could have sworn she wore a boot at once point.

Sky looked down at himself, as if to check to make sure he hadn't already lost his guts. He had, he knew it, or was going to, but for now, the only thing staining his outfit was sand and sweat. It'd get red eventually, he knew, but right now…

"We're good! Great!" Cardin yelled out, even as he hulked his mace above his head, keeping his back to them. Probably facing some Grimm Sky did _not_ want to look at. "Just fighting for our _damn lives here!_ " He wasn't wrong. He was only wrong in that they had a chance to survive all of this. It was just delaying now… just… keeping it all away as long as possible.

"You are doing well! I could hear your fighting from above the calls of the Nevermore!" Was that were she was? Pulled into the air by those things? Sky didn't doubt it, even though that probably wasn't what happened. Hell, he'd believe it if she said she got dragged to hell by the Loliths then rode a Grammite back.

No, scratch that, he'd only believe that if Impa or Link said it. Or the damn fairies that follow either of them around.

"There is much going on, so I'll be brief!" Was this a meeting? Well, why waste a reprieve, even if it was their last. Their _fucking_ last. "It appears that the monster known as the Nightmare has taken on the visage and likely the abilities of one of Link's past foes. He has expressed powers involving both extreme ranges of strength, speed, durability, and most disturbingly of all, some mental acuity with control over the Grimm."

And to think, just a few seconds again, Sky thought he'd believe her riding Grimm to safety. But now the sound of a monster like Ganondorf controlling the Grimm was just stupid. But it wasn't, it was real, and it was real because the guy _wasn't_ a guy. He was a monster. He knew that, he said it first. It was the Nightmare that had put them all in this damn desert.

It was a Nightmare, and they were going to die when it decided to 'wake up'.

"We have few options available to _US!_ " The yell came at the same time she swung her blade. Sky didn't even see the blade before. But he did see a yell glyph pop into existence, shooting forward and cutting like her blade had grown a hundred feet in length. It sliced at least a dozen Grimm down. But Sky saw them coming up, more of them, from the sands beyond. Hopeless still. "The best course of action at the moment are the requirements for survival!" What the hell were those!?

"You mean just keep killing the Grimm?" Sky asked, his voice breathless. "Are… Are you _joking_? Do you see how many of them there are!?" He held his hands out for a moment, indicating the wave that still tried to descend upon them.

He stopped that, instead pulling at the base of his lance and ripping it upwards. He caught the underside of a descending Nevermore with the action, tearing its wing off and letting it crash behind him. Carding grunted, even as he heard him or Penny tearing another few of the monsters apart. And they were _still_ coming!

"These guys don't stay down! Or at least their freaking cousins don't! And you want us to fight them while that… that _monster_ is still over there probably tearing Impa to pieces!" He pointed at wherever the monster had fallen before. Because Ganondorf, massive and horrifying as the thing was, was impossible to see over the wave of blackness that was the Grimm 'tide'. "Are you crazy!?"

"She's saner than you're sounding!" Cardin yelled back at him. Sky almost let his head duck into his shoulders at the comment. "Unless you're telling us to give up and die, her idea sounds like the best one we got! Not that we could even _try_ 'nother!"

"N-No, I'm not saying that-" He didn't want to give up. He wanted to _live_ dammit, and fighting monsters that could _kill freaking legends_ was not a strong way to prove it.

"I believe Specialist Schnee and Friend Cardin are also correct! _"_ Penny shouted, because of course she did. Even as she jumped to throw _three_ of her blades forward. He heard the screams of the Grimm they hit, before they flung back to her sides, by whatever kind of rope and tether she was using. "Fighting against this several species and seemingly copiously gathered Grimm is the optimal course of action to take!" Well no kidding it was!

"I get that!" Sky yelled, even as he ducked to avoid a Creeper, letting it lunge over him and burrow back into the sands, escaping. He didn't even want to _think_ if that meant even _more_ Grimm would spawn because he didn't kill it. And there it was regardless. "I-I'm trying to ask what's the _point!_ How do we freaking _win?!_ " Because unless they could, they were going to lose. And loss meant death.

"Win? Isn't that obvious?" Ms. Schnee asked, almost whispering as she jumped forward, barely dodging a Grammite of her own. Sky was _seriously_ starting to hate those things, and the Creepers. She did him a favor by stabbing her blade forward, glyph free, and letting her blade split in two. IT cut the Grimm into as many pieces. She held both blades effortlessly. "I will assist in dealing with the main target while the rest of you deal with the fodder that is making the battle so difficult." Sky didn't need to think what that meant.

"You're going to fight _Ganondorf!_ " He yelled out. "Did you _see_ that thing?! You're strong, no kidding, but he… _it_ is what killed Impa! She even said it!" How could that _make_ her want to fight it?!

"I have not forgotten. That is too important to disregard!" Ms. Schnee yelled again, twisting around to let her blade tear through a diving Nevemore. They really seemed to like her, like how the Grammites just _loved_ him. Them and the Creepers! "However, until the head is cut from the snake, it will not die. And I refuse to merely hope to outlast a creature that bragged of its longevity." Well that made sense.

No, no it didn't. That was a bad thing, as bad as _everything_ else that was happening here. Sky was sweating again, breathless, not even sure if it was because of Ms. Schnee talking about fighting that thing so easily, or if she was going to eventually ask _them_ to help.

Because that… that he couldn't do. Not without dying, and he wanted to live as _long_ as possible. That was why he was a hunter, because Hunters could choose were they set up shop, and a Hunter in a low-crime safe place like Vale was safe as safe could be. Here… this wasn't safe. This was death.

"Be sure to reduce their numbers as swiftly as you can!" Ms. Schnee yelled out again. It was only after she did that Sky realized she was already leaving, her coat tails flipping as she jumped over a Beowolf, stomping on hits head as she came down, a black glyph floating above her as she did so. "I will be back with Link and Bartholomew."

And then she was gone.

Gone in an explosion of dust and sand that made the Grimm cry out at the same time. Sky watched her body fly off, Nevermore trailing after her as she descended far away from them. Far away, and probably the equivalent of light years with the Grimm between them. It was too far for him or any of them to ever hope to reach. The best fighter they could possibly have for holding these things back, and she was gone.

"You heard her!" Cardin yelled out. "Till she and Impa kick that thing's ass, we gotta hold the fort! WE can do that, right?!" Sky truly had no idea where his leader was gaining his confidence from. But if the idea was just an endurance test so they _could live_? He'd do it. Besides, any second further that they fought was another minute that they lived, and he wasn't going to give up and die just like that.

"I got it!" Sky yelled back, spinning his lance and letting its tip slice through the legs of a standing Ursa. IT brought the creature down, low enough for him to lurch forward and draw his spear over its throat, killing it before it hit the ground. IT was one down, but still a thousand it go, or so it seemed like. "We can survive at least!"

"I concur!" Penny shouted, and she was the one that Sky was worried the _least_ about. Seeing as she could dance her blades around her body like it was no issue. "We can endure this for far longer than we currently have! I have the data to prove we, as a unified front, posses the capabilities!" She was sure confident as well.

"Alright! Then we got this!" Cardin almost sounded like he was laughing, but Sky was sure that was just him hearing things after all the times he'd been thrown across the sand and screaming Grimm. "Then Penny, you gotta keep the smaller Grimm away so me and Sky and take down the larger game. Think you can do that?"

"I cam combat read and ready to impress, Friend Cardin!" That sounded like a yes to him, and he knew what his leader's plan was. Now at least. They handle the big guys that got through and Penny friend the small guys who were easy pickings. Considering how she was able to throw her swords like retractable boomerangs, that seemed like a good plan. And one that he could get behind.

And the first test to that plan came in the form of a Creeper, _another damn Creeper_ , jumping out at him and lunging for his throat. He was more than ready now, even if he was just buying time to live.

Sky twist his lance so the creature bit on the diaphysis of it, the same way he defended against most attacks. While it chomped on the steel, he grabbed the distal end of it, letting the monster fall towards the sharper end unintentionally. When it was far enough, he struck.

That is, he ripped his lance forward and let it cut the head straight off of the monster, letting it hit the sand with a dull thud. Felt good to take one down, but that good feeling fled as he saw another three pits of sand churning in the distance. Now wasn't that just great?!

"We got more of them coming underground!" He shouted, even if it was plainly obvious to even the Arc kid that they were coming from under the sand. "And they aren't stopping!"

"I have them, Friend Sky!" Sky heard Penny shout, and a moment later, he saw a set of her blades fly, fling, and stab into the sand dune he saw the creatures burrowing through. He watched it for a moment, even as his peripheral vision reminded him that there were more of the monsters coming towards him. He didn't need to worry about that for too long.

_FWOWWOWOOOOSSHSHSH!_

Because a pillar of green energy, and energy was all he could describe it as, erupted where Penny had thrown her swords too. It was almost like a sporadic bomb-fire the way it just erupted, tearing apart the sand dune and making the Grimm under it and near it screech out in pain. HE never considered himself a sadist half as much as Cardin, but hearing those Grimm cry out in pain was a relief he couldn't describe.

"Good job Pen- _DUCK SKY!_ " Not that he much time to relieve himself.

Sky did as Cardin told him, for what felt like the hundredth time. And for as many times, he avoided the slash of an angry Ursa. He turned around on his back, holding up his lance against he beast's undercarriage. IT looked down at him with protruding bone masses, and a jaw that was practically drooling over him as well. It was easily one of the most horrifying things he'd ever seen, considering how its beat red eyes were so focused on him.

 **BOOM!** But then an explosion ripped out from behind it, sending it falling forward with an angry cry. _SCHLICK!_ That cry became a whimper of pain as it fell on Sky's lance, stabbing itself through the cut and running up its length, stopping only when it hit the bony mass around his neck. Sky didn't need to feel much more fear after that. Its slump limbs showed it was clearly dead.

He pushed it sidways, letting the creature fall over. It gave Sky enough time to roll over as well, looking for where to strike at next. And he found it, in a Nevermore that was swooping over Penny's basic wall of swords and coming at them. He took care of it the same way he'd been trained to for years now. Duck, stab, and rip. Rip and tear to stop the flying hunt.

Then there come another pack of Grammites, that Cardin helped him take out. Then there was a Creeper that was larger than normal, where he gouged its head before Cardin blew off its back. Then there was a whole _family_ of Lolith's coming at them, which Penny had to drop her wall to help them with.

Then it went on, and on, and on, and on… and Sky was getting tired.

He lost track too quickly of the number of beasts he had killed, and he was already losing track of what explosions were caused by them, Arc's team, or even the fight with Ganondorf. He couldn't tell what was where or even what were the size of the Grimm he was fighting anymore. They were all blending together, just like his vision. It was all… mixing.

"We are still performing spec _-tac-_ ularly!" Penny shouted from somewhere in the distance. "We must continue this level of effort for an unknown amount of time!" Now that wasn't something to cheer about!

"U-Unknown?!" His voice wavered before he yelled, his legs shaking as he just managed to stab a Creeper that was crawling at his feet. It was almost instinctual now where they were. "What's unknown?! What the hell are we looking for?!"

"I do not know Friend Sky!" Penny shouted again. He felt one of her blades fly by him, probably to completely gore whatever Grimm was sneaking up on him. He owed her money after this. Maybe his life. Not that she had much longer to collect from him. Either of them. "I only know that Specialist Schnee indicated that she and Instructor Oobleck and Link and Impa would deal with the head of the threat, thereby doing significant damage to the Grimm population, if not neutralizing them!" That didn't answer anything!

"Then what's the high sign for that!?" Cardin yelled now. At least he wasn't the only one getting annoyed. "Is there going to be an explosion, some kinda light how, or wha-"

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

Whatever the sign was, it wasn't the one Sky was looking for.

Like a cannonball, or maybe a laser straight up fired from the bottom of an Atlas class military craft, something blew through the sand, past the Grimm, and nearly striking Sky. Even on tired legs, he knew how to dodge, as it was the only thing he really cared to do. And right now, he was thankful for it.

Because even with the thing rocketing past him like it was made of light, plowing through the Grimm like it was a black hole, he had just enough time to see the thing before it left his vision. He was almost impressed, he'd admit in his next life, that he had time at all to notice what the thing was.

Notice it as it did more damage to the Grimm numbers in a second than he'd done in all of an hour, or what felt like one, completely smashing through the dunes like they were made of actual water, and causing a lull in the field of battle. It was something he wanted to be thankful for, but honestly couldn't, not without letting everything he already hated about himself swallow him up.

**CRASH BOOOOM! BOOOMMM!**

And the second implosion of noise came from the same object slamming into the tower. It blew through the stone structure with a force that could not be realistically argued with, enough that _anyone_ in Beacon taking it would mean a funeral the next day. Enough that the pillar of smoke and debris that shot up from it was enough to make his legs quake, stomach churn, and look forward with nothing less but complete unease.

Because even if he didn't want to admit it, he knew what that thing was. And it wasn't a thing at all. Ganondorf, the monster, was a thing. This was something else. Something with white hair, with a massive blade, and with the clothes that he'd been staring at for the entire time he was caught in the tower that it had just been shot into faster and harder than any bullet he'd ever seen.

But that couldn't be it. It _couldn't_ be who he thought it was. Not without all of his hopes and dreams of surviving for even another few minutes being absolutely crushed.

"What the hell was that!?" Sky yelled out. Sure, it had saved his life, but he had a _strong_ idea that whatever it was wasn't something that was meant to be thrown like that. And with the way the Grimm were 'swallowing' up the hole again, it didn't even do much. "Seriously! What was that?!"

"I believe… that was Instructor Impa." Okay, Sky regretted the question now.

As soon as Penny answered him, he knew it was a bad idea to ask, but he couldn't deny it. Fast as it was, he couldn't have missed the giant blade she was carrying, white hair she had, or the stupidly strong frame on top of it all. Only she could tank being thrown through Grimm like that, _hitting the tower_ like a cannonball and not even caring.

Unless… she did care, and she was out… and Link was out… and they were dead…

"There's no way that was her!" Cardin yelled out. **BANG BOOM!** The same time he swung his mace twice, slapping away and blowing apart the reaching claws of the nearby Grimm. "She would've stopped herself if it was!"

"I-I cannot confirm. I can not confirm the identity!" Penny yelled out, and, again, Sky was regretful of asking the question. Because before at least he was the only one freaking out. "I lack the communication network necessary to monitor the Aura levels of others nearby and cannot confirm the identity of Instructor Impa through the high volume of Grimm!"

"Well keep trying! We gotta check on her! No, screw that! We gotta get to her!" Cardin was shouting again, this time waving his mace towards the tower. **BOOM! BOOM!** Correction, he was blowing away the Grimm with it. "No way are we gonna just let her stay there and get swarmed!" He was right about that, they couldn't do that.

Because if they did, she'd be dead. And there was no way Sky was going to let himself end up like _that!_ He had to hurry and help his teammates, or else they'd all be chow food. And that couldn't happen to Impa. She wasn't dead and neither was Link, not _again_ at least. Not without _some_ kind of promise that they'd be okay.

Because if _she_ couldn't make it out, then there was no way they were going to be able to. They needed her. The _needed_ him. They needed.

**ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAA-**

The scream from the dragon high above him broke his thoughts, again. Just like everything else that was happening around him, it destroyed his sense of confidence and burned away his spirit. Sky was already sweating in fear and a bit of anguish, and looking up, he felt that little bit of relief he had disappearing in into the blue sky and black serpentine dragon swiveling its way _way too high_ above them.

Before, it had kept roaring no matter how far away it was. He heard it _rumble_ through the tower, the same tower that Impa had just been slammed into like a freaking cannonball from a ship. Then he heard it next to the _talking damn Grimm_ above the tower. And during those times, it was just intimidating him with its horrifically large size and ability to fly. The roar's weren't doing much, seeing as they were just screams.

But now it wasn't just a scream.

**ROOOOORRRORORORAAAAARAAAAAAAAA-**

Now there was fire.

Now a pillar of fire so bright and large that it almost made the blue sky look _dim_ flew out of the mouth of the giant dark dragon _GRIMM_ above them. All the while as it slowly moved through the air, probably because it was just so _freaking huge!_ Big enough Sy realized that it was actually moving at _light speed_ and just looked so slow because it was so _massive!_

That was bad, that was bad in every way he could think of and describe. Bad enough that they were fighting on uneven ground with Grimm popping out of the dust and stone work like freaking dandelines. Horrible enough that he was doing this with tears still staining his face and his leader having to pick up the slack for him. And even _worse_ that this was all happening in some _dreamscape_ an Ancient TALKING Grimm had created.

Now they not only had that, but a giant fire-breathing _dragon_ looming over them. It was only going to get worse, he knew. Just like a Nightmare.

"Oh god no, _NO!_ " Sky shouted, managing to stare at the _freaking dragon_ that literally splitting the sky with its freaking fire! Why was there a fire-breathing Grimm Dragon _NOW!_ Why ever?! Why wasn't it just some oversized monster he thought it was before!? "H-How are we supposed to take _that_ out? As in take it out _before_ it swoops down here and starts tearing us apart like wood into _mulch!_ " He'd be lucky if he was mulch, he knew.

Because despite being on top of the tower before, the dragon, still waving through the sky, didn't look much different in size now as it did before. It still looked like a giant terrifying beast that he wanted a grand total of _nothing_ to do with! Then again, he wanted _nothing_ to do with any of this! He didn't want to be fighting Grimm, monsters, and freaking things strong enough to _knock-out_ his profs with a few blows!

"H-H-H-H- _HRAAAGH!_ " He hyperventilated before stabbing outward, letting the tip of his lance rip into the side of a Beowolf. It was enough to push it away before it jumped on Cardin, but that just let another Ursa pile over it, holding his lance down and putting him back into the sand on his butt. He looked up, mortifed at the drooling face of the bear Grimm. "A-A-AAghghghg," he let out again, loosely and with water clogging his throat.

"Hi _YAAAH!_ " _SHINK-SHINK!_ The loud battle cry came in time with a pair of blades absolutely _destroying_ the Grimm that was holding him place. Complete with a large red "X" forming across the Ursa, just before its sides fell over and large upper top fell to the sand with a dull thud. Mist billowed out of it moments later.

"Friend Sky! Are you well?!" He recognized that voice, and he looked over, through the _absolutely massive_ amount of gore and dust, to see Penny standing there with her floating blades. He was immensely thankful for them, now more than ever. That, and her stupidly strong strength. Even if it was _paltry_ compared the massive numbers of the Grimm. "Please speak so I may verify your holistic well-being!"

"I-I'm alright! I'm good!" He wasn't, he was so far from good, but he did _not_ need to be thrown by Cardin again, not after last time. "Just… Aw dammit, we gotta think of something to do!?"

"Like _WHAT?!_ " His leader shouted, the same time his mace beat the back off of a Lolith, complete with its head exploding with the dust. Another two popped up from the sand behind him. "Like fighting the Grimm?! Like fighting that freaking _monster_ that's holdin' up the teachers?! Or are you thinking about that _dragon_?!"

" _ALL OF THEM!_ " Sky shouted, even as he rolled back to avoid the jaws of a Grammite. He hated them, hell, he hated Grimm more now than ever before, but standing on loose soil for Grammites to swim through like a fish in water, and _still_ having jaws that could chew his leg off, that was just _unfair!_

He stabbed it with a scream, pulling it out of the dunes and ripping his lance sideway, the same way his dad had taught him to take care of threats from a distance. Bisecting them without putting a hand on them.

"We _have_ to think of something o-o-or else we're all gonna end up like _IMPA!_ " He shouted the name as he struck a pose he was sure she would have. If she was trying to gouge a creeper that was leaping over her and trying to eat her from the head down. This guy only managed to get halfway down his lance before his sharpened tip pierced its skull. He didn't have time to lament the kill.

He spun around, chucking the Grimm off of him and twisting it back to his body. Just in time to keep _another_ Grammite's massive jaw from chowing on his arm. He hated these things _almost_ as much as he hated the whole situation. And for Sky, the guy who knew he was going to die soon, that was saying something!

**ROOOORORORORARARARAROROR-**

Especially when another hot-as-the-sun scream came from up above, loud and bright enough to make the sky seem dim. It burned away his few remaining strands of hope with the cry. It made him cringe, the heat of it from still _so damn far away_ making his head spin. No wait, that wasn't why his head was spinning.

 _WHAM!_ It was spinning because he was hit, hard, by a Grimm he didn't even recognize.

Sky was just aware that his equilibrium, and probably his sense of the world, was thrown violently. Way worse than anything that Cardin did trying to save his ass. He was just hit once, hard, across the face, making his Aura flash and sending him careening through the dunes. Sky wasn't even sure what he hit or what happened next.

There was just a ringing in his ears, something telling him to raise his lance even as he was trying to raise his head. He did so, only because he didn't want to give up without another second of life. Something hit his spear, not the other way around. He didn't know what, or care what, he was just trying to find balance in the world where his head was spinning, Grimm were attacking, dragons were descending, and some mad super-Grimm was laughing.

Sky could hear it, too. The same guy that had killed Impa, twice now maybe, laughing above even the cries of the Grimm and heat of battle. Hell, even over the roars of the descending dragon, he could hear all of it. It was like it was rumbling through the sand, the same thing that he was trying to push himself out of, even as he felt Grimm crawling beneath him and practically running over him.

Something must have knocked them off of him though, at least from on top of him, because he was able to sit up. He still felt like left was down, and his body almost fell with it, but his lance caught him, forcing him upright. This was hell, and he knew it. It was hot as it, unending as it, and as hopeless as it.

So why the hell was he still fighting?

"Link! Impa!" He heard Ms. Schnee yell above the sounds of battle. It took Sky a moment to realize he was hearing it over the ringing in his ears. "The dragon! That _beast_ is coming and it needs to be taken out! Before it descends, or else we will not have the abilities to keep off the Grimm _and_ Ganondorf!" Could they now even? Did they even have a chance?

Sky wasn't asking for the fun it. HE knew it before and it was only becoming clearer and clearer. The Grimm were too many for the, Ganondorf was too _strong_ for the _best_ of them, and now a _giant Grimm Dragon_ was breathing _fucking fire_ and coming at them? What kind of a prayer did they have? Even if the freaking Gods of Dust and Magic were alive, what kind of hope did they have?

None, he knew it.

"SKY! _SKY get your ass UP NOW!_ " He knew it as he felt his collar being pulled and thrown again, his equilibrium completely shot as he fumbled across the dune sands, kicking up the coarse material and letting it fall into his mouth with the same motion. "Get up and fight _dammit!_ " He was farther away, and Sky could only barely hear him over the ringing and screaming Grimm.

He looked up, seeing the monsters still lurching over the sands and dunes, the dragon above them slowly falling towards them, more like a destructive comet than anything else. And somewhere, in the middle of all of this, was a monster strong enough to battle three hunters alone, batting them away like flies, and promising the same for all of them.

"LINK! If you can hear me, you _must take down the dragon!_ You are the _only_ one who has the capabilitites!" Not if he was dead. And with what they saw with Impa… they probably were… and that was even worse. Because… because…

"Now _LINK!_ "

**BOOOOOOOMMM!**

Sky couldn't eve yell out in panic as the air around him crashed. That was the only real way to describe the sensation. Crashing air.

It was as if the sand was being sucked in under his feet, pulling his body with him, before it was lit like the fuse of some mega-bomb. At least way larger than anything the other kids at Beacon had used. Because it was more intense than even the explosions from Cardin's mace. That thing could blow off the limb of any Grimm it struck.

This, it blew the Grimm, the sand, and even himself over with a force that almost ruined his sense of up and down all over again. But he kept himself square this time, letting his lance embedded in the ground stop him from rolling over himself. There was nothing to help the massive number of Loliths and Beowolves that tumbled past him, the Ursa having to crouch down to avoid being pulled or blown away.

When it was done, and the sand started to blanket him like a sudden layer of snow, Sky looked up and over, trying to find the source of it. He couldn't see it though, at least the actual source.

All he saw was a hole in the dunes, covered with Grimm slowly falling into it and some of their bodies turning back into mist. Wasn't even all that impressive next to the giant tower that still loomed over them, which by itself was kind of secondary to the dragon clawing its way through the sky and the monster-disguised-as-a-human named Ganondorf assumingly still beating the crap out of Oobleck and Ms. Schnee.

"Look! There she is!" The yell from Cardin, who was much further away than Sky remembered, got his attention all over again. He saw his leader pointing up, even as he stood over the corpse of a disappearing Lolith, or three. Sky did follow his leader's arm though, looking at where it was going.

And he saw a speck of gold shooting into the sky. It was a lot easier to see against the dark body of the dragon. Much easier to see.

"Ocular magnification at 10x, 20x, 50x," Penny was talking in her usual gibberish again. Ironically, she sounded a lot closer to him. "Confirmation of UFO's identity. Elrora of the Watarara approaching the Grimm dragon at high speeds." High speeds had to be massive considering the stories he heard about her before.

But if she was alive, and taking off after the dragon… then that meant that Impa had to be alive as well. That meant that she wasn't dead. And that Sky, realized, was something he was smiling over. She wasn't dead yet, even if the Ganondorf monster was stronger than hell. Even if he was laughing over the carnage and commanding the dragon, he still hadn't killed her. And now she was attacking the Grimm Dragon, to keep it off of them.

"She's got it! Oh yeah, she'll knock that thing right out of the sky!" And Cardin realized it, too. He heard his leader _cheer_ for Dust's sake as he slammed his mace into to face of another Ursa, pushing its skull past its spine. "Knock that thing dead then get back here and help us!"

"I do not believe Instructor Elrora or Instructor Link is capable of hearing us, friend Cardin," Penny spoke up, because of course she did. "But I abso- _lute_ -ly agree with your wishes on this matter! Instructor Elrora and Link will return swiftly and commence an equal high-speed purge of these Grimm and there assumed leader!" Even she was excited, as she tore through another six Grimm with her flying blades.

"Then we gotta stay alive long enough for her to _get back!_ " Sky didn't know if the shout was an instruction or a comment, not with how he lunged backwards to avoid a Grammite from chomping at _his_ leg this time. "And we can do this, cause there is _no way_ I'm layin' down to die like _THIS!_ " **BOOM!** And his mace went off again. _Shink-Shink-Shink_! He heard Penny's blades dancing as well.

If they were fighting their hardest like this… then he had to as well. So, on shaking legs and uneven stance, Sky raised his lance and looked for the next Grimm in his line of sight. This was all for nothing, he knew, but that didn't mean he shouldn't fight.

They were going to die, and he was going to fight against every second that counted down to it.

* * *

Link cursed in as many languages as he knew and could remember, from the remnants of the minds of his friends, from the long held words that were not meant to be spoken aloud unless in threat to another. He let them run through and split his mind as he soared with Elrora's Wings, ascending higher and higher into the vast blue that so harshly contrasted with the endless tan of the sand. The common thread between them was the stain of darkness that littered both. Both were monsters from his past.

One was a monster who ruled the desert he now stood once more upon, laughing again at the suffering and fear her wrought. The other was a beast as terrible as a mountain's fall, capable of doing such with its size alone. A size that was still effortlessly carried through the sky with a growing curtain of flames behind it.

As fast as Elrora could fly, Link only encouraged her to go faster. She would not risk it, as her memories an mind told him of how too fast a flight could put them beyond the breathable air of the land. Link didn't care, as the beast was already entangled with the clouds, and any second they wasted reaching it was a moment it would have later to fight him with. Or worse, with the others, the others he was _once more failing to protect…_

Elrora tried to calm him, even as she let him guide her wings to ascend at the necessary speeds. Even as she let him use her eyes to see through the harsh wind and remained undaunted by the force pushing back against them, she tried to calm him. She knew what it meant to be overcome with rage and grief. But so did he. He also knew how to use it.

**ROROROROROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAA-**

It was why he agreed with Winter to attack the dragon before it descended and joined the front against them. Ganondorf was already beyond anything they could handle tighter, likely stronger than he was alone, but the monsters that surrounded him, leaving him to pick and choose the fights he participated in, only made it worse. And because of that, something had to be done.

It was only a small lining of silver that Elrora had left to calm him. The reminder that this was a monster he had slain before, before he had endured all of time's travels, all of the tortures of the future, and of the world beyond the Lost Woods. This was something he had dealt with before hew as as strong as he was now, and now he was far beyond what he once was. It was something small to hold onto, but it was not much.

It wasn't much as Link refused to forget the children that fought beneath him, dealing with the monsters that piled on them worse than many worse did to the knights of Hyrule. How Dr. Oobleck was fighting with a weapon borrowed from Impa, and so nearly defeated already by the overwhelming strength of the Phantom that was Ganondorf. And how Winter was only bale to keep others at bay, unable to fight for fear that she would be dealt with just as easily, and if not more quickly. Only Tatl and Tael could assist with information and guidance, as everyone else was stuck with their own fights.

It was a game of survival that they were fighting. And, despite Elrora's attempts to calm him, Link knew it was one they were losing.

He had to slay the dragon, the dark counter to Volvagia, to the great monster of Death Mountain. It was why he let Elrora's wings widen to their longest breadth, fighting against the wind that he had traveled against, and holding them in place in the sky. Holding them still directly above the dark beast that was the dragon of the Death Mountain, reincarnated as a terrifying vision of destruction.

Link and Elrora watched it for a moment, memorizing its features the same way as he had all the threats of his past. He saw the long serpentine body that it used to drag and wave its way through the cloud, she saw its red eyes searching the land below for prey to attack. He saw the claws scratching at the air it flew and dragged itself through. She saw the endless flames of its mane whip and curl as if uncaring for the wind that roared pat it.

**ROROOORRROROROOOOOAAAAAAAAAA**

Both witnessed the fire blow from its mouth, enough to make Elrora's feathers burn and yearn for cooler air as it super-heated the space around them. Already so high up, even with a desert beneath them, it only continued o show that this was the great beast that Link had slain so long ago, now out of the mountain that kept it from escaping, now looking for prey to feast on.

But he would not let that happen. Not him, not Elrora, and none of his friends would.

Though Elrora was quick to remind Link in the scape of their mind that though her talon were sharp and wings strong against vicious blows, they would mean nothing in comparison to a dragon's tough hide, durable scales, and monstrous size to swipe and burn with. She was a fly in comparison to him, large as she was and great as her history stretched. Link knew his, but thanked her nonetheless.

He wouldn't risk even the memories of his friend against what was clearly an illusion, especially when they were not ready to face such a task. Elrora was the only one of his friends present or past who had the strength and ability to climb to such heights so quickly, but she was not one who could threaten the dragon Volvagia with any real means of strength.

For that, he would need the strength of the people that had first been tormented by the dragon, and who forged the weapon to slay the beast first. The very weapon he held in his large toolset, and one that he could use again. However, time was of the essence now, and he could not risk his strength not being enough to fell the beast quick enough.

Time was a factor that returned to his mind and Elroras as the dragon started to descend. The current of its monstrous size pulling a stream of air down with him, pulling Elrora from the sky, even as she and Link fought to stay above the beast.

He could not risk striking the beast as himself and letting it survive. It would be too difficult, to risky, to try and fight it without the ability of flight. Not without the guarantee that he could fell the beast with a single great blow, or something nearly the same. Something to cripple it, to weaken it, to deliver a blow that not even the terrorizer of Death Mountain could endure. In the air, the choices were limited without grand risks.

But the risk of inaction was greater. The risk and cost of attempting to delay for his own safety was too much. Elrora agreed, something had to be done.

Bending his friend's wing, Link lifted the mask of another friend to his face, an exchange of memories and power in the air, and one that both Elrora and he knew were necessary. Over the long beaked face of Elrora, roaring through the heated winds trailed by the fames and gargantuan size of the dragon, Link placed the mask of the Goron Hero about his face.

His memories shifted in kind.

He forgot how to fly, but remembered how to dig. He forgot how to peck, but remembered how to punch. He forgot how to sing, but remembered how to play. He forgot how to guide, but remembered how to lead.

He forgot the memories of Elrora of the Watarara, and recalled all that was Darmani of the Gorons.

And so, in a flash of blinding light, next to the darkness of the dragon of Death Mountain, above the memories forged and tainted by the Nightmare of Monument Mine, it was brought forward.

"GAHAHAHAH!" His friend roared forth, either undaunted or uncaring for the height from which they were falling. "Never before did I think I would fall from such a height again! I didn't even come close ta imagining that I'd enjoy it!" Link let his friend scream with joy against the heated wind. He deserved it. For he was going to help solve the issue Link could not.

He could not strike hard enough to fell Volvagia in a single bow, but Darmani could. With the past efforts, with Link's skill, with the right weapon, and with the fall from a higher height all assisting him, he had all that he needed to deliver one grand blow against the dark fell dragon. And Darmani knew it as well.

**ROOOORRARARARAAAAARARAARA-**

The roar of the dragon cemented the knowledge, ripping forward and immense heat as it descended downwards. A great flame that battled and fought the wind, winning against it and completed masking the sand below. It was a horrible inferno that would have, at this proximity, completely ruined any soul close enough, turned the sand below into a sheet of immaculate glass, and turned to cinders anything less.

It was why the Goron hero grinned almost madly through the fire and wind that ripped past his face, hitting his stony features as meaningfully as water upon the shore. The fire and heat that licked and brushed past him reminded him of the smithy he often found refuge in when he was young, and the promise of battle was the promise of glory he had not received since he was cursed to die upon the Snowhead Mountain.

It only made sense to his mind, one that Link could not follow the path of. He died from a fall when it was freezing, so he should naturally survive a fall in the middle of some great heat. Again, Link did not follow, but Darmani did not care. He only asked for the hammer of his people, to which Link provided with little issue.

And so, still falling towards the endless dunes of the desert below, towards the base of the almost unrecognizable tower, Darmani righted the hammer that had been drawn to his grasp, feeling the familiar steel in his hand. The heavy mass that was forged by Death Mountain's core, the great heat that was put into hammering its length, the vast care put into molding its shaft, all of it culminating in the pride of Gorons both near and far.

In his past life, a life he could hardly remember, he had held this very hammer to seal the dragon once. To beat it into submission after devouring so many of the young lives of the Gorons that were just beginning to tunnel their first holes and burrow their first chasms. And he had sealed it rather than kill it.

Now was not the time to make the same mistake twice. The Megaton Hammer would do what it was meant to do.

His eyes, disproportionate the rest of his muscular body, stared at the mass that was the Volvagia. The great dragon far darker than he was before, perhaps because he was not lit by the fires of Death Mountain, not like in his memories. Link spoke of how it was due to the Nightmare's influence, but Darmani did not mind either way. It didn't change what he had to do.

"First digging through some ruined mine of horrible build, now fightin' the worst thing to ever curse the Gorons." Even with the wind still tearing past them, still no more effective than it was before, the Goron grinned as his hands tightened about the Megaton Hammer. "Ya truly know how ta keep a brother happy, Link! GAHAHAHA!" The Goron cheered, even as he pulled the hammer back.

There was no land beneath him to counter the force of the swing, sending his body in a small backwards tumble, far more than he wanted. It gave the Goron more time to see, and reaffirm, the massive size of the dragon he was about to strike.

Before it was large enough to drink the magma of Death Mountain and devour every member of the Goron Race. Now, it appeared capable of doing all of this, and then scorching the entirety of Termina and Hyrule in search of more food and warmth. Perhaps if it managed to escape from this Nightmare, as Link had described it, it would do just that. IT was why he could not fail, and he had to do what was to come.

Darmani swung his arms down, swinging the hammer with him. He did not hit his target, too far and too wide to possibly hit it. Instead, it did forced his body to do what it could not alone. The mass of the hammer, thrown forward and held as far from his body as it could, made his round and hardened body lurch forward. It didn't have nearly the strength that he wanted, neither him nor Link. But that wasn't intention.

The intention was for the hammer to swing his body forward, to fight against the roar of the air and fire of the dragon. It succeeded, with its grand mass guided and forced by the strength of the Goron Hero holding it, reminded by the pair of minds behind it. The intention was to fight the fire, but then beyond.

It was to spin the body of the Goron, through a method learned by a Hylian.

It was to make the hammer beat and twist against the flames, though it was meant to whined and slice past the wind.

It was to force forward and grow in strength with every turn, and that was not diminished.

Darmani turned the Megaton Hammer's singular massive strike, into a churning cycle of immense force.

And through it, the Goron laughed at his own display.

" _GHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!_ Here I come _again Volvagia_! Face my wrath again!" Link thought nothing as they approached the bulk of the dragon, their collective vision lost about the dragon's form and spinning wind. It wasn't improtnat to him. HE thought of nothing as the hammer was held in massive hands, as they were about to come near the dragon's demonic darkened face, and through the breath and mane of black.

**ROAOAORARARARAROAOOOOORRAAAAA-**

Because through the combined strength, skill, and feats of the two memories. The dragon of Death Mountain stood no chance.

 ** _CRAAAAAAAAAAACK!_** **_BOOOOOOOOOOOM_** _!_

Especially not when the hammer connected.

And even the hardened alabaster carapace, coated in flames brighter than the sky and comparable to Death Mountain's heat, cracked to shattered glass beneath the blow. But that was only what Darmani's eyes could see. Link's senses, honed towards knowing what his enemy was enduring and exposing, told much more.

The blow had ruined the hardened shell of the dragon, turning what would have been its greatest defense into a comparable paper shield. It's once majestic flight, of serpentine paths and dedicated location, was quickly toppling itself towards the ground, spinning in curves and circles like a rolled barrel. Slowly, even still, Link and Darmani could both feel the embedded hammer pulling them about the monster, spinning them in more directions than the pull of the earth or their own body would take them.

He could feel the life slipping from the imaginary beast, the illusion of the Nightmare. Like many of the horrors that Ganondorf had resurrected and recreated before, this one too was falling under the weight of the blow of a hero. It was just not its own.

**ROOAOAAHAHAH- ROOAROAROAAOAORARA-**

"GAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Darmani roared with his voice, above the wind and the dragon his hammer had kept itself imbedded into. "Not so strong when you're out in the open, are ya! You forgot that a brother like me wouldn't waste a blow with a monster's he's already taken out once before!" Link was thankful Darmani would not hold back, but that was not his thought now.

His thoughts were not on the dragon, who was already destined to die now. Of how it was falling towards the sand again, but far away from the terrible conflict of the students and other knights. IT was some distance away, due to the grand size of the dragon, a problem he had not foreseen, though Elrora would likely have made him wary of.

He cursed himself again, cursed his luck as Darmani continued to bellow with his laugh, through the flames of the dying dragon, past the wind that whipped and reminded them of the coming earth. The Goron laughed because it had felled the killer of his people twice now, and he had Link's luck and life to thank for it.

But Link's mind did not celebrate or cheer. His battle was far from done still.

Far below, Ganondorf was still making mockeries and toys of the hunters and students, using the monsters of the desert and the fear he had pooled from countless years together. It was something he had to face, but he could not readily fly back to. Darmani, even through his breathless laughter, reminded him of it.

The dragon Volvagia was quick to rise after being felled. It needed to hit the earth and turn to dust amongst the sand before it could truly be called dead. To fly from it before ensuring its demise would be promising its inconvenient return to terrorize them while they battled the fake king of evil. Link deplored the thought, but realized it was right. His friend kept his anger in check, perhaps with the jubilation he still felt at the kill.

So even as they twisted through the air, the heavy metal hammer of the Gorons digging into the head of Volvavgia and terrorizing its flight path to a free-fall, Link held firm that he would return to the fight soon, as soon as this dragon was dead.

He had killed once foe from is past. He would do the same to the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	24. Dreams of Torture: Phantom Ganondorf (Part 2)

They weren't stopping. It was a terrifying thought that raced through Cardin's mind.

For what was easily measured in hours now, he and his teammates had been fighting the Grimm. They had fought them through the desert, to the giant tower, against the freak of a beast that looked like a human, and watched what was likely a _freaking dragon_ roar through the sky. And through it all, they had kept fighting Grimm. Over and over and over again. They just weren't stopping.

He'd smashed more than a dozen Ursa in the skull with his mace, did the same thing to probably close to a hundred Beowolves. He had stomped a half a dozen Grammite's as they were emerging from the ground and grabbed the tail of Creepers long enough to slam them against his mace, like a freaking drum. That didn't count the Grimm Penny and the others had helped him out either. They'd cut them, smashed them, burned them in a few cases, and done just about _everything_ else capable of hurting them!

But they weren't stopping. They just kept coming.

Over and over again, like a the jokes and jibes that were thrown at him from the other brats at Beacon. A bunch of idiots who thought that they were better than him just for being a little faster, a little smarter, having a few more friends, and that was it. It didn't matter how hard he worked, how much he struggled, how _angry_ he got at them, it wouldn't stop, just like this. And… it was all getting to be too much. Far far too much.

Enough that his swings were slowing, his stance was slipping and… it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

"Friend Cardin!" Penny yelled behind him. He heard her through his heavy pants and roar of nearby monsters. She was nearby him in a second, because _of course_ she was unaffected by fatigue. She was already stronger than him… "You are showing the acute stages of fatigue and exhaustion, coupled with a higher than normal heart-rate and profuse sweating." He wiped a cup full of sweat from his face, probably proving her right in the process. Didn't matter.

"So… what?" He panted out, taking gulps of breath, tightening his grip on his mace. He had to hold it steady, especially as another Ursa, a _freaking-nother_ , saw them. "That your… way of… telling me ta… to stop?" He cracked his neck, to keep himself awake.

"No Friend Cardin!" Penny yelled again. He heard the _whirr_ of her swords next to him. Just another thing she had that was better than him multiple swords against one giant mace. And she had more metal than he did still. "I'm advising you to move to the rear section of the formation along side Friend Sky. Allow Friend Pyrrha, Friend Jaune, and I to engage with the enemy while you have time to rest." This time he did look at her, ignoring the Ursa that roared into the desert air. It was probably one in a hundred he'd heard in the past few hours.

But aside from that Penny's face was the same he'd seen a lot to. Eyes looking at him with pity, not respect. With concern, not admiration. With a sense that she was better than him, and he had to realize it. But he didn't, he _couldn't_. That would mean failure, that would mean _proving_ them right, and he couldn't let that happen.

Besides, they still had to fight.

"Not… _NOW!_ " Cardin shouted again, as he swung his mace upwards for the hundredth, perhaps thousandth, time. The dull crack of the metal hit head the outer shell of an Ursa echoed through the field slightly, vibrating through his tired arms more than anything else. There wasn't even any need to watch the corpse of the monster fall over.

He'd seen it all so many times before, enough to know it didn't matter right now. What did matter was the fact that he was falling over, at least almost. A foot stuck itself out, digging into the desert stands to support himself. He was still craned over, jaw agape as he _tried_ to force air into his chest. Cardin felt as if he needed to punch himself to get it in there.

"Yes now!" Penny returned. At least she was _just_ as used to the bodies they were dropping as he was. Anything got dull with time he guessed, even fighting giant monsters. "I estimate that with your larger than average physique and heavy armaments, you will be experiencing fatigue and exhaustion before the rest of us, and that can lead to detrimental effects on you as the battle goes on!" So it _was_ because he was in the way.

He turned to look at her, but stopped as she lunged to his right. The taller student didn't even need to guess why. Not when he heard the sing of her blades plowing through the air, complete with the harsh cry of a Lolith as it was impaled, probably thrice over, by the 'magic swords' of the chick. He watched them get reeled back in by her arm, before she turned and looked at him with hands at her side, giving the same damn look as before.

Cardin couldn't even care about the stunt she'd just pulled. It had stopped being impressive after the thirtieth one she'd killed like that. The same way how he was getting used to even Jaune slaying a few of the Grammites and Beowolves himself. Maybe that was the exhaustion talking?

No, he just had to keep going.

"I told… you… that… doesn't matter…" Cardin took in a greedy breath of air after that. IT was still hot going down his throat, dry as the land to add to it. Overall just a bad breath of air to take, not that there was anywhere to get a good one. "Not if we… gotta… keep…" He didn't' get more than that out.

"Of course it still matters!" Penny yelled at him, but her face hadn't changed. She still that look of pity and wanton respect. Damn that gaze. "Physical harm that is inflicted upon you results in the rest of the fighters present having to resort to defensive options, prolonging the fight and creating a systemic increase in the Grimm activity as a consequence." Well that was even better. He was being told to stay out of the way for probably the best reason of all.

He was a _liability_.

"I'm _not_ gonna… just…" keel over and die. That was what he wanted to say, but his words were failing him. No, that wasn't right either. The exhaustion was really getting to him. It had to be. Because he didn't just up just because he was tired.

**RROOOOOOOAOAOAOAAAAaaaaa-a-a-a-**

He went quite as he watched, and _listened_ , to the giant dragon that was dragging itself across the sky suddenly get plucked out of, like it was smashed by a rock. The serpentine beast, the giant black _thing_ that was swimming its way through the air, just jerked violently like it was smacked. Cardin watched it, listened to it, as it was suddenly tumbling down out of the air.

It was only as it was falling that he realized just how _massive_ it was. He could count the seconds, probably the only thing he could do in his energy deprived mind, as it tumbled downwards. Seconds was a long enough fall for a human, but this thing was reaching double digits, and it still didn't look like it was getting any closer to the ground.

"Cardin, what are you- _Holy Crap!_ " That only gave everyone else a chance to see it. Namely Sky as he shouted next to him. "Are you _seeing_ that!? Is that thing _seriously_ going down!?" Even with everything blurring between his words, Cardin could tell his teammate was excited. Seeing a giant Grimm falling? Yeah, that was pretty exciting.

"I do have confirmation the Grimm designated as the Dragon Volvagia is falling." Volvagia? When was that named? No, dumb question. Better question was why it was falling. No, that was a dumb question, too. Only one person that was responsible for that. "Ten times magnification, fifty times magnification, confirmed sighting of Goron Hero Darmani along the dorsal region of the Dragon Volvagia." Cardin could only grin.

Of course that guy was up there. The Super Faunus that had basically taken them all out, flying up there with the big bird and then turning back into that rock monster? Not like anyone else here could hit that thing that hard from _that_ far away. Let alone fly up there to do it. He didn't think at least. HE still didn't know what Jaune's Semblance was. Maybe he was able to fly away like the little fairy boy that he was. Oh yeah, he was tired.

"Impact soon occurring," Penny spoke up again. _BOOM!_ Just after she 'fired' off another blade, slicing through maybe two Grammites with the same string. Seriously, this girl was just too good. "Predicted landing occurring in T minus 11… 10…" seconds huh, Cardin could see it. Only showed how far away the dragon was.

He leaned to the side, seeing a giant shadow looming over him, just enough to let the Lolith that was trying to sneak up on him stab over his shoulder. A couple of its pincer leg things hit his back, but his Aura held, even tired out. Gave him _plenty_ of time to grab the legs and pull forward, dragging the screeching Grimm over him and in the dirt.

His boot hit its underside a second later, giving him plenty of leverage to pull, namely against the leg he was still holding. And he did so, with a small grunt of exertion. The Grimm's leg came ripping off, red and black mist wafting through the air before he brought his boot back up again, slamming his boot back down on its unprotected front. It legs curled a second later, dead.

"3… 2… 1…" **_BOOOOOOOOOMMMM!_** Cardin felt that one, like the monster from before jumping for the tower.

This time, he was able to see a plume of dust, sand, and whatever else was in a desert shoot up into the air. Might as well have been a bomb with the way it exploded. He'd seen pictures of mega Dust weapons and armaments before, namely off of his dad's videos and army training. The fact that the explosion itself was comparable to some military grade _bomb_ was just scary enough. The dragon must have been even more _massive_ than he thought, and the rock monster took it down? Just like that?

Not to mention the way it _shook_ the ground around them. Cardin would have fallen over if it weren't for his mace dug into the sand. Sky wasn't so lucky, actually falling over next to him. The Grimm around them didn't fare so well either. They were all looking up into the air, sniffing it, screaming at it, yelling, and… wait…

They were disappearing?

He rubbed his eyes as he saw the number of Grimm around them go down. He did it again after he saw the numbers had fallen _more_. And when he reopened them, he was focusing on a Beowolf that was pawing at the sand, scratching at nothing with its massive claws. He stared at it, knowing he could pummel the thing with a good smack of his mace.

But he never had the chance. Not when it vanished into the black mist it was made from, like freaking smoke.

The dragon getting knocked out by the stupidly strong rock monster? That didn't' do anything for him. Seeing the Grimm they were fighting going out like candles? _That_ woke him up.

"H-Hey! HEY!" Cardin yelled out, staring at the spot a Beowolf had _vanished_ form. "Did you see that?! Sky, Penny, did either of you _see_ that?!"

"See it?!" Sky yelled back. He was still shaking. "Cardin, I'm freaking _watching it!_ " His arm waved out at the horizon of Grimm, the same thing that had looked like it was painted with Grimm before. Looking at it now, it was more like a thin like of darkness. And the smoke was rising from it, steadily. HE never thought he'd be happy to see smoke before. Not this happy at least.

"Confirming the disappearance of Grimm in the vicinity," Penny noted next to him. He ignored her. He was already confirming it with his _own eyes!_ Even if he only believed half of what he saw, that still meant a metric ton of the monsters were just _gone!_ "Confirming… confirming… confirmation acquired. No visible mass, audible sound, or displacement measured in sand granules. Grimm opposition has… been reduced?" Cardin was just laughing now. Sky was joining him.

"Yes! Yes!" Sky was jumping next to him. "Holy crap yes! Go the hell away! Fly the heck and _burn in the hell you came from!?_ " He was damn happy, that was for sure, and Cardin didn't blame him for a moment. The Grimm were _finally_ looking like they took a hit!

Okay, yeah, even if he was little more awake now, he could at least tell there were still a lot of Grimm left. Enough for there to be an emergency anywhere else in the world. But it wasn't like they were dropped into a next anymore at least! He'd take that and learn to love it. Not to mention it'd make keeping the Grimm off the teachers easier, especially with Arc and MS. Invincible helping them out.

"Guys! Guys, you okay?!" Speaking of… Cardin twisted his head, grinning at the shorty Arc as he ran up. Figures he did, his partner and the Golden Girl looking way more exhausted than he did. She even looked like a mess with her hair all over the place and panting. Arc just looked like his sweater was a little torn. Still no confusion on who was carrying the torch there. "Oh good, you're all still good… I guess considering where we're at." Cardin would have rolled his eyes, if he wasn't still over the flipping shattered moon with the Grimm gone, by whatever the number was.

"Friend Jaune, Friend Pyrrha!" Penny shouted first. No surprise there. "I am also glad to see you are both of acceptable physical health! Have you observed the recent occurences with the Grimm?" Kind of be a joke if they didn't at this point.

"Do you mean the dragon thing falling out of the sky, or the Grimm vanishing?" The Golden Girl asked. Because of course she needed a _perfect_ answer as well. "I'm sorry but… both are rather incredible, and fortunate." At least he could agree with her on that.

"Both, duh." Answered back easily. Not even the disapproving glare the girl gave did much to him. No way he'd be upset now of all times. "First that rock thug Darmani takes out the Dragon, then the Grimm start popping like balloons? I'll take 'em both without any argument here."

"Then I'm not crazy, that actually _did_ happen." And for once, Cardin couldn't blame Arc. If someone told him the story of what happened, he wouldn't have believed it either. "Did you do this? O-Or know what the heck just happened? Is this _normal?!_ " Oh he wished it was.

"Negative, Friend Jaune. I do not have concrete reasoning for the vanishing of the Grimm. Only suppositions of what could have caused it." Guesses, Penny had guesses. Cardin noted it as he took stock of the Grimm that were _left._ Still a lot, again, but at least doable. "Current theories include the manageable energy of this state of land have reached a critical level and are dissipating, reducing the observable mass to maintain its structure. Alternative theory is the heavy casualties that have been inflicted upon the opposite have led to a decision to remove unsatisfactory forces for a stronger force. Another theory is-"

"It was the dragon's death. I-It's gotta be that." Cardin looked at his teammate with the declaration. Everyone did. "Soon as that thing hit the desert, e-e-everything just starting going up in smoke! It was like a chain-reaction or something." Cardin had to admit, it sounded good to him. Sky was usually right about things he guessed at. And Sky didn't sound like he had any doubts about this.

"That's an idea," Ms. Invincible added in. "Destroying an ancient Grimm and turning the rest of the weaker ones to smoke. Does… does that happen?" Wait, she didn't know either? That was Arc's job.

"Unconfirmed," Penny added in. "Hunters have described prolonged fights after hunting missions for Ancient Grimm while others have reported simple travels after mission's success. Theories range from age of Grimm to type being hunted. No correlative data has been monitored or logged to reach a satisfactory conclusion." No, but… but Cardin liked the sound of it.

 ** _BOOM! BOOM!_** He didn't like that sound, however.

He, and probably everyone else, looked over to where the explosions were coming from a few dune hills over, or whatever they were called. It wasn't hard to see what it was, even easier to guess after everything the _thing_ had done. Heck, he knew he wasn't the only one, not with the way Sky was shaking again next to him.

But after watching the _monster_ drop down and practically one-shot Impa, the teach that had basically lain him out for the fun of it, nervous was a good thing to feel. Terror was right there with it.

Especially when the giant green-skinned _monster_ was fighting off both an Atlesian Specialist and Professor Oobleck by himself. And grinning about it still.

"Of course that thing isn't gone, _why_ would I even think it would be," Cardin mumbled out, growling as he finished. "Dumb thing doesn't even care that it just lost the numbers advantage."

"Actually, Cardin, they… they're still way more of them than there are of us." Cardin almost groaned as Arc kept talking. "They are fewer yeah, but… but it's still his advantage." He glared at the blonde, not that it did much anymore. Only got the faker to stare back up at him. "It's better, but I'm not going to say we're good yet."

"That's a smart move, Jaune," his partner backed him up. Because of course she did. She only ever helped him, but only corrected him when he already screwed the pooch. Good thing he did that often. "One of the major threats is down but… but that thing is still alive." Yeah, and that was bad. Because that _thing_ was tearing through the teachers.

 _BOOM! BOOM_ _ **BOOM!**_ Cardin winced, still leaning on his mace, as the monster's _fist_ , armored as it was, tore straight through one of the Schnee's glyph shield things. It shattered like glass and the thing kept going! She got out of the way, ducking and rolling backwards and out of range, but only to throw up another glyph between her and the monster. **BOOM!** It survived as long as Cardin expected it to.

Only got worse when the professor jumped in. He was using the lance that came from Impa, Cardin recognized it when she tore through like two team's worth of students. The same weapon that had basically shredded through a good number of them and Little Red had said was weighted to be swung. HE never would have guessed that with the way Ganondorf was just letting it bounce off of him! The monster was swinging at them and through the shields, and they weren't even scratching the beast.

"This is bad, th-this is _really_ bad." Sky was starting to hyperventilate again. Just looking at the monster was doing him in. Cardin still could get it. "That… that thing is gonna kill them! A-And Link's gone, too, a-a-a-aaaaaagh!" He was terrified, that was it.

"Friend Sky! Please calm down!" Penny was next to him a moment. Yeah, she could handle it. Girl's had a better way of handling this kind of crap. Especially if he had to be the only one among them who wasn't freaking out… externally. "the creature is being distracted by Specialist Schnee and Doctor Oobleck. We are not currently in danger of being identified by it." Cardin took back his previous assessment.

"Y-You think that matters!" Sky was yelling back. Cardin din't pay attention to him. He could freak out for now, if that's what he wanted to do. Finally had a breath of air to do it with. "I heard that little dark ball call out how _bad_ things were for it, a-a-and you want me to just be happy it's not… th-that that thing isn't trying to kill us _yet?!_ " Didn't sound good to Cardin either. "That _thing_ is responsible for all of this! We aren't getting out of here until that thing is dead and the teachers can't even scratch it!"

That made Cardin blink. He was an idiot, and it was the only time he'd admit it.

Of course Sky was the one to point it out, and maybe Penny got it too, but he had just realized it. They were here because of that monster, the freaking Nightmare bragging about it before it started to pile drive through Link and the rest of the profs. It was what was creating the desert, and the Grimm, and the dragon that Darmani just took out. It was responsible for all of it.

And if what Penny said before was true, even if it wasn't 'verified' or whatever the hell else 'maybe' meant in scientific talk, killing it would end this whole thing! The idea made him grin savagely, finally seeing a way out.

"Cardin? What are you thinking?" Arc asked him, because of course he did. Couldn't read the mood at all. "You're smiling and its starting to freak me out."

"Just realized something important, thanks ta Sky," he admitted. Maybe Ms. Invincble figured it out, but there was no way two-steps-behind Arc was going to put the pieces together. "The way out of this whole mess."

"You have an idea, Friend Cardin?" Penny asked him. He looked at her, seeing her head tilt and red hair still not move. Still weird, weird as her not knowing. "A plan for execution? Can you tell us so we can disseminate the details?" He wasn't that far yet.

"It's not a plan, just an objective," Cardin corrected, eyes turning back to the professors fighting the monster. "One that seems kind of obvious, but _really_ didn't put together until now." He could see recognition flash in her eyes. Or maybe that was the sparking of the fighting happening behind them. He couldn't tell, not when his adrenaline was all that was keeping him awake.

"Okay… I'll bite, what is it?" Arc asked. For once, Cardin was glad it was him.

"You still think all those Grimm got knocked off because that dragon hit the ground, right?" He looked at the blonde, who _shrugged_ in response. A wonder that he didn't drop his weapons right there. "Well I'm willing to bet it was, which means we just gotta focus on the next big game that's keeping this place up. If the dragon took out half the Grimm, then the next big will bring this whole place down!" Oh, they had to get it now.

"Cardin, you're not seriously suggesting what I think you are," Ms. Perfect asked first. She had to be sure, he was sure. And she was being stupid stopping to think about it. Too bad he couldn't' prove her stupidity at Beacon, that easily at least. "Ms. Schnee and Dr. Oobleck have been fighting that… that _monster_ for likely an hour now and are no closer to defeating it! Impa was taken out by it earlier!

"Then forget the profs and Link and whoever the hell else he brings out! All _WE_ gotta do is _kill_ that _bastard FIRST_!" Cardin shouted it, pointing his mace past the Grimm and to the _actual_ cause of all of this. Wasn't even a question anymore, not in his mind anyways.

There was no way anyone other than the giant green _beast_ of a Nightmare, calling himself Ganondorf or whatever, was behind all of this. And if beating Impa across the desert wasn't clue enough, or how he was taking on a couple of hunters by himself while _laughing_ about it wasn't a sign to it, the freak of nature was tough, probably crazily so.

But there was no such thing as invincible. His dad had taught him that the same time he'd taught him that destroying things just proved how weak he was. Anything could be broken, so strength wasn't measured by how much you could break. Rule number ten of twenty. But right now, this was an exception in his mind, one of many

If they could _break_ that monster, then they could break their way out of here.

Too bad the rest of him were too slow to pick up on that.

" _WHAT!?_ Cardin are you out of your _skull?!_ " Sky yelled at him, even as he was looking at the sand, probably in case another Grammite came after him. Good call. Still being a pansy. "That _monster_ took out Link and Impa like they were nothing! It's freaking _laughing_ at MS. Schnee and Professor Oobleck!"

"So what?" Cardin responded. They didn't get that this was the best strategy still? "I laugh at Jaune all the time. Doesn't stop me from getting beaten up by his girlfriend." He had to sport a wider grin as the blondie looked at him with a look of disgust. Even the Golden Girl was getting in on it. But hey, at least that meant he was speaking the truth to them.

"As glad as I am that you are accepting your defeats _now_ , if at all," said Ms. Invincible kept talking. Her eyes were darting back and forth between the monster they _were going_ to attack and the line of Grimm nearby. Didn't seem to occur to her to at least point out how much fewer of them there were. Her loss, his gain. "I'm sorry to say that we have no chance against that… that _monster!_ " Did she still not get it?

"Are you both stupid or something? Link, or Elrora, or whoever the hell took out that dragon in the air, and that happened, a metric _ton_ of those monsters all vanished!" His arm swerved from the sky, where the giant black dragon was roaring before, to the dunes that they were fighting for _hours_ just minutes ago. Both of them were empty, plain as day. No confusion at all about that. "Thinking of how long we've been fighting those guys before, and now they just _suddenly_ vanish? You've got to put together that taking out the bigger guns will take out the bigger numbers!" It was like elementary match! The brat Jaune may have lied his way into Beacon, but he couldn't be _that_ stupid!

"You're calculations are correct, Friend Cardin." Cardin looked, beamed actually, with pride at Penny. The ginger haired girl was nodding her head, probably so stiff from all the sand and grim they had fought in and communicated. Her face was different though, at least from the begging before. She was looking at him with eyes as sharp as her swords. "But you are working off of a logical fallacy that has only a high probability of failure, and death." Her words cut like them, too.

"Oh, c'mon!" Cardin yelled again. _Boom!_ He let his mace swing downwards, hitting the sand and kicking up a small storm with it. He didn't look away, even if the _brats_ in front of him had to cover their faces and eyes from it. Except for Penny, because of course she didn't. "You throw out numbers at me _all the time!_ I can't even count the number of problems you've corrected on some of our basic home work assignments and we've only been hanging out for a week at best!"

"I have corrected 45.87 problems collectively between the members of designated Team CRDL, accounting for partial solutions and missing work." Penny said it like she had that committed to memory, just to hold over him. Cardin couldn't even angry about that. Not when he was already getting pissed about her thinking that attacking the monster was a bad idea. Not when it was their _only one_.

"My _point_ is that you've gotta realize that fighting these small fries is gonna kill us before we get rid of all of 'em!" He waved his hand, pointing at the display of Grimm that still hung over the sand and dunes like moss on a tree. Dark, poisonous, and _needing to be burned with a torch_ moss. The _jeering_ of their cries did not help. "If we can take down that _monster_ , then we'll be outta here!"

"We _can't_ kill it! Don't you get that!?" Cardin growled at the Arc yelling at him. Of course _he_ couldn't kill it, half-pint that he was. "The professors haven't even gotten close to hurting it yet, and you're thinking you're just going to run up there and take it down!? You can't even stand right now!" He threw out his arms as he yelled that, and he was damn lucky he was out of swing range, otherwise Cardin would have lain him out. Hard.

"I'm not that stupid, Arc," he growled back. "We gotta make a plan, it it somewhere that its not going to just ignore. Like a temple or something!" He raised a finger and double tapped it against his own cranium. HE felt the beads of sweat clinging to his hair. "No armor up there, and I know the it's the thinnest part of your skull."

"You plan draws assumption that the creature designated as Ganondorf has anatomical features similar to humans, Friend Cardin," Penny was arguing with him now. Because of course she was. "He already possess a physiological structure that possesses many outlieing characteristics to a normal individual. It would not be safe to recklessly charge him!" Did they think he would do that?!

"I don't wanna just run at that thing screaming!" Cardin yelled back now. The Grimm were starting to come at them. He could see them on the horizon, getting braver and walking towards them. Dumbasses, just an outlet for his rage at this point. "But if we just sit here and suck our thumbs, then we'll be crying and screaming instead!"

"No we won't!" The Golden Girl again, because of course she had to argue with him. Her _master_ was against it. "We are fighting them with the objective of stalling long enough for the professors to develop a plan, and he will not attack us so long as we stick tot heir idea! We don't have as much experience in this field as Ms. Schnee, Dr. Oobleck, _or_ Link!" No kidding there! Cardin felt his fist tighten around his mace in anger at it all. All the stupidity that was.

"And we aren't gonna get it unless we _do something!"_ He lifted and dropped the mace again. It didn't go off this time. Probably because he was just too… tired. Yeah, that was it. "Or are you seriously gonna keep trying to tell me to stay back and do nothing!" She was _going_ to say something, and Cardin could see it. That snarky red head was going to tell him off in some special way. But she didn't et he chance, because another red-head spoke up instead.

"I gave that instruction to you, Friend Cardin, because you were showing signs of extreme fatigue and Aura exhaustion." Penny was yelling at him again. Why did _she_ look upset. He was the one she was yelling at! "You still are indicating that you do not have sufficient energy supplies to continue engagement without a period of rest! You have to stop, because you are _not strong enough!_ " That was it? Seriously?

Did they seriously think he wasn't good enough? Did they seriously think he was just some trash to be thrown away? WAsn't he a team leader? Wasn't' he supposed to be someone to listen to, especially when the only other option was _Arc?!_ And they weren't listening to him?

His hands tightened on his mace, rolling it over in his digits as Cardin felt the sweat seep down his arm. Just like his dad said, just like his mom. Just not good enough. Too dumb, too weak, too stupid, too easy, too many things that could be fixed. All just a worthless sack of it all! Fine, fine, _FINE!_ Whatever!

"Screw you, then!" Cardin yelled back, pointing at Penny with it. She recoiled at him, a look of dumb surprise on her face. "Forget _all_ of you!" He waved his mace with the comment, getting the rest of them to at least move back. At least they knew better than to try and take a hit from him! "If you're not going to help me, then I'll go and fight that monster _myself!_ " He didn't hear the yells of the brats around him. Not over the battle cry he gave as he turned around.

Especially not over the roar of the Grimm that took his decleration as a challenge. He ran through the hole between them, charging at the sight that the profs and green monster man were fighting at.

Cardin saw the Grimm run towards him, but he batted them away. He saw the others running at the kids he had run from, but he ignored them. They didn't matter. As long as he killed the monster that was in charge of this place, then they were all scot free! Why the others couldn't get that, he didn't know. He didn't care! If they wouldn't help him, then he'd help himself! His boots beat and dragged across the sand as e ran full tilt at the monster, mace over his should as he focused on the battle ahead of him.

He didn't pay attention to the way the monster was beating through those glyphs that the Schnee woman was throwing up. Sure, he couldn't even dent the brat in the RWBY groups, and this lady was her better, but that didn't matter. Only the monster mattered.

He didn't pay attention to the way the monster was batting off the giant spear thing Professor Oobleck was swinging at him. Even sleep deprived and out of energy, Cardin knew that was the same weapon Impa had swept the room with and the professor was a pro hunter, but that didn't matter. Only the monster did.

Only the grinning monster mattered, grinning with flaming hair, huge heavy black armor, and a cape that just spelled out evil. If there was ever a good reason to hit something, this was it! This was it and he had to do something!

"GRAH!" Cardin yelled out, ignoring the screams of the Schnee woman and the professor. All he focused on was Ganondorf, that monster. He kept that in his head as he lifted his mace above his head, lighting it with all the Aura he had left, making sure it would blow up like a nuke if he could manage it!

The monster looked at him, golden eyes sharp as a pair of swords, and smiling like the freaking _demon_ that it was. All the more reason to swing.

**_BOOOOOOOM!_ **

The explosion ripped in front of Cardin, the moment his mace connected with the beast. He felt it tear through something, dropping whatever it had hit into a bloody and chunky mess! Smoke billowed around him, heat even hotter than the desert air whipping past him, but he was grinning. Even if he couldn't see a thing, he was smiling!

He could _feel_ chunks of the monster hitting the sand! He could fell the blow hit through something and shatter it into pieces! He had done it! Cardin had killed the monster with one solid blow! He was the best! The absolute most _killer_ hunter there ever was! He-

Saw the smoke clear, and stared at the remnants of his mace in hand.

No… all he had was the handle that made up of it. Everything up the staff was gone. There was… nothing left. Nothing but the metal pole he held.

And he was forced to look up at the monster again, the same golden eyes glowering down on him, eclipsing the sun in the sky above and condemning him with a glance. A glance that was heated by the flaming hair, by the green skin, by… by something so much stronger than him.

And Cardin only had a stick of metal to defend himself with.

"Fool." It was the only word Cardin hear.

The fist was in front of him before Cardin even had time to raise his mace. Maybe even before he had time to throw out or hear a warning. All he knew was that there was a fist, there was contact, and then there was rag dolling.

Rag dolling and flipping through the air as his ears rang from something he couldn't hear. Even with his vision flipping somewhere between blue skies, dark monsters, and endless desert, he knew that it wasn't right. He just couldn't tell what.

It wasn't until he hit something, probably a sand dune, that he realized that he wasn't supposed to have hit it that fast. It was after that he realized he should have felt something, but he didn't even have the sense of feeling left to realize that. He felt… nothing. He didn't feel a thing.

It took what felt like _minutes_ until he slowed down, until he flopped over in the sand, unable to lift a finger, staring up at the sky, and limbs twisted like he was in an accident. He just held that position, trying to get right in his head what happened. Where was his mace? What had hit him? How hard was the hit?

His mace was ruined, destroyed by the blow he _tried_ to make against the monster. The monster had hit him back, plowing through him with the force of a freaking semi-truck. And as for how hard?

Cardin couldn't breathe. That was when the pain started.

His body shook, spasming on the ground as he tried to _force_ the air into him. He crawled and shook himself left and right, lifting and dropping his chest on the sand to try and beat the air into him! Fists pummeled against his chestplate, realizing only as he did that there was no more metal there at all. The freaking monster had torn through it like paper! And if that was the case, what did that mean for his organs?

Was that why he couldn't breathe? He didn't even have the lungs left to do so? He was going to die like this? Chocking on nothing, gasping for air, from a _single hit_ from some _Grimm monster!_

Tears didn't threaten to spill down his cheek, that's not what it was. Sand got in his eyes, his body was trying to force his dry skin to be moist again, it was both of those but it was _not_ pain that was making him cry. He wasn't crying, even as he twisted and rolled on the sand, curling until he was a ball on his knees, entire torso _agonized_ over the sensation of pain.

A paint that seemed to pulse through him with ever heart beat. His heart beat. IT hurt like all forms of hell he'd ever been told to visit, but at least that meant he had a heart! And… and he wasn't dead. There were whimpers coming out of his lips, _something_. He had lungs, he could _breathe._ It was just painful.

His hand reached out at the sand, grabbing it and pulling the balls of it closer to him, trying to find anything hard to hold onto. One, then two, maybe three pulls through and he didn't find anything. No surprise there, just the _damning_ pain that refused to let him so much as lift his head without threatening to tear his own chest out.

The monster really was evil, doing this with one shot… and even with a grin on his face. Was… was it really that strong? No wonder Sky was so shit-bricked over the thing. That thing was a monster. But…

How did he survive it?

 _Chink!_ Cardin felt something on his fifth pull through the sand. He dragged it closer to him, gripping it like a lifeline. For a moment, given how hard and thick it was, he thought it was a part of his ruined chestplate, seeing as that made sense to exist near him at least, and the entire trajectory of his path out of the battle he had run into. But when he was able to pull it under him, hold it closer to his eyes, wet as they were, he realized that wasn't it.

It wasn't the color of his armor, wasn't nearly thick enough. Blows to steel could do weird things, but it couldn't _sharpen_ steel the same time it broke it, especially with how sharp this piece of metal was. This wasn't a piece of is armor. Trouble was, he knew what it actually was. Better word for it was part of a weapon. Just not his own.

This was one of Penny's swords.

His gaze looked up, body screaming as he managed to crane his neck, but looking out at the sand before him. He saw what he expected now, but then a bit more. Grimm in the distance, the fight with the monster _way_ further away than he thought, and shards twinkling across the sand. A lot of them. Way more than would've come from a single sword breaking.

There were multiple swords that had been shattered, and she hadn't fought the monster. She hadn't been near him… but he'd seen her fight enough to know likely happened instead. It was enough to make him grit his teeth through the anger, and straight into self-hatred.

He was holding a piece of the sword that had probably helped save his life, and Penny had given it up for him. She had let herself get disarmed to save him, and all because he… he was being an idiot.

" _He believed himself so capable of fighting any threat, he made both himself and the trainee fight with him_." Impa's words echoed in his head, through the ring of the blow and dull confusion in his mind. Why was he remembering this, now of all times? " _They fought together and were very nearly killed for it_." Oh, that was why. It was only a short reminder to his addled brain.

He was fighting something beyond him, and he knew it. He just didn't care to say it, or even think it. Leaning on his fist, feeling his Aura all but drip from him, he knew he was facing something way beyond what he was expected to fight, or what _any_ of them could fight, but he was fighting anyway, and not even smart at that.

Smart was doing what Penny said. She was stupidly smart and… and she was usually right. She had said that they should stay back and help from the sides, to take advantage of the 'significant decrease' in Grimm count to secure a stable and even fighting field for the professors. He didn't listen to her. He wanted a _piece_ of the monster that was causing all of this. Especially if he had a hand in making his teammate go borderline delusional with fear. But he didn't do that, at all.

 _"However, the other knight saved Groose from what would have been a lethal blow. Groose was forced to watch as a man he had insulted nearly died for his mistakes._ " And he had come so close to that. He had come _too_ close to that. Maybe he hadn't insulted Penny, not beyond their first meeting a week or two back, but he hadn't treated her the best, not while she still considered him his friend. And he'd done nothing in return for it.

She had stood up for him, asked for his help, followed him around, celebrated _being_ around him, and listened to what he had to say. She was… she still called him her friend, and she meant it.

And Cardin's stupidity and recklessness had nearly cost the girl her life.

He scowled as he poured his strength into his legs, standing as she stared across the sand-strewn battlefield, carrying the dissipating corpses of the Grimm, shards of weapons he didn't recognize, and the mad _thing_ that had made Sky scream in fright and took out Impa with a vicious blow. That thing laughing as it stood above the older Schnee and his professor, laughing with bare hands against the two of them, laughing as he stood above the battlefield, and literal _world_ he had created.

He thought he could take that thing on? Alone? Something that had so easily taken out some of the most powerful hunters and huntresses he had ever met. Strong enough to turn a literally cavern hole into a desert strewn world, and make, literally freaking _make_ the Grimm out of nothing. It had done all of that, with only the gods knew how many years behind its age, and he thought he could take it on… because he was angry enough. Screw that. It wasn't worth his life.

Cardin's own _or_ his… or his friends.

Even if it was him being a coward, he could take it. He'd rather be called a coward, something he could admit he was, if they also had to admit he was being smart. And if being stupid meant trying to fight the thing that everyone, including the smartest people he knew, meant staying away from, then he'd be smart and listen to them. He'd let the professors and professional hunters take care of the monster looking like some unholy green ogre. There were other fish to fry.

Legs still shaking as he stood, unable to support all of his weight without his mace buried in the sand, Cardin made himself as tall as possible. Even if it was difficult with the dull throbbing that roared down his chest, feeling like a burn that was mixed with some medieval and mythical curse, hurting with every beat of his heart, he stood tall. He couldn't afford to stand in any other manner now, not when the monsters were still around him. That was the worst time to look like freshly beaten _meat_.

"Cardin! _You're alright!_ " He heard Sky scream with relief behind him. He didn't turn to look at his teammate, honestly afraid the effort would send him back into the sand. "Holy crap, I thought you were _dead!_ The way that freaking monster hit you a-and you just went _sailing_ through the air! It's a miracle you're alive!" No, not a miracle, those didn't exist.

The Ursa and Beowolves, the Grammites and Loliths, even the Nevermores and Creepers looked all too willing to challenge him. Them, however, he knew he could fight. It would take a lot more than a ball of fur or feathers to hurt him. The monster that had hit him, however, that was beyond. He got that now.

And it was only thanks to Penny that he was able to move at all.

"D-Don't push yourself man!" Sky was trying to push him down, like he'd get far. Actually… with how he was feeling, he actually had a shot. "The rest of the guys are fighting off the Grimm a-a-and the… that _thing_ isn't coming here… not yet… not yet." Even through his own hysteria, Sky was still helping him. Cardin realized that with another cool bite of hatred, at himself.

He looked at his partner, seeing the obvious panic in his eyes. Where was the long-haired lazy asshole that wanted to climb a tree and shoot things instead of fighting them? When had he become this guy who ran from everything screaming his head off? He wasn't Arc? No… no he wasn't…

Because even _Arc_ was smart enough not to fight that monster.

"Just… just relax, 'kay Cardin?" Penny's got our backs over here. That got his attention.

"Sh-She does?" His voice cracked and he _hated_ it, about as half as much as he hated himself. He didn't wait for Sky to answer though. He instead twisted his head, looking for the ginger that had saved his life.

 _BOOM! BANG!_ And he found her, fighting more Grimm with the same blades she had been before… just short two of them. He could count what was normally there and what was there now, and she was down two. Down two because of him.

Even if she was still flipping over the Grimm like they were Pummel horses, even if was swinging her fists like trying to give a Charlie horse, and using her blades like freaking tweezers for all the Grimm that tried to squeeze by, he could tell she was still down her weapons, because of him. Instead of eight blades flying through the air, she had six, and that was less than she normally worked with.

And it was all Cardin's fault, for being such an idiot. Yeah, that was true. It was his fault and he had to own it… otherwise he'd be like that knight that Impa talked about. He didn't want to be like that. He wasn't his dad.

Especially not when there were others he had to protect.

"Penny!" Cardin shouted. The girl looked at him, raising the blades she had left. She didn't even look angry at him, though he knew he deserved it. He'd pay her back later, somehow. "I'll… I'll get the back! Can you handle the front for now?" Oddly enough, she didn't look angry at all.

It was hard to call anyone smiling like that, even on a battlefield as crazy as this one, angry.

"C-Can I stay here, too?" Sky asked next to him. Cardin just shrugged. Not like he had the strength to argue. He needed to rest for a moment, to get his bearings and think of what to do next. Unarmed, without his armor, and fighting only fewer Grimm, but still a beast that was thousands of years old. He needed to take five.

Then he needed to start taking heads.

* * *

' _The boy is alive, so calm yourself_ , Winter's thoughts echoed lightly through her head, calming her Aura deprived and muscularly over-taxed body. It took some effort, especially as she had to keep her crystalline gaze focused on a figure that appeared more mythical and bestial with every passing blow they exchanged.

She was immediately aware of his strength, and careful of _its_ capabilities, when the mini-drones were adamant that it was not to be underestimated, instructing them to stay away and fight only with passing blows. From a pair of drones that so often spoke of resolute and decisive actions, the sudden change in tactics, nearly modeling hit and run, were more than enough for her inner tactician to take heed their fearful cries. And it had served her well, better than she assumed she'd be without it.

For even though this Nightmare, the creature that bore the face of Impa's killer, holding as much power as he likely did, had yet to land a blow upon her, he had done more than enough.

It was all enough to make her, Specialist Winter Schnee, chosen subordinate to General James Ironwood, act out of character. It was enough to make her pant heavily into the hot arid air, caring no longer for the sand that swept itself into her hair, or the loose bun that now hung around her shoulders. One of the many imperfections she now sported from the continuous fight, and one she could not afford even an ounce of strength to correct. Not when she needed all else to simply _keep_ the monster at bay.

"Cardin's alive, he's okay. He's hurt, yeah, probably, but the others are there, and he's _not here_. So he's doing alright, great, _perfect_ even." Once more the nearly chittering voice of the mini-drone echoed around Winter, though she did not glance at its quivering light. She kept herself focused on the arm crossed monster across the dune from her. "H-He took a bad blow but… but he's up a-and the golem girl is with him. So he's good, he'll be good at least. Long as he's not _here_." The source of said fear was more than obvious. But it wasn't one she could argue against.

"He lives for now, but only because I destroyed the doll's blades to reach him." Especially when _it_ spoke.

It spoke with a cruel grin as dark as its perceived soul, and malicious with its posture as the true intents of any of the Grimm it appeared to summon. Despite the regal cape that flowed behind it, despite the mane of dark red that storied a rich history, and despite the power physique that often came from years of discipline and practice, Winter could see nothing but a horrendous monster looking back to her. Back to her, and down to her.

"I can feel your fear from here, and it satiates me like water to the men who died crawling through my desert." It was never _his_ desert, Winter rationalized. It was a mockery of the already evil man, an eviler being. It had to be, because no one, no _living_ thing, could possibly be so evil. "Much like the woman I beat away with the palm of hand, the weapons of yours I've shattered with whims of my power, your spirit will break and bend underneath my strength, the strength cultivated and grown from a hundred thousand years of anger of pain from all across this land."

Tatl shivered above Winter as the monster stepped forward. She felt the sane rumble with the _step_ the Ganondorf figure of such weight or power than even the uneven sand dunes bent towards its will. The idea that it was both was too horrifying for her to rationalize, let alone imagine. She instead kept herself as still as possible, even as she stared towards the beast that walked towards them.

"Yet despite those feats, you continue to fight. Despite shattering your hammer of iron, you raise a lance in defense. Despite conquering your strongest warrior, your weakest rose to her replacement. Now you face me when all you have left for me to crush is your spirit, before your life." The ground continued to shake with his footfalls, the Grimm the students continued to fight off shouting into the arid air with chortles of laughter.

 _BOOM! BOOM!_ The Atlesian tanks lacked the weight of the strides the creature possessed, and it was not assisted by the otherwise open air they stood in. It was all so far beyond anything she reasonably knew her already extensive training had covered. Small spasms rolled up her legs and arms, doubtlessly the effects of over work and fatigue settling into her form. She powered through them, remaining focused on the clearly vital task at hand.

"My offer from before still stands, the compromise of an easy death in return for your deaths at all. Enough to leave your precious hero to me, so I may live off of his fear for endless time to come." The idea of it was sickening alone, and the ring from the mini-drone was telling enough that not even machines found logic in the offer. She would find nothing different. "And if you so continue to fight, I have only to ask then why you continue to struggle. Have I not already proven my strength to you?" That, she could answer.

 _BOOM! BOOM!_ "Because defeat is nothing we are permitted to allow," Winter returned, angling her sword forwards towards the approaching beast. For a moment, and a swift one at that, she let her gaze shift towards the Beacon professor who stood by her, holding the naginata of Impa's blessing within his hands. Ruined as the weapon was from their battle, matching the man who held it, he did not release it to the sands below. She would not allow herself to be the first to fall against the monster. "Because there are those who are waiting for us beyond this charade you call a dream, and others who are depending on us to keep you from them. Even if it is a stall, it is not reason enough to give up and allow the inevitable to pass."

" _The most hopeless of fights are the ones you must fight your hardest in_." General Ironwood's words ran through her mind, much like the ringing of the mini-drone that twirled about her ears. She could even hear the approving nod of the professor, before she heard his words follow.

 _BOOM! BOOM!_ "Accurate… honest, lacking in hyperbole or unfounded remarks. Factual and non-hypothetical," his long-winded response came. "Defeat of Impa with your few blows astounding, horrifying if accurately described, but unimportant and unrelated to personal convictions. Simply, for note taking, the loss of others is not reason for defeat of one's self. Therefore, this battle will not conclude with surrender, humiliation, submission, or otherwise undesirable ends." Winter listened to the man, speaking as though he had not been through the same hell she had, the hell complete with a dragon falling and its master laughing at the prospect of there being a fight to be had.

 _BOOM! BOOM!_ She did not watch him as he spun the naginata around his body, sure that her vision was better kept on the monster that disguised itself as a man before her. Winter could only listen as he twirled the poled lance around him, the blade singing through the air with a speed that bellied his academic appearance. It was enough for her to notice the dark beast turn his cruel eyes to the professor, though not hinder his slow booming march towards them. Winter only noticed the act stopped with a dull thud from her side, and one that was already dulled by the waves made in the sand as the monster approached.

"Lives at stake, existences not our own. Lives that have yet to experience the multitude of activities and requirements that constitute a full life. Families, raising children, having an occupation, exploring, understanding, all lacking sufficiently in their lives. Therefore, and it is an unsatisfactory conclusion to decide to give up, not while they lack so much. Especially so inconsideration to know that I have lived enough." His words also hid well the signs of his own battle.

 _BOOM! BOOM!_ Dr. Oobleck did shiver or stumble over his words, despite the ruination of his outfit and hair. He didn't pause for breath or time to prepare for his next point, though his flickering Aura in combination with the bruises and scars across the exposed patches of his skin would be reason enough. And, perhaps most impressively, he didn't falter in his conviction as he spoke, never once doubting the words that he spoke, even as they both looked on, battle ruined, at the unmarred and unscarred beast in armor befitting a general, a general of dark intents, as it were. The Specialist had more to add.

"You say you are strengthened by our fear and rage, no different than the beasts that surround in us our every day lives?" She questioned, even though it did not make the monster pause in approach, the shaking of the sand, sifting in addition, beneath her boots. "Then you have given us no reason to surrender, as we do not give up in the face of adversity. To do so is a mockery of the Atlesian Military, and to all hunters across Remnant."

"Not all hunters are here, child," the creature mockingly spoke, unperturbed by their gallant speech. It was unbecoming alone to hear no change in the beast, aside from his approach being constant and forward. Especially when they had nowhere to flee. "Here, you face not the terrors of your world, those being sweet imaginings compared to me. Here, you face me, the threat and vice that no others can compare to. It is nothing but folly to compare me to those that which you have faced before." His confidence was carried in his words.

 _BOOM! BOOM!_ And the marching of his feet, continuing to decimate the sand he walked on and dune he trampled. He was close enough now that Winter began to feel it rise through her legs as he walked, shaking her unstable body, and nearly sending her forward. She could not imagine how Dr. Oobleck was faring, the one who had taken three blows from the beast, and had lost all of his Aura as a consequence. That was, until, he spoke on.

"Perhaps, though once more, you have yet to provide a significant counter argument to my own stance Only threats and mockeries of the language. And that is not an argument worthy of response." Be it perhaps the most unstable man she had met, or at least one who was not intoxicated while doing so, spoke so gallantly in the face of a threat.

Winter could only smile at the Beacon professor's words, however, understanding the truth of them. Though she was no different than he was in condition, benefitted only that she still had her notched blades in hand, while his hammer was ruined across the desert, she still showed the efforts to survive this fight. Again she was forced to remind herself, as if the mini-drone circling above her with its golden light was a light of honesty, she had yet to be struck directly, unlike Dr. Oobleck, Cardin Winchester, and Impa of the Shiekah. That did not mean she was unmarred.

 _BOOM! BOOM!_ Her hair was undone and covered in sweat, the efforts to avoid blows and strikes that turned drifting air into blades in the wind. Her outfit, normally well tucked and poised, was ruined with blasts of sand, scratches from narrowly avoiding the strikes of nearby Grimm, and likely beyond any normal sense of repair. Her Aura for what little good it appeared to do against the marching beast, was otherwise still stable.

Winter could feel, sense perhaps, the students behind her, keeping the Grimm at bay. Reduced as their numbers were, they were still grand monsters that could vanquish villages when no defenses were available. Their defense against them was a feat in itself. She could not afford to lose while they already risked so much. Either her or Dr. Oobleck. And so, that meant they had but one option.

 _BOOM! BOOM!_ _ **BANG!**_ To strike!

The monster jumped forward with teeth bared in a cruel grin. She raised her glyphs to slow it, jumping back to avoid the now well-known result of the effort. Her feet touched the sand dunes behind her as she felt the glyphs fail, the same way as they had every attempt before.

It slowed the beast down enough though, enough for her to get out of the way of its monstrous fist, driving into the spot of sand she'd been standing on before. The blow was still felt though, the heat of the sand blowing against her and the whip of the wind created by the vacuum of its blow. Winter didn't let it slow her. She couldn't.

Two more glyphs appeared, one beneath her to shoot her to the side, out of the range of its next attack, and the other above the beast, in the vain hope that it would at least slow it. She so rarely considered any attack she threw in vain, but after witnessing the unrealistic strength of the beast attacking her, she didn't wish to lie to herself.

So even though her body was thrown voluntarily to the side, body moving out of the range of the monster's next attack, she commanded the glyph above the beast to activate as well. No sooner than the monster's fist swish past her head, dragging the free strands of her hair with it, then did the ice begin to form above the monster's flaming red hair.

And shoot down upon it.

The pellets of ice flew from the glyph per the activation of her Dust and Semblance, sending forth her Aura to hasten the crystalline water as it fell. Sand billowed and blew upwards from where it landed, shattering lke glass against the armor it wore. It was a deafening sound, and one that forced Winter to squint even as she put distance between her and the barrage she sent. She had to. Because she knew it wasn't enough.

 _BOOM!_ With another deafening boom, the sand beneath the glyph exploded, ruining her Semblance and sending the green monster towards her once more. Its hand was raised above his head, rolling with a dark flame that looked so much like the mist of a dying Grimm. It wasn't actually hurt, as not even its armor was marred by the ice she rained down upon it. The dark aura was just, to her, a sign of its uncontainable power.

Three more glyphs grew in front of her, and another beneath her, even as it clawed at her Aura to do so. Ganondorf slammed its fist downwards, striking through them with all of its assumed might. Like the ice before them, the glyphs shattered underneath the high force. But it was enough for her jump back again, holding her sword up and ready in case the monster got too close and-

" _DUCK!_ " the shout in her ear was like a command from her general.

Winter fell to a crouch, arms extended, almost immediately. In the same window of time, a lance swung over her head.

A lance that, even by just a glance, was more terrifying than the gift Impa had given the professor. And just as monstrous as the creature that held it. Three points along its far end, each of them sharp as her own blade. It as adorned with sickly red and black metal, coiling about its length like solidified flames, and, worst of all, carrying the same dark aura as the beast had.

Winter did not take anymore time to observe it. The monster's reach had grown, and she was well within it.

Instead of back or side-ways, Winter placed a glyph underneath her, an anti-gravity glyph combined with an acceleration circle. It shot her upwards with a great push of her legs, jumping with the strength to match many of the mechs the military employed. Sand was strewn around her for the effort, placing her high above the beast who now gazed up at her, grinning all the same.

Winter had enough time to see the lance, the _trident_ , the monster held nearly matching it in height, and held with a singular hand despite what she assumed had to be a great weight. The beast was heedless of it. The same way how he was heedless of the grand distance she had put between them, the sand that was slamming into his form, or the professor that was charging at him from behind.

 _CHINK! CHINK!_ Or perhaps he was not, and Winter was only hoping for the best.

She watched, her ascent slowing, as the monster deftly spun and blocked the enigmatic professor of Beacon, his large trident held by a single arm more than enough to repel the over-head strike of the doctor. It did not help that Ganondorf, even from above, loomed over Oobleck. It did not help that Winter couldn't trust herself to send forth a volley without injuring the professor.

Another glyph appeared beneath her, as she hung in the air, slowing her already stilled ascent until she floated. Caught in the cusp of her descent. It gave her time to observe the professor and the monster, watching as Oobleck showed his prowess with the gifted Naginata of Impa. It was clear he was more than merely trained.

His hands shifted positions as the monster sliced his trident back in retaliation, forcing a harsh grind of metal as it skidded over the shaft of the blade. At the edge of the tip, Oobleck spun the lance in a half-circle, slamming its butt into the face of the monster, body pushing into the blow for additional force. But not only did the monster not move, Oobleck wasn't done. His legs lifted from the ground, pushing off of the beast as if it were a wall for support, flipping trough the air to gain distance.

But distance is what Ganondorf gained with its new weapon, forged from whatever those flames were. And with the red mane and adorned cape, it struck out with the lance at Oobleck, faster than any creature its size should be able to. Her breath caught as she heard the harsh impact of steel between them, the professor having positioned the lance to catch the blow. But catch was all it did.

Much like a ball in game of sport, the professor was _shot_ into the sand, whapped out of the air by a singular strong blow from the monster. She lost track of the professor in the rising pit of sand that surrounded him. Her breath continued to hold as the monster charged forward, trident at its back and laughing maniacally. It was as if this were a game to it… and it knew it was winning.

"What are you waiting for!? Do _something!?_ " The mini-drone shouted in her ear, again, the same way as it had commanded her to duck. "There's _no way_ that Super Buzz is gonna survive long against Ganondorf alone! Fake or not, he's a _convincing one!_ " And Winter understood what she meant.

She watched the monster swing the lance down like a hammer, making her offer a word of thanks to Ozpin for training his professors so well when Oobleck jumped out of the sand, naginata intact, but clearly damaged. It did not stop the professor from swinging the lance about, bringing the bladed end up towards the monster. It was as succusful an assault as her glyphs had been, the sharp point being caught deftly by the crux of two points on the monster's lance. How it had swung the lance back up so quickly, she had missed.

Winter was only aware with the speed at which the monster twisted its weapon, again with a singular hand, tearing the naginata from his hand, leaving his arms extended towards the quickly torn weapon. Through fractured glasses, the professor had the mind to duck, avoiding the returning swing of the lance, before rolling out of the way of the impalement that followed.

Winter could only barely see it all through the tornado of sand every swing the monster made. Any one of those attacks would be fatal, especially to one who had lost their Aura…

" _Any day now!_ " Tatl yelled again. Winter did not correct or hush it, for it knew it was reading the situation enough to know the hunter would not last long against the beast. "Seriously do something unless you _WANT Super Buzz_ to _die!_ " She did not! And she would not allow it!

Another glyph formed beneath her feet, giving her perch as she focused her blade on the monster from above, like the barrel of her general's gun. She took aim with it, letting the glyph spin as she did so, forming the runes necessary for the attack she wished. And all the while she prepared, the fight beneath her raged on, a one-sided nigh slaughter.

The lance of the monster was only barely being avoided by Oobleck, and hardly even that. She watched as scars of red formed over his skin, where patches of his uniform and mining outfit were being torn to shambles and thread. She watched as he ducked away, avoiding a kick from the beast and doing nothing in retaliation, either realizing their inability to _harm_ the monster or knowing it would only risk more harm.

Such a statement was punctuated by the laughter of the beast, rolling above him and far beneath her. It was more cutting than even the wicked lance, sharper than its trident points, and showing truly the malicious nature of the monstrous Grimm. And Oobleck, the professor who had shown strength, wisdom, and courage up until this point, was left a panting mess barely avoiding lethal strikes.

" _Do it NOW!_ " the mini-drone rang out in her ear. "Do _something_ now or else that guy is gonna get impaled! I don't care if you attack, save him, or even just _scream in its face just DO SOMETHING!_ " Winter did not question the actions of the mini-drone, clearly running on bugged software. She only knew it was correct that Oobleck was moments away from death _unless_ she acted. And so, she would.

The runes beneath her feet spun at a speed that was unreadable, turning what were normally well-drawn lines into a mess of alabaster color. She did not blink as she did so, staring down at the beast that attacked Oobleck with such clear wanton abandon. The grin, the laugh, the horrid appearance, it was all easy for her to focus on.

So when the runes of her glyph came to a grinding halt, it was hard to miss.

A deafening boom to her own ears, a beam of light shot forth from the glyph she stood on, shaking her stance and temporarily blinding her to the arid land below. The attack came with a ring from the mini-drone above her, something she ignored as she focused even past the light of her glyph, on the beast she was aiming towards with sword in hand. She saw, if only barely, Oobleck scamper away as the beast remained still. She watched it look up to the attack without raising its lance, and she saw the look of glee on its face.

 ** _BOOOM!_** She only wishes he could heard the scream of pain as it attack connected.

The connection came with the degradation of the glyph she stood on, forcing it to fall to ruin beneath her. She was prepared for it, though, letting gravity pull her back to the sands beneath her. Her ruined outfit and drenched uniform hit the earth soon afterwards, smoke and glass billowing from where her attack had connected. Her crystalline eyes could see the mini-drones light reflecting off of the shards the high heat and pressure had created, making it difficult to see into the center of her attack.

But it didn't take long for the screen of sand to clear. And when it did, she was unsurprised by what she saw. Even if it was not what she wished to see.

The menacing visage of Ganondorf, the beast that had killed Impa, standing unpetrubed or harmed in the center of her blast. It was enough to make her click her tongue in annoyance, doubly so as the beast only grinned back at her.

"A fine attack, young girl," the monster spoke casually, hand gripping the vile trident loosely. She studied it the same way she did its armor, noting only the barest scratches amongst them both. But if scratches were all she could manage, with an attack that took her minutes to prepare, she doubted she had time to prepare an assault capable of harming the beast, yet. "Perhaps you have been holding back, or at least I do hope so. A swift death is what I offered before, but as you've turned it down, I truly do wish to draw this out. Long enough and _painful_ enough for you to realize the errors of your choice."

"Don't listen to him." Tatl almost immediately rang into her ear. "He's just trying to rile you up, to do something stupid! Don't do that just… just make _him_ do it instead." And how on Remnant was she meant to do that, against a beast that played with them like a child did ants on a hill.

"A ruined dragon is a bit much, I will admit, but to see the knights of your company so ruined, and the squires that you have come to train fighting for their lives against the grunts and pawns… well… I dare to say that it is something that may feed me enough for weeks to come." After the years and millennia he had spoken of? The jibe was not difficult to see.

But Winter stared forward, controlling her breathing even as the sand covered the glass that fell to it, swallowing the remains of her attack until only the pit of her assault remained. From which only the monster disguised as a man stood, proudly at that. Perhaps she should act differently, if attacking differently did little good.

"I do not mind if you continue to struggle, not as you are now." The mockery in its cruel grin was obvious. It was assisted, in the worst of ways, by the flaming hair that billowed in the arid land. "The fruitless wars are always a thing to experience, especially when you stand above them. Struggle all that you can, I implore you, so that the misery that follows will be all the sweeter to drink. Like the tears of a proud woman broken to dust, or kingdom of might and magic made to rubble. Let me experience it once more, if only for the ideas of how to torture Burdoner for the eons to come."

That was _enough._

"You will _not win, Ganondorf!_ " Winter finally yelled, in full agreement with the drone that buzzed about her head. Now was the time to yell, to scream, to fight. "You will _not_ best us, you will _not_ best Link, as you have _not won_ against them before!" It was a truth she knew to be true, as the monster that this being imitated was dead and gone, and leaving behind nothing but this mockery of a nightmare. "You will fall before us, be it after the next exchange of blows or _days of dueling!_ You must realize, if you are _so wise_ , that the Ganondorf you mimic lost before you _will_ lose again!"

And for a moment, a precious second that she could see a flash of light brighter than the drone that circled her or the light of the sun, she saw the recognition on the monster's face. It should have terrified her that it was capable of understanding her threat alone. It should have excited her to know it struck so sure a blow with words alone. It should have done so much more than what it actually did.

Because all the beast did in turn was stop, stare, and _smile_.

"I am _beyond that king_!" The scream of a declaration was all the warning the Schnee Specialist had.

A glyph was thrown up before her, the moment she heard its voice rise. _CRASH!_ And not a moment before the monstrous gauntlet of the beast plowed through it, slowing it just enough to let her jump back, but not enough. It wasn't enough to avoid the dark lick of the flames that came off of the same hand, carried by an even darker smile and more vicious fist.

She jumped off of another glyph, ignoring the pain that _seared_ her side. The Specialist had to if she wanted to avoid being crushed completely. And though she avoided the blow of the beast that plowed into the sand, _CRASH!_ destroying her glyph in the process, that was all she was benefited by.

 _CRASH! CRASH-CRASH-SHINK!_ Because the next three glyphs she threw up where blow away like leaves in the wind, leaving her open for the lance the beast drew from nowhere.

And sunk into her leg like a molten pitchfork.

" _GAAAAAAGH!_ " Winter could not quiet the howl that left her as the pain reached her. A level of Aura that could withstand a blow from a Spider Mech, as she had tested, and the beast that was the Nightmare had felled it with a single thrust, ruining her leg in the process.

 _BOOM!_ She fell to the ground a moment later, sand being strewn about her landing spot with a dull boom. Her head rolled as she immediately pushed her arms down, grasping her leg and the lance that was stuck into it. IT was painful, _immensely_ so, enough to where the Specialist wondered if the Grimm had poisoned her with a venom or neurotoxin. But she couldn't do more than that, aside from grit her teeth and study what was there.

A lance much like the one he had formed before against Cardin, before dissipating it in the preference for a physical punch. This one was still longer than her body, carrying five points to it, all _clearly_ sharp enough to gorge Aura, Semblance, and flesh with little effort to it at all. And that was in addition to noting it sunk no less than a solid few inches into her thigh, enough to nearly scrape her bone. Stitching and surgery would be required to repair fully, not even considering she had to hold the dark and _vile_ weapon to keep it from _falling_ out and tearing her wound open.

Her outfit was ruined beneath it, blood quickly spilling to the sand and likely contaminating what little of the wound was exposed. Her alabaster outfit was stained beyond the sense of normalcy, ripped in much the same manner, and leaving behind nothing of her leggings that could be construed for a military uniform. That spoke nothing of the flesh beneath that it dug into, and for a moment Winter feared that she would sport a scar comparable to Weiss's own.

 _SLAM!_ But even that was taken from her a moment later.

As Ganondorf, the Nightmare, fell beside her in the crater she had made. His body loomed over her, fist immediately grasping the lance stuck in her thigh and holding it tight. She id not offer her thanks for the action, not while he grinned down upon her with a wretchedness that made her already mortified stomach churn.

"I _AM_ beyond that king, Winter Schnee." Her fingers tightened around the lance, going as white as the teeth she bared in grimace towards her pain. Pain _amplified_ , by the monster's presence. "That king fell because he offered mercy to his enemies for a chance of gain. He offered to take less in exchange for serving under him. He was everything that the masses of Hyrule strove to fight against, but he was still a king that served, even once, the people beneath him."

Winter could not imagine such a thing, such compliments, for a beast that sneered down at her with malicious glee. The cacophony of noise that came from the battles around her and the mirthful laughter did not assist with any image of regality towards the giant of a man. No, the beast was lying… or perhaps being more honest with what _it_ truly was.

" _I_ on the other hand, offer only a swifter death, not an alliance." His massive hand rose towards the dark armor of his chest, even as its other hand tightened on the lance in her leg, holding Winter in place. She knew better than to create a glyph, not after he had beaten them like pieces of wet paper before. "Though that may be _my own_ mercy to you. Because I would enjoy _far too much_ the idea of inflicting you with your own nightmares."

Her breaths were coming out as hot hisses between her clenched teeth, lips sneered as she couldn't keep her jaw from showing her pain. The lance _must_ have been poisoned, because the dark figure holding it did not let it budge, but it still felt as if it were _clawing_ its way through her leg, and it was not a fine thing to experience.

"And I know of your nightmares, Winter Schnee, just as I know your name." After calling forth the memories of Impa, a being that was only a memory _herself_ of Link's departed friend, she was unsurprised. Though she was in pain, and looking for a path or means to escape. None were presenting themselves. "I know of your fear towards failure, towards being ignored, towards being _used_ without purpose, and so many more abstract things your mind wanders to through the short days and years you live."

Ganondorf, or perhaps the nightmare, leaned over her as he spoke. His massive form hid the sun from her, as well as the blue of the sky, drowning in her in the shadows that, even as their worst, were incomparable to the darkness in the creature's mind and heart. Her eyes turned scornful at the monster as he did so. She would not be intimidated, even if she was cornered.

"But if I were to torture you, if you do _not_ surrender yourself to me, I'll show you all the imaginings I can find to send your precious sister through."

That, however, made her heated breaths freeze like ice. The cruel chuckle that came from the green-skinned beast was evidence enough he had seen it, and relished it. Perhaps… he was fishing for something, but she would not give it.

"I know of her, Weiss Schnee. Your younger offspring, of similar form and blood." The vileness in his voice made Winter want to scream. But she couldn't trust her voice would be out of rage, and not for pain that continued to crawl up her pierced leg. "I know of your dreams for her, of what she will become with you at her side, just as what Impa dreamed of, even as mere collection of the past, for what she desired in the present. I know of these things… so I know what you _detest_ in companionship to them."

The mulling thought that Winter had was drawn to a rigid close. There was no more jest in his voice, no more in room for teasing or making light of her situation. He was only sneering down at her as he told of what he could do, of what _it_ wanted to do, and how the visage he took would do less than before. The monster was making himself to be viler than the beast he modeled his visage after.

"Perhaps I should show you her with her tongue torn out." Winter felt a tooth crack as her jaw clenched, in tandem with her fingers, miniscule in comparison to the fist that gripped it from above her. "No, no, too obvious and correctable in your mind. A torture more befitting _her_ for unto _you_ would be the spoils and chains you abandoned, and thrust her into instead. Like a mouse sacrificing its young to evade the trap of a cat."

 _SCHLICK!_ Now he chose to twist the lance.

"GRAGHGHG!" Winter wailed, gritting her teeth only after a hoarse cry ripped its way through her throat. She could not carry the blame, not when she felt the vile metal or whatever the material the lance was made of digging into her. She had never felt such a sensation before, but now, she would not be surprised to hear it had begun to dig into her bone, twisting her nerves with the effort.

And the cruel being only smiled down her. As it continued to list the atrocities it would spread of her family. And as it dug the lance into her thigh, until it was closer to be called embedded through her leg entire. She didn't dare move her extremities, even as she gripped the lance with what little, miniscule, strength she could manage, to slow its descent _into_ her. It did nothing, and the monster continued to speak.

"Would it not be the torture of any life to eb thrown from your own reams, completely and absolutely? The worst of the imaginings you have come from the unfulfilled. Leaving your sister alone in that cage of a home, forbidden to leave or speak or else lose pieces of her part, parts of her soul. Becoming nothing more than what you tried to escape becoming. The shattered mirror for her precious mother and father." _SCHLICK!_ Over.

"The Burdoner had a friend who was burned before she died. Slow enough so she could feel the torment of the flames crawling up her skin. I am sure your dearest sibling would experience much the same, feeling her long white locks turn ashen and black as she watched the red flames lick up her skin, devouring her like the savage beasts she tries to fight." _SCHLICK!_ _SCHLICK!_ And over.

"Would it not be fitting perhaps to see her slowly decay in the pursuit of her dream, affixing herself in a place she cannot escape for the blind ideal of success? I've seen many dreams fall prey to it before, some of the richest sources of fear being drawn from it. Perhaps she could be chasing a post near you, following your careless path, and stumbling off the cliff in pursuit of it." **_SCHLICK!_** _SCHLICK!_ And over.

"Or better yet, why do I not simply bring her here and pull the bones from her body, letting her writhe and scream for mercy as she realizes the loss of her life. Loss of life to live, abilities to move, and use in the world. All of it being stripped as I pull the irreplaceable parts from her before _your_ very eyes, and all while I enjoy a nice meal over it. Would. That. Be. Nice?" _SCHLICK!_ _SCHLICK!_ **_SCHLICK!_** And over again.

"GRAHAHAHA _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!_ " Winter lurched her back with the effort now, trying to move the lance even a millimeter from her impaled limb. She didn't succeed in the slightest. If anything, it got worse, falling until she felt, and perhaps _heard_ the lance impale the sand beneath her. " _GAAAAAAGHGHG! AAGHGHGAAAA!_ " And her cries echoed it.

But it wasn't a sign to stop. She had to keep going. Even if it was impossible even if… even if she was supposed to die her, she couldn't stop! Not if this _monster_ meant to do anything against her sister! She would sooner see it dead and maimed beside her than even glance upon her!

If it made him stop, if it gave her allies an opening, she'd risk letting the beast shoving his lance through her leg, severing it from her trunk completely! All so that he could be defeated by them at his highest point, while she was at her lowest, and the beast would then _stop talking!_ Silence it so it could _never_ torture another again! If it only shut up, Winter knew she would succeed!

Why wouldn't it stop laughing? Why wouldn't it _just shut up!?_

"And I can _SEE that desperation in your eyes!_ " The monster cheered now, standing to his tallest as the meaty hand pointed at her, all while his other tightened on the lance embedding her. She stared at it, imagining _biting_ the digit off, even as all she could see beyond it was a dark set of roaming eyes, framed by an impossible dark face and bordered by waving red hair. Demons were kind in appearance than this beast. "I can _see_ you wishing for a swifter death now, for some means to escape my musings! These are musings alone, _thoughts_ _I_ have had for you to suffer through, and those alone were enough to make a human, weak and fragile as you, wish for a death most swift. All just to _escape_. _Me_."

The cruel reality of his words settled in as he looked down upon her, arm swinging back to his side. And Winter was held tight to the sandy pit she was caught in, swallowed up more by the dark and immense Aura of the beast above her than the sand itself. She was… the Specialist only now realized what she was staring up towards. So often she had been told stories and tales of evil, but never before had she truly witnessed it.

This was not a mere Grimm, hunting by instinct and killing by the same. Not some bandit that could justify its evils with the desire to live. This _thing_ , this monster that wore the garb of an already vile man, and did so with joy, was so far beyond any simple or basic inference such as that.

This monster was truly, unjustly, _evil_.

And evil that reveled as she slowly slipped deeper into the pits of her pain, the ache that made her scream instead bringing forth only slow groans instead. The tight fixture she had across the lance loosening until the point of uselessness. It was just so… tiring, all of it. The pain, the ideas, the laughter, the shadows, the heat, the lose… she had lose.

Was it proper for a Schnee to lose? Winter couldn't tell. Everything too dull to tell what mattered. She didn't know if it mattered that her leg was wet, or that the ground was hot, or that the man standing above her was chuckling so much.

"And now I witness the fall into the torment of pain," he mused above her. Was that what was happening to her? Winter preferred it to pain alone. Drugs were developed for such a purpose. But did that mean her Semblance do this, or her Aura? Maybe something else. "The fools that fought against it all so often were dulled in that way. Feeding me so generously whilst they writhed in pain, only for the slow hand of death to drag their fear and rage from them. Leaving behind only what so many of you fear. A shell to be buried beneath the earth."

Buried, as in dead. Was she dead? Winter hadn't died before, because she _couldn't!_ Not yet! She had too much she needed to do! She promised General Ironwood she would… she would… she would help her sister! Maybe she hadn't promised that to him, but she had to her younger sister, and Weiss had accepted! She needed to help her by… by sending her away… by leaving her.

Why was everything so cold? The cold didn't feel right at the moment. It felt… stiff…

"Perhaps that is enough then," came the monster above her. "You may offer me thanks in the void you fall into, for this is a far faster death than I plan for the rest of your ilk." Her ilk? Weiss? He meant to kill her? HE was… even though she was… no… no…

" _GRAAAAA!_ " " _GYAAAAA!"_ **_BOOOM!_** Weiss didn't know what came first in the next moment.

The scream of rage, her scream of pain, or the explosion that nearly knocked her unconscious. Whichever it was, the result was the same.

Winter was thrown out of the pit she was in, the weight of the lance gone, ripped from her hands, and leaving a stabbing sensation of a thousand poisoned needles shooting through her leg. There was no time for her to react to the pain, not while she flailed through the air like a thrown doll, rag-dolling about until she started to skit and skip across the sand she was nearly buried in before.

She rolled to a stop, unable to tell up from down, ore even pain new from old, as she attempted to right the world around her. Even wither greatest efforts, the most she managed was a small lift of her head, staring forward through squinted eyes at the sight she had been flung from. She felt before she saw what was currently occurring there, and when she saw it, she still wasn't sure what it was.

"Dar… mani?" Her voice weakly let out, staring at the mass of rocks swinging at the armored monster. The monster that still carried the lance, swinging it at the beast as he laughed. The explosion… must have been Darmani hitting the Ganondorf… but how had it, made an explosion? Why was she here again?

" _Yeah Darmani! Keep it up!_ " She heard the fairy ring above her, bouncing into her view and obstructing the sight of the dueling beasts. The sounds of the battle were great, so much so she felt her body lightly being pushed across the sand. " _You know how to handle that lance, Link! Just keep the freak busy!_ " Busy, as in… not defeat?

That meant… what did that mean? That they were stalling for something? Something that was… better? Maybe it was just… stalling to escape. Maybe because the Goron couldn't beat the monster. Was that true? Even though he was fighting the thing without… with just his fists?

" _Yeah, YEAH, YE -_ NO! NO! _DUCK!_ " Winter only heard shouting and cries of angered pain as the mini-drone let out, doubtlessly against their favor. She grimaced, even as her head and alabaster hair, drenched in sweat and whatever fluids her body was releasing, stained itself across the desert. Not even Darmani stood a chance. " _DAMMIT!_ Link! Darmani! _WHOEVER!_ Just keep that freak of every kind of nature _busy!_ " Truly there was no more reason to object.

She had to… she had to escape.

Winter stumbled back, taking full advantage of the window the Goron Darmani had given her. It was a risk he took and one she wouldn't spite. She took the moment to push away from the exchange of blows, or more accurately swings of inhumane strength as a nearly equal inhuman attempted to avoid them, deflecting what few he couldn't. She didn't focus on that, _couldn't_ focus on that.

"Ice Queen! Hey! You alright?!" The ringing voice of the mini-drone reached her ears, almost impossibly due to the ring that sounded through her head. "Oh Time, that's a _stupid_ question to ask. Of course you're not okay, not after _that!_ Ah dammit!" It flung dust with the curses it threw, sending the rain of its sparks over her. They didn't hurt, as she suspected they would, but that was hardly a good sign. Specialist Winter Schnee was aware of the early stages of shock. "Okay, okay, um… um… we can do something I _know_ we can! Or you can do something, _anything!_ " At least it was recognizing the inability to help with the current situation.

A situation Winter did her utmost to keep from her mind, at least until she dealt with the hinderance that was herself right now. Or, more accurately and namely, the wound she had been inflicted with by the mad beast that was the Nightmare, and its adoptive form of _Phantom Ganondorf_. She almost scoffed. Whitely could think of better titles than that.

Whitley he… he would be smarter than to challenge the beast. She knew this. Winter was aware of it, opposed to her awareness for what was beneath her. It was warm, coarse, like a beach, but she could feel no waves and feel no moisture. Arid. It was too arid. Except for her leg, around one leg. Had she fallen into a ravine?

"HEY! _HEY!_ Don't go passing out on me _your highness!_ " She heard the loud ring from the mini-drone. She could not feel it bopping her fore head, though Witner was able to recognize she was falling back. No that was… that wasn't right it... it… Winter had to shake her head. Everything was feeling to mixed up. Her sense of balance was destroyed, her sense of direction even worse.

She was in the desert, yes. Not at Atlas, correct. Neither Whitley nor Weiss were here, true. And she was alright, unfeasible. Too little sensation, too little sense of self to properly diagnose. Field medics would be able to assist her, if she had her satchel she might as well but… but she couldn't remember where it was. Did she bring it? What could she do with it? A slow groan left her lips, wetter than her leg felt. Why was one leg so wet again?

" _WAKE UP!"_ The yell came again, jostling her mind. She was thankful for the noise, like an alarm in her early career. Yes… her career with Atlas. " _Don't you DARE pass out on me! We've got enough crap to deal with and Time knows you can't afford to PACK UP YET!_ " Why was the small creature worried again? Ah, yes, she had been impaled, nearly to the point of losing her leg. But what could she do? She had moments, _seconds_ , before Darmani was overcome by the beast, no different than she had been, and she had the advantage of being able to survive a blow from the monster thanks to her Aura.

Oobleck had taken three hits before he was nearly felled and though Darmani was doubtlessly built sturdier than either of them, she could _not_ imagine anyone who had died before surviving long against the monster. Even Impa had fallen to it in a previous life, and nearly had so again. Darmani was providing only a distraction.

They were all now so nearly in the same boat, having both suffered massive traumas thanks to the beast's immeasurable strength. Auraless, weaponless, and groundless. The three things all hunters were taught to never be in a fight against the Grimm. Darmani, at the current rate, would not be far behind, especially if she _failed to act_.

"Winter!" She looked up at the voice, recognizing it even as the professor ran over to her. She had no strength to do more than shift towards him. No means to escape or maneuver still. "Ms. Schnee! Specialist Schnee! Do you still possess cognition of your surroundings? Any major forms of trauma? Blood loss? Abrasions? Lac-" The good doctor stopped when he was close enough, clearing the dune that separated them.

He stilled above her, a look of unbound horror over his features. Winter mused through her slowly dulling senses that perhaps he was seeing the fight for the first tiem. She discarded that idea, not while his eyes were focused on her leg. What was wrong with her leg again? Ah, yes, the stab wound, the puncture that felt as if it were through and through, and with a significantly sized object.

If the professor said anything before he approached her, Winter didn't hear it. Between the shouts and laughter from far off, and the booming that accompanied it, she was only vaguely aware of the broken bespectacled man leaning over her, holding a hand behind her back. Lifting her up hurt, a lot. But the pain was about the same as the impalement. That hurt a lot as well.

"Hey, hold on! Where did you get _that?!_ " Winter wasn't aware what that was, or what Tatl was referring to. Her dull eyes, slowly glazing over, followed the path of the slowly drifting golden fairy. She was ringing around something, something over her. Something… Something the professor was holding.

Was that… a bottle? A masonry one at that?

"Darmani, in a rush, rolling away at high velocities, metallic protrusions covering over 50% of his exterior." Winter didn't understand. "No time to explain, too little time left. Ms. Schnee is in danger, emergency status, likely code blue at emergency response. Requires _immediate_ care. Darmani instructed to give this to the wounded. No instructions for how."

The professor swished the bottle in the air, because it was a bottle. Winter could just see it from her more rigid position against the man's arm and legs. A golden liquid was swishing around inside of it. She didn't recognize it, at all. At best, it looked like some form of juice, but it was too… bright? Perhaps it had an Aura of its own.

"Does it need to be applied topically? Ingestion? Dermal injection? Analgesic?" Winter wasn't aware what the last one was. The fairy rang out a response though.

"Drink it. _Drink it!_ She just has to drink the stuff. _All of it!_ " Her rings ranged from light bobs to thunderous booms. Was her head slipping, or was that just Winter's vision. She couldn't tell very well anymore. "That stuff's the _best_ potion Link's got! Give it all to her _now!_ " A potion? Wasn't that meant to be a medieval remedy of some sort?

She still felt her head being readjusted, moved into a position that had her head draping back over the arm that held her up. She could only tell because her head was lolled back, her mouth slightly opening. It was an undignified position, but one she couldn't fight against… what was she fighting again?

"Open your mouth, clear your esophagus, prepare yourself for an intake of liquids. Given massive levels of lacerations, contusions, and likely excessive blood loss, necessary to intake much as possible." What was it he was giving her? Winter could think of nothing that military had to help in this endeavor… except for prayers and a bullet. "Please, make haste, no waste, all at once! Imperative that you follow this instruction, command, _request!_ " Was it that dire?

Before she could roll out, or more accurately moan, a response, she felt something wet fall against her tongue. It immediately quenched her parched throat and mouth, dancing around her lips like a fine chardonnay. It continued to pour forward, drifting down her throat, and nearly making her gag for the effort. But she didn't have the energy to fight it, not completely. She could only let it continue to fill her stomach.

Fill her, drift through her, surround her, envelop her. Like… like a fine song of harps played by her mother, a gentle tune that was soothing her soul, lifting her spirits, and remedying her body. It was… it was a majestic taste that continued to flow through her, and she continued to drink greedily. She had the thought to stop, but threw it away. There was no need to stop. She just needed to drink, and drink, and-

_BING!_

"GHAY!" The shout came from her mouth with a wet gasp, a pained one at that. She didn't nee to wonder from where. Not when her hands, immediately gripped her leg.

And the hole that was in it.

The hole that was _slowly filling itself_. And she could feel every _piece_ of it being reset.

"GRAAHHARRARararaRARARAA!" Her voice let out pained gasps and grunts, cries filling the void between them. She couldn't flex her leg to dull the pain, only grip it with the strongest force she could muster, and power through the pain that throbbed with every reset piece. Every muscle fiber she could _see_ being reset.

Through the hole in her clothes, the nearly bare leg to match, she watched her skin being stitched together. She watched the muscle beneath regrow and reshape. She watched her _bone reset_. She watched it all, in disbelief that could not be measured. And all while she had to control her screams of pain.

The arm that was once supporting her now held her still, keeping her from thrashing about across the sand. She leaned into it, beat her back against it, all while she kept her leg as stiff as she could, and she watched it heal itself. No, that wasn't right. Winter _knew_ it was the potion.

She only wished she didn't have to feel it. Like the lance that had impaled her in reverse, churning her into something that was just unnatural. Over and over and over until-

It was gone.

Just like that, gone.

Winter let out slow breaths of air, forcing her body to return to a steady breathing pattern, even as she refused to let go of her leg. She stared at it, memorizing it, ensuring that it hadn't been an illusion of some kind, some kind of _sick trick_ of the Nightmare they were in. Her fingers equally unmarred, rubbed over the spot.

But it was fine, _she_ was fine. And… and she felt good, great even. It was like… it was like she had never even been struck in the first place. And where it not for the holes in her clothes, lack of a weapon, and _horrendous_ appearances of her hair… she would believe it.

She was… completely healed?

"I'm… healed?"

Winter spoke, testing her voice and what was _surely_ an illusion. But she found none, even as she lightly released her leg, feeling the blood beneath her new skin slowly return. It felt as it had once before. As if she _hadn't_ gone through a fight in the first place.

"Oh yeah, Golden Chu-Chus always give he best kick." Winter whirled on the mini-drone, glaring at it, but unsure if she should be thankful for the machine or hit it or speaking so lightly of her _near-death_. "Relax Ice-Queen, you're good now. That stuff is what Link carries around for when the going gets _too_ tough. And this counts, especially with where you were at before." It was that bad, wasn't it?

"That was _incredible! Monumental!_ " Winter fully expected the professor's outburst. Rather, more than that, she understood it. "Such a find, such a _discovery!_ Entire fields of medicine may be repurposed with such a gift! Such a discovery to allow immediate restituting of sinew and soft tissue in a contaminated environment! Further without anesthetic and induced orally!" She took a breath of air while the man rambled, appropriate as it was.

Her focus, however, returned to the drone that had helped her. Her and the man who continued to rave.

"I… I thank you," Winter managed out, knowing the importance of recognizing the gesture. "I am sure now that… that I was near death. The ointment or… potion, as you referred to it… I am most thankful for it."

"Good thing too, cause that stuff's worth more than most houses in Hyrule." That did not give Winter a good benchmark, either from inferring its high value. "But save the thanks and praise for later, especially for Link. Fight's not over yet." Her eyes hardened in a moment, hands clenching into the sand with the words.

Those eyes looked back towards where she had first been thrown from, seeing the monster that had so nearly _maimed_ her fighting against the righteous beast that was Darmani. Fighting, however, even if she wished for it to be true, was too generous a word. Her experience was too great and eyes too finally tuned to not see the truth of it.

They exchanged blows, Darmani's fists against the shell of the monster. It blocked the swings of the lance, wicked metal scraping and grating across the thick boulders atop the Goron's head, but that was hardly a fair trade. Darmani was still yelling with a fury she could hear above the ricocheting blows it cast. Just the same way she could see, and hear, the malicious laughter of the monster.

It was playing with Darmani. Ganondorf was making a _fool_ of the Goron. Because it swore to savor the worst terrors Link had to offer, so of course it wasn't trying to kill him.

The beast was only showing the opposite was just as _impossible_.

"We need to form a plan." Dr. Oobleck spoke beside her, his focus on the fight now as well. "A method or maneuver that may yet sever the beast in two. Destroying the Dragon Grimm lessened the number of the other Grimm, the less critical threats. Perhaps… perhaps there is more we can do." It was hardly a plan by itself. Just a suggestion at best.

But it was a good place to start.

"Then we need to regroup, or gather the students with this," Winter quickly added on. The ring from the mini-drone was telling enough it agreed. "I will stay here, as that _potion_ has revitalized me. I have the greatest chance of diverting Ganondorf's attention should it attempt to do more than it is now." And the chance of it was likely.

"Very good, understood. Tatl and I shall assist and gather the students. All currently fighting, including the injured Penny and Cardin." She nodded towards his agreement. It was all they needed. They didn't have much time to spare.

So Winter offered nothing but silence as the professor jumped up and away, feet beating against the sand as he hurried towards the students, fighting the other Grimm some distance away. The golden ball of light followed him. Perhaps she would be glad to see her brother again, perhaps not. It only partially mattered in the grand scale of things.

 ** _BOOM!_** "GaahahAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! _"_

Because that moment, the mad laughter and jeers of the monster were atop any list.

It had to be destroyed, quickly.

* * *

This was bad, and Jaune knew it. This was bad for a whole lot of reasons that he didn't have the time, patience, or even the energy to admit. The worst part was, this was after he already felt _hopeless_ after seeing the Ganondorf guy bat Impa across the desert like a freaking Wiffle Ball!

Now he was dealing with monsters, lack of energy, and the idea that their biggest enemy was laughing at them as he was trying to kill them. Nightmares were made of this kind of stuff. And realizing _that_ only made him groan.

"Guu-AGH!" A groan that turned into a full-blown shout as he dodged another swipe from a nearby Beowolf. Her grimaced as he felt its claws dance over his hair, probably for the hundredth time already. "GRAH!" His shout turned into a roar as he spun with his dodge, just as Pyrrha taught him to, never wasting any built of momentum.

He was rewarded with his sword sliding through the Grimm's arm, chopping it off and sending it flying into a nearby sand dune. But the monster wasn't dead. If he wasn't sure of that before he fell down here, he was confident of it now. Confident enough to know that heh had to draw back his sword against, stabbing forward and ramming the point of Crocea Mors into the dark beast's head. It slumped in his grasp, forcing his blade to fall to the ground. That was fine, as the body soon vanished into smoke. One of what felt like a million now.

And looking over the sand, it still felt that way. Mainly because so many of them were gone. It didn't help though, even if he knew it to be true. It didn't help because he didn't do it. Heck, _no one_ did it. The reason why there were all gone was because that giant dragon Grimm fell from the sky, and that was it. Cardin was a jerk, but he was right about that.

Still didn't mean Jaune could do anything else but fight. Fight like Pyrrha, like Penny, like Cardin, and… not like Sky, but the rest of them. Sky was still scared twisted by Ganondorf, not that Jaune had much blame for him. Not after what he'd seen that monster do…

"HUGH!" Jaune let out a gasp of air as he leaned back, namely after he saw the sand shifting under his feet. A Grammite erupted from beneath the sand a moment later, trying to chomp his head. He raised his shield, leaning back as he was, before slamming it forward, hitting the side of the monster's rough exterior. It let out a cry of pain, or maybe fright, as Jaune mounted it. He didn't let it bother him, not with how many of those same cries were echoing across the desert region.

It was just… so much. Was this what fights were normally like outside of Beacon? This long? This... hopeless? A part of him wanted to say not because… because it just wouldn't be fair. This was more than he thought anyone could handle. It would _definitely_ be too much for any of the huntsman by themselves! All these Grimm, in this worn down place, in this… weird desert under a cavern… which was a dream…

Even among the desert and sand, Jaune let out a slow breath of air, trying to keep himself awake. It was honestly more difficult than he thought it would be. Even with all the screaming, fighting, and general risk-your-life scenarios going on, he was… just ready to go to bed. Maybe sleep through the weekend. HE couldn't do that though, and he knew. He just… had to keep his eyes open.

Why was he so tired though? Too much fighting? Too many surprises? Too may Grimm? Had to be too much of something. It was like his mom always said, it wasn't the drug, but the dosage. So… that applied here, totally. He just.. needed to figure out what it was so he could reduce. Maybe that meant just taking a quick break, just leaning back and-

" **GRRRAH!** " No leaning back! No leaning back!

Jaune stumbled forwards to avoid the roar of and Ursa behind him. The dune he almost fell back on exploding like one of Nora's grenade went off under it. He could practically _feel_ the Grimm on his back, hot breath and all, even with the arid desert draining him of water. Even with the shock of a lifetime behind him, Jaune only managed to escape by stumbling over his own feet and falling forward.

He rolled the short distance down the hill, turning when he hit the bottom to see the monster of a Grimm, the Ursa Major, staring down at him with beady red eyes. The kind that spoke more of a thirst for blood than empathy… Jaune knew he was tired now, thinking of sleep when a freaking Grimm was getting ready to eat him. But that… it wasn't time for that yet!

Jaune struggled to raise his shield, knowing he wouldn't have enough time to swing. He got it up in front of him, seeing the Grimm descend as he rolled his hips, shifting until he was on his knees with the flat of the metal raised, preparing for an impact. And he waited… and waited…

 _THUD!_ And he heard an impact, just not on his shield. That was weird. And worth checking out. So with a small peek out from the side, Jaune saw the Grimm that was attacking him on its side, light gone from its eyes and slowly vanishing back to ash and mist. What was far more interesting, and important, however, was the man standing next to it, fist drawn back and adjusting his glasses. Broken glasses? Definitely broken. The hair though, that was the give-away.

"Professor?" Jaune lightly squeaked out, between the lack of air in his lungs and the man's sudden appearance. His hair nearly flamed when he looked at Jaune, or at least it looked like it. The horizon could be on fire right now for all he knew.

"Doctor, currently, presently, and pareceding." Paraceding? "Unimportant currently. More important matters at hand. Action required!" Huh? Wait, what? Those were things that Jaune wanted to say.

But with how fast the professor, doctor, actually, kicked off the dune, he didn't even have the chance to take the breath to do so. Still, wasn't a reason to do nothing, especially after his life was just saved. Jaune turned to follow him.

 _WHAP!_ And was so thankful he had his shield up as he did so.

Because not a moment later, a smaller Nevermore slammed into it. Smaller was deceiving in terms of terminology, seeing as the thing was easily the same size as he was. Not as heavy, whatever good that did. Not much, actually, seeing as it just gave it better perch on his shield. Shield with its talons wrapped around the edges, beak pecking at the metal and wings flapping around him.

"GAH! HEY! Get off!" Jaune yelled, even as he tried to balance himself with the Grimm beating down on it. It was almost impossible to get his balance, and the _monster_ didn't have to draw out a weapon like he did! It just kept itself balancing on top of his shield, screeching into the air as it tried to peck at him. He grit his teeth in annoyance of it all. "I'm serious! Get! _OFF!_ " He finally yelled out, whipping his shield sideways.

It threw the Nevermore off of him, forcing it to right itself mid-air and fly away from him. Jaune kept his eyes on it, watching it knowing full well that it was going to come back for a second run. And he watched it, carefully. Probably too carefully if he was being honest.

Because it gave the Creeper that burst from the ground ample time to strike him. More than enough.

Enough that Jaune didn't even know it was there until he heard it yell out. He didn't even have enough time to slip around his shield, and not even enough time to raise his sword and pierce the damn thing! _SHINK!_ Until it did. AS in, just impaled and sliced through the monster like it was nothing.

"Wha-?" Jaune let out for a moment, even as he watched the misty gore and creature fall off of his golden blade. It hit the ground with a small dull thud, already vanishing before his eyes. He was grateful, no doubt, but… He already knew what happened. And it wasn't due to his own efforts or training. "Thanks Pyrrha!" He shouted again for his partner, the only one who could have helped. But he didn't get a response back. "Pyrrha?!" He shouted her name again, keeping his shield up as he turned.

Despite being in a desert, it wasn't third to find her. She was the only one with such long red hair fighting the Grimm. And she was still doing it. Doing it just as well as she ever did. Flipping over claws that reached for her, just before impaling her lance into their eyes. Sheilding the quicker attacks that fell on her head, before ducking and rolling to strike at their stomach. She was doing it all, against Ursa, Beowolves, and Loliths combined and… and…

She was running out of breath.

Jaune realized only because he'd seen her like it once before. When she had dueled Team CRDL and then promised to fight him. It was a literal full days' worth of fighting for her, and it showed when they finally made it to the rooftop to fight. He could remember his partner, so eager to tell him how to correct his form and what to do, suddenly shifting to only quick motions, panting through her nose as she guided him.

He had asked her if she was okay, even if she had still effortlessly beaten him down, and she had only told him that she was tired. Tired enough that she slept through her alarm the next morning and ate more than he thought possible at lunch. That was Pyrrha Nikos when she was over worked, over doing herself.

And with her gaze so focused, moth literally clamped shut, he knew it was the same look. She was fighting, hard, but she was running out, fast.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune shouted, more out of instinct than anything else. "Don't worry! I'm coming!" Before she could say anything against it, if she even could, he was already running. She was so much stronger than him, so much better than him, Jaune didn't know if he even should go to her. He could just get in the way, and he knew it.

But abandoning her was far worse than anything else he could imagine. He would _not_ do that. _Never_ do that.

He could already see more Grimm surrounding her, getting ready to attack her from behind, from the sides, from _under the sand_. HE had to get to her, to at least help her! HE had to and then he'd-

**BANG!**

"GYAH!" Jaune let out the sudden 'urk' of pain as he was thrown backwards, a dull throb immediately blossoming across his chest. His arms, still firmly grasping his weapons, curled around his front as he rolled across the dunes. Even with the blow, from what he couldn't tell, he stood up and looked for his partner, seeing the Grimm over running where she was. Fear enveloped him for a moment. He couldn't see her fighting. He couldn't' see her hair. He couldn't see _her_.

"PYRRHA!" He shouted, standing up despite the pain in his front, despite it all. There was no way he could just roll over in pain he had to get up and find her!

"Jaune!" The shout came from beside him, and if he weren't in so much pain, he would have jumped. Instead, he just looked to the sound of the voice, gaze quickly relaxing as he recognized who it was.

Guess he'd found Pyrrha.

"Hey! There you are." He laughed with the words, a pathetic attempt to calm the dull throb that was over his chest. He had to look pathetic, with how worried Pyrrha was looking at him. Then again, maybe she always looked at him that way, in a fight at least. "How… How did you…?" The question fell of with his voice, but she understood. She did a lot.

"I jumped, after I pushed you away." So it was her that hit him. Well… considering how he didn't see anything hit him, it was kind of obvious. "And I got help from Dr. Oobleck and Penny." Dr. Oobleck and Penny? Where were they? He didn't voice the question, but it must have shown on his face. Pyrrha extended her arm out, pointing towards the crowd of Grimm.

**BOOM!**

Or more accurately, what _was_ a crowd of Grimm. At least before a dozen or so swords rapidly tore through them at a break neck pace. The Ursa and Beowolves were chooped into misty black chunks, basically filleted into a dozen parts as they fell to the sand. He lost track of the other Grimm that were in the pile, their chunks all falling together. It was _impossible_ to miss what was standing in the center of it all.

Tired, dehydrated, and ready to pass out as he was, there was no way he'd miss the Atlas Academy transfer student balancing her stringed-swords around her body, standing next to the corpse pile she had created. Okay, now it was a mist pile, but the point still stood. Stood just like the professor that was walking away from her. No wait, that wasn't a good metaphor…

"Ms. Polendina! Assault the majority of the Grimm along the dunes at and over 50 meters away!" Was that safe for a professor to ask! Penny was strong, but seriously?! "Retreat immediately upon receiving damage! Do you acknowledge?"

"Orders understood and processed!" She shouted back. That Atlesian accent coming out in her again, the same one that Weiss and her big sister had. Had to be an Atlas thing, talking like they were in the Military. Where were his thoughts right now? He must have been more tired than he thought, and he already thought he was seconds away from passing out. Jaune tapped his head against the top of his shield, trying to focus on what was important.

Important, like the fact that even though the Grimm were down _a lot_ , there were still _a ton_ of them around. Like how Penny, Pyrrha and debatably Cardin where the only ones putting in actual work to fight them, cause Sky was too traumatized and he was good only when Pyrrha had his back. Also how Weiss's sister and Link, or Darmani, and previously Impa, were all fighting the real _big bad_ of the whole place. Those were important to focus on. And, even though he hadn't made that list, Dr. Oobleck was also important.

Like how he was talking to them.

"Mr. Arc? What do you think?" It took the boy a moment to realize the broken bespectacled man was trying to talk to him. And he realized _that_ only after a pair of hands were on his shoulders. Where was he again?

"H-Huh?" Jaune spoke out, shaking his head. Maybe too much sand had gotten in head. Maybe he was… no, he was _definitely_ tired. Wiped out even. Pyrrha was right, armor was protective but it made you a lot slower in a fight, and run out of juice quicker. But he couldn't stop now, and he _definitely_ couldn't take it off. Was the professor still trying to talk to him?

"Mr. Arc!" Dr. Oobleck yelled. This time, with a shake that made Jaune whip his head back and forth. Kind of amazing he didn't hit the professor in his head, even with his shattered glasses. "Do you have a concussion? Brain aneurism? Mental deficiency? Can you acutely process my verbal ques?" Once he shifted them from the big brain words to regular ones, yeah, he could. And after he forgot about the fact they were fighting for their lives in a desert created by some _super powerful_ Grimm.

"I-I'm good! I'm good!" Jaune shouted back. More for himself than the professor if he was being honest. It at least got him free of the doctor's grip. Doctor was right, not professor. Jaune still kept his family sword and shield in hand. "I'm just… a-a-a little shell-shocked." That wasn't untrue, especially with all the crap that was hitting the fan right now.

"Hmm, of course, understandable, unfortunate, but allowable, for now." The professor rattled off quickly. He looked around for a second, something Jaune thought for sure was checking on any Grimm in the area. They had been fighting them for a couple of hours now. Or was it days? There had to be more. "Fortunate the rest of you are able bodied. Tired, exhaustion understandable, but endurance commendable. Well done."

"Thank you, sir," Pyrrha answered. Jaune shut his eyes in shame. Tired only went so far as an excuse. "But… but aren't you supposed to be helping Ms. Schnee with… Ganondorf?" Pyrrha must have been tired as well, because that hitch in her voice sounded like she was exhausted. No way she was scared. Not her.

"Two matters are concurrent. Present here to gather assistance with dealing with the Ganondorf, Nightmare, the Ancient Grimm." He was what? Jaune actually couldn't follow. "Currently, Darmani of the Gorons is assisting Winter with holding off the monster. Time is short, action must be swift."

"Darmani's there?" The voice caught Jaune off guard, again, mostly because he'd forgotten all about him. And he felt bad, again, even as the small fairy, dark as he felt, rang in front of him. "So he did take out the dragon! A-And he's fighting Ganondorf now!" The fairy sounded excited. Well that was good at least.

"Correct, Tael," Dr. Oobleck confirmed. His eyes kept moving around. Or maybe it was Jaune's exhaustion catching up with him. "Rest of you are unharmed, stable? No immediate life-threatening wounds?" Not that he could think of, no.

"You mean _aside_ from the Grimm all trying to kill us for the past few _hours?!_ No, we're _perfect_." Jaune held back his grown, but he couldn't stop his grimace. Cardin's voice was obvious and just as full of contempt as always. Perfect. Especially after his _last_ attempt to look all heroic. "But you gotta tell me that the big guy's at least putting up a fight against that monster. There's no way we can do this for much longer." And even through it, Jaune found himself agreeing with the question. A positive there would be _greatly_ appreciated.

But Dr. Oobleck didn't respond. Instead, he turned away from them, facing the horizon, wherever that could be called in this made up world. He was looking through broken glasses though, at something in the distance… actually, now that Jaune followed his sight, it wasn't all that distant at all. It must have just been harder to see when he was focusing on all the crap that was screaming and blowing up around him.

 ** _BOOM! BOOM!_** Because now it was hard to miss the sight of Darmani, the Goron that was laughing the Monument Mine, screaming as he threw _flaming fists_ at the monster Ganondorf. A monster that was laughing as it swung a dark lance around. And that thing, oh boy, that thing looked _deadly_.

The thing had to be longer than Cardin was tall, and that was already a massive thing to consider. Being made out of metal, that must have made it heavier than… than Cardin! But the freaking _monster_ that Ganondorf was, and there was no denying it now, was swinging the thig around like it was a stick from a tree! It was hammering down on Darmani like a bat, hitting at his stony exterior, hard, hard enough to help create those 'boom'ing noises that echoed over the desert. That loud, it had to hurt.

But it wasn't over, at least it wasn't so bad that it looked it. Because even though Impa, and Cardin, and Dr. Oobleck, and _probably_ Weiss's sister were all hit by those attacks… they all went down fast. But Darmani? Darmani was still standing! He really was strong! Jaune knew it from the way he acted in the mine and everything, but actually seeing it… it was awesome!

"He's holding his own out there!'" Jaune spoke up, trying to contain his voice. But that was hard, and he was never very good at challenges thrown in front of him. "He… He can do it! He's fighting that monster off!" No, screw his self control, this was amazing! This was exactly what they needed!

But then why wasn't anyone else cheering?

"Guys? What's wrong?" Jaune finally asked, looking around himself at the others. There was Pyrrha, biting her lip like she did when he answered a question wrong. There was Sky, shaking like when he fell off the tower. There was Tael, shivering in the air and barely flapping his wings. There was Cardin, grinding his teeth at Jaune. He was the only one to answer his question.

"What wrong? More like what _fight_?! That freak is _playing_ with Link!" Jaune didn't understand what Cardin was talking about, at first. He was a jerk, no doubt, but he wasn't blind and not _nearly_ that stupid! That was until he focused on the fighting as well.

And he saw Darmani throwing his fists and hitting nothing. He saw Ganondorf swinging his trident and letting it glide off of the Goron's spikes, harmlessly or not. He heard how Darmani was screaming, yelling into the air loud enough to be heard almost over the booms of his fist. But he heard just as well the jeering laughter that came from Ganondorf, that wicked Nightmare, mocking the effort.

Cardin was right. Darmani, Link, was being _played_ with.

"I take it back. This is _so much_ worse than I thought." Jaune hastily corrected himself. It wasn't hard to see just how south this whole situation was going, and as far as he was concerned, it began lower than his self-esteem was when his dad told him he could never be a hunter. "Is… W-What can we do? We gotta do something, right? I mean, we _can't_ just do nothing! He's at least not being blown away like everyone else, so we have to help him!"

"If you've got a bright idea, I'll listen to you for once!" Cardin yelled back, again. Just the same as before. "Cause _my_ bright idea of fighting him worked out so great, and obviously we're gonna be able to help when the freaking faunus over there can't even get the monster to act _seriously_." Yeah, that was a killer thing to experience, being bullied while in a fight.

"Mr. Winchester is correct, if forward. Synonym for rude. A plan of operation is necessary before action can occur!" Dr. Oobleck yelled out. He ran past Jaune, bare hands catching the underside of a Beowolf's arm, just before flipping it over his body and sending it back down to the ground. _BOOM!_ The rise and fall of his foot on the Grimm's throat came with a crunch. Well that thing was dead. Jaune kept his eyes on it… seeing something else under the sand it fell on.

" _Hup!" SCHLICK!_ Jaune made a noise of exertion as she sliced his sword downwards, impaling a Grammite that was slithering under the surface. It was easy to see them now, considering the number there was. Heck, he'd probably be seeing them in his covers for weeks after this… if they did get out of this. "How… How about we… we do _anything!_ "

"I'll do that! I'm… I'm in for it!" Sky was agreeing with him now. Even as he was swinging his polearm around more like a stick than a weapon. Was… was he okay? No, probably not, not if he had to experience that monster up front and personal, like what the professors were doing. "Just tell me _what_ that is and I'll _gladly_ help you out!"

Jaune took a few lunges back, putting some distance between him and the rest of the group. The Grimm were more spaced out than before, than the fall of that _giant dragon Grimm_ for that, but that didn't mean they were gone. Heck, if anything, that just made it more terrifying, because they came out of no where before and they were just as bound to do it again now.

He shook his head to rid the thought from himself, even if it was something he'd do if he was ten years old. He just couldn't focus on that. He couldn't. Pyrrha had told him plenty of times how important it was to focus on what was in front of you in a fight, and this was no different. He couldn't focus on a test or his family even while he was fighting for his life, because he couldn't think about something that wasn't related to where he was. This was like that.

He was a thinker, as much as Pyrrha and Ren told him he was, it had to be true. And if he was only holding the other _fighters_ back, namely his own partner who was using her Semblance to swing his sword at things he didn't seen, then he had to do some thinking. He had to think.

"Then… then what about a distraction!" Jaune threw the idea out there as fast as he could. He was used to the faces that everyone gave him. He wasn't exactly the most well-versed in what was best to say. "I-If we can get the Grimm to fight something else so the _rest_ of us can help take that thing down, then-"

"Then we'll all get killed even faster than before!" Cardin yelled at him. He sighed more than anything else. He wanted to scream to, just not at himself. "In case you're blinded by the sand or _your fear_ , that _thing_ is making fools outta everything that gets thrown at it! Impa, the Goron, a pair of _professional hunters partnered up_ , and that _monster_ was just batting them off, _laughing_ about it!" Yeah, he hadn't forgotten.

"Verbose as he is, I'm sorry to say Cardin is right, Jaune," his partner spoke up. She looked _a lot_ worse for wear, and he knew it was partly his fault, given how much she was protecting him. "Teaming up is a good strategy when dealing with larger threats so long as we know where to aim. But here… we don't even know how to _hurt_ it." Well, that shot down that idea.

"Very true, greatly unfortunate," Professor Oobleck spoke up. Doctor, it was doctor. His were focused solely on the fight, watching as the massive Goron fought the even _bigger_ monster-in-disguise-of-a-monster. No real wonder why. "Lacking credible means of injury. Lack of injury implying inability to incapacitate. Unable to incapacitate larger enemies leads to higher chance and likelihood of harm occurring to others involved. Risk increases greatly with time." Everything did.

 _BANG!_ The sound of Penny's sword _blasting_ through another enemy reached his ears. A quick glance showed that she was still holding off a lot of the Grimm, even if she was down a couple of swords. Not like she needed them with how many she had… he thought. His thoughts were usually wrong.

"However, despite existing well above third deviation of average in relation to strength for monsters already sufficiently supplied in strength, not invincible. _Cannot_ be invincible." Despite how horrifying that description was, Jaune focused on that last part. Everyone did. Even with his sword feeling like it was going to slide right out of his hand and shield right about the same, he focused on the professor's words. "Invincibility is a statement implying the lack of requirement to maintain structure. If such maintenance was needed, the idea of imperviousness would be a fallacy." Jaune started to nod, understanding him.

"I… I don't get it." Apparently, Sky did not. He didn't sound too good either. It was the first time he said anything. "Talking about it keeping… up how strong it is, like… having good health… and stuff. Are you… You mean we… we gotta out last it or something?" Jaune kept nodding his head, even if they weren't talking to him. He at least knew they were right.

"Fine guess. However, incorrect conclusion." Or maybe just on the right track. Jaune thought he was pretty close at least. "Outlasting a Grimm an impossibility. Too many necessities we must maintain. Nutrition. Hydration, sleep cycles, exhaustion." The professor didn't blink as he listed them out. His eyes were still straight ahead.

 **BOOM! BOOM!** And the explosions of sound made sure that Jaune at least glanced as well. Penny was keeping the Grimm back and away from them, but Darmani was at least doing something to Ganondorf. Almost like it was a distraction… a distraction that had the monster laughing over him as it caught a pair of the giant rock faunus's(?) fists in his hands, like they were nothing.

The same fists that Jaune had watched break rock into rubble and supposedly tank a pressurized blast from Cardin's mace. And the monster was holding them, laughing, like they were nothing. Where did its lance even go?

"Rather than outlast, correct statement would be to 'force waste'." Now that Jaune didn't get. He looked back at the doctor, even as he made sure to keep his shield up, just in case another Grammite burst out of the ground. They were making a nasty habit of it, and his shield had taken more than one blow, or a thousand. "Similar method to baiting. Concept conceptually identical. Lure a trap for prey to follow. However, significant different present." Jaune had an idea what that was.

"The bait? The bait's different, right?" Jaune asked imploringly. The professor didn't even glance at him, or avert his gaze. His hands were clenched into fists to add to the effect. "Or… is it something else?" IT had to be, or at least Dr. Oobleck would have said something.

"Waste his energy." Pyrrha answered instead. She got a light twist of the professor's head. That was good! "I mean, I think you're implying that we make the monster use up its energy faster than normal. It's the same way how a lot of younger duelists tend to force their opponents with larger weapons to swing more… to tire them out." Okay, that made sense. A lot of sense, actually. It was, after all, the reason that Pyrrha kept telling him to charge less and wait more.

"Correct, Ms. Nikos." The professor agreeing was a definite plus. "Though tiring him out is unlikely, improbable. However, a secondary means to waste energy has fortuitously shown itself. Kindness of karma perhaps, Karna's blessing." Jaune didn't recognize the name. "Regardless, means to reduce the Grimm's energy supply appears to exist, demonstrated by Darmani and Link's unifed front against avian Grimm."

"Taking out the big targets," Cardin muttered from behind. Pretty close to the same thing he had talked about before. At least he wasn't bragging about it, even if it was probably because they all knew it was true. Difference was, then and now, they didn't have an idea of _how_ to do it. And that didn't sound like it had changed… or had it?

"That means attacking that thing directly, right?" Jaune asked for confirmation, earning the nod from Pyrrha that made his question a fact. He ran with it. "But for that to work, there must be someway to fight that thing, right? I mean, no offense, but we kinda had this idea before, but threw it out because we didn't even know _how_ to hurt the thing."

"I had the idea, Arc," Cardin 'corrected' him. Jaune ignored him. There were way more important things going on.

"Correct, both accounts. Worry, probability, and lack of plan." The sincerity to which Dr. Oobleck spoke was not doing much for the self-esteem of the group. Jaune's was already low, and it didn't feel like it was improving with that. "Making a fool of us, worryingly proficient. Disturbing. Damning." Definitely not good.

"But… th-there's gotta be something, right?" Jaune insisted. He knew there was. There was no such thing as invincible! Even in a world where mega soldiers like he was training to be were fighting monsters that were spawned from what amounted to the ether, everything still had an end! "Maybe it has a weak point, o-or some kinda spell you can chant. OR… I-I don't know, something! If there was no way to hurt it, it wouldn't have been in that sword-prison thing in the first place!"

"Say that again!"

Jaune almost fell back with how quickly the professor made the demand. No, actually, he did fall back, just that Pyrrha caught him. He wanted to lean back and thank her, again. Or better yet, he wanted to stand up and do it, but he could. Dr. Oobleck's face, inches from his own. Was keeping him from going anywhere.

"Mr. Arc, I insist you repeat your statement once more, so I may confirm your train of thought and deliberate on its feasibility!" Did… did he need to say it again for that? Did he say something wrong on the matter? HE gulped at the idea, even as Grimm cackled in the distance. He could have sword he heard a song playing in his head about something like this.

"I-I said that… that if it was put in the sword, something must have done it?" But that only got the professor to shake his head.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Did he forget his own words? "You mistake yourself. "Trickery may have been involved if it was just a matter of sealing it away. A limitation on its power that may be related to the marked and unstudied parchments lining the chains! No, Mr. Arc. You said it had to be _harmed_ to be put in the pseudo-prison, a statement I _concur_ with." He did?

"You do?" Sky, of all people, spoke. "You mean, something was freaking _strong enough_ to not only hurt that thing but then shove it into some kinda sword? No way, I don't buy it." It could have been the sleep deprivation setting in, or the general desire for just a good rest, but Jaune did kind of want to know why. "Cause if that was the case, why didn't whatever it was fighting, or whoever, just _kill it!_ " Actually, that was a good point, and one that deserved an answer. Hopefully one that came with ringing bells.

"Because… because Nightmares can't die…" That was the wrong kind of answer to come with a ring And Jaune hated that it came from the fairy that was sulking in the air. Did fairies sulk? "Just like dreams, Nightmares… they don't ever go away. As long as they have something to feed on, some fear that resides in your heart… they always come back. A-At least that's how the story was told." Oh great, and that made this only worse. Jaune didn't try and hide his groan.

"Wait, wait… as in… they're immortal!?" Just like how Cardin didn't try and hide his scream. "We're facing not only a stupidly _strong_ Grimm, but one that's literally freaking _unkillable!_ Then we really are screwed!" _BOOM!_ The sound came when he slammed his foot into the ground. Jaune wouldn't have been surprised to hear it was to kill another Grammite, or Lolith, or Creeper, or whatever the heck else was lurking under them.

"No, detestable conclusion, illogical," Dr. Oobleck continued on. "Defeat must be plausible, even if death unfeasible. Sealed once, _defeated_ once, therefore there must be a method we can exploit, a possible path to victory that we can articulate into a plan and therefore a method of action! We only need to congregate ideas swiftly, or else Darmani and Winter will be overwhelmed." And that was what was really ramping this up.

They were on a time clock. One that was counting down the longer that the Goron was fighting Ganondorf. No, being played with, he corrected himself. Because that freaky monster in disguise _was_ still laughing, and that was bad enough. And Weiss's sister was… just watching. Or using her runes, he didn't know.

Wait, could that help? Just hitting it harder? Darmani had to have hit that dragon pretty hard, and that knocked enough of the Grimm out so that they could actually talk! Even if it was while Penny was fighting a large number of the monsters instead. But it was something! And something was better than nothing. Feet digging into the sand, Jaune really stared to think. Think of anything that seemed even slightly plausible.

Swords could possibly generate a higher-pressure point, meaning that they could pierce the Grimm, but it was also fast. It was strong enough to resist dull blows, and seemed to almost enjoy taking them before. It avoided very little of the attacks being thrown at it, and didn't appear to be defending itself from any one direction so… that meant what?

He didn't know, and that was making him grab his hair in annoyance, even with the hilt of his blade pushing against his temple for the effort.

All he did know was that it was making short work of anyone else that got near it, but appeared to be entreating itself while fighting Darmani, or Link. It had made this place after whatever it had read out of Impa, or Link's mind, and that made sense because a guy that had lost everyone he cared about back home, or enough to look for his last friend _possibly_ alive had to have some kind of messed up past. And fighting the thing that had Tatl and Tael screaming in fear over the number of people he, or more accurately _it_ had killed, was pretty horrible. But what did it all mean?!

"Dreams conquer Nightmares." This time, the ring was well appreciated.

"Huh?" Jaune let out, looking at the fairy that rang out the statement. He watched Tael drop hand full of dust as it bobbed in the air. Was that a more chipper fairy? He wasn't sure.

"I-I said… dreams conquer nightmares." The fairy repeated. That was still accompanied by a ring in Jaune's head. "I-It's not… it didn't come from the Nightmare's legend but… but it sounds right. It's from a story about an ancient evil that envelops the land and… and how you should never give up hope because… all Nightmares h-have to give way to Dreams." Jaune had to admit that _sounded_ nice. But… he didn't have any idea what it meant. He couldn't be the only one.

"Please do not tell me you're asking us to _make-up_ a possibility here…" Jaune wasn't surprised he was right about this one, but he kind of wished he wasn't. Even if his partner sounded aggravated by the question it made sense. It made sense that it sounded ridiculous. Except… the fairy was just still bouncing. "Wait, hold. I-I'm sorry but… are you saying that _is_ possible?" Jaune felt his jaw fall much like Pyrrha's looking at the fairy that bobbed in the air. Dr. Oobleck still wasn't facing them.

The fairy, though, just kept lightly waving through the air. He wasn't doing that bobbing motion that Tatl did all the time, but… but he wasn't denying it or ringing highly in protest! He was… he was just waving through the air and sprinkling more dust as he did so. If it wasn't a no… did that mean…

"Do you seriously mean… mean we can _dream up something to win!?_ " He didn't even try to hide the smile that split his face. After getting Grimm ash and desert sand thrown in it over and over again over the past few hours, this sounded like freaking _bliss!_ Being able to create something by _imagining_ it, Jaune was _over the moon_ with the idea! The adrenaline spike was waking him up better than a shot to the heart!

"If we could do that, then this will be a cinch! Heck, _any_ of us can probably think of something strong enough to take that out, so that should make this easy then! We could make up a bunch of Mechs! O-O-Or a sword that could cut through anything! Or how about… how about a giant flying fortress with guns and cannons and laser beams!" The really could do anything!

 _WHAP!_ Including smack him over the head.

"GAH!" Jaune let out a cry of pain, hand on the back of his head where he knew a welt was forming. It was already swelling beneath his digits. Dang it that hurt! Even if had stopped his rambling, and… kind of woken him up, that was still worse than Nora jumping on his back when he slept in!

"Apologies, Mr. Arc." Jaune turned to Dr. Oobleck, hand still over his head to reduce the swelling. Something told him that didn't work, but it at least _felt_ like it was helping. "You were beginning to think illogically, and we do not have time for that." Teeth grit, he nodded his head. He was used to agreeing with people who beat him up anyways. Made sense his teachers got in on the action now… of all times. "I do not believe that is correct, or feasible. However, rather than focus on impossibility, divert attention to symbolism of meaning." Okay, Jaune didn't know what that meant.

"Symbolism _how?_ " Cardin again, but Jaune honestly felt as exasperated as he sounded. Debatably as angry, seeing as how Jaune didn't have a life time of experience with that. "That Nightmare is freaking _real!_ Unless you wanna point out a dream for me, I've got _nothing!_ " And… Jaune kind of agreed with him. Maybe that was the head trauma talking.

"How about… dreams are nightmares, just… bad ones, right?" Jaune twisted eyes to look at Sky. He was rubbing his forehead underneath his massive bangs. At least he looked less stressed. A little. "Cause, they're both just thoughts in our head, ideas… freaking _evil thoughts that're trying ta kill us a million times over and laughin' as they do it_." Jaune took that back as well, he was still stressed. Especially clear with how he was gripping his head now like it was about to fall off.

"That… that seems possible." Jaune looked back at Pyrrha. He flashed a glance at Dr. Oobleck, only to see he was still staring at the monster Ganondorf taunting Link, or Darmani. That was harder to keep track of in his head than the fight itself. "It's kind of… like thinking of something good to get over a bad thought. Reminding yourself of something that you want to get over something that you lost. I mean… does that sound right?" And actually, it did. Kind of like focusing on being a Huntsman over losing the trust of your parents.

"Yeah that… that makes some sense at least," Jaune agreed with her. "I mean, I can at least get that. Getting out of a slump by thinking positive. Sort of like turning your own thoughts against themselves."

The was another ring in the air. This time, Jaune was pretty sure he knew why he heard it.

"Against themselves! Brilliant deduction Mr. Arc!" Jaune was face-to-face with Dr. Oobleck in the span of a blink. He stared at his professor's broken glasses and the eyes past them, twinkling like they _weren't_ in the middle of a desert and life-or-death battle. "Reversal of force to induce damage against a being with its own attack! A counter measure generated by an opposing force! Reducing a million by summing with a negative million!"

"Professor?" Sky asked, maybe because he was terrified. That was Jaune's job right now.

"Doctor, and perhaps Mr. Arc is on route to a doctorate as well!" He was? "Deduction of weakness not only highly plausible, but very likely! Coincides with the Grimm reduction due to self-sustained damage, induced by fall generated by Darmani's blow! The monster Ganondorf is keeping himself separated from other fights likely to reduce chance of harming self! Feasible criteria meeting a likely source of power and therefore method of exploitation!" Those weren't complete sentences, and Jaune knew it.

But despite them not being that, Jaune felt himself grinning, too. That was an idea that made sense! They just had to reverse whatever the heck it was the Nightmare was doing back at it! And if the thing was the negative billion that it looked like, or maybe a negative trillion, than turning its power against itself was _definitely_ worth calling a _positive_ trillion! It was an idea that was worth chasing it… it made sense! Then that only left one question.

How did they do it?

Jaune was about to ask that to the doctor, not just a professor, holding him, but he had to stop. Because the clear joy that was on his face a moment ago was gone. He was no longer looking immensely pleased or satisfied. Rather he looked… afraid? Why was he looking like that? No, wait, there was a better question.

Why was Dr. Oobleck looking past him?

"INCOMING PROJECTILE!" That was all the warning Dr. Oobleck gave them.

**_BOOOOOMM!_ **

Jaune didn't have time to yell. Or at least not enough time to hear himself.

He was only aware of the explosion of sand that went off right in front of him. Didn't have a lot of force behind it, as in not enough to actually hurt him with his already ridiculously low Aura, but enough to make him fall back and away from the sight of impact. The sand, for however little he could be thankful for it, softened the blow. But he couldn't roll around in the sand.

"What was that?!" "Did you observe anything?!" Not when the others were already up and looking for what that was. Jaune pushed himself up as quickly as he could, sand sifting between his fingers as he did so. It fell through his chest plate and into his sweater, not that he could even tell all that much with how exhausted he was. He just needed to get up, he had to focus on that.

"Friend Cardin! Are you well?" "Screw me! What was _that!_ " Penny was here now. Maybe she threw the projectile? No way, that wasn't like her, no matter how little Jaune new her. He had to get up still. Get up, see what made the giant explosion was, and then… do something. Anything really to make sure this Nightmare ended! Once he did, then they could all go back to Beacon and do _anything_ else.

Anything like… like… like figure out why Darmani was in the crater.

"The hell! Is that Link?!" Sky's scream didn't bother him, because he already knew. He already knew who it was. He wanted to know why. Why Darmani, the Goron that Jaune just _had_ to remind himself was capable of taking explosions to the face and laughing about it, had magma for blood, and ate _rocks_ for nourishment, was lying in the crater of sand, on his back, groaning in pain. That was bad enough, just knowing that someone as _stupidly_ strong as Link and his friend were knocked out! But that wasn't where the questions ended.

Why was the Darmani… sparking. Why did it look like his hat and gloves were _charred_?

He needed to know it, now. Because he was pretty sure what it meant.

And the answer came to Jaune, still getting over the rush of adrenaline, snapping of fatigue, and elation over having a possible way to defeat the Nightmare, with a cold chill. A chill that swept through him even in the arid, dry, and heat-stroke inducing desert.

" _HeeHAHAHAHAHAHAH!_ " Laughter wasn't meant to made someone freeze up, not in fear. "You never do cease to show you flaws, Burdoner. So easily taunted, so easily led on, and so _simply_ defeated." The voice talking, however, was even worse. Jaune still turned around to see who it was, holding up his blades as he did so. He looked across the desert… and saw nothing.

No one in front of him, no one obvious, except for the Grimm who were, by any grace of any god watching, staying far enough away. But there was no one to talk! Not in front of him… but… Jaune gulped.

Head craning back, eyes looking upwards, his pupils shrank in fear as he gazed at the figure hanging in the sky, silhouetted by his cape, and glowering with flaming red hair. It was enough for Jaune to freely admit he was afraid, terrified even, enough to reconsider ever coming to Beacon, even if for just a second.

Fear was a perfectly natural thing to fear when your worst Nightmare was _flying_ above you.

Flying… and holding what looked like balls of lighting erupting in his hands.

"But threats of mine mean nothing unless I show you my willingness to follow through." The lightning, because it wasn't thunder according to his sisters, was almost muted by his voice. Actually _everything_ sounded like it was dull and lifeless when that _thing_ was talking. If Sky got a head on talk with this thing… then his trauma made sense.

It also made sense why he was shaking, Darmani was beaten into the ground, and Ganondorf was laughing. It all made sense for all the worst reasons. And those reasons came to a head as one of the monster's hands raised itself into the air. Letting out a bloom of electricity so bright the sky appeared to dull.

"So let me slay one of your precious companions before you, the same way the Evil King did before." That wasn't good. "Before I snuff their lights out one by one, leaving you _alone for me to torment!_ " Definitely not good!

Jaune watched over the edge of his shield, not even sure if it would _do_ anything against the lightning in the evil man's hands. HE only watched as it was thrown down against him, crackling through the air as it blinded his vision!

Only to hit a solid blue glyph in mid-air, sending the power careening around them.

Jaune heard more than saw the sharp cracks of impact the free-flowing electricity made into the dunes and sands around them. Like in a veritable lightning storm, they sent the billows of sand up into the air, creating pillars of glass that extended into the sky and surrounded them! IT made him fall to a knee, exhausted, out of breath, and holding onto his shield for dear life!

"Winter!" He heard Dr. Oobleck, barely, over the boom of the impacts around him. Not that he could see his professor or Weiss's older sister. "Very well done! Quickly, with haste! We have a plan!" If there was a reply, Jaune didn't hear it. Heck, if there was a _plan,_ Jaune didn't know it!

Jaune knew they had an idea, but not a _plan!_ That meant throwing something back at the monster, and they still had nothing against him! Ganondorf was flying… and throwing giant balls of lighting… and he was _still laughing_.

Jaune didn't have to wonder anymore what his nightmares looked like. He was staring at it.

* * *

Errors were flashing through her main processing loop, trying to find the appropriate function or termination sequence to rectify them. Those led to more errors, further errors, complications, impossibilities, logical fallacies… nothing was parsing right through her code! Nothing was parsing right because too many impossibilities were being presented as established variables through her equations!

It was verifiable and a definite conclusion that what she was observing was not being altered by any post-processing or additional method. What her ocular sensors were feeding into her main processor, including the delamination of the RGBY color spectrum and high order light intensity, showed that there were no significant alterations to her vision. Further, there were no new updated or unverified parcels in her code, indicating that there were still no issues since her last maintenance session with Papa Zepp. That only made more error indicators flash through her function generator.

Because no function, equation, or even nominal exception could justify the sight of a human the flying human throwing excessive amounts of directional influenced electrons.

Her 'Semblance Identification' function attempted to separate and individually analyze the outlying variables to normal human strength, but that only led to the conceptual error of multiple possibilities being identified, with none having a reasonable explanation for them!

There were no external or opposing means to create flight. There were no generators or other energy collecting or conversion devices around his body. There were no other individuals capable of mimicking the powers or copying them. There was nothing to justify the impossibilities! And when Penny force the function through her 'Grimm Identification' library, newly installed by her Papa, errors still continued to trip through the main looping function.

There were Grimm that could imitate humans, but not with sound. There were Grimm that could fly, but not without wings. There were Grimm that could generate and throw large amounts of condensed energy, light, or other semi-physical forces, but one that did with such a comparatively smaller size. And when all were put together, undelimitated, there were _no_ Grimm that were capable of doing it all at once.

Penny tried to reason it through her 'New Species' or 'New Powers' recording software, with hopes that she could upload the data to the CCTS and give proper notification to the remainder of the Altesian Military, but more errors occurred! She was unable to process or rationalize the concept of a new power without grounds for multiple Semblances being present. She could not justify a Grimm that mimicked so many others while lacking any apparent deficit or alteration to its natural biology. There were just too many impossibilities for her to deal with.

Penny didn't know what to do! Nothing, that is, except for her primary and unalterable protocol.

Protect the others.

"GRAH!" It was a cry Friend Sky made as she pulled him away from the exploding bolts of lighting, falling off of Specialist Schnee's defensive glyph and into the sand. It did not lack in power, either her defenses or the monster's electrically based abilities. Errors reminded her she did not know what it was. "H-Hold on! Stop! We gotta stop!" That was a poor action, to make.

"Negative, Friend Sky," Penny responded, easily lifting him and pulling him to the center of the glyph's base. It was the most defensive, and therefore safest, position. "We have a lower chance of being impacted by the deflected blows the closer to the radial center of Specialist's Schnee glyph we are. Therefore, repositioning is a current high priority!" She decided against parsing his audible cry for secondary meanings. It was not the most efficient use of her abilities currently.

Current abilities that now needed to account for a great reduction in her Aura and Dust reserves, due primarily to the high activity of Grimm slaying she was required to participate in. The deficit was anticipate in only long term circumstances were Penny was not designed to be deployed yet, per Specialist Schnee and General Ironwood's commands. That indicated that she was being placed in an unsuitable environment for her current abilities and mechanics.

That was an unrelated variable to the survival of critical team members, however. All current members of Beacon, including Specialist Schnee, Friend Link, and Doctor Oobleck were required to sustain minimal injuries and no loss of life during this operation. An overdraw or over-heating to her main panel or tank was a necessary risk for objectives to be met. It was why she ignored the warning indicator that showed she was over exerting herself to defend Friend Sky. It was a necessary warning to place on hold.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! A _fine_ display of power! Perhaps the others that claim to be your companions are not weak as I believed!" The voice was a vocal fry on the vocal registry, and one of the lowest frequencies Penny had personally registered since her deployment. It also carried the most joyful tone to its speech given the ongoing battle. Neither brought good conclusions despite the errors. Errors reminded her she did not know what it was. "Should I continue then? Should I show you the worthlessness of these feats!?" The declaration registered with Penny's memory of the short-term confrontation.

She threw Sky, again choosing to flush the saved memory of his cry, instead using the processing power to decide on where to run to herself. She decided quickly, pouncing forward and out from under the glyph that Specialist Schnee was supporting. Her auditory sensors picked up confirmation of her 'battle deduction' function a moment later.

_CRASH!_

With a sound that registered similar to the shattering of a large-scale glass pane, the defensive measure deployed by Specialist Schnee was shattered above her. Penny disregarded the supposition to confirm visually. Her 'battle deduction' function indicated something drastic that was coming next. She pushed forward with her legs again, using a bit more Dust than normal to gain further distance away.

_BOOM!_

And just after she did, the sand of the dune she was on was upended, violently so. Enough for her to require a second of filtering through her visual sensor's data output to reconcile the airborne sand. Especially with the granules that hit her face. Primarily by waxing the surface with her external cloth. Her attention quickly refocused on the center of the explosion, already deducing what it was. It was that precognition that prevented her systems from taking longer than normal to process the visual she established.

Ganondorf, the marked error in her coding, errors reminded her she did not know what it was, standing over the pit that Darmani was thrown into. There were no processes active in Penny's system that _didn't_ warn her of the close proximity of the threat, especially in relation to her Friends, Professor, and Specialist.

"But all is naught before me, the same as it was in this desert so long ago." More auditory cues that Penny established to an independent folder for later processing. Immediate power was devoted to finding a method to beat the error filled being! Errors reminded her she did not know what it was. "You may bring forth the memories of any of your comrades or throw at me any of the new bonds you have formed, but there is nothing for them but death and torment. And for you, only the torment without death." The laughter that followed was cruel.

The ball of free electrons blinding her visual sensors, hanging in the air above the monster, though errors reminded her she did not know what it was, was statistically far worse. Physical damage was well established to be more long-term impactful than emotional instability. Penny killed the process that reminded her of those thoughts, being unrelated and unimportant to the task at hand.

Her Friend Link and Professor Link were in danger! The monster was going to attack! Errors _still_ reminded her she did not know what it was!

" _LINK!_ " Penny's adjusted auditory sensors picked up the voice of Fairy Tatl ringing. She was only a few decibels higher than she anticipated, and still drowned out by the regular human auditory levels by the crackling electrons. "You gotta deflect that! _NOW!_ " Deflect? Penny was unaware of a method to deflect electricity. She did not care. She _did_ know a method to channel it, and ground it.

 _TUNG!_ Penny stabbed her heel into the ground, releasing the chorded protrusion that came with it. She had 24.3 feet of high density polymeric wiring available to the metallic ground platform, enough to offer her room to work with. Some, but not a lot. She also needed time, which was difficult to acquire even with her parallel processing.

Processing the extension of her blades to reach the ball of lighting, processing the assumed amount of time before the monster, errors reminded her she did not know what it was, threw the ball of lightning, processing the amount of distance she had to cover, and even processing the likelihood of success… she discarded the result.

 _TWANG!_ Penny shot out her blade, letting it swing above the monster, errors reminded her she did not know what it was.

It hit the ball of electrons above it, starting the predictable reaction. Electrons followed the path of least resistance, and the metal coils of her blade, string, and external chassis were all made of metal. Heat-treated, highly durable, dense, and able to resist higher levels of heat, but not electrically insulated, it was unnecessary, not against the benefits. Even her processor, a design by Papa Zepp to allow for faster than normal computing time, could not trace the speed at which the electrons were sucked through her blade and through her body. She was only able to monitor the flags that tripped as it did so.

Past her blade and string? Zero to one.

Past her internal wiring mechanism? Zero to one.

Through her coiled grounding wires? Zero to one.

Into the sand beneath her? Zero to one again. A complete process.

Penny smiled, a requirement of a successful execution of her code, as the ball of electricity above the monster, errors reminded her she did not know what it was. Her code processed the result, tracking the charge of her blade and insulated circuitry, making sure nothing was sparking or creating arcs. Nothing, nothing, nothing… complete!

_DING!_

For a moment, Penny's ocular sensors were overcome by an unexpected flash of light. She quickly readjusted her gaze, reducing the amount of eternal lighting necessary to obtain a clear image. IT took approximately 0.02 seconds. It was faster than the average human could do it.

**BAM!**

But it wasn't fast enough.

Penny's stabilization processes were given a boost in power and RAM as they were suddenly thrown off. Her external load sensors detected and registered a heavy blow against her chassis, primarily to her sternum region. A load that was great, a lot, a level of magnification greater than she was reasonably prepared for, and the results showed.

Her Aura meter flashed as it dropped significantly, from the previously 73%, supplemented by her Dust reserves, to a critical scale of 17%. Below the critical level, in danger of over-heating, damaging, and ruining her circuitry. Low enough that her processes immediately tapped into her Dust reserves again, siphoning energy away to boost her defenses, to return her Aura, to safeguard her mainframe. The reasoning was sound, the conclusion obvious.

Penny fell back to the sand, still as metal, her system worked rapidly to replenish her drastically reduced defenses.

That left her to stare up at the monster. Errors reminded her she did not know what it was. Errors that couldn't put a specification to the creature's glowing red eyes with matching hair, with tall physique and human features, with green skin and metal armor, with too many similarities between Grimm and humans.

Not even as he stared down at her, a clenched fist still present where she once stood. It was only after the measurement of the clenched fists height did Penny's processes determine the distance she was thrown. And it rounded to 17.4 feet. A secondary result soon presented itself, indicating the predicted trajectory of someone with a mass more in kind with a human of her build.

It concluded she wouldn't be connected to her arms and legs if she were. She was saved because she was made of metal. And now, as her system tried to rapidly hear herself, it let her remain vulnerable beneath the monster, Errors reminded her she did not know what it was. Still a monster. No, not a monster, errors reminded her she did not know what it was. It was Unidentifiable Threatening Specimen. It didn't not fixt he issue, but it reduced the errors. She would deal with the consequences later. Much later… Later than the consequences coming now.

"That was far wiser move than I expected," the lowest verbal resonance spoke again. Penny unintentionally found her programs associating the sound quality with malicious intent. "Siphoning away my power rather than enduring it. A bold strategy. A fine one at that." Penny listened to the UTS, listening as she studied him visually. Both were required data points in order to find a strategy as her body repaired her Aura. Given her remaining Dust reserves and Aura levels… she had 32.8 seconds until she was able to move again.

A second counter started, however, when she noted the UTS denoted as Ganondorf raise his hand. The time increased when the lance that had previously impaled Specialist Schnee, and engaged Goron Hero Darmani, was hung above her head. She stared at its points with her enhanced vision, unable to see a dull edge even with higher magnification.

Penny understood what the timer was indicating, shown by her protocols to be directed towards the threat above her. It was a timer indicating the assumed impact of the blow… There was a difference of 10 seconds between the timers… and the blow would come first.

With her current Aura levels, and the UTS's high strength… it would impale her. The conclusion was obvious, and her threat assessment protocols made it clear. Action was required, but action required _movement_. Movement she was not capable of giving out currently! There was a difference of 8 seconds between the timers… and the blow would come first.

"A pity you have no fears but those others have told you." The vocal fry pitched voice continued, still denoting a hint of mirthful intent in his words. Penny had the previously experienced feelings of fear course through her again. She still didn't like it. It felt worse than before. "Perhaps before you die I may show you some." Penny was unaware of how that was possible.

 ** _SCRUNCH!_** Until warnings flared through her vision.

Penny Polendina had no reason to let out verbal cues of pain or physical exertion. She was not dependent upon air capacity or tidal lung volume for her actions. Further, she had pain sensors that interfered or interrupted her critical protocols, or else it would reduce her higher order efficiency. However, that did not mean she was incapable of recognizing egregious wounds, those that would be noted and common amongst KIA soldiers in the Atlesian Military.

And, with every sensor through her lower extremities flashing through her vision, Penny knew she had just experienced something very similar.

She had lost her leg.

The conclusion was swiftly reached as flags and communication channels sent to her servo motors and panels returned no signal. There was a break in electrical channels, an open wire, or few dozen, that led no where. Her previously connected and functioning limb was returning nothing, and the force sensors through her lower chassis had been completely offset by a drastic _reduction_ in weight… one that followed a dramatic _increase_ in weight.

Ganondorf, the UTS that she had successfully prevented from harming her Friend Link, had crushed her leg with his boot. While he smiled at her. There was a difference of 7 seconds between the timers… and the blow would come first.

Penny's sense of fear returned. She still didn't like it. She still didn't want to feel it. It still felt _horrible!_

"Hmm… not even a cry of pain." Penny said nothing as the voice reached her again. She had to focus on that, as there was no use sending more power to check her missing limb. She did send one more though… and another… and another…

She sent another, making _absolutely_ sure her leg was gone… and it was gone… but she didn't want it to be gone.

"Though for the metal that now crunches beneath my boot, I suppose it is not surprising." Ganondorf kept talking, the UTS mocking her now. Penny was familiar with such comments, having studied enough from General Ironwood and previous battles he had participated in. It didn't feel good, at all. "I did not expect a golem to be here, one that would willingly follow the Burdoner, not after what occurred to the last." Penny's auditory analysis deiminated the key words in the UTS's speech.

Golems could be synonymous for automatons. Burdoner was a term already associated with Friend Link. Occurring before, as in a memory that was generated from Professor Impa or Friend Link, having occurred in the past. There was another in the past, one similar, like her?

"He could not save them then, and he will not save you now." Now her visual sensors saw the smile across the UTS's face, Ganondorf smirk that was given the illusion of being larger than average due the physique, hair, and malice behind it. It was massive, it was large… it was terrifying. As terrifying as the sharpened trident that was angling towards her face… held above her central processing unit and motherboard.

If it fell, she would die… she didn't _want_ to die. Even with a missing leg, she didn't want to die! There was a difference of 5 seconds between the timers… and the blow was coming!

"Farewell, golem." She saw the blackened lance begin to fall. Her heightened processes were able to track it as it fell. Watch the metal structure glow closer to her, counting the _milliseconds_ as it descended closer to her.

Fifteen _milliseconds_ until impact. Fourteen _milliseconds_ until impact. Thirteen _milliseconds_ until impact. Twelve _milliseconds_ until impact. Eleven _milliseconds_ until impact. Ten _milliseconds_ until impact.

 **CLANG!** … Impact?

Penny was watching the milliseconds count down as the lance fell on her, but the timer stopped as the blow was diverted. The difference in the timers in her head started to close and divert, switching until her supposed recovery would come first! She watched and looked up at what had prevented her impalement. She was truly happy to see what her ocular sensors saw.

"F-Friend Link!" Her programming stuttered for a moment, rebooting her Pseudo-Vagus nerve operations. Her ocular sensors, however, were able to confirm, thrice over through individual verifications, that it was Friend Link who had saved her.

The pointed green hat that extended past his neck. The heavy shield that was held at his front. The long ears that protruded from the side of his head, evidence his Faunus heritage. All were positive and unique indicators of Friend Link! It was friend Link!

Link was here to help her!

Penny realized it a moment afterwards, her retrospective analysis of the previous engagement identifying the key variables, mistaken for other sources. The flash wasn't the sudden expansion of the electron cloud, it was Link taking off Darmani's mask. The explosion and shifting in the sand wasn't just her body being tackled, it was Link readying a shot. It was there, and she was happy her Friend was there for her!

But she still had lost her leg. Her processes weren't letter her forget that.

"Ah, so you return to save another, _Burdoner_." The voice came again, from behind Link, who was standing above her. "And so now you are yourself, without any memories atop you. Perhaps now, I any call you for what you are, _Hero_." Both of the nouns used to describe Link were noted in her memory banks for further analysis, but at a much later time.

The moment her defenses were returned, a diagnosis algorithm began inside her code. It came out with the conclusions that processing power was returned to her limbs, Aura levels rising to 33%, with a 65% reduction in her Dust reserves. She was working off of critical level resources, but she was still able to parse information and hadn't been robbed of any key ability to sense and take in variables from the world around her.

Except her leg… her leg was still gone, as her diagnosis confirmed quintuple over. But… that mean that she was statistically likely to be a burden to Friend Link if she was near him! Given the overwhelming strength of the UTS Ganondorf and her inability to properly balance herself, a key requirement to operate majority of her weaponry, she would be a source of target to weaken Friend Link!

That meant she had to move, she had to proceed from the field of battle as quickly as possible!

Mobility was significantly decreased, however. Without the use of her leg, her top speed could not exceed 10% of her normal capacity. That equation was run without consideration to her energy supplies, including the low Dust reserves she had. Low energy, a removed mobility element, including a significant device for stability, many functions were running to ascertain sufficient alternatives. The first she found, she performed.

Flipping over to her stomach, Penny began to crawl out of the dune pit, her remaining leg pushing out and away from the UTS Ganondorf and Friend Link. It would be a poor strategic decision to remain in place and risk becoming a target. She had to move, no matter what. Move while conserving energy, so she could defend against more manageable threats.

Her blades, those still available to her, retracted into her back across her springs. She noted that aside from the two already broken and damaged in her attempt to reduce the force of impact against Friend Cardin, she had lost functionality to a third. Diagnostics, performed as sand grated against her central chassis and outer layer of clothing, concluded that it was super-heated to a level that melted the internal circuitry. It wasn't as insulated as her central chassis was, and as such, suffered catastrophic damage, no different than her central operating system.

"Now then, hero, will you stay true to your convictions?!" _CLANG!_ The shout of the vocal fry voice was matched by the heavy impact of opposing steel. Her systems were working off of too low a decibel range to ascertain their material structure. "Ah, I see. Still trying to defend her? A broken doll that crawls from her own duties? Hahahahahah! You never will change, _HERO!_ " _CLANG! CLANG!_

Penny memorized the comments from the UTS Ganondorf. They would be critical later, she knew, for enemy discussion and appropriate meetings overseen by General Ironwood and Headmaster Ozpin. The purpose and meaning behind the words was unnecessary to fully analyze at this time. Her processors were better spent focusing on her sensory peripherals to ensure a safe path from the fight.

Her servo-controlled digits breached the top of the dune, clangs of steel and other heavy metals echoing behind her, a side-effect of the high force collisions between the two. She still did not stop to observe. That would be counter productive to her primary objective of escape. Escape that was dependent upon noting all other threats around her, including the Grimm that were likely nearby.

Her ocular sensors quickly observe the desert she breached to, accounting for the lower vertical height due to her loss of limb. She was able to see Friend Pyrrha and Friend Jaune fighting other Grimm, keeping them away from Friend Link and the UTS Ganondorf. The numbers were reduced, but it was still ten Beowolves, two Grammites, an Ursa, four Loliths, and a Creeper against the pair. Accounting for the loss of energy over the many hours spent under high activity, their survival was not guaranteed.

Her auditory sensors picked up the cries of Friend Sky, as well as commands from Doctor Oobleck, though she was unable to reasonably parse what he was saying. She did not have the energy reserves or processing space available to decipher his words. She was only aware Doctor Oobleck was defending Friend Sky from one, two… chances to be five medial threat Grimm, including but not limited to Ursa and Loliths. Her memory unit reminded her Doctor Oobleck was unarmed and Friend Sky was showing early symptoms of PTSD from encounter with the UTS Ganondorf. Given the information, their survival was not guaranteed.

She could not see nor hear Friend Cardin or Specialist Schnee. She could not see them and given the volume normally associated with Friend Cardin's well-recorded fighting style and Specialist Schnee's high use of glyphs and runes, the possibility of not seeing them was low. Possible reasons included too high a distance, too much interference, changes to an alternative fighting method, or defeat. Penny did not like the last conclusion, especially that it had high validity given the threats surrounding them, including the UTS Ganondorf. If it continued, their survival was not guaranteed.

 _CLANG! CLANG!_ _ **BANG!**_ Her force transducers sensed a rocked sinusoidal waveform move through the sand under chassis, sensors indicating it had originated from the dune she had crawled from. She could also pick up more coarse sand impacting her form, the sound of grating steel through her auditory sensors… they were not pleasing sounds to hear.

The laughter coming from the focal point of the blast also forced her to lower her survivability probability for the group by integers. It was… it was not a fun thing to do.

There… there were no guarantees for survival.

That was incorrect for her to assume, even if multiple functions and parallel processed equations reached the same conclusion. It was an impossibility by itself, as there was always _some_ factor that was guaranteed, but her morality routines could not judge any of them to be beneficial or positive related to her or her Friends. She was still crawling across the sands, her legs till sectioned off due to a traumatic injury. She was still exposed. Her papa…

Papa Zepp would be angry with her.

Her Papa would be upset with her. Losing three blades on her first excursion with her Friends. Losing a leg that carried a great amount of Atlesian Army metal, properties, and mechanics. Losing a fight against a Grimm even with a numerical advantage. Losing the assurance of her Friends safety. And, of course, exposing her true nature to her Friends. He would be very upset with her…

"Get _UP_ Penny!" Her 'self-loathing' function, a process, she loathed to have created, was interrupted as she was picked up off the ground. "I know that's gotta hurt, but hold on and don't you _dare_ think about letting go!" Penny was still reestablishing her balance and internal accelerometer when the voice was speaking to her.

She was righted when her force transducers felt two large arms wrap around her, one along the dorsal region and the other opposite her simulated patella bone, the one remaining. Her arms folded to her chest, the natural conclusion her processor reached to reduce interference with the act. The act of being _carried_.

"Just… just hold and don't think about the leg, got it!" Her visual sensors quickly confirmed who it was, after her auditory sensors identified them. "You're not gonna die after you saved me from the same bull-crap!" Penny found her praise-function receiving a higher number of processing blocks in her CPU. It generated the outcome of her facial features grinning and voice returning.

"Friend Cardin!" Penny spoke the boy's name joyfully, even as he was running with her across the arid desert. "You are well!" He was able to speak, articulate words, and showed protectiveness required for hunters. He was showing all positive peripheral indicators for health!

But he was also experiencing extreme Aura decay and did not have Dust reserves like she did. He was only benefited with both limbs, but this would put him in a more hazardous situation! She needed to warn him!

"You are taking a large risk with carrying me! I am aware I am above average in terms of weight!" A necessary detriment to her metallic chassis, though it protected her internal circuitry well. "Please release me and reach safer ground your-"

"You risked _your_ butt saving me _and_ the freaking Goron!" Penny's auditory capabilities locked up at Cardin's raised voice, close proximity, and fierce gaze. The combined intake of all at once demanded full recognition from her peripheral sensors. "I am _not_ gonna dump you in the desert and run! Now _shut up_ and let me get you out of here!" He looked away from her as he continued to run. Penny was not sure where he was going, only aware that his objective had to be movement away from the fight behind them.

_BOOM!_ _**BOOOM!** _

But Cardin's strides staggered and efficiency fell 37% as another powerful shockwave rippled across the desert. Penny was able to detect and observe the power of the force this time, Cardin taking over for her mobility processes. She would have to thank him _extra_ hard later. For now, her primary objective had to be beneficial to him and the others, especially if she was being protected in such a manner.

"If you release me, you will be able to find cover and assist yourself with greater efficiency Friend Cardin!" Penny argued once more. Humans tended to argue a lot, and it was necessary she employ similar tactics measured through observed conversations and filmography. "I will be fine, as I have yet to experience detrimental damage."

"You are _missing_ a _leg!_ " Cardin yelled again. **_BOOOOM!_** It was barely heard over the explosion of noise behind her. "I am not gonna leave you behind! You want to help though! Focus on finding something that can help us?" A new objective, Penny could do that.

Further, her current objective had to be independent of the errors that continued to pile-up due to the unidentifiable condition of the Grimm/humans/UTS around her. Errors reminded her she did not know what it was still, only noting to flee the vicinity with all available personal. A pause in the identification was necessary in order to give more processing power to the possible solutions to defeat the UTS and Grimm, though she discarded the function. No conclusion had been reached and all her memory banks indicated a below sufficient level of similarity with other Grimm or threats to formulate a comparative plan.

The combination of the UTS Ganondorf and the sudden transportation to a new land had railed against her processes. Her sympathetic nervous system simulation protocols indicated it was likely true for the others as well. Very much so, she added to her internal logs.

Friend Jaune and Friend Pyrrha were still fighting Grimm, and being surrounded. Doctor Oobleck was defending Friend Sky, who was doing his best to stay out of sight of the foes. Friend Cardin was currently carrying her and running away from the central conflict at moderate, yet acceptable, speeds. Specialist Schnee was sill not observable.

_SHINKG!_

Penny amended her previous statement. Specialist Schnee was now observable, or rather, her documented Semblance was.

Friend Cardin stopped and spun as the glyph appeared above them, twisting with Penny still in his arms. He did not show any of the usual signs of exertion despite her heavy weight. He was strong, though still clearly weakened. This wasn't good for him, but he appeared unwilling to listen to reason.

"Cardin Winchester!" Penny's ocular sensors turned, attempting to observe Specialist Schnee. She was identified by voice, but she needed visuals to establish a confirmation. "Hurry over here! Now!" Penny's processor stalled, unsure of how to parse a command missing so many critical variables. "Run forward and you will be safe!"

Friend Cardin followed that command, however. She heard him grunt and her internal accelerometer rock as she was carried forward as well, leaning into his larger figure. It was a beneficial outcome to her lost limb, a documentation that was heavily outweighed by the detriments. Offering better perch for him to carry her with.

Her processors stalled, when light shimmered around them again, her sensors detecting the manipulated wavelengths of light around them. There were no changes to her auditory sensors or force transducers, her accelerometer also comparatively steady once accounting for the swinging induced by Friend Cardin's motions. Those observations, however, were log flushed quickly when her ocular sensors detected a new critical element.

Specialist Schnee, suddenly appearing before them with hands held up, perspiration across her visible skin and between her worn uniform. Her appearance was sudden, jarring, and immediately started a supposition routine in Penny's main code loop.

"The hell?" Friend Cardin's inflection to his curse words, a naughty word as Papa Zepp noted in her articulation routine, was merited this time. It was spoken in a way that indicated a lack of understanding, something she shared. "What is… what is this?" The more verbose question was still unanswerable.

Penny noted possibilities, but none holding sufficiently present circumstances to be valid. Though hot, the arid land was not nearly heat-drenched enough to induce an optical marriage. Gifted, Specialist Schnee lacked a cloaking mechanism in her deployment gear or similar Semblance available to her. Penny found her processors unable to deduce another reason, likely the fault of her low energy levels.

"There you are!" Friend Cardin yelled out first. "Look, I got Penny, but she's hurt _bad!_ " She was low on Auras, Dust, and missing a critical mobility limb, but Penny knew she did not experience pain. What was Friend Cardin speaking of? "She's talking like she can't feel the pain in her leg and she's even asking me to leave her behind. I'm no doc, but I think she's goin' into shock!" Shock? The response of traumatic injury or mental experience? Penny was well aware both were an impossibility for her.

Did… did Friend Cardin not know what she was still?

"She's… She's okay Cardin!" Specialist Schnee returned instead. Penny realized the chances of her revealing her true nature were significantly higher now. "Penny's… she has an artificial limb, from Atlas. That _monster_ made a mistake with her." Ah, a falsehood. Penny recognized the diverting tactic well. Create a false truth that was substantiated by observable facts. Further research, however, would debunk the claim.

"What she's… you _are_ okay?" Friend Cardin asked her now. Penny's optimism function projected that was a better direction for his question. She was thankful to have it done so, and she smiled in turn.

"I am A-Okay, Friend Cardin," she returned with a grin, but that quickly fell. "Hmm… no, that's incorrect. I think it would be better to say I am C-Okay, as I am lacking a limb and most of my Aura." Both were heavy detriments, but at worse they had put a strain on her central processing, non-permanent damage. Preventable at least. Such preventions must be taken. "May I request you continue to carry me? I do not believe I will be able to support myself."

Friend Cardin did not speak for a moment, confusing Penny. Had she phrased the question wrong? She could detect no clear indicators in her speech pattern that would cause such. No, but Friend Cardin was appearing flushed. It was a likely indication of his physical activities catching up with him. That would explain, her biology database rationalized with prior information.

"Y-Yeah sure… whatever, just don't make a big deal out of it." Penny nodded her head, accepting the circumstance. She would not make a big deal out of friend Cardin assisting her movement. "But, wait, _way_ more important now is how the _hell_ you created that illusion!" That was a worth while question to have answered. "If you could do this, why didn't you like _hours_ ago!" Also, a commendable observation, though Penny had a realistic conclusion already prompted.

"Because the power involved to maintain it is _intense!_ " Specialist Schnee returned. That reasonably explained why her arm was extended. Directional concentration. "It's also one directional, the same reason why you do _not_ light your mace in the middle of a fight with your allies nearby!" A reasonable comparison, and Penny understood Specialist Schnee's point.

"Against a targeted enemy, this illusion can work," Penny answered. "Relies on directional observation, meaning that an opponent capable of observation in a omniscient or radial means would be able to see around it." Concept was comparable to two-way glass, as her sensors indicated, bending light… altering light… Penny was unsure why her functions were focusing on such a variable.

"Correct, Penny," Specialist Schnee curtly replied. It was necessary given her focus. "But I implore you to assist in some way, primary by either distracting the Grimm or assisting Link!" Another worthy objective, but one that Penny could not find herself reasonably able to perform.

"Are you kidding me with that?!" Friend Cardin yelled. "We're both about as out of Aura as you can get without dying, and Penny's missing a _limb_ , fake or not!" Penny's auditory sensors parsed the sentence quickly, showing he was indicating her leg, not her. Not her. "There's no way we can survive out there!"

"And Link will not survive long as well!" Specialist Schnee yelled in turn. Her hair was becoming undone, but she wasn't moving to readjust it. Her focus was therefore intense, Penny observed and concluded. "I am bending the light around us to give us a reasonable level of cover and safety, but everyone is harmed in some way and we will only survive if we work together!" Her statement was factually correct. All members of their party were injured.

Friend Cardin, Friend Sky, Friend Pyrrha, Friend Jaune, Doctor Oobleck, Specialist Schnee, and herself. All were displaying physical or mental trauma accrued during the operation in Monument Mine and the Grimm involved. Not desirable, but a necessary risk, and one that required necessary action. Action such as…

Penny went limp.

Her ocular sensors were momentarily shut off. Her auditory sensors were momentarily shut off. Her servo controls were momentarily shut off. Everything was on a standby state. Power and processing cores were being redirected.

Specialist Schnee's statement triggered a variable analysis in her programming, connecting her words with previously recorded messages and critical factors from the past hour. She parsed them all in milliseconds.

Newest Log: Specialist Schnee was able to selectively bend light with her glyphs due to her high control of her Semblance.

Previous Log: Professor Oobleck and Fairy Tael suspected that the UTS Ganondorf could only be defeated with a counter force reasonably comparable to the output he was giving, most easily obtained by redirecting the high forces it was putting out.

Previous Log: The UTS Ganondorf appeared capable and showed preference at mild to long distances to project charged and directionally focused electrons at foes.

She combined it with a previous known fact that was kept her Observable Physics documentation.

Electrons created bosons, which projected photons out, otherwise known as light.

Penny's form stilled, external peripherals faltering as she focused on the equations and functions in her processors, rapidly replacing and moving variables, double checking forces and magnetization involved, calculating probabilities, and reaching a conclusion. It was a conclusion, her optimism function was please to log, that raised their chance of survival and victory for all involved by double digits.

The pieces were in place.

The variables matched up with her calculations. They were all theoretical, generated hastily against the diverted processing power necessary to maintain the Dust supply and prevent a termination screen, but they were there. A quick check of logical fallacies to the equation found none. None that were not already covered by the presumed properties of all aspects involved.

It was risky, as several warnings flashed through her code and processes. Independent variables acting in a way that would alter other _normally_ concrete variables, making the assumption of the assumed result inconclusive, or theoretical alone. But theories, as Papa Zepp once said, stored in her memory banks, were the beginning to any good new idea.

And if she wanted to help her Friends, if she wanted to be alive like them, she had to have ideas of her own.

So it could work… because she _had_ to make it work.

"-enny! Penny!" Her senses returned with screaming, and shaking.

She corrected her balance quickly, raising an arm and gripping Friend Cardin's shoulder. It had the added benefit of quieting his yelling. It was not a predicted response, but it removed the necessity for further action on her part. More action was required for other fields, however.

"Oh geez, thank Dust you're alright," Friend Cardin responded, relief clear through her parsing of the auditory sensors. "I thought… I thought you passed out and… ah god." Ah, false sense of early termination. Her lack of response and physical signs of life were not appreciated to humans in high stress environment. This qualified.

"I apologize, Friend Cardin," Penny quickly amended. "It was not my objective to cause you worry. That is my fault." Apologies were necessary. However, the warning indicators across her vision were making it clear she had a priority message to deliver. The result of her onboard calculations. "However, I believe I have good news to share." She made sure to smile at Friend Cardin and Specialist Schnee as she did so. It was important to smile when giving good news, as her morality bank had taught her.

"Please relay your news, Penny," Specialist Schnee commanded. Penny followed promptly.

"I believe I know how to harm the UTS designated as Ganondorf."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	25. Dreams of Torture: Phantom Ganondorf (Part 3)

Link often imagined facing against the King of Evil again. In the lulls between training, in between the short thoughts of peace, and whilst he looked towards the future. The man was cruel and unusual in every manner of the word, so he haunted him like he believes the spirit of the dead roamed Ikana. A dreaded thought encountered for the sparse moment of his life, comparatively, but leaving a deep enough mark to never truly begone.

In truth, Ganondorf was not the only evil who had done such a thing, such as the creature before him was not the true King of Evil. There were others had left a lasting impact on his soul, but the were all gone, just as this demon should have been. And though the spirit of the beast that was once known as the Gerudo King was gone, his memories were not.

Otherwise, they would not be leering over him as they were now, bearing scorching eyes matched only by the dark flames that flickered and _roared_ in his hands.

 _BOOM!_ The dull boom echoed out again as Link caught the swing with his shield. He grits his teeth with the blow, feeling the attack vibrate through his arm. He still saw the other fist coming, swinging up at him like an uppercut. He dodged it nimbly, barely, by twisting his body around the fist that had hit him, pulling his shield back with the same moment. He quickly whipped it back around, holding it up to block what was sure to be a following strike. _BANG!_ And he was right.

Now the first that had tried to hit him had slammed down him, sending his boots deep into the sand of the desert, and knocking a layer of sweat from his hair and skin. It was enough force his head down with a gasp, and that was allowed him to see the armored foot rising to kick him. This one he dodged again, only barely once more, by leaning back and out of the way, forcing the fist that was holding his shield down to scrape over the metal.

Link _lurched_ to pull himself from the desert, flipping backwards but never releasing his sword and shield. Only the blade was of any great, so named the Magic blade for the numerous jewels through it. The shield was just the opposite, only a simple plate of metal well forged and folded to reduce the forces delivered to him.

The thoughts of his weapons reached him as his feet hit the sand again, shield raised up and sword drawn back in preparation for another strike, eyes peaking over the edge of the steel. But he didn't see the monster charging him, not as Ganondorf would do, not as a king who was as tactical as he was brutal. No… this monster was toying with him, like the beasts who roamed the corrupted temples or monuments. A monster, not a fallen man.

"Is this all you have _Hero?_ " The beast holding Ganondorf's voice spoke to him. The deep rumble of his chuckling was unsettling familiar. "A hundred thousand years I have waited to fight you once more, one who has such fear and loathing in his heart, and all you can do is entertain me?" Link didn't want to guess what the creature truly wanted. So often the answer was life or death. "I hoped you would at least force me to do more than beat you. Though perhaps I thought to highly of you. Many have before." The laughter continued, even as the monster crossed his arms, uncaring of how isolated Link was, _vulnerable_ even, though he hated the term.

"You okay Link?" Tatl rang in his ear. He didn't look at his fairy companion, only nodding in response. They had been through a great many of battles before. This was little different, if perhaps a bit more desperate. "Good, _great_ , just… just hold on. Tael's working with the others on something, and it's kinda obvious this _thing_ would rather play with you than kill them. I'd call that a trade up." And Link could agree to that.

Beaten as he might be, the monster would at least partake in a bit of foolishness to let him live. Such was the nature of monsters, Link presumed. Though perhaps the first to speak so frequently, the Nightmare was hardly the first to make a game of life and death. Not after he had fought a drum against a demon of the dark or raced a mad golem through snow-stained trails.

"If you will not offer me more of a challenge…" the Nightmare started to speak again. Link readied his shield preparation, the handle of the Magic Sword straining as he tightened his grasp on it. "Then perhaps I should do as I have observed with others, and make this fight one you cannot afford to _lose!_ " Link did not know how much more the monster could do to make that clear.

He didn't think of it anymore, not when the beast was against him once more. _BOOM!_ With fist against his shield. It made his feet drag against the sand, resisting the force that would likely have reduced his bones to dust had it connected. Impa could have attested to that, likely. That wasn't important now. He raised his sword, holding the point threateningly for any other blow that could have come his way. But there wasn't, at least not one he could easily see.

Instead, he saw the green digits of the Ganondorf mockery tighten against the edge of his shield. Link dug his heels into the ground a moment later, already knowing what was to come. But it was a foolish move, and not even his first.

"GRAH!" With an unneeded cry of exertion, the monster twisted and spun Link by his shield. He felt his feet leave the sand, whipping him through the air like a flail. It threw off his balance, his support, and any means to defend against an attack! He had to make a decision, and he needed to do it quick.

So, he let go of his shield, letting himself fly over the sand and away from the beast. Only his blade was left to him then. It was the weapon he grasped as soon as his back hit the ground, body already twisting to right itself. HIs forceful roll didn't end with him on his back or in pain, but skating across the desert dunes on a foot and bended knee. He kept his blade up and sharp, held by both hands. It wasn't enough.

"LINK! Link!" He heard Tatl ring again as she flew closer. He spotted her easily, dashing towards him and without the beast wearing Ganondorf's face to even consider her worth attacking. Link was thankful for the small mercy at least. "Link! What was _that?!_ Are you alright?" He was fine, but he wasn't sure what that was.

Until he saw the Nightmare putting the shield between both of his hands, holding it steady as he stared daggers at Link, menacing almost as much as his horrific grin and flaming hair. Link watched as he easily lifted his shield, the one he had ripped from his hands, and placed it between his pair of arms.

_SCRNCHK!_

Link winced as he watched his shield be crushed into scrap.

That was his second shield in as many weeks to be destroyed. That number didn't set well with him. No better than the laughter of the Nightmare leering down on him.

"Oh no, _oh crap!_ That's bad, that's really _freaking bad!_ " Tatl let out next to him. Link did not react, or else she would likely scream louder. "Y-You got another shield though, right? Take it out! Take it out before he starts coming at us again!" He understood her fear, but he could not abide by his friend's request. The shield was important, but this was a game to the monster.

And Link had to drag it out. Or else he would start knocking off the other 'pieces', and Link could not abide the others being hurt. Not again.

"Without a shield to defend yourself," the Nightmare continued to speak. Ganondorf's voice was low enough almost to make the sand link stood on rumble. "Perhaps I may rid you of that blade as well, and truly rob you of any means of victory. Perhaps _then_ you may start to show me something new." Link had no intention of it. The blade may not have been important to him as many other tools in his arsenal, but it was still his blade. Just as this monster was going to die, either quickly or slowly, it was.

"Link, tell me you got a plan," Tatl hastily whispered behind him. She knew better than to obstruct his vision, even if his shield was no longer there. "Tell me you have something up your sleeve. Another bomb, some magic weapon, _anything_ else that you think could help us." The concern his fairy had was troubling on its own.

But not so much as the bolt of lightning that ripped towards him.

_SHRIIIIIIIIIIIII_

The sound of vibrating metal and crackling lightning overtook Link for a moment, nearly so much as his grit teeth and strained muscles. The force of his body, nearly _everything_ that he had, was put into resisting the sudden blast sent at him, something he had nearly missed he was so focused on his fairy companion.

But his sword had raised to resist the blow, and it did so at an apparent cost. His strength quickly failing, the blade's crystals _cracking_ , and the creature glowering as it watched him barely resist what he could only think was an off-handed strike. A strike that was sent out only to keep him from relaxing.

And the result was gasp of breath, a near collapse to his knees, and a blade that was by all considerations ruined.

" _Link!_ " He heard Tatl ring. Some distance away, he was sure Tael made the same call. "Good job! _Great actually!_ No, you gotta do _something_ in return. _NOW!_ " She was ringing as if she knew he had something. He didn't himself.

Because Tatl and Tael knew everything he had, and if they were worried about his inability to do this, there weren't many other avenues for him to look for victory. She was likely assuming he was hiding something, the same way he had before in Hyrule, and again before that in Termina. She was hoping he was hiding another trump card here.

The unknown had the advantage, but among allies, it was a detriment.

But he could not say that, nor act upon it. He was being trusted with the life of the others, and so he could not afford to simply give up. Even if he had nothing, he could not falter. And though he had something… he could not risk exposing it.

"A-Anything you got, I'll take it," Tatl continued on. Link listened to his friend, nothing how she was wavering as she spoke. Even as the demon disguised as Ganondorf approached. His foot falls were shaking the sand. "Seriously, _anything_ , I'll take it. I'll get Tael a-and Super Buzz and the crew and they'll do it. Distract him or whatever it is you need, we can do it. But seriously, we do _not_ have a lot of time to spare!" She was correct on that.

The monster was approaching faster now, mane of red billowing as he ran. If nothing else, he was focused on Link. He saw that as a small benefit, small as it truly was. He kept his sword ready, his shield already gone.

Link heard laughter when the beast jumped at him, listening to Tatl as she flew away to avoid the blow. He ducked, far lighter now that the plate of steel was gone. The mass of metal and muscle flew over his head, dragging the air and the point of his cap with it. He knew that would not be all the monster did. He had been through this far too many times before.

That knowledge let him spin, pushing off the sand with the flat of his blade, dragging him out of the way of a leg that rose to kick him. One that blew past the sand with such a speed and ferocity he saw shimmers of glass form from the dissipating dark flames. It still wasn't everything, not nearly enough.

Link spun himself, dragging the sword in towards his body to do so faster, letting him lift his feet and push outwards with them. As he suspected, he caught the forearm of the Phantom Ganondorf, watching for a moment as the vile being glared up at him, the malicious smile beneath golden eyes piercing his soul. In the next, with the monster swinging his arm once again, he was flying again, far more controlled than before.

Link flipped through the air, the same way he had done from climbing trees and jumping off cliffs. The acceleration was, however, incomparable to the two. The strength of the monster was never to be underestimated. Neither was Link's skill. That was no longer an unknown, to his friends, comrades, or the monster that spoke.

"Still running, _Hero?_ " He heard the mocking voice speak as he landed, sand dragging behind him. "Still looking for a means to beat me? Still trying to decipher a manner to _harm_ me? HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!" The laughter was embellished, but Link could only glare, holding his focus. The monster was not wrong to be so confident, not when all else had failed against him.

Impa's Biggoron's Sword, her Naginata, Darmani's fists, Cardin Winchester's mace, Winter Schnee's glyphs, Oobleck's hammer, and the multitude of blows that had come between. They were all useless. Link was not surprised, he knew they would be. He lacked the tools to defeat this monster now, especially with the power it boasted to hold. And with the land surrounding them, he couldn't doubt it was being honest.

Truly, Link hated when the unknowns were played against him.

"If you will not dare to attack me, then perhaps I can offer _more_ encouragement." Link readied his stance again, running through what the beast could mean. The possibilities rose as it floated into the air again, chuckling no different than the demon he based itself on. "For unlike the terrors of your past, you do not face me as a lone child seeking vengeance. You face me as what you truly are, a _Burdoner!_ " The mocking title came forth again, but this time with an epiphany Link loathed.

A thought of truth, a seed that bloomed, as the beast fashioned his hand away from Link…

And towards Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos.

"Rejoice _Burdoner!_ " The demon cackled, as did the power in his hand. "You will truly be the _Hero_ you once were, _once more!_ " Link watched as the power began to shoot through.

He was running before he took his next breath. The sand slowed his strides, the battle had taken his energy, the Pegasus Boots were still worn from his battle with the Bellumgera. Too many factors were working against him, not enough to save them.

Link only watched as the pair of children heard the lightning crackle, turn away from the monsters they were facing, looking up at the beast that was laughing down on them. He watched, nearly screaming as he beat his arms and ran forward, as a look of shear terror crossed the boy's face, and untold shock the girl's.

He could do nothing with what he had, he could do nothing as the beast shot force the power that was beholden to the Demon King.

_SHIIIIIIIIIIIII-_

And then do nothing as it was reflected away.

"WHAT!?" The beast yelled above Link, a thought he shared. But his thought was of relief and joy. The monster's below, was the first he heard it release. One that was filled with fury, not malice.

Link even let out a chuckle as his boots froze in the sand, watching the reflected mass of lightning shoot far into the blue sky, faster than Elrora likely flew and soon out of vision. Out vision and mind, and beyond the reach of the monster that had shot it… or the power that had reflected it. A power he only glanced a sight of, as was all to relieved to see.

"Who did this!? Which of you _mongrels_ is responsible for _testing_ my power!" The demon bellowed in the air now, so much like the monster that Link was used to. Terrifying, wrathful, and emitting a fury that promised pain. It was a far preferred to the warm malice of his sadism. "Show yourself or else I will _burn_ this land to expose you!" That was hardly a threat to them. This wasn't their land.

"Link!" He did not turn to Tatl's voice, only nod to show he had heard her. "Did you see that!? Did you! I-I almost missed it!" That was fair, for where he not focused so heavily on the blast itself, he would have as well. Then he would have been staring at the squires who looked just as baffled.

Even as Jaune turned to him pointing as if he was responsible. Link only shook his head in response from the distance that he was, Pyrrha Nikos seeing him looking no more enlightened. If they knew the answer as to how, he wished to hear it. He only was aware of the Sacred Blade being able to repel such evil power…

"Tael's okay, over by Super Buzz, a-and those kids are good, but… b-but I can't find that Cardin brat, the Golem Girl, or Ice Queen." She couldn't? That raised a brow of curiosity from him, even as he kept his eyes on the demon in the sky, they one beast who continued to show he was not the true Ganondorf.

Or else he would not continue to bother to look for the source of the defense. He would make himself one.

"Wherever they are, Tael and I think that the Ice Queen is responsible for that defense!" Link nodded in understanding. He already thought the same. He had, after all, seen the remnants of her glyphs shatter upon the blow dealt to it.

It was interesting, however, seeing a glyph act so in common with the blow of the Blade of Evil's Bane. Perhaps she and her sister had far more power than he initially believed. Yet another unknown he was faced with, but one that he was joyed to see the Phantom Ganondorf no more aware of than he.

"When Tael and I were talking about it, Super Buzz had the idea of being able to shock that monster wit its own attack! Kind of like turning a fire against itself to burn out the fuel!" Link was already thinking of such a strategy, and history said it would work. So many other enemies in his past, king and demons alike, were felled by their own magic.

It could work.

"The thing is though… there's _no_ way they'll be able to hit that thing with its own attack."

Now Link turned to her.

"H-Hey, don't give me that look!" Tatl let out indigently, ringing lightly as she spoke. Link looked away from her quickly, more worried the beast would attack again than upsetting his friend. It took much more from him to truly upset her. "Its just… it's like trying to throw water back up a river! You aren't going to get it to work unless you divert it first. If it was some _ball_ of an attack, then sure, but it isn't, so we can't." Link bite his lip as she spoke. She was right.

It was the critical difference even he noticed between Ganondorf Dragmire's attacks and this beast. One was a focused mass of power and might, capable of turning walls of cinder and concrete to ashes and dust. This was a stream of power, like a hose of water blowing through objects. Perhaps that was the difference between them. Perhaps… that was why Winter's glyphs worked.

"If you do not show yourself, I _will_ strike once more!" The devil spoke as Link thought of him, the beast rising higher into the air with its threat. "I will not merely turn your allies to ash, I will _burn_ them so you may hear them scream!" The threat was hardly concealed, and the monster would likely do just that. Link's thoughts began to race, as did Tatl.

His grip on his blade tightened as he saw the beast raise both its hands into the air again, eyes of gold now a mad rush of power. So easily it was provoked, so unlike the true Ganondorf who would only be amused by the antics and power. Now it was a benefit, but a threat. A benefit because its next action would be obvious.

A detriment, because there was no more holding back on his part. And the unbridled rage of a monster was not something a squire could endure, not so easily and with their fatigue doubtlessly piling.

"Link! You gotta do something!" Again, Link knew he could do nothing! "Th-That Super Buzz character said that the monster was using _lightning_ to attack, not just some magical power! Can you do anything with that?! Can you beat it away, absorb it, reflect it, I don't know _swallow it!_?" Link could do very few of those things.

But… he may have had a tool to reflect it… but it was only a chance. One that would guarantee death if it failed. The revealing of its unknown hardly seemed worth the risk… but the risk in either direction was death.

"Link! Hurry and do something!" Tatl rang again, this time above the crackling of lightning that flittered through the air and roar of the monsters along the horizon. Perhaps they sensed the attack coming, and were goading it on to enjoy the terror. Surely the squires felt as much… and Link himself a rage to match it. "Literally _anything_ would be okay! Even just shooting an arrow at that thing will-"

" _Hey freakazoid!_ " Link and Tatl's attention immediately diverted to one direction, and to something they didn't expect.

Cardin Winchester, carrying a single legged Penny Polendina, standing in front of a sweat covered and clearly exhausted Winter Schnee. None of them looked better to bear, and all of them appeared out of energy. More than that… they looked as if they were at wits ends, with Winter almost appearing as if she'd fall over any minute, and Penny clearly unable to stand… All of that matched by Cardin yelling from the front of their small group.

Yelling up at the monster that now bore down on them.

"Yeah! I'm talking to you!" He _kept_ yelling. Despite Link _knowing_ he was no match and the boy having to have at least an _idea_ of that, he was still yelling. "You wanna know how we reflected that blast of yours!? Well the secret is right behind me!" Link had only one thought for the comment, and Tatl was kind enough to yell it out.

"That _idiot!_ " Truly Link agreed, even if he was grabbing the Phantom Ganondorf's attention. But it was the worst kind of attention. And he knew that because he knew the visages evil undertook when it was enjoying the land around it.

The sneer of contempt, the glower of hatred, the crackling of power, and the burn of flame. All of it encompassing the armored demon that hovered in the air, so nearly and so well mimicking the terror from Link's storied past. It was close, though not perfect. Close enough to be of concern, and doubly so now that it was focused on someone other than Link.

"All that power of yours is just a big ball of lightning, and what a joke that is!" If there was any credit Link could give to the boy, it would be his courage, because it straddled the line of stupidity to the point of being indistinguishable! "All it took was a good mirror and we were able to push that stuff around like it was a freaking ray of light! Worthless as the sand we're kicking 'round!" His taunts were also effective, for all the good that could be described as now.

"Cardin speaks truthfully!" It was difficult to tell if the damaged Penny speaking up in defense of the boy carrying her was a sing of great pride, or a clear indication of her ineptitude. "You have… you have been presenting a lack luster strategy too dependent on unknown variables! It is a poor strategic maneuver to focus on such things! It is _not_ A-Okay!" Link wasn't sure what he took more issue with when the golem spoke.

Her trying to gather the monster's attention while she was already injured, or giving the monster strategy tips. The later, he knew, was more imperative.

"Those _MORONS!_ " Tatl rang like a funeral bell in his ear. He found no fault with her insult, tired and worn as he was. "They're gonna get _incinerated_ like that!" And Link didn't doubt it. He didn't doubt that it was exactly what the monster was going to do.

But he could not fault the knowledge that it was likely what the trio was planning. Not with Winter so close to them, a knight that was given acknowledgement by the Headmaster of Beacon. She would not allow such fool hardy words, especially not when she was _doubtlessly_ the one responsible for the tactic. But Link could find precious few reasons why they were attempting to gather attention the way they were.

None, except for the idea that they wanted to be struck first. Such a plan would be admirable, if escape were an option. AS it was not, it was not a good decision. And he only ground his teeth in anger.

"Pathetic? _Worthless?_ " The demonic entity whispered in the air, but its voice carried like the rumbles of a storm. Link readjusted his stance and grip automatically, his mind wary of any attack to come. Any was possible, especially with the beast that held such power. "You dare to not only mock my power, but they fault me for it?" There was no more joyful malice in his voice.

Link heard only cold threatening darkness. It was not what he wished to hear. Not so quickly and not while he had the advantage still.

"Link! Link!" Said Hylian turned slightly with the voice, seeing Jaune and Pyrrha running to him, the boy yelling as his partner trailed. He only noted she was more fatigued than he was and nothing more. "What the heck is going on!? What are they _doing!?"_ Link didn't have an answer, he didn't believe there was one.

"Penny is… _heavily_ injured and Ms. Schnee looks… as… if she is about to fall over from Aura exhaustion." Her breaths were prolonged and deep, trying to catch her breath. "They… They're going to be attacked a-and… and we don't know what to do. What _can_ we do?" Link didn't know the answer to that either. He could only look between them once before returning his gaze to the air.

The air that had not only chilled in the desert to be like the Frozen Domain of Snow Head, but also darkened by the malice of the creature. He heard the breaths catch from both squires, both seeing for the firs time the sky dimming as the power of the creature continued to form, his strength so easily seen now.

Ganondorf Dragmire, the true King of Evil, turned a land of light into eternal darkness. He did so for joy. This creature was doing similar to his own world, but out of spiteful hatred for being challenged. Link took small, tiny, solace in knowing that its intelligence ended with mockery and threats. It was no king, only a shadow pretending to be.

But it was still a shadow that had worn them to the point of breaking, shattered many of their weapons, and now hovered in the air like the final fall of an executioner's axe. That was not to be underestimated.

"I'll _burn_ you slowly, letting the fear and torment of your agonizing deaths feed me for years to come!" The threat of the creature was far more damning than the petty insults of Cardin or Penny. Link could see the recognized their mistake now, far too late. "For your vile words and _mocking_ nature, I shall _smite_ you with the hatred of a hundred thousand years! I shall leave you to _choke_ the Burdoner with your _ashes!_ Not even memories of you will remain when I am _DONE!_ " The monster threw his hands into the air, and Link believed his threat.

Because lightning crackled about his hands, descending from the skies and swimming about his grasp. The once already intimidating and malicious stream of power it held grew into a torrent. Like a river compared to a waterfall, like the scale of a lake aside the endless ocean. There was no comparison between the two, and Link doubted any who looked upon it would there was one to be had.

Cardin tightened his hold across the golem. The Golem curled into his chest. Winter Schnee held up her arms, even if she was already so close to falling to her knees.

Link doubted they would survive even a singular blast more.

"Oh crap! _Oh crap!_ " Tatl was ringing next to him. "It's gonna do something! _We_ gotta do something!"

"T-Tell me what you need and I'll do it!" Jaune yelled out. There were few ideas for what that could be. "I-I can distract him or… or throw something at it! Anything!"

It was fortuned then, and only then, that the monsters were not chasing them. Not when even they still glowered and praised the better in the air, crackling lightning about his body. Lifting the thing like… like…

Just like other mages in the desert he had faced before.

Link had a plan, but it couldn't wait for an explanation. It needed action. _Now_.

That action began with him reaching behind himself, searching his satchel quickly for the item he needed most, and the one he knew he was a fool for not using earlier. One that would be both difficult, but beneficial, now of all times. He needed it, and he didn't. But the plan needed it, and for that, he would bring it out.

"Link?! What are you doing?!" Tatl rang at him, catching the attention of the squires. "Do you have a plan?! Do _you?!_ " Her worry was showing, but Link was sure it would pass, once he made sure to have the plan go to fruition. "Tell me you got something _, please!_ " He didn't have time for that. He only had time to do what was necessary.

She would only watch now. Time would only watch his plan and bless it if it were true.

That began with shoving another tool at the squire that so nearly looked his double, but so oppositely possessed his skill.

"OOF!" Said squire was pushed back by the force of the blow. "What is- _HEY! I need that!"_ And was countered by Link taking his blade away. "What are you doing with that?! I'm gonna _need_ my sword!" No, he wouldn't, not now. But someone else would.

" _GAH!_ " Namely his partner. "What I… I-I already have a weapon!" She did, and Link saw that. It was a fine weapon, he knew. She had done much with it, and he had seen her perform just as well in the arena through Impa's eyes. But it was too short, too thin, and likely too fragile for what was now necessary. And Jaune's blade was perfect. "What am I supposed to… why do I need this?!"

"Y-Yeah! Seriously, a-and what's with this- Whoa, what are you doing?!" What he was doing was obvious, and Link did not have time to explain. He still was not sure he had her blessing.

Even as he was pulling out his bow and arrow, and shooting an arrow at the monster.

It had the predicted result.

_THUNK!_

It struck true against the beast, but doing precious little against it. Deep enough to stick out of it, but nothing more. At that nothing had it reduced to near ash fast and quick, enough to remind Link that time was still of the essence, and he was squandering it.

" _LINK!_ What the _HELL?!_ " He wasn't surprised by the scream of rage that came from his companion. "What are you _THINKING!?_ Do you _seriously want us to take that for NOTHING!?_ " It wouldn't be for nothing. But it was obvious that time was out and the plan had to move forward. It was all too obvious as the thunderous booms began to rain from the sky.

And the monster continued to speak.

" _BURDONER!_ " The demon cried at them. "You truly wish to take to take on even _their foolishness?! Even now_?!" Even the faux monster above screamed.

Even as his cape billowed above him, even as hatred was quickly growing, it didn't understand, and Link was grateful for it.

It would die to the unknows it pretended to be. To focused on what it thought understood.

The unknowns had the advantage, because they were so often ignored.

" _VERY WELL!_ " The creature bellowed into the air, matched by a loud and horrific applause from the sky. Link squinted as the force of the heavens ripped open, as if this were real life and not some horrid land the creature had made. He could no longer heard the monsters screaming. Perhaps gone for the power the monster held. It didn't matter.

Not when his plane was so closet to happening.

" _I OFFER YOU ONLY THIS IN PAYMENT FOR YOUR ENTERNAL SUFFERING! A TASTE OF THE RAGE AND TORMENT THAT WILL BURN YOUR ALLIES TO RUIN!_ "

And the thunder fell.

The thunder fell and Link watched it spiral and ripple towards him. Quick as he was, he had only a breath of Time's blessing to witness the force barreling towards him. So much like Ganondorf Dragmire was it he almost considered the beast the true incarnation once more. For a moment, he saw the fowl of his plan. But that moment passed, and his realized that Time had blessed him. For she allowed him the time to move.

Move out of the way, and let the lighting barrel towards Jaune Arc.

_SHIIIIIIIIIII-_

The squire holding the sacred treasure of the Gerudo, the Mirror Shield.

Link watched it slam into the opaque shine of the shield's front, hitting with the force of a falling tower and likely with the sound to match. Deafened as the boom and splay of sand blinded him, Link had only the trust of the squire and his training that it was not for ruin, only that and that alone. Little to gamble on and much to risk, but Time had blessed him, and it showed.

It showed Jaune Arc holding a nearly immaculate pose with the shield, a perfect form that let the smooth glass front of the tool aim heavenly, pointing at the beast and rippling with the power it sent at them.

The Mirror Shield had to be used, but someone other than himself. The beast would have not attacked a surface so reflective, not after he had already had one attacked deflected. But it would fall for a feint, because it was no Ganondorf Dragmire.

_-IIIIIIIIIIII-BOOOM!_

Then like the blow that had been thrown forward first, the blast of lightning shined outwards, raced towards the beast it had been thrown from. Link felt his cap nearly fly from his head, already deafened to the horrified yells that came from the squires and Tatl. He trusted that their cries meant their health.

" ** _GRRRARAAARAAAAAAHAHAHAHHHHAAAAAA_**!" Just as the cry her heard now was a sign of pain.

The pain so great and powerful that Link was blinded once more, but not by the sand ripping through the air, but by a light so strong it felt like the Sacred Realm for a moment, and only that. It came from the sky, hanging far lower than any sun or moon, and from the same source as the howling pain that ripped through the air like Volvagia's flames.

The Demon was burning. The demon was hurt. The demon was _vulnerable_. It was time to settle.

Link turned to the girl, to Pyrrha Nikos who held Jaune's blade. The golden blade that was suitable for what was next. He looked at her, no longer blinded as he was torn away from the light. He grabbed her shoulder, by the golden pauldron she also wore. It made her look at him, and she focused on that. Her green eyes to blue.

Unlike her partner, she was a trained knight. A squire in name, but Link could tell through Impa's eyes she was far more than that. And tired as she was, she was also the only among them who had not been harmed in some horrid way, and with the skill to know what to do.

She nodded to him, answering his silent command, and ran past him and Jaune arc. He didn't see her, at least not well, as she vanished from his vision. He could hardly hear her, as the crackling of lightning and pained screams continued to tear through the darkened desert skies. He could only trust in the plan Time had blessed.

His Magic Sword was too damaged, too worn, to be of any use against even a weakened monster. He could not guarantee it would work. But Jaune's blade was sharp, golden, and appeared to be of fine make. Link knew that from his singular duel against the boy and watching him before. The squire who held it needed much training but the weapons were of fine make.

But Pyrrha was both more trained and more trained with its use. She would easily know what to do.

So, they slide easily, held by the boy's partner, into the monster.

Link knew that was true, when the wailing stopped and the light grew.

The light grew until it was blinding worse than before, until it was so bright it muted the air around him, turning the darkened desert into an endless expanse of light. He heard ringing, but knew it was neither Tatl nor Tael. He saw the endless plains before him, but knew it was on holy end. It was just a light that rivaled the sun and made his tired senses feel frayed and ready to burst.

But he endured it, because it was not a swift death nor an incinerating end that the demon had promised. The fake Ganondorf that had so easily shown his true colors, all to easily falling for a ploy of the squires and exposing his vital weakness to them all. Link endured this curtain of endless white and light that continued to scorch his senses because he knew it was not because of the monster. It was because of something else, but what he did not know. Just another unknown he had to endure.

He had to endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and endure and-

Then the blanket of white was gone, and Link was staring at into a wall of darkness.

Something slammed into his lungs, and he was finally able to breath. A coughing fit that made him gag on nothing. Tired muscles twisted in a pain that almost made him wish for the numbing endless white screen that had vanished. He did not though, only instead scratching at a ground that was rough and hard, not loose and coarse. Only… only realize that he could hear, he could see, but there was precious little of either to be sure.

"Gah!" "What happened! Where is everyone?!" "Students! Sound-off! Give vocal confirmation of current presence!" "I'm present still! I detect everyone else nearby!"

The voices yelled out around Link, the only confirmation that he was not blinded for a moment. He focused on a breathing for just as long, a moment, if only to right himself and not lose track of what had happened. He did that, and also measured what was around him now in the dark.

He felt harsh stone beneath his bended knee, not the granule sand he had experienced for so long before. There was the whistling of wind around him, damp and cool. It was completely different the harsh blasts of air that came from the arid desert. Clearly there was no sun, let alone a tower to climb the sky. It was… encapsulated. It was a room they were in. Link had a suspicion of where they were, but he did not want to falsely hope.

"Sky! Are you still good?" He heard Jaune ask the other boy in the group, the one who was not a group leader. "Just… just groan if you're not okay!"

"I-I'm good! I'm good! I promise I… I'm just trying to stay small here." Ah, to avoid threats. Link nodded his head, even if no one could see it. "What's up you… you worried or something?" What an odd question to ask.

"Just an idea, actually. I think you… you can help with us." Jaune spoke again. The others around him, himself included, were quiet as he caught his breath. "Can you give us another Sky Box?" Now that was a fine idea. Evidently, it was one that Sky Lark also agreed with.

Rather than give a vocal agreement or some other sign, Link instead watched as a strong source of light erupted from some distance aside him. His eyes traced it, quickly finding Sky large at the center of it, arms out stretched above him and holding the source of his power in place. Blinding as the light was, especially after being in darkness for a bit of time, he was still able to make out a few others around the boy as the box that he was now known for illuminate itself.

Cardin Winchester was beside him, as was Penny Polendina. One was sporting the signs of a deep and long battle, while the other appeared to be little more than a broken figure, leg torn off and all. Some distance in front of them, Link barely saw Winter Schnee and Jaune Arc, both of them barely up, on their hands and knees. The boy still held his shield in hand, glimmering and showing the strength of the box that Sky Lark was putting out.

However, he did not see Pyrrha or Oobleck, but he recalled their voices earlier, recalled them when the white screen had finally faded away. That bright light of the box grew though, and as it did, Link continued to search the room around them. He was thankful to see his fairy companions still behind him, Tatl and Tael bouncing around as the chamber they were in continued to become illuminated. And not some far distance behind them, and him, was Pyrrha Nikos and Doctor Oobleck, the younger of the two being supported by her elder. That was everyone, they were all here.

And here… was somewhere else entirely. Not anywhere that could be mistaken for a desert, even if they had miraculously fallen into a grotto. And with that on top of just having killed… the Nightmare?

"Sky! Turn that down!" Cardin yelled out the words like an order. "I can't see crap anymore! I'm going blind underground here!" There was another quick apology uttered by the boy, but one that was followed by the dimming of the light. It was preferential, for a moment.

Link tightened his grasp on his blade as he continued to study the halls around him, leaning on it as a source of support despite its ruined nature. Dark walls that carried a claustrophobic nature to them, damp and almost ashen gray structures that domed far above him and far away from him. Surrounded as he was, and though it could not be considered small, he knew he wasn't above ground. He knew this wasn't a part of the tower in the desert. He knew… that he and the others were back to where they were before.

"Is… Is th-this the…" Tael started to speak, but his sister finished for him.

"Yeah! Yeah! This is the mine shaft again!" The golden fairy rang and buzzed through the air, the cheer in her voice almost alien in comparison to the constant fighting that had been going on for nearly the past few hours. It was hard to believe it was so long, but Link could not turn away from his internal clock, or his exhaustion.

Instead, leaning on a knee and feeling the hard surface of stone beneath him, he doubly checked the truth to Tatl's words and joyous ringing. Even as she was one of the only sources of light in the hall, bouncing around in the now softer illumination of the Sky Box, Link made sure this wasn't another illusion in itself. But he could see no obvious cases for it. No shimmers, no floating objects, no misconceptions, nothing… nothing except for the bit of a dome they had fallen into earlier and were back in again.

Out, through victory.

"That did it! That broke the illusion! We're out of there!"

"Holy… Holy crap, you're serious?" That was Cardin Winchester. Link recognized his voice as well as the swell of pride that followed. Both, the relief included, were well deserved to experience. "I-I think she's serious. We… we did it! We freaking _did it!_ " His shout echoed through the hall of the cavern, and he wasn't alone.

He heard the screaming of the other children as well, muting the relieved sighs and gasps of others. The celebration that came from the cutting of the tension, victory after a hard battle, it was natural to celebrate and release yourself in. And Link… Link smiled as he rolled his head. For the first time in hours, his muscles relaxing from the state of constant flexion. Now they felt like Chu-Chu jelly to be thrown around. It'd be easy to admit one of them could likely finish him off at this point, but there wasn't any fear of that happening

The ancient monster known as the Nightmare, the great being that mimicked one of his worst foes and nearly killed his comrades, copying again the actions of the past, was sealed away. He was gone… sealed away.

"Yes! Yeah! We- _holy crap! Penny, your leg's gone!_ " Jaune's fright was understandable and, normally, necessary. This was not normal, as Link reminded. It also dragged him from his thoughts.

"Fear not, Friend Jaune. I am A-Okay!" The golem responded, grinning as he was used to many of her kind doing. Cheerful and good natured, though unable to feel pain. "I am merely… in need of a _new_ prosthetic!" Ah, her reasoning for being made of metal. Though he had only hard the term briefly from Glynda, it made sense.

"Really? All that was just a… prosthetic?" He didn't sound convinced. "Oh geez, that's _amazing!_ Not to mention the luck that of all the things to get broken, that's what you get torn off." Perhaps he was trying to sound uplifting but… he had little success. Though Link did not focus on the conversation still, not fully.

"Yes, lucky," Winter added in. She was supporting the boy as she guided him forward, her own health a bit better than the rest, thanks doubtlessly to the Golden Chu Jelly she was gifted. The smile across her face, however, directed towards him, showed her unspoken thanks. "Though after the ordeal this has been, I will accept any luck that is given to us. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Oh, I'm _not_ complaining," Jaune quickly amended. Link chuckled at his swiftness. "Just… i-it's the first time in what feels like _days_ I'm not talking without the fear of getting eaten." Perhaps not the most logical fear, but that may be why the Beowolves preferred him. They did to eat their prey. "And… oh Dust, we _did_ it. We really did." His laughter came rolling out again, almost mistaken for constant panting.

The others around him did not disagree, with even Cardin and Sky giving the boy claps on the back. Winter left him at that point, taking slow strides towards him while the others grouped together. Link did not approach, waiting for her instead. There was no reason to waste energy and… he was tired. Even with Tatl and Tael ringing about him, he was so very tired.

"That was an excellent strategy you had at the end there, Link," Winter spoke softly when she was close enough to him. He looked up at her, Tatl and Tael ringing in recognition as well. "Penny developed the plan with only a few parts available to her, but I am glad to see you do not lack the ability to alter what is necessary to make something work. More than that, we were fortuned you had such a shield available to you." Yes, that.

Link looked past Winter to Jaune, the other knight doing the same. The boy was being surrounded by the other squires, even as he held Link's Mirror Shield in hand. It was not a weapon he tended to use, given how fragile it was against physical attacks, _the most_ common form of assault, but it had its uses, and Jaune was no fool, knowing quickly how to use it. That was fortunate.

"It was also beneficial that Jaune recognized what was necessary. Reflecting the attack after you baited it for me." Winter took a breath of air, and Link could not tell if it was out of fatigue or thanks. "There were so many risks involved… but it is fortunate it all worked out in the end." Indeed, it did.

"You weren't so bad yourself," Tatl complimented Winter with a ring. Link watched the alabaster knight look at the fairy, confused. "Seriously, that's not an easy trick you pulled off, and you did it thrice over. Good on you for that."

"Y-Yeah that was… that was cool," Tael joined his sister now. "I'm… There aren't many stories about Nightmare but… but now there's one about you beating it, by… by turning it against itself. That's really cool." Tael's rings were softer than his sisters, but Link smiled at them both in kind.

"I… thank you both," Winter hesitantly returned. It was still enough to have Link smile up at her. His heart slowly unwinding. "You both also had much to share and assist us with, and I appreciate both of your inputs. Without you both… I don't think we'd be here." There was much that occurred beyond any quick plan Link had planned for, and all of it was appreciated.

Not only was the Nightmare defeated, but the relief of it appeared to be doing more. Winter was talking to him in a casual tone, something she had yet to do. Or, more appropriately, something she had yet to do with Tatl and Tael. Jaune as laughing beside Cardin, something he honestly did not expect to occur. Penny was careless of the showing of her true nature, perhaps in point to her still being hidden, but still more open than she had been before.

The ease that followed victory gave a sense of calm to their souls, and that calm opened up their hearts. Link let out a sigh of his own, content to finally see it.

"Now… aside from your shield, how fare's Jaune's sword?" Ah, that brought Link from his thoughts. He had almost forgotten about it. Almost, but not entirely.

His head turned back towards Dr. Oobleck and Pyrrha, both of them near a golden blade on the ground. Pyrrha was the one to help deliver the final blow, and Oobleck rushing in to save her. Neither appeared harmed, but it didn't take much thought for Link to realize what they were standing over. And… he couldn't wait for something else to happen.

"H-Hey! Careful Link!" Tatl lightly cajoled him as he stood, earning Winter's attention again. Likely the squires if he thought honestly. "No need to force yourself there. The literal _biggest_ threat is dealt with." That was just it, Link reasoned with a glance. The threat was dealt with, but now he had to be _sure_.

He turned away from Winter, his boots lightly clicking as he walked across the stone floor, Sky's Sky Box illuminating his steps. Truly a useful ability to have. Within only a few strides forward and he heard the clicking of Winter's boots following him. Another second after that, and the group of squires joined them. It was hard to miss them in the otherwise deathly silence of the chamber. Perhaps that was why he was still not fully at ease. It was _too_ quiet.

Regardless, Link continued forward, watching as Pyrrha turned her head over to look at him, her usual long mane of red matted and ruined by desert sand and sweat. She panted still, chinks in her golden armor and bruising around her skin. She had endured much during the fight, of that there was no doubt. There was also little reason to question why she was leaning on Dr. Oobleck, the older knight supporting her.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune let out as he ran past Link. He was momentarily surprised, seeing the boy carrying his shield possessing such stamina still. He put it away, seeing as he nearly stumbled when he was in front of his partner. "Pyrrha oh… oh thank Dust you're okay. Y-You are okay, right?" He asked the question only after he assumed, she was alright.

"I'm okay, Jaune. Really," the girl responded. Link looked at her carefully, as he had done to many other fighters on the field. There was nothing externally worrying about her, except the clear signs she had fought a long battle, or at least a hard one. Given where they were, and the monsters she had endured, it was likely both. "I'm just… just a little tired is all." Link believed that. The pair of rings from behind him showed Tatl and Tael did as well.

"Oh, thank dust. You had me worried there." Link watched, slightly humored, as Pyrrha blinked at her partner's words. "Catching Crocea Mors like that and running at that monster? I just… oh geez, I thought you were in trouble." Another natural feeling of concern. If nothing else, Jaune Arc did have the signs of his humanity. For many other knights, that was a hard thing to keep.

"I-I'm fine though Jaune, really." Pyrrha returned. "And I was… I was worried when you took that blast from the Grimm. That was an excellent form you took for it." Form? That was not the first thing Link thought of as a compliment after a life-and-death battle.

"Hey, I wasn't worried about that." For a moment, Link believed Jaune was telling the truth. Because through his fatigue, he was still grinning. Grinning as he looked down at his partner. "You taught me all about the best ways to defend myself, so I knew that as long as I did as you said, I'd be good! So, thanks again Pyrrha. You're… You always got my back." And he laughed at his own words. Perhaps that was for the best.

Because otherwise he might have seen the hot blush that overcame Pyrrha's features. Though he was still beaten and tired, willing to risk a red or green potion for recovery alone, Link found the situation sweet enough to let persist.

"Ain't that cute?" Tatl lightly rang in his ear. Quiet enough that no other eyes turned to him. "Makes you almost forget we all almost died just a few minutes ago." Link nodded, even as his fairy companion dropped dust around with her bobbing. She was right, but they were children. Squires though they were, they were still children.

And children enjoyed peaceful moments like this.

But peaceful moments were meant to last forever, and he, as someone in charge of them, had to check on the beast that had s nearly killed them all. The beast that had been slayed through by Jaune Arc's blade, Crocea Mors. A golden blade that Pyrrha had grabbed, all to stab the monster.

Link turned away from the pair of children, and the eyes on them as well, to look for the blade. As expected, it wasn't far, with eyes already on it. Dr. Oobleck even turned to him as he approached, the green haired man nodding lightly as he came to stand next to him. He looked for only a moment before his gaze fell back down, and Link turned down to stare at the ground as well.

And there it was, the blade that had slain the Nightmare. Or, more accurately, what remained of it.

"Is that… what I think it is?" Tatl asked beside him, flittering between Dr. Oobleck and himself. "That's the kid's blade, right?"

"Yeah, i-it is," Tael quickly agreed. "But… B-But I think… I-I-I think it did what the last blade did." Link recalled just what the last blade was.

The blade that was impaled at the bottom of this dome they stood in, wrapped in an almost uncountable number of chains and flits of paper. Enough to make his head spin at the number. That blade that had melted shortly after they had appeared. A blade that was large, imposing, and black as the night.

This blade, Jaune Arc's former golden blade, appeared to be taking on that role.

Link stared down at the golden blade. An heirloom of Jaune Arc and presumably a weapon of great importance to him. It had strength to it, as he realized both it and the shield were able to endure a great many of blows through his training and spars, but now it was something else entirely.

For staring down at it, with the other knights beside him, they saw the mass of darkness lurking around in the blade, haunting it like a ghost.

He watched, eyes focused, as the sheen of gold, reflecting Sky Lark's sky box, often dimmed darker and darker, until it looked as if it were swallowing the light itself. Then that patch would swim away, showing the shine of gold again. It was like water running over metal, being unable to separate from it, for now…

Because for now, it was obvious the creature inside of it was trying to escape. Truly beyond the normal veils of life and death, living off of the emotions of fear and anger, and currently twisted and confined by the collective relief of those present. Nothing to feed off of, and stuck in a metallic prison designed for death. Though no sound came from the blade, flat on the ground, Link could almost imagine the monster inside it, scratching at the surface.

"Such a monstrous thing, held in such an inappropriate prison," Winter noted next to him. Link didn't turn as she approached, though his fairy companions rang as she did so. "Perhaps that is appropriate, only if it is beyond conventional means of killing."

"Foolish to try, fool hardy, unimportant and unbeneficial," Dr. Oobleck finally spoke now. "Too many risks involved, _far_ too many. Unpredictability just as high, unquantifiable. Mass and volumetric shape generated form innate fears of nearby individuals, compelled by either memories or Aura induced, lasting due to vast life span of collecting fear and hatred from natural wildlife. No, anything involving risk to the specimen… _unallowable._ " Link saw him now, seeing the hand he had under his chin, hard eyes focused on the blade, and barring down at it as he imagined he would if it were another monster. It was only then he realized the knight was thinking similar to him, or in that he was thinking of what to do.

Because where things were now, was not good enough. A blade, no matter how old or cared for, was not to be trusted for such a monstrous thing alone.

"… What should we do with it?" Winter asked first. "Is there anything we can do? Seal it back up as it was before?" Like the large blade they had seen before, she meant. Link understood, though he could hear Jaune about to argue with it.

"Doubtful, unreasonable, or at least unlikely." Dr. Oobleck countered. "Previously associated with markings and counters undocumented and unknown. Impossible to reproduce. Necessary to hold elsewhere, though seal away a definite requirement." Link nodded to that as well.

"Yeah, far away where no one will ever see it again." Tatl added on. "Lots of stuff like that back in Hyrule, too powerful to use or too important to let others see. This counts, for _sure_." Link had no disagreement with her words.

"But… but what about my sword?" Link heard Jaune meekly add behind him. "That… That's my dad's sword."

"And your dad's blade has got a pure evil monster _living_ in it now!" Tatl fire back at him. Link hung his head at his fairy's explosive nature. Rather that than more violence. Not now. "You wanna give that back to him? Be my guest. Can't say he'd be happy about it, especially if it breaks out again." The cry the boy gave was understandable, if a bit high pitched.

"That was mean, Sis. He just wants to give that back to his family…" Tael whined next to them.

"That _thing_ isn't going back with the Arc kid any faster than _it_ is going to face the light of day again!" Tatl rang out. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Winter nodding with her. "And you can _not_ tell me you wanna risk that thing going on another killing spree, or what could basically amount to one."

"No… I don't but… but it was a nice sword." Link grinned at that, laughing under his breath. It was a nice sword, and it had served a wonderful purpose. One that he recalled his own blade was destined for, one that he had yet to grasp in this time.

"Tatl is right," Winter offered up. "Though I apologize for the use of your family's weaponry, Jaune, it was necessary to defeat a Grimm of high power and classification state. You will be compensated by the Atlesian Military, if not, by Beacon, surely. Am I wrong, doctor?" That was for the obvious member of the group.

"No! You are correct, absolute and certainly." He sounded pleased as well. Link was sure it was relief, more than anything else. The relief of a battle survived… it was a pleasant sensation. "If unable to do so through legal channels or procedures, I shall _personally_ gift a compensatory item of equivalent or exchangeable value to your lineage weaponry. May include either a large amount of Lien or personal choice of commonly available tools." That did sound like a fine deal, if one-sided for the obvious party.

"Hey! Does that mean I get somethin', too?" Cardin called out. Link didn't turn to see him, only hear the boy was up again, and with a sense of pride to himself as well. "My mace got blown to shards by that monster, so that means I get somethin' too, don't I? Same as Penny fer losing her swords… and a leg?" The golem would have her leg restored, Link was sure. IF not, he'd have Darmani form a new one for her.

"Of course! Of course! Merry distribution of property and gains!" Dr. Oobleck almost began to sing. Link was sure he would pass out soon. "All present for the defeat of the demonic entity thusly referred to as a Nightmare shall receive adequate compensation for loss of health and tools, so long as dutiful documentation is taken of the event! Full events, including all experiences mentally and physically!" A groan came from the squires, and Link let them do so.

Link let him complain, let _them_ run amongst each other. It was alright. Because even though they were complaining, the larger concern was still on the floor beneath him. Still swimming in the darkness of the golden blade. HE could not see the red eyes of the terror gazing back at him, but they were in there, and Link knew it would not be long for it to try and escape again.

A blade was a fine prison, but once swung it would be unleashed. It would not due to risk the monster being set loose again, especially when the edge of a sword was so easy to wear or damage. It needed to be protected, or else it could not be called a seal.

"Hey, Link?" He turned towards the voice of Arc, seeing him standing by as his teammates and friends were speaking to Dr. Oobleck. "You… you want this, right?" He was holding something towards him, something easily recognizable.

Link reached out and grasped the sheath of his family's blade, smiling as Tatl and Tael swirled around the alabaster metal. The mixture of light and darkness, the two colors that so easily opposed the fairies' natures, but so deceptively predicted the object that was to be held in the metal. It was almost prophetic how it looked. But Link ignored such a thing. He didn't care for those anymore.

When Jaune released the sheath, he turned back towards the blade, ignoring the lull of noise that came from behind him. They were anticipating danger, and he was glad they did. They would be foolish not to. Not when he did as well. Even as he knelt to the golden blade's side, watching the almost miasmic like darkness swirling within. His hand hesitated for a moment over the hilt of the blade, not willing to touch something that was so vile. Not again. But to not do it again would be to risk others finding this again.

Inaction was an action, and he could not allow the knowns of his past to decide the unknowns of his future.

Carefully, his hands wrapped around the blade's hilt… and nothing happened. Nothing but the recognition of weight in his hand.

The blade didn't feel off balanced or odd as he lifted it up, recognizing that it was a well fashioned blade, similar to his shield before the beast broke it. The same beast and monster that was now sealed away in the boy's family's sword. Ironic, if at least appropriate. But Link did not dwell on it.

Instead, he twisted the blade by his wrist, aiming the tip of the double-edged metal into the hollow of the sheath. It sang, or perhaps hissed, as it was lowered inside, entering until neither the gold or the corrupted darkness could be seen. Only the alabaster sheath and the hilt of the sealed blade's handle. As was appropriate for any weapons, home at last.

Home… where Navi likely was, and he could not follow. Having come here looking for her… and still not finding her. Finding instead something beyond what his Nightmares were, and then worse followed. And now… now he had conquered another evil, with the assistance of those behind him, those that were trying to help him find his friend… his friends.

Link looked up, seeing the eyes of the group on him. The expressions of relief were palpable, and also well deserved. Finally, a lull to take a breath in, and now for only one last command to be given. One he was sure they would not argue with.

So, with the breath he had left, Link spoke it.

 _Let's go home_.

There was no argument. **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	26. Ubi Mors Ibi Spes

Link relaxed in the chair he was given, feeling not for the first time the comfort of the Headmaster's room. It was easy to forget how much better padded chairs were against the hard stone of a camp or wooden stool of his old home. An odd comfort that many took advantage of, then too easily forgot the comfort of once received.

The chairs in the Bullhead, a vehicle that still was so odd to him, drawn without mares and flying through the sky, did not have chairs he could easily rest in. Not even his room, the one he had slept in the day before and one before that, had a chair to compare. Only the bed, the sole object designed for sleeping in, possibly compared. It was a small curiosity of his why the chairs in the Headmaster's office were so luxurious. Though in truth, he already knew.

It was hard to keep one's defenses up when they were enjoying great comfort, and in front of a man as wise as Headmaster Ozpin, words had to be chosen carefully.

Even now, as they were discussing the events from days before.

He related all that had happened, the same as did Winter and the squires before him. He was last, for reasons he did not fully understand, but did not question. Perhaps it was so they could confirm his words while they spoke to him, assuring they lined up with the squires and other knights that accompanied him, or perhaps it was to give him more time to recover. Tatl would agree with the former, and Tael the latter.

There were many questions regarding the Nightmare, however, not that Link was surprised. They had gone in search of his friend, and instead of his dream, they discovered a terror instead. They had subdued it, thus preventing harm to others, but it still was something that needed to be monitored and watched, as he was aware for an institution such as this. As Impa would be responsible for the knights in Hyrule, so to was Ozpin here. It only made sense.

In the room with him was the large General of the Floating Military, Ironwood he believed. He stood like a knight at attention, arms folded in front of him and listening to Link speak. Link believed he was the only one who could, using that device that Winter had explained allowed them to hear him. An odd thing, needing metal in their ear to hear, but if it worked, he would not find fault with it.

He was sure Glynda Goodwitch had the same device, as she was tapping away as he explained what occurred. Her eyes were focused on her pad as she spoke, the transparent display shaking in her grip as she used it. Link only focused on her a few times, when she was tapping louder than he was speaking.

There was the odd man who battled Winter when she first arrived… then made him drink a very strong drink until he passed out for it. The Hylian couldn't help but wonder if he was still doing that, seeing as he was still nursing a drink in his hand from beside the window. He appeared as if he were a drunk from a bar, the same as he did before. Appearance did not matter to him, clearly so.

But that was all secondary to him. AT the moment, they needed to know about the threat that had nearly cost the lives of the squires and knights with him. Dr. Oobleck was a brilliant Gerudo who had assisted him and Winter had a strength and loyalty behind her that would be important to their kingdoms. That was to say nothing of the young students that had nearly died fighting the terror of his own past, even if it had come from Impa's memories. IT was something they needed to know about, so they could defeat if it ever came back again.

And with it lurking in the blade that once belonged to Jaune Arc, that was not a far-off impossibility.

When Link finished his recollection of the events, he watched the Headmaster give a long sigh. It was one Link had heard before, even if it had not come from the same man. It had come from many others who were in his position, leading on high and desiring to help those below. It was far better than ruling from atop and turning his nose. At the others. The difference between a leader and a king, he supposed.

"I have to admit, when I gave you permission to go off on this venture for your friend, I never expected things to turn out… like this," Ozpin began. His tone made it clear he was trying to make light of the events, but not in a mocking way. Levity was important for honesty, Link supposed. "I believe you did say that fairies tend to like places that are dangerous for others. If nothing else, you found such a place." He chuckled, and Link allowed himself a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Tatl rang next to him, bouncing through the air as she did so. "Almost got killed ten times over and lost enough stuff to make those kids of yours ready to jump for the trash to have a chance with it, but sure, make a funny. Better than nothing I guess." Link only shook his head. He knew better than to expect patience from Tatl.

"Hey, don't go making fun of the trash divers, toots." Toots? Link wasn't sure who the drunken man was talking of, Qrow if he remembered his name correctly, but the way he was grinning at Tatl was concerning. The disdain that Glynda and the General had, however, spoke that it was both typical and unappreciated. At least it was not desired. "Even you've gotta admit some of the best stuff is found in the dumps. I'm sure that's where Greeny here found you, am I right?" The laughter did little for Link's souring mood.

" _Trash!?_ Why you little-!" Tatl's high ring was evidence enough of what she was going to do, but Link didn't want this turn into another unfortunate counter. Least of all one that he didn't start, because he'd have to handle it regardless.

He raised his hand, catching the fairy before she could dash off at the drunkard, the same man who was giggling now as he took a long sip from the metal canteen against his lips. At least Link's former suspicions were correct, he was still drinking that foul liquid. And he had the words to match.

"Let me go Link!" Tatl rang in the palm of his hand, hardly trying to actually escape. She knew better, though her mouth did not. "All I gotta do is bop him once and he'll know better than to call _me_ trash!"

"I'm afraid he won't, actually," Glynda spoke up now. The ring from Tatl was enough to tell she had her attention. "No matter the number of times he has been beaten, slapped, or outright punished, it appears only to encourage his behaviors. Trust me, if it _was_ enough, he would have improved over the years I've known him." She sounded more tired than usual, and the begotten stare of her green eyes was more than telling. As was the chuckle the man at the center of their conversation let out.

"Hey, I always did say that you can't teach a masochist with pain." If that was a joke, Link found it poor… even if it had seeds of truth in it. "Sides, not like you're taking what I'm sayin' as gospel. Just lettin' ya think twice is all." About what?

"Manners aside, I must add that you did a marvelous job, Sir Link." The Hylian gave the General his full attention with the title. It had been some time, even before he came to this new world, since he was given that title. "I will confess that I desired to be present in order to confirm you story with Specialist Winter Schnee's, hoping to ensure they both aligned. And I am pleased to hear that not only were her praised matched, but you also gave her the credit she was due. You are an honorable man, doubly so with your clear level of skill, strength, and weaponry. For that, I think you."

He bowed his head lightly, one arm crossed over his chest as he did so. It was hardly a full bow, his face still able to be seen, but far and away from the dutiful tight posture of a soldier. It was… respectful, and one that Link was happy to see. Happy, because it meant that the General was at least like Ozpin.

He didn't rule with greed, and he gave thanks to those beneath him. The more he saw of those in charge of this land, the more hope he had for it.

"I-It's nothing, really," Tael spoke up now. Link realized too late it was because Tatl was still being held in his palm. "Link a-and… w-w-we did this a lot, sort of… N-Not always with Nightmares but, y-you know." Link hoped that they did.

"Yes, well, I suppose for one who possesses the title of Hero, this would hardly be your first duel with death, would it?" Ozpin questioned again. "Ah, my apologies, truly. I was merely taken with your first lecture to the class some time ago, listening as you easily related the different paths different students may take for strength, all while showing how they can grow into their roles." Was… was that topical? Link wasn't sure.

"Yup, nothing like telling a couple of kids that they can be either ninjas, barbarians, wizards, or loners, huh?" Qrow spoke again, and laughed again. He was the only one who did so, and he did not appear to care for the fact.

"Okay, _now_ that I'm calm and know that you really are just a prick," Tatl began from Link's palm. The pause was evidence enough for him to let her go, and he had no reason to hold her. She rang as she lifted into the air, golden aura glistening as she did so. "I have to ask if you're a prick cause your drinking, or you drinking because you're just a prick."

"Depends on the time of day," he answered back without missing a beat. A second of silence did fill the air afterwards, him looking down at his wrist, bent over far enough that Link feared he would empty his stomach. "Can't tell what time is it though? Is it before noon?" Link nodded, sure that it was still the morning. "Then it's the first one." He took another swig from his canteen.

"Ignoring Qrow, I want to return to incident with the Nightmare, more specifically the damage incurred by the others." The General's tone was far from soft. Link knew that for a man to possess the title, and carry himself as he did, he likely had at least the same vestiges as Impa. He was not to be riled or needlessly led astray. "Most specifically to Penny Polendina and Winter Schnee, as I believe they have incurred the worst."

"Penny is an android, of higher grade and model than any others in the Atlesian Military. Her sense of injury is limited to acknowledgement _of_ the injury." Glynda did not look up at the General as she worked her pad. "Winter Schnee, however, required medical assistance, given by Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck, who was only able to do so because of a mixture given to him." Ah, she was referring to the Great Fairy Tears…

Link recalled how valuable the potion was, but he was also aware that Winter Schnee was young and capable. It did not make sense to risk losing her limb when he had the ability to save it.

"Do you have the ability to make more of this concoction?" The General asked pointedly. Link wasn't sure how to answer, but the man took his silence incorrectly. "I ask not for desire to exploit it, but recognizing that we may be able to help many wounded soldiers now who do not have the capabilities to function properly anymore. Many of them are missing limbs or are deeply traumatized due to their hunts. If we had the ability to help them-"

"It'd be a dream come true, I get that." Link shut his eyes and sighed as Tatl rang out an answer. He was sure Tael did the same, even if the others were staring at her. "And I hate to break this to you, really I do, but that ain't gonna happen."

"Because it is a valuable resource?" Ozpin questioned. "Surely even if it required a specific set of materials, it would be something we would be able to fabricate, even if in limited quantity. We may have been able to prioritize the wounded for-"

"No, no, you're not getting it," Tatl rang out, her body letting out a handful of Dust as she bobbed quickly in the air, matching her words. "That stuff was actually the tears of a Great Fairy. We told Super Buzz so you have _got_ to have notes on that. No way that crazy wouldn't have told you what we told him."

"I have extensive notes on the subject, true," Glynda returned. "However, there are just as many questions regarding the liquid used. Namely because we cannot be sure what terms you use may have a double meaning in our own language, or what may be misinterpreted to you as available to us." Link didn't understand what she meant. It must have showed on his face, because Tael rang in his ear a moment later, low as a dog's whistle.

"She means that they could have more of what they need here than what we do back in Hyrule. K-Kind of like… like how the Gorons have lots of magma a-a-and the Zora's water." Ah, resources like that.

They absolutely did not.

"Okay when I say the potion came from the tears of a Great Fairy, I _mean_ they _literally_ came from a Great Fairy." Tatl bobbed heavily in the air with her words. Link was thankful she wasn't flying into their faces. Per chance she knew the General's title was akin to Impa's and knew better than to risk it, but he doubted that would be enough to temper the fairy's attitude. It did little else of the time. "Like someone like me, but maybe a thousand or two years older, and maybe five feet taller… and with a _hell_ of a lot more patience than me." Link knew she was correct, and also not.

It took more than merely time or size to make for a Great Fairy, but Link didn't correct her. There was little reason for them to know of what a Great Fairy was, as it was clear there was not one here. If there was… there would at least be a tale of them somewhere. You couldn't hide things of great power without at least a legend of them existing.

"Well… that's unfortunate. Though I can't say I'm surprised," the General sounded off. "I am sure you would have used those tears back at the Badlands should you have had the capability to make or find more of them." He also didn't lack in wisdom. It only raised how unfortunate it was that it took him this long to have a conversation with the man, and it was in the debriefing for the Nightmare.

"Glad to know _you_ got a brain in your skull," Tatl shot back, ore lobbed more like it. "Maybe you can share some of it with that drunkard over there. Maybe it'll make him stand straight for ten seconds." Said man burped loudly with the comment, before chuckling away the insult. Link was unsure why he was here still.

Or, more accurately, how this man was related to two members of Team RWBY.

"I wouldn't do such a thing even if I could," Ironwood returned. "I hate to waste precious resources." That was actually pretty funny. But not even that made the man blink.

It did force Link to smile, waving his head at the idea of a man of such standing making such low of a joke. It was easy to miss, however, with how his fairy companion was raining golden dust as she bobbed and weaved through the air, wings flittering about as she tried to keep herself straight, but the high pitch ring that came from her evidence enough of what was happening.

She was laughing too hard to keep herself straight.

"Always happy to be the lightning rod of jokes," Qrow finally spoke up, perhaps after he noticed Ozpin and Glynda sporting their own smiles as well. He held his canteen in the air as he did so. "Just make sure to cut me a check if you go big with 'em." He took another drink, head falling back as he did so.

"Humorous as this is, I believe we need to refocus," Headmaster Ozpin informed, but still had a grin of his own beneath his lavender frames. "More specifically, your method of healing Winter aside, I want to give attention to how she is handling the sealed Grimm."

Ah, that was important.

"Indeed, though I am still curious why we were forced to seal it away, never mind the fact that we couldn't kill it." The General's tone was hard again. He was discussing a threat, and Link would think it odd if he sounded like the drunkard as he spoke. "It is only feasible to capture or seal Grimm when they are of lower class. This, by accounts of al involved, was an Ancient Grimm with a large amount of intelligence and dangerous abilities. Would it not be more expedient to simply kill it?"

"I'm with the big man on this one," Qrow added in. "Something bad enough to tear apart a bunch of rising stars and tank Ice Queen's Semblance, that ain't somethin' I wanna risk gettin'. Why don't you just strap it to a Dust Nuke and shoot it off into the ocean?" Link was not familiar with a nuke, but he was aware of the reason why they sealed it.

"You can't kill it, least not withy any way we know," Tatl added in for him. "If we did, trust me, we would have. We were lucky 'nough Ice Queen, showed we could even deflect its attacks back at it, and before the Golden Girl struck it with that Golden Blade, it was tearing us apart, or do you want me to recall how it destroyed Impa's Naginata again?"

"The Naginata, Cardin's Mace, Oobleck's Hammer, and serious damage to Winter Schnee's rapier," Glynda commented from her pad. "All weapons that passed maintenance requirements before deployment and two of which were constructed used Military specifications for endurance and stability. Their destruction in such a short period of time, without additional damage being done during their target does raise serious questions of the Grimm's strength."

"I have no doubt of the power of the Grimm, or for the difficulty in subduing it. That isn't in question," The General spoke again. "If anything, that raises the point that the beast should be disposed of quickly. We have more powerful weapons available to us, stationary as they are. With the beast sealed, we have a greater chance of killing it."

"Or releasing it," Tatl added on effortlessly. "Thing broke out cause one of the chains or whatever holding it up broke, and then it tore out of the _first_ sword it was in. This one's holding, but I don't know how much longer its gonna last. I just know that breaking the sword doesn't exactly spell 'eternal doom' for the monster in it."

"A viable concern, and one I agree with," Ozpin admitted. "Breaking the wall of a cell does not mean the occupants in it will be harmed, even killed. And if the beast is as powerful as all agree, I do not want to risk it being let loose in a Military Compound of all places, or with anyone nearby." The Headmaster turned towards the Ironwood now as he continued on. "Are you sure Mr. Arc's family blade is being secured properly James?"

"Winter is personally overseeing the securement and protection of the blade as we speak." Link was not too surprised by the comment, as the knight did seem loyal to her duties, especially those that carried risks for others. "It is being moved to a secure facility considerable distance away from any of the major kingdoms, settling populations, or other settlements. With luck, it should be there by day's end." He was thankful to hear that.

There would be only the invitation for destruction and terror if the blade was kept near the population of Vale, large and prosperous as the city was. Any small amount of bad luck could lead it to ruin, and for to be hidden away was best. Like a blade of light, mean to banish evil, kept the hollows of the Lost Woods, far from the eyes of mortals.

Though she lacked the knowledge of Hyrule, Link was sure Winter felt nearly the same.

* * *

The buzzing of electricity and activity around Winter was an almost comforting noise. Against the days she had spent in the wilderness, let alone the hours she endured in the desert of the monster's creation, the familiar sound of Atlesian technology was a comfort to her. Reminders that she was safe in the hands of Atlas once more, far from any illusions or malicious fantasies of far too omnipotent Grimm.

Her ease was furthered by her necessity to act, committed to a task that General Ironwood had commanded of her, and she was all too happy to oblige. Though there were few, if any, commands that Winter would be hesitant to obey the man, the hunter who had given her a place in the Atlas Academy and further helped her to strengthen her abilities, there were far more that she desired and volunteered for. This was one of them.

One of them was observing the stasis pod strapped and secured to the heavy cargo bay floor of the Atlesian Airship, strapped in such a way that required multiple technicians to assemble or disassemble, with just as many commanders to authorize access to. Her eyes traced the many objects that surrounded her, for the umpteenth time to ensure their integrity.

The taunt ropes and ratchet-clamp knots wrapped around the heavy steel tomb were a comfort to her, if only because she knew it would take time to escape from. The static position of the box, even as she rocked with the sway and turbulence of the airship, certainly helped. But it was only the constant monitoring of the safe-like structure that kept her sanity in check.

She watched the pod holding the cursed sword carefully, never blinking as the weapon churned and changed colors inside its containment field.

The field was far more than simply that, and Winter was sure to educate herself before stepping near it. Several feet of heat-treated and infused with 1% Chromium, a combination suggested and chosen by several specialists to both endure almost unreasonably high sources of force, while also reflecting the greater portion of visible light. It was the first part of the transport system. The other was the Dust-infused shield overlain across the outside of the safe.

A slowly churning mass of purplish energy, constantly fueled by the slow burning of the Schnee Dust company canisters. Any one of them could have been used to fuel a Bullhead for a day's travel, perhaps more. And instead they were being used to ensure the protection and sealing of the sword, for just as long an amount of time.

A containment field constructed and designed by Dr. Zepp for the most dangerous of criminals with the most destructive of Semblances, to turn their powers on themselves before others, and it was being used to transport a weapon. A weapon that housed an ancient and foreboding evil, Winter reconciled. It was easy to do when she recalled the terrors she had lived.

Watching the slimy black churn and swim through the otherwise impeccable gold of Jaune Arc's sword, barely seen through the mass of reinforced glass and light distorting forcefield, but enough for her to hardly miss it. Through the small wisps she was sure was it looking beyond the glass itself, looking for a way out. The idea that it could escape wasn't an impossibility. And she'd be here this time, alone with it, high the area away from the others or means to escape…

The airship she was in shook, forcing Winter To take another breath of air. It was one she was glad to have, enough to refocus her mind, if only for a moment.

She did not want to take her eyes off of the beast, sealed away as it was and meant to be out of her mind. No one else was reacting as she was, and she was the only one among them with even the capabilities to survive a blow from the monster, and that alone was debatable. For the other technicians and certainly the droids, who lacked Aura or any training, there would be no safety for them.

And yet, they walked the open hanger without any issue, tapping on their scrolls as they checked the stability of the airship as it flew, ensuring that the travel the ship covered did not damage its hull or structure. Maintenance, for sure, but a necessary action to prevent future catastrophe, just as she was here to do the same for General Ironwood.

Watching the Nightmare, sealed away in a boy's familial sword, being taken to a pit to be dumped into.

Perhaps that was her anger getting the better of her again, something she was horribly guilty of whenever thoughts of the Nightmare came to her. Her gloved hand raised itself, brushing past her overhanging bang, combing it back into place. Her hands drifted over her attire again, ensuring that it was not damage or frayed, not as it had been in the desert.

In the battle of that near cataclysmic scale, done by a beast capable of summoning Grimm, monsters, and terrain that was nearly beyond comprehension or feasibility, she had endured many wounds, scars, and terrors. Her hands ran over all the areas she had been hit, all the small marks that were now hidden beneath her regal suit and attire.

Her leg was fine, there were no burns to her leggings, the sleeves of her shirt were unblemished, and the strait of her collar was not torn. Beneath those same wounds, her leg did not bleed form impalement, there were no more burns or scars that marred her otherwise porcelain skin, and she did not have the exhaustion of Aura that nearly cost her consciousness before.

Another small quake took up the hold, making a few of the passerby's waver, but no one fell. They had their sea legs, just as Winter had her peace.

She was standing atop the metal of Atlesian Technology, within the belly of one of their finely constructed crafts. She was staring into the prison that held the monster that so nearly cost them the lives of students and hunters alike, and all for the soul prize of living off the torment of the Hunter Link. All with a cruel smile and malicious laughter she loathed to hear.

Her head shook now, shaking her otherwise immaculate hair about her scalp. Benefited with this task as it was, perhaps she had accepted to request too early. She was sure she was given it by General Ironwood to help with her personal therapy and meditation. So often was it common for soldiers and hunters in the military to take on supervised assignments with dangerous prisoners, to ensure that they were held behind bars and prevented escape.

Winter could still recall the many arguments that were given against such a practice, deeming it counter productive to deflating a stressed mind, as they often said. Other synonyms included risking flash-backs, uncontrolled registration of the trauma, or perhaps traumatic episodes. She understood their concern as well, having doubtlessly worked with many soldiers that had returned from fighting Grimm, ruthless killing machines, or the White Fang, merciless extremists.

But they were not familiar with hunters, not familiar with her or the General.

They didn't know how important it was to be able to stare down a threat that had been detained, ensuring beyond all shadows of doubt that the fear that could arise from the pain had been sealed or passed. Either taking away the weapons of a madman, leaving behind a locked gate without a key, or putting a Grimm behind sheets of steel thick enough to endure a Mech's full-throttled charge. They were important for moving on.

And looking at the sword now, contained as it was and being transported to where it was going, Winter made doubly sure, once more and more again, that the Nightmare was sealed away.

She turned for a moment, letting her heels click along the metal bed of the hangar. It echoed, though easily became mixed with the otherwise cyclic activity aboard the ship. Between passing conversations, checking gauges, and monitoring cargo, the clicking of heels was hardly a concern. That was fine for Winter, as she didn't care for the attention of others at the moment. Her mind was focused enough as it was.

Focused on the monster she was guarding, focused on the base they were heading to, focused on the task given to her by General Ironwood, and focused on the taunts whispered to her by the malicious entity.

There it was again.

A long sigh left the Specialist's lips, feeling as if her Aura was weakening with the breath alone. Her form turned, resting her back along a cool still wall, head still bowed and eyes shut. She didn't try and feel around her for a moment, focusing on the soft vibrations of the ship's hull, only a few fractions of an inch between her and the upper altitudes of Remnant's sky.

If she focused on it, like she had in the past, she could feel the cool touch of the wind and air seeping through the metal. Metal was an excellent conductor of both electrical charges and temperature variances, and it showed more in a ship than anywhere else. If she was keen to her senses, she could tell where the engines were for using the Fire Dust and find her way outboard from any structure in the Atlesian compound, with ease. But her mind could sit on that, she couldn't _fix_ on that.

Not when her mind kept returning the face of the man glowering down at her, grinning with a lance darker than a desert's night and whispering her worst terrors to her. Mockingly speaking of what it would do to her siblings for fun and enjoyment, listing how it may keep her alive for offering her that sight alone, and letting that terror _feed_ it. Feeding the thing that tortured her, and threatened to maul her family.

 _Her_ family. Her sibling and precious little sister. The things it said…

Her hands found their way around her shoulders again, gripping herself a bit tighter, holding herself in place against the wall, making herself small and scarce in the otherwise behemoth of a structure they were in. She did not make a noise she did so. No sniffles, bouts of tears, or chocked noises of pain. Nothing. She gave no indication she was in pain.

She couldn't be in pain, because it wasn't real. Whatever horrible things the Nightmare threatened her with, it didn't matter, because none of them happened. She was staring at proof of it across from her, sealed away and kept locked tight beneath sheets upon _bricks_ of steel and Dust. It hadn't happened and wouldn't happen. _Wouldn't_ happen.

She scowled to herself, hiding her expression in the corner she put herself in with a bent neck and smaller form. Never before had she adorned such a repulsive face after a mission, no matter how difficult it was. Never before had she had to endure her own mind and threats of another, no matter their strength or skill. She had never doubted the ability of the Atlesian Military to correct the wrongs of the world, so long as she followed the commands and direction of her General.

But her General was not there in the desert a landscape made by the vile Grimm beneath Monument Mine. There was no one there when she was nearly amputated of her leg by way of goring her flesh. There was no member of her old team or other Specialists there to assist her. No one to keep away the terrifying visage of the Nightmare looming over her, beneath a sky it had created.

No one but the Faunus from whom many of the memories were crafted, and who gifted her a 'potion' to save her life. Yes… Link had assisted her, and far more than she believed anyone beyond the training of the Atlesian Military would.

She focused on that, focused on how he had taken to duel the beast even after it had dealt harm and blows to Impa and Darmani to visages of his former comrades that showed great prowess and powers to match. The beast called a Nightmare that had nearly incapacitated Impa with a single blow, and laughed in the face of Darmani's own. Even while she was only able to dodge and keep it at bay, and he little more, he did not shy away.

Yes… they were there because of his friend, another drone of his that likely had pertinent information on it, but he did not abandon her or the others. Just as she did not abandon them. That had happened and she had the memories to recall it. No one was dead because no one was left behind.

They were all alive, and the desert was now far behind her. She wouldn't be traveling to Vacou any time soon either, not according to General Ironwood. Winter would not admit her relief, no matter the jeers Qrow gave her. They were jeers that were tempered and finally discarded when she saw her sister was well, unharmed and sporting a look of concern for _her_ if anything.

Her precious sister, following her footsteps away from their father and towards the noble goal of helping those in need, by following those with moral goals and just hearts. Her precious Weiss, smiling as Winter calmed her, and glad to hear that she had assisted in defeating an ancient evil. Her sibling, her student… someone the monster had threatened to harm.

But it never did, because it never happened.

A shaking breath left her lip, tightening her jaw as her eyes lifted to the shell of a prison once more. The singular window of the crypt was beyond her sight now, but she knew the sword was still in it, the only prison that was holding the monster. It would not be a prison to last, she knew. Last only until they had a sure means to destroy it. That she was sure.

She eyed the prison through the crop of her bangs, watching it as it so nearly shimmered before her. The field that surrounded it, for even a glance, appearing to be like crystal for a moment, before moving back into the swirling lavender, created by Dust and other constructs hidden by the thick walls of steel. She watched it, it and the other military personal who moved about it. None of them reacted to what she saw, none of them saw the cell for what they wanted it to appear to be.

The transportation of heavy cargo and nothing more. Dangerous cargo, a dangerous thing, but that was it. She was seeing things, and only that. Her fatigue may have been worse than she thought, evident enough through her long sigh of disgust.

The terror was over. Winter took a breath of air, then another, placing her palm on the wall and pushing herself off. The cool feeling of the steel was easy to sense even through her gloves, and she focused on that. Because that was real, not the ideas the Nightmare gave her. That was real.

The sense of the air, the safe the monster was housed in, their victory over the beast, Link's nigh-immaculate plan, and her sister's safety. Those were all real and those were all that she could focus on, though not listed in the order of importance.

For now, the monster was important, and putting it where General Ironwood had instructed her to.

Then she'd return to Beacon. She'd request time off of if she needed to, for once asking the General for a favor in return for her loyalty. She needed it, even if just for a moment.

When this was done, and before she lost her chance, Winter wanted to spend a day with her precious little sister.

That was important, and thought not real yet, she'd make it so.

* * *

"Will Winter be alright?" Link turned to Tael's voice, the dark fairy lightly waving through the air as he rang. "She… she did a lot to help us and… she's alone with that thing. Isn't that bad?" Link understood the dark fairy's concern, he understood where the younger of the pair of faes was coming from.

"I assure you, Specialist Schnee will be just fine," the General returned. "If my words are not enough, she has requested to return here when she is done with her assignment, I believe to spend time with her younger sister. You can speak with her then if need be." Then there was no doubt that she'd be given that time off. Link wasn't aware how common an occurrent it was here for soldiers to be given leave, not when you needed much more time in Hyrule.

Then again, if their battle against the Nightmare and duel was to be seen as the act of sealing that it was, perhaps she was due that time off. Link had few arguments, and even fewer reasons to speak them.

"Trust me, the Ice Queen will be just fine," Qrow spoke again from the corner of the room. His voice slurred on his surname for her, a rather peculiar one at that, given the similarity between it and Tatl's name for her… and her sister. "Her old man could fall off a cliff into a freakin' monster's nest and she'd just ask if she had permission ta fire. Trust me, she ain't goin' no where or crackin' any time soon. Hardest ice ye'll ever find." The swing of his canteen was not an endearing trait.

Though, if Link was to take anything from his rambling of an answer, it was the disgusting or dismissing look from both Glynda and the General. IT was one he hid himself, as he did not want to alienate a man like that, not when he was here. Rude as he was, there had to be a reason for Ozpin to have him here. No more would Impa allow soldiers into high priority meetings did he believe he'd invite the man into this discussion so easily, especially if it was to hear about a monster that would make the average citizen squirm in their sleep.

Qrow was essentially an unknown, and one he did not want to chase away. Otherwise, it would give the Headmaster the advantage.

"What? I say somethin' bad?" Several things, Link had the list. However, he was not of mind to interrupt a man. A well wasn't meant to be shut off, especially when it gave streams of water. "Am I wrong 'bout how she acts on in the field? You gonna tell me she's all heart and no brains, _General?_ " What a way to say the man's title, and what a callous smile he had to go with it.

"… Specialist Schnee practices superb restraint and focus while on duty for the Atlesian Military, either on assignment for the Academy or personal errands." The answer was very verbatim, but Link understood it well. The ring from Tatl and Tael told they understood it much the same. They knew another like that, one who saw duty above all else.

It was fortunate that, even though Tatl had screamed her name in the Nightmare's desert, no one had come to question it. Another detail lost in the stream and torrent of war.

"That said, I hope you are attempting to make another crude joke of yours, Qrow. Specialist Winter Schnee cares far more for her family then you give her credit for… though Jacques may be a poor example." Jacques? Link didn't recognize the name.

"Her dad, probably," Tatl rang into his ear, low and hardly more than a chime. "Least that's my guess." Link nodded to her, believing the assumption as well.

"You're not gonna hear me start to defend that old goat," the unkempt man retorted, spinning around as he did so. Link wasn't sure if it was training or luck that kept his balance to sure, even if he acted as if his head was heavier than the rest of his body. "Just thinkin' that she ain't the first person to put her heart in front of her head. As in, ever. Almost like she's… what's the word for it? _Made of ice_ , maybe?" The chuckle that rolled past his lips was interrupted only by the swing of his bottle.

"Acting out of training rather than pure instinct is a credit to her ability, not a detriment," the General continued to defend her. "I would much rather have Specialist Schnee aside me when the hordes of Grimm trample the gates then the drunkard who would sooner look for the nearest bar to _prepare himself_ , as I believe you last referred to it."

"W-Wait, did that a-actually happen?" Tael's light question was one that Link shared. But the fairy did not say it loud enough and Link had no thought to voice it, so it was ignored.

"Hey, you try lookin' down a couple hundred of the beasts and tell me it wouldn't be easier with a bottle of gin in ya." How odd, apparently that odd incident did happen. "Sides, not like I hurt anything. Half of the monster ended up chasin' me into the place. And sure, yeah, it burned down, but at least I took some of them out with me, and I got some fresh booze out of it." Link could only now count his luck that Ozpin had not sent this man with him in place of Winter or Dr. Oobleck, not that one was easily replaceable over the other.

"How can you state that story and _not_ hear of your own idiocy in it?" The General questioned, and Link found it a perfectly reasonable thing to ask.

"Probably the same way the Ice Queen can keep askin' me fer a rematch, just cause I beat her once… nah, twice now, right?" The grin he shot was directed towards Link, and it took him a moment to realize what he was referring to. Though… Link wasn't sure he would refer to it as a victory. Impa certainly would not, as she had dined to _stop_ that fight.

"As _I_ recall Qrow, and many cameras can attest, you are very often the instigator in those events. It does not help that you push Specialist Schnee to fight you as an, admittedly, extreme form of subduing you." Once again, just like Impa, the General had an amazing ability to hide how he was feeling. Link couldn't truly tell if he was masking annoyance, anger, or just outright disgust. All were possible.

"Doesn't that give _me_ the leg up?" The drunkard continued to taunt. "Least I can walk away from a fight. Ain't like I was handin' out ultimatums or somethin' dumb like that. Rather look for a full bottle than do that." He mumbled the last part, in time with him turning his canteen upside down, showing the lack of liquid falling from it.

The idea that it was a strong drink, much like the one he had offered to Winter and himself the week before, and he had polished off the container within the meeting, was a terrifying idea to Link. The man either had the endurance of a Goron, or the lungs of a Zora. Either were possible, given he cackled like a Lost Child from the Woods.

"Sides, not like I go out lookin' fer fights or somethin' dumb like that. You can't enjoy a drink if yer thinking about somethin' lurking over your shoulder." The man threw the bottle over his shoulder, letting the metal clang against the glass for and slide to a stop. He did not mishear or miss the drawn-out sigh of disgust from Glynda. It was matched by Tatl's equally drawl ring. "Ain't that your area of expertise, General? Lookin' over others shoulders?"

"No, not it is not. Only a force of habit that comes from dealing with subterfuge and cowards." The ability of the man to flow with the accusations and taunts was impressive. Link knew, for a _fact_ , that if such were lain against him, Tatl would be at their throats in a moment. She already had once. "It is no more my _duty_ than it is yours to chase the skirts of younger women."

Okay, that as funny.

Link crossed his arms as the banter lightly continued, enjoying the comfort of the chair as he and his companions listened to the drunkard and general speak. There was always something to hear from casual conversation, often things people didn't think to filter. And between friends, or at the very least colleagues, that line was often crossed.

And despite the rude comments coming from either men, so opposite in attire and form, form of speech, morals, and etiquette, they were clearly on good terms with one another. Because Link never saw either of them reach for weapons or make gestures of violence. Only rude comments and equally appalling slang thrown back and forth, like globs of mud from the playground.

Only friends could insult one another so easily, and clearly these two were just that. Friends. Strained, twisted, a bit contorted, but friends nonetheless. Perhaps it was why Ozpin had the drunkard here at all.

He was among friends, and Link was _not_ meant to see it. But the banter had allowed him to gaze past that small pane of glass the Headmaster had put up, catching the unknown before it scampered away with gruff noises of dismissal and cajoling laughter.

The unknown had the advantage, and Link had seen the secret hidden in front of him.

"Gentleman, though I do _so_ enjoy your callous and juvenile remarks with one another, perhaps we should return to the topic at hand." Glynda spoke up with her hand tight against her scroll, never looking up as she did so. Over the edge of her frames, she continued to tap away, leaving Link to stare at her as she made notes of the meeting. "We still have much to cover and I believe we are gaining nothing but loosely addressing each other's short comings."

"Agreed Glynda, and thank you," Ozpin offered in turn, though the blonde knight didn't offer him even a look of acknowledgement. Link noted, carefully, that he didn't wait for one either. "The small divergence aside, I believe all present can agree that the removal of the weapon to an off-site location, to be guarded by Atlesian Military, is a wise decision, correct?"

"No issues here," Tatl agreed, as Link was thankful for. "Further that thing is from this place, the better. Just make sure you throw it down _another_ deep dark hole before you walk away from it." Her ring was akin to someone waving their hand in the air. Link hoped the others didn't realize that.

"As said, the chamber the blade will be kept in will have constant guards keeping it from access, public or not. It will be treated as a highly dangerous individual with a volatile Semblance, thus preventing even the higher chains of command from gaining access without weeks preparation or approval." The General refolded his arms as he spoke, eyes trained on Link as he did so. The Hylian made sure to keep his posture relaxed as he was observed. "And once more, Specialist Schnee is still a worthy candidate for the task, as she is both knowledgeable of the risks and unwilling to allow others the chance to approach the blade."

"I'll give ya that she's a better choice than me." The sudden humility from the dark-haired man was surprising, though not unappreciated. "Just want ta add somethin' to Tinkerbell's comment though. You gotta make sure that hole ya throw it in really does lack a bottom. Don't need a monster like that breakin' out and rippin' up some settlement out there, or twenty." Of that, Link could also agree.

No village would survive a beast like that. They never did. The flames of Kakariko still burned in his mind.

"Again, it will be _very_ well protected." The finality of the General's words was another point of appreciation, though Link remained in the well-padded chair as the man stood. It was a comfy chair. "All that said, I do believe it would be prudent to give Jaune Arc proper compensation for the blade. It cannot be easy attending a Huntsman Academy without any weaponry, seeing as I find it unlikely, he will be able to… _regain_ his weapon any time soon."

"Ah, yes, a fine point James," the Headmaster agreed with a nod of his own. The cane in his hand, held out at arm's length, even as he leaned back in the 'throne' of his desk, tapped the ground, perhaps in thought. He had his mug of coffee to his lips before he spoke on. "A concern, doubtlessly, and one that it shared with others who attended the sealing as well."

"Cardin Winchester lost his customized mace, Jaune Arc lost Crocea Mors, his family blade from recorded four generations prior, Penny Polendina needed extensive repairs for her ambulatory systems and five of her twelve threaded blades, and Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck requires a new thermos." One of this, Link deduced, was not like the other. "I have amended Bartholomew's request to better reflect his need for weaponry… and not just his lack of caffeine."

"Can't blame the guy for wanting a drink." Qrow commented lightly. His chuckle was just as sure to follow, though Link paid it no mind. "Gotta give the guy props for thinkin' of what he's gonna drink next over what he's gonna fight. Can't be much the same for the brats, huh?" The brats? "C'mon, I bet the kids were askin' for a lot more than just their weapons, am I right?"

"… Cardin Winchester has supplied numerous requests for updates regarding funding for his weaponry, including notes and objections to his inability to train without them." Link spared a glance at Tatl and Tael with the explanation Glynda gave. That seemed reasonable to him, as training with one's weapon very often required said weapon in hand. "Jaune Arc has, however, requested a letter of recognition and justification for his weapon's seizing from either a Military official or you, Ozpin." Now that was an odd request.

"He is a smart student then." Link looked to the General with the words, seeing the taller man smile towards Glynda. "He recognizes the absurdity of the story, and is looking for physical evidence to justify the loss of an heirloom. Though punishment is likely to still follow him if he returns home, the blame will certainly be lessened if we confirm the story."

He chuckled lightly at the words, an action matched by Tatl and Tael ringing aside Link's head. He understood now, and only then remembered what Ozpin told him and Impa about the boy. How his accreditation was fake and his training a lie. Perhaps a letter from the military would show his capability and worth more than merely the passing of a torch to him following his years here.

Strengths in his mind for sure. The ringing of his fairy friends made sense.

"Send me his family's contact info, if you can Glynda. I'll be sure to write up a report and include them on the return message. Redacted, of course, as is necessary." The amendment, as Glynda would say, was noticed.

"I'll be sure to do that," she returned, never glancing up from her scroll. "Perhaps now we can speak of Cardin's team, or more appropriately the changes that are being requested for it." Link had nearly forgotten about that, something he was not proud to admit.

"Talk about who's and what now?" The drunkard replied from the corner of the room. Link couldn't help but imagine Tatl holding back a comment about him sobering quickly without the deluge of alcohol in hand. "Ruby and Yang are changing teams?" If nothing else, at least he could focus on his family. He had low hopes they though as frequently of him.

"No, Qrow, _Cardin Winchester_ of Team CRDL." Glynda corrected, again without glancing at the man. "More specifically to the requested removal of position from one of his team members, and subsequent request to supplement the team with an additional member." Link recalled who they were. He recalled it easily, even if it was Impa who had witnessed said individual decide and speak to her about it.

He had nearly forgotten how deeply this would affect Cardin's team.

* * *

If Cardin was on cloud nine when he was made leader of his own team, then he was pretty sure he was on cloud ten when they got back to Beacon.

Steps off of the bullhead and he could already hear Dove and Russel calling his name, all grins as they ran up to him and Sky. Bets part was he was probably one of the members of the group who could grin and cheer back! Walking down the ramp of the Bullhead, Penny in his arms, luggage on his back, and cheering like the girl was.

There was a heck of a lot of confusion about Penny, not that Cardin blamed them too much for it. If he didn't' notice that Penny had a fake leg, then it wasn't on him to blame the rest of the guys for not getting it. Especially when she was still all smiles about being handed off to the Atlas guys for getting a new one. Then again, if anyone could make a convincing fake limb, it'd the experts who built flying stadiums, airships, and nukes. Probably.

Sky and him had spent the next few hours telling Dove and Russell _everything_ that had happened. The messed-up nature about the Monument Mine. How _they_ had figured out the Mine was fake. Finding that fake sword that had come to life. Fighting the freaking _demons_ in the desert. And not to mention how he had come up with a way to use the Schnee's semblance to get a good hit in on it. It was everything he was hoping for and more, and it was all within just a few hours of getting home.

After that it was when the real flurry of activity started, and all of it good.

He'd gotten approval of his exploits from the big man himself, saying he'd make a great leader in the future.

He'd gotten admittance and approval for a new weapon, or at least funds for one, from the bigger Schnee herself.

His team had accommodations and recommendations for his and Sky's exploits in the mine shaft and Nightmare place., from Professor Oobleck of course.

There was a boost to his grades from Professor Goodwitch, for his _team_ , for helping them survive and seal away the monster from before.

It was just going so well, and not just for him!

He had Penny with a new prosthetic leg walking around and cheering for him like the rest of his team, all grins as they recounted that they had all _made it out alive_. That wasn't even to mention that the other Freshman teams were treating him better, probably because he and Arc weren't on that bad of terms anymore. Just better, not bad, definitely not great, but alright, Cardin guessed.

The bomber of JNPR's team, Nora Cardin was pretty sure, just slapped him on the back and called him a great guy for keeping her leader safe. The quieter of the two offered his thanks like some old man, bowing his head and offering tea if he needed. It'd have to be hard scotch if anything, but it was better than before when they would just turn his nose at him. Even the Golden Girl was thankful he was there, and Cardin had to admit he felt a bit of the same.

Sure, it was him and the bigger Schnee that had the bright idea to take out the Nightmare, or at least the idea on how to piss it off, so that counted for a lot. Granted, Arc and the Invincible Girl were the ones to deliver the final blows, with Super Faunus's help, but that was alright by him. They were out of that Nightmare and they were alive. Heck, they were _great!_

He could walk, he could talk, he could cheer, and he didn't' have anyone taking his respect from him anymore. They all knew they had survived because he was there, and that was just _perfect_ for him! Cause Cardin Winchester felt on top of the world! After having probably one of the worst starts to any school years in his life, even when he was back with his old man, he _finally_ had things looking up for him.

That was… until Sky wanted to talk to him, him and the rest of the team. Well… him, the team _and_ Penny. Turns out she was just as confused about it, not that Cardin minded. He was pretty sure what was going on.

When he asked for it, Cardin just figured he wanted to have their own celebration for what happened. Between all the stories, the news, and getting ready for classes _again_ , he figured Sky would want to just have a night in with the team who had helped conquer a freaking Ancient Grimm! Plus, the girl who had helped them out all the way till then. Nothing wrong with that, and it was definitely something Sky would do. Low-energy, low-effort, great results. That was what Cardin was sure would happen.

He was wrong.

"What?" Cardin asked the question again, setting on the edge of his bed. His hands were balled into fists as he sat on the edge of it, probably the only thing keeping him from standing up and over his friend. Up and over Sky, who was standing at the center of the room, arms at his sides, like he was getting ready for the firing range. And with what he just said… it felt like they were on one. "I must be tired still, because I know you didn't say that."

"He has said it three times now, Cardin," Penny corrected. He didn't look at her. He could tell she didn't sound any happier than he did. She sounded like a freaking robot, sitting at his desk chair with hands folded on her lap. "Over the course of one point three six minutes, he has said three times his future action in relation to the team."

"Still… Still could've misheard him." Russel spoke up now. He was glancing between the three of them. "I mean… c'mon Sky, that ain't somethin' you wanna joke about. Saying that kinda stuff after the badass crap you three pulled off is a hell of a bad joke."

"For the last time. I'm not joking." Sky said it again. Cardin still didn't believe it, even if he could hear the crack in his teammates voice. "And do you seriously think this is something I'd joke about? I wouldn't even pull that prank on Arc at the start of the year."

"That's because it was too much work for you," Russel threw out quickly. "All you gotta do for this is just… say some really dumb stuff and get us riled up. And congrats man, it's working!" The mohawk adorned boy threw his arms into the air with the comment. "Now can ya drop the charade, because I want to enjoy the rest of the night. We only got a couple days left 'fore classes start again."

"And I won't be here for them." Russel groaned at the comment, at the same time Cardin sucked in a deep breath of air through his teeth. It was only after he did that, he realized he was grinding them. "I'm… I'm seriously going to be out of here soon, and… and I didn't want tit to be _that_ last minute." Cardin jumped on that.

"That's how we know you're joking man!" He threw out there, waving one of the arms he had freed from the grasp of his bed blankets. He nearly tore a hole in them for the effort. "There's no way Oz and the rest of the teachers would let ya drop us that quickly. There's… there's gotta be a whole procedure ya got to follow and it _has_ to take weeks to do that!"

"Actually, Friend Cardin, the procedure for self-dismissal requires only one week's time, accounting for an average delay of one day's time per signing and approval from necessary administrative members." Penny sounded robotic still, and Cardin was pissed about it. Because her _not_ sounding cheerful, especially compared to the freaking Nightmare place, was something horrible. "It… I have records indicating that the approval of said requests may be expedited following traumatic events."

"Okay, okay, and how long would _that_ take?" Cardin asked her, never taking his eyes off of Sky. He was watching his friend, who just kept himself still as stone in the room, looking like he wanted to lean on something. Cardin swore, if he broke down in a fit of laughter, he'd be _chocking_ on his teeth in the next second. Penny would probably say it was justified as well.

"Shortest time measured for approval of self-dismissal documents is three days," Penny accounted easily, as she did everything else. Cardin took that number and ran with it.

They had been here for only a day, and this was the end of day two. That meant they had another day before Sky even _got_ approval! So, he had to be kidding about it. Cardin felt a relieved grin start to grow across his face, relaxing his jaw.

"I started talking to Dr. Oobleck about it after we got out of the mine." Cardin's tension returned. "I told him about what I did… and what I felt… and I suggested that I leave the team…" Cardin's fists balled again, this time over themselves. No covers to grab, no chair arm to grasp, nothing but his own muscular fists, doing his utmost to not throw them forwards at his teammate, the one making a freaking _horrible_ joke.

But Sky wasn't stopping, and he Cardin still didn't look for a reason to move. He wanted this joke to end, and if he moved to somewhere else and Sky tried to drag it out even _longer_ , he'd be pissed as all hell for it.

"He kept… he kept telling me that I shouldn't put blame for myself on what happened, that… that I was expected to make mistakes in situations like the one we were in. Even though Penny was helping to kill Grimm by the hundreds, you, Cardin, were basically stomping them to death, and even the lovers down the hall were taking them out next to one another, I-I-I just kept screaming and swinging and… and I don't even know the number of times that Specialist and Dr. Oobleck saved me." His hand had moved to his bangs, gripping them tightly. Cardin felt like doing the same, even if he also felt like yelling, loudly, at his dumbass of a teammate.

"You think being scared means you should leave?" Cardin asked, watching Sky. He didn't say anything. "News flash, Sky. I was kicking in Ursa skulls and stomping on Grammite's heads, yeah, but I wasn't exactly laughing about it! I got freaking blown the hell up by one _punch_ from the freaking Nightmare, and Penny had to save my ass from being mauled after that!" He threw his hand out towards the girl sitting in his chair still. She hadn't moved an inch.

"Friend Cardin is correct, Friend Sky," she replied easily again. At least _she_ sounded a bit more hopeful. "Friend Cardin was in duress and I was able to assist him. He also was able to provide comparable aid to me following my inability to recover from the severing of my leg along the diaphysis of my humorous." The same level of detail, but still didn't change the truth of it. "The matter is settled that no one who was present amongst the Nightmare was able to defend themselves by themselves. Even Professor Oobleck and Specialist Winter Schnee needed assistance, as well as Instructor Link." Yeah, yeah! She got it.

"And being scared, Sky?" Cardin started up again, watching his friend carefully, making sure he did _not_ look away. "You think anyone there wasn't scared? We were all terrified, seriously. Heck, you probably got it worst because you freaking _saw_ that thing transform! That would've messed anybody up!" He was even screaming about it before. Heck, the pair of drones or whatever that hung around Link and his friends were dumbstruck by it. "You don't need to use that as an excuse to quiet. Seriously just… just don't joke about stuff like this."

"I'm not joking, Cardin." Sky spoke again, forth time now? Fifth? "I have already submitted my papers, talked to Dr. Oobleck… and to Ozpin." Okay, that last one was new.

"What?" Russel and Dove both questioned behind him, in time with one another. "The hell are you talking about man?" "What's that mean?" Before the spoke up out of sync.

"It means… It means that I was talking to Ozpin about what happened, during the debriefing we were all supposed to do." Oh, was that what me meant? Cardin almost slumped back with relief. And that topic, they had _all_ talked to him and the General of the Atlas Military.

Penny had told them later how it was standard procedure per Beacon guidelines to have all students present or engaging with Ancient Grimm to submit a report of the events leading to its discovery. Something about ensuring that needless harm or danger wasn't put on them, like an idiot throwing dynamite into a Dust Mine. This case, none of tat happened, at least Cardin didn't there was. Just a massive amount of bad luck that led to them ending wit this great day. Or at least, nearly great day.

"When I was talking to him I… I-I told him about wanting to quit." Cardin grit his teeth again. "And he brought up how Dr. Oobleck mentioned that as well but… but kept trying to tell me how thinking twice about what happened was normal. Then the General dude got in there and started saying the same stuff about hunters in the military who needed time off after dangerous hunts and stuff like that." His fingers were threading through his hair now. Cardin hadn't seen him do that since… since the Nightmare. Before that, he couldn't even remember a time well enough.

"To reduce risk of trauma-induced hallucinations or mental stress on the body, hunters are given a mandatory reprieve from physical activity concluding an authorized hunt," Penny spoke up again, and god was Cardin glad she was there. Then again, he only just remembered she used to attend the same school the big guy was in charge of. Guess that explained that tidbit of knowledge at least. "It has… above average results in regards of maintaining mental health and stability of affected individuals."

"Yeah that's… that's what he said, too." Sky added on. Cardin heard him chuckle, and it was _Sky's_ chuckle, that laugh he always did when he was trying to break up the mood. It wasn't working right now, at all. "But I… I-It's supposed to help people who have their job in the military, and… and I'm not a hunter."

"Yet, you're not a hunter yet," Dove finally spoke up, this time without Russel. "That's fine dude. None of us are. Heck, Penny over there can probably put Link through his paces and _she's_ not even a professional hunter. You're not, right?" Cardin had to admit, the question of it was legit.

"No, I am not a professional hunter." Penny responded just as easily, but at least with _some_ chip to her voice. "I have yet to participate or succeed in any qualification activities or procedures. I am currently still enrolled at Beacon Academy for my approval." And the tirade more of information necessary. Cardin let her speak, glad that she was still on their side in this.

"See man? You're thinking too much about it," Dove went on. "You just… you're making a bad joke and if that's you coping, that's cool. We'll just throw you into the bay to cool yer jets and we'll call it even." He laughed at that, pushing Russell who did the same in kind. Cardin grinned as well, feeling a bit of his chest loosen up with it.

Yeah that would be good. Chucking Sky into the water for it would probably be good enough. Heck, the better part of JNPR would probably help when they heard what happened, maybe with Arc handing out some good advice himself. That was realistic at least, seeing as the blonde was basically mental health monthly for the rest of his team. After they did that then-

"He accepted." Cardin's voice caught.

He felt his muscles flex all at once, stilling him like stone and making him glare at his long-blue haired teammate. He was way taller than Sky, at eye level with him when he was sitting down, and he just kept staring. What the hell had he just said?

"Huh?" He finally spoke. He could tell everyone else had the same question. "The hell? Who agreed to what?"

"Me, leaving." Sky began, tapping his chest like _me_ wasn't obvious enough. "Ozpin said he'd understand if I wanted to leave and… and he gave his approval for it. Signed the papers himself, right there." The same hand started waving in the air like he was holding a pen. And… he was grinning?

Cardin blinked, shaking his head for a moment as if something was loose. It felt like it for a moment. Sky was just grinning with a short laugh as he talked about quieting the team, how Ozpin had already accepted him leaving and… and he was still treating it like a joke? Even _now!?_

"Why the _hell would_ you do that?!" Cardin finally roared, standing up and towering over Sky. He was a big guy on an average day, but right now, he felt _furious_. And Sky was dumb enough to keep this joke going for _way_ too long.

Long enough to risk actually staying at Beacon. After they had taken down a freaking _Ancient Grimm!_

"Here we are all celebrating us getting the hell out of there, back and aces high Beacon, _finally_ making some peace with the other teams and even the freaking teachers giving us praises! We got all that and a freaking act _kickass_ moment to brag about with it! Why the _HELL_ would you even _risk_ losing that?!" He was _inches_ away from grabbing the boy. And if he did that, he'd throw him through the door, no problem.

But when Sky Lark looked up at him, his motion stopped.

"Because it was _my fault!_ " Cardin jerked back at Sky's shout. No, not just that, but how he looked.

He was snarling, hair hung over his face, and fists balled up like he was going to throw a punch. He looked as pissed as Cardin felt when ever he lost a fight. But… but he just kept blinking, rubbing his sleeve over his eyes even as he hissed through his teeth. It was only after that he realized how badly Sky was shaking. Bad enough to make him almost look like he was going to vibrate off the floor.

"What… what the hell's your fault?" Russel asked from behind them. Cardin had a pretty good idea, but he doubted it was true.

"It's my fault the freaking Nightmare got out!" Just once, he wanted to be right about something that wasn't going to hurt him. "Its… I'm the one who _fucked up_ and let that thing go crazy in the desert!" Cardin didn't understand.

"I… do not follow, Friend Sky," Penny spoke up. She was _not_ the only one. "What act do you believe you committed that lead to the Nightmare being freed? You were observed to be over 330 meters ahead of the encroached blade, and by the time the desert appeared, we were already separated and the activities of the Nightmare measured. What did you do to bring the conclusion you-"

"Not _that_ early!" He yelled at Penny. Cardin heard his chair squeak as the girl rolled back. He wouldn't call her heavy… "When… when Impa and I were in that freaking tower, I-I-I was being hidden and rolled around by her and the freaking fairy cause there were freaking _monsters_ inside that tower and she didn't want to fight them! Hell, _I didn't either_!" He was pacing as he spoke, legs finally moving as he turned away from them.

Cardin watched him, ready to stop him if he moved towards the door. Until then… he was trying to remember anything terrifying enough that wasn't the Nightmare itself.

"But then she found a door, a _freaking door_ , and I thought _YES!_ Time to run!" He flung his arms with motion with it. "Tael and Impa kept yelling at me to stop a-a-and I didn't listen to them because I wanted out and if I got out I'd be okay but… but I didn't I…" He was taking gulps of breaths now, calming himself down.

Cardin still do anything. He didn't know what to do. Neither did Dove, neither did Russel, and neither did Penny. The one girl he thought would know exactly what to do wasn't saying or doing anything.

"Instead there was just thing… _thing_ up there! I don't even know what it was, I didn't know it was the Nightmare until it started _talking_ to me, and _laughing_ at Impa!" He was shaking, Cardin realized. He was, too. "I didn't… I-I-It turned into Ganondorf like a minute later… all because _I_ ran up there and made Impa run after me! If we hadn't done that… If I hadn't done that… none of this would have happened."

He was dropping off, his arms falling down. Cardin thought he'd fall to the ground for a second, only to realize that him, himself, was already sitting back down on the bed. He knew that Impa and Sky had found the Nightmare but… but he didn't know what. Was it Sky's fault? Did that really happen? It just… He didn't know.

"Your conclusion is invalid, Friend Sky." All eyes whipped to Penny as she spoke. "Your belief that your quick decision to leave the formed tower lead to the creation of the Nightmare is an invalid conclusion given the known variables around you."

"Oh yeah?" Sky asked. And for the for the first time, Cardin hated how dismissive he sounded. "You gonna tell me you were there? Had a camera on me and watched the whole thing?"

"Negative. I am only aware that the UTS Ganondorf was formed from Impa's memories, not your own." Well, yeah, Cardin got that. "Further, the being was already 'awoken' by evidence that the desert landscape and tower were both simulated structures from memory blocks of Impa's mind. They were generated before your established contact with the UTS, thus, guaranteeing that you were not at fault for it." Okay, _that_ made sense!

"See? She's right Sky!" Russel added on. "You're not at fault for that, you just saw it first is all! There's no way that you woke it up, not with how slow and lazy you are. Ha ha, I mean… you wouldn't even wake up Cardin in the mornings, let alone some Grimm that-"

"It doesn't matter." Sky kept going on, and Cardin just waited.

"Huh? What doesn't?"

"It… It doesn't matter even if what you're saying is true." Sky looked at Penny as she spoke. Hew as slouched over and looked _so tired_. Cardin though that it was because they just kept getting good news after good news. But now… he knew better. "Because I… I-I still don't want to be a hunter anymore. That hasn't changed."

"Why not? Has the new information not relieved you of a guilty conscience? Is there something else that gives you hesitation?" Penny questioned further. "Do you need further information to show that you are-"

"It's not about that anymore." Sky spoke up louder. "You, and you," he pointed at Penny, then Cardin. "And the rest of them," his hand waved in the air. "You guys all wanted to fight because you had to. Me? I wanted to _run_ , because I wanted to. Even if… I freaking _knew_ there was no where to run to, but I still wanted to _run_ , just because I thought it would be easier. And because of that, the rest of you were almost… You lost a leg Penny, and Cardin, you got your Aura blown in like a freaking _Mech_ hit it!"

Cardin raised his hand to his chest plate, feeling where he was struck before. That was probably a bad sign in retrospect, seeing as Sky saw it as well.

"And _that!_ That's evidence enough that I shouldn't be here… not when the rest of you at least _will_ fight when you have to. What kind of hunter runs from a fight?" Cardin didn't have an answer. Neither did anyone else. "None. So… so instead of risking being the freaking reason a mission goes _wrong_ later I'll, I'll leave now. I'm _not_ proud of it but… but I thought about for so long and… and I realize that this is probably the best thing to do. 'Specially for you guys." Now that was too far.

"Us?" Cardin asked " _US?!_ " He yelled again. "You've been with us since day one! We've trained in the gym and fought off as many Grimm as anyone else here. _Hell!_ Probably more after this whole adventure of ours! Now you're gonna run off and you're sayin' its supposed to help us?! How do you figure that?!" He didn't care that he was yelling anymore.

"Because… you're getting a better teammate to replace me." Cardin had no idea what he was talking about, at first.

Not until he watched Sky look away from him, past Russel and Dove, and towards the only other member in the room.

Not until he raised his hand to indicator her, waiting for everyone else to put eyes on her.

Not until she was staring at him, and Penny Polendina wore her own expression of unabashed horror and confusion. Hers was just a slightly open jaw, wide eyes, and a stillness robot couldn't fake. Cardin… he felt like his jaw was on the floor.

"Wait, what?" Sky looked at him, Cardin only returning the look of confusion, matched by Penny. And the blue haired bastard only grinned.

"Yeah… Oz at least told me who'd replace me." And he looked away from Cardin, and back down at Penny, the girl looking back up at him with green eyes. Her red hair didn't wave as she looked between him and Sky, probably trying to figure out what was going on. Cardin didn't have any more answers than she did, for once. "Least you got good company this time."

_BLUMF!_

Sky reeled back as a pillow hit him square in the face.

"You son of a bitch!" Russel yelled out, already jumping forward with another one in hand. "You knew we were gonna get a hot chick on our team instead of you and you were hiding it for this long!" _That's_ what he was screaming about!

"A hot chick?" Penny asked, watching as Russel ran towards Sky. Then she stepped out of the way.

_Slam!_

As the smaller boy tackled him the floor. Cardin watched as Dove dog piled after him.

"You freaking _schooled us!_ And you're gonna put her in your team to replace you!" Dove was yelling now. It was only matched by him putting Sky's head into a lock around her arm. "I bet ten Lien you were gonna say that on your way outta the door to just give us a heart attack!"

"No way, he'd _call us when he was safe!_ " Russel almost yelled back, but he was too busy holding down one of Sky's hands. "I bet this bastard was gonna go off and get a party started before he called us to let us know _that_ little fact! _Then_ he'd party it up and show us just what we _couldn't do anymore!_ "

" _Dammit! You're probably right!_ " Dove was yelling back positive, tightening his grip. Sky's face was turning red beneath his blue hair. "Screw being juvenile, get out the markers! If we can't carve his face, we'll draw on it! Make sure it's an Expo!"

" _YES!_ Right across his forehead!" Russel laughed with his words. "You get the markers Cardin! We'll hold him down." He was involved now… well, he guessed he was.

Cardin looked up at Penny, the girl, his… his teammate? She was looking back at him, no surer than he was about it. She was pointing at herself, tilting her head even as the trio of her friends wrestled on the ground, profanities abound. It wasn't perfect, but it gave him an idea.

"Hey Penny," he started, making sure she was looking at him before pointing at Sky. "See that? This is a hazing. You gotta mark up a teammate who's leaving, so they don't forget it later." He watched Sky practically _bounce_ across the floor as he tried to escape now. "And since you're the newest member of the team, apparently, you get first dibs to right on him."

Cardin watched as the girl's eyes lit up, after watching the gears turn behind them. And for a moment, he honestly thought they really were gears, until she looked up with a bright cheerful expression. The kind of look she had _before_ this whole conversation started and she lost her leg. Now instead, she was standing in their room, _her_ new room, getting read to mark up Sky, his _old_ teammate.

Honestly, he had a good feeling things would work out

They had so far.

* * *

"Sky Lark has no mind for changing his opinion?" General Ironwood questioned. It took Link a solid moment to realize the question was not directed at Glynda or the Headmaster, but himself. "I haven't heard of any insubordination or unreasonable actions on his part. Rather, though clearly acting out of panic, I have not seen anything unreasonable or undue given the circumstances."

"We don't either, he's got his mind made up." Tatl, thankfully, spoke up for Link, ringing lightly for attention. Her golden light bobbed through the air, dropping her dust as she did so. "Trust me, even if he did a whole lot more screaming than the average soul on that round-house trip, he at least had somethin' to contribute, not to mention he'd probably be one of the best guys to bring along with you for any more dungeon diving."

"The Sky Box was pretty cool…" Tael commented lightly aside Link, who nodded in kind with the fairy. They did not interrupt Tatl though, both knowing the elder fairy wouldn't take kindly to it.

"It is unfortunate that Sky Lark chooses to end his huntsman training so early, but it is his decision to do so," Ozpin added on, hands folded over the head of his cane. "I will not speak ill of someone's decision for their own future, though I do feel troubled he had decided such without consulting his friends."

"Indeed, a troubling situation," the General agreed. "However, unlike a commander or chief, he does have the luxury to act without the fear of directly affecting others. Rather than that, I feel that he has made his decision solely to protect his former teammates. It was clear from Specialist Schnee that he felt an immense sense of guilt for exacerbating the situation with the Nightmare."

"He didn't though," Tael spoke up now, over the General and his sister. "AT least… I-I don't think the Nightmare would have taken long to come out. H-He just… he just ran into it is all. Not like it wouldn't have shown up either way."

"Night Light ain't wrong there." Night Light? Unlike Tatl, the nicknames the drunkard was throwing around were appearing to be without thought. Or merely insulting for insulting's sake. "Given how many of ya were fighting those Grimm in the desert or whatever, and with a bunch of kids to take care of, someone that strong was bound to show up, 'specially if it was ta blame for the whole thing. Like tellin' a dog ta stay when ya put a treat in front of it, last fer all of five seconds."

"Five seconds that the boy blames himself for," Ozpin clarified. "And though I agree he has little fault in the matter, I cannot tell him he is forced to stay here. This is hardly a prison let alone a required field of service." Link watched the headmaster bow his head, alabaster hair falling over the lavender tint of his glasses, hiding his eyes from view. "It is a privilege to join any Huntsman Academy, and it is therefore one's choice for how long they wish to stay. If the guilt of the situation, or the terror it rang, were to great for Sky Lark to bear, then it is his choice whether he leaves or stays. We can offer only advice the matter, whether he chooses to accept it or not."

"Still a shame I bet," the drunkard kept talking. Link watched him pat himself down, as if unsure if he had truly been deprived of his alcohol. For not the first time, he was thankful for his inability to handle the foul liquid… no matter the jokes The Gerudo threw at him for it. "Having ta lose a friend so early in the year, even if they're still walkin' 'round. Gonna have ta give his team somethin' new to work with, and I don't just mean that special little girl you call a robot."

Link knew what Qrow was referring to, though their terms for the false lifeform were different. Tatl had clarified it was what Penny was referred to by both Winter and Oobleck. A robot, android, autonomous synthetic life, or the simpler term of golem. They all applied to the same girl who so frequently put herself at risk for the team's leader, so often trailed behind him, and never lacked a smile as she spoke to others.

"Course, that's gonna only happen if she's a student here, am I right?" Qrow spoke on, grinning as she let his arms droop. No drinks to be found, to Link's slight thanks. "And it ain't like yer gonna just let that golden goose of Zepp go. Not when Ozzy's already got the Super Faunus over here." And the thanks was replaced with a low sigh.

"Yeah, _super_ Faunus," Tatl started out, Link already hearing the hum of her ring starting to grow. "As in he'd kick your drunk, pale, and sorry ass out the window and into the ocean without a freaking _grunt_ of effort! Now try saying again that anyone's got him!" He let his friend bouncing and ring into the air, making his own ears twitch. He didn't blame her, and neither did her brother give a low moan of discomfort.

"That was rude of you to say Qrow," Ozpin reprimanded in kind. "The inference that Link is anything but a fellow hunter hoping to train the students of academy, while looking for his lost friend in his strange new land." His hand was held out as he spoke, offering Link the bridge of agreement. He nodded in kind, hat bouncing as he did so. The Headmaster of Beacon was correct, after all. "Further, Penny Polendina is officially a student of Beacon Academy, following her dismissal from Atlas with her involvement stealing Military Equipment against Council orders."

"Huh? You're serious?" Qrow looked between Ozpin and the General with the question, standing a bit straight and slack face gaining some rigidity with the sharing of information. Link thought he was already aware, but was rather pleased to see the look of surprise on the otherwise disrespectful man's face. Perhaps it was because he was relaxing in a comfortable chair as he watched it. "That girl's a student here? Cause she… went against you?" He pointed at the taller General with the question.

"On official records, Penny Polendina acted against my orders and I dismissed her from Atlas Academy for insubordination." All the while he spoke, the taller man never lost his grin. "I then gave my recommendation of her to Ozpin for consideration, who was kind enough to not allow her a place to stay while her application was processed."

Link watched Qrow process the information, Tatl ringing by his head as she did the same. It was only too obvious she was laughing at his expression, no more pleased with the man than he was. Tael only sat on his shoulder as he watched as well.

"Huh, never wouldda thought somethin' like that would've happened," he let out the low admittance, scratching the back of his head. "Guess that 'splains' why she's gonna be the new member of that kid's team, am I right?" Of that, Link was thankful he was.

"Though there will be a required alteration to team CRDL's official name and sheet, Penny Polendina is expected to replace Sky Lark by next weeks' time. We are expecting little hesitation for her agreement and layover with acclimation." Glynda explained, eyes never leaving her pad as she did so. Link understood that only because Glynda had explained it before.

There wouldn't be a lot of time between Sky leaving and Penny joining because she was already so close to the team, and still without one of her own. Their name would have to change tough, but that was beyond him.

"Those matters settled, I do want to return to you Link." Ozpin's interjection brought eyes back to the Hylian, who didn't need to readjust his already straight posture. "Rather two subjects. First and foremost, my apologies to you." Apologies?

"Because we didn't find Navi." Tael's short explanation, listed with a somber ring, brought Linkback almost immediately.

"Indeed," the Headmaster agreed. "I understand that you, Dr. Oobleck, and the others were excited to find your friend, only to find a horror lurking in wait. Though you handled the situation admirably by all considerations, I do give you my condolences that your friend was not present. I hope this has not disheartened you in anyway."

"It ain't good, if that's what you're asking," Tatl took over for her brother. "Cause we were all looking forward to seeing her, especially after the years since she left Link and all. Sucks that she wasn't there at all, even a scrape of her." It had been some time, and the Hero shut his eyes as he recalled the last time he saw her.

Flying away in the Temple of Time, her promise to eh Great Deku Tree finished, the task sent by the goddesses done… and her need to continue on to a new journey and adventure, the same as him.

"That said, it's gonna take a lot more than just 'she isn't here' to seriously affect this guy." This guy, apparently, was Link himself. Indicated by the fairy landing on the brim of his hat, momentarily blinding him as her bright illumination shined into his eyes, matched only by the beating of her wings. "Just cause she wasn't there the first time doesn't mean she ain't around, just not there. Not like we found a body or anything, just not what we were expecting." For that, Link was _immensely_ grateful.

"Talk about Ms. Positivity," Qrow let out another odd nickname for Tatl. "Gotta love someone who's always willing to look for the bright side of things. Helps that you glow in the dark, I bet." His chuckling was unappreciated as ever. Almost as much as the almost deafening ring Tatl let out, grating mainly due to her _very_ close proximity to Link's head. "Still sucks about your friend though, and I'm sorry to hear that, too."

"Please don't be insulting about this, Qrow," Glynda spoke Link's thoughts almost verbatim. Her eyes shut for a moment, but without looking at the drunkard in the room. "If anyone can understand the difficulty of this, it's you."

"I am being serious here. This ain't something I'd joke 'bout." The man scratched his head again, before looking at Link from his corner of the room. "Really sucks looking for someone and not being able to find them. I know all about it. The fact that you still wanna do it, hey, hats off to you, if you want." His poked the top of his head as he did so, the meaning clear to Link. "But hey, I hope you find that fluttery friend of yours, okay?" He shrugged as he finished.

Link watched him lean back into the wall, head rolling as if to straighten his own thoughts. The silence that followed was just as telling, clearly not a thin that the man usually did.

"Surprises aside, I am happy to hear that you are not disheartened buy the turn of events, Link," Ozpin spoke up. "Dr. Oobleck has only considered this a minor setback at best, working just as tirelessly as before for any other information regarding your friend. I will amend that he has also dedicated much research into the nature of this Nightmare, namely its ability to possess and construct memories of those near it." That Link could understand.

There were many wise men in Hyrule much like the man, though perhaps not as solely dedicated as he. He did have a sense of purpose that almost ran parallel with knowledge and its capture. Knowledge of any kind that was, as was told to him by Tatl and Tael. Just as interested in the mating habits of the Zora as the ancient tales of dragons forged in Death Mountain's fire. He admittedly laughed at his more vocal companion's comfort. It was a rare thing to see, while she couldn't fling insults for it.

"That crazy bastard will definitely find something," Qrow remarked again. "Doesn't' matter if it's a fairy in the woods or a demon at the end of the world, he'll find it. That, or he just won't know how to shut up about it." Insulting as the terms were, Link couldn't disagree. At least, he hoped the man was right about the former portion.

He did want to see Navi again.

"I believe that settles most matters though," the General spoke up. "All testimonies of the event regarding the Nightmare are aligned, within reason, and the beast is currently being dealt with, in addition to any harm or loss of equipment accounted for."

"All forms of injury, none of which is ranked as detrimental or debilitating, have been logged and monitored by medical staff. All agree that Aura supplemented with low energy activities and stress will lead to a full recovery for all involved." Glynda spoke from her pad, eyes downward still. Link did like the sound of it.

"So that's it, huh?" Tatl spoke next. "Monster dealt with, heroes victorious, and rebuilding starts, right?" Tough there wasn't much to rebuild, Link understood what she meant. From the sure nod of Ozpin, he did as well.

"The matter of the Nightmare will be put aside, catalogued as a temporary end. Updates will be given on the state of the cell its being kept in as well as team CRDL, following the inclusion of Penny Polendina and removal of Sky Lark." It was a simple summary, but one Link was glad to hear. "As all other considerations and consequences of the event have been dealt with, we can consider this matter closed and meeting adjourned." Ozpin spoke with a finality. Link had no argument for it.

"Awesome, sweet, does that mean we can go?" Link rolled his head down to hide his smile. Of course, Tatl wanted to leave, rather hating enclosed areas. "Lot to catch up on, and I just know that the kids with Little Red are going to want Link's help with those things they got." Link knew that was just as true. The only oddity was that she usually didn't like working with others, at least individuals like the people present. A shame, too, because Link did like the chair.

"Of course," Headmaster Ozpin spoke with a grin of his own, standing as he did so. Almost regrettably, Link did the same. He missed the comfort of the soft cushions of the chair almost immediately. "I applaud you again for a job well done Link. Please feel free to enjoy the weekend before classes begin." He did have to do that as well, though with time to rest. Instead of the chair, his bed would suffice. They did feel almost the same.

Link nodded before turning away from the quartet of individuals, all offering their own gestures of farewell. Tatl and Tael rang above his head as he turned back towards the exit, the metallic doors sliding as he approached. The doors shut as he stepped onto it, boots clicking under him. He turned back, facing the interior of the Headmaster's office to see all present, except Glynda, watching him go. The doors shut a moment later.

Link's face dropped in kind.

The first to leave, despite being the only one sitting. The last spoken to, despite the monster having been focused on him. The one lead in the discussion, despite being asked the questions. It had all the hallmarks of an interrogation, one that Impa had performed on him, and the many that he had observed with her.

A slow sigh past his lips, almost in time with the elevator's quick descent downward. Even now, like the first time he had road in the strange object up to the high tower, he could sense the tubular structure's home, feeling its descent downward whishing past him at speeds almost comparable to free fall. It gave him pause the first time he road it, but now only a slight discomfort. It was the same as many tools in the temples of Hyrule, though far more efficient and far faster.

Fast enough that he almost missed the empty chamber that lay far beneath the tube of the elevator, the same mention of it that had made Ozpin shirk with surprise. The oddity of the design, only given more questions by the individuals present for his interrogation.

A General to an army that wasn't Ozpin's and apparently not even loyal to Vale. A drunkard that knew slightly more and slightly less than expected for the meeting, both of whom spoke freely and questioned just as much the events of the Monument Mine. It was a terribly odd thing to put together, further mystified by their purpose.

"It wasn't just me, that was weird, right?" Tatl asked above him. Link nodded to the fairy's words. "That drunk kept asking dumb questions and saying stupid stuff… and they just shook their heads at him. Why weren't they beating him into the ground for that kind of stuff?!" Though the reaction may have been extreme, he knew where she was coming from.

More than once, Impa and Nabooru had disciplined their own subordinates for disrespectful actions, often in front of others. It was the fastest way to ensure that their leadership was not questioned, while demonstrating their strength. Yet, for Qrow, a man who was apparently related to both Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long, oddly, he had such an odd reaction from both the Headmaster and General, two men who should have put him down when his banter grew too loud.

It was all so odd to Link… and it didn't even strike at a concern he did not voice. He did not speak of it, and neither did Tatl or Tael, though he knew how much it was bothering them. It bothered them as much as it did him, perhaps even more.

Because he could understand curiosity, but not willing ignorance.

"They didn't talk about it, did they?" Tatl rang the question lowly, almost mistaken and missed over the hum of the elevator they were in. But Link had the ears of a wolf, and he did not. He only shook his head in response. "I didn't pass out and miss it, did I?" Link shook his head again.

"Why didn't they talk about it?" Tael asked next. "It was… I-I didn't expect to see her again… not with Link still here…" And neither did Link to be fair to the pair of fairies.

His hand raised and patted the lapel of his tunic, feeling the hard hell of the masks that were contained beneath it. The mismatch of space and oddity of magic that perplexed the Gerudo of this 'Remnant' land, but holding more than merely scraps of wood, painted and colored. Holding instead the memories of his friends and comrades alike.

Inside was the mask of the Gerudo Chief who had died to save her village, the Goron Hero who'd done much the same. The Zora musician wanting to protect his family and the Queen of the Watarara desiring peace for her son. A Shiekah Chieftain loyal to her duties and a Hylian Ranch hand much the same for his. A witch made of stone who loved her sister and a lost soul who had loved what he lost. Then there was the sage of the forest that had raised him, caring for him as he had been left by his dying mother and guarded from the encroaching darkness.

Saria of the Kokiri, his only friend growing up and sole protector of his early life. And he hadn't even realized she was gone.

* * *

Ozpin watched the lights on the elevator tick away, noting the departure of Link and his fairy companions. With the ring and chime of his friends gone, and his usual placid silence no longer present, the air of tension returned to the room, vacant when there were brash and curious voices to fill it. Now there were no longer questions to ask, only observations to make. And he was cornered by three of the most observant individuals he had ever met.

"He never mentioned it, did he?" Qrow began. The stupor of his intoxication either gone or well-acted. "Can't tell if that's a good thing or not, brushin' off something like without much of a care."

"Lack of care is hardly how I would describe it," James countered. "Rather, I feel that he was burying it away. Far from traumatic, I am sure, something he holds fondly. However, how do you talk about meeting a long dead friend, whose memories you hold dear, only to realize they are gone when they are standing right in front of you." Ozpin nodded at the observations. They were kind and true.

"You mean he was just acting?" Qrow turned back. "Naw, not acting… you think he didn't want to bring it up 'cause he was embarrassed about it? I may not know that guy well, but I find it hard ta believe he'd brush somethin' like meeting his dead friend under the rug. Especially when you consider that he had his friends to worry about." Another fine observation.

"Excluding Link, neither Tatl or Tael spoke of the appearance of Saria upon their return from Monument Mine," Glynda confirmed. Ozpin watched her tap through the Scroll she had, her eyes never rising. It was a trait of her he envied, such hardened focused. How easy it was to distract himself with life instead of curious about the impending death. "Her name was not spoken once this meeting, her last mention being the day before. That is measured to be eighteen hours following Link's return from Monument Mine." The time made sense to Ozpin.

"You think it's got anything to do with how she wasn't the first thing he saw getting' back here?" Qrow's quandary was well asked. "Ain't like we were distracting him with anything more important. Least I can't think of anything more important than a long dead friend walking out in front of me."

"You've made that point already," Ozpin lightly reprimanded, fingers threaded over the crux of his cane. "And I assure you that I am well aware of the chance he is disheartened by our choice in the matter." Though in fairness, it was hardly their choice. It was his alone. Perhaps one they agreed with, but one that he had decided and made action to follow through with.

By choice of his own, and with a bit of deception with the young, appearing at least, Maiden, he had hidden both her and Link from one another.

They did not meet one another until the day after Link had returned from Monument Mine, both him and the rest of his part.

"Can't say I blame him if he is," the more mischievous member of his inner circle spoke on. "He's got a habit for keepin' quiet if you catch my drift. Can't think of somethin' like this bein' the best thing to get him to open up." Qrow fashioned his hands together, his palms widening and closing against one another in some poor mockery of a mouth. It was not difficult to see his meaning.

"There I disagree, at least with the mentality that Link would remain silent under such circumstances." Ozpin turned eyes to James, watching as the larger man took long strides forwards. "Perhaps I have been reading his personal files incorrectly, but it sounds that including both Tatl and Tael as a unit with Link is not an undue assumption, correct?" That was hardly a conclusion.

"They are frequently in company with him, yes," Ozpin agreed. At the very least one of the sibling's fairies often was by Link's side. "Is there something to that assumption, James?"

"Only the observation that Tatl appears to be quiet vocal in place of Link, often making very verbose and public announcement." Ah, Ozpin nodded his head. He was understanding where his friend was directing the tale now. "And considering how she was able to put forward said deals and tricks, with your aid I will admit, to allow Link a seat as a professor here, I can only imagine that her saying _nothing_ is not a sign of her disappointment or duress, but forced calm."

The idea made sense, almost too much sense, for Ozpin to ignore. The idea of Link, a Faunus who had seemingly appeared from nowhere, sporting the name of a land no explorer listed, but demonstrating grand skills, impressive weapons, and untold powers, not being more vocal about a trick was odd. Him holding back to maintain an aura of either secrecy, superiority… or the card of a favor was far more likely.

And with the hands they had, the latter was very much apparent. Placing blame at Ozpin's feet for not only failing to mention the exposure of Saria, but hiding her from him.

"Calm as they are, can ya really say it's all on us? Wouldn't half of that at least be on the Super Faunus?" Qrow waved his hand with the comment, far from a dismissal of the conversation, Ozpin was aware. "Can't forget that _he_ forgot. Sure, we sharked 'em so you could talk to the girl and Link could get his twenty winks with the rest of the scouts, but that ain't really the same as forgetting a friend ya thought you had." Qrow also had a fair point.

"You believe it is guilt then?" Ozpin questioned his long-time student, now full-time confidant. "That he avoided the conversation out of self-inflicted guilt?"

"After spendin' my time with a brother-in-law who blames himself for my sis runnin' out and havin ta take care of the kids of the other teammate who died? Yeah, I think he did." Qrow spun on his boot, facing the window again. Ozpin had no need to ask who he was referring to, or why. "Things like that people wanna avoid talking about. This ain't some space age game where every one wants ta mention their deepest darkest to ya Oz. People got secrets, those bein' how they're feeling. And that kind of stuff they wanna keep under wraps."

Ozpin nodded, head dipping to his cane as he did so, stopping only when his forehead was resting on it. Guilt and silence. Yes… he could understand that. But there was something missing. Something different.

"I believe Qrow raises a valid point as well," James agreed. To Ozpin it was sure enough as a secure agreement of the gods. "If I use the military as an example here, there are many men who are forced to take reprieve from duty or work so that they can speak to counselors, after they have lost teammates or squad mates to active duties or hunts. It often takes many weeks, if not months, for them to being to willingly speak."

"Yes, yes, I understand," Ozpin spoke up now, foot tapping the glass floor lightly, staring at the gears that ticked away beneath him. "But my concern is that those are involving examples of the deceased or lost that have _stayed_ such. How many of us have had to deal, or endure, the idea of someone standing before you, speaking to you, whilst _knowing_ they are dead?"

The question brought the response he expected, silence.

Even Glynda stopped tapping across her scroll long enough to glance at him, a look he was not fortuned to receive. Her hard eyes always promised focus and determination for her work, coupled only by the matched belief they were doing just for the world. But now, they should pity, empathy, the yearning emotion that wished to give what could not be offered.

It was a deplorable sight, and one Ozpin had to shirk away from, glancing back down at his emerald shoes. He had to, because he knew he had much the same expression upon his own visage, as did Qrow and James. They must have, because they would not look anywhere towards another. Either head leaning back as if in thought or out the window with the perchance to observe something special, but knowing nothing was there.

Ozpin instead stared down, lightly shutting his eyes as he remembered it all. Remembered all that happened the day before as he led Link back from his room, pleased to see that he was doing well and hearing that both Tatl and Tael were still resting. He knew during his conversation, carried by the microphone extensions Dr. Zepp had developed for James, that there would be much learned to benefit the future knowledge of Link.

Knowing that his fairy companions slept long, though rarely. Knowing that he preferred a bed, but enjoyed resting anywhere. Hearing that his students had performed beyond his expectations, and had saved his life. Hearing of how DR. Oobleck had learned much, and Ozpin himself knowing such information would be given back to him in kind.

Ozpin listened as _Link and he walked down the halls towards the meeting place he had decided. The Faunus did not know what was happening, assuming only that Ozpin wished to show him something that had occurred over his time gone. He would not be wrong, but he could not imagine how damning it would be, and damning it would._

_For though he listened to Link speak of the enjoyable moments with Jaune Arc, Penny Polendina, Cardin Winchester, Pyrrha Nikos, Sky Lark, Dr. Oobleck, and Winter Schnee, Ozpin had his mind on the girl they were going to meet. The Maiden who appeared younger than any individual named, but far older than all of them combined._

_Ozpin remembered the conversations she had wit the Maiden, back and forth questions with the goal of reaching a conclusion, and so rarely one he could look upon without a deeper understanding. And yet, none of them explaining who Link was. He knew it was not an act done out of convenience, but the same careful chess play he had come to expect of the young Maiden._

_The ability to turn the questions that appeared so innocent into quandaries of the greater purpose of his tower. Wonders of the Emerald Forests and its depth, leading to notes of the lost civilizations hidden within. And the same in kind from him to her, but never as satisfying._

_Learning of the depth of the Lost Woods and its storied past, built of temples and ruins, but never of its true age or origin to the Kokiri or her people. Learning of the nearly medieval world of Hyrule built of stone and granite, but never of the ruling parties or members, let alone their military structure beyond the knights above, squires beneath, and member states below all. Ozpin had learned and recorded all of it, knowing they were thanks Bartholomew would value to have, and Link was born from._

_But now he was leading Link to the reintroduction of his friend, and Ozpin wondered, deep within himself what this encounter would do to him. A man, a Faunus, that had bared against a terrible evil born of horrid memories, and yet was now being led to the witness of one of his own. It was not something that Ozpin was kind to do, but he knew the necessary difference needed and wanted._

_Grasping the handle of the door, he did not want to open it for Link. But the necessity to show him his long past friend made him do so. He did not want to watch the look of fasciation turn to horror upon the Hero's face, but necessity made him do so._

_He did not want to look towards Saria, the Maiden of Spring, the Sage of the Forest, looking back at Link with an expression of regret and melancholy, but necessity made him do so. He did not want to stay silent and let the situation play out, letting terrors and horrors lurk in their thoughts, but necessity made him do so._

_Ozpin did not want to stand still and stare as Link took trepidatious steps forward, towards the same Maiden who did so in kind to him, but necessity made him do so._

_Because Ozpin knew it was necessary to see how Link would react, and for him to know of Moraine's horrendous, though naïve thought-out, crime._

_Ozpin stood by the door as Link walked past him, hands stiff on his cane as he watched the strong and able man nearly drag his feet forward. His arms were stiff at his side, a far off anteposition to Saria, who appeared to resemble a breeze now far more than a tree, ready to disappear with a harsh breath. He watched, silent as he could be._

_Link stopped when he was feet away from his old friend, towering over her and she looking up at him. There still didn't appear to be any discomfort between the jarring difference in height, knowing who was the parent and child in their odd, yet tragic, relationship. The tranquil smile the young Maiden offered Link, looking up with her emerald hair tilted slightly back, the wolf ears atop her head bowing with the action, was as comforting as it was disconcerting._

_"Hello Link," Saria finally spoke. It was only as loud as a breath of air, but in the silence of the room, it may as well have been a shout to Ozpin. "It is… good to see you again. See you, instead of rather hear you." Already a questioned of Ozpin's was answered, but he made only a dash of a note of it. That the masks could remember the details of when Link wore them. The memories were not still captures of time._

_But Ozpin hardly kept his focus on the thought, watching as Link patted down his tunic. It took him a moment to realize why. Saria was waving her head, likely already aware of the reason herself._

_"It is me, Link, I promise." She spoke again. "Moraine… young fragile child that she is, stole me from you when you leaned down to embrace her." Ozpin couldn't see Link's face anymore. He did not want to move to gain a better look. It would be terribly rude, and immensely obvious. "Do not blame her too much, for I was able to speak to Ozpin and the young RWBY team while you were gone. And… I am alright now." As alright as she could be._

_Link kneeled down in front of her, perhaps out of the inane fear that this was indeed a dream. Given the horrors he had just lived through the day prior with the others, however, Ozpin could give him some credit. This was, after all, believed to be impossible._

_"Do not worry. I haven't spoken of much regarding you. I know you value your secrets, as I am the sage of the Forest. I cannot be permitted to lose track of the important bends and twists in woods." Her giggle was soft and gentle, bellying the unease in the room. Ozpin took in a breath of air, slowly, trying to keep himself from making a noise. This was a reunion, not an interrogation. Any information he overheard, however, was just that, merely happenstance._

_Link whispered something then, something so quiet that Ozpin could hardly hear him even with the cochlear enhancer that James gave him. He bit his tongue to keep himself from clicking it. He could hear Link normally, but when the already quiet man whispered even lower, and from a distance of likely half his office, then it was impossible to hear him well. A shame._

_"We spoke of my home, and your home, and the land of Hyrule," Saria answered. The question Link asked was obvious now. "Of the ruins that you and I found in the Sacred Meadow, leading him to guess of where the Gerudo lay, of the scope of Hyrule Field, and the brilliant difference between the night and day. It was all important to tell, and important for them to be led to. You can't describe beauty anymore than you can tell a lesson, you know that Link? How many times have I forced you go searching for your own answers?"_

_She giggled at her question again, lithe hand reaching out and lightly poking the kneeling faunus's chest. He moved back slightly with the touch, but nothing more than that. The small cheer that Saria had on her face was slowly melted as her laughter was shared alone._

_"I always know what you're thinking, Link." Ozpin knew her Semblance could not be telepathy. It had no bearing on being a member of the forest. "I raised you and I cared for you, so you can hardly hide what you are feeling from me, let alone thinking." Ah, that made sense then. "Knowing this, I ask you. Are you thinking of the first time you left me… or the last?"_

_Her emerald eyes were soft with the question, and asking for nothing more than an answer. Link must have offered one, but again with a lower voice than normal. Or perhaps he was facing away with his shoulders slumped and back bent. Or, perhaps, he merely knew Ozpin was listening and didn't want to be heard. The outcome did not change._

_"I see… you know I do not blame you for either. At once, you were asked to save the land from a great evil, and I was the one to say your farewell." Was that it now? Truly her story lined up well with that of Tatl's far earlier, weeks ago now. "And for the latter… though I did see you nurture from sapling in the ground to an Ent walking the land, I could hardly be anything more than that. You leaving was not only necessary, but foregone." That, Ozpin could realize as well._

_Perhaps not so nearly as extreme, hardly as damning or sorrowful, not nearly as permanent, but all children eventually left the flock of their home. All moved away or at least changes homes. It made sense Link would do so as well… and he could guess just what an Ent was against the metaphor of a sapling._

_"And do not forget, Link," Saria wagged her finger, so much like Ozpin was sure a mother would to a child. "Do you think I would have been pleased if you stayed with me instead? If you remained in the woods rather than left for your true home?" That was a question much like the Maiden's previous one, Ozpin noted._

_And Link responded again, likely used to the questions she gave. The grin she sported, after hearing his near silent answer, was enough to show she expected his conclusion as well, whatever that may be._

_"I am glad to hear it," The Maiden spoke. "As I am sure many others would be as well. You were able to help many others because you left the forest, far more than if you stayed. You do realize that, do you not? You knew where happiness was to be found, if you were to live your life to its fullest?" Another question from the Maiden._

_This time, however, Ozpin watched as Link's calm answer, still soft and unheard, made the elder spirit from. Though he was old himself, he could not help but think that the frown on the child's face did not suit the Maiden. She already appeared so much like a forest fae, that a frown only tarnished her image._

_"That is true… and I understand that pain." She didn't speak for a short moment afterwards, Ozpin noted. "I understand that lose, even if I need centuries to experience it as much as you have in a few years. But I do understand."_

_Instead of speaking further, she reached out with her small petite hands, lightly cupping Link's face. She brought it up, lifting the faunus's eyes until they were level with hers. The wolfine ears atop her head, the only proof now that Moraine was the true holder of Saria's memories, bobbed lightly with her speech. Nothing else moved._

_"Do you have any decision that you would change, Link?"_

_The question was an ominous one, and one that Ozpin almost desperately wanted to hear the reason for asking it. Whatever answer Link gave prior to bolster such a query was one he wanted to hear, because that was a question elders often asked the younger kin. To hear it for Link, a Faunus that had already done much, earning both praise and spite for it, Ozpin knew it would have been a confession of sorts. He was miffed the earphone lacked the power or sensitivity._

_"Is there a moment you believe you should have chosen otherwise?" The question changed only in words, not meaning. "Is there a moment you believe you made the wrong decision? A time were both options presented to you looked appealing, and you chose the lesser of the two? Was there every a time where you thought your actions were better suited somewhere else than the path you chose?"_

_Ozpin_ strained _to hear, listening with all the intensity that he could without walking forward. Shutting his eyes, flexing his muscles, focusing his mind to a sensitive enough state to possibly hear the dropping of a pin. And it was for that he was rewarded with a short simple response._

Yes.

_So quick and so quiet he nearly imagined it, but only a small glance at Saria showed that it was indeed spoken. The glowering look submerged beneath pity was clearly that of a mother looking down at her child. Though not by blood, it was only too clear now just how true Tatl and Tael's statements were, as well as their confession to team RWBY._

_"I see," Saria noted, dully at that. "I suppose… even I would believe the other option would be better. I already know of the moment you think of. The one life you saved you believe you should have let pass. That time, that moment… and you believed it would have been best to let it go."_

_This time it was not a response of words that Ozpin heard, but a sight of one. The green tipped hat on Link's head moving back and forth in confirmation and affirmation of the response. It was paralleled by Saria's own bowing for a moment, hiding her emerald eyes beneath the framing curls of her hair. The sight that came after was just as clear._

_"You think that now, but you know you could not choose another way." Her thumb played with something on his face. Ozpin imagined it to be a tear, and he would not have been surprised to see such. "It is so easy to speak of taking different paths, but we are all creatures of our own habits. Be it caring for the bark in the forests or the lives in the plains, we will always do what we feel is right. And no feeling you have Link, no matter how deep you tell me it is, will let you utter a falsehood to me."_

_Her forehead touched his for a moment, just one, before leaning back. Link looked up at her as well, watching her doubtlessly. Ozpin was sure that for all of his focus, Link had him beat at this moment._

_"You wonder what would happen if you had not lifted the Sacred Blade Link, but do you truly believe that the path beyond your inaction is a brighter one?"_

_Sacred Blade? Ozpin made note of it, but could recall the title being used on metaphorically for well-tested swords in the past. He could hardly think of a truly sacred blade… except… no… that was an impossibility, especially with how the Faunus and his friends to family were from a far-off continent or land, no matter the scale it held._

_"No tree lives in the forest forever. No matter how much care it is given or sacrifices offered, the roots will rot, the trunk will hollow, and the titan will fall. That is the way of life." She spun once, perhaps a sign of the naivety of her appearing youth. It was hardly an act she had to put on, for either Link or Ozpin. "The path you are on now is plagued by death and mourning. I watched you bury your friend from the ranch, a stable hand you ignored, and a gravedigger in our woods. I watched you mourn them for not having a chance, and you not having one to save them. I watched you as you returned bit by bit after death and senseless death, each time losing a piece of yourself."_

_It was not by choice that Ozpin forsook breathing at the moment. He was sure he was forgotten, even if partially, and he did not wish to remind them that he was here. This was something he could not afford to miss._

_"Have you wondered if perhaps this is the brightest path?" Finally, he saw Link react in a quick manner._

_That being to stand up as if he had been threatened with death._

_"I ask honestly Link," Saria spoke on as if she had not called death a bright path. Ozpin listened on. "The death you have witnessed is long and storied, but you yet stand and light still exists. What do you believe would have happened if you had not taken up arms when you did? Do you truly think Hyrule would prosper without you? Do you think others would be just as happy regardless of you?"_

_The Faunus was silent now, and Ozpin was sure it was a true silence, not a quiet answer. Saria made no motion to imply he had spoken, she only continued to stare up at him, her face that of a Maiden and not of a youthful fae. Powerful and stern, bellying the power she held beneath._

_"Do you regret having the family that you did?" And the wisdom was never far away._

_Link's fists balled with the mention of the word, and Ozpin was not for curiosity why. He had seen many families ripped and torn apart, sometimes because of the obvious reason. And for the man to have the reactions that he did… it only made sense it was because of the obvious reasons. Sometimes the path of common sense was a harsh one. And Link's control was a sign he had endured it often._

_"You do not, I know." The Maiden spoke on. "For all the terror and horror, you have endured for having the family you did, you do not regret it. I could not call you my friend if you regretted wedding a princess and bringing her heir into the world."_

_Ozpin blinked. That was certainly new._

_A princess… Link had married into royalty. How curious of him to not mention that. Ozpin stored it away for later._

_"Yes… if you had taken up the blade, it is very likely the pain they endured would not have been thrown on them. But that is hardly to say they would live." A logical conclusion to the Ultimatum quandary. "Without your journey Link, they would not have been. Life passed faster than you could have hoped, but it was there for a moment. Like the new growth in the forest that withers for the elder giants, only for those same giants to be the nourishment for the youngest the following year."_

_Cycles, the cruelty and inevitably of them. Ozpin knew them well, as did Link apparently. He did not stop his friend from speaking, but then again, Ozpin wasn't sure if this was out of respect, understanding… or a form of ignorance he had witnessed only once before._

_"But… I don't want to speak of this. I didn't want to at least." Saria's appearance returned to youthful once more, her hand at her forehead as if she regretted herself. "After not seeing you for so long, I… I wished our conversation could be far more memorable than this. Perhaps one where we recount or race through those Emerald Forests, or perhaps play in this Foreverfall I have yet to see. Those were how I wished to spend my team with you Link… But that is not something I can do." And this was, perhaps, the one moment Ozpin was most aware of._

_Reaching towards her own chest, gripping the top of her tunic with the same lithe hand. Ozpin was aware of her concern. And, by more of experience than anything else, Link did the same._

_"This is a body that belongs to Moraine before myself. She merely took in my memories, using them like a blanket as she rests." What on oddly comforting way to speak of it. Ozpin made a note to describe it as such to James and Qrow when they doubtlessly asked more about it. Perhaps even the Council Members… with a twist. "It is not fair for me to live through her when I have already passed on and she has not. The young should live off of the fruits of the dead, not the other way around."_

_A bit morbid, but not incorrect. Saria laughed at her own words, perhaps to break the tension. It succeeded little, and Ozpin held himself back from speaking as well._

_"I would ask you take my memories from her again… though only after I hear your words as well, Link." She looked up at him, young eyes from an elder mind staring at Link's own. "Though I am but memories, I want to know that I heard your voice and not your thoughts this time. Please say something comforting to me, even if it is short before I go. I want to hold onto it before you wear my visage again."_

_Ozpin was conflicted with that wording, but he kept himself from shifting against the cane he held. Far from cruel… but certainly not the same as ignorant. She was far too wise to make her words sound needlessly harsh, but they certainly came near greedy. Was this perhaps what others referred to as the wish of the dead?_

_Perhaps. Or, Ozpin wondered, if it was a kind memory that Saria wanted to leave on. A kind memory to leave on before Link gave her more to remember. Either were possible._

_He watched said Faunus lean down towards his friend again, this time with an arm about her back. Saria took the few steps closer necessary, letting his arm wrap around her. Ozpin reminded himself it was likely because Moraine would fall when Saria was removed… but it was impossible to miss the content look Saria had upon her, made perfect by the soft smile framed by equally soft hair, made all the brighter by the way she looked up at Link. Link nodded once, only once, before speaking then. Ozpin heard him clearly._

I'll work harder to be happy. I won't lose hope.

_A flash of light filled the room just after, and Ozpin was left staring forward through it._

_When vision returned to him, he was able to see Moraine in Link's arms. The girl he was charged with watching, and did so only in the loosest of terms, was leaning into Link's arm, clearly asleep. Her emerald gown almost hid her, but the brown hair pointed ears hid little. For the first time since entering the room, Ozpin breathed a sigh of relief. He had no doubt the girl would be alright, but to see her as such was another entire._

_Just as he made note of the mask that Link was holding. The golden Mask of the Sun, as Saria had explained. A mask made to show the guiding light of a new, symbolic in lands and towns beyond Hyrule. Those lands she either didn't know or didn't know the question to lead him to. That did not matter, to him. Dr. Oobleck would likely have the curiosities to replace him._

_Instead, Ozpin had Link, the Faunus of many mysteries and questions, slowly standing with the young orphaned girl leaning against his chest. He watched as he tucked the girl's head into the crux of his neck, her head leaning into his as he held her up. Much like one would any child._

_Like anyone would hold their child…_

_Their eyes met when Link turned, and the Faunus did not react. If he knew there was not, forgotten or not, it was not given away in any way he reacted. Ozpin would have been surprised if he had. Instead, he held still as Link started to walk towards him. A neutral pace with a neutral gaze, offering no more answers for any of Ozpin's questions, not now. Though he suspected there would be many later._

_Why Ozpin let Moraine run around with Saria's memories without finding way to alert him. Why he hid the girl from him when he first arrived. How he had done so. What had happened, and doubtlessly dozens of others. But for now, Link asked none._

_Link walked away holding Moraine over his shoulder, letting the emerald gowned and wolf-eared Faunus rest like the child that she was. Arms slack, face limp, and curling into Link as he carried her away. Tatl and Teal rang past him, but gave not an audible word or curse towards him. They only flew, following their companion into the halls of Beacon, and away from them. Ozpin turned and watched, watched as Link vanished, just as he_ had into the elevator in his office, out of sight without a word. There was no need to trace.

Ozpin stared forward again, watching the elevator chime on the lowest level.

What was he to expect now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	27. To Those Who Listen and Learn

Being the center of attention was usually Yang's thing, intentionally or not. Sure, she didn't mind making herself the center of everyone's gaze when she had the chance, that usually set just right with her. Sharing it also wasn't much of an issue, especially if it was with someone like her little sis. Having eyes on her, though it didn't bother her. Not like it did a lot of people. And because of that, she knew how to play it off.

A couple of winks for those who were looking south, a wave for those with a more northward gaze, and maybe a wave for someone who was listening to her talk. When it was for something that she did, and the appreciation that followed, whoops and cheers were common, and she good join a crowd's chant of her name without an issue. Enough fighting in bars and back alleys had taught her that. But because of that, Yang developed another skill, one that she couldn't see going on any resume in her future.

She could tell when someone didn't like having the spotlight. For example, Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc.

More accurately, Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc being crowded by Ruby, Weiss, and Nora, while Blake, Ren, and Yang herself took a backseat on her teammate's bunk, letting the show play itself out.

"And then what happened?!" Her sister eagerly asked. Maybe yelled. Ruby got vocal quickly, and this was definitely a prime opportunity for her to stretch her lungs. "Did Link bring out Elrora? Did he use the hook shot to pull himself away? Did Penny use her swords to slingshot you to safety?"

"No, it had to be Winter," Weiss interrupted, even with her eyes _still_ on the battle couple, and battle alone, to Yang's infinite amusement. "I'm sure she used a glyph to cover them while they were in danger. Or perhaps she used some form of Dust and Semblance mixture to create a shield for them. Perhaps she accelerated towards them to deflect the blow. It was one of those, correct?"

Said questions were being asked to a both eager and horrified Jaune Arc, whom Yang could _not_ stop snickering at. Literally, even after Blake had poked her ribs for the hundredth time, she kept chortling at the boy's twisted expression. Teasing was a blast, but who knew other people were just as much fun to put on the spot as her little sis? Guess it must have been all of _his_ older sisters that gave him that 'please tease me' vibe.

"A-A-Actually it was… um…" He scratched the back of his head, looking between the two of them, doing his best to ignore the starred eyed gaze of Nora. Probably because she'd eat up anything he said. "… Winter _did_ use her Semblance first."

The _whoops and hollers_ from Weiss were almost as surprising as hearing that Super Faunus hadn't taken the spotlight to shine in that pivotal moment, just before the Nightmare or whatever it was supposed to look like threw the lightning. The groan of disappointment that came from Ruby was the same one she gave when she had to do her homework instead of maintenance on her weapon. It was _adorable_ to Yang.

"B-But Link did help!" The turn around between the pair of 'White Rose' was just as funny as the first reactions, and Yang was able to endure the hit between her ribs from Blake again. Her laughter would not be suppressed so easily. "H-He shot at the Nightmare with his bow and arrow, _twang_ and all!" He made the motion with his hands, shooting up where the Grimm monster was flying. Still a crazy thing to see.

"Not that it did much good," Pyrrha added on. She was far calmer than her partner, which Yang honestly kind of expected. Yang's spotlights were just the center of attention in strip malls or restaurants, maybe an arena if she was put in one. Pyrrha's was _worldwide_. "Ganondorf did little more than just turn his eyes at Link and started scowling."

"But it was a-a-a _hell_ of a look!" Jaune added on, like a giant flying, talking, illusion-creating Grimm wasn't scary enough, but then it even _looked_ more terrifying that normal. "It even started screaming how… h-how it was going to burn us all with his lightning and torture us and have Link watch, after he… did what most Grimm did." Well that was an obvious conclusion.

"And what's that?" Evidently not, from Nora's intervention. "Was he going to burn his weapons? Set his clothes on fire? Say a mean prank? Oh! I know! He was going to fight Link one-on-one again, wasn't he!?" The excitement at _that_ idea didn't even get Yang to chuckle, to the relief of her ribs.

"N-No, actually he just threw this… _giant_ ball of lightning down." Giant, apparently was Jaune holding his hands above his head, like he was trying to mimic carrying the sun. "The thing was so massive and bright that I-I couldn't even _see!_ " Given how blinding a single streak of the stuff was, Yang believed him, even if him standing and talking was a far sign from really deadly.

"So how did you escape!?" Ruby asked again. "It was Link this time, right? What did he do to deflect the blast? Use a super tool that stored the valence electrons into a lithium metal? Diverted it down a ground channel line with a sword? What was it?" Yang sometimes forgot how much of a nerd Ruby was, especially with a weapon the size and weight of her own body.

"The latter, it had to be the latter," Weiss apparently tried to answer. Yang snickered from the bed, even as Blake gave her a cool warning stare. She brushed it off with a wave of her hand. This was prime time material here. "Storing _that_ much electricity so quickly would rupture any conventional source, and even the more unconventional sources as well. The current alone would melt if not _incinerate_ most products." A glance towards Ren, and his knowing nod, was answer enough. "So, it had to be redirection, though I cannot imagine a standard piece of equipment one would have that would be capable of such a thing. Then came Yang's favorite sound.

The awkward laughter. Awkward laughter was also the first sound to any great story. And this was one in the making, if not already there.

"Hahahahahehehe, yeah see… that's… not _eeeee_ xactly what happened." And he was scratching his head. Oh, this was just _solid gold!_

"Jaune, what are you hiding?" Yang made sure she leaned forward with the question. Ruby hated it when she did that, even if she was across the room. And if she ever met the rest of the Arc family, she'd give the rest of his sisters a high five for training him, because he scooched back like it was on command. "C'mon now Jauney-Boy, it's rude to hide things from friends." She knew _just_ what to say to get the rest of her team involved. Or, more accurately, the lethal weapon.

"What are you hiding Jaune? Is it bad? Is it scary? Is it destructive?" Only one of the three were normal questions for a girl to ask, but Yang was glad Ruby asked every one of them. "There are no more secrets Jaune, you know that."

"Actually, that was a promise just between us." And leave it to the Ice Queen to throw water on that. At least Ruby was giving her the pout that she couldn't see. Yang was left avoiding the look of smugness from Blake, the Faunus teammate of hers almost _purring_ with satisfaction. A quick 'shut-up' was all she got passed her. "Though I would appreciate the knowledge of just _how_ you survived that attack, granted you have now given credit to both our teacher _and_ my sister."

"Our _friend and_ your sister," Ruby corrected. She was back and cuter than ever. "So yeah! Tell us Jaune!" She was almost hopping with excitement, even as Jaune was trying to find the nearest exit. No scratch that, Yang realized. He was trying to figure out how to get behind Pyrrha, given how he kept glancing at her. And she nodded- wait, she _nodded?_ Heck of a partner Vomit boy got.

"Link did help us, with a tool that was able to handle the massive amount of power put off by the Nightmare." At least that got them interested again, Yang too. So, Link _did_ have another magical instrument he used. "He brought it out as the monster attempted to kill us… and he gave it to Jaune to use."

Didn't see that coming.

"He _what?!_ " "HE WHAT?!" Ruby shouted with the excitement of Christmas. Weiss shouted almost as if she was appalled.

Yang, however, let her sister take in all the excitement for her. Just like she had during every other celebration or big news that got. Plus, it did help she had to watch her partner next to her, or else she'd miss all the great facial expressions she was making. Ren was a grate neutral reference. For example, the wider gaze she had, complete with her golden eyes going almost _slit_ in a predatory stare, was hilarious. The elbow in her gut reminded her to shut up, for now.

"Yup!" The eager return of Jaune drew back Yang's attention, even as she massaged her side. "Honestly didn't think I needed it, but I guess Link was too tired from fighting the Nightmare one-on-one, or at least that's what I figured." Okay, points, that made sense.

"With consideration to how he… apparently, near effortlessly… _dealt_ with my sister, I suppose that keeping such a beast at bay would tire anyone out." Even Weiss agreed. That made it fact. "But still does not explain what he gave you, what deflected that monstrous blast, or _what_ you are reaching for!" Her finger was pointing at him accusingly, and it was like they had the old Weiss back. The proud smile that Jaune had said he was just the same.

"Show us Jaune! Show us! Show us! Show us! Show us!" Loud as Nora's cheering was, Yang had an _impossible_ time believing they hadn't seen, or heard, about this yet. Just to confirm, she looked over at Ren, seeing the quietest member of the team glance at her, giving a quick… shake of his head? Oh.

Well, whatever it was, it had to be something kickass. Something incredible enough to not only almost single handedly deal with whatever that monster did, but then blow it all back and kill the monster with Jaune's sword! That part she knew because question one was where his weapon went, and Winter telling Weiss how it was sealing an ancient evil. This was the story of _how_ they had sealed an ancient talking evil Grimm.

 _SHING!_ And the answer wasn't what Yang expected.

"Feast your eyes on this!" Jaune called out proudly, holding up the shield at his chest level, head peaking out from the top of it. It was hard to see him, _not_ discounting that Yang was staring at the shield itself… and basically a _flawless_ reflection off of it. "Tatl and Tael said this was called the Mirror Shield." How appropriate.

Yang stared at it, catching out of the corner of her eye the look of amazement that Blake and Ren had. It was literally impossible to miss how they were leaning forwards with the action, Blake's eyes focused and hands on her knees, probably to keep herself from jumping up and grabbing it. At least Ren had the advantage of seeing it later, whenever that was.

This, for now, was a shield easily larger than Jaune's other shield, which now had no blade with it, and literally shined like a mirror. The fact that he was flinging that around in a battle, that _Link_ apparently had, and that it had _saved_ them was almost as impressive, as the shield itself! She had heard polishing to a shine, but this was like looking at the surface of a lake! No scratch that, it was like staring at scorched sand, _perfectly_ scorched sand.

"They also said that it came from the Gerudo people… which now that I think about it is basically what we are over in Hyrule." Seven out of eight of them, but Blake was only nodding her head at the information. She was suddenly a lot more interested. "Apparently, it's a ceremonial weapon for a tribe over there, and Link earned the right to wield it after besting some training ritual. Wouldn't even take it back when I offered it."

"Because you _earned it_ Jaune, that's why." Yang _really_ saw that one coming at least. Even the hand on Jaune's shoulder. Pyrrha was sporting her smile, the one that she always kept around him. "You were able to stand against that attack, when not even Link could. You were able to open the monster up for the single blow needed to vanquish him, and for that, you earned this." Her hand fell on the shield's red rim with it. Huh, it really was red.

"Thanks, Pyrrha, but I'm pretty sure you earned it more. You _were_ the one who actually killed the thing after all." And Jaune was sporting his stupidity, the kind he took out _just_ for her. What a guy.

"Oh! _Oooooooohhh!_ " And there went Ruby. Everything was happening one after the other, and she didn't even have her bunny hood on for it. "Oh! Wow! _Wooooooooooww~!_ " Her sister was jumping and looking over the shield in Jaune's hands as she gushed, typical Ruby. "That's _amazing!_ Being able to reflect lightning is _incredible!_ Resistive and non-conductive materials only allow it to travel over without penetrating the inner crystalline layers, but having a material that _reflects it like light…. GYYYAAAAAHH!_ "

"Stop screaming!" Weiss, just as appropriately, screamed. Yang laughed, this time feeling no pain thanks to Blake's own silent fascination with the shield. "And yes, Jaune, that is… and _incredible_ tool. I can imagine that such a design would be invaluable to the Atlesian Military, being able to maneuver storms or other areal Grimm who prefer the conductive damaging abilities of electricity. I'm sure Saria would have had a quip to speak about it as well." Yang heard it, and apparently Jaune did, too.

"Incredible?" Jaune asked like he wasn't holding a magic lightning deflecting _glass_ shield. Then again, she had a time warping and auto-correcting set of bunny ears, so who was she to talk? "Wait, hold on, I think I missed something. Did you say _Saria_. Was walking around? As in that girl you said was Link's mom?"

"Surrogate mother," Blake corrected. "But yes, she was. Is that more important than your gift _from_ Link?" Clearly, she had her head on straight, Yang snickered. Man, she sometimes loved being _outside_ the center of attention.

"You guys just told us that Link's friend was walking around _without_ Link! Wasn't that like… _terrifying_ or anything?" Not the word Yang had for it, or her teammates for that matter. Then again, from a guy that just fought a Super Grimm that almost beat a Super Faunus and a Super Sister, that was saying something. Even had a Super Powered Fighting Robot on their side and it wasn't perfect. Eh.

"Terrifying how," Weiss asked, because of course Weiss would make a question sound like an accusation. "We were able to meet Link's friend, and caretaker if the stories of her age are to be believed, and she was as mysterious as he is himself. That's not to speak of how _dangerous_ those memory holsters or the equivalent of them are." Oh yeah, Yang had almost forgotten about that.

"Taking off the masks, without _Link_ taking them off, can result in severe damage or trauma to the minds of the individuals wearing them." The summary from Blake was just like her. Short and sweet. "It's why Saria was walking around almost the entire time Link was gone, because Moraine put on the mask and no one was around to help take it off." That was a pretty crazy thing, even if they didn't get to see her a whole lot.

"She was in the Headmaster's office almost the entire time," Yang explained her own thoughts. Eyes were back on her again, for the obvious reason. "Probably because Oz was scared she'd set off a fight, or do something that was going to make the whole of Beacon blow up again." Link had an impression of doing that, or just doing quick concerts with his friends. She could _totally_ see Saria singing to the birds and busting out some hit single with it. Totally.

"Like starting a fight with a team of students and kicking their butt?" Jaune asked, the smirk just as obvious as anything else. "Or using some other mega-super power that just doesn't make any sense but she'll pass off like child's play? The kind of stuff that makes you think, 'holy crap how did they do that'?" At least he knew what it was like…. Almost as if… oh, yeah, he _was_ with Link.

"Hyeah, sorta like that," Yang pointed at him, proud of her little Vomit-Boy learning his lesson. "Considering that she set off a search on her first day through the Emerald Forest that got Ozpin involved and had Rubes here reliving _memories_ , I'd say that falls under your category." The blinks from Pyrrha and Jaune were just as valuable as they were the first time, priceless.

"Reliving… you _saw_ her memories?" Jaune asked almost aghast. Or maybe that was just his surprise. He did have that tendency to overreact. Or at least act out. Maybe both were right on. "Like, what did you see? Did you see her fighting off major monsters or something? Was she as ridiculous as Darmani was?" Yang's big sis instincts flared.

Flared because she could see Rubes was starting to get put in that awkward position Yang loved to see her in. Loved to, as long as _she_ was the one who put her there. At least then she could take credit for all the stuff that came after. This? This was just putting her sis on the spot and not even getting anything out of it. Not worth it at all.

"Hold on, how _was_ Darmani?" Yang turned the question around quickly, getting a smirk of her own as Vomit-Boy flinched. He was learning, which was good, but she was still the queen of conversation and attention in this room, at least without wearing a 'mask' of her own, no offence to the Invincible Girl. That was one put on her. "All you really said was that he was super strong and intimidated the hell out of Cardin. No offense, but with a group of hunters around, that doesn't seem _that_ impressive."

"First, I'd like to say that Cardin has… improved," Pyrrha spoke up in place of Jaune, and with a statement that she didn't really expect to hear. "You have already seen is improved demeanor, and I can assure you he had that long before we exited the Bullhead."

"He was more tolerable, I'll admit," Weiss interjected. "But I believe he still has a steep mountain to scale if he wishes to regain the vestiges of good graces with me _or_ my team." The affirmative nod from Ruby and… Nora? Wrong team, but right reaction, Yang figured. Oddly though, it wasn't Jaune or Pyrrha who spoke up after that.

"Cardin Winchester's team is losing a member of their initial roster, Sky Lark." Ren's interjection was well-timed, like his shots and Aura control. Just well enough to right the conversation, if it was a rocking boat. Not nearly as good as a bed. "He did also ensure that Pyrrha and Jaune were alright before parting ways with us. I felt no malice or mockery in his tone. Pride, of course, but not much more than that."

"He also saved Penny in the Nightmare, remember?" Jaune asked, probably because he'd forgotten if he ever said. Honestly, Yang thought that she had. "Plus, he was the one shouting to get the Nightmare's attention off of Sky and Dr. Oobleck. I'm not gonna say he's a best friend now but… he _literally_ had our backs down there." Yang rocked her head with the admittance of it all.

"All of that is true," Pyrrha started off, bringing the attention back to her. "And with it established, second, strong is not enough to describe Darmani. Hulking isn't good enough either. I-I'm sorry about that Jaune." Her attention shifted to her partner for a second.

"No issues. My sisters always tell me my story telling needs work." It wasn't the only thing, but at least he was improving in others. He waved off any insult, smiling as he did so. "Sides, gives me time as well." What did that mean? And he was… reaching for something?

"Right, well," Pyrrha picked up as if Jaune _wasn't_ reaching for something in his bag. Hadn't he unpacked that massive thing yet? Sure, hunters carried a lot, but they at least knew how to unpack that stuff when they were done! "Darmani was more than merely muscled and made of stone. He was capable of holding Cardin's mace in his fist, closed handed, as it exploded, without any observable effort." Dang, really? Cardin wasn't the strongest around, with Yang herself holding that crown, but Cardin wasn't a slouch at least. "Also, he, according to the testimony of both Tatl and Tael, kept his physique through the ingestion of rocks and had magmic like blood to match."

Now _that_ was a story to tell.

" _Magmic blood_?" Weiss repeated almost breathlessly. Yang did _not_ miss how Blake's ears perked with the words. The one's she kept tucked and nit under that bow of hers. She was an easy cat to read, once you knew where the lines were~. "That is… the concepts of biology do not even _begin_ to describe how impossible that is! Any form of hemoglobin or carrier materials within the vascular system depend upon a strict temperature regulation, that which heat even a _fraction_ as high as magma would render _moot!_ " There was probably a much stronger word she wanted to use, but Yang did help the heiress look for it. Seeing her fume as hard as she was, hair almost on end, was as adorable as if Ruby was doing it.

"That does seem… beyond the scope of even a Faunus trait," Blake spoke up. Good for her, finally speaking up in a group without being called on. Her girls were learning, even if she was pointedly ignoring Yang's grin. "Faunus have a trait or two related to an animalia creature such as ears, eyes, tails, horns or… something similar but biologically feasible. Rock skin that is… literally rocks and blood that is made of… lava?" The disbelief was evident, and hey, Yang was with them… maybe a few weeks ago.

But that was before she started seeing things before, they happened when she wore a play-boy bunny hood and her sister could sense dangerous situations from miles to leagues away. Whatever else came out of magic land Hyrule, she could take it.

"I know, weird right?" Jaune held up his hands with a grin on his face. Not Yang's grin, because that couldn't be matched. More like a 'I still love the fact that I heard this first' look. "He was going on and on about how he could tell the _life_ in rocks as well, calling Monument Mine a dead mine because it wasn't built or managed so it wasn't worth digging out."

"He did say that it was because it crumbled easily, an indication that the rocks actually lacked soils or other sedimentary or interstitial defects." Pyrrha looked around the room with that look, Yang never losing her grin. She really was Ms. Perfect, a Golden Girl. "Sorry I-I just… did some reading when we got back. I had to calm down after everything. And almost dying twice over and… and the monster…" Geez, well that was a mood killer.

Yea, Yang hand almost forgotten herself that they had almost died. Them as in their friends, not RBWY. RWBY as in Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long were A-Okay and ready to go. She'd never say that in front of Penny, _another_ member of the hurt brigade that came back from the metaphorical brink.

Her hands folded behind her head as she looked over the pair of death stranded survivors, noting how much _more_ Jaune was looking at Pyrrha. That, and how the Invincible Girl was looking down at her hands, her fists balling and unbaling. She didn't even notice when her partner and leader put his hand on her shoulder, just keeping it there. Man, the mood really was dead.

Ruby got quiet, Nora had stopped vibrating, Blake sat back down, Ren let out a small sigh before going quiet, Weiss was bowing her head like someone was announced to be _dead_ , and Yang was left realizing that she was the only one living in the present! Yeah, what had happened the last week was awesome, horrible, kickass, and traumatizing all in one, but that wasn't a reason to stop! That was a reason to go on!

She had to do something. Fortunately, she knew just what.

"Actually, I got an idea," Yang put up her hand in the air. She did _not_ appreciate the groans that came after it. "What? It'll be fun! And It's something that I _know_ we're all good at, or at least getting better at."

"I am _not_ playing that ridiculous game with you again, Xiao Long." Ow, last name only? Weiss-crème didn't appear happy with the suggestion. "I nearly tore Blake's ribbon off when she hit me with that accursed spinal shell on the last lap, and _you_ were howling like a Beowulf in hunt over it." That… she couldn't deny.

"Cause it was funny!" She looked over at Blake, ignoring the groans from the rest of the group, only to see her partner hiding her face. Traitor. "But no, that's not what I want to do. What I _want_ is to test out what everyone's got in the one place we all had to train, practice, and prove ourselves. This time, showing off our stuff." She watched them as she said that, hands on her hips and beaming with pride.

Weiss and Pyrrha were the only two to get it, at first. Everyone else was either screwing their faces trying to figure out what she was talking about or acting like it wasn't the most obvious thing in the world. Seriously, Ren and Blake should have gotten it quick as thieves. Why were they acting like it wasn't obvious?

"Yang?" Ruby spoke up. She honestly expected her to be last on the list. "The last time you said that, we were in Patch and just got back from watching Uncle Qrow show off a Grimm hunt." Ah, so she was getting it. The look on her face said it all, wide eyes that reflected the silver light so perfectly. Too bad it was bright outside and there was no moon to be seen. "Really Yang?"

"Really Ruby." Yang smirked again as she looked over the room.

No reason to hold back now.

"We're gonna have a good old-fashioned fight. RWBY's vs JNPR's."

* * *

Blake wasn't an amateur to fighting, that was plain to anyone who knew her. She was rather sure that it was plain to those who even glanced at her. Her time in the White Fang, as regretful as that was, did nothing if not harden her into her fighting form. Her instincts were top notch, her senses keen, and her flexibility, coupled with her ability to strike out, made her a deadly foe on the field of battle.

Combined with her Gambol Shroud, further strengthened by her Doppelganger Semblance, and she was as difficult to touch in a fight as the wind. And just like the wind, she could strike out of nowhere. That was made her so deadly in a fight, and it was why she worked so well with her team. Even if it had taken an awkward few months to realize that.

Maybe it was after she and Yang were able to almost effortlessly deal with a pack of Ursa, allowing her blonde buxom teammate to take on the majority of agro while she clipped their legs, she realized she was a good fit with them. Maybe it was Ruby complimenting her quick reflexes with her already fast style that made them a deadly shower of shadows and petals. Or it could even be working with Weiss, the most unexpected partnership she could have imagined, and their combined strength to turn her already disorienting fighting style into an almost aggressive misalignment of the senses. All of it, however, only proved one point, and that was further strengthened by the words of Impa of the Shiekah.

She was a Shadow on the field of battle.

Meant to strike out when others weren't looking, learn about they fought before attacking where they were vulnerable, and taking advantage of the openings her teammates found. It was how she had always fought, amongst friends, allies, or even alone. She was always attacking from where others couldn't see, and more often than not running to those same corners in the room when she had the opportunity.

So, it made just as much sense that Lana's gift to her… Link's gift to her, was something that complimented her so well. A magical cape that hid her from view, making her impossible to see to anyone around her, and just as silent. It certainly helped her with the sneaking bit, especially in a bright lit arena where Shadows weren't exactly easy to slink into.

_BAM! BAM!_ _**BOOM!** _

Or avoid the explosions that rocked the ground around her.

"Come out come out, Blakey~," the almost ominous voice of Nora called, her Mjolnir hammer raised high in the air, even as its grenade launching handle was open. "I can't fight you if I can't see you~, Hhahahahahahah!" She didn't sound too upset about that, not that she was in any hurry to be found.

Blake kept the Magic Cape over her body as she crouched low to the ground, ensuring that the fabric wasn't going to miss covering any inch of her. She did so as she lurked at the already torn sections of the arena, her instincts telling her that they would be less likely to be struck at by the bomber girl. And judging by the way the orange-haired warrior kept looking at the cleaner tiles along the floor, she knew she was right.

**_BAM! BOOM!_ **

Certainly didn't help that she did have to keep stopping whenever another explosion ripped through the air, if only to track where it was going to hit. The laughter that swam through the air afterwards was far from comforting as well. But she was trained enough to keep it from showing, even if there wasn't much for a Shadow like her to show.

She had to stay hidden in her cloak, looking out over the battlefield as she collected information, looking for openings, and finding _just_ the right moment to strike. That, or help out her teammates, whichever came first. And first, most likely, was not only the Warrior of their group, but also her partner.

 _BAM! BAM! BANG!_ The warrior shooting her gauntlets out to gain moment, making the bunny ears on her head rattle and bob with the motion. It was a motion that Blake followed even as that blonde boxer shot, ducked, and weaved through Pyrrha's own strikes, keeping pace with the Invincible Girl, and all with a grin on her face. A grin… and an almost insulting pair of Faunus ears on her head.

It had been over a week, and she was still conflicted about it. But the results were not to be argued with.

She watched as Yang was able to tilt her head and swish her feet at just the right moments to avoid the thrusts from Pyrrha, shooting her arms out with strong jabs at the openings she saw. Openings that the Golden Girl very quickly covered with her own sharp abilities, but always only a few hair lengths away from a solid hit. It was a statement shared on both sides, both of them always just a few centimeters away from a solid hit.

Yang would tilt her head just as Milo scratched her ear. Pyrrha would bend backwards a moment before a fist connected with her fore head. And then the two would reposition and strike again.

All while grinning as they 'danced'. Blake did her best not to get too jealous of that.

**BAM! BAM!** **_BOOOOOM!_ **

The ground shook again as Nora continued to fire off her grenades, and Blake was forced to watch her again. The girl still had the smile that would make Adam pause, or at least consider her a threat. "I'm gonna get you kitty cat~!" The comments wouldn't help. "Fee, Fii, Foo, Fum~! I have the hammer that'll smack your bum~~!" That wasn't how the rhyme went. But Blake didn't focus on that.

She focused on how the hammer's distal end was facing her again, and this time, likely ready to fire. Whether she knew she was there or not, it didn't matter. Discretion wasn't Nora's forte.

"NOPE!" Came the shout just before she could fire. _TWANG!_ Matched by the hitting of steel against, steel, _heavy_ steel against steel.

A quiet breath of relief left Blake as she saw her leader dash over the Mjolnir hammer, her famed, or infamous, Crescent Rose hooking over it before firing one of her heavy rounds. The force of the blow shot the edge of the hammer far off target. _BOOM!_ Far enough away that Blake didn't need to worry about moving.

"Aw, was I close that time?" Didn't appear upset by the question, but it did mean Blake had to move. "Should I try again?" Now would be good, and she was already crawling. Not that she had much to worry about. Her leader, thankfully, was skilled with her own new ability.

"Nope! No do-overs!" Ruby chanted as she jumped forth again, her blade arcing towards Nora. The girl caught it with the inboard section of her hammer, before spinning it underneath the grip to try and knock out Ruby's legs… that might have broken them. Thankfully, the red-headed girl jumped over the attack herself, firing another round mid-leap and falling out of the way. Intentional or not, Nora almost appeared to shrug off the attack.

Only to raise her hammer over her head and charge at Ruby, all smiles. **_BOOM!_** And explosions. Blake wasn't immensely worried for her leader, no matter how small she was. She had a sense for danger now, and she was great about using it.

Even with Yang's new ability to sense right where everything was, and being able to strike out just where she knew it was going to be, Ruby still had her Semblance telling her something bad was _going_ to happen, and she had honed it much better than before. Not perfect, but good to know that the sense of danger of Blake about to be hit by one of Nora's grenades was likely going to happen, hence the intrusion. That, of course, meant actually getting hit herself was far less likely. That only left Weiss from her team.

 _BANG! BANG!_ And Weiss didn't appear to be in trouble, not that she expected it.

Jaune was a capable fighter now, as Pyrrha had vouched for his trip with Link to the Monument Mine proved. He even had a tool of the Faunus warrior now to show his mettle. But that didn't mean he had any leaps in his skill because of it, the same way that neither did Weiss, Blake, Yang, or even Ruby with theirs.

 _BAM! BANG!_ "GAH!" Jaune let out as he held up the Mirror shield again, deflecting one of Weiss's thrusts with it. He followed up with a swing of his own blade, lazy of an arc as it was. It was still far longer than Weiss's rapier, forcing a retreat. The glass of the shield he bore also wasn't scratched despite the attack the heiress gave him, and she wasn't breathing heavily.

Blake watched as Weiss coolly raised her rapier, holding the Sealing Tome in her other hand as she did so, tight in her grip. She had yet to master the ice to summon forth from it… but the arcs of electricity she could conjure from it were still just as deadly, and far more accurate.

The crackle of that power came out with a draw of her blade's flat against its edge, marked and shot forth with a harsh whip downwards, making the air sing.

"W-WHAO!" _CRRRRKRKRKRKRKR!_ Jaune let out the moment before the lightning toppled over him, spilling over the raised Mirror Shield. From her new hole she dove into, stilling herself to keep the draw of her Aura to a minimum, she watched the lighting wash over the opposing team leader like an explosion of water over a wall. It spread out like a parasol, filling the ground with the valance electrons before dissipating in nothingness.

It left only a panting blonde boy standing, holding up the Mirror Shield like the saving grace that it was.

And in all fairness, though Blake couldn't voice it, Jaune had performed an admirable counter to Weiss's attack, especially when she knew any improper deflection with the shield could have left him unbalanced, or worse, left the attack to hit someone else. Fortunately, someone else was able to voice her admiration.

"Good job, Jaune," Ren spoke as he dashed past. "Let me lead now." Storm flower, the twin pistols of the quieter member of JNPR, were at his side as he charged forward. If Jaune said anything, Blake didn't hear it, not as he fell to a knee, though she did catch him raising a thumb in the air. Her focus, however, was on Ren running forward.

She heard Yang and Pyrrha fighting still, the shotgun blasts from her partner's arm mounted weapons exploding through the air, meeting the clashing steel of the Invincible girl. She could easily make out Nora's explosions, just as well as the lack of sound of Ruby hitting anything, nothing but her own Semblance being activated every now and then. Her focus, therefore, was on Weiss fighting alone against the pair of boys.

Alone, as far as they were concerned.

"Prepare yourself," Weiss calmly instructed, even as a Glyph formed about her feet. It glowed up her form, culminating in the tome she held. Lightning crackled about her form again, but Ren did not cease his charge. If anything, he increased it. Rather than swinging her rapier to match, Weiss instead bobbed it back and forth, quick as a baton.

The electric storms ran off of Weiss not as arcs now, but as jolts of electricity, quick and far more in number. A number that Ren was either prepared for, or had the instincts to match. She watched as the boy ducked and weaved through the blasts, lowering parts of his body to let the assaults sail over him, moving his blades to let the heavier blows hit the edges of his blades, likely magnetized, and all while his pink eyes were keen on the heiress.

Weiss had no difficulty in raising Myrtenaster to match the boy's assault when he was close enough. _BANG!_ Another one of her glyphs popping in beside her to catch the boy's shots from the other side of her head. It left his blows to bounce off of her or be caught in her trap, but a trap he wasn't keen to stay in. His blows were always glancing, never holding long enough to risk Weiss striking him with her electric Aura. Not that she had many more chances to. It was a draining attack, and she was being careful with it now… something Blake suspected Ren was aware of. The two mages of the group, or perhaps a Shadow and Mage if Blake was reading into Impa's description of the style properly. Lie Ren appeared to embody both very well.

But Blake was a shadow as well, and now would be the time to strike.

She made minimal movements as she took in all of this, crouching in a torn up hole thanks to one of Nora's grenades. The more she moved, the more Aura the cloak drained, the _faster_ she moved, the faster it drained. It made sense, like the engines of an automobile, draining Dust the faster one moved, still some even if it idled, but never nothing, unless it was off. It was a handy part of the cloak she and Weiss had learned about over their week of training, the limitations of both of their gifted tools, and the most effective ways to use them. And in this case, a sudden ambush was perfect.

She watched, memorizing how Ren leaped and dodged through the air, watching in equal turn how Weiss kept her glyphs to a minimum, focusing her aura on the curtain of electricity she knew was keeping the boy from assaulting her too strongly, and leaving Jaune at bay. It was as good a plan as any they had, and it was working rather well.

But Blake had Gambol Shroud out, and she was already lurking between the arcs of Weiss's power. She knew how her teammate worked, knew the same way they had learned through practice. She was aware of what her teammate would do, and as a Shadow, she had a suspicion how Ren would move. Flip where he could to change the vulnerable parts of his form, otherwise ducking low so he always had something to push off of. She only had to catch him in time while he skidded by.

So she watched, waited, as the silent boy ran past her, sliding with a small spin to shoot at the underside of Weiss's ankle. Her glyph tilted to catch the shots, even as he had to twist his arm to keep one of her arcing forms of lightning from hitting him.

And that was the perfect moment.

The Magic Cape came off of her body as she hooked the fabric of her weapon around the boy's arm. The surprise on his face was immediate, and she could hear the squawk disbelief from Jaune. It didn't mean she had to stop. It meant she had to move.

The pointed end of her weapon buried itself in the ground, forcing Ren to stop moving with an almost elastic rebound. It threw him off balance, enough for Blake to reach up and put his arms into a half-Nelson hold, something Yang had taught her much of, to her now admitted benefit. The combination of the rebound of her weapon and the momentum of her swing… it turned the hold into a lariat.

 _BOOM!_ His impact into the ground was anything but soft. The look of shock that was over his face, matched by the air rushing from his lungs was proof enough that he had taken a heavy blow. And if that was not substantial enough, then the beeping of the alarm system above them certainly helped. Only a glance was necessary to see his Aura in the red.

Though she was a Shadow, Blake only now realized she had taken out one of JNPR's teammates with a wrestling move. Yang wouldn't let her live it down.

"BLAKE WATCH OUT!" She didn't have any time to react.

 _BANG!_ Not before she was clotheslined by a thick plate of metal.

Her world was disoriented as her body flipped backwards, head over heels as her face hit the shattered arena floor just before the rest of her body pancaked into it. She even bounced with the force she was flung with it, groaning as she felt the blow deplete her Aura… Her Aura that was already left in a fragile state due to the use of the Magic Cape… she still needed training.

And even though she knew that, she knew that Yang and her teammates would call her out for something else, even if it was a fine move. That was Jaune standing above her, panting with the rim of the Mirror Shield held up where she stood. No more question what hit her, not that she had the breath to do so.

"S-Sorry Blake!" Jaune got out, holding up his hand in apology. Still a gentleman, even if they were enemies, and he didn't have the strength to keep fighting like the rest of his team. "J-Just saw an… a chance and I- _GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!_ " This time, Blake didn't need to wonder what happened.

The electricity that sparked and crackled behind him was evidence enough, even with Weiss holding up the tip of Myrtenaster at him.

"It was a fine move, Jaune," Weiss complimented, even as the boy she had nearly turned to charcoal crumpled forwards. "But I was hoping that you would have learned that defeating one enemy does not mean victory, especially while the rest of us still stand." The boy turned over and groaned for the effort, his Aura shattering into pieces. That left Blake to look down at the shattered floor herself, judging what had just happened.

Ten minutes of straight fighting, a million and one moves, pairings put together by strength and counters, setting up for an assault, and it came out to three moves in twenty seconds taking out three of the eight fighters.

Guess it meant they were evenly matched.

"You all may want to leave now," Weiss instructed them. "The fighting is _far_ from finished, and I believe Nora may be sour with me for this." Of that, Blake had no doubt. That was one thing they did not need her help to discover. "Do you need help Blake?" She looked at her teammate, seeing that she was holding up a glyph for defense even as she walked towards her. The Faunus in hiding shook her head.

"I'm… alright." She panted out, pushing herself off the ground. Though she was, the feeling of loose granite and tile falling off of her body still wasn't a pleasant feeling. Like peeling back sleep from her eyes in the morning. "Just need to… catch my breath."

"You're not… alone…" Ren groaned from in front of her, still flat on his back and staring up at the ceiling. He had hit the ground rather hard. "Maybe need to… straighten my gaze out…" She didn't hit him that hard… Then again, she did also pop out of nowhere. "Will you be okay, Jaune?" A slow groan was his answer, seeing the blonde raise a hand in the air, before watching it fall back to the floor with a small billow of dust. "Very well…" Ren's head fell back down a moment later.

Blake sighed, arching her back to pull herself up. Still not comfortable. Better than actually being hurt, but she'd feel this later. That. And Yang probably teasing her for being the first one out. She had that to look forward to.

"You hurt my _Renny!_ " But that scream was enough reminder that she could be far worse off.

Ironically enough, it was a wake up for the pair of boys as well.

Blake made out Weiss throwing up a glyph, sending it out as more lightning began to crackle from the tome she held. Ren was rolling up and running to the side walls as well, Jaune not even fully up before he was in a near sprint. Blake herself… she was already touching the wall before she had the good graces to turn around. When she did, she saw exactly as she expected.

Ren and Jaune running towards the exit platform, Weiss preparing to parry, or shield herself, against and angry Nora, and Ruby barreling through with a trail of petals to grab her.

 ** _BOOOM!_** And she wasn't surprised when her leader succeeded.

She did, however, have to duck down and avoid the slab of stone that nearly struck her head. She blinked at how close it was, embedded into the wall and staring back at her. Too close for any kind of comfort. Sign enough it was time to go. Besides, her teammates could handle the rest.

It was three against two, and they had the Unknown on their side.

* * *

Of the many things Weiss knew about Pyrrha, very few of the qualities she could name were negative. Normally high praise, it only led to an aggravating situation in moments like these. Moments when those same praise worthy and highly desirable traits were being pitted in a way that she had to confront. A tactician in a chess game was one example, and a star duelist of the highest ranked circuit was another. And here she was on the latter end.

Facing down one of the single greatest duelists in the Mistral League, undefeated even under Beacon's watchful eye, and having only improved since her time here. Though she had the advantage with her skill alone, she had another asset Weiss was not keen to forget.

**_BOOM!_ **

And that would be the bomber of a teammate, literally exploding into place next to Pyrrha. The dust settled to show Weiss standing next to the prepared teammate, her hammer unfolded and a predatory grin across her features, the same one she wore whenever she was about to enjoy a fight, which was always. It was a harsh contrast to the focus line that Pyrrha had, tilting at the edges _just_ enough to be considered a smile, but far from reckless abandon.

The same look of wild excitement she was seeing flash across Yang's gaze, mostly even with the ridiculous appearing, if affective, bunny hood on her head. She had kept pace with the Mistral Champion with it. That was also to not sell short her own partner, their team leader, jumping in between the pair of them with her scythe raised high. Ruby had a tendency to act without thinking, as she was prone to do by the admission of her own flesh and blood, but at least now she had a Semblance 'enhancement', no matter how ridiculous the idea normally, that made her decisions more viable. But only the short term. The long term had yet to improve to levels that Weiss would be satisfied with.

"Ruby," Weiss remarked from aside her partner. She looed at her, which was a poor decision on a battlefield, but Pyrrha appeared keen to let them talk. "I cannot do much against Nora, as she would tend to counter my new main method for attack."

"Yeah, lightning and Nora is a bad combination." Anyone aware of the madly grinning girl's abilities would be aware, and agree, with such a sentiment. "So… what do you think we should do?" AT leas she was better at asking.

"We attack, first!" Her elder sister, however, still had leagues of improvement to go. Not all elder siblings could be Winter, it seemed, no matter how capable Yang was in her own right. "Attack first, attack hard, and don't give 'em a chance to hit back!" A fine theory, but without any proper execution.

"Ooooor," Ruby led off, leaning lower, even as Weiss kept Myrtenaster aimed aft and the Sealing Tome's spine tight in her grip. "Wiess stays back, gives me and you boosts, and we stick to fighting in the same groups. Does that work?" A leader normally wouldn't need to ask. However, that was a lesson for another time.

Weiss, in short thought, agreed with the strategy. Ruby had to be aware, after the week they had spent practicing with their new abilities, that she was likely lower on her Aura levels. A single hit from either opponent and she would be out. Yang, however, as well as Ruby, kept their levels high despite the use of their abilities. The difference between passive and active benefits, Weiss reasoned. But for her to retreat to the rear line would work. She just had to-

" _Weiss JUMP!_ " " _BOOM BABY!_ " Weiss listened to her leader first.

An acceleration glyph shot out beneath her feet, sending her rocketing backwards and normally dangerous speeds. Nanoseconds later, Nora's Mjolnir hammer tore into the concrete where she was just standing. The rubble was turning to dust during the cavitation explosion from the speed she swung, and Weiss only got that through her accelerated time from. It also let her see the orange-haired girl grinning madly back up at her. That was a poor sign.

"New plan!" Yang yelled. "I got Pyrrha, you two get Nora!" It wasn't a plant they had time to debate, and it did appear the pieces were thrown to settle in such a manner. Weiss flipped to a stop, sending several glyphs about her before she pointed her rapier at the charging girl, and charging she was. With her hammer above her head and a battle cry to match the Valkyries that followed her namesake. Ruby, Weiss trusted, was not far behind. And the explosion of petals that came forth with the thought was evidence enough.

It gave the heiress plenty of time to side-step the falling pair, taking the moment to focus on Yang and her duel with the Champion. Her gray Glyphs came forth, encasing Yang for a moment to boost her Aura levels, the temporary amount needed to let her hit harder, and worry less about Pyrrha's counter. Speed was hardly a factor with them now.

Her eyes turned back to Ruby and Nora, the pair having hit the metaphorical dirt again and thrown from one another. She drew Myrtenaster across the Sealing tome, letting the sparks of power fly down her blade and mix with the Dust she had set in there. Her hilt spun to air, super-charging the already powerful valence electrons to a wicked speed. Less focused, as was the disappointing truth of a poor conductor, but she did not want to focus on powering Nora.

Instead, she aimed the curtain skywards, letting the tip of her blade fire the combined energy, even as she felt a small sap of her Aura go with it. She kept her eyes on her opponents, sure of what the affect would be, and she was right.

She watched Nora look up at the arcing lighting, as it spread out like the curtain of a spider's magnum opus, cascading across the arena into sparks of static and dust. Her mind was on how she could have let it hit her, to make herself stronger. It wasn't on what was important.

Namely Ruby taking advantage of such a moment, barreling into the girl with a vicious speed.

It wasn't often that Weiss made the 'oh' motion much more common to her more brutalist teammates, but the way the girl's body bent at the impact, feet flying up and arms out just before she was shot forth with the same speed Ruby carried, was enough to make her wince in a similar manner. She could hear JNPR's leader and fellow mage give similar auditory signs.

"You okay, Nora?!" Jaune actually yelled. Inappropriate for a true duel… but acceptable worry for a team leader. "You need me to get you some ice?"

"No need Jaune-Jaune!" The rightfully terrifying voice yelled back. The very idea that she was not harmed, let alone slowed, by the blow was a testament to her strength and capability as a hunter. It was a shame she didn't have the intelligence to match. "Cause there's an ice-pack just _ready_ for me to crumble!" That… didn't sound good either

" _WEISS DUCK!"_ Definitely not good.

The heiress hit the crumbled stone with a speed that folded her combat dress, book falling to her side and Myrtenaster nearly flinging from her hands. She _felt_ the braid of her hair whip harshly with the action, nearly sending it around her neck with the whiplashing speeds it traveled at. Her head almost followed, but her low posture gave her support.

Unfortunately, it also gave her _exposure_. As, glancing up, Weiss realized she was laying just underneath a wild Nora Valkyrie, who had her hammer to her side in the follow through of her swing and grinning over her own shoulder with the obvious silent promise. One that any one with an advantage would want to press. It was _not_ one Weiss was going to easily give.

Her fingers tapped Myrtenaster quickly, making her sword hilt spin until it settled on the vial she wanted. Her fingers hit the trigger, cracking the crystalline amount inside and channeling it through her Aura. She could feel the strength of it, the same way how she could feel the coming blow from Nora. Ruby's cries were coming out, but they weren't necessary at the moment. Not as she raised her hand forward, sending forth an enhancement glyph to triple the power of the Dust she was using.

" _THAT'S THE WRONG ONE!_ " It was what?! Weiss only realized too late what Ruby's warning meant.

When the glyph she wanted to glow green with the ethereal charge of wind, enough to blow herself away and the girl back, decided to turn a different color. A far more volatile and inappropriate for the current scenario color. The color that her teammate and partner appeared to love, but Weiss had none of the same emotion for, currently.

Red was not her color, after all. It was associated far too much with passion, devotion, pain, and… most unfortunately, fire.

As in explosions.

**_BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!_ **

The rippling strength of the blast concussed Weiss for a moment, she realized that. She realized that as she went barreling through the air after skipping across the dirt with a strength and force, she didn't want to imagine. She couldn't imagine much else but the pain that was already clouding her head as she felt her blade swing and fling from her arm, the same time she felt her arms roll over and under her airborne body.

Her legs hit something first, a wall perhaps, and not in a glorious or refined manner. Rather, they hit like she was being rag dolled through the air, which she was, ludicrous the term, and settling only when her entire body followed suit, crumpling her into a messy ball of white fabric. Or, formerly white fabric now charred with the strength of her ill-used dust.

Weiss still had no sense of up from down before she was pealed off the wall like a piece of tape, her body falling down and preparing herself to hit the hard granite beneath. She grit her teeth, unable to do much else.

_Pomf_

But instead, she found her body laying on something _much_ softer than dirt and cobblestone. Faintly familiar at that.

"-ei-ei-!" The ringing sound reached her ears, forcing the heiress to shake her head in annoyance. It wasn't loud, far from it, but it was a ghastly annoying thing when her whole head felt like it was ringing. Ringing with the force of a bomb that was. She knew that if she _could_ hear Yang, she'd probably hear some one-off joke at her expense… because her teammate was nothing else if not sympathetic.

A slow groan left her lips, eyes shutting even as she tried to right herself. There still wasn't a fine sense of _where_ she was, only ideas for it. In the coliseum still, held by someone, perhaps Yang given the insistency to yell, but just as easily Ruby. Both had a habit for hugging, screaming, and worry… though it was appreciated. Why should they be worried again?

Ah, yes, because she had ignited a full canister of Flame Dust inches from her hands, with a low Aura, and not much air space to allow the blast to propagate around. It _funneled_ into her, simply. Her and Nora, likely at least. She was the primary target. Still, was it a bit concerning that she was still having some difficulty seeing? Perhaps, though she knew it was temporary. If it was _really_ severe, her teammates would be picking her up and running with her. Not just… holding her still.

"Weis- We-!" Even if there was screaming involved. That hadn't changed.

She wasn't even aware if she groaned or not as she turned her head, immediately feeling someone laying their own hand over her forehead with the action. The size of it _immediately_ disqualified it as Ruby's, not that she had the girl's hands on her often, by choice. But when you had a teammate that wanted to shove her food and treats into your mouth and hugged you as a hello, you tended to feel the small things.

And small hands, though soothing as these were, they were not. They were stronger, more dexterous, calloused, and still rubbing thumbs over Weiss's temples. This time she _knew_ they were not Ruby's for that reason. And Yang, though perhaps just as rugged, were far from gentle. She half expected the girl to be _pulling_ at her bangs to try and get to her head if anything. Blake maybe then? Her teammate was dexterous, and years in the _White Fang_ had done wonders for her physique, and likely first aid.

"Breathe, Wei… Breathe…" Her curiosities for _who_ was caring for her, no matter where she was exactly, were interrupted by the slow command. A gentle one at that, coaxing her to give herself some manner of comfort. It certainly wasn't a request she had any mind to refuse.

The breath of air she took was shaky at best, making her jaw tremble before clamping down in pain. It felt as if a needle were _shot_ through her skull, the clearest indicator of a developing migraine. There was hardly any real deduction necessary to figure out just why. Explosions were many things to many people, but Weiss was certain 'soothing' was below any list of norms for rhyme or reason.

Her sense of curiosity was momentarily halted as she felt a cool sensation wash over her forehead. The hand that was stroking her, petting her almost, started to feel chilled to Weiss. The thoughts that perhaps her care-takers hands were experiencing poor circulation was a worry that was shoved aside and drowned in a lake, as the feeling of the relaxing touch drew a calm sight from her lips.

"There we go… that's far better," Weiss heard, and she agreed. She didn't know _who_ was speaking still, but she knew it wasn't her teammates. Ms. Goodwitch perhaps? She had yet to receive any nursing from the woman, until now that is, but she suspected the harsh teacher wouldn't be nearly so cold when helping an injured student… perhaps. She'd have to ask _Cardin_ later about it.

But still, that was all guessing. It made much more sense to open her eyes, harsh as the light was, fluttering and flashing her bangs to right the intensity of the light to match her eyes, before gazing at her caretaker. They were right above her, hand on her forehead, like Weiss knew, and another under her torso. That left her head gazing down at her. And it was a her, with a long bang that fell over her face… and white hair… and blue eyes…

"W-Winter?" Weiss spoke out. The immediate 'shhhh' the followed almost killed any idea of it being her.

Just as much as the soothing touch that was flowing through her hand… even if it was cold likely channeled through localized glyphs and ice Dust. It was just as unlikely given her sudden reappearance after being sent off by the military, although no one else she could name had her shade of alabaster hair. And why would she be observing Weiss's injury instead of… anything else.

"You were knocked out for a moment, be careful Weiss." And the heiress obeyed the voice like a command. That was… that _was_ Winter's voice. She knew it. She just didn't recognize it so… calm, soothing, _warm_. Was that Winter?

"Is she okay? Is she alright?" In contrast, even with the needle filled migraine she was developing, Weiss had no difficulty recognizing the voice of her partner. "She's not too hurt, is she? A-A-And we don't need to take her to the Nurse's Office?"

"She is fine, Ms. Rose," Winter spoke now. And _that_ was the tone that Weiss remembered, even as much as the hand that was keeping her head from seemingly splitting in two. By Dust, how could she so _foolish_ as to have caused herself this level of injury? "A combination of Aura depletion and head trauma. Normally a concerning thing, but I can already tell she will be alright."

It was amazing how smoothly her voice shifted from the commanding tone Weiss had heard all her life to the caring one that sounded as alien as forgiveness from father. Weiss blinked harshly again, beating the fuzz out of her eyes as she looked up at her sister. There was something else there she wasn't used to seeing, and had only seen on a rare number of times she definitely could count.

Winter was smiling.

"W-Winter," Weiss tried again, but the light shushing from her elder sibling stopped her.

"I've been trained to use my semblance for monitoring internal injuries in the field," Winter began to explain. Weiss had heard this before, when she was trying to train Weiss on her own Glyphs. "I can assure you that Weiss has no internal bleeding, lacerations, contusions, or other worrying injuries. Rather… she just over exerted herself. The same way she always does."

Weiss felt the thumb on her head slightly massage her temple, the same time its palm flattened itself against her. The soothing lapses that she made against her temple, rotating them to rock her head back and forth in slow ministrations… it felt wonderful.

"I should know, I am her sister." But not as wonderful as that.

Weiss shut her mouth as she heard that line, sure that the whimper she otherwise would have let out would _not_ be one of pain… but she didn't know what it was.

"Now I just feel I'm intruding," she heard someone say, Jaune maybe. He wasn't wrong, or right, and she was embarrassed that she was being handled like this in front of her friends, even if she was _thankful,_ she was being treated like this. "Sapphire used to do that to me all the time whenever I fell out of the trees in our back yard. Wouldn't even let me talk until the bruises were gone."

"I know _that_ feeling," Ruby now. At least she was okay. Then again, with her ability to sense the danger, and failing to warn Weiss _in time_ of her mistake, it would have been far more worrying for her to be injured in any significant way more than any injury itself. "Yang used to carry me home whenever I hit my toes on tree roots, and then would swear she'd make me wear steel-toed boots next time or she'd wrap my legs in steel."

"Hey, you wouldn't hurt yourself if you did _that!_ " the fac that her elder sibling was arguing for it was both unbelievable, and thankfully grounding to Weiss. IT was the kind of ridiculous that only her team was capable of voicing. "And shame on _your_ sister for not making you were an extra ten layers of clothes before you go climbing those trees."

"Not everyone's as protective as _you_ , Yang." Ruby was pouting. Weiss could _hear_ it in her voice. She was pouting and doing that scrunched up pose that she so often did. Even with her eyes shut and slowly focusing on the recovery, she just knew it. "I bet Jaune's sisters weren't _half_ as scared for him as you were for me."

"Actually… Ruby…" the way he led off was all the warning the heiress, injured as she was, needed. "They did make me climb with a helmet… and elbow pads… and jeans… with armor mesh." She heard the mix of a groan and laugh come from the obvious targets.

"Your sisters _were_ protective of you, weren't they Jaune," Pyrrha now. It sounded as if she was alright as well. That was even less surprising than Ruby's wellbeing. "I have to admit that it sounds as if they would be quite against you wanting to become a hunter."

"Hahahaha, well… they weren't _excited_ about it if that's what you're wondering." That awkward chuckle was telling of something, but Weiss didn't know what. She only knew that the conversation was heading in a direction she didn't particularly care for or have heavy interest in. Not while Winter was… Winter was _helping_ her pain.

The soothing feeling of her palms was doubtlessly a sign of her semblance working over her forehead. Miniature glyphs that were massaging her scalp either in time or by the direction of the thumb on her temple. For anyone else to do it would be unfortunate but necessary. Winter doing it? Weiss was content to let her friends witness it.

"Are you doing well, Weiss?" The question did not catch her off guard, she merely… didn't have the voice to answer. "I don't sense or see anything debilitating or wrong. Negligible trauma from a high velocity endeavor. I assume using those tools that Link and his friends gifted you were responsible for your low Aura levels." And here it was.

Weiss knew that what was to follow would doubtlessly be the reprimand and harsh consulting of her abilities, pointing out her flaws in her execution and methods she should instead employ next time. It was the same way she had always been taught by her elder sister, be it during the few hours that their father let them interact or she was able to converse while the general had business near their home… her home. Now… she was going to tell Weiss what she should do better.

"… You and your team must have spent a great deal of time training with those tools." Weiss's response was an unintelligible sigh of air. "I have seen him use a fair number of those odd tools, both at the Monument Mine and from files gifted by General Ironwood and… they do not appear to be simply understand, or executed."

Weiss didn't know what was going on. More specifically, she wasn't sure where Winter was going with her deductive reasoning. Wasn't this about her failure? About how Weiss was unable to use her tools properly, and was injured for it? That was what Winter would normally do, and it was what she expected.

"I watched you use the lightning from that tome you held." There wasn't a sound of answer from the heiress. "You were able to control them so efficiently, melding whatever Dust or Aura-manipulated powers came from the text with your own Glyphs. Aside from Jaune's use of the shield, you were able to create a curtain of danger about yourself. It was an extraordinary thing to watch, you using the tools at hand in ways that others could only avoid, rather than counter."

Those were… those were compliments. They were compliments given while Weiss was _injured_ , though recovering, and from her sister, as she helped her ease up. The same sister who used to drop her into the snow and demanded Weiss climb her way free, to show that she was capable of enduring the harshest lands. The same sister who would settle with the powerful Grimm to attack her as a test, swearing that the real world would only be crueler for her failures.

But instead, Winter was comforting her with kind words and compliments…

"The match was not yours, and the Invincible Girl still stands tall, just as she did in the Mine that tortured us." Ah, there it was.

Weiss relaxed a bit her grip, understand now what the physicians meant when they said flexed muscles were harder to treat. That was the Winter she knew, those were the words she expected.

"But to give such a challenge with so new and unique a tool. I am proud of you for it." That was _not_ the sister she was used to.

She felt the pressure on her head increase, in time with her urge to rise and question what was happening. Surely this must have been some cruel joke that a new student was playing on them, some mockery of her senses that her teammates had attempted to rule over her. For certain, yes? It had to be it… it just didn't make sense. It… It…

"Calm down, Weiss." The commanding tone was _far_ more familiar, and she listened to it intently. Yes, _that_ was her sister. "I understand that you feel cheated out of your victory, but I assure you it was not won by some technicality. Any observer would agree the choice was appropriate." Including herself, apparently.

"Match was called when you blew yourself up like a Vacou Extremist, 'cept you got to keep all the best parts on you." Ah, there was the sarcastic tone of her teammate. She almost forgot that Yang was here, how quiet she was. A small twist of her head showed the girl, standing next to Pyrrha and grinning her usual odd smile.

Weiss nodded at it, hardly insulted or surprised by the otherwise vulgar comment.

"Seriously though, that was a hell of an explosion. I felt it through my boots." Weiss saw Yang's bunny hood _flop_ when she jumped up and down. It made her grin in nothing else.

"She's not kidding, I thought you had blown the floor out from underneath you in some kind of mad attempt to knock Nora off her feet!" Jaune yelled back. Why was he yelling? To match the _pounding_ in Weiss's head? He was enough of a nuisance that it made sense he'd know the timing of it. He appeared to have the timing for everything else down to a near T. "I mean, you _did_ send Nora flying-"

"And it was _fun!_ " Weiss promptly ignored Nora's gleeful cheer. Jaune, thankfully, did the same.

"-but you freaked us out with how you basically skipped across the ground like that. Heck, I though Winter coming in here was going to be _because_ of that explosion more than anything else." That idea made Weiss sport a hot blush. It was not… an impossible idea. She titled her head to look at her elder sibling, seeing Winter look back down at her, the same gentle smile, a smile that Weiss _loved_ , looking back at her.

"I was coming regardless, honestly," Winter returned. "Though Jaune is correct that the explosion should-"

"We're here! We're here!" Her comments were cut off by another team leader, and on that Weiss had only marginally lower opinions of than Jaune, though far below Ruby. "What was that?! What… oh… oh _of course_." And the groan he gave when he doubtlessly saw them said all that he needed to. "Course it had to be you guys. Who else would blow the hell out of this place?"

"I suspect many teams that employ high caliber or volatile munitions would be capable of such, Friend Cardin." And now she was here to. "Oh! It's fellow Team RWBY and Team JNPR! And Specialist Schnee! Salutations!" She could _hear_ the girl waving at them, just as well as the cheer in her voice. Great, everyone, at Beacon that had ever given Weiss a migraine was all gathered in one room… while she had a migraine. So much for a dignified defeat… Winter must be _ashamed_ of her for this now.

"H-Hey Penny," Jaune spoke up. He and Pyrrha had spent a week with the pair of them. "Hey Cardin… so… how's it going?" His conversation skills had yet to improve. Weiss's ability to judge such in her rather awkward state was a testament to either her endurance or her quickly adjusting mind. She hoped for either, as both were expected of a Schnee. "You, uh… keeping track of the place or-"

"Just passin' by and then felt the building shake." Cardin butted in, thankfully for once. Anywhere else but Beacon, Weiss was aware, and such a feeling would be reason enough for mass panic. Then again, the pair hadn't entered in a state of calm. "Dove and Russel are tryin' to figure out what to get Sky 'fore he heads out, and Penny and I were thinkin' of the same thing. Then all… this happened."

 _This_ , evidently _,_ was the ruination of the dueling arena. It had been reduced to shambles during the fight between her team and JNPR. Not for a lack of safety, she would be quick to remind any naysayers. They had the Aura monitors turned on and the EMS division notified in case any of them depleted their Aura's completely. They were all fine… even if she had taken a nasty blow, one that Winter's Semblance was still lightly soothing.

"How is Sky?" Pyrrha now, speaking up now. "Has he… I haven't heard or seen him since we returned. I apologize if I'm being too forward but… I was very worried when I heard he had suddenly decided to quit and… a-and I didn't see any signs of it." Weiss said nothing, having no opinion in the matter. She was not close to CRDL, let alone to Sky Lark. Awareness at best. Weiss let them take the attention for now. It was _far_ preferred than having eyes on hers and questions regarding her choices.

"He's fine, just mopin' more than anything else, even if we're the ones who got blind-sided by the whole thing." She heard the far larger boy shift around, sighing lightly before speaking again. "Did you know about it? He said he talked to Oobleck 'bout being taken off the register and everything but… you're 'nother hunter, so did you have a _sense_ for it or something?" Weiss took in a slow breath. Cardin wasn't accusing Winter. He wasn't he was just… being rude about his phrasing.

"I did not," Winter returned. "I suspected he would be traumatized by the experience as… as I will admit I am rather floored that you four appear to be doing so well." _Four_ being Cardin, Penny, Jaune, and Pyrrha, obviously. They were the four her sister had spent a week with, in the company of others not including herself.

Weiss would have slapped her head, were she not already giving herself a migraine and her sister literally keeping a hand _on_ her head.

"It is not uncommon, however, even in Atlas. Sky Lark had an admirable sense of deduction and a Semblance that would make exploration in dangerous territory far less hazardous, but one cannot force him to endure the fear of a painful death, especially when one was shown to him." Wait, they had _seen_ death? She wasn't the only one who caught that.

"Whoa, hold on, who died?" Yang asked now, arms outstretched. "Last I heard everyone got back safe-and-sound. Okay, Jaune was talking _a lot_ about the impalements and stuff that you guys went through, a-a-and Penny had her prosthetic torn off."

Weiss bit her lip now, in the same time she was sure her teammates were avoiding eye contact and Penny sneezed. Sneezing now, really Zepp?

"But everyone's _okay_ , right?"

"Apologies, Jaune, I misspoke," Winter corrected herself. Weiss _wanted_ to say _that_ wasn't necessary, but her sister's hand on her head was like a muzzle to her lips. A warm comforting one at that, soothing her headache away. "I meant to imply that the fear of witnessing such death can alter one's opinion of being out in the field. Many capable hunters decide to move to teaching, education, or menial labor jobs simply because they are safer. You only need to witness such a thing once to have it consume your mind… or merely imagine it."

Weiss may not have known her sister as well as she would have liked, the consequence of their _father_ sending her away and disowning her after she joined the Atlesian Hunter's Academy and subsequently the Military, but she knew he well enough to recognize she was hiding something. However, she wasn't concussed _enough_ to believe this was either the time or place.

"I would like to speak with you privately, Weiss." Evidently, Winter thought the same. She looked up at her sister, seeing the calm reserve her sister was known for gazing back… but with a warmth that was far beyond the stated norm. "Just the two of us… maybe over tea or… h-how about dinner?" That sounded-

"Will General Ironwood approve this?" Weiss had never found Penny much more than slightly annoying at worst, but her sudden interruption was _not_ to be understated. "Failure to return to Military compounds, including Atlesian class dreadnaughts, harbors, or embassies, by curfew hours may result in demerits to one's professional standing and-"

"I have his approval, Polendina," Winter quickly interrupted the android, a fact she was aware could not be stated out loud. "One-week shore leave." One week? "I was hoping to spend the time catching up with my younger sibling, as we have been apart for some time. I don't know if I should refer to it as serendipitous or unfortunate to find her in the state, she was in." Were it not for the cool hand on her head, Weiss knew she would have flushed… but one week?

An… An entire week? With Winter? With _just_ her sister?

"I only need Weiss's approval before we go."

As if there was doubt of what she would answer with? Pained or not, Weiss would not be denied time with her elder sibling, the woman she had tried to follow all her life, and now was being presented with an opportunity to spend a week with her, unmonitored by the Atlesian drones, her father's staff, or others watchful eyes.

Just her and Winter… that sounded like a wonderland to her.

* * *

Ruby did not pout, no matter what Yang said. Sure, she got mad when some people decided to tease her or intentionally keep her out conversations, but even then, she didn't pout, she just complained a little bit while avoiding eye contact, because she didn't want to look at them while they were teasing her. It was just rude. And crossing her arms? That was to make sure she didn't push them down to her side and storm out of the room. Just because people were being rude to her didn't mean she had to be rude to them.

So no, Ruby Rose did not pout. She just avoided eye-contact, held her tongue, and crossed her arms until the person teasing her realized how wrong they were. It was just too bad her sister never seemed to get it, or her dad, or her partner, or anyone… but obviously they were in the wrong! Because Ruby didn't pout!

Even as she watched her partner walk away with her sister, Ruby just made sure to avoid looking at them, because obviously it would be rude to watch Weiss have a good time with bigger Weiss. And she crossed her arms because they were tired, they _did_ just _beat_ Pyrrha, almost at least! So, she had to support them somehow! And her cheeks were puffed out because… because it was comfortable!

But maybe her friends and sister wouldn't notice. Maybe they'd be too tired or too busy talking to Jaune and Cardin's team. Maybe they wouldn't care that she was po- _watching_ Weiss walk away with her sister, both of them all smiles, while she was left dealing with the clean up of the arena. That wasn't a reason to pout after all. Maybe… they wouldn't notice?

"Aw, is Ruby jealous?" Ruby's hopes were shot with the question. Yang was already starting to tease her. "Are you jealous that Weiss is spending time with her big sis? Did you wanna spend more time with her instead!" That was _not true!_

"No!" Ruby shot back herself, turning her head until her bob cut swayed with the motion. "I was just making sure Weiss was alright and… and I had to focus! It's a leader's duty to make sure her teammates are doing well, even if they don't want to talk about it." There, that made sense. Succinct, accurate, and totally what she was doing. Why else would she have been watching Winter wrap her arm around Weiss's shoulder like that. Obviously, she wanted to make sure the action didn't flare up any harm.

"Of course!" Yang spoke up. But Ruby knew that voice. That was _not_ Yang's 'I agree' voice. That was her 'I know you're lying and I'm going to force the truth out of you' voice. But Ruby wasn't lying! "Why would you be jealous of Weiss and her sister. It's not like you don't have a kickass older sister yourself, one who is able to go toe-to-toe with the Invincible Girl Afterall! Sides, unlike Weiss and Winter, we get to hang out _all_ the time. Or did you want to hang out more~?" Oh no.

"I-I-It's not like that!" Ruby pushed out again. She slammed her foot down with the statement, arms flinging down in the same action. That only made Yang putting her hands on her hips, sporting _that_ grin all the more annoying. That was her grin _and dad's_ grin, and they only got that grin when they were about to embarrass her. And they're friends were still around them! "It's not!"

"Hey, I agree with ya Rubes," Yang spoke again, but she clearly didn't! "Cause if ya _were_ jealous, then I'd be more than happy to treat ya like Winter was Weiss over there. Starting out with doing something liiiiiiike this!" Ruby got a feeling flash through her as soon as Yang hung herself on that one word. That gave her enough time to back away.

And good thing she did, because no sooner did she get out of arm's reach of her blonde sister than did her elder sibling wrap her arm through the air, in the exact area her shoulder was. She'd lived with Yang long enough to know that wasn't going to be hug. That was a noogie hold, and Ruby _hated_ noogies, especially from Yang.

But her big sister didn't look upset that she dodged, which was good because Ruby would _not_ let herself get noogied by her. Instead, _that_ grin kept looking at her, even as she bobbed her head back and forth to make her long hair sway. Did she not realize she was still wearing Link's Bunny Hood? Or was it hers now? Like… Weiss did have the book? No wait, not important right now!

"You really do have a sense for danger," she said as if they hadn't been practicing for the last week on it. Ruby just puffed out her lips with the comment, making her big sis laugh. But she _wasn't_ pouting. It was just… her look for showing that Yang knew better. Like Yang's grin, they were exactly the same. "Easy, easy, I know what it's all about. Just gotta realize that you don't seem to know the difference between a punch or a hug. Who would ever want to dodge a hug from _me?_ " Said question was given when she put her arms outstretched, showing off… exactly what Ruby didn't like her to do.

"Is that a rhetorical question? Please tell me you're not actually curious." Jaune spoke up, and once more Ruby was reminded why she _really_ liked having him for a friend. "Because if it's not… then maybe because- GAH!" And Ruby started giggling now, eyes on her best friend and his partner.

Namely how his partner had her hand on his shoulder… and she was squeezing. Pyrrha was really strong.

"I think Jaune is far more fatigued than he appears to be," Pyrrha noted from behind him, sighing as she let him go. "Because even I know that it is inappropriate to comment in affairs between family members. … I-It is inappropriate, right?"

Ruby, despite the mortification she felt only moments ago, couldn't help but grin a bit at the question. It probably didn't help her that she was surrounded by her team and Cardin's, even if Penny was there now. Ruby… still wasn't used to that, but it was one of those things were it would get normal in time. Cardin _had_ changed at least. To the point where he wasn't mocking Jaune or others openly anymore.

"Yup! That's gotta be it!" Nora, however, was he one to jump up. "Because when you've got a chest that makes you lean forward _all_ the guys wanna lean in fort a taste!" And as if her words weren't bad enough, she made the _same_ posture as Yang did, arms out and even leaning back a little. Ruby could tell she was doing it, because she was _grinning!_ And Ren was behind her, head in his hands and wondering what happened. "I had to break the legs of a few people back in Mistral for staring too long at me, 'specially when I was wearing tighter clothes. Good thing Renny was there to help me out!" Poor Ren…

"I-I-I don't think that's-" Jaune started to push himself back. Ruby didn't fell much right now for her new Semblance, probably because nothing was _attacking_ her, but that didn't mean the conversation wasn't dangerous. Jaune knew that at least. Too bad he was still Jaune, so he had Jaune's luck.

"Oh, is that why boys enjoy hugging girls?" And that luck manifested in Penny asking the question. Ruby turned to look at her automaton friend, the red-head tilting her head sideways as she… pushed her hands to her chest… looking down at them through her dress… as if she weren't familiar with them. "Reproductive tools following insemination, otherwise an erogenous zone during-" Ruby didn't need her new Semblance to know this was going too far!

"Okay! Okay! That's enough!" Cardin, of all the people Ruby expected, jumped up and started showing, far loud than Yang, Nora, or Penny. Probably because he was so big. Ruby was _really_ glad he was right now, especially if he was helping out. "That's a step too far. I'm all for punking or teasing them, but that, oh no, that's too much." Well part way on her side at least. Not against them.

"Why not, Friend Cardin?" Penny asked. "Is there something unsatisfactory or disappointing with my conclusion?"

Ruby's semblance, again, didn't do anything for what anyone said, only what they did, and most specifically actions that would actual result in the harm of someone ese. It was something that she and her team had realized while they were practicing with it over the course of the past week. Weiss learned how to control the lightning that came out of the book, Blake learned the finer points of knowing when to and not to use the cloak, and Yang always kept her eyes open, and dodged more often, when she was using the Bunny hood. During all that practice, Ruby learned she could sense any punch, kick, shot, explosion, or even sense of danger that was directed at her or someone she cared about, that last part was the kicker.

She learned _that_ when she realized that she didn't sense much of anything from other students dueling under Ms. Goodwitch's lessons, even though they were clearly attacking one another. But when Nora was dueling someone from Mistral, she got the sense something was going to happen whenever he raised his tonfas. Not that Nora had much to worry about, but she still sensed something. Ruby realized that was a new key part of her powers.

When someone she worried about was in danger, she could sense what was coming would be dangerous, and early enough for her to help. It made sense that she didn't know where _Roman_ was attacking before, not until Link and Elrora flew away with Weiss and Blake. Then she could sense something was wrong and she got there as quick as she could. It was why she could feel constantly that something was wrong for her friends while they were away, but knowing that she couldn't do anything because they were supposed to be in danger. It was why she didn't feel much from the city of Vale, even though Weiss had pointed out that there were arrests and violent acts almost nightly. That all made sense to her.

It was why it made sense, even if she didn't like it, that she couldn't see Penny's next comments coming. That, or the fallout from them.

"I believe that males enjoy women with large mammaries due to their indication of fertility and prospective breeding traits."

That comment alone made Ruby blush a red deep enough that she was _sure_ she could hide in her cape with and hot enough that Yang would be _tested_ to match. And she wasn't the only one. Her sister, the one _responsible_ for all of this, was flailing her arms and looking like a fish out of water. Blake was probably hiding in her cape for just that reason, the coward! The smart, team-sacrificing coward!

And while Ren was looking as if this was a usual act from Nora, said girl giggling at the question, Jaune at least was about ready to fall over. Pyrrha, for once, wasn't there to catch him, looking as red as _her_ hair and shaking as if anticipating an attack. Ruby felt horrible for all of them, though not enough to do anything, because she felt bad enough as it was. And funny enough, she wasn't even the worst one off!

Cardin didn't appear anymore capable of handling the question than Ruby felt capable of talking about destroying Crescent Rose! The boy probably two feet taller than she was, was flailing his arms back and forth, mouth working _uselessly_ as he tried to figure out what to say. It would've been hilarious for that alone, but Penny was the one who put him in that state, and after he had gone so far to fix himself and be a better person.

And, again, to the limitation of her new Semblance ability, Penny _kept_ talking.

"Do you not enjoy my chest size, Friend Cardin?" Ruby wished, completely and wholly, that she had the foresight to run from the room. But the only bad feeling she got was her gut saying that someone was doing something really embarrassing. And damn her sister, she wanted to _watch_ it, even if she felt like a monster for it. "I believe they were specified to be a B size in bust, but perhaps something closer to D would be more to your liking."

"W-W-What the _hell_ are you even talking about!?" Cardin, for once completely justifiably, exploded at the question. Ruby was torn between wanting to take a picture of the former bully, she hoped former at least, looking flushed and upset, then between that and just ducking her head and plugging her ears. "That's _not_ the kind of question you ask someone! A-A-And why the _hell_ would you ask _ME?!_ They were the ones who were waving themselves in the air!?" His hand waved towards Yang and Nora. Honestly, Ruby was surprised then that she didn't feel anything in her Semblance.

"Waving?! You wanna say that again, big man?!" Yang roared, even if she didn't deny what she'd done. Ruby looked at Blake, seeing her, finally, hiding higher up in the stands. She actually had her cape in hand, like she was getting ready to turn tail and run at any minute! Why!? Why would she leave her team leader to this?! "I was just teasing my sister 'bout her inability to handle herself. Its what siblings do! Not my fault your new teammate can't left from right in a conversation!"

"Left and right are perspective dependent sings of direction, with left being towards the anterior portion of the medial plan and right the latter." Ruby, once again, didn't know if she should be grinning, moaning, or blushing at the sight of Penny flawlessly and smoothly handing her sister over in the conversation. She settled for all of them. That was the appropriate response to her at least. "However, I also do not believe you were waving your chest in the air." Oh thank Dust. "As that would require you removing them from your attire. Is that what you were planning?" Oh damn the Grimm!

"You thought I was gonna _WHAT?!_ " Yang _roared_ this time. Ruby completely ducked now, sure that her Semblance was gonna flare at any moment. She only had to remind herself that the reason why her big sister's wasn't was because of that hood she was wearing. Maybe she was sensing something else, she couldn't be sure, but she knew one thing for certain.

Yang was _pissed._

"I'll have you know my girls only get taken out for special occasions, and this ain't one of them!" Ruby wished now, more than anything else, that her Semblance had something to do with her hearing or memory, because at least then she could do _something_ to block out this conversation!

Really didn't help that Nora was rolling over the bleachers in stitches, Ren sitting next to her and pointedly not looking at her. Traitors, the lot of them! Blake was among them, because now she was just complete gone! She really did hide in her magic cape! Why? Did she thing Ruby was going to call on her for help. If she did think that… _damn she was smart!_

"Oh? Then may I inquire as what qualifies as special?" Penny _kept_ talking, and Ruby was deciding for the first time this week if her Semblance was just not working. "Would it be appropriate to bare them in your dorm room amongst your teammates, or would it be better to do it with only a particular individual." Both of those were horrible, _horrible_ questions.

Ruby could almost _see_ the red begin to move up her sister's eyes, even if that was impossible with the hood on. What she could fee, and do, was start to back away, realizing this was _far_ and beyond past appropriate. Heck this was… she didn't know if there was an actual term for it, but it was bad, and bad things were bad, especially if they got worse. And it was even worse than worse if she couldn't feel them coming!

"Or is a special moment best shared amongst individuals of the opposite sex with minimal personal relations?" It just got worse.

And finally, horribly, Ruby's semblance flared.

"That's it!" Yang roared, and Ruby watched her jump forward, fist raised into the air. That happened at the same time Cardin was putting himself in front of Penny, probably because he was larger. And while that happened, Nora was only just starting to pick herself up off the bleachers, while Ren was watching with his own wide-eyed stare. And that was happening while Jaune was starting to lose the color in his cheeks, while Pyrrha was starting to realize this as going maybe a step too far.

Ruby watched it all, and she had a good sight for it, because she was already jumping forward as well. It was what her training for the past week had been all about, so it made sense that she got use of it now. Even if it was for the stupidest reason. Reason or not, her Semblance told her something bad was going to happen, so she had to get in the way.

And she did, by grabbing her sister from behind and pulling her back. Thank whatever god was in charge of Dust and Luck that her sister didn't have her _actual_ Semblance on display, or else she'd have no luck. For now…

"You wanna call me easy again!?" She only had to deal with her sister screaming. "C'mon! Do it! Call me some kinda easy girl that'll bare herself to any lame duck on the street! I dare ya! You wanna take a joke and turn it into some lurid insult, _fine!_ But you gotta expect me to take your head off for it!" The threats were a 'bonus'.

Penny couldn't respond, at first. Ruby was just able to see over Yang's shoulder as the girl was being pretty much covered by Cardin's body. Maybe that was for the best, because she probably wouldn't say the best thing in return.

"I did not mean to insult you!" Her voice basically yelled from behind Cardin. He looked back, a look of fear in his own eyes. Guess he knew this was bad as well. "I thought that was merely the kind of woman that you were!" Ruby was sure she shared the bigger student's panic now.

"Stick your head out and bare your teeth!" Yang roared the demand as she finally pulled herself forward, Ruby dragging her heels to just keep her sister from lunging forward. And even then, it was like trying to hold back Zwei after her dad put the snacks out. Literally impossible. "Show me those pearly whites of yours so I can stain them the color of your _hair!_ "

"Yang! That's enough!" Ruby almost breathed a sigh of relief when Pyrrha was there, pushing back against her big sister as Ruby pulled. It wasn't perfect, but it at least kept her sister from charging… any faster. "Penny is… Penny doesn't have an excellent set of social ques or skills! She doesn't know any better!"

"She's right!" Cardin yelled back. Ruby could just make out, she thought, someone's muffled voice. For once, she was _glad_ to hear that over the actual words. "You got no idea how many times she called me something like dumb muscle or useless! She doesn't get what's she saying is bad!" At least he wasn't a bully anymore, not unless Penny was… which this conversation could be mistaken for.

"Not good enough!" Yang kept throwing out. For the umpteenth time, Ruby was _immensely_ grateful for the bunny hood and her own Semblance. It was probably what was keeping her big sis from _killing_ Penny! She couldn't have her big sis kill one of her friends, it'd be really hard to explain to dad! "I'm gonna tear your head off and toss it into the garbage bin!" Now that wasn't only possible, but it would just be awkward to explain what Penny was.

"Aw c'mon!" Cardin seemed to yell out at that. "Arc! Help me out your partner for Grimm's sake!" And if there already weren't enough 'holy crap' moments in her day, Cardin speaking sense was just one more on top of it. Well… a sensical action Ruby realized she should amend.

It was enough to spur her friend to act, helping to grab Yang's shoulder, and _just_ her shoulder, to help push her back with his partner and Ruby behind them. And the increase in distance was great, because that mean that they couldn't hear Penny, who was still mumbling while being caught by Cardin. Ruby wasn't worried, she was strong, and Cardin was at least helping!

IT didn't take long to get Yang out of the training arena, sliding into the locker room with just the four of them. She was able to push out of Ruby's grip easily enough once they were in there Pyrrha and Jaune seemingly letting her go as she did so. More thankfully, and per her Semblance, Yang didn't go running out after Penny. That was good, even if Ruby was watching her carefully. Where was Blake when she needed her?

"You okay?" Jaune asked, because Jaune was a good guy. "I mean… you're not gonna go running after Penny, right? That was actually pretty normal for her, at least from what I got over the past week."

"Jaune's right, that was very normal to her mannerisms," Pyrrha agreed. "Further, I think… are you sure you didn't over react?" Yang glared at the girl for the question.

"Over react?" Yang asked, as if it were insulting. Ruby just watched, only a tad bit worried something bad was going to happen. "Bad like your _male_ partner standing next to three girls in the girl's locker room?" She suspected that qualified.

Jaune made some kind of squawking sound at the accusation. Honestly Ruby didn't even know what it sounded like. Like Jaune's usually moan of disappointment crossed with… a cardinal? IT sounded like that at least. The conclusion was the same though, that being him _booking_ it out of the room faster than she ever though him capable of running, doubly so after a fight.

Pyrrha took off after him in just as short a time, her voice calling his name as they vanished back out of the door they came in from. That left Ruby alone with her big sister, the one who had gone from teasing, to appalled, then nearly murderous in all in the span of a few minutes. It was… not what Ruby expected from Yang.

"Yang, are you okay?" Ruby asked her sister. No real reason to be cautious, as her Semblance wasn't giving her any warning signs. True, she tended to need an actual act of violence for it to react, or so the last week had taught her, but her sister had just been called everything short of… well, physical assaults wouldn't be that surprising. "They were being honest that Penny tended to be… well she can be…"

"She's not all up there, is she?" Ruby blinked at her sisters' words. No, more than that, she had to shake her head to see that her sister was actually… calm? "Tends to say crap that doesn't make much sense, or tends to come out without a filter?" That was… accurate? Okay, that shouldn't be too surprising given that her sister wasn't _dumb_ , but… she put her fists before her head, a lot.

"Well, yeah, and I'm glad that you got that, but-" But there was a lot more to say than _that_. "But I mean, she did some weird stuff, I'll admit, a-and I don't want you to, you know, go crazy on her or anything." Ruby said that as she held her arms out, ready to jump at her sister if necessary. But her new Semblance wasn't flaring and she didn't it too. Not now of all times.

"What? You mean like as if I _didn't_ see that coming?" Yang asked, which was a really weird thing to ask for Ruby especially when her big sister tended to have a habit of doing just that. Her dad and her still had an account all set up just in case she did things like that, because jail was still a possibility for her sister.

"You do kiiiiinda have a track record," Ruby rolled out, her hands fidgeted as she said it. She didn't want Yang to try and put her into _another_ noogie lock. That was how this whole thing got started! "And, well, it would be _kinda_ weird for you to just…" Ruby didn't have a word for what she was thinking. It was supposed to obvious what her sister was about to do. Heck, even _Blake_ knew what was coming, it was why she had run away, the traitor! She'd have to hold back the milk from her coffee when she saw her next.

"So I tend to act first, some call that a mean fight over flight," Yang twirled her finger in the air and… and she was _still_ grinning while bobbing her head back and forth. The Bunny Hood kept waving with her. "But hey, that was before I had the ability to see what I _knew_ was coming."

And now her hand was waving back and forth through her large ears, well the hood's ears, and she was bouncing like one too. It was good thing her outfit wasn't like a bunny's or else she'd look really weird, not that she wasn't already acting weird. This was Yang, her big sister, the same sister that would hit anyone who tried to tease her and _especially_ Ruby, and now she was talking about seeing those jokes coming? But… oh…

Ruby felt her head slide into her hands, just like how Ren had looked before. And when she did that, she heard her sister _giggling_. Of course, it was too much to allow someone else to tease her. But Yang herself? There wasn't a force in Remnant to keep her from doing that. And now?

"Why Yang?" Ruby whined. She didn't pout, but whining got a few things in the world, that was for sure. In this case, it was her sister grinning with _that_ smirk. "I would have taken a noogie instead of… all of _that!_ "

"I bet ya would have," her sister agreed. "But then you'd still be thinking about Weiss and Winter, and whatever about them was bothering you." What? Ruby blinked at the accusation. She wasn't… she didn't think about Weiss and bigger Weiss! Not…

Oh yeah… she really had forgotten about Wiess, hadn't she?

Ruby looked up at her sis, who was wearing _that_ grin again, but this time with her hair back and eyes looking over her. That was the 'I'm your big sis and anything that makes you feel bad I'll destroy look'. She wore that one a lot, especially out in public, not so much in Beacon proper. Not unless there was a someone who thought they had a chance to become friends with her… and she knew better. But that was far besides the point.

Yang was, still was, looking out for her. Or so she'd like Ruby to _think!_ No way her sister, the same big sis that had put over a dozen boys in the hospital in a single year back in Patch would possibly let herself be insulted like that! Even if it was for her, she would have tried to hit Penny or Cardin for it, even if the latter was just in the way.

Ruby opened her mouth, ready to throw out the accusation.

"Now c'mon, we gotta get some lunch 'fore the day gets late." Before her sister threw out the idea of food with a bright grin over her face, matched by her hand over her shoulder and a thumb pointing backwards. "How much you wanna bet that we'll see Link or Oobleck there? Bet we can ask them a hundred and one questions." Ruby's voice caught at the question. And Yang, true to being her big sister, took the chance to turn around.

Ruby didn't pout, she didn't. So, when Yang turned around without so much as a chance to retort, walking away and making any further conversation just rude, or awkward, Ruby only puffed out her cheeks because she was annoyed. She wasn't pouting, she was just a little annoyed about her sister saying stuff like that, especially after they had to _drag_ her away from Penny and Cardin.

Then again… Ruby did want to talk to Link, at least one on one. It had been a while since she had, and he'd be the one who could probably help her understand her new Semblance a bit better than she did already. Maybe. AT least he was strong and trained enough to know some cool tricks. And if nothing else, it'd be great to talk to him again. Friends shouldn't avoid conversation after all. Ruby nodded her head, calming herself as she resolved herself to do just that.

Then she saw something else that made her stop and think. Something that was unrelated to Link, partially, her sister, somewhat, and the previous fight, not at all. In other words, it was something that involved _all_ of those things… but without being too bad. IT was just something she was sure her sister forgot about. Something really embarrassing, maybe half as embarrassing as what Penny was asking her before.

She had the chance to stop it, or at least correct, but she decided against it. Sporting a grin, she was sure would be a one-to-one comparison for her big sisters, Ruby lowered her arm and just watched Yang leave the room, without a seeming care in the world. For once Ruby didn't have the mind to stop her sister, not after the stunt she pulled.

She could walk into the cafeteria with the Bunny Hood on.

The comments would be worth remembering.

* * *

If there was one thing Roman hated, it was waiting.

Sure, there were a lot of ways to pass them time when you _were_ waiting, but waiting was still waiting. He could smoke a cigar, scam a shop keep, hand back with the boys, start up a chat with Junior, work on his cane, bother Neo, _think_ about bothering Cinder, count the Lien he'd stolen, count the _Dust_ he'd stolen, or maybe even finally listen to his good old daddy and learn to grow up. That last one never really jived too well with him.

The rest had some use at least. Even if was just killing time, it was hard to fault making sure they had everything the needed for their plans, or doubly making sure the wild animals weren't getting too antsy, or the career criminals were actually staying loyal to them, and not looking at the bounty on their heads with a little light bulb. And hell, scamming the local suckers put Lien in _his_ pocket at least, which he could always use. No such thing as too much of a good thing, especially when it helped make the world go around, his word.

That said, it all ever was just a means to an end. Just more things to do to get the rest of the plan rolling forward. Sure, one day he thought about it and realized it was probably similar to what a lot of people do. HE could see that Little Red doing constant work on her mega-death scythe weapon, just so she could get a _hair_ closer to him next time, but never make it. He could see Neo spending time combing her hair in just the right way to make sure the strands didn't mix, all to make that one poor sap stare at her for just a _second_ longer, and ironically the last second of his life, usually. It was even possible to see the beasts they were working with constantly talking about how _great_ their lives were just so they could get pumped for the next attach, when _he_ told them when it was. Because they were all just getting ready for the next big thing.

He was waiting, and he was trying to find something to do to get ready for _his_ next big act… and he was running short on the list.

Didn't help that Roman's face was now plastered all over the shop windows so he couldn't walk outside anymore. _Really_ didn't help that some brat in the ranks decided to push on how he really thought of the Faunus, like it was that much of a surprise, especially when they talked about _him_ like a pawn, the suckers. There were only so many buttons he could push on Neo before she pushed a few of his, and usually cost him a few hours of his life for it.

And accounting work? Counting the product and goods? Making sure that all the merchandise was still collated, organized, and wrapped up with a bow for the bitch in the red dress? As boring as listen to a talk about morals from a politician, but done to death. He could count them all, front to back, and even had a few of the Serial Ports memorized for the effort. Heck, the thief could wager he would be able to recognize the freaking _barcode_ on the Dust, like he was in some mega-regulated society. The thing was, even with all that done and tried, he still had to wait.

For a thief, waiting was like pulling teeth. His _own_ teeth, and there just wasn't any fun in that.

He continued to tap his cane on the ground, the hollow tube of Melodic Cudgel making a bong every time it tapped the concrete beneath him. Smoke billowed lightly, far from menacing inly, unfortunately, from the corner of his mouths. At the moment, all it looked like was what he felt. He was _steaming_.

"Help start an invasion, they said," Roman muttered guttery to himself. "Help take out the establishment that wants to imprison you. Help get revenge on the people that threw you in jail. Help kidnap a child. Help fight Conan the Fau-Barian. Help us start off with the deadliest 'hero' Remnant has ever seen. It'll be _fun!_ " He grabbed his cigar with the last bit of his mini-tirade.

The small butt of a cancer stick fell apart to ashes in his gloves, floating to the ground and ground beneath his feet. No need to worry about DNA tracking through dried ashes… no need to worry about DNA if he could _just_ get this plan rolling. Too bad he didn't have a say in _when_ that was.

"Just wait for the right moment, Roman," he continued to speak lowly to himself. "Sure, I messed up the timing of the invasion, of the kidnapping, of the research, of everything I've ever promised I'd give you, but trust me _this time I got it_." He raised his voice when he spoke out the last part again. "Yeah, and I'm as whimsical as Little Red is."

A long sigh left him again, hand rubbing underneath the edge of his cap as he tried to get his head straight. So much going on with so little here-say to him. All of it learned second hand and even _more_ of it pushing back deadlines he was promised and digging into his final line. Sure, the final line was his life, but that just made digging at it all the more _gruesome_ to watch! At least in jail he'd get three meals a day, even if he had to crack as many skulls to show he wasn't one of the slobs.

"Wonder if there's anyway to start the fire early?" Roman asked the air, leaning back in thought. The tall collar of his jacket rode up the back of his hair, even as he turned to lean against a nearby railing. His eyes, or his best eye unobstructed by his long bang of red hair, looked at the warehouse underneath him, and all the product they still had even after the failed assault on Vale. Least they really didn't empty the city the first time around for nothing.

Still… there was only so long it could sit here before someone got curious and came poking around. A part of him half hoped that they would. At least then he'd have something to do.

Body disposal _was_ supposed to be handled by the rookies, so they took the fall when they were inevitable caught, but at least if he did it, he could get some kind of rush, and maybe even a quick chase that lead to a _move-up_ of the plans. That was better than nothing. And listening to his own thoughts, the thief knew he'd been cooped up for too long.

"What kind of an _idiot_ thinks of ways to _rush_ a plan?" He questioned himself, searching his lapels for another cigar to incinerate. If there was one Semblance he sorely wished he had, it was tobacco refinement. If he had that, he'd be a rich, content, and utterly absorbed SOB. So, all the same, but with gratified to boot. "Bet Lien, Dust, and a foxy thrust that Neo's havin' more fun than I am."

 _Tap-Tap_. A sigh left his lips as he felt the sensation next to him. Figures the Gods or whomever was up there had to have fun with him, too. Everyone else seemed to like jumping on _that_ particular train. All of them were popular now a days, especially if he was the conductor. And here he was thinking he was the thief most days.

Roman sighed as he turned around, finding his favorite comrade grinning up at him, rocking her feet and balancing her umbrella behind her. Her head rocked back and forth, silent as she always was, and either blissfully unaware to his grumbling and moaning or trying to throw a bit more fire to the pyre.

Knowing her? The latter, by leagues and bounds.

"Neo, Neo, where art' though Neo," Roman began theatrically, throwing out one arm and pointing Melodic Cudgel to the far wall. The heterochromatic girl just looked back up at him, tilting her head with that same snark she always wore, perpetually at that. "Is that you I see by moonlight's faint light? Come to grace a thief so lowly?"

His pint-sized partner, not that any man who wanted to be even a hair taller than her would say, put the back of her hand to her forehead, leaning back mockingly and extravagantly. She leaned back on her umbrella, the bright grin plain as her mis-matched hair.

"For true! For true it is you!" Roman finished, spinning himself once around on his heel, stopping when he planted the flat of his cane back on the concrete. It made a small thud as it did so. "Can I guess that the 'fair maiden' is here to leave a mocking note on the lowly thief, the only one among us who _isn't_ able to hide themselves in front of thousands of eager and adoring bounty hunters?"

Neopolitan daintily, all a show of course, put her finger to the edge of her lips. She screwed her expression, looking up as if deep in thought. Maybe of the best thing to do to piss him off, sure, but definitely not his actual question. The quick nod and silent giggle she gave was answer enough. More than he honestly expected, not that he _wanted_ to hear something like that. Of course, that was half the fun of partners. They always did the damndest things.

Like, stealing his cap when he wasn't looking, for example. Roman clicked his tongue, past the cigar he was burning. If it matched how he felt, it'd be a nub in a few minutes. That wasn't likely though, not when the last ten burned all the same, no matter ow much madder he got.

"Ha ha, very funny, kicking the bruised dog. Now give it back." Roman held out his hand, flexing and extending his hand in a 'come here' motion. The girl only proceeded to point at his bowled hat on her head. "Yes, that." Then to decide to point at his red hair and clearly capless head. It was too breezy for him! "The very one in the same!" He tapped his cane. Again.

But the girl only proceeded to giggle and spin about again, leaving the famed thief, Vale's most wanted, to groan into the air like a disappointed father. He certainly was one right now. To the spoiled brat he depended on for the best heists, the trio of dipshits that were calling shots, and to all the wannabees he was being told to _listen_ to. What was the world coming to? Before mass panic and total obliteration, of course.

"Now, Neo," Roman clicked out. "Before I have to take out all the ice cream from the freezer." _THAT_ got the girl to freeze, and actually lose her confident smirk. Naturally, the best thing about partners, it was a two-way street, that nasty thing about knowledge and all that. "Don't think I won't missy. I'm bored and impatient enough that I may have just become a desperate man. Maybe a woman scorned is _just_ the thing I need to lighten the mood! And if you don't give that hat back, well, I'll consider it you being a good girl and volunteering!" He held up his hand in the air, pointing as if he were one of the blowhards in the military.

And the moment he struck the position, he felt the brim of his cap twirl about his finger, thrown with the same precision he expected from the gal. He grinned at his red ribbon attire, flipping it between his digits before letting it roll and pop back onto his head. He stuck his nose into the air triumphantly, matched by a slow and undramatic clap from the girl.

"Yes, yes, I know, very impressive on my part," Roman rolled out, the same time he rolled his hand. "Now though, maybe you _can_ help me something." The girl perked up at his suggestion, even though Roman had barely thought of it. "Looking to make sure everything is ready for when the plan is activated by _you know who_." He pointed towards the railing as he spoke, doubtlessly indicating the stray guard or two that may over hear.

The bitch was a witch, but if the bitch knew he was a snitch, he'd be bewitched by the hitch he'd be lynched… to. So close.

Neo, however, only nodded up at him, her umbrella spinning about her shoulders before having the capped end sitting on the ground. Hiding the sharp blade of course. At least he could talk to her about this, better than mulling it all over in his head, for the millionth and one time. Maybe he was on billionth, hard to tell when you only had walls and animals to talk to.

"We know that they're gonna start their 'latest and greatest' plan soon, and we gotta make sure everything goes aces up for them." The impassionate look the girl gave her new, complete with her entire face seeming to fall, wasn't hard to read. "I know, I know, fourth time is no one's charm, and these guys don't even have the devil's luck. Thing is that failure to them means _my_ failure, and _my_ failure means _my_ life. And I'll have you know I'm quite attached to it. Had since the day I was born and I don't want to lose it."

He made a show of grabbing the brim of his bowler cap as he did so. He couldn't dare lose that, and the rolling of Neo's eyes just showed she didn't know what quality was when she saw it. Clearly any villain or thief worth their weight in salt would know how valuable his cap was. Then again, she was four foot ten and thin as a stick… more insults to never breath.

"Point is, I've gone over everything they got for making the plan _start out_ , whenever they shoot the gun to send the horses, pigs, or whatever else is fun to watch run start yammering down the track." He'd prefer dogs. They at least were fun to pet and play fetch with, unlike the rest of the mutts here. "Now I gotta make sure all the redundancies are in place, or else I'll get blames for _not_ thinking of something, and far be it for the most famed man in Vale to forget something as important as a plan D." Afterall, if you didn't have that, you'd just spell out your own death!

Little Neo tapped chin with her hand, stroking the thin point of it like she was deep in thought. Maybe she was this time, seeing as she wasn't sticking her tongue out at him at his expense. Small blessings, small gifts, all added up to one massive payday.

"You at least get what I'm saying, right?" The mini-thief nodded, and Roman was glad for that. Probably because she actually cared about her life over a cause. Best support group there was. "Good, great, then I need you to think and remember if Cinder's little plan for the robots is still seeded into the Atlesian droids and mechs is still running around in those circuits of theirs. Is it?" That got her gears really turning.

He watched as the girl shifted her hand back and forth, as if she were trying to weight the possibility. Doing so while balancing on her own umbrella, or parasol or whatever the girls were calling billowing fabric nowadays. A maybe then, whatever worked.

"We'll settle on maybe, but that ain't a baby I'm willing to love to make it say yes." Roman punched out as he reached back into his jacket, fishing for the Card holding that nasty virus on it. He couldn't recall the guy's name who designed it, probably because little miss perfect, prime, and certainly no thief Cinder decided to withhold it. Shame, because he'd go halfsies on a job with a guy if he could handle this kind of malware. "Since you're able to skip down merrily in the street, see if you can find your way to a deployment terminal for those things, preferably those that are closest to the main battery ship, and plug this in. Shouldn't take too long, and it'll just act like a system BIOS update. Short defuse, restart, then no worse for wear."

Neo nodded her head as he spoke, memorizing his words. Greatest thing about a partner like her, she didn't ask to many questions. Or any, which was a far cry from the rest of the Alabaster Claw members that seemed to question everything he did, all the way down to why a 'superior human' needed a cane to walk.

He'd have to demonstrate on the next person to ask that why a can was a usual a threat to a child. Beatings would help pass the time, especially justified ones. Roman shook his head, straightening himself out. He really had been in here for too long.

"Any who Scootaloo, you think that'll take you long to do?" Roman pointed at the Card, not even surprised to see the bi-colored girl mauling it over in her hands. Her smirk was on display as she shook her head. Roman grinned past the cigar in his mouth to match hers. "Perfect as perfect can be then." Or at least half way there. "Make sure ya don't leave that in the port, or else some genius will probably find the problem. And remember, it's just plans D, maybe E, for ensuring the getaway once the plan starts. You see any droids acting up when you're done, tell me 'bout it. Gotta make sure this plan goes off without a hitch." Cause he didn't want to end up in a ditch thanks to the witch.

… he had to get out of here soon. No matter what. _Almost_ no matter what.

He just nodded as Neopolitan saluted him falling backwards onto the concrete… and disappearing into that shimmering thing she called her Semblance. Sure, that was what it was, but he never put much thought into it. Instant camouflage was just helpful and that was it. No reason to look a gift horse in the mouth, _none at all_.

He sighed as he turned away from where his partner once stood, staring out at the warehouse again and all the Dust it had. Sure, still a far cry from what it once had, but still far more than any normal shop would even dare to hold for a year, and he had enough here to blow up a few city blocks, maybe half the city if he was careful with it.

And here he was… watching it for _someone else's_ plan. A plan he _still_ didn't know when would go off. The worst kind of plan, one where you were waiting for _someone else_ to act first without so much as an itinerary to help you.

Roman's head drooped as he let out another sigh into his arms. He looked over the guards far beneath him, the mutts that acted like they would last longer than ten seconds in a fight, or worse, as if they would be able to put a dent into any soldier or fighter from the Vale police force, let alone the Atlas Military or the brats from Beacon. They may have looked like adults, but the punks he was leading now were anything but. At leas his old crew knew the importance of _listening_ to him, few questions to boot.

And that really was the crux of it. Fewer questions meant faster understanding, faster comprehension meant more brains, and more brains were the one thing the mutts didn't have. Least save for the rare outlier that was held up and celebrated like the 'average' member of their race, and not the exceptional exception.

He shook his head, trying to get the anger out of his head. It didn't work. All he could think of now was the bitch who made him do this, all because he was being passed around like a hot potato from criminal higher up to dud-in-the-high-chair over and over again. Really, what had become of the great Roman Torchwick?

Oh, right, guard dog. And one with a mouth. Maybe that was the problem.

"Always gotta watch for the quiet ones," Roman noted to himself. Too many people were on his mind with that statement. "Take your hand before they take your ear." And what a way that would be to go, especially when the plan went off, whenever that was.

Biting the hand that fed them. IT would be a hell of a thing to witness. If it would _ever start!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	28. Worries and Fears

Bad days weren't something Qrow was foreign to. Far from it, he probably had more under his belt than the average person alive on Remnant. If he had money to bet, he'd stretch that to the whole of history. It came part and parcel with a having a Semblance like his, a no-turn-off bad luck Semblance that made Murphy work overtime around him. Not that most people would guess that.

He'd been an uncle for almost two decades now, and his little nieces still didn't have a clue as to what his ability was. They just figured that cool cat Uncle Qrow was an ace shot and even better with a blade. Don't even get him started on his scythe, or at least around little Rubes that is. Problem was, that was only good in an actual fight, or when there was someone else to get the bad end of his bat, especially someone he didn't like. Otherwise, that inability to turn it off tended to push even good moments in a day to the bad side of the line.

Sometimes it was small, like coffee being a bit too hot for him and burning his tongue. Waiting for coffee too _cool_ was a horrible thing for any man to experience, especially one like him who was used to all-nighters and enough booze to kill the average man, same guy who didn't have nearly the same number of bad days as himself. That was a small example though. The big ones added up just as quickly.

Like a guy walking down the street and _not_ being able to catch himself as he fell down, letting his school paper fly off into on coming traffic. That was actually fairly lucky compared to it being _him_ who fell into said traffic. That wasn't to include the numerous other times he'd been with other hunters on assignment and seen guns jam during a critical moment to fire, blades sticking on trees or rocks that _just so happened_ to fall in the way during a fight, or even worse, failing to spot check a Grimm hole.

Fair to say, the bad days were high in number. Pretty good reason in his eyes why he should avoid going out among others, especially those he liked, even if it was just as a passing fancy.

For example, he wouldn't mind escorting a couple of Schnee sisters around town if they were supposed to spend the day away from the eyes of the public, to keep them safe as old Oz might say. If they happened to spill their tea, lose a couple thousand Lien, out of their millions, and suddenly come face to face with a White Fang sympathizer? Well, that would just be funny. Nothing they couldn't handle either.

If, on the other, hand he was asked to escort a Super Faunus and the, he guessed, adopted daughter of his across the town because one was a minor and the other was an idiot? That wasn't so hot a take. Probably because the chances would be fairly high that said Faunus was an alright guy who did some pretty amazing things for his family, and they did the same in kind for him, and bonus for any man wanting to raise a kid. That said, it really sucked then when he had to stick around them.

 _SPLASH!_ "GAH!""WHOA!" And they were getting the bad side of his Semblance.

Qrow looked off from the side, because his Semblance only chose him when there wasn't someone else to hassle, as one Link of Hyrule, Moraine of Vale, and a pair of floating drones were splashed by a nearby vehicle driving down the road. Down a road that had _just_ been cleaned and leaving a puddle _just_ the right size to send a curtain of water over them. His Semblance really was a fickle thing, and he sighed as he looked at the group shaking the water off.

The pair of drones were ringing like Christmas chimes as they jumped around in the air, water falling from their wings and dust-like bodies. Kind of amazed him that they didn't fall down, especially how bright they were. The little girl of the group, still wearing that green tunic that was apparently given to her weeks ago, was shaking herself like a wolf. He wouldn't make a comment about it, and she was like, well seven to eight maybe. He didn't keep track. The Super Faunus was the one who was wiping it off with ease.

And yes, it was ease. It tended to be easier to get water off of you when weren't wearing any clothes. And while a sick part of Qrow was humored to think of the Super Hunter that had helped his nieces and taken out an Ancient Grimm walking around Vale near naked, just to make him feel a bit of pride, that was far from the case. Because again, for better or worse, the man wasn't showing any skin, even if he wasn't wearing any clothes.

Qrow still wasn't sure how well scales counted for covering.

"Heh, that wasn't too bad," his vibrating voice let out. Still sounded weird to Qrow, even if he'd been listening to it for the past half hour. Like the guy was talking through a table fan. "Not nearly as great as takin' a dip in the sea, but hey, can't argue 'gainst a wetting of the gills, huh?" He was the only one smiling as the water dripped off of him. And he really did mean drip, like water down the tiles of a shower. It was a good thing where he knew where on the sexuality scale he stood.

Unfortunately, so did the women passing by. The women, Faunus and humans alike who all _conveniently_ found the blue scaled fish man that Qrow had been warned about but absolutely could not believe until he had just _appeared_ in front of him. And figures to, because even he had scales, that hide jack crap about his arms, muscles, and the height that towered probably like the General of Atlas. Put that all together with water that, and this was a word he heard and did _not_ make up, 'cascaded' down his body… Qrow could only say the 'Zora' or whatever may have liked water, but he was the one providing the ladies all the drinks.

If one man's trash was another treasure, then one part of their bad luck was the good fortune for everyone else. Or so Ozpin had told him in that convincing speech he'd gotten what seemed like a lifetime ago now. Well, his niece's lifetime, not his.

"What kind of a _jerk_ just sprays a bunch of people like that?" The louder of the drones, Tatl if Qrow remembered right, screamed out. She had that high of a voice, and her brother, if they could be considered brothers, did have a mopeyer look to him. Maybe it was just the fact that it was golden red against blue lavender that made it look that way. "You wanna try starting a fight, then just say it!" Qrow shook his head, _desperately_ wishing he could have drunk some of his booze right now.

But no no, this was in public in Vale. There were 'laws' against. That really poorly written and deserved to be burned laws, but laws still. Had to obey the law or else Oz would get in trouble for that. After all the crap that had happened recently, and considering that the Atlesian Army was still hovering in the sky to prove just how far his influence had fallen, he couldn't let it fall to rock bottom.

Intentionally at least. His Semblance would probably just do as it always did and mess everything up.

"Ya know they can't hear you anymore, right?" Qrow asked the drone. If it was like any other machine, it _had_ to at least process something. He hoped, maybe. He didn't get half the magic behind technology. But maybe it was that stupidity that made him ignore the high ring and… 'glare' that came from the floating ball of light. That, or just years growing up with a sis that was just as loud and volatile. "Probably didn't mean it either. Your fault for standin' so close to the road like that."

"I did _not_ want to get splashed by a bunch of dirty street water!" The drone yelled out again. "And that _jerk_ could have _easily_ gotten out of the way! Now we're soaked in broad day light, except for _you_!" Obvious who 'you' was, not that he could argue. He rolled his gaze, pushing a hand through his unkempt hair.

"Don't blame a guy for lookin' where he walks," Qrow easily dismissed. This time it had to be the years of dealing with his sis that made the ringing of the drone easier to endure. Sounded just like a harpy yelling, like Raven. "Sides, it's not _that_ much water. Probably not even 'nough to soak through." Least it didn't look like it to him.

" _I'm not wearing three layers of clothes like you are!_ " This time he grimaced. That was a high ring the drone let out, enough for him to grit his teeth. " _And_ you _don't have to shake your wings while you're flying to keep yourself from falling to the ground!_ " Well that was a fair point. Least he could stop walking if he was splashed. Speaking of.

"You mean like Mikau over there?" Qrow diverted the conversation. Had to take those opportunities when they came up. And this was definitely one.

That was made all the more apparent when Zora, that was probably what he called himself, swiped one last hand full of water off of his bicep. Of course, he did so like he was in some kind of sick phot shoot, in the middle of street, in broad day light, with a bunch of people crowding around him. The high ringing that came from the golden drone was evidence enough just who his Semblance was acting on now, even if he felt just as aggravated. _Really_ didn't help that he knew this was going to get back to Oz in some way. Not even a full hour out of the tower and the fish was probably a couple minutes away from being on a center fold…

"He always tends to act like this." Qrow looked over at the lavender drone, the one that actually didn't make his ears hurt when it rang. That was better, even if still weird that it wasn't an actual voice. "I-It's said that Zoras flock in a school and don't care for secrets b-because the ocean gods forbad walls to hide around or ceilings to climb above. S-S-So the Zora never hide anything a-a-and they say whatever comes to mind… b-b-because the ocean always listens" Qrow stared at the drone for a minute, screwing his brows as he watched the water drip from the drone.

That was stupid. That was really stupid actually. That was like those really old stories that not even Oz could believe in. The kind where gods chopped their heads open to _relieve_ pressure and crap like that. Now this Zora was apparently giving a show to the rest of the town because, what? Because a god said he had to? Real as those things were, they didn't have _that_ much power.

"Mikau's _always_ like this Tael!" Loud as she as, at least the golden drone had a better idea about what was going on. Even if Qrow still didn't have a clue on what to do to stop it. "Showing off as soon as there are a pair of eyes on him and _acting_ like he's hot as beach sand!" That stuff could cook your feet, that was for sure. Then again, with the way the crowd was continuing to gawk at the Faunus, he guessed that it wasn't the only thing heating up.

"Ah, don't mind getting' wet, but I hate dryin' in the sun. Cookin's only right when its on the center of the stage or middle of the school." Qrow, despite his better judgement, looked back at the fish thing as he spoke. He didn't stop the groan that ran out of his throat this time. He couldn't help it and he _knew_ that even the Ice Queen or her siblings would agree with him on this one.

Not when Mikau, or fish Link, was running his hand across that giant fin or whatever on his head, whipping it around like it was some long drag braid. Complete that with how he was _bending_ with the motion _just_ to show off his abs, and Qrow found two miracles all at once in broad daylight. First that there weren't women falling to their knees in the crowd, and that the police hadn't shown up yet. Oh yeah, that was still a chance.

Kind of emphasized by the fact that there was a _minor_ with them! A minor that was hugging the Zora's leg as he continued to basically conduct a soft-core shoot for the crowd around them. A freaking kid… and that was as bad as bad could get.

If that wasn't a reason to kick it into high gear, then nothing was.

"Kay! That's it! Show's over!" Qrow yelled out, making his way to the center of the crowd, _blatantly ignoring_ the groans of disappointment that came from the female side. It was the high-tech era, they could look up this stuff somewhere else! "C'mon shark boy, you're not gonna get anything done tryin' to dry off in a crowd. Rate your going, your only gonna make the rest of the crowd damp." He _definitely_ ignored the giggling that came after that.

Instead, shoving his way past a couple of heavier set broads, he grabbed the webbed hand of the Zora. _Still didn't like that!_ Didn't mind eating fish, but grabbing them was _not_ like petting a dog, especially out of the water. Still, he had a grip, and he pulled the shark boy behind him. Good thing he was as lanky as he looked, being dragged back with only a few tugs. Qrow gave a glance to make sure the kid wasn't being left behind either. Rubes and Yang would _never_ forgive him if he let something happen to her.

"You sure we have ta go?" Mikau asked, like _he_ wasn't the reason they were here in the first place. "That's was an awesome crowd back there, 'bout the same as the coral reefs at low tide." The heck did that mean? "Bet if we waited 'round a few more minutes, I could've given them a show to cheer for. Who doesn't like a groove to sooth the soul?" The guy who didn't have the booze to match, Qrow wanted to say. But, again, there was a _minor_ present.

"Didn't let you drag me out here cause you wanted to start _another_ concert," Qrow grumbled, staring ahead and convincing himself that the crowd that watched them pass wasn't looking at either of them. With his Semblance? No chance of that happening. "Least I figured that was why you had me here, seein' as a group of kids and your guardian flies couldn't stop you last time." Sure, last time was a little girl, but both seemed about as eye-catching, for both similar and opposite reasons.

"Watch it!" The annoying blonde ball rang above him. She was at least easier to ignore, seeing as she had her focus on the Faunus, when he wasn't calling them out at least. "You trying stopping a witch with powers from helping out a kid in need and then we can talk about how 'useless' we are! Sides, at least _we_ don't run off of alcohol!" She spat that out as she bumped her glowing body to his forehead. That got him to stop.

"Geez!" Qrow let out, rubbing a hand over his head. Didn't hurt, but having a bright light shoved into your eyes didn't feel good, especially when you didn't have the drunken haze to blur it out. "Watch where you're pointing that! I didn't see you tryin' to stop shark boy from getting' the crowd… antsy." Couldn't use the real term in front of the kid, 'specially with the way she was looking up at him from behind the bare blue legs of the Faunus.

"What do you _think_ I could do?!" Ring and scream, Qrow was sure. It got kids a lot of crap from their parents, he knew that much from Tai and Summer. "Half the reason we need someone out here is because we need someone to keep Link from helping someone else out again, least the way Ozpin explained it." Well that was one way to put it.

"'You can feel free to explore Vale at your leisure, but I insist that someone accompanies you as you do so', or something like that, right?" Mikau's fan-chopped vibrating voice let out again. Qrow _really_ didn't like it. Nails on an underwater chalkboard. "Probably worried I'd get distracted with somethin' 'stead of focusing on where I gotta go. Ain't wrong, but still feels weird havin' what amounts to a guide ray over me. Usually only need those guys at Pinnacle Rock, not Vale's towers." Qrow did _not_ get any of that, aside from being thankful that the Faunus knew he was being watched like a kid.

The same kind of kid he bent down to rub his webbed hands over, making the squirt squirm in that 'don't do it but don't stop' sort of way Yang did a lot as a tike. Weird seeing the louder of his two nieces in the quietest kid he'd ever personally met. Weirder still to see that she was okay with being dragged out like this. It took Qrow a solid minute to realize that the shark boy wasn't just putting his hands on the girl's head for affection, not when he was pulling off drops of water as well. Thank whatever gods were still watching that _that_ looked alright.

He breathed a long sigh, ignoring the eyes that continued to trail over them. By the rings that came from around his head, he could tell that his Semblance was keeping the drones on edge. Clearly, _they_ weren't happy about stray eyes either. Really weird for a group that wanted to be in town not wanting to attract attention. Then again, maybe they were hoping to just spend a day out after dealing with that whole Monument Mine business. Qrow would have just put himself into a coma for the weekend, but he guessed Super Faunus was different. Still though…

"Why are we out here anyways?" He finally asked. Never got more than just a 'follow them' from Oz and confirmation from Glynda. Read threat. "You must've had somethin' ya wanted to do, right? Are we still heading there or was there somethin' you were waiting for?" He turned it back towards the man, or fish he guessed, behind all of this. He couldn't really think of anything that was supposed to happen in Vale in the future, except the tournament, but that was weeks off at least, if ever.

"What? You mean you don't know?" Mikau asked again with _that_ voice again. It wasn't absolute horrible, but _man!_ It made Qrow want to put his finger to his ear like something was stuck in it. "I thought Ozpin would have told you why we were out here." He could be straight forward with an answer to something like _that_ at least.

"Case you missed it, old Oz tends to hold most of the cards close to the vest." In about everything, actually. Whether it be the Maidens, the Artifacts, the Grimm, or whatever the heck else roamed the world that he knew about answers didn't come easy. Wasn't on him and his bad luck to try and fix that. "All I got told was that you had somethin' you wanted to do, but Oz didn't want to send another team out with ya. Somethin' about how last time you did the exact opposite of what ya promised." He grinned at that. Because he knew. Who didn't know?

A surprise concert at the Vale docks with a Super-Semblance 'White Witch' giving a magical performance to a random Faunus Girl? That kind of stuff went crazy on the CCTV. Even drunk Qrow recognized it. He just needed a bit more time to put together than the jumpy short haired girl on the stage was the same mute Faunus who was teaching his nieces… or the giant blue scaled Faunus in front of him.

Magic or Semblance, it was still weird.

"Aw c'mon, I thought it'd be obvious!" Now Super Faunus wearing the skin of Shark Boy grinned, and those teeth still look serrated as kitchen knives ready to tear into a steak. Or maybe just a pound of flesh in the water. The ladies were gawking over something after all. "Does there gotta be a better reason to enjoy a coral reef than the looks of the place?" So, it was sightseeing? Maybe? Qrow didn't get what that meant, coral reef. Was that where he lived or something?

"Don't keep beating around the bush, Link," the blonde drone rang, this time putting her exasperation on the Zora. Qrow was thankful for that, even if it was just grade A proof that his Semblance wasn't letting up on her. Still, better than it falling onto the heads of the girl or Super Faunus. If that happened, there'd be a whole no set of issues to deal with, and he couldn't handle that. Not without a glass of scotch to go with it. "He's not JNPR or RWBY or any of the other brats. Acts like one, sure, but the Big Guy at least listens to him." Qrow snorted at that. Least she had brains in that glowing mass of hers.

"I am, I am, seriously," Mikau let out, waving that webbed hand again as he did so. Still freaky. "Guess it's our bad for not tellin' you then. Sorry 'bout that. Guess the current caught us faster than I'd think it would." His hand, and it was webbed, Qrow made sure not to forget _that_. Like forgetting that someone had wings in his book, just didn't happen. "Don't actually got anywhere we need to be at the moment. Just figured that it'd be good to get some sea breezes with Moraine. Can't 'xpect a fry to learn to sing if ya keep her in the corals through all the tides." That made even less sense than he expected, and he was right around none.

And the crowd was gathering again, because of course. Of course, his Semblance couldn't work on Mikau _just_ enough to make him ostracized rather than fascinating. Because that would be too easy and who ever heard of Oz giving him an easy job? Even babysitting Super Faunus and the crew was a chore that he didn't expect would have to be done sober. For not the first time, he thought maybe his sis had the right idea jumping ship when she did.

"Kay, and you're part fish now because?" He ignored the squawk of outrage that came from beside him. He could hear the pair of drones ringing something but at either a decibel or octave too high for him to hear. He never got which of those mattered more. Didn't matter. "You wanna go swimming or something like that?" What else would a fish do?

"Nah, not right now." More women stopped and stole a glance when he grinned. _Damn_ his teeth were sharp. Must be part shark more than fish with a jaw like that. "Actually, gotta different type of scale I wanna pick, and Moraine here wanted ta know more 'bout it too, seein' as I did give her the Fairy Ocarina. And she's been taking such good care of it too." His gaze went down to the Faunus that was clinging to his leg again, and Qrow followed.

Maybe he was being too generous with the age before, because the way that the girl looked up at him with those brown eyes, especially with the hands that were around his bare scaled leg, if that was still considered bare, looked more like three or four years old. The wolf ears that shook back and forth as she nodded up at Mikau, or Link or whatever, didn't help make her look older. That was for sure.

It _did_ help, however, to make the _crowd_ of women around them absolutely fawn with coos and cries of adoration. All matched and taken in by 'shark boy', because with teeth like that he wasn't going to be anything else, who decided to laugh as he kept his hand square between Moraine's Faunus ears. Qrow kept himself from grumbling. In the middle of a crowd of women was his dream, but it figured they were all focused on someone else aside from him. Wait… hold on a minute…

"What do you mean something she wanted?" Qrow asked, scratching the back of his head. Sure, the girl was quiet, but he didn't outright miss her saying anything, did he? Or did she speak up before they ever left Beacon? Well that was likely at least. "Though you said you were out here to enjoy the reef or whatever." A part of him desperately hoped he didn't just use some new age or foreign slang that would get him hot water. There were few things he needed and one of them _wasn't_ be called out for cuss words by his bosses or Tai. Especially Tai.

"Course I did, but why else do ya wanna explore the sea bed then ta hear the schools singing?" Schools? No way he was talking about _actual_ schools. Choir kind of fell out by fifth grade, least according to Summer when she was singing. Good memory, not something to spoil with this. "There's gotta be a place 'round this Gerudo city that's got tunes to hum or rifts to play. No way you can be this close to the sea and not have a track to hum to it. Can't be silent when ya got the metronome of currents, rifts, and waves workin' with you." Again, Qrow was at a complete loss. This was _not something_ he was good for.

"He's talking about music," Tael pointed out. Qrow looked up at the darker drone as he spoke. The small thing rang again before going on. "Z-Zora they… they're all musically gifted, b-b-because they were blessed by the waves and currents. They sing to teach and listen to learn so… so music is a part of their soul…" Sounded like a story, but one he could _actually_ get. He liked that drone, he liked him a lot. A lot more than his sister, the drone's _or_ his own.

"Right in the whirlpool," Mikau's vibrating voice agreed. God Qrow hated that voice. Probably sounded a lot better underwater, and not just because he might be able to convince himself that the guy was drowning. Course he wouldn't, not with those slits across the sides of his neck. Damn gills. "Can't think of a better way to teach a fry how ta live 'ithout teachin' them how to sing. Can't move to the beat of the waves till ya learn how to make your own after all." Thankfully that wasn't nearly as difficult to follow as before. Still stupid, but less stupid.

"So a music store, or a bar or something like that?" No, not a bar, Qrow scratched his head at that. Would have been fun if it was _just_ Super Faunus, but kids changed things, and he couldn't drink in front of them. A bad example… a what? God, was he becoming Glynda? That was a terrifying thought in more ways than Qrow would ever voice. "There's gotta be something like that 'round here. Probably not a concert to find or anything, seein' as its broad daylight out." He flipped open his Scroll, looking for places nearby. Had to be something they could go to.

He ignored the ringing of the drones as he looked quickly, typing in 'music' and 'stores'. Yang had to beat into him that separating them was important, because of course a cheeky brat knew more about Scrolls than he did. Growing up wasn't fair. Then again, neither was babysitting a guy that was babysitting a brat of his own, and one that was dressed up like him. And he thought Ruby as bad.

Still had to do his job though, as it was the only way to pay for the booze he needed. Needed was the right word for it. And right now, his job needed him to find some store or place that played or sold music. Harder than he thought considering how almost every just downloaded the crap to their Scrolls. Then again, there had to be a place that at least sold instruments. That could count, right? He told himself it would, even as he pushed some stray black bangs out of his face.

"Kay, I got somethin'," Qrow finally spoke up, shaking his head. It was an instrument store, sure, but at least they'd have some kind of music there. Be weir to not have it at a place that sold the instruments for it. Like a Dust Shop that didn't have casing for rounds. Just weird. "You ready to go or – _for the sake of booze…_ " Qrow moaned as he looked up.

Looked up to see a _new_ crowd bushing around Mikau, standing head's length above majority of the crowd, the _female_ crowd, and grinning with that razor-sharp grin that matched attractive and dangerous all at once. Not hard to see, dead honestly, why the women liked him, so long as he didn't talk. Then again, it was all bad for the 'escort' that he was getting so much attention. Attention that didn't seem even the slightest bit annoyed by the buzzing drones above them. If anything, it only made that scaled face grin of Mikau's brighter. Because _of course_ his Semblance would make it harder on them.

He honestly couldn't tell if this was his Semblance giving him a hard time or not. The bare scales and flexing arms implied the exact _opposite_ of dislike. At least the drones were groaning with him, or at least giving of a sound that could be mistaken for that. Had to be one of them that was getting annoyed because otherwise it would be…

The kid… that was probably still biting at the Super Faunus's ankles… in the middle of the crowd… and having no escape… Qrow let out a deep long sigh, cursing his abilities once more. Of all the people for his Semblance to work on, of course it had to be the mute who wouldn't even _say_ if she was feeling bad or not. Because kids were either talkers or quiet as the grave, but honesty wasn't their best policy.

Running his hand down his face, Qrow marched forward into the crowd of women, doing his utmost to ignore the odd remarks he heard pushed his way at his expense. Namely for getting in _their_ way for seeing the 'mermaid'. If only Qrow had the thought that the shark boy _wouldn't_ like the name of that, but with talking about corals, pearls, and freaking sea foam, he'd probably eat it right up. No issue with a smile that large and teeth _that_ sharp.

The issue was how _many_ of the women there were! Qrow knew that Link had gotten some attention cause of that concert and the freaking article that Lavender did on him, but this was ridiculous! Probably two dozen chicks at that age or _twice that_ all clambering around the Faunus like he was a fresh catch of the day… The metaphors were getting to him now. Now was the time to stop this before his inner Yang came out, and his niece would _never_ let him live that down!

"Alright, alright, take two!" Qrow let out, reaching up when he got close enough to the taller Faunus. Mikau looked down at him, least not looking upset at him. Too bad the _groan_ from the crowd didn't seem to match. "You wanted ta have a good time with the kid, but I'm willin' to bet she ain't enjoying this." And to prove his point, he looked down at the shark boy's legs.

And sure enough, hugging his legs like a lost kid in a crowd, which she _was,_ the wolf eared kid was looking up at both of them with brown eyes almost filled with tears. Would have reminded him of Ruby, almost did too, but his niece didn't have ears like that or eyes that dark. Good thing too, because Qrow did _not_ need another reason to drink. He already had enough.

"You're right, you're right, my bad," the fish-scaled Faunus _laughed_ off. If this was being right around him, Qrow hated being right. Never let Raven or Glynda hear _that_. "Sorry, just missed bein' in a school like that. Miss everyone clambering' up with the current push with the waves. It's 'nough to make ya feel sea sick." If it weren't for the crowd of women around them, and a couple of guys he didn't want to keep eye contact with, he would have shaken his head.

" _Later!_ " The voice rang from above. And wouldn't you know it, he wasn't the only one getting annoyed. Still a fair throw to see if his Semblance was working on the drone or the girl still clinging to the bare scales of the shark boy. His bet was the latter, because she didn't look like she put up with this often. Lucky her. "We are leaving _now!_ And we are going to be taking _back streets_ if its to avoid you bringing in _another_ freaking mob like this!" His opinions of the drone were quickly shifting.

"Alright, hold on," Mikau held up his still webbed hand. And he did _not_ like the coos that came from the crowd as he did so. What was _with_ them? Too many lonely nights or something?! Good thing Link, or Mikau as it were, didn't answer. Instead, he reached down to his leg, his back _still_ visible above the crowd. Freaky tall didn't cover it. Freaky did just fine.

Then again, seeing him stand up and holding the girl with him, like she really was just a toddler, was a better sight to see. Helped that girl was practically reaching for him now.

Maybe it was the fact that he looked so paternal that got the women to calm down, _in a sense_. Especially when he put the kid on his shoulder, holding her up above his height. Probably a higher height than she'd ever reach normally. Air blew out of Qrow's nose at the sight, remembering when he did that to Ruby growing up, namely after she tired herself out practicing with her Crescent Rose. Least Moraine wasn't clinging to Mikau's head like Ruby did his.

"You all good?" That vibrating voice spoke again, making Qrow's ears itch. "Sorry, didn't mean ta put you on the shore like that. Ain't fair to stare at the waves on the beach, ain't it?" A lot of people would argue that. But then again, they weren't part fish. He rolled his head, doing _everything_ he could to not pay attention to the women who were still staring up with a darker shade of pink to their eyes that every heart on Valentine's day. "We'd better get goin' if we want ta see some shops, don't we?"

The _much_ shorter Faunus nodded from aside him, head gripping around the long green fin _thing_ coming out of the back of Mikau's head. Good thing Ice Queen wasn't here, or else she'd probably try and explain to him what it was, and he just didn't care. What he _did_ care about was how the shark boy was pushing his way through the crowd of women, the ringing of the drones from above him sounding like church bells at this point. Probably as good a sign as any. Sure beat funeral gongs.

Then again, even after breaking from the pact, a fair number of women were still turning to him, their feet working along the sidewalk to follow after the _far_ underdressed shark boy and his pair of drones. Qrow didn't need much of an imagination to know that their eyes were lost in those lights following him. Women only had one kind of gaze when it came to a guy wearing less than them.

And it was, unfortunately, his job to break it up.

"Hey! Hey!" Qrow waved off the crowd, arms flailing like he was directing traffic, again. "You heard the shark boy. Show's over. Got a date with trouble and you're all gonna add too much to the menu." This time he didn't miss the heated looks they gave him, ranging from simple disappointment to flowering hatred in it. Seen them all before, from broken hearts and maidens alike.

Course, never from the viewpoint of being a freaking body guard to a Super Faunus and his adopted kid. Least when he felt their gaze on him. Still, he promised Oz and Glynda nothing would happen, making up for the fiasco with Saria or whatever the green-haired Maiden girl's name was. That was something that had to be dealt with if he wanted to remain in any good graces, especially his nieces. Least with the way Yang kept teasing him about losing a girl in the forest.

For now, he just put up with the glowers and glares as the crowd of probably too-desperate women dispersed around him, all the while he imitated a goalie in the middle of a sudden death shoot out. Felt like it too, with how many of them wanted to take off his head. He kind of hoped it was his Semblance working up, meaning that _someone_ out there cared about him, but chances said that it was just Mikau who was disappointed. Least with how happy he looked before.

It didn't take much longer than that for the women to finally give up, namely after Qrow starting walking backwards and shifting his gaze at which ever one stalked forward, like cougars they were. He grumbled he finally saw the last of them turn around, letting him do the same. He wasn't surprised to see that the 'group' he was guarding were already ahead of him, Super Faunus probably thinking that waiting around wouldn't do him any favors. Least he realized that much.

They weren't that far ahead of him, thankfully. Actually, just turning a corner and walking much slower. Probably thanks to Mikau talking, somehow, to the mute on his shoulder. The drones rang out like bicycle chimes as they circled them, keeping pace much easier than Qrow was. Old as he was getting, it still didn't make it hard for him to catch up.

Just in time to see a pair of girls half his age and probably close to the Mikau's step out from a store, holding up a Scroll with an _honest to god blush_ across _both_ of their faces. Qrow was groaning even as he upped the speed of his steps. He _knew_ he heard the drones ringing in annoyance.

The same way how he knew the girl, the one holding the Scroll, was holding it up to either ask for a picture with the 'exotic' Faunus, because who the heck didn't now a days, or worse, asking for his number. A blessing that only girls could do, and one Qrow knew, with him around, would _not_ be a good idea. He hoped for moment and prayed for a second that it wouldn't be the case. The rings of the drones above him showed they thought much the same. That was bad sign one.

The worse sign was seeing the Zora grin. Seeing him pull his Scroll out of his butt was worse than that. Guess option B one out.

Qrow swore then and there to never lose track of a kid ever again, especially if she had stickier fingers than most of the White Fang he did favors to knock off. If this was punishment for dealing with them, it just wasn't worth it.

And he didn't even have booze to save him now.

* * *

It had been about five days since they'd gotten back from Monument Mine. Jaune was counting, and he was pretty sure he was going to keep counting until something came up and scared him _half_ as much as the Ancient Grimm they had fought. After facing that thing, and helping to _take it down_ , how could he not count the days? He was proud with himself for just not counting the hours.

It had only been about five days because he wasn't sure if the half day they spent packing up and leaving counted. Maybe it did because there were technically no more threats, but maybe not because _everyone_ was on edge. He was biting his nails as he put away his tent. Pyrrha had out Milo with every activity she did. Penny, even on one leg, kept out a pair of swords and leaned on Cardin the whole time, and he didn't say a word of annoyance against it, probably because he didn't even have is own mace to defend himself. He honestly didn't know what the professors or Winter were thinking, maybe all the same, with how differently she acted yesterday.

Winter coming in to take Weiss out on a short date, as his Snow Angel later put it. Saying it was wonderful to spend time with her sister and, fairly, not telling them any details. Wasn't his place to ask, and Pyrrha understood the same. Still needed Ren's help between the three of them to pull Nora back though, mainly because she kept calling Winter 'Bigger Wiess' which, while not wrong, was probably as rude as calling himself 'Mini Amber'. His big sis might appreciate it… but he didn't.

He sighed, realizing he was rambling even in his own head. A rambling rant that he would probably scold himself for later after he worked himself to the bone on new forms and training with Pyrrha. Training he could only _half_ participate in because everything was brought down to simple guards. Pretty obvious why, seeing as his family blade was currently housing an ancient evil so great that it had Link on knees and almost knocked out.

Still had to figure out how to explain that to his family later… if ever…

Right now though, now was the time for him to focus on what was coming next. That was the idea that he and Pyrrha had after finding out that Sky was gone. Or more specifically, the idea they had after Sky had gone, they fought Ruby, found out exactly what his shield could do, and realized there was someone they could fight and had an additional advantage over.

Namely someone who had put out an extended offer for fights and was currently walking around Vale with Ruby's uncle instead of them, which he was _very_ happy to hear. Someone who was offering new weapons and tools with victory, and someone who they had just spent and extended week with listening, learning, and depending on. Someone who everyone wanted to fight, even them. And if Pyrrha had proved anything yesterday, it was that even with the new-found abilities and powers, she was still a force to be reckoned with, not that he ever doubted that.

Combine that with a shield that could deflect lightning and, assumingly, _a lot_ else, a girl that could absorb lightning for power, and another boy who could keep everyone calm in the middle _of_ said lightning storm, and there was only one path for them to take. Only one thing for him to _really_ focus on, so he didn't start counting the hours with the days.

"So… Mikau," Jaune started out again, tapping his foot as he sat on the end of his bed. He was surprised he hadn't worn a hole into it yet. The floor or the pad of paper he was staring at, still perfectly white and barren of any marring. "What do we know…"

"Aside from what we've already covered?" Ren asked from his bed. Jaune looked up at him, noting that his paper, or the little he saw of it, had _much_ more on it than Jaune's did. Probably because Ren was an excellent note taker and Jaune just… wrote down what sounded important. He never did fix that habit. "Or are you asking about strategies?"

"What we actually know… no… strategies or ideas, I guess? No, not that, um… both?" Jaune shifted his head around on the edge of the shield in his grasp. The shield that had come from Link after they had absolutely _destroyed_ an Ancient Grimm. Or more accurately, he had reflected the blast and Pyrrha had used his _family_ sword to hit the final blow… he really was never getting that back. "Anything and everything we got! I mean… that's what Link a-and Impa have basically been telling us to do when we plan something, right?"

"Really? I always thought she was telling us to hit quick and break limbs just as fast!" The cheer in Nora's voice shouldn't have been there. The bouncing on her own bed didn't help, even if it was on her own bed this time, thankfully. "There wasn't a lot of think' when she fought a lot of us before, was there? She just hit everyone else a bunch of times till they were moaning on the ground, going all " _aaaaaaaahhhhhhhaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh"_." Nora hugged herself with her display, jumping and flailing onto the cushioned spring of her bed. At least it beat the floor and having to peel her off of there.

"She actually does teach strategy, or demonstrate it at least." Jaune turned to Pyrrha, seeing his partner putting on that warrior look she was good at. Elbows on her knees, hunched over and with her chin in her thumbs. She was staring forward, even if Ren was the only one keeping track of what was being said. "I'm sorry Nora, but I have to disagree with you. Impa tends to… _distract_ before she strikes out, more commonly then not testing their opponents before making any actual moves. That's the best opportunity for someone to be able to read and study their opponent, especially what tools they have." And she was a Faunus, so she had night vision… Good Ren, better Pyrrha.

"That's why she threw up the smoke bombs when CFVY fought her," Jaune noted passively, realizing why she didn't just beat them _all_ done then and there. "And why she took so long against Penny, o-o-or why she…" Actually, he didn't have another, but threes just tended to be better. Stupid on him for thinking he could say something smart. "Well, he words match her actions at least, and that is something we have to focus on."

"She will not strike swiftly and surely at the bell's ring," Ren noted from his side of the room. "It's noted, but I must amend that does not mean she will wait for us. Nor does it imply that-" Wait, hold on a second.

"We're not talking about Impa," Jaune spoke more as a reminder to himself than his steam. A few seconds and _he_ had forgotten that. "We're focusing on Mikau, _Mikau_ , the Zora that showed up at Oobleck's class and played on the guitar. That's who we are focusing on. Got to be, seeing as we have at least three solid ways to counter him now." It was as much for himself as it was for Ren.

Kind of difficult when the instructor you were challenging wore, _literally wore_ , different faces to bring out the memories of different friends. Not that Jaune was going to complain. Impa and Darmani had saved his life. But that didn't matter during a duel. This was about getting some accreditation, and respect. Not that Pyrrha or Nora needed, likely not Ren either. Him though? Maybe he could actually call his parents if he did, one hundred and twelve days after he had left… when had he started counting that?

"I get our advantages over Mikau, but why are we focusing on him?" Nora asked, and Jaune had to pause, because he understood her without even a need to translate. That was rare in itself. "If we want to catch a big fish, we just have to put a big rod in the water, and then _WHAM!_ Deep see fishing catches the Kraken!" There was normal Nora.

"Mikau is not as skilled a warrior as Link, Impa, or likely Elrora," Pyrrha spoke up for him. Jaune let her talking, knowing that _whatever_ she said would trump him. She knew this stuff like the back of her hand. He didn't. "He did say that he had the blood of a warrior in him and, humorous as it was, his demonstration didn't show of an obscene amount of skill. It seems like… like _Link_ is the one doing the fighting and Mikau just lets him know what will and won't work."

"That makes sense," Ren pointed back easily. "More than once Impa, or perhaps Link, has noted that there is, quote, _more than one person in this head, so you are fighting us at once_. I believed that was a detriment at first, but I appear to be wrong on that regard." _That_ caught Jaune off guard himself.

"How could that be bad?" He asked, looking over at his teammate. His eyes swiveled towards Pyrrha, only to see his partner deep in thought. It took him a moment to recognize the look as the same one she got before fights in the arena directed by Goodwitch. He guessed this was normal for her when there was a competition coming up. He'd talk to her later about that, for now… "Having another voice in your held that helps you, while you _know_ you aren't crazy, which I'm about 80% sure Link isn't. Just eighty." Maybe that.

At least he couldn't call someone who acted like Link did, wearing the memories of his dead friends and trying to find someone after he lost his _entire_ family back home, completely sane. Least he knew _he_ wouldn't be. Then again, he was Jaune Arc, not Link of Hyrule. Bit of a gap between those two, no matter how much the others liked to tease that they looked alike.

"Because it's a paradox to assume that you can react quickly with greater numbers." Ren held up his hand, pen scratching off of his notepad as he spoke. Nora stopped bouncing, scooching into her knees like she was about to be read a bed time story. The way Ren was looking at him… it felt more like a lecture. "I cannot assume nor guarantee the idea of how quickly thoughts are discussed between a pair of individuals within the same space, but relating it to a set of individuals having a conversation, it would still take a _far_ greater amount of time to decide on what to do, as opposed to someone who is reacting alone, and therefore is hindered only by their own nerves or natural abilities." That… made sense.

Jaune ran his over the Mirror Shield as he thought about it. It was _very_ true that Link didn't appear slow even when fighting as Impa, Elrora, Mikau, or whomever else was chosen. If anything, he was fiercer. He also related the idea of using his friends as an advantage! Sort of, maybe, Jaune might be over thinking. But if he had to _think_ about every action before he took it… that _did_ sound like it would take a lot of time, or energy, probably both.

"It makes sense that having a discussion before any major decision, such as a direction to dodge or area to strike in, would result in large waste of time. This waste would translate to easily telegraphed movements, which could just as easily be countered by the opposer." Ren's pen was writing through the air, and Jaune had to remind himself that it was _not_ a part of his semblance to be able to do that. Otherwise, it would have looked like he was drawing, and well at that. "However, to assume this is his weakness is a fallacy of logic, and one I can't gamble on." _That_ one, Jaune understood.

"Because Link's never actually slowed down in a fight," he added what he knew was true. "At least between Impa, or Saria, or Elrora, or… yeah all of them, Link's never really gotten hit, 'xcept that one-time Yang suckered punched Elrora, but I don't think that counts." He grimaced himself at the memory. Still hard to forget just how thoroughly the bird's head turned around. Maybe she was part owl? Or her beat was just that strong?

"Doesn't change that whatever the method by which Link transforms, or uses the memories of his friends, it is not a hinderance to him, no more than it would be for them to be fighting individually." Ren was tapping his pen now, and Link was wondering if he'd start biting it in thought. That… didn't seem like something Ren would do, but who was he to judge? Not after he'd know him for so long… the aforementioned number of days. "It is to assume then that, given Link's extensive background with fighting Grimm, testified by both his companions, other friends, and verified by his ability to slay ancient Grimm almost alone…" Jaune waited for an answer.

But Ren didn't say anything. For a second. For a moment. For a minute. Jaune just stared at him, wondering if he had a thought that broke. If it had… he didn't want to hear it.

"Hello, Renny?" Nora asked, poking at his head lightly from the side. "You okay in there? Have another bad thought? Need me to knock it out of you?" Maybe Nora heard her own answer, because Jaune saw her pulling back her fist. That… wasn't good. At all. Ever. A Nora that was planning to hit you was as dangerous as the lightning she ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

" _EASY_ there Nora," Jaune yelled as he got up slightly, quick enough to at least earn her attention. It stopped her, for a moment, and that was enough to show Ren shift in though. At least move from the frozen position he was in to putting a hand over his mouth in thought. Now… now he looked like Pyrrha… but with different hair, and clothes, and gender… and everything else actually. Bad comparison. "Ren's just… he's just thinking about something. You of all people know how bad of an idea it is to get in the middle of him when he's like this." The 'O' that shaped itself out of the girl's lips was wide and telling.

"Oooooooohhhhh, yup! I know exactly what you mean Jaune-Jaune!" She returned eagerly, before sliding around on her butt and flopping down on the bed. "He gets like this all the time when we were out in Remnant, mostly in Mistral. Probably cause he kept using his Semblance trying to find something and I couldn't see anything, so I just let him do his thinking and I started talking next to him and he did his thinking next to me so it worked out really well!"

Jaune nodded, understanding the kind of bond they had. Sort of. Maybe… Okay, not really, but he knew that it was one at least. Go figure on him to try and figure that one out first. That wasn't his job at all. Nope, his job, now more than ever, was to find the best way to beat the Hero of Hyrule int eh field of battle. And that was probably the hardest part, that or waiting for an opportunity.

Here he thought getting the Mirror Shield would be it, but it seemed like they were still making way too many guesses to call anything a plan. More like blind optimism. Then again… that had worked out well for him in the past, immediate past at that.

No one could say he was anything less than god-send lucky to have Pyrrha Nikos as a partner.

"Mikau has the ability to summon a 'stated' infinite supply of Aura from the jewel along his neck," Pyrrha began to speak as soon as Jaune turned to look at her. He wondered for a moment if this was like 'speak the devil and he shall appear', then he remembered Pyrrha was an angel, red only in her hair, and he should be shutting up in his head. "Using said abilities, he has demonstrated, walking on water, being able to conjure waveforms of the electrons, and created a charged resonance in the air." Jaune nodded.

"Yeah, we got that," Jaune agreed with her. "And don't forget he can also breathe underwater, is slippery like a fish, and able to conjure that lightning wall by himself, or whatever he wants to call it." He didn't remember if it had a name or not. Maybe? Possibly? Not really important, they all knew what it was. Hard to forget, like Blake's clones. Not going to miss those popping up, at least from the side lines.

"Natural abilities against skills," Pyrrha noted. "He has a great number of abilities that come from his physique, similar to how Cardin is much stronger because of his size. His skills, however, namely his control, is something we have yet to see any extent to." Jaune just noted that her hands hadn't left her mouth. No, that wasn't true, the noticing part at least. He was thinking as well. He had to be, he was the team leader and they were talking about fighting someone who was _way_ stronger than anyone their team had ever fought, alone at least.

Ancient Grimm didn't count. And Jaune was the one suggested this fight… in a jest… before Nora ran off to find Dr. Goodwitch and tell her.

And she accepted, pinging their scrolls with a form to fill out for the type of match and specifications they desire.

So here they were… Hooray.

Still, it wasn't as if they had _no_ chance, as Jaune was now frequent to remind himself. No chance meant that there would be absolutely no way to win or stop Link once he got on a roll, Mikau included. However, that implied he was invincible, which he wasn't. If he was, then there would have been _no_ danger against that Ancient Grimm before and… yeah, between Cardin, Penny, and themselves, they had the scars to show it wasn't any kind of cakewalk.

But that didn't mean they were done fore. Couldn't be. F it was that impossible to beat Link or his friends, then the challenge would never been put up! At least, he hoped that was what it was. Then again, there probably wasn't enough time between when Ozpin put out the approval for the fights and Link becoming a professor here. The only _really_ significant thing that happened was him going to the Badlands and… _that_ all happening.

 _That_ including killing not one, but _two_ Ancient Grimm, of debatable risk to a Nightmare, before getting swept out of the ICU at the Military compound by magic circles from a magic girl they had never met, until she was caught singing on stage in Vale harbor… because _they_ had lost track of her. Okay, Jaune didn't blame Ozpin for not letting them go with Link this time, especially if Moraine was _going_ to be there with him.

Then again… how did they even have a prayer against someone like that? And why in the name of all Hunters, Dust, and power to be did freaking Nora _HAVE_ to push forward the idea to Ms. Goodwitch without talking to them… and why couldn't _he_ think before opening his mouth in front of her.

A groan left Jaune's mouth as he fell back onto his bed, the Mirror shield falling against his chest as he did so. He let it sit there, feeling the heavy and _extremely_ reflective weight on his chest. It worked, _really well_ , if fighting Snow Angel was any proof of it. Then again… what did it do against a wall when Weiss was throwing basically bolts of the lightning at him?

"It is a tough decision isn't it?" Jaune rolled his head to look at Pyrrha. At least she was sitting up now, though she didn't look any more at ease than he did. Maybe more controlled, no, _definitely_ , more controlled, because she always did, but at least she wasn't grabbing her chin like she was going to try and pull it off. "Figuring out where to start to think from for a fight, even before the match begins. Having to plan for a method of working around any counters, and ensuring that the highest probability of success comes out of it." That wasn't Pyrrha talking. Well, it was, but it was more than that. It was experience.

"Any ideas?" Jaune asked the red-headed Mistrallian. "Beyond just noting what is going on and what we need. I mean… what do we _do_ once we know what we need?" It seemed like an obvious question but… the answer that was for it was _not_ easy for him to see. At least he couldn't see it. Maybe the Pyrrha, the cover of the corn-chips box, would know. She was really strong.

The turned and smiled down at him, grinning like she did after she demonstrated a good parry against him. That usually meant she had a lesson to teach. Well that was good, _great_ even! Jaune sat up, listening as eager as he could.

 _Flap!_ And he saw Pyrrha flap a book in front of her face. Jaune blinked as he looked at it, taking a minute to read the cover. When he did… he didn't know what to think.

"Hand-to-hand fighting styles?" Jaune questioned, getting an affirmative nod from Pyrrha. Her ponytail bobbed with the action, but he watched her eyes far more than that.

"Mikau didn't use any weapons when we saw him last time," she began. "Not after we get past his fins or the guitar he used. While instruments are used as weapons from time to time, his was made of broken, a notoriously fragile element outside of the body, meaning the hard cartilage and scales of his fins would be his only potential weapon… except…" She leaned off with the sentence, lightly waving the thin paper back in front of her face. Jaune knew it was beckoning him, but he didn't know to what.

"It means…" he started again, watching as Pyrrha's head began to rock. He recognized that look from _all_ of his high school teachers. She _really_ wanted him to get this answer. "It means he'll fight… in the shade?" And the smile dropped almost serendipitously, or the closest word to an antonym for that.

"It means Mikau will likely fight hand-to-hand when his fins are being thrown about the arena, Jaune," Ren pointed out now. Jaune rolled his head in the opposite direction, seeing his teammate still staring at his own pad of paper. Nora was making small circles in the bed next to him, unnoticed or unsupervised. "And with Link's intelligence and practice behind his moves, combined with his ability to likely reach and strike before many of our weapons can reach him, he will be a hard foe to tackle." That… made perfect sense, and Jaune was wondering how hard he'd have to kick himself for not thinking of that.

"It's alright, Jaune," Pyrrha spoke again. Did she know what he was thinking? "I was joking. Smart as you are, I doubt you'd be able to learn any of the possible fighting forms Mikau would use in a matter of days." Scratch that, no she wasn't. Then again, she was still right on the money, for a different reason. "I was actually going to see if I could find forms that depended upon reach and avoiding grapples, as he appears to have the physique for it. And Link's friends have fought to their strengths, if nothing else." Well that was true as well.

He watched Pyrrha lean back in her chair, putting the book beneath her gaze, fingers rapidly flipping through the parchment. She was as studious with her reading as she was with kicking his butt on the rooftop, probably because they were both about making her the best huntress in Beacon. Well, huntress in training at least. _Very_ close second.

"Hee hee. Can you imagine what kind of strength he's going to have with him if you get too close? Muscles _that_ shaped and arms that long? You don't reach seven foot taller-than-trees without having the muscle to show for it, right?" Nora asked now, all but vibrating on her bed. " _That's_ not even counting how if we get _too_ close to him, he can just go all thunderstorm like and go _GRGRGRGKRGKR_." Nora was now officially vibrating on her bed, but thankfully not off of it. Yet at least. She fell down in a huff of a giggle, and Jaune felt his head fall back with her.

He really hadn't thought of all of that before he had suggested challenging Mikau. But even then, he only said it is as a means to think of _who_ they could challenge at all, because Impa, Darmani, and Link were all _far_ out of the question. But Nora, as impulsive as she was strong, or another word for it, decided that 'Jaune-Jaune' wanted to fight the 'fish-man'! Now they were going to, and they had only ideas of what to do.

He raised his arms and dropped them on his head, sighing into the sleeve. Jaune really… he really didn't want to get his butt kicked _that_ hard in front of the entire school. His friends included. Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora could probably at least put up a fight, Nora _especially_ if she got shocked, but all Jaune had was a shield that _might_ do something to that magic electrical field Mikau was bragging about weeks ago. There was no telling if it would work.

Once said was worth saying again. Jaune _really_ didn't want to get his butt kicked in front of the school. Most importantly, not _first_.

Five days since they had fought the Nightmare and only _two_ until they fought Mikau… if that wasn't a Nightmare in itself…

So, seven days after fighting the Ancient Grimm, they were going to be fighting Link. Or, more specifically, they were going to be fighting him and one of his friends. One of the teammates that they might just have a chance of beating, now that they had more than one trick for them. That was important, especially against someone who was as smart as Link.

He let out a breath of air as he relaxed on his bed, letting the sound of Nora chatting to Ren take up most of the sound, but not missing his teammate passively humming to her, or his partner flipping pages in her book as she leaned back in her own bed. Relaxing… it was nice, just letting things work their way forward naturally, especially after how _unnatural_ things appeared to be up until now. Five days after fighting the Nightmare and he was starting to get ready for returning to school work and a normal life. Normal as being a squire- _student_ was. Dang it Nora.

His hand lifted and fell over his eyes, blocking out the sunlight and letting his mind at least pretend it was getting ready for a nap. That tended to help… even if it was where _Nightmares_ lurked. He groaned again at that.

"You okay, Jaune?" Pyrrha almost immediately questioned. He regretted that, making her worry at least. He sat up quickly, looking over at her with a grin, waving his hand with it.

"I'm good, I'm alright," he honestly replied. Well, semi-honestly. Alright, but not perfect. So not _all_ right. "Just thinking of what to do and… yeah, kinda nervous about how bad Link is gonna try and kick our butts." He chuckled at that, remembering how there was _no_ mercy against Ruby even. Seeing her getting slammed… and then having to help hold Yang back. Not fun. At least it was going to be their entire team this time…

"He can _try!_ " Nora called out again, fist bumping into the air. "If Mr. Fish wants to use his lightning, then I'll call down _VALHALLAAAAAAAA!_ " In a fluid motion that Jaune almost missed, Nora was up on one knee, arms flexed at her sides as she screamed towards the ceiling. It was a really good thing they weren't allowed to have their weapons in their room, or else their _room_ would be gone.

"I'm… sure we got that covered Nora," Jaune spoke up. He was never sure what to say to calm Nora down. Even more so when she was getting ready for a fight. A fight where she was the _main_ source of pain. Maybe it was the Valkyrie in her… maybe. "Actually, gotta think about his detachable fins that I'm more worried about and… I think they're ventral? Not pelvic, right?"

"The anatomy from a human to a fish is too different… even if Mikau is an order of Faunus that appear far more animalian than the residents in the rest of Remnant." Ren had a good point. It wasn't like Darmani was going to pass for human anywhere… speaking of, he _still_ didn't know what kind of animal was made of rocks or had magma for blood. And it was magma, lava only when it was exposed to air, or so he read. "I would assume Ventral as well, though I have no record of any species of fish able to detach them in such a way. It is further unlikely given that he has no fins on his… pecs, and I can relate the large superior dorsal fin to his head rather easily, as well as assuming the skirt that he wears is part of his caudal fin or adipose fin, though it is difficult to tell which."

Ren sighed as he ran a hand down his face. Jaune didn't blame him for a moment. If anything, he was surprised his teammate wasn't blaming _him_ for suddenly springing the idea on them. Then again, it was kind of a group effort… of Nora's over eager hand… and his want for a new weapon… Then again, if it means the could stop counting at seven… maybe it would work.

"Relating amphibian biology is further difficulty because Mikau blatantly shows characteristics of other species, unlike normal Faunus." It was a good thing Blake wasn't in the room, or else 'normal' would have been called out. Jaune wouldn't say word of it otherwise, unless at gun, knife, or fist point, depending on who was asking. "

"Or create lightning!" Nora brought the conversation back to… exactly where she wanted. "Unless he's also part eel," she let out with a finger to her chin. Strong and ferocious to dainty, somewhat, in a second. Still riled up though. "Or is he more shark, especially with those chompers!" And to show that point, she chomped her mouth open and shut, letting her teeth clank together. It was audible, which some part of Jaune thought was bad, like hearing bone…

"You'll crack a tooth if you keep that up Nora," Ren calmly spoke, answering Jaune's question. The bombastic bomber of their team just kept it up, to absolutely none of Jaune's surprise. A glance at Pyrrha, looking between her book on martial art techniques to Nora, showed that she thought much the same. Probably. He didn't' like assuming what she thought, probably because he was just wrong. "And if that happens, you'll have to go to the dentist."

Jaune wished he knew the sound to describe the bomber of their group sucking her lips into her mouth, hiding her teeth from view. Because he would have made it to play back to her whenever he wanted to get her riled up. Sure, that was half past never, but you never knew when it was time to excited a rabid animal in the middle of a fight.

He rolled over, dragging the Mirror Shield with him. There was something he could do about this, other than quit that is. Even if he knew everyone was nervous, he wasn't about to take the work that Ren and Pyrrha were doing and throwing it out the window. Not when one was doing retrospective research on their enemy and the other was trying to learn about possible fighting styles he'd use. That was not something he wanted to throw away. Ever.

That said, he didn't have long to think of a plan, and everyone else on his team was doing that much at least, thinking. Ren was thinking, because _no one_ thought as well as straight-A student Ren. Pyrrha was reading through her book on hand-to-hand combat, and Jaune had a _strong_ suspicion that he'd be taken out for some training later involving it. Nora was… listening to Ren mumble, which as a feat in its own. That just left him with… nothing.

Nothing obvious at least. But he got to Beacon doing the unobvious, cheating. At least so unknown that it was either an open secret or so well kept that only Cardin knew because he couldn't keep his mouth shut for a single night… and Pyrrha almost paid for it… _that_ would have sucked, probably worse than the Nightmare. Maybe, about just as bad.

Then again, none of that really mattered, not right now. Right now, Jaune had to think. He had to think of _what_ kind of a plan and then _how_ to practice it with his team without Link, or _anyone_ else, catching sight of it. Because he knew, even if they had an idea, throwing lighting around with the Dust tended to attract attention.

Jaune bit back a groan as he thought of Nora putting a time limit on their planning like this. Sure, it wasn't anything that completely blew him away but… _man_ time would be amazing to have. Heck Link, Tatl, and Tael always swore to it. Time this, Time that, and now he was starting to get why. Time really was something that you just _never_ had enough of!

Five days since they had gotten back from the Nightmare, and he was feeling like time as too slow. Now, with Nora having the bright idea to challenge, what Ruby's Uncle called Super Faunus, time just didn't seem to have the patience to slow down. Two days until the fight, one week after the Nightmare, and they were going after an amphibian Faunus.

On that Jaune had to find out, or namely choose, how to decide the arena to fight in, what weapons to bring, what strategies to practice, and, most importantly, how to bring down a giant shark that was coated in living lightning… And doing it all just seven days after escaping from death the first time, with the very shield he still held.

Seven days… Seven days… two days till seven days… why did that sound so ominous to him?

* * *

If there was something that Sky Lark could say about dropping out of Beacon, it was that it was relieving. Short term, he knew, and not something he could ride on let alone _survive_ on, but the idea of all that stress no longer being put on his shoulders was a literal weight being lifted off of him. He'd always been slow to do his studies and typically did just what was needed to pass, but having no commitments for the first time in what felt like years? It was a breath of fresh air to him.

Sky always knew that school would be stressful, but he never imagined how stressful until he got into it. Sure, he knew that the situation he had been in was _not_ what anyone would call typical, but that only meant that the future was either going to be the same or just a tad bit worse. And that was too much for him to handle.

No one was ever able to show just how challenging being a hunter would be until you were out in the field. It was half the reason why most colleges and training programs had you out and about among the Grimm, even if supervised. That way you at least got a taste for it. Trouble was the taste at his high school was like dipping his finger into a boiling pot. Going on that trip at Beacon? His head might as well have been dunked in instead. It wasn't a fair comparison at all.

But now that he was gone, it wasn't one he had to make. He didn't have any more worries about whether his next choice was going to result in the death of himself, his friends, his family, and then have to live with the consequences of his decisions forever. That wasn't even close to the hardest decision that he had now.

Right now, Sky's ultimate problem was a bit… different. Namely, he didn't know what to do first.

Patch up the leaks in the far side of the roof or double check to make sure the spices in the garden were all getting the right amount of sun light.

He sighed when he realized how silly it was that he even had to think about such a thing as the most serious part of his day. His long blue hair waved with the action, not that it mattered. He could do one faster than the other, so he'd do that last.

First, he'd patch the hole in the roof. All he had to do for the garden was run through it with his Sky Box and make sure all the plants were reacting the same. A dozen years managing the small garden with his mom and he knew what to expect and look out for. A hole in the ceiling though? That could cause damage later and the last thing he needed was his mom worrying about ruining some furniture or other stuff like that.

Picking up his tools, or his dad's tools, he set off for the ladder, already put in place for him. All he needed were a few shingles, some nails, and a good hammer. It wasn't hard to fix a hole in the roof, especially when their only concern was just keeping the water out. Good thing they had angled roofs and not those weird flat ones that were so popular around the rest of Vale. Then again, that wasn't the only thing different between home and Beacon, or Vale.

Just walking outside, getting a waft of humid air blasting in to his face, Sky was reminded just how much hotter it was back home, not that he needed it. Two seconds off of the bullhead a couple of days ago and he realized that. That wasn't even to mention the amount of attention he got was also categorically completely different. The difference between being the fourth wheel on a team behind a giant brute, snarky shadow, and Squall rip-off… then coming home to being the oldest son of a pair of spice farmers. Full of concern, hugs, screams, and kisses. All the usual.

A dry chuckle left his throat, the same time he put his feet to the rungs of the ladder, using one hand to guide him up and the other to lift the tools. He heard the birds chirping behind him, almost as loud as the cicadas screaming in the air. He knew it was _their_ form of chirping, but he couldn't take the sound they made as anything else other than a scream. Maybe it was because of the Grimm. Maybe, but he didn't really care. Not anymore at least.

Right now, Sky had to care about the hole in the roof and patching it up. That was one of chores today, after all, and then the spice garden. If he didn't do that, he was just going to be another hassle for his parents to deal with, and they had enough going on without him dropping out of Beacon and coming back here…

Another sigh rolled out of his throat, probably the hundredth he made today. He was doing that a lot more now, just sighing, even when work needed to be done. Said work including getting on top of the roof, making sure he was stepping on the joists never on the shingles alone. Didn't want to crack them. He knew how it felt to crack under pressure…

This time it was a groan that left his mouth, complete with his tools being placed on the roof. Sky _really_ wished he could have jostled his head free of all the ideas he had running in there, namely the disappointment that went with it. Cause unless he did, it just seemed like everything he did or was planning on doing was going to relate to some relation to him leaving Beacon. And it wasn't even that he left in bad regards that left a bad taste in his mouth.

He pulled himself together, focusing on what was important, like a paper before class. On his knees, Sky took out the spare shingle and lined it up with the hole in the roof. It was painfully obvious now, probably made when one of the pinecones fell from a tree above the house, knocking it free. Happened all the time, and they had to fix it all the time because of it. Well, he did before, and he guessed his dad did while he was gone, for those few _months_.

Yup, his old man, probably the hardest working guy outside of Vale, doing yardwork, small farming, construction, family raising, and even deliveries to the other settlements around the country. Like where he was now, with rest of his siblings. Taking them out so they could see the rest of the world that Sky had run away to… and run back from. He fought off the urge to slam his head into the ceiling. This wasn't helping him like he thought it would.

Instead, he focused on positioning the nail for the shingle, at the outer edge of the ductile surface, in line with the joist, and lining up the head of the hammer. He just needed to put one nail on either side of the shingle, a couple of nails and he'd be done. Easy. Sure, it wasn't anything professional grade or worthy of hundreds of Lien an hour like in Vale, but this was the outskirts. Super nice looking didn't pass as a necessity here.

 _WHAM!_ Here, it was all about function. It was all about what worked and what didn't. Sky reminded himself of this as he lined up his next nail, setting it opposite the first in reference to the shingle. Again, he double checked that it was over another joist, just by tapping along the wood to find the hard sound of a thicker element. Once he had it, he lined it up.

 _WHAM!_ And just like that, with the shingle slid under the next row up and held in place by a pair of nails, the hole was clogged. That was all that was needed for a chore around here. Get it done, make sure it worked, don't cause any damage, and you were all set. No grades, no final score, no necessary maybes that could pop up, at least not so long as he had been helping his mom and dad out with this. Even more so when his dad started doing deliveries, and _infinitely_ more so when his mom started helping out the neighbors with their kids.

He couldn't hear anything, even from up high and outside, but he could at least see the house she was at. Just across the road, covered by as much foliage as _every other_ house in their settlement, but still just as well as put together as theirs. He hadn't been gone _nearly_ long enough to forget that the family that stayed there was home to a mining family, hence why the dad of the kid was gone. His mom helping out, after raised and _raising_ four other kids meant that she knew what to do. So, she didn't mind helping.

Sky turned around and sat on his butt, staring through the canopy of trees around him. Trees grew short around here, which made the spice growing prime. The shade got in the way, and the humidity was high, but that made some of the coriander and cilantro grow at just the right rate. It was why his mom settled here, and his dad apparently loved her _so much_ that he moved in to help her with the garden and do delivers for her. To this day, Sky _still_ didn't get how they got so much Lien for so little spice.

Then again, seeing as everyone helped everybody around here, and he had to work a part time job at Vale just to get enough cash for his weapon, it wasn't like they had a lot of money. More like… just enough. Just enough to take care of themselves and their kids. Including Sky. That made him chuckle again, rolling his head with the action.

Their kids, huh? Actual kids, not like him. He was just a kid because he was an idiot for thinking he was worth being a hunter. An actual kid? They were idiots about _everything_. He bet his little siblings only wanted to go with dad because they wanted to see someone outside of the forest settlement for once. Like he did when their age. Maybe Orchid would come back and want to join a huntsman Academy as well. That sounded like something she'd want to do, especially after he had talked it up to her for so long. And him coming back had done _nothing_ apparently for stopping that love of the Hunters.

Then again, he had to admit, it was hard not to fantasize killing evil monsters to save people. Heck, half the reason most of the people did the profession was for that alone. He wasn't out of the number, especially because it only took one bad attack of the Grimm on the Settlement for him to want to go… just one bad day, like a lot of comics said. He wondered if that was true for the rest of his hold team.

The only one he ever got any info out of was his leader, and that was when he was either in a great or horrible mood, and he was pretty consistently one of the two. Dad was an asshole, unlike Sky's own dad, beat the crap out of him, unlike Sky's dad, and wanted to prove he was strong, only _sort of_ like what Sky wanted. After that, all up in the air. And Sky, he almost felt bad about it.

Leaving when Cardin was just starting to turn himself around, namely after the 'Super Faunus' Link showed up and started kicking butt with his 'friends'. Sky still believed that was his Semblance, no matter how much the drones said otherwise. NO way in heck that was normal, by any measure of technology. If it was, then there would be a _lot_ of surgeons out of business and a _ton_ of people lining up to wear their dead friend's memories… that was a morbid thought.

Still… Sky realized with a sigh… it wasn't all creepy and crazy. He had fun there, more than he did just sitting around at home waiting for chores to do or work to finish. There, there was always something that needed to be done, to a schedule. Here? It was whatever was needed at the moment, and the rest be damned. Appropriate, he knew, given how farm life worked, but managing only a hundred by hundred-meter farm plot didn't count for much.

He knew the rest of the guys would be doing okay, with Penny with them now and all. Given what that girl could do when they fought the Nightmare… he knew they'd be okay.

_RING!_

"GAH!" Sky honestly yelled at the sound that came from his back pocket, and he ignored the caw of the birds above him. They could be scared as he was for all that mattered. All that did matter was… he knew what that ring was. Not that it was a bad thing, just… not what he expected to get.

He fished into his back pocket, pulling out his Scroll all rolled up. A quick flick and it opened up to him, showing a new email he had received. Not unusual, usually, and actually kind of expected. Seeing as he left Beacon so quickly, made sense he might get a few messages, namely from the profs. Not like there was anyone else there he had known long enough to make a long-term connection with.

He played with the screen for a second, tapping all the necessary PINs to get to the email account. Once he did, he tapped the only unopened message he had. He could take five to read a message, especially if it was of something, he was going to have to take care of sooner rather than later. Turned out that wasn't necessary, at least not once he saw who it was from.

"The CCTV?" Sky spoke up to himself. No sarcastic comments returned his way, seeing as his team wasn't around to throw them, or his siblings to mock him. That was fine. "The hell do they want?" He double tapped the message, pulling it open to read the contents. A quick glance over it showed he didn't need five to read it. Hardly even one.

_NOTICE TO ALL SETTLEMENTS:_

_THIS IS AN UPDATE TO THE ONGING WHITE FANG ACTIVTY OUTSIDE THE CITY WALLS OF VALE. WE ARE DEDICATED TO KEEPING THE POPULACE UP TO DATE WITH THE WHEREABOUTS, CRIMES, AND SUSPICIONS OF THE TERRORIST NETWORK._

"Well at least they're calling them like they're seeing them now," Sky noted as he lazy rolled the Scroll in his hands. "Beats having a bunch of people calling them misunderstood or some junk like that." Then again, he had no idea they were sending these kinds of messages out. Why was he just getting them now? Cause he was outside of Beacon? Cause he wasn't a hunter in training anymore?

Maybe, but those were questions he could ask later, when there was someone to ask them to. Not when he still had a couple more paragraphs to read. Hopefully nothing _too_ shocking in there. After a fighting an Ancient Grimm in an Ancient Mine though, he doubted it.

_WHITE FANG ACTIVITY HAS DECREASED NEARLY 65% OVER THE TWO MONTHS FOLLOWING THE INFILTRATION AND ATTACK ON VALE. THERE HAS BEEN A 74% DECREASE IN VIOLENT ALTERCATIONS WITH STORE OWNERS OR MERCHANTS AND A 59% DECREASE WITH MUGGINGS BOTHIN WITHIN AND OUTSIDE VALE WALES. MORE DETAILS OF CRIME RATES CAN BE FOUND FOLLOWING THE PROVIDED_ _ LINK _ .

_APPREHENSIONS OF THEIR MEMBERS REMAINES UNCHANGED, SO VILIGANCE IS ENCOURAGED WITH ANY SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY BEING RECOMMENDED TO BE REPORTED TO THE NEAREST AUTHORITIES OR HUNTER'S GUILD. IF ANYONE IS SEEN CONSORTING WITH THE WHITE FANG THAT YOU KNOW, PLEASE REPORT THEM TO THE AUTHORITIES AS WELL._

_REMEMBER, THE SAFETY OF ALL BEGINS WITH THE SAFETY OF ONE_.

Well, with that last part at least, Sky had answered why he wasn't getting the messages. That was an Atlas message, at least one he had seen being posted by a lot of other kids who had scorned their Academy for Beacon. Not that he could blame them, cause a quick look at jobs after graduation meant Military life was all or nothing up there… and not everyone wanted that, he knew.

Sky shut his scroll and put it away. The rest of the numbers were things he could look up later, if he really cared about it, which he didn't, honestly. He only cared that the number of attacks of the beasts was down, which was _good!_ It meant the chances of them jumping into his family farm were lower than before, a lot lower, which was a lot better. No reason to get upset that something was working out his way for once.

He _really_ didn't want to fight, especially now that he had his Halberd all locked away so his siblings couldn't get a hold of it and start some kind of riot with it. That would be _really_ bad. So yeah, this should be a good thing, all things considered _especially_ now that he was home and he shouldn't have to worry about the White Fang nearly as much anymore.

The problem was… he didn't feel good about it.

His Scroll, folded up in his hands, sat between his palms as his thumbs balanced his chin. This wasn't a good situation and he knew it. He may not have been as smart as the Schnees or quiet Ren of JNPR, but he wasn't an idiot. Half the reason he got into Beacon was just because he _knew_ what made sense, not what sounded best. And right now, those conflicted.

Sky _knew_ it sounded good that the attacks by the White Fang were down, but it didn't _make sense_.

As far as he knew, there were no raids on any major bases, and he was sure at least something like that would have been leaked by now, or announced. Either a commander was captured, or a member of the militarized compound was arrested, or something like that. Heck, if a base was discovered and taken out by a freaking Dust Missile, that _might_ have worked, at least for reducing the attacks.

You don't go charging into a Grimm Horde after having your arm blown off, and you don't go robbing stores when you lose a head of your command. If that _had_ happened, then it would have made sense. But the issue was, it _didn't_ happen. After being around the older Schnee for so long, he was sure she'd have mentioned something about, at least in passing, maybe to bolster up how great the Atlesian Military was. Maybe.

But because she didn't and nothing was announced, that meant something _else_ was happening. Something to the White Fang… those beasts, and nothing good.

Sky could tell that whatever was happening wasn't good, and not just that, it was a plan for something. He couldn't tell in a way that the authorities could _do_ anything, but he was still trained far enough to be able to read the field around him. Because of that, he knew that something was coming, he just didn't know _what_ exactly. It was too obvious, especially with what his dad was saying about the raids around town.

While the White Fang still weren't Grimm, they were still at least predictable in terms of what they did. They stole what they needed and hurt someone if they felt like it. While they weren't _quite_ stupid enough to do something without a great reason, they would settle for a bad one if they had it. Bumping into one of their 'members' on the street counted, and he had to avoid them when it did happen. That was why this was so concerning.

Grimm only retreated from somewhere if there was something giving them an order or they were being killed too quickly to survive, and they were _just_ old enough to figure that out. While the White Fang were _not_ Grimm, they acted enough like it to be able to relate the habits. And the habits said that, with the lack of any actual aggression against them and there still being a 'bounty' of good available to them, their retreat implied an order. An order from someone _much_ higher than any of the clowns that typically came through the village.

Sky breathed into his hands, folding them and unfolding them across his face. This was why he left Beacon, to _avoid_ this kind of stuff. He came back home to work the farm and just that. Any Grimm that stumbled in would have been dealt with the same way he and his family had been dealing with them for years now. He could handle a stray Beowolf or Nevermore getting curious around the land. That wasn't hard.

White Fang though... they _weren't Grimm_. Even the… even the _Nightmare_ acted rather impulsively near the end. Strong and terrifying as it was, and something Sky still felt his brow sweat at the thought of, that was all that it was. Just a scarily strong and above basic intelligence Grimm. The furthest its 'plan' went was to just eat the memories of Impa or Link and get stronger for it. Grimm instinct 101, taught to everyone up and down the hunter training schedule.

That wasn't how humans or Faunus thought though. They thought differently, _he_ thought differently. Plans had a long-term goal that was accomplished with short term actions. Grimm didn't behave like that. Humans raised cattle to slaughter for food. Grimm hunted anything that had the ability to scream whenever it was convenient. Humans raised crops to eat during the off seasons. Grimm slept until someone treaded into their territory, then struck out like a trap.

The White Fang _were. Not. Grimm_. And because they weren't, that meant they had a plan.

A plan that apparently was moving forward in a way that he couldn't ignore, or at least stop seeing. Why else would they all suddenly stop attacking the village all at once? Why else would they decide to stop mugging people at any high rate? That was how they presumably got a lot of their income, and now to stop that would be like the Schnee Dust company saying that mining was being postponed for the foreseeable future. That stuff just did _not_ happen!

Not. Without. A. Reason.

Sky let out a growl now. A sigh, a moan, a groan, and now a growl. He was going to be making all the onomatopoeias in the English language today it seemed. Even worse than that, he didn't have anyone to harp on him for it. No, worse than _that,_ he didn't have anyone to tell this to.

He couldn't talk to his mom about it, _especially_ while she was helping the neighbors take care of their kids. His own siblings would be the absolute _worst_ case to talk to, as they'd either be so excited, they'd want to go explore it, which he knew was a _horrible_ idea, or they'd be too scared to talk, and he'd be blamed for it, properly at that. The former was the more likely of the two though, especially with his little brothers and sisters.

His dad though… he could be spoken to, if he wasn't so busy. No, no, that was just excuse making. His old man always had time to talk, like any good dad. Sky knew his dad was a great one, one that he really had no complaints about.

Sky remembered the look in his old man's eyes when he got home, his dad who had helped him scrape together the cash to go off to Beacon for training. The same guy who greeted him when he came home, a failure. He never said it, never hinted towards it, and probably never even meant to even give a clue about it, but Sky could see it.

His old man who had done so much, and had at worst to him, forgotten his birthday, among four other kids, work, and managing a house. That same old man knew him better than Sky ever cared to admit, and that was what was called an open secret. It was why no one questioned him when he suggested Sky stay home instead of going out to sell the spices, like he normally did. It was why his mother listened when he suggested that Sky do some of the chores around the house. It was why his siblings took heed when his dad told them not to grab at his old weapon.

His old man, his dad… he knew Sky Lark incredibly well. That was why the words he said when he came back home were sticking to him now… probably because he geezer knew that Sky would be thinking like he was now. It made the former hunter click his tongue. Damn his old man, there was only so far wisdom could go. Didn't change the truth of the matter though.

His old man was right. He 'left, but he didn't quit'.


	29. The Siren's Answer: Mikau

Honestly, Ruby had spent _very_ little time at the shores of Beacon Academy. It wasn't that she wasn't aware that they were here, it was just… not as important as the Emerald Forest or the Bullhead launch site or the training grounds or the high docks or… anywhere else really. In fact, she didn't even really know what the beach was actually still here. She never, really _never_ , saw anyone come down here for a tan or anything, and it wasn't large enough for a party site or anything, despite what Yang might want to joke about.

Then again, it still was a sandy beach that emptied out into the bay, the same bay that was shared _way_ across the ways with the rest of Vale. Sure, there weren't a lot of ships in the small river, bay, lake thing that separated them, but it still had some cargo ships, and she understood why. Because ships could run without power or Dust, and certainly for a lot greater efficiency than a Bullhead, at least under the same operating times.

Still, and again, Ruby had never seen any kinds of deliveries come into Beacon through the beach front, making everything about it… kind of off. Namely just what was there and what _wasn't_ there.

She wasn't surprised that here was a dock that went out into the bay, if it really was a bay she still wasn't sure. That was normal for any kind of beach. At least she'd never been to one that didn't have one. It was just that it didn't seem to go out too far, like only small oats like her dad's fishing ship could fit it, but not _nearly_ anything from the Military for transport!

And that wasn't even to bring up just how _little_ sand there was! Sure, it probably wasn't supposed to be used commercially, if that was the right term for it, but it still didn't have enough to be considered a veritable beach. It barely made it fifty yards up from the coast line before it started turning into green grass, and that didn't account for all the bull head launching stations or balconies that were built up around it. Again, she didn't know if that was the right term or not, but balconies were supposed to give you a better view of something, right? So, the giant steel and concrete structures that were probably twenty meters high _and_ with railings and bleachers had to be good for something.

Ruby shook her head, making her dark hair wave. She was thinking about something that didn't matter right now, at least not really. What _did_ matter was why she was here. Or rather, why her team was here. Or, to be even _more_ specific, why the better part of all of Beacon was here!

She could see just about everyone from the Combat Training Courses scattered around the balconies and bullhead launch platforms, if not standing higher up on the grassy hill, all looking down at the beach front. Some where obvious to see, like Weiss and bigger Weiss, Winter she reminded herself, standing at the edge of one of the balconies and given a bit of a berth. Probably because the bigger Weiss had some sort of Glyph up, probably. At least it looked like it, even if they were talking to one another a lot, which also seemed good. Better than ignoring or slapping one another.

She also didn't miss how Uncle Qrow was nearby them, or more like sitting on the edge of a railing and looking down at the beach himself. She could see him sneaking that canteen of his, and she kind of wished there was something dangerous in, just so she had an excuse to shoot it out of his hand. Then again, if anyone could take that stuff, it was probably her uncle, especially with the way he was grinning down as his feet dangled.

Ruby didn't have to look for Blake or Yang, both of her teammates who weren't hanging out with visiting family, not that they had any left to visit, nearby. Yang, thank Dust and Hunters, wasn't wearing the Bunny Cap. They really didn't need to explain that to everyone. Then again… Blake was wearing the magic cape, or at least partly wearing it over her shoulder. She was kind of attached to it, not that Ruby had seen Weiss put down the book she had.

She could see team CRDL, or making it was CRDP now, whatever that came out to mean. She recognized _them_ because it was really hard to miss Tatl and Tael floating around them! That would have been weird, if she didn't almost immediately see Moraine standing on Cardin's shoulders to look above everyone else. And standing meant literally standing. She really hoped she was wearing more underneath the tunic…

That wasn't even to include that she could see team SNNN, or at least she thought the other two boys with Sun and Neptune were their teammates, standing on the edge of the docks and far away from the beach. Neptune… didn't look happy. He was standing in the center of the docks at least. And she could see Dr. Oobleck by them as well, looking like he was ready to run into the center of the beach. Not that she could particularly blame him for it.

Because there was a fight about to start, one against Mikau and Link. And one being issued by team JNPR of all people.

The same team that Ruby knew went with Link to Monument Mine, or at least half of them did. Namely Jaune and Pyrrha, who were both talking at the center of the otherwise deserted beach. Jaune had the Mirror Shield that Link gave him still, because who would _want_ to put down something that amazing, and the rest of JNPR were standing around and listening to him, at least she thought they were. She didn't have hearing like Blake or Link to be able to tell what they were saying. Speaking of…

"So, what's the word?" Yang asked Blake, probably milliseconds before Ruby could. She pouted, though not really, because Ruby didn't pout, but she still let her sister speak. "You can hear them, right Blakey?" Her big sis still had that same teasing grin. At least, Ruby realized, it wasn't being directed just at her this time.

"Don't call me that," their resident Shadow spoke, but about as forcefully as Ruby would deny a strawberry. "And it sounds like Jaune is giving reminders about where they're supposed to go when the battle starts. Pyrrha and him will take the front, Ren will try and flank… sort of obvious, but still worth repeating." Ruby agreed, she was sure, maybe.

"Is that smart though, speaking up about that kind of stuff?" Yang continued to ask. She threaded her hands behind her head, pushing her elbows out. Ruby realized why she did that when people started to move out of the way. No one wanted to tell her sister to stop something. Probably pretty smart. "I mean the open thing. Plans are good, no doubt, but right in the middle of where they are supposed to fight?"

"Is it because they didn't expect to be challenged here?" Ruby asked instead. "I mean, we don't know if they challenged one of Link's friends or the location so… maybe they're just going over where to move now that they know _where_ they are fighting?" That seemed like something she would do, but Blake shook her head in response.

"No, that's not it," her dark-haired teammate responded. "The definitely chose to fight here, not the other way around." Ruby knew she could get distracted easily, but she was _pretty_ sure that when Ms. Goodwitch said that they were fighting out here, she didn't say what Jaune's team challenged with.

"How'd you figure that one out?" Yang asked, again, over Ruby. How was she doing that? Was she still wearing the bunny hood? Was it invisible like Blake's cape could make her? "You get the scoop on something we didn't hear?"

"Something like that," Blake hinted, and Ruby was _nano_ seconds away from asking what that meant. "I just heard Pyrrha mentioning that it was good fortune that Ren and Jaune were right about where they would end up fighting. They probably assumed they would be fighting here because of who they challenged." Well that made sense, too.

And if it was fighting by the water, on a beach, where the water was closest to the field… and it sort of looked like one of those really ancient theatres that Weiss said the classrooms were modeled after… then maybe it was… oh! They were challenging-

"Mikau's the lucky one this time?" Ruby did pout this time, and she thought she was entitled. She didn't pout often, no matter what anyone said, but after this, she was allowed to! "Guess they didn't want to challenge the friends who helped kicked that Nightmare's butt. Don't' know if that's because they were just too strong or what, but it's not like they know a lot else about Mikau, not aside from what he told us way back when." Yang rocked her head back and forth, getting the rest of the students to move a little further away from them. Ruby held back her thanks, because she was still being interrupted.

But she at least knew why JNPR was challenging Mikau, or at least a good reason for why. At least why him and not Impa or Elrora or anyone else, especially Link himself. It had to do with what Weiss was talking about before, about-

"They chose him because they could at least predict where he would fight." When did she become slower than her teammates? Okay, she actually wasn't seeing as during their last training session Yang and Blake still couldn't touch her, but getting interrupted left and right sure didn't make her feel fast, or _smart!_ "It is unlikely that they could have predicted where Elrora would challenge them, or Saria or Impa for that matter, and I don't believe Penny or Cardin described ay means to hurt Darmani. Mikau is the only viable candidate left to fight, and it sounds as if they have a strategy for him."

"Gotta be Nora, right?" Yang asked her teammate. Ruby didn't try this time. Instead, she just looked out over the crowd again, trying to see if she recognized anyone else. "Wanna charge her up and have her do some kind of blitz on them. That'd be my guess, cause no way lanky fish-boy Mikau is going to be able to take too hard a thrashing from her." Ruby knew she had a point, but she didn't bother to voice it.

No one really unexpected popped into Ruby's gaze, and she didn't _feel_ like anything was wrong. Not wrong in the sense that her new Semblance ability was activating itself or something like that. No rather… the most she felt was just the same dread and discomfort she got from one of the last times they had seen Link fight.

"It got a hundred that Pyrrha goes down last!"

"I'll take that! I'll double it that Jaune goes down first!"

"No way, that's _too obvious!_ Make it Ren and you got a deal!"

"How 'bout fifty that Link or whomever does 'em in in five minutes!"

"I'll give you ten times that JNPR actually wins, at all!"

"That's a loser's bet and I'm gonna take it to see you cry!"

That is the gambling.

"Are they still doing that?" Blake asked, getting Ruby's attention. She turned towards her teammate, seeing the golden eyes of the Faunus in hiding narrow as they gazed over the crowd, towards the taller balconies of the beach and the grassy knolls of the hills, just past the nearly unoccupied beach. "I would have thought they'd have grown up from that."

"What, after a week?" Yang asked as if it was a joke, but Ruby didn't think it was. Gambling on these fights just seemed wrong. "There's nothing wrong with it, just them risking their own cash for something they'll probably guess wrong. If you're smart, then you could even make a living off of it, right?" No, that wasn't wrong.

"Wrong, Yang," Blake responded first. "No means of supporting one's self should be just as viable to ruin you financially. Risky endeavors aside, no gambler can guarantee an income like a hunter or military official. And the things they are betting on… it's just juvenile." Good thing Blake agreed with her, Ruby realized.

"I'd argue that considering you gotta be eighteen plus to gamble, it's anything but!" Her grin, however, wasn't a good thing to see. And Ruby was starting to get annoyed by it. She could tell Blake was as well, seeing as they were both glaring at her stupid big sis. "Sides, not like it matters for now. The fight's getting started." Though brought Ruby up short.

"It's wha-?"

"Attention Beacon students and staff!" Ruby glanced down at the beach again, the same as Blake, to see Ms. Goodwitch standing with her Scroll in her hands. The rest of the crowd got silent almost immediately with her call, probably because they knew she could take them out… and she was kind of scary still. "We are nearly done with preparations and will soon begin the match. I ask everyone to step back as we prepare the ring for battle!"

How did Yang _know that_!? Was she actually wearing the freaking Bunny Cap? No wait, better question, what was the ring of… oh yeah, the ring, like the boundaries.

"Alright, ten paces back, stop and turn." Ruby heard someone joke, but she didn't know what the joke was. Or who said it. But she did feel the crowd begin to move back, everyone on the grass at least. They didn't have to go far, seeing as they had gotten the outcropping the balconies were built on. AT least, she was decently sure it was far enough. Far enough away that they couldn't even hear JNPR talking… then again there was a crowd.

Her mind moved away from that as she saw the familiar drones of Ms. Goodwitch start to fly around the air. She'd seen them before, when they went scouting into the Everfall Forest before. They were supposed to be scouts or… something else. Probably making sure that everyone was far back enough for a regulation ring, like the inside of Beacon. Made sense, and why she hadn't felt anything yet. Because everyone _was_ safe, so no reason to feel anything for it.

"Hey, what's that?" Blake asked aside Ruby. She looked at her teammates, seeing her pointing towards the beach. Or, more specifically a portion of the sand that was _really_ far away from where JNPR and Ms. Goodwitch were standing. Ruby didn't see anything at first. Not until she squinted _really_ hard, looking at what was so important and once she did, she knew what it was. "Is that what I think it is?" But Ruby really did know, so she could tell her teammate!

"Oh! It's a-"

"Linear Proximity Sensor, right?" Ruby fought _very_ hard to not tackle Yang to the ground, yet. "Saw those all over Patch, me and Rubes both. Lot of farmers got them so that they know when the Grimm are getting too close. Important to have when you don't have hunters everywhere around you." And of course, she was going to give the same explanation.

"I see, so Ms. Goodwitch is setting up a ring, and removing any argument that lines were crossed." Yeah… that would be a good use for them. "It does appear that it could work… but there is something still missing." Ruby looked at Blake, not really ready to try and answer anything, even a question. She didn't want to get interrupted again.

"Hmm? What's missing, Blakey?" Yang asked, twisting her head to swing her elbows at the same time. There were a few voices of annoyance, not that Yang paid any mind. Not that she ever did. "Those things don't need much to work. A good amount of Dust, something close by to talk to, and that's about it. You see something I don't?" Considering how much of a Shadow Blake was, Ruby didn't doubt it. She just wished her sister would stop acting like a Mage, predicting the future and all…

"No, not with the sensors, but with the fight itself." The fight, but that hadn't even started yet. "Or more specifically, why we are only seeing JNPR and Ms. Goodwitch down there still, even if the ring is being prepared." Only them… it took Ruby a solid second to figure out what she meant. There was someone missing and it was-

"Is anyone aware of where Mikau is?" MS. Goodwitch's question cut through her mind, only making her sigh now. The question itself, however, got a murmur out of the rest of the crowd, again. Not that she was too surprised.

"Yeah, where is Mikau?" Ruby thought nothing as she was interrupted internally again. She wasn't even surprised anymore, only disappointed. If this as going to be a theme, she didn't like it. "He's gotta step into the ring to start the fight, right? This ain't like when the collective of CFVY and those _lucky_ volunteers fought Impa." Ruby's disappointment was replaced with embarrassment at the reminder of how hard she was trounced then… and for volunteering like that. "So, he's gotta show up first, right?"

"He should," Blake agreed, and Ruby did so too, silently, in her head. Because she wouldn't be able to talk at this rate. Not again at least. "Unless there is some new specification that we missed, but I don't recall there being one." Neither did Ruby, and she read every word of the emails that Ms. Goodwitch and Link sent out. Well, just Ms. Goodwitch sent them, but it was obvious that she was writing down what Link wanted, or something like that.

"Think he's going to show up soon then?" Yang questioned. "He better, cause the teacher being late just sets a bad example for us _squires_. And who would _ever_ want to listen to a badass Hunter who's later for his own fights?" If it weren't for the sarcasm in her voice, probably just as deep as the bay just beyond the beach, Ruby would have shoved her sister. At least she believed she would have, if she didn't have something else, she was focusing on. Something else she didn't expect.

A feeling. A feeling in her Semblance, in her _soul_.

Her silver eyes widened as she followed it, looking at where her soul was guiding her, giving her that spark of panic that so often came with it. She told herself it couldn't be anything bad, no worse than her sister or Weiss trying to punch or stab her during training. It wasn't extreme, not bad, not here, but… but it did mean something was coming from…

"Look!" Ruby finally shouted, and no one interrupted her. Rather, they followed her line of sight, and looked out towards the shoreline and beyond. And it was only too obvious why a moment later.

Because it was kind of hard to miss the stream of water rushing up towards the beach!

The rest of the crowd started to notice as well, with everyone else pointing out what she had and talking about it. She'd finally gotten to talk and sure it was only one word but, hold on, _that wasn't important right now!_ What was important was what it was, and she had a pretty good idea. In fact, everyone probably did.

Her feeling went away though, right after she saw the trail in the water dip down and vanish. That… was weird. In fact, too weird. So weird that she didn't know what that meant or how it even worked. One second there was a stream running through the water like a freaking engine was plowing through it and the next… it was gone. It just kind of vanished like it… submerged.

"5… 4…" Ruby heard Yang counting next to her. And counting down fast. Her feeling was gone, which was good, but she didn't know what it was there, which was bad. "3… 2…" And now her sister was counting like she knew something was about to happen and… and she _had_ to have the Bunny Cap on now somehow! Not that she had any more time to ask. "1…"

_SPLOOOOOSHSH!_

Like a torpedo exploding, a column of water rushed up and shot into the air, making a good number of students cry out as they threw their hands up. Ruby included. That's why she felt something at least! Then again, that something was still huge! It was at least a dozen feet in the air, and that was awesome and cool! It was like a freaking pillar just shot up from the shore line!

She could hear SNNN freaking out in the docks, or maybe that was just Neptune. Probably because it had to look like a freaking tidal wave coming at them, and that had to be awesome! Well, because it wasn't actually a tidal wave or anything bad, or maybe that was why she felt something bad at first and then she didn't because whomever was responsible for the pillar knew someone was there, but _that wasn't important!_ What was important was that SNNN were okay, if wet and one of the catatonic, and the thing that was responsible currently high above them.

Oh yeah, Ruby saw it. Following the top of the pillar of water, once Ruby realized that it was just water and she shouldn't care, no matter how many voices were complaining about it, she saw what she wanted to. And so, did everyone else.

Flipping through the air, and falling in a long arc, a blue-scaled Faunus descended towards the beach. Ruby watched, grinning even with damp hair and still some annoyance at her interrupting teammates, as the tall form of Mikau stood on the sandy beach, towering over JNPR and Ms. Goodwitch, just like she remembered him last time.

With that long grin spike on the back of his head, the short skirt of green to match, and shark teeth that seemed to shin with his smile, that was the Faunus alright, the one that she had cried over, and had told her he was happy. And he looked happy too, so she knew it was okay. Everything was okay.

"Mikau," Ms. Goodwitch spoke up, probably only able to be heard because everyone else quieted down. That was good, too. Only good things from here on out! "I'm glad to see you finally decided to show up. I was about to call the match in JNPR's favor due to your absence."

Whoa, she was!

"Whoa! You were?" Mikau, and maybe Link, spoke up with that same vibrating voice that Ruby remembered from last time. Still a cool voice, and _hey!_ He had the same question she did! "Sorry about that. Got caught up stretching the dorsal fins through the graveyard down there. You gotta lotta ships hanging out underwater, you know that?" He was scratching the back of his smooth neck with his shark like grin on display.

Wait, hold on. They had what now?

"I am aware there are a fair number of derelict ships beneath the Vale Bay, yes," Ms. Goodwitch answered without missing a beat, not that Ruby had ever actually seen her miss anything like that before. "Your curiosity for them is well-understood, but entirely misplaced given the timing of the current event." She looked up at him and was probably glaring at him. Maybe, it was hard to see from so far away. At least she could hear them.

"Ms. Goodwitch is mad, huh."

"You think she was seriously gonna cancel the fight like that?"

"Would've been the easiest thousand Lien I'd ever make if she did!"

The rest of the crowd was still murmuring though, not that Ruby could really blame them. At least they weren't interrupting her like her teammates were earlier! Still, not important. What was important was the duel about to start and how Mikau was here! She hadn't seen him in so long and now he was back and was exploring the Vale Bay and he was going to be so awesome!

"Again, sorry about that seafoam," Mikau spoke up again, with that same voice and nickname he gave before. Ruby wondered if she'd get her own nickname, like coral maybe. Coral could be red, but seafoam was white and Ms. Goodwitch wore more gold… no, stop, _not important!_ "Been too long since I got to swim like that, and you'd be goin' crazy if you saw a bunch of wrecked Gerudo crafts down there. More dragged away myself there weren't more fish ta see. Probably because there weren't any streams."

"The curiosity of marine life in Vale Bay can be answered another day." Once again, no chances missed. Ms. Goodwitch looked back down at her Scroll before she went on, touching on the Pad as she spoke. "For now, be glad that you arrived on time, but not a moment too soon." Too soon? Then what was all of that about almost having the match cancelled. That was… did that make sense?

"I said I was sorry, didn't mean ta lose track of the time. Can't exactly take those clocks of yours underwater, can I?" Maybe it did, because Mikau wasn't questioning it. And he did have a good point. At least Ruby couldn't see her Scroll surviving too well underneath the bay. "I'm here now though, so no more reason to dam up the stream." That was another weird metaphor, but at least she understood it.

"No, there is not," Ms. Goodwitch agreed. "And, unlike your near tardiness, the members of team JNPR are here and prepared to begin." Oh yeah, that was who Mikau was supposed to be facing, Ruby had almost forgotten… she hoped they never found that out.

Ruby watched though, with her team minus Weiss, as Mikau walked up the rest of JNPR, hands on his hips and standing above them. Like way above them, way too tall. She forgot how tall he actually was, but seeing that Jaune had to crane his next to look at him, yeah Mikau was tall. Was that a Zora thing? Maybe it had to do with being part fish, because there were a lot of water animals that were big like whales and squids and octopuses, but _that wasn't important right now!_

"So are all here," Mikau's voice let out again, looking down at them. Even if Ruby could hear them, it was kind of hard to make out if they were nervous or not. At least she could tell they were all looking up at him and… Nora was literally jumping. "Hope ya don't mind havin' a spar on the beach like this. Wouldda preferred the water itself, but I figured that it'd be like askin' the reefs to grow a different color." That metaphor… didn't make much sense.

"I-It's alright!" Jaune spoke up. Well, yelled, Ruby realized, but that was okay. Jaune was the team leader and he was getting better. "W-We were expecting something like this!" Ruby groaned at that. He was a good leader, even if he had room to go.

"He did not just admit that out loud," Blake scorned net to Ruby. She appeared no more pleased with what Jaune said than Ruby did… but at least Ruby forgave him.

"I-It was just a mistake," she returned for her friend and fellow leader. He couldn't be entirely at fault, seeing as he at least challenged Mikau and she'd lost without a challenge… oh yeah, she'd forgotten about that almost. "A-And maybe Mikau didn't notice?"

"Oh? You were thinkin' of fighting me here?" The Zora asked. Ruby lowered her head at the question. IF she wasn't being interrupted, she was being out right proven wrong… she wasn't' sure what was worse. And she did _not_ want to experiment to find out. She didn't need her Semblance to know that was a bad thing. "Can I guess you were tryin' out a few different sets then? Thinkin' of where the waves were gonna splash maybe? Figure out how to get the tide on your side?" What was he even asking?

"We are prepared to fight you, and that is all," Ren spoke up, coming to Jaune's rescue. Ruby knew she could count on him! Even if she didn't think he'd actually talk at all next to Nora and Jaune, but still! It was the thought that counted… even if she didn't have it. "We trust that you will not go easy on us."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Mikau responded, waving his hand. Was that webbed? It looked like it, even if the fingers were also really sharp. Being a Zora must have been really cool! "Sides, pretty sure if I did, I'd be in trouble. Had to read old currents to realize that you got a champion fighter on yer team, not to mention Link's old ace against magic." Okay, Ruby got who the champion was, especially with how Pyrrha sighed, but the ace against magic?"

"Is he talking about the Mirror Shield?" Yang asked now. Ruby had to agree. "Gotta be, seeing what they said it did against the Nightmare. And that's an ace… you think that's what he's concerned about?" That question got Ruby off guard.

"What do you mean?" She looked at Yang, her sis finally having put her arms down, not that anyone still wanted to get within arm's reach of her. She hit hard, even on accident. Gave the rest of them breathing room at least. "Concerned like he doesn't know what to do against it or… like it's a big deal for him?"

"I think more as in he believes that is the greatest tool JNPR has at their disposal." Blake's answer was calm, even if her eyes were focused down at the beach still. "As in, Ruby, that he believes that the Mirror Shield is his greatest concern, and there is little else for him to be careful of." Ruby thought about that for a moment, thought about what it meant.

Link was careful, and therefore Mikau was. At least she was pretty sure Link was careful, seeing as Tatl basically said he was making plans for them and everything, which sounded careful to here. And if he was there with Mikau, like Saria and Elrora kept hinting at, then it meant that he was probably going to think Jaune was the biggest threat with the shield, if Blake and Yang were right. But even if the shield was dangerous, just as much as it was _awesome_ , didn't he have any concern about Nora? Maybe if… oh…

"Does… does he even know about Nora's ability?" Ruby found herself whispering. And true to the pattern of the day, she wasn't interrupted.

"I doubt it." But she was given a bad answer. "When would he have had the time to figure it out?" There wasn't any, at least not unless they had all their Semblance written down somewhere and Link had access to that and he studied it or something, but that probably didn't happen. That… and she kind of doubted Link would know how to work that kind of stuff…

"Guess we're going to find out soon enough." Yang spoke up and, this time, Ruby didn't think it was because she was secretly wearing the Bunny Hood somewhere.

This time she knew her sister was right because Ms. Goodwitch was turning around, at the same time Mikau was walking away. She didn't hear anything else they said, which was kind of bad, seeing as that was probably going to come up later, maybe. Then again, they could just as Jaune or Pyrrha or Ren or Nora or Link or… a lot of people actually. But that _wasn't important_ right now. What was the duel!

"Spectators, please pay attention," Ms. Goodwitch called out, facing the crowd. Or at least the grassy portion of it, cause the balconies did kind of wrap around the beach, sort of. "The duel will commence between Mikau of the Zora, ally of Link, against the Beacon team designated as JNPR, consisting of Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren." Ruby wasn't that surprised to see Mikau wave at the mention of his name, or the number of giggles that came from the crowd. She still didn't feel anything was off, which was good.

She did steal a glance towards Weiss and bigger Weiss though, to see that her partner was leaning over the railing quiet a lot. And her sister was doing the same. Both of them were, and… was Weiss smiling? Or was she biting her lips again? It was just like last time!

"The fight is the same per regulations," Ms. Goodwitch spoke on, even as JNPR prepared their equipment and Mikau kept… stretching. She knew Weiss was probably still enjoying the show, and her sister was as well… and she knew why. "All tools within the field of battle are usable for the duration of the fight and any outside interference will be seen as a penalty to the benefited team. For victory to be decided, all members of the opposing team must either reach critical Aura levels, be disarmed, or ejected from the field of battle." Okay, so nothing too different yet.

"They know tha rules already!" Ruby felt a sting of dread when she heard the voice call out… and was a little humiliated to see it came from her uncle. Her uncle still balancing on the edge of the balcony, and now holding a _much_ larger flask with him. "Jus' hurry up and get on with tha' fight!" Yang groaned with Ruby. Hopefully no one would know they were related, for now at least.

"… With the terms of defeat and combat clear, are there any other questions?" Ruby wasn't sure if she was impressed, thankful, or just ready to worship the god that kept Ms. Goodwitch from saying something that would get her uncle in trouble… and then likely them as a consequence. That was how it usually went at least…

"I got one!" Mikau spoke up, with that vibrating voice. He had a hand in the air, even as he sported that same shark like grin. It really went well with the gills… and scales… and the muscles as well, especially with all the water… _no bad thoughts!_ "You think he'd swim straighter if he was closer to his nieces?" Ruby's thoughts were shattered in a moment. "You wanna tell the guppy to cozy up to his family 'stead?"

So much for good luck…

"Perhaps," Ms. Goodwitch answered without hesitation, and that just made Ruby panic. Why couldn't he Semblance let her know if _this_ was going to go badly! "But I would rather keep Qrow's fortune separate from his family. At least _they_ act appropriately." That was a warning if Ruby ever heard one, and she'd gotten a lot from her dad and sister before.

"Be cool Rubes, stay calm," Yang whispered to her, and it was only after Ruby looked at her that she realized was _very_ plainly trying to look anywhere else. At least she was nervous about Uncle Qrow being called out as their uncle now as Ruby was. Normally she didn't mind, but normally her uncle didn't make an embarrassing joke… okay he did that a lot, but not like this!

"Juuuuust curious," Mikau spoke back, and he leaned over to the side, like he was still stretching out. Ruby wasn't sure if he still was… but she was hopeful, just a bit, that it would stop there. "But nope, otherwise I'm good!" And he threw up a thumbs up, like out of a comic. At least he looked good with it, probably. Had to be the combination of teeth and physique. The height helped, probably.

"Excellent, and JNPR? Are you prepared as well?" It was a very by the books question, just like how Ruby knew Ms. Goodwitch would ask. Or more like _Yang_ probably knew. Ruby just knew she wasn't getting any bad feelings which was great also.

"We're all set!" Jaune yelled out. Ruby grinned, realizing he was probably trying to make up for his slip up earlier. At least he realized he made a mistake, or maybe that was what his team had told him about when her team was telling her. Was that important? Sort of, more than not important at least. "Just… just need to know what to start!" Ms. Goodwitch nodded, and that was good too! Better than almost being called out by Uncle Qrow when he was being… _super_ Uncle Qrow and not _kick butt_ Uncle Qrow. That was the Uncle Qrow she wouldn't mind, not-

"Take your places, and we'll begin." This time Ruby was interrupted by something she didn't mind. That being Mikau and JNPR getting set up on opposite ends of the beach. Mikau was rolling his arms around, and Ruby _had_ to remember what was in those arms, besides skin and scales and everything, else, but that wasn't important!

What was important was that he had those fins that he could extend out and throw, and they came back like boomerangs! She remembered him throwing those around when Dr. Oobleck first asked him to show himself and… and that was going to be a big part of this fight, she knew. It was going to be awesome, seeing him fight and using his electric shield against Pyrrha and her Polarity and figuring out about Nora and Ren dodging around him and shooting and Jaune… Jaune didn't…

"Jaune still doesn't have his sword, does he?" Ruby asked aloud, seeing her friend holding up just the Mirror Shield. Still a wickedly cool shield but… but it was just a shield, and shields weren't as effective at creating lacerations or even traumatic fractures. They were defensive and… that was it.

"Don't think so," Blake responded. And that was a bit more bad luck. "You think he's going to need it?" Well of course he… actually Ruby wasn't too sure.

She didn't have any bad feelings, but probably because nothing was close to happening bad yet. She also couldn't really see Jaune doing much with it, not against Pyrrha and Nora and being… well… far better at blocking attacks then giving them. So really, even thought Jaune was her friend, and he was really cool, maybe he didn't need his sword, maybe. Even if he was pretty broken up about losing it before.

She'd just have to wait and see. And she couldn't wait much longer.

"Are the fighters ready?" Ms. Goodwitch asked again, but this time, there wasn't a word from Mikau or JNPR. They just nodded their heads. All of JNPR holding up their weapons or shields, Mikau bent over and holding a stance like a karate fighter, and they were ready. Sure, Mikau was grinning more, and _maybe_ that mattered, but it was just icing on the cake, or a cookie.

She didn't feel anything still, and she hoped she wouldn't, but Ruby was alright with waiting. This was going to be something special to see.

 _"Begin!_ "

* * *

Nora may not love fighting, but she loved to fight. Most people she said that to thought she was weird, but to hear it made absolute sense. She hated fighting but she loved to fight. That seemed to make perfect sense, like not liking to cook but loving to eat. That was normal!

She loved to fight because it gave her chance to show the world just how strong she was. The stronger she looked, the less the world bothered her. When she got even _stronger_ than that, then they stopped bothering her friends as well! And she knew that being strong mattered, because all of her friends were at a school to make themselves stronger, even Renny! And what was better than being strong?

The only way to prove that you were strong, unfortunately, was to fight. And the harder you fought, and the _better_ you fought, then the stronger you were. It was just that simple! So, Nora hated fighting, but she loved to fight. To her, that made perfect sense.

Funny enough, staring ahead across the beach, she was _pretty sure_ there was someone else who thought the same way as her.

_BANG! BANG!_

Nora kept herself crouched as she watched from the side-lines, just like she was told to. Kept _just_ out of the way by Jaune-Jaune, with Pyrrha and Renny up front and doing the fighting. That wasn't really where Renny was supposed to fight, but she trusted Jaune-Jaune, and so did Renny, so it was okay. Besides, he wasn't in any _real_ danger. Even if she couldn't really recall a time that they had fought across a beach before, or against a fish, or against a lightning summoning Faunus, or in front of the entire school like this, she knew they were okay.

She knew it as she watched the Shark Man do a back flip over one of Pyrrha's swings, just in time for him to raise up on of his fin blades and block Ren from shooting at him. And he kept blocking Renny's attacks even as he kept spinning! It would have been so cool if he wasn't fighting Pyrrha and Ren! But he was, so it was only half-cool. Although, it was at least doubly cool how once his boots hit the sand, he spun around and threw one of his blades out like a boomerang. That was awesome!

Even if said boomerang flew right over Renny's head, making him duck and letting the Shark Man fight Pyrrha one on one for a bit. Even if Jaune-Jaune and her _also_ couldn't do much, seeing as Jaune-Jaune didn't have anything to shoot with and she didn't want to blow Pyrrha up with her grenades. Sushi was great, but not deep-fried best friend!

But Nora still kept watching as Renny got himself back up, aiming his Storm Flower guns forward and watching the fight from a _bit_ closer than Nora was. Watching as neither Pyrrha nor Shark Man were actually blocking anything, despite both of them having _metal shields!_ They seriously were choosing to dodge every attack coming at them instead! Yeah, it was awesome, but shields were heavy and they weren't even using them!

Shark Man swung a kick with his _really long_ leg, but Pyrrha rolled under and tried to stab up with Milo! But that only let the Shark Man, twist to the side, catching his Fin Blade back on his arm, however awesomely that worked, and then swinging it at Pyrrha! And then Pyrrha flipped around that by curling into a ball and flipping backwards, all the while none of them hitting one another. It would have been _extra awesome_ if Shark Man was hit, but none of them were.

Instead, when Pyrrha landed with Milo outstretched and her legs crouched, just like her kick butt best friend always did in a fight, Nora watched as Shark Man folded his arms in front of him, making his Fin Blades shields again. Probably because Renny had his guns on him. Oh, and Pyrrha to, not that Nora saw her shoot often. Still, he had his shields, up… sort of. But that wasn't what Nora _really_ noticed.

What she _really_ noticed, because she didn't have much else to do but wait until what Jaune-Jaune said would happen happened, was something much cooler. Something that made her _absolutely_ sure that Shark Man was just like her, or maybe Link was just like her, or some mix of the two, maybe two thirds or a quarter each.

The Shark man was smiling, and he was chuckling. He was having fun. The laughter was the giveaway. She loved to laugh when she fought, too.

Even as she watched him hop back and forth across the sand, probably moving like Pyrrha told Jaune-Jaune to do to not be a target, he was still watching them with those really blue eyes and _really_ sharp teeth. Seriously, those could cut through steak no problem! But the Shark Man was smiling with them, and he was chuckling, she heard it! She knew she did!

"You both ain't half bad," the Shark Man spoke now, and he had that weird vibrating voice that Nora wasn't sure was awesome or creepy. Awepy was a good word for it! A Nora word! "You know how ta read a tide and rip through the current. Gotta have some skill to keep yer scales from bein' torn up on the reefs." That… Nora didn't understand.

"I'm glad we impress you… Sir Mikau," Pyrrha spoke. Well, Shark Man was a man, so sir seemed okay, maybe. Was it her turn to fight yet? "Though I do feel you are holding back against us. I'm sorry if my judgement is wrong but… I don't feel any tension yet." Was that a bad thing? Nora didn't think so.

She didn't eve think the Shark Man pulling his head back and laughing was a bad thing either, probably because he kept his Fin Blades up as he did so. And they were _big!_ She thought Jaune-Jaune had a big shield now, and so pretty too. But Shark Man's were, like, probably the same size as his body. And that was _big!_

"I take it back! You're not half bad, you're half great!" Now that was a good thing! "Gotta be a fish to sleep in the water, and you gotta be a fighter to sense the fight. Clear as a cloudless Great Bay that you got that part in you in spades! Bet your teammates ain't drowsy either." Nora tightened her grip on Magnhild. She was _definitely_ not tired, she couldn't be!

She was too busy staying focused because she was waiting for Jaune-Jaune to tell her to go, and then she'd be _wide awake and ready to go!_ Even if right now she could only watch as Pyrrha and Renny crept closer across the sand, pretty obvious with how the sand was moving, she still was wide awake. She had to be.

It was hard _not_ to be when Shark Man was clearly enjoying the fight.

But she couldn't see Link enjoying fighting.

"Why don't we pick up the tempo. Four-Eights time, now." Four ate who? "Can't think before you stroke, you just gotta reach, tear, and _rip!_ " Tear what?! Nora did see any paper to tear, but the Shark Man's shark teeth were really bright and scary! Just not as scary as how fast he was running towards them, and his big Fin Blades were still up!

 _BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG_ Nora heard and saw Renny firing Storm Flower at Shark Man, but the bullets were bouncing off of his Fin blades and sparking with it. Those must have been really hard! Or his Aura was super strong, but they already knew that. But awesome as that was, it wasn't what she was supposed to be waiting for!

Pyrrha was running up fast first, because her bestie on the team was always charging in head first. And she even had her shield up this time. Maybe she'd even use it! Renny was dashing around the side, probably to get a better shot, like when Nora had to fight a lot of Ursa and he liked to stab them in the backs, in a good way. Almost everything Renny did was a good thing.

Nora _wanted_ to jump in and help! Especially because this was the kind of fighting, she liked, and Shark Man was still looking strong! _Especially_ because he easily rolled under Pyrrha's thrust, only to kick up off the ground to both attack _and_ jump in the air, which was kind of awesome. Almost as awesome as how he threw _both_ of his Fin Blades at Renny mid-jump, making her friend stop firing and dodge them. That should have given her best friend Pyrrha a moment to strike, but of course, Shark Man didn't need a shield, or his Fin Blades!

Instead, he started kicking out like Renny did in training, but with _super_ long legs, and a cry that sounded like he was still screaming into a fan. Best Friend Pyrrha was dodging them, because she was awesome, but she wasn't attacking back, at least not _hitting_ back. Shark Man kept moving his head, or his shoulder, or his hip, or his really well chiseled abs, out of the way.

And he was still grinning at her! It was the same kind of grin Nora like to wear when she was fighting, and not because she was in a fight. Shark Man kept wearing it even as he raised his arms, jumping back from her best friend and letting his Fin Blades catch again… only to _immediately_ throw them out again at Renny! She had to watch her partner kick back at the sand, almost falling over to avoid the projectile shooting at him like… well like a really sharp fin flying through the air! It would have been awesome if it wasn't keeping Renny from helping, or shooting.

But at least that was keeping him from really beating Pyrrha, even if she hadn't hit the Shark Man yet either. Even when he turned away from her to throw that blade, he just kept bouncing and weaving and waving and making Nora wonder if he was really a Shark or maybe a Manta. Because Manta Rays could see the future, or so she read in a lot of comics. And those were totally real, just like the librarian told her.

Even though the Shark Man was having fun, and Nora knew _why_ , at least she was pretty sure, she could tell that Pyrrha and Renny weren't. She knew why for that as well. Fighting was fun, no duh, but falling down on the sand constantly to avoid giant flying fish blades wasn't fun, especially if they kept coming in pairs and probably hurt really bad. So was missing every single hit and swing you took, even if the Shark Man was _really tall!_ Lanky, yeah, like thinner than Jaune-Jaune, but still really tall.

"This isn't working," Jaune-Jaune said next to her. Oh yeah, he was paying attention to. Actually, she was waiting for him to give the signal. Did that mean the signal was coming? "He's just… Pyrrha said he isn't giving it is all, but does he even have to try against us?" Oh, that was a bad thought. Bad thoughts weren't good to have in a fight. That was why Nora didn't like them. But she knew what to do to make fighting fun!

"Don't worry Jaune-Jaune, we can still do this!" Nora cried out ecstatically. She was bouncing in the sand, which wasn't as easy as dirt or her bed, but it was still better than concrete or rubble. That hurt to fall in. "He hasn't hit Renny or Pyrrha either, right? So that means we're all doing a-okay!"

"Yeah, that's true, but…" Nora started to pout. There weren't supposed to be buts when fighting, unless you were kicking one. That was the only exception. Buts were for fights, not fighting. "But we're not going to be able to do much unless we can get him to use his… you know." Yeah, she didn't, but why was he- oh! Right! Because Shark Man was still part Link and Link had really good hearing because Link was a Faunus! Of course, the fairies would spoil everything. Spoil fairies!

"Then we just gotta get him _really_ upset so he can let out!" Nora declared, gripping Magnhild a bit tighter and watching the fight again. Unfortunately, not much had changed, which was really bad when you were fighting. Fighting was supposed to be fast and fun! Considering how Shark Man and Pyrrha and Renny still weren't hurt, this was taking too long!

 _BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG_ Even if Renny was able to shoot again, Shark Man had one of his Fin Blades up and was moving around Pyrrha as she tried to swing and stab and kick at him. The kicking should have worked, especially if she aimed lower. Why wasn't she aiming lower! All men were weak lower! But maybe that was because he was so tall? Maybe.

But Nora could still tell that there wasn't much she could do, especially because if she tried to hit Shark Man now, she might ruin Jaune-Jaune's plan, and Pyrrha and Ren like the plan so she couldn't ruin it. Besides, she was promised that she'd be able to fight the Shark Man one on one if it worked, so it was a plan she liked! She just needed it to hurry up and happen!

"Dang it! He's dodging everything!" Jaune-Jaune yelled. See? He was upset too! Fights weren't fun, and they weren't fighting, so it doubly wasn't fun! "I mean, I get Link is strong and everything, but Pyrrha is like… invincible!" Nora was really glad she didn't hear that, Pyrrha that is. Her best friend didn't need to know her man thought that. Yet. "Maybe there's… why would he be able to dodge everything? Something like Ruby's ability? Or Yang's?" Her team leader was thinking, that was good, because Jaune-Jaune was a good thinker.

She watched him hold up his shiny new shield, probably to keep himself safe behind it, even if they were already far enough away. He was thinking though, and that was good, and Renny was letting Pyrrha fight, which was also good, because her bestie was a good at fighting alone. She just had to ask Cardin about that! But Jaune-Jaune was still right, about the Shark Man.

Nora watched as he twisted in the sand, spinning his Fin Blades around and blocking more bullets from Renny. That was bad, because Renny probably didn't have many more bullets left. That was why it was bad. It _really_ didn't help that the Shark Man was still smiling, even as he bent his _really_ long limbs to move around Pyrrha's strikes, going lower than she thought he could and even flipping over a few of her attacks, _still holding_ up that shield. And man, that was a really sharp smile.

"Maybe he's getting advice? No, wouldn't make sense, not fast enough, a-and that's not like Link." Jaune-Jaune was muttering next to Nora, but that was okay. He wasn't in the fight, so eh had to think about it, kind of like how Nora was still watching it. She still wished it was inside, where she wasn't nervous about the sand getting into her shoes.

That wasn't a problem for Shark Man, who kicked at the sand and shot up a huge cloud of sand! It was because of those _long legs_ of his! That was why the cloud was big enough to almost completely cover Renny! And Renny had to hold up his arms and jump back, meaning that he couldn't fire _and_ he couldn't see _and_ he was going to have to shake out his clothes later.

But was even _worse_ was that Shark Man now had both of his Fin Blades and he was still fighting Pyrrha! And now he was focused on her and was attacking as well, and Pyrrha was having to jump back to avoid him, which was _really REALLY_ bad because she wasn't as tall as he was, so she couldn't reach as far as he could, and he wasn't giving her time to shoot, not that it would hit, seeing as he blocked all of Renny's attacks.

The Shark Man was almost _skipping_ across the sand, and Nora had to remind herself that fish needed water to swim, because otherwise she'd think that he was swimming through the air. But that would be silly, almost as silly as a powerful warrior transforming and fighting with parts of his own body because they were waiting for lightning to strike. Super silly. But super bad. Fights were bad, and she _still_ wasn't fighting! Just Pyrrha was!

"I'm out of ammo." Renny was next to Jaune-Jaune, holding up his guns. That was bad! "Not to interfere with your plan, but I think that was Mikau's to force me to expel all my ammunition to force a close-range fight." Only a close-range fight against Pyrrha? It really was just best friend Pyrrha. That would have been really cool if it wasn't really bad!

"He was?" Jaune-Jaune asked. "Maybe… Maybe he was purposefully not attacking and that… no no, hold on… _why_ would he want that?" Her captain asked as he looked back at the fight, and Pyrrha was still fighting, so that made sense. And… oh, maybe that wasn't good, because it was a fight. But… but was Pyrrha actually fighting?

Because it didn't look like it.

Shark Man was swinging at Pyrrha with his Fin Blades, and he was slicing down in ways that was making her bestie have to jump away, and retreat, and always stay out of his reach, which meant he was _way_ outside of hers. He swung for her head, which was like his _chiseled abs_ level, only to follow through with the swing sand kick out with the back of his heel, only to _then_ swing with the _other_ Fin Blade, and all while he kept grinning like Nora did when she was fighting.

Pyrrha was doing her best, Nora knew that, because there was no way her bestie was doing anything else other than her best. She was able to duck beneath the Fin Blade, then roll back out of the way of the kick, then _jump_ back, when he swung forward again, only to put her really far away and… and she got Milo into its gun format! That was her bestie, changing weapons on the fly, _super_ fly!

 _BANG BANG BANG BANG_ Pyrrha was _super_ accurate with her gun, just like she always was, hitting right at Shark Man and right where she knew would probably hurt this Aura the most. Unfortunately, Shark Man did the same thing he did with Renny.

He blocked them all.

His Fin Blades were just _too_ big, because all he had to do was hold them up and crouch _a little_ and he was completely hidden by them. He was like a wall of really shiny blue scales, which would have been really cool, if it wasn't in a fight. But he was fighting, so maybe that was why he was grinning with those really sharp teeth.

Nora was _sure_ that Pyrrha was going to do something amazing then and attack, maybe sneak up on him with his guard up! All the Shark Man had to do was not move for the few second, she needed! Instead though, even if Pyrrha started charging as she was still shooting, the Shark Man only kept his guard up, not doing anything but moving around the sand and waiting out Pyrrha… oh, that was what he was doing.

"He really does want to get up close," Jaune-Jaune spoke up. Nora looked at hm, and her captain had _that_ look in his eyes, the same look like when they fought that giant stone thing in the Emerald Forest. Had he realized something? Like why pancakes were the best meal of the day? Or maybe how to start fighting? "I-I don't know how he knows our attacks but…"

"Jaune," Renny spoke up. Good old Renny, knowing that he had to stay focused. Just like her, and how she knew that the Shark Man's smile was all about enjoying fighting, but not the fight. He had it, just like her. "What is it?"

"It's his strategy!" Jaune-Jaune spoke again. "I-I-I _really_ don't know how he's sensing our attacks o-or if he's suddenly gone super psychic or something or if _that_ is actually is Semblance or something else like that-"

" _Jaune_." Oh, serious Ren. That wasn't Renny. Jaune-Jaune knew that as well. Good thing, too, because bestie Pyrrha was still fighting, and not getting much closer. Well, still shooting at least, which was still some kind of fighting, even if Nora preferred to shoot grenades that it a _lot_ of things at once instead of just one, or two.

 _BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-CLICK_ Or she was shooting, until she couldn't anymore.

Nora watched Pyrrha not miss a beat, because she was really good at fighting, and how she jumped back the moment her gun stopped firing. Milo was transformed into spear Milo again, the best kind of Milo. But her bestie was holding up her shield, crouched, and staring up at the Shark Man, even as his shield's lowered, and he looked at her, grinning all the same.

"Heck of a fight you got goin, knowin' I can do much but block those pellets of yours." Pellets? Did he bite his tongue for bullets? That would stink, because he had _sharp_ teeth! That was hard to miss as he kept smiling! "Had to guess though, you're stalin for somethin' yourself. Only guess that cause your fightin' like a dolphin 'gainst a shark. Ain't aimin' for the kill, just keep away. Smart, but's not goin' to the trenches."

"I am… still thinking of how to fight you," Pyrrha spoke up. But she didn't stop her fighting stance. She must have been having fun! Nora was sure she'd be smiling as well, if she could see her at least, when her back wasn't turned. "I'm sorry if this is rude, but you are not a normal combatant I fight. You're far taller than most of my duelists and you very skilled. So I-"

"Okay, okay, no need for show and tell. The guppies are still watchin'," the Shark Man interrupted, which was _rude_ , but he did point towards the crowd of Beacon people that were watching them still. All up on the hill or those concrete walls or on the docks like team SNNN, even if one of them was a statue now. Oh yeah, she forgot they were all there. "You're good and you know I'm good. Appreciate the hot air, helps the algae, but the set's gotta keep movin'." Nora didn't know what that meant.

"I'm… I'm sorry but what?" Pyrrha questioned. She still didn't move, even if Nora saw Jaune-Jaune move. Or more like her Captain was gripping his shiny shield harder. And Renny was holding up his Storm flowers as well. Oh! And she was _really gripping_ Magnhild. Guess she really did want to fight!

"Sorry, but we're tryin' not to bore us, so we're skippin' to the chorus."

Oh, that sounded bad.

"Nora! _Help Pyrrha!_ "

Oh! But that sounded amazing!

Nora grinned as bright and broad as the Shark Man. She glanced at Jaune-Jaune, just a glance, and enough to see that he was pointing at the Shark Man even as he was holding up his shield, in front of Renny! That was her que!

"Aye-Aye, captain!" Nora shouted, raising up Magnhild and running full tilt at the Shark Man. Well, maybe half tilt, cause it was hard to run as fast as she could on the sandy beach, but it was still way faster and way better than just sitting back and watching. This was where the fun was going to start, because she could finally show just how strong she was.

It was still hard to run across the sand, but she was getting ground, and just in time for the Shark Man to stop looking at her bestie Pyrrha and focus on her. Pyrrha knew what to do, because she was amazing and Jaune-Jaune had told them what to do when she got the signal, and Nora _was_ the signal! There could be no better signal to follow than her! Not even Signal Academy!

The Shark Man was towering over her, even if she had her own giant hammer, and he had his Fin Blades in his hands. But that was okay, because even if he blocked her, she could hit _extra_ hard! But if Jaune-Jaune was right…

"Okay, can't turn away a volunteer." She was volunteering alright!

Nora swung sideways with her hammer, just like Jaune-Jaune told her to if she got close first. After seeing Shark Man dodge so much, she wasn't surprised to see that he had gone low from her blow. For a big guy like him, he must have been _really_ good at Limbo! They should play when they were done fighting, that was way more fun than a fight! But that was later, for now, she had to focus!

And the Shark Man was rising up from her 'missed' swing like he was coming out of the ocean! The sand wasn't water! But he did _really_ look like a shark with those teeth, those scales, those fins, and that grin! Nora made sure hers was up to match. Because this was fighting and this was fun!

 _GRIP!_ Even when he grabbed a hold of her shoulders!

"You ready?!" The Shark Man shouted, even as he stood _way_ above her. He shouted it as he held a really strong grip on her and Nora knew what was coming! Nora's grin was even brighter than before, just as her grip on Magnhild got even tighter!

"Do your worst!" Nora shouted triumphantly. That was what all the heroes said! And the Shark Man grinned back down at her, even laughing with it. Nora did the same, even if she felt his shadow tower over and surround her.

"Then let's go!" And in the next moment, everything was white.

Well, white and blue, blue and sparky. And black beyond that. It was blue and white and sparky all around her, but everything past the Shark Man or the beach or… anything else actually was really dark. When did it become night? Why was it night? She was so full of energy still. She hadn't even begun to fight!

Those _huge_ hands on her shoulders, a bit sharp and a little webbed, felt like they were pushing _pure awesome fighting energy_ straight into her! Like when she fell onto that transformer thing when she was a kid before, or when she was struck by lightning, or when she was taking a bath and the toaster fell in, it felt like all of those, and then rolled up into one, put into a giant ball, shot into the sky, and then _raining it down all over again!_

Nora grinned, even as she _saw_ sparks flying off of her body. She felt like a hundred _million_ percent! She felt like she had finally been accepted by the pancake goddess to help smite the evil of the land with the power of waffles, syrup, strawberries, and extra _boost of electrodes!_ Even as her hands gripped Magnhild, even at the same time Shark Man was staring down at her and, for probably the first time, _not_ looking all happy, she knew that she really was strong!

Then he let go of her, not that it would help.

The power and lightning and all that _awesome sparking_ stuff went away, and it felt like when Renny pulled her out of a hot bath. Really chilly at first, but it woke her up _fast!_ Awoke, woke, and ready to fight till she was broke. Oh… and it was on! Even if… oh, her legs were too strong. That wasn't her bad. Nope, that was the Shark Man's.

Nora fell forward a little bit, just a little. Didn't count as a flinch, because he actually touched her. But it was a good fall, because her knees didn't hit the sand. She felt too _great_ to let that happen. _Way_ best what she thought. Oh yeah, this was it. This was Jaune-Jaune's plan, and it was _amazing!_

"Something… ain't flowin' right." The Shark Man asked, and he sounded the same. No, he sounded confused, that wasn't important though. This was still a fight, and Nora was _fighting_ now! "You 'kay seafoam? Need a new melody to hum?" Hum? Oh no, humming was what you did when you were bored, and Nora Valkyrie was _not_ bored! This was not boring!

This was _fighting. And it was SUPER AWESOME FIGHTING TIME!_

"OOOOOoooooohhhhh _yyyyeAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!_ "

She raised Magnhild into the air, feeling the light steel in her hand lift like a feather! Feathers were heavier than this thing now! Her ultimate weapon was in her hand, and the Shark Man was just in front of her! That was all that she needed to know!

Not that the sand was glass, even though that was cool, or that everyone else was quiet, because they weren't cool for school. That didn't matter, only her fighting, to end this fight, and have fun with the Shark Man that had given her the _Omega Sanction_ to fight with!

"I'll take that as a no…" No? HA! There was no no!

"No!" Nora yelled! "There is no NO! THERE IS ONLY _NORA!_ "

So she swung Magnhild forward, as hard, fast, and with all the enjoyment she could.

And it hit so hard, Nora couldn't even _hear_ the explosion that came after.

* * *

After having worked with Link of Hyrule at the Monument Mine, Penny had collected a large amount of data regarding the foreign Huntsman. Regarding him as well as Darunia of the Gorons, though he was not a current target of interest. Instructor Link, on the other hand, as her Friend/Leader Cardin said was an appropriate metaphor to use, was a constant draw of her memory resources for curiosities and data dissemination.

Specific examples that were recalled to her recollection processes involved his use of externally stored memories to significantly alter his physical appearance and personality, as stated impossibility in most of her known texts and studies of biology. Further curiosities were collected regarding the unknown and still unestablished means by which many of his tools were powered and operated, varying significantly from the observable counterparts from CCTV archives. These curiosities were using her main processing unit was constantly in use to try and find observable or plausible reasons for or methods pertaining to. Such methods would be transferred to her Papa Zepp.

However, her ability and frequency with which she initiated these transfers of data through the terminal streams became irregular, resulting in many failed milestones in her PMP chart. Such events were not unplanned as was one of the many bulleted reasons why her projected and assumed completion dates for activities were given a 2.1x expansion, to ensure timelines were still matched per Military regulations. Yet, she still frequently missed these, to her personal disapproval, marring her system's otherwise positive upkeep.

The reason for missing said timelines and milestones was not an unknown however, far unlike Instructor Link. These reasons did involve said Faunus of the subject matters, but his reasoning for delaying her processes was concluded to not be an intentional act on his part. That was assumed so as the delays were results of Penny's observation of his skills and putting forward processing units for deciding on possible reasons why.

It was impossible for Operational Unit Penny to place blame on Instructor Link for constantly and consistently being responsible and enacting amazing things.

More such curiosities were born every time Penny turned on her recording units through her ocular sensors, such as during this designated match between team JNPR and Instructor Link, operating as Mikau of the Zora. Mikau, who previously was established to have a musical background before specified demise, by the records of Instructor Oobleck, being led by Instructor Link, who has already been established as a formidable and high-tier Hunter since his proven defeat of the Ancient Grimm of the Badlands.

Yet during said fight, Penny continued to observe more curiosities her memory had to collect and bullet for further analysis. Notes included the following.

· How was Mikau able to throw his peripheral fins with accuracy and simultaneously retrieve them, even after their kinetic force was lost through blows with external sources.

· How was Mikau able to dodge Friend Pyrrha's attacks even when not observing her, and focused on Friend Lie Ren's projectiles?

· What were the materials that Mikau's peripheral fins were made out of to deflect bullets from Friend Lie Ren without observable lose to his Aura?

Those were the immediate questions and curiosities that Penny developed and dedicated processing time for later that night, perhaps with the hope that variables would reach a common pattern and she could develop a 95% or greater probability of an answer. Perhaps, though previous assumptions proved unlikely. For now, her energy was best spent observing the fight still occurring beneath her. And doing so created a new curiosity. For the specificity of her notes, a curiosity that was developed following a series of miss-actions on Mikau's part.

The first mistake was failing to realize that Friend Jaune had enacted a ploy to intentionally have Nora be attacked. The second mistake was activating his own Assumed Semblance on said girl, unknowing that Friend Nora had Electrical Conductivity as a Semblance. The third mistake, and perhaps the most critical, was not ceasing his electrical attack, impressive as it was, until Friend Nora was letting off excess electrons due to having reached an assumed saturation level. Together, they totaled in a conclusive action on the part of Friend Nora.

**_BOOOOOOM!_ **

The sound of her hammer hitting a target was evidence to said action.

Further evidence was provided by the high velocity hair that blew past the majority of the crowd, creating a significant storm of sand on the beach front as well. The result was expected, as the high velocity and resultant force easily led to resultant combustion of the oxygen and carbon atoms in the air. It was just as clear, however, that the majority of the observing members of Beacon were not prepared. Including those around her.

Friend Cardin, Friend Russel, and Friend Dove were holding their arms up to prevent the gust from drying their eyes, with only Friend Cardin not requiring gripping the nearby metallic and grounded railing. Friend Russel and Friend Dove, however, lost nearly thirteen inches of fore-aft positioning due to the resultant force. It was a measurement shared with majority of the surrounding crowd, those not braced against significant objects that is. Said fortunate members including Instructor Link's companions and charge.

"W-wHOA!" Fairy Tatl yelled from in front of her, bracing herself against Penny's exterior garments. Her sibling was doing the same, both using her sufficiently sturdy body to break the resulting explosion and out break of air that came from Friend Nora's attack. "HOLD ON!" Her cry was unnecessary, but understood.

Fairy Tael was yelling as well, though Child Moraine was unresponsive as she gripped Penny's lower extremity. Her internal force transducers found the strength to be lacking, but a deviation above average for children her age. She noted it and continued to observe and record.

The explosion quickly dissipated, however, as was to be expected from an eruption lacking a proper catalyst or accelerant. The cloud of sand that was blown upwards as well was starting to dissipate, lacking the charged molecules Mikau had strewn through his won previous attack. It gave Penny moments to observe the remaining observable members of team JNPR, standing away as Friend Pyrrha and Friend Jaune held up their shields.

Friend Nora, however, quickly appeared from the crowd. She was still smiling rather brightly, though lacking the once prominent charge of electrons due to her strong attack. However, that did not correlate to a complete removal of her powers. Rather, only a significant dip, still well average for her already unusually high strength. Perhaps a change from 14.6x her normal strength to 3.76x. Still a dangerous metric for most combatants Friend Nora may face. Unfortunately, due to the heavy storm of Dust, Penny had temporarily lost track of Mikau of the Zora.

That was to clarify, when the sand dispersed, he was not present at the epicenter of the blast.

"The _heck_ was that?!" Friend Tatl yelled out. She flew up and rang the statement, noticeably different from normal speech. It was a question that was similarly spoken by others nearby, though not as loud as the fairy. "How the _hell_ did that girl get that kind of freaking power!? What even _was that!_?" Penny fond the Child Moraine still hadn't let go of her leg. It wasn't a bad observation, as it means the child's safety, just another. Similar to how Mikau of the Zora was still missing.

"That was… dammit…" Friend Cardin spoke out of breath. That was normal when focusing on other activities other than respiration, or so Penny concluded from her previous observations of other organics. "That was Nora's Semblance. The freaking brat… Dust and Grimm…" Penny did not understand that, as Friend Nora was far too old to be considered a brat, and she did not possess any materialistic personality traits.

"Girl turns lightning into power," Friend Dove spoke behind her, with a bit more ease. Penny's memory algorithms predicted it was because he was able to brace himself, unlike Friend Cardin. "And that fish… Zora… just super charged her. Like… Probably past the max." That was incorrect. As such, it was Penny's duty to extrapolate.

"Actually, Friend Dove, I suspect that due to the excess electrons observable on visible wavelengths that were around Friend Nora before, she had already reached her maximum capacity and was therefore bleeding off the excess power." It was a logical conclusion, and one that was supported by her knowledge of other biological and engineering systems. "Similar to a Pressure Relieve Valve in a Hydraulic circuit returning the fluid flow to the tank once exceeding a given value."

"…Kay, sure," Friend Dove agreed with her, and she smiled appropriately. She kept her ocular sensors recording the fight, however, or the search for it, as Mikau of the Zora was still missing. "Just… basically she hit with _way_ more power than normal is all."

" _Is all?!_ " Fairy Tatl yelled and rang. It was a sound she was sure would be painful to most organic auditory bones, specifically the cochlear. "I've seen _bombs_ make less of an explosion than that!" And it was true, as it did not have nearly the same concussive force as a combustion explosion. If it had, and was similarly having its force applied externally rather than focused, Penny had low probabilities for the well-being of the crowd. Penny was already hitting with a measured fifty ton force, roughly.

"Is all because it doesn't _last_ that long!" Friend Cardin yelled. HE had his voice back, which was stupendous! She knew how difficulty it could be to communicate without a voice. It was why Papa Zepp gave her a vocal unit early in her development. "Seriously, it doesn't. It's why she doesn't just bit on some Dust before a fight, cause she gets one hit and that's it." Friend Cardin's response was also true, though Penny had minimal information to draw on, only records from Instructor Goodwitch's lessons.

"That's a _hell_ of a hit she's got behind it!" Fairy Tatl continued to yell. She was also rapidly moving through the air, with an acceleration curve through the standard x-y-z plane that was both unconventional and highly irregular. "Where the _hell_ did she even hit Mikau off to!?" That was a question Penny was glad to hear someone else query. Although, though delayed by 5.4 seconds, it was a curiosity that was rapidly growing.

"Where the heck _is_ Link?"

"That explosion rip him to _dust?!_  
"Would called the match if that was the case."

"Maybe the hit buried him. Can't see him if the sand is covering him."

Penny disproved rapidly the ideas of Mikau being buried. Her quick and timely analysis of the beach's sand volume, complete with the assumption of no change in density in any pockets, related to the final idea that there were no hidden bodies across the terrain, as there was no change in the surface area or volume. Therefore, he was not in the sand, but he was still missing.

That was only one effect for consideration. Another was the observable Aura levels linked to the combatants, including Mikau of the Zora. Stated levels had decreased dramatically, nearly 56%. Impressive with regards to the force of the blow delivered by Friend Nora, but still a detriment to a previously even match. Whatever was to follow was almost entirely dependent upon the results of Instructor Link's and Mikau of the Zora's next move.

"Hey! There he is! I see him!" Said declaration came from Friend Yang, who was pointing out towards the battle arena. Friend Ruby was saying something as well, but Penny could ask the contents of the meeting later, another curiosity. Main matter at hand was Mikau.

Friend Yang was pointing outwards towards the edge of the arena, beyond the limitations of the sand and into the aquatic territory. Of course, that made sense. Penny did not resolve her sensors for Mikau's amphibious abilities beyond his texture and appearance. Focusing her ocular sensors on the edges of the tide, perhaps a square three thousand and sixty feet of water area available.

And treading in it was Mikau, or at least his visible head.

"Okay, that was smart," Leader/Friend Cardin pointed out, and Penny agreed with her leader. "Can't exactly swing that hammer at full speed in the water, not that she's gonna get out there fast enough either." Indeed, that appeared to be the case that Friend Nora and Friend Jaune also realized, by the observable and barely audible groaning.

"Still a heck of a blow Link took," Fairy Tatl rang out, however. "Probably hit like Gyorg supped up on something. Didn't help that it must've hit like a bomb flower." More curiosities came from the fairy's words, but stored for later. Her admission for Mikau's disadvantage, however, was also noted.

Also noted, though not a verbal cue, was how the Child Moraine was still gripping her legs. A bit lighter than before, but still present.

"He's gotta be planning something though, and I got no idea what." Friend Russel spoke as well. He was scratching his head, a common human tick for confusion or curiosity. "How about you two? You know what he's doing?" Friend Russel spoke addressing Fairies Tatl and Tael. They both rang before responding, but there was no auditory que to their words.

"Resting?" Fairy Tatl let out. Her ring was higher. Did that mean it was meant to be deceptive? Or mocking? Penny had been told by Friend Cardin that a false increase in tone was a common form of bullying or mocking. She recorded it for future comparison. "Getting a swim in after the warm up?" Penny confirmed the tone was mocking.

"Zoras are said to be one with the water, and can feel its movement as clear as their own." Fairy Tael, however, spoke with an unaltered tone. His words still raised curiosity. "Or… i-it does probably feel better for Mikau than open air…" That was also believable, but in the midst of a fight, Penny could not so easily conclude that Instructor Link would simply flee to the water and wait. It did not suit his previous methods of attack.

Something else was occurring, as concurred by Friend Russel and Leader/Friend Cardin. Friend Dove likely also agreed. The issue was Penny had little information on Mikau to form a clear opinion on what was occurring. She could only continue to observe and continue to note curiosities for analysis later.

Both Instructor Link and Mikau of the Zora never lacked in them.

* * *

Ren's Semblance was what amounted to a mask. A mask that calmed his mind, focused his body, and kept him trained on the moments that were important. It was the perfect tool for dealing with the Grimm, making him, and anyone he touched, appear no different than the rest of the land around them. Perhaps not nearly as influential as the Link's true masks, but a mask nonetheless.

It was one he depended on often, to keep himself from being reminded of the burning of his village, to let him focus more on the day that was to follow and not the one that came before, and to see the threats before him, when they otherwise would hide in his rage. It was a trick that came with discipline, and a discipline he had honed into a fine tool for his team.

Though he had never heard of the terms that Impa had used some weeks ago now, of Shadows and Mages, Warriors and Unknowns, he could see his benefits as a Shadow, or so she described it. Hiding in plain sight, out of view from the enemy, to either gain information for his comrades or prepare a deadly assault. He commonly did the latter, but he was not ignorant of the former. With a friend like Nora, it was impossible to be.

The use of his Semblance so often, to keep himself calm and focused, gave him a sense for the coming threats. It was a necessity whilst living with Nora, and it served them both well. And the frequent use of it created a sense that he could use without his Semblance, and for understanding those around him. Simply put, as others may ask him to be, he had a gut feeling for things that did not feel right.

And Mikau, amphibious friend of Link, and one of the few individuals who could endure a blow from Nora and not pass out, treading water out of range of their team yet still in the shallows of the beach, did not feel right, though he could not place exactly why.

Perhaps it was because he had quickly wizened to the short duration Nora could keep the charge of her strength, already nearly depleted from the singular, yet near cataclysmic, blow. Perhaps it was because he was amphibious by nature and common in his use of the tongue, meaning he had a clear advantage in the water. Perhaps it was because, despite a glance at his Scroll and seeing nearly half a drop in his Aura preserves, the Zora was still smiling. _That_ was what majority of his team noticed, and doubtlessly those in the crowd.

"Good job Nora," he heard Jaune congratulate his friend. "Maybe he's not down, but half-way is _way_ better than before. You're still good, right?" Without looking, Ren could hear his old friend nodding. He did not want to take his gaze off of the treading fish.

"I'm ex- _static_ Jaune!" Ren resolved to keep Yang away from Nora for a while. She was clearly rubbing off far too much. "I feel like I could mine an _entire Dust mine_! _BY MYSELF!_ " She likely would try, and Ren knew she would, especially with the offer of food on the table.

"M-Maybe later, after the fight," Jaune brought her back on topic. He was showing his qualities as a leader with such words. "Mikau's hurt, but he's not out yet. Even if _we're_ outta bullets." They were? Ren was aware that he was, but so was Pyrrha? Nora hadn't fired a shot yet?

"Oh! I can still shoot!" The sound of gears whipping around behind Ren was clear enough what Nora was doing, but again, he did not move. He wanted to keep his pink gaze on the Zora. Watching as he kept grinning with sharp teeth, even if his own gaze was doubtlessly on the transforming hammer behind him. "I can shoot _explosive rounds_! It'd be like shooting fish in a barrel. _So let's gettim' into a barrel!_ " There was the Nora he knew so well.

" _That_ \- can work, in a second." Jaune wisely stopped his friend, or at least slowed her down. It spoke volumes that she would trust him so well. Then again, Jaune was a man who deserved it. "That'd be strong, yeah, but… actually, maybe that would be a good idea. What do you think Pyrrha?" Though asking questions like that in a fight may not be best.

"Explosives in the water like that would be similar to a depth charge," Pyrrha answered almost stoically. She was likely just as focused as Ren was. "However, considering the speed at which I assume Mikau can swim, his unnatural ability to avoid blows, and that he will recognize where you are shooting… it is viable he will just attempt to run you out of your ammunition as well." That was also likely. But there was another reason to not fire.

"We also do not know how affective your rounds will be, Nora," Ren spoke over his shoulder. "He used the sand as cover before, so it is just as likely he'd use the explosions of your grenades as cover to attack." Be it Mikau or Link, it would be a wise and deceptive tactic. When outmatched, it was the obvious choice.

"Alright alright, I'll hold back… for now…" That was all Ren needed, for now as well. "But we _still_ gotta get him outta the water, right? And he is coming out, cause he can't just stay there, right?" Nora's question, though not perfectly crafted, did have merit to it. " _Hey! Are you coming out of the water soon!"_ Yelling, however, did not.

"Nora!" Jaune spoke up, too late, to scold his friend. Ren kept his gaze on Mikau, watching as the Zora was doing something, chuckling most likely. He was keeping his neck below the waterline, likely to wet his gills. Ren was curious how the dry air affected them, or how he was able to survive without water.

"In a minute!" Ren felt his grip tighten when Mikau yelled back. "Gotta catch my breath after that whiplash of yours! Felt like gettin' dragged by a Leever through the dirt for a second there!" He recognized he was hurt and… he was using it as a conversation topic? Maybe… or far more likely, he was trying to distract them. Maybe just delay them. "It ain't easy keepin' my breathin' straight in the air for that long, 'specially when you Sanke Carp and Hyrule Bass tryin' to push my face into the sand!" Was… was that them?

"Is he referring to us?" Pyrrha asked aside Ren, and he could only shrug, though there was a suspicion, a likely one at that. The bright, and sharp, grin from the Zora showed he either heard them, or appreciated that they recognized the nicknames. They weren't hard to figure out… but he couldn't tell if they were insulting or not. "Is… is a Sanke Carp a good name or not?"

"On of the rarest fish in Hyrule, way I 'member it at least!" Mikau yelled back, and Ren was confident now that he had heard their conversation… and was inserting himself into it. "Takes a rare kinda fish to keep up with me, and you weren't slippin' during that little duel of ours. So good on ya, keepin' pace and matchin' beats like that!" The compliments were showered on Pyrrha… though it was evident that neither Link or Mikau were aware of the frequency such things were given to the Mistral Champion.

"I… I thank you for your kind words," Pyrrha responded back. There was no cheer in her voice, similar to when Jaune would give such compliments. "But may I request you return to the beach soon so we can continue the match? It is… I'm sorry but I don't believe any of us have the means to face you in the water!"

"It's true, we don't." Jaune spoke up from behind them, and Ren could hear Nora pouting as well.

"You don't?" Mikau asked back, as if the question were not obvious. Was it not to him? No, not with Link there. "Aw, and here I was thinking that one of you could breath underwater or something like that. Don't tell me you decided ta fight me just cause I can push a little lightning out around me. Did you?" It was a factor, but not the sole reason… but a major contributor.

But Ren kept his silence, no matter how likely it was that a trained fighter such as Mikau or Link would be aware of the deception. IT was still superior to outright speaking the answer.

"Of course, we did!" Nora did not receive that warning, unfortunately. "Cause, I mean, you're good, but our girl Pyrrha's just as good, if not _better_ , and you're not gonna do much to me with lightning. Your rage only makes me _stronger!_ " Ren would have only been slightly disappointed in the cackling that followed, if it were any other time. For now, he was disappointed. He was not the only one on their team.

"I-I'm not that good! Nora! Don't brag about me like that!  
"Don't tell Link about your powers either! That's the Unknown we told you about!"

"Oh! That's right! My bad Jaune-Jaune!" The harsh sigh that came after, as well as the slap that followed, were doubtlessly both from Jaune. His disappointment and his hand slapping his forehead. "But what's the big deal? It doesn't change anything, does it? HE's not going to suddenly gain new powers to fight us with, right?" That was a horrible thing to ask. " _Shark Man! Are you going to fight us with new powers!?_ " So of course, Nora had to ask.

"Nora…" Ren let out this time, shutting his eyes briefly as he sighed with his team leader. He knew Nora hated fights, but she certainly enjoyed fighting. This was evidence of that if nothing else.

When he opened his eyes, he expected to see Mikau laughing, maybe taking advantage of their teammate, his partner and life long friend, admitting that they had no other pre-conceived strategies for dealing with him. Of course, while still treading water. What he did not expect was the Zora's head to be leaning back, as if looking up into the sky. If anything, he appeared… contemplative?

"Well, I wasn't plannin' on doin' anything different. I mean, half the reason Link wants ta do these matches for ya is for you ta see how yer plannin's goin, ya know?" The conversation turned oddly serious with that tone, by Ren's own impression at least. He hoped the crowd matched, as they had gone rather quiet compared to before. "Pickin yer fights and makin' sure you're ready for 'em, not knowin' what to expect, but at the same time not throwin' Snowhead at ya, cause what kind of fight would that be?" Far from a fair one, he was sure.

Pyrrha and Jaune were also quiet as Mikau leaned back, kicking through the water with his lengthy and clearly limber limbs. His legs almost drifted through the water, showing his great dexterity in the aqueous environment. That was not important though. Ren let his Semblance lightly flare, only a tad, controlling himself to focus on the Zora's words.

"Then again, if this is comin' down to a fight of hit and run tactics, cause its between that and keep away with your little lightning rod in the back there." One of his hands lifted and pointed towards the back, where Ren was sure, if he glanced, he would see Nora waving. Perhaps Jaune shaking his head. Ren was far more than used to it. "So… I guess the question is which kinda current do I wanna ride? The one that's calm, straight, and so narrow its erodin' stone? Or catch the wild one that's rippin its way through the underbelly of the ocean?" Or put more simply, the predicted path with a poor conclusion or the more unpredictable path with potential gain.

For Ren, and Nora the same, he knew the answer was obvious. So much so that he already knew what the Zora was going to choose. The issue was he had no idea what such a choice would bring about. He could only back away for now, holding up Storm flower and keeping himself away from the incoming tide. He saw Pyrrha do the same, Jaune catching up next to them, but not taking a step further. The Zora was still watching.

"Judgin' by the way you're all getting' ready, pretty obvious you've already seen which way the wind's gonna blow." His words were honest, and his smile was as bright, and sharp, as it was before. "Well… can't exactly let Link take over and start splashin' you 'round, not when I agreed to do the fightin' this time. So I guess I'm just gonna have to skip the warm up and jump straight to the finale." That did not bode well, it never did when it was being delivered on a receiving end.

It became even worse when the Zora dipped underwater and disappeared.

"Wait, where'd he go?" Nora asked from behind them, Ren did not answer, for he did not have one. An exact one at least. "He didn't run away, did he? He's not a scaredy cat? He's a fish, so he's gotta hate cats." Her logic was as flawless as ever.

"Underwater, to get something ready," Jaune whispered instead. "That means what ever he's doing… he's hiding. Yeah, he's trying to hide it." His leader was nodding his head with his words, and Ren found himself agreeing. Hiding underwater so they could not prepare themselves in kind. It was smart, deceptive, just as he knew a four on one match would go.

"You're right," Pyrrha also agreed with their leader. "And if that is the case… it may not be a logical weapon he is preparing to use, I-I-I mean a conventional one." She quickly corrected herself, though either comment could be correct by Ren's judgement. "I've seen other duelists use them, usually trying to stay at the far edges of an arena to get it ready. Underwater… probably works the same."

"Right, makes sense," Jaune took in Pyrrha's words. "Plus, it can't be electricity based again, right? Or probably not, sorry Nora." The comment must have been automatic to the whine that came from Ren's old friend. "But whatever it is… we gotta think of something… or more like something to get ready for… any ideas?" Ren had already tried thinking of some, but the noise from around them was increasing.

The crowd was chattering, likely attempting to gain better views or create theories of their own for what was happening. But they didn't need theories, they needed a decision. He heard shouts from team RWBY, as well as the newly designed CRDP, or wherever Penny's initial fit in the anagram now. Others were also boisterous… but…

He twisted around, realizing that there _was_ a team that likely had a better vantage point than them. He was curious at first how they had gotten there, realizing only after the match started that they were technically outside the ring. Now though, they were likely in an also superior field of view than even them.

Ren looked at Team SNNN, and he watched as Sun Wukong was leaning over the docks, his eyes following the water below. Neptune was lying down on the docks, but that was unimportant, what he was watching were the interactions he had with his team. Sun, from what Ren recalled, was very emotive with what he saw and said. And now, thankfully appeared no different.

He was pointing at the water, waving his hand in front of one of his teammates faces, forcing them to look down as well. Their expressions adopted similar looks of surprise, which boded ill for them. Sun stood up then, holding out one of his hands and pointing at his raised fist with the other… what did that mean?

"Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora," Ren spoke quickly to gain their attention. "Do you understand what Sun is doing?" He pointed, hoping to make it quick. They did not need Professor Goodwitch requesting the fellow team to cease their actions, not before they gained at least a clue for what Mikau's was soon to be.

He continued to watch though as Sun kept one hand in the air, grasping his wrist with his other fist before… extending and flexing it again. What did that mean? Something was on Mikau's wrist now? A new type of fin he was wearing? If he could exchange them, that hinted towards a very large range of possibilities.

"I think… he means that Mikau is putting something on," Pyrrha suggested, just as Ren thought. "Maybe… something like his Zora Sapphire he wears? Oh, that would be bad, wouldn't it?" Ren looked at the Mistral duelist in surprise, fully knowing the implications of her words.

"Oh crap, yeah it would," Jaune agreed, before going very still for a second. "Hold on, hold on!" He yelled out, probably more for himself. Though that didn't stop Nora from grabbing a hold of his arm, likely tightly at that. "Gah! Not literally Nora!"

"Sorry! I thought it was your plan!" Ren heard chuckling from the sidelines, but he ignored it, remaining focused per the gift of his Semblance. Jaune recovered, thankfully quickly.

"Okay, yeah, but, remember when Mikau first appeared and he was asking Ms. Goodwitch about what kinda powers he could show off or whatever, to get rid of the damage or something like that?" It was to payoff damages incurred to Beacon grounds and investors, which Ren had found out nearly cost a hefty donation. Ms. Goodwitch's ire was well earned, but Mikau's performance was one to behold.

"When he talked about swimming and breathing underwater, and before he started making himself all electric eel like and jammin' out on his guitar?" Nora questioned, accurately at that. "That's all I remember, aside from him asking if controlling water was normal or not." That… was far more accurate. And it earned the quick attention of both Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren himself.

He blinked, looking at Nora as she blissfully looked back at him. Her hammer was still tight in her hands, likely riding off of the jolt and high that came from the electricity she was subject to earlier. She frequently rode emotional highs after such sensations… and now… maybe it was keeping her from realizing what she had just said.

"Control… water…" Jaune slowly spoke. He understood the gravity as well. "Okay, that's bad… b-but he can't control _a lot_ of it, right? I mean, there's gotta be a limit to it!" Plausible as it was, it was not something that they could test, nor were they even sure that was what was happening.

However, it was something they could prepare for.

"Doesn't matter." Pyrrha spoke up. Her senses were tense, Ren could tell. He was tempted to extend his Semblance to her, but restrained from doing so. They needed all their energy for whatever was coming next, and she was far from inexperienced with a stressful fight. "But whatever Link is planning… we may need to retreat from the tide."

" _That_ idea I like!" Jaune hastily agreed. "Everyone get back, and _spread out!_ " He flung his arms outwards as he started back pedaling. "Whatever Mikau's got, he's gonna have a harder time getting all of us if we're spread out!" If they were in the forest, that would have been a poor idea. On an open beach front? The plan was sound.

"Very well," Ren agreed, moving away from the group, as did Pyrrha and Nora. None turned their backs to the water, however. They were all watching and remaining vigilant for whatever Mikau was going to do, fearful now that water truly would listen to him. And if enhanced by the Zora Sapphire… perhaps there wouldn't be a limit to what he could do.

He looked over towards Team SNNN again, seeing perhaps the leader of the group could offer, intentionally or not, another visual que for what Mikau was doing. Whatever it was clearly visible to the group, as Sun appeared to be acting rather excited and… eager? The smile the Faunus sported appeared to imply a level of eagerness.

And… was he… making a guitar motion?

* * *

Cardin was used to seeing a lot of things, and usually being kept out of just as much. The few times he was included usually involved him being used at the expense of a demonstration. If it was the Invincible Girl showing off her talent by trouncing his entire team or having the fish man, the same one who was facing off _against_ the Golden Girl, throwing his boomerang fins at him, it was usually him who got laughed at in the end.

So, when the tables were turned, and he got to _watch_ someone else be joked around with, it was kinda fun. It was _really_ funny when they didn't even realize it was happening. But again, whether he liked to admit it allowed or not, he at least knew when jokes were being made at his expense. Because they usually were.

About the fact that he looked more like an adult sneaking into Beacon than an actual trainer, about how he couldn't use his Semblance for more than a last-ditch effort, the fact that his team had a worse W/L record than anyone else in Beacon, or that he had the same name as a bird, and a cowardly one at that. He got all the insults thrown at him, and all usually behind his back. And those that weren't were the ones where _he_ was the demonstration. That was just how it usually went.

However, in those rare moments when he got to watch _without_ worrying about being made fun of or drafted, he got to see some pretty interesting things. Like how Ruby Red got some strange new power fighting Impa, or her Blonde sister getting pecked to death. Both were pretty funny when spoken out of context.

Fighting a fish Faunus that dove underwater, just after promising to bring out something new though? That was new. And it was something he couldn't wait to see. Especially when the companions of said Faunus were with his team. The kid that he was watching, mentoring, or whatever the term was for raising, along with them.

"What's he doin'?" Dove asked from behind him. "I get he's a fish, but does he, like, recover his Aura underwater or something? Is that normal?" That was actually a pretty good question, but he doubted it. He wouldn't have come up in the first place if that was true, at least not without swinging. Cardin never ran in front of an enemy and stopped when he was hurt. He kept _running_.

"No he can't," Tatl rang out above them, and Cardin twisted to look at the blonde ball. Not that there was much else to see with Mikau ducked underwater and team JNPR spread out like flies in a field. He didn't know what was spread out at a beach. "Mikau can breathe underwater, like all Zora, but he is limited to just that. He needs to have something to eat to recover, like _everyone else_ , I'm sure at least." Cardin wasn't about to pretend he knew why Aura recovered, but he knew that eating wasn't the sole factor for it, but it did help.

"Would he also gain the same amount of Aura restoration if he were to, instead, ingest a liquid based meal?" Penny, the newest member of his team and replacement for Sky Lark, something Cardin was still hard on the fence about, asked. "I inquire because now is the times for questions and you specified that water does not assist him with healing."

"Breathing water doesn't do anything, but I don't even know what you mean by liquid based." The fairy was bobbing in the air as she spoke, because of course she was. Her brother, and Cardin was still surprised he was able to sort out that they were actual fairies, only hung above the head of Moraine. Actually, now that he thought about it, he had an easier time coming to terms with the fairies than he did with agreeing to babysit the kid.

Cause all the kid did was hold onto something and stare ahead. She didn't talk, at all, just like Link. Heck the brat was dressed like him too. Then again, according to the vid screens, that wasn't her fault, not that she minded.

"Are you asking if he gets better from drinking milk? Does syrup taste good to him? What?" Tatl was rocking closer to Penny with every word, and his new teammate and partner only titled her head in confusion. Nothing phased her, not even a freaking monstrous Nightmare that ripped her fake leg off. Heck of a partner to get, though.

"Or other such nutritional beverages comparable to those, yes." Cardin smirked at her words. Intentional or not, she knew how to threw a combative attitude back into the face of the speaker. He learned that the hard way, because he got his dose right after she arm wrestled him into the ground. He didn't know if his shoulder hurt from that or the Nightmare fight.

"Gotta be yes, right?" Russel asked, grinning with the question. What the heck was so clever about asking? Cardin just watched them, glancing at the beach to make sure he wasn't missing anything. So far so good, in a sense. "Otherwise he could just puree a burger and miss the calories, and I'm gonna bet a dagger that ain't how it works."

"Of course, it doesn't!" Tatl rang back, loudly. Cardin smirked at how she was nearly bouncing off of his teammates face. Only because there wasn't much way the fairy was going to do damage to his teammates. Not when she weighed and hit like a tennis ball, at worse. "And why the heck are we even talking about what Mikau eats?! Aren't you curious about what he's doing?!"

"I thought that was the basis for our inquires, Fairy Tatl?" Penny questioned, and now Cardin felt his grin turn into a full smirk. That was pretty funny. "We assumed that he was recovering and therefore pursued a path of conversation that revolved about the assumption of aquatic consumption of nutrients. Do you disagree with this?"

"Of _course,_ I do!" Cardin put a hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing. With his luck, no matter how much it was improving lately, he'd probably be accused of making fun of the pair of fairies, not to mention the kid that they were helping keep watch over. "Weren't you listening to Mikau _before!_ He's getting ready to _beat those brats_ into the ground!" That wasn't as much of a conversation stopper as the fairy hoped it would be.

"That's not exactly surprising to hear," Cardin followed up, _barely_ keeping his laughter in control. "Be kinda weird for Link to stop a fight against just us. I mean, yeah, it's Mikau down there, but he _was_ the one who helped keep that Nightmare off of us for a good part of the fight before. Not the kinda guy to run away from a bunch of fakers, right?" Not that they'd ever admit or be seen as ones now. Not that Cardin could even convince himself Jaune still was, not after what the Arc kid did before.

"Well… _aren't_ you _curious?_ " If she was ringing still, Cardin would be surprised to hear it. Cause right now it sounded a hell of a lot more like she was seething. That… was a stronger possibility. Still funny, just not as funny as Penny getting her angry on accident. "I mean, you're the brats who helped him out before, so aren't you wondering what he's gonna do?"

"As I stated Fairy Tatl, I am still curious, but you are apparently deflecting conversation away from the inquiry and curiosity of Mikau retains Aura levels through water consumption." When the tint of red flashed over the fairy's golden body, Cardin _had_ to turn away. It was impossible to keep a straight face right now. "If you have a more specific answer, I will be sure to document it."

"You're about to see _so much_ more than even _you_ can document in an hour!" The fairy rang out as loud as she could, and because he was turned around, he saw a lot of the Beacon staff and students look at them. He waved his hands, seeing a good number of them roll their eyes. Yeah, he was used to that. The bully being ignored. Had benefits right now though. "Mikau's gonna come out of that water and then-!"

_SPLOOOOSH!_

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Or shark, or whatever the Faunus was. Fish at least. Whatever, didn't matter.

What did matter, and Cardin paid attention to the moment it happened, was a _new_ column of water that had erupted out of the water. Same as before when the Faunus shot out of the bay before the match, but this time, he couldn't see any blue-scaled fish men flipping through the air. He didn't see anything, except, again, for the column of water that was _way_ above the ballista around the beach. Enough to get a lot of the crowd members holding up their hands. Cardin didn't care, even if the brat at his legs did, hiding behind him.

"GAH!" "WHOA!" the pair of fairies did though, with both Tatl and Tael flying around and under Penny for cover. Not that it was really needed. Huge as the pillar of water was, it wasn't like a knock-up stream or anything like that. Just a freaking jet, like the kind they had in parks. And that meant the water that came back down was more of a mist than anything else.

Still, high as it was and eventual as was its descent, Cardin didn't see a single thing _other_ than water falling. Just a huge stream, the cries of the crowd, and a fine mist falling down. That was it. Nothing else. He squinted, wondering if there was something else that this was supposed to do, a distraction maybe. Mikau wasn't like Impa or anything, strong enough to beat him down without a care, so maybe there was _some_ trickery involved, especially with how hard Nora knocked him into the bay. Maybe…

"Hey! What's that!"

"There he is!"

The cries of the crowd, growing in volume and number, however, pulled him out of it. The tallest member of his team looked around, seeing arms points towards the water again, this time where the water came from. His vision twisted to do the same.

And he saw Mikau there, but far different from before. Because before, he was swimming through the water to keep his gills wet, or so he said something like that, and Tael had made a comment that Zora or whatever liked water because it kept them moist or something weird like that. Thing was though, that was _not_ what he was doing now. No way.

Now, he wasn't swimming in the water. He was _standing_ on it. _Standing_ on the water. Holding up a jewel on his wrist. And carrying that weird fish bone guitar.

Again, _standing. On. Water._

So much different than before.

"Oh! I have documents of this!" Penny spoke up. Per the usual, even something breaking the laws of physics, or the few that Cardin could honestly recall, didn't seem to phase her. Then again, after the Nightmare, he'd be surprised if much did him either. "There were many recordings of Mikau previously demonstrating this ability in the Beacon Aquatic Center! He also possessed the designated 'Fish Bone Guitar', or self-labeled Guitar of Waves!"

She was eager, and that was good. But speaking of recordings, there wasn't exactly a shortage of Scrolls out recording the sessions again. JNPR was over on the beach still, watching the Faunus standing on water… walking across it even, and trying to decide what to do. After they had fired all their ammunition at him, minus the grenades, he couldn't blame them. Not exactly something to walk into a plan for.

"However, curious, previous recordings show and specifically give credit to the Zora Sapphire for allowing the opposing force necessary to allow for extreme buoyance across the water surface. Currently missing." Currently what? Cardin's head almost _whipped_ back to the Faunus, and he felt the brat at his legs doing the same, just as she pushed her head through the railings. He didn't need that.

Cardin leaned over the post they were at, staring at the water surface and the blue fish that was, still and easily, standing across it. And he was definitely walking now, no doubt, even holding that fish bone thing like he was getting ready for a song. Thing was… he didn't have that Zora Sapphire on his neck like before. Sure, it wasn't exactly the world's biggest diamond or anything, but it was kind of hard to miss one of the _only_ articles of clothing he was wearing, minus the skirt.

And honestly, Cardin thought the jewelry he was wearing on his wrist _was_ that. But looking at it now… it was only too obvious that wasn't the case.

Problem was, same case didn't tell him _what_ it was… he had no idea.

"If that's not the Zora Sapphire," Cardin spoke aloud, looking at the Faunus as he _waved_ back and forth across the water surface. Screw walking, he was getting ready to _dance_. "But if it's not… what is that thing?" He asked, honestly hoping someone would answer.

"Analysis currently in affect. Assumptive variables placating required values, functions in full affect, taking in structure of element, securement method, analyzing." Penny spoke in her usual tone, the one she had whenever she was about to sound brainer than Cardin could ever pretend. Russel and Dove talked behind him, them and every other member of the crowd. "Assumption correct, structurally and light refraction analysis places it separate from Zora Sapphire."

"No offense, but a glance kinda shows that," Dove spoke up. "The sapphire is… it was some kinda jewel thing. _That?_ That… I got nothin'." Cardin didn't blame him, at all. "All I got is… it likes a freaking fish scale, but that would be stupid. Before you ask, cause the dudes literally covered in them." He pointed at Penny when he spoke up. He was quick to learn, seeing as Penny looked like she was seconds from stating a question. "Holdin' one in his hands, I don't see that doing anything.

"Of course, you don't. Why would a bunch of Gerudo have much of an idea about Zora artifacts," the fairy let out, rang out, with that same amount of pride she apparently liked to keep tucked away until she had something over them. Cardin took a breath of air, but focused on the Faunus. Like the Nightmare, like the _fight_ , getting angry at jabs didn't solve anything. He had to stop it. "What you got down there is a rare item aged and powered like… like…" Now he looked at her. Did she not know either? That would be _hilarious_.

"The Golden Scale of the Water Dragon is a sacred relic of the Zora tribes." Her brother rang, however, was usually pretty cool. Mostly cause he rung like a story book, and _delivered._ "It is said to allow any who wear it to treat the water as their domain, more than a land or air they live on or within. Just as the Ancient Dragon ruled the seas, those who bear his divine scales may be his retainers… o-or that's how the legend goes." And, per usual, the darker fairy stumbled at the end.

"Hell of a relic if that's the case," Cardin spoke up, looking back down to stare at Mikau. He was wearing that scale on his wrist alright, wrapped up in a bunch of chains, and those were wrapped around the crystal ball that _actually_ had the scale. About as elaborate as jewelry got. Hopefully the Schnees didn't take a shining to it or anything like that. "There a fun story for what it does? One that _actually_ makes sense?" He wasn't even going to question where Link, or Mikau, got it from. Not like that mattered. He just wanted to be sure he wasn't going to need to wear his armor like an umbrella.

"You'll just have to watch to find out," Tatl rang up though, _far_ less helpful than she was in the mine. Because of course she was. "You gotta have a guess for what it does already though, right? You can't see what Link's doin' and think that's cause of being a Zora." Actually… he did, at least until Penny pointed out that he wasn't wearing the Zora Sapphire, the thing he told them before helped him walked on water. Well, helped him use his Semblance like a freaking death star laser. This time…

He really wasn't wearing it, just like Penny said. It was just that Dragon Gem Scale on his wrist, the Fish Bone Guitar and… that's it. No collar included and no gem attached.

"Why isn't he using that gem? The blue one?"

"Isn't that what he needed?"

"Where did it go? Did he lose it?"

The crowd, once they got over the fish walking on water, started asking the same question. Or at least a hundred and one different versions of it. Cardin kind of hoped he overheard an answer from someone, specifically a ring, cause ringing meant an answer or a story was coming. Or insults, but he could at least ignore those. Better now at least. Somewhat.

"Why has Mikau abandoned the use of the Zora Sapphire?" Penny, instead, 'inquired' as she put it. Cardin sighed, even as he kept himself leaning over the railing and staring at the Faunus. The girl at his legs was doing the same, even as the pair of fairies circled around them. "Does it have any relation to the Golden Scale of the Water Dragon? Is there a contrast in polarity possible between them? Similar to placing DC circuits too close in line with AC elements?" Cardin had no idea what she was talking about.

"He's not using it cause he _can't_ use it." Well _there_ was a response! Cardin turned to look at the blonde fairy's answer, seeing her swirl in the air with it. "And that's the _only_ answer you're getting out of me, cause you're not going to figure out what he's gonna do next." Still better than nothing. Not that it would stop his team. Since when did _they_ listen to the advice of others… without being beaten into the ground first… that didn't happen anymore.

"Have you ever tried swinging a sword while shooting a bow?" Tatl rang out above him. He glanced at the fairy, but just that. He didn't want to take his eyes off of the Faunus down on the beach… if the freaking water was still considered standing on the beach. "Forget just difficult, it's impossible. And I'm hoping you at least got why I brought _that_ kind of metaphor up _."_ Cardin rolled his eyes with the comment. He wasn't as dense as everyone thought, or acted.

"Cause he's not using the Zora Sapphire, right?" Apparently, Russel was though, or at least was acting like it, hopefully. "You're saying… that the sapphire is the sword and the guitar is a bow, cause that has strings! Or a regular guitar has strings." Ignoring that he was at least able to recognize the giant fish skeleton wasn't a guitar was a small positive, but not one Cardin wanted to dwell on. Russel had the excuse of being a jokester.

"No, I believe the Sapphire is the bow and the guitar is the sword, as it can be operated like one!" Penny didn't have that excuse. It was enough to make the leader of the team let his head drop into his hands. What he wouldn't give for a quip from Sky right now. At least he knew how to turn the dumbassery of the team into a good sense of comedy. Now and then. "One requires both hands to use, but a bow is often said to require more than once sense to use properly, a Semblance in some cases, much like the specified Zora Sapphire."

"I just meant that Mikau _can't_ use them together is all!" Tatl rang out back at them. For once, Cardin was glad she did. Bout this was something to get mad about, and people got scared when he got mad. At least they'd treat the fairy like the VIP she acted like. "Geez, I'm not trying to be difficult here, and you're all asking the worst kinda questions about this!"

"What are the best kind of questions, if I am allowed to inquire?" Cardin was about ready to take back his thought of Penny not being a jokester. She was pretty funny, or at least the high ring that came from Tatl was pretty funny. "Do they still involve Mikau, or are your proposed inquires of high ranking more directed towards the opposing team?"

"No!" Tatl rang out, and Cardin had to look at the crowd around them, seeing a lot of faces glance at them. Everyone from familiar faces around Beacon to foreign students, like the green-haired bob cut girl and her partner. "What you're _supposed_ to be asking is _what_ Link is gonna do with them now!" Actually, Cardin didn't see the point of asking that.

"He's going to play keep-away, ain't he?" Cardin threw out, waving his hand down at the water. Right where Mikau was still _walking on the surface_ , however much sense that made, and strumming down on the fish-bone guitar he had in his hands. He'd heard of turning logs into instruments, but not skeletons. Still creepy. "Just start picking off the rest of JNPR from the safety of the water surface. Ain't like they can just swim out and grab at his heels. He's a fish, so it's not like he's gonna get _surprised_ in the water, right?" Least that seemed pretty smart.

"Well look at you having all the bright ideas." Cardin narrowed his eyes at the blond ball of light. She was entitled to be a little upset, having to deal with dumb questions, but she was putting it on the wrong person. He knew how well _that_ usually turned out. "I'd say you're right, except you keep forgetting something. And don't worry your big head, it's not just you. Even the golem girl over here doesn't get it." Penny flinched at the comment, not that Cardin got why. Prosthetics were pretty damn common around Hunters.

"I have? I thought I had checked the validity of all functions performed through my processes. There were no unsolvable proofs in my data sets." Again, Cardin didn't get what she was saying, but that wasn't the most important thing right now. And actually, he didn't know what was. Oh wait, yeah he did, it was the _fight!_ "Please tell me what variable have I neglected?"

If the fairy was going to talk some more, she didn't get the chance to. Not cause she got knocked out of the air by a blast of water, which would have been pretty funny, and appropriate, but cause something else went of first. Something else a _lot_ louder than her, and _that_ was saying something.

 _BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU_ ~~~

And though he wasn't a guitarist himself, Cardin could at least recognize the strum of one, even if it was still _stupid_ how that sound came from a giant fish skeleton, one that didn't even have the cartilage or flesh to hold it together! More stupid questions for later. The big concern right now was the Faunus who _had_ strummed the guitar, and was still standing on water.

He was grinning still, that _ridiculously_ sharp grin. Least it wasn't aimed at him this time. Even better, it was focused on Arc the Lad and the rest of his team. A small part of him could discount the idea of a _little_ catharsis with the payback.

"Sorry 'bout playin' acoustic like that before. Had ta make sure the fingers were still workin' for I started to rip the chords." Mikau's voice was a lot louder, now that the rest of the crowd was dead quiet. No wait… did he say he was playing the whole time before? He _was_ dancing! "Get the best sound under the waves, but I'm gonna do my best to rock them onto the shore. Got any complaints?"

"Yes!" Jaune yelled out without missing a beat. "Can you please explain _what_ you are going to do?!" Cardin honestly wasn't sure if he was embarrassed for Arc or just embarrassed, they were asking the same question. The laughter that came from the Faunus, that rumbling one that sounded like he was speaking out of an engine, probably didn't help.

"Why tell when I can show?" The Faunus spoke up against, his fingers, those long sharp and webbed things, moving up and down the ribs of the fish. At least Cardin thought they were ribs, cause they were attached to the fish's spine and all. "Ha ha, then again, I guess you're gonna be listening to it as well." Anywhere else, it would've been confusion, but seeing as the guy _was_ holding a guitar, of some kind, in his hands… the result was kind of obvious. "But hey, I'll be the split in the reef and tell ya this ain't the climax of any set I've played 'fore, but it sounded good when I was out on the town 'fore, so why not give it a play now?" Out on the…?

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me…" Even the little annoying blonde ball let out a groan of aggravation. That meant she at least _knew_ what was coming. "I thought he spent too much time at that music store. I just didn't figure he'd try and _incorporate_ it into a fight!" Music store? Cardin looked down when he felt something tugging on his leg.

There was the brat, looking up with a bright smile and pointing out at the beach. Considering how tense the mood was, it was kind of a scene ruinner. Then again… if Link, and therefore Mikau, was the one looking out over this kid, and she was _excited_ about what he was going to do, seeing as it involved being out in Vale… she had to have an idea. And she was excited about it.

And, if the second tug meant anything, she wanted a better view.

"May I ask what _song_ it is we are going to… _enjoy?_ " A new question got his attention, even if Cardin was already reaching down to pick the girl up. The last thing he needed was the girl crying and everyone thinking it was his fault, again. She was giggling, almost soundlessly, when the voice spoke up again. "Is it one we will know?" Looked like Lie at least knew the right questions to ask.

"Better hope so~!" Mikau yelled back, his voice sounding like he was practicing a song as well. Or maybe just mocking the wannabe ninja. Could have been either with how the Faunus talked. "Askin' the escort with us, he said it was scrawled _and_ sung by a minnow at this school. In your class, too!" Sung by…

Oh. _Oh~_

Nothing could stop the grin that split his face. Nothing. Not even the Faunus beginning to strum down the guitar of a fish skeleton. Or the girl that was kicking her legs into his gut while sitting on his shoulder. Cardin was glad he was naturally tall, and he had a girl with the memory of a computer next to him, because this was a moment, he wanted immortalized.

"So, get ready, Loaches!" Mikau yelled out. "Because water reflects like _mirrors!_ "

* * *

Weiss was a musician third in her life, if her father and portfolio was to be believed. First and primarily, she was the heir to the Schnee Dust company, both its riches and its influence. Secondarily and penultimately, she was a Huntress in training, prepared and able to combat the Grimm. Though she loved the art of her music, it was never a passion she could pursue beyond the venues her father approved of, not if she wished to keep her other positions in life. So, in the end, it became a question of which to pursue to damage the rest of her the least. Her future, her strength, or her music. It was not a difficult choice.

She still sang when needed to, and often for pleasure, but never in a tour with magnificent other performers or for the glory and cheer of fans. Weiss Schnee only ever sang for wind bags with enough cash to line their clothes or the higher echelons of society desperate to speak with her _company_ at a later time. Not for those interested in the art.

Her songs that were carefully crafted were often appreciated by those she could never meet, and even when she had the chance to do so usually required her to focus more on the other portions of her life, those being the Dust Mining Company or the battle future at Beacon as a Huntress. The high arts she enjoyed to sing for were usually unappreciated and unanswered. That was not to say, however, that it was a pleasure she enjoyed completely alone.

The many instructors her father had given her through the years did far more than merely speak. They cheered for her as she reached notes she previously couldn't and held tempos that would have tired others. They taught her the importance of the different measures of music and celebrated her successes and shows with her. Those and those that followed them were those she enjoyed speaking to the most, about music of course.

Her at Beacon, they were neither near nor present. They were far off memories, much like the Dust Company currently was, so that she could focus completely and solely on her career as a Huntress for the future. As such, those who did know she could sing often did little more than comment on it behind her back, never asking for an autograph, for an album, or even advice. Only ever recognition it was a skill she had, and then nothing else.

It did not insult Weiss, not as directly as an _actual_ insult, much like the title 'Ice Queen' would. However, it did disappoint her. A skill she had spent so long and so many hours dedicated to improving, only to be forgotten beneath the importance of a new skill set she was still growing. It was disheartening feeling, and one she was curious if any others may experience. Again, it was not something she could easily speak or inquire about.

Mikau of the Zora, however, did not appear to have that problem.

Though she retained her posture _far_ better than the first time she had seen him, thanks to the preparation and knowledge that JNPR had challenged him, it was still far from possible to ignore his high sense of masculinity, confidence, and charm. Not the sleezy charm that came with showing off jewels or fame, but the naturally kind that so many around Weiss lacked. And by many, she meant all, looking towards said leader of JNPR.

The fish-scaled Faunus, practically _glowing_ on the beach front, fighting with a smoothness and tempo that matched the waves he emerged from, was a sight to behold. A grin that showed complete ease for his craft, a cheer that came from the same confidence to match, and most of all, the friendly nature with which he offered those around him, far from disrespectful or mocking. Complete opposite of belittling.

Once more, Weiss was _far_ more than used to those a generation older than her speaking down to her, appreciating her skills as things that she had either been given or was merely toying with. None of them saw them as skills she had honed and crafted, and often spoke of them as such. Mikau spoke to others without such a way. He naturally asked for things without directing towards a face in the crowd, he casually answered questions asked in even absurd manners, and he did his utmost to both entertain _and_ please. But above all, it was because he didn't do it _for_ others.

He did all of this for himself. Weiss could tell, because she could think of no other reason for a man or Faunus to be so joyous or cheerful, given the history with which he explained, unless he was pursuing something he enjoyed. Because though the Zora Faunus had similarities to Weiss that she was proud to admit, the cheer he had was one-to-one in comparison to Ruby Rose when the topic of weapons was breeched. The cheer in the midst of danger was uncanny.

What was truly unbelievable, however, was the course of action the Faunus was taking. Though she suspected there would be another means for combat beyond his detachable fins, odd as that was biologically speaking, she did not think it would involve his guitar. Though she had no complaints. At all, even if her composure was strained for it with memories from the _last_ time, she had seen him with it. No, what, Weiss Schnee found beyond the realm of possibility was the hint of what the Zora spoke of was to come.

He promised a song, and he spoke of _mirrors_.

Weiss looked to her elder sister, seeing Winter just as enthralled as she was. Well, perhaps not _as_ much, but her big sister was looking down at the match with hands gripped firmly on the guard rails before them. She had gone to the Monument Mine with Link and, though she had likely not seen Mikau there, she had gotten close to her Faunus Instructor for it. During their exertion yesterday, he was a conversation they had spoken kindly and at length about. One of many, between schooling, arts, family, military, and the future, but one nonetheless.

Her same sister that had suddenly become so warm since returning from the Mine. Speaking to her without complete queries towards her progress in life, more of curiosity then a report. Her sister who was standing out of uniform, in a gown more similar to Weiss's own than that of the Atlesian Specialist attire, and doing all of this without care for appearance. Much more beyond what was appropriate, Weiss should amend.

In those conversations, however, her elder sister spoke of how Link always kept a sense of dedication and memory common across all the friends he wore. Be it Darmani, whom Weiss had not met, Impa, whom Weiss had spoke warmly of, or Link himself, who Weiss had not heard speak _at all_ , Link was someone she could tell Winter admired. Be it for his skills as a hunter, as a Faunus, as a living being, she didn't know. But she knew that her sister and her shared admiration for the man… though hers was a bit different for Mikau, slightly.

"Weiss," Winter spoke quietly before looking towards her. She turned only to see Weiss already staring up at her. "He spoke of a song he heard in town, in Vale. A song that involved Mirrors, and one recently. Sung by someone attending _this_ academy, _currently_." Her sister put the pieces on the board, hoping to fill in the gaps. Weiss was already aware of the possible answer she was looking for.

"Mirror Mirror," Weiss whispered, even if the rest of the crowd was deathly silent. "My song, my… the song I san before I left Atlas." It seemed far too implausible to be the truth. It was just the random and wild guessing in her head.

Yes, that had to be it. Even if her sister's equally curious eyes implied, she thought the same, it couldn't be. There were many songs about mirrors and, like was true, there were very few if no one who listened to her music in the common city streets. Only the higher 'tiered' members of society. Not the common folk who ran shops for goods.

_BRRUUU- BRRUUU- BRRUUU- BRRUUUUUUU- BRRUUUUUU- BRRUUUUUUUUUUU_

Any idea of _that_ being true was rapidly dashed as the beat began to reach her ears. Because it was a beat she knew _very_ well, from weeks to _months_ , of hard practice.

Her eyes were trained on the _chiseled_ form of Mikau, still breaking her previously well-established rules of physics by walking across the water. His fingers, long and tipped but webbed between, strummed at the true vertebrae of the fish-bone guitar, even as his other hand slowly traveled down the neck of the beast he held, forcing the notes to fall in kind. The same manner by which the _same_ measure was played on a piano.

"It's a slow song at first, really gets you calm and settles the breeze comin' in to shore." Mikau spoke as his fingers continued to strum across the guitar. Weiss didn't dare look away for long, glancing down only to ensure that JNPR was _not_ about to interrupt him. Pragmatic as Ren and Pyrrha were, she suspected they might. "And swimmin' in fair waves, kinda the sorta songs I prefer listenin' to." Her eyes practically whipped back towards the water-walking Faunus.

"H-Huh?" Weiss let out weakly. He… he preferred her songs? She leaned in over the railing, careless of the people whispering around her. That was normal for a Schnee. Her sister was doubtlessly trying to inquire about the same matters.

_BRRUUU- BRRUUU- BRRUUU- BRRUUUUUUU- BRRUUUUUU- BRRUUUUUUUUUUU_

"Puts you into a mood ta let the waves guide you. Makes you feel like you're not just listenin' ta someone put out a few words in a set, but actually put their soul on the line. Kinda thing ya need if you wanna conquer the waves and beats of the ocean." Weiss was feeling hot at the moment, and her increasing temperature _certainly_ wasn't assisted by the lax grin that Mikau was holding. Not even by the snickering she heard coming from behind her.

That… that _chiseled and masculine_ Faunus, standing water and strumming _her_ song. A song that was meant to be played with a finely tuned keyboard not, the most natural, by definition, instrument possible. Even if he made the notes rumble through her with the grace of a keyboard, silencing a crowd that listened to them. Was he not talking, maybe they would be silent as well?

"Gotta admit, kinda wish the first time I was playin' this was on a stage or hollowed reef instead. Perfect place to get the acoustics just right." He continued to speak, his boots _remaining_ atop the water as he walked with the guitar in his hand. Even if Weiss hesitated to use that words loosely, it certainly benefited above being played on some truly cobbled together instrument. "Then again, plenty a' minnows watchin, and it'd be a splash in shallow waters to not give it all I got."

_BRRUUUUUUU- BRRUUUUUU- BRRUUUUUUUUUUU… BRRUUU- BRRUUU- BRRUUU_

The pace was picking up, and Weiss found her hands tight on the handles in front of her. Winter had to be doing the same, or showing some concern, but that was unimportant right now. Blasphemous as the words sounded even in her mind, Weiss knew them to be true. She needed to focus on _her_ song being played through the guitar, and the team that was waiting some distance away along the beach arena for the _picture of masculinity_ to approach.

" _Miiiiiiiirrroooooooooor_ ~." And then the voice! _That_ voice. That same vibrating and pitch altering voice that was singing _her_ song! There was no more denying it, it _was_ her song! It was her song and it was… it was being sung by a Faunus taller than any other man, with scales to match aquatic beasts, and playing a guitar made of a corpse, standing on water, and singing a _cover_ of _her song_. " _Tell me sooooomthiiiiiing_."

"What the heck is that!"

"Are you seeing that!"

"Weiss… behind him."

Though the crowd was erupting around her, and Weiss had kept her focus on the Faunus who continued to strum on a guitar s if they were keys on a piano, she was drawn from his visage by her sister's light touch and call. The same one she had used to greet and chat with her in Vale some days before… and now was directing her towards the water the Faunus stood on.

Water from the Vale bay that wasn't _acting_ like water in a bay. Not at all. Though she was far from any expert, even a child who had _glanced_ at an ocean could tell that the stillness around Faunus was _far_ from natural. And that was what the water was. Still. Still, clear, and with the reflection of light falling from the sky, perfectly reflective.

In other words… a _mirror_.

"You _must_ be joking with me," Weiss mumbled, looking towards Winter if only to confirm her elder sister was witnessing the same act as she was. By the unsure look she returned to her, it seemed likely. Highly implausible, if not impossible, but still likely. And that only confused Weiss all the more. "I thought… I thought he could control _lightning_ as his Semblance? Now water?"

"Perhaps its not him," Winter quickly spoke, though she did not take her hand off of Weiss's shoulder. She did not ask her to. "The Faunus Link has demonstrated that several of his tools can simulate other Semblances, be it the creation of fire, wind, seeds to instill hurricanes or speed… perhaps his guitar is doing this now." It was conjecture, but one that Weiss found herself latching onto, except for one key difference.

"I-I think you're right," she easily agreed with her sister. "But… it's not the guitar. He played it for us, the class, before and… and it didn't do _anything_ then, except sound nice. This is… this isn't it." Unless it was some kind of _reality_ warping instrument, but if _that_ was the case, ludicrous as it was, she couldn't think of any reason for him not to use it?

And how odd it was that Link's presence, and the demonstration of his skills, had led her and her sister, likely to the point where she even _thought_ of such possibilities.

" _Tell me whoooose the looooneliiiiiest of aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalll~_." Though, honestly, if Weiss was speaking of criticism, she had very little for the song itself.

Though clearly a complete departure to her piano and near acapella melodies, Mikau was doing a superb job adapting the score to his guitar. Though she preferred her pristine outfit when performing, meant to show off her elegance and the song she sang, the display of his… masculinity and charm did well for the chords of his guitar and rumble of his voice. It was the thing she had the fewest complaints or criticisms about. Rather, only curiosities if he'd be interested in a duet in the future…

That was before, however, she saw something rising out of the 'mirror' he stood on. And rise was not an improperly used term. The crowd around them was anything but silent, even if Weiss and Winter were dead as the night as they both took in the sight. Because, again, thought Weiss had seen many impossibilities around Link both through him and in causation of him, this was simply another alien action she had to study.

Because there was a clear difference between forcing the water and waves of a bay to calm down, and then forcing them to rise like columns of stone.

" _Miiiiiiirrooooooor, tell me sooooomthiiiiiing_ ,~" Mikau's voice continued to sing, as if he did _not_ notice the water around him. With how sharp his smile was, fluid his motions, and blue his eyes… Weiss doubted that was the case. He knew, and he was controlling them. Though for what? " _Tell me whoooose the looooneliiiiiest of aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalll_ ~."

 _BRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu_ -

He finished strumming on the guitar, letting the waveforms of the plucked ribs dissipate and return to their natural frequency. His arms were outstretched, probably just to show off the sheer _length_ he had behind them. Weiss didn't doubt he could scoop her up easily with one muscled arm and continue to play on his guitar… not that she was _too_ curious about experiencing that. The rest of JNPR were rather curious to, with Nora stepping up and holding her hammer in its launcher form. Though she was preoccupied with studying the Zora, she could at least admit it was a better form to keep, seeing the distance Mikau had put between them.

"Not used to doin' solo acts, not really my thing. Takes a lot outta me, ya know? Havin' ta track where everyone is, and the notes, and makin' sure I don't miss the beats." Mikau was speaking again, not singing. Was… was that the end of him singing her song? She rather wished not, because she wanted to see where else it could go. "But I aim ta please, and scale-dried sun or gill wetting monsoon, there ain't a good reason to skip an act."

"Is he speaking of performing? Does he not see this is a duel?" Winter asked. Her hand was still on Weiss shoulder, as if to steady herself. Weiss still had no complaints. Though she also had no answer for the query. "I can see his nature is far different than Link's, but is it truly over writing his?" _That_ was a curiosity Weiss did not thing was true.

"No, a-at least I don't think so," Weiss spoke, somehow managing to tear her eyes away from the water-standing, pillar-creating, song-covering, _masculine_ Zora. "Sometimes he… Link, speaks through Mikau and their voices change. And… they both recall memories of one another so… no I don't believe so." Winter nodded at her words, opening her mouth to speak again.

"So why don't we see what lasts the longest, huh?" Only to shut it as Mikau spoke on. Weiss whipped her head back to watch as well. She was unsurprised to see the Zora. "A song of the seas, or your team's agility." Weiss had no idea what that meant. At all.

_Bruu-Bruu- Bruu- Bruu- Bruu- Bruu- Bruu- Bruu-Bru-Bru-Bru-Bru-Bru-Bru_

She didn't have much time to ponder, as the song was picking up again.

" _Miiiirrrrooooooorrrrr~_ ," Mikau's voice sang again. Weiss watched him for a moment, ignoring the pillars of water that churned with his chords and doubtlessly voice. She watched him roll his head back, letting the length of mass that somehow qualified as a fin swing with the motion, showing the strength of his _bare abs_ and the flexion of his muscles. " _What's insiiiiiide of meeeeee?_ " Weiss wasn't able to watch him for long.

**Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom**

Not when she finally saw ripples forming in the previously still water again, all emanating out from where Mikau stood. In time with the heel of his boot lifting and stomping on the water like… like the bass pedal of a drum. IT seemed so odd to hear for a song like hers… but with his guitar cover, it flowed so well. It, ironically, wasn't the only thing that flowed. Not when the water around him was twisting all the same.

Because those weren't static pillars anymore, even dripping water like the condensation of air. It was… they were thinning out as they grew taller and… bending over themselves? Where those appendages?

"Nora! Get back!"

_Pu-_ _**BOOOM!** _

Weiss turned almost in time to see Nora running towards the beach, having already fired a shot from her launcher into the limbs that surrounded Mikau. And just in time to see one hit one of the mass of limbs and explode within. Weiss was familiar with the science of a depth charge, the rapid and high pressure of water expanding out, strong enough to crack the hulls of submarines and kill nearly all aquatic life.

**Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom**

When the airborne grenade exploded within the tentacle that Mikau was controlling through his constant chords, it also fell apart, for a moment. And just a moment.

Just as quickly, the water that he was standing on, either manipulated into a still 'mirror' or rippling puddle, quickly pushed more of the liquid back up and into the limb, filling out the strong mass of water once again. A mass that was far taller, more sinister, despite its blue hue, and now pointing menacingly at the girl that had shot at it.

" _NORA!"_ Jaune yelled again, and Weiss was agreeing with the boy. The girl was out of her element, even if she was the most destructive and effective currently on the team. It didn't matter for much if she couldn't reach her target, though Mikau was her for more than a reason of victory.

 _Pu-_ _ **BOOOM!**_ _Pu-_ _ **BOOOM!**_ _Pu-_ _ **BOOOM!**_ "C'mon! I'm just adding a bit more bass to the beat!" Her wording was horribly misconstrued, but her true intention was much easier to read.

She rapidly fired her grenades at the warping appendages, but to no avail. They hit, they fell inside. They _exploded_ and the strumming and beat of Mikau's guitar replaced them. Maybe it _was_ the guitar, maybe it wasn't, but it was doubtlessly Mikau doing it. And the sharp grin he had said it all.

" _Tell me can a heaaaaaaart be tuuuuuuuurned to stooooooooonnnnnee_.~" Yet somehow, that said far more. If not because of the words themselves, and what Weiss _knew_ what they meant, then because of what they did.

" _Dang it NORA!_ " She could tell if it was Ren or Jaune who yelled now.

Not above the _roar_ of the falling water.

And that was what it was, or at least the only way that Weiss could find herself possibly describing it! Several masses of the water pillars that had thinned and extended rushed towards Nora as if they had come from the flooded buoyancy chambers of an aircraft carrier! She was completely enveloped by the water in a moment's notice, a blink of an eye, swallowing a large section of the beach with her! The crowd gasped and pointed and yelled, but Weiss only stared as she gripped the rails and Winter continued to hold her shoulder. For her support or her own, she didn't know, and didn't care to ask.

_Bruu-Bru-Bru-Bru-Bru-Bru-Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu_

Because with another series of strums, the water was _lifted_ from the beach. No, not lifted. That implied moving something gently.

This was not that. This was as if a ballista was fired.

Because with another roar of water, the column of liquid was shot over the Zora's head, even as he continued to grin and play the fish-bone guitar of his, voice humming through his gills, though barely heard with the water rushing around him. And then… something else was over him. Or thrown over him more liked.

Like it was whipped up and over him, flung through the air like a pebble over a lake. A small object that Weiss was _very_ well aware of, in sight only because it was her bright orange against the back drop of a blue sky. Her hammer was in her hand, and she was flailing, but that was all that she could do.

"Nora Valkyrie is out." The words spoken by Ms. Goodwitch were delivered like the alarm in the early morning. Jarring, but effective. Weiss's head shook momentarily as she, again, tried to right what she was seeing.

Mikau was standing on water. The same. He was playing that implausible fish-bone guitar. The same. He was _playing her song_. Audible que, but the same. He had used her song, a song about trying to find herself through staring at a mirror and finding anything _but_ her imperfections… and he was using to… to do _something_. She didn't even know if properly describing the actions of the water were a normal or possible thing, at least to be done with a straight and unflushed face!

"That's insane. _He's_ insane!"

"He can literally control the water! How are you supposed to _stop_ that? Become a fish?!"

"Would that even help?"

"JNPR is just _screwed_ now!"

Weiss found herself either agreeing or at the very least passively curious of their words. They were _not_ wrong. Far from it. How was one supposed to best a man, a Zora, that had the ability to manipulate water like that? With his charisma, and confidence, and… all of that, it didn't seem like something that could be handled easily, if at all!

There had to be an answer, even if only to understand why Link and Mikau didn't _begin_ with this tactic. JNPR, or everyone minus Nora, were doing the same. Spread out still, yelling, barely heard above the roar of the bay and the song, _her_ song, and the crowd. There had to be something, and she wanted to find the answer.

"His Aura decreased." Just barely, and _barely truly_ at that, Weiss was able to twist her head to look at her sister. Winter was looking down at her scroll, gazing between it and the battle far beneath them. When had she pulled it out? No, that was not the appropriate question at the moment. "When he played our song, when he applied a form of aquatic control, His _Aura_ noticeably dipped because of it. I'd estimate 4-5%." That was not an insignificant number.

Weiss didn't need to ask for her sister's scroll to see. Winter angled it towards her, showing the clear change in the levels on the screen. She had remembered well where Nora's hit, singular and strong, had put Mikau before. Now? It was a hair lower. From the light-yellow region beneath acceptable levels and slowly dragging into the mid-hue that was bordering dangerous. Still off from critical, but nearer.

"He's… just beneath 40% away from critical levels," Weiss noted. "Not dramatic but… certainly unsustainable." And her words answered her own curiosity with wide eyes. "That's why he cannot continue to use this method of attacking. It literally _drains_ him."

"I agree," Winter nodded. "Requiring a source of water, heavily taxing on the spirit, it is far from an effective means for attack… normally." Her eyes turned back towards the water as she watched on. "But this is not a normal fight, not anymore." Weiss agreed.

This wouldn't be a fight. This really would be a race, and she didn't know if she was excited or _terrified_ to see what was going to happen. It was always difficult to tell when Mikau was involved. If nothing else, at least she knew the time frame that JNPR had to work with.

_Bru-Bru-Bru-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br_

**Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom**

It was her song being used as the clock.

* * *

Duels in Mistral were far different than this. They always were. Though the regulations and format of Beacon's student matches were eerily close to those of the professional circuit, they differed enough that they still required mental reminders so she wouldn't cross any lines. She fought as a team, not an individual. There were no times, and therefore nothing to pace herself with. And there were potential fighters watching, not sponsors.

But more than that, it was impossible to know whom you were facing the day prior, not without access or promises from Ms. Goodwitch. Far different than the days to weeks preparation that was so common in the normal circuit. Pyrrha knew all of this from the moment she set foot in Beacon, but she did _not_ expect these fights to change so rapidly when the Hunter Link became a potential foe to duel. It was not something she complained about. Rather, it was something she was _excited_ for.

Link was a foe that she knew was far above her level, both for his experience, his age, and multitude of different friends that assisted him. He was both an enigma and an opponent she was looking forward to one day facing, even if it would be outnumbered against him, something that she _never_ believed she'd be willing to do unless forced to by circumstances around her.

But after Impa, one of his friends, had trounced an android, at least known _know_ to be one, without so much as a flick of her wrist, Pyrrha knew that even training from dawn to dusk would not be enough for her. She wasn't strong enough alone. She had her teammates to help her, however, and they were all skilled with what she was not.

The brutal strength that Nora so often employed, the mysterious movements and calming aura that Ren was keen to offer and share, and even Jaune's analytical mind, finding weak points through logic and observations of his opponents, more than once assisting her where she otherwise would have been battled to exhaustion. They were all precious to her, and so valuable to her.

It was why, once Link had gifted Jaune his Mirror Shield, on the suspicion of costing him his family heirloom, she was not surprised to hear Jaune suggest challenging Mikau to a fight, seeing as they had not one, but _two_ means to counter his electricity, and only one he knew about. It was a point that she agreed was sound to follow, creating a distraction with a known danger to hide another. With the assistance of Ren and his ability to create distractions and mask intents, it was a good idea.

Pyrrha didn't have time to think or ponder once the fight started. She rarely did. She only focused on fighting Mikau alone, with Ren keeping him from truly separating himself from the fins that he used like boomerangs, always keeping them nearby to defend himself. And it worked, if also confirmed her ideas of his strength.

Be it Link or Mikau she was fighting, they kept pace and matched her with a surely practiced ease. They wore no metal for her to bend, the gold of his jewelry non-magnetic, and the range he kept making her enter his field of attack far before she could enter his. It was outside her advantage. But again, it was why she was gifted with friends.

And Jaune's plan to charge Nora's Semblance with Mikau's own worked well, _extremely_ so. The judges at a competition may have used the move as a deciding point in favor of a draw, given its execution and effectiveness. That, again, was if this was a duel for the competitive circuit. For the umpteenth time Pyrrha had to remind herself this was not. The only difference was this time, she had to remind herself while she was in said fight.

For there were no rules stating that Link could not use the water that was inbounds of the arena like a mass of appendages, and even fewer stating that there would be a penalty for it. And, very assuredly, there were none in either the pro circuit or the Beacon duels to suggest that ringing out a foe was inappropriate.

She just didn't expect said ring out to be well over _a hundred_ times the acceptable distance away, if the dot that was Nora could be measured quickly.

"Nora!" Ren yelled out again, and his panic was justified. Pyrrha almost fell into it herself, but she forced herself to calm down. Ren could do the same, she _knew_ he could, but much like students who see their first Grimm, he was panicked to see his friend in such a state.

"Ren! Ren! It's okay!" She yelled to him. "If Nora was in danger, Ms. Goodwitch would have called the match! _Mikau_ would have!" She didn't _dare_ ask him for a confirmation now. He was a professional, and Pyrrha would not give him the opening to attack. "She'll be okay, because she was at full Aura! We need to focus!" The words got through to him, just as she knew they would. Ren was the controlled member of their team. So, with a few flashes across his Aura, his Semblance working, his breathing calm and voice stilled.

"You're right… thank you Pyrrha." She nodded, turning her head back towards the Faunus that was so much more of a threat then she originally gauged, and she already thought very highly of him.

"You don't need to thank me, especially not now." She spoke up harshly. Too harshly. "I-I'm sorry, I just… I don't know how we can beat him, with our current position." A position that resulted from them all being out of ammunition, the only member who kept a mid-range tool now knocked out of the match, and the rest of them completely unable to reach Mikau normally, and now an impossibility with him standing in the mouth of the bay with _aqueous tentacles_ protecting him. "If there was… I'd do it, but… but I don't see anything." This wasn't another duelist she could plan for, this was the border between the impossibility of a professional Hunter and a _dream_.

If there was a way, Pyrrha would have loved to hear it.

"We can out last him," Pyrrha looked at Jaune, quickly, seeing him holding the shield at his side. He probably realized it would do little against the torrent of water, unlike the lightning from before. But out last him? _That?_ "I know we can do it. I _know_ it." The confidence was appreciated, but it was not enough.

"Jaune," Pyrrha began. If there was a timer, perhaps but-

"He's losing Aura when he's playing like that." Pyrrha shut up quickly. She was also fortuned she was looking at him, as she caught the Scroll, he lightly tossed to her. Her eyes flickered back towards Mikau, ensuring he was not seconds away from attacking them again. He was still playing chords down the guitar of his, but that only implied the inevitable was soon. "His Aura dropped when he attacked Nora like that, not a lot, but some. And some is better than none. So, if we wait _long enough_ at some, it'll become _too much_ , right?"

Pyrrha ignored the hint of desperation in his voice, instead glancing _very_ quickly at the Scroll in her hands. She looked at the Zora's Aura level, comparing it to what she believed it was before. It had dropped, just as Jaune said. And again, just like he said, not a lot, but some. Enough for her to believe outlasting the Zora was possible, if only to make an opening possible.

It was no different than the Semblance of some other duelists that was dependent upon the amount of materials they had on hand. They would over tax it, leave themselves open, and then make her victory assured. This was like that… only on a _much_ larger scale.

"I agree with Jaune's plan!" Ren yelled from some distance away across the beach. He was, justifiably, treating every wet patch of sand like molten material. "It may sound drastic, but I believe there is validity to it! Mikau did imply that we may out last him as well!" Her eyes widened at the reminder. Mikau had said that.

"I told that show-off to keep his jaw shut!" The sound of Tatl ringing, for it was a rather recognizable sound, was further evidence to the cause. She pitied Cardin and his team for having to endure such a shout, one that reached them audibly from the distance away they stood, but that was a concern for later. For now…

"Yeah! Yeah! We can do that!" Jaune kept up. He lifted his shield again. "We _can_ do this! It can't be worse than the Nightmare, right?" The reminder was enough to put a perspective to the match. One that Pyrrha was unsure was appropriate, but done so nonetheless.

Between an amphibious Faunus who had an impressive level of hydridic control to an Ancient Grimm that could craft world from memories? The different was rather clear which was to be feared more. And what was more, they _had_ beaten the more fearsome of the threats. Therefore… Jaune was right. At least Pyrrha had her teammates with her this time.

"Okay… Okay!" Pyrrha spoke, psyching herself up just as her mother had taught her to do before. She raised Milo pointing it even if she had little intention of using it. "I'm with you all!" And she would be, no matter what. Perhaps Mikau heard her, perhaps not, but what she did now was that he took it as some kind of sign to continue.

 _Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-BruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU_ Because the music was starting again!

" _Mirror~ Mirror~, what's behind you?~_ " In time with the words, the watery pillars began to move again.

"SCRAMBLE!" Pyrrha adhered to Jaune's command. She wasn't foolish enough to think it was cowardice. In the face of a Faunus controlling the _ocean_ , it made perfect sense.

Especially when the water tendrils began to sweep across the beach, their masses growing in tandem with their lengths. Like the smoke from a fired barrel, in a perpendicular plane, they twisted up the shore. It was already difficult to move well with the sand so loose compared to solid ground, but Pyrrha wouldn't, _couldn't_ let that stop her. She swung Milo as she jumped out of the projected path of the pillar that ran after her. It was enough to swing her momentum, pushing her out of the way. It was what was necessary, to make he swing out of the way, and it worked.

Like a true torrent, the pillar of water _shot_ passed her, nearly soaking her uniform as she avoided the attack. But she was not silly enough to hold still. She flipped over the pillar of water, remembering what it had done to Nora, and not a moment before it tried to swallow her with another of its attacks. She landed opposite its grasp, immediately sprinting away.

" _Save me from theeeeeee thing's I've seeeeeeeen!~_ " Mikau kept singing, because the song was far from over and his Aura had a path it still had to follow. She'd check his Aura in a bit, possibly, if she had time!

"GAH!" But from the pained cry she heard, she knew she didn't.

"Ren!" Pyrrha turned in time to see Ren being swallowed around his chest by a pillar of water. Quickly, she realized it was another one to the one that chased him, a secondary pursuer. The difficulty that arose when facing multiple opponents. She did not have time to wonder. She thought of any techniques that could sever the pillar of water _enough_ to free him, remembering how quickly it reformed when Nora's explosive rounds hit it.

Her time to think was all the time she had, however. With another debilitatingly quick show of force, the pillar rose up above the beach, carrying the spray of water with it. Pyrrha looked around herself to ensure she was not similarly being pursued before continuing her run towards Ren. He was not crying out, perhaps hoping to retain his strength. But it was a useless endeavor.

 ** _Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom_** Mikau's boot continued to hit the water, and it was like the sign to drop a hammer.

Or in this case the weights holding up the column of water.

 ** _BOOOOM!_** A shower of sand and water erupted, enough to cover Pyrrha. She raised her hands to keep the torrent of the material from truly encapsulating her, realizing only then that perhaps it would protect her from Mikau's aquatic tendrils. But that was a secondary concern. Her primary concern was Ren!

"Lie Ren is out due to Aura Depletion." Ms. Goodwitch's voice caught through the song and boom in the air. Pyrrha panicked.

' _From a single drop?!_ ' Her mind corrected itself, even as her senses for battle returned. It wasn't a drop that did Ren in, it was a _throw_. From stories into the air, the column of water had _slammed_ him into the sand, so far that Pyrrha didn't have time to check on him. He would be okay… or else Ms. Goodwitch would have intervened.

But the force oft hose tendrils were great enough to throw perhaps _miles_ out into the Bay. That same force into the immediate sand… it couldn't have been light.

" _I can keep it from the woooooooorld!~_ " But the song was still going!

Pyrrha kept up her dance of evasion, watching now even _more_ pillars of water that chased her. She was worried about Jaune, the two of them the _last_ of their team in the green to endure Mikau, and they had to do so if they wanted to win. Close was not a judgement that mattered. Only victory, or in this case endurance.

She ducked beneath a tendril that shout at her, in tune with the guitar that Mikau continued to play. It nearly took off her chest plate, forcing her to watch the column of water pass over her like she was the underside of a river. Knees in the sand, back nearly the same, and water _towering_ over her. The implication of it was hit her fast.

Pyrrha rolled, as fast and agile as she always was, before flipping out of the sand. Her hands pushed hard enough to force a near jump into the air, high enough to avoid the same tendril of water _whipping_ past her. Clearly it wanted to knock her out of the ring, and she just had to avoid it, however long she could.

"He's losing fast, Pyrrha!" Said champion looked over at the voice, seeing Jaune waving his Scroll as he held up his shield. His shield that… the water avoided? Why!? "He's only got 20% left! We can do this!" A question for later, Jaune's declaration was key!

 _"Why won't you let me hide from meeeeeeeee?~"_ As was the coming attack that Mikau. Not that Jaune saw it!

"JAUNE!" Pyrrha yelled out, a moment too late.

Because in that moment, timed almost suspiciously well with the strum of the Zora's guitar, one of the tendrils, lengthened and thinned until it was no bigger than her arm, snacked around her partner's leg. She had time to see the panic in his eyes, even as she ran forwards towards him, before he was dragged into the air and lifted like a toy. The idea of it alone was nerve racking.

 **BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!** The uptick in tempo that came from the beating water was worse. Pyrrha desperately wished she had some kind of weapon or ammunition to throw or fire, but she had nothing on her, even as she continued to avoid the tendrils that so clearly wanted to encapsulate her!

So she could do nothing as she watched Jaune be flung around in the air, spun like a child's wind-up toy. He was being thrown around on an object so high above her head, so malleable to match, and already outnumbering her by near _dozens_ now, that Pyrrha knew there was little to nothing she could realistically do. She wanted to, _desperately_ , to help her partner who had come up with these ideas in the first place! But she couldn't.

" _WHooooAAAAA-"_ **CRASH!** So, she could do nothing but scream when Jaune was flung into the higher roads that were above the beach, in time with the pained cries of the crowd.

"JAUNE!" She yelled her partner's name, still never taking her eyes off of the tendrils around her, never forgetting that the battle was still raging around her. She couldn't, or else she would insult her lessons and instructors, and not to mention her teammates who had tried to endure this _onslaught_ with her!

"Jaune Arc is disqualified due to Aura Depletion," Ms. Goodwitch monotonously spoke again, and Pyrrha thanked a star int eh sky that it was not due to a snapped bone. She wouldn't have been surprised if there had been one. Her thanks could come later, much later. After she endured whatever was to come next.

Next from the Zora who still stood over the water, dragged back as it was, with water tendrils rising up into the air, far longer and with greater mass she ever realistically thought plausible, and playing a song she knew belonged to Weiss, though she doubted her friend would mind. She focused on the foe in front of her.

Him, his voice, and the _smile_ he held as he continued to play.

" _Miiirrooooor, Miiiirroooooorrrr,_ ~ _Teeeeeeelll me sooooomeethiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGG~_." Pyrrha stood far and away as she witnessed the Zora commit would could only be his final attack for her. Desperation moves were not uncommon in most duels, circuit or otherwise, but Link, and by extension Mikau, were professionals far older than her. They would not make a desperate move unless it truly was their last. And because of it, it would have to be strong.

Strength, in this case, meant number and size.

 _Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-BruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU_ _Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-Br-BruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU_

Because Pyrrha watched the water rise out of the Bay wat a volumetric rate that was _far_ beyond anything natural. Even in the _natural_ direction of the reverse, a waterfall, the amount of water rising would be far beyond it! She could see the Bay nearly _emptying_ at the speed the water was rising, and she was forced to stand on the dry sands and watch.

Watch as the water pillars grew to numbers and height far above and beyond what she could possibly be expected to handle, towering over her comparable to the _buildings_ of Vale. Massive was not nearly a proper enough description of them, and she had seen the giants in the desert crafted by the Nightmare.

She… may have been getting ahead of herself. They certainly weren't a comparison to those beasts, just as Jaune had told and explained to her before, but they were certainly in the realm of comparison now. Smaller, thinner, and doubtlessly weaker, but still there to be seen. Monstrous things that towered over her, controlled by something that acted as if it were beyond them, and smiling at the madness it created.

She gripped her shield and lance as she focused on the enemy, both of them so clearly at their limits.

" _I'm the looooonlieeeest ooooooooooofffff aaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllll…._ ~" Pyrrha watched as Mikau sang, keeping her distance even as the lyrics rumbled. Rumbled like the waves and pillars around him and…

And watched them start to fall.

They were _literally_ falling, like columns and structures of towering might in movies that she'd watch with her teammates and RWBY, watching as the almost monolith proportions of water began to slam down on the beach, turning up the sand like the streams of water from a cannon, making her raise her shield and run back to avoid being crushed under the falling weight.

There were screams around her as she did this, from the crowd realizing this was far worse than just a mist from a singular vertical pillar. Columns of water dense and heavy enough to fling her teammates across the beach and into the bay, and she was dodging them as they fell out of the sky like puppets with cut strings. She did so, but only partially.

_FWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSHSHSHSHSSSHSH_

She felt plasters of water hit her back and wet her hair as she run, the sand beneath her becoming uneven as she kept up her pace, rapidly trying to escape the onslaught of what felt like now to be Mikau's final attack. All she could do was run, no defenses left to her to possibly endure the might of that water hitting her, not with even the _chance_ of it flinging her into the Vale Bay. She had to run, and she kept running. Faster and faster, over and over, making sure the unevenness of the ground didn't obstruct her.

Until finally, like the final crack of thunder in a storm, it came to a stop. She turned around when the pressure of the falling water was lifted, panting heavily at that. She was some distance away from Mikau now, the entirety of the beach almost, but she could see the ruined nature of the sand all the same. Like the fingers of a giant had _clawed_ its way out of the surface with a great pull of its hand, dragging what it could back into the water. And maybe that was what happened, seeing how tall Mikau was.

Mikau… the Faunus that was on his knees still, letting his guitar lay on the sand at his feet… Pyrrha didn't waste the chance. She couldn't. She readied Milo, holding the lance parallel with her body and aiming towards the Zora. Without a small grunt of effort, she threw her weapon forward, letting it fly with all the accuracy she had to catch Jaune back during initiation.

 _TWANG!_ "GAH!" And she was rewarded with a vibrating cry from the Zora, in time to see his fin knocked aside.

It was good, _great_ , but she didn't know if it was enough. She wanted a hit that meant something but… but could this work? She didn't have her weapon to swing, but she could still use her hands and legs. She could still kick. And with how exhausted the musician was, she still had a chance. It was either chance this let the sacrifices of her team be in vain!

Nora who was flung into the Bay and… was currently dragging herself to shore. Ren, who was pile driven into the sand outside the ring and… was pulling himself free with a groan. Jaune who was slammed into the stone face of the higher balconies and… was slowly falling free. Okay, they weren't in any major harm, but she still needed to win.

Pyrrha began to run again, lunging more than running as she did so. She had to reach the Zora, reach him and jump on him and kick him or… do _something_ that would mean her team would-

"That's it. I give." Her feet _ground_ into the sand to stop herself. It took her a moment to actually stop. And when she did, she was standing maybe only a few yards away, unarmed, and looking down at Mikau who was sitting back on the sand, panting just as heavily as she was. "Always did say the solo acts don't last, and figures you got team members like yours, a school that knows who ta keep swimming up stream when the tide starts to rip."

"W-What?" Pyrrha asked. Something didn't seem right. "I-I apologize, but… but I believe I misheard you. Did you say…" She led off, still unsure she had heard the Zora correctly. It just seemed, unreal to hear. He rolled his head around, the long length of his dorsal fin moving with it.

"I _said_ I'm beat." Mikau raised his hand waving it and the fin that she had managed to hit him with Milo. She'd have to find her lance late… no, _wait!_

"B-beat?" She heard Jaune ask from his… imprint in the wall. He was lowering himself, looking at the Faunus with the same nervous trepidation that Pyrrha had. "Beat as in… you're saying…" The meaning was singular, but Pyrrha had the same sense of unease about it. It just seemed, too impossible.

Link, Mikau even, the Faunus that were doing things that were at the extreme ends of Semblance manipulation, near elemental control, and doing so with acts of power and magic that had the Military involved and Council making judgements about him. This Hunter, so capable, so strong, so _monstrous_ and... and…

"I said, _one more time_ , ya beat me," Mikau let out again. But Pyrrha still couldn't believe it. Maybe it was the grin he had, showing off the rows of teeth. Maybe it was the fact he still looks unharmed, minus a minor scar across his fin. Maybe it was because he didn't seem like an… _actually_ surmountable task. Maybe it was because it was Link in there as well and… they really had. "Congrats JNPR, ya took me down a peg." It was wonderful to hear, truly elating! It was the victory Pyrrha didn't knew she needed!

"By Aura depletion to critical levels, Mikau of the Zora is defeated." The confirmation by Ms. Goodwitch was just as grand to hear, pulling a smile over the Mistral Champion's face. "Victory is given to team JNPR."

The roar of the crowd was familiar, but Pyrrha's elation at victory was joyously new.

* * *

Mikau wasn't even mad, not in the slightest.

Sure, he had a new scar that would have gotten Lulu up in a fit and worry, considering how the rest of the kids were ready to blow bubbles with how it looked for them, but he knew it wasn't as big a deal. He healed quick, and he was quick to remind Link that he didn't have a fin to worry about either. Link knew he was right, but was thankful nonetheless.

Mikau laughed even as the roar of the crowd continued. It was a sound he loved to hear, and one he couldn't make himself, no matter how loud he and the rest of the Go-Go's played. The cheer and roar of an audience, like the waves fresh off of a storm? That kind of sound only came from the schools of minnows ready to risk their gills in thanks. It was a great sound to hear, no matter what kind of ears they came in through.

Too bad it wasn't for him, at least not fully. He knew when he was second act, and clearly the red-haired Gerudo and her team were the victors of this battle of the bands. Sure, maybe because he took it a step too far, but a loss was a loss. He couldn't blame the ocean for putting the reefs in the wrong place, not when he had the strength to fight the currents.

Link was quick to remind him that this was alright, as JNPR, the team he had spent the better part of the past half hour fighting, are the first time to actual beat him, and that is an accomplishment. Mikau knows he's right, just like how he felt when Japas welcomed him to the Go-Go's, or Lulu sang her first song. Great to be a part of the event, but knowing the importance of someone else's first stroke. Nothing to get in the way of.

He was sore though, and a few stretches of his arms made his scales feel as if they were about to peel off. A shame, because he wasn't even in the water to make sure he had the epidermal layer prepared. Then again, he probably wouldn't be here for much longer, and Link agreed, though not out of malice. And again, he didn't mind.

He got to sing in front of a crowd, even if it was a solo act. And sure, he did prefer to sing in the schools, cause no one sound bouncing off the walls ever sounded as great as a chorus from the full band, but it was still better than numbing silence. That would be a hassle to deal with, especially if he was underwater for it. Like a Watarara without sight or a Shiekah without hearing. Wouldn't be nice to feel.

Link did not blame him again, and once more thanked him. They had many shared memories like the one they were witnessing now, and this new one they would both recall was one that was created thanks to Mikau, and the Zora was proud to remember it.

Watching as Ren and Nora were being assisted by Winter and her younger sister, the two using their Semblances to assist them with standing up, even if the pair of teammates sported smiles matching their personalities. The subtle and satisfied smirk on Lie Ren, then the boisterous full-toothed smile on Nora. Even as they were slowly lifting themselves up, raising hands in response to the praise still being thrown down, justifiably, to them.

Jaune Arc was taking deep breaths as Cardin Winchester stood next to him, Penny also helping him out. The pair of them were helping him stand, even if the boy was grinning with the giant of a fellow slapping his back. The comradery was not one Mikau witnessed grow, but Link was thankful to see it. From the opposing team leaders laughing at the success of one, and the golem girl rocking on the balls of her feet as she was assisting however, she could. Their other teammates were around, perhaps making snapping noises with their jaws, if they were anything like the Gerudo Mikau was used to interacting with. Link was sure they weren't.

He was sure that Pyrrha was receiving, doubtlessly, the most amount of praise. She was all but lifted on to the soldiers of the other teams as they came down to her, with Yang and Ruby lifting her up even as Blake gave her back her shield. It must have blown quite a ways over for her to get it. But the Gerudo girl with hair to match only smiled and laughed, so far away from the usual recluse and apologetic figure Link had come to known. Mikau also preferred her like this, more like a pearl showing from the pressure of a clam then seafoam nearly washed away. Link could take that metaphor well.

"You still alive in there?" They heard the familiar ring of Tatl beside them. Mikau's toothy grin turned to see the fairy bouncing in the air near him. "Take that as a yes." And that made him chuckle.

"Aw, tears for fear?" Mikau quipped to the fairy, earning an indignant ring from the ball of light. His voice rumbled as he laughed again, his gills working the air through them. "But I'm all good. Got a new hole in me, but that'll be gone with the tide, least as soon as Link wants to put half the mind to rest." Link had to recall through Mikau's memories that he only ever turned off half of his mind when he was asleep, otherwise the phrase would have left him. Tatl, ever the knowledgeable friend, did not.

"Well there's _some_ good news then," her voice let off, the grumble behind the ring unmistakable, even if neither Mikau nor Link knew the reason for its placement. "Almost got your butt completely kicked by a cheap trick, and still taking a beating at the end of it." Her wings drooped for a moment, and Mikau missed something over the continuous cheers of the minnows and squires. "Seriously, do you have any idea how many different ways you could have won if you _hadn't_ decided to go all out with that?"

Oh, so that was why she was upset.

Link understood her point and why. There were many other tactical choices he had to him. He had to suggest to Mikau about foregoing the Zora Sapphire when Nora, apparently, gained strength from lightning. That was something that nearly cost them the duel alone, but good on them for hiding such an Unknown, one that he had no preparation or idea of. So it made sense to put away the Sapphire then, or at least as soon as they had the opportunity to do so. There was no telling what else she was capable of.

The Unknown had the advantage, that was why the answers to said mysteries went unspoken.

The Scale of the Water Dragon, however, was far more effective a weapon. The issue was, it was not something that Mikau could use nearly as effectively as the Zora Sapphire, seeing as it had a limit to what he could draw. And the consequence of that, seeing as he was out of energy and nearly impaled, was obvious.

Sure, Link had reminded of other ways he could have won, and Mikau was keen to at least hear him out once he started playing. He _knew_ all of that.

"I could've done something different, choosin' a different stream to swim through or hid in a different reef, yeah," Mikau admitted as he looked at the bobbing blonde ball of light. She was clearly waiting for him to trip up, like she did so often. Link was letting him take the heat this time, not as if he hadn't gotten it enough in Termina. It wasn't something he liked, almost like getting a bad blast of Like-Like juice on the ocean floor. Not fun. Then again, making the fairy rage a bit…

"But seriously, who wants to hear _half_ a song?"

He held up his hands with the question, making sure his sharp teeth were wide and on display for the fairy. Even with the cheer and excitement of the crowd around them, growing ever louder, Mikau could hear the ever-intelligent fairy ring with a high pitch of rage. A good thing that it wasn't just them, or else she might have jumped down his throat and out his gills. Then again, _again,_ she still just might.

"So that was you holdin' something back?" Mikau turned at the voice, recognizing it from a couple of days ago. Link knew it from as far back as weeks. They were unsurprised to see Qrow approaching them. Mikau gave them a glance with their solid blue eyes, already starting to look down for the obvious other party approaching.

 _Wump!_ And they, Link and Mikau both, were phenomenally unsurprised to feel Moraine run into their legs, tiny hands wrapping around his lithe blue-scaled limbs. It didn't hurt, far from it, though the height difference between them was extreme. Still, he wasn't exactly coming off of his best set, so the sudden force wasn't something he took like a coral bed.

"She sure was worried about you," the uncle of Ruby and Yang spoke up, scratching his mess of dark hair. Mikau still could not see the similarities between him and the fun girls of the team. Neither could Link. Then again, his point was still solid. "Had to keep her from running off of the stands and into your arms when that Nora chick started to beat you like a fan." Yeah, that wasn't fun to experience.

" _That_ I can't blame you for," Tatl at least relented. Mikau quickly gave her his attention again, Link as well. "Here I was thinkin' that the Arc kid was just getting over confident with the shield you gave him. I had no idea that little time bomb was a literal battery ready for a charge!" Battery huh? That must have been something she learned recently, as neither Mikau or Link knew what it was.

"She did… o-o-or at least she doesn't use it often," Tael added to his sister. Mikau missed his approach, the cheering of the crowd having drowned out the already submissive ringing of the darker fairy. Then again, they were starting to quiet down at least. Not that the members of team JNPR were receiving any less attention. "Penny said that, um… that apparently Nora realized her Semblance when she was struck by lightning, but… b-b-but that isn't easy to make happen often. Usually." No it wasn't, so it figures that the Zora Sapphire was just _perfect_ for it.

"So she made sure to basically trick you into giving her the boost she needed." Tatl added on again. The ring that came after that could have been another sigh or an angry spit of air. Link thought it was the former, but Mikau honestly would have preferred it if it was the latter. Funnier that way. "Guess those brats really did do some research before this. Not looking for that one magic sword to swing." Mikau grinned by Link's command.

"No, they certainly had strategy this time," he spoke with the Zora's voice. He turned to look at the group again with the same Zora's eyes.

The four members were together again, even if they were surrounded by a still lightly clapping and cheering crowd. The volume had fallen, but not vanished. Ren and Nora were back on their feet, the girl hugging her partner as he held his arms above her deceptively strong hold, patting her back even as he put his hand on Jaune's shoulder as well. The leader of the team had Link's former Mirror Shield on his back out of sight and mind as he had his arms up and pulling in the remainder of his team into a group hug. Pyrrha Nikos, easily the more recluse and skilled member of the team, took it all with a sure smile.

They were a team, and a strong one at that. But what was more… though Mikau saw them as lilies and tadpoles beginning to gain their legs, Link knew they were already beyond such a point. No longer the students who had come to learn the basics and past the squires capable of holding their own. They used deception, strength, skill, and even a chance of luck to best him, even if he had other means to attack.

But the means for victory was not the same as having it. Merely because he could have won doesn't mean that he did. He lost because he listened to Mikau's request to finish the song, and Pyrrha with Jaune's aid took advantage of it. The same way how they knew of Link's desire to remove the members of the group who were strongest, only instead succeeding in giving them a boon to their power. They were not students still learning or squires still training. They were a step beyond that now.

May chance they only now needed to hear it.

"Everyone, everyone, please settle down!" Mikau suddenly let up. Moraine struggled against his leg for a second, even if his voice got the attention of the crowd. All the students to the instructors gave him their attention, easily too seeing as the Zora towered over most of them. A good think Link wasn't speaking, or else most of them would probably miss him.

He saw the members of RWBY together, with Winter near them. CPRD, complete with Penny on Cardin's shoulder, looked at him from the edge of the docks. Qrow was still near him, taking the que from Mikau to lightly pull Moraine off of him, who followed with Tatl and Tael. He saw Oobleck in the crowd as well, at least behaving like a student more than the Super Buzz that Tatl fashioned to call him. Mikau got it, though Link did not. A thought for another day. For now, there was more to be said.

"For I start with the announcement, why don't we give another holler for team JNPR, for taking on the shark in the sea and coming out on top!" He held out his hand to the team, and the cheers followed.

The bashful looks from the various team members, Nora aside, were something Link understood well. Mikau did not, as this was the time where they were supposed to join in the cheering and give an encore, but Link reminded him this was not a set on a stage, even if he just finished playing a song. He got that, but moved on to let Link talk.

"Now I want to say, and ensure, that despite what anyone says from here on out, I held nothing back." He put his hands on his hips as he spoke, even as he heard Tatl ring from behind him. "Don't get me wrong here, sayin' I'm startin' down the wrong current or duckin' into the wrong reef. If I had done things differently, I might have had a chance to win, same way how if you four had chosen differently, you coulda lost those advantages you built up. I'm willin to bet my _undamaged_ fin that there's more than one eye in this crowd who could call out a moment or two like that."

The murmurs that followed were like the songs of the whales in the ocean. Always far off no matter how close the sources were. Mikau let them sift for a minute, understanding the importance of a lull in a song. Link gave it to him… before starting to speak again through the Zora.

"None of that matters, though. Not anymore." His words silenced the soft queries. "Cause the possibilities don't matter. All that does matter is the conclusion." Mikau leaned back, letting his dorsal fin pull at the back of his head, even if it made the bareness of his scales itch. He wanted to get in the water, especially after having nearly been impaled. But not yet. "And because of that, I'm no longer looking at tadpoles, students, or squires."

His hands lifted as he said this, the sharp digits at the ends of his hand belaying the webs at the beginnings of his phalanges. Link gave the four members of JNPR a moment to look between one another, wondering what he was talking about. He did not bother to glance at the instructors, sure that they either understood now or shortly soon would. Perhaps there would need to be a ceremony of some kind, a celebration of sorts, but for now, his word was enough. Mikau told Link such. And so, Link told the what he knew.

"Nora Valkyrie," the girl stood tall, saluting in an almost mocking gesture. Even if she was dripping with sea water.

"Lie Ren," the boy stiffened his posture, keeping his face rigid. Eve if sand fell from his clothes.

"Pyrrha Nikos," the apparent dueling champion adopted an almost regal stance. Even if she looked as if her muscles were ready to cry out.

"Jaune Arc," the leader stood at attention as would a soldier, lifting his chin for the effort. Even if there was still some rubble in his hood.

It all made Mikau grin, even as Link spoke on.

"With the conclusion of this battle in your favor, I recognize you all as Knights."

The curious murmurs from before grew in volume, not the silence that Mikau expect. Link did, as he knew that this was not something to be silent about. He shut the lips of the Zora, hiding his sharp teeth. He used the calm features nod towards the team, towards their leader, and the group that had bested him through all that they had.

They were a good team, and a fine set of knights indeed.

"Congratulations to you all." What happened made Link question of Mikau's desire to laugh was justified or not, even if he heard such a sound coming from the instructors around him, including Qrow. It was curious, because others did not appear as amused as they were.

Then again, there were few reasonable responses to fainting, especially if it was Jaune Arc.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	30. Relief and Regrets

A slow sigh left Link's lips as he relaxed in his bed. It was a habit he had come to enjoy, after so many years of being kept from it.

True the room he was in was only slightly larger than the first he was given by this Academy of young squires, and still far smaller than the one he was accustomed to in Hyrule, but it was still his room nonetheless. A room with a pair of separated spaces, beds in each, for him and for the young Moraine he cared for. The young Hylian who dozed off with soft slumbers in the middle of the day, a necessary nap.

Hands crossed and curled behind his head, he stared at the door the young child was behind, almost hearing her soft murmurs as she slept, a peaceful sound that children were entitled to make, and he was only too happy to be of assistance in creating. His own body was lain out on his bed still, clothed as he was from the previous duel he had participated in, a requirement of his classes. It was something Impa had suggested, once her memories matched his, and a choice he agreed with. The results of such duels were to his benefit.

In the course of the near month he had been in the Beacon Academy, he had been 'felled' only once, and only because Mikau had a tendency to put on a show more than a fight. That was a fault he could not correct, as Mikau was a musician before a warrior, and he valued the show more than the result. Link could hardly blame the Zora for the action, more than a reprimand of thought. Tatl, however, had more than merely a passing ring for his choices.

Following the duel with the young Team JNPR, complete with the pair who had accompanied him on the failed venture to Monument Mine in search of Navi, he had been defeated by a combination of Mages, Warriors, and a carefully placed and well hidden Unknown. Their victory was more than a fluke, of that one attempted to deny.

Two weeks after the fight, and Link still thought fondly of it.

His head rolled against the pillow, feeling the fluff nature of the object cushion him as he moved. Though it had feathers in it little different than the Cucco wings of Hyrule, they were also filled with cotton and secured with a thread that he did not know of. It made for a softer pillow than Link had enjoyed in some time, and he had no reason to speak ill of it.

No reason to speak ill of the room, the bed, the pillow, the accommodations, the company, or the choices he made, or others made because of him. Not so long as he focused on where it had brought him, and less on the short-term effects of such choices. It was, after all, almost worthless to remember how he felt in the moment of some of those spontaneous decisions, against how he felt now.

His disappointment for Headmaster Ozpin and his assistant Glynda Goodwitch was far more offset by the thanks he owed them now. Their trepidation at his presence, and testing of his skill, was appropriate, if extreme. And the fruits of such labors led him to a position of prestige in the Academy that, again, few questioned and even fewer argued against. It was unlikely the same stance would be held if he were so easily accepted into this Hall of oddly named Knights.

Instead, Link was greeted with thankful hellos and shy greetings from the boys and girls he passed in the halls. Though they all wore far more extravagant gear than him, and carried tools that were far more complex in nature than his, they still saw his strength, his skill, and they questioned him often for it. For what training he did to become so fluent in so many tools, the type of exercise necessary to handle such feats, and the terrain he traversed upon to be so accustomed to so many forms of battle. They were all frequent questions posed to him, be it in the halls while he wore Impa's garb or in battle as he defeated another group of Squires.

They were all skilled in some way, of that Link himself could not deny. Though not as much as he, who had fought against evils that made the Headmaster of the Academy silent and strained, enough for the average soul in the world to take awe at their feats. Link was among them for what he saw. Alighting themselves aflame for power, channeling the power of lightning for fury, creating beacons of light in the unhallowed dark, and even duplication of their forms with only a few whiffs of their hand. These squires were far more than novices.

But another sigh rolled past Link's lips, eyes trained to the sealing. His long ears creased the pillow under him, gaining his focus as he thought less of the days prior and more of the ones ahead. HE had to, for there were many more to come. The two weeks since he had fought JNPR as Mikau, the near month since he had arrived, was nigh nothing compared to the months or years he had yet to live.

And live he would, for there was still much to do.

"You still okay there?" Tatl rang as she flew above his head. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as her blonde form jumped from the side table she previously sat at, stopping only when her long translucent wings flittered in front of him. He was tempted to blow a patch of air at her, but Link restrained himself. "You've been lying down and sighing for what feels like _days_ now." It had not been days. "Okay, a few minutes, but you wouldn't _believe_ how long that feels for a fairy!" Link gave her a sardonic look, even as he kept himself flat on the bed.

He sighed again though, if only to stoke her ire. It worked, somewhat, with the way her body rang high and loud in argument for the sound.

"That was your hint to _stop it!_ " She yelled out, though only half-heartedly. It made Link smile at her, even as he leaned back a bit more, letting gravity attempt to pull him through the covers of his bed. His companion fairy, and long-time friend, rang above him even as he did so. "I _get_ being lazy, but you're not one of those kids, and you're _definitely_ not a little kid anymore, so stop _trying_ to annoy me!" He may not be a child anymore, but she was certainly still his loud-mouth companion and friend.

Link lifted his finger, rolling it around in the air. A gesture he had seen many of the students make during some of Impa's lectures before combat training, and even the few times Elrora spoke as well. However, it was usually met with Glynda making note of the students and threatening remediation action against them. So hardly a fine example of a good gesture. And, unfortunately, Tatl was the kind of fairy to pay attention to such things.

"I am _not_ rambling!" And she clearly did, as Link didn't even know what the gesture meant. "I haven't even been talking for a minute! I _can't_ be rambling." Maybe not, but she certainly was loud. He was used to that though, as was her brother. "The _only_ thing I've rambled about recently is what you did with that berry team a couple of weeks ago, _because that was just stupid!_ " Berry team?

Link took a moment to think of any team that had berry in it. The combination of the different groups was divided by initials, and then named accordingly. But none he could think of were berry. There was RWBY for Ruby, SSSN for Sun, CRDP for Cardin, though Link was sure that was not what the actually anagram meant, and then JNPR for Juniper… ah. Now he got it. But that didn't explain what Tatl was upset about.

It must have showed in his face, a confused look that he offered the blonde fairy, a look he often made for her to read. The ring she made, high and harsh was evidence that his silent curiosity was understood. That did not mean she was thankful to receive it.

"You don't remember?" She questioned, in a tone that almost _invited_ terror should it be contested. "You don't _remember?_ Do you not remember what happened or do you just not _get_ why it was a bad decision!?" The latter, obviously, because that was what Link was focused on. He always tried to avoid bad decisions, as they usually led to bad outcomes.

Handing over a gift to JNPR after their victorious duel with Mikau did not sound, or still feel, like a bad decision.

Link still recalled how he, in _Mikau's body was standing in across from the victorious team, the set of them ranging from unrestrained excitement to well-controlled, but bountiful, curiosity. The crystalline blue eyes of the Zora watched them, fined arms crossed, and grinning with the shark like teeth of the Zora people. Tatl and Tael rang above him in the same time._

_"Congrats! Applause all around!" Tatl rang out as she bobbed through the air, a gesture Link had no reason or means to stop. He was still exhausted, from being defeated through Mikau's unrestrained use of his magic and Aura, then being hammered by blows belittling the seemingly minor power either girl had. He never had underestimated hammers before, and he never would again. "You four have done the impossible. Bet you all feel full of yourselves."_

_"Not… that much." Jaune responded, earning a glance from Mikau. Link understood what he said, but the Zora didn't. "Yeah, I'm happy._ Really happy _, actually. But… it just feels kinda… surreal, ya know?_ " _Now the Zora understood, and Link was thankful he didn't have to explain his thoughts to the memory of the musical warrior._

 _"Surreal and Sur-_ Awesome! _" Nora yelled out, with a word that neither Link or Mikau knew. From the confused glances of her teammates, it was not a word typically used, or one in existence. "We_ totally _kicked your butt! And we did it without breaking any rules or nothin'! Even if you broke rules by flinging me_ way _out into the ocean like that! Water hurts when you hit it from that high."_ _Of that, Link didn't doubt, even if he needed to show Mikau a memory of the pain that came from it. The Zora had never experienced such a thing before._

 _"Ya got me, ya did. Ain't gonna deny a monsoon when I see one, and I was swept away in_ that _storm." Mikau's admission was agreed upon by both him and Link, even if the Hero knew they could have easily taken victory, if the musician were not focused on the show. The Zora had no regret to share. "Why we're all chillin' outta the cove, talkin' this part out away from the guppeys that are gonna be pouncing on what we say like Cuccos to Minnows." Link wasn't aware that Cuccos were carnivorous, but Mikau never forget._

 _"Not everyone gets to see?" Pyrrha questioned first. She was a curious one, if a bit apologetic. "I'm sorry." Kinda like that. "But, wouldn't this be more appropriate in front of the others? I-I'm sure that they are curious about what we are… what is going to happened." She said that like she_ wasn't _curious, which even Link thought was humorous. Her excitement was near palpable. "I will admit… I do look forward to what we have earned for this."_

 _"Same here!" Nora jumped up again. "After how hard we kicked your_ butt _, I'm sure you're gonna give us something so great it'll make every monster and Grimm within a million miles go running away!"_

_"That would encompass the world, Nora," Ren was quick to amend. "But you are somewhat correct… the gifts we are going to receive, I assume, will be a great boon to our abilities." Though Mikau had not seen Ren often, Link had. And Link's memories showed that the boy spoke softly, little often, and smiled in such the same manner. So, the small grin he gave was evidence enough of his excitement._

_As was, likely, the unease that Mikau felt. Well, Link felt. Not his fault, as he was quick to remind himself, but he heard the discussions as the class and group of onlookers were dismissed, and he was left with a team of three, carrying their leader, the fourth, back to the Academy building. They were speaking often of the tools they would receive, gifts they'd get, and what they'd do with them._

_The issue was… it was all in the plural. And that was what Link was not looking forward to. Mikau reminded Link he had dealt with over promised and over sold sets before, the fault of his producer not clarifying their gigs or songs. He had, somewhat, a better idea on what to do._

_"See, this is the part I'm sure Link's all worried 'bout. Like a tadpole without the pads 'bove him, all nervous that he's about ta be scooped up." Mikau made a motion with his hand to match, scooping in the air in front of him, even if he showed off his teeth with the action. Link wasn't fond of the action, but the Zora knew that smiling always eased tension. And any kind of tension tended to ruin the flow of the stream. So, Link had no argument. "Guess that means I am too, and bein' tense outta water is death sentence for a Zora." He laughed and let his voice vibrate with it._

_No one chuckled with him. That seemed bad._

_"You're breaking the mood, Mikau," Tatl rang next to him, light as the drops of water from a misty dew. He didn't squander the advice._

_"Kay, dive in all at once." CLAP! The Zora clapped his webbed hands together, Link taking deep breaths. "I am gonna hand out our prize, just like I promised." Link spoke with Mikau's voice, and the smile on the squires… the young knights, was proud and genuine. "So, I gotta ask which one of you gets it." The response was about what he, and Mikau, expected, but delayed._

_Delayed with a single moment of murmuring tension. Not silent, not nearly so deadly stiff, but definitely touched with confusion, and rapidly filling. As Mikau saw it, the reservoirs of the Great Bay Temple just flipped, and they needed a moment for the mills to turn the other way. It only took a bit of time, and he held his smile as the obvious question, simplified, came up._

_"What?" The single pose from Jaune, and just as appropriate to hear. It was good he expanded his query a moment later. "You mean… just one of us gets it?"_

_"That's right," Mikau pointed out to him, having the good grace to lose a bit of his smile as he spoke. Obviously, they were all expecting something a bit… higher in quantity. "You beat me, so I'm handin' over somethin' of mine to you. Simple as that." The focus was team JNPR, the squires who had moved onto knighthood, the early stages at least. "And pickin up on that foamy wave, I'm guessin ya thought there was gonna be a treasure trove comin' in from the cove, didn't ya?" His head tilted and grin grew with the question, but only a pair from the quartet wore humility. The others wore confusion._

_"Well, ya, we kinda did," Jaune easily spoke up. "Wasn't that kinda the whole point of fighting as a team?" Mikau laughed at that one, making the boy shift a bit. Link had to remind him to pull it back. There wasn't a crowd to please this time. That got the Zora to focus._

_"Sorry, forgot the breeze," he mentioned allowed, making Tatl and Tael squirm at the words. "Not sayin' your_ entirely _wrong, but the whole point of bringing the crew was to make the set easier to work with. Carryin' a tune's a heck of a lot easier when ya got backup keepin' the pace when you need a break. That's what a team is for after all." He held out his hands to the four of them, hoping they'd get it._

_The shifting confusion among them, complete with the lightning girl, Nora, Link reminded, pouting like a puffer fish, was evidence enough they didn't get it. Link took it upon himself to request permission to speak. Mikau gave it, begrudgingly, though aware that the Hylian could handle speaking to Gerudo a lot easier than he could. Always something about how they tried to steal his Lulu's eggs…_

_"The reason you have the teams, and you still only get one weapon, is because the reward for your battle doesn't change." Link held up his hands, Mikau's hands, as he gathered JNPR's attention again. "You were facing the same foe as if you were fighting alone, as a team, or with another as back up to assist you. It does not matter than you had more arms to work with, or more strategies to employ, the reward for your efforts is still the same, because you still defeated the same target, me, that some other knight may wish to face alone, still me."_

_The Zora's thumbs, controlled by Link's hands, pointed to him one by one. Hopefully they got the message out of that. They were smart kids, Knights as they were now. If they could strategize how to beat him, then they could figure out what he meant._

_"I think I understand." Lie Ren, as Link recalled, began. "Though these battles were modeled as forms of ambushes or defense… they all face the same opponent. And no matter the method or manner we defeat the opponent, the same outcome is gained. Therefore, the same reward is offered." Mikau's grin grew without Link's command._

_"Like the wind to the waves, you know right where this is goin," Mikau congratulated, though the joy wasn't shared amongst the others. Link was quick to remind the Zora why. "Hey! Cheer up you all! Yer actin' like beatin me is_ less _important now? Ya think anyone one of you could taken me one-on-one? Cause I'll warn ya, I've never lost a battle of the bands before, 'specially if yer gonna handicap yerself by stringing on solo._ " _That at least earned some recognition from the group._

 _"I-It isn't that we are disappointed, at least, not in the sense of our victory." Pyrrha spoke up. "We just… I-I am sure we imagined we would_ all _be receiving a gift from you for this victory_." _Well yeah, Link understood that much._

 _"Yeah! And after how much work we all did, shouldn't we all get one?_ " _Okay, but Nora now, rad as the living lighting rod was in Mikau's mind, a close second to himself, she had to tone it back a bit. Melodies were best carried on soft notes, not hard strums._

 _"Sure, again, if ya could endure the stream alone." Mikau continued on. "But borrowin' a page from your Headmaster, if you all took out the same mission out at sea, either alone_ or _as a group, do ya think the reward for knockin' around some Hydra would be more or less for it?_ " _The puffer fish look from Nora came back, but Link told Mikau it was likely because she understood, disappointed as she was. "Hate on me all ya want, but Link and Impa never said anything about everyone getting' a treat. Seriously, that'd be the fastest way ta empty Link's bank, and he sailed a_ lot _of storms to get this stash. Trust me on that_." _He'd been a part of a good number of those trips as well, or at least had seen them._

 _"Well, that is fair," Pyrrha agreed. She was an agreeable girl, and Mikau liked that. Link told him to stop. Now. "And I suppose… I-I suppose that we_ still _must decide on who should receive the reward, even if it isn't as lucrative as we expected." Could have worded that a bit kinder, but Link wasn't arguing. Neither were Tatl or Tael from their humming silence above him. "I suppose we should choose who-"_

_"I choose you, Pyrrha," Jaune answered, quickly. Even Mikau had to blink, with Link chuckling. It was fast, faster than even the girl who reacted to the Zora's musical tendrils expected._

_"H-Huh?" She fell over her own words. "N-No, not so fast. I think we should-"_

_"I agree with Jaune-Jaune, you should get it!" Nora joined her leader's lead, jumping this time. "I wanted an extra big hammer for hitting the fish extra hard, but you at least got to spike him for throwing me!" There was a vindictiveness to that answer. Link calmed Mikau's curiosity for it, wondering if they hunted fish his size around here._

_"Please, hold on Nora. I just-" Her arms, flailing in confusion, did not stop the voting in her favor._

_"They are correct. Pyrrha is the best choice." Lie Ren's agreement almost made the girl fall over, clearly expecting something aside from a positive affirmation from the boy. Neither Link nor Mikau could understand why. "She was able to handle the sudden appearance of a new foe better than any of us and, rather than strengthen a shield, I believe it wiser to sharpen a sword." Link grinned at that, not without reason for his many now defective, or requested, shields._

_"_ Please, _everyone," the red-headed warrior let out with a voice that almost seemed unfitting for someone so skilled. Both Mikau and Link knew better, but the former far preferred to watch, and the latter knew better than to interrupt. "I would like to just-" This time it wasn't a voice that interrupted her, but a ring._

 _"I think she's a good pick for this." Mikau laughed now at Tatl's comment, even if it earned an unintelligible squeak from the girl in question. "You could plan this out_ way _better, and I_ will _rag on you for it, but she kept out of Morpha's grasp. That's sayin' more than the rest of the berries around here."_ And in the present, Link knew now why Tatl referred to the group in such a way. But in the past _Pyrrha was left looking around her, and above her, in confusion at the sudden agreements being thrown her way._

_"Th-Th-This isn't fair!" Pyrrha cried defensively. Mikau found it similar to an amateur singer calling her celebrated skills unwarranted. He found it just as amusing as the blushing Gerudo in front of him. Enough that he didn't bother to hide the wide sharp smile of his. "I-I thought we'd all receive gifts for this! I mean… I-It was your plan Jaune, a-and Ren pointed out what Mikau would do… a-a-a-and Nora, you were the one to actually attack!"_

_"Yeah and yeah and_ totally _yeah, but you were the only one to avoid those spooky creepy tentacles, even as they threw shivers down my spine." Mikau could recall no instance in his song or use of the Water Dragon's scale that involved the spine. Neither did Link. "Face it girl, you're the strongest one here, and Renny agrees that you should be even_ better _for it!" Oddly enough though, despite Nora's kind and earnest words, Pyrrha was not smiling. Link noted it, but Mikau paid little attention to it. He was still waiting for his que._

 _"You do deserve it Pyrrha," Jaune now, and Link hoped the leader would speak better words. He was thankfully not disappointed. "I mean… I got a shield cause I took on the attack from that Nightmare back at the Monument Mine. That was the reason, right?" Link nodded with Mikau's head. "Right, but… you were the one who was not only keeping me alive, but_ everyone _safe. You're not just… I-I know you're always thinking about more you can do, cause you keep asking how you can help. But, Pyrrha, seriously… can you at least accept you deserve_ something _for all your work?" Not at all._

_Even Mikau had to grin crossing his arms and letting the flow of words wash over him, like the careful cool drift of a fresh spring draining into open waters of basin. The soft touch feeling grand upon his scales, and worthy of a song in itself. Though rough, a bit choppy, the genuine and heartfelt emotion behind them more than captivating. The awe that was reflected in the Gerudo's expression, hands folded over her breasts and eyes yearnful as the sun, was evidence she saw it as well._

_"Jaune…" Pyrrha spoke her leaders name, head bowing with the time. Mikau saw it as admiration. Link saw it as acceptance. Neither were wrong nor right. But the Gerudo did commit to the action both saw as inevitable. "A-Alright. For you all… for my_ team _… I accept this." The sounds of soft cheers and agreement from her fellows was grand to hear, even for the health deprived Zora._

_"'Bout time they decided," Tatl rang above his head, but he didn't glance up at her, too sure she'd be blinding him with some effort. "You at least got an idea for what you're going to give her?"_

_Mikau did not, but Link did._

_Link grinned, a smile shared by Mikau, as they looked down at the young red-haired knight, a girl that could easily be a Maiden, but fought like a general, with all the strengths and skills to match. Even her teammates, followers as some may say of her strength, grinned and cheered her on, even as she stood with no unclear sense of unease before him. Maybe it was because Mikau towered over her, maybe it was because the spotlight was not an area she enjoyed. The Zora understood one of those and Link the other._

_But for now, they knew what treasure of Link's she could use, and be of use in the future. A tool to benefit her clear skill, agility, planning, and devotion to her friends. Such devotion needed much strength, and to endure the beasts of the wild with only a buckler meant she needed great strength to stumble on. So, Link was keen to gift her a tool that was befitting of her people. One of the first gifts he had received from said people, many many years ago now._

_So many years that Link_ lost track of the time even as he stared upwards, finished in his reminiscing of the even from some weeks ago. Weeks now that were clearly far more vivid than the trials, _he_ had undergone some years, perhaps decades now, in the past. Trials he had undergone to obtain a power a chieftain had once tried to steal, but he had taken in kind.

But that was before he grew up, before he had journeyed further in life, and before he had found even greater power, both within and without. The power he had gifted to Pyrrha Nikos, perhaps one of the most skilled squires, no… skilled _knights_ in the Academy, was a power he no longer needed, but he knew the young woman could make great use of.

"Link? Are you _listening!?_ " Tatl rang above his head, even as he looked up at her smiling still through her ringing and bobbing through the air. "I'm not made you gave her a gift, but you have _seriously_ have yet to tell even _me_ why you gave her, _her_ of all people, the freaking _Silver Gauntlets!_ "

Link only continued to smile, even as his longtime companion faked raging above him.

* * *

Ozpin sipped his coffee with a deliberately slow pace. He was common to do so, always preferring to taste the beverage rather than just depend on its affect. It was true for how he did most activities in his life, enjoying them and observing rather than merely trusting them. How he did anything was how he did everything, so, he took his time when enjoying his beverage, just as he would allow for patience when training the next generation of hunters.

The same level of patience and observation could be applied to those in between the two though, from the rowdy and still maturing youths to his boldened and mature beverage. Activities of his friends, foreign officials, or _new hires_ as it were. Though, he would admit, he had more than merely a passing interest in one of those, and far more than a weekly check-up. He had proven and earned himself the position Ozpin had awarded him in Beacon, one he still continued to enjoy. Another slow drink from his mug helped to settle the Headmaster's mind, enough to make the recollection of recent events easier on him. Rushing through memories was about as efficient as hurrying exercises, after all.

And in those memories, he recalled how Link had arrived to his doorstep, led by a rather naïve pupil of his, one who also held great power within her. Led in and challenged by his comrade and friend. Strongly opposed, clearly, but still well within reason and logic. On the backs of terrorist attacks, a foreign Faunus arriving at the school, and so quickly being taken in. Glynda was right to challenge Link, even if her tone could have been… fluffed as it were.

But Link did prove his strengths in the forest, as well as other abilities that he could not fathom before. Abilities that were beyond most stories he had heard, well into the myths of foreign lands and cultures long lost to the world. Yet Link used with an expert gift, living through the body and mind of his dearly departed friends. Such a gift that he, unfortunately, didn't understand the reach and repercussions of showing off.

So soon after he had been accepted as a student, a mistake Ozpin was still sore to admit he made, when the man's strength was _anything_ but novice level, he was taken in to be shown off to the Council and the Military officials. Battles that were meant to be studied, research, and propagandized within the hierarchy of politics and power. And though Link displayed his strengths then, by the words of his fairy companions, he soon demonstrated his wisdom as well.

An intentional step too far, forcing him into an ultimatum of a battle, meant to decide if he should stay within their walls or flee into the world he had sailed into. Ozpin was still proud of his choice to allow RWBY and JNPR to accompany the Faunus to the Badlands border, even if it took some convincing of his dear friend James. It was an invaluable choice to make.

One that, following Link's momentous display of skill and power against the Ancient Grimm, even those intentionally hidden by the Council, allowed for Link to be spirited back to Beacon before the officials of the Military or heads of the Council could demand otherwise. Even the android Penny was taken into his school, though out of reason for what he expected, it certainly was a beneficial consequence to their actions.

Following his proven act of valor and heroics, as well as satisfying the requirements of a hunter's license, Link became the fastest soul to move from student to instructor in Beacon's long life. Or any academies, as Ozpin had the foreknowledge of. And so quickly after doing so, started a new form of training for his students, with the aid of another friend Ozpin was keen to meet, even though he was not aware of it before hand.

Impa of the Shiekah, a woman who was older than she looked, though still far younger than himself. One who within a week's time had turned many of his star teams into either confused messes of individuals or self-reflecting pariahs, though thankfully temporarily. And fortuned for Ozpin was this the case, shown now weeks later. Given the strength of the teams she had intervened with, her skill as an instructor was not to be overstated.

But before the fruits of her labors were shown, the strength of Link's heart was demonstrated. Taking in a young Faunus girl off the streets, clothing and entertaining in the midst of a crowd of hundreds, even with the aid of a witch, Lana. Helping her and proving to others, whilst demonstrating for the students, that being a hunter was more than a strength of mind or body, but also of the soul. For one needed a strong heart to open themselves up in such a way, to allow harm to come to them to save another.

Enough that the same witch nearly gave her life, and Link's by consequence. Enough that even though she endured an inferno that, by the testimony of both Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna, was at a flash-over point, she saved the lives of many children, risking her own when she was ambushed. And it was afterwards that the strength of Impa's training, and his own students' bravery, was shown. Shown by fighting off the terrifying might of a rouge hunter and his allies, all trying to steal from Link and his friends.

Though her recovery was odd, and different than what Ozpin expected, he had little complaints for the safety of Moraine, the child he had saved. James and the Council had thankfully few complaints for helping relocate the children further saved on that day. Though they were cruel often, Ozpin could not forget that the Council did value its people, only in ways he could not agree with.

Life took further twists and turns when the display of Link's other friend, his mentor and surrogate mother, was shown to be a life in memories he carried. A child in body, but _certainly_ not in mind. Nearly as wise as he, but doubtlessly just as devious. A child that had beaten him a game of chess, and planted a tree's roots above his tower, one in the Forever Fall, and another in the Emerald Forest. All with a speed that was gifted to only one individual throughout all of Remnant, one he had gifted.

Saria of the Kokiri, a Sage of the Forest. Or, as Ozpin referred to the title, a _Maiden of Spring_.

Her identity confused him, unsure of how he could have misplaced the location of the Spring Maiden's powers for as long as the girl was alive. He did not know, and had no _agreeable_ means to test, if the eternal youth of the Kokiri implied they never reached the maturity that forbade them from the Maiden's might. It certainly was possible she had the strength of the Maiden for only a scant few years, certainly long enough for him to not be aware of it being missing. However, then he had no knowledge of how the power would have skipped over to Link's land, and then back to Remnant as a whole.

It was a trying confusion that worked at Ozpin's mind, even as he continued to enjoy his coffee, sip by sip. The warm taste of the beverage reminded him to think of more pleasant things, of the knowledge of Navi possibly being found by Oobleck, and the search that occurred after that. Following a rather… eventfully qualification period, one that was nearly given to a visiting team, a foreign beast that made even the witch Lana nervous appeared, powered by the seeds of a tree Saria had planted. It was more than Winter Schnee could handle, but his students, trained by Impa and Link, could.

Those teams, split as they were, made their way to Monument Mine with Link, an event that Ozpin was _not_ soon to forget, though he unfortunately bore no witness to it. Just as he would not forget the memories of Saria within the forest she had created.

He could not forget the confirmation of who she was. Ever.

Ozpin's cup tipped back, realizing it was empty. He sighed into it; hearing is voice echo from the porcelain cup. Unfortunate, but a given conclusion to anything pleasurable. It will eventually run out, and the pleasure would end. And when that happened, the next obvious event would come to pass.

"Are you done, Ozpin?" He turned to see Glynda standing at attention, her Pad in hand and looking at him with a narrowed gaze. Her gaze, as it was often referred to by him. In private of course. "We still have much to discuss, now that your coffee break is finished." Ah yes. Yes, that.

Work.

"Very well," Ozpin began, knowing the importance of such tasks. Necessary, but not enjoyable. The bitter consequence of being a leader. "Are there any high priority items that need an immediate decision?" He could never keep track well of what was and wasn't important, not next to the potential cataclysmic end of the world as comparison.

"Two, actually." Wonderful. "The council has approved that, given the past two weeks of peace and mild departure levels of the tourists, the Vytal Festival should commence within the next two weeks. Decisions need to be made on the exact date, as well as the location for the Amity Colosseum to dock." Yes, because though it floated, it could not simply hover over the city. Not without serious and potential concerns.

"And the other matter?" Ozpin questioned.

"Less important, but James wishes to speak to you this afternoon." Ah, he had forgotten about that. "He is present in his airship and is due within the hour, but the actual meeting isn't scheduled until after classes have dismissed. The only decision to be made there is where you would like to meet."

"Because he wishes for more than an update," Ozpin spoke the unspoken end of Glynda's words. "James is a soldier as much as he is a leader, and he wishes to see the fruits of his labors, and consequences to his actions." Ozpin sighed, knowing both futility and pointlessness of such an action. He knew because he participated in them just as much. "I assume he requested to at least see Penny during that time."

"There were hints towards such a request, yes," Glynda easily led on. "He also wishes to see how Link is doing, as he has, noted by James, 'let a considerable impact on the operational tendencies on Specialist Winter'." That was a curious method to describe the improvement of a subordinate's mood. Then again, with the proper amount of paranoia the two expressed, the wording likely wasn't meant for Ozpin. Only for him to decipher.

"He may be curious why Ms. Schnee's elder sister is requesting to be stationed closer to us." Ozpin let one of many possibilities slip through his lips, even as he leaned back and stared up at the high ceiling. "Or he may be concerned that she is less focused now on the matters of Atlas and more on her kin. Though… I should not imply it is a bad thing. Nor that James sees it that way." A soldier as he was, James did understand the importance of family. There was, after all, a reason many chose to fight.

"Understandable conclusions," Glynda agreed. "Then would you suggest you meet at the Bullhead docks, so you may 'tour' the dorm rooms." Ozpin nodded, listening as Glynda tapped her way through her scroll.

"If possible, see that teams CRDP and RWBY are on campus at the time. No need to make it a requirement for them, but ensure that they have no extra curriculars. Only if possible." The part of any good chess move was to ensure your opponent didn't see it coming. And, although James was anything but an enemy, he also wasn't someone who liked being led on. Ozpin wouldn't allow for it either.

"Neither teams CRDP or RWBY have any scheduled duels, sessions, or other matters deserving of after hour activities, publicly known at least." A good distinction to make. "I may assume that due to there being early class hours tomorrow with Professor Port for both teams, neither are likely to be in Vale this afternoon, not without risking missing the last Bullheads home." Another fine distinction.

"Penny is keen to sticking to her schedules," Ozpin mused, aware of the few times Penny called out her new leader for nearly being late for class. "The same may nearly be said for Ms. Schnee, though for divergent reasons." The difference between appearance and necessity as it were. If there were any listening to his thoughts, he'd let them muse which applied to who. "If possible, and I understand the difficulty with the request, but see if there are any plans for either team to engage in extracurricular activities outside Beacon grounds in the coming days."

"Is there a specific reason why?" Glynda questioned. Ozpin nodded simply.

"Because they are my students, and I wish to show James my interest in them is more than merely passing in nature." And it truly wasn't. If it were, he would not be a Headmaster. He would be a councilman. And that, Ozpin simply could not abide to be called. The small smile Glynda allowed to ghost over her features was proof enough she approved.

"Of course, Ozpin," she started, tapping on the pad as she did so. "May I ask if you would also like to have Link nearby for his visit? His questions were revolving around him." The curiosity made Ozpin hum.

It was a fine question, and one that made sense. James was curious what, if anything, Link had done to lead Winter to change so radically. No, that wasn't the correct word for it. It was hardly a radical change, at least to Ozpin's aged mind. Her focus had merely shifted, a small twist and reshuffling in her priorities. From being devout and centered in the Military to that of her younger sister. It was easy for any to see.

From spending every free hour, she had assisted in and following James's orders, all with little question or comment, to visiting the younger Ms. Schnee at his Academy, twice now. Twice more than she had visited her father or younger brother in all the years she was at Atlas's Academy, or so he had learned after a short query with James the week before. During Winter's second visit, and his own curiosity if there was something, he should have been made aware of.

But there was not, in truth. And though Ozpin could not say exactly what caused the shift in her perspective, appropriate and necessary as it was, he could say that it was hardly for malicious reasons. Winter was often coined as cold by Qrow, though he loathed the nickname often given by him, but now she appeared far more open with her younger sibling. Visits to Vale proper, sessions with tea involving her team, a higher frequency in Scroll calls, once even interrupting Bartholomew's class, to his friend's great disdain. They were all the actions of one thing, and something that Ozpin cared for, though not with any sense of caution.

She was no longer acting as the stringent instructor, but as the elder sister.

And it was a change, small as it was, that both he and James attributed to one individual, over one event.

"I believe it would be beneficial for Link to be there," Ozpin agreed. "Perhaps not as a necessary participant in the meeting of course, but long enough to allow James to observe or question him if necessary. It shouldn't be a major concern, as I doubt either have any malicious intents for the other." He had a difficult time seeing Link carrying malicious thoughts of anyone, not with the amount of compassion he frequently showed.

"I understand," Glynda agreed. "However, Link is resting currently, as he does not have lessons today." Must have been Tuesday, Ozpin realized. How odd he lost track of such a thing during the middle of the school year. "I can leave him a message on his Scroll for later, as I'm sure he will be awake before James is due to arrive." Perhaps, though it wasn't of any grave concern. They had time, and time was a precious thing to use. They had two weeks of peaceful time so far, so it made sense to enjoy every hour that came with it.

"I agree to let Link rest," Ozpin followed Glynda's words. Enjoying the peaceful times as they could. "He has been quite busy these past couple of weeks, even if his trip to Monument Mine was less that satisfactory." Of course, that depended upon who was questioned at the time. It would be impossible to find a member of the Atlesian Military Research who was dissatisfied with the capture of an Ancient Grimm, and one they had never heard of before at that.

"There have been a great number of requests to spar with Link and his comrades," Glynda followed. "Though he has faced many single competitors recently, assumingly due to the discovery that not all members of the team are awarded an item upon victory." Ozpin was less surprised by such a revelation. He only had suspicions, true, but he could not see a hunter as experienced as Link willing to forfeit his weapons, his tools, by the half-dozen fold from a single match. It also made sense that only one was gifted at a time.

Thinking of it like battling a Grimm, as he and Glynda were clear to map out the decision of these spars to be, then the same number of Grimm were killed despite the number of participants in the fight. And the number of Grimm that felt brought the same reward. It was no different than once these students graduated and left to deal with the monsters in the world by themselves. The reward for the request they took would not vary, no matter the size of their team.

"I may also note that despite JNPR successfully besting Mikau, other favorites to win would be teams RWBY and CRDP." One of those was a surprising addition to Ozpin. "I will amend that CRDP has favor due to the previously displayed powers of Penny Polendina, during Impa's initial introduction, as well as her chosen approval by Bartholomew during the Monument Mine venture." Less surprising.

"But they cannot yet due to the stipulation limiting the time difference between spars." A pseudo-method to show the recovery period from a failed venture against the Grimm. Appropriate, if a bit hopeful that one could be rescued from failed missions. So often bodied were never found… "And both Penny and Ms. Rose have already used their dueling attempt with Link." He smiled at that, recalling the eagerness Penny displayed. He suspected neither regretted their decisions, fully at least.

"Correct," Glynda continued. "I must also make not that Link may be unable to attend the meeting with James due to his caring for Moraine during his off hours." Ah yes, Ozpin had nearly forgotten about her. Not in the sense that she was present, as her constant source of condolement by other staff members and students was hardly something to be ignored. "Though I have made minimal changes to the current arrangements for her, it would still be inappropriate to request for him during any necessary time she needs." Because she was a child, no matter how mature she acted, and she needed a guardian for such times.

A guardian… and Link was a knight in both name and action. It was appropriate to say the least.

"I'll be sure to let James know when he arrives," Ozpin noted, listening to Glynda type out the comment on her Pad. "We may move past Link's room at said time to see if he is available. If not, then we can merely move on. There will be no loss." And there truly wouldn't. Rare as a visit from James was, it would be far from impossible to schedule a call. Besides, it was a he thought. There were no malicious intents between the two, only idle curiosities.

"I will note that," Glynda provided. "I may add that either Tatl or Tael may be willing to assist in the matter, however." That was a fair point. "I am aware that Bartholomew is currently speaking to Tael today, with Tatl assisting Link with watching Moraine. Both have shown a great aptitude for speaking to us in the past, and may remove the necessity of mediation between us and Link." Further substantiated by her words.

"I agree once more," he let out, focusing back on the woman who was noting their meeting. "I often forget how Link is hard of speaking, with him so often employing the memories of his friends when conversing with others." Be it Impa of the Shiekah, Saria of the Kokiri, or even Elrora of the Watarara, for when he wished to enjoy flights around Beacon. "Perhaps you may find one of the fairies before James arrives. If not, I am sure we can find one with Link, who may be willing to assist us."

"Pray that it is Tael that we find, if such is the case," Glynda noted, her breath nearly covering the words. Ozpin hid his grin as he listened to the comment. The… confliction she had with Tatl was hardly a secret, to him or any who saw the pair interacted.

Or, more accurately, any who saw the blonde fairy interact with others.

"If that is concluded, may we move onto the Vytal Festival then?" Glynda smoothly followed the conversation from one topic to another. Ozpin was no longer surprised by such talent, only thankful for it. "Though majority of it circumstance and approval, it is still important to discuss this so we may pass it off for the Council to finalize." That much Ozpin was thankful for, and he understood why.

"I suppose there shouldn't be much to discuss, as majority of what we need has already been prepared." The stalls at the docks were still present, nearly a month past their expected tear-down date. A fault, of course, because of the delay of the tournament. Terrorist attacks and threats tended to lead to such consequences, especially following the arrival of an unknown entity like Link. "But on the matter of air space, is there something preventing us from using the previous air space?"

"More assumptive than anything else," Glynda began. "The previous location for the Amity Colosseum was on the outskirts of the Emerald Forest, about half a mile from the docks." Ozpin remembered. It was chosen due to its large amount of open space, distance from most other residential grounds, and ease of transportation for Bullheads. All factors that would decide the income margin for participating businesses. For once, he agreed with the decision, and the reasoning why. "However, due to the terrorist attacks and the likelihood that any further instigation would result in an assault on the Colosseum itself, the Council and Atlesian Military decided that moving it to a more remote or safer failure region would be more prudent." And that, Ozpin agreed with as well.

"Also, agreeable," Ozpin relented. "Though I fail to see any safer space for the Colosseum to be docked then above the Harbor. Should the engines be target, or any subsequent damage to it leads to a fall in altitude, then the water should allow for a softer landing, or at least put less stress on the engines and prevent the spreading of potential flames." Minimal to be exact, as he was no fool to think it would make for any amount of soft landing. The difference between steel and aluminum, as Bartholomew had once described in the short span of impact between both earth and sea.

"Possible, and considered previously," Glynda began. "However, a secondary point was also suggested by a council member." Ozpin quirked his brow as he watched his assistant for a moment, watching as she danced fingers across her pad, before approaching his desk and setting the digital display down.

His integrated panel quickly burst to life, showing the display of Glynda's screen. Namely, the image of Vale's topographical map. As was expected, it had the appropriate level of detail to it, including the measured size of the Amity Colosseum and the presumed docking sites for it. As expected, as would be for any floating arena, it certainly wasn't small by any means. Comparatively to the city of Vale proper, it was perhaps four city blocks in size. Again, topographically. What the image did not show was how the skyscrapers of the city sky line were dwarfed in height by the floating object. But, as Glynda would point out, that was currently unnecessary information.

"While the Harbor has been one location for suggested use, given its natural ability to dampen any damage to the colosseum should be forced to fall to the surface," Glynda noted, with Ozpin watching as the outline of said floating structure swerved to hang over the large body of water. "It would require altering the landing stations either on Beacon grounds of Vale harbor, both of which would end up reducing the possible size of the vendor locations, which would be detrimental to those businesses that have endured this past month with no further means to support their stalls." Yes, that made sense. Forcing a move or shut down _after_ requesting they wait for a delayed tournament would instill a bitter sense of betrayal in the public eye. Ozpin was keen to not have such a sight upon his academy or city.

"And the newly proposed location differs from this?" Ozpin questioned, sure that would be the reason the councilman would suggest it. They were fools, but not idiots. Glynda's curt nod confirmed it.

"Yes, though with its own complications." Glynda began, pushing her finger over her scroll to drag the Colosseum away from the Harbor waters. "The proposed location aims to make use of the Emerald Forest, namely those that closely border with Beacon, so that the distance between the Harbor and Colosseum are minimal, ensuring the stalls are given adequate foot traffic, but also ensuring a safe landing site for the building should anything occur to it." That was not the only reason Ozpin observed.

"It also closely borders our own Academy lines," Ozpin noted, tracing his finger over the forest wall that separated them. His finger lightly tapped the point where Saria had planted her Pegasus seed tree, ensuring that it was distanced enough away for Pedestrians to find. "But my primary concern is that should it fall, and it not combust, it will likely lead to an influx of Grimm as well, as any survivors will clearly be panicked by the impact."

"Indeed, that was where the proposed contingency came into play." Contingency? Though the term was one he often used interchangeable with his plans, Ozpin hadn't heard of it yet with this one. "Given that majority of our students are participating in these events, it is also true that many of them, and our fellow faculty members, will be on Beacon Grounds during the time of the Festival, for a number of reasons." Ozpin understood her point well. Both of them.

"Then the location is chosen for more of a reason than merely safety upon fall, or proximity for tourists to traffic too," Ozpin began, allowing Glynda to finish for him.

"It is so that should an emergency arise, the patrons of the Colosseum will be able to evacuate to _our_ grounds, which are categorically superior to Vale's defense force, as well as harboring professional and in training hunters." Though he was loathed to send children into a fight of life or death, the reasoning was still sound, and necessary. "The combination of the two should help alleviate the fears of dangers, thereby reducing the risk of the Grimm as well." That was a factor also well worth considering.

Enough for Ozpin to slowly nod as he thought over the variables involved, the likelihood behind them, and what could be done to mediate and relive such dangers. Variables, including the students who were disheartened at their matches and left early, visiting hunters who came to observe, the Grimm current to the area at the time of the matches, and dangers, such as likelihood of the attack occurring, differing methods that could be used to put the citizens on the colosseum in danger, or what it could mean should it fall in a wrong location.

Such were things few people to know one cared to imagine, but was a requirement for him as a leader. It was only to his benefit that he was as old as he was, or else he'd have reason to push this onto someone else. As it was now…

"I agree with the councilman's plan," Ozpin decided. "Also extend an invitation for any business owners to set up a stall in our central visiting grounds, as an apology for delaying the tournament for so long. See to it that we move the Colosseum there within the week, so we have time for any stall owners to move should they need to." Glynda nodded towards the decision.

"I'll be sure to collect business contacts and references as well," she amended his decision, one he agreed with a light nod. "Was there a given limit to the number of stalls or business that could be present?" There wasn't a number he had in mind, but that was more a factor of space than size.

"Whatever our public space allows," he demonstrated. "See if Bartholomew has a copy of any non-disclosure or safety agreements from his past exploits available to him. We can amend them to reflect the current situation, to give assurances to the stall owners that their property will not be hampered or damaged unnecessarily while here." Because though he never wished for destruction, there was always a chance that it would be necessary. That justification could come later.

"Of course," Glynda agreed. "I might ask you to also impose the same question to James, as he may have some contracts similar due to the frequency with which the Atlesian Military makes use of public grounds, especially with their… rather substantial fleet." Said comment was given while looking out over the harbor, out the window that Ozpin didn't face. He didn't need to turn around to know what she was referring to.

Said army had rather easily, and expediently, taken over the airspace of Vale. With the Vale Council permission, of course, but still taken nonetheless. There had to be an agreement of some kind with it, as he could _not_ see any of the Councilmen approving the docking of the Atlas ships without assurance that their own buildings and businesses would be unhampered by their presence.

"I will do so," Ozpin promised her. "But for now, I believe that covers everything, doesn't it?" The soft nod Glynda gave was, truthfully, a blessing to see.

"It does," Glynda spoke, retrieving her scroll and removing the image of the Vale map from Ozpin's desk. He watched her tap on it a few more times, discrete commands that he had no reason to question. "I'll take care of what you requested, and send notice when James is due to arrive. I only ask that you're not late to greet him, _again_." Ozpin had to smile at the comment, fully aware of its purpose and reason.

"I won't, Glynda. I promise." And it was one he intended to keep. If not for any greater reason than there was nothing immediate or pertinent to take care of. She nodded, heels clicking as she walked away and towards the elevator of his office. It opened and shut with little more than a swish of air, his secretary departing to take care of what was necessary. Unspoken, but he was expected to do the same.

Prepare to meet with the Atlas Military General, with the Council members who would oversee the tournament, of the students who had grown underneath Link's tutelage and Impa's Instruction, and the Faunus himself who was from a land still named but not found. An unknown amongst the plans that revolved around or depended upon him. An unknown that he both enjoyed to have nearby, but loathed to understand so little.

Ozpin briefly played with the end of his cane, watching it twirl between his fingers as he mused the oddity that was Link. No older in appearance than any of Ozpin's plans, yet had quickly became a focal point for them. Showing strengths and powers that existed within fairytales and without them, accompanied by fairies as well. A Faunus that calmed himself a Hylian, and all humans around him Gerudo, despite from where they came. An oddity, for sure, and one he still did not understand.

The only reason he felt more curiosity than trepidation for the knight, even now, after all that he had proved, was that he was sure the opposite was just as true. Ozpin could plan for the Vytal Festival with little concern, for he knew of it and the threats around it. He worried and was cautioned for Link, because there was little, he truly grasped about him.

That lack of understanding, that vacancy of knowledge, was what worried him. Because there was little he didn't know and even less he couldn't understand. Link was within one of those categories, but he still couldn't place where.

"I promise." Ozpin whispered again, watching the location where he knew the Amity Colosseum would soon be floating. A sign of the strength of humans, of nations, of treaties and peace. He promised to keep it safe. No matter what.

It, and everything that it represented.

* * *

There wasn't a lot of reason for Ruby to duel her friends, well, aside from how much fun it could be. Because really, there wasn't a lot of training she could get out of it, at least the kind that could help her against the Grimm. Grimm didn't fight like humans or Faunus, so fighting either of them didn't really help with dealing with the monsters.

She wasn't going to know how to get around a Basilisk neck faster by fighting Ren, or learn how to deal with an Ursa better by dueling Yang. She had to fight a Grimm to know how to beat them, and with her new Semblance, it was even easier than before! But fighting her teammates, her friends, or anyone else in Beacon? That was mostly just to keep herself sharp, and that was it. She wasn't going to get much better with her weapon, or better at fighting Grimm.

What it _DID_ do was help her learn about her teammates a bit better, sort of like how she knew Yang always went for the chest first, because that was where she always struck at her. Or how Blake liked to get behind the opponent, because Ruby _always_ felt her sneaking behind her in a fight now. That made it easier, as a team leader, to know how to plan for attack later. Knowing that Blake should never be in the front lines and Yang should fight larger opponents, because she hit straight.

That was _sort of_ the reason she was dueling now, or fighting, or whatever the best term for it was. She didn't know. She only knew that right now, Ruby was dueling, or training, with one of her friends. Crescent Rose was active and heavy in her hands, and her Semblance was flaring as she continued the fight. That made sense, because her opponent always knew where to strike, and her new ability helped her stay one step ahead.

Unfortunately, Pyrrha had a habit of staying _two_ steps ahead of her.

That was something that Ruby knew was almost always the case with her, as Pyrrha had a _really_ good habit of being able to do things almost perfect almost all of the time. That was just who she was, and she was awesome because of it. Whether it was classes or fighting or eating or sleeping, maybe the last one, she seemed to know just what to do to make everything flow as easily as possible. The only thing Ruby was like with that was modifications to her baby, namely to make the transition period between Crescent Rose's two forms as short as possible. And when fighting Pyrrha, that didn't matter for a lot.

She pushed herself to the side as she had a sense that something was going to happen to her right, and she was rewarded with wind rushing past her, Pyrrha's lance missing its mark. Ruby ducked in the next moment, dragging Crescent Ros with her to avoid the swing Pyrrha made next. That put her below the Mistral fighter, and she aimed up with Crescent Rose, ready to fire. At such close range, aiming wasn't really necessary.

 **BANG!** The boom of an explosive shell leaving her baby was matched by the _TWANG!_ that came when it made contact with Pyrrha. Or, more specifically, her buckler. Because of course she had her shield up after she attacked. She didn't leave herself open. Kind of like how Ruby was, with Pyrrha standing tall over her and having not budged an inch, even after taking a shell from Crescent Rose.

A flare of her Semblance sent Ruby cartwheeling back, avoiding a strong crescent kick from Pyrrha. She flipped, keeping Crescent Rose tight in hand, and raising the sharp arc of her baby's scythe up as she felt the reminder something dangerous was rushing her. This time, Ruby didn't dodge. It wasn't the only way to prevent danger from happening. Especially proven true over the past couple of weeks of practice.

Instead, she twisted around, a full circle, lowering and angling herself to make sure that her baby swung up from an odd angle, but still with as much force as she could muster. The harder the angle it was to block, the more damage she could do. Against most other hunters, or Grimm, it probably would have worked, but Ruby was fighting Pyrrha, so it didn't stop the feeling she was getting. It only changed where it was coming from. Namely, _above_.

Ruby twisted Crescent Rose, spinning her baby until the reinforced diaphysis was held parallel above her head. _TWANG!_ It came just in time to stop the harsh downward swing of Pyrrha, her lance hitting her baby hard enough to make Ruby's hand's shake… and her knees to buckle. Pyrrha hit _HARD_.

But she got a new feeling, so Ruby let her Super Semblance guide her forwards, ironically. It made sense though, afterwards, as the roll forward after the vicious swing sent her under Pyrrha. Under her, and out of range of the harsh swinging kick directed at her head. Well, head and shoulders. It still missed. Ruby spun Crescent rose behind her back, keeping her baby up as a shield. She did so until she turned around, holding the cannon end of her weapon at the other red-head of Beacon. Well, second with Penny the third.

Pyrrha had her buckler up, because she was careful. Ruby had her Crescent Rose up, because she was ready. She was ready and her Semblance meant that Pyrrha couldn't surprise her, at least not in the sense of being blind-sided. She was still fast, and _much_ stronger, so… it was just a matter of waiting for that one hit. And she had to stay one step ahead. But, again, Pyrrha was usually two. She still was.

That was proven true when she had to duck backwards to avoid Pyrrha's lance from cutting at her neck, a feeling she got just in time and an action to take to avoid losing a good chunk of her Aura, only to sense something dangerous approaching her feet. She pulled her legs up, floating in the air for a second, and letting her avoid the leg sweep that Pyrrha had followed with. But _then_ she sensed something heading at her mid-section, and she had no where to push off of an no way to avoid.

"Gah!" So Ruby had to grunt out in annoyance as her opponent's shield slammed into her side, sending her flying across the arena, and her Aura taking a hit.

She righted herself quickly, the same way she had trained to almost all her life. Curl and spin, extend the legs when she was perpendicular to the ground, stay low, and let Crescent Rose drag if necessary, to slow herself down. It worked, of course, because Yang had helped her practice. Intentionally or not. She stopped quickly and looked up, always remembering to not take her eyes off of her opponent, even if her Semblance as making it _a lot_ easier.

And right now, she saw Pyrrha down on one knee, one leg extended outwards after the sweep, and her left arm extended, the buckler she always used extended towards her, and doubtlessly what hit her. Her face was hidden, barely, but just enough for Ruby to see the sharp green eyes staring back at her, framed by the red hair of Jaune's partner. Pyrrha always did look different in a fight, and now was no exception.

"You know," Ruby started, picking up Crescent Rose and holding it across her chest. She had reinforced the diaphysis of the staff to make sure it could handle most blows. Of course, she still _had_ to hold it. "You hit a lot harder than Yang does, and she already hits really hard. Like… she tries to send them off with a _Yang._ " It was a bad joke, and she knew it. That just meant that her sister would probably be proud of her for it. Dang it.

Pyrrha's head peaked out from behind her shield, just a little, probably because she still wanted to keep it up in case Ruby fired at her with her baby. Crescent Rose could hit _really_ hard, but she wasn't exactly good for quick shots. Not like Yang's gauntlets or Blake's Gambol Shroud. She was a sniper after all.

"That… actually hurt a little," Pyrrha answered, the confusion evident on her face, even if she didn't adjust her posture. Of course, she wouldn't, because she was an _awesome_ duelist. "Sorry, the joke I mean. That… it hurt a little." Okay, that couldn't be the case.

"It wasn't _that_ bad," Ruby spoke back. She wasn't pouting though, because she didn't pout, and this was still a fight. "And you're shield hit _way_ harder. I mean, look how far I flew!" She waved her hand at the distance between them. Yeah, granted, she'd been thrown harder and farther before, but normally after Yang got _really_ mad at her, usually after she snipped off some of her hair, or when a Grimm got a lucky hit on her. _Then_ her sister would go berserk, just not on her. "Actually, can I check what kind of damage that did to my Aura? I mean, without you doing a sneak attack or something?" Now she just looked insulted. Was that a mean thing to say?

"Of course, a-and sorry," Pyrrha spoke back. "But I wouldn't' attack you like that Ruby. This is just a duel between friends, and one I'm glad you asked for. But that's it. I'm sorry, but… why would you think I would attack you like that?" Did she think?

"Oh no no no!" Ruby waved her hands in front of her face as she looked at Pyrrha. She had just insulted one of her best friends and _that_ was a very bad thing, no doubt. "Not _you_ as in that's something I expect _you_ to do, but… I-I fought with Blake last week, kind of like this, a-and Weiss a couple of days before that and… they both _really_ like to surprise me in a fight." Granted, it was a little different.

Blake just did the whole 'cloak and dagger' thing a bit too well, especially now that she was getting _really_ good with the cloak part of it. It almost hurt how good she was. Weiss though… her teammate was getting _extra_ good with her Glyphs and that magic book Link gave her. Or Lana gave her, both actually. She didn't need to trace her sword over it or anything. Now she could just put out a glyph and then ' _Poomf!'_ Instant electric trap.

Ruby had only avoided getting spiky hair because of her Super Semblance, not that it made the fights one-sided or anything.

"Oh, I see," Pyrrha nodded back. "Apologies again for insinuating that you thought poorly of me. I… Y-You can check your Aura now if you want." Oh! Right! She had almost forgotten about that in her own apology! Stupid three-way apologies. They were always messy.

"Right, right," Ruby agreed, fishing out her Scroll from her combat skirt. She flicked it open, looking at the appropriate differences between her Aura and Pyrrha's. it only took a glance, and then she groaned. "Oh geez, I know you hit hard, but not _that_ hard!" That got her opponent to look worried, again.

"I-I'm sorry!" Pyrrha almost yelled back. Now her posture dropped. "Did you lose a lot of Aura, did I leave a mark. If I did, I-I know some dermatologists who specialize with bruising and contusions so-" Ruby shook her head. She still wasn't pouting though, absolutely not.

"No, not _that_ ," Ruby whined, even though she didn't. She turned her scroll back towards Pyrrha, even if her friend might have been too far away to see. Maybe, but she could at least see there was something wrong, hopefully. "We've been fighting for like ten minutes now and I've barely gotten you down 10% of your Aura!" While she didn't really think she could beat Pyrrha, even with her Super Semblance, and the weeks of training she had with it now, she at least thought she'd fair at least a little better. "But I'm already past 50%!" And that was just the worst.

"Fifty?" Pyrrha parroted. She bit her lip, too. "That does seem high… I-I mean, I'm sorry, but when I dueled Nora and Ren a couple of days ago, I… I almost zeroed their Aura with a few hits. B-But I've hit you at least half a dozen times now and it's only fifty. So… that _is_ good, right?" Ruby still wasn't pouting, even if Pyrrha was talking to her like she was a still a kid. She wasn't, no matter how much younger she was, but she was still staring at her with a grumpy face. A grumpy face was _not_ pouting.

"I already know why there," Ruby grumbled. "Weiss told me; she thinks that my new Semblance just helps me reduce Aura damage by… how did she put it?" She pushed the edge of her Scroll to her forehead as she tried to remember her partner's words. It came back to her pretty quickly. "Oh! Right! By 'twisting your body the allowable amount to reduce the amount of direction contact force exerted upon you'. A lot of big words that just means I know how to reduce taking a hit now. Which is good."

"That is good!" Pyrrha responded cheerfully. And it was, really, because the less damage her Aura took, the longer she could fight. "One of the hardest things for many duelists, and I suspect hunters, to learn is how to reduce the damage from a hit. Parrying and blocking are usually among the first forms we have to learn so that we can last longer in a fight. But you're new Semblance helps you with that, it's incredible!" The praise from her friend was nice, and it always was, but it _wasn't_ what Ruby as focused on.

"Yeah, but you still got me down _this much_." Emphasized how much _this_ was by shaking her scroll. "Yang and Blake couldn't get me down this much with a few hits and they were working together. And Yang hits hard, _really really_ hard!" She had years of experience to know that.

"I-I'm sorry?" Pyrrha questioned now. "Do you want me to… go easier on you?" Ruby felt the hair on the back of her neck bristle. That was a definite no there!

"Absolutely not!" Ruby let out, doing her best Weiss impression as she put her foot down. "I wanted to fight you cause I wanted to know how strong you were now! And just watching you fight Jaune or Nora or Cardin isn't enough cause you _always_ beat them! Well, actually, you always beat me too… but that's not what's important!" Ruby righted herself.

"I-It isn't?" Pyrrha asked again. Ruby nodded, still not pouting, or whining. She was just being up front and straight, just like her partner would. Except she wasn't whining.

"Nope," Ruby answered with a pop to her 'p'. "I wanted to fight you cause I know how awesome Link's shield is for Jaune, and the bunny hood for Yang, and the tome, or book, for Weiss, and the cloak for Blake, but I _really_ didn't get how awesome his gift for you was. At least, not until now." She pointed at Pyrrha again with her scroll, holding Crescent Rose up with one hand. Pyrrha knew what she was pointing at regardless.

And she showed it, by rotating her hands and showing the silver metal gauntlets that were wrapped around her arms, all the way down to her elbows.

They weren't _exactly_ the same as Link's golden ones, because they weren't gold, but also because they were a bit smaller, which made sense because Pyrrha wasn't as tall as Link, or with as many muscles, because that would look weird. But she did have the metal plates overlain with one another, wrapping down with the most upwards placed sheet near her knuckles. And then the same small gem in the center, even though Ruby didn't think the gem was a ruby, cause that would be kind of awkward.

But Weiss said that the silver went well with her gold and red attire, and Ruby just took her partner's word for it. The rest of Pyrrha's team just agreed that they suited Pyrrha, and Jaune was talking about how now she could probably endure the blows she couldn't before, something about how she didn't have to dodge as much, which was a good thing. And, intentionally or not, it was something she had confirmed before.

Because even though Ruby wasn't _amazingly_ strong, she could still hit pretty hard with Crescent Rose, especially when she gave her baby a full arc swing and fired a round for additional acceleration. Normally, that would make Yang slide a few inches back from the force alone, or force Weiss or Blake to dodge. But when she had hit Pyrrha with it… all it did was make the gong of her buckler vibrate through the arena.

Otherwise, she acted like her baby hit as hard as air. _That_ was a bit mean, but Ruby understood why.

Pyrrha was still just as talented and awesome as ever. Now, she was just a lot _stronger_ to boot.

"These really are amazing," Pyrrha spoke up, looking over her hands. And yeah, Ruby could agree with that. So could Weiss and Blake and Yang and Jaune. "I knew… I-I knew that I tended to rely more on using my opponent's strength against them, or striking for weak points to do the most damage. But now…"

Ruby watched Pyrrha flex her hands back and forth. She got why, not that she had done the same thing. But thinking about it like it was like having a new weapon in her hand, which it kind of was, _then_ it made sense, and that was why she got it. It wasn't like she could flex and unflex her Semblance, despite how Yang kept saying she was 'flexing' when she was dodging her and Blake, which she wasn't, in the metaphorical sense.

"Now it's like I could take on almost anyone in a straight fight, a-and not have to worry about getting the bad side of an exchange." Ruby _saw_ that smile. That was a good smile on her friend. Well, all smiles were good, but this one was _extra_ good. "And really… I think that's why Link gave me them. I mean, I think it would have been better if everyone on our team got one, and I get, really, why everyone on your team did," Technically, Ruby hadn't. "But now… I don't have to worry about not being strong enough to keep anyone safe. I know I'll be strong enough for it. And these gauntlets, whatever's in them… they'll help."

Pyrrha pulled her arms back, holding one in a fist and another a flattened palm. With a quick jerk, she pulled them together. **_BOOM!_** And managed to shake the whole room with the impact they made. Enough that Ruby felt a small jerk in her Semblance, enough to make her raise her baby up like she was being attacked. Didn't hep that the _ground_ shook with the effort of it as well!

"Oh, sorry," Pyrrha quickly apologize, waving her hands again. Those were some dangerous hands now! "I didn't mean. I-I think l'm going to need more than a few weeks to learn how to use these rights, or control them. Or maybe just… the right time to use them." All three of those sounded right to Ruby, kind of like any tool or weapon. "Did you… want to continue or-" Ruby had to sigh at that.

"No, no, I think we're good," she admitted. She _hated_ admitting it, especially with her Super Semblance, but there was training to get better and then training to get beaten. And right now, she would just get beaten up by Pyrrha. Probably because she had super strength now. "I think I'll just head back to the dorm for now. We got class tomorrow and all, right?" Pyrrha smiled at her across the arena, telling Ruby she had chosen the right words.

"Right, of course. We have to be at our top form for Link's class," she spoke with cheer in her voice, and Ruby grinned in kind. "Wouldn't want to disappoint him by being behind, not when he gave us these tools." Well, all of them their tools. Impa had given Ruby's hers, and it was more like a quick upgrade to her already awesome abilities. But that was peanuts and walnuts. "I still have lessons with Jaune tonight as well. Have to help improve his shield stance, now that he can use it to parry, well, everything I guess." And that was true. Weird, Ruby had to admit, but true.

"Yup! Make sure he's _extra_ good at it, too!" Ruby cheered back. "So good he can stand up on top of a sky scraper and reflecting the lightning back up int the sky!" She pointed her Crescent Rose into the air, imagining it herself.

Standing at the highest point in a city in the middle of a terrible storm, the very lightning of the sky tearing through and destroying everything, then using nothing but a shield with smooth glass to reflect the bolts of lightning and cracks of thunder away. Keeping the people safe from _nature_ itself! That was the kind of thing that hunters would talk about for _years_ to come! The kind of thing that would lead to stories and legends and show just how _awesome_ you were! Ruby would do it by _cutting the sky_ apart to show mother nature that humanity wasn't to be messed with, and everything from Grimm to the sky could be hunted by a grade A huntress!

"I think… that may take a bit more time," Pyrrha spoke, cracking through the veneer of imagery Ruby had crafted. She dropped Crescent Rose until her baby's bottom tapped on the floor. "For now, I think we'll stick with worrying about multiple opponents, then work into handling… force of nature." Well it seemed like a natural progression to her. One opponent, two opponents, the world itself. Yup, perfectly natural.

"Okay then," Ruby cheered on. Clicking and running through the few gears she had exposed on Crescent Rose; her baby quickly began to fold up, hiding the sharpened arc of her baby's deadly end, turning it from a vicious high-powered scythe into a compact carrying box. Jut the way she liked it… when she wasn't in combat. "Say high to Jaune for me, and Ren and Nora! Oh! And Penny if you see her! I know she's been hanging out with Cardin a lot." Ruby was _still_ on the fence about that.

"I will," Pyrrha promised. "Only if you do the same for me to your teammates." Ruby grinned brightly, sure that she could. She knew they'd appreciate it as well. She nodded sharply at the comment, turning and beginning to walk out of the training grounds.

Only to have a sudden feeling in her Semblance.

A pull, as it was. The same kind of pull she got _way_ back now when Elrora flew off to help Moraine… and when Weiss and Blake went with her. It felt like that and… and it felt bad. Bad enough that her good mood was gone in a second, hands tight by her side and her baby weighing heavily on her back.

"Ruby?" Pyrrha spoke up behind her, but Ruby could only barely hear her. "Ruby, what is it? What's wrong?" She kept talking, but Ruby was still focusing on what she felt. It felt… it felt different from the attacks that she was dodging before. She thought that it was all the same feeling, but this was clearly different, _way_ different.

Different because it wasn't just danger, she was feeling it… it felt _deeper_. And that was bad.

That was wrong.

"Ruby? _Ruby?!_ " Pyrrha was yelling behind her, and Ruby barely knew why. She only knew that she had to follow the feeling, and following it meant running after it. So, she started to run.

Fast as she could without outright using her Semblance, she shot out of the arena, running through the short halls Beacon had and into the open Garden of the courtyard. She knew she was on the right trail, but not there yet. She followed it, down and out the open walkways, past the few, very few, students and faculty in her way. All the while she heard Pyrrha yelling behind her, but she didn't stop. She'd understand, even if Ruby didn't.

She only knew she felt that someone was in danger, and she had to help. So, she kept running, running until she was rounding about the buildings, around the arena building, the dorms, academic halls and finally until she was rounding near the Emerald Forest, almost where Moraine and Saria were before. Nearly, but not the same. It wasn't the same because there was no mist and Ruby didn't feel anything back then, not _nearly_ like what she felt now.

But the feeling was still pulling her, so she kept following it. She ignored the fact that grass looked ill-kept that the builds didn't look they were cleaned often around her, or anything like that. She ignored all of it because it didn't matter. What mattered was that feeling was close, _really_ close, and she'd see it soon, just as soon as she rounded about one more dilapidated storage room.

And what she found; she didn't know how to describe. Only with the barest descriptions. And she couldn't describe well because everything she recognized but… with something wrong.

There was Moraine, the same person who was here the last time her Super Semblance gave her this feeling. But she wasn't in trouble, or at least not as far as Ruby could see. She had a bag, but she couldn't see what was in it. But she looked… not like Moraine. Too sharp, too focused, and holding out her hand.

There was Tatl, the blonde fairy floating in front of Moraine. Except, right now, she was more of a blue color and… and it looked like she was shivering in place. Like someone was vibrating her, instead of the usual bobbing she did. She was screaming, she wasn't yelling, and… and she wasn't flying around like Tatl, because she wasn't flying around anyone.

But then Ruby saw Moraine's hand, saw how there was something glowing in it. Something a dark lavender, and shaking, and _ringing_. A dark colored ringing shape… Ruby knew who that was… and her Semblance's feeling made sense.

"M-Moraine?" Ruby spoke up, earning the sharp glare of the Faunus. And sharp meant _sharp_. She'd never seen brown eyes so focused. "What's… what's going on."

The girl didn't answer her, not that Ruby would be able to hear her even if she could. She spoke like Link did, and only someone with super good hearing could hear them, like Blake, or Penny, or someone _not_ like her, who only felt things were weird. But she could tell on sight this was weird, and she had too many questions to answer.

Why was Moraine here? What was in the bag? Why was she holding Tael? Where was Link? _What_ was going on?

"R-Ruby! Ruby, I'm-" Pyrrha ran up behind her, but Ruby didn't turn around. She couldn't her Semblance kept _pulling_ her forward, but she didn't know what to do with it. She just knew that something bad was going to happen, as if _this_ wasn't bad enough already. "What's happening?" She had the same question Ruby did.

"I-I don't know," the young team leader responded. "I-I just got here and-"

"She's holding Tael," Tatl rang out. Or maybe… _churned_ out? Ruby didn't know how to describe the sound mixture of a bell and a growl, because all she knew was that it sounded _dangerous_ and this whole situation seemed like that. Like a child grabbing a hunter's weapon. Just like that actually. "She's holding Tael, and she _won't let him go_." Okay, extra bad then.

"Okay, okay," Ruby spoke up, nodding her head. Maybe her Semblance was telling her to talk her way through this. That made some sense at least. More than just standing there and asking questions. "Moraine? Moraine? Why don't you let Tael go? I-I can hear him ringing in there a-and he sounds scared, right?" The little Faunus didn't look at her, not she expected an actual verbal answer, that she could hear. "I-I don't know what you're doing out here, or what's in the bag, but I _know_ Tael doesn't like being held like that," because Tatl didn't the first time she met them. "So, why don't you let him go a-and we can go from there, okay?" That seemed like the right thing to do.

Maybe Ruby hadn't babysat a lot like her sister, but kids just needed some small affirmative action. Just a small nudge, right? That made sense to her at last. Moraine was just a child, and one from outside, and from a burned down orphanage. She didn't know what she was doing was wrong. Maybe this was just a game and she got too far into it? That made some sense, to a child at least.

"I can't do that."

The voice made all thoughts Ruby had wither and die. Quick and fast.

"H-Huh?" Ruby let out, stumbling over her already shaking voice.

The answer to her question wasn't one she had expected, or even really wanted to hear. What she got was Moraine looking at her, twisting her gaze and _only_ her eyes at Ruby, staring at her with that same sharp expression she just couldn't describe, but knew was _way_ different from anything she'd shown them and probably Link before. That was bad, but what was worse was what she did next, because Ruby honestly thought she _couldn't_ do it.

"I can't let him go. Not yet." Ruby heard Moraine, _loud and clear_. She heard the, previously suspected to be, mute child, talking as if this were normal for her. Normally, that'd be good, great even! Hearing someone for the first time would be an awesome thing.

But the first time right now wasn't around dinner or at a party. It was with her holding _Tael_ the fairy, tight in her fist, and in front of her sister, and them, while something was hidden in her bag. Had to be hidden, which meant it had to be bad, because she was holding it with her other hand _very_ tightly.

Forget bad, this was _terrible_.

"Not until I get these masks out of here."

And terrible just got _horrible!_

"M-Masks?" Ruby heard Pyrrha whisper behind her. She heard that, too. "She… She doesn't mean-"

"I don't _care_ about those," Tatl spoke now, and Ruby didn't know a word beyond horrible to show how bad this was! Because why would Tatl ever _not_ care for Link's friends? "I don't care just… just let Tael go. Let him go, and we can… do something." Yes, okay, that. That made some sense. Some sense to this.

Even if her Semblance felt like it was almost _nuclear_ with how much of a warning it was giving her, Ruby still had no idea what to do. If she tried to grab Moraine, she could _crush_ Tael. If she tried to grab the bag, that wouldn't do _anything_ for Tael. If she tried to intervene in the wrong way, Tael could get _hurt!_

Tael was being held captive by Moraine, by the girl who for the past month was as quiet as Link and meeker than tadpoles in Patch. A girl who now had a bag, _supposedly_ with Link's masks, his _friend's memories_ , hidden in them. She didn't know _how_ she got them or _where_ Link was, but that was something she could ask later, maybe. After this was settled. After whatever… whatever _insane_ game Moraine was playing was done.

"These masks are what I am here for." Not a game, too real for that. _Way_ too serious for that. "Tael saw me, then _you_ saw me. Now _they_ saw me. There are too many people seeing me." Listening to Moraine talk just made Ruby feel worse and worse, because it wasn't the voice she ever thought she'd hear come from such a little girl. A voice that was so… cold… and dark and… _not innocent._

Ruby didn't know what was happening. Neither did Pyrrha. They had just come from their match and… and…

"You shouldn't be here. Why are you here?" Why was Moraine talking? Wasn't… wasn't she like Link? Really quiet? This was like the tenth sentence she heard the girl say in a month and Ruby _still_ couldn't believe it was her. Not with _that_ kind of voice. "Adam said I shouldn't be seen. I've failed him." Adam? Who was… the only Adam she knew was… Blake's Adam? _Him?_

"I-I-I don't care about that," Tatl was ringing. Ruby heard her voice ring and it… it made her stomach swirl. This was bad. Ruby could _feel_ it was bad. She could feel something bad was going to happen… but she didn't know what to do. "Just… Just let Tael go. Take the masks, whatever just… just let Tael _go._ "

Ruby still didn't know what was happening, but she had the feeling something bad was going to happen.

And that made her feel even _worse_ that _HORRIBLE_.

This… This right here. This was _monstrously bad_.

* * *

Tatl was an honest fairy. Most were actually. Being honest was how they got through life, because really, life was a _lot_ bigger for them. Doubly so for her and her brother.

Unlike the fairies who were lucky enough to be born in woods, or with other fairies, or with the Great Fairies that took care of them, she and her brother were born in Termina, a land that was separated and isolated. No one there to help them, not even a guardian of the land to look over them, and everything from the smallest rat able to eat them with a single chomp. That really was the worst part of it, too. Just how small she and Tael were.

Sure, they could fly faster than most other species in Hyrule could fathom, and have _no_ issue in the dark as well, but that was something she'd trade in an instant for a bit of safety or comfort. If she didn't have to worry about the rain drowning her, or the sun burning her, or the wind crushing her, or anything else like that, she'd give up the wings of a fairy in an instant. She knew her brother was the same.

Tatl hated the fact that she had to be careful where she sat down, for fear of being squashed. She hated that it took her minutes to fly across a room, when someone else could just walk it. She hated that there was so much she couldn't even grab, let alone pick up, because she was just _too small_. Certainly, didn't help that all the bigger things were fascinated with someone like her, so _small_. She wanted desperately to be big as well.

But she couldn't. _They_ couldn't. You were what you were, no matter how much you wanted to be something else. She was stuck being the size of most Hylian's _palms_ and weight about a quarter as much of it. She had to deal with glowing in the dark, basically making her a big target to any curious or blood thirsty creatures through the land. That was what she and her brother had to deal with for _years_.

She did her best for him. She always did. Tatl wouldn't' let anything happen to Tael if she could help it. Nothing. She'd let herself go hungry if she could, let him enjoy more of the fire, read more stories than her, and talk to anyone who wasn't _extremely_ suspicious, if it meant he could be a little more comfortable and littler happier with the world they were born into. And for a while, it worked. She knew that much because he enjoyed how big the world was, while she hated how much in it she had to learn, especially for his sake.

Tael loved learning about all the tales the Zora had for the lands growing form the sea, and how the fish were the first of everything. That meant Tatl had to learn about all the different kinds of fish, and Zora, and islands that were out there, _way_ out of sight.

Tael loved talking to the Deku Scrubs that wouldn't shoot at them, listening about the forest gods and the protection they gave those who grew in their dwelling. That meant that Tatl had to learn and reiterate how _they_ weren't apart of those dwellings and, therefore, wouldn't get any protection, no matter how much they needed it.

Tael loved playing with the children, listening to their fantasies and trying to act with them. Tatl had to reign in him, reminding him that the parents of those children probably wanted to crush their wings and use them for some kind of potion. And she couldn't let that happen to her brother, no matter what.

No matter what, Tatl had to be the mature one, and that grated on her overtime.

Skull Kid didn't help. Not eventually.

Oh, he did, at first. He helped _a lot_. Someone to play with, and laugh with, and survive with. Someone else who was small in this _way too big_ word. Really helped that he was also alone, and loved telling stories, so would be a good friend for Tael. That was the most important part to Tael. Having someone else to play with. Didn't really matter at first that he was a prankster. If anything, that was a _boon_.

Getting back at all the _big_ things in the world that could, and tried, to squish her. Making them run away in fear or annoyance, probably yelling about how they'd never mess with fairies or children again. That was always the best. It was enough to make her laugh, roll through the air and enjoy the big world for the first time. And it was all thanks to a boy with a bone mask, making her little brother laugh as well.

That was before though. Before he had taken _that_ mask… the only mask she'd ever seen that she _hated_ on sight.

The mask that turned him from the bubbly funny skull kid that told stories with her brother to a vicious prankster that made the world too dangerous for him. Made the fun things they could enjoy mundane, and all the violent thins explorable. Dragging her little brother into things that they _shouldn't_ be in. And she knew they shouldn't be in, because she _knew_ about them.

Fairies or not, no one should be playing with the dead, or flying above magma, or trying to torture people or… or doing things that were just _bad_. If everyone agreed that something was wrong, then it had to be wrong. And Tatl had to learn a lot to keep her brother safe. So, she _knew_ that the dead were to be avoided, that the magma of the mountains was only _barely_ safe for Gorons, and that torture was, and always would be, _wrong_.

But Skull Kid with _that_ mask didn't care. And at that point, he was just another big thing that took advantage of them, but they were too close to him to fly away. And Tael went along with him, too afraid of what he'd do to her brother if they tried to fly away again. That was her first experience getting along with a big thing in this way too big world.

She was only too happy to find that the second one was far better, and remained one of the best, to this day.

The day that Link saved Tatl and Tael from the Skull Kid remained one of the happiest days in her life. Because even after he had, even after he'd shown how strong he was, how _prideful_ he was, how _courageous_ he was, and how _powerful_ he was, _especially_ , with his masks, all three of them, he never turned on them. Never took advantage of them.

Tatl only ever told Link what she knew to help him, and he used it to help others, to help those who needed it, to help those who were _small_. Like her and Tael. He used it to help them, and she loved that. She loved that he wanted to help her and her brother… and he never stopped trying to help her. He listened to her, and her brother, and he never stopped helping. No matter how powerful he got. Even when he was slaying those gods from the forest, or the death swallowers in the desert, or the deities of the moon and beyond… he never stopped being kind.

Even when he fought the Skull Kid. When that happened, Tatl couldn't even tell Link anything she knew about him. Even though Link had helped her and Tael, and _was_ still helping them, she was still friends with the Skull Kid, and the Skull Kid had helped Tael. It was _that_ masks' fault, not the Skull Kid's. Link knew that… but it still didn't change anything. Because the world was big… and small differences didn't matter. The Skull Kid was still gone.

Tatl hated remembering that the Skull Kid was gone.

Because then she had to remember how Link was the one to get rid of him.

She knew what actually happened. She knew because she saw. But Tatl still wouldn't even think the word, because she couldn't let that word spill out in front of Tael, not if they _ever_ brought up the Skull Kid again. Link knew he couldn't either, but he was already careful with what he said. Tatl wasn't, because she couldn't' afford to have her brother be hurt. This was the one difference though.

The Skull Kid was gone because of Link, because Link and… _some_ part of his power had gotten rid of him. Sort of the same way he had gotten rid of so many other monsters before then, but then not. Because even though Link had gotten rid of him… he had done it differently than the others. And really, it was also the first time Link had gotten rid of someone in that way, but also not the first. It was weird, and it was part of the reason why Tatl didn't like thinking about it.

No matter how many ways Tatl tried to justify it, she hated thinking about Link's masks.

Because she always remembered that the Skull Kid was one of them. Him and his _regrets_.

Link had never worn him though, never brought him out, and he swore not to. She knew why, even if Tael didn't. Because the Skull Kid couldn't explain that he was gone, not that Tael wouldn't understand. He could, even if it was a big deal to such a little guy. It was just… Tatl knew how hard it was for others to see the face of someone who had passed, especially if they had been around them for a long time. She knew how the different cultures had days to celebrate the dead for that reason. But the Skull Kid, no matter how well they got along with Link's other friends, was the only friend they shared.

So, Link didn't bring him out, because Tael wouldn't be able to handle something as big as that. Really, Tatl wasn't sure if she could either. It was just… seeing the face of someone that had died… someone that you had spent so long with, who saw the same world as you for so long… it wasn't his fault that he was gone. And it wasn't Link's fault that he had to be gotten rid of. But he had.

And Link was still kind enough to not bring him out, even after so long. Link really was a kind man, to both her and Tael. Her brother and her had followed him for it, and he had only ever disappointed them by doing what he had always done. Helping people, the same way that he had helped them.

The princess in his homeland, the Gerudo with _that_ king, the students of this Academy, and even the child that he had taken in. Even when they had disappointed him, he had kept helping them. No matter what… and that was something she couldn't understand. Even if she was the one who always explained things to him, it was her brother who finally explained this one to her.

Tael got it, because he knew how important the story was. She was just along for the ride this time.

And this ride had taken her to this moment. It _always_ took her to moments like this.

The princess had taken Link on journeys _far_ too long for him, and then it became too late.

Helping the Gerudo took more than he had to offer, until it cost him more friends than Tatl and Tael ever had together.

The students of this Academy had already nearly cost him his life, and only _barely_ made up for it, debatably at that.

Now this child… was doing _far worse_ than any of them, _combined_. Because none of them had threatened her brother.

Not like _Moraine_ was doing to _Tael_.

The girl that Link had saved, the girl that wore his clothes, the child that had the same soft voice as him, the 'Faunus' that apparently looked so much akin to Link, doing something that was _so unlike_ Link. In the farthest degree. She wasn't acting like the Moraine of the past month, but like one of the brats of Clocktown that tried to play with her and Tael when they were still in Termina. She wasn't acting like the Moraine she knew… or maybe she just wasn't acting anymore.

She was just standing there, with the forest at her back, with some bag on her back with _Link's_ masks in it, and, most importantly of all, _Tael in her hand._ Her brother, the _only_ thing she cared about, being held in her hand like he was the smallest thing in the world. In the way, he was, and so was Tatl. And that left her only with questions about how, _how_ any of this happened. Tatl didn't know, but she wished she did.

She wished she knew how this happened. Knew how this happened the same way she knew _so much_ about the rest of Hyrule and, at least in part, with this Remnant world they were in. She knew a lot about them through necessity, because she wanted to protect her brother and Link. Tatl _wanted_ to, but she _wasn't_ doing that, because she _didn't_ know _anything_ about Moraine, and Link still helped her!

Helped this girl that… that was holding Link's masks in a bag, holding them even if they were sticking out and… and was walking towards some docks and… and was holding _her brother_ in her _nasty little hands!_ Holding him like a thing! _Her!_

She still didn't know how, _barely_ knew why, but none of that mattered. _None of it_. The only thing that mattered, the only thing that _ever_ mattered, was her brother. Tael was the only thing that she cared about, and he was being handled by this… _creature_ as if he were a bargaining chip. It disturbed Tatl to her core, enough to turn her already pulsing red glow a tint of green. But she reeled herself in, held down her guts, because she had to remain focused.

Focused on the deceitful thing that was holding her brother, _talking_ like the rest of these students, and looked like it was a _fucking_ Tuesday.

"Let… him… go…" Tatl slipped out again. She could only tell by the fringe of her own vision that her Aura was dipping into the ocean blue. She knew why. She was _terrified_. For her brother, for his _life_. "Let him go and… and we can _talk_ about all of this." That was something she heard a lot of people say in situations like this. Where someone was being held… _hostage_.

Like her brother, his glow _barely_ visible through the _tiny and compressive grip_ of the bitch that was holding him. The… the miniature and _horrific_ little thing that was still keeping herself so composed. Even if Tatl just wanted to… to _rip_ her grinning face off!

"Moraine? What's going on?" At least there were people to help her! Even if it was Little Red and Bigger Red, they at least were strong! They'd help her take this bitch out! "I-Is this a game? Like… Like what you did with Saria? Cause, I-I-I mean I know I'm not a kid anymore but… but this is wrong, okay?" What was the Little Red talking about!? Tatl was about ready to scream at _her_ for this!

"There is nothing wrong with what I'm doing," the _bitch_ spoke again, and she ignored the way the couple of kids acted like this was abnormal. The only thing _off_ was how she _wasn't_ tearing into the bitch to get her brother released! "I was just leaving, and you found me. I can still leave, but you appear to want something from me." Was she _acting_ like this was normal?! Tatl felt her entire body ring with the rage!

"Leaving… with what?" Bigger Red spoke now. Tatl let them talk. They were all big now, especially if the little _bitch_ was going to act like she was _big_ in this world. "Moraine, I-I'm sorry but I don't understand what's happening. But I _do_ know that you have some of Link's masks and… and you are holding Tael in your hand… very tightly." At least _she_ knew what was important.

"I am aware," the wolf-haired piece of _trash_ spoke again. Her brown eyes looked bored, and Tatl wanted to tear them out to get her brother out of her grasp! "He found me after I left, and checked what I had. Because of that, I couldn't let him go. But now you are all here, and it would be very difficult to get keep you all quiet as well. It is a lot of work." Work? _WORK!?_

"What are you even _talking_ about!?" Tatl raged now. Gold was a rare color for her at this moment, flipping between panicked blue and furious red. "I-I don't even know _what_ you're doing or who the hell this _Adam_ guy is, but you are _going_ to put down's Link's mask, _let my brother go_ , then _pray_ to whatever god you think is all powerful you never see Link or us again!" She was bobbing with her fury, staring daggers at the bitch.

"S-She's right, Moraine, you _have_ to let him go," Little Red spoke up. _Good_. "I know… a-a-at least I think I do, th-that you _want_ something or… or Adam promised you something but… but I know he isn't a good guy." Yea- wait, _what?_

"You… know Adam?" Moraine sounded confused. _Good again!_ Maybe she'd be confused enough to loosen her grip and let Tael go, so that that way Tatl could focus on flying over and tearing her throat out! But that wasn't the case, _which was bad_ , as the wolf-eared girl just started to shake her head. "No, impossible. Adam would not associate himself with human scum like you." Her grip tightened with the words.

Tael's desperate ring came through. Tatl's rage rose in kind.

" _BITCH! Let my brother GO! NOW!_ " She _roared_ at the imposter, or _whoever_ was holding her brother. Someone faking Moraine, Moraine faking for them, _whomever_ , they were going to _die_ today for what they were doing to her brother! "Unless you _want_ to die as slowly and _painfully_ as possible!"

"I won't die today," the _bitch_ spoke again. "But someone might." That someone made Tatl's aura shift to blue again. Panic. Fear. _Tael_. No No no no no no.

She needed help. She needed help. She could see Tael shaking and shivering and ringing to get out of the hand that was holding him. Too tight to hear him, too hidden, but Tatl knew her brother and she knew he was _fighting_ to get out. She had to help, but she couldn't. So, she needed help. _Any_ help. _Now!_

" _Wait!_ Moraine, wait," Big Red now. Either Red, it didn't matter. She just had to help. "We… M-Maybe you can tell us… tell us _why_ you're doing this. E-Even if it's short just… just help us understand." Was that a stall? Cause stalls weren't helping! "Ruby and I just came from training a-a-and I don't know where Link is and you just came from his room or maybe _him_ , but… but we don't know _why_ you have those masks, or Tael, or even where you're going. Can you… can you _please_ tell us what is going on? Even a little?"

Tatl didn't look at the Big red fighter. She didn't matter. The Invincible Girl as a lot of the other squires were calling her, as it were, wasn't what was important to her. Not even on the list. Only her brother was important to her. She could be visible _only_ after Tael was safe. Not before. Before then… her focus was only the lavender light that emanated from the emerald clothed _bitch_ in front of her. Her and her sharp ears, bags of _Link's_ masks and… and her _curious expression_.

Oh, it would be _pained_ by the time she was done!

"You're stalling," Moraine spoke up. And dammit, _of course_ the kid would get he one thing that Tatl knew! "I don't have time for this." She'd better make it!

"N-No! I'm not!" The girl yelled again. "We… C-Can't you see where we are? You have to know, right?" _Where_ they were? What did that even matter? "I-I don't know where you're going, b-b-but there's hardly _any_ foot traffic here! _These_ grounds, a-at least just hear, are between the arena and Emerald Forest. No one… h-hardly anyone walks between them!" Tatl didn't care if she was right, only if Moraine believed her.

And the silence wasn't silent enough for her. She could still hear Tael ringing in the _bitch's_ grasp. Crying out for help a-a-a-and she wasn't doing anything! Tatl was waiting _with_ the pair of _Reds!_

"You _are_ stalling." _DAMMIT!_ "I don't have time to waste on this." At that she raised her hand up, the _fist_ holding _Tael_ , and Tatl nearly fell to the ground with freight.

Fright turned to pained relief as she opened up her hand, keeping fingers tightly flexed about Tael's gray wings. Holding her brother like a puppet on strings, tight enough that his rings were chocked and his body flailed as he tried to escape. Tatl fell _feet_ to the ground now.

"S-Sis!" She shot back up at the cry, pained, worried, afraid, and _her fault!_ "I-I'm sorry I… I-I sorry Tael carrying the masks a-and I thought she was taking them like Saria again a-a-and-" Panic, lots of panic. Panic and fear that her brother was _never_ supposed to feel. The fear that made his lavender hue white with despair. Tatl felt her own _flare_ with rage. Rage and _fear_.

" _Tael!_ I-It's okay! It's alright!" She rang back out, doing _everything_ she could _not_ to fly straight at the _bitch_ and tear her brother from her hand. If she did that though, she'd probably flex her hand… and if she did that… Tatl wouldn't know _what_ she'd do. "We'll… I-I'll help you! I promise!"

"I know sis. I-" Everything else was cut off by Moraine's hand closing around him. Tatl's fury _flared_ again. The _bitch_ didn't deserve to wear Link's outfit, or anything like him! Tatl preferred her in rags!

"Let! Tael! _Go!_ " Tatl was bobbing as she felt _fire_ brewing around her. Real or not, she'd unleash _hell_ on this girl for what she was doing! "Do _whatever_ you want with the masks, but let my brother go. _Now!_ "

"If I could believe you'd let me go, I would." The bitch said it like her life _wasn't_ on the line. Oh, it was there alright. On it and ready to be _chopped_ off of it. "Adam only requested the masks, and I only just found the window to take the ones necessary. It was unfortunate that Tael saw me, or else I may have been able to return. Now, because you _all_ have seen me, that opportunity is gone." What the _hell_ was she talking about!?

"Oppor… you… you're a _spy?_ " Little Red asked. That didn't matter at all, not to Tatl. She only needed Tael back. Moraine could be Hylia for all she cared! "A-After everything Link did and… all the pain that Weiss and Blake and Yang and... and even I went through to keep you safe before. No… No, you're not Moraine. I know it, you _can't_ be."

"Your belief doesn't matter," the girl kept speaking, even if her ears were moving. It was the only thing about her that was moving aside from her stupid little mouth. Something that Tatl _really_ wanted to pull off! "In truth, my main objective has been accomplished. All else are necessary and acceptable losses."

Her ears spun on her head, and Tatl only noticed _that_ because her head jerked a bit with it. If it was enough, _just_ enough to turn her gaze away, Tatl knew she'd _rush_ the bitch and tear her hand off! Or maybe just give the pair of Reds the opportunity. Big Red had Link's gauntlets, so she could do it! And Little Red was supposed to have her Semblance-or-whatever enhanced, so why wasn't she sensing what to do!?

"For little it is worth, and your worth as _humans_ is already non-existent, I truly did wish for you all to live past my leave of this place." Tatl heard Little Red making a noise, and it had _better_ be a noise of action or _something_. A noise that showed she was going to do something to stop this now. Or else… or else… _Tatl didn't even know_.

She only knew the girl had taken a step back, back towards the woods that were behind her, and a step that she _knew_ the pair of squires were smart enough to match. Tatl didn't' know the purpose, only that any kind of movement was bad, unless it was her brother being released. But it wasn't, not yet. Soon, but not yet.

He'd be safe soon, he would be. Because Tatl had taken care of him all his life so… so he wouldn't get hurt in a place like this, _like this_. He wouldn't because… because he couldn't. He _couldn't!_

Tatl did everything she could to keep Tael safe.

But now… she couldn't do anything.

Nothing at all.

_SNAP!_

" _TAAAAAAEEEEELLLL!_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	31. Traitorous

Despite being a professional duelist for so long, even if it was the minors circuit, Pyrrha had seen little of death. Death was something that was always, _always_ , cautioned against happening. The reasons why were obvious. The how was what she had to focus on.

Accepting duels were finished when critical aura levels were reached, accepting any surrender given, never attempting to fight while distractions were present on or near the stage arena, and listening to those around her. It had worked for all her life and, despite a few close calls, none of her opponents or even associates ever had more than a nick or wound to show for it. No one was maimed, severely harmed, or killed.

Killing Grimm was normal, however, a key part of her training and education. But they were Grimm. Monsters were not humans, no matter how humanoid some may have looked. They were always creatures, nightmares, things to attack, not cuddle, coddle, or seek to treat evenly. Death for them was not the same as the death of a human, and she knew this. Everyone did. Pyrrha never had to question it.

As such, the only death she had ever had to deal with where her grandparents, the elderly who had lived a full long life and were able to cross over peacefully. As Charon was meant to do per their family's tradition, they had put coins on their eyes and let them be taken across the rivers of Mistral to the other side. Their deaths were peaceful, as were their passing.

Tael, the dark fairy and Link's companion, was neither.

Tael, the small dark fairy that spoke with a tremor and sounded as careful of his words as she was, was dead.

Tael, the timid but determined ball of light that had stories to tell and tales to spin, was crushed to death.

Tael, the likely weakest member of the team that went to Monument Mine and one of the first to help in anyway he could, was dust and mush in Moraine's hand.

Tael was dead. _Tael was dead. Her FRIEND was dead…_

And his murderer was still standing right in front of her.

Pyrrha's breath was frozen, or at least appearing to be. It entered and left her far faster than she knew to be normal, hyperventilation that came from panic or sudden trauma to the back. Her muscles were hyper-tensed, gripping Milo in her hand and rooting her to her spot in the ground. Green eyes _bore_ on the clenched fist of the girl, watching as… _something_ came out of her hand. Pyrrha didn't even _want_ to acknowledge it. But she _had to_.

She had to at least think of it. Nothing was gained by ignoring what she saw. Nothing ever was. She couldn't ignore the broken cries and sobs that came from beside her. She couldn't ignore the _flick_ of a hand Moraine made with _Tael over it_. She couldn't ignore any of it.

She just couldn't ignore what Moraine had done.

"W-What?" Her voice weakly, perhaps the weakest it had ever been, spoke the question. It invited any response, any kind at all. Anything to answer her building confusion and immense panic. _Anything_ to alleviate it. But she got none. "What… W-What did you…?"

Moraine, the girl that Link and her team, that _she_ , had seen at the festival, helped care for, and watched over, had killed one of Link's closest friends, _her_ friend, and did so without a seeming care in the world. She had shown Pyrrha death, and acted like it was something she had seen all too often. She had murdered… she was a _murderer_. She was… was…

" _You're DEAD!_ " It was a thought Pyrrha surely had, but it was a voice that Tatl _roared_ with. There was no ring to the louder fairy's voice, and her usually blonde aura was red with violence and rage. Pyrrha saw this as the only other fairy she'd ever met, and likely alive, charged at the girl with a force and speed inappropriate for one her size.

It was hard enough to knock Jaune out at the Badlands DMZ, if only for a little while. But her team leader had more Aura than what would likely be believed, and could take more of a blow than expected, but the small fairy had turned him down to the ground almost effortlessly. That was when she was only _worried_ about Link. Now, she had just seen her brother _murdered, because Tael was dead_. The force would be much worse. Moraine would not fare well.

And she wouldn't have, if it hit.

But Pyrrha watched as the girl, carrying a bag that had _Link's masks and his friends' memories_ in it, almost effortlessly bent back and avoided the dire line the fairy made. Her body swung with the momentum she created, stopping with her facing the woods again, legs bent, and arms proximal to her chest. Pyrrha recognized the posture well.

Without a word, and doing her _utmost_ to ignore the screams of rage that Tatl was letting off, Pyrrha threw Milo in front of the girl's path. Her aim was as true as ever, implanting into the ground feet ahead of the girl, stopping her charge. Or, at the very least, making her pause. She knew she could use that, running forward and-

" _RAGH!_ " Pyrrha stopped herself as the roar from the fairy came again, this time in the form of what appeared to be a bullet. She was not fooled for long on who it actually was. Neither was Moraine.

The girl, wolfine ears perking at the noise, leapt to the side, out of range once more of the fairy that attempted to ram into her. She landed deftly, with _far_ more talent than Pyrrha believed even she had at the girl's age. Such was shown even further when the girl swayed left, buckling a leg to move under the swiftly righted path of the fairy, only to then bend forward and remove herself of the secondary return path. She did so thrice more, spinning with ease and almost _dancing_ out of the way of the furious red ball of light.

And she did all of it with Link's gown swaying in the wind, sharp ears perked and straight, and eyes _dead as Tael_.

This girl, Pyrrha realized, was _not_ normal. Far from it.

"I-I-I didn't… I-I-I d-d-d-d-dnt-nt-nt-nt," Pyrrha looked over to see Ruby, the girl an absolute mess. She didn't have time to think of better descriptions, not if this was like a duel. And in a duel, speed was what counted. She noted only what she could with the time she had.

Ruby was on her knees, holding her hands to her head, crying as she shook her head back and forth. Moraine was dancing around Tatl, always approaching the forest with every step closer. Tatl was attacking blindly, furiously, and against someone who clearly had no qualms about killing, especially someone like her.

Ruby would be okay. Tatl was in danger. _Moraine_ _was in well-due trouble_.

Pyrrha took bounding leaps across the grass towards the girl, bringing Milo back to her with a surge of her Semblance. Trained through years of practice and combat, she knew the moment it flew through the air, shutting her hand the very moment it hit her palm. In that same moment, she twisted body into a spin, building moment and force. It was impractical in a duel, but viable with a distraction, as Tatl was currently being for the _murderess_.

With the centrifugal force behind her, the silver gauntlets making the strength increase almost exponentially, Pyrrha threw her lance forward again, this time much faster and harder than before. And, at a target that wasn't the ground.

But it proved just as effective as Tatl was being.

With an uncanny sense of danger, the wolf Faunus fell to her gut, moving her entire body out of the way of Milo, hands already curled on the grass and pulling herself forward. Forward, straight, but always moving. Even as Pyrrha summoned Milo back to herself, _careless_ know of the possibility of Moraine telling anyone about it, she realized that the girl's sense of battle was abnormal, no matter how young she started to fight.

 _But perhaps that was to be expected for a murder, for someone who would_ kill _Tael_.

" _Stop moving and TAKE A HIT!_ " Tatl roared again, and Pyrrha was forced, again to take a step back and watch Moraine from a distance. She bit her lip as she did so, green eyes following the emerald garbed _thief_. Her hand tightened on Milo, body held in a crouch ready to strike, even as Tatl continued to rage and roar through the air around Moraine. She was surely keeping the girl distracted, but she was hardly out of danger.

Pyrrha could still see that Moraine, or perhaps _whoever looked like her_ , was dodging the furious fairy with far more skill than previously thought, if anyone was thought to be there at all. After she crawled her way forward on the ground, she had rolled into a hand-stand, pushing herself up and almost deftly flipping forward and out of the path of the fairy. She did a full somersault, landing with an almost silent crouch, and hugging the bag of her _stolen goods_ to her side. Moraine had never even come close to dropping it.

The Mistral Champion jumped there, aiming low to keep the girl off of her center of balance. If she did that, retreat would not be viable for her. It was… it was the best and only way she knew how to keep the girl here. So, she had to do it. She _had_ to!

Her body spun, attempting to sweep the girl's feet out from under her. She was not daunted nor surprise when she met nothing, likely the girl jumping away from her, always trying to escape. It gave Pyrrha an opening to lunge forward again, striking down with Milo with a range too create to easily back away from. The wolf Faunus, ears still perked, slide sideways along the ground and out of her range, but still lacking any means to counter. Pyrrha counted on it.

She wanted to grab any weapon the girl had on her, any _metal_ more specifically, and force it to _pin_ the Faunus down with all the force she could muster. If she did that, then there wouldn't _need_ to be a fight. There could just be _punishment_ for what she did. But she couldn't find any, metal that was.

Even as Pyrrha kicked outwards, doing her best to keep Moraine from planting her two feet solidly on the ground, she could sense no metal on Moraine. Not in her clothes, no weapons on her, nothing. Her back was of leather and cloth, her outfit, made by _Lana's magic_ , was just more cotton with a leather belt, and there was nowhere else to search.

She didn't come here to fight. She came to run. Tatl and Tael had found her. She had captured Tael, then she had _killed Tael_.

"Why did you do it!?" She yelled at Moraine, not letting up her attack. She _couldn't_. She knew this girl, if the Faunus could still be called that, would use the chance to run. "Why did you kill Tael!? Answer me!?" But she still didn't. She didn't before, and she didn't now.

" _Got you!_ " And Tatl was trying to repay the favor.

Pyrrha was forced, again, to stop her assault as the crimson red fairy flew back again, nearly clipping the Faunus child this time, but only almost. Her hair blew with the proximity, but she reacted little more than merely bending further than before. She did not stumble and certainly didn't fall. And, because of the way the fairy _continued_ her assault, Pyrrha could not strike not without risking hurting Tatl. And she would not do that. Not after her brother was dust and…

Cold air was sucked in through Pyrrha's teeth, green eyes hardening even as her stomach flipped. She saw red, helped by Tatl, as her mind reminded her of Tael's fate. Reminded her of what this girl was _capable_ of, even as she still continued to almost pirouette out of reach of Tatl and Pyrrha. It was not something she _should_ have been capable of, any of this! Who was capable of a _senseless murder!_ Then to make almost _fools_ out of her and Tatl while she… she kept trying to run away!

Why?! Why was she even trying to run!? Did she even know where to go? Did she have somewhere to run to? What would a freaking _murderer_ like her even be able to run to!?

"I-I-I-I-I'm sorry," Ruby's broken voice brought Pyrrha back, and gave her something else to focus on. "T-Tael I'mmmm… I-I-I'm ss-s-sor…"

It was a breach of her usual attack, of how she conducted duels, to focus on something that wasn't her opponent. Or, more accurately in this case, her enemy. But she also had never heard one of her friends crying while she fought, never out of the absolute wracking terror they had just witnessed, and not while their mutual friend, while Link's companion, while _Tatl's_ brother, was dead.

But Pyrrha focused on it. Focused on why, despite Tatl and her trying to subdue or _kill_ Moraine, Ruby was breaking down in sobs. It didn't make sense. Literally _none_ of this made sense. And Pyrrha found it to be one of the few things in life she truly hated. She hated not understanding what was happening. Why it was happening.

Why was Ruby, the girl who had _run off_ to help Link before, no sobbing on the ground? Why was Ruby, the girl who had, apparently, run into the forest first to find Moraine, _before_ all of this, not doing anything? She didn't understand… until she focused on how they got here.

" _You killed him!_ " Tatl roared in front of her, Pyrrha watching, refusing to take her eyes off of the Faunus and _losing her too._ She didn't' look away, even as she continued to twirl about the fairy, Tatl doing her best to kill the girl. " _I'll kill you! I'll kill you for it!_ " Killing wasn't so simple, and it was why Pyrrha knew that how Moraine was acting was even weirder. It wasn't normal, because _who_ could tell what to do?

And with that, she got her answer.

The person who would know what to do would be the person who could see it coming.

The person who could sense danger, who could see it coming and act in a way to prevent it.

The person… that Ruby's Semblance had turned her into.

And she had still done nothing.

Tael was _dead_. And Ruby did _nothing_.

"I-I didn't… I d-d-didn't know w- _I-I-I-_ " Her broken words continued to sob forth behind Pyrrha, behind the Mistral Champion who kept her posture crouched, lance ready, eyes focused. Who did all of this, despite her focus revealing to her a revelation she did _not_ know how to deal with. Not on top of a _murderer_ who was trying to escape.

 **BANG!** And a fairy who was _justly_ seeking revenge. Revenge that, if she could hit, would be very likely, seeing as her body was hitting the ground hard enough to leave sizeable indents. Against a girl the size of Moraine, that would do far more than merely harm. That _would_ kill.

But, Pyrrha reminded herself as Moraine finished her backflip, keeping the satchel of _Link's masks_ close to her, this girl was not what she seemed. She had far more skill than a child should, a mentality that _no_ child should have, and so _completely_ different from the girl who had spent nearly a month on Beacon's grounds. It was either a well-planned lie, or a decoy she could not fathom the presence of.

Not matter what she was, there was one thing she was Pyrrha could not deny.

A _murderer_.

The Mistral Champion stabbed forward again, the moment that Tatl had missed _another_ pass at Moraine, likely the hundredth at this point. She took aim in the location that the girl was leaning back to, determined to at least throw her off balance if nothing else. Pyrrha postured her feet as she approached, ready to follow-up before the attack was even finished. It was how she was taught to duel, always thinking of the next move.

It was becoming clearer, however, that Moraine thought at least similarly to her, in that she was always thinking of what came next. That was made clear when she lifted her legs up, turning her posturing lean into a spontaneous flip. On that propelled her around Pyrrha's lance, and away from a position of control. It was, however, also out of the way of where Pyrrha thought she was going to be.

She readjusted quickly, pushing her shoulders to swing her lance, knowing that she could _not_ sacrifice her own stance against a _murderer_ like Moraine. She needed to exercise control as she subdued Moraine. Control that the child Faunus had as well, though far more emotionally than Pyrrha was willing to admit, or even compete with.

The child was the only one who didn't seem to care what she did. But she'd be the only one to pay the price for it. She'd pay for it for her miserable actions. Like a foul in a duel, she'd have to make recompense. And though this was… _far and beyond_ anything even _relatable_ to a foul, it was still going to force the girl to make amends for her deeds, just as a duelist had to accept punishment for their deeds.

And that gave Pyrrha an idea.

It was an illegal move in duels, one that she was taught to never commit to unless it was clear she had a secondary tactic available to her. It was forbidden, technically, because it was a sign of surrender, unless presented with a means to show the control one still had. Namely, one had over their weapon. A loss of control, an involuntary loss of it, was often seen as the sign of defeat, after all.

And though Pyrrha was keen to throw her lance, she had never dropped it, because there was no advantage to releasing a weapon. In a duel, it was a sign of submission and defeat, dropping one's weapon to the floor.

Unless, of course, it was to use her Semblance on it.

When Pyrrha let go of Milo, she saw Moraine beginning to land on her feet, already preparing to use the shortened range the Mistral Champion _presented_ to her to likely escape. But Pyrrha didn't let her plan take fruition.

She threw her hand forward, letting it _shoot_ her lance.

It was not something she practiced and, therefore, it was not something she had full control over. Not in the sense that it would pin-point land where she wanted. However, that may have been to her advantage. Because despite the apparent nimbleness that Moraine had shown, near _mockingly_ up to this point, she could not avoid the sudden lance.

It hit home against the girl, digging into her thigh, just above her knee. It sent her stumbling backwards, completely falling to avoid Tatl's _roaring_ rage above her head. There was no blood, though Pyrrha doubted there would be. A girl this well trained, she _had_ to have Aura. Not that that mattered now. Now, what mattered was the girl who had _murdered Tael_ , sitting on her butt, and quickly pushing herself away, trying to regain her sense of balance and control.

Only now, only because of _what_ Moraine had done to _Tael_ , how she had _killed him_ , did she let herself take a mirthful amount of pleasure in the look of surprise on the Faunus's face.

_TWANG!_

It was, however, one she suddenly shared.

In a clash of steel, she saw _just_ in the corner of her eye, Pyrrha watched an arrow get beaten out of the air, perhaps less than her arm's reach from her head. Her first instinct was to look for who shot it, but that was secondary to who had saved her. Thankfully, she didn't have to look long to see who had kept it from hitting her.

In any context, it was hard to miss Ruby's scythe, extended outwards and with its wielder standing ready beside her. Pyrrha spared a glance, a _very_ quick one, to see Ruby's tear stained face, still pulled back in a tight grimace, but her weapon held in perhaps an even tighter hold. The team leader didn't look at Pyrrha, she was looking towards the woods.

"No, not again," she muttered more than spoke, and it was almost lost over Tatl's red-shaded roaring. A shade of red Pyrrha turned back to ensure she did _not_ miss it. Be it Moraine's attempt to escape again, as she had already crawled back to her legs, or Tatl's success at killing her. One was far preferable to the other. "I-I know you're there!" Ruby yelled now, the tremor in her voice not gone. Pyrrha pulled back Milo with an order from her Semblance.

 **TWANG!** And for a moment, she thought she had ripped it too hard, causing a sonic boom. That was, until she felt the hot steel of a fired shell hit her shoulder.

Pyrrha didn't need to glance now to know that Ruby had fired a shot into the forest.

"Come out!" She yelled again. Yelled as she cocked her Crescent Rose again. Pyrrha let Ruby focus on whoever was in the woods. They weren't murderers, _yet_. But Moraine was, and she-

_Was running away!_

"NO!" " _You're not getting away!_ " Tatl roared with Pyrrha's yell, the Mistral Champion immediately running towards the fleeing girl. She kept her eyes trained the Faunus girl as she ran her fastest, the bag of _Link's masks_ swinging at her side. Tatl, the furious ball of red was just behind her. Pyrrha was not far behind. She-

 **TWANG!** Was narrowly hit by another arrow, blocked once again by Ruby's Crescent Rose. Her newer Semblance was clearly at work, but Pyrrha already knew the drawback of it. Or, more appropriately, the expanse of its power. But, fortunately, that also meant she knew the capabilities it had.

"Ruby!" Pyrrha yelled out, already pumping her arms as she chased after Moraine. She knew her friend would follow, and she was rewarded with an explosion of crimson petals next to her to show it. "We need to catch Moraine! _Tatl_ is still following her!" Pyrrha was fast, but not as fast as Ruby. She could catch up in an instant.

She watched the younger girl take a few bounds forwards, ready to shoot into the woods after the _murderer_ and Tatl.

 **TWANG!TWANG!** Only to immediately double back and catch two more arrows with Crescent Rose. **TWANG!** That was pattern enough for Pyrrha, catching the third with Akouo. All of them fell harmlessly to the ground, but having succeeded in slowing the pair down. Slowing down, but not stop. Pyrrha didn't need to think long to know they were firing at her and Ruby to slow them down, the _White Fang_ monsters that they were.

But why arrows? Guns could work just as effectively, if not more so. They were more powerful, faster, harder to catch so why would they fire at them? Why when they were already… so near the school.

 **TWANG!** The epiphany came like the arrow she blocked, and the three others Ruby knocked away. It came with one she realized, and was followed with more and more revelations with it.

She _didn't_ know why Moraine had stolen Link's masks. She _didn't_ know why she waited till now. And she _didn't_ know why _Tael was dead_. But she at least knew everything else.

 **TWANG!** "Ruby!" Pyrrha yelled the girl's name again. "They're using arrows to hide! They don't want to bring attention to them!" It was one of the few reasons to use arrows still, in the era of Dust Crystals and machinery.

"Don't care! I _know_ where they are!" Ruby yelled back, and Pyrrha could hear the ire in her voice. She wasn't sure, not fully, but she doubted there was much sympathy in her own right not. Not while _Moraine_ was still out there. "They can't stop me!"

"But they can slow us down!" Pyrrha yelled back. **TWANG!** Before witnessing Ruby scoop another arrow out of the air, _very_ far away from her. "And that's all Moraine needs! The longer we take, the further away she gets!" It was the purpose of a distraction, after all.

"Then we just have to _hurry!_ " The reply came out more as a growl than a yell, and Pyrrha didn't mind. She wanted to scream, a lot. And she'd do that, soon. But right now, she had to focus, _hard_. "I-If we just… if we just take them out faster, we can-" **TWANG!** She blocked another arrow. Ruby was upset, but she wasn't being crazy. She wasn't like Tatl, no matter how understandable that was. Ruby was seeing it, too.

"One of us has to go on ahead!" Splitting up, it was what was necessary. But she knew that she couldn't be the one to stay behind. Not when Moraine was avoiding them, so new threat to Ruby… "Ruby! You fight them!" Pyrrha yelled out to the young team leader. She didn't need to look to know the command was both insulting _and_ one she wouldn't even consider.

"No way!" the younger huntress yelled back. Instead of sorrow, Pyrrha heard rage in her voice, almost akin to Tatl's almost. "I-I'm not leaving you! No way! Not happening!"

"You're not!" Pyrrha yelled back. "Not exactly. You're a _lot_ faster than me so-" **TWANG!** She struck out another arrow. **TWANG! TWANG! TWANG!** Just as Ruby took care three more for her one. That was proof enough of Pyrrha's point! "You're fast enough to get help and come back for the rest of them!"

They were still running, at least as fast as they could with how many arrows were falling on them. Pyrrha wasn't afraid, not with her Aura and her skills. Ruby was afraid, despite her Semblance and her abilities. She was afraid because she'd seen what went wrong once. She couldn't afford to let _any_ risks pass her by again.

Ruby was strong, but she was afraid. Pyrrha was angry, but she was confident. One of them had to go ahead, and it _couldn't_ be the one of them that was afraid.

"You _stop_ them here, _then_ go get everyone else!" Pyrrha yelled out the command. Her hair was already whipping behind her she was running so fast, but still not her fastest. **TWANG! TWANG!** Not while the _assassins_ in the trees were trying to slow them down, and doing _too_ good a job at it! "I can catch up to Moraine and Tatl, _and_ I can keep them safe!" She knew she could, because she would _not_ let anything happen to Tatl. Not like Tael… not with his _murderer_ so close by.

 **TWANG!** But despite her constant action to keep her safe, Ruby didn't answer, not immediately. Despite running at the same pace and helping to keep the arrows from hitting them both, she wasn't speaking back. Pyrrha could guess why, maybe, but she had to make a decision. Hesitation at any moment in a duel was a loss, and they could _not_ afford to lose this!

"Y-You could get hurt!" Ruby yelled out. Pyrrha understood immediately why she thought that. "Just like… Like Tael a-a-and I can't let someone else get hurt! Not while… not while I-I-I-" **TWANG! TWANG! TWANG!** Not while she could sense the danger, as her parrying of the many falling arrows was evidence of.

But Pyrrha wasn't a fairy, she was a _huntress_.

" _I_ will be okay Ruby!" Pyrrha finally yelled again. **TWANG!** Just in time for Akouo to stop another stray arrow. "But _you_ need to find someone, _anyone_ else and tell them what happened! You're the only one fast enough!"

She was fast enough _and_ she had the sense for it! Pyrrha could control metal, her polarity a Semblance she constantly tried to hide, and that wasn't even speaking for the gauntlets she was still getting acclimated to, but that was all she had. Ruby, on the other hand, could _track_ danger, stop it, and because of it, she was perfect for a pursuit, or an ambush.

Ruby, not Pyrrha, could deal with these White Fang members faster than Pyrrha, find help faster than Pyrrha, then bring them back to Moraine and _whoever else_ was helping the _murderer_. She could do it because she was so much better than her.

"You _can_ find them again!" Pyrrha shouted now. " _You_ can find the others and _lead_ them to Moraine! No one else can!" Pyrrha smacked an arrow out of the air, even if she and Ruby were still running after Moraine, at less than _half_ the speed she could normally sprint. She could not fight and run at once, let alone speak as well. But Ruby _needed_ to hear this! "I can run after her a-and Tatl, but _you_ have to find Ozpin and Jaune a-and… a-and Link."

For a moment, and only that, both of them stopped. They slid across the floor as they came to a standstill, and Ruby was staring at Pyrrha. The tear marks still stained her cheeks, horrible lines that didn't belong on her innocent features. Her hands were practically welded to her scythe, she was holding it so tight, and that wasn't to mention how she was hiding in her hood. Everything about her was so opposite the Ruby that Pyrrha knew, it was jarring.

But that was reason enough for her to not go after Moraine.

"You can do it Ruby." Pyrrha spoke as smoothly as she could, panting from their run. "I can catch Moraine, you can stop _these_ guys, and then you can get help. _That_ will help us catch Moraine… that will _keep_ Tatl safe."

She bit her lips between her teeth, looking through the woods as she tried to find the White Fang members, maybe. No, that wasn't it. Pyrrha realized she already _did_ know where they were, but fighting them would have meant leaving Pyrrha alone. So… that was bad. But the fix was still the same.

"Stop them Ruby, then come help me save Moraine." That would be good enough.

Pyrrha dug her feet into the ground, taking off again in the direction Tatl and the _murderer_ had run off in. She didn't slow down this time, didn't take the time to even stop the arrows that were already aiming at her. **TWANG! TWANG!** Not when Ruby already did. And those were the last set she needed.

She didn't look back, didn't thank her friend, and didn't do anything more than pour more of her energy and focus into her legs. The faster she ran, the sooner she caught up with the pair, the sooner this would be over.

Then, maybe then, she'd have a chance to scream.

* * *

It always amazed Ironwood, whenever he came to Beacon. He would not willingly admit it to Ozpin, more of a matter of pride than anything else, but Beacon truly was an Academy worthy of the praise it was commonly given. From the grounds that kept its students safe to the high tower that allowed observation of the city it oversaw, it truly was a magnificent place to visit.

From the security that range from natural to professional, Ozpin had the literal ocean at his back and front, with dense woods to make any assault a hazard more than a profit. Guarded by students and hunters that ranged from inexperienced to world-grown, there were more than just a fair share of abilities at his disposal, and all of it, guarded by the CCTV station on his grounds, allowing for the flow of information to pass by him through every second of the day, kept him far from uninformed.

Yes, Beacon was a place that James found himself frequently joyed to visit, because it was not often he could see the greatness of a well-planned and constructed facility as this. It would be in poor taste for him to not apricate the military mind that was used in designing it, or the other Academies.

That, or the secrets it held within its walls and under its grounds. But those were thoughts for another time. This time, the present, was for the man who ruled the Academy, and to whom he was here to visit.

"James," Ozpin greeted him from across the landing zone, cane in hand and lavender hued glasses facing him. The smile he wore was kind as always, though guarded such the same. "I trust you had a pleasant trip here, as always?" The curiosity was just as unneeded, but appreciated nonetheless.

"Short distances usually make them so," James returned with an equal guard, though his grin did not shirk. Ozpin was his friend, his ally, just at arm's reach. He kept his hands folded behind his back as he towered over his friend. "Though I do hope this meeting is not so swift. There is much to discuss, after all." Discuss and observe, as not even a pair of weeks of reviewing detailed notes and debriefings with Specialist Winter and Ozpin were enough for him. The curse of leadership.

"There is always more to discuss, but there certainly must be time allotted for action and decision." The 'words of wisdom' flowed from the emerald gowned man with ease, both hands on his cane head and grin just as sturdy. "The curse of management, I'm afraid." Close enough to Ironwood's own dilemma.

"Indeed, but the current lull in activity would make it the opportune time to inquire about otherwise less important aspects of our operations, would it not?" That was how efficiency worked, always take on the work that was overlooked in the midst of other high-profiled activity. It was, after all, a rather poor use of resources to look for the state of allies while Grimm were invading or Ancient ones were escaping. "I do have some mild curiosity for some of the… personal you have around here." The oddest and most efficient did seem to end up at the prestigious academy.

"Assets, you mean to say," Ozpin corrected him, though with a small growth to his grin. James did not change his own. "I understand how you think James. There's no need to try and speak differently for my sake." That made James chuckle, if only for a bit.

"I did not misspeak nor force myself to," he returned easily, taking steps forward to walk beside the man. Ozpin turned as he did so, eyes always on him. James, however, did enjoy the sight of the Academy that was not his own. Though it was a grand Academy, not comparing to his own was nearly impossible. "A combat inefficient source of information or source of power is an asset. Personal are the men, women, and even children in this case, that are assisting and helping us to create a better world. They are not assets, not in any capacity." That was a truth he learned long ago.

Even before Ozpin opened the door to this new world he walked into, full of Grimm that could speak, Maidens of magic, and the eternal cycle of rebirth his friend was caught in. Even before all that, when he was but a grunt in the Military he now ruled, he knew the difference. It was how he kept himself loyal, remembering such.

"I see," Ozpin returned. James heard his cane click as he took strides next to him, matching his walk forward. It went unspoken that their meeting should not solely take place at the landing zone. Far too open for their brand of conversation. "Then I do apologize. We speak so rarely and I speak so often to other members of high ranking that I tend to forget." He hardly believed it.

"Forget what, if I can ask?" James poked lightly. "That there are others out there seeking to horde power?" When you were as old as the Beacon Headmaster, James doubted even that. Half his games were about the control and moderation of power.

"That you are one of the kind leaders, James. Only that." The compliment, from a field neither left nor right, made the General turn towards the emerald clad man, long enough for him to gain a stride ahead of him. "That being said, I have no issue with seeing some of the youths on my campus. I am sure that Team RWBY would be excited to see you, especially Ms. Schnee." Ah yes, Winter's younger sister.

"Specialist Schnee has spoken about her younger sibling at some length recently," James recalled from their conversations over the past couple of weeks. Diligent as she was, she was no android. She had a family and interests, and when present with a subject she liked, she spoke. "I am pleased that she was able to spend time with her a couple weeks ago, and that you were able to excuse Ms. Schnee from her obligations for it."

"I always believe that family is the foremost motivator for the lives of hunters," Ozpin easily admitted. "I believe missing a few classes for a couple of days bonding is a trade few would argue against. Besides, if nothing else, it provided her teammates with ample material for 'teasing' her." They shared a chuckle, James keeping his posture straight and Ozpin not missing a step. But there was mirth in their conversation.

And, no matter how belittling it was to speak of children as such, there was joy they shared. A joy that came from the future of their work, and that was a future worth fighting for. Otherwise, there was no chance they could enjoy it.

"How is Penny doing," James asked now. "I have not received the updates from her like I used to, though I cannot say I don't see why." She as hardly on such a rigid schedule at Beacon as she was at Atlas. Ozpin, diligent as he was, always did prefer the 'act in the moment'. James felt he was a share different than that.

"She has joined Team CRDL, or CRD as it is now. We still have yet to determine how to place her letting in their name." Ozpin confirmed the information Ironwood already had. Both her new team as well as the reason for her joining. "It should not surprise you to hear she was one of the least affected by the interaction with the Ancient Grimm, coming out with a sense of comradery with Cardin Winchester with it." That he had heard as well, and a bit more.

"And it only cost her a leg," he added on. "I should be thankful there wasn't an arm also involved." Ozpin laughed at the comment, and it took the general a full second to recall why. Honestly, he was simply worried that the 'prosthetic' excuse that Specialist Schnee had devised for Penny's sudden amputation. "Honestly, it is a kind of tragic grace that the students were so willing to believe a fake limb before animatronic life." Though Penny was far more than that.

"Yes, I believe you are right about that. The tragedies of this world creating a sort of grace for an accident such as that." Ozpin recovered from his small bout of laughter. "Who may have thought that such a thing could come to pass, where our students have seen so many losses of limb that they have no second though when seeing one removed."

Ironwood traced the nearby landscape at the term of students, reminding himself that they were children. Students were children, often beneath their second decade alive. Students that, even now, were watching the pair of them from mid-conversations, out of classroom windows, or their mid-day lounging in the garden. All watching with curious eyes, wondering, perhaps, why the General of the Atlesian Army was speaking so easily to their Headmaster.

If nothing else, it was a reminder of both of their statures. Seen with awe, and perhaps a spark of fear, from the next generation of soldiers and heroes.

"There you two are." Though, James admitted, likely not as much as the woman who spoke from behind them. It was a voice he knew well, and felt little fear personally for. And turning around, Glynda Goodwitch, holding her personal scroll. "I will be honest, when I lost track of you Ozpin, I imagined you were expecting me to escort James." He would not have minded such an arrangement.

Glynda did have a habit for making herself both a figure of authority and preparation, hardly someone to be looked at poorly in any light. From the grace she handled her work, stiffness she used to deal with the threats to and from her students, and beauty she still managed to hold through her years, flaws were few to her name. James only regret he could speak of with her was that she was loyal to Ozpin, fully and completely.

"As Headmaster of Beacon Academy, it is part of my job to escort the high-ranking members of foreign powers to our campus." Even to James, who spoke often with Councilmen, the words sounded very constructed and forced. From anyone else, intentional. From Ozpin himself? A light form of mockery. "Besides, how else will I keep you on your toes but to be clear with my intentions every now and then." Mockery indeed. The rough sigh from Glynda was evidence enough of how she thought of it.

"Honestly," she quietly admonished. "Still, since we are here now, may I ask if there is anything you wish to see or tour, general?" General in public, as was the rule of their small group. "I have team CRDP prepared to meet you, under my assumption that you wished to speak to Penny again. Otherwise, Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck has said that he can speak to you regarding Specialist Schnee's mission to Monument Mine, if that is a continuing curiosity of yours." And James had no doubt she had all of their numbers prepped on her Pad. It was the kind of diligence he knew Glynda had.

"In truth? I would not mind seeing Penny again," James spoke clearly. "Though I came mostly to both confirm and discuss possible points of security to focus on for the upcoming festival." He let his voice drop now. There was much that had to be discussed on the matter, and _little_ of it was for public ears. "I am sure we need to decide on the best areas to focus our soldiers and associates, especially with the _monsters_ that will attempt to find their way in." And not all monsters peered through the darkness with crimson red eyes.

"That is a matter we can discuss at length, and I agree must be done." Ozpin's tone matched his own, and a swift nod from Glynda was affirmation of her thoughts. "But perhaps that should be the end to this impromptu meeting and not the start. I'd hate to have any differences we share sour your reunion with Penny Polendina." And the smile was still there. Ironwood grinned back.

"I agree completely," he responded with a nod, back stiff and harms folded. "Then, if I can ask, where is team CRD? I suspect Penny is with them, perhaps running her circuits for an appropriate anagram." It was something she certainly could, if she was given the proper motivation, or even a partial desire. It was how she ended up meeting Ruby Rose in the first place.

"She is with them," Glynda confirmed, tapping on her Pad just as he thought she would. "Right now they are-" She didn't get to finish where.

 _BOOM!_ " _Ozpin!_ " A boom of air and shout of fear silenced her.

On instinct more than anything else, James drew his modified service revolved, pushing it against the force of air that assaulted him. A round was pushed into the chamber as he aimed at the source of the noise, ignoring the cries of fright that came from those around him.

It only led him to find himself aiming at Ruby Rose.

A Ruby Rose that had tears on her face, fight in her silver eyes, and terror on her trembling lips. It did nothing to quell his nerves, already put on high alert.

" _Headmaster! O-Ozpin! MS. Goodwitch!_ " She shouted the names, eyes flickering between the two of them. " _G-General! You too!_ " Him what?" His confusion was mounting with his fear. It was something he found unnerving, and ominous. He did not wish for either, ever, at any part in his life.

"Ms. Rose. _Ms. Rose._ " Ozpin spoke up now, hands on the girl's shoulders. She was much shorter than he was, making her look up into his eyes. Eyes that James knew were now hard and focused, work and fear before him. Ms. Rose's however, had not shifted. "What's wrong? What happened?" He did not shake her, but his voice was direct.

The girl, however did not respond. James took the quick lull in noise to replace his revolved in his jacket, hearing the winding down of Glynda's magic as well. HE didn't turn to her, not with a sobbing girl in front of him, one who had been documented facing many horrible creatures already, but never gave so much as a whimper of fear. Whatever had happened, he already knew he'd hate the news.

"Please, compose yourself as best you can and tell us," Ozpin urged again. His voice was not hard, but its directness had not diminished. "I do not know how to help you unless you tell me-"

"I-It's Tael! Tael a-a-a-and Moraine!" James recalled the names, but only by association for one. Tael was one of Link's companion 'fairies', the darker and more modest of the two. Moraine was the charge he had found in Vale, while 'donning' the face of Lana. The terror with which Ms. Rose spoke was _not_ good.

"What happened? Are they well?" The girl's dark bangs, waving with the ferocity she shook her head, boded ill for James. It was a face many wounded soldiers made, and that knowledge made this coming news all the worse to prepare for. "Ms. Rose. _Where_ are they?"

"T-Tael," she whimpered the 'fairy's' name again. Why him? Why not his fellow droid? "H-He's… _He's dead!_ " James shut his eyes. If that was the news of the mini-drone, he had no love or desire to hear what had occurred to Link's charge. " _Mo-Mo-Moraine k-killed him!_ "

"What?" But that he did _not_ expect.

"What do you mean?" "Where are they?" Glynda and Ozpin spoke simultaneously, both attempting to garner important information from Ruby Rose. Experience told James it would not work. And indeed, the girl only shut herself down. Trembling lips making speech seemingly impossible, if only worse for the way her silver eyes continued to water.

"Ruby Rose," he spoke up, earning the attention of the girl and Ozpin. Glynda and the growing circle of students around them. He paid them no mind. He had to focus on the girl in front of him. "What did Moraine do?" The first question was always details, because if they could open up about the event, details were easiest next.

And he was right. They came out like a flood.

" _P-Pyrrha_ and I were dueling for fun a-and to see how we'd improved when I got a bad feeling so I ran towards the bad feeling a-a-a-and it took me past the old storage shed and dorms and garden and near the Emerald Forest and _Moraine_ was there and Tatl was there but I couldn't see Tael and Tatl was shouting and I was confused a-a-and Moraine was carrying a bag with her and I didn't know what was in it so Pyrrha and I asked what was happening and Tatl didn't answer us because she was screaming and she was red and angry but Moraine _did!_ "

"Moraine spoke?" Glynda questioned from behind Ironwood. He took that to be significant information. "As in you heard her?"

" _YES!_ " Ruby shouted back. "I _heard_ her and Tatl about how she was _stealing_ Link's masks!" The dread that Ironwood was feeling grew. The gasps of the growing crowd did _not_ help. "But he was holding Tael in her hand and she was _gripping_ him real tight a-a-and she was saying that we weren't supposed to find her a-and we were _traitors_ o-o-o-or Lin was or something I-I-I-I-I-I-" Her hands went to her head, hyperventilation starting to occur. He recognized it well. Thankfully, so did Ozpin.

"Ms. Rose!" He finally raised his voice, just enough to get past the barrier she was putting up. "Deep breaths, _deep_ breaths now. You are safe. You are here." The words were chosen well, and James was glad the Headmaster was speaking, even if Ms. Rose was trying to recover. That gave Glynda the chance she needed to lean in and whisper to him.

"Did I hear that correct?" She inquired. "Moraine, the girl who appeared no more than eight, was holding a bag with Link's friends' memories? His _masks_?" James nodded, eyes not leaving the frightened girl and her headmaster.

"You did, as I heard that as well." He swallowed once, fearing the worst before, but not dreading the slow confirmation of something _much_ worse. The death of a child was tragic, the loss of the masks that provided power unseen, like Impa and Saria demonstrated, was catastrophic. "Was it all of them? A few? Which ones?" They were all important questions.

"We will have to find out. I doubt Ms. Rose has that information from such a quick and traumatic exchange." True as well. Details were hard to put together from memory as is. Following trauma, likely even worse.

"Again, Ms. Rose. If you can _, what_ did you see?" Ozpin was speaking to Ruby again, who at least visually had calmed down. Only somewhat, not nearly composed.

"I-I saw Moraine holding out her hand with Tael in it," she started, before lifting her own hand as if the drone were in it. "She was talking to Tatl and me and Pyrrha about how this wasn't supposed to happen that we weren't supposed to find and a lot of other stuff I didn't follow a-a-and then she… she…" Her hand tightened with the motion.

The gasps from around him were matched by his own quiet gaze. Of all the manners by which to end life, that had to be one of the worst. It was fortunate, if unspoken, that the life lost was only a mini-drone, and not true life.

"Th-Then there was all this dust a-a-a-and… and _blood and bone a-a-_ anand…" the girl swayed on her feet, but Ozpin caught her. It was a good thing he did, because the shock words she spoke caught James.

Drones did not have anything but mechanical parts and hydraulic fluid to assist in their motion. Brains of circuits and metal, limbs the same, and fluid to cool their elements. Blood… bone… no one of any mind could construe that for a drone, no matter the state of mind.

"That… that's impossible," he muttered, ignoring the harsh look Ozpin sent his way. His words were not for the girl's actions, but for the information he lacked. Or rather, he had _assumed_. He had assumed like the others that the drones were nothing more than that, but he was wrong, terribly wrong.

All the life in Hyrule that Link and the _fairies_ described, and he did not consider that the drones could truly be what they said they were. A kingdom beyond their known borders, hosting types of Faunus so diverse they were made into lands apart from one another, and he had not considered the idea of fairies to be possible…

And now, he had nearly dismissed the death of one of them out of such ignorance. He was filled with disgust.

"Sh-She ran into the woods then," Ruby continued to speak. "Pyrrha and I ran and we were attacked by arrows and people we couldn't see so we split up a-a-and Pyrrha went after _Moraine_ and Tatl and I fought the rest of them before I came back here to get help… b-b-but they were _White Fang_ and that means Moraine was one of them a-and it was all a lie and we… we…" White Fang…

"You did well, Ms. Rose," Ozpin spoke as best he could to the girl, trying to console the inconsolable. His hands rubbed her shoulders, eyes never leaving her, as he spoke. "You found us, you made it, now we will send help as well."

"I've already contact Dr. Oobleck and Qrow. Professor Port and Peach are currently in Vale, but are being notified." Glynda's voice was almost unheard by the speed at which she tapped across her scroll. Her diligence was paying off again. Ironwood could _not_ fall behind now.

"I will assist as well," Ironwood didn't hesitate to step forward. No true leader would, not while citizens were not only in danger, but already harmed. "I'll have the bullheads in the air around the Emerald Forest, available droids and minutemen available as well." He was already reaching into his breast pocket, pulling out his scroll tapping across the screen. Specialist Schnee would be available, and he was doubtless she'd be highly motivated in this pursuit.

"The Emerald forest is large, James. Do you have the troops available to cover all of it?" Glynda's words were taken as they were said. A factual check for the capabilities of his troops and himself. In situations such as these, those were the only questions that were allowable to be heard.

"To cover the expanse of the Forest, likely not," he answered honestly, as no Military force in the world had such power. Debatably even the Grimm given the dense woods' scope and breadth. "But strategically placed at suitable altitudes, I can create a net to prevent any air-based vehicles from lifting off and retreating from the woods. Again, my men can handle it once the target is spotted." No one under his service would question the plan of action, they were too well trained for it.

They were not words he'd speak aloud, but perhaps it was good for this to happen in a lull. He could hardly allow any more than a dozen of his troops to pursue this case were they still on high alert. At the moment, he had likely a decently sized company's worth of men available, not including Specialist Schnee herself. She'd be able to guide them appropriately, as her training was for. And again, her motivation would be immense.

She was loyal to a fault, perhaps her only fault, and she would not allow the _murderer_ of one of her companions to escape their grasp, for any reason.

"I appreciate the effort," Ozpin followed. "Please, Glynda, route communications through one another. See if we can create an areal and territorial 'net' to capture these White Fang assassins. I'll constrict the professors and my nearby associates to do the same. These _killers_ cannot be allowed to leave." There was no brokerage for argument, and Ironwood had none to offer. Murderers belonged only in one location, and it was not the _free_ expanse of the wild.

But there was more to this than the murder of Tael, important and _horrific_ as that was there was more to it. Ironwood still needed to reconcile, both in the loss of life and lack of any animatronics involved. Not the droid both Glynda and Winter had told him it was, and he suspected during their brief exchanges in the Badlands, but a life that had intelligence, goals, fears, and friends… and was crushed by an _assassin_ for the masks of power Link held.

It disgusted him to his core.

" _General, your orders?_ " Specialist Schnee responded as soon as her image flashed to life on his screen. Her focus on work was immediate, and currently appreciated. He wasted as much time as she had.

"We have an emergency situation, Specialist." He watched the ice in her eyes harden as she prepared herself. "A reported case of homicide, suspect fleeing, asset in pursuit. Only the general location available, Emerald Forest." Short and all that was needed.

" _Understood,_ " Specialist Winter responded with as much speed, and even grace. " _Teams will be deployed within the minute. I will update you as we take off_." He nodded to her confirmation, already hearing the engines of the Dust powered Bullheads in the background, matched by orders and shouts off screen.

As action took place, his mind wandered back to what Ruby Rose said Moraine had, likely the reason for her _assassination_ and disguise on Beacon Academy. The purpose of it all. Those masks, those things that even the Council knew held immense power, and recklessly used, could be damning to all.

From what he had both seen and heard, it would be near the equivalent of allowing a child to play with a tank. If given to one with even _partial_ knowledge of them, it may be as catastrophic as the destruction of an Academy.

"Bartholomew has already taken to the forest," Glynda spoke from behind him. "Qrow is leaving shortly, with both Professor Port and Peach, again, stating that they are making haste from Vale. They are inquiring on where to go." A fine question to ask.

"I-I-I can take you to them!" Ruby suddenly yelled. Ironwood was reminded for the hundredth time in the past hour why the young made poor soldiers. Composure under stress. "My Semblance, my powers, I-I can sense Tatl in _danger_ s-s-so I can _run_ back there and-"

"You will _not_ be doing that, Ms. Rose." The words surprised Ironwood, though likely not as much as the girl herself. That was likely due to the words coming from Ozpin, and not himself. "Capable as you are, I cannot allow you to chase after Moraine if she is indeed connected with the White Fang. Especially if she is in possession of Link's masks."

"But I know where they are!" The girl yelled out again. Ironwood took in a large breath at the outburst. Emotional states such as that were meant to be groomed out in the Military. Clearly this young child, younger than any other first-year member of the Academy, hadn't yet come close to that. "I-I-I can sense them! I know they're in the woods a-a-and that Tatl is chasing her a-and _someone's going to get hurt again and I can't, I CAN'T_ let-"

"Ms. Rose." Ozpin spoke again, this time with a hand on her shoulder. "I am _not_ doubting your abilities or skill. My lack of faith is in your emotional state." James nodded, thankful on some level that the two of them thought similarly.

"B-But I promised Pyrrha I would bring help!" The child yelled again. "I promised I'd beat the people trying to delay us and then go off back to Beacon to get help and I got it now I can bring you back to where they are b-because I can _sense_ what kind of anger Tatl is in a-and it's _constant_ and I don't know if that's because of what _Moraine did to Tael_ or… o-o-o-"

"Ms…. Rose…" Ozpin spoke now with a harsh tone. James let him continue. "You have done far more than necessary. We will now handle apprehending Moraine and ensuring Tatl's safety. Your job, now, is to find your team." Ah, a find decision. "Find them, _speak_ to them, and make plans with them. You are not abandoning Pyrrha or Tael, as we are going for them now. But you cannot risk yourself needlessly. Is that understood?"

Ruby Rose did not understand, or at least refused to. Ironwood could see it in her silver eyes, tear-stained and murky as they were. SHE wanted to run back into the field of battle, to try and save her other friends who were in danger. Her own health was a far-off concern in comparison, hardly even worthy of being counted second or third. She wanted to help, and was being told she couldn't.

"Your uncle is going to be there," Ozpin spoke again. "As well as Ms. Schnee's elder sister." At the glance that was given to him, James nodded appropriately. "Now is not the time for you to act. Now, it is our turn, understood?" He reaction, finally, was submissive enough to nod her head. She clearly had no love for the decision. She was no soldier, but she at least knew of the hierarchy of authority. "That goes for _everyone._ "

Ozpin stood to his tallest, hand still on Ruby Rose's shoulder as he spoke, now to the crowd of students around them. Many stiffened with his raised voice. Unsurprising, given his friend's almost boisterous nature.

"Return to your dorms at once. As of this moment, classes are on hold and all transportation to Vale is temporarily on hold." Securing the Academy, a lock-down. It was an extreme action, no matter how temporary, but necessary. Still a step back from a total shut down. "Anyone see approaching the Emerald Forest or Bullheads will be reprimanded. Contact all your team members and relay this message." Though that was far less efficient than a singular message. Still, it was met with acknowledging sounds from the crowd of students.

"Update of the situation has been sent to the students' Scroll," Glynda remarked easily. It was good, a fine action to reinforce the situation. But she wasn't done. "Ms. Rose, please return to your dorm. I am confident that your uncle will return shortly to tell you _personally_ of what he found. You will be able to speak to him promptly if you stay there." The deceit was clear and evident, but done for an obvious purpose.

Ms. Rose nodded again, this time pulling her cloak around her shoulders, hiding in it, as Glynda wrapped an arm around the girl. She only continued to curl into herself. He knew many soldiers like that. She would recover in time, just not immediately. Just not now.

" _The men are ready, General_ ," the voice of Specialist Schnee came from his Scroll. Focusing on that now, he could already hear the swift passing of air that came from the ascent of the Bullheads. As she was instructed, Winter was on the Bullheads with their men. Their trip to the Emerald Forest would be blessedly short from their airships. Hopefully short enough.

Ironwood looked down at his Scroll, seeing the sure gaze of one of his most trusted companions looking back at him. He imagined his face was the same as hers. Stern, focused, and determined.

There was no need to hesitate. None at all.

"Honeycomb the Emerald Forest, prioritize all areas within 20 miles of Beacon Academy," he instructed. There was no way anyone could run such a distance with less than a half hour head start. "Report any to all airborne activity, as well as monitoring for any movement unassociated with the Grimm. All field reports will be routed through myself and Glynda Goodwitch. Is that understood?"

" _Affirmative General_. _I will report in once over the Forest_." He nodded as the call was dropped, looking up to see many of Beacon's students following their own commander's orders. They were children, but they at least understood the gravity of what was occurring, even if they did not know the depth that the events held. The could not.

Because not even Ironwood himself knew. He only knew, no matter what, that Moraine had to be found and Link's masks recovered.

Or else they risked the White Fang gaining some of the most dangerous tools he had ever seen.

* * *

Oobleck was focused on his work, and strictly so. He was willing to divert his attention to non-related events and purposes when necessary, as that was the necessary detriment to his job. A minor drawback to an otherwise beneficial situation. Better with some bad, satisfactory, if odd. Oddity was the necessary accomplice to ingenuity and discovery. He had few complaints, none in fact.

Such an oddity allowed him to see the next generation of adventures practice and master their craft before him. A direct line at the development process of both mental and physical skills, as well as the slow growth curve associated with perfection and skill. Though nearly impossible to document, counter to his preferred research of Grimm studies and historical fields, still one he enjoyed to indulge himself in.

Though he did not share Glynda's preference for combat training, too messy, disorganized, and unruly, he still had much to gain from watching the slow absorption and comprehension of knowledge of his students both within and without the classroom. Such a skill was necessary for not only the betterment of their careers, but also the longevity of humankind as a whole. Though it did little to encourage exploration of the past, it reinforced a future that allowed the study of it. A future where he was tasked with orders disassociated from research and discovery was such a time, he had no desires to ever find himself tangled within. Tangled, tied, misshapen, or clung to.

As he said, an oddity that he had few complaints with.

But there were exceptions to his current thoughts, as there always were. No, inaccurate statement. It was more appropriate to say there were always exceptions to his normal intellectual path. Much better.

Exceptions that presented themselves through extraordinary circumstances and required extra attention and detail of thought to deduce a correct decision associated with them. Such examples rarely were found in the classrooms or over books, and much more commonly arose from new discoveries that came with his research, or those with those students who came from similar backgrounds. Students whom likely didn't remain students for long. One such example was a fruitful tree he had spent the past month doing heavy amounts of research for, and on, with little shame involved. No shame in study and knowledge, never, ever, shall never be thought of it.

Link was, after all, an extraordinary individual. Faunus or otherwise. Him, and his fairy companions who associated themselves with him.

Fairies, already worthy of several lifetimes of studies and examination alone, but possessing detailed knowledge of both the historical, political, cultural, and symbolic history of Link's homeland. Between both Tatl and Tael, Bartholomew Oobleck had prepared enough documentation and finely crafted research to publish his own scientific journal or two, perhaps in a cultural studies journal or similar symposium. For the exchange of both publicly accessible and academically locked research articles, Bartholomew was able to gain much more out of the pair of fairies than he believed he'd ever gain out of any conversation, ever.

Conversations were fruitful, no doubt, simply true, inscrutably, but they were also burdened by both the mismatched frequency to which the individuals conversed and uncertainty that the topics being discussed were being shared at an equal academic level. The research of journals or medical profiles held no such limitation, and archeology was dependent only on one's foreknowledge, which he could easily admit he had a great deal of. Conversations were no included in such a category. As such, they were his least preferred method of communication, far below those of lectures, reading, or scientific study.

But Link, or more accurately Tatl and Tael, were the present and obvious, plain, exemplary, exception to such a rule.

The breath of their combined knowledge, not including the requests for further research that was allowing for _further_ extraordinary acceptance by Ozpin, meant that Oobleck could further his own research in both fields of archeology, historical study, and cultural research. Such topics were given much more fruit and evidence by the supposed isolation of Faunus groups in Link's homeland _by_ their animalia traits, rather than the combined congregation of them for simply possessing them, as was common in lands such as Menagerie.

The pair of fairies, though opposing in personality, almost opposite, contractual, was both an allowing element for sympathetic and intellectual development. Further evidence to his own studies on the habitual nature of siblings, further emphasized pair an unknown element, far outside control groups, that demonstrated the protective nature of elder siblings. That is, despite her verbose and easily definable dislike of the arrangement, did so out of request of both Link and Tael. Did so for the desire to protect her sibling and companion.

A commendable trait, desirable, honorable, praiseworthy… _damning_.

Damning, correctly used, as failure to uphold her self-imposed desire to protect her sibling left her to be consumed by a sense of hate, rage, isolation, and _wrath_ that was nearly non-negotiable, tolerable, justifiable. It was a feeling that was most common in Hunter teams that lost a member, often leading to them charging into otherwise unfavorable positions despite their training. Mainly colloquial terms were given to such a sensation. Bloodlust, battle rage, hatred, and many other appropriately used terms. Many of which were also just as understandable as the rage itself.

The desire to see the blood of one's enemy for taking one whom you had immeasurably close ties to. The rage that came for the desire for a fight, duel, battle, _slaughter_ , namely against the perpetrator who had wronged and harmed the charge one had. And hatred, for very little else could be used to describe such a feeling of hatred that came from the immediate sense of loss of a long tie companion. The second stage of grief, the most prominent and difficult to deal with, as many physicians and therapists attested to in their anonymous papers.

Bartholomew Oobleck new such a stage well. Knew it both from observation and experience.

He did not need to observe Tatl the fairy to deduce she was in the thralls of such a stage of grief. It was an unnecessary and far-gone conclusion, obvious stage, impossible to be anything else. Ignoring the familiar connection between the pair of fairies, the closeness they shared doubtlessly meant that they valued the lives of one another greatly, and the loss of said life would be harming to their souls, their physique, their reason.

Oobleck knew this as well. It was why he did not bother to think or justify his own action.

Namely, running through the Emerald Forest with no back or immediate support, despite the clearly document and reported presence of White Fang members. Armed with only his Thermos, his intelligence, and his rage, he knew that it was a poor decision. But, despite this, he still continued forward. The reason why was obvious.

He had heard of the loss of Tatl. His reason was temporarily lost in kind.

Oobleck, normally, was kind to have his reason guide his actions. It was reason that led him to the field of research and huntsman training, allowing him to pursue areas of research and topics of study that were either too well concealed or forbidden in other areas or professions. It was that that same reason that allowed him to teach his students no matter the situation, and keep them alive to survive into and secure their future. Reason was the reason for his continued success and future research.

But reason was currently _unimportant, mundane, obstructive_ , to what was necessary. And the necessary requirement that was impeded was presently obvious, desirable, necessary, and _shared_ by anyone else nearby. Friend or _foe_.

Find _Tael's murderer_.

Find them in the Emerald Forest, having pursued the White Fang behind Ms. Pyrrha Nikos, determined to catch up and assist he as was necessary.

Despite the otherwise partially lit nature of the forest, concealed by the canopy of the trees above them, the illumination was rapidly decreasing in the Emerald Forest. Knowledge, not reason, reminded him that it was due to the thickening canopy above him. If the hour was later in the date, his knowledge further emphasized for him, the ability to hide would have been much higher, and finding them much more difficult. However, obstructed vision was _not_ lack of vision. And he was not just a researcher, he was a Hunter. A Hunter, before all else, knew the importance of a hunt.

Feet stamping through the forest floor, far off from where the students normally had their examinations, Bartholomew looked for all the broken twigs and depressed earth his eyes could quickly spy, following them as diligently as markers on the road. Grass and forest moss depressed still was likely because someone was running through, twigs broke most commonly by something running past them, as they were otherwise biologically evolved to resist low forces.

They were the greatest sign he had for the path of travel taken by Pyrrha Nikos. But more important, it was most likely the path taken by _Tael's Murderer_ , Moraine.

His Thermos swung in his hands as he pivoted against the forest floor, seeing a sudden change in direction of pursuit. Rounding a large tree, easily his height in diameter. A poor attempt to lose Pyrrha, doubtlessly, obviously, but one he followed regardless. He was minutes behind the two, but minutes in a chase was near always the _loss_ of the pursuer. This was one test an examination he could not lose.

 _BAM!_ The back edge of his hammer hit the ground, swinging him in a circle around the tree before pushing in forward. He used it as the crux to maintain his speed, sacrificing _nothing_ in his velocity as he continued his pursuit. He did not care that his clothes were those for lecture hall, that his shoes would be ruined by the day's end, or that his glasses may need new frames from their constant jostling at the bridge of his nose. All were unimportant facts, meaningless, inconsequential.

Only Pyrrha mattered, only Tatl mattered, only Tael mattered, only _Tael's murderer_ mattered. Everything else was only a secondary note. Everything.

 _WHIIIRR! WHIIIRRR!_ _ **BOOM!**_ Including the recognizable sounds of a Class 2 Atlesian Spider Mech.

Oobleck kept his swift pace as he recalled what he knew of the battle mech. Autonomous or pilotable, remotely or through analog controls. Superior balance and higher pressure of fuel lines and fluid resulted in both a heavier, sturdier, and more powerful mech. Cost efficiency made it obsolete according to public records, but records deceitful, redacted, hidden, _incomplete_. They were designed to handle multiple enemy targets, specifically near-Ancient Grimm through a mixture of containment and execution, allowable through its multiple appendages, long range weaponry, and high-grade Dust reserves.

 _WHIIRR!_ _ **BOOM! BOOM!**_ Disturbing that one was in the Emerald Forest. A glance towards the sounds revealed it to already be active or perhaps trying to activate itself within confined quarters. Unimportant at the moment. Secondary to his main object, a far under secondary. Despite its size, weight, and destructive capabilities, all extreme, it was not related to the student, companion, and _murderer_ he was trying to find.

 ** _BOOM!_** "GAH!" That was until he heard a cry.

 **BAM!** Using his hammer again, Bartholomew flung himself in the direction of the Spider Mech and feminine cry. The trees shot past him again, off the trail of the broken branches and beaten path, but that was now a secondary. Primary reduced in scale due to the imminent danger before him, and from a cry he recognized through observation and experience.

Breaking through the foliage, raising his hammer up for a defensive stance, Bartholomew came to the sight of the Spider Mech in combat with one of hist students. With Pyrrha Nikos.

Ms. Nikos, who was holding off a pair of it arms with her Akouo shield raised, likely due to the increase in strength from her gauntlets, and the other outstretched, seemingly holding back another. Her Semblance then, telekinetic or magnetization, it was unclear. Unimportant. Important was immediate observation.

She was holding back four pair of robotic arms, each capable of supplying roughly 30 tons of force with a full swing and high hydraulic power. In combination with reduced surface area, from the sharpened blades it possessed, and it was unlikely that her Aura would retain itself from a strong hit. Damning circumstances. One that needed immediate correction.

His hammer dug into the ground again, creating a momentum point for him to swing around. Or, in this case, a vaulting point. A point that, when supplied with the sudden extension of his legs, launched him into the air and high above the currently battling pair. He used his ascent to prepare himself for the descent, and his target.

The droid was like any machine, controlled by its motherboard and processor. Though difficult to find, human engineering tended to place such components at similar places to human design. In such a case, the top and head of the fixture, out of the way and easily defensible. That was what he aimed for. Aimed for as he started to spin as he descended, increasing the force of his blow.

 ** _WHAM!_** A blow that, once connected, deafened his own ears for a moment. An allowable consequence for ending the stalemate between the two.

"Professor!" Pyrrha Nikos shouted to him, just as he landed beside her. He did not look to her at first, taking note of the Mech's stance, posture, machinery, weaponry, all applicable elements of the machine. Important, _very_ important. It had backed off, but a combination of heat-treated steel and thicker plating meant his attack had only disturbed its balance, not causing significant harm to its processing unit. Unfortunate, but likely.

"Doctor," he corrected as he turned to Ms. Nikos. "Unimportant, secondary. _Primary_ talking point is situation. Summarize, swiftly, _currently!_ " He spun the hammer in his hand, holding its head behind him as he crouched for another blow. That, or allowed the quick swing to rise up and defend himself. The Mech was still preparing, repairing, itself.

"Moraine and Tatl ran by here a-and I was pursuing them, but then Moraine took a sudden detour in this direction." Oobleck had not seen that, but if the path was predetermined, it likely was treaded. Possible, currently unimportant. "Moraine hit a box I didn't recognize then… then _this_ appeared." A prepared unit then. Premeditation clear and evident. "After that, Moraine ran back ahead and Tatl took off after her as well. She wouldn't listen to me." Tatl, not Moraine. The sibling to Tael. Consumed by grief, anger, rage. Expected response, if unfortunate.

Dr. Oobleck understood. His emotions were currently waring in a similar, though likely _reduced_ manner, compared to the fairy.

"I tried to pursue, but this this Mech is… I-I can't slip by it." Said Spider Mech was finished righting itself. It was preparing its Dust-charged cannons, evident by the unfolding of its heavy machinery and battering equipment. Most unfortunate, extremely so.

The Spider Mech was likely programmed to stall pursuers, execute if necessary. Most likely. He and Pyrrha were pursuers, and Moraine had activated it to escape. A wise decision, the premeditation that depended less on one's speed alone. A smart decision, but one he currently deplored.

Decision was necessary, action. Swift and just. Most appropriate action guaranteed the safety of all-party members. No such action was available. High probability of everyone's survival and well-being then. Such a decision was possible.

Bartholomew was simply displeased with it. Annoyed, _furious_ that the enemy's foresight made such a decision necessary. Repercussions would be had on them once found. Certainly, absolutely, but not presently. Presently, the Spider Mech needed to be dealt with and Moraine pursued for Tatl's safety. He could do both, but Pyrrha Nikos was capable most efficiently for one.

"Chase Moraine," Dr. Oobleck spoke, twisting his hammer until flames licked along its length.

"What?" Clearly, she was not thinking in the same mindset as him. Unfortunate, but not permanent. She had endured Monument Mine, now this. Her skill would grow, but not currently enough. He did, however, and as such, he needed her to continue ahead.

"Continue the pursuit, Ms. Nikos," Oobleck spoke loud enough for his student to hear. He did not need to turn to see that she was looking at him. She was a fine student, very intelligent, dedicated, but she questioned much outside of the classroom. Her one true detriment. "You risk harm facing this foe, and I cannot risk another student facing harm today. Further, you are aware, knowledgeable, of the direction the _target_ fled in." That was an important distinction as well.

In order to pursue the target successfully, knowledge of their most likely path was critical, from the time she spent pursuing, Ms. Nikos would have an idea. Likely, possibly, though more assuredly than his own. Therefore, the more optimal choice.

" _Pursue_ Moraine and the White Fang further. I shall deal with this monstrosity then follow you." He spoke as the Spider droid unfolded its arms, cannons and likely Dust enhanced blades folding outwards. A further example of the detriment of wasting time, allowing for an enemy to arm themselves. A poor decision on his part to wait to explain, but necessary if he wished to deal with the threat without the chance of further harming coming to his students.

Reason was shot, but he could not use that as an excuse for poor decisions that led to the harm of others.

"But professor-!" _BAM!_ Ms. Nikos's words were silenced by Bartholomew swinging and letting his thermos rest in the ground, slightly embedded at his feet, cannon facing upwards. The noise and action had silenced his student, but it had _not_ encouraged her to move, unfortunate.

"Discussion can be had _later!_ " He yelled. Another poor decision, but a necessary one. "Continue the pursuit! Do not let Moraine escape!" She did not move; she did not waver. Now Oobleck looked to her, a snarl on his lips. " _Now!_ " Another poor choice of words, but ones that reached a result.

Ms. Nikos took off, hair billowing behind her as she showed her skills as a trained Huntress and duelist. It was the later, Oobleck's mind reminded him, that assured him it was proper to have her pursue the killer and not face the droid. The droid was heavier, sturdier, and much more likely to kill. A killer was keen to kill, but an abducted Spider Droid easily the same. Ms. Nikos had little, if any experience facing them.

But he had gained much experience facing them, and even then, much less than Ms. Nikos had facing human opponents in the ring. She had trained to face humans, and so she would know how to defend herself against a killer. It was, therefore the safest option. Safest, if still not safe. He snarled at the droid. As its servos began to whirl, providing AC power to its distal elements.

The mess of metal was not fortunate that it had blocked his Scroll's signal. It was not fortunate that it had successfully given Moraine and the remaining White Fang a path of escape. It was not fortune to be here at this moment. Because, the beast was not fortunate that it had to face him.

Dr. Oobleck was in a furious state, and his control was deteriorating with it. Using a thermos such as his, with Aura such as his, and a sense of urgency as great as his, control was something he had precious little of.

He had little idea if he could control himself from _killing_ the droid and its assumed pilot.

The doctor lifted his thermos up as the beast swung at him, an entire upper torso spinning with the securement of its lower limbs, allowing for an extremely high force to be given to its likely heat-treated blade. It was a blow that tore through the trees around it, forest giants with easily several feet thick of solid bark, with the ease he knew high-grade steel could soft polymers.

It was a strong thing, but it wasn't angry, not like Oobleck. Therefore, it was at a disadvantage.

"You made a poor decision today," he grumbled to the droid and whatever creature lurked within. "You will not have time to make another."

 **BAM! BAM! BAM!** Firing its rockets as it swung its blade, the Spider Droid charged.

Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck leapt into the air to match it.

* * *

"Ruby… what the hell are you talking about?" Of all the words she could say, that was the only sentence Yang's mind could _process_ enough to say.

After Ruby had left early to have a practice match with Pyrrha and Yang spent the day being grilled by Weiss for her homework, she thought it was just going to be another boring day. After Blake walked in from her run, nonplus about her partner being scolded by her teammate and careless about revealing her ears, again, she thought it was going to be another sign of their slowly improving life. And when JNPR, minus the P, freaked out because all of them had slept in and they thought they had classes, Yang thought it was just going to be one humorous situation to tease them with later.

That was before the sudden announcement on her Scroll, _all_ of their Scrolls, from Ms. Goodwitch telling them to remain in side. That was before the question about where Ruby was in all of this. And that was most definitely before Ruby had practically barreled through their door, almost knowing Yang over, with tears in her eyes and shaking almost violently.

Yang was prepared to slaughter someone at the sight alone.

Her baby sister, her Rubes, crying and holding her cloak to her like she was _attacked?_ The Grimm would be scared of her by the time she got to them. The White Fang might even surrender. And really, no one could blame her. No one even _did_ when Rubes started crying again. Blake and Weiss were on her in a second, having to get past Yang who was treating Ruby as if she were made of glass. With how she was crying, she was worried she just might be.

She'd calmed down though, enough at least. Not enough for Yang, who wanted to see her smile and wipe away her tears, but enough to talk. And when she started talking, Yang was starting to believe her ears were still ringing from the rage of seeing her enter their room a broken hooded sobbing mess. Because what she was hearing didn't make any sense.

It mad _no_ sense that Moraine, the kid that they had helped look after for almost the past month, had stolen Link's _Masks_. It made _less_ sense that she was talking about the White Fang and how Link was some kind of a traitor for doing _anything_ against them. But it made _abysmally impossibly low_ amount of sense for what Ruby said happened after that.

Yang just couldn't believe _Tael was dead_.

"I-I-I s-s-sa-a-aw it-t-t." Ruby tried to speak. Tried was the operative word. Yang could only _guess_ how many times she'd said all of this, once, but Ruby was still sobbing and looking away from them. Sitting on Weiss's bed with her legs pulled up, hugging her knees and clutching at her tights with her nails. Yang could feel her own hand preparing to _shatter_ the wooden post of the bed at the sight of it. "I s-s-sa-a-aw… s-s-saa-a-aawww…" And her lips started trembling again, so she buried her mouth to her knees.

Yang felt her teeth crack at the sight. Someone was going to pay for this, _anyone_. She just needed to find out who. Because who Ruby _said_ was responsible just… it just didn't make any sense! Yang could _not_ rationalize what Ruby was talking about at all. The kid who was half their size and probably a third their weight, doing _half_ the things Ruby said? It just… it didn't make any sense.

And that really pissed Yang off. This wasn't making _any sense_.

"Ruby, it's okay. It's alright," Weiss tried to soothe her teammate, sitting next to her. One hand was slowly stroking Ruby's back, the other lightly lain on her knee. Yang did _not_ miss her little sister shivered at the first amount of contact. That alone was weird enough, considering how often she practically jumped into Weiss's arms. "Take deep breaths, _deep_ breaths. You're safe, we're here, it's… it's okay." Yang wasn't convinced, and she was _looking_ to be tricked at this point.

" _It's not okay!_ " Ruby yelled, almost batting Weiss away. There were way more than just a few signs on why that worried Yang, it only began with Ruby crying. " _It's not_ … i-it isn't… It isn't okay! Don't say it's okay w-w-when… n-not when she… Tael is…" and her body folded back in on itself, hugging her knees again. This time without Weiss's hand on her.

Yang looked at the heiress, hoping for once to hear the girl give _some_ kind of criticism. If only because Yang wanted something to punch, _badly_. All she got, however, was Ruby's partner looking back at her and Blake, arms held up without a clue of where to put them, and mouth open looking for words to say. She wasn't the only one, and she was new to the search party as far as Yang was concerned.

"Okay… okay, Ruby," Blake was trying now. Yang looked at her partner as she got in front of her little sis, bending her knees until she was eye level. Didn't mean Ruby was looking. Not with how curled in she was and basically completely withdrawn. She didn't the last time she looked like this.

And Dust and Grimm, Yang knew _exactly_ when that was.

"Ruby," Blake tried again, waiting a moment for her leader to react. She didn't, not that Yang expected her to. This was just… it was too much. "I need you… can you _please_ tell me again what happened with Tael and Moraine. _Not_ what you saw, but… what you happened before then." Before?

"Blake what you are talking about?" Yang spoke up before Rubes could. "She didn't… this isn't something that she-" She cut herself off, and really, didn't know which reason it was. Ruby whimpering, Blake giving her a side-long stare, or just realizing that _any_ direction was better than the limited one she had. And hey, she was even pulling at her _own hair_ now. Wasn't this a grand situation?

"Ruby," Blake started for a third time. "Don't think about… Tael, or the fight, or any of that. Think about _finding_ Moraine. What did you see, what did you hear, when you first saw her?" For a brief moment, Yang hoped she knew what Blake was doing. Getting Ruby's mind off of… _Tael's death_. HE couldn't be dead though, not really. Could fairies even actually _die_. "Was there anything that Moraine said to you that you didn't recall afterwards… actually, was there anything you heard that seemed… odd?" Odd, why odd?

Yang trusted her partner, but with how hard her hand was gripping the bed post, and about ready to make mulch in their dorm room, another straw would break the back of her stress. This wasn't supposed to happen here, at _Beacon_. Her dad only let her go because it was so safe and Uncle Qrow vouched for it! Now Tael was dead, after all the stories he told Rubes and… and _Dust_ knew what it was going to do to Link! Messed up didn't cover this.

"Take your mind off of what you saw, and think of what you heard," Blake spoke again. As she did, she gently put her hands-on Ruby's shins, pulled up as they were. She tensed, and Yang joined her, before slowly relaxing. Well that was good, somewhat, maybe, _hopefully_. Weiss took it as a sign to step away. "Moraine spoke, and you said it was the first time you heard her. What did she say when she did? What did she say for what… for what Tatl was yelling at her?"

"Is this supposed to be psychosis diversion?" Yang looked side-long at Weiss, the heiress harshly whispering next to her. Yang saw the bow Blake was wearing twitch, but she ignored it. Weiss did, too. "It makes sense, as seeing… witnessing what Ruby did is just… too much."

"Honestly, I'm just standing here hoping that someone used a messed-up Semblance on her," Yang responded back. And really that was her _only_ hope. Stupid as it was, she'd take mental manipulation over _actual_ death any day. Because at least then she had someone to kill herself afterwards. Actually, _she still might_. "This isn't the kind of stuff that should be happening, not without, I don't know, _some_ kind of a high-sign? Anything!" Though not even she could imagine just what that would be. She just wanted more time to deal with this than she was being given, and Rubes had either. "This is almost as bad as last time." The words slipped out as she remembered the last time, she saw it.

"Last time?" And Weiss caught it. "This happened before?" Yeah, it did, but Yang kept her lips flat and sealed about it. Bringing that up now, while Ruby was still trying to piece herself back together, _and Yang was wondering how she was going to get away with murderer_ , was probably a bad idea. "Oh… you mean… your mother…" That made her forget just how smart the heiress was.

"Ruby's mom," Yang corrected. "My step-mom, even if she was a mom to me," Yang admitted it, not that she ever denied it. Just something she had to correct a lot of people on. More than she cared to. "Last time it happened, and we all got word, Rubes just… R-Ruby didn't act right for a while." Yang felt her fingers _sink_ to the second knuckle in the wood she was holding. Weiss was smart to stay a step away.

"Because it was sudden news, with no warning, and only the word of those nearby that it happened," Weiss replied slowly. "And now Rubes was able to witness it… so she cannot deny what she saw." Now her teeth were starting to crack.

Figures that it would be Weiss to point out the critical point to make this whole situation _worse_. And it was already so far into the bottom pit of hell that Yang was willing to give the devil a shovel to help make room for his own grave!

"What… what helped her last time? Should we call your father for assistance?" Yang grimaced at that, already knowing that her dad would probably be as helpful as she was being herself. A 'comforting presence' as a thousand and one different psyches had told them, all trying to talk to Ruby and only getting a response when she or her dad were in the room.

Yeah, it would only help if she had to go somewhere. And _that_ was about as likely as her losing an arm.

"My dad isn't going to be able to much," Yang admitted. "Right now, what we gotta do is figure out _where_ that Moraine _brat_ went. Or, even better, just what the _hell_ made her go so far off the reservation that she… she did _all_ of that?!" Her whisper came through snarling lips and clenched teeth. She finally managed to rip her hand off of the bed post as well, settling for wrapping her digits around her forearm.

The bed was ruined, but she didn't care about that. She doubted anyone did. She only cared about her little sister, still holding her knees to her chest, hiding in her cloak, and listening to Blake softly speak to her. Honestly, even if Yang wanted to help her sis, it could have been a ghost from some evil past helping her now, so long as she was getting better. It being her partner who was doing the helping was just an even compromise.

"She was… talking about how Link _deserved_ it." Yang's head whipped back to Ruby as her sister began to talk. Blake hadn't moved and neither had she. In fact, she wasn't looking at anything still. "She said that… th-that she just wanted the masks a-and that she was waiting for this time… it was waiting, she was waiting." Ruby startled to mumble again, but Yang didn't dare breath. Experience or not, Blake clearly had some knowledge of what to do.

"That's good, it's good that you remember," Blake spoke again, now massaging Ruby's leg. If it was helping her relax, Yang would let her partner do anything to Rubes. "But what else did she say. Was she answering questions, or speaking to stall?"

"N-No, _we_ were the ones that were stalling. Trying to… failed to," her words fell off again, but Yang had yet to catch her own breath. "Pyrrha and I we… w-we just stumbled on it and I-I-I knew that if we kept her there longer, someone one come so… so I tried to keep her talking, a-a-nd so did Pyrrha. But it didn't work. It _didn't work a-a-_ " Her head fell deeper into her knees, as did Yang's heart. Too bad her rage was doing the opposite.

"Ruby, focus. Not on what happened after, but _before_. Keep focusing on that." Blake directed her right away from the trauma. And good thing to. Yang was feeling sick just imagining Tael being… being _killed_. And having it roll through her head over and over? She was going to get Ruby the biggest plate of cookies she could find after this. "What questions did you ask that garnered a response? What did she say as she was moving away from you?" Yang didn't move a muscle as she listened, she was sure Weiss was doing exactly the same.

"She… she was talking about how Link was a traitor." A traitor? Why… why would he be that. "She said it was supposed to be easy to get the masks a-and if we, if _no one_ saw her, she would have just… just left…" But Ruby had seen her, or more accurately, Tatl and Tael saw her and Ruby's new Super Semblance led her right to them. Yang was feeling that dropping sensation in her chest getting bigger and bigger, and she was seriously starting to hate it. A lot.

No actually, she already hated it a lot. Now she just wanted to fill it as quick as possible, or murder the _bitch_ responsible for making it grow in the first place. She had a few places on where she could start.

"Okay, okay, that's good," Blake continued on. "She was likely lying to you though, trying to deflect blame off of herself. You _cannot_ accept _her_ blame for what she did. Moraine… whoever she is, her actions are not your fault." And that was a nice kicker, one that Yang had no reason to argue with. Heck, she wanted to write it down and hang it on the wall. New Motto for the team, right after they wrote out eulogy for the brat in her own blood! "Was there anything else there, something she may have mentioned that made you curious? Anything?"

Looking for odd stuff now. If this was a normal situation, and Yang was trying to look through her own memories on how to help her sister out of this again, she'd have said it was perfect for her. But that was before the _apparently_ innocent girl turned out to be a monster and Tael… one of her new friends was killed, in front of her… this wasn't going to be settled in a day, no matter what happened.

"She mentioned the White Fang." Yang felt her senses flare, frayed and twisted as they were from all of this. And sure enough, with just a glance over, Blake wasn't moving. "I mentioned Adam." That didn't sound any better. Namely because it gave Yang a thousand and one _new_ things to worry about.

If Moraine _knew_ about the White Fang and even straight up talked about them, then... then that meant she could be _working_ with them. And if _that_ was the case, then that meant there was no way she was doing so after she got here, but _before_. And if _THAT_ was the case, then that meant that she might know Blake's old boyfriend. And _IF THAT_ was the case… then that meant some part of Blake was going to be blaming herself soon.

And _IF ALL OF THAT_ was true… this already worst-case scenario was about to hit lows Satan would marvel at.

"What… what did she say back?" Blake's voice hitched and Yang tried her best to ignore. She ignored it because Ruby at least _looked_ like she was improving. Even a bit. And if she could be pulled back at all from where she was before, then that was better. So much better. "Is there… anything she might have said?"

"She asked if I… i-if I knew him." And there it went.

Yang watched it, believing about as much of the situation as she did before, and understanding just as much as that! She watched Ruby's words, words that probably came from her traumatized mind, pushed Blake back and off of her. It was at least enough to finally get her to move, her and Weiss both.

"Blake," she spoke up, taking a careful step towards her partner. She didn't respond, even if her bow was about as up and taunt as her arm after delivering a savage punch. "Blake, remember what you just said to Rubes. I know that guy is bad news, him and that White Mess group you ran from… but this is… you have to…" Yang kept starting and stopping herself, because she didn't even know _what_ to say. She knew just as much about this situation when Ruby came in crying as she did now that Blake looked like someone was waving a red flag in her face.

It didn't help when Blake started pacing, because that was usually a bad sign. Pacing back and forth and taking her eyes off of them all. Off of them and aimed down at the floor, staring at the carpet beneath her and her own hands. She was looking between them as she was muttering something, and Yang only got that much because she knew her partner was a talker when she was pissed, and this, right now, it qualified, because they were _all_ pissed off. That or just confused to the point of it.

Yang risked a quick look at Ruby, willing to let Blake run off and make a scene if her sister needed help. But maybe she had some help from above this time, cause Weiss was already back by her own partner and with arms around Ruby. Double points for getting her sis to curl into her. That was good, great actually if she was being honest.

Great namely because she knew it was around the time, she started doing that _before_ that she was getting over what had happened. A part of her was glad it was happening faster than last time, another _bigger_ part of her worried about it, and then a third that was wondering if she could still do anything to help. But the fourth part of her was wondering about something else. Namely, the _other_ Faunus she knew who was acting like someone had threatened her parents' lives.

"Why would… the play… even the _orphanage?! All_ of it? H-H-H-How _much_ did she-they, what did they do!?" Her partner who was still pounding her feet as she walked back and forth across the room. Yang eyed her, watching her hands, fingers knotted in her black hair, bow almost being pulled off completely. At least she could understand her now, somewhat at least.

"Blake, you gotta bring it back," Yang tried to sound calm herself. Tried was the operative word. She didn't know how to act like everything was alright, even while it felt like her world was being torn from the inside out, _almost literally_. "I know that this is bad, doesn't just look it, it _is_ bad, but… you gotta remember that things are already tense enough. We don't… we don't need to bring back up anything else." And there was a lot there.

Putting Ruby aside… no that was impossible. _Next_ to Ruby and having to watch what happened to _Tael_ , freaking horrible and _monstrous_ as that was, Blake was just reminded about her old pal from her 'favorite' group in the world, the one that she and the rest of her team were looking to tear down. And now, all of sudden, it looked like they had turned the tables on that in a second.

"It doesn't… you… _we_ don't know how involved those guys are." Yang tried to weave instead. Thinking on the fly wasn't her thing, but be _damned_ if she was about to give up! Sooner cut all her hair off, shave it even. "Moraine's a… she's _gonna_ die, for what she did, or… or something else, but…" Man, _nothing_ was coming to mind!

"That's not the point YANG!" The shout from Blake, however, seemed to imply the opposite problem with her.

"Huh?" It was dumb stupid, and the lamest response she'd ever given, but it was also the only one she could give. At least while staring at Blake's snarling features as she practically barred her teeth up at Yang.

Weiss had _better_ have a good grip on Ruby.

"Moraine's _not_ some small idiotic child! She never was!" Blake yelled it out now, and Yang was starting to wonder who was more traumatized by all of this. She didn't even know where all the pieces were still! "She… what Ruby said _she_ said, a-a-and what she did, is doing, what she _lied_ about, _all of it!_ It was all just… just one _big scam!_ " Blake was roaring it now, with hands in her hair and he bow practically flat against her scalp. She was either angry, pissed or scared, and she didn't know who at. Yang clenched her teeth to match her partner.

" _Blake!_ " Yang spoke in a tone to match her partner. " _Forget_ whatever the hell has got you so pissed off and start talking sense!" She had witnessed a murder, and she wasn't her little sister, no matter how close they were. Yang was okay at yelling if it got her answers for this whole mess. " _What_ is going on and _what_ do you mean about Moraine!" Blake's eyes, slit like wounds and with a snarl to match, promised no calm exchange.

"What I _just said_ Yang!" Blake replied, like that actually explained anything, at all. "Moraine she… _wherever_ she was supposed to go or be… it was all a _scam_. _All of it!_ " Her hands were back in her hair, and she was pacing again. Only this time, she was snarling, and breathing like she was trying to let off the steam.

Yang didn't have a better suggestion on how to do it, not without the _murderer_ of Tael in front of her. Then they'd all have an outlet. And then some.

"Moraine she… she met Link, Lana, _them_ , a-at the festival at the harbor." Yang listened, wondering how where the girl first showed up mattered. "She didn't… _normal_ kids living on the street _avoid_ attention, _especially_ if they are Faunus. I-I-Its almost the same as danger to u- _them_. You can't trust… _they_ can't trust people with power s-so approaching Lana, or Link, or _whoever_ , was just… _I-I-I should have realized it THEN!_ "

**BAM!**

Her next word was an action, namely burying her fist into the wall, letting dry wall and plaster fall down around it. No one in the room even reacted, and Yang, some distant part of her, didn't even know what that meant. She could only listen for now, because maybe _then_ she'd get an idea about what was happening!

"Someone who looks… _someone_ who looks small and meek a-a-and _needful_ they… they make excellent…" she swallowed on something, hand still buried in the wall. "When there is someone with power o-or is overly charitable… they make excellent _agents_ against them." Against… oh… oh no…

"Agents for…" Weiss practically mouthed out behind Yang she was talking so quietly. She could still hear a small whimper from Ruby, and that was enough to make her flex her fists and focus her mind. "Infiltration and espionage… taking advantage of the charity of others…" It was _exactly_ what Yang though, the moment Blake finished talking. "Father said, he…. I… I-I-I thought he was being paranoid of the p-possibility…" No, Weiss could _not_ flake on her too.

"Their good for… for almost _anything_ the charitable offer," Blake spat it out. She _ripped_ her hand from the wall, staring out the window at something Yang couldn't even imagine. "Take their Lien, a-ask for housing, steal valuables… or even blackmail with information… No one suspects a child… no one…" Including Link and everyone else at Beacon. "Everything must have… i-i-it was all a lie, all of it." Even…

"The orphanage," Yang growled out, not even realizing her voice was as low as it was. "All those kids… and _Roman_." The name pissed her off, just not half as much as it did before.

Even if she saw the faces of a _dozen_ scar faced children because of him, Lana shot and lain on the ground with Rubes practically giving herself up to keep them safe, and him just grinning as he was whisked away by whatever the Gray Man was, he didn't compare to Moraine now. Not against the girl who had single handedly made Ruby cry and regress.

 _Especially_ not now that she and _Roman_ were probably working together. Monsters, _all of them_.

Not everyone may have liked her, but no one thought ill of Moraine. Not before _now_ at least. And the now was _so much worse_ than the _then_ of a few hours ago. Back when things made sense and Yang wasn't the only one trying to keep the room sane!

Yang could _not_ handle being the only one with a sane mind right now. Not while Ruby was practically _reliving_ the trauma of Tael being… _crushed_ in front of her, Blake was spilling all the beans about the White Fang to their faces, and Weiss was acting like her father was actually _right_ about _anything!_ Yang could not deal with this; she _wouldn't_ deal with it!

**BANG!**

For a moment, she thought that she'd finally broken one of the beds with her first, or maybe joined Blake's hole in the wall with one of her own. But that wasn't the case, and it was evident considering how she hadn't moved. She may as well have been the only one. Because only a glance at Blake, and she could tell her partner was looking over her shoulder.

A glance at Ruby and Weiss, her little sister still curled into her partner, said partner pulling her into a hug, were both looking back at the doorway. Turning a bit more, Yang caught sight of their door hanging off of a hinge, swinging inward, and with a boot imprinted on the wood. The same wood that she and her team had been banging and kicking all year so far, now dented with one smack.

But Yang didn't care about that, she was just distracting herself from something she was afraid of. _Definitely_ afraid of.

She was angrier than every demon in existence at Moraine and Roman and all the White Fang.

She was miserable for her sister, her teammates, and all the kids that were used like pawns in the orphanage.

However, there was only one thing Yang was actually afraid of, _really_ afraid of, and she was sure she wasn't the only one.

And that thing was standing in their doorway, staring at _her_ with slit blue eyes, a growling face, and pointed ears that looked just as deadly as every other part of him.

Before anything else she knew she had to do, Yang gulped.

* * *

There wasn't a word that Tatl knew, in any language she had learned to describe what she was feeling. Rage didn't come close, anger was just as far away, and furious didn't have the intensity of what she was feeling, and what she was feeling… _monsters_ would be afraid of her.

For the better part, they probably were, even as she zipped and wove through the forest around her. And that rogue thought only pervaded her mind because she couldn't take her eyes off of the _only_ thing that currently mattered to her. The _thing_ that she as chasing, because in no way could it ever be considered something alive or decent.

There was _nothing_ worth remembering or keeping at the front of her mind about _Tael's killer_ , about _Moraine!_

Nothing, except how Tatl was going to _rip her throat out apart inside out!_

" _Stop running!_ " Tatl yelled again, for maybe the hundredth time, as her wings beat through the air and her glow was a crimson red. Red with the _blood she wanted_ to spill _, just like TAEL'S!_ "I'm going to _catch you_ and _tear you in two!_ " Thirds if she had time before one of the brats tried to stop her! They may reduce the damage, but Tatl was _going_ to ger her pound of flesh, or _fifty!_

Her thoughts and sadistic ideas flew through her mind as quickly as she did through air, weaving through and around the branches the _brat_ was ducking or pushing her way through. Tatl watched them whip around _Link's_ tunic, _not hers_. The same way she watched her holding the bag full of _Link's masks_ , _NEVER hers_ , with all the intensity of a Wall Master with its prey.

Tatl knew she'd be _kind_ in comparison to one of those.

"Get _back here!_ " Tatl yelled again, this time twisting around another large tree the _bitch_ was trying to lose her around. She was obviously just as stupid as she looked _and acted_ , if she thought she'd lose Tatl with something as absolutely childish as _that!_ And sure enough, rounding a corner, she saw the brat running again, this time weaving between trees herself. "You're gonna get tired _way_ before I do! Stop running and _take your punishment!_ " She'd deliver the execution herself!

But of course, _Moraine_ didn't so much as turn around. She only kept beating _Link's boots_ across the ground as she run, shoving up underbrush of the forest and doing her best to avoid the fairy. she was having _no luck_ , and Tatl wasn't about to give _any!_ Not before she took a few _handfuls_ of the girl's _teeth_ with her!

A ring, or more accurately a chime, of high pitch continued to let loose around Tatl, higher and fiercer the farther and faster she beat her wings. She ignored the sound of her own body, focusing on the sound of the girl she was chasing, the _bitch_. Hoping desperately, she'd get a _whimper_ of regret for what she did to Tael, _something to show she was afraid_.

Because Tatl could, _and would, savor that_.

"GRAH!" Tatl yelled this time, namely as she bobbed herself mid-flight to match the lunge the girl made. The _bitch_ making it in order to clear the fallen tree in her path, all the while staying on some forest road Tatl couldn't care to even observe, _not before_ , she got to observe the _innard_ s of the monster that _killed her brother!_

That same monster that was getting _so close_ to a clearing. The same _bitch_ that was… slowing down!

Tatl seized on it, no way letting the chance slip her by. She'd _barrel_ into the brat and start by tearing her _ears_ off before flying down the channels and _scrambling her brain!_ She'd do _all_ of it and then she'd just _start_ to make up for what she had done to her brother! She'd do all of it because the bitch killed her! A few more flutters, a few more _feet_ , and-

" _GRA-"_ Her breath was knocked out of her a moment later.

Or, more accurately, _pulled_ out of her.

Pulled as something caught by her back, by _her wings_ , pinching and holding them together. The sudden force of it sent Tatl into a made panicked scramble, flexing and unflexing her shoulders to get them free, trying to twist around to see just _what_ they were caught on!

This had never happened before, _ever_ , so why in the name of Time did it have to happen now?! Why now?! Right when she was about to give the _bitch_ payback for her _brother!_ The same _monster_ that had not only stopped, but had turned around and was looking _right at her!_ With that _stupid cocky smile_ and wearing _all_ of Link's stuff! The evil, conniving, _brat_! The hell was she even thinking?!

"That was closer than I thought it would be," a voice spoke behind her. Not in front of her, not _the bitch_ , but _behind her_. Tatl still _hated_ the sound of it. "You fly much faster than I thought to give credit for. Good thing you were still flying into a trap." A trap? _A trap!?_ Is that what they called this!?

"You call this a _trap!"_ Tatl yelled out, kicking her tangling feet and pumping her arms, caught as she was. It succeeded in nothing but making her shoulders and back ache for the effort. "Traps only work if you let the _bait_ get used! So, let me go so I can _tear that bitch apart!_ " Tatl continued to whip and writhe against the hold on her wings.

"That I cannot do, and I suggest you temper yourself," the _bastard_ holding her spoke again. Had to be holding her, or _something_ like it. Whatever it was, Tatl still hated it, _half_ as much as she _hated Moraine!_ "Henna went through a great deal of work to gather what we requested, and we had to act quickly to prepare for you as well." There was a pause there, just long enough for Tatl to string together an idea of how to tear the _bastard's_ tongue out! "You did well to lure her as well Henna. Excellent work."

"Thank you, sir. It was my privilege and duty," the _bitch_ even going so far as _bowing_ while she was wearing _Link's clothes_ and holding a bag full of _his masks!_ She didn't deserve anything and her own duty was to die! "What is it you wish of me next?"

"At the moment, we have transportation available past the clearing." Oh no, she was _not_ going to get away! "I will stay here and… _speak_ to the fly in the web. She must know a great deal, and I wish to talk to her before anything else happens." Another pause, and another rogue thought on how to _end his life_ came and went! "Is there anything you wish to ask Henna?"

"We? Henna? I don't give a _second of Time_ for whatever the hell that is!" Tatl roared again, trying her best to pull her wings free from whatever was holding her. It only made her translucent appendages ache for the effort. She didn't give up. "I just know that you _bitch_ over there _killed my brother!_ So now, I'm gonna _kill her_ , and you had _better_ let me do it or else _you're next!_ " she flung her arm backwards, trying to hit whatever was holding on to her as well. But she succeeded in only striking air.

She did start to move though, just by no power of her own. She was twisted _away_ from the bitch, and making Tatl unable to look at the _smirking face_ of the _monster!_ It wasn't a win to her until she had _torn that face off with her own hands!_ And it certainly wasn't good that she was being held up and forced to look at something else. Again, not someone, some _thing_.

Because even if masks were a staple of Link's life now, and even hers, she had never seen one as grotesque, messed up, carved, and painted as _disgusting_ as the one she was staring back at. Some stupid, _nearly useless_ mask that had slits for eyes, _two per eye_ , and red painted marks. A mask that was framed by some the curliest red hair she had ever seen. The _bastard_ looked so stupid, and he was holding her, sure enough, with his hand, out at arm's length. He was doing it so casually it didn't make any sense!

Then again, she wasn't _looking_ for sense, she was looking for _blood_. And she wasn't going to get it unless she got herself free!

"I would stop that if I were you," the _freak in a mask_ spoke, holding her up like she was a piece of lint. Oh, the bastard was going to regret that later! If she didn't break free first, then Link would cut him into ribbons! And that would just be the beginning. "I'd hate accidentally tear your wings off. They seem to be… rather important to you." This _bastard…_

"Shut it you _vile-mouth freak!_ " Tatl rang as loud as she could, kicking and punching at the mask that was bearing down on her. She didn't get anywhere, not with the grip holding her being _deceptively_ strong, but all she needed was a glance, and damn herself to the Shadow Realm if she didn't at least _try_ for _Tael's sake!_ "You and that _bitch_ Moraine are going to _pay_ by the _limb_ for what you did to _Tael!_ I'm going to tear every tooth, muscle and bone from your body before I let you die!"

And she'd do it, too. Oh yeah, she'd do it. Decades of threatening it to everyone who tried to take advantage of her and her brother, but now she'd do it, without a regret! For her brother… for _Tael_ , she'd see every _freak of nature_ that had the gall to hurt him writhing in pain and begging for death! She'd crush them from the toes up so that she could watch the life leave them! IF she didn't get that then _Tael wouldn't be avenged!_ And bitch knew it at least, seeing as she was just _staring_ with that wide gaze that Tatl wanted to fly through now!

So why was the bastard _laughing_?

"Wow, you _are_ an aggressive one, aren't you?" His voice was _way_ too calm for Tatl's opinions, seeing as it wasn't whimpering or screaming in pain! "Though I will admit I understand your reason. Losing a loved one can be traumatic in so many ways. Take it as a compliment that I would be just as angry as you if I lost one of my brothers." Oh, this _royal BASTARD!_

" _Don't you DARE say something like THAT!_ " Tatl kicked out again, and this time was rewarded with a swing forward. The man behind the mask, the hideous freak that he had to be for wearing one, at least leaned back with it. She got close! Now she just had to connect. Connect, then shatter his jaw, _especially_ after the crap he just said! "You don't get to say _anything_ about _Tael_! A monster like you wouldn't understand _anything_ about this! Unless you're gonna _let me go_ so I can _murder_ that brat next to you, you'll get the same punishment!"

"Wouldn't understand?" The man, or more accurately _monster_ , behind the painted mask spoke. He was probably sneering at Tatl, but she couldn't care, not unless he gave her the chance to rip his face off with her own two hands! Pull at his skin like it was meant to come off! "I suppose someone like you, being protected by humans and traitors alike, wouldn't understand me, us, either." The _hell_ did that even mean!? "I suppose it would only be fair to admit that the death of your brother, no matter how dramatic, gave you at least a glimpse of the every day life I live. Be thankful I offered it to you."

Offered… thankful? He… he actually though that?

Tatl stalled out for a moment, her brain, _every_ part of her needing a full second to realize that the _monster_ holding her was honestly, seriously, _asking_ her for thanks. Asking for thanks for… for _murdering_ her brother! And he _wanted_ thanks for that!? _SERIOUSLY!?_

" _I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT!_ " Tatl fought back again, _completely careless_ of the way her wings were bending and folding as she kicked and punched her way out of his grip. _Any_ ground gained was something she fought to keep! " _IF YOU THINK I'LL LET YOU GO AFTER SAYING THAT YOU'RE DEAD WRONG! I'LL SLAUGHTER YOU WITH THE BITCH AND LEAVE YOU BOTH FOR LINK TO DECIMATE!"_ That was if she couldn't go far enough by herself first!

"Yes, Link, how I do want to meet him," the _monster_ spoke, because _of course_ he did! Of course, he would. Who _wouldn't_ want to see Link and take more stuff from him! "I was hoping to speak to him sometime before, before he became some abomination of a celebrity to the humans. Now, he's nothing more than a pig being led by false prophets, a traitor to the people he belongs to. It is a pity, seeing as he could have done much good for our side."

"Link's done _way_ more good than you'll ever _imagine_ doing!" Tatl screamed bag, the muffling of her wrings sounding like the chime again. "And _Tael_ was better than you'll ever be, even at a _tenth_ of your size!" Be damned if she stopped yelling the truth now! "Before the day's over you're going to be dead for it! Link's gonna kill you and _I'll_ kill the _bitch_ while he does it!" And again she heard laughter in response.

Tatl was _sure_ there was nothing she was surer about than how _amazing_ she'd feel after she beat in that stupid white mask the _monster_ was wearing, so he could see all the blood _Tael… TAEL!_

"Will you know? Will _he_ know?" The _bastard_ asked back, even as he kept holding her at arm's length. At least he knew how badly she was going to slaughter him! "Then please, do tell, how does that start? Will he run in on a horse borrowed from the Military? Warp in through that magical beam of light?" Tatl would have been fine with either of those, _especially_ if the entrance came with slicing the guy's head off!

_WHOOOSH!_

But she settled for Elrora splaying wind from above them, the greatest sign that she was here now.

"What?" The breathless sound came from the man holding her, even as he practically _whipped_ her aside, probably to get a good view of Elrora hanging in the air above him. And oh, he _better_ take it in, before Tatl got free and started tearing his eyes out. "How did she find us? Fast as she is, that was simply… ah, it was _her_ as well, wasn't it?" Now who the hell was her?

"Tatl!" Oh, her, Little Red.

Tatl caught sight of the girl jumping down to the forest floor, already having her scythe out this time, eyes on them. Great as that was, and through her rage, Tatl was at least able to notice the tear marks on the girl's face. She'd been crying, a lot, probably recently. Probably over Tael's death, _for_ him. That gave her bonus points in her book.

" _Release her_." But not nearly enough to compare to her best friend! Said friend speaking as Elrora of the Watarara, the mega-bird that was settling to the ground and still standing _high_ above the rest of them. She had only seen it maybe twice before, but the bird could put on a _mean_ face, even with a beak, and Tatl _loved_ it. Maybe Link and her would _peck out the bitch and bastard's eyes!_ "If you value your life and your continued health, you _will_ release her at this moment."

But, of course, he didn't. Because the _monster_ was just that _stupid_. So of course, he wouldn't do it. In fact, Tatl swore she felt him grabbing her wings _harder_ than before!

"I may," the _monster_ spoke, even as Tatl grit her teeth to keep a yell from coming out of her throat. She would _not_ be used by these _freaks!_ "But first, why don't you remove the guise of the bird? I would much rather speak to Link himself then through a medium." Tatl felt a few of her teeth begin to crack with the demand.

But not as much as when the familiar blinding light of Link removing his mask hit her.

"H-Huh?" She managed to get out, taking in the sight of Link standing before her again, them she should say, even if she was _not_ apart of the _monster's_ group. She saw him standing next to Little Red, and the girl looked from Link and back to her. Actually, probably intentionally focusing on her. And Tatl got why.

Not that she was nervous to, just the opposite. In fact, she couldn't have been happier, _unless Tael_ was _alive_. But this was a _close second_.

Seeing Link pissed, completely with his blade already drawn, was a huge plus.

"Good, excellent," the _monster_ behind her didn't seem to care too much though. _Of course!_ "Perhaps now we can speak as equals, or as close that as we can ever be." The freak wasn't even close! Especially when he had _literally_ celebrated the death of _her brother!_ "Barring anything new now…" the _monster_ let off as if expecting something.

"I'm- _RUBY!_ " And the timing was almost uncanny, seeing as Big Red burst into the scene a minute later.

Even with her wings restrained as they were, Tatl was able to see the lance wielding girl who had Link's Silver Gauntlets run into the small clearing, weapons up and looking ready to chuck them. _Good!_ Her eyes were on Little Red however. _Bad!_ They should be thinking about how to kill the _bastard and his bitch!_

"H-How did you get here so quickly? Didn't you tell the others? It's what we agreed on!" The pony-tailed Gerudo spoke up, and Tatl watched her, even as she kept her eyes forwards. That was… until she saw Link. "A-And Link is… oh… oh, I understand. I understand…" she repeated almost somberly, until her eyes turned back to the _monster holding her_ and the _bitch behind him!_ Two heads that were in _desperate_ need of rolling! "What I do not understand is what is happening? Who are you, and why are you holding Tatl hostage? _Assisting_ the murderer behind you?"

At least Big Red had some bite to her voice! That made Tatl a bit happy, _only a millionth as much as getting out of the wing hold, she was in would do_. Not to mention how she'd _rip and tear_ apart the bastard's holding her! Link looked just as ready to do the same, and she _wanted_ him to _very_ badly!

"I-I think I know who that is," Little Red spoke up, her face still stained with tears. Looked horrible on her, really bad, but Tatl didn't care about that, at all. Only that she was crying after Tael's death. For that, she was worth _mountains_ more than anyone else here, _except_ Link. "You look just like how Blake described."

"Wait, Blake _knows_ that guy?!" Big Red yelled back, and even Link looked over at them, not that he lost any of his anger. He better not, not without letting Tatl _take his pound of flesh out of the monsters holding her!_

"Blake?" Said monster spoke again. "Blake Belladonna is a friend of yours? How… _poetic_." The _monster_ spat the word, and Tatl _really_ hoped it filled him with a fraction of the rage she was feeling. Maybe then she could get _some_ joy out of watching him squirm with the fury! Even as she tore of his fingers, once she _reached them!_ But her thousandth kick and she was no closer! "How appropriate that the traitor who left the fold is close to the Faunus who refused to listen." What was this monster _talking about!?_

"Then you're… You _are_ Adam, aren't you?" Adam? Tatl didn't recognize the name. Didn't matter to her either, he was still _monster_ regardless. "Blake's old partner, her… the one that tried to kill all those people." And wouldn't you know it, Tatl wasn't off by even a _flick_ of her _currently restrained_ wings. The guy was a monster, just like the _bitch_ at his side!

"You may call it killing, I call it _culling_." _Tatl was ready to sacrifice her wings now!_ "I do what is necessary to ensure the survival and growth of our race, and those who follow me do the same." And when she _felt_ him turn around, to look at the _bitch_ behind him, she was ready to squirm free. _If she could!_ "But it appears that the faster member of the humans has alerted the others about us here. Hurry to the extraction point, Henna. Make haste." Wait, leave? As is in _get away!_

"You're not going anywhere!" Little Red, over Tatl, yelled. _Good for her!_ "You… Y-You _killed_ Tael! You don't get to go anywhere! Not now, not _ever!_ " And Tatl was even _gladder_ to see that super-sized weapon of hers out and about. It was just _perfect!_

" _GAKH!_ " But the flaring pain that _roared_ up her back was not. And it hurt, _like hell!_ It hurt like her body was tearing itself in two, like her hips were trying to separate from her torso, and her body was going to be flung away with it! It hurt _so bad!_

 _"TATL!"_ Big Red yelled, and it was only after she did so that Tatl was able to get a bearing on what just happened! Only because then she had something to focus on, namely the fact that there wasn't just one pair of hands holding her wings now, but two.

 _Both_ of her wings, superior and inferior, were being held by the _monster_.

And the _monster_ was pulling her _in opposite directions!_

"She will leave here," the _monster_ spoke behind her, and Tatl barely got out a growl, one that was muffled by her caught wings and their ring. "She will leave here with those masks, she will return to our headquarters, and you will allow me to do the same." Tatl felt her body rise, being _held out_ towards the pair of Reds and Link. "Or else your other fairy will meet an untimely end.

Tatl, forced as she was to look straight, could not and _did not_ miss the panicked look in Link's eyes. Or the terrifying gasp from the girls. Dammit dammit dammit dammit! Why was this happening?! Why was she being held and used like some sort of _cheap bargaining chip!_ _Wasn't Tael enough?!_ Was this _her punishment!?_

"Go, Henna," the _monster_ she was caught by spoke to the _bitch!_ There was nothing but _freaks_ around her! And she couldn't wait until they were all dead! A thousand times worse and over for all of them! "Transportation is just ahead. I'll take my own way home." The hell did that mean!?

"Don't you _dare move!_ " Tatl shouted, flexing her wings as _much_ as she could. It would have normally sent her _barreling_ forward like one of Link's arrows. But, seeing as the _masked beast_ that was holding her had a grip to match, all she could do was fling around at the edge of his fingers. And it made her wings _hurt_. Not enough to temper her though! "You go anywhere and you are _dead! Worse than dead!_ You'll be tortured and mutilated and _thrown into Death Mountain!_ " And she'd see it all happen.

Held out as she was, it was too easy to see Link staring at the girl as well, ready to jump on her if she so much as took a step! And at least the _bitch_ knew better! Tatl could tell that much, even held up as she was, seeing as the little conniving brat wasn't moving. She was still dead though. _No way out of that!_

Tatl was going to fly out of this _monster's_ grip and then smash her way through the brat's teeth, out the other side, before ripping her over grown ears off and turning her brain to mush! That would just _begin_ to pay her back for what she did to Tael, and _only_ that!

"We'll die?" The _monster_ spoke again. "From what I see, we are the least likely to die, especially if we act quickly." The _hell_ did that mean? Was he an idiot? He and the _bitch_ killed Tael, so they were _guaranteed_ to die! "The sooner we move, the less likely your friends and the other humans will get here. And so long as we have _you_ , and you _remember_ what Henna did before, then you'll realize that we, quick literally are holding all the cards." And the bastard was grinning, _chuckling!_

The _sick bastard was enjoying this!_

Even though he _knew_ that the brat had killed _Tael!_ Even though he talked about her brother… her brother _turning to dust_ at his _death,_ he was talking about it like it was a freaking _flower in the field!_ He didn't care! He thought that it didn't matter at all!

"You sick stupid _bastard!_ " Tatl continued to rage. She didn't even _care_ if her wings were starting to strain under his grip. She could fight _through_ the pain of them being pulled and twisted. "Are you trying to make a _deal with me!_ Are you trying to use me as a _freaking_ Rupee! I'll tear your teeth out like you're _trying_ my wings, but you don't even got the _muscles_ for it! Heck, I bet you don't even have the _guts_ to try it!" Not that it stopped him from still pulling her wings. They were wings, _her_ wings, but Tael was _her brother_. And if she could kill his killer _and that killer's boss_ , then it would be _well worth losing them!_

"I'll remember that you said, that about my cowardice," the man spoke by, so freaking nonchalantly that Tatl was reminded _way to much_ of all the bastards she hated in Hyrule. This _freak_ was just the worst of _everything_ , and she couldn't wait until he and the _bitch he ruled_ were _burned at the stake for it!_ "That said, it would be a waste of a good opportunity to throw you away. Especially when I, as I said before, am talking to someone as powerful and traitorous as _him_." Oh, Tatl knew exactly who _he_ was.

Because Link was called everything by everyone at some point in his life. She knew because she and Tael had been there for just about _all_ of them. And always for _all_ the wrong reasons. She knew it, and so did Tael. But now that Tael was dead, only _she_ knew it. Just like she knew something else. She knew that what Link was now, losing _Tael, her brother_ , by a _bitch_ that Link had tried to help, and her being held up by the _bastard_ who freaking _mocked_ the masks Link wore? She knew that Link was something _way_ past what she was.

Tatl was angry enough to take on the gods and get a few hits in for letting Tael die, and she wouldn't regret it.

Link, from a glance alone, was pissed off enough to win, then go back in time and do it all again.

… Damn it. Tatl had to click her tongue, even as she was reaching back to massage her wings to keep them from tearing any more than they were already close to doing. If all it took her was a glance to know how pissed Link was, then a long look from the bastard and _Tael's killer_ would probably be enough for them. And hew as at least smart enough, no more how _stupid and dead_ he actually was, to know how strong Link was.

She was the shield to keep Link away. Because first chance he got, he'd kill them. And she'd cheer it all on.

"W-Why?" Tatl had to twist her head, ignoring the strain it put on her wings as she did so, to see the Little Red and Big Red there again. It was the little one speaking again, with _a lot_ of tears down her face. Tatl was wiling to admit she loved her for that, especially in comparison to the _monsters_ still holding her! "W-Why are you doing this? Didn't Link… didn't _we_ all help you?!" Oh, and hey, she wasn't even talking to the monster that was holding her.

She was talking to the bitch that was just staring at them, rooted to the ground like a dead Deku and holding _Link's masks_ tightly in that bag of hers. Link might be pissed for it, but Tatl was willing to let her _burn_ on the spot, masks and all, if it let her watch her suffer.

"We played with you the whole time Link was gone before." She kept talking, arms out and probably fighting _herself_ to take a step forward. And Tatl _hated that!_ More that Ruby was refusing to move because she was in the _bastard's_ grip! "A-And he saved you from the fire, and a lot of your friends. And we played with Saria. And he clothed you a-a-a-and fed you and… and you _hurt_ _Tael!_ " More and more, Tatl was starting to see why Tael liked the girl. "So why just… just tell me why…"

Tatl did _not_ stop squirming, even if this was one of those moments of silence that she had seen so much before. It was great, wonderful, and whatever other word rhymed with _giving her a chance to escape!_ Too bad the _monster_ holding her still kept a grip on her, and she couldn't get free. Kicking and ringing for it was all she could do.

That was, until the bitch in question talked.

"Because it was all a ruse." Moraine, Henna, _bitch_ spoke back, and Tatl was reminded again about her desire to see the brat burn alive. "I did it to get close enough for the masks. I have them, I was prepared to leave, but the fairy Tael watched me. So, I had to kill him. There weren't meant to be any witnesses." Burn to cinders, and _no_ regrets.

" _YOU MONSTER!_ " Tatl continued to scream. "You get over here _right now so I can-GAH!_ " The rest of her threat was cut off by the _monster_ pulling at her wings, again, _harder!_ That only made her body stretch like she was on the world's tiniest rack, and she _hated it_!

"Now now, this isn't the time for that," the _monster_ kept talking. "Now is the time for… a bit of a rush actually, as we are in a hurry. It is your fault you told the rest of the humans, so now we have to hurry." This time, she felt him pull.

 _Then_ Tatl felt the scream tear through her throat.

She was able to make out Link's terrified expression with it. That wasn't right. He should… he should look angry, _pissed_ at the monster holding her! Tatl could survive but… but _Tael was dead_. He had to be angry about her brother not… not _worried_ about her!

"Henna, leave now. They won't intrude this time." The matter-of-factness to the statement _terrified_ Tatl, almost as much as the way Link held up his hands for the pair of Reds, and they were _listening_ to him! She watched Little Red's scythe drop and Big Red lower her lance for it! No! No! that wasn't right! "Go, and deliver the masks as instructed."

"… Understood sir," the _bitch_ spoke again and… and Tatl heard feet moving!

No! NO! _NO! NO! NO!_ _ **NO! No! NO! NO! NO!**_

"Don't let her get away! _Don't let her get away!_ " Tatl yelled as she kept kicking her feet, even as she felt her back straining and skin practically _tearing_ itself apart! That didn't matter! Not if _Tael's killer got away!_ "Stop her! Stop her now! Do it! _Do it!_ " But… but they weren't moving! They _weren't!_

Why weren't they moving! Why was _Link letting it happen!_

" _Stop her LINK!_ " Tatl yelled, reaching back to _tear her own wings off just to escape!_ " _Stop her! Kill her! Don't let her get away with it! You can't! YOU CAN'T!"_ Tatl kept screaming! But she couldn't get away! She couldn't! She couldn't get away with it! Not after what she did to _Tael!_

 _Tael_ didn't deserve to die, but the _bitch_ did! So why was Link letting her get away! It didn't matter how sorrowful he looked, o-or how _horrible_ Little and Big Red looked! It didn't matter at all! Because The _bitch, the monster was…_ she was… she… she…

She was gone. She was gone… and Tatl was _still being held!_

"Good enough for me," the _bastard_ in the mask spoke. She _whipped_ her body forward, trying to at least swing her way a _bit_ free of the monster's _slimy_ hands! But of course, all she did was ring. "But I'll be holding this until she's out of sight." Like hell!

"Forget _that Link!_ " Tatl _raged_ again! Her wings hummed at her back, even if they were caught in the bastard's hands. He couldn't shut her up at the same time! "That _bitch_ killed _Tael!_ She killed him! She killed him and she will _not_ get away with it!" There was no way she would! She flies out of here and tear her way into the _brat's_ eyes herself! Even if she painted herself red for the rest of her life, it would be _worth it!_ And Link knew it! Of course, he did! He was the one who was always protecting and defending them and…

And he was just standing there. Standing there with his hands shaped like fists, probably tight enough to _crush_ any weapon he might hold, and glaring with a look that Tatl knew she could _easily_ match, but that was it. He was _just_ as mad as she was! So, in the name of _Time_ , why wasn't he doing anything?!

"You won't. _He_ won't," the bastard spoke again. Tatl twisted her body, caught as she was by her wings. The slits in the mask looked down at her, and she so _desperately_ wanted to see a blade thread itself through those holes. "He's too loyal to you, and you are still alive. Henna may have acted rashly with your… sibling, but it was necessary for her to escape. Necessary so that the _traitor_ knows what we are capable of."

Tatl barred her teeth, even if the red of her Aura kept it from being seen. She didn't care… she didn't care about _anything_ except her brother's killer! About the _bastard_ that had helped her escape! About him… and what Link was going to do to him! A reminder? Oh, he got a freaking itinerary out of it!

"Now he needs just one more reminder." Tatl heard the words, but didn't know what they meant.

" _NO!_ " The shout came a second later, just as she was able to see Little Red charging forward, that same _collection_ of petals again.

Then… there was pain. An _eruption_ of it. And… and weightlessness.

It felt like she was honestly thrown into a literal pit of pain, just… just _flung_ into it the endless pit of it head first. Head, then feet, then back, then head again, and… and she couldn't stop herself. It hurt too much and… and her back was _on fire!_

It was on fire and full of lightning and it was making her scream!

She screamed and yelled and thrashed at the pain, even as she fell uselessly through the air. Was she even falling? She couldn't… she couldn't tell! There wasn't any ringing, she wasn't making any ringing! Her wings… Why weren't her wings ringing?

Tatl couldn't tell, she couldn't _make sense_ of it. She could only scream. And even that sounded so far off and incomparable to the fire and lightning that was scorching and _ruining_ her back. Oh Time, or _wonder_ , it was so… it hurt so much she… she felt like was going to vomit! A-And she still couldn't stop falling!

She was falling. Falling and falling and falling and falling and falling and… and then she wasn't.

Then she was lying down on something, on something familiar. Hard leather on her back, heard leather on her back… and it _hurt so bad!_ So bad that she was writhing and moving on whatever was holding her. Maybe it caught her, maybe it helped her but, b-but it hurt _so much! It hurt and hurt and hurt and it felt like everything about her was on fire now and what wasn't being lit aflame was being shocked by lightning till her body felt like it was going to tear itself apart!_

What was going on? What was happening to her?! Where… Where was the monster or… or _anything!_ Everything was so white a-a-and hazy and… and she couldn't tell what was happening so why wouldn't _the pain stop!_ It didn't stop and she didn't know why! It had to stop!

Even as the leather she was laying on continued to coax her, moving under her, the pain didn't let up. It had to! It had to or else she wouldn't be able to stop them. A-A-And if she didn't do that, the _bitch and bastard_ would get away with _murdering Tael and…_ and…

_TATL!_

The voice got her focus. Tatl _dragged_ her self to focus on it.

Hazy eyes, with pain and lightning that was still coursing through her, she focused on it, flexing every part of her body, even her _non-responsive wings_ , as she tried to find that voice. She knew that voice for so long that she wouldn't ignore it. E-Especially not now. Not while she was in so much pain!

"L-Link?" She was able to sputter out. And she was just able to see him, looking down at her. So, she was in his glove, that was why it was familiar, but… but that was the end of it.

Link's face… didn't look familiar. Maybe it was the hazy eyes, maybe it was the _pain_ , but she could tell that the horror in Link's eyes wasn't normal. It was… it was _horrible_. He looked. He looked tortured. That… Link shouldn't look like that. He looked… he looked like _Tael_. Now he felt _worse._

"Link, h-" she spoke her friends name again, only to choke on her next words. Something was in her throat, and she didn't realize till she started speaking. It felt wet and thick and… and her body was still on fire! "I-It hurts so bad Link. I-I-It… I d-don't to feel this anymore." He could help her. She knew he would he… he could help anyone.

Even if… even if he looked horrible like that, she… she knew he could do it. Because he was her friend and… and that's what he did. Like her and Tael, but… But oh, Time it _hurt!_ It hurt so much that she had to yell out again, just because something touched her back wrong and her back was where it hurt _the most!_ Why there why not… why not her…

"M-My wings," Tatl spoke, realizing again that she couldn't move them. Not because of the _pain_ or the lightning coursing through her or… or anything else but… "L-Link… w-w-where are my wings?" But he wasn't answering her.

He was just looking down at her, mouth moving but not even with words she could hear. There was nothing for her to hear except… except nothing. Just his mouth moving, head shaking, _hands trembling_ , and… and tears. Why was he crying.

Was he crying… like the Little Red did? Crying after _Tael?_ Crying… for her?

"Link? Am I…" She started to say, before another surge of pain moved up her, except… it wasn't as harsh as before. "Am I dying?"

The idea of it was… wrong. She wasn't supposed to die yet… but neither was Tael and… Link wasn't supposed to be alone. That hurt, too, but not as much as… well, _the_ pain, still coursing through her, but much lighter than before.

The pain wasn't as extreme as it was. She was thankful for that. She wanted it to go away and it was. Thank Time shew as listening, because at least now she could think a little, even if talking was still hard it was hard because she was just… she was getting a little cold and sleepy. Just a little tired. It… it had been a long day, a-and there was still so much for her to do.

Water hit the palm she was laying on, splashing her with water. She didn't feel it, not really. She just felt something soothe the _flames_ that were burning over her but… but she was still cold. She was cold and Link was still looking down on her. He looked so sad. Why did he look sad? Was something wrong? Maybe… Maybe Tael could help. Maybe…

"Link… the… pain's gone," Tatl noted what she could. She didn't want to worry Link. He was already worrying so much about her and Tael. He didn't… he didn't need to worry about them anymore. Not him. He was too good for that, too kind and gentle. He was their guardian, their friend. He deserved to relax. "It's gone so I'm… I'm going to take a nap…" Tatl was tired after all.

_NO! DON'T!_

The words shocked her, making Tatl blink, flex, and feel a series of _stabs_ against her back. She grimaced at the action, feeling more water splash down around her. She was thankful for it, reducing the pain she felt. It was much appreciated. But Link yelling wasn't.

"Don't wo… worry I'm just… just taking a nap. Need ssss… some rest." That was all she needed. And her eyes were getting heavy. She stopped wondering a while ago why Link too such long rests, she and Tael both. It was obviously just how great it felt to sleep, especially when your body was telling you it. Now was no different.

She had just… _something_ had caused her a lot of pain and… and that was a good time for a rest. Like Link after a big fight, just needing to catch some Z's to… to let it go. Help her relax is all it was. She could do with some rest. Tatl knew she needed it. But then… why was Link crying?

Heh, he was still such a kid, probably needed some advice before he let her nap. She was okay with that. It was good to be appreciated.

"L-Link, remember toooo… t-to take off your boots… your _shoes_ 'fore you go to bed," Tatl slurred out. Her mouth was hard to move, just like her eyes. _Everything_ was getting heavy. She _really_ wanted to rest. "And… And don't forget to… hunt in the morning… by the river." It was where the best meat was, after all, almost all cattle or wild life looking for something near the river. There that… that outta help.

But she there were still water droplets falling around her. Geez, couldn't he at least cover her better if it was going to rain? Maybe he was just tired himself. Oh… yeah, that had to be it. She felt like crap so the guy… the friend who had taken care of her and her brother for so long… he must have felt like a slug at this point. That must have been hard. So why was he still awake?

Well, he was still a kid, so maybe… maybe he just needed a good night. That was all he needed.

"If… if you're worried, stop it," Tatl spoke up, grinning a little. It was hard, considering how heavy everything was, and there was still that pinching in her back. Link shaking wasn't helping. "Just… Just a nap, right? Just a quick… quick snooze. Not forever, can't be." Her head was hard to hard to keep up as well, but Link was working on that.

He was holding her so carefully, the same way he held Tael when her brother was scared, or both of them in a storm when it was horrible and windy out. Always so careful with them. Always keeping them safe… Tatl knew she that aside from having a brother like Tael, she had never gotten luckier than having a friend like Link.

"Link…" she started to speak again, looking at his face. How sad it was, heart-broken and worried. He really didn't have to look like that he… He should be happier, smiling and laughing, like Tael in his stories. He should and… when Tatl woke up again, she'd tease up until she was.

She fly around him, give him reminders and make him play. She'd make him experience the big world around them, guiding her and her brother through it all, all with that same smile he wore almost all the time. He got that on and everything would be okay.

Everything would… just fine…

"Link… I… See you later."

Tatl shut her eyes, and all the weight of the world vanished with it.

* * *

She wasn't dead.

Despite what his eyes were showing him, despite what his hands felt, despite the scream from behind him, despite his own cry, despite everything, he knew it wasn't true. It _couldn't_ be true. It was an absolute impossibility for it to be true. Anything… _Anything_ else could happen before this.

Tatl wasn't dead.

She had just been talking to him a few hours ago about the Three of Threes they had to find, about how they were close to the first, and how relaxing it all was. She was telling him about how she enjoyed some of the kids around Beacon, about the children that were learning, and the squires that helped them all out. She was attached to them, and she was learning from them, and she couldn't keep learning if she was dead.

She wasn't dead. `

There was still she wanted to learn about this Remnant land and she was talking to Oobleck about it. She was trying to find out where Navi was still and she had never stopped looking for answers with Bartholomew for it. She wasn't done looking for secrets and answers and she was the best at it. She always told him right where to look, how to open it, even if it was with a bit of sarcasm and sass. That was who she was, and she _wasn't gone_.

Tatl wasn't dead. Tatl wasn't dead. Tatl wasn't dead.

She couldn't be dead before she had found a way to keep her brother safe. They'd promised each other to keep searching and moving and exploring until they found somewhere they could be safe in the world she called too big. Everything was too big and she didn't like being in Hyrule because of that, so he kept looking for somewhere she and Tael could be the same size as everything else. But he hadn't found it yet, _they_ hadn't found it yet. It wasn't there, and if they hadn't found it, then she could be gone, because finding that was the only reason she would be gone.

Tatl wasn't dead. She wasn't dead. _She wasn't dead. Tatl wasn't dead. She wasn't dead._

Being dead meant that she couldn't _scold_ him anymore, and that meant not hearing her voice. No more rings to keep him straight, to wake up in the morning or reprimand him for staying up so late. No more cheers for doing a good job or complaints about taking so long. No more jeering for stories that didn't make sense and no more congratulations for her brother's tales. No more… no more because… no no… no…

She wasn't dead. Tatl wasn't dead. _She wasn't dead. She wasn't dead. SHE WASN'T DEAD!_

Tatl _could NOT be dead_! Because… Because…

Because she was all he had left.

Tatl and Tael they… they were all that Link had left of Hyrule. Of his home. Of his family. Of… of everything. And she was… no, she _wasn't_ she… she _was not dead!_

It didn't… it didn't matter that he held dust in his hand… it didn't matter than her body flittered to dust she… she just flew _away too fast_ or… o-or someone else had come to help her a-and he had missed it because he was weak and slow and unable to save her. B-But she was _okay_. She had to be okay! Tatl couldn't possibly be gone! Not Tatl and Tael, not them, not his friends, not his _family_.

 _Not the only family he had left_.

No one… no one in the world to help him, to be with him, to protect him.

No one… no one at all.

No one… because _Tatl was dead_.

And Link felt his stomach turn with his soul.

There voices around him, screaming and yelling mixed with roars and terrifying cries. Sounds that he was supposed to make, that he felt like making, but he didn't know how. He couldn't know how, not when his friend was gone. Not when his _greatest_ friend was gone. Not _when both_ of his oldest friends were gone. Gone to nothing, to dust, to a life beyond his.

Something pushed on his shoulder, but he didn't pay attention to it. It turned into a grab, pulling at his tunic, forcing him to fall with it. He did so, but he didn't move with it. It was telling him to go somewhere, but it wasn't ringing, it wasn't glowing. IT was still screaming, and some distant part of his mind was telling him it was important.

But his glazed eyes didn't see anything important, and his twisted mind could make sense of what was going on around him. He couldn't tell if what was happening was real or a dream, a nightmare, maybe, _hopefully_ , but not. No, it wasn't a nightmare, it wasn't a dream, because this was what he didn't want to happen. He didn't want this to happen and now it _was_ happening. The illusion of peace shattered again, and again and again and again, whenever he thought he was at peace.

And because of it, those closest to him suffered. Even those who _knew_. Even those who tried to find the Three of Threes to end it… they ended up broken along the way. And it was his fault because of it. Even in this foreign land, this land that was _so alien_ to him, he couldn't escape. His _family_ couldn't escape. And he was foolish for thinking that he could, that he _ever_ had a chance.

Tatl had warned him about staying here, and he hadn't listened. He and _Tael_ hadn't listened, and now both of them were gone. Link had the chance, the _opportunity_ , to leave and prevent this, and he hadn't taken it. He could have staved this from happening for even a _day_ longer, and he didn't do it.

Tael was dead, crushed and thrown to dust.

Tatl was dead, wings torn from her body and ashen in his hands.

Link was alone, alone again just as he was always destined to be. Yes… his destiny… a fate that cursed those around him.

His jaw shook, even as he heard a growl of primal fury before him. A monster in front of him, a beast that was doubtlessly _her_ creation, but it meant nothing to him. It was _incomparable_ to the anger that was billowing inside of him.

The monster that loomed over him, dark red eyes that were lusted with hunger, meant nothing to his crystal blue fury, cutting through the haze of his sorrow with a rage the gods would tremble with.

 _They_ were at fault for this, _just as much as he was_. He was foolish for thinking he could protect his friends, his family, and it had cost him their lives. He had their deaths on his head, he _carried_ their bodies in his mind, and the ones at fault for it were haunting him from above, looking down at him even as he was sunken on the forest floor.

The screams from around him were louder now. Loud as the roars of the beast. They were pushing and pulling him as well, still trying to direct him, still trying to get something out of him, the same as it always was. And he always trying to do the same. A goal in mind, but always willing to help. A place he had to reach, but always willing to help a life. A life he had to save, but always a kingdom he had to save.

Always something bigger, and always something he had to lose along the way. Always someone _else_ who had to suffer.

His friends, his family, _everyone_ around him. Always this way, always that way.

Always… Always… No more…

This was… the last of it. It had to be.

Link had to resolve himself, and he did so with a dry through, burning eyes, and a heart more twisted than the gnarled roots of a rotten tree. He pushed himself up, hands once carrying one of his greatest friends now shoving themselves against the dew stained ground. His legs that were weak and frozen, now stood hard and immobile. His weakness was gone, his kindness with it.

His friends were gone, and the last of his care with it. No more reason to be careful, no more reason to be safe. No more reason at all. He had a goal, he had a duty, but it wasn't one he cared about any more. No one could convince him otherwise, not now. Not at this moment.

At this moment, with voices yelling behind him, one still pulling at his back, and screeches from before him, daring him to act like the beasts that they were, he had no wish for anything. No desires as it was. Before, he wanted to see his friend, his last and first friend in this long life of his. But now, now he didn't not anymore.

Not if it meant _monsters_ would try and take her from him. Not if it meant that they would try and take her from him again. And again and again and again. She left him because she knew she'd be safer, and he wouldn't look for her for his comfort. He was meant to be alone, _destiny_ made him to be alone. And any attempt to keep friends, to protect _his family_ , ended the same.

With ruin. Ruin and death. And he had held death in his hands, watching his greatest friend, the last of his family, be taken from him. One more, once _again_. And again and again and again. And not once more.

Link didn't care anymore.

Not about unknowns and not about the advantage. At this moment, at this instance, he only cared about one thing. And it was about the next step for when something was taken from him. It was the step every friend he had had told him not to take, and all the loves of his life kindly held him back from doing. With fond memories, love, and devotion, he always had something from taking the step he was otherwise tempted to _leap_ towards.

But now, now they were all gone. The friends in Hyrule, the family in the castle, his friends in the wilderness, his _family in dust_. Everything was gone. Everything, but one thing.

His rage. And there was only one way, one _task_ , to control that.

The force at his back was gone, doubtlessly whoever was trying to pull him having given up. They were still screaming next to him, screaming in the same time as steel was singing through the air. The roars turned to whimpers, before returning with a screech. A battle was ensuing around him, but Link didn't care for it. It wasn't a battle that had taken his friends, his _family_ from him, it was fate.

It was a fate that Tatl _knew_ about. It was a destiny Tael had _heard_ about. They knew about it, and they still followed him. They were dead because of _him_. It was his fault, but he wasn't alone. Not when it came to the cruel ties of destiny and fate. It was all… all for nothing. Nothing but to add to his pain, and take from them their lives, the lives _he_ was supposed to protect.

He couldn't… He couldn't do anything. He wasn't _strong_ enough. He wasn't _powerful_ enough.

… But he knew someone who was.

He held his memories.

Even as he heard battle cries and clanging blades around him, beasts and monsters crying out in rage and pain, he reached into his tunic for the mask. A mask he told no one about, no one but his friends and family. And they were gone. Gone because he was too _worried_ about staying unknown about _himself_ and not them.

It was all his fault. It was all Link's fault, so he had to make it up to them now. Even if only in memory. He couldn't preserve theirs, he couldn't bring them _peace_ , so now… now he could at least avenge them.

He couldn't give them _salvation_ , Instead, he'd give them _revenge._

And in his hand was the means.

In his hand, a mask of wood, with tallets of straw, painted with the colors of warriors, and bearing the rage of their failures, _his_ failures, was the means to do so. Stripped from the monster of a poisonous forest, never donned on himself before, but used to house the strongest of men he had ever faced. In his hands were the memories of one who was far more powerful than him, and had once bore a rage that was nearly as great as his now, only nearly. Because the rage that the man held was vast, but Link's was focused, internal, and _cursed_ to exist without a means to satiate.

Someone was trying to talk to him again, someone was trying to tell him something, but he couldn't hear them. No, he _chose_ not to listen to them. Whenever he listened to others, they asked him to do something, and it cost him more than he began with. He lost his friends, his home, and his family, and gained nothing for it.

So, for now, he wouldn't listen.

He'd _act_.

Link put the mask to his face, and the world disappeared in darkness.

Darkness… and screams.

* * *

In a land that was filled with death, populated with darkness, and ruled by a blight, a tower of stone and marble, dark as the far side of the moon, rose above it. In that tower stood a figure ominous and beautiful, the epitome of the land she ruled. A terror to behold and a monster upon thought, but captivating with the exceptional beauty she held.

Long alabaster hair tied about her features, porcelain blemish less face, ruby red lips, and dark crimson eyes, framed by darkness itself. They were the features that would appear abhorrent upon anyone else, but the figure of darkness wore with grace. Grace that was countered only by the land her tower rose from. A tower of fine construction and worth, in a land that had nothing else to offer.

She stood with a gown that draped to the floor, far past her ankles and hiding most of her otherwise striking physique. Unseen heels, doubtlessly colored the same shade of black as the rest of her attire, clicked as she slowly moved through her barren hall. A hall as barren of life as the rest of her land, birthing noise and service only as needed. And at the moment she needed none, or she desired none. Anything she desired was given to her, and anything she needed she already had.

She had no need for food, and so none grew in her lands.

She had no need of company, and so none lived in her castle.

She had no need for subjects, and so none fell forward to serve her.

She had nothing she needed, but only desired. And that this moment, a long-held desire of hers entered her mind again.

She breached the edge of her hall, walking to the expansive balcony that overlooked her blackened and scarred land. Eyes of blood and death-seekers stared into the endless terrain of destruction, appreciating its immaculate design, _her_ design. From the mountains that had been carved through battle, canyons gorged through strife, and pits of darkness that birthed monsters for the world to fear, it was everything she could have desired, and so she had.

Even the sky above roared by her command, clouds of the royal lavender, darkened like the shadows she wore, spitting lightning across tis surface, but never daring to sully her land, not without her command. If the sky above would not listen to her, she could not guarantee other she may desire would. And as such, it never did so, _not_ until she commanded it.

She adored her land, a place of death and misery, so barren of the chance to grow that none had dared to venture into it, not without the wish for their own end on their minds. An end she was more than willing to offer the desperate fools. At the moment, however, she did not seek one as naive as that.

None, she saw past her lands to a kingdom far beyond her borders. She looked towards the realm of humans and their ilk, of the lives that were forged through strife, not death, through effort, not consequence, and the life that grew there. She saw beyond her cracked and ruined home to the lush emerald terrain of a distance forest. She stared off into it, feeling a pull within her body she had not felt in so long. So long she had nearly forgotten.

A pull at her soul, corrupted and perfectly tainted. And a pull at her heart, twisted and symmetrically formed. She raised her hand to her eyes, eyeing the alabaster skin of hers, free of any blemish and clearer than the sun of the peaceful sky, justly tainted by the darkness of her clothes. She stared at her hand for a moment, then smiled.

Lips of red pulled back as a feeling of desire reached her, and one she now had the means to obtain. Rules of her land swam as the desire grew.

Pools of blackness began to flood as her desire grew, birthing creatures of malicious and cruel intent, far larger and crueler than those who clawed their ways to life before. The mountains shook and began to crumble, the delicate balance of their construction toppled by her inattentive and apathetic nature. They did not matter. Only her desire mattered, and the land would move to meet her needs.

Her needs were not small, but they were simple, and the land would be doomed beyond its already clear and present destruction to question it.

The figure peered at the far horizon, watching lightning crackle with her wish, watching the creatures and monstrosities of her design claw, run, and fly towards the distant plan, all for her heed and call. It was one they had no mind, nor wish, to ignore.

Words were unnecessary, for those that truly served her. But for the object of her desire, now so far away he may as well have been a dream of a thought, words could be spoken. For him, for if he heard, it would be an invitation he could not ignore.

"Welcome home, Wielder of Power."

The gold in her hand hummed in agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	32. The King's Return

Jaune would never try and claim that he was knowledgeable about the world around him, because he wasn't. The fact that he only learned about things like Aura and most Grimm and a host of other stuff _after_ he got to Beacon, when everyone else here was treating it like pre-school material, he knew he was a bit behind. Knowledge wasn't his forte. Maybe making up new ideas, but that was after he learned something.

He knew he didn't know much when he was lost in the Emerald Forest, or on his first homework assignment from Professor Port and Oobleck, Doctor Oobleck, or when he had to do a lot more research into the syrup stuff that Cardin made him get. Thinking back on it, his bully, or former bully if recent events were anything to go buy, still at least knew enough about the Rapier Wasps to know what was going on with the stuff. Jaune hadn't a clue.

It didn't discourage him though, not as much as not being able to fight anyways. He had learned how to get to Vale from his parents' home, and he had done it without a hassle, at least minus the traveling. He learned how to keep his cool, in a controlled space where there were no monsters, and how to forge documents, after paying the right person two years of allowance. He got that down at least.

And that led him far, learning that is. Learning what he had to survive, and what he needed to improve on. It was why he knew he was a lot better at taking a hit than giving one, and why he was immensely grateful to have a new shield, even if he _did_ want his dad's sword back. Family heirloom, kind of important… just not worth much in his hands. A shield though, he had that. Stance and everything.

Leading an attack? No, not his thing. Staying in the middle ground and figuring out where to go? Sure, he had that down pat. He had it locked and set. Stuff like that he had to learn quickly, and it was still stuff he knew a lot of his friends and teachers had memorized back when they were his little sister's age, maybe even _younger_. Back when they had their Aura unlocked, like a quarter of his _current_ age.

Point is though, he knew he was behind with what was common knowledge and what wasn't. It was something he kind of accepted, and if that meant he spent a few more hours reading to catch up, he was alright with that. Especially if it meant he had friends who counted on him. That was half the reason he wanted to a hunter in the first place.

But right now was a little different.

He was standing on the edge of the Emerald Forest, Nora and Ren at his side, same for Team RWBY minus actual Ruby, all looking out over the trees and holding their weapons. Them and about every other student in all of Beacon campus. This was after they had all gotten that emergency note to _not_ leave their rooms, and he thought that was normal. But when everyone left and ran to the forest, looking up and following the Bullheads, he followed, because they must have known something he didn't.

Jaune could at least guess that they were following all the Bullheads overhead, enough of them traveling from the airships that were still hovering over Vale, screaming through the air and with a speed that he _knew_ wasn't normal. Really helped that he saw the _entire_ airships, the things that were like the size of the CCTV tower in the _air_ , rotating to aim towards the woods as well. That was a big deal, and he knew that much.

Of course, he also knew better than to challenge the teachers at Beacon, hence why Ms. Goodwitch and Professor Port standing in front of the Emerald Forest, back to them but with their own weapons out, was a high sign to _not_ try going into the Forest. Even if everyone else was going there.

Too bad they were too late to stop Ruby and Link. Jaune found that out from Yang and Weiss.

Then he actually heard what happened. With Tael. With Moraine. And… he didn't know if _anyone_ knew what to do. That was probably why everything seemed so… twisted.

Nora sniffling next to him, Ren close enough to bump shoulders with her. Blake pacing with her Gambol Shroud out, Yang looking at her nervously. Weiss tapping her foot, glaring past Ms. Goodwitch like she was _thinking_ of making a run for it. And everyone else just trying to guess what was going on, even if the air felt like it was one bad sound away from exploding.

So bad that about every student he knew at Beacon was out in the gardens, yard, or by the Emerald Forest, not to mention the dozens of other students who came from visiting schools and _then_ not to mention all the droids and soldiers that had come with the Atlesian Military. Everyone was just standing around, on edge, with weapons out, and that was bad. He could tell at least that much.

Jaune knew it was bad, and the fact that everyone else was acting like they were minutes away from war made it even worse. No, actually, it did make it worse, but that wasn't the worst. The worst was something else he _didn't_ know, and no one knew, except for the person who had already left.

He still had no idea where Pyrrha was in all of this.

Just thinking her name made him pull out his Scroll, flipping it open and tapping across the screen until he reached her contacts. He pulled up all the messages he had shared with her, everything, reading through the messages he had sent so far in the past hour.

_'Pyrrha, are you okay?'_

_'Where are you?'_

_'School's on lockdown. Ms. Goodwitch's orders.'_

_'Come back quick!'_

There were no responses from her, from any of his inquiries. And, just like he thought, it was the worst part about all of this. There wasn't even anyone he could trust to ask. That was just making him squirm.

"She'll be okay, Jaune." Said boy turned to see Ren looking at him. Apparently, he'd moved enough to where he had an arm around Nora's shoulders, the girl leaning into him. He didn't even question it. "Moraine is just a small girl… and Pyrrha is a champion." He knew his friend was right, that was what Moraine was.

"We don't know _what_ else Moraine is," Jaune almost spat out his return. That was wrong. Ren was his friend and had literally nothing to do with this. This was all Moraine and… like Blake kept muttering the _White Fang's_ fault. "And we don't know where she is." He heard Nora sniffle at the comment, prompting Ren to rub her shoulder in response.

"But she is strong." Yeah, that wasn't exactly a question of debate. "Dr. Oobleck has also been dispatched. In conjunction with a large contingent of Atlesian Military. It is highly unlikely that anyone will be able to enter or leave the forest without altering them to their location." Also, not a question.

"He is correct," Jaune's head turned when Weiss spoke up. She wasn't looking at him, crystal blue eyes still staring ahead towards the forest. He wouldn't be surprised if a glyph popped under her feet and shot her forward. He'd only ask if he could join her. "I am confident that General Ironwood would also have dispatched my sister to help rally the troops and lead this operation. It is doubtful, if not insulting, to think that anything will escape her." Jaune was well aware of all of that. But it wasn't his concern.

What his _actual_ concern was wasn't about who was out there close to Pyrrha, but _where_ his partner actually was! Because so far, no one actually _knew_. He knew that much because, if they did, _someone_ around them probably would have gotten wind of it, or Ms. Goodwitch would have acted different or… or _something_ would have happened! So far there was nothing and it was driving him up the wall. Sort of.

But he had nothing, nothing but just knowing he didn't know anything and everyone knew nothing and he was just left among the crowd holding a shield and… and it was so _stupid_.

"Jaune," Ren spoke his name again. This time, Jaune didn't turn. "Jaune, please control yourself." He had no idea why he was saying that. "If you break your Scroll, you won't know if Pyrrha is trying to reach you." His what? Jaune glanced at Ren, before looking down at his hand.

His fingers were almost cracking the glass of the Scroll, his hand shaking for the effort. He stared at it, willing his hand to unflex. It took longer than he thought it would, and for that, he had no answer why. Again, just more things he had no idea about. Trouble was, every other time it happened, it only told he him he needed to find the right person to ask just _what_ he was supposed to do.

Right now, there was no one.

"This isn't right," Jaune spoke, and he wasn't sure if he was speaking to someone or no one. He was just staring at the Scroll in his hand, as if willing it to show a new call, message, or anything else from his partner. "I shouldn't… she shouldn't be out there by herself." Not after what Ruby said happened.

"You couldn't have stopped her," Weiss spoke up again. He looked at her, but she had still yet to look at him. "We were no more capable of stopping Link or Ruby from leaving, and I very much doubt you would have chosen differently." Her lips were pursed as she spoke. And her points were _on_ point. "Instead of complaining about what you didn't do right, perhaps you should focus on what you should be doing instead, as a leader." Right, as that.

"What should I be doing?" He hoped it didn't sound depressing as he spoke. Or angry. "I just… we are _literally_ waiting around and doing nothing. While Moraine, the kid that was basically living here for like a month just… just did _that_ to Tael!" He couldn't say killed, not out loud. Out of everything that didn't seem right, that seemed the most wrong. "A-A-And the White Fang are out there? And Moraine's running to them? With Pyrrha after them? What… What happens if she just _does_ find them? O-Or the military is too late o-o-or… or _anything_ else!"

"Planning for everything is a valiant idea, but rarely a realistic one." Jaune recognized that voice, even if he hadn't heard it in a while.

He twisted around, looking up to see General Ironwood walking towards them. He was easily visible among the rest of the students, them all parting ways for him to walk forward, even if he didn't say a word. Jaune wasn't' really surprised about that, given how big and obviously important the guy was. Wasn't surprised to see. Ozpin next to him either, even if he might have been the reason why the students were moving as well.

He _was_ a bit surprised to see Cardin's team behind him though, including Penny, of course. Everyone else was just watching them now, or probably just the general and the headmaster, seeing as _they_ were here and they were the reason everything was happening. No… No… not them. They were just the ones who told them they couldn't _do_ anything. That seemed just as bad.

"You will find that all you can do is plan for the obvious, and mitigate everything else that comes." The General concluded his point. It was only after he was done that Jaune realized how tight his face was. The frown was kind of the obvious give away. "Though I do understand your concern for your teammate, Mr. Arc, I can assure you that we are wasting no efforts nor resources in securing the forest area." Jaune didn't say anything, he didn't know what to say.

"What about Ruby?" Yang did though. "Do you know where she is? She took off just after we saw her and-"

"Why would Ms. Rose enter the forest again?" Ozpin asked. That, even Jaune knew. He hoped that Ozpin sighing was evidence he knew why as well. "Of course she did. It was foolish of me to think that she would stay in her room for simply being told to." Small miracles surrounded by a bunch of crap he didn't know. "I trust you have a reason for letting her leave, Ms. Xiao Long?"

"Couldn't stop her, not like she was," Yang answered back. Blake had only glanced at them so far. "She was telling us about what happened and then… then Link came in after basically breaking down our door."

"Now that is even worse," the General spoke as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Clearly, he knew something Jaune didn't, or wasn't aware of. "If he does find Moraine or the White Fang members, there will be no chance of capturing their members." Honestly, that surprised Jaune. But not as much as hearing who spoke next.

"You _want_ to capture them?" Blake spoke now. And a part of Jaune told him to stop her, because he knew something bad was going to be said probably. "They… they _literally_ killed Tael and stole Link's masks and you want to keep them _alive?_ " Jaune knew that, or what they had done.

Not everyone else around them did. And the cacophony of straight up conversation filled the air, a lot louder than before.

"Wait, _Tael's dead!_ "

"How'd the White Fang even get in here?"

"There a spy around here?"

"Link's going to kill them. He's going to."

"I don't blame him."

Jaune still didn't know what to make of it all. He hadn't dealt with it before, not like this at least. Now a part of him just wanted Tatl around, like back at the Monument Mine. At least she could ring some sense into him. Like a shout, not an actually ringing of his neck, that'd hurt. And Tael… Tael wasn't around to calm her down.

"Choose your words more carefully, Ms. Belladonna," the headmaster spoke up, eyes on her. Jaune knew he had a sharp gaze for it. She didn't say anything else. That was when his gaze turned to him "And as of your query, Ms. Arc, between the many students who have seemed it fit to arm themselves over returning to their rooms as instructed, as well as mitigating the information flow from the deployed units, we are doing all that we can to locate Ms. Nikos. As well as Link and Ms. Rose now." He didn't sound happy, not that Jaune expected him to be. He didn't want to meet someone who would be happy about all of this.

"Ozpin, I have an update." All eyes, as in everyone in ear-shot turned towards Glynda. Everyone else just kept talking to themselves and looking between the General and headmaster, for obvious reasons, again. "Do you wish for me to send you it over an encrypted line?" Why would she ask that?

Oh yeah, to keep them from running out for it. Jaune knew he would do that, especially if it involved Pyrrha.

"Not if it is pertinent to this investigation, no." Ozpin spoke up, turning and walking towards her. "What have you found?" Ms. Goodwitch nodded before tapping across her pad.

"Specialist Schnee has rendezvoused with Dr. Oobleck." No about Pyrrha, Jaune clenched his eyes. "They were facing another Atlesian Spider Mech in a clearing. Further, I checked flight manifolds for the past few hours and found nothing in the immediate vicinity." Why was that important.

"Then it was a trap, a planned diversion." Ironwood spoke. Planned? As in… this was thought up _before_ today? Somehow the idea of planning killing Tael and stealing from Link and leading his partner into the woods was just _worse_.

"Indeed, Dr. Oobleck concluded the same." Ms. Goodwitch continued tapping as she maneuvered through her Pad. "However, worrisomely, he said that he did see Ms. Nikos in combat with it before he arrived." _What!?_

"WHAT!?" Jaune yelled his thought, earning and ireful eye from the adults. He knew he should care, but with Pyrrha in danger, out there, and having faced something like _that_ , he didn't care. "Is she okay?"

"Calm yourself," Ironwood spoke again, and Jaune was already hating being told that. "What is the status of the Beacon student?" She was more than just a Beacon student. He _had_ to call her by name! She wasn't some soldier in his army!

"Dr. Oobleck instructed Ms. Nikos to pursue Moraine ahead of him while he subdued the Mech." Jaune didn't say anything. His throat was too tight to do so. "They are moving in pursuit of her as we speak. All other teams are being given directions to assume land-based transportation." Was that good or bad? Jaune didn't have an idea.

"Of course, hiding in the forest, using the tree canopy as cover from our scouts," Ironwood spoke again. Jaune was too focused on him calmly analyzing this to care about anything else around him. Not even all the students that were still muttering or talking to one another. "Good decision, but now the curiosity is how fast can any vehicle be? Unless there is a cleared path, it will be dramatically slower than anything airborne."

"I'm afraid that may not be true." Jaune had no idea what Ozpin was talking about. It didn't look like anyone else did. "We have to assume that the reason for this insurgent operation to occur was to collect information, and manage resources. If their escape plan was as simple or predictable as a rail system or car, this would have likely occurred much sooner or at a more appropriate time." He did _not_ want to know what was an appropriate time for this.

"Then what are you thinking? A subterranean route then?" Like a road? Or sewer system? "I don't believe anything that that exists in the Emerald Forest, at least not so far out to be considered an escape route."

"Correct," Ms. Goodwitch added. "The closest routes connect amenities of Beacon to Vale, namely electrical wiring. Nothing that may be construed as an escape tunnel. Further, it is highly unlikely that significant enough time was allotted for preparing such a tunnel or method of escape. At least a significant enough distance."

"All true, though I am not suggesting that," Ozpin continued. Jaune only faintly noted that the rest of the crowd were quiet now, listening to him. "Rather, I believe there will be someone else to help them. Namely, a certain individual with whom we have found no other information… and the rest of the body is not aware of." It took a solid second for Jaune to realize who the headmaster was talking about.

Jaune knew about him. Because Team RWBY talked about him. About what he did to Moraine's home, to her _supposed_ home, and all the orphans they had helped take care off when that had all happened. It was Roman that did the burning, but the man that seemingly vanished and moved through thin air…

The Gray Man.

Jaune took breaths to control himself, just like Pyrrha said was the best way to stay in control. Deep breathing, focusing on it, helped you focus. He had to focus… especially if he wanted to know what was going on. Even if they kept talking as if they weren't there, and his partner wasn't on the line.

And after Tael… there was no way she wasn't in danger.

Pyrrha could _not_ run into him. That would be the _worst_ of the _worst_.

"Oh no," Nora clearly agreed with him, with how she gasped behind him. It sounded so… _not_ Nora that Jaune didn't like it. Ren had better be holding her, because Jaune didn't know what else would keep her calm.

He didn't even want to look to see what the rest of Team RWBY were doing. It was probably the fact that Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch were here that Yang wasn't already running into the forest, and he'd join her at this point.

Jaune was the _only_ one who could help Pyrrha. And he… was he the only one who cared about Pyrrha?

No… Pyrrha would be okay, she had to be. It was just like Ren said. She was a champion. And Ren wasn't like him, he was an _actual_ genius, and a guy who wouldn't lie about stuff like this. If he said Pyrrha was okay, then she was. She was just… chasing a murderer, with Link and Ruby behind her. That was a good thing, them following her he meant.

Because if Link was there, after what happened to Tael… then she would be okay. Jaune was sure of that.

Sure of it… until the _ground shook_.

For a solid second it started, he thought he had just lost his balance from everything that was happening. It wouldn't be the first time he got light headed from stress or anxiety. When he realized it wasn't, because everyone else was starting to waver on their feet, holding out their arms to balance himself, he knew something else was wrong. But he still didn't know _what_. Jaune just knew that this was, of all things, not normal.

The sudden cries of surprise and fright from everyone around him was even worse. Worse than that seeing Nora and Ren hit the dirt with Ren having his arms around her. Watching Blake do the same with hands on the ground, Yang almost rushing over to her. Weiss putting out glyphs to hold herself up. Then every other student and guard either falling down or keeping balance with their weapons.

"Everyone! Stand apart and arms extended!" Ms. Goodwitch was shouting instructions, and Jaune obeyed them. He hadn't been in an actual earthquake before and she sounded like she knew what to do, even if he could see her Semblance around her that. That made sense at least. "This will be over soon!" Would it?!

"Richter reading of 2.3, 2.8, 3.1. 3.2," Penny was speaking, and Jaune was listening. She knew _a lot_ , unlike him. And she was standing perfectly straight, _unlike him_. "3.2, 3.2, steady at 3.2, low magnitude, aftershocks possible." After what?

"Dammit!" And, despite how big he was, Jaune remember that Cardin was there. Him and the rest of his team. "The hell is this?" Jaune wished he could answer him, but he didn't have one. At least, not a good one. The only thing he had was what he could see. And that, was looking over the Emerald Forest.

Jaune didn't know much, but he was willing to bet that the pillar of darkness shooting to the sky was responsible.

It took his breath away the moment he saw it, and not for a good reason. Because the last time he saw something like that, it was when he was in the Monument Mine, staring out into a void of white before a literal explosion of reality shaped the desert around him and Pyrrha and Tatl. After that happened, they were facing monsters and Grimm that seemed to multiply across the desert endlessly even after the Nightmare showed up.

The Nightmare… Jaune really _really_ hoped that wasn't it but no, it couldn't be it… no, that was… his Crocea Mors was holding it sealed away so… so it couldn't be it. Even if… the idea was terrifying and the pillar was about as massive. Seeing as… it was visible across the line of trees and… and huge… really _really_ huge.

But that didn't change that whatever the giant pillar was, it was very much real. And, unless he was really an idiot, responsible for the quaking.

Everyone else seemed to think the same thing.

"The hell is that!?" "Seriously? What's going on?" "I don't know man, I don't know!"

"This happening?" "Is it a Grimm?" "Is that a monster?" An ancient one?"

"Gotta be the White Fang!" "Then it's a Semblance?" "Someone's doing this!" "How do we stop it?"

" _Everyone remain calm!"_

Thankful or not, Jaune was really glad to hear Ironwood's voice boom over the crowd.

And almost like the earthquake was listening to him, the earth began to settle. Jaune could accept coincidence, when they helped him. Like this, standing properly that is.

That, and the pillar of darkness dissipating, thinning out until it was nothing. That… that was a good thing, right? He didn't know, and he was mad that he didn't know, even matter that whatever it was, it was in the Emerald Forest, where Pyrrha was. And that was a bad thing. So, logically, it was good. Maybe, _hopefully_.

"What was that?" Now Ironwood growled, and _that_ wasn't good. Then again, it was better than everyone else talking around him. Jaune, instead, just licked his lips and swallowed. He had no answer and the same question. "What in the name of Dust was that, Ozpin?"

"You ask as if I have seen that before." The headmaster returned. And hey, he sounded about as pleased about it as Ironwood did. Jaune could make out Ms. Goodwitch typing, fast across her pad. She looked about as pleased as ever. "If I have… it has been so long I must have forgotten…" That didn't sound good either. That was _never_ something good to say!

But there were other things that were important. Like his team!

"R-Ren, Nora, you two alright?" Jaune asked as he turned. He doubted they were, at least Nora didn't look good. She was still on the ground, hands to her head and huddled into a ball. Ren next to her, on his knees, holding her shoulders… it wasn't good at all. "What's wrong? Do you need anything?"

"No, nothing," Ren returned, quickly. "Just a bad memory… and I don't feel that's a good sign." Jaune could agree with Ren on that. But… Nora really didn't look good. But she wasn't fighting off anyone either. At least not Ren. So… maybe that as a good thing. He didn't know, and he hated that he was so stupid he didn't!

"Th-The hell was that!?" Yang asked, yelling about it. She was standing next to Blake who, thankfully, wasn't in the same state as Nora. Small blessings, like coincidences, he'd take. "Then hell was that?! Anyone have any answers!?" For once, Jaune got what Yang was feeling.

She didn't know where Ruby was, and he didn't know where Pyrrha was.

"Jaune," he turned to see Cardin walking up to him, Penny close at his side. A look over his shoulder to see Russel and Dove talking to each other, and another team from… somewhere. "Jaune!" The shout got him, bringing his attention back to the taller boy.

"Y-Yeah, yeah, I'm here, I'm right here," he responded, waving his hand. "Sorry just… all of this, and Pyrrha's missing, and the professors are freaking out. I don't know what's going on." He really didn't and he wanted to know. Normal or not, he had no idea. And guesses didn't amount to anything, not right now.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." That got Jaune's attention, looking at Cardin. Took him _another_ second to remember that he didn't have his mace anymore either. That broke, and he didn't get a shield. "That pillar, that giant thing in the sky, you saw that, right?"

"It was hard to miss," Jaune answered honestly. "Why, you want to go to where it was at?" Any other time, Jaune would have wondered if he had some kind of damage to even ask it. Now wasn't one of those times. There was a good chance that wherever Pyrrha was, it was close to that, and he was _not_ about to leave his partner alone. She was in danger… everyone was.

"Yeah, no," Cardin responded easily. "But Penny's got something you might want to hear." Wait, she did? Jaune looked at the shorter girl, whose stiff hair didn't even bob as she nodded her head.

"I increased the sensitivity of my external sensors when the earthquake began, to increase the accuracy of my readings." Jaune listened to her, finding it more and more obvious just how smart she was. She at least knew a lot. "In doing so, I detected a pattern of Alpha and Beta waves in the air that appeared and dissipated in time with the designated 'dark pillar'." Jaune just kept nodding.

"Then… shouldn't you tell the professors?" He was glad to know but they were the ones who had all the machinery and military. They were definitely the ones who were supposed to be asked.

"I am, just after you hear the next part." There was more? Penny continued on without waiting for his reply.

"The emissions that I detected just now were comparable to another source that I read previously." She began, with an urgency that Jaune did not like. "Back in the mine with Doctor Oobleck, Specialist Schnee, Fairy Tatl, and Fairy Tael." She hadn't even gotten past the first name before Jaune felt his body start to shiver. That could not be it.

"No way," he said at first. "My sword… Weiss's sister took it away and sealed it and stuff. If… if it got out, wouldn't they tell us?" Or at least tell him about his sword?! No, wait that wasn't what was important! "Pyrrha's out there! A-And that monster is out there with her!?" That wasn't even to include Ruby and Tatl and Link!

This wasn't just bad, this was _horrible!_ A freaking mess of a Nightmare!

"Now you got it," Cardin spoke up. He was gritting his teeth, and Jaune was about ready to pull out is own hair. Got it? He was sold and _damned_ on it! "Russel and Dove are already trying to figure out where all the Dust supplies are, just in case. Wanted to let you know before we spring this on Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch." Why!?

"General Ironwood may be receptive to information given by me, but further testimonials will increase the priority of any new tasks he is presented with." Okay, smart, but not important if the _freaking Nightmare was nearby!_ "May I request your assistance with telling them of my findings? As well as assurances of the threat level?"

"I-I-If it means getting to Pyrrha faster, yeah, definitely," Jaune wouldn't hesitate. Not for her. "Just… we gotta hurry!" That wasn't an understatement. They _had_ to hurry.

Jaune had literally no idea how this could get any worse!

**_BOOOOM!_ **

And then something did.

It felt like his eardrums popped in his head, after having a burst of wind rush past him. It was… like that, but then not. It was like the earthquake from before went off again, but in the air. Was this that aftershock that Penny mentioned. No, no, because… because it didn't feel like an earthquake. It just felt like… something changed the pressure in the air.

That answer was easy to see.

It was difficult to miss the pillar in the air before. It was impossible to miss the portal of darkness now.

The one that had ripped itself open just by the line of the Emerald Forest.

Even looking right at it, Jaune didn't have much of an idea of what it was. It was… just like a freaking whirlpool of darkness in the air, that went to nothing. It was big, maybe, like, twice his size? But it was just so… wrong. It was wrong like, like the _Nightmare_. And that one thought made his already troubled breathing almost non-existent.

 _Ka-Lick Ka-Lick_ **BRACK** _Ka-Lick Ka-Lick_ **BRACK** **BRACK** _Ka-Lick Ka-Lick Ka-Lick Ka-Lick_ **BRACK**

However, the sound of every gun and weapon in the crowd readying them was. It was probably the greatest noise Jaune had ever heard, even if his mind was telling him that it wouldn't matter against a Nightmare.

" _Everyone… keep your weapons ready!_ " Jaune heard that moment in General Ironwood's voice. He either had no idea what was going on, or he did… and he was just as terrified as Jaune was. He was just smart enough not to show it. " _Wait for my command!_ "

"All students, same orders." Ozpin spoke far calmer than Ironwood. "Do _not_ engage until ordered to do so. Weapons marked." It felt like a good thing, but it also wasn't. All Jaune knew was that he had to raise his shield, even if he didn't have a sword. He saw Cardin step behind both of them, lifting his arms as if ready to _box_ whatever came out of the portal.

If it was what Jaune was afraid it was… it wouldn't matter what anyone had.

"Still nothing, Ozpin?" Ironwood asked.

"No, I'm afraid not," the return came just as easily. Jaune almost wished he hadn't heard that. So did everyone else.

"What is it?!" "Nothing good, everything bad." "Gotta stay focused, don't look away and stay focused." "I got this."

"Between the eyes." "Bend then lift, _fast!_ " "Hammer, cartridge, Dust, _set_."

And a thousand and one other preparatory sayings filled the air, Jaune listened to what he could, all the while knowing that whatever was coming out… Pyrrha had likely seen. And that was not a good thing. But maybe… no, she _was_ alright.

Even if whatever gave off the same 'signature' as the Nightmare came out, and _damn_ Penny for telling him that, he'd at least hold it off. He had beaten it before with her help, so he could at least hold it off long enough for someone to find her. Yang would find Ruby, a-and then Pyrrha with her. They'd stick together, and Pyrrha was ridiculously strong. She'd be okay.

She was smart, talented, strong, a champion, just like Ren said. She… no matter what, she would be okay. He knew she would be.

Jaune knew it, especially when she came tottering out of the portal.

For a moment, he didn't even know it was her. He heard everyone tighten their weapons, cock their guns, and get everything ready to fire. He just felt the grip on the Mirror shield shift. He was holding it up getting ready for another lightning attack. When he felt the shock, he almost thought that it had hit him. Until he saw the golden armor, and the red hair… and… his partner.

" _Pyrrha!_ " Jaune yelled her name as ran forward, reaching out for her when he was still yards away. No one else screaming behind him, no matter who they were, mattered. Pyrrha was his partner, and he was going to be there for her. And, as he saw it, not a moment too soon.

He was just in front of her when she collapsed into his arms. It was the first time it had ever happened to him, he believed to her, and for a quick moment, Jaune didn't know what to do. But he didn't let it last. He _had_ to do something, even if it was just guessing.

"Pyrrha!" He yelled again, even with her right in his arms. He didn't get a response again. She was slumped in his arms, almost like she was asleep. Covered in sweat, her weapons already having fallen to her sides, and breathing so deep he knew she had to be focusing on it. But she looked… she looked awful. "Pyrrha, c'mon, _please_ answer me!" He tried again.

"J-Jaune," she spoke, and no matter what else, Jaune felt his relief crash like a falling mountain over his worry. Tired and worn as she looked, hearing her voice was like a miracle to him. "J-Jaune you… y-you're here." He swallowed before answering, even hearing more people yelling behind him.

Not even kneeling so close to the dark portal or whatever it was worried him. Pyrrha was okay.

That was, until she opened her eyes. Her wide, shrunken, and terrified eyes.

"Ja-aune!" Pyrrha's voice broke again. Her hand gripped his shoulder, and it was tight, _deathly_ so. His terror was returning, with whatever he dared not say Pyrrha was showing. Even when they were in the Monument Mine she didn't look this bad, but… but here she was. "You shouldn't… you _can't_ be here!" Something was wrong.

"Pyrrha, calm down! You're safe," he tried to tell her, holding her up what he could, just enough to let the others see her if they were looking. Some where yelling at him still, telling him to drag her away from the portal. He would, _after_ , she calmed down. He just had to make sure.

"No! Jaune!" She yelled again. This time, picking herself up until she was looking at him, inches from his face. This wasn't… something was wrong. "It's… he-he's coming. He's coming soon." Jaune only had air left for a single word.

"He?" It came out like a whimper, like how he felt, and it didn't amount to anything.

No sooner did he ask his question then did he see the portal shift again. He felt the same twist in the air, the same change in pressure that made his breath shirk. Pyrrha must have felt the same, because she stiffened in his arms, pulling herself closer to him, maybe even pushing him to run away. But Jaune didn't move. He only watched.

Watched as boots of enormous size and thick metal stepped forward. A body covered in mixtures of leather, cloth, and steel, but with a gait and size that looked closer to monster than man. With etchings and marks across their surface that spoke of culture, but none he recognized. And all of it worn by a man. A man that looked down as he emerged from the dark portal.

Like a stone rising from the water, so alien in concept, Jaune stared up at the man who gazed down upon him. With a thick mass of red hair, stained emerald skin, a jewel affixed to the center of his forehead, and golden eyes that reflected blood more than light. All of it, looking down upon him without a word.

Jaune wasn't that smart, nor did he know a lot.

Among most the students at Beacon, especially those who were from other schools, it would be embarrassing if he ever got into a debate with any of them. But despite everything about the world of hunters and Grimm that he didn't know, there were some things he had experienced that he knew, either because he'd been told or could guess, that no one else had before.

He knew what pure evil looked like, he knew what immense _strength_ sounded like, and he knew what _absolute terror_ felt like. Jaune knew all of this because he had witnessed it, first hand, while with Tatl and Tael in Monument Mine. There, he had seen Link's greatest fear, born from one of the strongest Grimm he had ever seen or even heard of. And it was what gave him all of that knowledge.

And that knowledge, that _example_ , was standing over the crowd once more. His hands gripped Pyrrha tightly as he gazed up at it, unsure if there was anything he could do.

He had no idea how to stave off the evil that was Ganondorf.

"Boy," the thick heavy voice slowly spoke. The _same_ voice. _That_ voice. "Would you tell me where I am? Or whom to speak with?" Jaune could feel something shaking as the man… the _monster_ spoke and he had no idea what it was, not while focusing on _him_.

It could have been himself, it could have been Pyrrha, it could have been the ground again, or it could have been the _air itself_. With this man… with _him_ back again… all of it was possible. And he didn't like any of them, because he still had no idea what to do.

"There is much I need to discuss."

No ideas at all.

* * *

Cinder had seen many fools call themselves powerful through history. Seen it either across pages, screens, pictures, or first hand. Scrawled as some fine declaration as if it would last eternity, across the screen as if those lies were reality, and spoke aloud as if convince themselves. For everyone of them, she could only turn her head and scoff, caring nothing more for them beyond that.

Strong though some of them may be, they were never as great as they claimed to be. That was not hard to imagine. Rather, Cinder began to assume long ago that anyone who felt the need to vault their power or strength often lacked it in great quantities. Lacked their own or depended to much on another's. Humility, rather a human trait or not, was often the greatest sign of one's strength. Or at least, a gate that she could use to judge them.

Mercury, though a rude and brash child, never entertained the idea of bragging about his own abilities. He still often considered himself lesser than his father, no matter how much disdain he clearly had for the man. Emerald was much the same. Aside from the praise she clearly had for Cinder herself, deserved though it was, she never sought herself out to be the greatest, often searching instead for how to be of more use instead.

Compared to another fool, such as Roman, who could not stop his braggadocios tendencies, they were far more valuable and stronger subordinates of Cinder's. It spoke volumes that the supposed greatest thief of Vale was undone by a couple of children. Just in time that her own were still an unknown to the higher ups of Ozpin and his own subordinates. And, just as Link would claim, the mysterious entity that he was, the Unknown had the advantage. A fool though he was, joining sides with Ozpin in this one-sided conflict, he had some intelligence to him.

Afterall, the ultimate unknown of the world was her mistress, and she was the only Cinder had ever had the privilege of meeting that both was confident in her power and had the feats to back them up. Creating life from nothing, offering safety in conflict, reshaping the land for personal preference, and even striking fear into the millions despite never being known by face, name, or even existence. That was true power, and that was what Cinder knew to be true strength.

For so long, in her long and conflict-ridden life, Cinder knew only her mistress to be the one capable of such things. Her strength and wisdom being unfounded and without equal. Even those who doubted her strength and intelligence, other braggards and lost souls, saw her as the magnificent being that she was, the ruler of Grimm and forger of true peace. Cinder had never seen or even entertained the thought of there being one even passively comparable to her.

None, until she laid eyes on the man who stepped forth from darkness itself.

A monster of a man by design and size, towering over the fallen 'Invincible Girl' and her partner, akin to how she saw mountains to mole-hills. Muscles, hidden beneath layers of leather and armor, bulged out from his attire more akin and like to the monsters of her mistress's design than humans themselves. Even his appearance was more monstrous than benevolent.

Skin that appeared stained green, hair, though short, appeared flaming with rage, and eyes, sharp as knives and bullets, full of the same ire and wrath. Golden portals that looked out upon the crowd careless of the many eyes that gazed back at him, but without the callous nature that came with bragging of strength. Appearing to be a brute, but showing wisdom or courage through his gaze. Though he was wise to stand forth and do nothing, Cinder could see courage as well.

Though the humans paled in comparison to the strength and numbers of her mistress and her Grimm, the number of them present, armed and with the intent to harm, was not to be brushed aside. She doubted many, if anyone, could endure the number of tools aimed upon them without thought or consequence. Yet this man, this monster of a being, stood tall and without a shiver to his form.

It was assisted, if not made stronger, by the shape he carried in his hands. A figure of some kind donned in a large ornate coat, or perhaps cape, wrapped around it. She suspected she knew what it was, a shiver of excitement running through her at the thought, but she spoke nothing of it. It was not the time to speak, it was the time to listen. Listen as the dark portal behind the mind dissipated like smoke, turning to nothing and vanish. And the mind did not flinch, did not blink, as it did so. He was _used_ to it.

Cinder had seen true strength and power only once before. Now, she had seen it twice.

"Who is that?" Emerald whispered next to her. She did not look at the girl, nor Mercury who was keeping himself ready to flee next to her. The coward, though instinctual at least. "Cinder… do you know who that is? Is he…" Now she gazed at the girl, knowing full well where her mind was treading. It was somewhere that could not be spoken aloud.

"I don't know," she answered honestly and swiftly, silencing the girl. Punishment for nearly speaking out of line could come later. "However, it appears that there are some present who do." Namely those who looked at the man with not just fear, but anger. Anger came from experience, poor ones. To gaze at this man angrily meant they had met before.

And though the boy's physique was more for show than gain, Cardin Winchester's grit teeth and snarling appearance showed he was familiar with the man. Him, and the droid who stood next to him, her placid appearance finally broken with a knit brow and clenched hands. They were the first she saw to gaze at the monster, but they were not the only ones.

Because it was apparent that Ozpin and Ironwood, though fools on the losing side of a conflict, gazed up at the man with similar expressions. Glowering eyes, raised weapons, and clear desires for conflict, but enough intelligence not to start it. It was a poor sign that they knew something, but this was neither the time nor the place to ask what. Not from her at least.

If any answers were to be gained, they would come from the fools speaking to the man, and risking their own lives.

"I ask again," the man spoke once more, the tone of his voice shaking the air with its depth. "Who may I speak with forthright?" It was not a question to ignore, and only a fool would do so. How unfortunate that the Arc child was very much that.

"Me." And so was Ozpin, the fool of Beacon that stepped forward. Even from a distance and in the midst of the crowd, she could see the strength he grasped the cane in his hand. That, and the way he kept himself guarded for an attack. Foolish though he was, he was the only one whom her mistress was wary of. "You may speak to me. Now I ask you, who are you and why are you here?" He attempted to sound firm with his question.

But Cinder could tell it was comparing a puddle to an ocean. His voice was that of a leader, of a teacher, but the man who stepped from darkness and made all present shiver with his presence alone was that of a ruler… of a king. There was no comparison between them, none that she could evenly see.

"I will answer you," the man returned. "But first, someone must take care of this." He spoke as he held out his arms. Arms that were large and thick as a man's head. Holding out the cape-wrapped figure that she could only guess. "She lost consciousness in the woods, and I believe she needs comfort." She, then not who Cinder thought. However, that left only one other, just as obvious option.

Ozpin however, the foolish man, gazed at the outstretched arms and the figure cautiously. It wasn't helped that the size of the man meant the figure was being held almost above his head, and tucked away in that ornate cape. That, and some part of him may have realized that to receive the figure meant drawing closer. Foolish though he was, he must have been aware of the man's strength being greater than his own. So was the monstrous man.

"I urge you to take care of her," the deep voice of the man spoke again. "We cannot speak evenly if I am to carry her with me." As he spoke, the man pulled back a bit of the cape holding the figure, revealing her face beneath it. Though Cinder was unsurprised at what she saw, the gasps from around her told quite the opposite was true for the others. The fools.

Who else could it be but the child leader of RWBY?

"RUBY!" "Yang! Wait!" The pair of voices yelled out, in time for Cinder to see the blonde bimbo run forward. Her hair was also alit with fire, though incomparable to the man's own. His was a sign of power. Hers was a desperate attempt to mimic it.

She came to a quick stop in front of the man, Ozpin glaring down at her as well, but unable to do anything. He was never capable of much, always too careful to make a decision. Unlike her mistress and her strength. Or the man who stood before him with a hostage, uncaring, like a prize.

"Let her _go_!" Yang growled out to the man, despite the entire torso length he stood above her. "If you… if you don't want to be _paste_ , you'll give her back to me, _now_!" Brave words for a dead girl. Even as she stood in front of the man, back turned to Cinder but with her eyes doubtlessly full of that empty red fury, she could tell it was nothing but embers in front of the inferno in the man's eyes.

The lull in noise was a sign of the growing tension, and Cinder was eager to see what would break it. Would one of the students make a mistake with their weapon, a soldier itch his trigger finger, or perhaps the man would see the girl as too insulting and do away with her. All were just as possible, and, so long as she kept her distance and out of the crowd's tension, she would be unharmed.

However, none of those came to pass. As the man simply passed Ruby to Yang.

"Here," the man spoke, bending to allow the much shorter girl the height needed to grab her sister. As soon as the cape holstered child was low enough, the blonde pulled her, desperately, into her arms. The man did not shirk nor grunt at the action, doing little more than hold onto his cape as the blonde pulled her sister from it.

"Ruby? _Ruby!?_ " She was yelling at her sister, shaking her, even as her head rolled and bobbed against her arm. The desperation was evident, the fear just as palatable. Cinder hid her grin of satisfaction beneath 'worried' hands raised to her mouth. She would not be hiding in the crowd if she did not act like the fools that they were. "You _bastard!_ What did you do to her!?" Thankfully, she did not need to mimic the fool that spoke.

"I did nothing to her," the man spoke clearly. No hesitation, no need to think. He either was a master with his words who honest. Either made the results all the more impressive to Cinder. "Neither her nor the other girl who was with her." Cinder had almost forgotten about said girl, still shivering in the Arc boy's arms, though from a new distance away. Doubtlessly they must have crawled from the man. How appropriate.

"You _liar!"_ There was a fine line between courage and stupidity, and the blonde was clearly on the lesser side at the moment. "You… I have _no_ idea what you did, but if you think you're going to walk away from this, _then you're-_ "

"Yang! Stop!" "Control yourself!" A pair of voices yelled out again, amongst the torrent of growing whimpers and uneasy growls that came from the crowd. The teammates of the bimbo and her childish leader. The heiress and the turncoat, one grabbing at her partner's arms while the other hastily concerned herself with the girl in her arms.

"What are you two _doing!?_ " Yang yelled once more. The blonde was impulsive and, obviously, nothing else. Worth note or matter. "That _bastard_ just-"

"Delivered Ruby _and_ Pyrrha back to us," the heiress spoke over the blonde. Cinder, with her careful gaze, did _not_ miss the uneasy glance she offered over her shoulder towards the man towering over her. It was again the line of courage and stupidity that allowed her back to be towards the man. She was closer to the former than her teammate, but still far from it. "And we are _not_ risking a confrontation while Ruby is collapses in your arms. _Got it?_ " At least her sense wasn't eroded by fear.

And be it either the depth of their bonds, pathetic as the name was called, the bimbo appeared to at least listen to her somewhat. More than she had when Elrora was the source of her ire. Cinder was disappointed, hoping to see the blonde test her luck against this man in the same way. A slaughter of her enemies was never a poor sight to see.

"Focus on Ruby, Yang," the partner to the blonde spoke now. She was audible to Cinder only because the rest of the crowd was so quiet, terrified, by the man before them. How appropriate. Fear controlling the herd. "She's unconscious, but this isn't the place to worry about her. Let Ozpin deal with… him." And the fear in her voice, focused as it was, was obvious.

The words did their part, however, making the next words out of the blonde a growl, even as she took a step back. Whispers echoed around Cinder, mutterings and curiosities about what was going on and what they should be doing. Pathetic cowards, needing another to tell them what they should do, some even believing their paltry weapons a suitable defense against the monstrous man. Beyond her mistress, Cinder knew there were likely no defenses against him.

The group disappeared into the crowd though, carrying the limp form of their leader with them. She was glad to see them go, able to see the man tower over the fool Ozpin. Standing high above him, cloak reattached to his back and arms folded over his chest. The gaze that bore downwards spoke of power equal to his physique, and Cinder was enthralled to see what would come next.

"Mr. Arc," Ozpin spoke, eyes never leaving the man above him. Cinder was disappointed, though not surprised to hear him address the child still on the ground next to him. "May I assume that this is the _beast_ you met in the mine?" And again, that line of courage and foolishness was shown and crossed.

"Y-Yeah, that's… that's him." The boy spoke. "And… and I'm willing to guess he's the one responsible for all the stuff that's happened." All of it? Cinder was well aware he was not, but she was curious just how much he was aware of.

"Penny?" The voice of Ironwood spoke as well, the command obvious.

"Facial recognition is a 98.89% match, General Ironwood," the android responded. The normal peppiness to her voice was gone, and the knowledge of that was music to Cinder's ears. That also preceded a grand event, usually one's demise or harm. "He is significantly similar to the beast of Monument Mine." More questions and curiosities spilled out around Cinder, buts he paid attention to none of them, except those that mattered.

"What's the doll talking about?" Mercury asked discreetly to her, whispering lowly at that. How appropriately cautious. "Is there something we weren't told?" Her answer had to be appropriately vague as well.

"I heard they found an Ancient Grimm in the place Link's supposed friend resided." Nothing she said carried any secrets not meant for the public to know. Nothing that may expose them. "And it appears this man is similar to that Grimm. How so, I cannot say." Not without exposing them all.

"Ain't that bad then?" For them he meant, and the tone made it obvious. "Should we get out of here?" Before they were caught, not harmed. Cinder kept her smile hidden even as she bent to match the prepared stance of those around them. She knew her subordinates would do the same, or risk their own health, with her.

"We will be alright," Cinder responded back calmly. "So long as we do as the others around us." And keep themselves unexposed and free of suspicion.

"Where are the members of the White Fang?" Her question was drawn back to Ozpin standing before the man. She noted his cane was not touching the ground, though held as if it were. He was preparing to swing, or flee. Either would serve him little well if the man was even half as strong as her mistress. "The members that Ms. Rose and Ms. Nikos pursued."

"I do not know of what you speak," the man held no fear admitting such to the head of Beacon. Marvelous. "When I appeared, there was nothing around me but those girls and monsters. I know nothing of this White Fang or its followers." How appropriately impossible. A goa to attack, and one that Cinder knew Ozpin would have to force Ironwood to not take.

"Impossible," the general predictably stated. "They have been in the news for _years_ now, not to mention the past few months. Your bogus ignorance is proof you are lying." She heard a gun click, one of many from the crowd, and Cinder swore a symphony was playing, one that reaching a crescendo as the man stared on unperturbed by it all.

"James, _calm down_ ," the equally obvious response came, but from the headmaster's assistance and not himself. Her words did little to nothing, wind against the mountains. "This isn't the time to be rash. At all." How naïve of her to hope that would calm any man's tense nerves.

"She is correct," the man spoke, electing an _amazing_ expression of rage from Ironwood. If only she could have captured a picture of it without ruining disguise and cover. "As I said before, there is much we must discuss, and there is no time to dwell." Demands out of those who held power around him? Cinder was interested before, but she was _enthralled_ now.

"I will decide what is important and not," Ozpin retorted, as one who held the position of headmaster predictably would. "And at the moment, what holds the greatest importance to me is the current location of the White Fang members responsible for the death of Tael _and_ Link himself." How humorous, Cinder had nearly forgotten about the green-clothed Faunus. Remembering details like that was perhaps why Ozpin was the only partial threat to her mistress.

"And I will say again," the man spoke, unperturbed _thrice_ more by the unspoken threat of the headmaster. "I do not know of these White Fang you speak of. However, I do know the location of the hero." The hero?

Oh, _that_ was an interesting new detail.

"Where is he?" Ironwood spoke over Ozpin. She hoped it was a challenge to his position, but as the man in green didn't turn or make a comment at the interruption, it was one he proceeded in kind with. Typical, a detail her mistress would not let pass. "Where is Link of Hyrule? Is he possibly still pursuing the White Fang?" Challenging though he may be, Cinder could see such an event taking place. Link rushing off to save his dead comrade, like the supposed hero, and this man staying behind to return the children. Possible, were he not a man of true power.

"The hero is not pursuing anyone," the monstrous man spoke, unfolding his arms in the same moment. Cinder watched with bated breath, making sure to conceal it as fear rather than excitement. The arm turning over and his hand curling in the same motion.

Even from a distance, even without a weapon, it was more than evident the man had the strength to crush steel and then some with his hands. Strength that was assisted by a will unaltered in the face of either Ozpin or Ironwood. An expression that remained fierce with a glowering gaze, even as his hand moved from latching his hand.

To pointing at his chest.

"The hero is right here." Cinder was right. This was enthralling.

The confusion turned to horror, the careful firm gaze Ozpin held degraded into outright anger, and the shouts that came from the knowledgeable parties were filled with confirmations of their worries. Cinder watched on, making herself small to appear fearful of the developments. All the while she never blinked, never shirked away, never disappeared completely, for her own selfish fear that she would miss what came next.

"Soldiers! Fire at well!" "Students! The same!" The cries of Ozpin and Ironwood came as they both leapt back, displays of their hidden athleticism showing. In the same time the raised and prepared weapons made themselves truly known, pulling their triggers and sending out the Dust-enhanced projectiles.

Then Cinder heard fire reign upon the monstrous man.

**_BOOM! BAM-BAM-BOOOM! BOOOM! BAAMAMAMAMAMAMA!_ **

A torrent of sound that might have deafened her tore through her ears, comparable to standing next to one of the Atlesian airship engines during take-off. The sound of a thousand Dust cartridges being used in tandem, from all angles, from a multitude of guns, all splitting the air at once. Any shouts the students may have let off to accompany them were completely drowned out.

Dust, that of the earth and not of minerals, was blown upwards with every fired bullet. Smoke came from the friction of the bullets hitting their target. Lastly, the electric bursts and juts of ice from pure Dust rounds were sent flying around the turmoil of noise and effort.t All of them coming at once, making any kind of visual of the man absolutely impossible. He was lost into the chaos moments after it started.

But Cinder watched on, even as the full force of all that Beacon had continued to rain down upon him, she did nothing but watch. There was nothing else for her to do but watch as every fearful student and inconsequential soldier let loose with all their fury upon the man, they feared on sight alone. They feared, but she respected.

" _Hold fire!_ " Came the command of Ironwood, loud enough to break the cascade of fire. Both his soldiers and the students obliged.

The vacuum of noise that followed felt like a hollow hole in her head for a moment, her ear drums adjusting from the constant painful vibrations to the steady calm of settling dirt. It still was not enough for her to blink as she stared into the cloud of destruction the students had brought forward, waiting to see what would be test of the man's form. She thought she would have to wait for it to settle first.

 _WHOOOSH!_ She was wrong.

In a single moment, the cloud was blown away, at the same time a great wind swept by, whipping her hair and making many others cry out in shock. She gave no quarter to the noise, too focused on what she saw.

The man, unharmed, _unphased_ , standing amidst a veritable crater with his hand to the side. Drawn back… as if he had _pushed_ the air himself.

Cinder was right, he _was_ strong.

"I am sure there was a reason for that." He spoke without effort, deep voice shaking the air nearly as much as the rain of bullets and Dust. "I am justly sure you will tell me what it was."

And his humble nature showed.

Cries and _whimpers_ of shock now, students and soldiers alike reloading their weapons, _foolishly_ believing that a second volley would accomplish more than the former. That perhaps a few more rounds, a few more shots, and they may bring the man to his knees. Cinder hoped her chuckles were mistaken for the fear of madness. She was simply too overjoyed to see such a powerful man aside from her mistress to quell them.

"Are you going to answer me?" the man questioned, looking forward into the crowd, eyes sweeping over them all the children and soldiers that had vainly attempted to deliver death to him. "Or must I seek my own answers elsewhere?" Cinder was humored to see the look from the man acting like a spotlight to roaches.

Everywhere his gaze swept, the students shirked and quivered. Far more than one weapon was dropped from the sight alone, and Cinder was enamored even more with the man able to do such. She had felt such fear the first time she had lain eyes upon her mistress, the queen of the Grimm, and now she was witnessing all these fools falling prey to the same power of a different being.

And then, she saw Ozpin step forward once more, in tandem with Ironwood, his magnum raised as if it had meaning. The man gazed upon them, his golden eyes of fire looking towards them. Cinder hoped she'd see another vain attack.

"Who are you?" Instead, she only heard vain words. "Answer me." Vein and foolish.

Tension built up at the command, everyone present now staring at the man of flaming hair and matching golden eyes staring down at their headmaster, questioning if he would live. She knew he wouldn't. Cinder knew that before Ozpin, with a man that was at least comparable to her mistress, there was no safe haven.

He would speak a warning, perhaps a forfeit to the headmaster's and general's respective lives, and then he would taken them with another swing of his arm, a push of the air or blow to their heads. It would take from the everything.

_WHOOOSH!_

But that didn't happen.

The sound of rushing air, blowing against her body, was enough to drive away the tension. Cinder looked away from the man long enough to gaze up at the Bullhead hovering above them, far from the landing zone and well out of the safety range they were meant to stay at. The reason why was obvious, as was what was going to come from it.

She faked a look of shock as three figures jumped from it, unsurprised still to see the Atlesian uniform, the drunkard's cloth, and the unkempt professor jump from it, landing in the small clearing the man's presence, and gunfire, had created. Winter Schnee, Bartholomew Oobleck, and Qrow Branwen. Some of the most capable members of Ozpin and Ironwood's flock.

For a quick moment, she looked to her subordinates, ensuring they were keeping themselves out of sight of the drunk with the scythe. It was unlikely he would recognize them now, but risks weren't to be taken for pleasure, and this was one of the most pleasing experiences she had since coming to Beacon. Still, the arrival of Qrow and the other lackies once more ruined her mood.

Before, he had stopped her from taking the full power of the Maiden. Now, he stopped the man from killing Ozpin and the general.

"General! Stand back!" Winter Schnee yelled out, her rapier forward and already the glow of glyphs around her body.

Oobleck did the same aside Ozpin, his thermos turned to a hammer and flaming, though incomparable to the man before them.

The drunkard was in front of his master, scythe fully extended and likely prepared to take the man's head, if Cinder were not so confident that the blade would dull before the monstrous man was even scratched.

"This is the man that Nightmare took the form of!" She bellowed again. So that was how she recognized it. Though apparently, she could tell the difference between a Grimm and a human. How thoughtful. "I… I don't know how he is here… but he is _not_ to be taken lightly!"

"I am already aware, Specialist," Ironwood returned. The gunfire was something normal humans could not think to endure, but the man had taken like wind. Cinder was hoping they would attempt a second round, if only to stoke the fire of their own pyre. "What I am _not_ aware is _who_ is he?!" The anger in his voice was appropriate, and misplaced.

"My name is Ganondorf Dragmire."

The name came from the man's rumbling voice with as much power as she expected, and Cinder was not disappointed. She relished the way his voice ceased all others around him, arms crossed he stood like a king above them, and his gaze offered nothing but loathing and pity.

"And I am here to speak to those who lead." And an appropriate follow for others to speak.

Eyes trained again to Ironwood and Ozpin, the pair of men who were responsible for all the lives present, and had not a chance in all the graces of the gods to resist the man before them. It was appropriate how useless they were before him, and how little hope they had left to give.

"Before we do, we _must_ know what happened to the White Fang." Cinder would offer Ozpin this much. He was doing a marvelous job at hiding his fear before a man that could easily, and hopefully would, kill him. "They are the reason for all of this to occur, and we cannot, and will not, simply ignoring their potential threat for a conversation. Every word we have with you, will send them farther away."

It was a fine point to make to someone who emphasized, but Cinder was doubtful the monstrous man, Ganondorf, would by so sympathetic. If he did, then it was the hopeful humor her mistress offered those unlucky enough to stumble into her realm.

"Ask the girl then," the man, _Ganondorf_ , gestured behind the five of them. All eyes turned to Pyrrha, the girl standing beside the Arc Boy with her lance raised and arms forward, holding the gauntlets that Link had gifted her before. "She was there before I awoke. If anyone, she will tell you what happened to them. Though I doubt she knows where they are."

The 'Invincible Girl' stood with quivering eyes at the man, her stance far surer than her gaze. But her stance was far superior compared to the boy that stood next to her, holding his shield up as if it would support him, the fool. They would hardly last more than a moment if he wished to attack. And the gaze alone likely felt as one.

"He… h-he didn't help them," she finally spoke, and they were either words of truth of fear. Either were beautiful to Cinder's ears. "It was…" she swallowed on nothing before speaking again. "I-It was the…the… a-a gray man took them." Now that… that was poor.

"Wait, h-he didn't do anything?" Even the boy next to her was shocked by the news. Unsurprising as he was not there, and the Arc boy clearly was lacking in many ways of being a hunter, foolish and stupid. However, it was for once mirrored by those around him.

"No, he…" Pyrrha started and caught herself, as if realizing she had dropped her guard a small amount. Not that it would assist her beyond the sensation of pain. "He just o-opened that portal and… after he appeared and the Grimm… ran…" The Grimm ran from him.

Cinder had never felt such a conflicted feeling before. A man powerful enough, truly to bring fear out in the Grimm, yet entertained only because the regent of her mistress had reappeared.

Gray Man… Ghirahim then. He had assisted the fool Adam just as he did the idiot Roman. How appropriate, neither of them able to commit to a plan without aid from the highest powers. Why would the regent of her Mistress be here? Was she directly involved in this? She had received no word nor say that she would be. However, that wasn't what was important at the moment. Concerns for later.

What was far more important, and enticing for Cinder, was the playout of the new information. As attention shifted from the shell-shocked girl who was the supposed pride of the students and back to the vaunted leaders. All of them, as they stood and hid their growls before a true king.

"The Gray Man…" Ozpin drew out. He was doubtlessly recalling the last event with the regent of the King. Ghirahim, if he was nearby, was likely falling back with laughter. It would be what he would do, with her mistress entertaining his praise. "Then it is more than just the White Fang. Even Roman is likely involved… no, more than that…"

"Before you think more on that, I will have an answer." Cinder couldn't help but grin a bit before she hid it behind her fallen hair, watching Ozpin being verbally _pulled_ from his musings by the rumbling voice of the man. "Will you speak to me, or shall I leave."

It was another tense moment that followed, one that Cinder hoped would be broken by another cry for battle or gunfire to start one. One that would doubtlessly be followed by the man laying waste to the fools, and providing her and her subordinates the appropriate window to escape. Escape, and observe. However, she was hoping for Ozpin to be beyond foolish. In reality, he was only foolish enough.

"No," he spoke, just as she thought he would. "We will speak, and I will listen." The others were not as joyed to hear his word, honored as they should have been.

"Ozpin!" "This is madness!" "You can't! He's evil!" "He's Link's worst nightmare!" All of them were shouted around him, but the outcries of the students around Cinder were just as loud, but muting one another when the chorus rose. She didn't bother for them, entertained only by the upcoming conversation she would witness.

"Enough!" he spoke again, turning his head to look around him. The foolish students and object soldiers only quieted, but did not go silent. Changing their talk with harsh whispers. "So far there is no reason to not at least speak. But not here." Now Cinder raised a brow.

"Ozpin…" his secretary spoke from behind him. Cinder was surprise she had kept her composure thus far. She was doubtlessly boiling with rage, or trembling within with fear. "This is _not_ something we should be entertaining."

"We have to," he returned again. "Not here though. Not where everyone can hear." Ah, again, truly not a fool to be mocked. Just foolish enough for her mistress to smile upon. "We will speak in my office, in the tower. There… there we can speak. Does that suit you?"

The man did not answer for a moment, still looking down on them with his crossed and folded arms, debating internally, doubtlessly, of what he wanted to do. To follow what Ozpin asked and leave the open air, or to simply destroy them all. The latter must have been so appealing, to someone with physique as monstrous as his own. To tear them all to pieces just as her mistress always wanted.

But, in the end, he was like her mistress, even if on a much lower level. And as such, he was not foolish enough to make himself a target for the world.

"Very well," he stated calmly and evenly. "Lead, and I will follow." It was the only time he would ever say such words, Cinder knew. For she knew kings like that man would rarely ever do such things.

Cinder watched the man depart the figure of power striding confidently behind Ozpin, flanked by the general and their appropriate lackeys. She watched them, as did everyone in the crowd, as they approached the high tower the headmaster ruled from. She knew that whatever was going to be said in that room would be something monumental and possibly world changing. An exchange of information she could not afford to miss.

Knowing such, she gently made her way from the crowd, constantly playing the part of a nerve-frayed teenager who appeared thankful to be out of the gaze of the man who mimicked the strength of her mistress. She ignored Emerald and Mercury behind her, sure they were doing the same. She did not ignore the faces of those who either thwarted her previous plans or were aware of the man.

Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck and Specialist Winter Schnee, both breathing heavily for those who had not seen conflict today, clenching their fists as they kept their gaze glued upon the man's retreating form. On the Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos, and Cardin Winchester and Penny Polendina, the four of them from JNPR and CRDL who had thwarted her attempt to join the Monument Mine expedition. Each of them appeared to be keeping themselves up by anger or will, standing close tot heir respective partners for it.

More than ever before, Cinder wished she could have joined on that expedition from weeks ago, especially if that man was the prize they had found. She couldn't have that anymore, so instead, she could take something else. A prize she had gained through her own efforts, planted in the system of the headmaster and stealing all that was said, whispered, and recorded in his chambers.

Cinder couldn't have been the first to see Ganondorf, but for now, she could make do with listening in to what they said.

* * *

Wariness was something Glynda was quite alright with others associating with her. Some make call it trepidatious, callous, or simply off-putting, but they were all synonyms for the same word. Wary. Wary, meaning careful of what was before her and what it could mean. It was her duty as both a professor and member of Beacon staff to be so.

To not exercise such caution and care would be harmful on her own part as both a leader and mentor to the students, for many of them learned by example. She was not so ignorant as to think they were attempting to emulate her, but they were smart enough to know that she would only accept things she believed were safe, and dispose of all others. In an Academic building, that was proper.

It, again, often made her the villain to many young impressionable freshmen or visiting staff. She was quite alright with that. If not for her attitude towards extra curriculars or foreign items on campus, she'd likely earn the term later simply for how she judged their fights in class. It was hardly a win-win for her, so she did not fight to make it one. That said, even she was aware that her attitude had shifted ever closer to antagonistic in recent time.

Ozpin remarked recently how her attitude to Link arriving some month ago was perhaps more extreme than usual for her. She had to take the time to explain to him that hot off of the security breach that was the Mount Glenn incident, she could not afford to offer kindness before suspicion. A test though she offered, and hesitation she gave, it was balanced out by Ozpin's more inviting nature. She still did not regret how she acted, as it was all done out of logic.

Logic naturally led to caution, as any amount of thinking would lead to the clear mindset that not everyone is looking for your best interest in tandem with their own. Few ever are. In truth, it is much more likely to say that strangers that you meet will be looking to gather something valuable from you and, at best, provide payment for what they take. At worst, they will offer nothing at all. Those were the people and monsters Glynda was wary of. She had seen them much over her time at Beacon Academy.

From unqualified students looking to enter without precedent, extremes attempting to gather secure information, media hounds looking to publish damning stories twisted beyond fallacy, or even members of political groups beyond the school walls searching for ways to inject their world views into the, clearly, impressionable youths.

She had to be wary of all of it, for it was all just as likely to ruin a life as save it, and she was the gatekeeper to ensure that any information that passed her was safe to consume. That was for just information. Thankfully, though wary she nearly always was, she rarely had a need to exercise her strength to expel or deny someone. The few times she had, it was with little more than a nudge, a wall to clearly show them there would be nothing offered to read or take.

In secret, without speaking it aloud, Glynda did believe that her wariness and trepidation with inviting strangers to Beacon, and vetting those who did came, was what kept the Academy safe for so long. And it was her lack of carefulness that led to the woes that sometimes befell it.

She had not vetted Moraine when she came, too caught up and consumed herself in the horrific events that preceded her arrival.

Fully eclipsed by the presence of the Gray Man and Roman using weapons from Link's homeland. Managing and cataloging the memories of his friends, knowing that one of them, a child in appearance, held at least a fraction of power comparable to the Maidens. Already far past enough to be careful around. All of that was happening at once, so she had not taken the time to look into the young Faunus child taken from an orphanage.

She regretted it now. Because, without a doubt, that was what led her, Ozpin, Qrow Branwen, and James Ironwood, into their current predicament.

Truly, Ganondorf's presence was partly her to blame.

Standing in the Headmaster's office, high above the Beacon grounds, in the presence of a monstrous man, who matched the description of one of the strongest monsters ever accounted by hunters.

Standing high above even James, arms folded behind his back, beneath his reattached cloak, and gazing out of the windows that lined the high tower. His posture was proud and noble, something she knew would be recognizable at any kind of high-society and socialite gatherings across any kingdom, perhaps even Atlas. With his muscled physique and clearly enormous Aura, he would be just as welcome in Vacou. That spoke nothing of the flame that appeared to grow from his hair and shine in his eye.

He hadn't spoken since he had left the elevator, a ride that Glynda did not envy Qrow to take. She had no question Ozpin had him ride with the man, perhaps for the thread of hope that if the man was merely a silver word smith, poor luck would reach him before he had stolen his reward. It spoke just as many volumes that the drunkard had not argued, nor reached for his infamous flask, since the man had appeared.

Appearing from a portal of darkness ripped in the center of Beacon grounds, carrying Ruby Rose like a fragile doll, undoubtedly had something to do with it. But they spoke nothing more of that now. They spoke of nothing at all.

Instead, they merely stood in the Headmaster's room, Ozpin's office, listening the clunking of the great tower clock gears beneath them churn, counting the seconds that they all stared forward at the man's back, his ornate cape, as he looked down upon the land below. Glynda knew, doubtlessly that all the students were doing the same, even if they could not make him out.

She herself merely stood behind the man, some distance away, with James and Ozpin standing in the center of the room, both with fingers scratching at their weapons in preparation to strike. The idea of the man, Ganondorf, not having a weapon didn't deter them in the slightest. The thought of throwing him out the window didn't irk her either. She doubted it would appall any present. Though it was not something she voiced or asked.

No one had spoken yet. Wary as she was, before a threat she knew only recounting and stories of, through an Ancient Grimm that had taken the form of some horrific memory, she wasn't aware of what was possible. She only knew that everything she had guarded her school, students, and friends against before was preparation for this.

Nothing could be given to this monster, because she could not see him offering anything but death in return.

"I envy your land." The deep vocal-fried voice rumbled through the air. Glynda couldn't stop her hand from clenching her Pad as she heard it, careful not to break another screen. "A forest beyond my eyes, forked by an ocean just as vast, and at the cusp of a city that rivals all the ages of Hyrule. There is little I see that I can find fault with, and this tower allows you to see it all."

Glynda made quadruple sure her Pad was recording this. Vocally, and her mini-drones were capturing all the video data she could. For once, she kept them far away from the subject at hand. If Ganondorf could see them, or sense, for any reason, it would instigate him. She could not afford that. No one could.

"In the kingdom I once ruled, I had a structure similar to this." Glynda watched as the man shirked his shoulders, adjusting them in place. The rumble of air he let out was undistinguishable. "It was made from the remains of an ancient temple of my people. One of a goddess that ruled the desert lands, sweeping away those who questioned her, and burying those who forsook her. The witches that raised me and the generals who taught me believed my strength above even hers, and so, decided to turn that monument of the gods into a tower for my throne."

Arrogance then, but not one Glynda was about to question. This man was not a student, and hardly a man at that. Recounting what Tatl had told both Specialist Schnee and Doctor Oobleck, Ganondorf was far beyond a king, grand as that already was. He was a warrior, a fighter, and someone capable of destroying kingdoms alone. She could not be wary enough. As no one else around her moved, they were just as cautious.

"But no matter how high the tower was made, no matter how sure the stone and mortar, all my eyes could ever see was endless sand." Sand, like the Gerudo from Link's homeland. Tael had called him the King of the Gerudo… as well as the King of _Evil_. "It was only into my thirtieth year that I saw the life nature for the first time. Felt a wind that didn't howl for death, but instead spread life. I remember being so overcome with what was before me, I nearly questioned the value of my own people."

Glynda looked to her side, seeing Qrow giver her a similar look. His hand had yet to leave the hilt of his scythe, undeployed as it was. She didn't ask for him to remove it. She was unsure if it should _remain_ in such a state. He would need to act fast if this man decided to act at all.

"Though I cannot say for certain, I believe it was then hatred began to rule me."

Her eyes swept back to the man, who still had yet to turn around. Those were not the words of a man looking for peace. Her fingers scratched at her riding crop, ready to throw her Pad away if need be. She doubted James or Ozpin would be any different with their cane or gun.

"Years spent then boiling in my own anger, an anger that I hadn't even recognized until I saw a land that had more life than my own. And I still can hardly tell what about it filled me with such rage." The melancholy tone his deep voice spoke with raised no somber mood for Glynda. It only made her wariness for the man increase. She still found it hard to call him such. "Years spent further training myself, training my people, building the tower, and fashioning weapons. Years upon years of time, all dedicated to a war that I couldn't even give a reason why I wished to fight. Not beyond the hatred that still boiled in side of me. A hatred I knew of no other way to satiate."

Glynda swallowed a ball in her throat, as slowly as she could. She had faced Grimm that were more than ten times her own size, and doubtlessly just as strong, but the man before her, by observation and testimony, was likely far beyond that. She only continued to watch, monitor, and record. She refused to blink as well.

"None, until a boy in green with a silver blade, saved me."

Now her breath caught.

Glynda had to force a shudder of a breath through her lips to reset her breathing, her mind having halted at what the man had said. She was not new to the game of words that nobles and socialites liked to play, having had to master the game for her job with Ozpin. As such, she knew exactly what she was referring to. She was _not_ the only one.

"Link saved you?" Ozpin spoke, and Glynda was glad that he did. Though his tone was far from the understanding pitch he usually kept. He was wary, just as much, if not more, than Glynda was. "How?" And his words were far shorter than normal.

But, it was all Ganondorf needed, and Glynda continued to record.

"By killing me." She had never recorded, or heard, something speaking of their own death with such satisfaction in their voice. "Killing me, and before the final moments, in my last breaths, taking the rage that I carried and banishing it from my soul."

His cape shifted, and Glynda tensed. She heard everyone else in the room with her do the same, hammers drawing or levers being flexed, but all for no reason. He pulled his arm out from behind him, holding it out at his side as if admiring something he was holding, though he did nothing but clench and release a fist. Glynda was well aware of the strength in that hand, or at least what was supposed. Until documented otherwise, she was treating the worst case as the likely one.

"I was responsible for such atrocities before that time. Acts that I cannot resolve or justify, no matter the emotion that scarred and stained my very soul." The air continued to rumble as he talked, and Glynda never let up from her recording of all the details her mini-drones dared to capture. "Lives lost, homes destroyed, campaigns forged, and they were all done for naught a reason one can call just or noble."

"… How did Link save you?" Ozpin asked again. The question made Ganondorf stop his flexing action, drawing his hand back towards himself, hiding it behind his cape. He still didn't turn to face them, still facing the window and the rest of Beacon far below.

Glynda wasn't receiving any warning or alerts from either Doctor Oobleck, Professor Port, Professor Peach, or Specialist Schnee. Either about Ganondorf… or the White Fang. She would not voice that either, not until she knew, they all knew, how or why Ganondorf was here. Given what he was capable of before, even supposed, it was not worth taking a risk. Not after she failed last time.

"He saved me, by letting me die _as_ me."

Those words came as he lifted his head, now apparently looking towards the sky. The windows were tall enough to allow it, but Glynda didn't dare check, not yet. Not until she was sure of what would and wouldn't break this tense situation.

"Die not by raging against the darkness that I had created, ignorant of the lives of my people, but by seeing my folly so I could mourn the loss of my savagery." He took a breath of air, a deep one. One deep enough for the release to make the windows shudder. "Whether intentional or not, I owed the hero much because of it. Much more than I could ever repay with the remainder of my life then."

And now he looked to repay Link with his memories. He gave Link his memories and, much like everyone else whom Link brought forth from their masks, Link had the power at his disposal… or he should have. But hat was another troubling detail, amongst the many that Ganondorf's very presence brought forth, and one she noticed due to her cautious nature.

Ganondorf wasn't speaking as if he had Link's memories. He had yet to refer to Link as 'himself' or 'I', as he did when speaking with Impa, or Mikau, or Elrora. Now… Now he was talking as if he was one individual recounting a tale.

And that worried her. Immensely.

"Are you telling us this for a reason?" James asked, and Glynda had to bite her tongue to keep herself from reprimanding the man. He was actin a general, and she was doing her own duty. "Are you trying to justify your presence here? After you so nearly cost the lives of several students, professors, my specialist, and even Link himself?"

"If you are still recalling the Nightmare, I will say again that was not me." Ganondorf answered. That came with a pause. "Perhaps you need more than merely my words. Unfortunately, I can think of nothing else to offer as proof." Poor words from anyone else, but this man was not arguing or speaking from a place of weakness. Glynda doubted he had one.

That became apparent when he began to turn.

As if the room was commanded by his presence, and Glynda would not be surprised now to hear that it was, the air shifted with his movements. His ornate cape billowed as he turned, the tapping of his boots echoing like dropped bricks in the still air. All of it matched by the gaze he offered them, turned away from the window.

Though Glynda had stared at it down below, amongst the students, soldiers, and others present, it was still just as haunting now to gaze upon. She knew that Ozpin and James doubtlessly felt the same, and Qrow was at least aggravated by the sight, if the clicking of his tongue was any clue. Because though the color was different and the face alien in comparison, the similarities were there.

It was as if they were looking at _her_.

"I have never had the privilege to set foot on your land, be it across those grasslands, forests, or even mountains." His words came with the same conviction he told his short story with, and Glynda still recorded every word. "Had I, I would not seek to hide such information from you. It would be impossible for me to find redemption while lurking in the shadows." Redemption?

She heard that right, she knew she had. Glynda was too wary to possible miss recording even a moment of this conversation. If the others did hear it, they didn't pay mind to it.

"I tell you this not for trying to gain common ground, as I doubt any of you can relate to such a tale let alone trust my every word." His posture was still proud and tall, even if his lips were drawn as he spoke, eyes looking among them carefully. Like it was the first time he had ever seen them. "I say it so that you will understand my reason for being here is not of malicious intent nor avaricious desire. Such thoughts are incomparable to the reclamation I seek."

"Then what is it you want?" James spoke. Glynda could tell it would take only a single wrong word to give him allowance to draw his magnum. No others would be needed before he fired. Ganondorf returned regardless.

"As I said, I seek reclamation." James did not flinch when the eyes turned to him. Glynda kept recording, even with the ominous silhouette Ganondorf held being recorded in her feeds. "And the only way available for me to do such, the only way I could seek so, was to promise Link my aid when he needed it most."

"I find that hard to believe." Glynda, suddenly, remembered Ozpin's tendency to push the boundaries of a conversation, even politely. Normally, she wouldn't mind beyond annoyance. But this was a situation far beyond simple. "Or else I think Link would have 'asked' for your aid during the many other times his life, and others, have been in jeopardy."

The same as James, Ozpin did not shake when the man's eyes turned towards him, venomous and dark as they were. Despite their golden shine, Glynda could still feel the darkness lurking within them. It was why, no matter the kind words he spoke, or sympathetic story he wove, she could not see him as a man to assist or help.

Not when the fairies, not drones, told of his terrifying power, and Link's worst nightmare was born from him.

That spoke nothing of the Grimm that had used a fraction of his power and was nigh-unkillable.

"Before Link had friends to assist him, as he did when he faced me as well." Ganondorf answered easily, as if he were anticipating the question. He likely was, Glynda realized. "Either other memories who knew of his plight, or those around him who he could depend on. Though he is sharing nothing with me now, nothing but his rage, I can tell he has lost that now. Lost many of the memories of his friends… and those friends that accompanied him."

Desperation. Glynda recognized it. Assuming Ganondorf was being truthful, dubious as it was, and Link had his memories in hand… then he had used the power of this man because he was desperate. So desperate that… this had come about.

"The death of a couple of fairies set him off?" Glynda felt the air shudder with Qrow's words.

Of all times, of all moments, _now_ was when he decided to open his mouth? She couldn't stop her mouth from opening in appalled shock, looking at the drunkard who, even if he was keeping his balance, looked as if he were trying to put on a hard expression. Was he trying to antagonize Ganondorf? To make him angry and break some secret? If it was his intention, he succeeded, half way at least.

Because Glynda felt the air _truly_ shake with next words.

"Those _fairies_ , you drunk of a fool, were far more than that." Glynda had her riding crop out, and James had drawn his gun. It should have been a moment to bring pause, but the man gazed at Qrow with that burning look unfazed. Either he hadn't noticed, or didn't care. Neither were good options. "They were the last friends he had from Hyrule, the last that were here to accompany him, and… if I am to guess, the last that are alive. And those friends were taken from him. Robbed from him, before this Gray Man whisked them away from his grasp."

Glynda clenched her hand, willing it to stop shaking. She wasn't supposed to be afraid in the face of any danger. It was her privilege to hold such control as not only a huntress, but a member of the Beacon Staff. The student looked up to her for such a reason, aside from her unbiased nature. But in the face of Ganondorf, in the face of his judgmental expression, she couldn't control it.

From the quick glance of Qrow pushing his own weapon to the ground to balance himself, she was sure he was in the same situation.

"But if you are _ignorant_ to the knowledge of why he has not asked for my aid sooner, why he did not turn to the _monster_ that slaughtered for a rage that wasn't his own, then allow me to _enlighten_ you." Glynda heard the Ironwood draw the hammer of his magnum, and Ozpin extended his cane. She didn't fault them, as she had pushed her Semblance through her crop, prepared to ruin the entirety of the clock tower by throwing every available gear in sight at the man. And still, Ganondorf did not appear to pay them any mind. "I told Link that when he had lost all hope, when he was unable to trust those around him, when his _rage_ was so great, that he questioned his mind, that he could then turn to me."

His hand settled on his chest, spread and showing the size of his grasp and extent of his reach. But it was eclipsed by the crossing of his flaming brows and fiery depths to his voice.

"And I would deliver to him the heads of his enemies as payment for my own."

That promise bode ill to Glynda's soul.

"Murder then," James surmised. He had his gun raised at Ganondorf still, and the man did not appear wary or curious of the tool. Glynda hoped it was ignorance, but she was too cautious to put any stock in the idea. "You are telling us you are going to go out and kill individuals whom you believe are responsible?"

"Yes." The answer, quick and sure, was just another sign of his confidence, or arrogance. Again, Glynda couldn't say a word against it. Not when the man before them had so much power. "For it is beyond mere belief. Mournful as I know the hero would be should, and undoubtedly is, he would not ask of my aid or call upon my favor unless there was a someone with whom he believed death appropriate. It would be a spit on the pride as my king, stained as it is, to ignore the plea of the hero who saved me."

The tension in the air was already great, but the words of the monstrous man did nothing to alleviate them. Glynda kept her eyes focused, slit and unblinking, as she watched the man. Her wariness to speak had proven fruitful so far, but the situation was rapidly spiraling towards a confrontation.

Weapons were already drawn, the suspected was admitting desire for violence, lethal at that, and the 'hero' whom had slain him before was now asking of aid. Were she in any other occupation, Glynda knew this would be a sign of her sanity slipping. However, fortunately or not, she worked for Ozpin.

"Then are we in that group?" Unfortunately, she was associated with Qrow. "Does that mean you're gonna add us to that choppin' block?" Were she not so careful around the powder keg, Glynda would have kicked dirt onto the open flame that was Qrow. Unfortunately, for now, all she could do was hope the _bastard_ hadn't angered the monster of a man.

"No, you are not," Ganondorf spoke as his eyes turned towards the drunkard. Qrow clicked his tongue again, and Glynda tightened the grip on her riding crop. If need be, she could possibly push Qrow out of the way. "Though I confess to know little of you all, there is simply too much that says you are closer to the hero's allies than enemies. More than that, if you truly were the architects of his rage, I doubt you would have restrained yourself in attacking me. Instigators of conflict have a natural habit kicking while their opponent is down."

Restrain was an awful calm word to use. Glynda knew the media in Vale and the CCTV entire would call the full assault of every Beacon student, Vytal Festival participant, and soldier under James's control to be nothing less than a slaughter. It would take little stretching of the imagination to realize that they could be dragged through the coals for it.

But the man with the dirty emerald skin spoke calmly of how little it bothered him. Glynda was wary to accept it as grace, when it could just as easily be seen as mockery. The bombardment of Dust and bullets upon him in the yard, and he saw it like a passing breeze. All it would take to finish the idea was a smirk, a confident grin, and she would know just how little the man thought of them.

And how outmatched they were. It was a not a thought she believed she'd ever possess while in the company of Ozpin and James. Qrow helped.

"To clarify, you are not a threat to us?" Ozpin asked, the same question as before, back in the garden. "Despite your past with Link, the incident in the yard, and what you have seen… you swear you have no ill intentions for us?" Glynda wasn't sure what he was doing. Words from a man like Ganondorf… they didn't sound like words she could live by. There were few whose word was so strong.

"None," Ganondorf calmly replied, arms still folded behind his back, towering over them. "For I have no reason nor desire to begin another conflict. It is my duty as king, and bond of my word, that I only finish the one that has tortured the hero so. You, all of you, are not included in such a number." Glynda had heard those same words many times before, by many weaker threats.

And Ganondorf, he was far beyond a mere schemer. She could tell, and Glynda was properly wary of his presence. If the testimony of the fairies before their untimely demise was any proof, as well as the horror Link recalled from the Nightmare's portrayal, then it was not to be taken as such. They were just words used for… putting them in a false sense of security.

"Very well. I will accept that for now." Her jaw dropped at Ozpin's words.

 _KA-_ Click _._ But Glynda turned her head when James put his gun down, resetting the hammer.

"Ozpin!" "Seriously?!" Qrow matched her voice of distress, likely her own visage of disbelief.

"Do not misunderstand," the headmaster continued to speak. "I have heard of a great many of your evil deeds from Tatl and Tael, and the horrors of what the Nightmare did with _memories_ of you alone were enough to scar a Specialist of an Army and one of my brightest minds, not to speak of the student that quit my academy from fear of your presence." Ganondorf didn't look away as Ozpin continued to speak to him. He didn't do anything.

He just continued to look, and Glynda record, as Ozpin continued to address all the horrors that the man displayed.

"However, the evidence that Link brought you back and your passivity towards the threats against you speak of your desire for peace, at least with those present." Glynda heard the handle on Ozpin's cane strain as he gripped it. It may have been Qrow as well. "That said, I have heard many others speak kind and flowery words to me before, in the hopes of gaining my trust. I can only trust you are not attempting to do the same."

"Again, I am not. Among the first words I spoke after emerging into your land, was the importance that we speak." He was not lying. Though she hadn't recorded the event, her mini-drones too focused on the search of the Emerald Forest as she kept the students at bay, she recalled him saying as much after Ms. Nikos emerged from the portal. And he said it with a platoon's worth of armaments aimed at him. "I did not say that as a warning. I said it because, in order for me to fulfill my promise to Link, I would need information."

"And we would be the ones to give it to you?" Ozpin spoke the rest of the sentence as a question, though his tone brokered no mockery. Glynda was thankful he didn't push the conversation now. "I am not attempting to mock your oath, but why would we assist you?" The question lingered for a moment, then Ozpin spoke again. "No, rather, why do you need our assistance?"

"Because though a king that I am, I am still a stranger to your land," Ganondorf answered easily. His eyes never left Ozpin. They hadn't changed, whether the weapons were on him or not. "Or do you still believe I am the Nightmare that your… students faced?" The pause was not of mockery. He wore no smile as he spoke. Glynda was careful to not assume malice in his voice or actions.

If she falsely assigned such to him, it could start a fight she wasn't sure they could win. One mistake, drastic as Moraine was, was far more than enough.

"No… though I am still far from trusting, I believe you are not the same entity as before." The words normally bridge some amount of trust, but neither Ozpin nor Ganondorf acted any differently. "What I mean to ask is why you need our assistance, if Link is borrowing your memories the same as his friends." The question hung for a second as well. "They shared knowledge and memories, as was obvious over our interactions. Yet, what you are asking, at least in part, is information Link already knows. So, I ask again, _why_ do you need our assistance?"

Rather than immediately answer, Ganondorf hummed. Much like his breath against the window and even turn to face them, the air appeared to rumble with him, making Glynda's skin shiver as if caught by a chill. She still did not look away.

"At the moment, I know the hero wishes for me to kill those who took his friends from him, as it is what I promised before my final breath." The ominous words hung in the air, verberating through the room due to Ganondorf's deep voice. "However, I do not have any of his memories, any of his thoughts, because he does not share them with me. All I have is the temperament of his rage. Though grand, not nearly so vast as that which possessed me before." There was a lot of questions that came from those words. Glynda could name a few before he was done speaking.

"You became one in body, but not in mind?" James asked again, and Glynda was almost prepared to give him a soft reprimand to pull back his anger. She thought better of it, not wanting Ganondorf's eyes on her. Not while she was still collecting information and preparing herself for the worst-case scenario in all of this. "Why are you so different than all the others? Beyond your heritage and… strength." The pause was unacceptable, but Glynda knew interrupting would be just as poor form.

"I believe you misunderstand how the Masks of Power work." There was judgement in the voice, a conclusion reached. "Tell me, how do you see the power that they possess? Not in terms of what they do, but how they interact with their wielder?" He asked the question as he raised his hand up.

He held it before his face, curling his fingers as he continued to gaze down at James and Ozpin, eyes flickering towards Qrow and herself as he did so. The hairs of his brows kept themselves knit as he spoke.

"When first I saw the hero bear one of his friends in such a way, I saw the mask as a sword, a thing that you know all the extent of by sight." Glynda wondered just who Ganondorf saw, but knew better than to speak. She still did not know how much he was willing to tell. And, if the testimony of Tatl was clear from the mine, he was responsible for the death of far more than one of Link's friends. "Now, after not only becoming one but also witnessing them further, I am aware that they are much more than that."

"… What are they then?" Ozpin asked, his voice still even, strained. "Does this explain why Moraine was able to hide her memories from Saria? Why not even a declared 'Sage of the Forest' was able to see the desires of the girl that wore her?" He almost spat the last words, almost. But he did not, because Ozpin, though more daring, was still a cautious man. Glynda wouldn't have gone this far with him otherwise.

"It does," Ganondorf still returned, lowering his hand as he spoke. "Because I am aware that these masks are more than tools. Memories that carry more than just power." His tone continued to speak in a fried voice, slowly drawing out the matter at hand. "Nut just as is true with anything that carries memories, they carry secrets as well. And for secrets to be kept, walls must be built." His words slowly pieced the meaning together.

"Memories that you cannot see," James concluded. "But you are not the wearer of the mask, Ganondorf. _Link_ is." Holstered though his gun was, Glynda didn't doubt he would shoot. But not quickly or indecisively. He was a general after all, and one that had to deal with as many politicians as she did. "If anything, you have only admitted that you may be keeping secrets from him, and _us_." But that didn't mean that his words couldn't carry the damning tone to them.

"Indeed, I may be." Ganondorf didn't even attempt to hide it. She couldn't tell if that was a good or poor sign of the conversation. "But the opposite is just as much true. My memories have corridors to them that I do not wish others to venture. Do you believe that the hero, a man who has seen so much death and suffered so much misery, truly keeps his mind open for all to see?" Perhaps not, but that was beside the point.

"I believe the point, Ganondorf, is that Link is alive." For the first time to the monstrous man, Glynda spoke, and she chose her words carefully, the same way as she so often did in the face of so many difficult conversations before. But back then, the worse her words or actions would do was earn her a bit of ire.

She had no idea what this man was capable of, or what he was willing to do. Not yet, not beyond his admitted desire to kill. That, and the flaming golden eyes that now bore down on her.

"You, on the other hand, have admitted your death." Glynda continued to speak. She kept her eyes straight as her mind as she endured the glare from the man. "The confusion stems that though we can see why Link may not be able to tell all of your mind, why do you have difficult in seeing his memories? As James said, why would Saria not see the true intentions of Moraine?" It was a question she had, and they all shared.

But Ganondorf did not answer, not immediately. He took in a slow breath of air, one that Glynda followed intently. His chest puffed out slowly with the action again, dragging what felt like a ton of the air with it. She could almost believe it, remembering how his foot falls and sighs shook the windows and floor. It was the deepness in his voice, however, that made her listen intently, next to the power.

"I believe you have put me at an impasse." The words came as somberly as all others, delivered from beneath a fiery gaze. One that was broken as he momentarily shut his eyes. "You ask for an answer I do not have the answer for, but I can tell you will not take my word alone as truth. Even as king, it is tainted by my sins." Flowery than she expected, but not wrong. "Perhaps then you will believe the truth, if it comes from someone else." Glynda knew, rather than thought, that there was no one else.

Tatl and Tael were dead, killed by the very person she had not checked before coming to Beacon. Now, hiding amongst the White Fang that had tormented them and the rest of Vale, with the assistance of the Gray Man at that. If any of them knew of the truth of the masks, as they doubtlessly knew something for stealing them, they would not tell. Even if they knew where they were.

Glynda watched Ganondorf, still towering over them and under the scrutiny of everyone present. Though she was thankful Qrow was keeping his tongue in check, for now, she could not be sure it would last for much longer. Because truthful or not, the man was not wrong. They were at an impasse. And impasses, in moments of great tension, usually lead to difficult fights.

She was naturally wary of any fighting that involved professional hunters. A fight with a man like Ganondorf deserved something more than wariness or caution. It deserved outright avoidance.

Her thoughts were halted when Ganondorf moved again, his arm reaching to the underside of his leathery armor. Tensions flared again, and she heard Qrow tighten, perhaps draw, his scythe. She did not fault him, as one of her hands drew out her riding crop, holding it ready to flick or swing forward with the full might of her Semblance. Though appropriately cautious, neither action was necessary.

Ganondorf drew back with something in his hand, but it was no weapon. It was a tool that she was familiar with, as well all those present. Either from witnessing it or hearing of it, but doubtlessly for what it was. And thought it wasn't some grand blade, gun, or lance, it was just as shocking to see.

Ganondorf held out the golden mask, the same one that Link and Moraine had worn to bring out the Maiden of Spring, Saria.

"Hey, isn't that-" Qrow's confirmation was unnecessary, as Glynda was already sure of it. Having been recording this from a multitude of angles, and having seen the same mask when it was taken off Moraine, she knew exactly what it was. She did, so Ozpin knew as well.

"What do you intend to do with that?" He asked, voice deceptively calm. Glynda knew better. "After promoting such a change from your past, you are resorting to the same tactics as Moraine?" She would not be surprised if later, when she reviewed the footage for study and catalog, she heard the Headmaster hiss. Because it was either him or her that did.

"I do not have need to take a hostage," Ganondorf replied, as if he were not doing such. "And I present this mask not for the purpose of harming it, as I can think of no more direct way to desecrate the memories of the hero than doing such. It would be a slap in the face of the goodness he showed me." More kind words that were certainly not being backed up by his actions.

"Then I _encourage_ you to put the mask down." James spoke. He had drawn the hammer of his magnum again, twisting his body aside as well. He was preparing to fire it quickly, from the hip. She had seen him take such a shot many times before. "Holding it out like that doesn't bode well for anyone. Unless… are you planning on putting it on?" The question was one Glynda hadn't thought of, until James spoke it.

"No, I am not," Ganondorf's answer was, unfortunately, was just as Glynda suspected it would be. "To do so would put in charge whomever Link carries in this mask, and seal me away. Though if he wishes for it, I will not argue. However, he asked of me a favor, and I will not stop to question it." There was something key in what he said, enough so that Glynda's eyes widened behind the frame of her glasses when she heard it. She heard him clearly, she heard it the moment he said it.

"Are you unaware of which of Link's friend is in that mask?" She questioned carefully as before. She saw both James and Ozpin look to her, the same time that Ganondorf did. But while they looked back towards the giant of a man, said man kept his gaze on her, stern and solid as his body.

"I do not," he answered just as honestly. There would be no point in lying about that, but Glynda was still wary for any deceit. "But I do know that whomever it is, is a friend of the hero. And as such, they will be able to answer your questions, and confirm my words." That was important, that was extremely important. Though she couldn't draw a specific moment in time, Glynda could confirm something else.

Saria became a mask for Link after Ganondorf.

"Ordinarily, I would not vie to seek answers from another I do not trust or know. But the hero keeps good company, and I will endure any hatred they may have for me. It will be deserved." Glynda was aware that for this man, whom all of them were cautious of, it was likely that all of Link's friend were wary and if not outright afraid of the monster. But the way he spoke… as if he were going to speak to them in person.

"Are you asking one of us to wear… the mask," Ozpin paused in his speech, and Glynda knew it was to hide the name of Saria. IT may not be much, but it was just as Impa and Link both agreed. The Unknown had the advantage. "I will do no such thing. I believe no one else will either." It was a trap to usher out that hidden urge in Ganondorf. Not enough for an attack, but enough to confirm their fears. To see if this man who appeared to embody evil truly was trying to find a road to piety.

"That will be unnecessary." His simple response offered no such gain, or it had avoided the ruse. "Rather, instead, I will offer a seed of my own wisdom. A Deku branch, as I heard many Hylians say in regards to favors." A favor? Glynda kept her riding crop out, angling it a bit closer to the man. She was sure Qrow was doing the same with his blade and rifle mount.

"And what favor may that be?" James questioned, a question they all shared. The hardened face of Ganondorf turned to face him, still holding the almost shimmering mask of Saria in his hand, between the ends of his fingers.

But rather than another ornate answer, Ganondorf instead held out the mask further from his body, in an outstretched hand now. For a moment, Glynda thought he was offering to them to take, as if it was one of many hostages. The idea was one she immediately thought of, but held at bay for his words. He said he wouldn't do something like that… but then… what was he doing? No matter the angle Glynda's mini-drones recorded from, she could gather no clear image or answer.

"New life." Until he spoke.

And the back of his hand began to glow.

On instinct and nerve, James raised his gun and quickly jumped back from the man, falling to one knee as he attempted to take aim. Ozpin did much the same, folding his cane over his chest and creating a barrier around himself, one of magnificent strength. He stood just in front of James, a shield to his bow. Glynda didn't hear the eruption of any Dust, however. Only the clicking of gears. And a deafening hum.

A hum that was matched and carried the increase in luminosity of the glow from Ganondorf's hand. A bright light that traveled from annoyingly to blindingly bright. Enough so that she had to squint her eyes as she held up her pad, aware that being blind in a fight was a horrible disadvantage, and she cursed herself for allowing such an attack to be done so easily against them. Not to mention the rising ring of the hum.

A hum that increased in noise until she felt like it was a ring in her head. Her riding crop came up to her face, grabbing Ozpin's desk and dragging it forward. She ducked behind it, hiding herself from the glow that blinded her, but not the deafening sound. She felt more than heard or saw Qrow slam into the underside of the desk with her, his side next to hers as he grit his teeth and unfolded the arc of his scythe. Not even the hum of its motor reached her ears now, and she was aware that something _horrible_ was going to happen.

She readied a burst of her power at the end of her riding crop, prepared to throw it out the moment this blinding light and annoying ring were gone. The moment they were, they'd attack, _all_ of them. A four-way assault to disable and take-down the man who had tricked them with such flowery words! For Tatl and Tael, and all of Glynda's failures with Moraine, they'd take down this _Evil King!_

And sure enough, with bare another minute of time, the glow began to die down, the hum with it. Like a popping in her ear, the noise began to slowly seep from her, and her constricted eyes began to dilate as the room dimmed again. She made out the features of Qrow's determined look at her own, matching nods as they prepared to vault the table and combat the man who had tricked them. She knew Ozpin and James would follow.

Hand on the edge of the headmaster's desk, Glynda turned, Qrow throwing the sharp of his blade into the metallic surface to steady a shot! But as soon as both of them birthed the edge of the table, the stopped.

They didn't see Ganondorf wielding some massive tool. They didn't see a destroyed set of windows, floor, or gears surrounding him. They didn't seem him any differently than before, even with the massive glow of his hand dimming until it was nothing but a faint outline of shape from the back of his metallic gauntlet. That was all as he was before, except for Saria's mask, and its absence.

Absent, in place of the figure that was on the floor.

On the floor on hands and knees, green clothing falling over the lithe figure, was a coughing girl with her head bowed to the floor. A head that was a ruffle of green, just long enough to fall over her forehead and hide her features, but not enough to hide the pale skin she had. And it was a she, for no one with such a light cough and thin body could be so.

Especially not when Glynda had seen that figure before.

A figure that slowly raised a shaky head up, and looked about the room with glassy eyes. Gazing up at Glynda, with an emerald gaze full of confusion and mouth shivering on shock, was the very girl who had grown a tree atop Ozpin's tower, created mist in the Emerald Forest, and bore the responsibility of Sage hood, Maidenhood, in the land of Hyrule.

"How… W-Where…?" Saria asked up to her, voice quivering like her body. "Where a-am I?"

Glynda could say nothing in response. Nothing but gape as her riding crop slipped from her fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	33. Parabellum

It was Saria.

Ozpin had seen much in his years, far more than the average man. He had seen much more in even a single life than said average man would glance upon in his, but this was still more than he thought he could normally see. It was beyond what most would consider their wildest dreams. No, if anything, it was what many would equate to their hearts greatest desire.

For all the years he had lived, he had seen love bloom and fall, he had seen lovers of decades be torn apart by death, and many of the spouses left behind earnestly willing to trade anything for even another day with their beloved. It was the nature of humans to fall in love and cling to such a thing for all dear time, only to hate time when it was their time to go. IT was something he had also come to accept, though it lessened the weight on his heart little.

He had watched many individuals pass before his eyes, and he had never had the ability or blessing to see any of them returned. Ozpin came back only due to the curse the gods had lain on him, forcing him to 'fuse' if it was the best word, with another soul that nearly matched his own. Even then, he never forgot those would have gladly given their own life just to see their beloved do the same.

But now, seemingly from no where, Ganondorf, the man that he had only heard about second-hand and was also spoken of with great fear for his power, had resurrected one of Link's oldest before his eyes. With only the mask that she had her memories stored within, he had brought the emerald-haired girl back from the dead.

It was Saria. And Saria was alive.

"W-Where am I?" she repeated again, even as Ozpin gazed down on her with his mouth agape. His shield slowly lowered, James stepping out from behind him, but he paid his friend no mind. He was sure he did the same to him. All their attention, even Qrow and Glynda's was on the girl crouched on the ground.

The girl who raised her dainty hands, opening and closing them experimentally, looking between them curiously, and looking back up again in fear. Ozpin had no shame nor blame for such an emotion now. If anything, he shared it.

"You are in the high tower of a headmaster. Brought back by my hand." And that man was the reason why.

Ozpin followed Saria as she turned her head to gaze up at the towering behemoth behind her, only to hear her give a soundless cry of shock. Even as Ganondorf still did nothing, looking down on her with golden eyes and crossed arms, not moving even a hair on his head, he was a terrifying sight. The young Maiden quickly back-pedaled away, pushing against the floor to get herself away from the man, only to quickly rise to her feet, turn, and face him again. But she was still shaking.

"G-Ganondrof…" her voice spoke breathlessly. It was difficult to tell if it was absolute fear or awe she said his name with. "Wha… H-How are you here? _How_ are you _alive!?_ " He had not heard Saria yell even when Moraine, the traitor the girl was, stole her and ran away with her power.

Hearing her growl was just as surprising. Like a wolf from the woods she hailed from.

"I see you remember me," the man spoke. Ozpin could imagine the tone as being nothing but bored. And that, the slight that came with it, was offsetting even more to him. But he kept his tongue tight. This man… Ganondorf exuded power before. But now he had just proven he had it. "I am please to see it, even if I am saddened to know Link carried your memories. I was sure you, a Kokiri, would outlive all in my land." He knew her and _she_ knew him.

"How _dare_ you say that!" the girl spoke again, standing to her tallest as she yelled. Her tallest barely reaching the thigh height of the man she yelled at, obvious even when they were some distance away. "How _dare_ you speak so casually after what you did to us! To me, to Link, to the Kokiri, to the _Great Deku Tree!_ " Deku Tree? He recalled Tatl mentioning something like that before.

"Yes, the Great Deku Tree," Ganondorf spoke back, almost reminiscing. The fire in his eyes said there were few pleasant occurrences in those memories. "The guardian of the Kokiri Forest, watcher of the Kokiri. Planted by the gods themselves and given domain to watch the endless forest grow." He looked away from her for a moment, looking sideways out the grand window that wrapped around Ozpin's office. "If it were not for the mundane heights those trees reach, I nearly could have mistaken that forest for your own. However, it possesses neither the thick magic nor age that your forest had."

Ozpin said nothing, and dare not move. Now was the time to listen, and he was fortunate that his allies all thought the same. Even if they were still prepared for the worst to pass. His eyes saw Qrow was standing around the edge of his desk, over turned as it was, and Glynda stepping out with him. Both looked prepared to attack at a moment's notice, though not without gazing at Saria with clear surprise of their own.

James was no exception, looking at the girl for the first time. He didn't know yet who she was, but the act of her appearing, and the clearness from where she came, had to speak volumes for Ganondorf's power. The man who was swearing to act by Link's rage, out of respect for his memory… and seemed determined to do whatever that rage told him. Now was not the time to call out the hypocrisy of his actions Not yet.

"I am still angered with myself that I killed him." Just as he was confirming the horrors the man was responsible for.

"What is he talking about?" James asked quickly behind Ozpin, behind his breath and without asking for attention. "Ozpin, what is he talking about?" He needed an answer. They all did. But only two in the room knew what they were.

"You did more than kill him!" Saria raged again, and once more Ozpin was offset by how the girl looked. No longer giggling, twirling on her feet, and asking cryptic questions. Yelling, screaming, all because of the man in front of her. Such a horror to behold. "You demanded the Kokiri Emerald from him! You poisoned him! You sent _monsters_ into his heart! You _killed_ him a-a-and were it not for _Link_ …" Then like a switch was flipped, she stopped. Ozpin knew exactly why.

He saw the girl look around quickly, taking stock of them all. She looked at him, at Glynda, at Qrow, at James, remembering who she had and hadn't seen. She was intelligent, as their matches had proven, so she knew who to trust. And Ganondorf, clearly, was no such man.

" _Where_ is _Link_?!" Her voice returned, all with the man looking down at her passively. "What have you _done to_ him?" Saria's concern was growing, and Ozpin was ready to placate it. Something had to be done before a Maiden's power was unintentionally unleashed.

"I have done nothing to the hero," Ganondorf spoke in return. Small blessing as it was that he was not instigating her. Small, and not enough. "Rather, I am here because of his request. For the favor that I owe him." His story hadn't changed either. It implied honestly, or at least consistency.

" _Favor?_ " Saria hissed. "Why would… why would _you_ owe Link a favor?" One of her questions rolled out now, and it was like the ones she asked before. A question she posed because she didn't know the answer, and invited others to guess. "He _hated_ you, he killed you, he told me, he told me…" and it looked like she found one.

Ganondorf didn't move as Saria slowly raised a hand, pointing it at him, with trepidation in her gaze. He didn't fault the girl, staying silent until it was necessary.

"Link… are you there?" And the sorrow that replaced the rage was the flipping of a lever to the opposite end. The pain was palpable, even as it drew through his ears. "You… you made a mask… of _him?_ "

"Indeed he did," Ganondorf spoke. It was hard not to hear cruelty now, though maybe that was the fault of the apathy. "Though he cannot hear you, Sage of the Forest." And that name made Ozpin tense as well. Ganondorf knew then. He knew what Saria was. He knew of her power, and that was bad, no matter how much power he had as well. "His rage consumes too much of him for him to hear you."

"What? What rage?" The question swiftly followed. "What have… _what happened?_ " Gone was the cryptic question of guidance. In its place was the demanding question for knowledge.

Ozpin, hateful as he was for himself, would not let the Maiden suffer ignorance.

"A little while ago," he began, earning the girl's emerald stare. As well as Ganondorf's golden eyes. "A spy was found to be living among my students. With little preamble, she stole several of Link's masks and made her way to the forest to escape. Tael saw her and followed, followed swiftly by Tatl. She was able to capture Tael before she was caught."

He spoke on, even as the girl's eyes began to widen with knowledge, even as it became clear she knew where this story was going. Be it because she had heard it before or the path was too linear to ignore, he couldn't say. Ozpin could only do his duty and speak on to the girl.

"Though Mr. Ruby Rose and Ms. Pyrrha Nikos attempted to intervene, they were unsuccessful with saving Tael." The gasp from the child was painful to hear. Almost as much as the cries that Ms. Rose gave when she found them. But it was not all. Everything had to be said. "Ms. Nikos pursued the girl as she ran into the forest, while Ms. Rose came to tell us all about what happened, she swiftly informed Link, who with Elrora's help was able to find Ms. Nikos, the spy, as well as Tatl. At such time, it was found there was another member of the spy's party waiting for them, and he quickly took Tatl as a hostage."

Her head was shaking now, and Ozpin loathed the sight. He tightened the grip on his cane, pushing the butt of his trusted tool into the glass floor, keeping himself steady. And, by consequence, his words. He could not falter as he delivered such heavy news. It would be a disservice to them.

"This man then killed Tatl, traumatizing Link, and allowing both him and the spy to escape." Her lips were shaking now and he didn't have the courage to look away. Courage or cowardice. "After that time, Ganondorf appeared, though we still do not know the specifics of what occurred, Ms. Nikos told of what happened, though Ms. Rose was unconscious." There was much more that he could add, but it would all be superfluous at this point.

For now, he could only wait as Saria took in what was being said to her. Let the Maiden of Spring, old as she was, endure the knowledge that the friends of the child she raised were dead, and said child now turned to a man of immense power, and evil, for aid. It was all shown across her features, and he could trace every emotion.

Shock, the disbelief, complete with a hand combing down her cheek. Denial, the small shakes her head made, hoping to stir free the mad dream she believed she was in. Anger, flowing out again, her breathing increasing in pace, and her emerald eyes narrowing. That anger, that would lost longer than the rest.

"Who was the spy?" Saria asked, her voice different from what Ozpin was used to. "Was it someone whom I had met? A person you trusted? A person Link put his trust in?" The answer was yes to all, and a name for the first.

"From what I was told, it was a child named Moraine," Ganondorf, however spoke for him. Perhaps the worst man to deliver the news, and he did so in spite of the anger that Saria was wearing being turned against him again. "Her group that she allied with was dubbed the White Fang, though who else was involved, only they can say." He made no gesture as he spoke, but it was all to clear who they were.

"You lie." Just as it was clear Saria took nothing he said to heart. "You are a snake of the desert that made fools out of the Hylians and weeded your way into power against the wishes of others. I do not trust your words, Ganondorf." And Ozpin could not decide if it was good or not she thought so.

"Actually, he's tellin' the truth." Qrow's brash nature at least answered for him. It earned him the ireful eye of the Maiden. "Seriously, everything he said is true, least as far as we can judge it. Rubes was yellin' and hollerin' about it. And trust me on this one, I'm about as sour as you are, considering that this whole stunt made my niece cry." Ozpin attached the calm he spoke with to that anger. Qrow was many things, and a cheat among them, but it usually only took a clever man to see through his lies.

Then again, that same man could easily tell he cared for his family deeper than anyone else.

"We all believed it 'bout as much as you are right now." Qrow spoke on, even as he kept his scythe blade out. "That brat running off with Link's stuff and killin' the fairies… that ain't right, and it seemed about as possible as _that_ guy walkin' around again." And once more, his brash nature was scratching at death's door. Ganondorf, be it a show of his resolve or earnest nature, didn't react. "Then again, my Rubes ain't a liar, and you better believe with the amount of stuff that went down the past few hours, we're all treating this as priority one." At least he could be serious when he wanted to.

Saria still didn't speak though, and Ozpin watched her. Because though her mouth wasn't speaking, her body was. She was considering it, worrying about it, and doubtlessly conflicted. Because, if the information was true, which it was, it meant she had been close to the person who killed Tatl and Tael, and hadn't shared a clue about her intent.

"Thing is, what we ain't figuring out is how that chick was able to wear _you_ those weeks again and somehow not get a word of warning about it?" Ozpin let out long sigh at Qrow's harsh words. He could understand where is friend was coming from, and tensions were higher than he cared for them ever to be. But, tact was important among friends. Saria, not Ganondorf, was certainly that to him. "You got any reason to explain why that is?" Still to rough.

"I apologize for Qrow, Saria," Ozpin spoke up, offering a wary eye to the beast of a man as he did so. Ganondorf did nothing else but look at him, those flaming golden eyes careful as his stiff posture. He reminded Ozpin of the mythological statues of the graveyards, killing those who insulted the dead when their backs were turned. "But he is speaking the truth. Tensions are high, Ms. Rose and Ms. Nikos have both endured needless mental trauma and Tatl and Tael… they were killed by Moraine and her compatriot."

He saw the emerald eyed Maiden stare at him, disbelief as clear as the shock. He did not say anything, nothing more of the matter at least. Words could only do so much. After that, it was a matter of personal belief and endurance for what came next. He could only direct where they went to now.

"The concern we have is two fold, and I am hoping that you may be able to assist." She still said nothing, and he lowered himself to her level, or near it. She was short, a child, after all. "Ganondorf brought you back, through means and methods that I cannot even begin to ponder on. For if I did, I know that it would to keep away the more important matters at hand."

Killers and murderers were a higher priority than personal curiosity. That could be answered later, but they had only so much time for the former.

"The concern for now, as Qrow stated, is how Moraine was bale to wear you, yet you were unable to sense any ill intent from her." That was a curiosity that would answer many important questions. "If it is possible, it may as well explain why Ganondorf insists that Link tells him nothing. I believed when we spoke of the matter of the masks that they melded-"

"Nothing is melded," Saria interrupted, forcing Ozpin to shut his jaw. He blinked as well. It was easily the most direct answer he had ever gotten from the Maiden. "Everything is offered. Link's friends, myself, _all_ of us offer… we offer our memories to Link, because he helped us and cared for us. He shared with us his memories, because he trust and _needed_ us." The answers continued to roll out.

However, the Maiden glared at the ground as she spoke on. Or rather her clenched fists. She was the possessor of great power, and she did not see Moraine's treachery. Her disappointment, and perhaps self-hatred was understandable. Misplaced, but not a mystery.

"I thought Moraine hid herself out of fear, for herself and sanity." The Maiden took in a slow breath, one that echoed through the room with the ticks of the clock tower gears. "Why would a child who was tortured by fire offer her memories to a face she had never seen? Does loyalty and trust grow as readily as the leaves on a tree?" Her words were sounding familiar now.

"No," Ozpin agreed. "They do not. Trust takes time and loyalty is born from it." Neither come quickly, and Saria was no fool, no matter how young she appeared. Anyone who could best him in a game of chess had a head on their shoulders worth praising. "That was why you didn't question her. Because you thought that she didn't trust you yet, only _needed_ you." The girl's head slowly bobbed.

"She was a lost child looking for aid," Saria spoke on. That was, until her head turned, looking up at the beast of a man that had given her a body. A fact, Ozpin reminded himself, that he could not yet pursue. "What is gained by asking a child for what she cannot understand?" Nothing, Ozpin answered. Nothing, before he realized it was another question.

"Mistrust," he answered, again. And now, he realized why she was glaring at Ganondorf, and not just because the towering man was a monster in more ways than he cared to recall. He had already met far more than he cared to in his life, and seeing more now only made his old body weary with repetition. "And when you do not trust those close to you, you cannot offer them anything but lies or deception." And Ganondorf, though close to Link now, was being told nothing by the hero. "Is that why you say Link is silent, Ganondorf? Because only his rage is guiding you?"

"I know not if he is silent because of his mistrust," the man spoke, and the air shook again. "But I would be unsurprised, understanding even, if such was his purpose. I did nothing in my life to be worthy of trust or loyalty. Even now, he asks this favor of me as a king, one who has been stripped of the rage that blinded him, as payment for his heroic deed to me."

A breath of silence passed between them, and Ozpin would forgive himself for mistaking the man as being deep in thought. That or waiting for the Maiden to make a move against him. That was one act that Ozpin had many reservations against seeing. If there were such a confrontation, it would be a slaughter.

The issue was, he couldn't yet guess in which direction it would go.

"He has asked of me to find vengeance for him, likely to keep the stain from his soul," the man spoke on, and the room again was silent as he did so. "His silence is likely due to his mistrust in me, and reason enough to keep silent to me. Only his rage echoes in my head, far softer than that of what cursed me before. Soft, but focused enough that I know his intent. And I will not forego the request of the hero who saved me, even if for a second." For a second? Ah, it took Ozpin a moment to understand.

This man, the king as he called himself, was knowledgeable and admitting of his past sins. That was undeniable. And if he was, then he must have also known that redemption didn't come so easy with merely remorse. Were such the case, then the world would truly be a more blessed place. Such was a fantasy, however. In truth, his soul was likely damned for his actions.

And the second of peace he had before he died was followed by an eternal torture. A torture that it appeared Link was either aware of, or wished to take advantage of. How curious.

"You cannot go." The words, sudden as they were, surprised Ozpin more than he believed they would. Looking back at Saria, the girl gazing up at Ganondorf still, it was quick and easy to remind himself the girl was still, very much, a Maiden. "You cannot leave and do such a thing. I will _not_ allow it." That was… a strong declaration.

"You have not the power to stop me, Forest Sage." As was the return from Ganondorf. It was made with confidence, with power, and with that same rumbling voice that put Ganondorf on edge. "And this not a campaign I wage for personal joy or reason. It is the request of the hero who gave me a moment of salvation. It would be another stain on my soiled pride to forego it. As such, I will not turn away from it." And his determination was just as strong.

"I do not care for what you want, Ganondorf." Ozpin tightened the grip on his cane as the Maiden returned. If not for the soft green shade of her hair and eyes, the headmaster of Beacon would have thought her gaze that of one prepared to kill. Perhaps it still was, as it would not be the first time his perception was incorrect. Not even today. "I know that you are capable, but I know that Link does not deserve it. If this… if the _death_ of Tatl and Tael did occur, then he is hurt and in mourning. He needs me, _not you_." Ah, he understood now.

"That is what you desire, not the hero," Ganondorf still returned. Deep as his voice was, Ozpin was having difficulty determining if the man was experiencing any anger at all. He hoped the lack of _change_ in his voice was indication enough he was not. "

As the two stared at one another, both blessedly refraining from acting, he stole a glance at those still in the room. Qrow off to the side probably getting ready to join Saria if she so much as sparked the Maiden's power, James doing much the same with hammer and trigger of his magnum. Glynda appeared ready to fling his desk like a battering ram as well. They were all prepared to act, but none of them appeared ready to help disarm the situation.

Perhaps that was his fault. They were dealing with a man with the power to revive the dead, and said returned soul a wise being with the power of the Spring Maiden. Decisive action was likely the more preferred outcome here.

But not for him.

"I believe we are all thinking too far ahead," Ozpin interjected, raising his hand as he lightly stepped forth. He did all that he could to draw the attention of both the monster of a man and Saria of the Kokiri. He needed them both to look at him. And when they did, then he spoke on. "Though it is true Moraine fled with her allies following the death of Tatl and Tael, she took more than just their lives." He needed to spark curiosity in them, to draw their mind away from a confrontation between each other.

"I did not know of what else was taken," the voice of Ganondorf was, for once, a good thing for Ozpin to hear. How odd that it was the first time meeting the man, and already he was finding things he never thought he'd hear. "Was there something else stolen from the hero that compares to the lives of is allies?" His words still needed to be chosen carefully.

"No, not worth the same." He knew Link would never do that, no matter how well he valued the masks. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so desperate to find Navi. "But I know the memories of his friends mean much to him." Just as there was no purpose to beat around the proverbial bush.

"No," Saria quickly spoke first, and it was little surprise to Ozpin the Maiden of indeterminable age knew what he meant. "She stole… Moraine _took_ his masks?" The breathlessness with which she spoke showed she understood the seriousness of the matter that was good.

"That is a _disturbing_ development." Only to follow with the first low drop in Ganondorf's voice the headmaster had heard. The air vibrated before, now, it shook like a clap of thunder.

Ozpin was not sure yet if that was a good or bad thing. He was, after all, the man that Link feared the most. He had already had a taste of his power with Saria standing here, so it was impossible to say he did not understand why.

"Do you know the masks that were taken?" Saria asked, and Ozpin focused on her. "I know of all of Link's friends, everyone that he aided. He mourned their deaths with me when he returned. I know of whom they all are."

"Almost all of them." He heard Qrow quip, and Ozpin did everything in his power to ignore the man. Punishment would follow later, as was normal for the man's behavior.

"We are unaware of what masks Moraine took," Glynda spoke up instead. She was pressing along her pad as she spoke. Attention turned to her, but she kept her gaze downwards. Normally, it would be no different. At this moment, he knew it was to avoid the eye-contact of one individual in the room. "We have only the testimony of Tatl before she gave chase that she had stolen some of Link's masks. Evidently, not all of them." Again, her eyes never moved upwards.

"We are also unaware of their number," Ozpin spoke, to draw Ganondorf's attention. Saria's presence was still a marvel, but she was wholly eclipsed by the man who was able to give her new life. Another curiosity for another time. No matter how jarring and important it was to answer. "I assume more than one, but more than that, I cannot tell."

"Previously, Tatl told us that Link had nine masks," Glynda noted. "However, that was following an interruption of her brother Tael from telling us the true number." It was something he had discussed, he and Glynda. The interruption was only done for few reasons, and the lack of question from her brother, shy as the fairy was, was evidence that he understood the need for secrecy. Such a need was moot now.

"How many did he say he had?" Saria questioned. "Was there a number, or were they only names?"

"In truth, both." Glynda tapped a few more times on her pad before continuing. Ozpin kept his gaze on Ganondorf, the man not so much as blinking as they spoke on. James behind him, hopefully was doing the same. "Though Tatl corrected there were nine masks, Tael initially was going to say elven, as the first syllable was uttered before he was spoken over." Eleven was the obvious choice. As Tatl would hardly count up from eight and having twice as many masks was equally doubtful. At least, Ozpin hoped so.

He could not imagine other reasons to hide masks like Ganondorf away, assuming he was such a number. None at least he cared to admit.

"Of those nine, Tatl gave brief descriptions of them." Ozpin did not need to look to know that she was pulling up her notes from said conversation. It helped to be diligent and he knew of no one else quite like her. "But in order to know which of Link's masks are missing… we need to know which ones he _has_." Ah, there was the rub. A necessary request from an… evil man.

Eyes turned to Ganondorf, even as he kept his gaze on Glynda. Ozpin would not take insult if she refused to look at the man. It was a difficult act to commit to, vile as he was to look upon. Not to mention power he held, it was naturally intimidating. Even more so when a long drawn out hum came from him, sounding more like the growl of a feral boar than anything else.

"The masks the hero has," he began to say. "I may have those." His arms uncrossed as he spoke. "It would also be just to know of what power the killers have stolen." His hand reached into the loops of his belt, different from the manner in which Link produced his masks. Ozpin spoke nothing of it. It was not an important detail to push for. It was far less important than knowing who Moraine had, by all rights, kidnapped. Perhaps even killed. Either option was poor.

His focus remained on the green man, tall and wide, as he pulled out the blue mask of a fish's face, hollowed out eyes with a thin line for a mouth.

"Mikau, the Zora." Saria quickly spoke. Though Ozpin was aware of him as well, it proved the Maiden, who until such a point was a mask herself, was aware of the others. "Link met him in his initial search for Navi, giving him peace when he failed to save his family. He finished his last request." And the descriptions were the same.

"I see," Ganondorf spoke simply, holding out the mask at arm's reach. A long reach at that, and for a single terrified moment, Ozpin suspected he would crush the mask between his fingers. With the power he had… it would not have been difficult, he unfortunately suspected. The hold on his cane tightened as he thought of the possibility, wondering if there was little to anything he could do to prevent it.

Instead, he merely dropped it. Right into the outstretched hands of Saria.

The Maiden quickly pulled the mask towards her chest, holding it tightly. She backed away, even as Ganondorf held a tall and firm stance, not moving from where he stood. Ozpin couldn't tell if he was insulted or apathetic to the display. He only knew that one of Link's masks was in the hands of Saria. For a moment at least, before they were hidden away by her as well. He almost asked if tat was wise, if instead they should hold them for her. But before he could, Ganondorf produced another mask.

This was one that was shorter than the other, white with feathers coming from the distant sides. A short avian beak was protruding from the front of it, and he recognized the mask as the first he had ever seen.

"Elrora, Queen of the Watarara," Saria followed much the same. "She lost her life trying to save her people, and Link was able to use her strength to find the winds to give them a home again. Her son took over for her, and she was thankful he did so." The same story again, though shorter in detail.

And again, like before, Ganondorf dropped the mask into the Maiden's hands. And, again, Ozpin felt a spike of fear as he did so. It could not tell if it was apathy for the masks themselves… or perhaps trust for the girl catching them. One was far more disturbing than the other, but the other… it was certainly bewildering.

Then Ganondorf showed another mask. One that was the most human he had seen so far. Tan skin that was smooth as the mask was carved. A tuft of red colored hair on top, with a jewel at the crown of its forehead. Feminine in appearance, but otherwise plain, spare the red lines across its lips.

"Nabooru… the chief of the Gerudo." Gerudo? That was what Ganondorf was, if Ozpin recalled correctly. "She died when her _king_ found her insubordinate… when Link tried to save her… and he failed. Because the king was far too strong, and his magic corrupt and vile. What else was Link to do but save her?" That wasn't a question that needed answering for him. That… was for Ganondorf.

"She was a wise woman," the voice of Ganondorf spoke again. The deep rumble that hid any apathy he may have truly had. "A chieftain of the people that was as clever a thief as she was a ruler. She sided with the hero while I was corrupt in madness. My blades were just as unstoppable as the poison in my mind." Oh dear.

"You killed her then," James spoke, confirming what did _not_ need to be spoken. Ozpin refused to turn to his friend, keeping his eyes on the man with flaming golden eyes, gazing at the general. Even to a man as tall as his friend, the Evil King looked down. "You killed her, Link saved her, and you appear to feel nothing for it?" His instigation was _wholly_ unnecessary.

" _James,_ " Ozpin harshly whispered over his shoulder. He knew is friend was angered by what Ganondorf had done, a king killing a subordinate. Perhaps he was angered by that more than the death itself. Perhaps, but it did not quell the anger still present.

"I feel the same misery and guilt as I do for all the lives I have taken," Ganondorf answered once more. Instead of dropping this mask, he twisted it, gazing at its face as he held it up. Ozpin could not imagine it fitting over him, large and muscular as his features were, compared to the comparably small size of the mask. "I am grateful to the hero once more for saving her, as she did not deserve such a fate. Rather, if I were never corrupted as I was, she would have been a leader to save our people. A name heralded by our time. Of that, I am sure." A slow breath was released by Ozpin as he spoke.

And again, however, the mask was dropped. Saria quickly and deftly as before stole it from the air and pocketed it. There would need to be a safer place for those in the future.

"Ozpin," Glynda whispered next to him. He hadn't even seen her approach him. "This is the man who likely killed man of Link's allies in the past. And he's standing there, holding their memories in his hands." She did not need to restate it for him, but he could understand why she did. If only out of his own feeling.

"I'm aware," he quickly whispered, almost harshly. "But for a man with as much power as him, we cannot afford to anger him. Not here, not now, and _especially_ not when he is holding the remains of Link's friends." Such remains that he produced again.

The next mask appeared almost alien compared to the one before it. Instead of feminine, it was masculine, though only because of the large mustache pulled from it. A mask that appeared to be shedding tears almost, with a face drawn down and with no signs of joy or even placid nature. It was a depressing mask to even gaze at.

"Talon, the farm hand." There was venom in Saria's voice again. It did not bode well. "He was the caretaker for Lon Lon Ranch, the farm where Link met his first steed. First steed and friend outside of the Kokiri Forest. He died… when _you_ raided the farm. Link couldn't save him. Him _or_ his daughter." It was truly becoming worse and worse.

"I have no doubt that I did." The tone showed none of the remorse the man claimed to have. "And yet, I cannot recall killing a farmer, or his child." And worse yet.

"Bastard," Qrow muttered. Ozpin desperately hoped that the man had not heard it. However, the shift of his gaze did not seem to indicate such. He had barely taken in a breath to silence his partner before he spoke again. "You can't remember someone you killed? Even if you're holding them in your hand?" He was about to strike, and Ozpin knew it.

"Qrow, _contain_ yourself," he harshly whispered again, but the man didn't even glance at him. No one did. Even Saria had her once soft emerald eyes upon Ganondorf, who continued to tower above them.

"Given the number that I have, no." The man's words _proved_ his vileness, and Ozpin was finding it more and more difficult to contain the situation. It would take only a single snide remark to turn this situation into something terrible. "I would hardly be surprised to hear that more of Link's friends are victim's of my rage. Again, a rage that was not my own, and one that I must pay for in any way that I can." Perhaps it was his power that allowed him to speak so freely. Perhaps, or perhaps it was guilt alone. Ozpin did not know, and it was a curiosity as great as the power he held as well.

Power that was, metaphorically, dropped again into Saria's hands. She backed away from him every time he did so, and the headmaster of Beacon could not fault the girl for her swift retreats from him. His was not a presence any would care to be near. Even still, and even so, he drew forth another mask.

It was easily the most disturbing one so far. One that was like alabaster bone, with two wooden protrusions like horns from it. It was arced like the mask of Elrora, but that was it. It had no other markings, no other defining features, and that was made it disturbing. Not terrifying merely uncomfortable.

"The Skull Kid of the Lost Woods," Saria identified again. The venom was there, but far less than before. "One of the lost souls of the woods that was forgotten. A soul that Link met again in his search for Navi, and who tried to kill him. Link was able to save him, and help him…" her voice dropped then, and Ozpin hoped it was the end of it. "He was the one who originally befriended Tatl and Tael. He was their first friend… and the same in kind."

"I see," Ganondorf returned just as simply as before. "He will be harmed the same as the hero then. How unfortunate then." The ease with which he spoke now was harmful for another reason. "Though I hope that if he does awaken, it will be after I pay in kind the killer of his friends." His mind had not changed, at least. If Ozpin were to speak plainly, it sounded as if his mind had not changed.

He dropped the mask again, and once more Saria caught it. A slow breath left Ozpin as the girl retreated this time, further at that. She was close to Qrow and for that he was moderately thankful. The man, though easy to lose his anger, was at least more of a guard of Maidens then others in the room, even if he was in the face of a man that was beyond most obstacles Ozpin had the displeasure of meeting in his life.

"That is all," Ganondorf relayed. Though that was another displeasure. "Those five, then Saria and myself. If what you say is true, then four masks were taken." Four… four masks that Moraine had stolen. And unfortunately, he knew the name of at least three.

"Impa, Darmani, and Lana," Ozpin spoke the name of the three individuals that he had met, conversed with, and heard about. Three names he never wished to say in bad terms. Because they were names that were spoken to him once before, in the same group. "The three names you warned me of." He did not need to speak loudly to who he was addressing.

"Yes," Saria answered. "The strongest friends Link had, _two_ of whom were killed by _you_." Ozpin knew she was not addressing him, though it did feel as though there were two lives now on his head. "Why would… why would Moraine take them? Why would a child that could only hide from me take them?" That was a fine question indeed.

"Power, obviously," Qrow answered. "You said it yourself, they're stupidly strong, especially that Impa chick that was taking out all the students like curry. And Lana? She's the dancing girl that could summon 'bout anything, right?" He was correct again. "Wonder which ones _you_ killed big guy." And he spoke poorly again.

"I killed Impa of the Shiekah and Lana of the Gerduo myself." Ozpin grit his teeth. "I remember them for they were sages, no different than the Forest Sage before you." What?

"What?" James spoke the question for Ozpin. "They were… they were like you? _That_ strong?" Apparently his mind was on the focus of power, like Qrow. Ozpin was focused on other matters in his mind. Convenience mostly. "If the sages are Maidens, then what were they? Summer? Winter?"

"Do you think the seasons try to hide in the dark?" Saria answered instead with a question. She was talking about Impa, he could tell. "Do you believe any of them would allow for time to pass so quickly?" Of that, he didn't understand.

"Okay, no, no questions for questions," Qrow, again, was having difficulty controlling himself. "The big guy over there killed them, and they were strong. Strong enough to have the guy who freaking _revived_ you like a fantasy spell say they're strong. That's _bad_. Especially cause that _brat_ 's gonna be running off to the White Fang with them!" Hold on.

"Indeed," James spoke in return. Ozpin had to turn now. "Though I doubt Sienna Khan would know of their strength, I find it difficult to imagine she did this without the knowledge of who they were. I do not believe blind luck allowed that spy to take the most powerful masks Link had. _Nearly_ the most powerful." It was the nearly portion that worried him.

Impa, Lana, and Darmani, two were Maidens so well hidden he did not recognize them even when talking to them. If what Ganondorf and Saria said were true. The monster of a man may well be a liar, but Saria… this was not the time for her to lie, not when she was trying to save Link. No… she wasn't lying, she was trying to protect them, as Link would… and she knew they were strong because they were Maidens.

Just how many powerful individuals had Link bore the death of in his life?

"And of the fourth mask?" Ganondorf asked. His query brought back a thought that Ozpin had nearly forgotten about. "Do you, Forest Sage, know of what said mask is?" Ah yes, that mask.

The mask that was unnamed and hidden by the fairies before their death. If it was similar to Ganondorf… that was not a good thing. It was a detrimental if not _catastrophic_ situation. Whatever it was, it could _not_ be understated.

"… I do not." _Especially now_. "If there was another… Link never spoke of them or showed me. And if that were the case… why would a boy I raised hide something from me?" The question was another of her curios muses, and one that Ozpin knew well. He was, however, not the only one.

"Because he does not want to disappoint the one who loved him." The dark tone Ganondorf carried with all his words permeated the air. It was hard to imagine any love with a voice as menacing as his. Especially with the circumstances they had. "Because he'd rather keep a secret he wishes to tell then risk ire from the one he admires so highly." Love that made him blind.

And worst of all, Ozpin found no fault in Ganondorf's words.

"Damn. _Dammit!_ " Qrow cussed twice. It was a remarkable show of control for the man. "You mean to tell me that the little brat stole some of _the_ most powerful guys Super Faunus knows managed to _also_ take a mask like… like _him!?_ " Him was obvious, and said man was remaining calm as he was addressed as such. If he acted out, Ozpin didn't know how he'd placate Ganondorf. "This is _bullshit!_ "

"I concur, in part," Glynda spoke now. "That kind of foreknowledge implies having some idea of not only the masks, but also our information regarding them." She tapped across her pad as she spoke. "Choosing those three masks that were labeled as the most dangerous due to their strength, and then a fourth unnamed and marked mask that Link was hiding… that amount of planning implies an inside source of information. Spy work that she would not have collected alone, not without alerting Tatl and Tael before hand." Given the trepidations nature of the former fairies, Ozpin believed it.

"Great, _another_ spy then." Qrow almost kicked Ozpin's desk over as he spoke. Again. "First a brat that was literally pulled out of a fire turns coat, now there's someone whose reading the cliff notes of the meetings. Just… just what the heck is going on?!" It was a question that Ozpin had as well.

It was a question that was marred by Saria holding her arms over her chest, guarding the masks that Ganondorf had given her, the masks of Link's fallen friends. It was something to be sure, but not nearly enough. Not enough to change this already detrimental situation.

"If that is all, then I believe I will now leave." And, of course, it got worse.

"Pardon?" Glynda asked, perhaps out of instinct, for Ganondorf words. They were matched by the monstrous man lowering her arms, his ornate cloak falling behind him as he looked beyond them. His golden eyes never faltered.

"My departure," he said again. "I cannot very well hunt for the killers who wronged the hero while I am here, and I have given you the remainder of the masks that were important to him, as well as the one who raised him from the woods." Saria, the Maiden, glowered up at him.

"You cannot leave," even as she demanded he stay. But the man, either through mockery or apathy again, did not respond to her.

"I am aware you plan to offer me little in the way of support, but I do not require it." He looked from Ozpin to James, eyes flickering between the two. Ozpin kept his own gaze firm as his cane. The issue was, he thought it shook. "However, you have given me a name, many to be precise. That is all that I need to start. It is all I require."

He looked between them all again, moving from one to the other. Ozpin knew, he could tell, he was looking for someone to fight back against him, someone to stop him from leaving, just as Saria was proclaiming, he couldn't do. It was a sentiment that Ozpin truly shared. However… it was not one he could substantiate.

"You know you cannot stop me, Forest Sage," Ganondorf spoke when his eyes fell on her. "Though your loyalty to the hero is as sure as his for his friends, know that my bound of word is just as strong. I swore I would pay back in kind those who wronged him, and I intend to do as such." A slow breath of air was taken and released.

"You _cannot_ leave, Ganondorf," Saria still spoke again. Perhaps she was confident in the Maiden's powers. But no. More likely, she was desperate to not see Link leave. Whichever it was, it did not improve the situation.

"I must," he spoke again. "And once more, you know that no one, not even you, has the power to stop me." It appeared he was willing to prove it.

Because Ganondorf started walking.

A gait that matched his strong physique, one that came as he took strides forward and between the group. He heard James pull the hammer of his revolved behind him, even as the foot falls of the man sounded like shots themselves. They were matched by the flame of his hair, a darker and more menacing glow that even Glynda's strongest Semblance push. If that were not enough, the misery that he brought out felt to rival anything that Qrow could muster even willingly through his Semblance.

And he… he had nothing. Ozpin would not risk more lives in a battle he could not guarantee.

"We will not stop you," Ozpin spoke. As he suspected, it was enough to make the man pause. Even if he had to ignore the sounds of objection from his own allies. "We cannot. However, please allow Qrow to escort you out." It wasn't punishment. It was necessity.

"Whoa! Wait, Oz!" The man yelled, but Ozpin did not look towards him. Of everyone present, he was the only one capable of doing so.

"If you wish to show us your peaceful intentions for us, let him follow you out, and nothing more. Is that agreeable?" In truth, he had no reason to agree to the terms. He was clearly strong enough to resist anything they threw at him, by magic, Dust, or Semblance. It was as if he were beyond them, and he was merely entertaining them for amusment.

But the firmness in his eyes, matched by the strength in his gait, was focused on Ozpin for a moment long enough to be considered a thought. And that thought, though one he could not guess, was one more than a tyrant would offer. If there was an intention to change in Ganondorf, from the Evil King that Tatl, Tael, and not even Saria admitted him to be, then this was it.

"Very well," he returned. And it appeared he had genuine intentions. "But I will not wait." Then he began to walk again, the room shaking with his departure, slow as it was.

"Follow him, Qrow," Ozpin spoke, never looking at the man. "He won't attack you, and you are aware that alone with him is when your Semblance works at its best. You are quite likely the only one who can stop him if things go sour." It was deceitful on his part, but it was necessary. He was beginning to question the necessity of such things.

When it was deceit that brought about this myriad of conflicts.

"Yeah… yeah, I know. Just ain't happy 'bout it." It was all Qrow offered before he ran for the elevator, staying some distance away from Ganondorf. Ozpin never took his eyes off of the man. The man who was far beyond normal, and clearly in the realm of divine.

Divine, or demonic. It was difficult to tell which when lives were returned by his hand.

_DING!_

The chime of the elevator came and went, and Ozin watched the man enter, bowing his head to enter the metal tube. It groaned at his entry, but did not fall. Qrow followed just behind, his scythe out and ready to strike. Even with a weapon drawn next to him, Ganondorf did not react. He did not falter. He did not change.

He just stared, ahead through the slowly shutting doors, at Ozpin. And he back to them. He watched the man who took closely embodied the woman he swore to kill leave, and him still powerless to do anything.

"He can't leave," Saria whispered now, the same words as before, now more of a whimper than a command or call. Ozpin lowered his head as the Maiden spoke, a girl of power that was powerless before the beast that was the monster possessing Link. By choice or design, it did not matter. "He can't… he doesn't know what he's doing."

"I'm afraid its just the opposite that's true," James spoke, and Ironwood gave him a steady glare. The general was just as off put by it as he expected. That was to say not at all. "Link is a soldier, or a warrior. Whichever you want to call him."

"A hero," Saria corrected breathlessly still, her emerald eyes never meeting James's. He was not set off by that either.

"Those in the same," he continued. "He knows very well that acts of violence do not bring the dead back to life. He knows there is nothing he can do for Tatl or Tael now that they are gone, and he is consumed by the knowledge that they died without him. He is likely blaming himself that it is his fault, in spite of it so clearly not." James was speaking as if the girl were a soldier. With the power she held, it was any easy mistake to make.

But she was not, and Ozpin knew that. Aged as she was, she was still a child of the forest, one that had raised Link when he had fled into the woods, and left only through the memories he carried. She was not a fighter, not some grand warrior as James though her to be. She was just an elder, looking at one of their young doing something foolish. It was a sentiment he matched.

"Do mistake my words as admission he is right," James followed. "I agree we must stop him, I'm only trying to assure you that Link, from what I have seen and heard, is no 'loose-cannon' ready to fire. He has a target, and though the man who is responsible for that anger now is… absurdly strong, he speaks as though he knows what he wants. We can only hope he is rational about who he goes after."

"Do you believe he will be rational?" Saria, instead, asked in kind. Ozpin gazed down at her, seeing her eyes look up at the taller man as if they were of equal height. "The friends he had made since he was a child are gone. The many lives he met and saved since he started to fight are gone. All of his friends, even myself, died either before his eyes or despite his efforts. Everyone he loves is gone…"

It was something that had been spoken often of already. And though it was nearing the fifth or so time Ozpin had heard the confirmation, it was no easier a weight to bear.

"Knowing that, do you believe he will be rational?" Saria questioned again. "Because I don't." And then she _answered_. It was just as Ozpin feared before. When one changed their ways, it was often not out of pleasant scenarios. And Saria had answered more questions than she had asked.

It was what else she would do now he was fearful for.

"We are not going to leave Ganondorf alone, not in the sense he believes," James continued, either ignorant of an answer or not wishing to. Ozpin blamed him for neither. "It is more than evident that whomever is in his way is in danger, and it is unlikely that everyone whose path he crosses will be deserving of it." Of that he could also agree.

"While I do believe that the man is focused on what Link's rage is directing him towards, it is just as possible he will make an irrational choice based off Link's anger. Just as you have said." He gave credit to the Maiden, but she offered none in return. Hew as not insulted. Too much had happened to her far too quickly. "The question that comes now is how are we going to keep track of the man?"

"Aerial observation is off the table," James quickly ruled out, brushing his hand side to side as he spoke. "A convenient tool for Grimm or other threats, but the man clearly not only wants to be left alone, but is clever enough to look up for threats. It would be easy for him to lose that alone." True, especially if he made his way into Vale proper. Ozpin tightened his grip on his cane at the thought of it. The man who held such power… it was not a pleasant idea.

"I agree," Ozpin spoke, marching forward again. He pounded on the glass floor of his room, ensuring it was still intact. This was _his_ room. But for as long as the man stood in it, it felt like it was not. "But I'm afraid that anyone attempting to stay close to him will swiftly be found out. He is _not_ the kind of man I wish to see angered." Though that was true of any man, someone like him… it was beyond reasonable.

"Long-range, high-magnification, scouts are available to us," Glynda spoke, and Ozpin looked through the hue of his lavender frames to see her tapping on her Pad again. It was a small miracle in itself that the screen was cracked through all of this. Then again, perhaps it was, and the man's _power_ had restored it.

It had brought the memories of a Maiden back to life, power and all. The implications of that still haunted him.

"Further, I have already looked into hunters in the area who are available for recon or scouting type missions, chosen by preference to previous mission requests." A good start, Ozpin realized. He waited for her to continue. "There are five in the city of Vale, with majority preferring actual hunting jobs. Likely a preference as they can predict time for completion." And this mission, should they post it, had no set end date.

"Gather their names and information and send them to me," Ozpin followed up. "I'm sure when we submit our report to the council, we can requisition funds for their deployment. It may be better to increase the payment by 20-30 percent in order to attract more attention." Important as this was, he could not be ignorant that there were still lives meant to be lead.

"The council… Ozpin, what are we going to tell them?" James asked now. His tone was not of fear or wariness, but rather concern. Like a councilour preparing to speak to their charge's parents. "We cannot tell them everything regarding Ganondorf's intents and origins. Let alone…" His eyes drifted downwards, and Ozpin agreed. That, they couldn't know.

"We will omit the parts concerning how Link is involved," Ozpin spoke up. "For now, we will say the man incapacitated him and we are caring for him. Not the truth, but not a strict lie." A political answer, as it was. "As for his origins, it may be best to say we do not know of his whereabouts, only his intent." Mentioning a powerful individual preparing to take the lives of others would easily grab their attention. And when given the appropriate amount of concern from both him and James, it would spark quick payouts from the politicians.

"That could work," the general agreed. "But I'm concerned that they will seek to protect those who are in his path then." Yes, that was a concern. "Careful as the councilors are, I have doubt that none of them will ask of who he is trying to kill."

"Would they be concerned?" The sudden question from Saria drew Ozpin's attention. His and the room. "Ganondorf is a killer, but these _White Fang_ members are killers as well. Will your leaders care for killers being hunted by another killer?" It was a fine question to ask.

"Not in the sense that their lives are worth it," Glynda, instead answered. She never looked up from her Pad as she spoke. "They will want to stop Ganondorf because, even if he is justified in his actions, loosely as can be described, he is still taking the law into his own hands. As such, it is circumventing their power. They cannot let anyone do that, so they'll help stop whoever is trying it."

"Stop him," James spoke again, almost with a snort. Ozpin watched the general carefully. "After what I witnessed that man endure in your courtyard, I'm hesitant to believe there's much, if anything, that can stop him." It was, in truth, a viable concern. "Unless you know something Ozpin. Is there something that can stop a man like that?" It was still difficult to call the beast of a human a man.

His eyes briefly shut, thumb and index finger pushing up his glasses and rubbing the selion bridge of his nose, massaging it. It was the only thing keeping back an actual headache, though he was close. It certainly didn't help that he didn't have an answer for his friend's concerns.

"None come immediately to mind," he answered truthfully. "There are things I suspect could, but I they are either unavailable or inconvenient to find." Relics were, after all, guarded for a reason. Their keys, however… "Our best option instead is to monitor the man as we try and find something that can stop him, and hopefully before Ganondorf does something that Link cannot be forgiven for." That was his greatest concern. Being stained with an unremovable sin.

"The requests have been sent out," Glynda returned. "I have indicated in the requests that there will likely be an active duty bonus of 25% mark-up, negotiable once received." Faster than he anticipated, but for the better once. "And I have received a response from Ashen, saying he would be willing to meet and discuss the contract." Much better.

"Send him the similar information that we were planning to send the Council," Ozpin instructed. "Tell him to review it before he meets with us. Schedule a time as well to be able to sit down. I do not care for group talks if it placed far out." They had to be fast, so he'd accept repeating himself to different individuals if it was necessary. Now was not the time for personal preference. Speaking of such. "Saria, may you…" his words dribbled off and away.

Because looking back down, Saria was gone. Well, not far at least. It was hardly as if she just vanished into thin air.

Instead, she was walking away from him, towards the window of his tower where Ganondorf stood before. The size difference between the two was once more as apparent as ever, as she stood barely to the first line of windows, while the man who had all but resurrected her stood thrice such a height. He watched her for a moment, watch as she looked past the glass to the group down below. IT took him a moment to realize what she was doing.

Watching Ganondorf, probably. If not that, then watching the students who she had connected with. Without Link with her, and alive again, if only in memory, it was something she likely did not believe she'd be able to do again. Ozpin let her have that moment, let her stare at what she wanted for a small time, but it was not time that could last. Not when there was much to still be done.

"Saria," he spoke again. "I was wondering if you may be able to assist us?" It was a simple question, hoping to gain a simple answer.

"Yes, I can." She returned just as he expected, though not twisting her head to face him. Only the back of her curled emerald hair was shown. That was curious. "And I will." That was worrying.

 _CRASH!_ But so much as the glass breaking.

* * *

Awkward situations were a norm for Qrow. He couldn't really argue that. Be it part and parcel with being a 40-somewhat year old bachelor or the fact that his Semblance literally dragged the worst out of a situation, he didn't exactly get put at the front of weddings. Typically, he had a greater chance of seeing a break-up happen in front of him than a messy make-up. Shame too, cause he honestly liked happy endings when they happened.

Happy endings were supposed to be the end game for most things people did in life, at least he was told that ever since he was a kid. Heck, almost alone in the wild with just his sister and the bandits and even they were told they'd get a happy ending one day. Probably half the reason that Raven ran away when she did, cause she didn't get that happy ending soon enough. Qrow couldn't blame her for that, especially if he was the one who was sticking around.

Then again, he was smart enough o realize, at least as he got older, that happy endings either didn't last or didn't come easy. Usually both. His sis got together with the team member and had a baby? Sweet! Then she ups and leaves. Their fourth wheel teammate takes over the reigns and pops out another tike? Harsh, but just as good. Gotta have a mom in the mix. Then the mom actually dies, and its about as happy as anyone can expect.

Those were the kinds of situations Qrow was used to seeing, at least around him. Things going from either okay to bad, or bad to worse. Never usually a positive upswing. Then again, it wasn't completely his fault, at least not his intention.

When he wasn't sticking around, things at least got better, somewhat. He was hard pressed to find a parent who was upset he rescued their kid, and most of the jobs Ozpin sent him on usually meant that someone else was going to come back thankful, or with some new tool that the others guys couldn't get. Not a happy ending, cause there was no real ending with a guy who was basically immortal, but there was a bad end involved and he was considering any stave of that a positive. Then again, those were rarities.

Most of the time, for Qrow, things just got awkward. He kind of hoped that it was a part of being a hunter, but that dream died young, like Summer. He was going to hell for that joke.

Then again, considering the situation he was in, maybe he was already on the way.

It was kind of hard to not think he was in some kind of escalator to hell, what with the nine-foot-whatever tall monster of a man standing next to him. One that was apparently strong enough to not only bring back the _freaking dead_ , but also talk Ozpin and James into submission. Heck, even Glynda was just passively letting him get away with it, not that he was in much of a position to say that he was against doing anything. Did he mention that he brought back _a freaking dead Maiden!_

It was probably the one thing that was so shocking that Qrow just _had_ to keep his mind on it. It kept him quiet at least, and talking to this beast of a man was like waving a flag in front of an Ursa. With just that mask, the same one that the Moraine brat had taken before, he had literally brought the spirit of that girl into the real world again. Like it was nothing. A blinding flash, a bit of declaration, and BAM, there she was.

A girl who was, accordingly to Ozpin, older than most of them, and acting like she had the intelligence to match it just as before. The same girl who had grown a literal tree on top of the tower, a couple others in the forests, and had literally turned said forest into a maze of haze. That same girl… who was _shaking_ with rage, or fear, Qrow couldn't tell which, as she looked up at the man. If all of that wasn't enough reason to keep quiet now, Qrow couldn't think of another.

And here he thought all the reports he was forced to read about that Mine exploration or whatever were the results of some creative fever dream. Now, unfortunately, there was a lot more merit to it. And just when he thought he was getting used to the idea of super Grimm, their human masters, and a war that was decades old. Maybe Raven did have the right idea.

Then again, it would probably be beyond worst case scenario for him to have hoped for that. Guess his Semblance wasn't that cruel.

He looked up again at the man, even as the elevator hummed around them. It was a hell of a thing seeing this guy, even if it felt like actually hell. There was being intimidating, then there was being so freaking apparent and forceful that just a look in his eyes felt like it was beating on hell's gates with a battering ram, and not caring for the demons on the other side. Okay, maybe a bit extreme, but still…

"Do you see something displeasing?" The deep rumble of his voice got Qrow out of his thoughts, shaking his own head. Took him another second to wonder if the shaking of the box was because of the man's voice or the actual movement. He hoped for the latter, but he honestly wouldn't be surprised if it was the former. "You have been staring at me for some time."

The smart thing would have been to say nothing.

"Well, you're a hell of a sight to look at." But Qrow was not a clever man.

The man looked down at him now, gazing at him out of the corner of one of those golden eyes that was so bright he wouldn't be surprised either to hear that his soul was on fire. For all the evil things he heard he did, from his own mouth and Saria's, it wouldn't have been a surprise. The devil getting his due even before he had a foot in the door, he supposed. What kind of a hell would that be?

"I mean, even if you're just seein' this place for the first time, you gotta admit that you're a big guy by any kind of standards." Okay, bad conversation topic, maybe, but he was vaguely sure that talking about the slaughter of people in his homeland wouldn't be a good one either. Or Link. Or his friends. Or the fairies. Or anything that was actually relevant. "James is a big guy himself but like, you were towering over him." Qrow waved his hand above his head, looking up at him with a sly grin.

Ganondorf gazed back down at him, unfazed and unmoving. His arms were still crossed, bulging at the armor and leather her wore, and still doing a damn excellent job of making it look like a casual flick would send him out of his misery. Wonderful stuff, really.

"I am used to being looked up upon," the guy responded, and Qrow didn't know if he was being vague or direct as possible. Always hard to tell with the guys who had more power in their pinky then he did his entire body. "Just as I am aware that the gazes are not of awe or wonder, but terror and hatred." Well, he wasn't wrong there either.

This time, Qrow was at least smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Last thing he needed, or anyone did really, was having the guy force choke him out in the elevator. Not like there would be a lot he could do against a guy that could basically resurrect the dead. What was to say he couldn't do it himself? Well, the previously dead part might have had something to do with it.

"It does not matter either way," Ganondorf kept talking, so Qrow kept listening. "I will be gone soon, and the concerns you and your allies have of me will be a non-issue. You can plot and plan as much as you need. I will neither interfere nor obstruct your ways." Now wasn't that a hell of a thing to say?

"Plot and plan?" Qrow asked back, making sure he was leaning away from the guy as she spoke. He wanted at least another millisecond to dodge if the guy took a swing. Not that he had a lot of options on where to run to. "You make it sound like we're up there deciding everyone else's future for 'em. New a face as I am to you, take my words on this one, seriously. Getting a teenage girl to do as you tell them to, that's impossible." He had a pair of nieces to prove it, and an assortment of bruises from training them to go with it. Even if the red-head was the bigger ball of fun between the two. "And handling freaking hundreds of 'em? That's like trying to herd feral Grimm." Cause regular Grimm weren't bad enough.

"Many rulers have said such similar words." Talking about their kids? That got a smirk out of Qrow, imagining some ancient king looking down on the people and grumbling about his daughter fighting monsters again. "Making plans for those around them, deciding on what was proper and what was not, making that which they disagreed with an act of treason, and working to their needs a boon of respect." Well… this was going in a completely different direction then Qrow thought it was.

And still Ganondorf just stood there, facing the door in the small compartment, _thanks_ to him, with arms crossed and cape behind him. If Qrow wore that thing, it would have been dragging two feet on the ground. But it was hanging probably a good foot or two from the big guys ankles. Monster in everything it seemed.

"I have not forgotten my tyrannical ways, when I was consumed by hatred." Oh yeah, that 'it's not me its someone else' excuse that Ruby gave when she was five. Honestly, Qrow had to hold back his laughter when he heard the guy say it for the first time. He managed though, seeing as his Semblance tended to screw others over before himself. "Laws that were seemingly benign punishing others cruelly. To the extend that even a foreign man setting foot in the village was reason enough to imprison him for the remainder of his life." Well, okay, that was harsh.

"Pretty sure we don't do that," Qrow scratched his head. Not sure what else to say to something like that. "Worst we got is breaking into someone's home, and that's bad, especially if you take their stuff. Everything else… well, c'mon, it's not like we're deciding laws for the kids to live by." How did they even get on this conversation topic?

"I am aware," Ganondorf responded, with that same voice that Qrow didn't even try to talk over. Sounded like it would be trying to talk over a jet engine at that point. "As I hope you are also aware that you do indeed decide the fate of those beneath your high tower. Little different than I did before." Okay, now it was getting into dangerous territory.

"In case I missed it, didn't you call yourself a dictator?" The eye on him didn't blink, and the man didn't so much as smirk. Qrow took that as a good thing, as most criminals that were about to take a punch at him smirked or scowled. Nothing was… well nothing. "I'm not gonna say we're a perfect bunch, but we sure ain't any kind of overlord leaders or stuff like that." That was stuff for fairytales, and those kinds of people didn't tend to create those happy endings he wanted to see.

"Indeed you are not," he, really confusingly said. Enough to get Qrow to twist his skull like he had water in it. Must have to mishear the guy that way. "Hence where that small difference lies."

_Ding!_

The elevator chimed as Ganondorf finished his remark, the doors sliding open in time. He took a step forward before Qrow, his equally oversized feet marching out as he twisted his shoulders to fit through the door. Qrow watched him for a minute, watching the guy who called himself the King of Evil and a man filled with another's rage walk away, after saying that they were acting like he did, or just _close to it_.

A groan left his lips as he followed after the guy, rubbing his temple as he did so. Damn, he needed a drink. No way was this going to be any easy thing to deal with tonight without enough liquor to knock out a few braincells. Maybe half his skull if he was lucky. At least then he'd get rid of a few nightmares. And, from the way Ice Queen and the gang were looking at the guy, Nightmare was apparently a spot-on word for it.

A nightmare that was strolling through Ozpin's tower after a meeting with the big guy like it was a Tuesday. Never blinking or shaking despite the absolute _bomb shells_ he was dropping, not to mention the _nuke_ he left behind upstairs in the form of a little girl in green clothes. Seriously, if bad news had a look, then this guy would be it. Probably why everyone was so freaked out when he showed up in that portal.

Speaking of, Qrow looked up as they finished walking through the lobby of Ozpin's tower, quickly approaching the door outside. He sucked in a breath of air, steeling himself for what was about to come. He wasn't ready for it, he knew it, but he still had to take it. Because otherwise, if he did nothing, things could go a whole lot worse.

Then again, he couldn't think of much worse than this. Best not to tempt that little cushion of fate.

 _Swish!_ Especially when the door opened to gasping students and trepidacious soldiers. Look at him using all the big words!

Seriously though, there were a lot of them, and none of them looked any more confident now than they did when they unleashed holy hail fire on the guy an hour or two ago. Felt like weeks. Qrow followed behind the matching, watching the monster walk on without slowing his gait. The nearby students took one look before stepping out of the way, letting the monster of the man walk past with distance to spare between them. Smart move. It was something everyone was doing, even a few faces that Qrow recognized.

He saw the Cardin kid and his team move out of the way, the Penny girl watching with a couple of her blades out. That was new, seeing as she was supposed to be non-combative. Then again, a threat was a threat. And the way the bigger of the two was growling at Ganondorf, complete with balled fists and looking like he wanted to run head-long into the fight, was testament enough. That was something that was mimicked by the other team that went with Ice Queen and Doctor Crazy to the mine. At least, carrying around a mirror as big as he was, it was impossible to miss the Arc kid and his champion partner standing nearby. Couldn't tell if they were planning on charging or running, but they sure were watching.

But hey! Just up ahead, Qrow saw the next set of eyes he expected, even if they were staring at the golly green giant instead of him. Ice Queen had her affixed to the man who stood heads and chests above her, her sword already out and he _swore_ he saw at least half a dozen small glyphs around her. For what, he didn't know. Probably shields, given how guarded everyone else was. He couldn't blame them. Only had the confidence to walk behind the guy because if he wanted to attack, now would have been the worst time to do so. The enemy king was already off the table, as Ozpin would say, if he was still using code with the man.

Man… Qrow wished this was all like it used to be. Instead of escorting out some kind of killer king that gave the Super Faunus a run for his money, he was out searching the wilds for Maidens. Instead of keeping his eyes on his nieces for horrible monsters, he was looking out for young women who saw something they liked in his eyes, or pants. Or, most preferably, instead of playing bodyguard to an immortal man as they talked to a _literal life resurrecting powerhouse_ , he was jugging back bottles of booze and liquor before lights out.

He really _really_ wanted that drink. This time, he was sure the Ice Queen would join him for one.

And then, as if to tempt the fact that they hadn't been attacked yet, Ganondorf stopped moving.

Qrow did at the same time, immediately turning his attention to everything around him. If the big guy stopped, it had to be something that he saw or heard. Whatever it was, Qrow needed to know it. Unfortuantly, he wasn't the only one who clued in on the fact that the big guy holding still was not a good thing.

"Why'd he stop moving?" "Something's gotta be up."

"You think he's planning to attack." "Gotta pray not." "Not enough ammo."

"We should run." "No where to run to." "I-I bet the military can help."

"You think those kids can help." "Against that?" "Gonna need a freaking Dust Bomb."

The answers were about what he expected, matched with everyone tightening their holds on their weapons. Because of course, what kind of luck would he have if everyone was sensible enough to put their weapons away while the freaking power-house of all nukes was walking by them. Then again, he had a grip on his own, even as he heard Winter growl some yards away.

His eyes though were trained on Ganondorf, watching as the flame haired man twisted his head, looking up into the sky. Up and behind him, turning around with that monstrous physique. His arms were crossed in front of him again, even as he kept his gaze upwards. If that was all he was doing, Qrow took the opportunity to look up as well.

And the first thing he saw was the _Maiden_ in green floating down on a _freaking leaf_.

He rubbed his eyes as he saw it, but opening them up again just showed the same thing. Saria, the girl that he had brought back from the memories of a mask, or however he put it, floating down towards them on a leaf that was probably as big as she was. Where she got that he had no idea. What she was going to do… he had less joy to find out. And wouldn't you know it, everyone else had about the same thoughts.

"Who's that?" "That girl from before?" "Link's friend?"

"Wasn't that Link?" "Then who's that?" "One of the teachers put on that mask or whatever?" "Can they even do that?"

"I don't know, I wouldn't want to try." "SARIA!" "I want to know about that leaf!"

Through all the chattering though, Qrow was able to pick out one person yelling the name of the girl. And a glance sideways put him eyes glued on Blake, his niece's partner, because _of course_ if anyone really recognized the girl, and looked panicked enough on top of it, it was someone close to him. So much for his Semblance not screwing with him!

Said girl didn't respond, even as she hit the ground like a falling leaf. Seriously, with how she played hide-and-go-seek-forever with him when she was transformed before, thanks to that bitch Moraine, no issue with calling her that now, he knew that the girl was probably light as a feather. Then again, knowing that she was a Maiden, outright confirmed by her if that whole _sagehood_ talk was anything to go by, then he was even more worried.

Because it was plainly obvious Saria didn't want Ganondorf, or Link to leave before. Back up when they were in Ozpin's tower.

Now, now they were on Beacon Grounds _surrounded_ by probably a hundred or so people, including students, and carrying the same mentality.

A guy with the power to resurrect the dead, and kill insanely strong people as well, staring down a girl who had the strength of freaking pure magic so powerful that Ozpin made it his literal immortal life's goal to keep track of them.

Oh how things were looking up for him! He would chug his flask if he wasn't so sure he was going to have to be sober for this.

"Saria of the Kokiri," Ganondorf spoke. And wouldn't you know it, the rest of the crowd basically shut up with him. Qrow wasn't that surprised. "Was there something I failed to give you before my departure? If there is, speak of what you need. I will do what I must to provide you the knowledge that Link will be safe." For a guy who had a voice that threatened death, he was sounding awfully considerate.

Then again, Qrow did get hit on by a big gay gray clown who turned out to have teleporting powers. Life was strange.

"You left without hearing me, so I will say it again, Ganondorf," the girl's voice, however, was hardly girly. It still reminded Qrow of Ruby all determined to be a huntress, but minus her cheeks being puffed out. He didn't know if it made her more or less impressive that she was saying it around a bunch of actual children. "So long as Link mourns, I cannot let him leave here. Not while he is tortured by what happened to Tatl and Tael." She had a big mouth, too.

Saying that she was going to forbid the guy who was literally three times her height from going anywhere. At least last time she had Ozpin and the rest of the team on her side. Down here? When it was just him plus the students who couldn't even make the guy blink? Not a fair trade. His semblance really was a hell of a thing…

"And I will say again in return, the hero desires revenge against those who took the lives of his friends." The beast of a man swung out his arm, holding out that hand Qrow was sure could crush a sword with a good grip. Hell, probably shatter a few _anvils_ in the process. "The debt I owe him is tied to his rage, and until I am able to satiate it, I will not turn away from his request. Are you to say that he should not be angry?" That was a hell of a question.

"His rage is not misplaced," Saria returned. "But revenge is not what he needs." The girl held out her arms like she was carrying a bunch of sticks, holding them up to her chest. "Link… was alone for so long, losing his friends has… it isn't something he knows how to deal well with. Are you trying to say you know of how to control rage that isn't your own?" Qrow would love to meet the man or woman who did know how to deal with something like that well.

"We have already spoken of this, sage. In that high tower you fell from," the rumbling voice of Ganondorf spoke back. "You speak from a place of compassion, but the hero is not in such a place himself. Not after the atrocities done against him and his allies." Qrow could relate to that, the same way he did before. "If you have something new to say, say it now. Or else, stay here and let me continue with my task."

For a moment, nothing was said, and Qrow was just left looking between the two _drastically_ disproportionate sized individuals with a bit of confusion. No, not confusion, tension. Yeah, that was a good word for it. Tension.

Tension, like up in Ozpin's office, but now with about a hundred more pairs of eyes on them, and all of them getting ready to jump of someone so much as clapped their hands too loud. Hard not to get that impression with how thick the air was. He had lick his lips and swallow on a ball of spit in his throat, all just to keep his breathing on pace. Hard to do with alcohol missing from his blood, but he did what he had to.

"There is nothing new for me to say," the girl finally declared, and it felt like a defeat. "Link wants revenge, you want to do as he desires, and I want to help him from traveling an irredeemable path." Yeah, this was sounding an awful lot like before. Did his semblance put him in a situation that was both annoying _and_ terrifying? Talk about throwing him for new loops.

"Then you understand why I cannot stay." Ganondorf returned. There was no mockery in his voice, at least none of the usual tones he got before. At least the big guy wasn't rubbing it in. "You must remain however, if only for there to be someone for Link to return to when this is done." He raised his hand, at that, and Qrow watched him. Him and everyone else. Well, he half watched.

"Saria." Because the most of his attention was on the girl who had more power than most people he had ever dreamed of, and was on the _bad end_ of a pretty big deal. "Look, Saria, focus, please, at least on what I'm saying, okay?" From the way she was looking past him, she probably wasn't. Bad start. "Look, its like he said up top, there isn't much we can do to stop him! Dude's strong, and Link's not a bad guy, so the worst their gonna do is knock off a few people who aren't exactly due for a long life."

Okay, he could hear crowd of students and soldiers around him getting restless. Hell, he could hear his niece and her team practically yelling his name. But like the choice between booze and a lady, he had to focus on what was important. And right now, that was keeping one of two bombs from blowing up, potentially both.

"You said it yourself. He's strong, so he's good. You don't need to worry about him." She didn't stop glaring past him with emerald eyes, looking with a gaze that was _not_ fit for a child's body. IT wasn't even rage or anything like that. It was just… determination or something. "Just let him go and… and I'm James 'ill be able to track him for us. We'll keep an eye out, seriously." Like they'd just let the most powerful dude who'd ever walked into Beacon just walk away. Or maybe second most, whatever, not important.

"In the headmaster's tower, I said there was nothing I could do to stop his leave," Saria spoke and Qrow, for one fleeting moment, believed he had gotten through to her. Then, be it his luck, his Semblance, or the unholy union of the two, it didn't hold. "Where we are now, that answer has changed. How do you think it has?" If that was a question he was supposed to answer, he didn't bother to.

Because the girl lifted her arm, dragging it up as if she were trying to lift a bucket.

And as she did so, the ground shook beneath them.

Qrow stepped around, feeling it like it was when that giant pillar of darkness shot into the air, but just far more focused. Not as strong, maybe, but also… like it was moving! He could hear everyone else yelling around him, weapons getting cocked, and the robo-girl mentioning something about the Richter Scale. His eyes though, they went to the person who he just _knew_ was going to be at the center of this.

He got a good look at Ganondorf gazing back at them. The exact same look to his eyes, half turned as if he stopped mid-swing, and undaunted by the shaking ground. The billowing cape really helped to sell the 'all-powerful' look, the way it was billowing and all.

**_CRCCRCRCCRCCUUUNHCHC!_ **

But the sudden _uprooting_ of freaking _literal trees_ all around him kind of looked bad.

Qrow didn't even know what it was for the first second! And in that second, the literal magic growth trees or limbs or whatever basically dog-piled Ganondorf. Seriously, that was it. It was literal nature itself growing freaking stories high in seconds and then _slamming_ on top of the guy who was able to bring the girl who was _responsible_ for this back to life! It was just a freaking tendril and root slamming of the dude, just everything hitting him like being on the wrong end of a falling tree, and he had seen those things smash cars in half!

The screams from around him were not helping, _especially_ when he realized that chalking this up later to the girl's Semblance was going to be one hell of a sell. This was Maiden power, no doubt about it at all. None, zilch. And better yet? It was done in full view of so many students and soldiers that there just _had_ to be a camera on it! Even better!

Freaking minutes he had been alone with Ganondorf and then all of this happened! Magic trees growing out of the ground to hold him still, Maidens showing off their power, and tension all but a freaking command away from starting a slaughter, or genocide.

Qrow officially hated his Semblance. A lot. This was way past an awkward situation.

"You think this wise." The voice came so calmly out of the pile of full-grown and rooted wood that Qrow was sure he had misheard it through all the screaming around him! Unfortunately, said voice, so deep and loud, basically _commanded_ everyone else to be quiet. And here he was backing away slowly. "Binding me with these roots, holding me down in the vain hope I will forego the favor I owe the hero? Noble as your intensions are, I will not forsake the hero's request."

Nope, Qrow wasn't crazy. At least not to the point of delusional. Ganondorf was talking.

Talking as he stood surrounded by more trees that were necessary to crush a tank, and _then_ some. And that wasn't even Qrow thinking about what the hell Saria was doing to control them, or what kind of damage it was doing to Beacon, or how much of this was his fault! No… no… off topic. Off topic was easy though because off topic was getting him in hotter and hotter water.

That water was boiling when he realized that Ganondorf wasn't just standing with all those trees, limbs, and roots all over him, glaring with that same look in his eyes that now Qrow _knew_ promised death. No, that wouldn't be impressive enough. He was standing, there, covered, and he hadn't moved a muscle. He hadn't _flinched._

The Maiden had grown a pocket _forest_ around him and it didn't even get him to move a muscle.

"You know this will not hold me," he was still speaking in a controlled voice. Qrow was just praying, to whichever god was responsible for his Semblance, that the voice really wasn't controlled, that Ganondorf just didn't mind. Even if the consequence of that meant that a _freaking Maiden_ didn't bother him. That was outside his ball-park of expertise. "And you know well enough it will not. So it only leads me to ask why you are attempting such a thing."

"Because it's not you I'm concerned with, Ganondorf," the girl spoke back, and Qrow was doing his _damndest_ to keep his eyes on Ganondorf. If there was a powerhouse who was about to send things sideways, it was going to be him. At least that's where he put his Lien. "I'm concerned with Link. I raised him, I know him… and I know that taking lives like this will scar his soul." Well, wasn't this getting serious?

"He is the hero, Forest Sage," Ganondorf drew out again. And Qrow didn't know if it was the guy's power or his pure unbridled terrifying strength that put him in a place to look like being _held in place by literal trees_ was normal! "The lives of these assassins would be one of many he has taken through his life. They will stain his soul no more than when he killed him me."

The clarity of the words was almost as surprising as the scene itself. And here Qrow thought he had to get drunk to be surprised by anything else anymore.

"But say that I do stay," Ganondorf continued to speak. "Say I do not go forth and find these killers of his friends. What would you think to do to placate the hero? What could anyone do to give him peace when such a thing was torn from him by greed?" Another damn good question. Figures the guy who thought Maiden super powers were normal was asking such big-brained queries. Oh yeah, of course, he was smart, seeing as he could bring the _literal dead_ back to life! Like the shattered moon he was over that!

"I do not have the right answer," Saria spoke back, and Qrow was honestly hoping she'd just let the guy go. But nope, not the squirt with the power of a freaking angel holding her hands that way. That was definitely still the 'I've got you and you're going no where' grip she was holding. "I only recognize a wrong one. And Link, for all his talent and wisdom… is being consumed by rage. Have you already forgotten how that destroyed you, Ganondorf?" Qrow had honest to god no idea what to do.

It was like a car-crash, on the high-way, with the council members involved, and a White-Fang criminal transport. It started off freaking horrible and it was just getting worse and worse. A part of him was telling him to run away before it got absolutely horrible, but that would mean leaving his nieces behind. And _that_ was the uncrossable line. His at least.

"I have not forgotten such a thing." The man with the physique and power of an actual monster returned. "And the hero's wrath is not my own, it is also not an aimless rage that I struggle to control. IT is focused, it is finite, and it can be quelled with a single act on my part." Despite the display in power, Qrow had to take a minute to realize everyone had their weapons on the big guy. Not a big surprise actually. "If you deny me that, you deny Link peace. Would you dare to do such a thing, oh Sage of the Forest?"

And it looked like Saria found Ganondorf's line. Or the other way around.

"Okay, Saria," Qrow tried again. "I don't know if he's tempting you or whatever, but you _cannot_ let him instigate you, alright?" He tried to get the girl to at least glance at him, but no such luck there. "It's like I said, just let him go. Just let this go and we can keep an eye on him. You _know_ Oz is going to, it's why I was following him out, you got that, right?"

The girl still wasn't even glancing at him, and for once, Qrow wished he was dealing with an actual child, because at least then they probably wouldn't be able to focus as well as this chick was. Really didn't help that was supposed to be some forest nymph or whatever the heck Oz said she was. Really _really_ didn't help that it looked like everyone else was getting ready to start laying down fire!

"Alright, Saria, Sage Saria if that helps." Because she didn't even blink still, didn't look like it did. "I got why this is a big deal for you, cause it is, but _please_ realize that this isn't some magical place in the woods. This is a school, with kids, and a lot of cameras, and people who could _seriously_ get hurt if you or the big guy over there goes at it, okay?" He was waving his hands almost desperately. Where was Oz or Glynda when you needed them? Heck, he'd take James or the freaking Ice Queen at this point, and he knew one of them was nearby!

"I can't release him," Saria finally responded with the worst news possible, because of course! "Not when… not when I don't know what Link will do. And Ganondorf… that's even worse." How horrifyingly vague that was. Backed up by seeing vague displays of power on both sides. It was literally everything Qrow was afraid would happen, and it was happening on fast forward.

"Will you not release me, Saria?" Ganondorf asked, and Qrow desperately for the righted answer, whatever that was. "Will nothing I say placate you?"

"No, nothing you say, Ganondorf." Oh ho-freaking-great.

"Very well," the big man spoke, and damn the gods if that wasn't ominous as all hell. "Then I will have to convince you otherwise."

Then someone just pressed scene skip.

Because that was the only was Qrow could manage to describe the guy walking out of the trees.

Yeah, okay, there was more to it. There was the sound of bark and tree roots being snapped like exploding bombshells. There was the earth being torn up by the literal barrel and truck loads as the freaking desert king swung his foot forward. Couldn't forget the screams as the students and soldiers saw what was happening, mix that in with the bullets going off and the actual party starting abck up in full force.

Put that together with Qrow seeing the Maiden let out a cry of force, maybe even just a grunt, as her powers were almost literally being _brushed_ aside by the freaking monster man and his ungodly powers of whatever-the-heck-they-were. He could only step back for a moment, thinking as quick as he could as he tried to rationalize at all what was happening. Of course, that began with taking out his own weapon, even if he tried to figure out what to do with it.

Between the man who was marching across the yard, the trees behind him grabbing at him like a toddler to an abusive dad and just as effective, the kids and soldier all laying down the fireworks like freaking sprinklers to a desert, and the man walking through it all without even a blink, Qrow didn't know where to start.

Whoever pressed the scene skip the first time, Qrow desperately hoped they'd press it again, because he was _not_ enjoying whatever was coming next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	34. The Irredeemable King: Ganondorf

Penny had confidence in her code. She did because it was designed by Papa Zepp, and he took really good care of her. That was not to ignore the intervention he had in her subliminal routines involving her expected insubordination tendencies, or 'goofing-off' as he referred to it outside of schedule maintenance routines. It was an important aspect of her AI systems, as he addressed it, even if Uncle Ironwood was not happy about it.

But she trusted her Papa Zepp, and it allowed her to meet so many amazing and stupendous friends. She was very fortunate to have made acquaintances with Friend Ruby and her friend's designated team. The indicated meeting also allowed her to associate with Friend Link, who quickly was promoted to the position of Instructor following an above average performance with assessing and executing an Ancient Grimm in Badlands sector 2.3, and then the other from section 1.3.

Her routines, though damaging to her mental assessment initially, also helped her observation subroutines to document the kindness and empathy that normal girls and adults gave. Such was documented and recorded in her 'favorable actions' folder when Headmaster Ozpin and Uncle Ironwood helped her transfer to Beacon Academy, with Friend Ruby, Friend Link, and other friends she had met. And she had met many other friends since she came here.

Friend Cardin, also designated as Team Leader Cardin, was a unique individual who gave several observably favorable actions towards her, while expressing through dialogue to be displeased. Her routines were told to favor the observable over the auditory ques, and so she favored her new friend, thankful that Instructor Impa was able to put them together. He was an amazing team leader who performed above the adequate threshold she had measured from her time with the Atlesian Military.

It was thanks to her Papa Zepp's coding in her routines that she was able to meet such incredible people, documenting their interactions for favorable review during down and maintenance times. Now however, she was starting to find issue with her Papa Zepp's coding.

Fairies… Friends Tatl and Tael. She had no indication of a threat being present or observable for Fri… _Infiltrator_ Moraine. She had spent much time with Infiltrator Moraine following her return from Monument Mine, as well as her leg replacement. None of her routines flagged suspicious or curious behavior statistically outlying from normal behavior observed in trauma patients. Her data archives indicated she was such.

And yet… she had now lost two friends who were gone directly due to Infiltrator Moraine's actions. Actions her routines, suspicious and observable and combined subroutines, should have found at least a concerning probability of occurrence. None was found, and her assessment and navigation through her archived interactions still showed no indicators of suspicious behavior. That did not remove the documentable and absolute fact that Friends Tatl and Tael were gone… they were no longer alive. That made her sad.

But now, now she was scared. This was a feeling she had documented before, weeks before, and her routines were easily able to recall duo the uniqueness of the sensation, and displeasure her self-assessment sub-routine found with it. The emotion, simulated, obstructed her ability to assess the ques and observable data points around her.

It misaligned the focus of her visual sensors, it sent seemingly rand generated code through her auditory sensors, and it created inefficient management of her limb servos, resulting in sluggish and unoptimized movement. Such were observable problems her code documented for upkeep at a later date. However… her threat assessment routine was acting differently, and Penny double checked her Papa's code to make sure it was another undesired error generated from the terror emotion. She did not like that emotion, and she still did not.

This was because her subroutines were seemingly unaffected by her emotional state, as was her Papa's design. Yet, despite her fifteenth debugging of the code, she believed it was still returning an unmarked error value. The value was too low for it to be anything else to her archives of other such assessments. Even her actions within Monument Mine did not create values so low, nor the near-fatal experience archived from Badlands Section 2.3.

This was the first time her initial assessment of a situation predicted a less than 5% chance of survival.

Less than 4.9%, less than 4.854%, less than 4.8122%... and continuously dropping.

Dropping, the further UTS Ganondorf walked towards them.

His approach was inversely correlated with survival.

And he was getting closer. Despite what should have been successful and well executed suppressing fire and forces, performed within 0.23% of error of her calculations. Despite her code telling her that such force would successfully deter 99.33% of all documented Grimm… the UTS Ganondorf had no observable damage from the force. He had no incremental decrease to his stride. In the terms that Uncle Ironwood would wish for her to share with… he wasn't slowing down.

The UTS Ganondorf was approaching, and Penny lacked a routine with sufficient memory to both quell her fear emotion and this new threat. She didn't… Penny didn't know what to do.

"Penny!" The yell jolted her, firing through her auditory sensors. She spun to see Team Leader and Friend Cardin looking down at her. She noticed visually his hand on her shoulder, noting that her tactile sensation sensors must have turned off at some point, because she had no feeling. She turned them back on, as she continued to observe Friend Cardin's features. "Focus! That thing is comin' for that girl and we have _got_ to do something! We can't just stand here!" He was yelling over the explosions.

Explosions and enclosed-chamber firing of Dust rounds that caused heavy occlusion in the air. Her programs were able to dampen out the frequencies they worked at, leaving her to hear the screams of orders and actions from around her. Others were acting, her _friends_ were acting.

Her gaze shifted to allow her eyes to fall on the UTS Ganondorf again, despite the rise in fear her system was experiencing. Through the explosions occurring around him, rubble and other debris being churned up by the assault, Penny was able to make out the documented figures of Beacon students attacking the UTS. They were attacking him, even though she could still see no observable change.

She could make out Friend Pyrrha as she was attempting to fire on Ganondorf between swings. Friend Jaune was holding up the designated Mirror Shield in front of her as she took shots. The strategy was immediately recalled in her databanks, as Pyrrha attempted to gain the UTS's attention similar to the UTS Nightmare's attention, to attack Jaune and draw out the power to rebound onto him. However, the plan was falling through swiftly, and appeared no more viable despite the addition of Friend Pyrrha's physical strength augmentation.

UTS Ganondorf continued to walk forward and did not shift his… _statistically improbable_ golden eye color on them. He did not attempt to attack them and, therefore, provided no means to charge or reflect his assault upon him.

She also made out the figure of Specialist Winter Schnee forming glyphs from behind the UTS marching after him at an even pace, seven as she used heavy amounts of Dust to assault him from behind. The efforts lead to ice pillars in comparable size to some PCV transport vehicles hitting him. Friend Ruby's Uncle and Distraction Qrow Branwen was firing from beside her, standing close enough to provide support as they used a non-insignificant amount of force.

Comparatively, it would have been sufficient to reduce most threats or individual targets to a bunkered stated. Still, similar to all other attacks, UTS Ganondorf did not slow or turn to face her or him. They did nothing to slow his advance.

Friends of allied Team RWBY were also facing off against the UTS, except for her friend Ruby Rose who was still incapacitated due to unknown forces. Friends present however, they were performing an advanced team maneuver that Penny had yet to record. She could make out fine details as her system automatically focused on them, trying to reduce her auditory or visual memory of the UTS, to reduce her fear, to regain movement and function with her lower processing systems.

The maneuver, that Penny Polendina focused on, had Friend Weiss Schnee creating large arcs of lighting through the air, directed by her rapier over the Sealing Tome. As she did so, Friend Yang was weaving between the time reduced arcs of valence electrons, punching them as they did so, somehow. The bunny hood on her head waved as she acted, and the punches she landed somehow forced the lightning to fly forward and slam in the UTS Ganondorf as he marched on. Each blow Friend Yang hit, directed by Friend Weiss, made a clap of thunder as the heat of the bolts superheated the air, creating a sound vacuum. It made them comparable in strength to that of true lightning and thunder, and they were generating and directing it through Dust and fisticuffs.

The impossibility of the maneuver was confusing to Penny, and she was not sure if her systems were failing to recognize a control element within the lightning or a new Semblance power that Friend Yang had developed similar to Ruby. Instead, her priority recognition software reminded her main code that she was intentionally derailing the situation for pursuits of logic. That was dangerous. She instead focused on how Friend Blake was appearing and reappearing with large chunks of Dust, laying them at Friend Weiss's feet as she continued to charge and weave the electricity, all the while absorbing the Dust that was beneath her.

Their motion and teamwork sent a recognizable, though currently immeasurable, amount of lightning at the UTS. At the rates that the were moving and using supposition of the amount of valence electrons, nearly 0.755 billion volts of electricity were being used with each strike…

But the UTS Ganondorf kept walking.

Walking, as Sage and Assumed Friend Saria stood her ground by the Beacon Tower, spontaneously growing large vines of vegetation from the ground.

Knowledge of the necessary elements for creating new life and growing large amounts of vegetation, not to put aside the necessary amount of time for the conversion of elements and the establishment of their necessary root system, meant that what Penny was observing was statistically and physically impossible. Much of what she was seeing was close, but altering her parameters for growth allowed for her to reason the strength of Allied teams RWBY and JNPR and others. Likely Friend Saria was not.

Uncle Ironwood was correct. Maidens were impossible things to understand. That made them dangerous and powerful.

However, her recognition and observation routines noted, the UTS Ganondorf was not only unappalled or disrupted by the growth of the large Oaks, Creeper Vines, and other such forms of vegetation, produced at odd angles and impossible rates. The UTS walked over them, under them, and _through them_ as they attempted to bind him. The concern that her system generated at the sight created the sensation of fear. And it was growing.

All the power of her friends, all their strength, and even more than she could not name or fathom with her most up-to-date and calibrated system code the CCTV at her access, and it was doing nothing to stop, or even _falter_ the steps of UTS Ganondorf.

He was coming closer, and their chances for survival dropped to 4.7555%, 4.7544%, 4.7541%... it continued to fall.

" _PENNY!_ " Team Leader Cardin shouted. She was roused to look at him once more. "In case you missed it, we _gotta do something!_ " He was shaking her now, and the most likely probability of what he was in need of reached her.

"I-I apologize Team Leader Cardin," she spoke appropriately to her lead. "I do not… I-I-I cannot reason or extrapolate or deduce or… I-I cannot find a reasonable plan of action not currently being pursued… nor one that would have any greater chance of success." She was unused to having no plan of action, which was curious. It was the UTS that was terrifying.

"Fine! That's _alright!_ " His voice continued to yell at her. "Cause _I_ got one!" She was surprised to hear such, as she did not suspect he would deduce a plan of action she could not. "Not a great plan, I admit, but it's _something_ better than shooting and running from that thing!" He pointed at the UTS, and Penny's manners directed her to follow the direction, to look at the UTS again.

Walking across the stone walk way that was being blown, singed, and frozen into a significantly large number of particles and dust. Watching as his far above standard deviation sized body moved through the displays of force occurring to him with little preamble. Watching as the UTS Ganondorf continued to walk, cape waving, as the world fired upon him.

He was terrifying, Penny finally reasoned.

She had no plan, and the possibility of her designated teammates and friends having one she could not formulate was less than 2.2%, but they still acted. Friend Cardin was still holding onto her, even though he lacked a sufficient tool to fight with, as well as Teammates and Friends Russel Thrush and Dove Bronzewing unobservable. Correlative data to others predicted they were attacking the UTS Ganondorf, the same as her other friends.

They had no plan, she had no formulas, and no code in her routines gave her a method to reduce the fear she was experiencing. But Friend Cardin was asking her for help, with a 1% chance of having a suitable plan.

Penny took that chance.

"What must we do, Team Leader Cardin?" She questioned, looking up at him. He did not grin, as she suspected he would. The direness of the situation was altering his normal habits. It was statistically likely. "I am combat ready and prepared to engage in any forms of battle you prefer!" Preparation was mandatory, but action was required.

"Great to hear, cause you're not gonna like it!" He yelled again. She waited, knowing her leader would instruct her. Her percentages this time were true. "We can't stop that thing with Dust or bullets. That's like trying to break a wall with spit wads!" Penny was unfamiliar with the term. "Only thing we can do is try and hold it back the old-fashioned way!" Penny quickly deduced his meaning, but he was correct with his earlier judgement. She did not find it a favorable course of action.

"Friend Cardin, are you sure?" Penny questioned him, something she was unsure was appropriate. "Would that not place us in danger?"

"More danger than we're in now?!" His question, phrased as a demand, generated a quick comparison within her code. It came out with a surprising result.

The likely hood of harm or death between his action and inaction was insignificantly different. Therefore, action was preferred.

"Very well, Team Leader Cardin!" Penny returned, yelling to match his voice. She hoped it sounded appropriate. "Then let us proceed!" He nodded at her, letting her go as they both turned to face the UTS Ganondorf, still marching across the yard. She reached into a crouch, preparing to execute a high force jump with an extreme acute angle.

"Okay, when you grab him," Team Leader Cardin began. "Throw out as many of those blades as you got an try an' anchor him to the ground. Got it?" She understood. It was a reasonable request to increase the surface area she covered. "I'm gonna try and use my Semblance to weigh him down. Might not do a lot… but I guess we'll find out if the guy can lift buildings after this." It only occurred to Penny she was still unaware of her Team Leader's semblance and their ability. It was a concern for later.

The major concern, reminded by her priority subroutine, was the UTS that was marching through bolts of lightning, pillars of ice, infinitesimally growing stalks of vegetation, and ignoring all other attempts to engage. It was a high priority.

"NOW!" The order came with little preamble.

_BOOM!_

Without a filter for it, Penny recognized the explosion of her jump. Her arms reached out as her body flew across the yard, attempting to grab the UTS as she did so. It was terrifying, even in midflight.

He was large and becoming larger the closer she approached. And larger, and bigger, and meaner, and more powerful and… and terrifying and scary and…

Penny grasped his arm tightly when it was in range, allowing her protocols to fire by Team Leader Cardin's orders. Her blades flew out of her back and rooted themselves to the ground around her, securing her position tightly and preventing further motion on her part by locking her servos. The wires attaching her to them instantly went taunt, putting an immediate stress on her chassis. And it was one that increased significantly within milliseconds.

As it did not slow the UTS Ganondorf down.

He did not even move to brush her aside.

But still she held on, even as the locks of her wires began to loosen as they were losing the battle of frictional strength with the UTS. Warnings for servo and chassis damage flashed through her central processors, demanding action, overridden only by the recognition of the immediate threat. She was being assisted by roots of trees that made grinding motions as they attempted to bind the UTS, but all for little to no observable effect! It caused a painful back loop in her system. Painful because it was bad and that made her scream out to stop it, give an order to cease, but it wasn't working. It wasn't successful!

"Stop moving _damn you!_ " The yell came as she felt a ripple of force hit the UTS Ganondorf. It took little for her to realize that it was Cardin, ramming into the UTS from the front. "Stop moving you _monster!_ " The jeering was not a successful or intelligent move. But this was not forming to be one either.

Despite the hue of his Semblance, active around him by Penny's quick glance, it proceeded in doing little but getting his feet to tear up the ground as the UTS continued to walk. Hands were on the UTS's abdomen region, given the height differential between the two. It was large and… friend Cardin was an insignificant force before the monster. Penny could not name what was one.

"Not yet, boy." The voice created a spike in her measured fear, forcing Penny to hold tighter. "And you best release me before you experience pain." The threat was quickly accessed by her to be of _high likelihood!_

"Not gonna happen!" Chances were increasing. "I'm not… I'm not gonna be a coward again!" Team Leader Cardin was yelling, even as Dust cartridges continued to fly around them, but the UTS Ganondorf was not slowing. He was not stopping. He was still marching towards Likely Friend Saria!

"Then know I take no pleasure in this." Penny's system servos froze for a moment, flaring as her external threat processors sensed an incoming object. Her ocular sensors looked for it, trying to find the source of the danger her system logged, even as she held onto the UTS's arm unsuccessfully.

And she saw his other hand swing down.

**_SMACK!_ **

Hitting Friend Cardin.

It made an impact that nearly forced her limbs to release the arm she was holding onto, by the rebound of the decompressed air following by the rush to fill the vacuum. Her sensors alerted her to high voltage source nearby, then quickly vanished, notable only for being present in her system logs. Her lines were taunt and beginning to fray now. But that was not what cause Penny distress.

Watching Friend Cardin fly across the yard when he was hit, at a velocity and trajectory that was incomparable to a human blow. Did.

Her auditory sensors failed to drop their filtering of noise, resulting in her missing her Team Leader and Friend hit a nearby concrete pillar. She missed the resounding crack her force equations concluded it must have made. She missed much of what happened to her Friend as the dust that came off of the impact made visibility scarce. However, she did have a reading on his Aura level, measured carefully to know when to retreat. And it was already depleted. Friend Cardin… he was seriously injured.

"Now you," the UTS Ganondorf spoke, and its voice was almost filtered out the vocal fry was so deep. However, her sensors detected another dangerous element, and she looked up to attempt to avoid it. However… it became impossible when she saw it. Or rather, recorded it. Recorded its appearance.

As in, in log emphasized, appearance _into_ the physical world.

It was how Penny observed the flames coalescing along the massive hand of the UTS, rising up its arm like the Nightmare encountered at the Monument Mine. It was the same way it had attacked with lightning before, the same way it had brought out more Grimm. The same way… it did a lot of horrible things her memory banks all denoted as Class 5 Highly Dangerous attacks!

Penny's theoretical subroutine, found that she desired lightning more, as she had sufficient defenses to absorb or dampen the blow.

Instead, she was staring up at the dark flames that increased in density, gaining form, loosing their wispy nature, and extending out from the UTS's already massive hand. Stopping only when they were sufficiently high above his head, likely Friend Cardin's height above him. The height and size were dangerous, given the likely mass of what the UTS had.

But swords of that size, double-edged, crescent-tipped cut, and colored like the sand that her ocular sensors had first registered the UTS, were far more terrifying.

And now, Penny realized without a doubt she was afraid.

Afraid of the monster holding a sword larger than cannons above his head, and aimed towards her.

The UTS Ganondorf swung without preamble, and Penny's ocular sensors demanded she move forward what little room was allotted, closer the to the UTS. Her metal chassis hugged the arm of the beast, finding him of higher density material than herself, as she felt the blade descend, and her auditory sensors heard screaming nearby.

It appeared to be unnecessary, as the blade swung narrowly avoiding the impact. She found no immediate damage to her systems as it passed. The air that followed it, however, lashed at her chassis to a degree her sensors incorrectly judged herself to be in the presence of a class four tornado. That was quickly corrected by her log and recognition systems. She was thankful she also lacked the need to breath, as was a common expression.

That was, until, warning lines flared regarding insufficient connection to her blades. Debugging and system consistency checks quickly told Penny the reason why.

The blade had cut through her lines, instantly.

Quadruple twist nylon with molybdenum meshed lines, heat-treated to 1000C for high durability and impact strength, and the blade of the UTS had cut through all ten of her lines with such speed that her system had not had time to register the impact. She had no time to measure a spike in stress or strain of her lines.

Instead, she only had time now to gaze up at the UTS she clung to, statistically recognizable as uselessly, as he gazed down at her, blade still high above his head, and flaming with a dark fire she hadn't recognized. That blade… that was dangerous enough to likely rend her chassis with a single blow. And it was prepared to strike.

"Be gone, now." Instead, he whipped his arm aside, never once breaking stride.

There was nothing to hold Penny upright or straight as she was flung from the UTS. She had lost all her capabilities to right herself, despite the warning and required action indicators that were flashing through her vision. No blades to correct herself and no method to stabilize the internal gyro. Nothing as she was hit across the air. Then impacted the ground.

Skipped, however, her language module told her was the more accurate term. Unlike Friend Cardin, she hit the grass once and ascended back into the air, recognizing the impact of her body against several other sources as the sense of equilibrium continued to be thrown off of its neutral axis. Limbs against her legs, twisting her arms, loose things tying around her cut cords, yells as she headbutt other individuals… it was not painful her, but her Aura was depleted.

Her Aura, Penny measured as her finally came to a stop, some distance and almost unintelligible without a landmark, was truly reduced beyond Critical levels. She had no Aura left to endure any external damage to her chassis, more than the cut of her chords. She was… she was defenseless.

Systems attempting to recalibrate its neutral axis, Penny pulled herself up on the ground, managing to see the UTS Ganondorf continuing to march towards Likely Friend Saria, the trees attempting to bind him, and all her other friends still trying to slow him. But it was unsuccessful. Unsuccessful as her attempt the UTS, and Friend Cardin and… and everything.

Her systems, subroutines or main processors, could not find any fault or method to resist or stop the UTS from his approach. He was, for the first time in her code's history, predicted to be unstoppable. No method of stopping, no observable weakness, no worth in reason with something so vile…

It kept walking… and the likelihood for survival kept dropping.

4.326%, 4.22%, 4%... and dropping… lower and lower…

* * *

She was supposed to be ready for anything. She had _trained_ herself to be that way. No matter what she fought, no matter what happened, she was supposed to be able to handle it.

It didn't matter if it was a new school, friends, monsters, or even ancient Grimm, she should have been ready for it. Even if… even if it was unlikely it wasn't a good excuse. And because she wasn't ready, her friends had been _killed_ right in front of her. For her, for Ruby, for Link… and now, she was still trying to think of what to do.

Stumbling away from Ganondorf, the _evil man_ the first time… she had fallen into darkness and into Jaune's arms. She didn't have time to wrap her mind around what had happened, only trying to reason the return of the monster that so nearly killed them all. Even if… and _even_ if she knew it was Link in there somewhere, like Saria was saying, the girl that Pyrrha knew only by name, she still couldn't reason it.

She was supposed to be ready for anything, but Pyrrha Nikos could not be prepared for this.

No one was ready for this.

No one was prepared for the return of this _evil king_.

 **BAM! BAM!** That became true as she watched her bullets continue to fly and spark off of the man's skin, his Aura, if he _had_ one, not even sparking as her Dust charged rounds aimed true. From every vital organ she aimed at, eyes, nose, lips, and inner ear, none of them stopped him. She had not missed, she _didn't_ miss, especially when her opponent, the _enemy_ , was being so slow in front of her.

It didn't matter that her Semblance was constantly active around her, pushing at the bits of metal that made up all the tools of the students and _barreling_ into the monolith that was Ganondorf, she did so only to recognize where everyone was. So, when she shot, and her bullets did little, she knew that she wasn't about to hurt anyone else. Then again… she wasn't being courageous about it, and Pyrrha knew that as well.

She guarded herself behind Jaune, him holding up the shield for the attempt and wish that the monster would attack them, so they could charge the shield as they had the last item. She knew it wouldn't work, as the man was too clover, and _too strong_ , to fall for the same trick twice. However, she still hid behind him, because she as not ready to face him again.

She was prepared for anything, but not this. Not… _that_.

A thing that walked almost _casually_ across Beacon grounds, carrying a sword now that dragged behind him. A blade that was doubtlessly larger than Pyrrha was, and dragging behind him as if it were meaningless to him. Meaningless, despite what she had seen it do. Seen it, as she and Jaune screamed and gasped at the display.

She remembered yelling when Cardin threw himself at the monster, one of the only few present who _directly knew_ how dangerous the man was, but still threw himself in front of the beast as if it were his only choice. Her anger turned to confused terror when Penny was there as well, both of them activating Semblance and tools to try and hold the green man down. But it meant little. They hadn't even slowed him down.

And what was worse, Ganondorf did exactly as Pyrrha knew he would eventually do.

He attacked, _differently_ , then before.

The constant barrage of bullets and screams hit a crescendo when Ganondorf backhanded Cardin, sending the team leader barreling through the air faster than Pyrrha believed her bullets flew. It was nothing short of miraculous that he lived, though the pillar he had slammed into was crumbling around him, even as soldiers pulled him free. She thought him dead until screams for assistant rang about him. But though she was no great friend of his, Pyrrha had no time to worry for him. Not when Ganondorf kept moving and, for Penny, attacking.

Attacking as he summoned a blade out of his fire and held it above her. Not lightning as he did before, or heated attacks made of the dark flames, that would be too similar, the angry part of Pyrrha yelled. The part of her that recognized the ploy and tactic of professional duelists, to over use a single move only to introduce a new tactic when they presented a new challenge. Instead of lightning from his palms or more crushing blows, he summoned a sword of heavy steel, churning with the same fire as his hand.

It cut through Penny like butter. Pyrrha heard Nora scream.

Miracle or not, it was only the girl's strings that were cut, cutting off the taunt wires from her body, and making nothing more than a loose figure on the green man's arm. But only for so long. So long before the monolith of a _monster_ brought his hand forward and threw it back. The force of the motion, strong enough to make the air _churn_ around him, sent the girl flying with such speed Pyrrha was sure she was struck. Regardless of which, the red-head flew over the crowd of students, hitting more than one on the head as she was flung past them. She was out of sight before Pyrrha knew it, and it was only her naïve belief that it was too quick that meant she was alive.

Because… because Pyrrha was supposed to be ready for anything. She had trained for that both physically and mentally. So… so she could _not_ let _anymore_ of her friends die! Not today and not ever!

She _couldn't_ be prepared for that.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled from in front of her. He didn't turn to look at her, because he had learned not do during their training. Eyes on target, never looking away, as it provided them an opening. "Nothing's working! A-And he _isn't_ attacking!" No, he was. Just not in the way they _needed_.

 **BAM!** "I know!" Pyrrha yelled following a shot, making sure her stride matched Jaune's, shooting over his shoulder and the rim of the Mirror Shield. It hit between the man's eyes, sparking across his skin. He didn't blink at the shot. "But what are we supposed to do? I… I'm willing to try anything!" She couldn't forget that Saria was trying to hold him back. She couldn't forget that with the trees that were literally trying to hold the marching man back. Though the same man tore them from the ground easily as he walked.

"Cardin and Penny got him to attack!" Jaune yelled out, and Pyrrha was only slightly pleased to know that he had corrected himself. It was wholly weighed down by the _terror_ of the monstrous man still approaching, walking, and carrying _that_ weapon. "We can do the same thing!" She alright didn't like this idea.

She liked it even less when Jaune started to run forward, _towards the monstrous man!_

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled out, shooting Milo at Ganondorf as eh gave him chase. He ran forward with his shield raised, getting in front of Ganondorf's path and holding up the Mirror Shield, as if it would protect him from the beast! Terror flooded her fresh as before. "Jaune! This is crazy! We have to get out of his way!" There was no use in standing in front of a raging Grimm. That was when you _flanked!_

"No! We have to be here!" Jaune yelled back. There was no pride to be had for his determination, only terror and confusion for his _stupidity_. "Cardin and Penny got him to attack by getting in his way! So we have to do the same! Even if… even if it's not a lot, it's _something_ more than just shooting at him and hiding!" Was hiding his issue with this?!

Pyrrha grit her teeth as she settled her sights of Milo forward again, shooting at the oncoming man with increased accuracy. It was an inevitable boon to being in front of a man walking straight, as well as a detriment. For even in his way, and holding a weapon at him, shooting Dust rounds that would have otherwise _torn_ through any other Grimm's hide, the man never even faltered in his step. His golden eyes never even glanced down at them.

He only ever kept moving forward, marching with an apathy that was as terrifying as the cheer the Nightmare used before. Pyrrha hated it then, and she was no more thrilled now. This monster… it was just like the Nightmare, and it was heading for Saria. And _they were in they way!_

"We can get him to attack another way!" Pyrrha yelled out, even as she took slow steps back. They were in comparable to the strides of the monstrous man, him gaining ever more ground. **BAM! BAM!** Even with her shots landing in his eyes. He still didn't so much as blink. "There has to be another solution other than this! Jaune, it is _suicide!_ " There had to be another way!

"Doing nothing's the same thing!" For a moment, and Pyrrha was sure it was just that, she stopped. Not stopped completely just… stopped. Jaune was… he was right. He was right because… because she did nothing before.

And Tatl was dead. And Tael was dead. And Moraine escaped. And _Adam_ escaped. And… the Nightmare was back.

No, she couldn't do nothing. Jaune was right. She had to do something. It wasn't just suicide not to. It might as well be _murder_. Because she was trained for anything. She could do this.

"O-Okay," her voice shook, and she wasn't sure if she was even heard over the cacophony of noise that came from the gunfire and fighting. Was or wasn't, she had to do something. So now was the time. "I'll… I'll try and hold him back!" The man, _Ganondorf_ , was marching ever closer as she spoke. Her plan was quick, but they didn't have time to strategize. "Maybe if I can hold him back for long enough, he'll… h-he might attack us with his lightning to stop us!" That just meant she had to make it obvious what she was doing. That was… dangerous as well. But like Jaune said, so was doing nothing.

"Okay! Alright! Yeah!" Jaune was shouting as well, and he hunkered behind the Mirror Shield as he spoke. "I know you can do it Pyrrha! _We_ can do it." With those words, Pyrrha knew she couldn't afford to fail. She clenched her hands, feeling the Silver Gauntlets that lined them spark with power as she did so. They weren't the same as Link's Golden ones, the ones that made him so strong she thought he was a monster himself… but they were strong. But there was something else.

It wasn't something she said, at least not to anyone who didn't already know, but she felt something else in the gauntlets. Much like what she swore Weiss did with the tome, or maybe even Yang with her Bunny Hood, she felt like there was more to Link's gift to her. And because of that, she kept training with them, experimenting with them. After so long, she was sure she had an idea, even if it was just that.

Idea or not, with the threat of a Nightmare, _real or not_ , looming over her and approaching ever closer, she couldn't afford to ignore it.

Leaning forward, putting down her back foot, Pyrrha focused on all the metal she could see on Ganondorf, letting her Semblance latch onto the man and force him back with all of her might. Everything her Semblance had, _all_ that her polarity was ever capable of, and she put it into the man that was marching forward like a reaper on the battlefield. And as she did so, she let it flood through her gauntlets.

Like she thought it would, her Silver Gauntlets hummed in her hand. It felt like she wasn't just pushing metal at that point, but _grabbing_ it.

She didn't know if it was just her mind playing tricks on her, or if, like her sister said, adrenaline was making her believe she had a strength that was beyond natural. Whatever it was, she still latched onto it, just as tightly as she held every part of metal she could see on the vile man. His greaves, his pauldrons, his chassis, his _blade, all of it!_ It felt heavy, _extremely_ so, heavier than when she was a little kid and tried to life her dad's car!

But she didn't let go. She didn't give up. Jaune was counting on her, _everyone_ was counting on her, and she had to keep it up! Even if… even if it was hard and challenging, she couldn't stop! This was what she had trained for this was _everything_ she had prepared for! Something like this was… it was tough, but it was nothing she couldn't handle! It was… It was…

 _It wasn't working_.

She realized it with a cold grasp that made her chest feel empty. Pyrrha realized it when she started _sliding backwards_ against the ground with the force she used to push against Ganondorf. All the strength her Semblance had, then whatever the gauntlets gifted to her could provide, and Ganondorf had yet to stop moving. He had yet to _falter_. He was still marching forward as if she were doing nothing!

"Pyrrha? Pyrrha!?" Jaune was yelling her name, and she grit her teeth as she focused harder. Her head _beat_ with her heart as she forced her power forward, feeling as if her Aura were ablaze trying to hold the man back! She did everything she had trained for to hold him back, grabbing at every weak point she could feasibly imagine!

_But it still did nothing!_

The strength in her arms were giving out, and Ganondorf kept marching.

It was… it was a Nightmare. It _was_ the Nightmare!

"Raise your shield." The voice of Ganondorf dragged through the air harsher than the bullets. Even with her head beating as if there were a storm in it, Pyrrha could hear the vile man speak the words. She watched them slip past his monstrous face, frowning down at them with a cold look of indifference. She didn't know what that meant. "More to the right." Neither did she know that.

Pyrrha only knew that there was no other reason for a man as vile, as monstrous, as strong, as _wicked_ as Ganondorf to raise his blade for any reason other than one. He was still walking as he did so, walking towards Jaune who _hadn't moved_! She watched, breath gone from her chest, as he raised the Mirror Shield like Ganondorf told him. She wanted to yell at him to duck.

**BAM!**

Instead, she only screamed when the blade hit the glass.

It was a sound almost lost among the continued bombardment on the man, who had never broken stride even as he swung. Pyrrha didn't care about that, not even that he was strong enough to _walk_ through her Semblance. No… what she cared about was… was that he had _hit Jaune!_ He had hit him with the force that… th-that…

She looked around for him, trying to see where he was. She couldn't see him. Pyrrha couldn't _find_ him! Where did he go? Did he… Was he blasted away? Was he… _was he…_ no… no he wasn't! That couldn't happen! Her fingers raked through her loosening hair, feeling long strands slip through her usual knot and crown, wide emerald eyes searching the battlefield for Jaune. She had to see him somewhere, _anywhere!_ Ganondorf didn't, he couldn't… Link wouldn't let him. Would… would _he?!_

"Your ability is strong." The voice of Ganondorf spoke again, and Pyrrha turned upwards to see him. It was only after she did that, she realized she was snarling. She had no reason to stop. Only more so as the man continued to _march_.

March through the tendrils of woods and trees of heavy bark that he walked through effortlessly, without care for the _pillars_ worth of ice being dumped upon him, or for the enormity of the forces being thrown at him. He was… he was acting like he was above it all, like he was better than them. Pyrrha had trained her whole life for moments like this, and he was merely commenting that she was strong, even when he had just _hurt Jaune!_

"Reverse the charge to resist." The words meant nothing to Pyrrha, and she grabbed Milo from her back as Akouo unfolded across her forearm. She crouched down, ready to slam into the man's face with all her strength, enhanced by the gauntlets if she had to! "Here." And with that, he raised his hand.

It wasn't ironic that Pyrrha saw lightning crackle in his free hand. It was terrifying. Even more so when it lurched outwards towards her, connecting with her in a single bound.

Pyrrha could not truly recall being struck by lightning before. Electric attacks, high voltage, and some currents, but never actual lightning. She only knew that anything she was hit with was only a partial demonstration, because true lightning, when harnessed, was able to power some generators with large enough cells for days at a time, or charge a depleted source for even longer. Attacks she had been hit with before made her spasm for a moment and easily correct herself.

This time, when the extended palm of the man sent electricity to her, Pyrrha knew it was not the same. This time, it was true lightning that struck her.

Her vision completely blanked as the bolt hit her, an instantaneous and incomplete shift between blinding bright and pitch-black darkness. She couldn't' tell if her eyes were open or shut or anything at all as the electricity coursed through her, sending her body into a convulsion that she had no control over. If she screamed, she couldn't even hear it herself. Be that because of the thunder that followed the attack or the fraying of her nerves, she couldn't say.

She could only remember hitting the ground and writhing across it, losing Milo and Akouo as she felt her legs and arms flail without control. It was unfair to say she felt them being let go, as she the only thing she really felt was pain. A paint that was incomparable to all the others she felt.

It wasn't the beneficial burn that came after a workout, or a localized sensation from taking in an attack, it was an all-over sensation that felt like her nerves were being lit on fire, and her Aura was doing seemingly nothing to stop it. Nothing as she was spinning across the grass, screaming or silently flailing in pain. She couldn't even tell. She couldn't tell what was happening or what was going on around her!

Until it stopped, like a switch.

When it did, it left Pyrrha gasping into the air with wide emerald eyes, tears staining the corner of her vision as she greedily and desperately sucked in a lung full of air. She _thanked the gods_ she didn't smell burnt flesh or charcoal as she took in that breath, fearful that she'd find her insides burned or her skin cooked. Instead, she only found the agony of tight limbs being forcibly loosened, like a stretch after a cramp. A complete body cramp that her lungs were trying to force her out of.

A coughing fit over came her as she took in her second lung full, chest pushed out when she did. It sent her hunched over, grasping at the grass and heaving across it. Smoke or flesh, she didn't know what would come up if anything at all. She only continued to heave into it desperately, hoping to get whatever it was that was making her choke out.

"Breathe, Pyrrha. That's it, _breathe_." She didn't even register that Ren was next to her for a moment, not until she saw the familiar uniform of his next to hers, and arms out stretched to support her. He didn't grasp her, didn't touch her, and she was thankful for it. Instinct or not, she knew contact now with _anything_ would be painful. "Deep breaths, one after the other. Force them through if you have to." Her breath quivered at her friend's words, but she took his advice forcefully.

Her jaw shook as she sucked in another lung full, fighting back a coughing fit once more as she did so. He was kneeling next to her now, ready to grab her if she fell. She didn't, she wouldn't, not after she was struck like that. But… but that strike… It was enough to make her forceful breaths freeze again.

Instead, Pyrrha forced herself to take in another greedy lungful looking around the tarnished grounds of Beacon, taking in what had changed in the little time she had no recollection. The grounds were still brutalized, the bullets were still flying, many students were hanging back, many soldiers the same, and… and Ganondorf was still walking. Walking towards Saria as if he… as if what he had done was nothing at all. Like a _wave of his_ hand.

A wave… and Pyrrha felt like she was going _to die_.

Her breath started to fail her again.

"Easy, Pyrrha. _Easy_." The chiding words came from Ren, but Pyrrha was only to just able to control herself. It was still so terrifying so… so _close_. Was that what it was like for Tatl? For Tael? They felt… that agony and then… then they _didn't_ come back from it? " _Pyrrha! Focus!_ " Shouting helped, but her mind didn't leave the subject of death, the _walking embodiment of it heading towards Link's friend!_

No… not just her… where was Jaune? He was… He was attacked to! Her breathing quickened, eyes shaking as she looked around for her partner. For him or his shield or anything! He had been swatted by Ganondorf's blade a-and that had nearly taken out Penny! He had to be okay! He couldn't… He wasn't ready! It wasn't his time!

"Pyrrha!" The louder shout of Ren made her glance at him, long enough to see him pointing away from the terrifying sight of the monstrous man. The _thing_. "Jaune's over there. Nora's with him. He's okay. Aura depleted, but _alive_." Ren knew what she needed, and she didn't think to apologize for his inconvenience now. Instead, she followed his hand, red pony tail waving, as she looked for her teammate.

She quickly found him, laying on the ground, the Mirror Shield at his side, and Nora kneeling over him. She was holding him. And... and he was moving. He was… he was rolling his head and he had a hand to his forehead and… and he was okay. He was hurt, but he was okay. Nora was with him, and he was alive. A coil of tension unwound itself in her stomach and she relaxed as she gazed at him, feeling her breath flood into her again.

"There, breathe, just like that. Keep doing it." Ren instructed her, though her breathe was far from her mind. "I was struck by lightning with Nora many times. It reduces the compliance of the lungs. You have to breathe deeply to fight through it. Keep breathing." Now he placed a hand on her shoulder, gently.

She flinched at the touch, feeling like a clasp of cold ice to her. Her didn't let go.

"Focus on that, focus on _anything else_." Pyrrha knew what he was doing, but she didn't have the voice to tell him to stop. She had… she had to focus on her breathing, on Jaune, on how they were both alive and alright. Harmed… but alive. "You're okay, you'll be alright. So just… focus on that." That, she had to focus on that. The pain, the sensation she was alive, that _Jaune_ was alive. That they were alive.

Even though… Tatl was gone, and Tael was gone. And… and the man who looked so much like the Nightmare from before and the man who was _marching_ towards Saria was still there. And... And… He wasn't stopping. He couldn't be stopped. She had been prepared and trained for almost anything, but there was literally nothing that was stopping this.

The terror was still there. It wasn't going away.

* * *

What was it that entertained Saria the most in her life? Stories. Stories, because they never had one beginning, one ending, and never the same journey in the middle. They were each like unique trees, grown in entirely different parts of the world, and gifting fruit each more succulent and vastly different than the next. They were experiences that she yearned to explore.

Very few times in her near endless life had Saria seen the sights beyond the edge of the forest. She had heard many stories, recounted them herself, but second hand at that. They were always stories that were whispered by the wisps in the Lost Woods or spoken to her by Link when he returned from his travels. Always weathered, always tired, but always with a tale to tell. And Saria was always more than happy to listen.

When it came to Link, he had already seen more of the world beyond the Kokiri Forest than she knew she could ever hope to match. Even if the curse of the woods no longer applied, and she could travel wherever her legs would carry, she would never match the trails, the foot holes, the treks, or the adversity that Link embarked on. He always did his adventures with a goal in mind, but never lacking in his exploration of the world around him.

Maybe that was a gift she had unintentionally exposed onto him. Making him explore all the woods had to offer while he was still in her care. From climbing the tall trees, digging into the burrows, exploring the darkened caves, all of it. He was never shy nor cowardly about doing such things. And now, he had been blessed with more adventure than many legends could ever fully encompass. More stories to his name than there were roots of the Great Deku Tree.

Those stories though, ones that Link wrote and brought to her, always told of the expanse beyond the woods. How though the sky above the forest was high and tall, it appeared truly endless when standing at the summit of a mountain. That though the winds in the woods could be swift and biting, in the open plains they felt like a warm hug ushering you on. That even if the summer heats were cooled in the shade of a tree, they were something to be celebrated at the edge of an ocean's breath.

Those were the stories that Saria enjoyed with Link, tales of the world she had never seen and, to her current self, never though she would see. Now, though she had a new body, though she was free from the Kokiri Forest, though she still had the powers of a Sage within her, Saria was starting to regret her wish for freedom.

If the cost was the man marching towards her, a blade raised and coursing with power darker than any night or monstrous memory she could recall, then it was definitively not worth it. Nothing was worth this terror. What terror could frighten a child of the forest, and its sage to guide it?

Nothing was worth the approach of Ganondorf Dragmire.

One of the few things that had entered the forest and left of its own will, and in doing so, it had taken something holy and sacred. A dark man from a burning desert, asking for the Kokiri Emerald from the Great Deku Tree, and instead of taking the gem, took the ancient Forest Guardian's life. And with it, nearly a collapse to the forest entire.

It was seven years of pain and strife that Saria rode through as the eldest of her people, helping them to keep the forest alive as they endured the passing of their deity. Seven years that Link had left for the majority of during, to save the world, to kill _this man_. And he had done it. Had had saved everyone from the vile and _corrupt being_ that was marching towards her right now.

The same man that… that he had a mask of, that he had requested help from and… and was acting out just as Saria remembered him. One of the only things in the world that made her shiver at night, remembering the man and what he was. What was he, Saria asked herself?

The embodiment of darkness, the _twister of souls_ , carrying magic darker than the deepest shadows and a miasma of power churning around him. Churning with the billow of his cape, pushing out with the stomp of his boots… cracking the earth around him.

And the battlefield that that echoed around her did nothing but embellish and already monstrous and reviled image to Saria. What was happening around her?

Rooted as she was, focusing on the reach of her powers as she drew from pools and resources she swore to never touch, Ganondorf walked forward down the long path careless of those around him. The forces of this school and the army were being lain into him, bolts of magic and the firing of small arrows so fast her eyes couldn't track it, all of them hitting his form or close to it with enough force to sound like claps of thunder, and he was undaunted in spite of it.

Blows and sounds that would make the giants of the forest rumble with fright or strain, and he walked through them like wisps of wind against a mountain's base. He was… he was _above_ it all, and he knew it. _Link_ knew it. Link knew that because he was the one who killed him in the first place!

Saria was… she didn't know what was going on. And she disliked that immensely. Stories weren't supposed to go this way. They were supposed to enrapture the listener, make them want to hear more, to ask of every little detail to know what came next. Saria did not feel that now, and even as she clenched her fists, she didn't know if she'd be able to again.

She only wanted this story to end. She knew the reason why enough. Everyone present did.

The young Forest Sage gripped her hands into fists, balling them as she reached for the chords of the earth stretching through the window of her powers. The chords of new life and growth that the Sage Hood granted her, and she grasped them tightly. Tight enough to life her arms upwards, summoning forth new earth and wooden structure from it. With cracks across the surface that would be homey to the Kokiri, and massive enough to stave off a charging Lynel, and she commanded them with absolute focus.

To shoot forward and wrap around the man who carried the dark blade, who continued to march careless of all the destruction lain and wrought about him. He didn't care for the way he had smacked the larger boy, or cut the chords of the golem, or swung that vile weapon at the young knight, or shot his dark magic at the young Gerudo girl. He did all of that, leaving Saria staring at their quivering and nearly dead forms with grievous rage, a feeling she loathed nearly as much as the man.

But as Link would tell her from his stories, there was a time for rage. And rage was to be used against those who deserved it. Ganondorf, truthful or not for what he spoke of in the Headmaster's tower, admitted his deserves for the emotion. And with every foot step he took forward, boots cracking the stone like blocks of ice, Saria had fewer reasons to hold back.

Saria's legs felt weak as she drew her arms around her, as if she were preparing a pot of stew. The tendrils of wood and mis-grown roots followed her command, quickly whipping forward and surrounding the man. If wrenching against him did not work, then perhaps surrounding him would! It was her greatest chance, and Saria would take it. Link would not look away from a path of success!

A slow breath left her lips as her emerald eyes focused ahead, watching the vile man disappear into the growth she had churned and grown around him. Even when the thick root system surrounded his form, she didn't stop. Why not? Because no other act had even slowed him down, so a conjuring of the earth would hardly stop him entirely.

Small as she was, especially so compared to the other students and warriors around her, Saria was also inexperienced. She knew this, and she didn't need to correct it. Why not?

Because she grew up in a forest that was guarded like a maze, and carried monsters that would not harm her. Her power was raw and unfocused, unlike Link as his accurate blade. She used her power to sweep away and bury the troubles of the woods, while Link would deftly cut them away. She knew she had no such skill as her beloved friend, but she knew well enough why she had this power. Why did she have so much power?

It took a great source of strength to raise a great man, and Link was the greatest hero she had ever lived to hear whispers about.

That was why she knew he could not go. It was why he could _not_ leave. No matter how insistent Ganondorf was, ensuring her _falsely_ that it was the hero's wish to leave, Saria couldn't allow it. She had seen death before, she had seen life before, and she knew the terror and elation that came from both. Link did as well, she knew he did, because she knew about those stories as well. What stories were those?

The stories of his friends leaving before him. Saria remembered those very stories as she continued to draw and drag the roots from the earth. The fighting around her had subsided, the children realizing the futility in attacking when she was moving this way. She heard scream, cheers, cries, and even jeers, but she did not stop. Many of Link's stories, the poorer ones she listened to for him, not for herself, began in much the same way.

A threat seemingly vanquished, a foe defeated, a victory near, only to have one person to sure with too little step forward, proclaiming the battle won and peace returned. Only to have skewered by means easily preventable.

A sage of the Shadows dragged to the earth by lances of darkness.

A sage of water, burned as she emerged from a river, sure the enemies all drowned.

A young naïve farmhand, running into the arms of a hero, not realizing an imposter through her relief.

Saria had heard Link tell of them all, and she had known those stories better than any others. Why was that?

Because for many of them, their bodies were buried away. Buried in the Lost Woods she called home, and kept there to keep the memories safe. For Link, who had lost so may, Saria offered what more her power could to give him respite. He was skillful and sure, his blade finer than even the sharpest ray of light. She was the tree with which to lean on, and her power allotted her that. Link needed that now.

Another churn of her hands, another layer in the growing cocoon of wood, and Saria knew what Link needed. Not the rage that Ganondorf promised to exercise, not revenge. Nothing recovered alone, and destroying something else did not allow it to grow faster. It created a festering wound; it created a source of agony. It created… something that Link was not meant to experience.

 _Boom Boom BOOM BOOOM_ The booming sensation started even as Saria continued to pull forth and guide the invisible chord in her hands. Her stomach felt empty, mind nearly the same, but she continued on. Link wouldn't give up, and neither would she. She wouldn't give up on him! He needed her! He needed what she could give him!

 _BOOM! BOOM!_ Another wave of her hands, and drop in her stomach, another agonizing use of the Sage hood power, and yet she continued to hear the drumming beats from within the cocoon. The mass of wood that… that continued to move forward. It hadn't stopped, anything…

 _BOOM! BOOM BOOOM!_ The sound was getting louder but… but it was also echoing? Saria didn't stop, but she did turn her head, trying to find where the other source of noise was coming from. If Ganondorf was attempting another ploy against them, as he was so known and careful to do, then she had to be aware of it. However, she quickly found what was making the additional source of noise. It was no threat to her. Why not?

"Hold him in there! I'll help you out!" Because it said so, and the students, knights, and soldiers alike let it run above them. What was running above them.

A gargantuan Guardian, far taller and bulkier than the hulking masses Impa had once described to her. Guardians, the supposed ancient structures that would safeguard the citizens that could not find shelter, from the dark forces of the land. She had described them like the trees and tunnels of the Lost Woods for the common folk of Hyrule, and Saria was enamored with the story when she heard it, though Link had never recalled such a thing to her.

"You keep doin' what you're doing, and I'll try and hold him in! Least we can do is stop him!" This beast of metal above her, however, appeared to be doing as Impa said it would. No matter the odds against it, no matter how terrifying the foe, it would attack. It would attack so it could defend those behind. Saria was aware of this, and so she didn't have a need to question it. Why was there no need to question something so new?

 ** _BOOOOOM!_** "GYA!" Because there was still something far more dangerous.

The explosion came from her cocoon of would, exploding outwards with a force that Saria had never experienced during her time in the woods. No cracks of lightning to dead wood, no furnaces of odd air being little ablaze, and no Goron special crop being thrown into the tunnels could compare to the explosion that ripped in front of her. How was this so different then?

Before, she would have been shocked or frightened. Now, she trembled as she fell.

It was a sound that echoed across the field of battle, being ripped from the mouths of those present as well as it rebounded off of every surface. Like water crashing down from the heavens, it stilled the field with a violent force. Saria was forced to bend her knees as she collapsed, raising her hands to shield her face. Even though she did, she didn't escape a sight as she fell. It was one to make her gasp through the violence.

It was not the colossal guardian falling over, with all the force of a forest giant tumbling against its roots. It wasn't the destruction the plants and trees she had grown, swept away as if a horrid disease had claimed them. It was not the students and soldiers who were blown back either, with a force comparable to being truly struck. Then what was it?

The shell of wood and life she had created with her power, the totality of her strength to hold Ganondorf back, blown open by the man. Blown open with a violent force, and one she couldn't even begin to imagine took him much effort. Not with the dark sword he swung on his back, not with the gem on his forehead glowing with the power of his eyes, and not with the heel of his boots, cracking stone as he walked.

It was all with his unarmed hand. With the tell-tale sign of a _single finger_ flicked forward.

A finger, a singular digit of his hand, and he had swept away all that she had done to hold him back. Her and all the others around him. The guardian that was now collapsed over, waving as it couldn't find a center, the students who were trying to right themselves, having been blown apart as if lightning had struck them, and the soldiers that were trying to carry themselves, the odd crossbows they had all but useless.

And still, Ganondorf marched on, ever closer to her, and ever more over her head. This was everything that Link hated. This was what all his stories told to be prevented, to be fought… and yet, in his grief, he had brought it here now. And the man had no intention of assisting her friend. He just wanted to be _free_.

Link needed his family. Link did _not_ need that.

Her breath was short, her body weak, her power waning and… and it was all happening so fast. Was it because she was not in the woods? Perhaps. Was it because Ganondorf was looming over her? Likely. Was it that… this situation was hopeless? No, because Link would not give up either. Saria forced her hand, tired and numb, to form another first, one to grasp at the tendrils of life that came from the earth. Even if the chances were small, even if the likelihood was gone, she could still at least distract the man.

Another mis-placed root came from the earth, gnarly in shape and ready to knot itself around Ganondorf's armor. Even if he could tear through it with a single swat of his hand, it still required action on his part. That could distract him, and that could… assist someone else…

"Enough." The commanding voice wasn't what stopped Saria's thoughts. No, though the dark voice made her grit her jaw. Then what did stop her?

Her new rope of wood being cut and burned all at once.

By the massive and dark fiery blade Ganondorf wielded.

It _hissed_ through the air as he swung it, and Saria thought her hair was singed by it. The heat it was giving off, the foreboding of death, it clung to the air left behind by the massive tool in a way that made her stomach twist with disgust. She had no need to vomit, not as Link had when he as young, but she had not felt disgust like this before. Not even when the Great Deku Tree was killed by this very man… by his very magic. She still didn't experience it up close.

Now, she had. And she wished she could have lived the totality of her new life without every having done so. She could only be tankful she got through one life without having to do so.

Especially now… now that the vile man had stopped moving again.

This time, as he stood in front of her, golden eyes leering downwards, and a short frown pulling at the edges of his lips. Saria didn't even have the strength to scowl herself. She was drained, as if she had not rested in years, perhaps centuries, though she had just returned from an unmarked grave. Ganondorf, yet, was the exact opposite.

He loomed over her, his shadows reaching like the hand of death, enveloping her with his stance alone. It made the cold dread in her all the viler, the sickness twisting through her all the more horrifying. She couldn't even speak her distaste for it all. Link really was a hero to have dealt with this man.

He was _her_ hero for having killed him.

"This was wholly unnecessary," the dark voice of Ganondorf spoke. Saria kept breathing, on her hands and knees, in front of him. "All I request is to leave. The display of power you had has done nothing but inform those nearby of your prowess." His hand waved behind him, towards the students and soldiers who watched him. Saria watched him just as intently.

"You cannot leave," she repeated instead. Repetition was to teach, and Ganondorf… _Link_ ha yet to hear her. "Even if it… even if you don't…" She kept losing her breath. It was hard to focus on what she was saying.

"I know," Ganondorf spoke all the same. She wasn't sure he did. "You do not wish to see the hero leave in a state of pain. I cannot say I know the feeling, but I understand your reason for it." The words were cruel, and Saria took them as such.

"Why am I acting this way, _Ganondorf?_ " she asked the man as he continued to leer down upon her. "Why would I break Link's rule… against his own wishes?" As was true with all her questions, it was one for her as well. The hum the tall man gave, vile as he was, spoke of wisdom Saria wished anyone else to possess before him. Almost anyone.

"If not a desire to truly keep the hero here, then to show him he is not alone in his pain." The words came out as a soft musing. It was bellied by the massive sword he still held, upright and alight with his dark power. "As is true with any loss, the first action tends to follow more destruction. It is the nature of most things to follow loss with forced sharing of such a feeling." Saria hated the answer even more. Because he was _wrong_.

"No… that isn't it," she managed to speak out. How could Link not see it? How could… _Ganondorf_ not recognize it? "It's that… _everyone_ fought. _Everyone_ wants you to stay." That wasn't an answer for her question, but it was a reason enough.

Enough for the man to turn away from her for the first time since he began his dreaded march towards her, looking around at the destruction his very presence had wrought. The ruination of the walkway, the tearing up of the earth, the students that lay trembling and moaning on the ground, the several who were being tended to, and all the others standing guard and ready to attack again, though Saria did not even question if it would be worth it.

A hail of fire and ice from them before, and it had hardly made the dark lord blink.

"That they have," Ganondorf returned. "The hero is one who inspires. That was true when I was consumed with the foreign rage. I am pleased to see that it is true even when he is consumed with his own." It wasn't rage; Saria reasoned. It was _grief_. It wasn't anger that made him act this way. It was… it was sorrow. How could a man who _acted_ so pitiable not see it? "Perhaps they recognize the terror the hero feels, churning the hatred that scorches his soul." Then again… perhaps he did.

"Terror?" Saria asked the word as a question. "Link is… the bravest man… I have ever met. Of all… Hylians who… ever… ventured to and from the Lost Woods, he is the bravest… bravest of them all." It was raised among them, ignorant of the world, but still he ran into the expansive fields and endless oceans returning with only stories to tell. "What terror… can Link have, that… he has already not…?" She didn't have the breath to finish the words. It wasn't necessary to.

"That is an answer I do not have. Only suspicions," the dark rumbling voice of Ganondorf returned. "It is that terror, and the rage that is blown from it, that urges me forward. For no matter what words or reason, you give, I owe the hero a grand favor, and now he has requested to collect. I will not sully his soul and wishes with failure." Saria's breath shook as he spoke.

That wasn't what Link would want. It just wasn't. He wouldn't… Saria hadn't raised him like that. He would be angry and confused and… even though this was not the first time he had lost, neither was it hers. She could help him, she _knew_ she could but… but not as _that_.

"Now, if only for a moment, hold still." Her shaking breath froze. "You insist on stopping me. So instead, I must now stop you." The Forest Sage looked up to see Ganondorf holding the terrifyingly large blade again, letting it loom over even his own monstrous body. A blade or a club, she could hardly tell. She only knew of its intent.

It wasn't difficult to figure out, and questions were unnecessary. Spoken ones, at least.

"I will not kill you. I will kill no one else the hero does not desire." The words were of no comfort with a blade raised as high as it was. "But a swift hit is all you need to rest. Rest, and when you awaken, I will be gone." He did intend to strike her then.

And… Saria realized… there was precious little she could do. Little if anything. Link never would have let this happen… he never would have been so weak in the face of Ganondorf. Why though? Why was that? Saria knew why as soon as she asked herself, and she realized it as she flexed her shoulders and shut her eyes.

Because he had his friends. And now, before her, he thought he didn't. He was alone. And Ganondorf took advantage of that.

Saria waited for the blow to come, waiting for the evil king to make his mark. It would be a quick hit, as the man was deceptively fast, and incomprehensibly strong. And that meant… that meant that it would hurt, a lot. But maybe she deserved it, for not being able to help Link. For failing to stop Ganondorf, even as he loomed over her. So she waited for the blow to come.

And waited… and waited.

"Child… you may wish to move." The words Ganondorf spoke though weren't what she was expecting. Not for the delay for his promised strike.

Emerald eyes cracked open as Saria look for what was stalling Ganondorf, determined to help what or whomever it was. And though her eyes were open for hardly a moment, she recognized _who_ it was almost immediately. There was only one person she had ever known who dressed that way.

Common as capes used to be, she had never seen one so red.

* * *

Ruby wasn't going to move. And right now, that was exactly what she needed to do.

With arms outstretched, standing as tall as she could, she wasn't ready to move a muscle. Even though her head hurt, even though her arms were screaming, even though _Yang_ was screaming, she wasn't going to move. Because if she moved now, she'd lose more than she could afford.

She hadn't moved when Tael was being held by Moraine, and he died for it.

She hadn't moved when Tatl was being held by Adam, and she died for it.

Now, Ganondorf, the _monster_ , was moments away from hurting Saria, and Ruby wasn't going to allow it.

Even if she was half his height, way below his weight, and holding a weapon that made Crescent Rose look small. Even if… even if it was _Link_ who was inside of him and he was doing this because he felt horrible. And even if… even if… even if he was stronger than anyone she had ever met or even thought of, and he was looking down at her with eyes that were too much like a Grimm's, she wasn't going to move.

Because she didn't act before, and she had lost two of the best friends she had ever met in the world. IF she moved now, she might lose another, and Ruby couldn't afford that. She just _couldn't_. Ruby felt that she couldn't, and looking at Ganondorf, she knew that she couldn't. Not after everything he had just walked through, and how he kept _walking_ towards Saria.

Saria, the person who raised Link, and was _somehow_ behind her, was in danger. Ruby felt that. And even through all of the bullets and fire and fighting and whatever-Semblance let the trees and roots grow up like tendrils, she could see it too. She could see that Saria was afraid of Ganondorf, and that he wasn't even wary of her.

But Ruby still felt it. She still _felt_ that danger was there. Felt it like with Moraine, and Adam, and Tatl and Tael. Before everything happened. She had ignored it before, hoping to find another way.

Right now, she still couldn't find another, and that was reason enough for her to stay. Even if it cost her her life, she wouldn't move and let Saria be hurt.

Ruby wouldn't let herself lose anyone else.

"Ruby! Get out of there!" "Listen to your sister, brat!" Yang and Qrow were shouting behind Ganondorf, but she wasn't looking at them. She was looking at _him_. Him and that giant sword that was towering above even him, and casting a shadow over her and Saria. It was heavy, large, and she got a bad feeling from it. She didn't know if that meant something bad was going to happen, or if it had already done bad things.

But Ruby still wasn't going to move. She wasn't going to lose anyone else.

"You should run, Ruby," Saria spoke behind her, breathless and worried. She sounded like Yang after she used her Semblance too much, or Weiss for the same reason. She sounded tired and exhausted and even a little _scared_. Ruby didn't like to hear that. "You shouldn't be here." But she was still wrong. This was exactly where she had to be.

Because anywhere else and Ruby could lose someone else she cared about. She wasn't going to lose anyone else.

Even as she heard all the talk and chattering around her fall away, and it felt like she was going to sleep. It felt weird, as weird as she felt when something bad was about to happen, but she didn't focus on it. That wasn't what was important. Saria was important, and _Ganondorf_ was important, because _Link_ was important. She focused on that, and she didn't look away.

She didn't hear screaming anymore, or gunfire, or whatever the name for the word was for clanging swords against something hard. She just heard… wind, or something like it. Ruby could hear nothing except for the wind as she stood between Saria and Ganondorf. That was all she heard, but she saw so much more.

She saw a man that put General Ironwood to shame standing above her with an arm raised. She had watched that man walk through fire and steel and bullets and Dust charges strong enough to flip some high-class mechs, and then tear freaking living trees out of the ground, all without breaking stride. It would have been cool, if the man responsible wasn't so terrifying. Terrifying, scary, monstrous, vile, dark, creepy, and… and just _evil_.

That, Ruby felt.

She could feel the evil from the man like nothing else. Okay, she knew she didn't have a sense for evil or anything like that, just bad things. Bad things that led to bad events that led to _horrible_ times. And she had the power to stop them. But Ganondorf, this guy was… he was just something beyond all of that. She didn't know why or even how, but she could feel something wrong about him.

If she had the time, maybe that would be why she was knocked out in the forest. Maybe… maybe he just felt so wrong that she just couldn't take it. So bad and vile that it felt like anything around the man was bound to be something bad happening, and it was just too much for her to deal with. If… if what happened to Tatl and Tael made her freeze, and this man alone made her _faint_ , then that was really really really really bad.

That could be it, but it didn't matter now. Because Ruby was _not_ going to lose _anyone_ _else!_

Not her friends, not her family, not anyone. Even… Even if it cost her _herself_.

So with her hands outstretched, feet planted, and Saria firmly behind her, Ruby Rose kept herself still between the two of them, ready to do whatever it was to keep Saria safe. Even if… even if she didn't have a plan. This was better than nothing.

Because nothing made people die. And she wasn't going to lose anyone… no one, ever again.

"Child," the man spoke to her, and it was the first thing Ruby thought she had heard in quiet some time. It felt like a while at least. "Do you know what you are doing?" And it was a stupid question. "You may know of your actions, of what it is your body is doing, but do you know what is the consequence of what you are doing? Do you know… what _you_ are doing?" That… was a deeper question than she expected.

Ruby thought he was just going to slap her, or yell at her, or maybe pick her up and throw her. Thing was, a slap would probably knock her out, again, like what happened with Cardin. A yell would probably shake her brain, like what happened to Blake, and throwing her… she still didn't know if the Mech had come down yet. Still though, she knew what she was doing.

"I'm stopping you," Ruby spoke, and she almost didn't believe it was her voice. "You… You were going to hurt Saria, so I'm stopping you." She watched him as she said that, ready to squint for the blow when it came. Even if it hurt… she could take it. Maybe. At least she knew Saria couldn't Ruby was tired of losing people, not tired itself.

Saria… Link… they were both.

"Hurt her," Ganondorf repeated, and Ruby just realized his voice was so deep it was making her shake. She thought it was the nerves. She was nervous, no doubt, but it was obviously more than that. Too much more… "Yes… I suppose seeing me like this, you would reach that conclusion." But… wait, what did that mean?

Ruby pursed her lips, trying to hide her confusion as best she could, as Ganondorf slowly lowered his sword. Even dropping it felt heavy, and she wasn't carrying it! Still though… she was out of its shadow, and so was Saria, but, it was still so huge that it was above her, even if he had the tip of it in the ground, or whatever the curved moon, shaped end was called. Wasn't much of a tip… she was losing track of herself again.

"Child," Ganondorf spoke again. "Was it just my blade that made you believe I would hurt the sage?" Sage? He kept calling Saria that, but Ruby didn't know what it meant. No, wait, not important. He had asked a dumb question, so she had to respond!

"Because you were walking towards her!" Okay, that didn't sound bad enough. "A-And she was trying to stop you from doing something and Saria is smart so… so you trying to go against her was… it was wrong." Okay, that also didn't sound convincing enough. "Sides, I _know_ you were going to hurt her!" She did, even if he didn't believe her.

"Because of my blade, yes?" The man questioned again, tipping the huge piece of metal. Seriously, how much did that weigh? It was probably bigger than even Penny, and Penny was a robot, which meant hollow parts… which meant the blade was heavier… "Did you not see me use it cut down the roots and plants the sage grew to stop me?"

"You were raising it above your head to chop her head off!" Like he could talk his way out of that! "You also beat up Cardin and Blake and Penny and Uncle Qrow and… a-and whoever was in that tank!" It was a mech, and she knew someone was going to get mad about it, but that didn't matter right now. Right now… she was trying to show an evil man just how evil he was. Somehow, that shouldn't have been necessary.

"Yes, I did harm them, didn't I?" He asked like he honestly didn't know. How could he _not_ remember slapping someone out cold, o-or screaming so loud that her friend fainted! She was her teammate and that made it doubly worse! "After they raised fist, blade, notched arrow, and lit fuse against me, I attacked. Until then, as I recall, I only walked. Marched, if you so care to call it."

Then he was looking back at her, and Ruby felt that horrible feeling again. She couldn't feel anything else when he was looking at her like that.

He was a man with evil eyes.

"Marched towards the sage that I granted new life, so that she would stop obstructing me from leaving." His tone was getting deeper, _even_ deeper. How did it go that deep? Ruby didn't know, and she didn't even really know how she was still standing. She… she just knew that she couldn't look away, or stop listening, or stop breathing, but that was a hard one to fight with how tight her chest felt. "Marched towards her, because she was so afraid to have me walk away. And now, I am attacked merely for approaching."

His free hand swept towards her, and Ruby grit her teeth as if she was going to get hit. She heard Yang scream, again, and she probably thought the same thing. She didn't know if it was a miracle or Uncle Qrow stopping her from attacking that was keeping this conversation going.

That, and the fact that she still hadn't felt anything hit her. Then again, she hadn't blinked either, and all she saw was his hand held out to her like he was about to give her something, even though it was empty. And… even though it was way bigger than her own hand. It… it was just being held out to her, like… maybe he wanted _her_ to give something?

No, she couldn't, because Ruby knew what he wanted, and she wasn't going to give him _anyone_. Because she wasn't going to _lose anyone else_.

"So I ask you again, child," Ganondorf spoke, voice still deep as he carried on. "Do you know what you are doing?" Ruby… didn't have that different of an answer. She was still doing this for the same reason. Maybe he just wanted her to say it. If that was the case, she'd give him that much. Sometimes to make bad things go away, you just had to give them what they wanted…

"I'm protecting my friend," Ruby spoke again, never taking her eyes off of Ganondorf's evil ones. "I've lost two friends today, and I'm not going to lose anyone else."

He did say anything after that, at least not immediately. Ruby was just left to stare at him as he stared back at her. Her face was shaking, and her arms were too. She wouldn't drop them, she wouldn't move, even if it was hard to hold still like this. She would still take it, because Saria was worth it. Her friends were worth _everything_. And she wouldn't let anything happen to any of them ever again.

"Your friend," Ganondorf repeated. It sounded like he'd never even said the word before with how it came out of his mouth, all smothered and garbled like that. But maybe that was Ruby trying to keep herself upright. His hand did drop though. Ruby still wouldn't lower hers. "A child of the forest far older than your most remembered ancestor, a being from another land, and all but a memory until minutes ago, and you still call her your friend?" What kind of question was that?

"Yeah," Ruby responded, as if there was any other answer for it. "And even if she wasn't, I'd still stop you. I'd _still_ be here." She didn't mean to hiss, but she couldn't help it.

"And why, pray tell child, is that?" Ganondorf posed, and Ruby already knew the answer. It had been ringing in her head since she woke up and stood in front of Saria, in front of Ganondorf, and keeping him from harming her. It was the only thing that mattered to her, and it mattered far more than her life.

"Because I'm not going to lose anyone else." There was nothing else she could imagine losing in the first place.

Ganondorf looked down at he with those evil eyes, maybe humming or just breathing loud enough to shake the air. Ruby couldn't tell, his voice was too deep and he was so massive it could be either of them. But he was just staring at her, looking down at her past the massive weapon that was his sword and never blinking.

Ruby felt something pulling her cape, only to realize it was the wind. The same wind that was billowing Ganondorf's cape as well, making it flutter as he looked down at her. She said flutter if only to make him look less intimidating, but it didn't work. Flutter wasn't even the right word for it, and neither was billow. Rage, maybe. Or maybe… just mock.

Because Ruby knew, if Ganondorf attacked, she wouldn't move. Nothing was going to make her move.

And then… he smiled.

Ruby blinked when she saw it. Because… it almost didn't seem possible. Or at the very least not a good sign.

This was the guy that had Jaune and Pyrrha and Cardin and even Penny and Weiss's sister all screaming and running around in terror. He was the guy that apparently was Link's _worst_ nightmare. He was the thing that had been responsible for the death of so many of Link's friends, like Tatl and Tael said. And… even if he _had_ brought Saria back, he was the one who was so close to killing her again, and he was about to do it effortlessly

So why was he smiling?

"You remind me of him," he finally spoke. And it made about as much sense as his smile. "Everything from your size, your spirit, and your reason. You are so much like him, the resemblance must be fate." Then he laughed, or chuckled, and Ruby knew _instantly_ that she did _not_ like it. It sounded way too dark. Like… like nails on a chalkboard in the pits the Grimm must have come from. "Perhaps I have found the reason for the hero staying in this place, rather than searching your world for what he desires."

"W-Wha?" Ruby let out, still keeping her arms up and standing back from Ganondorf. Still between him and Saria. She hadn't such much since he started talking, but Ruby could at least hear her breath. She was there, and tired, and… probably listening to him too. And scared.

"I do not have time for a tale, or a story to be heard," Ganondorf started talking again. "I merely enlighten you to know that this situation is not the first for me. Surrounded by enemies, seeking my target lost to the world, trying to be stopped from countless directions." Ruby didn't know what he was talking about. "The last time it did happen, I was chasing a princess from her home, seeking the power she had stolen with her, in the vain hopes that I could wield it to rule and save my kingdom."

Ruby had no idea what he was talking about, or even what was vain in what he was talking about. Trying to chase a princess, which was _definitely_ up in the evil tree, or the fact that he wanted power, which usually wasn't a _good_ thing. At least every story she had ever read had the bad guys getting power then doing bad things… just like Moraine had done.

Ruby was angry again.

"And a face like that," Ganondorf, however, spoke on. "Tight and focused, determined with a goal, ignorant of the possibility of reason, that was the face I saw before." He was still smiling, and Ruby still didn't like it. "That was the face the hero made when first he challenged me, in defending the fleeing princess."

Okay, now the smile was _really_ not a good thing. At all. If it reminded him of when he fought Link, for the first time, which Ruby didn't know you could do considering how evil this guy was, then it was probably a really bad sign of whatever was coming next. She… she had to hold her ground.

Even if she felt something grab her cape again, but knew that the wind wasn't _tugging_ her coat.

"I demanded an answer from the hero, the location of where the princess fled," he spoke on, like he hadn't just admitted he was evil. "And instead of answer to save his life, he drew his blade and stood before me, shorter than you are now." He chuckled again, and Ruby _still_ hated it. "He could not be older than his first decade alive, and he challenged me, a king, for the sake of a girl he hardly knew."

If nothing else, and it really did feel like _nothing_ else, Ruby knew she could believe that. She _really_ hoped she wasn't reading into Saria pulling at her cape, because she swore that whenever Ganondorf mentioned Link, she pulled tighter. Maybe he was telling the truth or maybe… something else she couldn't figure out. It wouldn't matter if she did.

She wasn't going to move. Ruby _still_ wasn't going to lose anyone else.

"Back then, I raised my hand, and I struck him down." Even with threats like that.

Ruby wasn't going to move, even as she watched that free hand, the one that… that apparently had hit Link hard enough to bring him down, or something or… or whatever it was. It was bad. And that was obvious with how tight the hand on her back was, and how loud everyone was screaming. And how Ganondorf was still standing over her, just… just grinning at her.

It was the eyes, the evil eyes that wouldn't look away. Ruby hate those eyes, and he must have hated her. She couldn't imagine anything being behind them but evil.

"Back then, I was consumed with a rage that was not my own," he kept talking, and Ruby listened, if only because there was nothing else she could do. She wasn't going to move. "A rage that drove me to power, to the power to take anything that I needed, and destroy all else. Link stood in my way then. And… ultimately, prevented me from corrupting my land. Saving my people." Then what was he now? Was he something else? "And now, it is the hero's rage that guides me, and asks of me to take the life of those who took his friends from him." That was a no then.

"That's not Saria," Ruby spoke up. She was going to defend her friend, no matter what. "That's not… it's not _her_." It was obvious it wasn't, _stupidly_ obvious. Ganondorf had to have gotten that. Even if… even if he was just evil.

"I know," he returned. "And though you will believe my words as well as you can calm your own mind, know this. My only intent was to stop her from using her power against me." His hand, large and menacing as it was, pointed behind Ruby. Wasn't a large guess at what.

"You can't leave, Ganondorf." Saria still spoke. It was the same thing Ruby had _barely_ heard before when all of this started and… and she could remember it. She could remember it as well as she did Tatl and Tael, and she knew why she remembered it so well, and it was probably for the same reason that Saria kept saying it. "You can't leave here, not as you are."

Because if Ganondorf left, they'd lose _Link too_.

That couldn't happen, because Ruby wasn't going to lose anyone else.

"And you see now why I raised my blade to strike you," Ganondorf spoke on. Thankfully, whether or not, the blade didn't rise. It just… stayed in the ground, under his hand, and still standing taller than Ruby was. "Because though I can continue my travels in spite of you, though I may be able to hunt for the killer of the hero's allies with you following, I will not be able to do so as easily. Rather, your persistence would put others in danger." That… didn't sound evil.

"Huh?" Ruby asked, keeping her arms up still. She got the evil eyes from the evil man, even if he was still smiling. It was… smaller than before, but Ruby didn't move. She wouldn't move.

"Tell me, child," he kept talking, asking something, actually. "Do you believe any murderers, anyone who has knowingly and willfully taken another's life, will remain calm when I draw near?" Well… no, if Ruby was being honest with herself, probably not. "Do you believe they will see what is happening when a sage is tearing out the forest beneath them?" Okay, no one would stay calm during that.

Kind of like how no one was calm during all of _this!_ _This_ being Ganondorf walking up to Saria and getting ready to behead her! Just because… because she was going to be a distraction!?

"I need to seek the hero's enemies," the evil man kept talking. "To make good on a debt I owe him, and to offer a thread of salvation to my damned soul. I cannot do that if the actions of those around me alert his enemies, warn them of my coming, and prepare them for the hero's vengeance. I cannot, without risking the lives of those they surround themselves with." That also made sense, and Ruby hated it.

It was reason five of why hunters were supposed to break away from Grimm when they were too close to populations, or cities, or whatever the term was that Port used. Because otherwise they could get involved. When that happened, they were supposed to help everyone escape, not just fight the Grimm. And… and… Ganondorf was trying to prevent that?

No, he was lying, he _had_ to be. He was too evil, too _vile_ , and he gave off the same feeling that Ruby had with Tatl and Tael like a _thousand-fold_. He was going to do something awful, he _was_ , and that was why he couldn't leave.

"I have said it many times now, but I will utter the words once more, with no less sincerity." He held his palm in front of him as he spoke, and Ruby _never_ looked away. "Let me leave to hunt these White Fang. Let me go to kill the killers. Let me do this, and I will return whence I am finished." He was lying.

"You're a liar," Ruby spat out. She didn't care if it made him lose the smile. _Good_. He felt so wrong that anything he did that made him feel bad was a good thing. He deserved it with how he was making her feel around him… because that _was_ his fault. It had to be. "You're a liar and a killer a-a-a-and so much more! Link's friends, the place he came from and all that stuff… I don't know all of it, cause I'm not from Hyrule but… but I _know_ you are _evil!_ "

She yelled it, right at his face. No one else was yelling now. And Saria was still behind her. Even Ganondorf was just watching her, staring down with the shadow of the sun upon him. Ruby still felt like an ant next to him, not even to mention the fact the sword was just _monstrously_ huge, like the monster he was… but she had to yell.

He wouldn't get it otherwise.

"Rage makes villains of us all." He spoke and… Ruby didn't get it. "Whether or own or others, the rage that persists turns us to commit vile acts. Though the rage I held in the land of my birth was forced upon me, a curse that I could not escape, it still caused me to do unmentionable evils. And those evils are stained upon my soul." That huge hand of his was pushed flat against the armor on his chest. And really, it just showed how huge _he_ was. "The hero has yet to develop such a stain. All the atrocities Time has put upon him, the vileness of the world he has had to endure, and he still sought to teach and grow, to cut only that which needed to be culled."

Like monsters, like the man in front of her. Like the guy that was going to kill Saria and she had to stop. Even if she still couldn't do anything but stand her, but _stop him_ for a _second_. It was more than she did for Tatl and Tael. Ruby still wouldn't move, and risk losing someone else.

She wouldn't move… even when Ganondorf did.

Her hands clenched to fists as the man slowly lowered himself in front of her, falling like a castle in front of her. Everyone else was getting their weapons ready, more yelling and screaming, and Ruby was sure she was going to be next. He was going to grab her leg, or punch her across the face, and he had to get down lower to her level just to do it! He was going to finish her off and-

-he stopped on bended knee. He stopped, on his knee, looking right at Ruby. He was still taller than her, even kneeling, but… he was closer now. Ruby could probably hit his face if she tried. But he wasn't acting like he was going to hit her. Was he?

"What is your name, child?" He asked. He had to know it, with everyone yelling around them. "I wish to hear your name from your lips. The name your parents gave you, the name of the soul, though young, has found a view of the world it would fight to protect." That didn't sound creepy at all!

"Ruby Rose," she _growled_ out. "My name is Ruby Rose, a-and my dad is Tai Xiao-Long, my mom…" she stopped as he held up his hand, and Ruby thought he was going to send a bolt of lightning right into her face. So did Uncle Qrow from how he was yelling.

"I have little care for your parents," he spoke. "They must be great individuals to raise a child as brave as you, but it is that child that I wish to know of." His hand fell like his body did, like it was creating a freaking storm with how much wind it moved. Ruby didn't follow. "A child who embodies the spirit of the hero in these foreign lands." He was smiling again and it still looked evil. It was the eyes, it was all in the eyes.

Even if he wasn't grinning madly and it looked like the kind of smirk her _dad_ might have, her dad didn't have green skin or a freaking monster's build or evil eyes or anything evil about him at all. He was her dad, and this… this man was a monster.

"My word means naught to you, I can tell," Ganondorf kept talking. "However, I will still offer it to you. Offer it as a promise. Not as the creature of darkness that you have heard stories of, nor as the mad man that terrorized the hero's lands." What did that leave? "I offer it to you as king. As the man who once led the Gerudo tribe of the desert lands, before he was turned by an evil force he could not see, nor hope to control."

Well he talked a good game, but what did that matter? He was a king alright, an _evil king_. That was how most evil things acted. Evil that was eviler than the Grimm, which were pure evil. That was Ganondorf, and Ruby knew it. Because she could feel it, and her feeling was right twice before, but she didn't _listen_ twice before. So now, she was believing it. She wouldn't believe the man, but she'd hear him out.

"What is it?" She almost hissed. She wasn't trying to mock Blake. "More killing? More of you trying to kill?"

"No. That is my word to the hero. You, though similar, are not him." The way his head shook even reminded Ruby of how small she was in comparison. It was, honestly, kind of daunting. But she still wasn't going to move. Not when her friend's life was on the line.

That was a good reason to never move. Ever.

"I will return when I am done, Ruby Rose," Ganondorf spoke to her. "If not me, then the hero will. Of that, I can guarantee."

Well that… that was… _not_ losing _Link?_ So, she… she wouldn't lose him?

"You… _he_ is?" Because she didn't care about Ganondorf. Not at all. _No one did_. He was too evil to even consider worth missing. That might be mean, that might be harsh, but if people who gave her this kind of feeling were gone, then Tatl and Tael would still be alive. So, she didn't care. Link though… she couldn't afford to lose him. _No one could_.

"Indeed," the man spoke. "For I would not allow the hero to gain his vengeance, only to have nothing to return to." He smiles at her again, and it was _still_ creepy! But she didn't shy away from it. She just… she just stood there, she had to. She had to so she could figure out what the man was planning! So she could stop him! So she could keep Saria safe. So she could keep _Link_ safe! And to do that she had to… let him go? "I can see you understand the weight of my word and what it means. I can also offer you proof of my word." _That_ she needed.

"What is it?" She was asking a lot of questions, but she needed a lot of answer. And this guy… he was _due_ to give some. For all his talk about owing debts to Link, he had to pay a few to her and her friends right now, especially Jaune and Pyrrha and Penny… and Cardin.

"Stay safe, Ruby Rose. Protect your own life as you did the Sage of the Forest." That… what? "Stay safe, keep the Safe well, keep your home in tact, and the hero will return." Okay… okay… she could do that, but that _wasn't_ a promise on _his_ end. What did it even _mean?_

"I was going to do that no matter _what_ you did!" She yelled back. One second later and she regretted it.

Because then Ganondorf stood up. She reminded again of how tall he was.

Tall enough and big enough to feel like he was dragging the freaking earth up with him as he stood, and the wind was definitely following him this time. That was obvious from how he was making his cape shake just by standing up. Ruby had to force herself to remain still, or else she'd expose Saria, and she was still protecting her friend. So she wasn't going to move.

But Ganondorf had no problem with speaking.

"Indeed," he spoke as she gained her bearings from _him_ standing up. "But I know the hero will always return to the place he calls home. And where is home but where your family resides." What the heck?

What… _WHAT!?_ Saria he… he was talking about Saria!

Ruby turned around to look at her, seeing her look back up at her. The shock in her eyes, the suddenness she… she was still afraid. She was looking at her and realizing what it meant. Yeah, that was it, that _had_ to be it. Saria was… she was alive again, and not apart of Link. Not a mask, so she was alive and she raised Link.

She was his family… and she was at Beacon… and Link wouldn't abandon his family. He wouldn't even abandon a friend he hadn't seen in _decades_ , maybe. So… so Ganondorf, was telling the truth?

"Ruby," Saria spoke, _her_ friend, _Link's_ family. "Let… let him go…" Well he really must have been.

"What? Huh?" She asked almost breathlessly. This was… this was all happening _way_ too fast! "B-But, no I can't! He's evil I can tell! I can feel because it feels like before and worse and-" She didn't get to finish her sentence, let alone her thought.

"Maybe it feels that way, because he's here," Saria spoke again. She was holding onto Ruby's cloak still but… she was looking past her. She glared up at the man, she knew, and the evil eyes had to be looking back down on her. How she was keeping calm, Ruby had no idea. Maybe it was because she was a sage or maybe… it was because she had been through this before. "If he leaves… maybe you will feel better. And Link… maybe he'll come home." But he already was! Sort of.

"But he's here now!" She almost yelled at Saria. Almost, but actually, because she did not deserve that. No, Ganondorf deserved that, evil as he was, and she did, for being so weak before. But not Saria. She didn't deserve it. Neither did Link. "If he leaves he… there's no way to know when he gets back a-and it could be really bad, no it _will be_ really bad like with Tatl and Tael and… and I can't lose anyone else! I can't!" She was shaking her head.

She swore she wouldn't, she _knew_ she couldn't. She couldn't… it wasn't something she could handle. No one else had to get hurt, no one else _could_ get hurt. She didn't care if it was her, and she'd deserve it, but… but not Link not Saria, and _not_ because she _did nothing again!_

"Ruby Rose," Ganondorf spoke her name, and she looked up at him, glaring. Those eyes were evil and still felt like all kinds of wrong but… but she had to endure it. For Saria and for Link. "Your devotion is not misplaced, and your loyalty is to be celebrated." She didn't care if he was being nice. He was _evil_. He was called the _Evil King_ by Tatl and Tael! "However, you are thinking of this wrong. You believe if I were to leave, that Link will never return. But if you are fearful of such a thing, then ask the Forest Sage behind you if the hero ever returned from his journey. Ask her… if the hero ever abandoned her in her life." Huh?

She glanced over her shoulder this time, looking at Saria who was staring back up at her. Just… just staring. Just looking at her with that emerald gaze that was starting to shake. Maybe that was Ruby, because she knew she felt like she was trembling.

"He didn't," her friend that she would _not_ lose finally said. "Link left the forest but, but he always returned. He always came home. Even when he found somewhere else to live. He never… he never abandoned us." That… that didn't mean anything. Not right now. It just meant that Link loved his friends because he was a great guy and a _hero_ , just like even Ganondorf was calling him. So he would have to come home. But he didn't leave with a freaking _evil man_ possessing him or… or was it the other way around? Didn't matter, it still came out the same!

"I will say again, Ruby Rose. Your commitment to protect those you care for is a trait to be admired. Admired and respected." She didn't get _either_ of those feelings when it was Ganondorf talking to her! "However, I also have a due I must pay the hero. You may take my word or throw it away, whichever is your choice." And then… he was walking away.

He had turned around and he was walking away from her from _them_. He was leaving, he was leaving and Ruby… the feeling wasn't going away. It wasn't getting stronger or worse or anything it was… it was just there and she kept watching Ganondorf as he left. Ready for something, for anything for… for some reason or an excuse to try and stop him!

But she received none.

"Be well, Ruby Rose. Be safe Forest Sage." Ruby turned back around just in time to see Ganondorf doing the same. That, and to feel Saria grabbing at her cloak again. "Care for you both, and for the place you call home. Care for them all, so the hero returns not in vain." The crowd had cleared even further for him, and he kept walking past them.

Past all the destruction his 'fight' had brought about and just kept walking like none of it mattered to him. Maybe it didn't maybe it didn't because of how _evil_ he was and… and that was what he was. Not Link, _not_ her friend. None of her friends. But Ganondorf, he felt too wrong to be anything else.

Ruby felt his feet shake the ground as he walked away, the earth almost moving again for him. Except, unlike the _actual_ Earth moving when Saria was trying to hold him back, it was just… shaking. And she couldn't even tell if it was her or the ground at first. Not until her arms fell from being so tired, after she let out a breath she didn't know _where_ she was holding and she almost fell to her knees.

"Ruby!" She looked over when her name was yelled, not really surprised to see Yang running at her. She stopped when she was right next to her, hands on Ruby's shoulders and checking her out. She didn't fight against it this time. "Are you okay? He didn't do anything weird? No magic stuff or Semblance or anything like that? He didn't try and hurt you, did he? You're okay?" She was okay, because nothing bad happened to her. That happened to her _friends_ , not her.

"I'm fine, Yang," she answered her sister, and she tried not to grumble. It was hard, with the way her sister was rubbing her hands over her, and Ruby kept her eyes on Ganondorf still. He was getting further and further away, but it looked like Yang was the only one that wasn't watching him. And she as surprised by that, if only a little.

Her surprise came and went when he held up his hand in front of him, some distance away, and a giant ball of darkness just… appeared. She didn't even know what it was, at first. Not until he walked into and started to disappear. Then she remembered what Pyrrha said it was, when she started waking up.

A portal. He had made… a portal of darkness, and he just walked through it. Ruby remembered her dad saying that Yang's mom could do that, and Uncle Qrow talking about how Aunt Raven would do that to scare him now and then. She'd never met her, but if she made portals like that… maybe it was for the best she left. Because even the portals felt _wrong_ to her.

All of that, and then she realized what was happening.

Ganondorf was leaving. _Link_ was leaving. Saria wasn't stopping him. She wasn't stopping them, and Ruby had a good idea why. Just her idea, but she hoped someone else had it, because it was the only idea that made sense after… all of that.

They had to protect Saria now. She was the only family Link had left.

She was the guarantee Link would come home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	35. Reconciliation

Terror was, for lack of a more appropriate term, a part and parcel subject of General Ironwood's job.

If it wasn't with dealing with terrifying creatures and situations on a nearly weekly basis, then it was planning for them on the daily. The ideas and chances that the walls of the kingdoms could fail, that an experienced hunter team could be tricked or pulled into a ruinous situation, or that he may end up sending them into one. Material could fail, plans could fail, _men_ could fail, and all of it would lead to terror. Terror for him, the military, and the populace they were meant to guard.

Therefore, he faced all terrifying situations with a stone face that befit his name. Face it like iron. Deal with it with a visage as immutable and unchanging. Able to endure extreme heats and instead of being disformed under pressure, it was made stronger by it. That was what it meant to be a General, especially one of one of the most powerful forces in all of Remnant. Above many Grimm. Above many hunters. And above almost all threats.

Almost being the only reason, he was so unsure of what to do now. Because what he was dealing with not only outside the realm of any realistic threat, but also viable counter measures. There were, after all, plans to deal with Grimm as old as the age of the gods if they were ever spotted. There were contingencies for ensuring the protection of the populace if another Grimm attack ever sprung up. There were chances and likelihoods considered for nearly ever event he or Dr. Zeppetto could possibly name.

And yet… he had nothing for the demonic entity that was Ganondorf. Him… and the manner in which it had torn through the forces of Beacon _and_ his military in such a casual manner.

His jaw tight as he remembered it, recalled it, as if only to ensure that his eyes were not playing tricks on him, looking for any moment of clear impossibility or discrepancy that would eliminate the act for anything but an illusion. But he could find none. Nothing came to his strategic and detailed mind for the length of time he poured over the events. From Ganondorf, the _monster_ , leaving Ozpin's office, to his departure out of Beacon, following his _walk_ through gunfire and forces that would make a horde of Goliath's fall. And he did nothing.

Nothing but walk through Dust, lightning, fire, ice, and _the trees and forest themselves_. All of it was damning, all of it was terrifying, but one fact more than anything else. A trio of observations, as it were.

A Maiden was one of the most powerful beings in all of Remnant, given power by Ozpin's long past form centuries if not thousands of years ago. Though he had not witnessed the power of one before today, not to any trained extent, he was aware that they could put the powers of any hunter or even the entire arm of the Military to shame. A swing of their arm could bring forth a hurricane, a swipe of their leg could uproot the Earth, and it was all within their whims.

And that man… _Ganondorf Dragmire_ , had walked through the power of one as if it were gust of wind.

Terror was an appropriate word, but it was not strong enough.

Because he didn't know how to respond to this terror. At all.

"What in the name of the Gods was the purpose of all of that?" He began speaking with a raised voice. His tone was naturally deep and able to carry, so speaking softly was often a requirement on his part. At the moment, however, a raised voice was necessary. Because he needed the target of his ire to not only hear him, but _respond_ to him. "Answer me Saria! Why was it you provoked that man in such a way!"

He pointed at the girl, in form only, as she stood across the room from him. In the highest room of the clocktower that Ozpin called his office. She was looking away from him, staring past the window that _she_ had broken against their wishes. That _she_ had jumped from in order to engage that evil man. The one whom _she_ provoked and caused all of this!

The White Fang may have been responsible for Link bring that powerful creature into their world, but he put the blame for its departure solely on her!

"Answer me Saria! Why did you take such action against him?!" He may have been snarling, but he didn't care. He needed an answer, and being forceful always provided one, just not usually the one he wanted. He could already feel the others in the room backing away as he stalked forward, shards of grass cracking under his boots. "Because of you, that demonic entity is not roaming the lands searching for a White Fang base that we don't even know about, and having nothing to help him but names! Do you possibly understand how not only volatile, but dangerous that is?!"

The Maiden didn't speak, she only kept her back to him. One hand on the metal support hat once held the glass, and the other over looking the forest. He would have grabbed her were he not concerned that it would cause one of them to fall. Instincts were strong even now, but his _need_ for an answer would not be silence by a girl's petty needs.

"General," he heard Winter speak his title behind him. He did not look towards her, as there was no need. She was his subordinate. "I believe… shouldn't we be looking for Ganondorf right now?" Her question would have been valid, if she were present for the conversation. At the moment, he just waved towards Glynda, allowing Ozpin's right hand to answer for him. She did so, though he was aware she was glaring at him. AT the moment, he didn't care. He _couldn't_ care.

"I dispatched several mini-drones to observe and monitor Ganondorf once he left the tower." She was not poking on her Pad as she spoke. That would be difficult, as it was broken during the observation of the fight, her fists clenching around it till the screen was as shattered as the window. "However, I cannot guarantee their survival through those portals he was using, let alone constant communication with them." That was not the extent of it.

"That is to say _nothing_ of how others are going to observe him, should we be misfortune to have him appear in any CCTS system," James added on, furious still about the possibility. Images of Grimm and their habits were _still_ worthy of viral and explosive videos online, namely due to fools risking their lives in order to get close them. The catastrophe that could erupt from those same idiots happening upon Ganondorf, a man who could _not_ be stopped, was almost impossible for him to imagine. At least, just outside the realm of him to possibly understand. At least that much.

"I-I see," Winter pattered out, and for once, James didn't reprimand her. Not now. Not when she at least acted to stop Ganondorf after _Saria_ had instigated him. After all of her warnings of what he was capable of, and she was at least able to contain herself! What did it speak that a Maiden of some centuries in age was unable to match the self-control of one of his youngest specialists?

"I hope you understand how serious this is for us," he continued to address the emerald garbed girl's back. He did not offer a _glance_ towards the other emerald clad member of the room, and he took the man's silence as at least understanding of his position. He had better, as this was partially his fault as well! "You may have enjoyed the safety of the Lost Woods or wherever you claim to hail from, but our cities are under constant guard and attack against beasts like that. And _that_ , to my utter horror, is something I _cannot_ see us stopping." Not without serious lose of life or land.

"Might be layin' it into her a bit harder there, General." Ironwood held back his groan by letting out a seething breath of air instead. He glanced at the messed man, seeing dirt and stone cling to his attire as he waved against Ozpin's still upturned desk. He was similar to Winter in that regard, in that he at least tried to help. His words, as ever, were doing no such thing. "Case you forget, she woke up with a new soul and realizin' her _kid_ is basically out there lookin' for murder. Not 'xactly a great mindset, ya know?" Oh, he knew, because it was one _many_ of his own subordinates had shared!

"Don't talk to me like you understand, Qrow!" He looked at the drunkard, knowing full well he was well and surely that. "I just watched my men put their lives on the line and nearly _lose_ them because some girl with more power in her hand than most of us have our entire souls, couldn't keep her temper in check!" He may have been the last person to speak of tempers now, but the critical difference was obvious. He was yelling. Saria attacked.

"And I saw many of my students put themselves in just as much harm, if not more." But Ozpin added on, finally, as if he were speaking form higher ground. James refused to look at the man, who at most had only gripped his cane _tightly_ through the affair. There was calm indifference, then there was utter apathy. He was having a harder time telling where his friend currently settled on that line. "That said, I do agree that was an unnecessary show of force. If anything, it may have given the man reason to not return to us when he is… finished." Something that no one wanted.

Because it was always hard to tell when there was _enough_ death in a war.

"What should I have done?" The sudden question from the emerald child got the General's attention again. He was still fuming. "What… what _could_ I have done? Nothing was not an option for me then." That was a lie.

"It very much _was_ an option!" He yelled back at her, though still some distance away. She was a Maiden, an ancient one, reborn through that man's _obvious_ magic. He could not handle her if she truly lashed out against him. No one could. "In case you have forgotten, Winter and several of those students were subject to a Grimm that at least too that man's image and _tortured_ them mentally with it! And they were able to hold back attacking him!" Until they were given no choice!

"Sir…" Winter began, and this time James turned to her, seeing the grim and dust from battle still staining her uniform. There was no time for her to change. Her or Qrow or Saria. Not that the latter deserved that after a near insubordinate act. "With respect, the reason why I didn't attack Ganondorf was not just because of your orders." What was she speaking of? "Were it the same as the Nightmare from Monument Mine, I am confident that myself and the others would not only have initiated the attack, we would have had some success in our measures." Of that he understood.

"I understand," the general repeated back. "But you have no need to apologize. The reason for this beast's escape is not your own. Its _hers_." The her was obvious even if she still refused to turn to look at them.

"No, sir, you misunderstand." He turned back towards his Specialist, his focus enough of an order for her to straighten herself back into her proper posture. "The reason why I did not attack was not for fear of the Nightmare alone. But… because I could sense, as I believe the students did as well… that thing was… _stronger_ , than the Nightmare we faced."

That was another horrifying possibility that Ironwood did not wish to explore. And yet, once more, because of a Maiden's rogue actions and the encouragement for her to do so, it was one he had to deal with.

"I gotta admit, if there was ever something for us to agree on, this is it," Qrow joined his Specialist's words, though with another shake of his flask. For once, and perhaps more than often now than before, Ironwood found the tick important for him. He would need his own drink after this. "No way that thing was like any Grimm I ever had ta tangle with. Beast was probably worthy of bein' one of those 'DNE' freaks you were tellin' me about in the Badlands." The very thought of it was true.

A 'DNE', 'Do Not Engage'. A moniker given to the very largest and most ruthless Grimm that were terrorizing their own land, and marked for the soldiers to immediately retreat from should they be spotted. However true the saying was for Ganondorf, and he would surely be labeled as such once he was given the chance, James knew he was far worse.

"He's worse than that, Qrow." And Winter agreed with him. "A DNE is designated for only vehicular engagement, or bombardment form afar. It's meant for creatures conventual weapons won't be able to even pierce. Ganondorf… it doesn't appear anything even _affects_ him. I doubt even a Dust Cannon would be able to make him flinch." More terror upon nightmares at this point, and the General was loathed for it all.

"Then the first priority isn't engagement, its obstruction," Ozpin added in. James didn't look at him this time, though he did agree. "We should not only find means to be able to keep Ganondorf from his goal, but also prepare a means to stop him if necessary. Until then, actual engagement should be limited and avoided. We cannot risk creating a conflict with him we cannot manage." It was the tactically sound action. Though the reasoning for it, and needing it at all, were damning to Ironwood's mind. That such a terror and monster like Ganondorf existed was a strain on his mind.

"We already know where he is heading, as it is clear that he wishes to… deal with the White Fang members responsible for the deaths of Tatl and Tael," Glynda added on. She was still lacking her Pad, and she looked almost out of place without it.

"He wants to kill the killers, don't sugarcoat this." But Qrow was acting perhaps even more drunk than usual. Maybe he was finding drops of vodka in that flask of his. "That _thing_ is going to royally screw one of the lieutenants of the White Fang and some spy we didn't even know 'bout. Hard to feel sympathy for them, but if that things gonna be stomping on their heads, I'll say a prayer." The chuckling he let out when he was done was evidence enough of his sincerity.

"Yes, well… aside from his intent, I believe the larger concern is just how he intends to find them," Glynda continued. James caught her flex and relax her fists, likely acting as if she were still holding her Pad. A shame it was gone, but unimportant at the moment. She was a smart women, so handling this would be a non-issue for her. "He left before any information about their current whereabouts could be given, and at worst only the partial information that they were in the woods." She was not completely wrong.

"He does know about Sienna." The comment from Ozpin was spoken as a fact. He took that tone rarely, but Ironwood truthfully hoped to hear more of it at this moment. They needed it. "I forget if it was you, Qrow, or you, James, but one of you mentioned her name and whom Adam reported to." His cane shifted between the pair of them, and James knew he could not deny the comment. He had commented on Sienna, and that was his mistake.

"Eh, nothin' he wouldn't find out from someone else," Qrow, however appeared to defend. Or perhaps deflect. James took in a slow breath in the lull of conversation. "Course, then again, can't see him walkin' up and talkin' ta anyone 'bout these kinds of things. Not before he gets called out and reported or somethin'. Sure you've called down judgement for worse, huh?" James honestly knew not what Qrow was referring to, but his drunken slur, in combination with the looseness of his stance, was making him more annoyed than anything else.

What mattered now was knowing that Qrow and Glynda had matching points. Ganondorf was a terror, but he was walking around without a clear destination in mind. That meant that he was aimless, which could play for their benefit or disadvantage.

"He has all he needs." Except the Maiden had words to share.

All eyes turned to Saria, who had not turned around when she spoke. The focus was on her as if to make sure she was the one who had actually spoken. It was just as possible she was not. That was, until she turned around and offered a gaze that affirmed her age, her true age, foolishness aside. It was not one that a child gave. It was that of an elder who had seen a choice of their lead to ruin. Friends with Ozpin, Ironwood had seen it enough.

"I believe he knows enough, enough to be confident in his search." Saria's words were _not_ what the general wanted to hear. Were he holding any object, metal or crystal, it would surely scrap metal or dust in his hand by now. "If not by what was admitted, then by what was omitted." Her words were intentionally vague.

"Now is not the time for games, Saria," the General spoke forcefully. He felt the eyes of Ozpin and Glynda fall on him, but he didn't care. This was now officially a national, if not an _international_ risk. He needed to be tough now and apologize later. "That _monster_ is walking around the land I do not know where. No one does. So long as he uses those portals of his, that beast is likely to appear in a councilman's chambers as he is a prison. And should that level of destruction be wrought in either location, then the damage would be immeasurable!"

"James," the careful tone reached his ears, and he turned to see Glynda looking at him. Her face was just as tight with focus as he remembered, but she lacked the Pad she usually held. Her gaze was on him, but one of her hands was to her chest. She was… something. But she wasn't right. Who was?

His eyes looked around and saw similar expressions, familiar but not right. Ozpin was holding his cane, but sideways and off of the ground. Qrow was drinking from his flask, but it was already empty and he was trying to grab at droplets. Winter was standing straight and orderly behind him, but her gaze was shifting around the room quickly. Saria was, the _Maiden_ was… just looking out the window, the one she had broken, and with her hands balled at her side. It was all just so… wrong.

He was supposed to be calm, but it was too damn difficult at the moment. Everyone was off a little bit and, clearly, he was no exception. But he had to be, even if it was forced.

"Aside from knowing who Sienna Khan is, what else does he have to work with?" James asked, patient and controlled. He was a leader, so he could fake it. Though internally, he was looking for any reason to hasten the conversation.

"When you search the forest, you need more than knowledge of where your objective may be," she began, eyes turning to look out the shattered window again. They were fortunate the breeze was light, and James could not ignore the possibility the man's vileness had scared nature into submission. "You need to know where it will avoid, what it hates to be seen around, and who it associates with." That was all well and good, but knowing where a deer was going to lay meant nothing for the evil man currently beyond their sight.

"Are you implying something, Saria?" Ozpin asked for James, and the question made the girl finally turn. Her hand left the metal bar of the window when she did so, and it was clear from the tightness of her movements how forced it was. Fatigued or furious, James didn't care which. They were preferred because they likely meant she at least recognized her mistake. That was better than ignorance to him.

"How did Moraine take those masks from Link?" She asked, because _of course_ the Maiden with centuries to her name would ask a question with a question. "How did she know to take those masks, of which I spoke of to you in this very room?" That, James, was not aware of.

"Oz? What's she talkin' about?" Qrow ventured forth, and the General quirked a brow at his friend, watching the emerald adorned man take in a slow breath of air.

"You mentioned how they were among the strongest of Link's friends." She had? They _were?_ "You related Darmani to strength, Impa to skill and experience, then Lana to sheer limitless imaginative power." It was not a kind voice with which he spoke, and James had much the same feeling in his throat.

"You're implying she knew the masks, to take because of the conversation in this room?" Glynda followed up. "That is understandably repulsive, but we have already established the likelihood that there is another spy within our mists. It is something we must look into, once the matter of Ganondorf is suitably handled." It was where James knew it belonged in the hierarchy of importance. Saria, however, appeared to oppose such. And she voiced it, again, with a question.

"Would you trust soil when you know a plot of it is poisoned?" She looked up at Glynda with the question, and her visage was one of sheer disappointment. How odd to see such a look on a child, but how appropriate for one who was realizing their mistake. Not as odd, however, as the point she made.

"He can't trust us," Qrow spoke up, like it was a realization to him. "That's screwed up, cause we know he can, but a guy like that can't be worryin' about what's gonna happen to him, right? Not after he tanked, well… _tanks!_ That freak wouldn't have to be worried about knives in the back, and I'd buy the bastard who'd try and double cross him a drink! Be my first time offering up one last round." Joke that it was, James could see his point.

But Saria only returned the look with one of discontent. Annoyance, perhaps, but he couldn't tell. He had studied old men and women in council rooms and military forces, not children with too much power. Ozpin had that front. At least he could hope she was thinking of her errors. James hoped that was where her mind was heading. If not, she would need another berating later. After this.

"He may not be harmed, as he is the _Evil King_ ," she turned away from them with the comment. "But… when this spy struck last time, it was not Link who was harmed, but those close to him. Would a man like him fear death, or the death of others?" That wasn't a question, no matter the tone she tried to falsely wear with it.

Even if the comment made James grit his jaw in annoyance.

"You're implying he left us as he did, unsuitable for the long-term search, because he wished to keep us safe?" The very thought of it, from a man who was as vile and gut-wrenching as the Evil King, and title he could say unironically, was foolish to say the least. Link, perhaps, if not likely, but not a man who slaughtered innocents for a war campaign.

"No, I don't." Well… that was good they agreed. Though they were not the words James expected to hear. "I cannot imagine the man who slaughtered all in his path taking such care for strangers he had never met. No matter the words he uses to profess his change of heart and spirit, his soul is still stained and his heart clouded. I _cannot_ chance he is being anything but selfish." They really were in agreement then.

A slow sigh left the General's lips as he watched the girl. She was still small, though hardly young, and doubtlessly capable of dealing with threats he wouldn't imagine alone. And yet, she was frustrated with herself. He would be a fool himself to not notice. She was disappointed in herself, and knowing that it was by her own actions many of these events had transpired. Not all… but enough.

It wasn't satisfactory, but it would have to be enough for him. He could not waste his time holding a grudge for a mistake, not when that error was walking around the lands still.

"Hey, I just had an idea," Qrow spoke up, and Ironwood prayed his Semblance would offer one moment of peace. Given his drunken candor, it was unlikely. "We're talkin' about this guy being the Big Bad of most tales you got from your home, right? And he's walking around tanking and walling out anything we can throw at him. Least it looked like he did." Again, he wasn't wrong, but there had to be more to his words.

"Qrow, I must inform you that this day has been too long and it is still continuing on." Ozpin's words carried the same dry tone, and James was thankful for that as well. He had to chose much to be thankful for at the moment. "If you have another point to make, please say it now."

"Right, right, my bad. Just… little past tipsy here." Drunk, he was drunk, and James was almost _thankful_ for it. The things he was thankful for, from inane to simple, were astounding. In the face of a terror like Ganondorf, however, there was much to be thankful for away from him. Those who venture into the pit and all that. "See, I remember pretty well Ice Queen here and Old Oobleck in he cellar talkin' about some magic sword that killed another super duper Grimm, right? Like, one that happened pretty recently. Couldn't be more than a month, but then 'gain, I'm seein' double, so maybe time's flyin' twice as fast." James barely deciphered what Qrow was talking about, but he knew well enough what weapon was sealed away, and what was used to kill the Nightmare Specialist Schnee faced.

"You are referring to Jaune Arc's family sword, correct?" Glynda posed. Likely because she did not have her scroll or Pad on her. "Are you suggesting we do something with it?" The laughter from the man was apparently a yes.

"You will do no such thing." Or the Maiden at least took it as one. Eyes turned to her again as she faced the drunkard, eyes sharp as the blade that had likely slain the Grimm, or so at least sealed it in captivity. "Though I do understand you need for a weapon to slay the beast, do not forget what is currently housed within it _or_ who else is present with the vile man." That was a point James had, he confessed, forgotten of. Given the vileness of Ganondorf, it was easy to forget the brave faunus warrior was buried somewhere within.

"Had ta break it to you squirt, but that guy walkin' around, that ain't a good thing." Booze must have given Qrow confidence, talking to the girl who demonstrated the power to grow and shape the forest, if not the Earth, by her whims. "We need ta have somethin' to take him out, 'specially if he goes AWOL and decides that tearin' off someone's head is a good way to figure out what they were thinking." That was something even James had difficulty seeing. The thought process at least. Tearing off heads… that was more in the realm of how Ganondorf would act.

"Do not place your foolishness in the mind of another." James would call anyone who saw his smirk a liar. "And to not name your mislabel your cowardice as bravery. Though I understand your wish to have means to slay Ganondorf, do you truly believe it is a risk worthy of unleashing that Old Monster that is sealed within it? Is that a foe more worthy to be free, for merely the chance to slay the man of evil?" That was also a difficulty question.

"They often say it is the devil you know you should prefer to have," Ozpin spoke in kind. "And though the Nightmare is by definition, and the observation of those present, a beast that changes for the victim it is attacking, Ganondorf's power is still without limit, and I cannot know what he is capable of. Therefore, I cannot know if it would be worth the risk. For if the decision is between unleashing a beast that would require the attention of the military or allowing a monster of epic proportions to terrorize the world without end, which would be a better situation to endure?" It wasn't one that James thought highly of either.

"The one in which we free Link from Ganondorf," the answer, instead, came out simply. And it actually was an easy solution. "Find the man, find Link, and then we can find a path to resolution." Though a bit idealistic.

"That easy, huh?" Qrow mocked as James knew he would. "Cause talkin' worked out so well last time. Bet he just needed ya to hold his hand and remind him there are good things in tha world, huh?" Though it may be a bit too far.

"I think, _Qrow_ , what Saria is attempting to say is that Ganondorf can be reasoned for _when_ he is spoken to," Specialist Winter spoke, prompting James to look over his shoulder at her. The icy blue of her eyes was focused on the drunkard, though attempting to get through to him was obviously a foolish attempt for reason itself.

"When? How'd ya get 'when' outta that? Heck, how the heck does the when matter? _When's_ that comin?" He was slurring dangerously now, and if that wasn't enough, James could tell he was close to what could at least be recognized as a drunken rage. Even now, however, that was a step too far.

"Qrow, behave yourself." Glynda's light reprimand was appreciated, though perhaps a moment too late. It only earned a glare from the man, dark circles almost covering his actual eyes.

"The when comes form after he is finished with what he is planning to do," Saria spoke in answer in place of Winter. James watched her, folding her arms on front of herself, almost sage-like. It was what the vile man referred to her as. "When, because he could not be reasoned with while Link's rage was still raw, and it was foolish of me to rush it. When will come when there are means to calm Link. And, if that portion of his tale is to be believed, it will allow the man to bargain for release." There was an awful lot of maybes in there, and that was often the death of any plan.

"Our plan is to get to the killers before Ganondorf then, is that it?" James spoke up. Despite the tension, the conversation was proceeding rather quickly, so clarification did not hurt. It often hurt when it wasn't given. "Capture Adam Taurus and this Moraine before Ganondorf reaches them? I have a hard time imagining that just having them will be enough to get Ganondorf to release Link, if he's even a hostage."

"I don't believe he is either," Glynda added. "However, if we have them, they would make excellent bait to take Ganondorf away from any populate settlement. Because… if the horror that was the Nightmare is paled by Ganondorf, then it is difficult to imagine the fury he will unleash on them would be anything less than catastrophic." That was a fine reason.

"Use the bloody killers ta bait a shark, huh?" Qrow spoke again, and James watched him with his own slit eyes. "Heh, I can get 'hind that one. Better than tryin' ta chase down a guy who'd flick my forehead and blow my brains out." It said something that the man wasn't even exaggerating with the comment, given what he had observed Ganondorf do to the shield that Saria had created of wood and bark. And the Mech that was holding it in place.

Blown away, by the flick of his finger.

"Do you think you'd be able to find the White Fang, Qrow?" Ozpin asked the man, who shrugged with his flask still against his lips. It had to be empty by now, so Ironwood had no idea what he was hoping to take out of it. "I doubt they'd be kind to listen to you if they saw you, but with your abilities…" Yes, that accursed Semblance of his.

"Might be able to get one of 'em ta spill where the kitty's napping?" Sienna would kill him if she ever heard such a comment being directed against her, but Ironwood knew the man they were trying to stop would kill her first if they didn't reach her. "Could probably do it. Just need to hit up a few bars and figure out where the faunus are puttin' their numbers. Just gotta how lady luck sits on the right shoulder this time around." James sighed at the comment, but understood his begrudging friend's reason.

"See that you do," Ozpin followed. "If we can at least find out where Adam and Moraine are, we may be able to prevent a potential slaughter by Ganondorf." And that was the unfortunate risk they dealt with. The terror as it was. A man who was capable of absolute destruction, and stopped by no show of force, was threatening couple of terrorists form the terrorists organization. And his success… meant the potential harm of others.

How ironic, having to make plans to save the very terrorists that he wanted to destroy.

"Are you well, General?" Winter asked behind him. She had only leaned closer, as was appropriate, but he only shook his head at her query. It wasn't something for her to concern herself with. Doubts were for the leaders to deal with, and orders for the subordinates to follow. His confliction was not her burden to bear.

"Later, far later," Ironwood answered his Specialist's curiosity. "For now, there is much we have to do as well. I have to insist to the Council that we increase our observation and recon of the White Fang, before also finding funds and funding for more hunters to return to the cities. With that beast out there, we cannot risk even one foot of our walls being open to attack."

"Not like they'd last long against that freak, huh?" He didn't answer Qrow's biting comment. Because he could find no fault in the drunkard's words. "Better to say yer gonna want them in so you can help get everyone out. It's what I'd be doin' for the settlements at least." And that was another good idea. One that Ozpin clearly agreed with him on.

"Excellent point," the man spoke. "Glynda, see if you can gather any of our outstanding contracts and alter them from hunting to guardsman work. The pay should remain unaltered. If necessary, I'll use my own coffers for the expense." Ironwood had no doubt he would. His honesty towards his plight to save humanity was genuine, as he had seen much proof of. Of course, it wasn't an order Glynda could easily fill at the moment.

"I'll procure a new Pad and start at once," she nodded, walking off with the comment. Patience was no longer a virtue here. Action was. And Glynda was very much a woman of action. Careful and cautious, but action nonetheless. "Will I be needing to gather anything else?"

"… You may want to find a new room for Saria." Ah, Ironwood had nearly forgotten. The _Maiden_ , and for once a name he despised to say, as she was still clearly much to blame for the murderous man to wander off, was no longer tied to Link. She needed quarters, and be damned his soul if _she_ started walking around unsupervised as well. That would be a mistake he would not make, and for good show that Ozpin was not. "I am sure we can find something close to the Freshman teams, or perhaps located close to the Emerald Forest if that is preferred." And preference is key.

She didn't answer at first, body still half-turned from the window, looking away from him. She could stare until the wind scared her face, he didn't care. Unless she pointed to where the man was walking now, it was inconsequential. To Ironwood, at least. Unless she was reflecting on her mistakes, he didn't care.

"… Near the students, if possible," Saria finally answered, and only then did James hear Ozpin let out a breath of air. Of course, his friend was worried she'd leave as well. "I imagine they'd need to speak to me, and I'll confess I'll have much to converse with them as well. This would not be a time to leave a sapling to grow alone." Her metaphors were at least slightly more understandable now.

"Very well, I'll see what I can find," Ozpin agreed. "Though we were loathe to discuss it, it is important that we at least have the Arc Blade on hand soon. If not present, then able to quickly be delivered." This time Saria glared at Ozpin, but she spoke not a word. Foolish though she was, she at least understood the necessity for having something like that ready. That was good, if nothing else.

"I'm familiar with both the facility and the weapon," Specialist Winter spoke up. She was speaking with he usual tall posture, dirty and the fight had still made her. "Though I presently have no gaurentees or manner to ensure the Nightmare in it is contained, I can at least be certain of its location, and how to use it." Direct observation was key.

"Good," Ironwood spoke now. "Obtain a Bullhead and go to the facility as swiftly as need be. Procure any additional personal you believe will be helpful or capable in assisting you." Winter was smart, so she would know who she needed. He nodded towards Winter, who repeated the action. That was one more thing off of his list. A very long list that he couldn't see the end of, and his admitted attitude was blinding him from, but he still had much on it to mark of. He just needed to know where to start.

"Is there anything you will need James? To help you with what you have to do?" The question honestly surprised him, in part because he was not the focus of what had to be done or who to do it.

And that, for some reason, was quite humorous.

"Me?" James asked, chuckling at the question. He was the only one who did, though Ozpin had his eyes on him, as did Winter and Saria. He nodded through his chuckles, short and enough to relieve a bit of the tension in his body.

What did he need at the moment? Not his troops, not his men, not his military. What did _he_ need? Aside from a miracle, there was one thing that came to mind, and he spoke it despite the laughter it ripped from Qrow's body.

"I could use a scotch." Because, honestly, everything may already be too late.

* * *

For the majority of her childhood, Yang didn't get why Qrow drank. At least, once she was old enough to know that his 'flavored juice' wasn't on the top shelf for show. Once she knew what it did, and why her uncle acted the way he did, she really was curious why he drank like it.

Anything he said might have pushed him to it was kind of negated by the fact her dad had him beat. He had been through all the same _and then_ was the one who raised them. That was a rung on the ladder her uncle couldn't match. Her dad, awesome as he was, didn't even drink until Rubes and her were at a friends house. Even then, she only knew he did because Qrow would brag about beating him, however that worked.

What Yang did know was that her Uncle Qrow drank every kind of drink that was on Patch, and then some of the 'special stuff' he'd bring form wherever his missions took him. He'd drink it at the table, after class, training Ruby, _once_ , and even when they were getting ready to head off to school the first day. She always thought it was just him, and awesome of an uncle as he was, she'd never do that. She wanted to stay sharp and vigilant all the time.

But for once, the _first_ time in her life, she finally realized why her uncle drank like it was going out of style at the end of the day. He might have had his sister, _her mother_ , but Yang had Ruby.

And Ruby, by _Dust_ , was driving her to _drink_.

"Do you have _any_ idea just how _horrible_ a _thought_ what you did was?" Weiss questioned Ruby, her sister sitting down on her teammate's bed. Head hung and hood over her, she was _not_ in a good place, and Yang got that. Heck, they all did. Ruby was _not_ in a good place cause none of them were, and _she_ was the one who had freaking witnessed the whole thing go down. "Defending your friends is admirable, but challenging a _monster_ to _strike you_ is incomparably different!" Problem was, it didn't change what she did.

"I know…" Ruby muttered almost miserably, which didn't do Yang's current headache any favors. In fact, just about nothing was. Not the situation, her current blood stopping grip on her own forearms, or the way her entire team was acting. Hell, how _Beacon_ was acting. "But… but what could I do different? Saria was in danger, a-and I didn't want to lose another friend."

"We would have lost a _heck_ of a lot more if you _stayed_ there Ruby!" Weiss screamed again, and Yang didn't stop her. She was venting for both of them right now. "I don't know if Link had the power to influence that _thing_ from the inside out or if you really _do_ have the devil's luck, but standing in front of something like that, _whatever_ the reason, is _not_ a good one!" Not at all.

"Saria was alone…" her sister muttered again, because muttering was all she sounded capable of doing. Yang appreciated that about as much as the rest of this. _None at all_. "Alone and… no ne else was able to do anything."

"Everyone else was at last _trying_ to be _smart!_ " Weiss held out her arms as she spoke. "Pyrrha and Jaune had _armor_ to take a blow from that man, and Cardin and Penny were durable enough to withstand a _singular_ hit from the beast! And in case you missed it, let me clarify for you!" Her finger pointed at Ruby like the tip of a sword, and Yang let her keep it there. This once, just this once. "The individuals with the most _durable_ Aura in Beacon and a _literal android_ created by the Military were all taken down by that man with not _only_ a _single strike_ , but without him _breaking stride!_ " One more detail Yang hadn't missed. " _You_ , on the other hand, literally _held your arms out for that monster to strike you down!_ "

Her breathe flowed in and out of clenched teeth as she remembered it, watching the bolts of lightning Weiss had conjured and she had directed towards the man, doing nothing to him as he walked. Practicing with them made chunks of stone fall away and blew apart _dozens_ of trees when focused, but the _freak_ Ganondorf didn't even _blink!_

And Ruby… had just stood in front of him, arms wide, like she was inviting him to attack. Yang knew her heart stopped for a solid second when she saw her. Her, her uncle, and the rest of the team.

One part of her wanted to run over and hug her sister. Absolutely smother her and tell her how amazing and great she was to have a big a heart as she did. Let her kick and cry and do whatever she wanted for the attention, but a part of Yang wanted to do that. The _other_ side of her, however, the one that kept her ten paces away and letting Weiss handle the interrogation, had something else to say.

"You could have let _anyone else_ step up first, Rubes," Yang let out, hands tight and around her arm. She had to stay in control now, _not_ like before. "Literally anyone else. Let _me_ do it. _Not_ you. Anyone but you. At all." Because anyone was a better trade.

"No one else would," Ruby mumbled again, and Yang was seriously starting to hate it. Actually, there was a lot she hated right now. This was just top of the list. "Everyone else was trying but… but it was almost too late. I couldn't do nothing again." Another hissing breath was taken through Yang's grit teeth.

"Ruby," Blake started now. Yang let her, burying her eyes into the ground instead of her sister. Sulking, sure, but that was about as predictable and necessary as all of this. After all of this… hell, Yang didn't know _what_ was normal to feel. She just knew that the idea of that _monster_ looming over her sister was… she went with aggravating. "I know what its like to be afraid for others, especially people you call friends. The reason why a lot of us are here, at Beacon, is because of that. We know what kind of bad things can happen."

Not wrong, Yang realized, and today was starting shape up to be the _best_ example of that in her lifetime. She hoped it would be the only day she could look back on and think that. Losing Tatl and Tael to a freaking _murdering_ spy and the _freak_ that Blake had run away from. Pissed off covered it, and she was actually curious if she should chase after them herself. But there was too much that mattered here, like her sister, and her team, and everything that Link had left behind, whatever that was.

"What happened was… is… it's not something that you can make sense of. No one can, or ever will. They'll try to, but it'll never sound just right." Come to think of it, through the _invasive_ idea that she had almost lost her sister, Yang realized that Blake was probably just as pissed as she was. Maybe. Her sister hadn't almost been squashed by some giant monstrous man who was _tanking_ gunfire and _Weiss's super lightning_ like pollen.

Her ex, if he could even be called that, had killed one of the fairies. Her _old 'friends'_ had killed both of them. The faunus she looked up to, and the faunus group she used to admire ruined him. Pissed probably spelled that out pretty well.

"You saw something horrible, terrible, and you're probably wondering if… if it was your fault in the first place." Ruby flinched. Yang saw it. Her eyes were watching it, letting the hood on her head tell her the _moment_ it would happen again. "What happened to Tatl and Tael was just that, a-and I don't… _no one_ is going to say anything but apologies and prayers for them from now on. But Ruby… what happened to them was _not_ your fault." No it wasn't. No way was her sister responsible for it.

But Ruby was shaking, and her shoulders were hunched over again, trying to curl into herself. Her feet were flat on the ground though, hands balled into fists atop her knees. Yang watched them, _counting_ the tear drop that's hit the back of her hands. She wanted to jump on her sister to hug her and let her unleash all of that horror she had to watch. There had to be _mounds_ of it. She watched Tatl and Tael literally be killed in front of her… and then the killers got away.

She didn't know, abnormal to what she would normally do. Because right now Ruby wasn't going anywhere, she had already spent hours making sure she was okay with her uncle and the rest of the team, and now they were having a meeting about what had happened. Or, more accurately, what Ruby had done.

Trying to give herself up was _not_ a good thing. And that anger, if only by an inch, kept Yang from jumping at her sister to comfort her.

"… Then who's fault is it?" The question came out like a quiet whisper, and Yang heard it clear as day. The room was so deathly silent it was hard not to. "They… I-I _could_ have sensed it b-b-but and… a-and I couldn't…" It had to be her tenth seething breath she'd taken, but Yang wasn't sure if she was going to stop anytime soon. This really was _just_ the worst, wasn't it?

"It's those _monsters_ called the White Fang!" Weiss shouted for her. Good for her! "They're the ones responsible for all of this! They attacked us, they attacked _Link_ , they _killed Tatl and Tael!_ You can _not_ blame yourself for what those _freaks of nature_ did!" Her had pointed out the window as she spoke, as if to name them. Yang just wanted to shoot them.

"B-But… I could… I c-could've…" She could have stopped them. Yang knew what her sister was going to say. She wasn't the only one.

"Anyone could have stopped them, Ruby." She was careful with her words, and Yang _had_ to get lessons from her later on self-control, because she was _dangerously_ close to breaking it again. "Pyrrha could have when you both found them, Link could have himself when they found Adam… anyone could have done some small work and found out that Moraine was not who she said she was… but we were fooled, _all of us_. It's not..." She took a slow breath, and Yang could feel through the Bunny Hood the pauses in the shaky member.

She was taking in air slowly, shaking as she did so. She really was holding in her rage well. Better than Yang was at least, seeing as she was one loose fuse away from absolutely erupting right now. And this was all after that _freak_ Ganondorf had walked off, after walking across the garden and making freaking _earthquakes_. And _that_ was after Saria had made the literal forest _surround him_ to hold him down.

This was just getting crazier and dumber and weirder and _more terrible_ the long Yang thought about it. And at the top of the list still, without question, was her sister, the one who Ganondorf had doubtlessly come the closest to killing. _That_ was something she wasn't letting go of, and her balled hands reminded her off it.

"It's not w-what?" But Ruby did plenty on her own. Her voice shook as she raised the question, looking up again. Yang almost cracked a tooth when she saw the tears staining Ruby's face. They were still falling, cracking her silver eyes with red lines, and making her reconsider thoughts on murder. "N-N-Not my f-fault? N-Not my f-fault I-I-I-I didn't act w-when I felt s-something was _wrong?_ N-Not my f-f-fault I d-didn't move w-when Moraine w-was holding _Tael!_ W-W-W-When Link brought me to A-A-A-Adam and-d-d-d…" A wracking sob took her body forward, and Yang watched with terror filling her veins.

Terror and rage that would have helped her burn down the room if she wasn't wearing the bunny hood. It was probably the only reason she had it on, because she was _not_ enjoying the knowledge of every wracking sob that Ruby let out, all while staring at her with trembling lips. It was _torture_ , and she was sure she was only more pissed now than ever because pissed off got things done!

"Ruby… Ruby…" Weiss spoke up as her sister tried to cover her mouth, swiftly approaching and sitting by her side. Her arms were wrapped around Ruby in the next moment, pulling her into a tight embrace, smothering her face on her shoulder, probably staining that dress of hers. It probably would have hit Yang how close they had gotten that Ruby didn't fight it, and Weiss accepted it. "It's… It's okay… I'm sorry I yelled… I'm sorry." And what a turn around it was.

" _It's not okay!_ " Ruby yelled, breaking herself out of her sobs, but not letting go of Weiss as she did so. Yang watched, wide eyed and terrified. "It's not okay th-th-that Tatl and Tael were killed aa-a-a-and the killers got away and Link let that _evil thing_ out so he c-c-could just… go kill them! He deserves to kill them because… because _I_ couldn't save them!"

She was holding onto Weiss tightly as she yelled it, and Yang kept her mouth tightly shut as she did so. Her eyes were wide, lips shut tight, and wondering if this was the new normal for them. Trading heaven for hell and just… letting it ride out. She hated it more and more, especially the more she heard Ruby scream and cry.

"They were yelling a-a-and I heard Tatl telling Link t-t-to take care of himself w-when she was… when she was _dying_ in his hands a-and she just… she cared about him so much a-and he did her… she loved him so much she was _telling him to be okay_ when _she_ was _dying!_ " Her nails started to dig into her skin now, rage boiling over. Not for Ruby, not for her sister, not right now.

The image of it though, she just… it was something that wasn't leaving her head anytime soon, and she had already had to deal with enough terrors today. Now she had that idea in her head. The fairy… the one that kept calling her horrible nicknames and mocking her… the one she thought was honestly just a drone until… all of this… and she was dead with her brother. It couldn't have gotten worse.

"It should… it should have been me…" It got worse.

The raw shock was probably what kept Yang from screaming immediately, looking at Ruby sobbing on Weiss, clutching at her partner's outfit, as she spoke the broken phrase. Yang had her lung full the moment she spoke, sucking in a rapid breath of air that filled her chest with terror. Her sister didn't just say that. She _had_ to have misheard her.

"I should have died instead…" She didn't, and Weiss looking up at her with eyes just as wide and terrified, was evidence of it as well. It was horrible. "There isn't… L-Link's lost _everyone_ now… he's lost his wife a-and… and his child and… and now… his friends…" And it was getting worse.

Yang had to stop it. She knew she had to stop it before it reached a point she wouldn't be able to just rebound from. This was bad, _horrible_ , but Ruby was just mourning. She had to be just saying something that was just… unreasonable or something. Maybe that was why Weiss was holding her so tightly or… or why Blake was holding her arm like that. It was just something Ruby was saying to be _stupid_. So monumentally and horribly freaking _stupid!_ She wasn't just going to stop it, she had to _end_ _this!_

"At least… no one would… miss me…" Instead, she _lost it_.

"Are you _kidding me Ruby!_ " Yang finally screeched. Eyes were on her in a second. She did _not_ care. "No one?! No one's would miss you?!"

"Y-Yang-" Weiss tried to talk, Ruby huddling into her, but she had none of it. Not now. Not after she heard _that!_

"Do you have any idea what you suddenly _dying_ would do to dad? Would do to _me?!_ " Her hands hit her chest, bending over as she _glared_ at her sister. Said sister, selfish and _absolutely wrong_ , kept herself close to Weiss like a shield. Not strong enough! "Saying no one would care if you were dead, so you threw yourself in front of a god damn monster for what? _The fun of it?!_ " She dared Ganondorf to come back, just so they could ask him!

"Yang, calm down." Blake now, but Yang was _so_ far away from calm that she would need a _hell_ of a lot more than her partner to cool of this heat! Ruby had a lot more to bear!

"Is that why you wanna be a huntress? To get yourself _killed?_ Just go off and die for _nothing?!_ " Her hands were about ready to break her own bones they were clenched so hard, and she _knew_ one tooth of hers was beyond repair now. "That ain't how this works! You think that's okay, I'll drag you back to Patch by the _hair_ and let dad melt Crescent Rose down to _embers! I'll help!_ " And she'd do it to, because she knew how badly her sister needed that weapon to function.

Just like she needed Weiss to apparently keep up her sobbing, like she hadn't just suggested the _worst_ possible thing in the world to her! Like it wasn't a big deal! Well it was! This was something that Yang just couldn't forget, ever. Because it had happened before!

"You die like that Ruby, then Summer died for nothing!" Like a switch, the words turned her off.

She chocked, Yang chocked on nothing but air as she said it. Ruby was frozen against Weiss, only one silver eye staring at Yang, caked with tears and rimmed with red cracks. Her body was frozen, everything felt stiff. It was… It was the absolute last thing she was supposed to say, ever. And she just… she _screamed_ it at Ruby. When she was like this, a-after… oh gods, or Dust… oh… oh no…

"Yang, let's leave." Her partner had a hand on her and was already pulling before Yang even made sense of the words. She didn't fight, she let herself get dragged out of the room, stumbling as her body fought to be able to move again. She never took her eyes off of Weiss and Ruby, her sister staring at her as she left. It wasn't until they were in the hall she was forced to look away, and then she didn't know where to look.

She let Blake guide her, pulling her down the hall, oddly quiet given the time of day, and out of sight. Nothing was out of mind though. Summer… their mom. The woman who raised them a-and baked them cookies. Their mom and she… she yelled at Ruby about her dying for nothing. Like that was okay, ever okay. It was… h-how was she supposed to come back from this? Why did she even go there?

"Sit, here," Blake spoke again, and Yang did as she said. Back hitting the walls he was directed to, sliding down it until her rump hit the ground. She hardly felt it, hardly felt anything. This was… this was her fault not. Not like Rubes and just not thinking. This was her _actively_ being a complete and total idiot.

She had called her sister out using their mom's name. Not Raven. Not… not her _'mother'_. The woman who raised them, who likely died _for_ them, and Yang had tried to throw that in Ruby's face. Her dad was going to kill her… if she didn't end up doing it herself.

"Breathe Yang. Deep breaths," Blake spoke once more, a hand on her shoulder. It was a fight to do so, but she managed, shuddering and short, but enough to make her body jerk. It felt stiff, hard, like she had woken up from a bad dream, except nothing had changed. This wasn't a dream in the room and it still wasn't one now. She was still as here as ever.

Least there was a window for her to stare out of, not showing much. Blue sky, white clouds, and acting like the world wasn't falling apart. Too bad every sense she had was _now_ telling her it was. Ruby had just sensed what was coming, she guessed. Typical Rubes.

"Ten minutes ago I thought I was turning into my uncle," Yang finally spoke, keeping her eyes on the window. It didn't show much, aside from the sky itself. Good thing that was something that hadn't radically changed in the past month, unlike _everything_ else. "Thought my little sister was driving me to take a bottle and numb my worries for her. Finally figured out why he drinks so much, seeing what he has to worry over, for the pair of us." Her chuckle was sardonic at best, and Blake didn't share it.

"… and what do you see yourself as now?" She asked, knowing full well where Yang's mind was going. She wasn't her partner for nothing. And like Impa said… she was the Shadow of the group. Or more like they figured she was. "Someone more appropriate I hope." Now that got a smile out of her, even if she wouldn't turn to share it.

"My dad, actually," Yang admitted. It wasn't something she thought she'd be, actually. For a lot of good reasons.

"Your father," Blake repeated, clearly not knowing why. Couldn't blame her, seeing as they had never met. Not a good or bad thing. After today… probably for the best. Especially if Yang was acting half of the way she thought he would. "For what? Being angry at Ruby? We all feel that to some extent." She wasn't wrong, but her partner wasn't close enough.

"Enough to yell at her till she started crying?" Yang asked. She didn't expect an answer and she shook her head with her own question. "Yelling and screaming at her that she was stupid to do something so dumb, thinking like a child when everything around us doesn't care how old we are or what we can do? Calling her bad names and threats just… j-just to get the point across." About how dumb and careless she was to actually think standing in front of a monster made her _brave_? As if luck had no say in the matter?

"You are… referring to when you brought Ruby into the woods." This time Yang's laughter made her chest shake, and she kept herself supported on the wall as she let it out. She could feel those ears that Lana had given her bouncing on her head… if only they let her know about what was coming _without_ her thinking about it. Pipe dreams led to drains though. "How your dad yelled at you when you returned home, scolding you." Okay, she had _not_ told her that.

"Wow," Yang spoke through a chuckle. "Sure you're not a witch, figuring that out like that?" Blake ignored her mirthful jab, clearly far more focused on the matter at hand. Maybe more than Yang felt she was. "It's like… like I-I thought that was the right thing to say, cause… Ruby's wrong. But… she wouldn't listen to me so I said that and… how I could be so… so _stupid_."

"You aren't the first person to say something without thinking," Blake spoke, probably the most honest thing she could say. "It's why I don't think there's anything you can say. Just… just let her let it out." Really, that was it?

"Let her think that doing that is okay?" She rolled her head against the wall, stopping when she got a good view of Blake. Her partner was whipping her head back and forth, slit eyes focusing on her in a moment.

"Not even a little," she instantly corrected. "But she's not going to listen to you or anyone else now. All we can do is be there for her, let her know that whatever she's thinking, we are _not_ gone." Well… that was a good idea at least. Again, reminded her of her dad, spending a lot of long nights with her and Rubes when they were growing up, letting them sneak into his bed when they were scared at night and making them breakfast in the morning. That kind of guy.

Not… like her other parent. _Her_ 'actual' mother. Not Sumer. Raven. The one that didn't count, or shouldn't count.

"You sure that works?" Yang asked, though she was already convinced. "Sure it wouldn't be a good idea for me to stay out here, a-after what I said?" Maybe ten minutes ago she could cuddle up to Ruby, but she was afraid her sister would explode into roses if she hugged her now. Blake, however, didn't shirk or shy away.

"If you don't go back, she'll think you were being honest." She wasn't! "And I know you weren't. She needs to know that though. For that, you need to go back to her." She was never going to leave her. Then again… waiting while Ruby was suffering wasn't something she was going to ever start doing. This was just… an inconvenience. Those seemed to be going around. "Can you do that, for her?"

Help out her sister after _she_ had screwed up? It brought another wry chuckle out of her throat, giving a bit of feeling left to the rest of her numb body. Shock was a weird feeling. Grief was just horrible. But her sister… that was something that went beyond feeling.

And Yang was not going to let her sister down.

"You bet I am," Yang spoke with a grin, pushing herself off the wall. Blake followed her up, putting a hand on her shoulder to keep her balance. Wasn't completely needed, like at all, but it was appreciated. Having a friend like Blake… that was another thing she wasn't about to let herself disregard. Friends… like what Weiss was for Ruby. Someone she needed.

Rubes needed her too, because this day was horrible, and doing nothing would only make tomorrow worse. Something had to be done, even if it was just being there. Like Blake said, the real criticism could come tomorrow, or later, or _whenever_ just… not now. Not while it was too raw. IT wasn't the wrong thing to do, and her dad would know it. She just… had to do what he would do, then things would be okay. He raised her and Rubes just fine alone.

All she had to do was the opposite of her mother. Instead, do everything her mom would do.

Then she'd get through this. They all would.

* * *

The woods were lovely, dark and deep. They were everything his desert was not.

The sand of his kingdom would burn his feet in the day, then freeze his skin in the night. The forest would soothe and energize in the day, then calmly blanket one's sleep in the night. His sand would use the wind to lash at the skin as punishment for treading on it. The trees would whistle in thanks for walking by them in the forest, dropping and offering fruits and berries for the venture. His desert was wide and expansive, never-ending from many views. The forest was dense and compact, and just as endless.

They were things that were both easy and difficult to get lost within. In the endless sands of his desert, he could walk until the sun set and rose again, and still not see a spec of civilization or end in sight. It was torturous, and one could only depend on the stars at night to guide them, as no trails remained in endless sands. In the endless stretch of the forest, he could walk a path once, then never set foot on it again. It told him of where he was and where he had been, with trees, with the soil, and with the animals all around him.

Life often spoke and warned fellow life of the dangers that were nearby. There was no life in the desert but his people, so there were no warnings when the winds would strike or the heat would blaze. The forest was full of it, in every breath of air and glance of the eye, so there were a million and one things to take in and experience. And all of them were precious to him.

Never before did Ganondorf believe he'd be able to enjoy the fruits of the forest. Never before did he think he would have the chance. And the hero, by fate more than design, had allowed him to do so. It was one more weight to add to the scale of his debt, one that the King of the Gerudo intended to payoff.

It was why he ventured through this forest now, more for purpose than want. He needed to find the pair of killers who had taken the hero's friends from him, and her was where he had come to be. It made only as much sense then that this was the last place they were seen, before he tore open a portal to the high tower the others ruled from, taking back the pair of girls with them.

Those girls… such fight in them. He was unsurprised to know that even the Gerudo here were strong and capable, as they always were, as they were meant to be. Before he had led them to near ruin.

Him, their king, and no one else.

His foot hit the ground with the weight of his heart, but Ganondorf continued on. There was much he needed to do, and to spoil and ruin himself with memories of his accursed past would serve no one. Not the hero and certainly not himself. He had to move forward, and forward he would go. Until he found those who had wronged the hero. Then, he would pay them back in kind. Either in the same price, or with torturous beginnings. He still was not certain.

The certainty of the king remained only with what he had observed, heard, or felt. Thoughts of others were often muddled, and he was not one to think long of them. Either before his rage or now. Only of their survival, and whether or not they deserved to survive. For having existed, many deserved to live, as did every soul in the desert in which he grew up. The torturous and endless Gerudo desert that gave birth to the tribes of women that survived off of stealth and lies. Their fight to survive was proof of their right to live.

This forest, though without need of any major benefit or charity, had no less of a right to live than his people. Though it did not steal the light from the sky, rain from the clouds, or nourishment from the ground, it grew tall from a single seed once, and spread itself out of a desire, natural and instinctually. There was life in the forest, as the Sage of the Forest would contend, and the hero would agree. Its right to survive was no different.

But to those who killed needlessly to survive, such did not apply. A wolf needed to kill the deer to survive. The snake needed to bite the scorpion to survive. His people needed to steal gold to survive. A killer of fairies, stealer of memories, and jester of truth, did not deserve the same.

It was all that he had learned of the killer of the link's friends, the pair of them more accurately. A liar who wormed her way into their presence, only to kill and steal in escape. Not taking power for necessity, but desire. Then the man who aided her, killing for all the same, and having apparently done so much in the past. Enough that those who sat in the tower knew of him without mention of his face, and only his deeds.

They were likely with the same whispers he was once spoken with amongst the council of Hyrule, them and the princess, the _queen_ who led them. Many having never seen him, even more having only heard stories of him, but all familiar with his cruelty by mention of his visage, or acts, alone. His name was one of terror, and his form still carried it. This… Adam, as it were, and the false-child Moraine, were no different, and so much different at once.

They inspired hatred now, but he inspired fear. Both gave birth to rage.

Another long sight left his lips as he continued on, the forest having quieted the further he ventured. It was different than the desert in that tale as well. The amount of life, the calls that it made to one another, so different than the empty whispers the desert scornful put into his ear. Harsh cutting winds that so contentiously paralleled the soft whispers of these woods, this forest. Ganondorf knew not the name of it, but it was familiar to the Kokiri Woods, if lacking the signs of those woodland people.

Though, in truth, it lacked much more now. Doubtlessly because of him, as life was never kind to one who had spent a campaign of hatred and blood ruining it. No birds were call from near him, no trees would blow and bend for him, and no streams would offer their water for him. The forest was fleeing from him, and he could not speak or mutter a word of contention for it. Any with the will to survive would.

Though Ganondorf was not favored by its apathy, he was neither in need of it. Even before his rage, before his torment of the lands, he was never one in need of the aid of others. Now was no different. He did not need the assistance of the wood to find the killers of Link's friends. He had received enough from the rulers. Them and the circumstances of his reappearance.

But, in truth and to his shame… he did need more than he currently have.

For near hours now, long enough for the shade of the trees to shift and the sky to darken, he had walked through the emerald woods. He had searched for signs of life that were not grown in these woods, people living in them as he was now. Foreigners to the natural habitat, as these 'White Fang' members would be. No different than when the Gerudo had mad their place in the fields of Hyrule. They would not be kind to the forest.

He searched for cleared plots of land, for fallen trees or dug up soil. He looked for upturned roots or stripped shrubbery. He listened for the sounds of sharpening steel or chopping wood, but heard none of it at all. Nothing foreign but the heavy falls of his boots, heavier than anything the forest was likely to hold. Greater even than those dark monsters that were beyond his creation. Such as the one staring at him now.

The one Ganondorf saw staring at him with red eyes swallowed by darkness, a mask of bone white promising the curtain of death upon approach, and protruding with its own skeleton about its dark furred form. It was perhaps a head-length shorter than him, but far thinner and gnarly in comparison. To him, it promised no threat. He could not same the same for if it saw any others.

Ganondorf feared nothing of the monster, though it was far different than those he had created in the past. Shorter than him, it was still too tall for these woods to call them home. Thinner than him, it was still too long to be able to easily move through the woods. Colored as it was, alabaster and nocturnal, it hardly fit with the peaceful green of the scenery. There was no creativity or care for the creature. There was no attempt to blend it with nature and corrupt it with power. It was not one of his own.

It was a beast made and thrown into this world, so much different than his foreign terror had created those what felt like centuries ago now. Centuries he felt he still paid for, and would for eons to come.

He didn't stop his approach towards the beast, not slowing despite seeing it. And though the beast growled at him, the first sound he had heard that didn't belong to these woods, he did not stop. He was a king, though tortured and forsaken, and he would not bend to a wild monster. It took another stride forward, and a harsh glare of his eyes, for the monster to realize such.

When it did, for that terrified moment, it shut its long maw and began to shirk away. Ganondorf still did not stop his approach, and its submission was not enough for him to change his course, aimless though it was. The beast learned that when he was within distance to strangle it with a lift of his hand.

At that point, it turned and fled, dashing into the woods and out of sight. It was perhaps the only aspect of the creature he was impressed with. Fearful speed where he thought it would be obstructed and awkward to move. He was either wrong about the woods or the creature, and he knew not which.

They were both foreign to him compared to the sands and heat of his desert, or the monsters that buried themselves in the endless dunes to prey upon the weary travelers. In the end, it was not something that deserved his concern. Not while he hunted the killers of the hero's allies.

"That is not something I see every day." The voice, however, was. "A young Grimm like that fleeing from some human." Human was not something he was often called, and the voice was spoke too tauntingly for his taste. It was all that brought Ganondorf to a stop.

He did not bother to search for the person who spoke, knowing they were keeping themselves scarce and secretive from him. If they were more attune to the nature of the woods than he was, which was highly likely, it would be foolish. Instead, he was better adapt at ascertaining the character of one who approached him, secretively, to speak. Especially after the last civilization he left from, allied with the Sage of the Forest, attempted to restrain or kill him. Both in vain.

"Takes a lot of courage to go wandering this far into the forest, especially without any supplies on you." Were he anyone else, he might agree. Were it the desert, he would declare it a law. "Only things that live this deep are the Grimm or beasts, and trust me, neither of them are looking for newcomers." The voice continued its own conversation.

Her conversation, Ganondorf corrected. The voice was too feminine to be a male of any kind. Not only that, to be as deep int eh woods as he was, and clearly where there were no Kokiri present, seeing as the Forest Sage had not followed him, it had to be an elder at that. An elder woman who was attempting to converse with him. Ganondorf approved, if only because it was more suitable than any immediate attack.

"Though I'll admit you look pretty monstrous, tall and large as you are." Ganondorf folded his hands behind him as the voice spoke still, shutting his eyes as it continued on. No matter who it was, they could not harm him. "You part monster yourself, or just playing the part to see how if the Grimm got a better deal than the rest of us?" The ire was present even within the humor, sardonic as it was.

"I am now as I was created," Ganondorf instead spoke, still not trying to find the owner of the voice. "Whatever the monsters of these woods see me as, or others such as yourself call me, is not for me to concern myself with. My concern, for now, is of who would try and speak with me here, rather than closer to the city of men?" Because this forest was like the desert.

And to try and hold a conversation in the endless sands, out of sight from any guile platform of the tribe, may lead to an attack or an assault that could not be rescued from. Monsters lurked in the sands, and, as was not evident, monsters hid in the trees.

"Let's just say I'm not a people person," the feminine tone went on, amused by her own answer. Ganondorf was not, and continued to wait for her to continue. "Tried it out for a few years and the returns didn't match the investment. Get a lot more out of living life off the grid with a few trusted faces than you do in it and never sure who the next face on the block is." Ganondorf recognized that. Not so much the words, but the mentality.

"Am I to assume you are attempting to steal from me?" It was the thought process of a thief, a rogue, hiding as necessary before they struck. "If so, you have erred greatly in alerting me. However, you are wise to not attack me." They would not die, not by his hand the hero had given him a second chance with… but he would not allow anything else of the hero's to be taken. Not after he had already lost the memories of his allies.

"Normal answer would be yes, and the next thing you'd say would be betting that I won't be able to take a Lien from you." It would not be. Though the woman could imagine his next words in her own blissful ignorance. It was not his to ruin. Reality itself had a tendency to do such. "Thing is though, I know a tough target when I see one, valuable one at that. Beyond that, I know an _impossible_ one when it comes to me, and you are, without a doubt, in that category." He was right then, she was an elder, a thief, and experienced at that.

"Then why speak to me?" He continued on. There had to be a purpose for it, for if his Gerudo saw a target too dangerous to approach, they would simply lay low and allow them to pass. There would be no gain in losing lives to an assault, nor in surrendering without a fight. Open conversation preceded the latter. "Now no matter what your actions are, I will be wary for eyes upon me. No matter what you do, I will be cautious of movement or attack. For what reason do you have to speak to me so candidly, yet out of sight?" He emphasized the end, sure to make it clear that she was hiding from him. She would be aware, but it would not be intent.

By calling out her tendency to hide, he was naming her a coward. Though a thief may not be insulted, it moved the field closer towards him. It asserted his dominance and power, and when dealing with one who hid and stole, that was important. Experience and rule taught him such, even after the hatred of another ruled his mind.

Laughter met his ears next, though he was not insulted by it. Rather, for a fleeting moment, he appreciated the sound. He could not name the last time he had heard it.

"Don't think I could call myself a good bandit leader if I walked up and shook hands with every target I saw." Then he was a target at first. How candid. "Then again, not every target makes their way outta Beacon and Ozpin's grasp without a glance over their shoulder." Now there was an odd tick, though if she was as experienced as she spoke of, it was one intentionally given, no different than him. "Especially when you walked through a Maiden's powers like they weren't even there at all." A Maiden… the way she spoke it.

She was referring to the Sage of the Forest, and though Ganondorf was unsure, he had suspicion that the headmaster and general spoke of her in the same way. A name for one who held that kind of power, an obvious divide. One he did not need to question or think of. She was referring to his power, one she had witnessed, and yet… she did not run or flee from him. Nor did she try to attack. Instead, she was trying to speak.

It was, so far, the first time anyone had done that. Not without the pretense of an imminent assault.

"I believed those grounds to be far behind me now," Ganondorf addressed the obvious point, for him at least. Covering ground was always a necessity for a thief, and one they had to have a plan for. "For you to be observing that place, and then to follow me, is a curious series of events. Meaning you were watching for one of two reasons." Just as she was watching him now, and similarly, how he was not looking for her. There still was no point in looking for a thief of the woods who did not wish to be found. One who would likely disappear with ease.

"Care to share what those points may be?" the thief dared him, a guile question. A test, and one that she had confidence he would not know. However, she clearly did not know who he was. Feared, perhaps, just as Ozpin was and the general by his side. But that was his advantage.

"Either you were looking for something to steal from those buildings, full of powerful individuals." A likely option involving scouting. No different than watching a caravan for days before striking, watching for any dips in security or cost. "Or someone among their number was precious to you." For even a thief had family. His people were no different.

And silence, from one who spoke with such caution less pride, was a telling answer. Ganondorf wore no grin nor smile as he took it. For a thief such as her, she may flee at any moment. It was how the thieves kept their lives, and their prize. Flight before fight. He was no different, aside from one measurement. He was a king.

"Though I dare not assume what are within those steel walls, precious as their contents likely are, I cannot imagine any band of thieves who calls the forest home would dare risk an assault on such a fortified state." It was why a fortress was named as such. Why no guard of Hyrule dared to assault his lands. Until, that is, they were given no choice. "So now I can only assume one of those present was a soul you cared for. Perhaps even… _a child_ of yours."

The creeping silence was coiling around his answer. It gave him time to take in another deep breath of air, letting the situation settle before continuing. Forged steel broke if hammered to swiftly. Metal needed to be cooled before it could be shaped, and a thief needed to be lured before they could be caught. It was why he trained to never be such, before the hero, at least.

"I watch over what's important to me, no different than anyone else," the thief returned with a tone far different, and one he might have called himself amused to her. Might, but was not. "I'm only smart enough to not keep a tight hold on treasures I can't afford to lose. Something I'm sure you may now." He would not voice, but he did know.

And because he wouldn't voice it, it became a truth she could take from him.

It was the contradiction of thievery, to never keep close that which was precious. Those who attempted to reclaim or take often searched first where you lived, and never knew where to search next. Treasures of a noble were always within their reach or sight, and royalty never stashed away precious treasures beyond their castle. A thief, however, could keep hordes of gold in a hovel miles away.

Or a child under the eye of a ruler, without fear of them being harmed. It was clever, and it was cruel.

"Now would be a good time to tell me why you are following me," Ganondorf spoke again, done with the game of words. "There are places I must go, and you are not among the few I must meet." He held back his temperament, kept it in reigns. There was no need to give the thief something she did not deserve to have.

And the hero's rage, _his rage_ , was for only a pair in this world. Not a random soul of the forest.

"I'm talking to you because I want to follow you, simple as that." No, it was not as simple as that. Not from a thief. "Can you believe I'm curious about someone who has as much power as you do? Enough to give old Ozpin the stink eye and beat away the military like the wind? It's like seeing a noble turn down _gold_ because they've got enough of it." An interesting metaphor, but it spoke volumes of her knowledge.

She knew of not only the headmaster, but of his strength. She was aware he was more than a throne in a tower. However, that meant nothing to him, not while he was searching for the killer of Link's allies. And still she continued to evade an answer.

"But actually, I'm following you because I think I can help you, and I _know_ you can help me." Her words were sudden, though Ganondorf doubted little he would be capable of helping a thief. He was king of the best, and therefore even a bandit of the woods was beneath him. Her want from him, however, she knew wisely, was not for free.

"What can you offer me?" He questioned. There was no foolishness in his mind for what he needed, or even wanted. He was aware of what was possible, and he only needed to hear it. Promises of the abstract or inane would not be tolerated now. "What can you offer me that, as you said, the headmaster could not entertain me with?"

"You're looking for the White Fang." Well now, she did know.

His eyes opened at the words, still seeing the same green foliage and hearing an otherwise quiet forest around him. She was not bared to him, and he did not look for her. But her words had captured him. However, a thief did not offer the truth freely. They offered _nothing_ freely, let alone information such as this. There had to be something she wanted in return. She had even said as much.

"Am I to assume I must do some grand favor for you first?" It was what the hero would do, he knew. However, the hero was surrounded by those who could be trusted, or those who wished to help. "Do an errand for you that would risk the health of others, or even myself?" A thief in the woods was no such thing. No thief was. It his own death for him to realize that he had to help the hero, and nothing before then could change him.

"You wouldn't even if I asked you to pick up some milk from the corner store." He knew not what that was, but Ganondorf could hear an insult when one was being spoken. His gaze forward, though directed towards nothing remained hard because of it. "No. What _I_ need is something I'm confident the White Fang have as well. Thing is, I just lead a pack of bandits that wouldn't amount to much without me. No way can I just charge them and take what I need. That's way past risky." Indeed it could be, especially if this 'White Fang' was as dangerous as the pair of men before had made them out to be.

However, Ganondorf knew he had no such fears from anything they could put against him. He could, and doubtlessly would, find them and take the vengeance the hero so needed, staining his soul before the hero soiled his own. To do that, he needed to know where they were. And the woman who was offering it spoke as if they had taken something from her.

No… no… that was the ploy. They had taken nothing from a thief. They _had_ something the thief wanted. That was clear. That was obvious. If anything had been stolen from his people, it would have been taken back such in kind. To steal something though, that required planning. And that was what this woman had done.

She had made done her scouting, made her plans, and realized she needed more power to have a chance. And then… he had appeared.

Ganondorf loathed fate, but he could see these events as nothing short than fated. He hated that, because it meant it was someone else's plan involving him. A pawn in a plan that had been written on no paper, cloth, or stone. Just a path that was predetermined by actions long past. He _hated_ that. And the hatred that he felt boiling in him said as much.

But he forced a calm over himself, slowly relaxing his balled fists before he cracked a knuckle and shattered the air. With his strength, it may even blow back a tree. That would ruin this chance, and this chance was all that he had to give the hero his well-deserved vengeance. He would not waste a chance to give back the favor he owed.

"You need me to assault their base," Ganondorf spoke. "And you will not tell me where it is until I do so." The words were finite.

"Close," she corrected. "I'm not going to _lead_ you until you do so. You're a smart guy, but I'm no slouch either. I tell you, you do that portal Semblance of yours, and then you're gone. I'm not risking it." Corrected and validated. She was wise. Though she was placing herself at risk. A risk she did not need to take.

Then again, if her path of life was chosen to be thievery, it was her choice. And Ganondorf, the king of them all, would not stand on it and proclaim what was best. Not when he was working to correct his own soul, whilst shielding the hero's own. The hero would argue, but the hero wouldn't question. A thief was offering information for a favor, and promising a fair an inscrutable trade.

If there was deception to be had, it would be nothing he would be incapable of correcting.

"Are you sure you wish to follow me?" He questioned, tested, the woman who was speaking to him. It would be too easy to have her reveal the mistake of her faux-courage. She would not be the first to think she could best him with wits, and the first in this new land to learn of the folly of it. Or, more correctly, perhaps the third. "When so many fear me and even the monsters run from me, are you sure you wish to put yourself in line with where I step?" He heard giggles come after the question.

"I know you're strong, and I know you aren't going to give up what you want to take." There was nothing he wished to talk, only offer. The lives of those who harmed the hero to him in kind. A favor that the hero requested. Nothing for himself. "And I know that there is more wisdom to be on the side of the strong than the weak. I would be foolish to look at you and _not_ see an opportunity to take what should be mine." Her words were dangerous now. Very dangerous.

Take what was hers, and still not name it. It was little different than how he thought when raged clouded his mind, and even then he was the King of Thieves. This woman, though only a bandit of the woods, spoke so in line with how he once thought. Though, as the hero would correct were his anger not monumental and awesome, he was not learned enough to judge others. Not when he was one who deserved the harshest judgement.

Besides, he still had nothing to fear of the woman. There was nothing he needed to fear from her. Nothing, except her running away with the location she needed to return the hero's favor. That was the only thing he did need.

And Ganondorf, the King of the Gerudo, needed to barter for it. At leas the price was one he as not without means to give.

"I can accept such," he returned to the quiet forest, still speaking towards no one, offering only the woman's voice his answer. "Though I trust you know that any attempt to harm me will not be taken lightly."

"It won't?" She questioned, as if it were a true wonder. "Even after those kids and the military sent everything, literally everything, they had at you, _me_ trying to hurt you is what will rattle the chain? Sounds like unfair treatment if you ask me." Ganondorf did not know the purpose of the question. Was she truly wondering if it was okay to try and harm him? To test her power on him? The thought was a ludicrous one, and yet one of the few he could reason she was asking.

"If that is a genuine curiosity of yours," he returned instead. "Then I will seek the White Fang alone. For I cannot trust the time the hero mourns following a woman who wonders of whom she has permission to strike." Bandits did not ask for permission. He did not need to be a king to know such.

The woods were quiet after he spoke, and he let the soft flutter of leaves fill his ears instead. His golden eyes stared forward into the emerald landscape, painted with vibrant shades of brown and gold for bark and sun. The brilliance of the woods his desert could only dream to match, and the life that it could never grasp before him. He waited within its gentle embrace, a feared one, for the woman's retort.

It came not with a word, but a flutter. The first sound he had heard since their conversation began. He turned to see the creature that had flown towards them, as he would not mistake the flapping of wings descending from a tree. No matter what he thought he would see, he was disappointed instead with what he saw.

A woman, far shorter than him, as most were, with black hair that ran wild from the top of her head to the waist of her coat. Spiked and vicious, matching the red gauntlets that adorned her forearms, swinging as she approached. Her boots mad hardly a whisper, let alone a crunch, as they moved towards his taller form, a tribute to her skill as a bandit, and likely her experience at being one. Though her attire was black and red, contrasting harshly with the forest around them, it was not what drew his attention. That was for what the woman wore to hide her face.

Not merely a mask, but a helm. A helm that was bony white as the monster who had run from him, and painted across as if blood were stained. Slits were made for its eyes, but the elongated length gave the tribute of an avian, not a wild beast. He could see clearly where the plates were aligned and affixed, modeling a true knight's helm to such detail he wondered if she had stolen that as well, then outfitted it to match the monsters. Perhaps even to blend in among them.

They were dull creatures in mind, so it would not take much to confuse them. Ganondorf, however, was of sounder calm than the wild beasts, now that the rage that boiled within him, still not his own, was focused upon only two, and not the infinite mass of life itself. The woman, walking towards him still, barely measuring to past his naval, was of no threat to him and possible boon.

She was only confusing in appearance, but certainly not intent.

"What?" the woman questioned, speaking rather well through a mask of bone white and painted red. It impressed him, how she was able to hide so much, yet likely was unencumbered still. There was a reason his people chose cloths to cover their features rather than the heavy steel of the Hylian Knights. The hero was an obvious exception. "Don't tell me you're scared of the way I look. You can lock eyes and walk up to a Grimm, but little old me is the one that puts you off?" This woman was not.

Ganondorf blew a breath of air through his nose, neither humored nor caring of her words. They were barbs, the kind many in their craft would throw around. An agitated man was an easy one to con, no different than when he had writhed his way into the Hylian King's court. Then again, that was still when he held a foreign rage in his heart.

And though there was a rage within him now, it was focused. And it was just.

Ganondorf began to walk once more, walking towards the woman. She was paces away, enough distance to not be considered invasive, but not so much for him to care. They had to move, and he had no intention of moving for her. Not for a fellow a thief, and not while she needed him.

He watched her through her mask as he walked forward, sure shew as watching him all the same. Be it with joy, elation, trepidation, ignorance, or any other emotion, he could not tell. The helm of bone and metal that held her face hid everything from his view. He didn't care for it either way. Though he could not read her face, he could make sense of her actions.

And the most just one so far was when she stepped aside for him. He continued marching on.

"Message received," the woman spoke plainly behind him. "You keep walkin'. I'll tell you where we need to go." Cautious, but suitable nonetheless. It was far better than aimless and directionless searches. It only came with another point on the roster he needed to address, but for the favor of the hero, it was not something beyond his whims or capability.

The woman took step behind him, likely far more than one to match his single stride, short as she was and tall as he was. It did not matter. She would keep pace if she needed it, and he would have the fortress of the White Fang, as she promised. She would deliver him to the killer of the hero's friends. Then, and finally then, he would give his long due favor to the hero, keeping him from torturing his own soul.

The anger within him howled, and he sighed in response.

They both marched on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	36. Side Quest: Singing for the First Time

"This… this is dumb," Tatl spoke in what had to be the most unimpressed ring she had ever heard her bother to let out. It would have been impressive in most other circumstances. But for now, he just agreed. "As in… this is really _really_ stupid. I didn't think they could do anything stupider here then teaching about monsters without knowing much about them, but this… this takes the cake. Hell, it takes the _meal._ " She was drooping almost as much as Tael.

"I-It's not that bad…" Said brother spoke from aside his sister. He sounded no more convinced than Tatl was. "I-I mean… it's still something you can… listen to, right?" Of that, he wasn't wrong, but the idea of him missing the point was truthfully unavoidable. In fact, Link was having a difficult time himself trying to justify the fairies words as anything but avoidance behavior.

It was hard not to, in the young fairy's defense, when there were a pair of eyes looking up eagerly at him, near star-gazed. And all while he was holding a Scroll in his hand, one the young girl had put into it, showing a series of moving images that he could barely discern. IT was not the image of some attack or beast, as he knew the fellow knights of the Academy could show, but instead a musician on stage, performing an art that he was barely bale to discern between a dance or song.

Link was leaning towards song, because he couldn't make sense of the words.

"You like it?" Ruby asked him, hand still curled under her chin, practically hopping with excitement in front of him. "After Jaune told me how you and Lana sang on that stage without planning anything I knew you might something like this! I mean, yeah, it was mostly Lana who sang, but you were there! In Spirit, I guess, that count's right?" Her change from curious to excited to wonderous was a curiosity in itself.

"It is… something else, Ruby," Tatl answered, perhaps kinder than Link expected her to be. "I just… no, screw that, _we_ don't understand what's going on." And there she was. "That guy he's… he's just screaming things. There's… nothing to it!"

"HUH?" Ruby's arms practically fell with the statement, jaw with it. For a moment, Link believed that even her cloak lost its billow when she stood still. "What are you talking about!? He's singing one of Yang's favorite songs! I mean, yeah, sure _I_ don't really get a lot of it either, but… I mean, I'm not that good at singing or stuff, but Lana was, and you're good at that flute, too!" Not a flute, actually.

"Y-You mean the ocarina?" Tael corrected for her. It made the young squire snap her fingers and point up at him, still resting on Link's shoulder.

"That's the one!" She cheered again, before lifting her hands to her lips and pretending to blow into said instrument. Of course, before she started talking through her hands. "I know a guy like you can probably make up some really cool songs and stuff like that on the spot, and that's what this kind of music is all about. He's doing that right now." Her hands pointed back to the screen Link was still holding. It appeared the images had stopped and the sound with it, blessedly.

"Wait, hold up," Tatl rang as she bobbed closer to Ruby. "I thought you said this was the blonde's favorite song? How's this made up on the spot if its her favorite?" That was an odd paradox.

"Cause it was made up _then_ , but its her favorite song _now._ " She waved her hands from one side of her body to the other, like she was carrying a box. Link nodded his head slowly, even if Ruby's silver eyes rolled as she gave an exasperated sigh. "Look, the point I'm trying to make is this is the kind of music you'd be _good_ at." It was not Link's turn to raise a brow, and he was sure it would have made the girl laugh otherwise. It at least made her smile.

"You're kidding me, right?" Tatl rang again, this time as she spun in the air before facing Ruby once more. "That's just… that's just some guy talking about what's going on in his head while acting like an enemy's trying to nab his feet with an arrow. There's instrument, no history, no story to it. It's just… what even _is it_?" The question came with the usual ring of exasperation. It took Link a moment to realize it came from Ruby as well.

"Okay, fine, the genre is called rap, kind of like how your ocarina stuff is called classical, and the singing is classical… and actually a lot of the stuff you probably do is classical." He didn't understand what was classical about instruments he and his friends played, or songs that Lana sung. "But Mikau is _definitely_ into rock! Because he has a guitar, and _electric one_." That was rock? Wouldn't that be something closer to Darmani and the Gorons?

"I-I don't know what… what does rap mean?" Tael thankfully asked. "Like… wrap up something? The words are a spell about something? Is he casting a spell?" If that were the case, then the man would be casting the most long-winded chant Link had ever heard. The spell would have been fearsome. Yet, the giggle from Ruby, complete with her shaking her head till her dark locks shook, threw such an idea away.

"No no no no no no," she rapidly sped off. "Rap is… basically creating lyrics quickly to match a… a _beat!_ Yeah, that's it. Kind of like how rock is, um… oh geez, Weiss would be able to explain this a lot better than I could." She was scratching her head, looking around herself. Link kept his eyes on her, waiting for her to finish. It would be rude to look away. "Ah! Rock is about having loud instruments create a beat, a-and the singing that goes with it is about adding to the instruments, not the other way around." Her hands twirled as she spoke, like she was trying to spin yarn.

Link nodded slowly, it made some sense after all. Not enough for him to claim it enough to solve a puzzle or mystery, but enough to discern the difference between shrubbery and forestry, and Saria had him do when he was young as well.

"But classical is… slower stuff? I guess? Slower paced instruments that _don't_ , that, yeah, _don't_ have any electricity behind them. Wooden instruments a-and pianos, stuff like that." That covered everything Link knew how to play. He supposed then he did play classical, even if Saria or Mikau would simply call it Hylian or Kokiri songs. "Look, the point is, I think you'd be _good_ at trying something like this!" Her conclusion, however, threw him off far more than her definition of songs.

The soft laughter that came from Tatl was proof enough she agreed. Link was honestly thankful his friend didn't start embellishing her laughter. Then again, if it was one of the squire's teammates that came to them with this idea, she likely would. Tael, however, just remained perched on his shoulder.

"Hahahah! Okay, Little Red, seriously?" The fairy asked, ringing as she flew about the young girl's head. Silver eyes tried valiantly to follow the gold trail. "Appreciate the effort to get Link to try new things, seriously I do, but you're gonna have to start with something that at least makes sense, kay? Your books or movies, for example, would be good. They make sense." They did? Link was still trying go figure out how the pictures on screen could produce noise, let alone have so many of them from a single pictobox. Even the greatest he'd seen could hold 15 photos, no the thousands necessary. "This is not simple, or basic, or… well, still don't even know what it is."

"I-I'm not trying to say he'd be perfect at it!" Ruby hastily spoke as she threw up her arms. They weren't trying to attack her. Well… Tatl might verbally, which Ruby likely sensed. Her senses were better now thanks to Impa. "I thought he could give it a try is all! You know, like how he got me to try using my new powers." She pointed at her eyes again. He had no idea what he had done that involved her eyes.

Her sense, however, was partially him to blame, if only because Impa was not informed enough of the difference between the squires of Hyrule and those of this Academy. Far from a permanent position, it was almost encouraged for them to pursue other avenues, in juxtaposition to the knights of his kingdom. That was neither here nor there, however. What was here was Ruby asking to try this… odd dance called rap.

Her next action proved she was, apparently, prepared for it.

"I know how important it is to practice something new, or to at least try it out, kind of like how you don't know biking unless you have a bike, so I brought something you need to try rapping!" she spoke as she reached under her cloak, grabbing at something Link didn't attempt to see. Not when it would be swiftly revealed to him anyways. "Look! Just use this!"

This, apparently, was a the short wand that the man in the moving photos had used as well. Short enough to be covered by his hand with a single grip, but leaving large mesh-like ball on top. Threaded like chain-mail, but far too stiff to be like one. He reached out and grabbed it, at the same time that Ruby retrieved her Scroll from him. He took his time to look at the new object anyways.

"Huh, so that's this called then?" Tatl asked, the curious nature of her taking over. Tael listened just as diligently, but quietly. "The guy was using it, and I'm pretty sure I've seen them somewhere else before."

"It's called a mic, I guess, but that's not important." She guessed. "What _is_ important is how that is what you need to use in order to practice your raps! And like I said, I bet someone as talented and _amazing_ as you, especially someone who has done so much stuff, will be able to create some of the best raps in the world!" Now there was a surprising amount of encouragement, and for something he had never attempted.

"H-He could?" Tael asked his curiosity aloud. "H-How do… Why are stories and adventure important for… for this. I mean… is he telling a story?" The dark fairy's wings beat as he lightly lifted himself up, before dropping back down. From standing to sitting on his shoulder.

"Well, that's what Cardin told me." The Winchester boy. He had changed since the mine. "And Yang even agreed, even if I had to ask her away from Cardin. Still don't get along great, but neither of them are liars, a-and this is something that I know you should try! Here, I can even record you and show you just how good you are!"

That was when she held up the Scroll again towards up, facing up and away from her. Was it capable of that as well? Curious, but considering the titans of ships of metal floating across water or buildings that scratched at the clouds in the sky, it was hardly the most wonderous thing he had seen, just more proof of the unknowns in an unknown place.

"The heck would he even sing about?" Tatl, however, brought Link back to task. "Forget just doing it, what the heck would he even sing? That he's a five foot ten fairy boy." Link shut his eyes and focused on something brighter, perhaps where Tatl didn't bring up such horrendous memories.

"Sis, you promised not to say that again," her brother rang, though Link was aware it was unlikely for her to listen. The bob and ring was evidence enough.

"How about your friends?" Ruby, however, was just as focused on this 'song' idea. It appeared her mind truly was focused to the core on it. "I mean, a lot of these singers, I-I mean rappers, talk about, or sing I guess, about things that they don't like. Not uncommon, and not common, maybe rare, but not rare just… it _just works_ , okay?" Her head titled and it was impossible for Link to decide if the look she was giving was a grimace of pain or a forced grin for encouragement.

He sighed instead, looking down at the microphone in his hands. His friends, and was he really going to do this? There were tales of many poets in Hyrule reliving the painful siege of Hyrule Castle through stories to inspire hope. If this was the same… perhaps. Though he still had no idea of how to do this.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Ruby shouted again, making Tael jump off of Link's shoulder. Any question Link had for what she forgot was rapidly replaced by listening to, perhaps, the first good piece of music in the past few hours. Better than the man screaming into this microphone or whatever. "You like it? IT's to help you create lyrics to a-and I knew you'd like something like this!" How she knew that Link had no idea, but he could only sigh again.

His hands flipped and rotated the device in his hands, wondering how effective it would be. Would this be something he wanted to create a skill for? Likely not, and even Tatl was doubtful of it, though Tael was more welcoming. It wasn't something he thought highly of, but if the young Ruby Rose had any unknowns to her that he could name, it would be this.

Those sparkling silvery eyes appeared to create ambition as well as her scythe cut monsters.

He bobbed his head to the song, already seeing Ruby's unsure smile brighten as she held back her own bouncing joy. He put the spherical end to the edge of his lips, like the man in the video, and, against all better judgement, began to sing.

_"This… Its… It's the story of Hyrule… about the people who fought for new rule… in the land of Hyrule… and how they fought…"_

_"In a forest deep, against a mountain high, I grew up with a young girl with the brightest eyes. Caring and wise, social and kind, she taught me how to fight and to never tell a lie. That helped me I met the rest of my kind."_

_"The strong, the fast, the wickedly wise. The brave, the meek, and those who flew high. Those that lived where its unimaginably, unfathomably filled with painted heats and waves that beat with winds that whip and limber trees that snip at the unwavering and uncaring ventures."_

_"They do not care for it, because no matter they lived through they came through it. Against the monsters high or the terrors deep they fought back against the land and mans that tried to treat them like sheep!"_

_"So when the fire raised as the forest sang, the people of the land joined the cry. It was like running for the first time, feeling so free and sublime."_

_"So when the fire raised as the forest sang, the people of the land joined the cry. It was like running for the first time, feeling so free and sublime."_

_"I was thrown to lands of dreamers, where a nightmare was looking to squash the redeemers. A deku of roots through a throne, a goron of strong will and hard stone, a zora of great voice who played on fishbone."_

_"They lived through the forest and ice and then the swamps and mice, diggin' out a life that couldn't be seen without approval and guise, fighting the monsters that roared for more and took pleasure from them like a smorgasbord."_

_"It was my duty as a traveler with tools given to me to keep their homes alive and their tears dry by saving their lost souls… then moving on to where the sun glows."_

_"There was Wisdom to see, and Power to beat, traveling the lands and feelin so free. With Saria in trees, Elrora in the breeze, and Mikau sweeping the seas. Playing guitar."_

_"So when the fire raised as the forest sang, the people of the land joined the cry. It was like running for the first time, feeling so free and sublime."_

_"So when the fire raised as the forest sang, the people of the land joined the cry. It was like running for the first time, feeling so free and sublime."_

* * *

Yang stared at the video screen for what felt like hours after it had finished. Her and everyone else crowded around her. Her sister was talking and jumping around in front of her, but she didn't bother to look up. Her eyes could dare look away, let alone blink. What she was holding, what Ruby had recorded, was a holy grail amongst the most valuable of relics, and she was showing it off in a way that she couldn't even process.

Yang wasn't the only one to realize it, and someone else, thankfully, was brave enough to say it.

"Ruby."

"-and then he, oh, yeah Blake?"

"… I apologize for every doubting your capabilities as a leader."

"Same."

"Yang! When did you doubt me!" Leadership? Never. Conversation and convincing? A lot.

This, however, blew it all away. Link of the Super Faunuses of Hyrule rapping to a beat that she found on CCTS search. It was… it was magical. Magical beyond any fairy tale she had heard growing up. It was so beautiful, sublime even. And Yang hated that word. That's what it was though, sublime. Just… perfect.

She guessed at this point it just proved it. Unknown's really did have the advantage, and her sister still had so much to explore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	37. Mourn Before the Storm

Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck had been called many things in his life and tenure as a professor, as a huntsman, as an archeologist, as an anthropologist, and as an instructor for youth. Many many unimportant yet often humorous comments. Things that were either entirely inaccurate or possessing a rare seed of truth that led him to ponder the reasoning for the assertion before reflection was made.

Once such comment was zany, or to be acting in odd manners for little reason. He would dare to contraire that he was _very_ much well in line with reason. His zany nature, as he was only slightly correctly been attributed, was because he needed to finish many tasks many times quicker than the students or even his fellow colleagues. To do such, he needed to act extraordinary to obtain similar results. Logical at its core.

Another curious label founded upon him was confusing. Now that he was at odds with. He was labeled such, he understood, because he valued education more than the hunting of Grimm proper, as opposed to Glynda or Peter, who were both teaching areas outside of direct hunting of monsters, but still managed to weave the attribution of hunting into their studies, where as he was more focused on historical reverence and cultural identification. There was _hardly_ anything confusing about relishing one's history! History was the gateway to discovering the depth of one's soul. The confusing label was confusing alone!

A more appropriate label he would gladly accept was demanding. Perhaps not to a temperament or degree as Glynda herself, but enough that it was rare for a student to receive full marks from him. How could he give someone a perfect score unless they understood the course work perfectly? To think that they would be deserving of it for merely showing up was a laughable excuse, but he would wear the denization of demanding if it meant that he would be compensated with comparable work. It rarely was the case, but outliers were appreciated.

One label, however, that he was never given and would never accept, was a label he found himself placing on this situation, to his growing chagrin and cracking apathy. A denotation of what this situation was, between a monster in man's form marching through the Academy premises, premature murder of two of the most _thoughtful_ and _provoking_ individuals he had ever met, and the forced departure of the Faunus responsible for both.

Wasteful. It was all so wasteful.

A waste of time, of effort, of energy, of _sympathy_. Wasting things that were better spent on more appropriate matters that would lead to more immediate and long-term goals. Waste was the worst thing could be called, and was doubtlessly in his mind one of the worst vices one could fall into. A waste of time could not be regained and a waste of effort could not be redistributed. Waste was there and gone, and then nothing to recall.

A waste of time, of energy, of talent… or information.

A waste, such was the early death of the two greatest confidants he had ever met… and they were killed, according to Ozpin and Specialist Schnee, for the masks that Link wore. Masks that he had yet to fully explore or discover, and was familiar with by sight and interaction alone. A waste that they were gone, a _waste_ that Link was gone.

But a waste, first and foremost, that Tatl and Tael were gone, and all their tales and information with them.

"Bartholomew, it's not like you sulk," Peter spoke up from across his table, huffing as he did so. The man was portly, as befit his name, but his energy was not encumbered by his stout stature. A good friend, a fine colleague, and a magnificent individual. "I have seen you sulk only once before, and it was when you lost that blasted tapestry we found in those foul ruins! You should be making plans to act, not sit here and sulk!" Observant as well.

"Professor, I believe sulking, as you say, is a bit more appropriate now," Specialist Winter Schnee, however added on. Her presence was confusing at first, mystifying, until he recalled they were the most knowledgeable of Ganondorf aside from the newly recreated Forest Sage. Recreated, not grown, not born, remade. An important distinction, magical even… but soured and rotted by the knowledge of what preceded it. "We have lost a pair of fine individuals only a day or so ago… and I dare to say that I am still not at peace with it yet."

"As you _shouldn't_ be, missy." He made the comment with a wave of his moustache. A curious thing, his friend's prized possession, facial hair. Specialist Schnee mouthed the title before he continued. "The atrocity that was placed upon those pair of fairies was not something to be seen as merely unfortunate. It is a _disgrace!_ The idea that she and her ilk, barbarians that they are, are still out there in the woods is a terrifying thought! It is small wonder that we are not out there trying to hunt them as we speak." Bartholomew was well aware of the answer to that.

"A full-scale search for them would attract the attention of Ganondorf." As did Specialist Schnee. Unsurprising. Her family was wealthy and studious, and much like her sister, wasted only what could afford to be. Not time or intelligence. Ever. "If he were to learn of where they were in combination with us… the likelihood of casualties on our sides would be just as likely. And a full-scale retreat _should_ we find them would be no better." She was correct again.

"I know _that_ ," Peter spoke back again. His friend was furious, as was understandable. Oobleck was depressed, as he'd be a fool to not recognize himself. It was a wasteful emotion, and he _loathed_ it. "But inaction is as damning as poor action. Action must be taken or else we look like the cowardly lion ducking a tail and scurrying under the table! Why to be cowardly in the field would spell your doom, and I assure we are very much in the midst of a grand and _horrendous_ hunt." His friend's observations continued to impress, as did his admittance for the poor situation.

"Ozpin and General Ironwood are working with Saria as we speak. They will either come up with a plan, or a way to remedy this situation." Highly unlikely, Bartholomew noted. Such a remedy was near impossible. Violence created this and a nigh-demon on one side was determined to end it with it. He saw no simple means to subjugate or placate it. Not without, of course, violence. "If we are to spend our time productively, we should think of a way to either encourage Link to remove Ganondorf's mask, or convince that evil king to-" her voice dropped before she finished, and Peter scooped up the opportunity.

"You realize _yourself_ how impossible the latter is. Talking down a Goliath is more likely than to convince that man to stop!" He pointed at the window of Bartholomew's office, cluttered and filled with papers meant to line the Remnant world. "That beast of a man tore through the students that we trained as well as your own men, and you believe it would be a matter of mere _discussion_ to make him stop? Impossible. In my day we at least recognized the real method to deal with such terrors." And that was obvious, so obvious that Winter did not respond. Neither did Bartholomew.

He was too busy sifting through his head for answers to his own quandaries. There had to be a solution for him to find, an answer to a riddle he could perchance to stumble upon, that would given him a manner of insight into how to solve this horrible dilemma. So much was being wasted, when there was already so much waste laid bare. The loss of such valuable lives, the history untold gone with them. The waste of the power that was stolen, and the waste of a soul that ran after it, staining himself with a vile nature he had _assisted_ them in sealing. Well, a near-mirror like representation of it more correctly. The metaphor was poor, but meaning still clear and just.

What Bartholomew _wanted_ was to take on Winter's early plan. A fine solution, just, simple, and Occam's Razor agreed with such plans. A simple solution used often by battle-hardened soldiers, giving them a means of support to right themselves through tragedy. Link had experienced much, doubtlessly, confirmed by Tatl and Tael's stories, but still more befell him. A means to give him support would be just. But he knew they would be a waste. A waste because there was an obvious solution, but on that had already failed once.

He could not trust himself to find Navi fast enough to save Link. And to waste his time on it otherwise would be a waste. He _loathed_ that was what he saw it as now.

Where before it was a fine trade for the information on culture and heritage and world-views of foreign Faunus so strange they could be the embodiment of animals and elements themselves was to be appreciated… now it came for nothing. No stories and nothing to help him search for the mysterious friend of Link. Nothing to help him… and unlikely to help him confirm some.

A waste of time spent looking for one of his oldest friends. And Bartholomew hated that it was the truth. His teeth grit in hatred at the _admittance_ on his part.

"Dr. Oobleck" Specialist Schnee spoke again. "Though these are difficult times, is there anything you believe Tatl and Tael may have told you that could assist us in retaining and comforting Link?" Her question was odd, and she must have realized it. "I understand the question is unorthodox, however… I am experienced enough to know that no two individuals mourn the same, and they have been his companions for the lives of many of his friends already." Ah, now it made sense.

"Employ their methods to calm the man now?" Peter, ever observant, did the same. "I cannot fault the idea, but I find it _preposterous_ to hope that beast of an individual will listen to any reason. _Bah!_ From what you described, it was closer to a boar looking for a chain to chomp. Why, we know to wait before storming a den, but this man sounds as if he'd think the sight of it alone is enough!" His observational skills were top notch as always, very astute.

"Not… incorrect," Dr. Oobleck spoke with a _wastefully_ slow tone. "However, none presently known. Calming methods not discussed. Not handled by me. Stories and myths and information regarding the land of Hyrule and neighboring kingdom of Termina. Cultural information, not psychological." He spoke now of the idea of how to calm the giant and vile man. The one that was the seed of the Nightmare's body. A terror he still rationalized in his mind. Disgraceful…

"Nothing at all?" Specialist Schnee coaxed. Desperation was understandable, as the situation was dire. Nervous traits were developed in unnerving situations. This qualified, but all usual markers. "Even after all those stories that Tael told of their adventures? Unlike his sister, he was the one who enjoyed stories the most. Surely something there would be able to-"

"Nothing of their adventures, nothing direct," Dr. Oobleck interrupted her. Waiting for her to finish wasn't necessary. More wasteful time. His hand slid across his desk, not bothering to correct his glasses as they slipped down his nose. If they fell, they fell, and there was little he could do about it. Untrue, of course, entirely incorrect, but currently where he stood, or sat, more likely waited. "Tales of their cultures and mythologies. Creation of the world, divinity tales, such and such. Nothing of their direct adventures. Assumed time to tell later, to others, not me. Ask questions others would not, supposedly, to be more effective." But in the end, it was just another waste.

"I'm sorry to relate I heard hardly more than a peep out of the pair of them, or more likely a high ring from the elder," Peter added on. He likely knew of where Bartholomew's mind was going. Much like the fairies to Link, they had been on many adventures and expeditions together, academic or otherwise. "I could tell at least that they didn't like discussing the finer details of their tasks, unless of course it went with swimming success. Perhaps coaxed out with a violent outburst however… I do not find that very sportsman or civil." That was because it was not. Intentionally angering someone for answers.

Immediately important sometimes, but wasteful for long term commitment and continuing relations. A breakdown in communication rarely corrected in a timely fashion. More wasteful efforts, just like his questions to the fairies and Link. Wasteful for thinking he'd be able to inquire any curiosities with Tatl and Tael, only to have none now. His hand rose and fell on his face, hiding himself from the room's fellow occupants.

"That said, perhaps there is something the pair of you _saw_ , rather than observed, during your trek through that awful mine in the woods." Peter was talking about Monument Mine. An expedition that they had endured with the fairies. A fair point of curiosity. A fine guess. Utterly pointless, however. "Surely there was a moment of hesitation or anger on the part of Link that required the fairies to intervene. Why, if I was faced with that bestial Beowulf again, the one of nearly two centuries age, I'd require a fine pair of rope to hold me back or-"

"Nothing of the sort occurred," Bartholomew interrupted his friend again. Another tale that they shared, so one he didn't need to hear. No, he didn't _want_ to hear. Unable to accurately recall information at the moment, mind a _mess_. A foolish notion on his part. Wasting more precious time, for nonprecious and inconsequential material. "The students required more upkeep and observation than Link or Darmani, as he was more common to embody during our time there."

"He is correct," Specialist Schnee spoke in return. "Even when that Nightmare came out… at worst Link was merely focused on him, and the fairies were the ones who looked in need of comforting. It was perhaps the one time that Tatl did not look for insults over direction." Bartholomew remembered that, of Tatl giving directions and observations as quickly as she could. Following, of course, her brother's cowering with Sky. An understandable reaction, from the pair of them.

It was perhaps fortunate then that Sky had retired from his huntsman career early. Waste of talent, perhaps, but not so much as his own life. Good could be created still, but through acts not of that of a hunter. Debatable weight, but doubtlessly greater than zero. Therefore, acceptable.

Tatl and Tael were not a similar case. Opposite, a _true_ waste. A true detriment… it made Bartholomew grimace again. He could find no outlet from his traitorous and diluted thoughts. Alcohol, and lake of caffeine, were not his greatest of choices. The hand that slid across the table began to rap upon it.

"A demon in man's form is walking the land due to the interference of a degenerate spy and her ilk." Peter's words were a summary. Out of place and unnecessary. "Risking the lives of millions for trinkets. A truly horrifying act indeed." Horrifying, yes, true, but not the sole reason the current conditions were bad, not enough to be the sole reason for remorse or pain.

"Horrifying is a staple of our occupation, I am sorry to remind you," Specialist Schnee returned. "Either situations or circumstances are often horrible, and it is our duty to learn and grow from such situations, acting as necessary to not worsen them." Her words were true, and he was mildly curious what such reasons and actions were. Curious, and doubtful. "We were negligent in our approach for monitoring individuals, so a deeper seating of CCTS video feeds likely need to be introduced." Her brow creased at the words, truly? That was her solution.

"Observe the land to find the enemy," Peter sounded in return, as if in agreement. Bartholomew found his mind focusing on it, finding the _discrepancy_ from what they would both normally say. Perhaps for the specialist, doubtlessly for his friend. "Do not put aside the necessity of tracking the _known_ enemies as well. Failure to do such can lead to horrifying situations as well." Correct while incorrect, correct measures for incorrect reasons!

"Yes, that is true," the Specialist also agreed in turn! "Though the Military has increased the activity of the White Fang, it clearly was not enough to prevent them from taking underhanded tactics to gain power and ruin lives at the same time. Not as a massive show as Mount Glenn… but still a horrifying conclusion to their actions." Moe diluted truths! Oobleck found his face grimacing.

"It's horrifying that we let negligence lead to this." It was not mere negligence!

"It's disappointing that we let trust guide us into this." Trust was not the issue!

Damn them for not seeing it!

"It's horrible because it was a waste!" **_SLAM!_**

He slammed his hand into the table, finally _done_ with the evasive words! Ludicrous, unintelligible, wasteful, wasteful, _wasteful!_

He glared up at the lot of them, Specialist Winter Schnee and Professor Peter Port. One a good friend a colleague, the other a commendable fighter for the Atlas army. Corrupt within, perhaps without, but an outlier of a personal. Peter, a long-time friend, fellow advocate for the youth, too indulged in his past with fights. Both good people, both great assets to have as allies, as friends, as confidants, but neither of them of high intelligence! Neither of them got it!

"Intelligence cannot be given, must be earned and then learned," Doctor Oobleck continued to speak, hand sliding down his desk, dragging papers with them. They were unimportant, discard able. Secondary to current discussion. "Intelligence and stories and recollection of events are things that cannot be overstated for their importance. Every experience unique, no matter how similar. Every story a tale to recall, no matter how short. All of them unique as they tell of a history of not only the individual, but the land."

His eyes fell down, glasses, crooked and bent with one of his lenses still lightly cracked, nearly falling from his ears. He caught them at the divide between the frames, sliding them back up the sellion of his nose with a light push. The room was silent, his papers having finally collected themselves on the ground, amidst the dried caffeine, cracked stone, discarded pens, and other unimportant items. All discard able and useless things that almost appeared to huddle around him. Disturbing, and unnecessary.

"We mourn the passing of professionals and experts because they take their knowledge with them. No matter how accomplished they are, it is highly unlike their protégées every truly grasp all that they now. Thus, with their inevitable passing, they inevitably take their intelligence with them. And the world becomes lesser for it. Wasteful." He wrapped his hand on the desk now, remembering his own professorship and the students he had worked with. All eager to learn, but never remembering everything.

His eyes fell to his notes. Stacks of them, endless supply, many hours accumulated, but focusing on only a specific group of them now. A group that he had slaved and labored over for the past month, and put heart and mind into, blood and sweat if he accounted for paper cuts and sores. Well worth it… but a worth he could no longer measure or add to… wasteful.

"Tatl and Tael are gone… Link is in the early stages of mourning, compounded by the grief and realization that all acknowledgeable contacts with his homeland are gone. This is not accounting for the multitude of journeys and adventures shared… doubtlessly exponentially increasing the bond between the young fairies and the hu… the knight." Dr. Oobleck recognized the proper title, hand resting on the crumbled paper as he did so.

Everything that Tatl had told him for the questions he asked, everything he could recall from Tael from the tales he told, all of them stories and information that couldn't be gathered anywhere else. Reasonably or otherwise… and now it was all just paper in his hand, there and no where else. No one… nothing… and they were killed. Killed, destroyed, _ruined, wasted_.

"It's all a waste." It took everything in his power to not crumble the paper in his hand. The unanswered questions, mysteries, information, knowledge, all of it, and he had no where to go with it… _Wasteful_. "Every mystery thrown away… for something as meaningless and volatile as power. Ludicrous. _Heinous_."

"Despicable as well," Peter added on, following his uncharismatic monologue with a huff of his own. "You are correct as usual Bartholomew. It was… waste that led to this. And we are now left to wallow in waste as a result of it… bother, to think I'd be this wasteful this late in my life, after so many expeditions in the Menagerie forests reminded me the importance of self-management."

"I cannot speak of that," Specialist Schnee added in. Her voice quiet, eyes on her. His outburst had affected her. Unfortunate, and fortunate. More hypocrisy that made sense. He loathed this situation _greatly_. "Wasteful we had been in some areas, I am… I am curious if you would consider the waste of resources on a particular individual, one that is a waste because we did not use _more_ resources first." Her continuing desire to skate around the issue was unbecoming. Unlike previous interactions.

"I do believe that we should have paid closer attention to that child," Peter spoke up, not requiring Bartholomew to speak. He was thankful for his friend once more, even if his was continuing to steam in his chair. Bartholomew's chair, currently borrowed for conversational purposes. "Yes, I do agree with the assertion, but thinking back on _maybe's_ is a wasteful act that is not permitted in a hunt such as this. Why I can recall once I thought of other ways, I should have fled from a Lolith nest while the best was still nestled above me, rather than thinking of a more appropriate manner to escape. Without the intervention of the Branwen fellow, I may have been an unfortunate meal." Bartholomew did not miss the shirk of Specialist Schnee, sneer of disgust. He merely paid it no mind. It was unimportant. _Wasteful_.

"Yes, well… I believe that we should focus on it, in case those fools try something similar in the present." She let the words lie before giving them root. "Using another misplaced or injured youth or citizen to garner sympathy, before requesting assistance, before then turning knives and their teeth against us." Ah, that made sense, turning gains from horrid situations.

Correcting unfortunate mistakes and circumstances. _The opposite of wasteful_.

"While I find it highly unlike the same thing will happen again, or even be suspected for some time, it is always beneficial for us to see what could have been done differently." Specialist Schnee continued. "Perhaps if we had…" And then she started to become wasteful.

"Not important currently," he interrupted her again. Once more, likely many more to follow. "Current issues are of Ganondorf, of his suspicious activity and suspected goals including murder and likely destruction of major metropolitan areas and exacerbation of the Grimm activity in immediate areas." A likely conclusion to reach given his monstrous Aura and unfortunate, and undeniable, ability to instill fear. Oobleck could not deny he was under much the same experience, be it the Nightmare he faced or the man himself… completely undeniable.

"I don't disagree," Specialist Schnee returned. Her words were truthful, beguiling, empathetic. Unlike her normal behavior. He was abnormal, too, currently. Desperation and odd circumstances led to od behavior. Not uncommon, just _wasteful_. "I am merely concerned with what _allowed_ this to occur. Moraine's actions are beyond questionable, even if we consider her loyal to the White Fang. The psychology behind her decision is-" Dr. Oobleck interrupted her again.

"Currently unimportant, meaningless even." Those were words that he hated to use, and the stumbling shock of his friend was proof enough of it. Deep in his memories, but commendable social and observational skills. Important for a hunter vocation. "Psychology unimportant currently, sociology much the same. Geology has some credence and credit, more so for hunters. Hunter currently are the most important, knowledge of monsters a necessity."

Specialist Schnee stepped forward at his comment, and he was unsurprised that she did. Given his usual vocabulary, it was an odd choice of words, odder use in combination, a near non-sensical sentence from himself. How impossible that should have been. And yet, either from the trauma, danger, or encroaching issues, it made obvious sense to him. He loathed that he did, hated it. He was not meant to enjoy being submerged in the unexplainable. He was _meant_ to use logic to dig his way out.

"Doctor Oobleck," Winter spoke to him. Her tone was careful, measured, as if speaking to General Ironwood. No, less that. AS if speaking to a battle-crazed hunter. Perhaps that, not far off. Doctor Oobleck was learned and trained. He had been struck by many disappointments and setbacks as of late. The greatest of which was not his own, but one misery to share. Appropriate, and horrifying. "Why do you find those fields… unimportant?"

"I must say it is unlike you to call any form of knowledge unimportant," Peter agreed. His friend was observant. Dream-like, nostalgic, but of sound observational and recall capabilities. His greatest asset. Greatest reason for long conversations. "Why, once when we were searching for that strange Nevermore, the one who embodied more a Gryphon with its structure, you recalled that the study of those blasted insects may give way to finding the creature!"

"Entomology, the study of biological and physiological attitudes of insects and other arthropods," he recalled the definition easily, one that he had, at one time, taken a great interest in. It was difficult for him to say he was justly motivated now. That was likely the issue and reason his friend was so worried for him. A great friend, but currently an unsuitable time. The time was late.

"Precisely my point!" Peter's point made no sense, and Doctor Oobleck sighed as he tried to divine the logic to make sense of it. "You are the only man I know who would _gladly_ throw himself into a book to learn even a fraction more about this world! Why, all the other hunters or capable men I know would rather strap on their boots and march into the wilds to find the meaning they so desire!" He was boisterous as always, good old Peter.

"He is not incorrect," Specialist Schnee confirmed with a double negative. A poor habit to make, poor English. Perhaps the point, however. Everything seemed poor today and as of late. Poor, miserable, discontent. He was certainly within the definition of those words emotionally. "Many recruits for the Atlas military are seeking to find more of the world without having to further their studies. It is… admittedly a more active way to learn about Remnant." Also correct, but misinformed of the importance.

"The point is, Bartholomew, that you are not one to forsake lessons and learning because it simply loses a bit of meaning or a tragic event. Why, on another day, I'd have dared to divine that you would be in here trying to fathom or study the proper way to pay respects in their culture!" The man threw his hands up into the air as he said it, large form shaking with the effort. Shaking, wobbling, a curious mix, but bellying the muscular mass of the man. Well hidden, but very present. Evidential through previous acts. "This wallowing is understandable, my old friend, but it doesn't suit you! Let alone the continual denial of meaning following it."

Perhaps he was right. Or rather, he knew he was right. Peter was a good friend, fine friend, magnificent ally, a good pal, a begrudging drinking companion, when caffeine was in short supply. Currently using his famed observational skills to discern Bartholomew's sudden slump. Recall was excellent, extrapolation poor. His expertise, _his_ greater skill. Currently unnecessary, as he was the puzzle, fixture, broken glass they were attempting to fix. _Wasteful_.

"There is no meaning in studying psychology, sociology, cognitive observation. Not for resolving current issues or impeding amounts of work all will doubtlessly endure and suffer through." His hands fed their way behind his glasses, rubbing at his eyes. They felt as sore as his throat, and doubtlessly as tired. It was not a feeling he experienced often, but a mixture of tears, self-guilt, and denial tended to war on the body as much as the mind. Self-inflicted damage, not uncommon, but distracting. "The results of the actions of Moraine, though I suspect her name is a pseudo-name or alias, will not alter, falter, or be shifted by the recognition of what brought her to act in such a menacing and unnatural manner. No longer important to this present or the uncertain future. Unimportant amidst the coming atrocities." And those certainly would come.

"Atrocities?" Peter asked again. "By Dust and the mines, we dig for them, speak some sense Bartholomew! This flowery speech doesn't suit you, and I'd much prefer your condescending tone, much like when we-" His recollection of the last time Oobleck had used that tone on him vanished with Specialist Schnee's words.

"It's Ganondorf, isn't it?" Her question was not a question. A wasteful use of a pause. Too much tension. Too unneeded. Much like the misery and waste of the fairies' lives. "You believe something terrible is going to follow him." She was wiser than Peter, if a little less observant, though perhaps that was because she had seen the terror he had wrought when he was but a memory of Link's a figment given form.

Now… he was so much more, and Bartholomew had the memories and stories of a pair of fairies' the gods take their gentle souls, to show that the terror that was to come was indeed as tragic as the lives already lost. All the same, then so much worse.

"Believe, not in the slightest." He looked up at the Specialist, her looking down at him with cool blue eyes. Much like her sister. They were shivering. Much like his. "I know."

So much worse than they could imagine. Just… wasteful.

* * *

How long had Jaune been polishing the Mirror Shield in his lap? It was an honest question for himself.

He had started it probably an hour ago, just trying to keep it in good condition since he had to impress his family if they ever called him, showing him how even though the government, of all people, had taken the family sword, he got a shield from Link instead. One that, apparently, was responsible for defeating a lot of Ancient Grimm, and one that he could attest to!

The same shield that he had used to reflect the _horrifying_ power of the Nightmare back at it, leaving it stunned and screaming while Pyrrha was able to drive his blade into its gut, or back. Whichever, she killed it. Sort of then. Just… just more than anything they had done up till then by far. Where all their other attacks all but were ignored by the monster, Jaune was able to reflect an attack back and get it to scream. With Link's help, but still done.

And with his partner's help, they were able to seal it away. That, he was sure at the time, would be the last time he saw something so horrific and damning that it would send him into a fit of near desperation and terror.

That was, until he started walking out of a dark portal in the middle of the grounds, and Pyrrha had collapsed into him with it. That thing that just walked out carrying Ruby like she was a prize, and handing her off to earn some kind of peace treaty with Ozpin and Ironwood. The fact that it worked at all didn't horrify him as much as knowing that the monster, _Ganondorf_ was still out there, walking around, unguarded.

And passed that… that the shield he was polishing was useless against it, him, _whatever it was_.

A shield that was _supposed_ to get the monster to attack him, so he could weaken it enough for the others to take him out, but instead succeeded in doing nothing at all. Nothing as he was all but picked up thrown away like a freaking piece of trash. Just… just nothing, just something to be smacked away. All of his training and his efforts and… and it didn't matter at all.

His hand stopped at the edge of the mirror of the shield, staring down at it and back up at himself. He could see the lines of fatigue stretching under his eyes, the soreness that lurked in them. If his mother had seen him, she would be commenting that he wasn't eating well enough or needed to get out more. She might even say something about how there was so much to be thankful for that he should grieve indefinitely.

But when someone else was grieving because he wasn't good enough? He didn't have an answer for that. He hoped his mom did, but she wasn't here to say it. Instead, all he had to show for his efforts was what he was holding. Link's shield, able to reflect magic and lightning and who knew what else, and he was the one who was given permission to use it. And he couldn't even use it right.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha's voice cut through his thoughts. He looked up, seeing her standing at the edge of the door to their room. She was just standing there, like she was waiting for him. Were they supposed to go somewhere? "Jaune, you weren't at lunch." Guess that was a yes.

"Not hungry," he simply returned. And it was the truth. He didn't feel like eating. It just felt… wrong to eat. Like it wouldn't stay down. How could he expect to control his own gut if he couldn't even handle the shield in his hands? "Just skipped for other stuff. Lot of things to do."

"Like polishing the shield?" She commented on the obvious, because his partner did have a habit of knowing exactly what to say. Now was no different. "You did that yesterday, and last night. You probably did it this morning as well." Her recall might not have been perfect, as far as Jaune knew, but he wouldn't have been surprised if she said that it was.

Still, it was enough to make him stop and stare at it. Just… staring at it. It was already heavy, as he had yet to find an actually light weapon. But it wasn't bad. Not that weight at least. The weight of who held it before him, and that he was the one getting to hold it now? Yeah, that was made it feel like he was holding a car in his lap. Heck, that would be light in comparison.

"It has to be kept in good shape," Jaune replied almost automatically. It was something that Ms. Goodwitch had told them a lot, about the maintenance of their weapons. He knew it was a weak excuse, but he gave it anyways. "If a weapon isn't suitably prepared for battle, then the wielder is likely to lose."

"And if one does not pay attention to their health, then they are just as likely to slip when it is important," Pyrrha parroted back the comment from Ms. Goodwitch as well. Different lecture, another important lesson, and maybe one of the ones he had slept through during the first few weeks here. No longer the case, not when he had someone like Link staring over their shoulders.

Or did, he should probably say.

"I'm fine," he returned to Pyrrha. His eyes fell back on the shield, dragging the cloth over it again and again. The lubricant and cleaner he had used had already been dried up, leaving a shine on the mirror bright enough to be a weapon itself, but it still didn't feel good enough. Just, not enough. "Weapon isn't though, and I gotta keep it in good shape. Promised I would." That was only sort of true. He had promised to take care of it.

That was after Link said he could keep it following using it on the Nightmare. It wasn't a requirement or anything, he was decently sure, but not taking care of it would be a bad thing. And he… he'd seen enough bad things. And enough of them had happened to Link as well. Jaune couldn't be responsible for another.

 _Even if he already felt that way for not doing anything_.

His hand slipped from the edge of the shield again, and he held it out, not bothering to return to cleaning the smooth glass that glared back up at him. He hoped it would burn, if only to remind himself that he wasn't good enough yet. Yet should have been enough, but yet had cost the lives of his friends, and… it got Link angry. Angry enough for _Ganondorf_ to be walking around.

His hand clenched the side of the shield again, feeling the red metal rim of steel under his grasp. It didn't give or bend to his might, like he had any to use, but he kept it there, like a handle on a lifeboat to keep himself sane. It had to stay there, for at least a little bit longer. Just enough… to make sure he didn't lose his mind completely.

"Jaune," Pyrrha, instead, spoke again. He heard her walk into the room, but he kept his head down. "I know that what happened with Ganondorf was… no one could have done anything. Everyone tried, but no one _could_ do anything." She was right, and a part of Jaune knew she was right. She was perfect, almost, and she had tried, and it _still_ wasn't enough. But…

"Doesn't matter," Jaune spoke in return. He was grumbling, and he took a long deep breath to clear his throat. It hardly worked. "Just cause no one else got it to work doesn't mean I shouldn't have been able to. Maybe if I did, we could have kept Link and Ganondorf from leaving. Maybe we could have _stopped_ this." He seethed the word, even if he was only imagining what the worst was.

He hated that he had an active imagination, like his mom always said. Because all he could see was Ganondorf marching into a major city without a guard able to stop him, then burning the entire kingdom down with a sweep of his hands, laughing as he did so. Turning the brick to sand, rising a tower out of the rubble, cackling as monsters lurked around it, chasing and devouring everyone who tried to flee…

Monument Mine was still getting to him, and Ganondorf, again, without his sword, wasn't a good thing. He took another long breath, doubled as a sigh. It was about as effective as the first.

"You're upset that Link left, right?" Pyrrha asked, and Jaune didn't answer, immediately. "We all are, and… and Saria is doing her best with Ozpin and Ironwood right now to try and correct it. Ruby's uncle is also out there looking for them, and he can… maybe…" she realized just how fruitless it was even if he had found them. Ruby's uncle was strong, seeing as he was in personal contact with Ozpin, like they said, but he was attacking Ganondorf before, with Weiss's big sister, and the entire arm, and all the students, and _them_. And the man had just walked through it all like they weren't even there. Rain might as well have been more effective, because at least that would have left a mark!

"I'm not upset a-about Link… leaving," Jaune addendum his own sentence as he finished. His tongue ran between his teeth, trying to pull out the ball that was growing in his throat. He hated it being there, and nothing seemed to really make it go away. "Just… everything else." And there was a lot to be upset for. Pyrrha knew that. Heck, no one _didn't_ know it.

And the silence that came from his partner was obvious enough that she got it. She picked up on everything so quickly, it made sense she'd figure out what was wrong here as well. Or at least get a better idea on how Jaune was making a bigger deal out of it. He was… he wasn't at fault but… but it was _his_ fault. He could have done more but… but he didn't.

"Tatl and Tael," Pyrrha spoke, and dammit, Jaune felt his body _shake_ at their name. Now why was _that_? It wasn't like they were inseparable or anything. Heck, Tatl probably hated him for how often he fell over or made stupid remarks. Tael might have been better, but he was as quiet as Jaune half the time. They were… they were instructors to him more than anything else.

Because they were Link's partners… and now they were gone.

His hand was back on the Mirror shield in a moment, hastily rubbing across it to buff out the smears that he saw, the failures and mistakes. He couldn't find any in the glass, but the mirror just had too many on it. Just so many that he couldn't even name them all. He just stared down at it and kept rubbing his hand over the glass and hoping it would all just fade away. It never did.

"Do you… blame me?" And there was another failure on his part. Not realizing just what this meant for his partner.

The one who actually _saw_ them die.

"No! NO no no no!" He shouted over and over again, making sure to look up and finally see her. She was standing in front of him now, one hand over her chest, the other holding it tightly. And Jaune was… he was waving his arms in hard denial of what she asked. He didn't blame her at all. That would be the same as blaming Ruby or Link for what happened! They were about as much at fault as… well nothing! "No Pyrrha, no. What… what Moraine did was… that was all on her. I want to know _why_ she did it a-and…"

"She did it because she was a White Fang member," Pyrrha answered easily, and Jaune hoped it wasn't just conjecture. "She answered and looked for help with Adam, and apparently was put here for that reason. How they organized all of it… I don't know. But what they did… it was either going to be Tatl and Tael or something else. There's just too much present to tell." Now it was her turn to sigh, and Jaune joined her.

She had a point, because of course she did. Pyrrha was his partner, and the golden girl. It would have been suicidal to not recognize it at this point. The problem was… realizing it just didn't seem like enough. That was stupid by itself, but it was just hanging over his head. Moraine was the one who did it, with Adam, and the White Fang. For some stupid suicidal reason that Ganondorf was _going_ to kill them for. Because he couldn't be stopped.

They couldn't stop him, and it was unlike the White Fang would be able to alone. His eyes fell back down to the glass of the shield, staring at it. It gleamed back, but nothing else. Just letting him stare at his own expression, forlorn and full of truth. That he was being carried by everyone around him, even his partner and friends, and because of it… it was weighing them down.

Did that ever happen to Link and… and Tatl and Tael? Did it? Was there ever a time when they first met and that happened? Jaune just couldn't see it. Link was just too good at everything he did to consider it, and if Tatl didn't know something, she was good at insulting people until she got the answer, or just insults. Like the perfect companion to a legend.

And they had been through many adventures together, many journeys. She had said as much. That must have… done a lot. That was now weighing on Link, the same way that his own failures were weighing on him. No, not the same, he was an idiot for thinking that. It was actually so much worse. Like, impossible to imagine worse.

"Someone else, huh?" Jaune asked aloud, rubbing his hand over the shield again. Someone else that wasn't one of the fairies, was probably a better way to put it. Someone who wasn't the life-long companion of one of the strongest men he had ever known, and who was now letting a monster rage across the land because of it.

Saria had all but said that, at least as far as Jaune heard it. Saying that Link was mourning, that Ganondorf couldn't leave, but the big guy just not listening. Maybe it was because of that 'rage' he said was inside of him, or maybe it was Link just making an excuse, Jaune honestly didn't know, and that only made him more upset. He might not have been a genius in studies or brawling, but he was supposed to have at least an idea of what was going on. He was the team leader! And he… didn't have a clue.

"Pyrrha?" He spoke his partner's name like a question. He wasn't looking at her, but he could practically feel the way she perked up to listen to him. "Can I… ask you something?"

"Yes, Jaune?" Her concern was just as easy to hear. She always took care of him, in lessons or training. That was just who she was. She had been doing that for… well… since they met. How long had that been again? It felt like a lifetime, maybe even all his life. He knew that wasn't possibly it, but… it's just what it felt like to him. Why was that?

"H-How long have we known each other?" Jaune asked the question without looking up. He really couldn't face Pyrrha right now. It was just… he'd cry, and he knew it. He already felt that stupid ball in his throat. "We've been… partners for what… five months? Six?" He honestly didn't want to count back right now. Not when he was on swipe two-thousand on the mirror he was holding, the _gift he couldn't properly use_.

" _…_ Seven months," Pyrrha answered. "We met…. Seven months ago. The Vytal Festival was supposed to be the half-way point of our first year, but then it was postponed…" She sounded about as sure as he did, and he wanted to ask if she was alright. But he couldn't because he knew she wasn't. _They_ weren't.

"Seven months, huh?" Jaune repeated the number, he thought he scoffed with it. He couldn't tell. His eyes were getting hazy. "I-I've only been here for seven months a-and… and I can't imagine going on without you." The words sounded horribly sappy, ruinous even.

But they were true. And he had a lot more to say.

"I-It's only been seven months, b-but… you've help train me to be so much stronger a-and I had a dealt with a bully who's now a friend and RWBY's helping us… when Nora isn't waking us up for pancakes or Ren needs to meditate and we need to leave and… and all the times we have to go into the Everfall or Emerald Forest to just… _kill_ things." His hand slipped off the mirror with the word, crashing into his bed. It didn't hurt at all, but it made him stop speaking.

Pyrrha wasn't saying anything. He didn't even know if she was still there or not, but… but this was something he had to say. He didn't even know what it was, but… it was just weighing on him. And after everything the past couple of days, it only got _worse_.

"I-I can't… c-can't imagine waking up tomorrow and finding out that something happened to anyone I care about. If… If someone a-actually hurt Ren or Nora or… or you… I-I don't know what I'd do." He was chocking again, and he tried to stop. He tried to suck in the ball that was growing in his throat, but it wouldn't go down. It was just getting bigger and bigger. It was… it was starting to become too much.

He watched his tears splash on the mirror shield beneath him, _Link's_ gift to him against the Nightmare. Not Ganondorf, the Nightmare. The thing that had nearly killed them, but had only shown Jaune what he was capable of. Him and Pyrrha. Together, fighting against an ancient evil, and _winning_. They could do anything. Except, apparently, keep each other safe.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha almost whispered his name now. He felt her sit down next to him, a hand on his shoulder and another on his leg. Grounding him, keeping him safe. That was what she always did for him. What did he do for her except hold her back? He was so much weaker than her… "Jaune, that… that is normal. The things we have done are… no one can say they've done anything comparable." Now that got him to laugh, and it only shook a few more tears from his eyes.

"Y-Yeah, that's true," Jaune admitted. "No one else… had to f-fight the White Fang or… cover for another team when they went looking for them or… or fought some giant evil monster that got even Ozpin scared, o-or the general. Like… like at the Badlands?" He laughed again, but Pyrrha didn't join him. He knew why, he had made another mistake.

Link had almost died at the Badlands, too. Like before, like so many times before, and he saw Tatl and Tael freak out and scream and do anything to keep him safe. It was what partners did, and they had been partners for a long time. It didn't take a genius to figure that out, and he knew that it was truth. But… the other truth was just as damning.

Tatl and Tael were still dead.

"H-How many… How…" He swallowed on the ball in his throat, already feeling raw and back strained from trying to keep himself in control. "H-How many years do you think… Tatl and Tael… with Link?" How many years? How about how many adventures? He could already name more in his head from what Tatl had told him than he thought he could ever go on, and that didn't include the fact that he had been through so many more _before_ the trio met up.

If Link couldn't do it for his partners, how was Jaune _possibly_ going to?

"Do you think… c-can you even imagine?" He changed his question, because a sick part of him was curious. "What Link… w-what that must feel like? Ganondorf… he's a liar but… b-but he said that Link was _angry_ inside of him and… I believe it. I'd th-think he was l-lying otherwise b-b-but…" His jaw shook as he tried to right himself. It was so difficult, and the shield was trembling in his grasp. How was he supposed to keep talking like this? How did _anyone_ talk through this casually? "Losing a p-partner like that… I-I'd rather die."

He knew that was a horrible thing to say, after Tatl and Tael _were_ killed. Saria was alive, and that was cool, it was great, if only Link were here as well. But he wasn't because he was going off to do something that Jaune, the more he thought about it, didn't know he wanted to stop. Ganondorf was evil, because he could _feel_ it. That man was… it was like staring at a dozen of the Nightmares and trying to figure out how it was going to kill you, for pleasure or dinner. But if it was going after just Adam and _Moraine_ … he didn't know if he'd want to stop them.

"Are you saying… you wish to quit?" The sudden question felt like a smack to the face.

Jaune almost whipped his head to look at Pyrrha, and any quick retort he thought he could try and make died just as fast.

It was hard to not be stunned silent when he saw make-up running down her face. A trail of tears that ruined the dark liner she wore, eyes red as his felt, as her hair, and… and she was still staring at him. She didn't move or hide herself. She was crying right in front of him, and he was to her as well.

"Do you w-want… to quit, Jaune?" Her voice shook again, and Jaune knew he had to answer. He felt like he was going to die with how little air he had to speak, but he knew he had to try. His partner, his friend, deserved that answer. He shook his head as hard as he thought her voice was shaking.

"No. _No!_ " He almost shouted. IT was terrifying to think, the idea of him quitting, of walking away from his only real friends! "I-I couldn't! Not now, e-especially not now. There's… I don't what kind of evil coming and even if quitting now m-might keep me safe you…" He spoke, and hated that his mind decided to keep him a visual person.

Imagining Pyrrha fighting some impossible enemy by herself, having everyone else fighting fights that he couldn't' join, having them being harmed or… or _worse_ because he wasn't there. Even as a distraction, even as something to keep them away and… he didn't want that to happen. He _couldn't_ imagine that happening now.

"It wouldn't keep you safe," he replied honestly as ever. He lifted his hand, brushing against her shoulder as he spoke. She had done this for him, and he would be a coward if he couldn't at least show her just how much she meant. "And I'd… I'd rather be here and try, then… then run away and fail." His jaw clenched at the words, and Pyrrha continued to watch him.

Just like everything else she did amazingly or borderline perfectly, she didn't make a sound as she wept. Tears were coming out, but that was it. Jaune knew he was making some pathetic noises. The usual ones that came out whenever he felt that bubble of disappointment rear its head. And it was… starting to push at his throat still, pulling him out and making him look like a child, but Pyrrha didn't look away. He was glad she didn't, even if he hated being seen like this.

"I think Link… I-I think… he's horrified." Jaune forced himself to blink through the tears. Where had that come from? "Link… h-he lost his oldest friends… all of his friends and he… he lost more than anyone I know. His friends, his land… h-he… he lost his family, Jaune. That… I-I think that weighs on him, too." She wasn't wrong, because Pyrrha being wrong was impossible, but… they hadn't died recently.

"Tatl and Tael are dead," Jaune spoke out, just imagining how Ruby described them again, and hating that his mind made him do it. Oh god, of all the things he wanted to forget and never have a chance to remember! "They're gone and…"

"… and everyone else left before them," Pyrrha continued on. "I-I don't, I-I-I can't pretend _t-to_ know what Link feels b-but…" she swallowed deeply and Jaune flexed his hand on her shoulder. It was warm, even if she was shivering. He knew he was shaking. "He had them… he had them a-and because he did… he had someone to mourn with… he wasn't…" Jaune rolled his tongue to try and dislodge the ball in his throat. It didn't work.

"Wasn't alone," he finished for her, and it earned a series of small nods from his partner. And that, he could get as well. But only sort of, because Jaune hadn't lost his family. They were all still alive, _thankfully_ alive. He was… he was probably the only one in actual danger a lot. But Link…

They already found out he lost his friends… because they were in those masks. Then Ruby found out, partially, that he had lost his daughter as well, a-and his wife. And now… now he had lost the last two people who he could talk to about it. It was… there were forms of torture that were less severe than that, and Jaune wished to undergo any of them than imagining what Link was going through.

No one to talk to, no one he trusted, and all of his friends and family dead and gone. Alone, completely alone.

With only an old vile enemy to turn to for help.

Jaune was crying, but now he wanted to wretch. Pyrrha must have thought something similar, because she was biting her lip as she continued to watch him. Maybe stare at him, but he couldn't blame her. He looked like a mess and was acting like it. It just… it hurt so bad. He didn't lose anyone that close to him and it hurt because… e-even if Link was decades or _centuries_ ahead of them, he was what Jaune wanted to be.

And losing his closest friends one by one, letting them all die and having to still march on, and keep fighting and… _teaching?_ How… how were Tatl and Tael enough to keep him sane? If Jaune had lost Pyrrha? Right in front of him? His eyes locked on her with the horrific thought.

"J-Jaune?" She spoke his name again, shaking with a voice that shook like his own. They were both crying. They were both messes. And they were both staring at one another, holding each other's shoulders and just… dealing with it. It was all a mess, all an absolute horrible mess that Jaune didn't only to want to stop, but just do over. All of it.

But he couldn't. He didn't know what his Semblance was still, but it wasn't something so broken as to turn back time. He couldn't do that, no one could. But what he could do… was something else. And honestly, he thought about it as much as he did anything else. It sounded good, it felt right, so he should just jump at it.

With hardly any more time to waste, Jaune pushed the Mirror shield on his lap aside, letting it slide its way onto the bed and off of his lap. It let him turn to face Pyrrha completely, forcing her to release his leg, but not shy away. She only continued to stare, and he did the same, and more. His hand reached up from her shoulder to her neck, the other reaching for a strand of hair on the other side of her face. He tucked it behind her ear, holding it there. And for a moment, that was all he did.

One hand cupped to her face, another at her neck, and staring at her while sitting on his bed. She was still shaking, and Jaune knew he was as well, but she didn't push him off. Her had on his shoulder had moved to his arm, the one on his leg up to his waist, and she wasn't pushing him away. Jaune kept staring, and Pyrrha in turn. The breaths were the loudest thing in the room.

Slowly, her eyes began to close, and Jaune watched them. He watched, for only a moment, before his did the same. It was the first time since they started talking, he was able to shut his eyes without it hurting.

The sensation of Pyrrha's lips on his helped.

* * *

The forest was full of old woods, grand and stretching beyond the eyes of many. To fathom the depth or size of the woods was something no one beyond it could muster. Imagine and understand the complexity, perhaps, make sense of the multitude of lives and spirits within, on chance, but to see understand where and why they lie and how they live, was beyond them.

It was likely the same for how Link once explained the Hylian Market to him. Though the size was much smaller than the Lost woods then, and even the horizon-filled multitude of buildings now, across the water's surface, were shamed by the size of the forest next to them. A forest that had as many trees as the city did people, more roots than they had streets, and more life than they had air. It was too difficult for any one person to imagine the enormity of the city, so to that, the forest was impossible.

It had taken Saria hundreds of years and just as many centuries of observation to understand the depth and secret of the Lost Woods. And even then, there were secrets kept and hidden from her grottos. That housed treasures, trees that hid danger, and dark paths that wound to whole new worlds. They were all so close, and yet impossibly far away. It was the absolute truth of the matter. Even a resident of the woods could not fathom all the forest had to tell. Not unless you knew the questions to ask.

Saria could only begin to ask those questions when she had started to listen to the woods, and her powers as a sage manifested.

Those powers allowed the forest and woods to heed her call. Assist when there was danger, hide when there was folly, reveal when there was difficulty, and disguise when there was a lesson. Illusions of great strength, powered by the millennia the woods had grown, and revealed to her alone for the task of keeping them alive for centuries more. Whether she succeeded in life or not, she was not sure. She was not in her Lost Woods or Kokiri Forest anymore.

Instead, she was before a new forest, the Emerald Forest. A forest in a land Link had entered with her as a mask, and she had been reborn in under circumstances she loathed. She loathed deeply and unendingly, enough that she would be fine with being nothing but a mask of memories again if it meant the vile man who had given her new life returned Link's to his. That couldn't happen, however. Not from the man who had nothing to fear from her. Who left without consequence or fear?

So instead, high in the tower of the Beacon's Headmaster, she watched. With the Forest listing what it saw and felt, and her listening intently and thankfully, asking the questions that were needed, she listened. Saria did all that she could with what little she had high up in the tower.

Listening to Ganondorf Dragmire walk the forest with a woman of raven hair and a matching soul. She was either foul or foolish to be so close to Ganondorf and not have such similar desires. No one who called him ally could be seen as friend. That was a lesson Link had taught her long ago, and she remembered lessons from _her_ childhood. From his own, those would not be forgotten.

"They are continuing to walk," Saria listed to the air, something she had done frequently over the past day. "She is continuing to talk to him, but I cannot tell if he is responding or not. I do not believe he is." She could not imagine the embodiment of evil giving casual conversation to a woman such as this. Even if she was, as the headmaster said, a woman who was a fellow thief. A thief, she believed, though on par of the Evil King? It was not a question worthy of breath.

"Raven must be trying to distract him," the General spoke as well. She did not turn to see him, letting him muse behind her. With the Lost realm she found herself in, at least within her mind, it was something she could understand. She left the ruminations to the pair behind her, as she could not afford to turn her ears or eyes away from the pair in the forest.

Saria continued to listen the forest as it trembled under Ganondorf's path, whispering tearful winds to her of what they witnessed. She listened to every wisp of the wind that reached her.

"Distract, or perhaps guide," Ozpin mused as well. "She is kind to lead on others with information and gifts. As leader of her bandit tribe now, it is hardly beyond belief that she has perfected the art since she left us." Left them, Saria remembered. The short tale of what they told about this woman.

A woman who was brother to Qrow, the man who tried to restrict Ganondorf, but ultimately failed. A fellow thief of the woods, who left their group out of fear, according to them. One who now worked her own machinations away from them, and without consult to them. Not an enemy, not an ally, just another face in this tale of legends and myths.

It was what she believed many of Link's compatriots once were, herself different from them. She would never hesitate to assist Link, no matter where or how he asked. A curiosity on what to do, a wonder on where to go, and she would tell him what the trees whispered they had seen. It was all she could do for him then.

And now, she was telling others of what she saw him doing. Or rather, what Ganondorf was _making_ him do.

"Are you still certain you cannot understand them?" Ozpin asked, and it was not the first time. Aggravation was in his voice, and Saria understood why. It wasn't worth asking a question over, only to note it and move on. Answer, and be done with it.

"The trees can hear them speaking, but they do not know of what they are saying." It was as simple a response as she could give, but knowing the number of times the question had been posed to her, she realized, if slower than she wished, that it was not enough for the pair of men. "Would you know of what the trees say to one another when you listen to their leaves rustle? If a dog barks to another, can you fathom what it means? Does that mean it is saying nothing?" They were smart enough to know the meaning of her words, though she didn't turn towards them.

"… Recognition, but not understanding," the general hummed the acknowledgement. It was close enough for him, and suitable for her. Her ears were better left for the wind, listening to what Ganondorf and Raven were doing as they continued to march through the woods. They had still yet to stop since yesterday, and she did not believe they would. Little ever stopped Ganondorf before, especially now that he knew were to go.

And knowing that there was no one in this foreign land that could stop him.

"Do you think Raven is attempting to gather information? I thought she was leading him somewhere under false promises, but I'm starting to question that," the General spoke on, musing again to the Headmaster. "Though she is strong, she is hardly the type of person to walk up to someone as… _terrifying_ as Ganondorf, not without an absolute guarantee of her own safety." A coward then, no matter how sly they may wish to sound.

"Perhaps, but then she may have a method of escape we cannot see." The fellow curve in conversation followed. "Saria, do you see… apologies, do the trees see or feel anyone else around the pair? Anyone suspicious or who doesn't belong?" A fine question, if a bit specific for her tastes. However, it would lead to an answer that may help Link. She would give it.

And the wind whispered again to her, trembling in spite of the height it climbed. The told of how their roots felt as if they were rotting as the man walked over them, how their bark gnarled at his glare, and their leaves withered as he passed. The woman appeared humored more than disillusioned, but she carried no such evil on her. Just a resident of the woods who had made home among them, and did little to disrespect them. But they were alone.

No monsters no life followed, all having fled under the demonic energy that radiated from the Evil King. Saria was hardly surprised by that, as anything that was brave enough to challenge the monster was doubtlessly a fool as well. Her breathing hastened, and she forced herself to slow it.

This was not who she was. She was not… she was a Sage of the Forest, its guardian and keeper. She was the mother to Link, the Kokiri that raised the young Hylian till he was of age to save the land from absolute evil. She was not some spy for others in high towers…

Yet, that was what Link needed of her now, or else he may fall deeper into the pit that mourning dragged him into. When he returned… she would give him a stern talking to… after she wept into his shoulder in relief.

"There is no one," Saria returned. "All other life as fled. Who would dare to follow them?" The question was one she did not know the answer to, and hoped the continued musing of the men would answer. A short pause followed, perhaps in acknowledgement, before they answered. She was, again, not disappointed with them.

"All other life has fled, and no one is following them…" Ozpin continued first, likely with his hand on his chin in thought. "Meaning both that no one was foolish enough to try… or ordered to do so." Ah, that was who would follow then. A follower of Raven, not the Evil King.

"Her tribe must truly be separated from her then," the General returned. "Her Semblance is to create portals of her own, so she must have left them back so she wouldn't need to worry for them. However… that still means that she is putting herself at risk with Ganondorf. I cannot ignore how out of character this is for her."

"It is out of her usual habits," Ozpin agreed. "However, we often change when we are presented with either great opportunity or great terror. The issue I have now is trying to figure out which she sees this… evil king as. A terror she must watch and exploit, or an opportunity for her to gain more power than she already has." They led to an answer Saria found suitable. Truly they had earned their positions. Yet, there was a question there as well.

"What power does this woman already hold? Can it be said to be one of the Evil King?" It was a question she knew the answer to, clearly and easily, but their answer would tell her more. She listened to them, even as she kept her ears to the wind, never letting go of the woods and their hushed whispered and breezes towards her.

Were she in their land and near their soil, she would plant her seeds next to them? Comfort them while they dealt with the presence of a true monster and yearned for peace. She would offer it to them, with _Link's_ help, once he was returned to her, and the monster that wore him gone. Then… she would assist the woods.

"Her power… is not one she can command," Ozpin answered Saria far from easily. "Though it cannot be confirmed with a report or clear admittance, we believe that she was able to recruit a Maiden." A maiden… the term they used with her… and one that they clarified the meaning of, if only lightly. Saria turned her head towards the pair of men now, seeing just how anxious they were. Like fawn before a storm, they were huddled at either a righted desk or gripping their cane. She kept her ears to the wind as she questioned them.

"Do you think she has someone like me?" Saria asked, carefully choosing her words. "Another… _Maiden_ of the forest?" The answer that came took longer than she hoped, but answers were answers no matter how they were delivered.

"We do not know how they compare, how we name the title of maidens or you call yourself sages," Ironwood spoke, eyes hard and on her. He still blamed her, and that was just. "We can only say that we name the power of the Maidens by the seasons, Winter, Summer, Spring, and Fall. Raven Branwen, however, was able to find and recruit the Maiden of Spring some years ago. We have not heard from her or the Maiden since." Disappeared into the woods. How curious. Curious, and oddly relevant.

"Saria," Ozpin spoke, and the rise in his tone, one of a bit of hope, spoke that he had thought of the same conclusion that she had. The right question always did bring out the best answers. Especially among honest men. If only they were the same. "Do you suppose, once we know where Ganondorf and Raven are, if you can… ask you the forest for the whereabouts of Raven's tribe? The Maiden of Spring is powerful, and lost out there in the woods… well, I'm disappointed to say that you have already witnessed the dangers of the land." The words should have given her rise, as they would for any.

But Saria was a sage by not only power but age. She knew the man meant no disrespect, and spoke to her as one of respect. Be it those matches of chess or the curiosity for her strength against Ganondorf, pitiful as it was, he was speaking honestly. A sage was strong and powerful, especially one well trained.

To leave them tricked and in the hands of a bandit that became along with Ganondorf… the woods would be quick to release her, she knew. It detested vile things that had vile deeds. Deeds with no purpose. A bandit fit that well.

"I will ask of them," Saria noted without question. "The forest is deep and wise, and it will know where those who do not belong lurk. They may whisper, so long as they are not similar to me." But they could not be, as she was confident. She was a Sage of the Forest, and for millennia in her time alive, she had never encountered another. That of Shadow, and Water, and Light, but never forest.

"That is some good news at least," Ironwood spoke, and his sigh was as audible as the mutterings from the wind. They still only spoke in fearful whispers, that Saria promised to soothe what little she could when they knew of where the demon and his companion were heading. Until then… she could only promise and compromise. "Though the matter at hand is still far more important. Nothing has changed, I'm sure, but we can still at least guess where Raven is going, yes?" The question didn't deserve another, it was too obvious.

"She is taking him to the revenge he seeks." Saria turned back to the forest as the men looked at her. She didn't need to glance back to know, it was obvious. Small and frail as she was in comparison, her mind and powers were beyond them, or at least one of them. The other was far weaker than he once was, as the dormant memories of the sage told her. "Little else can distract Link from his goal aside from what he needs… and I almost hope that Ganondorf is truthful about his desire to pay tribute to Link's favor. AT least, so that he can continue to live." There was an unspoken question, which would likely earn her a necessary answer.

"You suspect Link could remove Ganondorf then?" That was a question, not an answer, but one close enough. "Then he does not care that… the _vile_ man attacked us?" A different an unnecessary question. One that Saria had no desire to answer.

"No, more like to say, he is so focused on the revenge he feels he must enact, he doesn't care so long as we are uninjured," Ozpin answered the General. To Saria it sounded right. Link would think that way. He was the Hero of Time, and he would not accept obstacles against where he needed to go, or what to do. "Though we were all… _traumatized_ by what occurred, Ganondorf was at least good to his word that none of our students are in the hospital, let alone the _morgue_." Were such the case, and bodies had to be buried by Ganondorf now, Link would… Saria discarded the thought and question.

She didn't _want_ to know the answer.

"We are thinking too much on hypotheticals," the General spoke up again. "Can we focus on what we are going to do once we know where Ganondorf is? Or rather, just so I have something to tell the council, why you do not wish to have me send out a spy craft?" Ah, this conversation again. A broad question that Saria would need to ask a specific one for.

"What benefit will you have to follow that man?" She asked over her shoulder, knowing that Ironwood was forming another answer. Before he could, Saria asked her second. "What assurance great enough that you would risk the life of the men who followed?" She did not glance at him, but the lack of a response was telling enough.

"It is too far and secluded for any CCTS connected drone to monitor," Ozpin noted aloud. "The spherical bend of the world limits how far they can travel alone. Perhaps we should have invested in some relay towers…" She did not know of what he was saying, but it mattered little to her now. Their musings had left the idea of Link, and hers would not.

She returned to listen to the trees, grimacing each time a new growth cowered beneath the man. Forest giants that nearly scratched the clouds in the sky, and yet a man of comparatively small size made them tremble in fear. She did not blame, as she understood. There was no one in Hyrule, or this apparent Remnant, that could gaze at the man and not feel either deep seated fear, or endless anger. She was still not sure on which end she sat.

Until they stopped.

Her eyes widened as she heard the whisper, a thankful new growth muttering its own praise to the soil for not allowing the man to march on. Ganondorf, and Raven next to him, standing still and looking forward. The woman was talking, apparently, but still not uttering anything the trees could understand. She was speaking, and Ganondorf, quite clearly now, was _listening_.

What did that mean? Were the men right and she was promising him something he needed? No, that would not be the case. There was little Ganondorf needed he could not create. If she was a thief, she would have realized this, if she was as clever and guile as Ozpin spoke of. Yet, if the Evil King was listening to her, perhaps it was not _what_ she could offer, but _who_ she could offer. It may be a chance… but it was one she could not ignore, and she loathed the very thought of it.

"Saria?" Ozpin asked from behind her, but she ignored him. His curiosity for her was incomparable to the importance of Link. She continued to listen to the trees, of how the woman was standing in front of him now, him holding still and giving off that malicious aura that made the forest shirk at the sensation of it. The woman did not, and Saria recognized then she was either foolish or supremely confident. One did not eliminate the other.

She was holding a sword, or a metal stick as a nearby maple spoke. One that was miniature next to the man. She was holding it against or towards him, merely up, like a display. Like the first flower bud from a newly planted seed, one bunch of flowers slowly seeped in. That was when her arms swung to the side, indicating a lake. Saria did not know it was there until the pleasantry of the trees increased. Trees grew stronger and larger nearer a source as giving as a lake, this was no different.

She bit her lip as she listened, eyes fluttering shut as she imagined what was whispered to her. Saria could see the woman stepping out towards it, Ganondorf following her with his flaming golden eyes, and watching as she lifted her blade up. She stopped short of swinging it, towards the lake and far from him. She stopped, because she was saying something else, and she could not tell what.

That was when the man spoke again, and the trees fearful cry nearly made her shudder in her own terror. Perhaps it did, because she heard the noise of the men behind her speaking her name. She continued to ignore them.

She was focused on Ganondorf, not Link now, speaking in return. She could not tell what he was saying, only that the trees and bushels, and nearby Willows were weeping at the sound of his voice. So sure, that his presence would poison them and rot them from the inside out, and she had no guarantees he would not. Link was in mourning and Ganondorf was malicious. It was… possible.

But then, the woman swung down, and the trees, flowers, and all other life explained it the same. A hole was ripped in the air.

"A portal," Saria quickly whispered, eyes wide and feeling the terror leaking through her again. "The woman, Raven… she formed a portal, _not_ Ganondorf." The men behind her stiffened, she could tell from their hushed breaths and whispers. But her eyes remained forward, and ears strained and strong. She had to know what was happening. The woman was holding her hand forward, partially through the swirling mass, speaking still. Why would she do that? "She's… demonstrating her power." That was the obvious.

"Raven has the power to create portals to anyone she has made a connection with," Ozpin quickly explained behind her. "No matter the distance. Over the last few years… she doubtlessly has made some. With whom I cannot say."

"If they are beyond the forest, then we may lose sight of them!" She would lose sense of them, was what Ironwood meant, but he was not incorrect. If they traveled through there… she would need to speak to the woods again to know where they were, and in a land as vast as Remnant… that would not be a short amount of time. It would not be _enough_ time. "Is there any way to track her through her portals, Ozpin? Anyway, to find where she is going?" No, there couldn't be… she knew that with the question.

"It is how she has evaded us for so long," Ozpin answered simply, though his stiff tone had not changed. It was urgent, _this_ was urgent. "The portals allow her to move so much and nothing is left behind. No trace, or way to find her… once she takes Ganondorf through there, we will lose them!" The tension was rising, and Saria felt her stomach coiling with it. Roots to match.

The forest was cheering as it was fearful, stressed as far as Saria felt. They watched the man step forward, Ganondorf reaching out towards the portal as well. His hand vanished into it, and no grimace came over his face. More words, more speech, and nothing she could understand. The woman backed away from him, pulling back and allowing him to go first, or merely to get away from him. Saria didn't know which, and she didn't care. She only cared that Ganondorf was facing her portal, and not her. He was… he was walking!

"He's entering it," the breathlessness of her voice bellied her fear. "He's… Ganondorf is entering her portal." Or rather, he had entered it. He was gone.

 _SLAM!_ The pounding of steel behind her did not distract her attention or make her flinch. She only listened to the woods still as they sang gentle breezes of thanks and relief the vile man was gone. So thankful to be rid of the demonic like entity that they were creating a swirl of life through their branches. Enough to force the masked woman to cover her mask from the breeze, but Saria didn't care for that.

She only cared that the woman looked out at the tree line, beyond the forest, and looked over it through that pale mask. Next to Ganondorf, aside a villain of absolute evil, it hardly made her twist. It was plain, white, and colored like a tribal mask of those who worshiped the forests. Nothing for her to fear. But the gaze behind it… it was not scouting.

The woman, Raven, was looking for something. Something that Saria knew the forest wouldn't hide from her. There was nothing there, and there was nothing to see, but the woman acted as if there was. She acted, and Saria hoped she would act in a way that may benefit them. Mark for where they were going, leave a note or trail of where Link and Ganondorf were, anything so she wouldn't lose him!

But her hopes were for naught.

As the woman turned and stepped through the portal again. The air sealed itself behind her.

The wind rushed a song of joy, but Saria felt her face fall with dread.

"They're gone," she noted to the men. More to herself than them, but for them as well. "They left… and… the woods are too thankful to tell me where they are… they vanished." She listened for any sound of discomfort or anger or fear from the trees, but she continued to hear none.

Only celebration and warm wind reached her, making her once upon a time smile and dance in it. Now, she only felt her insides turn cold as if her wood was rotting like Ganondorf was near her. It was not a comforting thing to feel. It was… the same.

Link… Ganondorf… truly was lost to her now. She had failed. Again.

"Saria…" the voice of the headmaster came. Distant, far off, hesitant. It almost sounded like the trees of the far-gone forest Ganondorf and this woman, Raven, had removed themselves from. How odd, and oddly uneasy. "Saria, are you…" That wasn't a question that needed to be asked. He knew of it.

"I am not," she answered the same in kind. "I am… trying to reason what I should do next. My tasks as the Sage of the Forest were for so long to merely listen and hear and watch… and now I do not know what to do when I must search and find. And Link needs me… and I failed him." It was not a question, it was a sure statement.

"Saria, we…" Ozpin started again, and stopped. He was holding something back. She turned to face him, seeing him standing with stiff shoulders and hands gripping his walking stick. His eyes were sharper than his age bellied. "I believe there is something else we must show you."

"Ozpin," came the unsure tone of the general. It was the first time she had heard him sound hesitant, even in the face of Ganondorf. It piqued her curiosity.

"What would that be?" She asked, honestly. It had to be something in the tower and land of his, for no secrets in the woods were kept from her. Her hand trailed down the edge of the steel window as she faced them. Their faces, though unnerved, did not betray any malicious intent. She knew such expressions well, having faced the King of Evil and his ilk.

"… it is something that is kept at the bottom of this tower." The bottom? How unique a place to hold a treasure. It had to be something like that, or else it would not have been hidden and revealed with such trepidation. "It is not something to speak of lightly, or reveal so easily… as many in this world are unaware that it even exists. It would be fair to say that what is down there is beyond their normal reason." His words… were dangerous.

Her emerald eyes narrowed through the framing of her hair, watching him curiously. That was power he was speaking of, for she knew Gerudo and Hylians may be impressed by treasures and wealth, but hardly ever beyond their imagination. When she heard tales of cities of gold buried in her forest, she knew that the idea of being overwhelmed by wealth was not a possible one. But power… there was always room to be overcome by power.

"We normally do not keep what's down there on guard," the general spoke now. Hands folded behind his back and face still stern. "However, there was recently an attack against her, leaving her severely wounded. The state of her being, however, is not something any military or civilian hospital can-" He revealed a precious unknown in there.

"Wait, hold," Saria spoke up, raising her hand as she did so. Ozpin tightened the grip on his staff, as did the General to his side-arm, as she had been explained it was called. Their nervousness was understandable, her power new to them. Yet… maybe it wasn't. If he had spoken truthfully. " _She_ is injured? You are holding a person of power beneath your tower?" The question was normal, but the answer unrevealing. She needed to ask another. "Why would you keep someone of power, an injured person, hidden from the world?" That was closer.

The pair of men looked at one another, the larger of two nodding towards the smaller, creating another exchange of sighs and nods. Agreements and decisions, but nothing that she could decipher beyond that. They were about to reveal something of great importance, that much was certain, but from their continued mannerisms and hesitation, it told her something else.

Link had either been unaware or hidden from this.

"You call yourself a sage, correct?" Ozpin began, earning a slow nod from Saria. She did not feel threatened, as the men could not stop her if she wished to leave, as was made plainly clear. But that was no reason to release her guard. She had learned that lesson once long ago. "It would be fair to say the young woman who is down there is nearly the same as you." Oh…

"Oh my," Saria answered honestly, turning towards the pair of men completely now. She blinked once, carefully, processing what they meant. She was a sage, and a wielder of great hierarchal power within the Lost woods. Carried down through memory and death, much like the seeds of the grandest of trees.

Where the Great Deku Tree perished and was reborn through a new growth, so to was the title of Forest Sage from Kokiri to Kokiri. The time between them small, and the age of their power vast. Her own for hundreds of years had lasted, and far beyond the life times of these men or their forefathers. That was to say… there was a great power beneath this tower.

And though they had hidden it from her and Link, they were willing to reveal it now.

"What, if I may ask, ails her?" She questioned first, but knew, once more, another question was necessary. "If she were able to assist in stopping Ganondorf, you would have asked her. But she did not emerge and I have felt or seen nothing comparable to me or Link since I have been here. So… what prevents her from leaving your tower? Imprisonment?" The single suggestion earned a harsh shake of the headmaster's head.

"No, not that," Ozpin spoke. "Though you and I are old, Saria, and you understand my age goes beyond my body, do not take that to mean I make foolish decisions off of cowardice and greed." Age usually was the progenitor to such reasoning, Saria knew. She let him continue, watching his eyes soften and hands relax as he spoke on. "She was traveling these lands alone, learning how to control her powers by herself. She refused to come to us when she first awakened, but… our enemies were not so kind as to wait." An ambush then. Saria knew them well.

"She was attacked, sealed?" Sealed away in body then, as no enemy of any forethought would seal away a sage in a temple accessible beyond them. The sudden hardness in the General's eyes was answer enough. "Perhaps not the same as what happened before, but close as a pair of sibling willows at a lake's edge."

"You know what we are talking about?" The general finally asked. His form was perpetually one of rock, Saria knew, but she let him take a step forward. He was a commander, much like Impa. Power was often used by him, but he at least had enough forethought to bow his head and step back before speaking again. "Is this… something you have seen before?" Of that, she could not know.

"It is more correct to say I have heard of it before, perhaps even experienced it." She looked away from the headmaster and General, staring down at her own hand as she said such. A quartet of ghost, ambassadors of cruel power, sealing her away in a monster infested temple, prevented to listen to the trees or woods… she knew of what a sealing was like. "But how can I know unless I see?" Another simple question with a simple answer.

This time, she needed the answer to come true.

Ironwood looked towards Ozpin for a moment, the shorter man looking towards him then the elevator behind them. Another nod was shared, before the taller of the two pulled out his screen of glass and began to tap on it. As he did, the emerald man walked toward her, cane tapping as he did so. She watched him approach, unafraid and only lightly suspicious, as he stopped just a few strides before her.

"You will be one of the first outside of our circle to see her," he began, answer and giving many more questions for the sage of the woods. "Though it is not common and dangerous for me to do so, I can recognize a greater evil when I see one. You and I agree, that though this is something that may harm me later, ignorance in the face of Ganondorf is not something either of us can afford." He had some wisdom to him at least. "Will you assist us in stopping this man, by helping a sage the same as you?"

He held out his hand to her, and though she knew it was like an old man to a young child, offering to lead them to safety, the roles were likely much reversed. Old as he was and with power that she bore witness to in the forest's memory, he was asking her for aid now. Aid that the Lost Woods so rarely gave, but now… there was likely a greater reason to do so.

Once more Saria looked back at the stretch of the Emerald Forest, watching and listening for any sign of the Raven woman or the Evil King. They wind told her of the suspicious men, of the dangers of the beasts, but nothing of vile evil or malicious intent so great it poisoned them. They were still gone, and she had nothing else to do.

Though the forest was patient and rewarded the humble, letting them bask and grow in the rich sun, she knew this was no time for hesitation or patience. Link had saved her once through risk of his own life, after she had raised him from a babe.

Now, she would do what she could the same in kind.

"Very well," Saria spoke, taking Ozpin's hand. "Please, show me where she lays."

There was much to do and even more to see.

* * *

Raven, honestly, loved her Semblance. Compared to her brother, it was like winning the lottery while others spent their life savings and came up broke. Instantly moving across almost any distance with the greatest of ease, and doing so with only a swing of her blade. Even back when she was just a snot nosed brat at Beacon, horrible place that it was, she could use her ability to basically sneak up any anyone, so long as her team was nearby. Forget just being stealthy, she could be freaking nowhere at once.

Nowhere, then somewhere else across the entire planet, so long as someone she cared about was over there. And waiting for her or not. Sneak up on Tai when he was in the shower or make Qrow jump when he was trying to drink. Both were great times. Of course… that was a lot harder for her to do recently.

There was a shortage of people she did care about recently, most of them either having given up on her, or having died while trying to stay with her. She had already lost someone too close to her that way, and she wasn't willing to increase her reach by falling in love again. That was something only idiots did. Instead, what she did, was be smart.

A few ties and connections she could trust, people she knew wouldn't be stupid enough to throw themselves into danger because it felt right, and definitely no one who would try and hurt her if she showed up on their door step carrying a prize to share. Not that she did it often. Usually she was looking for her own share. That was how the Branwen tribe was supposed to work, and she didn't think now was the time to change.

Not when monsters were getting stronger and there were beasts like Ganondorf walking Remnant.

She thought she was honestly crazy when she first saw him, as if sure that the years of stress and power struggles had finally caught up to her and she was forced to deal with the worst nightmares in real life. It was hard enough coping with the idea of Maidens and monsters and queens of them all walking around somewhere in the world, and even harder still to come to terms with what happened to _her_ , but then seeing a man like Ganondorf walk through Beacon, using a portal so _similar_ to her own… and she though her mind was completely lost.

It was probably the only reason she had any courage to try and confront him. No, that wasn't the right word for it. She'd be a real idiot to do that, and she had already lost enough friends to learn that important lesson. She wasn't an idiot, she was just being careless, for once. But like her father had told her, sometimes a wild bet gave the greatest reward. Again, it was a good thing she had the opposite of her brother's luck, because that bet was coming full circle faster than she could have ever expected.

Walking through the woods with Ganondorf was one thing, having him at least listen to her was another, doing all of that after he had completely _thrashed_ what amounted to Ozpin's greatest defenses like they were paper and he was the ocean itself was just hilarious. _Annoying_ that her own little brat wanted to play hero, but at least she was smart enough not to jump in front of the monster by herself, or at all.

The monster who was almost twice her height, so doubtlessly just as much for Yang. Far too strong, far too controlled, and far too malevolent to be anything worth confronting. Staring at him, the only thought for anyone _should_ be to run away. But her father was right about betting, and she had cashed in her life of bad luck to talk to Ganondorf.

Current circumstances said it paid well.

True, a foot out of the portal and the forest was _almost_ the same as the one they had left. Nearly to the blind eye, but completely different to her well-trained one. The trees were thicker and of a lusher green than the Emerald Forest they had walked from. The vegetation had vines and mildew growing through the fallen trees and stumps around them. And, perhaps most apparent to the casual observer, the foliage was dense enough to become a curtain nearly a hand's reach away. It was, by all considerations, treacherous to gaze into.

But it was here that Raven brought the King of Evil, a man that she, honestly, didn't think she'd ever want to meet. She was sure Salem was the only name on that list, but a small show of power after a clever slip of the tongue, and she knew hew as on the same card. Now, she was taking him to the densest forests in all of Remnant, and home to the Headquarters of the currently most dangerous terrorist organization.

The Forests of Menagerie did hole the White Fang strong hold, and it was perhaps only a thousand feet out of sight. Out of sight, but far from out of mind. Her portals, blessed and lucky as she was to have them, were as silent as her own blade in the air. If they had come by any other way, the Faunus doubtlessly would have heard their approach. But for now, they got here with many clever words, and a few displays of trust.

That, and one of her tribe's greatest scouts and assets hiding in the tree-line above their head. Even with her heavy mask on, Raven wouldn't risk a peek. The man was careful, cautious, and obviously deadly. The last thing she or Vernal needed was him acting out of impulse.

For now… she only had to continue to play her cards right, and hope she hadn't finally taken after her old teammates and become a real idiot.

"Hmm…" the man rumbled above as she came out of her own portal behind him, staring at his cape billow behind him. The air was bare, but heavy, a consequence of Menagerie lands. Either dense in the swamp or thick in the hills. "This is far from where we once were," he mused lightly. And though it was a bland statement, his calm response was more than Raven usually got, past the screams of revenge. She didn't dare think about attacking him.

"It's in a land called Menagerie," Raven spoke in response, walking around him. He followed her with his burning eyes, and she did her best to not look away. She was not foolish enough to attack, but she wasn't about to cower in front of him either. "Its far to the east of Vale, and where the White Fang makes their base. I have a lot of my people scouting them out constantly, watching to see if they are planning anything big."

"So, you may steal while the tension is high?" He mused in a tone that brokered no discussion. She didn't respond, as that would just put her on lower ground. And really, any lower and he might just step on her. That wouldn't feel good. "It is a common tactic for thieves, though I cannot imagine what they have you desire so greatly." A lie here wouldn't hurt.

"What else? Money of course," She threw her hand out as she spoke. She pointed to nothing, away from something. "It's not exactly something I can come across easily, and I know that they have a lot stored up to pay for their operations. I think you'd agree that it'd be a lot easier to steel from some low-lives in an almost decrepit base than a high-end military complex." Anyone could, actually, but she posed it regardless.

It was hard to see all of his reactions through the thick of her mask, but she wasn't about to take it off. Not in front of him. Right now, it was probably the only safe guard she had in case she needed to run. No recognizing her face if he never saw it.

"Indeed," he spoke simply in response. "And I rather doubt you would lead me here if you had another child in their company." A simple response that made her brow furrow. She _hated_ how he figured that out as well. He was as big as a giant, but he had the brains of a leader, that was for sure. "Though I care little for what you need from them, I trust you will not interfere when I take what I need." And straight to the point, so _unlike_ a leader. He was hard to stay ahead of.

"Not on my game plan," she confirmed. "You do what you need, do what you have to do, and let me take what I need. Like I said before, all I need is something of theirs, and you're can definitely help me get it faster." There was no denying he could. It was, after all, hard to keep track of a rogue thief when you had a man like Ganondorf walking around. No matter how much the White Fang might hate her, they would _not_ pick her over him.

Not if they knew anything about what happened.

"I see no reason to change the agreement," Ganondorf admitted, though still not taking a step. His red hair, flaming and burning like his eyes, looked around the dense woods. She knew they would mean nothing to him, not after he walked through that girl's _growing trees_ like they were _twigs_. "As such, I recommend you tell your ally to either leave or reveal herself." Raven's breath caught.

"What?" She stared at him for a hard moment, looking at him as he gazed ahead, away and above her. He wasn't even looking at her, and she was thankful once more she had her mask on, or else he may have used her surprised face to his advantage. Instead, she got the sharp gaze of his golden eyes down on her, and the tremendous feeling of doom behind it.

"Your ally, compatriot, or even a simple friend," Ganondorf continued, and Raven listened with bated breath. "I can feel them in the shadows of the trees, waiting for a chance to strike. High above so they can strike my head, from behind so they can remain out of even passive sight, and in the trees where they leave no tracks. It is a wise place to hide, if predictable." Maybe, it wasn't too predictable. But denying it now would be stupid. And Raven wasn't stupid.

"How did you know?" She asked, doing her best to keep her voice playful. She didn't need to hide her expression, not when it was already literally masked. She let her gaze shift behind him, to the woman who was waiting stories up in the dense foliage and trees. She was nearly invisible! Vernal had trained for this!

"Aside from the knowledge that a bandit would not strike out alone?" Ganondorf asked, and if that was his amused tone, she _hated_ to know what his actual laughter might sound like. "Then that I have led thieves and bandits of my own, and they could hide themselves in desert sands or rocky mountains for days without being seen. Your fellow thief in the trees is as obvious to me as blood on a blade. No matter how much you may convince another it may belong, its impossible to ignore it was not always there." The metaphor sucked, but… he was good.

She narrowed her eyes as she folded her arms over her chest. Stupid, she knew, but keeping herself on guard wouldn't mean much against a guy like this. She was strong, _so_ much stronger than any of the hunters who ever came to collect her bounty for a reward… but Ganondorf, he was at least truthful that he wanted something else.

She only hoped that it wouldn't require more of her. Not that she hadn't already risked. A risk she could not continue.

A sigh left her lips as she raised her hand, giving it a long circular wave, earning the quick grunt of air from Vernal. She was too loud with her emotions, even when meant to be quiet, but for now it worked. Even in the dense and heavy air of the Menagerie woods, it was obvious something was running away from them from up above. If not by the sound, then the falling leaves. Ganondorf only glanced at them, maybe trying to set them on fire with his gaze, before looking past her again.

"A pity," he spoke, and Raven waited for more. "I was curious if I would have the chance to meet an ally of yours. But I cannot fault a leader who wishes to keep their compatriots safe." Is that what he thought she was doing? Again, and she _meant again_ , she just couldn't read him. There was no mocking tone to his voice or self-righteous she got from other powerful individuals, or even just confident. But this man… it was hard to tell if he was being genuine or completely apathetic!

Not that it mattered, at least not now. Even if he was genuinely curious, she would not let him see Vernal. She was quite literally Raven's ticket out of here, after she was the punch card to get in.

"For now, I need you to show me where this White Fang headquarters is located," he turned back to her, all business. "Your portal has thrown me for my sense of direction, and I'd rather you show me where they are rather than force me to search again." He was getting antsy at least. That could be good, if she used it.

"Hey, I promised you I'd take you to them," Raven emphasized. "And yeah, you got me being a bandit and following the guidelines, but one of those is to not take from those who are strong enough to take back. I'd have to be a real idiot to not see that you're in that list." Flattery was a great way to diffuse a situation.

"You're distracting me." Unless, of course, the guy was hard as bricks. He was, doubtlessly, but he didn't have a brain that was that thick. Not if he picked up on her usual tricks this fast. "I trust you know that if this was an elaborate ruse, I'll have no part to play in it." From anyone else, she'd try that. This guy? She had better things to do.

Besides, she didn't have time to set one up. Not for someone who could walk through her main camp and not even blink at the mechs they stole, or power she had.

"Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to push you off track." He didn't blink at her, perhaps not believing her. "Thing is, the White Fang base is near here, the main one at least, but I didn't know if you wanted to get something ready first before you walk in the main door." He didn't so much as raise a brow to her as she spoke. She was thankful once more the helmet she adorned was affixed well, or else he may have seen a bead of sweat fall from her brow. "Like make your demands, get the bartering going, the stuff you're supposed to do when you're raiding a hideout. Kings and generals are all about that kind of stuff." The ones she knew at least.

"If that is what you believe, then I must remind you, though King I am, I am king of what you are." Her mind immediately ran to power, but she thought better of it, remembering exactly what they had been talking about. "If you wish not to lead, because you do not wish to be harmed, then merely indicate where they are. I will do the rest." And again, like everything else, Raven couldn't tell if he was being sincere or malicious with his words.

On paper, they didn't sound half bad, and she only got that far because a lot of what she did was reading between the lines, including the lines themselves. Words mattered, even if they were just a rouse, and this guy had some pretty nice words coming out of his mouth, high up as it was.

Too bad that they came from a figure only a mother could love, but any father throughout history would be jumping for joy for having as a son. Because this guy wouldn't just be able to continue a family line, he could hold a contest for being the end of it. Power radiated off of his every word, even in armor and in a dense forest, he stood taller and stiffer than any of the trees, and there wasn't a trick she had tried to pull he hadn't seen.

He caught Vernal in the trees, he saw her trying to keep him busy, and he was about ready to walk away before she could do anything. Granted, she couldn't think of anything to try that _wouldn't_ guarantee the loss of her life, but that was probably just showing off his intelligence more than was already necessary. Even if he knew he was damn near invincible, he wasn't willing to take a chance.

Maybe that was because he had already died once before. Raven knew there was someone behind that mask…

"They're just up ahead," she finally indicated beyond a thicket of trees. "My associate was hiding out of their scouts view, this area normally inaccessible to the rest of their trails and entryways." It was the truth. Vernal had reached her alone through her skill alone. She and Raven were probably the only two in the tribe who could. Much beyond here, and there was no hiding.

"I see…" the giant of a man spoke again, looking beyond the tree line. She wouldn't have been surprised if he could actually see them, burning away the forest with his eyes… and she thought her power was strong enough. "If that is true, then you have my thanks for leading me to them. I would ask that you then stay back for what comes next." With that, he took another step forward. By instinct, because of his size, she took one back.

"You sure about this?" She asked him, even if it didn't slow him. "You start now, and there's no way they're going to just let you walk out of here." The White Fang weren't the forgiving sort. She knew from not only experience, but more than a few horror tails. She almost wished for laughter in return, because at least then she'd know the man was not only confident, but _absolutely_ evil. Instead, she got something much simpler, and perhaps more convincing for it.

"I am sure only of the rage the hero feels," he spoke. His foot step shook the woods, and she immediately could sense the guards take notice. "A rage that cannot die alone. A furious fire that needs blood to quench." More steps forward and the greenery was within his path. Raven heard the guards now, screaming orders beyond sight. The evil man must of as well.

He didn't speak of it, if he did notice. He didn't act any differently. Even if he had, Raven doubted it would change much. After walking through Beacon like he had, she highly doubted that the rousing of the guard of a terrorist organization would scare him. Or even give him pause. So, she stood back, not one to put herself in the line of fire, especially without anything to gain.

The voice grew louder, but when they started to, Raven stopped paying attention to them. Once more, not because she was taking a necessary risk, but because a _greater_ risk was presenting itself. It was one she had seen once before, and actually less than a day ago.

Ganondorf held out his hand, as if he were grabbing for something. But rather than grasping at a tree branch or another piece of the dense foliage, he summoned forth flames.

Flames… that looked to Raven as if it were burning midnight. That was the greatest way she could describe it, and she watched it with her own red eyes. Watched as the flames crawled down his arm like a spring, flowing out from his hand and reaching a distance she knew not even her own blade could reach outstretched. And as it traveled, it _burned_. To cinders before the flames could spread, the forest and the trees it touched simply turned to a dark fire, then billowing ash.

She stepped back at that, but she took another _leap_ , hands on her own blade again, when the flames condensed and hardened, becoming what she saw before. Forming into that blade she saw from the tree line of Beacon, but now up close and nearly personable with the horrific design. A design that was larger she was, doubtlessly heavier, immensely sharp, and curved at its end like a crescent moon. Maybe even a shattered moon.

There was little time to think of it. The voices were growing louder, perhaps pointing their weapons at their source in the foliage, ready to fire indiscriminately towards them. The man was going to strike at them as soon as he saw them, Raven knew. Nothing they could do would possibly harm him, so it only made since that if they stood in his way, they would quite literally be crushed before him.

His arm was already reeling back, blade almost pointing at her, despite the now great length between the two of them. The curved point of the blade's end at her mask, slitting through her eye-sockets, and… wait… that wasn't the form of one about to strike. She knew her blade forms, and she knew what the position the man was taking. It made her eyes widen.

He wasn't going to thrust. _SWISH!_ He was going to throw!

**_SSWWWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-CRASH!CrASH!RCRASDASDCHASDH!_ **

Canon fire and Dust explosions may as well have been going off in her head, given the volume of noise that rattled inside of Raven's helm. She nearly dropped her blade as she raised her hands to keep herself from screaming, automatically cowering to the floor. Her ears rang loudly, deafening her to everything else! It was far worse than any prank Qrow or Tai pulled on her, and so _much_ worse than what her kid sounded like screaming!

But that didn't account for the burning. The hot air that _felt_ like it was burning. She wasn't on fire, the forest wasn't either, dense and humid as it was, but she knew that something was burning, or had been burnt! She could smell, she could feel it, and it made her want to gag and throw up in her own helm. It wasn't even comparable to a burned village, ruined by Grimm. It was like the very fires of _hell_ were at her nostrils.

It took everything she had to look up, knowing, somehow that Ganondorf likely wasn't even phased by the event. Something that _he_ had doubtlessly caused. She looked up forcefully, narrowing her eyes as she tried to track him, hoping he hadn't gone beyond her sight, already past her hearing and smell. She didn't see him.

But she did see hell. Or something comparable.

Where once there was a great dense forest, comparable to an ocean of trees, there was now cinder and ruin. A line of darkness carved forward like a Grimm had swallowed it up in a single swoop, a Grammite having flown from the sky and swallowed it hole. It carved out a path in the green foliage making a marring difference between the heavy foliage, dense and tropical, and the ruined earth, blackened and soiled.

Barely, just barely, she could make out the White Fang hideout up ahead. The same grandly carved building that paid tribute to some ancient culture of the people she never cared enough to learn, only recognized they would never allow disrespect upon. A stony but lively tan, foliage growing over the walls as well, it would have been just as impressive the first time she found it.

Were it not for the noticeable hole in its side. A hole that, she knew from ratios and observation, was comparable to a cannon blast from an Airship, and embered just the same. The same as the forest around her at least. Raven dared not to even _look_ for any of the guards. Where they in the path of that monstrosity of an attack, there would be nothing left. There wasn't for anything else.

Nothing… except for the man responsible for it all walking forwards without a care.

She could _feel_ his foot falls, despite how far he was from her. Ganondorf, marching towards the building with fire still burning at his fingers, but not even needing to brush them away. A fire golden and black, like the night sky on fire, and summoning blades that tore through the forest worse than any Grimm could, aside from the Ancient monsters.

Ancient Monsters… no different than a King of Evil. Raven swallowed, trying to control her breathing once more. It was not an easy task the first time she had seen him, and now witnessing it so close, it was no simpler to do.

She was right on the money. This man… he was everything powerful and crazy that made Salem such a threat, and her goals so important. He was going to do things, or already _was_ doing things, that were going to make everyone in Remnant scream in terror. If not by sight of him alone… then just what he was so casually capable of. He was showing it all off right now.

Stomping through the forest line that bore the markings of cannon fire and salted earth, after throwing a blade that was the size and weight of her own body, like a frisbee, until it destroyed an entire wall of the compound. It, the guards, and the forest. All with a single throw.

She stood up on shaking legs, trying to regain her breath as she focused her mind. She was Raven Branwen of the Branwen tribe, and she was _not_ going to cower on the ground when there was someone that powerful in front of her, even if his alliance was dubious at best. Careful and uneasy, about like everything else in her life.

Her fingers reached and played with her Scroll. Opening it up and running through a familiar number. One she hated to call, and only did so when everything else fell through. He'd pick up the call, she knew, and then he could do with it what he wanted. She wasn't against Ganondorf, but she'd be a _real idiot_ to not give the other 'good guys' a heads up for where he was… or what he was capable of. Because what he did at Beacon? It was peanuts to an _elephant_ with this.

That said, it was exactly what she needed right now, for now and just now. With his help, she'd get what she needed. All Raven had to do was be careful about how she went about it.

Because she wasn't an idiot, and only idiots tried to steal absolute power.

* * *

She heard the crash at the building, and she knew what it meant. She knew it as soon as the guards began to move, as she felt the dread creep over her, as she knew that something horrible was coming, and she didn't have anything to grasp onto now. Nothing, so unlike before.

When she was Moraine, she could hold onto Link, and he would keep her safe. When she was Moraine, she could shiver and have the girls come cover her. When she was Moraine, the leaders at Beacon would rush to keep her safe and fed. When she was Moraine, everything was being handed to her.

Here, she was Henna. Henna had to keep herself safe, herself warm, herself fed, and was only told she had done a fine job when she returned with the masks, she had stolen from Link… and the blood of the fairy staining her hand. The same blood she couldn't wipe away, fearful that it would pull her soul out with the motion.

Adam hadn't cared. He'd thrown the wings of the fairy away and told Moraine to follow him forwards, jumping onto a skiff and holding onto the bag for dear-life, or else her month undercover would be for naught. It had worked, and she was thankful, but the blood was still there, and no amount of praise made it any brighter or washed it away.

Not handing the masks to her leader Sienna Kahn, not watching her fawn over the different masks containing Faunus heroes, not her praise for having stolen them from a traitor who'd help humans who wanted to kill him, and not even watching her pocket a mask of spikes and rainbow paint away, holding it as if to be used as a charm. None of it helped. And because it didn't help, she didn't care what happened next.

Alone in her bed, curled into the corner of it, she wondered what would happen to her now. Now that the monsters were coming for her, the base shaking as they approached. What was going to happen to her. Would she be racked until torn apart? Dismembered like Tatl, squished like Tael, killed by Link… she didn't know, and she didn't like that she didn't know. Someone was supposed to tell her, but no one would. And she hated it.

As much as the creepy man who fawned and spoke too sweetly to Sienna, as much as she hated that Adam _left her_ with the rest of the masks, as much as she hated that everything that was happening was her fault… an she didn't know what to do. She didn't know, because she wasn't safe.

Moraine was safe. Henna was not. All she was… was scared. Because mercy wasn't something she could even hope to find.

 **BOOM!** She knew that whatever was approaching wouldn't offer it.

So she continued to cling to the sword and ocarina of the hero, the one she had hurt so much, too much, and prayed for a quick death. The glow of the blade did nothing for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	38. Side Quest: Gone Fishing

"Okay, from the top, again," Tatl spoke for what Link had to have counted as the tenth time. He still didn't look to face her as she rang in the air, letting her bobbing form distract the others, but not him. He was focusing. "Why… are we here? As in _here_ here."

"H-Here as in… on the lake?" Her brother asked, and thought Link knew he was the one who spoke to his sister the most, and had the greatest patience for it, even he was growing tired by her. It was something that Link didn't mind, as Tatl was a fairy who preferred to be active than stagnant, looking for new activities rather than sitting still and concentrating. Much like he was doing now.

"Yes, _that_ ," the fairy agreed, bobbing once more with a high ring. "That _and_ why we are on a _boat_ on this lake… with _them_." Them was doubtlessly referring to the guests, and actually the ones who had invited Link to come out here, much to his surprise and appreciation.

He rarely had the opportunity to enjoy fishing in Hyrule. Let alone with the company of interested parties.

"Well, actually, you didn't have to come, technically I mean," Jaune spoke up to Tatl, and nearly earned a chuckle from Link. Nearly, though he was busy staring at the water, watching the small ripples lightly rock the craft he was in. It was never more than a small breeze, like watching rippling glass, but it was all he was focused on. That and the prize beneath. "I-I actually remember Link saying, or Mikau I guess, talking about fishing a-and I realized I hadn't done it in a while either so…"

"So, you tried to bring Link out here for what? Family bonding?" Okay, _that_ got a laugh out of Link, and one that made Tatl bob in aggravation while Jaune sputtered for a response. Were he not so focused, it may have made him laugh harder, but Tael on his shoulder was a reminder to keep still. That, and to focus on the water. The lake wasn't big, but it certainly needed his focus.

He could just make out the ripples beneath the surface, the small pieces of evidence that there were indeed fish beneath their craft, and he had to focus on it. Not that the boat was made of that strange floating metal, and not wood. Not that his fishing rod was far longer and lighter than the Willow branches he used as a child, and not that one of his fairy companions was more than a little miffed at him. Just the water, and nothing else.

Especially not the other occupant on the craft giggling as well.

"You two do look alike," Blake responded from her end of the boat. Her eyes were perhaps as focused as his, though with her bow lightly swimming in the water as if it were a cat's tail. "I remember Ruby and Nora asking if you were related." He actually recalled many other nameless students asking that, not that he had the mind to correct them all.

"Seriously, I-I don't get that!" the boy's voice was just above a harsh whisper. He was mart not to yell and make the fish swim away. Or else it would have been many wasted hours of focus, and that was not something Link wanted to experience. Again. Tatl was already dangerously close, but she had learned once before not to interrupt him. "I-It's the hair, isn't it? Or the eyes?"

"Not the ears, I'll tell you _that_ much," the golden fairy bobbed in front of him, making Jaune scoot back. The boat rocked slightly at the action, though far less than would be expected in a wooden skiff. Another impressive display of craftsmanship, even if the rumbling made a few of the deeper prey swim away. Link narrowed his eyes at the water as they did so, Blake following suit. "And why aren't you trying to catch any of those little guys? Trying to keep your shoes dry?" That wasn't it.

"A-Actually, if you recall, cause you were here-" Jaune started to point out, but Link could have told him how unnecessary that was, were he not focusing on the water. Tatl was more than willing to correct him on it.

"Oh yeah! That's right!" She spoke up as if she had remembered something important. Tael let out a low long ring next to Link, and he knew it was the closest the fairy came to a sigh. "You _dropped_ your rod in the water and _let_ a fish drag it down! Seriously, how do you lose a battle of tug-a-war with a fish? Aren't you supposed to be a knight one day?" Yes, but for now, he was a squire.

"A hunter, a-and yeah," Jaune responded regardless. Link knew it was the closest he came to confidence. "B-but that's why I want to follow Link, _a-and_ my friends, and everyone else, cause they know what to do, a-and I'm just… well…" He slumped then, and Link narrowed his eyes at him, careful not to jolt the water again.

He didn't, likely because he was more aware of Blake's narrowed gold vision than Link's crystal blue. He understood the message at least, which was far better than what Tatl was doing. She was still bobbing in the air and ringing loudly. Always stopping just before Link had to speak up. She knew she was scatting a dangerous line.

"Okay, so you're trying to get close to everyone to get better. Fine, I've heard worse excuses." The dejected sigh that came from Jaune was almost familiar to Link. At least, he had heard it from many other squires and knights when faced with Impa leering down at them. Tatl certainly compared, especially when she wasn't satisfied with current events. "But what about _you_ , kitty. I get even _less_ why you're here, cause I'm _really_ sure you and Link don't look alike." No, they didn't and Tatl was trying to get a rouse out of the girl, again.

He sighed, but quickly and lightly. If they were any louder, the fish would swim away. And they were only just started to swim around his bait, the lure tugging in his grasp, every so lightly letting him know that there was a fish waiting to be grasped straight from the water. Patience and a reward.

"C'mon! Aren't you going to give me a reason why you're here now?" Tatl 'swam' through the air around Blake as she rang her question, one she had already posed, and received just as much of an answer before. "About how you want to hear more about Link's homeland, or about how we fly through the air, or something like that? You were all curious about this kind of stuff before." Actually, she was, but Link wasn't surprised that she wasn't answering. She was doing what he was doing.

Focusing on the fish, and waiting for her prize. They were the same in that regard. Fishing required focused, and they both wanted their fish.

"Sis, they're trying to fish," Tael lightly rang from his shoulder, and he knew the younger of the two fairies would have little luck in trying to dissuade his sister. "A-And they need to concentrate for it." He understood it more than she did. How funny, because it was the one time he knew more about reality than his sister.

"I get they need to focus, but _I_ need to get an answer!" She almost rang like a bell now, and it was getting dangerous. The stillness of the lake was unaffected, but Link could see the murky shadows of the fish still at the rise in voice. She was on thin ice… or thin air. "So just tell me why you're out here on a boat, when I'm pretty sure you're not going to be the happiest camper if you get splashed." There was a cat joke in there, but Link didn't look for it. He was looking for fish.

"… I'm hungry," Blake finally answered simply, and it was answer enough for Link. She was hungry and there were fish in the water.

"Oh yeah, Ruby told me how much you like Tuna," Jaune, however, added onto the comment. Link could tell she was glaring at the water, waiting for her lure to bob and real it in, but Jaune either didn't notice or didn't mind. It was a fault Link, honestly, hoped he'd soon correct. He might scare the fish otherwise. "You know there aren't actually any tuna that are residents in these waters. "In a lake this size and with so much forest around it, it's likely mostly populated by smaller fish like Bluegill and Yellow Perch. They can be fairly large, but maybe only a quarter of the size of Tuna." The information was impressive, Link would admit.

But he didn't mind as much. He wanted to fish for the food, but to focus. And he had to focus on fishing no matter what the kind of fish there were. Hylian Loachs, Kokiri Perch, Jabun Bellies, even Mighty Trouts. They were all fit for grand meals, and they could be caught only with the highest concentration. Any would do.

However… his words did seem to affect Blake.

"… there really aren't Tuna?" She sounded almost hurt, but Link didn't mind. She wasn't actually, not really. Like Tael when he was told someone was sad. He needed to focus and Blake was strong. "Are those… other fish edible at least?" He didn't look towards her, but he could tell she was biting her lip, hoping for an answer. Jaune, was only too glad to give it now.

"Oh! Yeah! There is a tone of recipes for Bluegill, because its really small and can be pan-fried easily. My dad used to catch a lot of them for me and my sisters before when we went on vacation. You can smoke and batter them, or put bread crumbs on them, or debone them and turn them into a sort of 'popcorn' style." Link would admit now… that did sound good. But he had to focus.

He _might_ have noticed that Blake was oddly quiet, as were Tatl and Tael. He _might_ have noticed that there was a continuing list of fish recipes he didn't know. He _might_ have minded that he was talking a bit too loud for his taste for fishing, but Link put it all out of his mind. He had to focus on the fish, and he was starting to see his prize.

A murky shadow swimming around the end of his bait, its tail almost hitting the hook with each pass it made. Sampling it, looking for something to bite onto, trying for an angle of attack… all things Link had to be prepared for. His tongue flicked over his lips, watching with narrowed eyes.

 _SNAP!_ HE GOT A BITE!

"-and then there's WAUGH! You got something Link?!" Jaune shouted the question now, but Link didn't mind at all! Now was the time to yell! The rings of Tael jumping from his shoulder and Tael flying about his head were mute compared to the hum of excitement that was running through his arms now! "Yeah! You got it! C'mon! You can do it!" The sudden cheering, however, was new.

The feeling of the pull of the rod in his hands, however, was familiar. It was one he got whenever he was reeling in a fish that had made the water not only its home, but its domain. A beast that was swimming in the waters as a guise to protect itself from being seen as the ultimate prey! No different than stags in the forest churning their antlers or the Lynel of the wild dirtying their silver! This wasn't just a fish, it was a loach! It had to be a legendary beast that was going to serve as a great meal after this! The reward for pulling it in!

His body swayed left and right as he worked to pull it in, feeling the boat tug at the effort of the fish. His foot raised and set itself on the boats edge, holding itself secure and keeping him from capsizing over. It was still putting up a fight, taking his all to pull back on the reel without snapping the line. The tension of it was perfect!

"Yeah! You got it! You got it!" Jaune kept cheering behind him, and Tatl and Tael were bouncing in the air! "You got it… _Blake! You got it, too!_ " Except that was enough to break his focus.

Holding the line as steady as he could, muscles flexed to keep the fish from swimming away with bait and all, he looked over to see the dark haired Hylian holding her own fishing rod tightly. Unlike him, however, she was holding it like a blade. Fists curled around the reel to keep it from moving, pulling it over her head like it was going to give her more leverage… and nearly falling off the boat in the process. That was bad.

"I-I think it's big." The young girl returned, but the strain on her face spoke of just how off kilter she was. That, and the unusual way she struggled. After watching her duel many other students, and usually keep her calm so well, the sudden look of nervous seemed almost un becoming. That was, at least, until remembered her feline traits. "M-Maybe too big."

And she was nearly being pulled into the water.

"H-Hold on!" Jaune suddenly yelled, jumping up to grab at the rod in equal measure. She didn't let go when he did, the two of them rocking the boat with their motion. Link forgave them, as they already had fish now, and they needed to concentrate. Them on theirs and his on his own! It was two fish now, and two meals to have.

The line groaned in Link's hand as he started to pull back, just in time with the grunting of effort that came from both Blake and Jaune. They were shaking the boat still with their motion, making Link adjust his footing to keep himself from keeling over. But he held steady, hearing Tatl and Tael ring above him as he waved his fishing rod left and right, directing the monster in the water where he wanted it to go, all so that he could get that meal he wanted!

"You got it Link! You can do it!" Tael shouted, ever exuberant when there was something no violent involved. HE listened to the dark fairy cheer, using the eager cries as energy as he continued to pull! "Y-You too Jaune! Keep pulling…. _K-keep_ holding on Blake!" Though that may be because he was doing better than them.

"It's almost in! Maybe another foot!" Tatl yelled as her golden form hovered and dove over the now shimmering water. Being beaten by the current and effort of the fleeing fish, the pristine surface now ruined to look like a strong current was beneath it. False, all imaginary, but showing the effort of the _loach_ he was trying to pull in! And he would succeed! "Just like that Jabu-Jabu thing from the Ocean Fishing Hole!" She must have been motivated now, as Link recalled just how much she loathed that place!

But he found an endless amount of peace in it, matched only by the rising excitement that came with every strong effort and pull he put into his craft! And it was continuing to pay off years later! IT sounded as if Jaune and Blake were still earning there's, but that was no excuse to lose focus, or lose his footing.

The dorsal fin of the loach was starting to thrash above the water, rising and diving as it fought against Link's grip. He grits his teeth with a grin, letting his arms pull to the left as it dove right, swing right as it trashed left, never letting it truly escape him! It allowed him to catch glimpses of the beast, his next meal, and appreciating the size of it!

"That thing's huge!" Tael shouted next to him, meek voice burning with energy. Link had no mind or reason to disagree. The length of the beast was easily over three feet, blue scales that shimmered like the water, and with a body that was nearly as wide as it was long! Truly and amazing find and worthy of grand appreciation in the Hyrule Watering hole!

So, he had to reel it in now!

"Almost got it! Almost got it~~~!" Jaune was groaning out behind him, and he was sure they would possibly bring in their prizes at the same time! It would be worth a laugh and a great picture if it was true! He could see the blue gill, assuming it was the fish Jaune described, being served next to whatever dish they were currently catching! A Mighty Bass perhaps, adding that tough flavor that melted with butter? Would it go well with the blue gill, assumingly light as air but filled with the taste of cilantro leaves?

His mouth watered as the fish was finally forced to turn in his grasp, losing all its ability to fight him. It trashed at the surface of the water, hitting the side of the boat with a thud, making the metal of the craft vibrate beneath him, traveling up his boot. It was a great effort to hold its trashing form back, and it made him grin all the brighter as he did so. Crystalline blue eyes staring at it as he started to real in the final revolutions of the lure.

It wasn't the greatest fish he had ever caught, but he was right. It was a regular loach!

A giant bluegill, believing Jaune's title, that trashed in his grasp with desperation. It's protruded mouth up to his chin, its tail still trashed well below his waist. Not to mention it had a size to it that made him sure it weighted the same, if not _more_ than his legs combined. He twisted it around, making sure it was holding itself up above the center of the boat, plenty of room and time for Jaune and Blake to see the fruits of his labors, and soon him to theirs!

That much fish meat, this much strength, and he knew that it would make a great filet! He could taste it now! Roasting on a fire with butter at the side with a dash of cilantro or Hylian herbs to add a moment later. It would melt in his mouth, filling him up with that kind of warmth that came only form the release of hard work, patience and-

 _"_ _ **GRAH!**_ " _CHOMP!_

-it was gone. Gone in a flash.

Or, more accurately, gone in the white pincer jaw of a fishbone monster jumping out of the water. One that was able to put Link's entire catch into his maw with a single hard chomp. Fish scales and blood flying everywhere when he did so, _ruining_ Link's efforts with a single millisecond of action. A fraction of time, and just enough time for him to watch, mouth frozen and gaze the same, as the creature fell over the boat and into the water on the opposite side. A line trailing in its mouth.

A line that didn't lead back to his fishing rod, but the only other set on this small metal craft. His gaze fell back on Jaune and Blake, the pair of them holding the fishing rod still, staring at him with wide gold and blue and _doubtlessly_ terrified eyes, as the reel spun like made in their hands. They didn't seem to notice, and Link didn't have the breath, or currently care, to alert them.

"Ah… hee hee," Jaune let out weakly, staring at Link. He was shaking, and Link didn't even care to guess why. "Um, oops?" It was all he said.

 ** _JERK!_** _"WAGH!" "GRA!"_ pair of cries came next as the kids held onto the line, up until it went taunt and kept pulling, ragging them and the fishing rod into the water. _SPLOOSH!_ And then… kept… going.

Their cries resounded from the surface of the water as they were dragged around, doubtlessly holding on out of fear or uncertainty for where they were or what was happening. Like a boat breaking the water, their bodies tore across the surface just as heavily, ruining everything that was above and beneath. The fish were swimming away, his catch already eaten, and the rest of the craft ruined by the monster.

And, of course, Tatl was laughing next to him as she bobbed and floated in the air, pushing off of his hat to keep herself from completely falling flat in the boat. He didn't pay her any attention, to focused again. This time, on the monster that had taken his meal… and the students that had literally brought it up.

He watched the pair of them for a moment, mouth agape and eyes narrowed, as Tatl rang with high cheer and mirth in the air. Granted, Tael was more afraid, seeing as Blake and Jaune were being nearly dragged through the water by the monster, and clearly no more able to deal with it than Link was able to enjoy his fish.

The fish the monster had eaten, after the pair of them had caught it, and then let it jump at his first catch in this strange land… and nearly escape. His sigh was tight as his muscles felt, and his anger slowly boiling. The soft rage he hated to give into, but somehow, for some reason, didn't find many reasons to ignore now.

"HAHAHAHAH! Oh wow!" Tatl yelled again, flipping through the air with her golden ring. "That was something else! Oh Time, oh _Hylia!_ I'd give a wing to see that face of yours on film!" The fairy, his _faithful_ companion, mirthfully declared again. "I just… oh _geez_! I take back everything I said about fishing! If that's the kind of thing I get out of it, I just… wait, you doin' what I think you are?" Her cheer fell away as Link put down his fishing rod, he wouldn't need it.

Especially when he took out Mikau's Mask. His eyes never left the pair of thrashing children in the water, or the monster that was towing them. He was going to get his fish. Problem was, he wasn't going to eat this one. Killing it would be enough.

The _children_ could manage themselves _after that._

_SHING!_

* * *

This wasn't his greatest moment, and he already had too few to even make it worth counting.

Soaked to the bone, Jaune stared at Blake sitting across from him. Water dropping down her bangs and off of her drooping cat ears, he had nothing to say. Nothing as Link sat aside from them, still staring at the water as he patiently waited for another fish. How he could still do that… Jaune didn't have an idea.

"Hey Blake," Jaune asked lightly, no more than a whisper. She looked at him, eyes still narrowed. He grimaced before slowly forming his question. "You, uh… you want to try fishing again?" The glare turned into a scowl. Okay, bad question. He held up his hands in defense.

"Jaune," she spoke his name regardless. "Unless you catch me a giant bluegill to eat, I don't want to see you trying to fish or helping with it again." Okay, that was fair. He could take that. Probably the reason his mom usually got him away from his dad when he was fishing.

He sighed instead, leaning back and letting the boat slowly rock. He hoped the sun would burn off most of the water, or cook it, or evaporate it. He didn't know what was most appropriate. He _wished_ he had something to cook, so that Blake might be a little less angry, but that wasn't going to happen. It was unlike anything else was going to really happen for that mess up of his.

" _GYHA!_ " The sudden wordless shout from Link, however, nabbed his attention.

His instincts and nerves _flared_ as he looked at the Faunus teacher, holding his rod high up in the air like it was a sword! And there was water dripping from it… and the line was slack above him… and… oh no… Jaune followed up and raised his arms just like Pyrrha taught him. It stopped him from suffering another humiliating slap to the face.

 _SNAG!_ Instead, he was rewarded with his hand gripping something scaly and slimy, and _writhing_ in his grasp with harsh and vicious twists. It didn't take him long to figure out what it was. And a glance at it made his eyes almost bulge.

It was a bluegill. A _giant_ bluegill. One that was easily large enough to weigh as much as his leg, and requiring almost everything his arms had to give to keep it from flopping out of his lap, grip, and straight back into the water. Gills perched themselves on his wet pants, but large eyes stared up at him as it continued to smack him in the face! He was _not_ going to be hit with a fish to the face!

Jaune flexed his arms, keeping the monster of a fish as still as possible, but only succeeding in keeping it from getting back in the water. For now, though… that was probably good enough. He was able to see looking back down at him grinning, and Blake staring at him with her own jaw agape. And really, though it wasn't easy to tell, he could just _barely_ imagine that some of that water coming out of her mouth wasn't from the lake water.

He had a lot of bad ideas, but just this once, maybe one more time, Jaune said what came to his head as quick as he could.

"Hey Blake, bout that bluegill…" Jaune began lightly, holding the flopping fish in his hand tightly. It was _impossible_ to ignore the look of joy on Link's face. "… Does it count if Link catches it?"

He took her starry eyes as a yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	39. Side Quest: Cursing

Ozpin was watching the man in front of him carefully, very carefully. The kind of leveled gaze she only gave to prospective and promising students, new opponents on the political path, warlords looking to rise to power, and of course, those who approached him when it came to intelligence or wisdom. Thought the former was a hard scale to reach, the wisdom was far more common than he gave credit for.

Though more militaristic, James was certainly a contender when it came to political negotiations, managing troops, and running an Academy. Glynda, more than most in fact, certainly possessed the stringent rule set in her mind that was necessary to keep true to her beliefs, something that many unwise would compromise for a bit of convenience. Then there was one who though similar to him, and someone he had found only recently.

_Tap!_

Someone who had just moved the bishop diagonally across the board, putting his king in check and flanked by a knight. Only a pair of spaces to move. He smirked behind his coffee mug, staring at the holographic board. He looked up across the table to his opponent, him and the pair of floating fairies behind him.

He certainly hoped it was just Link who was wise with his moves, tactical as well as strong. If he was getting too much advice from his fairies, then it would make for some trouble. Then again, that wasn't a concern of his for now. Perhaps later.

For now, he had the opportunity to ask a more personable question, because with the layout of the board, it was far easier to sweep the bishop off of the board with a single move of his rook. He knocked the piece, letting it fall soundlessly and reappear on his side, leaving his king safe, Link's piece removed, and allowing him another question to ask. He watched Link sigh, in time with Tatl and Tael both letting out a low ring with the action.

"Seriously Link, I _told_ you not to do that!" Well so much for the curiosity. Figures the fairy would answer the question without it every being posed. It was amazing she was alright _tattling_ so much. He hid his smile behind his mug at the unspoken pun. "In the name of Time, you gotta be more careful with moves like that." Link, for his part, only sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, perhaps expecting is companion to fly into it as she was prone to do in other circumstances.

That did raise a question for Ozpin though, one that was worthy of a knight. Far from the queen or king's invasive curiosity, but still well enough that there may be a story to it. That deserved answering in the very least.

"Tell me Link," Ozpin began, setting his gaze on the foreign Faunus through his lavender frames. "Why is it you and your companions curse 'Time' so often?" It was an odd curse to hear, though there were a multitude of other things that could be asked. That was easily the most auditory. Tatl and Tael both rang with the question.

"What? Curse time?" Tatl asked, spinning around Link as he tilted his head at the Headmaster. Ozpin didn't look away. "Like just when things go wrong?" Ozpin nodded his head once, keeping his gaze on the fairy now, ready for her answer. It was both appropriate and betraying of his expectations. "There's your answer! We curse time because things go wrong! Next move!" She flew to the board as if she were move the piece herself, but Ozpin wasn't quite so satisfied.

"That isn't what I meant Tatl," he spoke in the kind voice he gave his students often. The high ring that came from the golden ball of light was almost a visual indication she already knew that. How curious then she was to avoid a true answer. "I mean to ask _why_ Time specifically. You have already admitted that you curse time when things go awry, but I am more curious as to the reason of why Time specifically." Though if it was a cultural answer, then he would have to pass the information on to Bartholomew. That would keep one of the sibling fairies busy during their next session with the eager professor.

"I know, I know," Tatl again easily admitted to a question that Ozpin never asked. He never lost his smile, even as the ball of light flew back to Link, trailing dust as she spun about his pointed cap. He watched her as well, before looking back at Ozpin with the strong gaze, arms crossed as well. "Can't blame me for trying to evade some questions at least." Actually, he very well could, but he let it pass. Link didn't appear to look eager to avoid the question, putting aside the idea of trauma, far off as that would seem.

"I apologize for disappointing you," he spoke back with a wry grin. He heard the indignant ring from the fairy at it. "But I am curious about the reason for it, as many people have their own reasons for cursing specific objects or things. I am sure you have heard many others curse the Grimm or Dust." That was the more common curse on Remnant, given the still unknown reasons for either of them existing aside from the hard proof they were real. Mores the better.

"I-I remember that," Tael now spoke for his sister, hopping off of Link's shoulder and making another small twirl as he rose into the air. It was always odd to see a dark light shine. "I think it was Yang who cursed a lot… or Cardin… or maybe Sky…" Ozpin could believe all of those answers, and another actually.

"Be thankful you haven't spent much time with Qrow Branwen. He does have quite a tongue." He chuckled aloud when Link rolled his eyes at the name. Certainly, Ruby and Yang's uncle had a talent for making strong first impressions. A pity they never went beyond 'poor' or 'sour'. "However, his taste in drink aside, Qrow does usually curse things with meaning, vulgar as they may be. It is why I am curious I only ever hear of you cursing Time so often?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Tatl spoke now. She continued to lightly weave through the air as she spoke, and Ozpin followed her with a steady gaze. "Given how time pretty much affects everything, has a hand in everything, and tends to make or break most situations, seems like a pretty bad thing to be cursed by." Ah, such a simple and yet powerful answer.

He nodded into his mug at the words, looking at the brown liquid that stared up back at him. He hadn't thought of it that way before, instead wondering if there was a more powerful meaning to it. Perhaps religion, or a game, or some legend that came of it. But instead it had a more realistic root to it. A good future or bad one, blessing or cursed by it. That did indeed make much sense, and so it made just as much sense to damn someone with it, effective as it likely was.

"Time is a fickle thing," Ozpin agreed aloud, smiling towards Link. "Often taking us down paths we hardly ever expect." As he gazed at Link, he expected to see the supposed hero, as his companions so often referred to him as, laugh or smile in return. Perhaps even nod his head and speak more silent words. But instead, Ozpin was left with staring only at a straight face with more uncertainty written across it.

Curious.

"What are you talking about?" Tatl spoke up the question, her voice almost a mirror for Link's visage, though doubtlessly of higher pitch. "A fickle thing? Time's one of the most predictable things out there. Once you got a good sage on your side, you can pretty much see all the way down the river. Cause, unless you got another piece of your geography to throw me for a loop, most rivers are pretty easy to predict."

Most curious.

"T-Tatl's right," Tael spoke up, with a volume much lower than his sisters, but still far from inaudible. "Time is… sh-she wouldn't decide things so freely. She ha-as a plan and… she's pretty good at keeping it a secret… most of the time… yeah…" And now Time was a she.

 _Immensely_ curious.

"She? Time?" Ozpin spoke both words back, thankful when he didn't see the fairies jump or Link jerk. They had not slipped and revealed anything unnecessary. Normally a boon, it would not be now, as Ozpin wished to know more. And for that, as Bartholomew would easily agree, they needed to speak. "You refer to Time as a woman? Is that similar to how we often refer to some objects with a female connotation." Surely by now they had heard of Ms. Rose referring to her crafted weapon as 'her child'. Given the time around them, it was likely. Ozpin hoped for that one… and not her elder sister's more risqué designation for her chest…

"Ah… yes and no?" A dichotomy of an answer, and one that didn't even sound confident. Ozpin, trained for the kind of response, raised a single brow in curiosity. Tatl saw it easily. She was an observant fairy after all. "I mean, it's not like I met her or anything, but it'd be pretty awkward to call a goddess a 'he' or an 'it', wouldn't it?" Goddess.

Ah, that made sense then. Perhaps Oobleck had already divined this then.

"A Goddess of Time," Ozpin spoke the solution aloud. It made more sense when it was rolling off of the tongue rather than jumping in his head. "Yes, that would make sense. A divine entity that rules and judges time. Hardly something beyond the realm of impossible. Curious though why she had such significance when it comes to your curses then." Those words, however, he phrased carefully.

Afterall, he had already had his question answered, so if Tatl was keen to listen to his words, then she could easily shoot down the opportunity to speak further, demanding another 'piece' from the board first. He was, however, just as smooth with his words as he was with his plans. And Tatl, careful and keen and eye as she doubtlessly had, was as hot as the light she burned like.

"Cause Link is the Hero _OF_ Time, duh!" Now her attitude was rising, but Ozpin took Link's head rolling on his shoulders as sign of exhaustion, evidence enough that this was not something he enjoyed hearing. Or, perhaps, had already heard plenty enough of. "Good luck finding a knight or squire who doesn't swear in the name of their king or queen or whatever. Link's just got the Goddess of Time, so asking her to lay down a curse or two on someone isn't exactly going to just be brushed aside!" If it worked, Ozpin would mark it up as another excellent point. It even made sense that Link would curse Time as often as he did.

The believers of a religion often were the most successful when it came to defamation through it. No different than how Qrow was likely both the greatest boon and worst enemy to any alcohol vendor in existence, for a reason beyond his Semblance at the very least. Terrifying as such a thing was, Qrow was just as likely to give money to a bar as he was to start a fight in one. Much like how a believer of a faith was as likely to donate money to the foundation as he was to speak ill of it and tarnish its good reputation.

At the very least, Qrow's Semblance was not pin-point accurate, though his drinking habits were far more likely to predict. So long as he was not here, he was safe in most regards.

 _BING!_ Ozpin shut his eyes as he heard the noise of his elevator going off.

He kept his head from falling, even as he realized his folly. If Link turned to look behind him to check, the headmaster did not join. He had spent enough time in this world to know what he had just done.

"Yo Oz! What's up?" Courted fate.

"Good to see you, Qrow," Ozpin began. Though he was speaking falsely of his good will to see his friend, he would not turn away the man walking into his office, even if the chess match between him and Link was of sound importance. He would only not only be courting fate, but also death, if he were to force Qrow to take action beyond the safety of Remnant. "Tell me, is there something you need to share? A reason for your sudden visit?" He looked up with the words, seeing the man already half-way across his office, standing at the epicenter of the gears.

"Nope, nothin' that needs reportin' or cursin'." He held up his hand and gave his usual lop-sided grin. Ozpin was perhaps a little jealous of the flask Qrow perpetually carried now. He wouldn't mind a sip, but was of far stronger mind to not even indulge the thought with a guest present. "You got anythin', or are ya grillin' the Super Faunus for fun." Of course, he also wouldn't mind indulging in some of Glynda's corporal punishment either.

"Nothing's being grilled, burn breath." Ozpin snorted at the name Tatl gave. That was original, and rather amusing. The indignant look his old friend returned to not only the fairy, but him, was still well worth it. "If it was, trust me, we would have given you a shout. Can't even begin to imagine the number of people who'd like to put your feel to the coals." Perhaps it was the poor luck of Glynda and James to not be present for this. Because Ozpin was having difficulty hiding his grin behind his mug.

"Geez, you don't hold back, do ya?" Qrow returned with a scratch of his head. He still looked far less pleased than when he came in to Ozpin's office moments ago. "I was just curious what's goin' on. No reason ta throw water in my face over it." Perhaps not, but Ozpin had no mind to stop it. Especially realizing that Link was also looking at his companion fairy with a glint to his azure eyes. Mischievous or thankful, it was difficult to tell.

"We were only discussing curses," Ozpin began. The harsh and quick look Qrow gave him, more of actual panic that a look of betrayal, was evidence enough to Ozpin he needed to elaborate. "Specifically, vocal curses, or how Link's companions, including Tatl and Tael, often make remarks in the name of Time." Relief washed over Qrow's face like that water he seemed so against having a bit ago. Not as amusing as the pained look of being given a verbal lashing by a fairy, but still enjoyable nonetheless.

"Not a bad question, seein' as the lamp light over there was screamin' about Time kickin' my butt once she was through with me." Ozpin watched Link look from the drunkard ally of Ozpins to his own fairies. Tatl appeared to let out a ring at some volume he couldn't hear, because it made the foreign hunter bow his head, giving an audible sigh. Curious. "So, what's the big secret? It ain't just some empty threat, is it?"

"Empty?" Tatl returned, and her bob in the air felt more like a freeze for a moment. Ozpin watched her curiously. The expression that Link adorned, however, seemed far different. "You think threatening Time is an empty thing?" Her tone was brokering no discussion, only inviting discord. Ozpin, for a brief moment, hoped that Qrow would be able to recognize such.

"Well yeah, compared to most other things you could be throwin' around ta scare someone." Of course, he would not, because that would be fortunate for the circumstances. And where would his Semblance be if luck were on his side. "I mean, Grimm kill people, Dust can make weapons shoot lightning and crap thunder. Time is just… well, ain't much you can do with that. Can ya?" Ozpin bowed his head into his mug, just after watching Link put a hand to his forehead. He seemed at odds with what was coming as well.

But he didn't stop his companion from speaking. On the same hand, neither did Tael. On the opposite… Ozpin didn't attempt to guard Qrow. Perhaps this was a matter of Time's design, as Tatl had said. If such were the case, she had a truly twisted sense of humor.

The Beacon Headmaster knew that one already.

"H-He's right… you can't… Time will almost never give you something you want, unless she's already planned for it." Tael's somber answer was almost stirring to Ozpin, but it was bellied by how his sister was hovering in the air. No ominous red aura about her, thankfully, as the few times he had seen or heard of that was met with words and exchanges he didn't care to memorialize. "But… that's why it's so bad, right?" And the story teller of the ethereal siblings was right again.

"Come again?" Qrow asked, leaning down with a hand to his ear. Ozpin knew the man well enough to know this was no different than how he'd act with anyone else, especially with alcohol in his blood. For Link and his fairy companions however… "Didn't quite catch that. Things gotta make sense for me ta hear them."

"No wonder you're can't remember a thing then." The small burn, as his students might say, from Tatl was worth a small chuckle, but one easily hidden by his mug. "Probably the same reason you think that waving the flag in front of Time is a safe thing to do. Acting like she can't royally mess you up."

"Not like the world's gonna be any kinder, lamp light," Qrow answered back. His usually sloth like motions gave off to strong the aura of a man who was indifferent to the conversation. Ozpin didn't see that reflected in the fairies, nearly unseen with the brightness they glowed with. No, he saw it in the gaze of Link, who had crossed his arms once more and stared at the man with narrowed eyes. If he were Impa at this moment… there would be another fight. Small blessings, he supposed. "Time may throw me curveball, as you keep talkin' bout, but getting side-tracked by Grimm poppin' outta the woods or havin' to take care of a Dust crate fallin' at yer feet ain't exactly something that easier ta plan for. Cursing someone with Grimm and Dust, ain't exactly promising them an easy time."

The silence that Ozpin suspected would have been present was kept away by Tatl and Tael ringing, hanging in the air as their bodies hummed. It took him a quick moment to remember they were very likely having a conversation, in that voice so low that only Link could converse with them, or another Faunus of keen mind. At this moment… he only hoped Link did not take offense to Qrow's crude behavior. Invasive as it tended to be… it was hardly abnormal.

"Are you saying Time doesn't exist?" The question was so off from what Ozpin expected the fairy to respond with even he was silent for a moment. "Like, do you think there is no such thing as time?" Qrow let out the breath of a chuckle before responding.

"Course there's such thing as time, ain't trying to get philo-thought-ical or anything." Obviously not, especially not while drunk. Such a conversation would only be worth having if Qrow had a sense of shame. Alas, he lacked that precious element for blackmail. A pity.

"Good, because I'm pretty sure getting cursed by that is a lot worse than you might think." The fairy hopped almost through the air as she approached the man, spinning around his head once before stopping in front of him. Likely just out of his reach. Link was watching them as well, and his expression… it wasn't unreadable, but it was difficult to tell annoyance from patience. "I mean, old age, sudden loss, pain that doesn't heal... That kind of stuff only comes from Time, far as I can remember." An excellent point.

"Huh, didn't think of that," Qrow admitted. "Thought the whole point of cursin' was for that, ya know, immediate relief and stuff. Like a good bottle of gin." Only he thought of the concept of time and cursing like alcohol. Ozpin let out a long sight at the revelation of it all. "Okay, point made. I get that."

"Oh, but don't forget just genuine anguish of knowing that someone around you is likely to die before you and Time will keep you alive to feel that pain for years and years longer and you'll have to realize you'll never see them again." Ozpin blinked, twice. That was… a bit heavy handed for the conversation. He looked to Link, expecting his annoyance to be turned towards his companion. But he remained stone faced, arms crossed as Tael had settled atop his head.

"Whoa, geez, calm down there!" Qrow help up his hands as if the fairy was going to attack. A part of the Headmaster realized she already was. "I said I get it!"

"Then there's your family that will probably forget about you because you cared more about things than time and lost track of it." Either the fairy had gone deaf from the ring of her own ears, or she truly was expressing a level of verbal retort and revenge that was a marvel to behold. "So, you get cursed by time, lose it, and then lose everything else that matters. Can't be all that bad, right?"

Ozpin didn't know when he started to lean back in his chair, but the verbal rant that Tatl was giving, all with that know-it-all voice that Glynda occasionally adopted was doing wonders for the linguistic lashing Qrow was being given. Of all times he was against having camera systems in his office…

"Dammit I said I get it!" Qrow spoke up, or exploded more like it. For once, he couldn't fault the man. "Geez! I said I got it, ya don't have to beat it into me like that."

"You sure you do?" Tatl rang with the question, hopping up and down in the air again. She was precarious to being swatted out of it, if Qrow's demeanor was telling much. "Want to wonder what it means if I ask Time for a favor? Is it like asking the Grimm for one? Can you do that?" Now she was just being petty. From the outside, it was the best kind of insult to witness.

"Oh c'mon!" Qrow yelled now, throwing his head back and arms going slack at his side, just before he stiffened as he stared at the fairy again. "You got _Time_ to be quiet, or am I gonna just have to deal with it for all eternity?!"

"Who knows?" Tatl rang the question, circling the man again. "Maybe _that's_ the curse Time gave you _last time I asked_." Now Ozpin laughed into his mug.

Qrow let out another indigent noise of either disgust or fatigue, throwing his hands into the air as he turned around. Just arrived to see what was happening, and already clearly being chased out by a blonde fairy and a penchant for words. Perhaps she was what would occur if Glynda ever gained the edge of Raven… such a thought was horrifying for Ozpin to even imagine.

He, instead, watched as Qrow made his way to the elevator, nearly punching the key for the door to open, slipping inside before the _DING_ of availability came up. He was scowling when the doors shut, and Ozpin watched him all the while. Truly a curious event. And it all came from such a simple curiosity. A wonder in itself. Speaking of that…

"Link," he started to speak, earning the blue gaze of the Faunus again. The fairies at his side, including the eldest who had managed to make Qrow regretful of his actions, looking at him as well. "We still have Time to continue playing, don't we? I at least don't believe there is anywhere for me to be." Ozpin held up a holographic chess piece, letting it flicker in the air.

Link's smile was promising enough. Perhaps, for this small exchange, Time was on their side.

Ozpin was curious, of only for a moment, how long it would take for _this_ goddess to turn on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	40. King Confronts Bishop

"Nothin' huh?" Qrow began his question with the answer. He didn't need to ask a real one, not with the look the guy was giving him. He scratched his head as his contact shook his head in return, giving the usual answer. "Yeah figured. That's kinda what happens with my luck." He occasionally got a bone, but it was like finding star fragments from meteorites at this point."

"Sorry Qrow," his contact returned. He sighed as he polished the glass in his hand. With a towel, cause otherwise Qrow would have been joining him in that endeavor. "Most of the guys who come in here to spill their nightmares are about Grimm and actual monsters. Not walking tanks that, and I'm quoting _sober_ you here, 'flicked their way past Atlas's best'." Even Qrow had to chuckle at that one. Not cause it was funny. But cause it still made his head spin when he remembered it. He wished he _was_ drunk when he saw it.

"Figured as much. Probably would've been more likely ta hear that being screamed about anyway." People usually drank away the nightmares everyone shared. Qrow did always see drinking as the most sociable thing somone could do. OR he did at least. Not many people drank away fears no one would believe. And he still didn't believe the walking talking behemoth of a _thing_ was real. "You keep me on yer mind if someone does come in screamin' about a monster man, yeah?" The bartender across from him grinned in response. Qrow sighed and waited for it.

"Cause you'd be the one making him scream?" Yup, there it was. He waved his hand as the old fellow just laughed in his face. Good thing there wasn't a crowd or else he'd be the usual laughing stock. Figures. "Don't worry, I got you on call. You're the only one I know who bothers to look for the crazy stuff." It was for the obvious reason.

"Thanks, man," he genuinely replied to his contact, sliding a twenty across the counter. The bartender pocketed it without missing a wipe of his hand. Like a surgeon and cutting a body. Except a lot nicer on the eyes.

Qrow leaned back and let his body drag him over the barstool. His body quickly flipped until his feet hit the ground before his back was even upright. His long coat flicked over his shoulders as he stood to his tallest, dusting off his shoulders as he reached his tallest. Instead of the alluring eye of a nearby lady, however, he saw only his contact staring at him with a look of sardonic apathy. Quite the set of words for his mind to think. Sober really was a different way of thinking.

"IF you don't mind, I do have to get ready for tonight," the man spoke holding up his glass as if Qrow hadn't seen it. Then again, it'd be all he could think about if he had the right stuff in it. A cloth wasn't it. "You know where the door is, and I do have your number." Qrow grinned lopsidedly, but didn't speak anymore. He made his way for the door.

A long sigh left his lips, and a lot of them were coming out of him nowadays. Now that he thought about it, even a lot more over the past couple of hours. Guess that was the difference between being distracted and realizing that hell was right around the corner.

And even worse, that he was looking for it rather than just trying to stay ahead of it. If he was waiting, at least then he'd have an excuse for some booze. Chasing it though, he couldn't convince Ozpin, let alone the rest of the hunters, that he had to be that away. His hand combed through his motely black hair as he stepped outside, squinting into the sun.

Well, sort of sun. Probably an hour or so before it was sundown, and then all of the usual fun of countryside would begin. Bars, booze, fights, and ladies fawning over the winner. Exactly his kind of night out on the job. Too bad he, again, was chasing rather than waiting. A lot easier with his skill set when it was the other way around. Couldn't count on his Semblance keeping the enemy away, and it was only too easy for him to be of much use.

He sighed again, head swinging left and right as he thought of his next move. Had to be something before the big bad Ganondorf actually found the two murderers. Cause if that happened… then murder really would be the first step to slaughter, just not in the direction he could smile at. He grimaced instead.

 _Bzzz-Bzzz!_ The frown deepened when he felt his Scroll buzzing in his chest pocket. Probably Ozpin calling him with an update. Of course he did, because what was news but bad news. Regardless, he pulled out the Scroll, letting it snap open and show the face of the man he most expected.

Instead, he was hit with a name he never thought he'd get.

"… The hell are you calling me for Sis?" He muttered to himself, but hitting the receive button anyways. With everything else going to hell around him recently, the worst she could do was remind him that she had stolen, but was at least keeping safe, one of the Maidens. Not like she had gotten two now. As soon as hit the receive, he expected to see Raven's smirking face back at his.

Instead, he was met with the sound of screams and wrecked buildings.

His nerves were in overdrive in a second.

"Raven! _Raven!_ " He screamed into the Scroll, holding it in front of him and staring at it as hard as he could. He couldn't make out _crap_ with what he was seeing, swinging to fast for him to tell anything aside from that it was indoors, and _that_ didn't exactly help him. _NEITHER DID HIS SISTER'S SILENCE!_ "C'mon sis, answer me! What's going on!?"

He still got nothing, except the muttered questions around him. His eyes, wide now and in a panic, saw that everyone in the small village was looking at him, pointing curiously as they made their way to his friend's bar. He clicked his tongue, gnawing at his cheek as he hastily made his way from the center road. His eyes hardly moved from the screen. Not that the sounds of the screaming men and things getting blown up didn't make him immediately worried regardless!

" _Gotta be further this way_." Qrow didn't know if he felt relief or dread when his sister did speak. Scratch that, he _was_ relieved, until he realized that his sister was speaking to someone. " _The guards are coming from this direction_." _BOOM!_ Speaking to someone as that someone was fighting!

Qrow felt the vibration of the hit through his phone! He pitied the poor fool who had been hit, or what had hit him! He wasn't one to panic, even when he was surrounded by Grimm and with only a Dust round to spare, but his sister was in the middle of something big… and had still _called him_. She hadn't even called him with the Spring Maiden was on her door step, so what made this call so special? He looked around, making sure he was alone behind the building he had snuck to, seeing only the forest in front of him and the dying light in the sky to keep him company.

" _I agree._ " Any relief Qrow had at hearing Raven's voice dropped faster than a clipped Nevermore at the next voice. He _knew_ that voice, and he'd only heard it speak a few words in his life. Thing was, he heard all those words _recently_. " _You seem remarkably at ease with what is occurring around you_." The comment wasn't one that Qrow took lightly.

He couldn't take _anything_ _Ganondorf_ said easily. And that man was _by his sister_. _Where were they?_

" _Can't say this is my first fight,_ " Raven's sarcastic tone _somehow_ made it through the screams around them, and Qrow was desperate to hope that it wasn't anyone trying to fight Ganondorf. Or even worse, someone _he_ was willing to fight! " _It is the first I didn't have to join though… and considering that we're walking into the White Fang strong hold, in Menagerie of all places, that's saying something_."

The hum that came back through the phone sounded more like the charging of a battery cannon, until Qrow realized that it was actually freaking Ganondorf _humming_ in response. It was _not_ something that he expected _._ Further, it was _not_ something he wanted to realize. He just… he was just amazed he wasn't breaking his Scroll yet. Wait… his Scroll.

Why the hell was Raven calling him and _not_ answering him. Was this a freaking _butt dial while she raided a_ fucking _White Fang base!_ HE was the one with bad luck!

" _We should still keep moving,_ " Raven spoke again, as if she was _guiding_ the monster through the base. And _that_ was another horrifying possibility he did _not_ want to consider. But damn Ozpin and them all, he _had to_. " _Sienna Kahn isn't going to run away when someone is in her central base, and we both know she won't turn down a meeting with the guy who blew a hole in her wall_." Anyone else being talked about and Qrow would think she was making a bad joke. Right now the joke was what was happening.

" _Very well_." The response came again from the monster, and Qrow's Scroll shook in his hands again. This time he couldn't tell if it was because he was shaking or the dude's voice was just that deep! He still couldn't tell crap of what was going on! If Raven did call him by accident, why did she sound so pitch perfect, even _Ganondorf!_

Hell, why was _everything_ sounding so convenient! He had been listening through grit teeth as this was going on and… and Raven had told him where she was… who she was with… where they were going… what he had done… She was telling Qrow everything he could have ever asked short of where he should put the knife. His sister was a bitch, but she wasn't an idiot. That much was evident from their past. That meant only one thing.

"This isn't an accident." Qrow muttered the words as the epiphany hit him. He didn't let it linger, not that he could drunk or sober. This was what he was trained for. Reacting when the impossible happened.

Against every nerve in his body, he minimized the call, ringing up Ozpin on a separate line as he did so. He watched the same blurry images through the partial screen shown, even as the waiting response text, or whatever the proper name for it was, beeped across his phone. It got to ring three before the old man _finally_ answered his call! He didn't have to act his age _now_ of all times.

" _Qrow? What is_ -" That was as far as he let Ozpin get.

"Oz! Get your Scroll hooked up to the screen in your office!" He shouted the words like an order, ignoring the way Ozpin blinked at him. That would have been a face for a camera in any other circumstance, but _not_ when his family was on the line! Estranged as they were, he had Ganondorf, and his _sister was guiding him!_ "I got a call with Raven and you _need_ to hear this!"

" _Hold on Qrow, calm down_." He would _not_ calm down! " _Aside from Raven calling you, now of all times, why would_ -" Five seconds over a two second timer!

"She's with Ganondorf!" Now he watched the wizard of Beacon raise his brows in shock. Maybe surprise, maybe horror, but raised and showing that this was _not_ something to brush away. Oz was smart, and it would be flat out _stupid_ to think this was something small happening! "I don't know _crap_ about what's goin' on or how she got there, but she's with the monster and she called me! She's got this crappy vid comin' through, but it's what they're sayin' your gonna want to hear!" Because that was the only chance they'd have to find Ganondorf.

And whatever gods cursed him, this may be him listening to his sister's final words if she tried to backstab _this_ guy now! He prayed Raven hadn't gotten headstrong over getting away from Oz, cause Ganondorf pretty freaking obviously _was not_ the kind of guy to piss off.

The issue was, he didn't know if his Semblance had a range limit or not _._

" _The throne room_ ," Ganondorf's rumbling voice came through the speakers again, and Qrow was just able to get the sight of Ozpin's eyes nearly shooting past the glasses of his frames at the voice. " _Though not my final destination, I am sure to at least gather answers here. Is this where you leave to search what you came for? I can assure you that they will be occupied with me._ " What she searched for… Oh geez, his sister _was_ doing something dumb!

" _Nah, wouldn't want to miss this._ _I'm sure I'll have time to grab it when everything's calmed down_." Like hell she would! Qrow didn't know what Raven wanted, or why he could just imagine her _smirking_ past the phone, but he knew that neither Ganondorf or Sienna would let her walk out with a freaking _pen_ after the riot they were kicking up!

He heard quieter _bombs_ through Scroll than the horror that came out of his Scroll the past few minutes!

" _Sides, when else am I gonna see the Queen of the White Fang bow down to some Evil King?_ "

If Qrow _was_ next to her, he would have smacked her over the head, hard, no matter what the consequences were. From the way Ozpin's call stilled for a moment, he definitely heard, and probably whoever else was in the room with him. Didn't matter, not as much as the call. Because the idea of this being the last time he heard his sister's voice was becoming a _very_ real possibility!

" _… You may do as you wish,"_ Ganondorf spoke, and Qrow, again, couldn't tell if the man was being kind or just setting her up for something horrible later. " _I caution you, however, to remain quiet when I speak to this Kahn. The hero's rage is great, and I very much doubt the leader of his friends' murderers will inspire calm in his mind_." The latte, it was _definitely_ the latter.

" _Qrow! Can you still hear me?"_ Qrow looked up on his Scroll to see Ozpin, hanging down from the ground. Least he was on the big screen now. He could make out the ancient squirt behind him, all decked out in green still, and James next to her. Neither of them looked happy, and this time, he shared the experience. _"Can you tell me anything about what's happening? Is there anything we haven't heard or missed_?" He was about to answer.

_BOOOOM!_

The sound of doors being kicked in, practically screaming through his Scroll, was answer enough. He heard Saria gasp. He was still surprised his device was still I one piece and not splinters in his hand. And it was at that moment, be it because Raven had enough fun teasing or the gods were finally on their side, the image in his Scroll became clear.

It was that of just what Ganondorf said. A throne room. A long hall that was decked out with black and red tapestries, hanging from the rafters way up high in the ceilings and falling down low enough to drag on the floor. Dozens of feet long at least, and all of them looking like they were hand stitched. That didn't include the freaking literal _red carpet_ going straight out and through the center of the room, rising up a set of stairs like a ramp.

A ramp that was being guarded by probably a couple dozen more guards, all wearing a _very_ familiar uniform to Qrow now. The usual heavy white masks with black décor, red lines marking them up and down, and worn by people who had various animal traits to them. Horns here, a pair of furry arms there, maybe even a tail or set of extra ears on display. Faunus, actually. Faunus holdings weapons out towards his sister and _Ganondorf_ , and he pitied _them_ for it.

However, at the end of the hall, being flanked by the guards, sitting at the end of the ramp, and with the white detailed red tapestries hanging besides an honestly huge throne, was a woman who was _not_ deserving of that same pity. And small as she was on the screen, Qrow knew the face of annoyance when he saw it. He saw it all the time.

And Sienna Kahn, tan faced striped black and with arm posture all but screaming 'fight me', was more pissed off than most people Qrow saw for the first time.

"Honestly Oz," Qrow managed to say, just as the image became clear. "I'm just gonna stay quiet for this one." He couldn't imagine anyone, not even the pair of fairies were they still glittering around, arguing with him on that.

" _Intruder!_ " Sienna roared from her place on her throne, and Qrow just _knew_ she had a gun under that dress of hers. Be like threatening Ozpin with a toothpick at this point. " _You have invaded my home, destroyed my fortress, injured my men, and made a mockery of our people! What excuse do you have to offer before I take your head!?_ " His Semblance was long range, Qrow knew that now. It had to be for her to mess up _that bad_.

Bad enough that his hands felt cold just holding his phone. He didn't hear a thing, but his phone suddenly sounded so quiet, so _dead_ , that he thought he was holding a block of ice for a moment. That changed when that voice, _that_ voice, spoke.

" _I burned your walls to enter your home. I pushed your guards to gain your presence. And I invaded your sanctuary to I may ask you questions."_ The almost word for word answer of Ganondorf was as chilling as everything else he said, at least to Qrow. " _For I am Ganondorf Dragmire. And I believe you protect murderers in your presence._ " Accusations included.

Sliding to the ground, Qrow peered at his Scroll like a society reject as they began to speak.

* * *

Hijacking signals was not a difficult task, at least once you were aware of the higher order processes, signal strength, frequency, and points of origin. Signals themselves were waveforms that propagated through the air either due to radio transmissions and frequencies created by the electro-magnetic spectrum given off by light transmission and other energy transfers across the world of Remnant. Being able to propagate signals across said wavelengths, usually of significant length and measure in both pitch, frequency, and information seeded, was a technological marvel.

However, being able to pick up on these frequencies was not a hard task. Not difficult at all. A good sense for the frequency being used, the type of coding used to decipher the information being sent, and you were able to hear conversations that were designated for private ears or only certified party members. Members of high-ranking council seats, military officials, or other things that General Ironwood had once told her were very specific to keep very private.

So, Penny wasn't conflicted about the capabilities of hijacking a signal, but was more so for the appropriateness of doing so to General Ironwood's and Headmaster Ozpin's private meeting. Friend Ruby and Friend Yang's uncle, designated by General Ironwood as Troublemaker Qrow, had called them. It was inconsequential serendipity, as a few novels she had downloaded and disseminated had said, that she had recognized the call signal, given the frequency of the calls made between General Ironwood and Troublemaker Qrow when she was under his tutelage.

The presence of Allied Team RWBY and JNPR, discussing with her new team CRDP, of still unspecified name, meant that her announcement of the signal was met with 'pleas', 'requests', and 'dares' to tell them what was being said. It was odd, but stupendous, to be given requests rather than orders, and therefore the autonomy of choice uncharacteristic of the military.

On the other hand, relaying the signal verbally was a difficult task, as she was unable to effectively transmit the image waveforms into auditory signals without her friends complaining about the noise, and her team crying that she doesn't have a good singing voice. She did not understand how that was related. Regardless, it resulted in her projecting the image once more.

And, similar to the previously logged event and available parties at the time, there were more than the standard appropriate number of friends present.

Penny was not opposed to being in the company of her friends, or assisting them with favors as they were kind and often offered to do similar compensatory tasks for her. But standard procedures and her code signified that private transmissions with the General required approval before viewing. Once more, however, she was convinced otherwise.

The conviction was over-turned by the unexpected variable of familiar relation between Criminal Raven Branwen and Friend Yang Xiao-Long.

Classification mother and daughter.

A classification that began initially with the expected emotional response of shock and panic. There were numerous instances of such being recorded between familiar connections and the relation of battle, many being those between command differences. However, over 64% of those incidents were found to have resolved with the favorable conditions, and usually reunions that were meant with shore-leave mandates.

Friend Yang Xiao-Long, however, became one of the less common 26% that became angry at the realization that her mother was with the UTS Ganondorf. Penny understood worry, fear, or terror, though she had several log posts now to avoid conversations that were likely to create such emotions. Angry, however, was slightly less common, and did not make logical sense.

Until Friend Ruby explained to everyone, following the surprise that Friend Ruby and Friend Yang did not share a mother, that Criminal Raven Branwen had left their designated living space with no word or log of where she was traveling to. The word that best fit the scenario in the civilian sector was not AWOL, but abandonment. Friend Yang was abandoned by her mother and raised by Friend Ruby's mother instead.

Friend Blake and Friend Ruby had calmed Yang down as they watched Criminal Raven record the UTS Ganondorf traversing the White Fang Main Center of Operations. It was what Penny had recorded as an 'awkward atmosphere', or a setting designated as one where no individuals present could come up with a reasonable subject, short of the events occurring off of her monitor. Said logs told her to be thankful when Terrorist Sienna Kahn came on screen, as it meant the atmosphere would be over.

Instead, Penny noted how Friend Blake made a noise akin to either panic or fear, common with hissing actions and greatly above average intake of breath. Compounded by her grasping at wall she leaned on, earning looks from Friend Lie Ren and Friend Nora, as well as Team Leader and Friend Cardin. It was Friend Weiss that had calmed her down, much akin to how Friend Yang was reassured by Friend Ruby. It was an odd observation her ocular processors had observed despite the dangerous meeting being spied upon.

Penny ensured she logged and stored the sequence of events as 'Necessary Teambuilding Activities/Events', as she was unaware where it could be stored. Such was necessary before conversation began again.

"With respect to your feelings of the woman, I must say that your mother is _crazy_ , Yang," Friend Weiss Schnee spoke first, she staring at the screen projected on her team's dorm room. Her position was parallel to Friend Ruby and Friend Dove, both of whom sat on friend Weiss's bed as they stared at the screen. "She… she is not only confronting Sienna Kahn in her own home… but with… she is _with_ that _monster_." There were no incorrect designations given by the Schnee heiress. Ganondorf Dragmire was a UTS. Monster was a fair description of the target designation.

"That's one word for it," Friend and Team Leader Cardin spoke back. Standing next to Penny, and gritting his teeth in a physical representation of anger, as Penny was key to memorize. She saw a similar expression on many other students and military personal present for Ganondorf's… departure, was a close word in her linguistic bank. "Nother I got is suicidal. Ain't somethin' you do with a _good_ head on your shoulders."

"Zip it, Cardin," Friend Yang responded, but Penny noticed around 32% decrease in aggravation usually associated with her annoyed tone. She had received a suitable sample size of said tone for analysis when Former Fairy Friend Tatl spoke to her about her hair. It seemed statistically unlikely she would be more aggravated by her physical traits than familiar insults. "Just… keep your trap shut while you're here. Kay?" Friend and Team Leader Cardin made a noise, but did not respond.

Instead, the relayed signal she was intercepting began to regain its importance.

" _Ganondorf Dragmire_ ," Terrorist Sienna Kahn spoke as well. Her attire showed no physical signs of being combat ready or protective. It appeared to be, as General Ironwood would denote, for show. Data also said there was a statistic improbability of her having any capacity or ability to inflict harm on UTS Ganondorf. " _Such a dark name. It fits one who would dare to raise such an accusation against my people. And so soon after you destroy my home without even call or request to enter. Why should I not have you thrown out at this moment?_ " Penny was curious how she would, as her logs queried.

" _You lack the capability_." She canceled her subjective question search as Ganondorf answered for her. " _You have already attempted to remove me from this temple of yours, built to resemble the worshiping thrones of the gods. But you are no more capable of removing me than they were of defeating me_." Penny had no data to relate the physical powers of a god. Therefore, she could not create a reasonable assumption towards Ganondorf's boast.

"He's… he's joking, right?" Friend Dove questioned, pointing at the screen. "He's just… trying to scare her, isn't he?" Did Friend Dove possess knowledge of the gods Penny was unaware of? It seemed unlikely, though she did not doubt her friends.

"He _is_ lying," Friend Lie Ren, however returned. He was standing behind her, leaning against a wall as Friend Nora curled next to him. She had very few recordable moments of anger from Friend Lie Ren, making her current appearance an anomaly. "If he was that capable, he would possess omniscient like abilities, making this whole… _charade_ unnecessary." He waved his hand in front of the screen, Penny processed her ocular sensors in parallel to the projection, but she could tell Friend Blake was paying more than a divided amount of attention to him.

"You believe this is a game to him?" Friend Blake questioned. Her posture was stiffer than usual as well. Penny ran a quick diagnosis of her friends' usual social behaviors and compared them to the current matter, realizing swiftly that 75% of them were acting abnormal. "This… _insult_ to the leader of the White Fang? Ganondorf is dangerous _and_ strong, but he isn't stupid." Penny agreed with her assessment of the UTS Ganondorf.

"I _think_ he's either trying to buy time or he's trying to show off," Friend Lie Ren returned. "Because I can't see even someone like… _him_ taking anything from the gods and then being killed." If the gods were, assumingly by the omniscient qualification that Friend Lie Ren insisted on, above normal measurements of her code, then his statement was qualified. However, Penny was taught to discard data that could lead to recursive loops or sensor damage.

"He better not be." Friend Yang, however, spoke in return with an angry tone. A tone that was common for her following disruptive information. "And just in case he is, shut up, cause I'm _not_ missing this." She was correct. This was a conversation meant to be well documented.

" _I lack the capability? Are you certain of that?_ " Terrorist Sienna had a level of confidence that Penny could attribute either to unknown information or her own lack of information, leading to a false sense of security. " _Perhaps I do. But I am_ quite _certain that I have the abilities and right to remove your accomplice. Raven Branwen was it? Of the Branwen Bandit tribe?"_ Her face, stripped and slightly fanged, was giving the posture of the UTS Nightmare. Penny put the information of similarity away.

"Yang, it's okay… i-it's alright," Friend Ruby was speaking to Friend Yang. Penny understood why there. She had observed their familial interactions enough recently to understand. Her hand on her elder sibling's arm did not create any reasonable or observable change in Friend Yang. "I-I don't sense anything, because if I did… I-I'd be there in second. You know that, right? I-I-I did before… all the time." Friend Yang, however, did not answer. She kept her color coded #ff2626 focused on the screen.

" _You may try, but you would be wasting your time to attempt to,"_ the UTS Ganondorf responded, which was perceived through Penny's rapidly analyzing auditory processors as a true statement. " _I owe her a debt for showing me to your home, and I do not intend to see harm come to her before it is paid."_ Penny was uncertain if the protection of a monster was a beneficial or catastrophic reaction or event.

" _Oh? A debt is it?_ " Terrorist Sienna Kahn folded her legs as she leant over the side of her throne, her attire draping over as she did so. Her position was unsuited for a combat scenario either. Her guards, however, observed twenty-seven in number armed with appropriate halberds of Menagerie historical origin and design, were only slightly more appropriate. No appropriate response was yet perceived or designated for UTS Ganondorf in her systems. " _Then can she share this debt with me? Perhaps you may satisfy it, so I will be able to have you both leave this place._ "

" _I do not intend to leave, not before I collect what I cam for."_ The camera view shifted for a moment, and Penny recognized it not as an interference with the signal, as the strength of the wavelength connection remained constant, but rather the camera itself changing positions. Criminal Raven Branwen was moving the camera to an alternate spot, though she could not ascertain where. " _Once I have what I came for, then you may do as you wish. Not before._ " Penny's systems were unable to deduce if the servo control to stabilize her arm was necessary from fixture fatigue or the UTS Ganondorf's voice. The latter had darker implications her system was requiring further information to register.

" _Something_ you _need,"_ Terrorist Sienna Kahn spoke again, and she folded her hands in front of her face, slowly moving her legs until she was having them slightly spread in front of her. Her eyes were looking down on UTS Ganondorf and Criminal Raven Branwen, only due to her the higher stature of the throne. Records showed her true height was equivalent to Criminal Raven, and far smaller than UTS Ganondorf. " _You have either much confidence, strength, or stupidity to believe you can barge into my home, with my men, and make demands of me. Or is this a common threat of yours, Ganondorf Dragmire?_ "

" _Common?_ " The word was spoken as a question, and it came with a long pause afterwards. Penny was unsure why, fearing that there was an error with her connection and the audio had been severed in place of only a visual feed. But then the video capturing device moved, showing Ganondorf's face.

Penny was sure that the furrowing UTS's brow, the stretch of his lips, dark green pallor of his skin, fire in his narrowed eyes and short gurgling laugher were what General Ironwood meant when he said 'gazing upon the face of evil'.

Because her processors, memory banks, and connection to the CCTS could find no similarities or comparable images to vileness as what she saw.

"Oh crap…" The low-volume words muttered by Friend and Team Leader Cardin were very much in agreement with Penny's processing centers. "That's… o-oh geez. The Nightmare, i-it's the Nightmare again." It was heavily comparable, and beyond the mimicry the Ancient Grimm had engaged in while in conflict with them.

"That is… terrifyingly accurate," Friend Weiss spoke in agreement. Penny did not divert her ocular sensors to assess her friends. There were no threats within the premises to harm them. However, her auditory sensors in combination with historical data and evidence, implied there was a drop in physical well-being. It was… not a feeling she enjoyed.

Penny was confident didn't like the sensation of fear. At all.

" _Before I came to this land, before I even met the hero, it was common for me to do acts such as this._ " The UTS Ganondorf began his confession of previous crimes. Penny recorded it, per Papa Zepp's instructions. She was recording this transmission already. " _Villages that had halls for meetings, foreign kingdoms home to ocean-dweller and mountain eater, and even the high castles that the Kings and Queens of Hyrule ruled from. At least once in my life, I entered them all the same as I did now._ " The UTS Ganondorf held out his arm.

Penny found the decision of the guards to raise their weapons, huddling before the stairs towards Terrorist Sienna Kahn to be wise. Even Terrorist Sienna Kahn was bent forward, ready to jump from her throne. The feed of the camera noticeably shook, likely indications of Criminal Raven Branwen similarly prepared to move. However, no further action came from the UTS Ganondorf. Only more auditory conversation.

" _During those times, I was not seeking the favor of others, nor was I acting for their wishes. At those times, in those moments, I did as you likely perceive me as now._ " The UTS Ganondorf was taking a step forward, and Penny found her systems denoting the action due to the reaction it cause. The guards that were in front of Terrorist Sienna Kahn taking a step back, Terrorist Sienna Kahn standing up, and the camera view moving back as the Criminal Raven Branwen put distance between her and him. " _Do you wish for me to tell you what I did then? Those I spoke to before requested details of my deeds."_ He was referring to Headmaster Ozpin and General Ironwood. There were no other qualifying personal in Penny's historical logs regarding the UTS Ganondorf.

"This is bad. This is bad. This is _wrong_." Friend Nora was speaking at a higher than normal frequency against Friend Lie Ren. She was also much quieter than normal. More abnormal traits that were signs of dysfunctional minds. Penny was not pleased, and her auditory sensors could interpret no encouraging sounds through Allied Team RWBY's dorm room.

" _At those times, I demanded power or sacrifice_." The UTS took another step forward, his voice carrying through the throne room, and vibrating with a _great_ magnitude through her speaker system. Penny did not like the feeling. " _I demanded the finest treasures of the Zora, took from the Gorons their most powerful tools, and claimed from the kingdom of Hyrule the very symbol of power. Tell me, if you are so wise, what you believe that item was."_ Penny's processors immediately began to conduct a large-scale image and Boolean search for power, disregarding terms non-physical.

Crowns, jewelry, gold, thrones, castles, swords, guns, airships, collars, high elevation, temples, all of them rapidly listed themselves through her recognition database, attempting to deduce what the UTS Ganondorf had claimed _._

 _"For you?"_ Terrorist Sienna Kahn asked, and Penny was able to hear the sounds of faux-dismissal of interest. She had analyzed similar speech patterns and voice octave changes when observing General Ironwood and politicians in Atlas, as well as Papa Zepp. " _I'd gather a weapon of some kind. Something useless for you to parade and demand respect with no voice._ " Her words were curiously antagonistic.

" _You speak boldly for one who is willing to listen,"_ The UTS Ganondorf returned the comments. His hand did not fall, neither did the look of, what Penny could only partial attribute to satisfaction, dilute with time. " _Do you wish for me to tell you the answer, or are you satisfied with insults instead?"_ Penny was 84% sure that despite carrying no promise of violence, that was a threat. From the singular greatest threat of a person or monster that Penny had logged in her memory banks and data system.

" _I want you to leave and be done with the White Fang!_ " Sienna yelled now, stomping her foot as she held out her own arm. The action was accompanied by the sound of all soldiers' present mimicking her motion, stomping their collective feet, before holding out their lances and halberds towards Ganondorf. Despite the high chance of them acquiring adequate skill with said weaponry, Penny was still unable to attribute any danger to UTS Ganondorf or Criminal Raven. " _But if you_ must _tell me of what lowly source of power a braggard like you wishes to show, then speak it and be done! You are already testing the limits of my patience!"_

Penny was unsure if the silence from the UTS Ganondorf was more attributable to shock or discomfort, but was keen to include the unknown variable given such high priority by Instructor Impa as well. Ganondorf was an unknown to her and all present, and non-present. Silence was confusing, but she could not make accurate assumptions as to what.

"Yang, I rescind what I said earlier," Friend Weiss spoke in the small silence that followed. "Your mother may be crazy, but its Kahn that's suicidal." Team Leader and Friend Carin muttered and agreement, and Penny noted he was crossing his arms, likely to keep them still. Friend Dove was gripping the bed he was sitting on tightly as well.

"Yeah, she tends to run away when things get tough," Friend Yang followed, though with a voice far quieter than what Penny predicted. She made note to the inquiry system message that she did not need tuning for her mis-balanced measurements and variables. They were present in an abnormal situation still. "She's not dumb enough to scream at a thing like Ganondorf. Can't say I regret seeing what happens though." Penny was sure to place high priority on the answer UTS Ganondorf gave.

" _The head of a king_." Penny memorized every syllable and inflection in the sentence, damning as it was alone.

" _What?_ " The question followed from Sienna Kahn, and she displayed signs as if she were given a physical blow. Though Penny observed none through the camera system Criminal Raven was operating. " _You… you did what?"_

" _I killed the king of Hyrule_." The words were spoken very easily.

Hyrule, the land that Instructor Link was designated to heave hailed from, acquiring the vast majority of his training, weaponry, and allies from. Including his Former Fairies and Friends Tatl and Tael. A fifth kingdom he was proclaimed to be a knight of, given high standing, and was said by Former Fairies and Friends to be a hero to in both legend and declaration.

And UTS Ganondorf had killed the king of the land. Killed the man Instructor Link, assumingly, followed.

" _King Rune Daphnes Hyrule,_ " UTS Ganondorf spoke the name, and Penny committed the title of Instructor's Link's previous general/king/mediator to memory. " _Much like now, I walked into his throne room. Much like now, he had his guards afront immediately, demanding my submission to his will, despite lacking the power to make me bend._ " Penny noticed a distinct increase in the movement of the White Fang guards' lances. They were shaking. " _He made threats against me and my people, and I will then filled with an anger that could not be sated by words_."

UTS Ganondrof, as shown through the monitor, lowered his hand until it was held only a few feet in front of hm. Given the long reach and stature of the UTS, it was considerably closer and implied a great flexion in his arm. It also showed his malicious face. Penny's code and over written itself for the insist purpose of applying that adjective to the man. She would check on it later.

_POOMF!_

After, of course, she and her friends were able to deduce how UTS Ganondorf lit his hand on fire.

"Whoa…" Friend Russel spoke for the first time. Sitting on the ground, gripping his knees as he crossed them on the floor, he had not moved or spoken since they had begun this impromptu and necessary meeting. "That's… that's not normal fire." His observations were unnecessary, but noted. "Fire isn't… black like that… a-and gold." He was correct.

Penny had many attributes of fire and its properties logged into her memory banks. Relating to both its typical temperature reached pertaining to the color of the flames, usual materials required for combustion, necessary circumstances to allow the flame to propagate, and where it was most appropriate to apply flames, either in an industrial, mechanical, battle, or recreational event.

UTS Ganondorf lighting his upper arm on fire did not fall in any easily applicable category.

Neither was the previous look of, externally described, nightmarish face being given an ominous lighting scheme associated with the light. It was deemed ominous in main attribute to UTS Ganondorf's already darkened and monstrous face, combined with a grin and tight brow that most men of fine prestige or intellect would not foster. The light that glowered beneath him did not assist him in the manner of looking more approachable. Rather, Penny concluded that it was meant to give off an ominous and intimidating light.

By quick and immediate observations of those present on the screen, it appeared to work.

Terrorist Sienna Kahn had a wide look in her eyes, drawn into slits per her Faunus trait and taking a step back until her heel was against the foot of her throne. The guards, previously at the ready to attack, if hesitantly, were not backing away from the man as well. In ordinary circumstances, Penny had deduced that fire would not be enough to dismay them, as they were more akin to start fires and use them as cover for their more heinous operations.

But as Friend Russel said, fire did not normally glow both gold and fire. It was not a color scheme of flame that Penny could attribute to make sense of with all known combustible materials or logged Semblances. It was not a logical flame.

Therefore, her supposition protocol deduced, it had non-logical properties.

" _I burned his men alive. With a flick of my hand._ " Penny noted one possible property of the flame, and possessed no prior knowledge or sufficient reason to argue against it. " _With a single swing of my blade, his head fell next. With two motions of my hands, I beheaded the king and took his strongest knights from him. Leaving the Kingdom of Hyrule with but a hero, a princess, and a ruinous war to follow_."

Penny made careful note of that. It was, beyond the conclusion, the first mention of how the battle between Instructor Link and UTS Ganondorf had initiated. It appeared to also involve a yet to be named princess, of great chance to be the first-born or only child of the king, as normal hierarchical progression lines followed the males. Regardless, it was obvious that this was what brought war to Instructor Link's land. And, therefore, what cost him the lives of many of his friends.

That meant, with high certainty, that UTS Ganondorf was threatening the same thing now.

" _That is what I did before._ " The UTS spoke, hand still glowing with a reasonably dark fire.

Until, without the presence or observation of any anti-combustion materials or liquids, the fire went out.

" _That is not how I present myself here today._ " Penny altered her previous assumption of the certainty of war, lowering it from the previous 43% to 22%, depending currently on Terrorist Sienna Kahn's actions.

The words were processed slowly though Penny's auditory channels, attempting to reason the words, as the previously observed and logged actions did not coincide well with his meaning. He had committed assault, trespassing, destruction of property, threatening life, and confessed to numerous accounts of murder and battery… Penny was not sure what his words meant when the two were related together.

" _What?_ " Terrorist Sienna Kahn asked for Penny, as her current location and routing means of the video made it impossible to communicate.

" _I say again. I am not here to take anything from you._ " Ganondorf folded his arm behind his back once more, the powerful and immense limb hidden by his cape. Penny deduced the cape was of great weight as well, given its thickness. It made the billowing she had observed earlier a more unknown variable, related possibly to the Aura the UTS gave off. She made sure to make a log note to herself to converse with Doctor Oobleck later of the possibility, or Papa Zepp. " _I have come for something that I believe you hide, but I do not come for anything else. I have no wish for your treasures, your land, your people, or your power. I wish only to satisfy the debt I owe the hero._ " Relations to Link once more.

"Every time he says that, I can't help but think he believes it himself," Friend Weiss spoke from the bed. No one made comment otherwise, not even Penny. Her auditory channels and vocal actuators were too focused on the conversation at hand, being observed through the screen.

" _The hero…_ " Terrorist Sienna Kahn spoke the word with a raised inflection, indicative of a lack of familiarity with the word. " _You would not happen to be… speaking of her, would you?_ " The terrorists eyes turned towards the screen. So too did the UTS Ganondorf.

Penny once more noted how little she enjoyed the sight of the UTS. His eyes were too sharp, too bright, too vile… she was unaware her body had the processors or memory systems capable of disseminating such things… If there was a new sensor she had been equipped with for sensing such… she made not to inquire with Papa Zepp of removing or reducing its voltage regulation later. It appeared to be _too_ sensitive.

 _RIP!_ Similar to how Friend Yang Xiao Long had torn a hole in the chair she was sitting on. Penny spared a 0.034 second glance to gather the one frame necessary to confirm the ball of torn cotton and fabric in her hand. Friend Ruby was still holding her arm. There were also tears down her friend's face. Those had been present for some time. More inquiries for later.

" _No, she is not,"_ the UTS Ganondorf confirmed. The audible sound of a sigh was given off, and Penny related it to Criminal Raven Branwen. " _The hero is the chosen Hylian of Time. The one who long ago journeyed out into the world to gather power unknown, capable enough of defeating me. The hero… who succeeded in doing so._ " His words and their meaning did not deviate from previous conversations relating to the relationship between Instructor and Friend Link and the UTS Ganondorf.

Between Former Fairies and Friends Tatl and Tael, Ancient Grimm Nightmare, and UTS Ganondorf, Instructor and Friend Link was the one who defeated Ganondorf, sealing him in a mask of power, and with tools and methods still unknown. Penny reconfirmed the tertiary process for analyzing possible means to harm UTS Ganondorf was running, before increasing its priority to secondary. The conversation remained primary.

" _I assume this hero… is the Faunus Link,"_ Terrorist Sienna Kahn spoke. There was a raise in inflection of her voice, indicating a positive outlook on said individual. Penny had no argument or disagreement with the assumption of Instructor Link being a positive individual to speak of. It was the individual speaking that made her question the tone of her words. As Papa Zepp had programmed her, to read between the lines. " _The Faunus who entered Beacon, and took by storm the hearts of Beacon's citizens, students, and personal. All of them favoring this… hero…"_

" _I would be unsurprised to hear that,"_ UTS Ganondorf returned. The camera on him was remarkably still, concerning that the guards were not possessing a solid stance, neither was Terrorist Sienna Kahn. Criminal Raven Branwen, however, was. " _The hero makes more allies than enemies through his travels. I dare to say that it is perhaps his most remarkable and valuable quality. To turn both strangers and enemies into his greatest of allies. He possessed much the same ability when I wared with him, making the Chieftain of my tribe and kingdom into his own ally._ " New information was logged.

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," Friend Weiss spoke again. "Link did have a remarkable ability for turning opinions of him around." Her summation of the words was met with some nods, namely from Friend Blake and Friend Lie Ren. Every other friend kept their eyes on the screen.

" _A pity then he didn't join us. His fellow people, left to rot, while he enjoyed the fruits of labors only spoken_." The tone remained the same, but the analysis of the words, through Penny's linguistic and inflection database implied insult. " _Perhaps if he had joined us, we would not have to sit in the midst of a jungle, struggling for our people to survive, while he enjoys the fruits of man's toils and spoils from war. Enjoying fine foods, abode, and company that humans can savor, but we Faunus must risk our lives if only to have a taste_."

Penny recalled many similar words and metaphors from previous logs regarding Terrorist Sienna Kahn, namely from six years prior during her rise in the ranks of the White Fang and the turning of the previously designated 'peaceful' organization into a terrorist cell.

 _"I am curious why_ you _are here in place of him, Ganondorf Dragmire_ ," Terrorist Sienna Kahn spoke, pointing at Ganondorf with an accusatory finger. " _Do you not also hate this hero of yours? Don't you hate Link for taking your life from you, likely when you were on the ends of winning your campaign?"_

 _"Should I hate the man who stopped me from sacrificing the lives of my people?_ " The UTS Ganondorf asked the odd question. " _Or should I be grateful to him for stopping me from gaining absolute power and domain across the land?_ " It was another odd question.

" _I would loathe him,"_ Terrorist Sienna Kahn spoke easily in response. " _New to these lands or not, you may not know that we of the White Fang began as only a group looking for equal rights of our people, fellow Faunus who have been everything in this world. Slaves, whores, sacrifices, even manure by the most decrepit. We have been everything_ but _equals to those who rule today_." Penny logged a change in Friend Blake's position, but kept her focus on the conversation unfolding. All her friends did the same.

" _Truly so horrible?_ " UTS Ganondorf questioned. " _You sit in a forest full of more life than I ever witnessed in my desert. More life in a single glance out your doors than I could dare to spy throughout a year atop the tallest dune._ " Penny immediately recalled the location that they had fought the Nightmare in, keyworded through the UTS's speech.

"Wait, is he talking about that desert place?" Team Leader and Friend Cardin questioned next to her. She nodded, thankful he was in the same mindset as her. Near, at least in a metaphorical sense. Her mind and his were different. "Isn't that… that's where Link and Impa fought him, right?" Apparently so.

"And likely deceased there as well, given the order of events logged so far." The logical direction they had to occur in at least showed that the battle ground of the desert, aside that tower, was likely the final battle between Instructor Link and UTS Ganondorf. "Confrontation and assassination of the king, a war campaign of indeterminant length and duration, casualties mount, Instructor Link and appropriate allies are able to force the confrontation to his homelands, UTS Ganondorf is slain." It flowed and made sense, but the gaps in time were immediate and obvious.

"That makes sense," Friend Blake agreed. Despite it sounding as if it should have more to it, as Penny had logged thousands of conversations beginning with such a set of terms, she didn't speak anymore. Likely because the conversation on screen was continuing.

" _I would rather my people enjoy the fruits of their labors rather than pick them from trees at risk of their own life._ " Terrorist Sienna Kahn made a motion for a tree that was not there. Penny assumed it was such, or she was facing mental faculty issues. That was unlikely. " _If you are from this desert as you claim, would you not wish for your people to enjoy the protected walls of a city rather than the monster infested wilds? Do you truly fail to see the reason for our plight?_ "

" _If you believe I cannot see reason for your animosity, you misunderstand me then._ " The conversation was progressing much quicker than Penny anticipated. She was curious who was edging it forward, with likelihood falling to UTS Ganondorf. He was confrontational and vile enough. " _I understand the reason for your desire. Knowing that it results in the bloodshed of innocents, however, denotes to me the failure of your own morality_."

The words were spoken softly, or at least softly in comparison to UTS Ganondorf's previous words, but they created a look of anger over Terrorist Sienna Kahn's features. IT was a look nearly mirror in her guards, each of them making their stances nearly 14% more secure by bowing their legs and increasing the location they gripped their halberds.

" _You spoke to me not but a few scant_ minutes _ago of you waging a war after killing a king! I may not know all, but I know that there is no such thing as a war where civilians are saved!_ " Her hand wiped out, indicating nothing. Only making her attire billow. _"Yet you claim to pass judgement on me as if you are better? You? You who march in here and claim to be owed something, and telling me that I am worse than you?_ " Though Terrorist Sienna Kahn was of low moral standing in the military database, Penny did not believe she was beneath UTS Ganondorf.

The rumble of her arm, shaking of the lens, and companied laughter that came from UTS Ganondorf, assured he thought he same.

Penny was not comforted by the knowledge.

" _Better? Than you?_ " The UTS spoke with mirth, denoted by his cheerful tone in the tense atmosphere, tense enough to increase the likelihood of battle by roughly 23%. " _You are beyond mistaken if you believe I hold such a thought. Mistaken, misinformed, and so much more."_ In response, Terrorist Sienna Kahn said nothing.

"Wait, hold on… is he saying he feels bad or something?" Friend Dove asked, pointing at the screen. Given the image of Ganondorf holding that hateful grin, flaming hair and burning eyes, his confusion was understandable. "The guy who beat everyone to near death by _walking_ and flicked away that girl with the growing trees? He feels bad about starting a war?"

"He's lying," Friend Lie Ren spoke in response. Penny offered the allowable buffer time of her ocular sensors to catch two frame's of Friend Nora's head nodding in response. "He's lying and its obvious he is. You can't feel bad about something such as a war while keeping a smile on your face. You don't _grin_ at your failures." A curious, but 92.54% accurate, statement. Penny ran the analysis quickly given her observation of mistakes, their perpetrators, and their actions following. Only Papa Zepp seemed to grin when he made a mistake.

" _I regret my actions far more than I can put to words. Enough that should the hero request me to end my life in the most painful of ways, I would only inquire if he has a time he'd wish for me to plunge the blade._ " That was not a sentence that Penny was sure she would record. She replayed it in a parallel processor to assure it existed… and it did. " _At the moment, however, he does not wish that for me. Perhaps later, but not now._ "

Another tense moment passed in the observable throne room, and Penny noted a further 4% increase in the chance of battle. Terrorist Sienna Kahn narrowed her eyes from above Ganondorf as she inquired from him again.

" _What is it the… hero_ _wants of you then?"_ She asked the words carefully, likely ensuring they would not anger him. That was wise, if too late given her observable and audible rhetoric. " _You mentioned earlier you were looking for a murderer, did you not?"_ Her tone hadn't changed, but the conversation appeared to be moving forward again.

" _I did, and I know she is here. You would do well not to try and lie and hide her from me_." How did he have that information. Penny's conclusion was based on subjective knowledge and convenience, nothing permissible in court and dubious for military action. Terrorist Sienna Kahn had similar concerns.

" _Oh? You_ know _she's here?_ " She folded her arms as she continued to look down at the man. Penny opened the query and possibility that she was making the posture for similar reasons to Team Leader and Friend Cardin. To hide her shaking limbs. " _You have only paraded yourself through my halls and destroyed as much of my people's home as you have your own integrity, and yet you claim to know everyone who is present? Tell me then, how do you know this_ murderer _, as you claim, is here_?" Her hand held itself out as she spoke, and Penny waited for an answer.

Instead of a verbal one, UTS Ganondorf raised a hand to his face, pointing at his flattened yet broad nose. Though her vision was limited to only one side of his face, it was evident he was staring at Terrorist Sienna Kahn, perhaps even without blinking.

" _Because I can smell the blood of fairies in your home."_ Penny noted only two fairies who could qualify to carry such blood. Both denoted as deceased. " _And you have already confessed the hero did not ally with you."_

The UTS Ganondorf, despite the registered higher than average pain and muscular index, denoted as being off any reasonable or measurable scale, had a high level of perceptiveness as well, it seemed.

" _So I would ask you, if you could not already assume such, present the killers to me, those who are present, and I will leave hence forth._ "

The room increase in tension again, this time Penny registering a 31% increase in likelihood of battle. At a percentage nearing 95%, it was reaching the usual alpha values beneath 5% of uncertainty. Though it was a singular sample, reanalysis did not provide and reasonable difference. That made it trouble. Trouble meant a battle. A battle with UTS Ganondorf and the White Fang would be bloody. It would be catastrophic for everyone involved. It required military intervention. Penny knew this… but she did not know where or how to access the coordinates or ability to send troops. That was not in her central programming.

"They're going to fight," Friend Ruby spoke, and she sounded sure of herself. Her reason, though unspoken, aligned with Penny's calculations. That was perhaps the singular moment Penny had recorded in her files of being negative towards Ruby's positive nature. "A-And… I don't know who I want to win."

"Okay, I'll be honest," Friend Russel spoke from the ground once more. "I don't know who to root for. The probably evil king marching through the terrorist hide out… or the terrorist…" It was an odd question to ask, and one that Penny dedicated no server or memory into guessing or looking for the answer. It was not about taking sides when both were antagonistic towards the Military and public.

"I think I know who," Friend Ruby, however, spoke from aside Friend Yang. Penny noted that all eyes turned to her, including Friend Yang. They looked at Friend Ruby, who Penny noted once more was of lower than average physical health, denoted by her sunken facial appearance. "Whoever helps find Moraine." Her logic, however, was sound.

Because Penny agreed. Catching murderers was important. Even if it was an UTS doing so.

* * *

Sienna Kahn was the ruler of the White Fang. It was a title that was changed behind her back, but with her never leaving the throne.

She became the leader of the White Fang, and she helmed it with a force and determination that its objective deserved. This was not some mild branch looking to entertain a few more Lien for work, but to better the lives and livelihood of all Faunus. To treat it as some passive act of acceptance would lead to easy dismissal from the public eye. That was not something she could have.

She turned the White Fang militaristic without planning to. Demanding action and consequences for ignorance before realizing that it led to fear and anger. She followed that anger and stoked more fear, when she began to realize that her people were bettered in areas where her touch was recognized. It was a cruel method, she knew, but it was resulting in a greater good for her people. Would her name be loathed for it in days to come, she was fine with it, so long as it meant her people would recognize her talents and sacrifice.

There were countless legends of heroes doing much the same, offering their lives and accepting death to give their fellows, and sometimes betters, a means to escape. It was the duty of a leader to do such, and she had accepted her position as ruler for it, as a ruler was willing to fall on their blade to save a kingdom, and she would do the same to save her people.

However, either because of her being blind to it or more accepting than she realized, it led to her subordinates taking choices she did not endorse, and now had to deal with.

There was a time her guards began to kill the bigots and race traitors for selling them out, offering up information about their hideouts for gold. Initially, it was of minor reprimand, easily over looked next to the countless deaths her people had suffered. If evil was culled, then they only had to recognize that their deeds were poisonous, then it would be time to move on. Not all did. _Adam_ did not.

Adam changed and his subordinates beneath him did as well. She listened as he was heralded as a great savior to their people for what he was willing to do, but none of them seeing what Sienna did, and seeing how much he enjoyed it. Only one of his men, a girl actually, Blake if she recalled, the beautiful daughter of the Belladonnas, saw his bestial nature and ran from it.

Others did not, and others began to kill with such a regularity that Sienna was finding it increasingly difficult to keep him in line. To the point now that she was declared herself a terrorist, and not the extremist she was aware she was. Extreme to pull and give voice to the other side, but not terror. Terror always turned to hatred, and her people could not be labeled as such. Because that hatred would always lead to ruin.

And ruin, as Sienna Kahn came to realize, came in many forms. Even that of a massive man of dark Aura, standing in front of a human thief, wielding a powerful Semblance she could not even put to words.

All because Adam and his ilk had turned someone who could have been a sympathetic member to their cause into their greatest threat. Now… she had a murderous child hiding in her encampment, and one that likely hadn't even cleaned herself since she had crushed those fairies of Link, though she still found the admittance that they were real as distractingly shocking. Even more so that the clown of a man that accompanied Adam said it was all true, and with this, they would give full support to her and her people.

Support, Adam and the 'Gray Man' solidified, by giving her a mask among the several Hena stole.

In front of a man who appeared to embody more Grimm than man, Sienna doubted it would serve much good, if any, to save her.

"You are confident she is here then." She spoke the words with finality, watching the burning eyes of Ganondorf focus on her. Her guards were loyal, maintaining their position, but she would give the order to flee if the man moved once more. The reports she had received were slim of the man, but anyone who could walk through Atlesian military was not to be taken lightly. "And say that she was, what would I stand to gain by simply handing her over to you? For what reason should I give up one of my people?"

"You admit that one is here by denoting their sex." Sienna clicked her tongue finding the point unnecessary. The man was powerful and her reasons to hide Hena and Adam were far weaker than his might. Feeling alone gave her that sensation. "But in answer to your query, you should hand her over to me as payment for the blood she has spilled. She has taken the lives of the hero's allies, as I have said, and I will be willing to enact a great deal of destruction to reclaim that price." He didn't light his hands on fire, this time, and Sienna grit her teeth as she realized she was _thankful_ for it.

Cowed by a human, even one as powerful as him, was insulting. Even more so that the _fool_ of a thief was standing behind him in that helmet that mocked their race as much as it did the Grimm. Would he be willing to hand over the woman, Siena may call it even. With her, at least, she could have some ground to reason with Atlas and the rest of the military.

But not now, especially not as her ground was rocky at best, gone at worst.

"Say I hear your offer," Sienna continued, stalling what she could. "What guarantee do I have that you will not lay waste to this building after words, should you even be capable of such?" He was, doubtlessly, as one who marched through the White Fang strong hold like a breezy walk would not lack the power. But for her people, and herself, she'd play the part of ignorance, for a bit.

"None, none more than more word." His honesty was truly beguiling, contrasting his monstrous visage. "The same I am sure that you will not attempt to trick me with petty attempts on my life, or the woman's behind me." He made not motion, but it was evident from the way Raven Branwen shifted that she hadn't expected that.

"Her life?" Sienna pointed it out, waving her hand at the thief. "You speak so heavily of a child who took one life, yet you value the woman's behind you? Do you know of how many lives _she_ has stolen? How many atrocities she has committed!?" The Branwen tribe was not a name well-known for its appeal. No more than the Grimm were understood for their physique.

"I do not know nor care," came the cold answer from the human. A very _typical_ answer. "I only know that she has not taken the lives of any of the hero's allies, and has offered me a path to find the murderer who has." So simple an answer as well. "All this said, I am done answering your questions." She narrowed her already slit eyes at the man, balling her hands to control her shaking.

"You are finished?" She questioned. "King you may be in your lands, but here _I_ rule, and you who _dares_ to order me is deserving of nothing! I may command you-" Her breath was lost to her in a moment after that.

Golden eyes widened as she saw her guards bend a knee at the same time, the ends of their lances and halberds hitting the floor to keep themselves upright. She shook and kept herself standing with a hand on her throne, knees buckling under the sudden pressure in the air, one that stole her very breath! Even the thief Raven was holding her arms, lowering herself and debating about throwing her mask from her head.

Only Ganondorf stood tall and still. Him and the tapestries of their people around them, though they groaned in anguish.

"I dare to speak, and you have no power to command." His voice shook her ears, making her grit her teeth. In pain or fear, Sienna could not tell which. "You now all but freely admit that the girl who was among those who killed Tatl and Tael is present in this home, and your actions imply that you are willing to let her escape. That decision, should you wish to pursue it, would be the most unwise choice of your rule of your people."

He took a step forward, and now Sienna fell back. His very foot fall made the entire throne room tremble, and her men let out gasps of shock as he did so. How Raven was standing, Sienna needed to know, but she only hoped the woman would be on her hands and knees before her, even if she, herself, was forced to sit as Ganondorf remained the only tall figure in the room, but arms and head's length.

"For should she escape, I will not only burn this place down, I will turn your very cause into a cursed act that will have all who glance upon you tremble in despair." Her mind was racing for how that was possible, even as she was trying to force her chest to move, to _breathe_. It was so difficult her jaw was ajar in the attempt to do so. "As you gaze upon me and feel the wrath and evil of my being, so too will others look upon you and your ilk, and feel the same. _That_ is my promise to you, should you refuse to present the murderer to me."

It was… a horrifying request. One that was still making Sienna try and take a shuddering breathe of air. What was even capable of doing that? A scar? Adam had that and showed it only to rally the troops! She knew the human General, Ironwood, was no stranger to wounds as well. What could this man be threatening that would, or perhaps _could_ , not be twisted into sympathy?

Sienna didn't know, but Ganondorf's dark Aura brokered no idea of twisting his words. Not without breaking her arms.

"Will you continue to drag your feet, Sienna Kahn?" Ganondorf questioned, arms still folded and voice shaking the air. Him _and_ his Aura. She finally clutched at her chest at a desperate attempt to give herself relief. "Or must I make good on my threat?" She didn't want that. She couldn't allow it!

The throne of the White Fang was a stronghold for their people! It was where they were promised safety no matter their affiliation! Where it to be destroyed, then all of the Faunus present could be homeless, again! And all because Adam… Adam and his _subordinates_ had taken an extreme action against her orders! Was this how the White Fang would be ruined? By a man who claimed to act with the rage of a hero?

She fought to move her jaw, to undue the tight clench her teeth were set in, if only to assure Ganondorf that something would be done. She would not simply hand over Hena, no matter how vile her actions were, but… but something had to be done! Something… anything… Her hand reached behind her, trying to lift herself up before the pressure of the air sent her keeling forward like it did her guards.

That's when her hand scrapped at the mask Adam and the Gray Man had left behind.

The blessing of the immense and dark Aura Ganondorf let off was that it hide her surprise at finding it, keeping it hidden beneath the pain of the pressure he built. It was a mask that the Gray Man said was powerful, immensely so, much like the General and Witch who were also buried in those carved pieces of wood. But while he had said _his_ queen demanded those subjects, she had no need for this one.

Not for power, as Sienna recalled questioning, as she could not imagine _anyone_ throwing power away. No, but because it was wild and unknown, untamable, and therefore unpredictable. She had scoffed at that being a weakness, until Ganondorf Dragmire destroying her home and now threatening her guards and own life occurred.

Now Sienna Kahn realized the folly of subordinates who acted without thought.

Now… Sienna realized she may have to put her faith in another to free herself and her men from whatever this _force_ was that was holding them down. This… indominable will, and one that was only possibly counter able through the mask she hid. One that, per the request of Adam and agreement of the Gray Man, she not store out of sight or reach.

A mask so caustic and crude to the sight that it made her skin turn, one with as many thorns along its edge as she did nails on her fingers, and eyes that bore more into her soul than even the gaze of the gods themselves. And it was behind her, waiting almost… for her racked and pained body to grab and put it on… but if she did that… what then?

Already her trust in those who wouldn't listen had cost her much more than she could imagine. If the beast dwelling in the mask was the same… would it be no different? Would it be worse? Or… was this worse?

Siena didn't know, but she found the sight of the dark king, for he could be _nothing_ else now but that, standing tall amidst their breathless nature, a convincing reason to wear the mask. To due away with safety… and to destroy the man who threatened her people.

Shaking fingers clasped around its edge, feeling the wood even as her hand trembled. She only needed to pull and bend. And then… then she would…

" _S-STOP!_ " Her eyes swam as the pressure lifted.

"GUH!" A throaty gasp of sucking in air ripped through Sienna, forcing her to drop the mask behind her throne again as she took in greedy gulps of air. Her fingers ran through her hair, clutching at her chest as she felt sheens of sweat forming. Her body heaved as she let every molecule of air she took in rest to rejuvenate her body. All her men did, as their relief was as palpable as it was visible.

But which of them spoke? None of them appeared capable of it, and none spoke normally with a voice so high in pitch. The idea of who could had Sienna's eyes scanning the room, glancing over Raven who had a hand to her own throat, and did not make move to remove her helm still. Slit eyes, wide and amber glowed, stared around the room for the wonder of the voice.

Her relief turned to panic when she gazed at the small frail figure of Henna standing at a door's edge. Ganondorf, despite her pleas for him not finding her, when unanswered.

"S-Stop it!" The girl yelled again. She was clutching the wall, she was _dragging_ herself across the stone to reach them, and she was sucking in breath as desperately as Sienna knew she and her guards were. Yet this girl had screamed. How… "Don't hurt them!" Her eyes were sharp and bore up at the man who stood half the distance of the hall from her. And, though exaggerated, what almost felt like just as far above her.

"Hmm…" Ganondorf hummed. Sienna turned he head to regard him, watching him as he stared at her. He did not move, and hardly breathed as he watched her. "A child, one who had strength to yell through my magic." Magic? Is that what he called his Aura? Maybe a cultural term, but hardly important. "Child… what is your name?"

Sienna quickly turned her head to look at Henna, unsurprised to see her staring up at her. Brown eyes wide, scared, trembling, realizing the hell she had just inserted herself into… and looking for Sienna to assist her. She bit her lips, chest still trembling as she tried to regain control of her voice. Not that she would use it at this moment.

Instead, she rapidly shook her head, _demanding_ the child to not speak her name. Not a name they would recognize. Her name, if it was one they would not know, then perhaps. But… but not her name. She was strong enough to power through the Aura of Ganondorf Dragmire… loose of a cannon as she was, she was strong as Adam, and doubtlessly would be celebrated for this strength.

Sienna Kahn was not willing to lose her subordinates so easily, let alone at all.

" _M…"_ Henna began to say, catching herself. Her acting skills were still superb, disguising the fault in her breath as trying to catch it. After the display of power that Ganondorf had given, it was well within reason. The fact the man did not speak was evidence he was patient for it. "Marin… My name is Marin." A close name, but different. One that Sienna was not used to. She memorized it as if it were Henna's god given title.

"She is… a child of… one of o… o-our men," Sienna forced out, standing to her tallest once more, but flexing her every muscle to keep herself strong and stiff as stone. She would not tremble, not even as Ganondorf twisted his gaze what little was necessary to regard her. Even with eyes of flaming gold, she would now cower.

"Marin…" He tested the title on his tongue, head falling until his gaze was back on Henna. She curled into the wall, and Sienna faulted her not once. "A child that of a soldier, present to keep them close, to keep you safe, while your forebearers work. A commendable tale. One I have witnessed often as well." He had seen it, that was good. It added credence. Credence made a story easier to sell. Seeds of truth in a lie. Sienna nearly devoured her tongue to keep herself from smiling. "Where is your mother then child, or your father?" How odd he put the matriarch before the patriarch, but Sienna put the thought away.

"My… h-he's gone…" she pushed out, and Sienna listened intently. There would doubtlessly need to be something she would have to add, to sell, to do _something_ to give the tale credence. "A-After… s-s-something happened a-a-and he left with a strange man." Adam, or the Gray Man. She was describing her father leaving with them.

Adam was with her father… very well.

"I can confirm this," Sienna spoke with more sure breath. "Even that thief beyond you, without a doubt having her _own_ spies upon my walls can confirm my men left recently. Surely you are not foolish enough to believe she should have left with them?" No details on just _who_ they were. Nothing that would make them focus on Adam… that would be just as damning at this moment.

Sienna had to be careful. _They_ had to be careful. Or else it would be for nothing.

"I see. You stay safe within these walls as your father conducts a harrowing task," Ganondorf's words sounded curious, amused… but still with that deep air shaking breath. Sienna couldn't even breath at the same moments he spoke. "Can you confirm that soldiers left this building, Raven Branwen?" Now breathing was much more difficult. "You had your own eyes upon the knight's halls before. Surely you recognize the murderers I seek." But… oh no…

Ganondorf, for whatever reason, didn't recognize Adam or Henna. That was good. But the thief would. A criminal as despicable, cunning, and ruthless as Raven _would_. She would… and their lives hanged in her grasp at this very moment!

Sienna stared at the bone white mask, covering the woman's face, wonder what horrible expression she was making. Was she grinning, preparing to turn this man's wrath against them with a single word? She barred her teeth as she starred at the woman, prepared to make _her_ her first target should she say so… should she-

"My scout told me four people left here, maybe half an hour ago." Raven spoke fort he first time, and her words made Sienna's eyes widen in disbelief. "We saw them leave, but didn't see them carrying anything, so I didn't figure they were the ones who killed those fairies. Just another patrol leaving." Her tone was as dismissive as could be, and it was full of an obvious lie. Obvious to the leader who had sent out no patrols.

Adam had left with the Gray Man, through that odd Semblance that sent them odd distances without a trace. Gone in a blink, and leaving behind only Henna and the oddly colored mask. No one had left the premises in the past day for fear of them being understaffed… and though they weren't it still did nothing for Ganondorf's appearance. Sienna put away her fear for what Link may do if not for this man…

Then recalled that this man with an Aura as monstrous as the end of days was being deterred from attacking by Raven again. The woman had a hand on her hip, maybe to hold herself up after she had nearly trembled, and expression unreadable underneath her mask. And yet, be it an unsure glare or a cocky smile, that woman was _lying_ to protect them.

"You are sure of this?" Ganondorf questioned, those flaming eyes on her. If the thief was shaking, like Sienna fought to keep herself from doing, the woman didn't show it. "Despite your claims that the murderers were present here, and witnessing that party leaving, you are continuing to claim to be in my best interest?" The question had shifted… and Sienna wasn't sure how anyone would respond. Violence and threats would _not_ work on this man.

"I didn't think that the killer was in that group is all," Raven held up her hands in a faux-gesture of unease. It was fake to Sienna who had instructed many new members on how to earn pity from men. "Plus, you just asked where their hideout was. I did say they were probably here, but I don't recall giving the affirmative they were definitely in here, did I?" She would not lie about something the man could recall.

And the low hum of thought that came from him felt as if it were shaking the air again. With everything so still, even the tapestries like stone, his every moment was emphasized, and breath a thunderous boom. Sienna stole the chance to stare at Henna, the girl who both caused all of this and was now risking her very neck to keep them safe.

Sue had made a mistake following Adam, but should her actions save them now, she would be given refuge until the end times.

"I see, how disappointing." The words of Ganondorf, for the first time, gave Sienna a feeling of elation. "To have come this close and have the killer narrowly slip away. Snakes of the desert, just as venomous." One of her guards twitched, one whom she knew sported the scaled back of a reptile, but he was smart enough to not take action against the man whose will could make them kneel, with pain at that. "Tell me then where he is heading, or else you also claim to have let this man go without a means to find him." She would not for any of her men, and the former king, no matter how true or untrue that was, knew it.

"He is traveling to the Bad Lands," Sienna spoke honestly, for it would be dangerous to lie to him now. "Someone there whom I have yet to meet helps us from beyond the Atlesian outposts, working in the grounds the Grimm are born from. They promised us support and materials, but Adam has apparently taken a further deal to do harm to Link. I sent him away to them, knowing that he would be of no more trouble to us if he were there." Perhaps using the White Fang name, but under a different banner.

"Sending away a killer. I can see the wisdom in such an action, though not as grand as the correction course of action." Ganondorf criticized her decision. "Turning over to me rather than your sponsor of war would be preferred, for that would save you and your men trouble and strife." She narrowed her eyes and grit her teeth, but bore it. She had not the strength to challenge him on it.

"I have answered your question, and Raven has confirmed my story." She waved at the woman, who did so only in part. She would _not_ focus on that. "If you have no other reason to threaten us, then be gone." She pointed to the hall he entered from, and doubtlessly tore through the walls to enter. It was a daring move for her to take, but she made it regardless. Her people's lives were at stake still… hers on the line was just as appropriate.

"Indeed, if there is nothing else, then I should leave." The olive-skinned man glanced at the way behind him, showing the bulge of his arms as he did so. Sienna wished to never bear such a sight again. "Be gone from here and leave your people alone." He muttered the words, though they were still deeper than even a mocking voice could reach.

Sienna watched him, with Raven and her guards. Watched him, then stared at Henna as she continued to hug the wall, staring at the man. She was nearly limping, ears on her head bent as she looked forward at him. Pain or guilt, it was thankfully hidden by the Aura he had pushed out before. But now…. It was a matter of patience.

Waiting for the man to turn and leave… to leave… to leave…

 _"GAAAH!_ " Siena's eyes widened as she heard Henna scream.

And a moment later, was pulled through the air by an unseen force.

"NO!" She shouted the words, even as her guards leapt up as if to catch, but succeeding only in hitting themselves against her flying body. Cursed more than blessed, her flight was short, as she ended where Sienna feared the most.

In the outstretched hand of Ganondorf. Held like a marionette in the air.

"AGH! GAH!" Henna yelled out, her tiny palms grasping at the massive hand that surrounded her gut, trying vainly to rip the fingers off as she kicked her legs widlly beneath her. Her head _thrashed_ with as much effort, making her locks whip. "L-LET ME GO! I-IT HURTS! IT HU-UGHGHGghghghg!" Her body stilled as the air was _forced_ out of her.

By Ganondorf tightening his grip. Sienna felt a tooth in her grit mouth crack.

"Be silent." He _commanded_ her, like a _thing_. "I entertained your ploy long enough. Long enough to know if there was any true regret in your heart." His burning eyes bore on Henna, and Sienna could see the girl try and push herself away from him, with just as much success. Her very skin appeared to be paling at the sight. "But none who regret their actions would lie so readily or easily about them."

Then his eyes turned to her, and Sienna fell back in her throne.

Her knees finally buckled as she fell in to the stone seat, unable to comprehend let alone _resist_ the hatred that flowed from those golden orbs. Eyes that stared at her as if the fires of hell were behind them, pulling her soul into the abyss against her will. His Aura had made her choke, but his _gaze_ made her fall.

"Did you already forget what I said?" Ganondorf _bragged_ as he held Henna in his grasp, hoisting the girl above the ground with a hand about her _waist!_ The girth of her _waist_ with his hand and it looked as if he was prepared to snap her in half! Sienna knew he would! "Did you already put out of mind how I knew you had a murderer present in your home?" His eyes returned to Henna, and the girl continued to struggle breathlessly, breath _squeezed_ out of her.

Sienna wasn't listening, not intently. She was focused on Henna, on the girl who had saved them and delivered to them power! The one who, though reckless and having caused so much damage, was being killed before her very eyes! This was… this was not at all what she wanted as punishment for the girl! She had to do something, or else she would have _new_ reason to hate all humans! And the girl's blood would forever be on her hands!

Her breath caught, and Henna, struggling continuously, stilled, when Ganondorf pointed his large finger at the girl. The leader of the White Fang was sure he was going to kill her then and there, with a _flick_ of his finger. But instead, thankfully, he spoke.

"You haven't cleaned your palms since you killed the fairies." They were words she loathed to hear. "I can still smell the scent of fairy's blood on your hand. Rich and pure, bright and alluring, and _stained_ with your guilt."

Sienna was close to shaking her eyes out of her sockets, were they not slit so small and staring with an intensity greater than most fires. Of all the reasons… of all the _stupid_ reasons to be found out. It was because the girl had not _bathed!_ Was that not something one did in _excess_ after guilt? Where was her sanity?!

The guards shuffled closer still, to thrusting distance, but Sienna only continued to grit her teeth, desperately searching for _any_ thing she could do. The poor choice aside, it was not one worthy of her death. There had to be something she could do, _anything!_

"And you, Raven Branwen," the shift to the thief was shocking, until Sienna remembered that the woman had confirmed her story. She had _lied_ to the man who had dragged Henna out of the air and held her like a puppet! "You may were good to your word to lead me here, but then soiled your trust with a lie to keep a killer safe." Head turned away, the leader of the White Fang couldn't see what Ganondorf's glare was, not beyond what she endured.

But she saw the woman's mask shake. The one modeled after a terrifying Grimm, and Nevermore that could bring death with hardly a cry and a flip of its wings, and it was shaking under the gaze of the man. Shaking, but she did not fall.

"That's… that's because-" The thief did not get far.

"You were attempting to deceive me," Ganondorf brokered no argument, and he was _still holding Henna!_ Even as he glared and spoke, Sienna was looking desperately for a way to free the girl before she was literally crushed to death! "Be it for guilt and knowing that I will pay the murderers in kind, or your true intention all along, I do not know. I only know what you are."

Raven Branwen didn't respond, not that Sienna expected her to. She, however, was looking at the guards, who were rapidly starting to fan out around the man, as they were trained. Some reached for the guns at their backs, hoping to far better with the artillery, but otherwise having no other means to harm the man, _not_ from what she had witnessed and heard!

"A thief. And a thief depends on deception." Ganondorf's words were a cold lecture, that were compounded by his stature. A stature that was _emphasized_ by the way he grasped Moraine! "Be aware of the depths of your words and actions, as you have chosen them of your own will. Just as I chose what is to come." Sienna had no need to think of what that meant.

Henna was still struggling in his grasp, pushing at his massive grip as she imagined a child would the jaws of an Ursa! There was nothing she could do against the beast of a man, just as her men could do nothing! There was… was there really nothing she could do? Could she not even save a child that wished for freedom when they were dying right before her?

The question came to her mind, and she just as quickly realized the answer. She could, and would, even if it was an act of desperation.

"Ganondorf!" She yelled at the man, screaming his name though knowing he may kill her with a flick of her wrist. The idea of him doing so was well within the reason of what she had already witnessed and endured. Endured like the gaze he twisted back to her, and the few guards who had flanked him what they could. "You will _not_ kill her within my home! You will _not_ take her life before me! You _will_ release her, or else you are to boldly claim you will kill a _child_ for reasons you cannot even understand!"

"Understand?" The man repeated the word, testing it even. Sienna kept her eyes on Henna, watching the young girl's Faunus ears twitch almost violently above her head, trying desperately to pull herself free. Her mouth was already hanging open with the desperate act to suck in air. "What more is there for me to understand? Past the blood she has on her hands and the willingness for all to lie. What more is there for me to… understand." So much more than that!

"That though Henna made a mistake, she does _not_ deserve to be murdered herself!" She yelled back, pointing at the young girl before turning her hand to the mountain of a man, aiming it like the tip of a blade. "Not by a man who boldly claimed so few minutes ago to have killed others for mere shows of power! Not by you or even Link, this hero you claim to be one of high morals! Killing her for a mistake such as that is not revenge, it is _ignorance!_ " The same swings of ignorance that cost her people so much in the past.

"A child?" Ganondorf spoke _that_ now as if it were the first he had heard of the term. She could not fathom it was. "A child that, from what I have gathered from others, played coy and lies with those at the Academy to gain trust and refuge with those she thought as an enemy. To become close to the hero to gain access to his friends' memories. Then to take the lives of those who wished to save her, for no other reason then desperation and ignorance. That is what you refer to as a child?" His burning eyes turned back to her.

Once more she saw hell upon them, but no matter the circle or depths that came from it, Sienna would _not_ let herself turn away. Not while Henna was in danger, the girl who had risked her life for them all! She grit her teeth and steeled her will, but did nothing more, for she could not imagine anything more.

"Because in the deserts of my land, a child becomes adult when they steal their first coins of gold. I would expect you to think near the same for when a… child, take their first _life._ " The challenge was made with him turning his eyes back to Henna and the girl, the _child_ , kicking her legs with renewed vigor. It could not last long, _Ganondorf_ would not allow it. Not a human _that_ cruel!

Desperation turned to action.

"Then you leave me no choice," Sienna stated lowly, as calmly as her shaking body and rattled mind would allow. A low threat that was matched by the man turning eyes back to her, Raven looking through the slits of her mask, and a few of her men offering questioning looks. She disregarded them all, as they were not why she was doing this. The only reason for her actions now were for the child that swore loyalty and fealty to the White Fang, and risked so much for them.

She would not allow that child to make that sacrifice before she herself put her life on the line. Not now, and no time later.

Sienna ignored the curious shouts that came from below. She ignored any stared given to her. She ignored them all as she turned her back to Ganondorf and Henna, the girl being _crushed_ with a single hand from the monstrous dark king. She ignored them all as she reached for the mask her fingers had played with before. Now, she pulled it to bear.

She held it at arm's length before her face, holding it up and showing the monster what she was about to do. It was an act of desperation, and one that both Henna and Adam would pay for later, but _not_ with their lives. Their lives were worth far more than one mistake.

Ganondorf Dragmire, threatening to kill her people so casually in front of her, was not.

Through more shouts she both did and did not recognize, she let the mask cover her face.

She held it to her skin, pushed the gnarled wood on the unpainted portion of the mask to her face, and held it there. Staring through small holes of the mask, staring through what were _soon_ to be someone else's eyes… and she continued to hold it there… longer still.

She grit her teeth, waiting for her body t be taken, for her mind to be shared for anything like what her scouts had reported what occurred with Link and the masks of his other friends. The fish Faunus, the avian Faunus, the shadow warrior, the dancing whore, _any_ of them. She waited for her mind to be taken by a creature of such similar regard and grit her teeth as she knew it would come soon!

But… it was taking a long time… much longer than she expected. It was… not happening?

"What?" She breathed the word breathlessly through the mask, feeling the hot air of her own desperation blow back into her face. Her hand was trembling, feeling the mask vibrate against her face as she held it there. But it did nothing… why nothing? _How_ nothing?! Was this not all that Link did to make his masks work? Was there an incantation? A spell? True magic?!

"How very curious." Her eyes focused on Ganondorf, through the holes of the mask and staring at the man. She was glad for only the fact that her shaking jaw was hidden beneath the wood. "I had no idea the hero carried such a mask with him. One of the goddess of life and shape, of the sun and stars." Her confusion did not dwindle. Neither did he let go of Henna.

But, if only a little, she believed he relaxed his grip. Enough that she could hear her suck in a greedy breath, unable to take anything else. Not while his monstrous grasp was still upon her waist. Sienna spoke nothing, hoping that if the mask were enough to make him stop… perhaps it would be enough to make him release her.

They could do nothing else but hope.

"A pair of goddesses ruled the desert, shaped my home." His words were calmer than before, as calm as _far_ before. Before she, Henna, and Raven attempted to trick him. And now leant them to this standoff, or rather… awaiting the execution of his powers. "One, the goddess of sand, who shaped and spilled the world with the seeds and coarse grain that decorated everything, near and far. Leaving behind only pillars of stone to protect from the whipping winds, and a sky that would burn as readily it would freeze."

Her eyes were on Henna, focusing on her. Her and then Raven, watching as the woman slowly trekked backwards, legs talking long strides back, as silent as she expected of the coward! The woman was doubtlessly crying beneath that mask of her, a mockery to the White Fang. Sienna was shaking, but her fear was for her people, not herself!

"But the other, the goddess of life and shape, she who could turn the smallest snake into a wicked Molgera, or from loose burning sands package a monumental tower of stone." His other hand rose as he spoke, and he was indicating her with a point of his hand. Sienna clenched the handle of her throne, remembering how easily he had pulled Henna through the air with that same posture and grip. She would _not_ allow that! "That mask bears her likeness, and knowing of the hero's will, doubtlessly her power." She grit her teeth, even as they chattered. He was mocking her.

"You lie," she seethed, voice muffled through the mask, but still unwilling to lift it. She would _not_ bare her fear to the man! That was not something she would allow her guards and people to burn into their minds, their leader shaking before a human. "If it had… if this did _anything_. Then I would have… I would have done…" She was not sure what, but she refused to say.

Words that would promise misery or death upon the man more than capable of killing her was not a wise action. She did not wish to die, but his wrath upon her guards or Henna, still struggling with whimpering breaths, was far worse.

"You could do nothing," Ganondorf's deep and vile voice returned. "For you have no power to coax out the goddess. No strength to undue the seal doubtlessly on that mask." His words… were terrifying.

A seal? One of her wiseman had called the masks that Link bore and demonstrated to be tulpas, the recreation of memories into physical form. The ideas he had of them given new shape through his own power. Such an idea was thrown away when Henna told of how she wore Saria, but could do nothing without the girl, the _ancient woman_ , learning of who she was. It was a wise action, drastic as her first theft was.

But this… this was a seal now? Why on this mask?

"How?" She breathed the question, not knowing if the dark man would even answer. _"Why?_ "

"Because she is a goddess, and her power a rival to my own." Sienna's hand did not loosen on the mask. It _tightened_. She pushed it harder against her skin, _praying_ to the goddess within to accept her. Nothing happened. "Ideas, I will admit, but the hero's habits are not hard to follow. Such as his wrath is not easy to forget." Her eyes, almost pushed through the thine holes of the mask, bore back on Henna, on the girl who now looked back at Ganondorf. And the vile olive skinned man, staring down at her with the burning eyes of hell.

The feeling of the air was thick again, and Sienna looked about her for any means to free the girl from his grasp. If she was not soon, then his power would… he'd _kill_ the girl for a thing as small as fairies! A child while spouting off righteous anger! It was not acceptable at all! There had to be something!

"Now, Marin, Moraine, Henna," he spoke all the names that Henna had used, even her true name. She had no idea when he had heard it, or how he knew to speak it. And that lack of knowledge being suddenly grasped bode little well for them. "For the crimes of murder, of the fairies Tatl and Tael of the Termina lands, I come with the rage of the hero to reclaim equal payment." Dammit no!

"Stop this!" Sienna finally yelled, lowering the _useless_ mask from her face! She saw Raven nearly to the door, stopping only to watch, but her eyes were on her guards, surrounding the man and preparing to attack. Where they confident and able to stop him, she'd have given the order already! "If you take this action Ganondorf, then I will swear the _world_ will turn against you! If you do this, _redemption_ will forever be out of your reach!" There was no path to redemption after taking a child's life!

"You assume I have a chance for redemption now," he spoke to her, eyes alone looking at her, but his face facing Moraine. The swirls of his flaming hair made the likeness of hell as apparent as his words. "But for me, there is none. This I do to keep the hero's hands clean of blood and action. I do this…" he left off, turning his gaze back to Henna, the girl continued to beat uselessly at his hands. "For a long-owed favor."

What came next, Sienna didn't know what she hated more.

 _CR-R-RACK!_ "GAAAAAAAAA-!" The sound of bones being crushed or the girl screaming as they were.

"STOP IT! _STOP!_ " She continued to yell at the man, watching with a rapidly emptying chest as he clenched his hand harder. Henna thrashed in his grasp, whipping with a force that would do her no good, but was all _instinct_ with the pain she was feeling, Sienna knew that! She knew it and she could do nothing!

Nothing, not even as a few of her guards were brave enough to stop at the man's legs to avoid Henna, to slash at his back to give him pain, to even assault his face for the hope of getting him to blink, but all with results she was terrifyingly expecting.

Their weapons scraping off of his skin like stone, leaving behind not even a charred mark of contact. And he never looked away from Henna, not once.

"Do you still feel no regret?" Ganondorf questioned, careless of the girl who was all but _foaming_ at the mouth, his deep voice carrying over her _shrills_ of pain! "Do think this is any different than the deaths you gave to the fairies?" Her legs weren't thrashing, though her arms were wild with the force they swung, and eyes more than obviously tearing. Even her ears were folded flat against her scalp. "Does it take torment for you to understand another's suffering?"

Sienna began to look for anything that could help them. Anything. A drain to shove Ganondorf into, a loose tapestry to cover him with, a-a cannon if she had one! Anything that could give the bastard a moment of pause! Anything to help her free the child! This couldn't… she couldn't be forced to watch this and do truly nothing! A useless mask in her hand, a powerful _sorcerer_ killing a child… what did she have? What could she do?!

The answer came faster than she expected. It didn't even come from her.

It came with a flash of gold, a sudden swing of it through the air. A moment to look at the gold that hung behind Henna, watching her carry that golden blade she had received from Link, diamond patterned and gilded steel. That blade that she hadn't seen Henna swing or display since she got back, and now she was holding it behind her with the intent to strike.

Sienna screamed nothing as the girl drove it forward, accompanied by the rest of her guard attempting to tear into him, but faring no better than before. Steel met skin and slipped off. Until Henna's blade, Link's gift, hit home.

And pierced through one of Ganondorf's orange and burning eyes.

The sound of the steel pushing through eye and gore echoed through the chamber, far louder than her own cracking bones or the voice of the man. No breath was taken as Sienna stared, mouth agape, the same as the guards and Henna herself, as she held the Gilded sword against Ganondorf's head. Buried half its length in the man's skull, destroying his eyes, and goring his face.

It… it had actually done something. Sienna couldn't believe it. She stared, watching as the terrifying man, still tall and frozen like a statue, had his head tilted back with the blade notched within. Henna released it before she did him, leaning over his massive forearm and fist, pained tears still spilling down her face. She could cry, she deserved to.

For putting a blade into the head of one of the most wicked men of all, she deserved praise to follow! Henna of the White Fang… she had killed him! Ganondorf was dead!

Her guards must have realized it in time with her, one cheering as he held up the halberd, staring at the gored head of the olive skinned man. Then another let himself shout as well, voice echoing through the chamber. Sienna felt laughter spill from her lips as surprise made way for relief, and her panic subsided for joy. This was… this was beyond what she was hoping for, but was nothing she'd do anything but revel in!

Eyes turned towards the gate to the hall, seeing Raven still standing there. Sienna didn't even care! Let her watch, let her see! Let her tell her _masters_ in the human world of how the White Fang, with but a child, had killed a man more powerful than their military! Let her show pictures of the man's death! Let her display it all to them all! Let her-

" _Fools_."

* * *

There were a few times in Sky's life he thought about the reason he was named. Granted, he knew he was called Sky because his mom liked the color blue, and that was fine and all. Blue like how Cardin was meant to be red and so and so forth. Maybe not as obvious and yellow Jaune or red Ruby, but he liked his name. Sky that is. Maybe not Lark, but Sky was good.

He always did like the sky. Staring up at it after his lessons were over, listening to the wind on it when he was ignoring Cardin trying to shout out a new order, or just remembering how much they depended on it from the protection of the electro-magnetic waves that came from the sun to the keep them warm. And yet, there was one thing he didn't enjoy that much under the sky.

Working.

Sky remembered how much he hated working under the sky when he let his dad's hoe fall back into the ground, tearing up the soil and loosening it for oxygenation. Sweat was staining his clothes, drenching him as he panted into the hot air. Not unusual, especially with the past few hours, but the fact that there was no relief, especially with the cloudless sky high above him still beating heat on him, didn't exactly inspire him a great work ethic.

In real honesty, since there was nothing else to be while he was working, this was probably the biggest reason why he decided to go to Beacon, to get away from this kind of work. Sure, there was more work when he was actually at Beacon, namely studying, but it was a better deal than having to sweat for something he couldn't actually see done for months later. And he did this every years, for years on end, and couldn't stop, or else his family would starve.

It was a drag, and he didn't just mean the hoe tearing into the ground again. Bored still, tearing up the usual amount of soil, he knelt down to pick at the rocks that came up with it. How those things kept getting into a field his family had cultivated for probably close to three generations now was amazing itself. Not as amazing as it was that he was back here after only half a year, if that, but still incredible.

Then again… there was something even more amazing than that.

The fact that he was happy to be back.

He was tired, and a little bored, but Sky flicked his name-sake sky blue hair over his shoulders as he picked up the hoe and continued to tear into the soil, making his way through the usual stretch of soil and crops as they prepared for another new set of seeds. A little out of season, but like his dad said, the last crops had bitten the dust too early, and there was still enough time to get in another harvest of lettuce before the winter came. So, they were going to plant more seeds.

And to Sky, he didn't have a single complaint. Instead of tossing around his lance, he was swinging around a hoe. Instead of tearing into Grimm flesh, he was tearing into the dirt. And instead of worrying about the screams of monsters as they charged at him, he listened to birds singing in the trees. Maybe a bit corny, he'd admit, but a lot better than nightmares tearing into his skull every night.

Nightmares… yeah, a good thing there were none of those here.

"Sky! Sky!" He turned as he heard his name, seeing the obvious person running at him now. Or maybe waddling was the right word for it, because there was no way his half-pint of a sister was old enough to actual run. Not without falling over and crying. "Sky! Daddy wants you!" She cried out the order, smiling like the sun in the sky as she did so.

Sky kept on smiling himself at it, realizing that he missed that too. There really was nothing at Beacon that compared to his sister cheering for him to come home. Not like he could ever expect Cardin to do that… dang it, and here he thought he was done with the Nightmares.

"In a minute Grace!" He yelled back, picking up the hoe and putting it over his shoulder. He forgot for a minute that was how he carried his lance. It wasn't a thought that lasted long, especially as she started walking over all the trailed dirt he had dug up, kicking away a few more stones in his path. "He say what he needed me for?" The girl, cause all five-year-olds were the same, shook her head until her long alabaster hair was practically whipping herself. It made him grin some more.

"Nuh-uh!" She yelled again, despite him being so close to her now. "He just said he need to talk to you!" Her broken English was as enduring as ever, and not just because it made him chuckle. And _especially_ not because it made her pout, cute and adorable as that was to see. "Are you tired again?" Now that was a usual question he got from her.

"Not now," he spoke up honestly again. He let it hang, before kneeling right in front of her. Rather than confusion, he saw his little sister's face light up like the white light she was named after. She knew what was coming, and probably for a better reason that just because she was his younger sibling. "And do you know why?"

"Why?" She asked in that immature excited tone she loved to carry. She knew what was coming, and that was obvious, but that wasn't a good enough reason for Sky to stop. Not when it was going to get him to hear probably the greatest thing while he was home.

 _SCOOP!_ "GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" His little sister's laughter.

"Cause I got a hand full of Grace!" He cheered aloud as he spun his little sister around, the girl shrieking with delight as her hair and dress twirled with her body, spinning as he rotated on his heel. She cackled at him, tiny fingers and hands holding onto his own as he kept her moving like a top. She never gave off a tear of discomfort. "Maybe I should throw you back into the sky!"

"Sky already got me!" She yelled back through her laughter and joy, and he laughed with it, knowing it was exactly what he wanted to hear. And really, maybe he realized it after only a few days at Beacon, but it was what he missed the most. It took probably the worst threat on his life for him to realize it, but he was glad to be back home. Cause here, he had someone he not only loved, but loved to protect.

"Maybe I should throw Grace to the wind!" He cheerfully yelled back, lifting her up and down as he continued to spin, and loving the way her voice rose and dropped with it. Her smile never fell, and he was sure his wasn't either. "Throw you into the wind so the rest of the world can have you!"

"They can't have me!" She yelled back, the usual banter between brother and sister and he loved to hear so much. "My brother's got me and he's never ever ever gonna let go!" Her almost shrieking laughter continued, and Sky couldn't help but let out a few breathless chuckles of his own. It was something he loved to hear, and he was helping to churn it out. In honesty… because that was so much better than just being lazy and lying, it was easier too.

He stopped spinning as he looked at his little sister, holding her in out-stretched arms, the tike kicking her legs as if that would make him spin her around some more. Sky wasn't about to now, not after he learned that spinning her around too much made her sick, and his mom was probably already sick of cleaning up vomit _and_ sweat from his clothes. Just things to worry about for later.

For now, he had his sister, his family, his home, and a heck of a lot more happiness here than he did at Beacon. No responsibilities except one he could grasp. No worries except those everyone shared. And no concerns aside from just how he was going to sleep at night. And that… that was enough to make him smile.

**_BOOOOM!_ **

Until an earth-shaking sound filled the air, and made him fall to his knees.

"SKY! SKY!" His sister started yelling his name again, and he didn't hesitate to pull her into his arms, holding her against his chest as he braced himself on his knees. Just like at Beacon, basic training for major Grimm. Build support, assess the situation, _make a plan_. No Cardin or Penny around to help him with the last one now! " _SKY! SKY!"_ His sister was crying now, and that just made him angry.

He kept his posture still, holding onto Grace as she held him like a log in the middle of an ocean. HE didn't let her hold on him slack, too afraid of wat would happen if she did let go. Instead, he looked around for anything, _anything_ that could be causing this. He saw the dirt he had dug up vibrate across the ground, shaking like the world was being rocked. HE saw the stones skipping and flipping, too much vibration to keep them still. Even the small amount of crops they had left were shaking like the harvest was coming, and some of the corn fell from the stalks. This was bad, this was _really_ bad.

His eyes looked up at the Sky, looking around for anything that could be causing this! A Grimm? Some sudden freak tornado? No way, not while the sky, the _actual_ sky was still so blue. Cloudless, but that was changing with the number of birds that were taking to it, scared out of their nests like Grace was scared out of her mind.

She was still screaming into his chest, holding onto him for dear life, and he wasn't letting go. He kept looking, trying to find where the thing was that was causing his, so he knew where to run _opposite_ of. And sure enough, with a twist of his neck to look over his shoulder, he saw it. Above the tree line and so far into the horizon that he thought it could easily be leagues and leagues away.

Far as it, it still wasn't far enough to make the giant pillar of darkness any less harsh against the blue sky.

A pillar of darkness, that rose into the endless blue like a blade with blood. Piercing it, shattering it, and churning with such force that the air around them was shaking like the ground, and making _everything_ fall apart with it. Grace was screaming, but Sky was breathless, because he recognized that pillar. He _knew_ what it was, because he'd seen it before. Before when it was brighter out, the earth was unformed, and he was with a Faunus that had saved his life.

This time… it was so much louder, even though it was so much further away. The ground was shaking so much harsher, and he could hear his parents screaming for them as the vegetation and crops fell to the ground, but his eyes remained focused on that far off horizon, staring at his as he wondered just _what_ had let _that_ reform again!

The giant pillar of darkness, the churning _portal of despair_. The thing that made his throat go dry, his eyes wide, and forced his tears to mix with his sweat. A cold sweat that nearly made him start to vomit, even as he held Grace a little tighter. This couldn't be happening. It could _not_ be happening. He had… he had quit Beacon to _avoid_ this, but now… i-it was just… _again! AGAIN!_

It was the same thing as what happened with the Nightmare… and it was happening _again_. His hold on Grace tightened, because he didn't know what else to do.

He hoped his sister would forgive him for his screaming, because he wasn't sure what else to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	41. Side Quest: Forest Memories

For Saria of the Kokiri, the woods were where her magic was held. Held, housed, enhanced, and made into something that brought out the greatest treasures of nature. Where anything could be grown, nurtured, or made into something truly rememberable. For her, it was as if the woods were the domain of heaven, and she left only when the call of wilds beckoned her. Her… and Link of course.

At the moment, however, she was in the woods once more. Once more without Link, but this time, with company. Company that was both familiar and foreign, even as she moved with a body that was borrowed from her own. It gave her no slip in her step or crinkle to her smile. It was impossible for her to feel upset or disillusioned in the trees of her home, or a place close to it.

For her, it was an absolute truth. For Team RWBY, not as much.

While Saria twirled and skipped through the forest giants, enjoying the feel of bark under her palms and the sweep of wind through the enclosed channels, the girl that followed her walked forward as if they were about to be struck at. Hesitation as they moved, eyes looking about the woods for threats, and never once staying further than a leap's distance from one another. For the child of the woods like Saria, it was a curious thing to see.

So curious that she had to giggle at them, laughing in a way that made her feel young again. Perhaps it was the youth who had 'stolen' her from Link, though she knew he would understand, or perhaps it was the energy that carried through this Emerald Forest, rich and untapped. There were no currents like in the Lost Woods, but they still had the energy of mysticism to them. Enough that she enjoyed the scent, the touch, and the sights she saw. It must have been a curious thing for the girls to witness, as they were keen to speak on it.

"Is… are you okay?" The tall blonde named Yang asked behind her, with a tone that Saria knew was genuine. "Not saying you look wrong or anything, but… I-I don't think I've ever seen someone skip around in a forest as much as you." Was that wrong? Saria was unsure, though she did understand their confusion. They were not used to Kokiri.

"It depends on what you feel when you are in your home." Saria returned, twirling about the crumbled leaves she stood on, basking in the wind that swept past her as she spun, and enjoying the sight of the emerald leaves falling about their tall wooden homes. The faces of the girls accompanying her, holding down their clothing as she did so, was just as humorous. "What do you do when you return to a place familiar to you?"

"I… tend to relax," the alabaster girl spoke, Weiss. She was still watching where she stepped, feet taking trepidations with the crumble nature around her. Curious, but in the other senses, she was very much like the royalty of Hyrule. The idea of it made the forest child laugh again. "Relax or read… not so much… this…"

"Maybe explore, be… because I haven't been home in a while. Things might have changed," the dark haired Hylian spoke. Her traits were only partially hidden, but she was the first for Saria to meet and the most honest with her so far. She still seemed no more at home in these woods than the others, disappointingly. "Might try and see if there are new shops… or fishing."

"Yeah, I know a lot of good places to eat, but there isn't a lot to explore on Patch," Yang spoke again, hand against a tree as she peered around it. Just what did she intend to find? Prey to feast on or a trap? Saria already knew no such things were nearby, not with how the woods whispered to her. They were safe, not that girls could understand their billowing and melancholy. "Guess… if I'm home though… wait, hold on, what's this got to do with you asking us to come out here?" Her sudden question turned Saria around.

She balanced on the edge of her heels, body rocked back in a position that made the youngest of them all Ruby, look worried. Did she thing she would fall? Nonsense. Not while the forest was to her back. Her care though, genuine as the worries of the others was appreciated. Answers, however, had to be earned.

"You do nothing but wait when you are home?" Saria questioned meaningfully. "All looking for something new in the familiar? Something new to create?" The question, once more, gave rise to confusion. That was just and fine. They needed that if they wished to find an answer.

"Well, what else is there to do?" Weiss asked now. "Home is usually the most effective place for recovery and relaxation. It _is_ why many people make handsome livings designing homes to be lived in." Her thoughts were traversing in the wrong direction, but Saria would not keep her from exploring. "It is also the best place to have meetings."

"Meetings? Oh, you mean like parties?" Yang questioned her teammate, and Saria watched, her odd new wolvine ears bending, as the pair looked to one another. "Those are best at home, right? You can party in the streets and stuff, but ya don't want to make it trouble for everyone else." Saria was unsure what she meant, but held back her question. Not until one of the girls found the correct answer.

"I just like to remember all the fun stuff at home, cause that means I get to plan out what else to do." Ruby Rose spoke again, still looking about much like her sister. "I mean, it's no fun to do the same thing a lot, not unless it changes a lot, in which case you _want_ to do it a lot… but there's not a lot of stuff like that. I mean, how many times can Yang try and prank me that my baby was eaten by the Beowolves?" Saria still at that question. Was she… jesting?

"As many times as it takes for your to remember that they _can't_ eat solid steel, Rubes," Yang responded her sister in kind. Steel… so not an actual child. That was good, grand actually. "I could ask you the same thing for how many times you're gonna blow open the front door of the garage when you're working on that thing." Her question, however, rather than just confusing, turned Ruby into a rather indigent color.

"I told you that high-caliber AND explosive charged rounds are a hard combination! The acceleration of the ignition is usually enough to set off the explosion! I can't help it if everyone says something's impossible! I WANT to figure out how to make my baby shoot long distance bombs!" Her answer, however, was humorous. Perhaps not the same as traveling through the woods that appeared to be a young Lost Woods, or even Kokiri Forest, but humbling and funny nevertheless.

"At least you don't have to worry about causing an incident when _you_ make mistakes at home," Wiess returned to her partner, standing tall and foregoing the searching she had been doing with her team before. Appropriate, as Saria was here, and there were no monsters the trees told her of. "I cannot recall the number of times I have had to count my steps through halls just to be sure I don't trip or fall and upset my father."

"Talk about walking on glass shards, huh?" Yang questioned back, not that Saria was familiar with the saying. She could infer a great amount, however. "Gotta story that really sticks out, something that made your old man just that made at you?" The roll of the white haired girl's eyes told of either aggravation, or confirmation.

"I can see that being a problem," Blake returned to Yang instead. "It's hard when your parents are important people, because then you have to remember to always be good when others are around. Not really a child hood when that's the case." An accurate statement, no different than a tree that grew in the shade of another forever being referred to as a bush. Tragic, truly.

"Now _that_ sounds like it has a story behind it!" Saria watched Yang point a hand at her partner, the Hylian shirking back at the sudden attention. "Didn't know you came from higher ups in the world Blakey! Should have told us you had to be the perfect girl like Weiss-crème over here!" The pair of them squawked at the attention, earning a bright laugh from the blonde.

Saria smiled on as she watched, balancing in odd postures as she watched them interact. Children in the woods, as they should be, not squires on a mission, not always. If they could not be children now, they never would be later. And that would mean life would end for them, as they could not protect something they believed was forced to grow. Tragic, and a fate of many woods that grew too large. The Lost Woods was where that secret was never found, and so no trees were scorned, only those who entered from afar.

"You have to have fun stories about Link though, right Saria?" The Forest Sage turned to see Ruby standing nearby, far closer than she believed most others would appreciate. The child of the forest only shifted her head, letting her green locks twist as she stared at the silver eyes of the young child. She mimicked her head twist. "LIiiiiiiike something of him trying to carve his first sword? Fighting his first monsters? Oh! How about something with him trying to start his first big adventure!" Her smile was bright and full as she pondered the questions. The foreign ears on her head twisted as she listened to the requests.

"Actually a good point. Figures the person who helped _raise_ the big guy has a few stories to tell, right?" It sounded to be that Yang had turned her attention on the sage of the woods now, and it took only a glance to see not only her with hands on her hips, a wry smile on her face, but also the other monochromatic teammates putting hands to their chest in relief. "So c'mon, you've gotta have something to share, right? Anything juicy we can use to tease Link with?" To tease him with?

"Why would I share secrets of his upbringing with you so easily?" Saria posed honestly. They were hardly secrets of the ages, but private nonetheless. The roots of a tree were hidden, as were the roots of one's life.

"Cause remembering that kind of stuff is fun!" The blonde threw out her hands with the proclamation, and the grin on her face grew brighter with it. Saria blinked at the statement. "Half the fun of teasing is just getting them to remember something fun like that! You think if Rubes actually didn't like me pointing out how she keeps blowing up more toys than the military does Grimm I'd still be able to do it."

"I _don't_ like it, Yang!" Unlike the previous dismissal, or even the current, Saria couldn't ignore the cheer in the younger sibling's voice. "It's just… I-I know it makes you happy, right?"

"No need to be shy Rubes, we all know you love the attention!" Attention, in this matter, appeared to extend to contact, as the blonde wrapped the younger crimson squire in a headlock, as Link had once called them. It was enough to earn a frightened cry from the girl, but followed swiftly by heavy laughter from the pair, the younger fruitlessly fighting off her elder.

It did make Saria smile, watching the pair of them as she grabbed a long-hanging branch and leaned from it, a pair of feet on the ground and her other arm nearly grazing the soil beneath her. Truly a family, one that entertained each other without agreement or plans. Like the offspring of the flowers, that bloomed without stifling one another. The wonder of the woods and forests and even plains alike. Nature to behold.

Saria lifted her hand, the hand borrowed by the body of Moraine, letting her twist it around experimentally. The girl within still slumbered and waited and she had no desire to jostle the memories awake. Not when the child was looking for a friend, and had yet to truly meet Saria yet. So instead, she used the powers gifted to her by the forest, and drew out the memories that existed in the fog.

"Hold on! What's that?!" Weiss yelled out, but Saria did away with her worry. Squires of Hyrule and this Beacon alike were not used to the magic of her people, hidden away in the woods. She did not know that the mists were there to show this time, not to hide. The difference between a fog and a mist. One that obstructs, and another that guides. "I-Is this like before? It is isn't it!?"

"It… feels like it," Ruby Rose spoke, just as the mist covered her feet. The rest of the girls jumped, and Saria was curious why. The fog was no damper than the leaves they stepped, carrying nothing to harm them, she was sure. "It's… i-it is the same, right Saria? You're not gonna, run away again, right?" The girl was clearly more nervous than sure, and Saria was assured that would be an issue.

"I have no where to run to and nothing to plant for." The seeds of Mystery needed the unknown to surround them to find good soil, just as the seeds of the wind needed a spot of constant swift air. "Here… I believe than rather simply remembering, I will be more fortuned to recall what Link has done, back in the far gone days of his youth?" She smiled brightly at the idea, due not in small part to the grin that also split the face of the elder sister of the group.

The fog that covered them was thin, easy to see through, as Saria did not want to scare them. The woods were a mystery, and the unknown could just as easily frighten as it may enchant. Here, she preferred the later over the former. These were allies of Link after all. And they would be fortuned to know of the boy he used to be.

" _C'mon Link!"_ Saria heard the familiar call, one that she gave often to the child hood friend, to the charge she was to raise. Her wolvine ears, borrowed from the girl whose body she inhabited, turned to the voice, unsurprised to see herself, another self, running in the woods. She was the only one not surprised.

"Whoa! It's you! Another you!" Yang shouted, pointing at her, and then herself again. Saria giggled at the antics of the girl, though with a body many men would savor. "She is you, right? Cause that sounds wrong." Saria didn't answer, instead letting the quartet of girls watch as the memory continued it was one that Saria remembered often, out of both joy and fondness.

" _Link? Link are you there?_ " Her voice carried as she turned around, seeing nothing behind her, not the small boy who was still a fellow of the forest. Her head turned, fairy following her bobbing in confusion as well. " _Did I lose him again?_ " She sighed to herself, even as the real her shut her eyes with the brilliance of her smile, on borrowed lips as it was. Even then, Link surprised her.

"Y-You didn't… actually lose him, did you?" Blake questioned, looking for more frightened of a memory than Saria believed she would. Perhaps that was not the right word. Worried perhaps, that this was not a fond memory. "This is… he's okay, right?" Saria did not answer.

Instead, she looked up, as she knew where the surprise would come from now.

And so she watched, for not the first time, as Link jumped from the high branch of a forest giant, sailing to the ground fearlessly.

She watched, the other girls doing the same, as he hit the ground forward, rolling to undue the damage of his fall, and stopping only when he was breath's length behind her, staring at the back of her head as Saria, the old her, continued to fruitlessly search the misty woods behind her. She sighed, content that she was going to have to walk forward and find her.

" _Honestly Link. At ten years, you should be-_ " Her voice was cut when Link did what most Hylians, he found, considered inappropriate.

 _Slap!_ Clapped his hands on her back.

The girls next to Saria made their own sounds of shock, as the old her let out a yell of surprise as she stumbled forward, arms flailing and her old guardian fairy attempting vainly to help her keep her balance. The surprise and fear she felt was quickly replaced with disappointment as Link's voice echoed behind her. She turned to him with a pout.

" _Link! That frightened me!_ " She called to him, but it only made the youth laugh cheerfully, the short blond locks on his short stature making. " _Honestly! I thought I had lost you in the woods again!_ " His laughter continued, short but strong, and Saria could not hold her anger for long against it. Either then or now.

And the girls appeared to be all too inclined to agree.

" _Oh_ , he's so cute!" Yang spoke up, kneeling to get a closer view of the boy, now narrowly passing her bared naval in height. Not that Saria was nervous of the exposure, not before a memory nor more aware of them than the woods were the core of a mountain. "He's just little blond ball of fun, isn't he!" She looked as if she wanted to sweet him up into her arms, but a part of her knew how well that would work.

"He's certainly… _sneaker_ than I imagined," Blake agreed, looking at him closely as well. Saria of the memories turned away as they did so, causing Link's laughter to shorten and mouth to shut. Only then did he put his hands behind his head, folding the point of his cap and take strides to join her. As was common for him to do, following his sole friend in the village. "Devious is a better word for it."

Indeed, Link was a devious child, but that often worked out for better than worse. It was why he was able to do what came next.

" _Hurry up Link_ ," Saria's spectre spoke disdain. She was only upset, as she recalled. " _The Kokiri village is still an hour's walk, and I will not think to stop this time if you-_ " Her words were stopped this time not by the absence of Link, but by the growl that came from beyond the mists. The current Saria knew there were no threats around them. The old one had yet to awaken, and still did not listen to the woods as she should have.

So the older her came face to face with a Wolfo, tall and lean, with claws as sharp as the pin-pricks that were its eyes. Dark fur hugging its body, drool slipping from its open maw, and teeth like the thorns of a rose bush lining its jaw. She sighed at herself and Link's expression. The squires, however, did not know it was part of the memory.

"Where did that come from?!" Ruby yelled first, her elaborate weapon unfolding as she aimed it at the beast, watching it. She must have still though the girl and boy in front of her were real, or else immediate action would have been more appropriate. "That's… that's not real, is it?" Surprisingly, however, she was the first to catch on, perhaps because she was the most used to the fog, Saria herself aside.

"Correct," Saria agreed, unwilling to let them use their bombastic arrows in the fog of memories. Not as she slowly walked around the scene before her, feet crackling the leaves as the silent stand-off between herself, Link, and the wolfo continued. A child of barely a decade's age, a forest sage not awake and terrified, and a wolfo that looked hungry for a meal to devour. "It is from then, not now, and it may be a memory of fear now, but soon one to be of joy."

"Joy?" Weiss asked, her weapon, as well as the tome of Link, held in her hand, her dedication to learn the tool was admirable, Saria knew. "That is… what kind of joy or enjoyment comes from a monster like that? You are not to say that Link, a-as he is… he enjoys this?" The girls were clearly unable to fathom the truth of it.

They were in the Lost Woods, where monsters dwelled and life was stolen. Link was with her to remain safe, as he was not a Kokiri. The wolfo, however, cared not for her or them. Only him.

 _RAGH!_ The girls shouted as the wolfo jumped, leaping well over Saria and towards Link. She wined, not enjoying the sight of Link leaping forward and out of the way of the beast's talons, doubtlessly capable of tearing him in two. He rolled again until he was before Saria, pushing her forward and sending her tumbling. She knew now it was to protect her, as she did then.

" _Oof! LINK!"_ Her voice immediately cried as she hit the ground, looking up to see Link standing before her, back to her, and facing the wolfo with outstretched arms, watching as the monster began to stalk in a slow circle around them. The girls were far tenser than she was, and Saria was curious why. This _was_ in the past, and Link was _currently_ alright.

Perhaps it was the expression Link was making, the small child that he was gritting his teeth as he stared ahead, blue eyes furrowed until they were almost white in nature, so hidden by the blonde of his brow. They had to have seen such an expression before.

"I-It's okay, its okay," Ruby began to mumble. Saria didn't question why. It was for herself more than for Link. Saria _knew_ it would be okay. "He's got this… he's Link."

"He's also a child and… that is a large Beowulf." It was not a beowulf, as they referred to it, but that was not a question that needed to be asked or answer given. All that mattered now was Link and the monster. Watching as he slowly knelt down, grasping at a twig that was laying before him, and one that Saria knew would be important soon. "And I doubt a _twig_ would do much good against it." The heiress seethed the answer, but no one stopped her.

Not even as the monster let out another loud roar as it jumped forward, this time with mouth agape to try and swallow Link whole. None of the girls cried out, all watching with bated breath instead, much like the Saria of old did. The current Saria, memories in the body of Moraine, watched as Link let out a yell of his own, far higher in pitch than his adult form, and threw the stick forward in a stab.

And watched as it buried itself into the mouth of the monster, breaking at the stem, then letting the sharpened staff dig home into it.

"OH!" Yang yelled out, the chipper in her voice evident as cheer. She and her fellow teammates watched as the blow made the wolfo lurch, swaggering on its feet as it rolled past Link, missing both him and her. It's head rolled as if trying to dislodge the large piece of wood, but not succeeding in the slightest. It's growls and howls were now whines and ragged breaths, and those that would not last for much longer.

With as much ceremony as its entrance, it fell to its side and collapsed, quickly turning into smoke a moment later, leaving only the wooden stake that Link had forced into it behind. Saria ignored the cheer of the girls this time, focusing instead on the memory she had recalled for herself as much as them.

Watching as Link looked back at her on the ground, panting with the fear he had fought through, and forced a grin on his face as he looked down at her, hiding everything he could, and yet nothing at all. Nothing from her at least. Saria, the one who raised him, knew better. She knew better because she knew what he would become.

A hero.

"WOW! That was incredible!" Ruby Rose's sudden shout made Saria whip her head towards her, sharp new ears and locks spinning with the effort. "He just took up a stick then _STAB! BAM!_ Did that Beowulf in with one strike! That was awesome!" The girl was literally jumping up and down with her large scythe in hand, either careless or careful, Saria couldn't tell which. She could only see the elation on her face was anything but small. It was elation of a high regard.

"It was very impressive," Blake agreed, her tone far softer. She swept through the mist and knelt before Link, looking at the memory as he held his hands out towards Saria's old and unawakened form. "He truly was talented, just as Tatl and Tael said." They were not incorrect, but they were not seen yet. "Actually, where are the fairies? I haven't seen them yet." Ah, as expected of the Shadow. Seeing what could not be seen.

Saria twisted in the mist, letting the mist around her billow with it. Nothing changed, not the stills of her and Link or the trees that they weaved through, but it was enough to let her clear her mind. Clear her mind as she focused on just how to relate that answer. What question she could say or pose to have them realize the answer. Because answers alone taught nothing.

"Saria, may I ask a question?" She stopped when Weiss called her, the most royal of the bunch holding up her hand, tome still in hand. "If it's not too much to ask… would you be able to show us more?" Weiss questioned before Saria, standing proudly, yet looking around unsurely at the fog that still surrounded them. "This is… I will confess, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn more about the man who is teaching us. And…" Yang took issue with Weiss's words, apparently.

"Weiss-crème is trying to ask if you got more dirt to show us!" The shrill noise from the alabaster girl was evident of her offense. Saria, however, only twisted her head as she rocked her feet, listening to the pair. "I mean, this is some crazy stuff! Sneaking up and being a prankster _and_ seeing him struggle in a fight! Compared to the Super Faunus that he is at Beacon, this kind of stuff seems like a dream! You've gotta have more to show us, right?" Did she have more to show? The answer was obvious.

Would she show it… the answer was just as keen.

Her smile, bright as it had been when she entered the Emerald woods, was her answer.

* * *

Link stared up at the night sky, face screwed in an expression of discomfort. He didn't feel uncomfortable or out of place, hands behind his head, a rather luxurious cot beneath him, and the rest of the party that volunteered to assist him dozing around the fire. All but the doctor and Specialist, Dr. Oobleck continuing to busy himself with notes as Winter took patrols of the nearby woods, protection from the dangers that lurked in there.

He was alone with the children, the young squires and the golem, as they rested around the fire with backs turned to the flames. The mine was far from them, surrounding village still as dead as quiet as the day before, and nothing else to make him feel as if things were amiss, no more than the 'dead' mines that Darmani had pointed out.

Yet, despite that, he couldn't shake the idea that something was wrong.

"You okay, Link?" Tatl questioned, ringing like a wind chime next to his ear. He glanced at her, seeing her light dim and low, tired doubtlessly. "You didn't see something in that mine you wanted to keep secret, did you?" He shook his head lightly, to avoid hitting her. There was nothing he saw or sensed that Darmani hadn't already said, or Tatl and Tael pointed out.

"Maybe… are you home sick?" Tael now joined his sister, lightly asking the question as he stirred from Link's hat. His light was dark and warm, the usual for what it was, but just as reduced as his siblings. Link again, however, shook his head. That was not the case still. "Then… is there something bad you're remembering." For the third time he shook his head.

He let out a soft sigh adjusting his shoulders and earning a ring from the fairies that crowded about his head. There really was nothing wrong that he could mention, no more than before at least, and nothing that gave his heart a missed beat or finger a twitch. But… it was still there.

It was like he was being spied on, but without someone watching him. He had no idea what that meant.

Link could only hope it wouldn't be something to embarrass his name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	42. Grave of Twilight

The flames of hatred were a dark thing, no matter how brightly they burned.

Ganondorf had seeped himself in those territorial flames far more than once, letting them consume his soul and enrapture him with the crackling fire and churning embers. Fueled by hatred not his own and the bodies of people far from his land, he let it consume him. Hatred kept his people warm in the nights, and allowed them for forge ahead in the day. The fires they created were corruptive, but auspicious. A yearning touch that all who saw wished to engage.

To cook new food in a desert region, to build tall homes out of the sands, to forge weapons stronger than mountains, to do all of that, you needed flames. And the hatred that he bore from the day of his birth gifted him with fire that was beyond any he could imagine. Even before he crafted himself into the arts, he had felt the fire long ago.

And now, with magic in his hand, stolen yet gifted by forces far beyond him, he could do more than merely feel that power. He could use it. He could unleash it.

He could fashion blades from the flames equal to him in size, capable of hammering through the tough hide of Gorons as easily as flay the scales of a Zora from the river. He could bring forth a wall of the craft so hot to the touch that steel would melt if it attempted to pass. He could scream with it, letting the sky darken with the dark flames that ruled it, filling everyone with a terrible fright.

But more than anything else, he could let it free. And when it did, it was not column of fire nor a pillar of heat.

It was a tower of death.

One that crawled into the air and filled the land of Hyrule with darkness. The first time he had been harmed in such a way, following his gift of the tool, he found that the fires that burned from his body were as corruptive as the search for the gods itself. The flames that swallowed sea and stone, burned grass to dust and soil to ash. A great pillar of might that had turned an unassuming plot of sand he had been standing on, into a fine tower that was surrounded by glass and monsters.

The flames of hatred unleashed was a terrifying thing, for only Ganondorf knew how to control them. Control them by venting them, and allowing the power he held to feed them. The vicious cycle he was never wise enough to see, not until it was too late. Too late once his people began to burn with him, and the land was dark with monsters, no matter how vast his flames and the foreign hatred spread. He had learned his lesson.

That lesson was what the hero had not learned, for the hero was one of goodness in his heart.

He did not know how that hatred would spread, or how that terror would pass. Even now, he likely did not know the power he had unleashed. One of skill, of great strength, but not of fearsome might. Not now. Now… he was a man who had lost the last allies of his long journey, and Ganondorf was the one who offered to pay the debt he owed the boy of the woods, the Hero of Time.

That debt began with finding the killers of his friends, and paying them in kind. In the moment, it meant pulling back the flames that spewed from him.

He raised his hand into the air, letting the Golden Power shine. The power he had stolen from the gods, and that no one, not even the gods themselves, could reclaim. In the pillar of fire and darkness that rose, it was the sole light that shined, and it was all that he could see. With it above him, the fires that crackled around him raging, he flexed his hand and made _his will known_.

The fires, as if Time had planned it herself, were extinguished in an instant.

A hiss filled the air it was reduced to nothing, pulling away until only the remnants of their existence licked at his armor and flickered about his eye. Where the shell of who he was was pierced, and that hatred flew anew. Hatred that should have done little with the foreign hate gone from him. But he had underestimated the hatred the hero bore, and because of it, he had let the hatred roam free again. A long sigh left his lips as he looked for the results of his slight. What he did see reminded him of something important, a fine detail he had almost done without.

Though hatred was what the hero bore, it was still from that of the hero. So, it was a righteous hatred.

He had not moved from the throne room he stood in before, that he was aware of. The throne room itself, however, had certainly been altered. Altered as during his final fight with the hero himself, where the immaculate carvings and ancient stone tapestry of his people were all but rubble and ruin. The walls and ceiling now fallen and debris around him was proof of much the same. It wasn't a high darkened ceiling above him now, but the sky of the world.

A sky his power, and the hero's rage, had darkened into a curtain unlike itself, but one that the gods would correct. They did not take kindly to those encroaching on their land, as he well knew. What he also knew was the anger that the hero had was limited to only a few, and he would not take it out upon those others.

He could see, and barely hear, the guards in white masks buried beneath columns of stone, clawing their way out of the rubble and doubtlessly terrified of life itself at the moment. The one that looked at him, some distance away, whimpered as it huddled back into the debris, preferring the unstable platform that could crush him than the presence of the man who had brought the ruin.

Even the woman who had ordered the attack, Sienna Kahn, as he recalled, was unharmed. No, unmaimed was more precise.

She was sitting on her throne, her throne that had one of its arms chipped away and the back rest blown apart as if a Goron's hammer had been lain into it. Her good hand trembled on the arm of the chair, slit vicious eyes staring at him, even as she trembled with the difficulty of just holding the sight. Ganondorf did not fault her. Rather, he was impressed by her defiant nature.

With the wound on her leg, severing her limb below the knee, it was impressive she was not screaming in rage.

Impressive alone that though all those who were alive were harmed, greatly or more so, they did not suffer death. Short of further poor decisions on their part, it likely would not come as well. No, for now, though not safe, they were not bargaining with death. The were only in the presence of one who's power could invite the being, and housed the rage of one all too willing to call him forth.

All of them, but the one in his hand.

But the one who took the allies from Link.

The one who had maimed his gaze with the thrust of a blade, still embedded in his skull.

The one… who no longer took air.

The one who was less of a corpse than the long dead.

The one who was but charred bones and cloth in his hand. Not even dead eyes to stare back at him.

The child like woman, or woman like child, who had taken life and thought it a sure bet to try and take another, now had lost her own in his hand. Ganondorf was not surprised, nor was her mournful, not for this life. This was the life the hero had requested, nah, demanded be taken. And so, he felt no remorse that the flood and torrent of his power had done this to her.

Perhaps regret that this was all that was done to her, leaving her as a husk in his hands, but that was not something a king thought or worried for. Once the deed was done, there was no use in thinking on it twice. Short of the goddess's grace, Time could not be changed.

So Ganondorf stared at the shell of a skeleton hanging in his hand, limp and lame from the hatred of the fires in his body. He stared at Moraine, at Henna, at the girl who had many names and none at all. None, just as important as her memory.

"Pitiable soul, malicious being," Ganondorf spoke to the corpse in his hand, ruined by the magic that had flooded from him, unleashed by her own deception and forethought. Forethought without planning. A plan without reason. The consequence was her own. "Your end was too swift for you, but it came as you lived."

Ganondorf held out the head again, letting its wretched bones hang from him like the ghosts of his past. It did not struggle nor sway against him, and his eyes never left, sword driven or not. He watched as the body of the woman that had harmed Link stained his gaze for one last time.

"May you find peace as swiftly as you passed."

_CRSHSS!_

And with a flex of his hand, her skull was ground to dust. It fell at his feet to join the rest of the rubble.

This was not the first time he had taken a life, so very far from it. It was not even the first time he had taken a child's life. At this moment though… this felt different. There was no cold fury that only slightly dampened the foreign rage, nor the burning satisfaction and desire to do more. No, from deep within him, Ganondorf felt something new.

It was not his own feeling, that he was aware of. Nothing he could produce for his own body would be so… odd. He was made of nothing but hate, and so he could not feel anything that was not derived or burned from it. Even with the hatred expelled, it left him no different than a hollow vessel, and one that the hero resided in.

Resided in, and now filled. Filled with satisfaction and, perhaps even, relief.

Ganondorf shut his golden eyes as she let the feeling wash over him, conflicted even now for the way it covered him. To have a such a feeling fill him now was truly an alien thing, not after all the deaths he had brought previously invited misery in others, and sadistic satisfaction in himself. This was… this was odd. Perhaps it was the prize for revenge, and the reason one sought it so fiercely. Perhaps… but it was beyond Ganondorf to put much investment into it.

He could feel the thrum of the hero, and it was as if the Desert Goddess had given blessings upon him. It was fine and graceful, but it was not enough. Not when there was more to do.

"You… You _killed_ her…" And, as the hero had made sure, people still alive to speak.

He turned towards the voice, unsurprised or perturbed to see the leader of the thieves speaking through grit teeth. Teeth that snarled at him, perhaps a bit of her own blood dribbling from them, though not nearly to the volume that fell from her severed limb. He did not shy away nor ignore her glare or gasp of anger. It was well-deserved, even if the anger done against her and the child were just as justified.

"You _murdered_ her…" she spoke again. "Why… Why didn't _that_ kill you?!" Her shout came with effort. Effort that had her raising her hand to point a shaking limb at him, only to force her to grasp the solitary arm of her throne again, holding herself steady and never breaking gaze. _That_ , however, was obvious.

"This…" Ganondorf began to speak, pointing at the tiny blade hilt that stood out from his eye. "Is a blade that was doubtlessly blessed or praised by some divine spirit. In the hands of that thief, I am sure it was a gift from the Hero. Perhaps his own, perhaps foreign, but a strong and fine blade nonetheless." He reached up to it as he spoke, hand _engulfing_ the hilt and guard with a single grasp.

With little effort, and minor annoyance, he began to pull the blade out. The woman and th guards were silent as he did so, taking it out and letting it drag with it something that was not meant to exist. Not within man at least. Ganondorf was not surprised to see their faces of disgust and fear. For a normal man, it would be something terrifying to witness another soul draw dark flames from a wound inflicted upon him. Dark flames, filled with hate.

The removal of the gold gilded sword left his eye hollow, filled instead with the same fire that had ruined their home. He stared at the woman, heedless of the men who hid from him.

"But it is not a holy blade. It is not _the_ sacred blade." While one eye burned with fire, the other with recognition as he gazed down at the crisscrossed steel. It was a fine blade, he knew, even with a mix of his blood and fire upon it.

It lacked the ethereal lavender hilt of the blade that was his end It did not have the long-tapered point that was the last thing for him to see. It did not have the jewel encrusts that shone in the bright sun. It did not have anything in common with the grand design that the hero had wielded against him. And because of that, it a not the blade that was capable of killing him, as far as he knew.

Because of that, he discarded it with a fling of his wrist, sending the long steel to the rubble nearby.

It was a blade of harming him, but not killing him. No different than the judgement if a hammer could break the castle walls, could it over throw the kingdom. The answer was honest, and per the history he had already begun to divine, it was not a satisfactory answer for the woman who made it. He did not change his expression as he gazed at her, nor as she spoke again.

"You still… _killed Henna_." She spoke the girl's name again. Her gaze, perhaps even body, falling to look at the ground that was now dusted with her remains. The next storm fall would wash her from history. "My followers… my home… my… _you have…_ " She bit her lip, raging building in her like a grand pyre. Ganondorf was not ignorant for what was the kindling, nor unknowing of why it was growing. But it was not him to feel guilt for, nor the hero.

This was a consequence of her action and choices, and no one else's. None… except the other killer he had to find. The _other_ one to take the life of the hero's friends. He still had to find him, and then… what would come for come.

"I did kill her," Ganondorf answered Sienna, earning nothing but a glare of aggravation and hatred from her. He was far past used to both. "And though I did, I did so after she not only took the life of others, but attempted to take my life as well. To note take hers, after all she had wrought, would be an action for a hero. A pity then that her actions angered him."

"You… _bastard!_ " The fire in her appeared little quelled despite the loss of limb. She had not lost her men, though none were currently able to stand with her. In war, or battle, it meant much the same in the end. "Just what… what do you _hope_ to get out of this?! You just… I-It will take _years_ to recover from this... _from all of this!_ " Her hand waved through the air, whipping at the ruin that surrounded her. Once more, she nearly fell from her throne.

And Ganondorf admired the damage the flames of his power had created. A golden power that wrought a dark fury, and one that was channeled through the wrath of the hero, but one who had torn the mighty fortress to ruins in moments, burning away the long and heavy tapestries that held and hung themselves from above before, and removing any art or reliefs that were etched into the stone walls by charring them to dusk and ash.

Taken all together, he recognized the destruction. And from whom it belonged to, Ganondorf could draw the obvious conclusion.

"I would be surprised if you could rebuild this at all."

Snarls met his words, and he was not shied by them. He knew they were coming just as well. Because they were the same reactions he made long ago, under very familiar circumstances. The difference being it was not his rage that had brought forth his fury, but another foreign power. He was sure Sienna could not say the same for her own.

"Your temple is in ruins. Your people are distraught. The horrors you have wrought are known to the many and powerful. Your tactics are abhorrent. All of this together, and I cannot see how one could rebuild from nothing." He stood tall, even some distance away. With the stone to her throne seat withered by the flames that had been conjured, it appeared there was more of a hill of ash up to her, and how appropriate it was. "There is away, but one I know you cannot do."

Sienna continued to snarl at him, look down on him, attempting to judge him. Ganondorf had no reason to damn her gaze, as he was well aware judgement was what he deserved He also knew it was one that she could not pass, nor invoke. Instead, he let the leader stew in her molten sand, one she had fallen into by her own design.

"My people… _our suffering_ ," she whispered the words before hissing them. Ganondorf let her do so, no reason to interrupt. "You know what… you _pretend_ to offer a way to help us?" For that question, however, he could only shake his head.

"I offer you nothing, as you would not take what I offered before," he returned coolly, regardless of her circumstances. "All that has changed is the unveiling of your deception and lies. Attempts to smuggle a killer from me, and then writhing efforts to kill me before my judgement could be passed. All for nothing, as is this." He let his hand float out as he spoke, signaling the destruction around him.

A grand home of likely many, now ruins. A forest around them lush and vibrant, ruined with darkness. The life that was likely once suffocating, now desolate. A part of his actions, but all of their consequence.

"All I have to offer now is all I had before." The same thing as he had entered to speak with. "All I ask now, before more comes to pass, is the same question I had before." He let it hang again, watching as the woman shook on her throne, fighting to stay awake, perhaps breaths away from passing out in that broken seat of hers. "Tell me where Adam is… and I will leave you, then never return." For the state she was in now, it would be an offer difficult to refuse.

"… N-Never…" her words were a true whisper now, hardly more than the echoes of her mind. "And you… you will keep others… a-a…" She was grasping for more, like a true thief.

"I will not." His words silenced her. "You have stolen far more than you could possibly hope to hold, let alone maintain. You now ask for more than you deserve, out of pity or spite I cannot tell." The words were beating the woman, driving her to stay awake. A truly admirable effort, a sign that she was a leader to her people. A pity then, as pitiable as the girl who's skeleton he had ground, that she lacked both wisdom and power, and confused courage for recklessness. "That is not even to add the power you hid, and now continue to hide."

Where it but scant moments ago, Ganondorf was doubtless both the White Fang leader and all her followers would play ignorant to the accusation. With their home in ruins by his _dismissing_ hand, and some being torn from their limbs, it was no longer a comment to lightly pass. He watched her slit eyes look to the mask at her side grasped desperately between her and the seat. Perhaps that was why she refused to fall.

Useless as the mask was to her… Ganondorf could feel the power sealed within.

The woman just lacked the key. Perhaps then… that was where it was safest.

"If it will hurry this, as Time has never been an ally to me, I will allow you to keep that mask." His head indicated it, and the woman's eyes widened for a moment, before the pain of her missing leg made her grit and squint once more. He kept his arms folded as he continued, his cape as untouched by the fire as the rest of him. "The location of the other killer, the man with whom the girl associated, and then I will leave you, ever to scar your eyes with my visage again." Many would consider that the highest of offers.

And the woman did consider it, as was clear from the way she squinted at him, deep breaths wracking her body. Tanned perhaps naturally, but palling as blood continued to drip from her wound. The fires had cauterized much, but not even close to all. The thief in her considered the offer, Ganondorf could tell. Information, a valuable gift, for a powerful mask, but one she could not use.

Not even Ganondorf was sure of what was housed in that vessel, but the hero was not kind to collect useless items. He had never seen him use one, or heard tales of him meddling with them. For him to have such a possession… it implied great power within. That, or great terror from the past.

"Just… Just information?" She forced out. He could not tell where she spoke from fighting to stay awake, to warring with her own loyalties. "Then…" She wanted more, of that Ganondorf could tell. All thieves did. He was king to them all once, so he knew well. However, he was not to give to those who already took.

"Then I will be gone." His voice rumbled once more, and the ground shook with his tone. Groans emanated from around him, but he gave them no glance nor mind. He instead watched the woman on her broken through, a destitute of power.

He watched, and waited as his eye repaired itself. Flames coalescing into a solid shape, the mass that was once there, vision returning in golden flames encased in shadow. Rage sealed back inside, contained by the golden power in his palm. There it would settle, there it would wait, and he would do the same until the answer came from the trembling woman. That, or she would pass before an answer could be given.

"F-Fine…" the woman spoke through clenched teeth. She enjoyed it as much as her missing limb. "Adam… Adam Taurus… h-he has gone to see our… _beneficiary_." Ah, how curious that was. Then even though they were the ones who instigated, they were not perhaps those that planned and coordinated the attack.

Ganondorf found much logic in that, as the idea of a band of thieves, no matter how immaculate, would gain the upper hand on the hero alone was a tired one at best. It took him and the Golden Power to lay a challenge at the hero's feet, and these Hylians did not compare.

"Where is this supporter of yours?" He asked cautiously. He did not want an aloof answer.

"In the Badlands… b-beyond… beyond the DMZ." He did not know what a DMZ was, nor what the Badlands were. "In there… somewhere… I don't know." His disappointment grew at that admittance, and he tightened his arms behind his hand. He ignored the groans that came as his actions made the air rumble.

"I need a location, not an area," her emphasized. "I did not want this… Adam, to scurry out from the bottom of my boot, should I lay it upon too large a land." And it was a trouble he knew all too well. It was why the princess and the hero were so successful against him. In comparison to all of Hyrule, a pair of individuals, no matter how gifted, were not easy to find.

"I do not… know it…" her breath was shallow as she spoke. Whether a boon or a hinderance, Ganondorf was yet to be sure. "It is… why… there were others to… to…" She paused to swallow, but he had already heard enough. It made sense that there was some truth to the earlier discussion Raven and the girl spoke of.

Adam had left with the others, the Gray Man as they called him. However… she clearly was not with them. The detailed lie, built on truth. The most effective way to pass what was false for reality. Troubling, truly, but something that was now a benefit. Although… it still made matters difficult for him.

"Where are these Badlands?" He questioned once more. The idea of others helping him was far gone now. "Are they vast as a nation or visible as an island?" He never took his glowing eyes off of her, clinging still to her shattered throne.

"It is… m-massive." Again, for better and worse. It would be easy to find his location then… but he would need to plan to find this Adam, assuming he and this sponsor of theirs were not so easy to locate. "The Military… Atlas… they have a zone… a-a compound to… observe it…" she grit her teeth as she spoke now, patience and energy both thin. Appropriate, but not his concern. He needed to know where the killer of the hero's ally was.

"I see," he noted. "Then, if you can, in what direction must I travel to find it?" He held out his hand as he spoke, feeling the lightest breeze drift over the ends of his fingers. "To the cold north? The warmer south? Chase the sun's set? Follow it's rise?" Surely one of those was better than nothing.

"… East… It's… It's east of here… a _far_ way from here." Far then… perhaps a benefit. Depending on what was possible with the travels of Adam and the cohorts he left with, perhaps it would be possible to apprehend the man before he made it too far. "Now… now you can…" She spoke, or began to speak, raising a hand at him. Ganondorf had little to fear in her as she did so.

He did, however, have concern for the woman skulking next to her. It was another woman who had attempted to kill him, through deception and lies.

She hid herself well behind the shattered throne, bending and crouched behind rubble and debris, but still wearing the gaudy mask of white, and suspiciously unharmed and mobile. Enough that Sienna Kahn did not notice her. Perhaps due to her injury, or her focus on Ganondorf, it did not matter. What did matter was what the woman was trying to do, and after having attempted to drink Ganondorf as well.

"Raven." He spoke her name fast and quick, making her freeze.

"Raven?" Sienna repeated. "What does-" Her question died when she looked over to see the woman aside her throne, eyes widening again when she saw her. Ganondorf had to remind himself, despite the unspoken attempt to dismay him from harming the girl, that there was animosity they had when he and she had first entered. " _YOU!"_ The sudden shout was an alarm of some kind.

Enough to make the masked thief, raise a blade and jump over the woman.

It was an elegant form, of that Ganondorf could tell. One he was sure he had mimicked many times in his youth, before his replaced his blade with the dark arts and magic. But her flip over the injured leader, hand extending towards her lap as her blade acted as a distracting guard, was a well-done ploy. One, again, he had been taught by the tribe leaders before he came to age. The prize she had stolen, however, was of more concern.

Raven had jumped over the broken throne and delimbed woman, landing on the other side with nary a step out of place, and she did so with a new item in her free hand.

The mask that Sienna had guarded. The rainbow mask of the goddess.

"N-No… _NO!"_ the leader, this time, appropriately yelled. "Thief! Witch! That is _not_ yours to have! Not after I bargained my man for it to stay! That is _not yours to take!_ " The desperation was evident, and Ganondorf could agree with it.

"I promised her that mask, Raven," Ganondorf offered slowly. He narrowed his eyes at the shorter thief. Shorter, weaker, perhaps not slower, but far from as cunning. Her only guise so far was a ruse, and her distance from him was wisely long. "Steal it from her now, and you tarnish yourself in her eyes and mine."

"No offense big guy, but I'm not their favorite person, then or now." Her finger waved back and forth, even if she had a tight grip on the rainbow-hued mask still. Her eyes, crimson red, never left his golden glow. "And really, _dead_ honestly, they can't do anything with it. You said so yourself, right? Not enough power." He had used those words, yes.

"And that shows the mask is of little use to you," he spoke without motion, keeping eyes on the woman as she stood some distance from him, far closer to the crippled leader of the White Fang. Her posture was still stiff… "What is it you aim to use it for then? What reason do you have to anger one who has already had taken what she was due?" The snarl from the woman went unacknowledged.

"Nothing too big, honestly." It was difficult to tell if she was smiling or not beneath that mask. The way her body moved still, only parts of her… it seemed off to him. "Just gotta keep something on hand that you kept saying was probably important, important enough that the Link was holding onto it like this. And if what you said was right, well, I'm not looking to leave it in the hands of a bunch of terrorists."

"You are a _thief AND a killer!_ " Sienna yelled now, far above what she whispered before. "Do _not_ speak ill of me! Do not mock us! _Now return that mask!_ " Her mind was on a singular track, doubtlessly because of the injury she sported. Only Raven's mask turned as she spoke.

"Yeah, no, that's not going to happen." The mask was held tighter in her hands, and Ganondorf wondered if the spikes that lined it would soon draw blood. "Cause if with everything going to pot around us, and the world basically falling away, _I'm_ going to hold onto the one thing that made the big guy pause. But hey, you're right, I am a thief. That's why I'm glad I know how to pick the right locks." There were too few ways to take the comment, and the obvious one made the Gerudo King stare.

The reason for her bringing up the skills of locks, like a barrier...

"Are you to suggest… you have such power?" He phrased his words carefully, narrowing his already sharp gaze at the woman. Thievery was far from something he could not tolerate, but ruining a deal he had made was not a wise decision. The rage he held was not his own, but that did not mean he was unable to express it. "Do you wish to gamble your life on such a manner? For what purpose may I ask?"

"Not what you're thinking," the thief was quick to return. Her hair billowed lightly behind her, the shallowest of breezes sweeping through the rubble, perhaps on the breath of those who were in pain in the ruins. "And wish to? No, not even close," Raven shook her head, but she had hardly moved a muscle more. Was that fear? Perhaps… but she showed surprising little of it before now, to suddenly be frozen by it. "I'm not looking to rule the world or dominate wills or anything like that. I've had enough of people trying to take my head just for looking pretty. Don't need someone else clawing after me for a whole new reason."

Her words and actions were hypocritical. Ganondorf felt a scowl pull at his lips as she spoke on. Surely, she was smiling underneath that heavy mask. Smiling, smirking… or more likely than anything else, plotting.

"If I am right of that mask," Ganondorf finally spoke, raising a hand towards the woman. She was already too stiff to judge if his actions had frightened her, but Sienna Kahn shook in on her broken throne with the action. "Then you do more than merely hoard the power. Any who may know better of that mask then me will aim for it. You must know that the threat of power invites danger more than it prevents harm." He had never seen the powerful live peacefully.

"Then I'll call it insurance," Raven returned, no breaks in her train of thought or word play. "Because even if it's something that people will coming running for… I won't forget its something _you_ had to pause at. The guy who walked through everything else." If she had not thought out the conversation, she had at least thought out her actions. "Against you, maybe it could do something."

"Against me," Ganondorf repeated slowly, pausing to quell the burst of fire behind his heart. The hero was not happy with this woman. "If you wish for a tool like that, then why not the blade that pierced me?" Ganondorf spoke as he indicated the discarded sword, or likely place now for its dwelling. "Rather than gamble on the remnants of a mask, why not instead take the blade that holds my blood. I will even let you take it, so long as you leave the mask behind." Deals were not the manner in which kings were meant to operate.

But to ensure the lives the hero wanted, to take _only_ those he knew deserved it, then deals _must_ be made. No matter how unfortunate or inconvenient they were. He was disappointed to hear her answer.

"No way, because that's not _good_ enough. You said so yourself." Despite the clear indications she wanted to make, the woman still did not move. Not the mask in her hand, sword in her grasp, or mask she wore. Only her waving hair, and whatever was beneath that alabaster guard.

Indeed. Raven had thought her actions out carefully. Very much so. Take a chance with what may work then use a promising tool with no possibility. The oasis or the fortress, and she had chosen the fortress in the desert storm. To find supplies whilst protected from the whipping winds rather than water without a guard for it.

"No, instead… I'm thinking I'm going to take this here… and see if I can't find a good pick for the lock." The woman waved the rainbow mask again as she spoke, almost as if attempting to taunt Ganondorf with it. He did not budge nor snarl as she did so, but he did not smirk in opposition. He watched, and little more. "Least then I'll have something to keep the monsters away."

"That is not _yours to take!"_ The broken woman screamed again. Raven was well out of her reach, and made any action to try and grab her, separate as the woman obviously was, impossible. "You do not _deserve_ to have it! Not you who attacks everyone and everything! _Not you!_ " The forest thief, for it was the only title Ganondorf knew for her, seemed to agree.

"That's why I'm a thief, because I don't need it. Deserve it though, that's debatable." She lowered the mask again, posture still very stiff. There had to be a reason for that… "And even if it's not gold, I'd like to think that it's a suitable replacement." She twisted her foot, Ganondorf saw it. Maybe it was because he was watching her, holding that mask with such ferocity and stiffness, but the action was a bit more telling.

It also let him see what she was about to do. He raised his hand the moment she did. Unfortunately, that was perhaps why she was so stiff. She was focusing on _watching_ him.

Flames collected in his hands the same time that Raven twisted the blade in hers. By the time he sent forth a ball of the darkness, she had already swung her blade, tearing into the air no different than his own portals. He watched, eyes narrowed, as she jumped through. All in the speed and time of a breath of air.

His ball of darkness flew past her portal, already shut, and burned itself on a fallen pillar some distance away. It turned the stone a charcoal black, pulling it into the same hatred that he had been consumed with, but did nothing more.

And Raven was gone. With a speed he knew many of the Gerudo would wish to replicate. Gone, and the mask with her. Troublesome, annoying, _traitorous_. It appeared that even in his second life he was not immune to such things.

"She took it…" Sienna, however, whispered from her throne. She was leaning over the edge of the seat, making her precarious position of the now fragile rock bed to shatter under her reach. She spoke, but stared at nothing. Only the empty space Raven had once occupied. "That mask… and she took it… So easily…"

He lowered his hand as she watched the woman fall herself. Her head to her hands, her body slumped on the perilous seat, and all while her low mumbling and words were carried in the wind. Moans and cracked rubble grumbling around them, but hers the most damning to hear. How pitiable… but yet not. Not for one who had already been responsible for ending so much more.

Ganondorf was guilty of letting Raven leave… with a mask the hero had carried, but he was not at fault for the crimes of this woman. They were her own to bear. Even when she looked up at him, staring at him with glazed features that spoke of nothing, nothing to claim pride in anymore.

"Go… just… just be gone from here…" She muttered to him, dreadfully close to falling over. Perhaps that was what she wanted. "All our work… everything… just…" Nothing more left her mouth, instead her eyes up cast at the sky above her, a traitorous blue, darkened only by the remnants of his coalescing flames. The woman must not have thought kindly to see such a sight from her throne.

Not the tapestries that held the proof of her clan's power. Not the high ceiling that once made even him appear small in the hall. Just the unchanging sky, altered but not forever, by the wrath of untold hatred. She had yet to make such a mark on this world, and now she never would. Ganondorf sighed once more, an action he was common to now.

Raven having that mask… lettering her take it as she did… that was not a bountiful decision, he knew this. It was liable to cause many problems, invite much chaos… and all for nothing more than a desire to not see her killed needlessly. A thief, a leader even, only slightly lesser than himself.

But, if she was a thief, then she could hoard the mask and leave it be. Her words meant nothing, as they were flimsy before. Let her keep the mask in her encampment. Better there than with killers who would it to make demands… and all on the assumption it had power at all.

"Our business is concluded, Sienna Kahn," Ganondorf spoke to the woman. Decrepit as her throne. "Take care of your actions in the future, and those who follow your path." He acknowledged her with a slight bow of his head, but nothing more. Nothing more was to be given. He turned to leave then.

Only to be stopped by the woman's voice.

"Care? … I… _don't… CARE!_ " Sienna yelled with growing volume, the last of her energy, as was plain to see. Ganondorf watched, content to let her waste it on words. Like wind against a mountain. "Let her take that… _useless_ mask! May she do something with it that _ruins you for…_ for _killing Henna!_ " Her anger was justified, and it was not. He had killed in her presence, but he had killed a killer. "She may escape now… but either she _unlocks_ that mask's power… or we shall _take_ it from her _corpse!_ " Delusions must have started to come with the blood loss.

"You would kill her for stealing a mask you cannot use?" Ganondorf carefully worded his question again. Enough to make her give a drawn-out excuse, one that would tire her to exhaustion. So, he could leave without shouts at his back. Besides, it was as he thought. Better the mask lies with a hoarder of treasures than a tyrant with tools.

"I would kill _anyone_ who tries to spite the White Fang and our cause!" Sienna yelled again. Her second wind was a strong one, but it only made Ganondorf lower his brows as he watched her. "No different than what occurred with _your_ hero!"

Those were the wrong words to use.

"Speak softly, Sienna Kahn," Ganondorf spoke to the woman, snarling at him like dog, crippled rather than chained. "I may fear no threat of yours, but the hero and his friends have already suffered by the orders of your kind and manner. To make another in my presence invites discord to the hero's life, beyond the terror you have already wrought."

"Then _terror it is!_ " She lifted her fist to slam it down, only to slam her elbow into the back of her seat, shaking the already frayed stone. He watched her eyes, frowning as her words became darker… viler. "The same _terror_ that we and every member of the White Fang have suffered! The murder of our children, enslavement of our parents, discrimination of our kind, for _nothing_ more than _blood and profit!_ And you say we _deserve_ to have our home ruined, or _lives crippled_ , for the sake of _balls of light!?_ "

She truly did not understand. Did not understand, or did not want to. Ganondorf could only watch, waiting for the anger to break, for the hatred to subside to sorrow. IT was what all others did. All others but him, when he was consumed with an anger far from righteous. So, opposite the hero's. And yet… this woman continued to scream and rant in the ruins of her home.

"Link had the _chance_ to save our people! He could have done _much more_ than merely _prance_ about that school! But no! Instead he decided to ally himself with the same _murderers and monsters_ that made our lives hell!" Now her fist hit the stone, and a ball of stone the size of Ganondorf's own fist, large and clenched, hit the tile beneath her. Neither of them looked towards it. "No! You say that Link has suffered? For the loss of two friend, _things_ that _floated and rang_?!"

"Careful, now." Ganondorf warned once more, watching the woman treed towards a territory she would not be able to recover from. She was at the edge of the same pit he had fallen into, but she had no excuse such as he. "Choose your words with great care and caution." The snarling woman, slobber falling from her clenched jaw the same as blood from her severed leg, heard not a word from him.

"Compared to _me_ watching _you_ burn a child to cinders, compared to my brothers who have watched their parents killed in mining shafts, compared to my sisters watching their loved ones be taken away for crimes they did not commit, compared to our _people_ , once so _vast and beautiful_ , reduced to a ruinous mess that cannot take action without being deemed monsters ourselves, I say that it is _obvious_ the fruits of _your hero's_ life!"

Ganondorf still said not a word, nothing. Nothing as he watched the woman speak on, and with a cry of undue insolence, seal her fate.

"Link _deserved_ to have his friends killed! Tatl and Tael _deserved to die!_ " And that was enough.

His boots quaked the ground as he marched towards her. He did not care for the sudden self-realization for what she said, he didn't care for the terror that skipped through her eyes, nor the way the ground shook to ruinate itself further by the march he carried. Let it fall from crumbled ruins to dust for all he cared. This woman had spoken ill of one who had suffered far more than she.

Truly it was a good decision to let Raven take the mask, better her than this woman and her hatred. Hatred so profound and great that it would lay the blame for her own actions at the feet of a hero, rather than contemplate herself.

"Stop! S-Stop!" Sienna spoke what she could as he approached her, the rubble of stairs a slope for his boots to stomp over. He was beneath her with the difference in height. But only half way up the platform and he was eye-to-eye with her. It would not stop there. "Stop! I-I said to cease!" He would not. Not now.

Not until he was close enough. Until then, he let her push herself as far back into her throne as she could with a single leg, looking at him with the aspect of death looming, with the horrors of her past behind him, and the terror of the future before her. Ganondorf marched towards her still, her works in the world crumbling as he marched forward.

"I-I said stop! Stop I-I misspoke!" He was not foolish enough to believe that, consumed in anger and hatred or not.

"No, you did not," he returned. Returned as he finally stopped in front of her, leering down at the woman who now cowered beneath him. He bore down on her with a gaze fit to burn the desert sands to panes of glass, and he did not let up. For her words were more telling and damning than the actions of the girl. That was certain. "You spoke with anger in your heart, the same anger that justified death. You spoke of those beneath you, without consideration to those around you."

Ganondorf loomed over her further, the brightness of the sky stolen from her beneath his frame. Her eyes trembled now, perhaps even with the wish that her consciousness would be stolen from her, but he would have none of it.

"You do not hold compassion in your heart, not for your people. That is a lie you have told yourself." No different than his own.

"I-I do… I _do_ care about my fellow Faunus! Do not-GAH!" Her words were silenced by his hand. Wrapped tightly around her throat.

"No, you do not," he repeated once more. "I have met leaders who cared for their people. I have seen tyrants' rule with the love of others as excuse for war. I have seen the indifferent rise and maintain their power, changing like the wind to what suits the voices above the masses. _You_ , Sienna Kahn, are not a leader."

No, he knew what she was. It was painfully obvious to him now. It was a foolish thing on his part to believe so readily that she was different enough from him, when she wasn't so different at all. Feeding hatred into herself, and sending more into the world.

When death became a celebrated act, when sacrifice of others was called just… then there was no peace to be had. Not for the ones who cheered and demanded such blood. He was no different.

Sienna Kahn was no different.

And so… he would _make her_ the same.

Ganondorf would do such. And it began with his hand, still wrapped around her throat, her clawed hands nailing at his skin and gauntlets uselessly, _lighting itself ablaze._

Fear quickly overtook the woman, and Ganondorf held her as her voice failed to rip its way through her throat. Dry heaves pushed past trembling lips, as her body flailed vainly to escape his grasp. He did not let her fall, he did not let her move, not beyond her bodies made jerks to try and get him to release her, but he would not. He would do no such thing.

If this woman was so much like him, then she would be _cursed_ like him. _He_ would not be in this world again.

"Sienna Kahn," he spoke with a voice that was above the fires crackling in his hand, simmering at the neckline of the woman and her fearful gaze. He offered her no pity. "Your words do not match your deeds. Your vows do not match your work. You hide what you are even when those recognize you by name. Instead, you hide behind a mask of skin and flesh to pretend to be more than you are." The same as him when he commanded an army from a tower in the desert.

The very same. And if he needed death to be absolved, and if _that_ was beyond the hero's wishes, beyond those who had taken his friends, then Ganondorf would pay the favor to the hero once more, and remove the possibility of another him being born in this world.

"May those you worship your words know my words. May those who know your deeds recognize my action. May those who see kindly your face recognize my visage." The curse flowed through his lips, the very same he had uttered in defiance of a queen, he now whispered to a tyrant following his steps from long ago. "For now, you will be hated upon sight, you and _all those_ who follow you." He would make none of them trusted again.

By making them, monsters in souls, _monsters in flesh_.

"Become now what you are, _because_ of what you hate!" He finally screamed the command.

 _FWOOOOSH!_ And fire consumed the woman in his hands. Her, and like dots in the ruins, those around them.

For all of his vaunted strength, Ganondorf needed to strength his grasp with the sudden force Sienna Kahn used to shove her way out of his grasp. It did nothing for her to escape, but make him watch her more intently. Watch as the fire of his hands spread upon her flesh, consuming her with the dark flames framed in gold, wrapping all of her tanned skin and through her dark hair, twisting her as the flames licked at her.

Her skin burned beneath his hand, her hair aflame with rage, and eyes burst into specks of light. Her body twisted and writhing in his grasp, clawing at him with a new found strength that bellied the horrendous state the hero's wrath had put her in. But through all of her writhing and horrendous transformation, though her very being was being twisted to match her soul, Ganondorf did not let go.

Instead, he only watched. Watched as the woman who led this White Fang became something different then what they professed, and closer instead to what they did. Not in name, but action. Their deeds over their vows.

Sienna Kahn, and _all those who believed in her_.

The pillars of fire and screams of anguish piercing the air around him were proof enough, she was not enduring this alone.

* * *

" _GAAAAH!_ " The aggrieved cry ripped through Adam the moment he felt it. Like brand to his face, all at once and all consuming. Searing flesh, pain cries, but no longer regulated to just his one eye.

Now, it was consuming him.

"GRAAaaaAAAAGH!" His cry fell and grew as he watched the fires grow in front of him.

Grow until they consumed him.

His screams turned into roars, challenges for the crackle and burning rumble of the fire that swiftly, _far too quickly_ , overtook his body. From nowhere they had started and had already crawled their way over his entire body! His clothes were ablaze, his skin and flesh, everything was alight! It made him drop to his knees and bow his back, screaming into the sky as the fire cooked him alive.

The air he sucked in to yell was smoked and thick, the air he let out was black and marred, and the few sights he could see were lined with gold, even through the veil of his mask. He was earning nothing with his efforts, and the fire clawed up him no matter the volume he yelled with or attire he abandoned.

But he would not release the masks he had. He would _not_ drop them no matter what occurred to him. If he did that… then this was all for nothing.

"My my, now _that_ is a powerful curse." His _associate_ remarked from beyond the inferno that was consuming him. Adam grit his teeth and bit his tongue to listen, even if it did not cease the feeling of knives tearing into his flesh with every moment that based, digging into his skin with fervor. "I'd have to say that whoever cast that… must have quite the powerful magic at their disposal. Not to mention a grudge against you. Care to take a guess who _that_ may be?" Even through the crackle and _roar_ of fire, the mirth was evident in his tone.

"Too MANY!" Adam yelled in return, not even able to see if the Gray Man was willing to listen. "Too many to NAME! TOO MANY TO CARE! Let this be their WORST! I CAN TAKE IT!" Adam screamed in return. There was no need to question if he was strong enough or not. If he wasn't strong enough now, then it would be for nothing.

"Truly? You can take being lit ablaze like this? Many would consider this a sentence of death!" He was laughing as Adam still screamed, but he screamed in response!

" _I have died BEFORE!_ " He shouted again! "AND THIS WILL NOT KILL ME NOW!" He yelled after that, never letting himself fall. He may kneel, but he would NOT fall!

"I knew my Mistress was right to invite you." The man laughed, even as Adam continued to scream. "Well, ride it out as you can. I'll wait for you, no need to rush. Just let me know _when you're done_."

The laughter continued, and Adam screamed still on his knees.

* * *

" _AGH! HELP! HEEEELP!_ " The girl cried as she scrambled and tumbled across the floor, spinning herself on the ground to put out the flames that had consumed her. Her skin felt like it was boiling and popping, sticking the floor that she rolled onto and peeled of as her body writhed in agony. " _HELP ME! HEEEEELP!"_ But no one was helping her.

Her skin was capable of changing into any texture or color based upon how she was feeling, but she had _no idea_ what was happening to her skin now as she did everything, she could to put the flames of torture out, but succeeding in none of them. She could only scream and tear at her clothes, smashing her body against every surface nearby, but getting none the closer to putting the flames out.

And the screams from above the roar of the flames that echoed in her ears made it all the worse for her to hear.

Screams like her own, cries of agony and torment, echoing around her and through the compound she was in. As if the entire building had been lit on fire, tearing through every room and setting everyone ablaze all at once. There was no way out, no recovery, no means to escape! And it was never ending.

Her cries began to choke her more than the smoke, her lungs feeling as if they were filling with flames, and all the while her body writhed and tore itself apart, looking for anyway to escape the suffering.

But her cries found no one. And nothing. It was no comfort to Ilia to know she was not alone in her suffering.

"GAAAAAAAGH!"

* * *

"GAH! GAH! AGH!" The screams resounded in the room she was in, met and matched by the half a dozen others screaming around her, but none to a level or volume possible to match hers. They screamed out of fright and worry, trying to find a way to help her, but none having a method to.

Blake, however, could also do nothing. Nothing but scream as her entire body was lit aflame.

"AAAA _AAAGGHGHGH!_ " Scream as she clawed at her throat, at her face, at her _eyes_. All of them were burning across her and it was worse than any torture she had endured before. Worse than being slashed with nine-tails. Worse than having her comrades mock her. Worse than even the test of endurance that was the White Fang initiation. All of it paled to compare to this.

And it just wouldn't stop!

"HELP ME! HELP HER! _SOMEONE HELP!_ "

"HOW DO WE EVEN HELP!?"

"GET THE FIRE EXTENGUISHER! GET _WATER_ OUT OF THE BATHROOM! DO SOMETHING!" If they were moving around her, Blake couldn't even tell. She couldn't even make sense of what was up from down at the moment, she couldn't tell left from right. She couldn't tell her hand from the floor she was writhing and rolling across!

Her body beat against the surface of what was meant to be her dorm room, but found the flames did not extinguish. She curled and screamed and tore at her clothes, but found the flames to come from under her attire. She grabbed at her hair and pulled, but found the flames to spread to the roots of her scalp. It was everywhere around her; it was _in her_.

"I GOT A FIRE BLANKET!" "THEN THROW THAT THING ON HER NOW!"

Something thick and damp hit her body, covering and smothering her, but it did nothing for the pain, and the fire didn't extinguish. Even with her eyes bleeding with pain, as if the smoke was burning them through, she couldn't even see if the fire was alit anymore. All she could tell was it _burned_. And her nerves from head to toe, inside and out, wouldn't let her be done with it!

" _IT'S NOT DOING ANYTHING!"_ "Then FIND something else, _NOW!"_

" _BLAKE! BLAKE! WE'RE STILL HERE! WE'RE STILL HERE!"_ She didn't know who was or where she was. Was she still in her room? Were her teammates around her? She couldn't tell, not when her very _brain_ felt like it was being cooked within her skull, and every piece of her all the same!

Her entire body was being burned from the inside out and all she could do was scream. Scream and wonder and pray.

_When was it going to end?!_

* * *

"This… what is this…" Qrow mumbled the question as he stumbled through the village. He had fallen through many towns in the same manner, after being pulled through a binge of alcohol or fighting a rampaging Grimm. But now… he did it because he was just over whelmed. He couldn't process what was happening.

"GAAAAAH!" "HELP ME! HELP ME!" "STOP IT! MAKE IT STOP!"

He couldn't understand why they were all on fire, _why_ was this happening? He looked at them, bodies running out of homes and stores only to fall on the dirt road and writhe like an injured animal, screaming like one, too, but the fires never going out, never even _reducing_ in size! And he couldn't do anything about it!

He saw more than one citizen throw buckets of water on them, dumping barrels of it an unloading ice on them from their stores, but it _splashed_ off of them like the fire wasn't there at all, dripping into the dirt and leaving them twisting in the agony of the flames. And Qrow could only watch on, wishing for hardly the first time and far from the last that he was drunk.

Because then many he could think this hell an illusion.

"GAAAAAAAAA!"

* * *

The flames burned in his hand for some time. Some time longer and beyond the writhing and fighting woman in his grasp, with only a leg to stand on but struggling as if the world were attempting to sway her. He would have been marveled at her strength were she anyone else. Instead, he only tightened his grasp as the flames licked through her body.

Ganondorf watched as his dark flames charcoaled her skin, turning her scars to darker shades, her skin a different hue, her hair altered, and even her burned as if the sockets were being used a pit. For the depths her soul dropped to, it was believable to him as well. He watched it for some time, hearing the screams of those around the ruins as well.

Then, when he felt it was enough, he released the woman.

The flames vanished in a moment there after, moving into the air and returning to the spoiled hatred they came from, leaving nothing else behind. Golden flames and dark warmth taken at all once, and he did not even blink. He could not. There was something else for him to observe.

Ganondorf stared at the woman, or whatever creature she was now.

A creature with skin of lightened knighted, blotted with dark patches like her sinful past. Hair of bright flames to show the anger in her soul, as agleam to indicate the hope they could never have… no longer a creature of this world, no longer a Hylian. A harsh and brutal judgement upon them… but one that he could see no better option for.

She was not worthy to carry the name of the people the hero hailed from. Not fit to be named Hylian like the hero was, or the term of animals as she tried to so falsely carry. No… now she looked what befit her actions, and all who saw her deeds in a kind light would be swallowed by the same shadow.

She was unresponsive to him now, letting him draw back his hand as she was slumped in her throne, a flick of his finger away from being shattered. No different than many other things.

Though her new form, cursed and twisted, was done by his hand, it was nothing that Ganondorf took solace or joy in. There was nothing he could. Even now, though he was aware the woman who had encouraged so much vileness and sought even more to further her gains was worthy of this taint, he did not find joy in dragging the woman to the depths his soul was being tortured in.

He was one who sent a scourge across a kingdom and the lives of many heroes, many innocents, and many of his own people. He did so with a rage that only grew no matter the length or time of battle, and that was not satiated or burned by any action or promise. His was a rage that cost many lives, and this woman's, her apparent people, were much the same. Enough that they sought to kill the ally of one they had killed, rather than confess their crimes. And now, their price was being paid.

Ganondorf's body was tainted, to the point and degree that not even the will of the hero could wash away the mire. Now this woman was no different, doubtlessly to make the rest of those who gazed upon her shiver and scream in much the same.

Patchy blue and dead skin, after the coldness of their deeds, spotted with darkness that showed the shadows from where they plotted and planned, golden eyes bright as his own, never hiding where they truly had their sights set to, and flaming hair to show the rage that burned from within them. The body of one who had been corrupted of darkness, to match their already sold souls.

He sighed deeply at the sight, unsure if he was annoyed or despising what he saw himself. There was no joy, so there was no melancholy. But this was necessary, so there was no regret. Not for her, and not for the men around her who now mirrored their liege. It took only a glance of Ganondorf, the same one that showed him the ruined building these 'White Fang' had called home, to let him see the guards around her.

Still trapped beneath the rubble, still debating to either show themselves and risk his fury or to cower and hide. Still there, but their changes were just as evident, just as easy to see. Golden eyes leering at him from the shadows, attached to heads and skin that were imperceivably from the lack of light. Slit eyes staring at him, and ragged red hair, tipped with their fury, sticking out from the confines of their attire and masks. All of it was his doing, and all of it was their own.

They gave their souls to a goal they knew was unjust, and spelled of ways to justify it rather than correct it. It was much the same he had done, and so he knew they were no better.

Killing rather than forgiving, stealing rather than healing. Crimes for prosperity. Fighting for peace.

He shut his eyes, listening instead to the wind as it billowed past him. A peaceful thing compared to the horrors already wrought. Far from the life-filled song he had heard in the forest or in the plains of Hyrule, but still one that he appreciated to feel. His cape billowed behind him in kind, and he folded his arms behind his back as he waited. As he _thought_.

Half of what the hero requested was done, and then a bit more. The girl who had played him for his generosity was no more. The one who had killed one of the fairies of the hero was dust at his feet, and already being carried away in the wind. Whether she be forgiven in her next life, Ganondorf did not know.

But beyond that, the party of conspirators that had given her the orders, the training, and means to do as she had been also punished, in a way Ganondorf knew would be to the wishes of the hero. Death for death, but curses for curses.

Not killing all those who pledged to Sienna, no different than not all of his people deserving death for following him. But a curse of appearance to show who they followed, to cement them in what they were. Whether they fix their ways through Time's blessing or not was not for him to say. It was only for him to guess.

A journey he would also commit to, and one that he knew he was far from completing. With the blood on his hands, it was difficult for him to even imagine a pleasant ending for him. Or one at all. But that did not, could not, truly matter to one as twisted as him. He was here for the hero's request, not his own.

His wishes, should they ever be heard, would never be fulfilled.

" _Guh!_ " The cough of air drew his attention, and he turned to see the woman on her throne waking up. Body jerking as she tried to rise, forgetting her missing limb, and instead grasping at the only solid side of her shattered throne. How appropriate. "Agh… GAH!" Her voice caught again when she saw him, and her teeth bared at the sight.

Ganondorf let her run through her own mind with thoughts, reminding herself of what had happened. Glancing around her broken home, mind chasing the memories of what had made it come about, staring at him with hatred for what he had done, all before the obvious and inevitable. She looked down at her own hands, and stared. Stared with a gaze that showed shock then horror. Horror _far_ from awe. And petrified fear ruining her already stained features.

"Wh… _W-What is THIS!?_ " She finally yelled, holding up her hand to him, as if he had not been watching it before. As if he were not responsible.

She flipped her arms over, tracing her changes up to her elbows, her shoulders, only to use her hands to scratch at her neck, having to catch herself again before her loss of lower limb sent her off balance. Her hands ran up her face, feeling anything that was different, grabbing her hair and pulling it out, only to scream again when the angry red stared back at her instead of the dark locks she had before. Ganondorf knew of only one woman now with hair color like that he wished to see.

But the terror on the woman, it was naked and vulnerable. Her breathing was shortening fast, swept up and stopped by her own screams, only to continue again as she tried to find some rationalization in her head for all of this. The true reason was obvious, but Ganondorf was of little hopes she would see it. It took his death for him to find his, and Sienna Kahn was very much alive.

Irrevocably changed, within and without, but alive.

" _What_ have… _w-why_ … _WHY and WHAT have you done?!_ " She screamed at him, baring fangs as she leaned forward, showing more of her true self. Ganondorf was unimpressed.

"Cursed you," he spoke simply, honestly. She was undeserving of a comforting lie. Her body shook with something, rage or hatred, he knew not which. "To show the truth of your sins for all to see, not just the perceptive to imagine." He said nothing else, listening instead to the wind, the falling rubble still collecting around them, and the seething of the woman on her throne.

"Me… _cursed_ me?" She asked the question with a hiss. He shook his head.

"No, not just you," Ganondorf spoke once more. The question did not make her freeze, perhaps out of her own fear that it would make her fall once more. He did not care in either direction. "You and all those who worship your path. Those who took knee to your flag and pledged loyalty to your tactics and desires."

The words tore into the woman, he could tell. Like the blade that had rendered his eye unusable for moments, and forced out the pillar of fiery hatred that consumed their home. It tore through her much the same, plain panic and wrath washing over her newly gnarled features. He did not scorn nor twist his lips in disgust. He only continued to watch the broken woman on a ruined throne, coming to terms with the consequence of her deeds.

"You should know that this was inevitable," he added for good measure. "For what you justified and what you took, then what you hid and why you deceived. You were doomed as you took those choices. You cannot place blame on another for what has come." The words did as he expected, though not what he wanted. Fanned her growing hatred.

"What _I deserve?!"_ The woman roared again. Ganondorf was unperturbed. At least now the visage suited her words. "What _we_ deserve?! My people who have… h-have suffered and _toiled_ underneath the hands of those who _hate us!?_ " She truly was still pushing those words, even now. A former king that he was, Ganondorf could not tell if it was pity or disgust that he felt now. Hatred ruled him for so long, and the hero's hate billowing now, the difference was indistinguishable.

"You and your ilk look as you act," Ganondorf continued on. "No different than I and my sins. Unless you dare to say that you were unfazed by my presence." She snarled at him, answer enough. But the leader of a now ruined home always had more to say. Defeat was never soft nor quiet.

"I was _disgusted_ by you, and now I see I was _right!_ " She waved her hand, showing off the stained and twisted patches of her new skin pallor. " _Twisting_ me to look like this! Are _all_ my followers the same!? Have you made a _mockery_ of what they look like?!" Mockery? How truly pathetic.

"There is nothing to mock that must also be judged." He added simply, and those simple words from his own mouth reminded him of what was still necessary. The woman and her ilk were punished, for creating the killers that had taken the hero's allies, but the killer still was present in the world, and with a possible path for him to follow. "And judgement comes for us all." He would also be the one to deliver it.

His piece said, more than the woman deserved, he turned and began to walk. Through ruins, and rubble, he made his way.

" _Where are you going!"_ The woman howled again behind him. " _What you going to do now, now that you have ruined us!"_ She deserved no more answers, but he would answer what was already known. Perhaps her anger had made her forget what was important. "To terrorize another unfortunate soul?! To _destroy another group looking to fight against the world!?"_

"I am to find the one who killed the friend of the hero." Ganondorf brokered no question the words. "I will then treat them as the girl was, no different given her lack of sympathy for her deeds. It will be easier to find him… now that he embodies and appears with the same sins as you do."

" _I_ look like a _monster!_ " Sienna screamed at him again. He did not turn to her. "The _Grimm_ would welcome me as one of them! I-I'll never be able show my face to the world again! You have turned me… you have _twisted me… ALL of my people_ in... _into this!_ " He spoke without glancing at her.

"You made yourself what you are." The truth left his lips as he walked on, stone and rubble crushed to dust beneath his boots and weight. "I only brought what was in your soul to the surface, so all may see the same."

"We _were Faunus!_ " She shouted again, though he did not stop his departure. She was not worth his gaze anymore, nor the hero's attention. "Now what have you made US! _Ganondorf! What have you twisted us into!? SPEAK!_ " Her fury was palpable, and but a whisper to the storm Ganondorf had carried for so long. Long enough to know that a single answer, no matter how dismissive, would be more than she deserved.

"You are what you made yourself," he raised his voice till the air rumbled. He did not turn to face her. Only walking out of the ruined home, the glower of fear in golden eyes following him as he left. "Now you may hug the twilight between day and night, where you truly belong." It was all she deserved. She and them all.

He was already far from her now, her voice carried only by the fury it rode on. Screeches that had to tear at her lungs to let out, but were still bellowed with the fury that one as consumed as she was had to unleash. The anger that it came with was accompanied by the eyes that followed him, filled with the same disgust and hatred that he felt.

Golden orbs that were peaking through the darkness much like swords through the gut, replacing blood with ire and steel with malice. He gave them no attention, as it was no different than what he felt for himself. No different, though far less. They were unmatched by the hatred he felt for himself, and the hero had yet to forgive him for.

It was all that he was now, a hollow shell of hatred. He once was more than that, and then he let a foreign madness that was not his own burn away all that he was. Now, he was just the remains of that hatred, fueled and influenced by the Golden Power he held in life, and then in death, and now in the hero's hands.

Now, these creatures, not Hylians, not Faunus, as they called themselves, they were the same. Now they were shown their own hatred, and they gave it out to others as well as themselves.

No different than himself. No different at all. Ganondorf marched on, prepared to find these… 'Badlands'.

And there… he would pay the hero for the favor he had blessed upon him.

* * *

**Author's Note:** If anyone can guess who Moraine/Henna was modeled after, I'll use your suggestion in the next omake poll.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	43. Side Quest: The Big Hunt

Babysitting wasn't exactly Qrow's specialty. Many could attest to that. Most would probably just chalk it up to his drinking and say 'never near my kid', right as a reaction as that would be. Thing was, it was always a bit more when it came to Qrow, because of his luck and tendency to enjoy the odder things in life.

He enjoyed being alone more than with friends. He saw Atlesian Booze as better than some vodka. Heck, he even thought that taking on Ancient Grimm when you were low on cash was a great way to pay off the debts to a loan shark. Better than asking the family for help at least. So, him babysitting kids, not something he'd be great at.

Didn't stop Tai from asking him for help when he had a pair of tikes to watch, and still a job to manage. Considering how one was his sister's brat, and the other basically worshipped his weapon like the hammer of Thor, his _actual_ weapon, there was something to get out of it. Sure, he had to save their lives a dozen or so times, then take the fall for when Yang lit herself on fire, on _pure accident_ she assured, but that was just a small part of growing up.

There were plenty of reasons for him _to_ babysit, but not a lot to stay in on it, or get a lot out of it. No booze, little food, and usual just insults to his character, curtsey of Yang after he bit her in a game. The fighting was fun to watch though, the pair of sisters going at it. Those were gold to watch.

Like the one he was watching now.

"No, no, no, it's _gotta_ be that Grimm thing. The Grammite, or whatever the hell you want to call it." Yang insisted on it, chopping her hands in the air as she looked at her sister across from her. Ruby wore her usual pout before she threw back a response.

"Nuh uh, that was big, but it wasn't the _biggest_. Couldn't be," she insisted, pointing at her sister as she made her point clear. "Tatl and Tael weren't acting like it was impossible, or _supposed_ to be tough for him, they just said it was too big now. So he _had_ to have fought something just as big, maybe even _bigger_." Yang could only twist her lips at her sister.

"Please, Tatl was losing her _wings_ over what was going on. You saw her go all blood red, right?" She flapped her hands around her face, and it was probably the cutest gesture he'd seen her do in quiet some time.

"That was after those meanies in the _council_ started talking! It wasn't because of what Link was fighting!" Ruby almost stomped her foot when she said that. Almost. Too bad she didn't. Would have been adorable enough for Qrow to snag a pic for Tai. He'd definitely appreciate that. Or just hassle Qrow for letting them fight. 50/50.

"Oh yeah, that's right. She did do that," Yang let out, looking up in the air as she scratched her chin. Ruby, his more naïve niece decided to smile victoriously, _completely_ missing how Yang was doing the same. Sorry kid, snooze ya lose. "But what's that? What's that? What did she say when the Grammite first showed up? Oh yeah, that was right, _run!_ " She actually shouted that word now, and it got Qrow to grin.

Well, and take a swig from his flask as he watched. Sibling arguments. The best kind of entertainment. Summer and Tai made _that_ point abundantly clear to him and Raven when they were still in team STRQ. Least the two of them seriously seemed to have a lot of pictures of them duking it out, even if Raven tended to use her damn warping powers to get the one-up on him. He swore, between his semblance _and_ hers, the world was made _just_ so she could have a guaranteed victory on him.

Good thing that wasn't so true between Yang and Ruby, or else this would be a _lot_ less interesting!

"W-Well she was probably telling him to run just because the monster was too big at first! I-It's like what Dr. Port said, sometimes-" Qrow had to grimace as Yang snapped her fingers.

" _DON'T_ bring up Port's exact words unless you _want_ to talk about _all of his adventures_ before finally getting to _what's_ important!" Yang nodded her head and Qrow had to join her. Point for the blonde, not so dumb now. Good thing she took after her mom more than her dad there. "Besides, there is _no way_ anything he said would remotely matter when it comes to Link and his fights!"

"But he _did_ say that running away was important sometimes!" Ruby quickly shouted back. "I mean, yeah, he did say it when it came to some things like about being against a hundred thousand Beowolves and Blind worms… but this is different!"

Qrow had to put out a grimace there, again. Yeah, bad idea bringing in the guy who couldn't give a point without _pointing_ out all the ways he could embellish or just outright lie to you. Unless it was about booze. Man, he could put that stuff down.

"And as _Ms. Goodwitch_ , would say, 'context does _not_ matter when you are giving a point on survival'!" And that, surprisingly enough, was something he could see her saying. Sure, over the edge of her Pad and looking at him down the length of her nose, but she could say it. "Besides, all you're proving is that the Grammite was so _huge_ that Link _had_ to run away from it. How is that not a threat." And there it went, all that good will and intelligence. Qrow would send it a postcard.

"That's _not_ what we're talking about!" Qrow held back the point that they weren't really talking. He'd been around girls enough that'd get him nothing but ire. And he wanted to watch some fireworks instead. "We're talking about what was the _biggest thing_ Link has ever faced, not about what he's run from!" Yang had to bit her own tongue when that came up.

"I mean… yeah, but wouldn't it make sense he _runs_ from anything that's too big for him? So… because he's still kicking, that's _gotta_ mean the Grammite wins!" She held up her hands, like it was a victory. He made sure Ruby wasn't bursting into petals. She'd just end up behind her big sister and take her down screaming if that was the case.

"Nuh uh! We've run from _a ton_ of things, a-and there have still been a lot larger Grimm we've fought!" Ruby shot back, correctly. Weiss and I ran from Ursa, but we _didn't_ run from that Nevermore trying to get us, a-and I remember _you_ talking about running away from a Manticore, but you _didn't_ run from a Ursa Major!" She pointed at her blonde sibling with it, and Qrow was waiting for the bang from the kill shot.

"B-But that's different!" She shot back hotly. "I mean, I wasn't _prepared_ against that manticore! Unless you're about to tell me that you think fighting some giant lion Grimm thing is a good idea without a pair of guns on hand, or at least big ass sword." Okay, getting there.

"Language, kid," Qrow finally spoke up, earning, of course, the ire of the two. He didn't even blink, too used to it by now.

"Sorry Uncle Qrow." Ruby apologized first. Despite her sister being the one who did it. Kay. "But this is a serious discussion! We've seen Link kill a lot of big Grimm, a-and according to Jaune-"

"And Pyrrha, and Cardin, and Penny," Yang added on, getting a hot blush out of her sister. Oh yeah, Raven had done _that_ to him a lot as well. Must have been an older sibling thing, because he never got that same treatment done to her.

"-AND them," Ruby hastily added. "Link was able to help take on a _bunch_ of huge and powerful Grimm! So, put that all together, and he must have fought some pretty incredible things!" She was practically jumping in the air with how she was talking. Most kids would have been embarrassed by that. Then again, most kids also weren't prone to wear capes pushing seventeen and hunting monsters. Normal was out the window. "So, um, well…" Oh, _now_ she was getting embarrassed.

"We were trying to figure out what was the biggest thing _Super Faunus Link_ has ever taken out!" What as with that name. That as _his name for the Faunus._ And was that pose really necessary? Striking up like she was some kind of warrior. From Ruby maybe, but Yang? Geez, his nieces really were still kids. "I'm damn sure it was the Grammite in the Badlands, cause _no way_ could he take on something like that without serious backup." Well, he did have backup before.

"A-And I'm sure he's fought _much_ bigger back in Hyrule!" And here came the usual Ruby exuberance. Seriously, if he had _half_ the energy the little tike did, he'd never have to worry about being too sloshed to walk again. Maybe, if that was how energy worked. Possibly. "I mean, if he was fighting Ancient Grimm when he was ten, then he's _got_ to have fought a lot of bigger stuff since then, right? I-I wouldn't make any sense if he was fighting the same thing since he was a kid, would it?" Well, more than you'd think.

"Not that I'm against playing guess who with some guy's past," Qrow started, leaning back in the chair and watching Tai's two brats. "But wouldn't it be easier to ask _another_ pro hunter the biggest game he's gotten? Someone who you can actually hear on top of it?" Ruby, bless her heart, actually looked confused. Too bad Yang had taken a bigger bite out of the real world than she had.

"Thanks, but no thanks Uncle Qrow," she dismissed with a wave of her hand. Harsh. "We've already got all your stories from all the times you've stumbled home drunk. Not even to mention all the way's you've ended up in some bar girl's arms."

"Oh yeah… and they always have big chests." Qrow groaned when _Ruby_ was the one to say that. And dammit, now she was looking down too. Great, now Tai _was_ going to kill him, at least if he ever got wind of this conversation. "And most of our team has bigger boobs, too. Maybe I'll have to ask dad if that's normal." And there it went, the last thread of his life, gone. Smile with it.

And dammit, Yang was howling with laughter, too. Qrow groaned up into the air. If it wasn't someone else, it _had_ to be him. Why couldn't his damn Semblance come with an off switch? Was that too much to ask?

"I _told_ you it was them! That's a free Rupee right there!" The _ring_ in _that_ voice told him the answer was _yes_.

"Hey'ya Sparky," Qrow spoke up first, holding his hand in the air as the now, unfortunately, familiar ring of the drone flying around him filled the air. At least the squeak that Rubes made was appropriate. Didn't make up for the upcoming beat down, but progress. "Got the rest of the posy with you? Or you just out here to dance with the fireflies?"

"You _wish_ you could see me dance," she let out, and Qrow _knew_ there was an insult hidden somewhere in there. Maybe it was the ring in her voice or his head that hid it. Couldn't tell right now. "And yeah, actually, they're around here. Just came out to get some night air and saw you three chatting it up. And, of course, I just _had_ to show Link it was you three. He'd miss a bomb in the wall if Tael or I didn't point it out to him." Qrow _really_ hoped that wasn't true.

"Wait, Link _is_ here!" Oh, there was the excitement in Ruby's voice. "Awesome! Then we _can_ ask him what's the biggest thing he's fought." And, because she was more like her mother than Qrow would ever want to admit, she had to take that chance to turn towards her sister like some grand bet was just won. It wasn't, not even close, but again. Siblings. "I just _know_ he's going to say that he fought a _lot_ bigger in Hyrule!"

"Keep dreaming Rubes. It's the best part about you." Yang let out, putting her hand over Ruby's head without missing a beat. Qrow had to chuckle at Ruby's squeak of disapproval. Sparkly obviously liked it, seeing as she rang loudly with the same air that Qrow did. Unless she was glitching or something, missing recharge time this late at night. "So, Tatl, where are they? I know Link ain't exactly a loud mouth, but he's gotta be close, right?"

"Yeah, he is, hold on." Be it training or his Semblance _finally_ giving hm a break, Qrow knew what was coming. His fingers went straight to his ears a moment before it broke the air. " **HEY LINK! THEY ARE OVER HERE!"** And from the way his chair rumbled, that was a good thing.

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow," And Ruby's pained mutterings were just further confirmation. Not even to mention Yang hissing as she rubbed her own ears with the flat of her palms. That wasn't going to do much, but meh. "That was really loud…" And the pouting face. Maybe it was going to be worth it. Maybe.

"No kidding…" Yang grumbled next to her. "Think I'd expect stuff like that by now." She was trying to dig her ears out at this rate. At least that got a bigger grin out of Qrow. Shaking his head, he looked up to see the 'star' of the show coming in. Funny that it was the darkest light he'd ever seen guiding him there. And here he thought purple didn't show up well on a night sky.

"Calm down brats. Hey Greeny, what's going on?" Qrow held up a water bottle to the approaching Faunus. Had to be water. No booze around kids, or on Beacon, when Oz wasn't looking at least. "You out enjoying the night, or looking for someone to talk to?" Had to chuckle at that. It'd be a long search for the latter.

"Oh! Um… just, enjoying the night, actually." The darker drone spoke up. Because of course he did. Super Faunus just nodded his head next to him. How he looked masculine with that long-pointed hat was still a mystery to Qrow. Least it suited him better than the Beacon uniform… "There's a lot to see in the sky… e-even if there aren't as many stars." Not as many… oh yeah, Qrow got why there. Summer had told him once, when they were kids.

"Probably cause of the lights," he said, with a sweep of his hands. "Have to ask Dr. Jittery about why, but apparently its gotta do with some kind of interference. Too bright down here, can't see the dim ones up there." His hand swept up and down as he spoke. With the way the mini-drone bobbed with the motion, he almost thought he had it on a string. Probably, but probably not. "But forget that for a minute, the girls have actually got a question for you!"

 _SLAP!_ Yang may have patted Rubes head, but Qrow knew he had permission to smack her back. It almost knocked the girl forward, and would probably earn him a shoe stomping later. But for keeping him up this late _without_ booze, and cause they wanted to do something with their family. Yeah, she deserved it. Angry look or not.

"Uh… yeah, actually we did." The older of the two looked up at Link as she started. He, the 'silent warrior' stereotype, tilted his head at her. At least before sitting down next to them. Thankfully, cause standing above them wasn't exactly approachable. "See… Rubes and I were talking about all the stuff you've apparently killed before, and how you fought a lot of bigger stuff according to what your friends have said."

"Mikau talked about that giant fish, a-and Impa was mentioning that shadow monster thing." Qrow hadn't heard about that, but he let Rubes talk. She knew more than he did, unfortunately. Maybe.

"Right, so, we were trying to decide what was the _biggest_ thing you've actually fought!" She held out her arms for him, probably giving a better view of her girls than she intended. Good thing Link had a daughter, apparently, or _did_. … Qrow wanted a drink now, badly. "I was thinking that the Grammite you fought in the Badlands _had_ to be the biggest thing."

"Grammite?" Tatl spoke for Link, because of course she did. "You mean that Dodon… _NO!_ Oh, you're talking about the Bellumgera." Bellum what? What was that, Latin? Ancient Sumerian? Might as well been speaking hieroglyphics at this point. Felt like his head was spinning with them.

"Yeah! BUT!" Ruby slapped the table as she spoke. Probably trying too hard there, kid. " _I_ know that you've had to have fought _a lot of_ bigger things. You weren't scared or shaking or worried or _anything_ when you were fighting that Grimm. So, I just _know_ that you must have fought something _a lot_ bigger than that! Right? Am I right? Please tell me I'm right…"

Link was looking between them as they both stared, and Qrow was damn thankful he wasn't the center of attention between the girls. Talk about a rock and a hard place.

"Oh, most impressive kills, huh?" Wow, there must have been some kind of even the drone logged that got her excited about it. Because the way she was bobbing in the air… it reminded Qrow of himself after round twenty at the bar. "Sure, we can talk about that… but do _you_ have something like that?" Did they… or god dammit!

Of course, she was looking at him when she asked it. And with the way her wings were fluttering, how could he not see it. Heck, even Super Faunus and the brats were looking at him. Why him? Because if his Semblance wasn't working to screw him, it was looking to embarrass him. Why couldn't he have gotten one that just made him drunk half the time. _That_ would have worked out at least.

"Uncle Qrow, forget about him." Yang literally dismissed him. So much for thanks for helping her grow up. "He's fought some big things, sure, but against that Creeper and Grammite you took down, doesn't even compare. Heck, Blind Worms are about as he's gotten to big game compared to you." If he had any divinity at all, he'd turn the _ocean_ into wine so he could get crunk on it.

"Thanks Yang, really. Don't worry, I'll get you a sharper knife for your birthday. Ruby will help me pick it out." He grumbled at Yang's snickering. "But yeah, I've fought some big stuff, but can't really compare to what Oz and Ironwood have shown me against you. Biggest I got in m satchel is probably a Lolith back in Vacou, making a nest in some deeper ruins. Big thing, so big it was basically stuck down there." Oh yeah, good thing he wasn't an arachnophobe then. Too late for now.

"Lolith… Lolith… isn't that what you call Skulltulas?" The darker drone spoke up now. "Cause… those can be dangerous, _really_ dangerous. And if it was big… you must have been really strong to take care of it." Well. Talk about surprised. Qrow had to grin at the floating drone, groaning with how drawn out its rings were.

"Well, can't say you're reaching there," he complimented the bobbing light. "Had to stay a step ahead of it every time it took after me. And with eight legs, that ain't an easy thing to do. Put in as many eyes and the fact I was fightin' blind down there, and it tallies up quick, ya know?" Oh, it did, and it got his nieces to freak the first time he told them about it. "You wanna know how I took it down?" He took the high ring from the fairy as confirmation. That made this all the better and brighter, grins and all. "I-"

"Tricked it into a corridor just big enough for it then let a bunch of grenades go off, burying it in seconds." _BANG!_ His head hit the table as Yang finished his story for him. Not even when there was someone interested. Not even once. Seriously, his luck… if only he made up for it with strength or something… but even Tai took that from him. Damn blondes. "But hey, Qrow's alright and all, but I wanna hear about _your_ biggest game! It was the Grammite, right?"

"No, no, couldn't be. It _has_ to be something else. He was fighting Ancient Grimm when he was a kid. You were a kid, right? I mean, I know kids are different in different cultures and all, but ten is young, no matter where you are… so…" Ruby should really take a lesson from her sister in confidence. Qrow _murdered_ that idea the moment it sprang up.

The rattling and ringing of Tatl was kind of off-putting enough to do so.

"Huh? What's up with you?" Yang asked, getting the dust ball to calm down a little. Thankfully.

"Just… Just thinking that the _worm_ was the biggest thing Link's faced!" And the ringing began anew. Huh, that was a lot of laughter for something that was supposed to be kind of obvious. Qrow sneaked a glance at the man of the hour, and apparently the star of Ruby and Yang's story.

And he watched the _other_ blonde scratch his head and look down at the table. Of course, he did, because what kind of 'hero' didn't have humility. In droves at that. No wonder he had to get him drunk to get a story out of him… even if the Ice Queen was the only one to hear it.

"Link has… fought larger…" Tael now, the darker fairy settling on Link's shoulder as he spoke. Must have been his favorite spot. "Much larger." Oh, ominous.

"Really?!" Ruby asked eagerly, looking at her sister who was leaning back with a groan. Well, Qrow could drink to that, if he had anything to drink at hall. Dammit. "Ha! I won! I told you Yang! I… should have bet something on this…" Thank _Dust_ she didn't take after her dad in that regard either. Last thing Qrow needed was Tai punching his lights out or Summer rising from the grave to curse him. With his luck, it was a maybe. Still though…

"Hold on, hold on," Qrow waved his hand in the air, grabbing attention again. "So that giant colossal worm, big enough fer the higher ups to thinking Dust bombing was viable, _ain't_ the biggest thing you've stepped on?" Link nodded his head at him. Was that a yes it was or yes it was the biggest. Damn mutes. And here he thought hearing his own voice would be a blessing. "Damn, well… _no way_ are you gonna tell me you took on something bigger than _that_ without an army at your side." Or a really really big stick.

And Qrow, _finally_ , was able to take some pride in how Link held up that golden gauntlet of his, waving it and his open palm side to side. Bit of both, good. But… not an army? Was that good luck? Sure, he'd take that.

"Well, Link had some help, no doubt, but it wasn't an army." Tatl spoke on. "Maybe as _strong_ as one, but not an army by itself. No way. No army could even be led by Link." On that one, Qrow got it. Kind of hard when you couldn't be heard.

"Okay, so then… what _was_ it?" Ruby was hopping now. She was standing up and hopping. Brat indeed. "Was it a Mega Ultra Ancient Grimm? Do they have those in Hyrule? Was it something so powerful that it was the _ocean_! Oh! I bet it was a monster that was from the _bottom_ of the ocean, right?! There is so much more water than land, that it had to come from there." Had to hand to the kid, there was at least some logic in there. A thread, sure, but more than none.

"Yeah, gotta hear what it is now." Yang was all grins, again. Great, bounce back stronger than her father. Too bad Qrow didn't have the booze to escape _that_ thought. "Was it something we've seen, but bigger. Maybe some super special thing?" There was good reason to be interested at least.

"Kinda curious myself now," Qrow added on. _Anything_ to get the attention off of him. "C'mon Greeny. What is it?" He tilted the cap of his water bottle towards the Faunus. Watching him.

Watching as more rings and looks were exchanged between the Super Faunus and his mini-drones. The silent moving of his lips matched with their fluttering and almost Church bell like talking in response. If there was chanting, maybe he could sleep to it. After they gave a straight answer.

The answer, Qrow assumed, started with Link sighing and looking down at the table, Tatl and Tael bouncing on his shoulders. Mocking, nah… not from the light-weight dark one. Had to be patting his back. Guess that was how they did it for someone ten times their size. Then Link looked up at him, blue eyes looking them over with his gauntlets resting in front of him.

Till one lifted… and pointed up. Qrow followed.

And stared straight at the shattered Moon.

He stared at it, tilting his head as if to expect to see something falling out of it. Maybe a shape he didn't see when he was drunk but sober would help, with something. And this time…. There was still nothing. Screw sobriety. It never did any good.

"… I don't get it." Ruby finally spoke in response. Thank _God_ he wasn't the only one. "You fought… a werewolf?"

"No, had to be a nocturnal Grimm. Maybe a Lolith himself, right? But bigger than the one Qrow fought?" Geeze, he really needed to see about getting that knife for her. It'd hurt less. But Link just shook his head in response. "Then… what are you trying to say."

"He means… the moon." What? "Link fought… the moon."

Qrow, drunk or sober, had _no_ idea how to respond to that.

"The moon?" Yang repeated. The breath of air she let out was just as exasperated. "As in… that giant shattered rock in the sky that's so freaking huge if it were to hit Remnant, a _continent_ would go missing. That thing?" Link, curse or bless him, just nodded at her. Way to go blondie, taking out the other blond. "You're not serious, you _can't_ be serious."

"But he is serious." Tatl, because Qrow was _sure_ she was blonde beneath all that light, responded with the confidence of Tai. "Fought it straight on as hard as he could. Bet you can see the results of that match, huh?" The drone bobbed in the air with it.

"Wait… _really_?" Ruby asked, squinting her eyes at the Super Faunus. Link just kept nodding his head. Maybe he was taking after his companions at this point. "But… isn't that like, _way_ farther than anything you could shoot… or throw…"

"And you're not exactly an ancient old man," Yang put in. Where did that come from? "Dad told me stories about why the moon was shattered, and he was like that _way_ older than him. You're not exactly pushing ancient years there, Link." Wow, a sense of intelligence.

"But… he did fight it." And even the meeker one was joining. Qrow almost felt bad for him. Almost, but not really. "It was…a _really_ tough fight. One that made Link everything he had. He almost didn't survive." No kidding. Wasn't like the biggest threat was the fall, was it?

"C'mon you _have_ to be joking. I mean it like you _are_ joking." Yang emphasized with a chop of her hand. _Now_ Link shook his head, like he was sure he hadn't. And… _oh Ozpin he was grinning_. Why was the Super Faunus grinning? Had to be the blonde him. "That's not fair Link! We really want to know!"

"Yeah! I can't brag that I won unless I can tell Weiss and Blake what it is you fought!" AT least she had her priorities straight. And Link… shrugged? Yup, that was a shrug, enough to get the drones on his shoulders to jump with him. " _Liiiink!_ " And the whining. How wonderful. Good thing he knew how to settle it.

"Okay, okay, that's enough Rubes," Qrow interjected. "The big guy doesn't want to spoil his hunts, that's on him. Sides, could be because he doesn't want to say what it was. Can't expect something _that_ big to come with a happy story, right?"

And per his predictions, that got his niece to quiet real fast. Oh, he knew his girls well. Well, Tai's girls, but he taught Ruby how to use her Crescent Rose. And this time, it got her to mope instead. Don't grin. Don't grin. Don't grin. Don't grin.

"Yeah, yeah, guess that's fair." Yang stood up as she responded, hands on the table and leaning back. "Whelp, if we're not getting an answer, might as well get some shuteye. C'mon Rubes. Gotta train tomorrow anyways." The younger of the two obviously wasn't happy about that, groaning in response. But she didn't fight too hard when her big sister put a hand on her, dragging her away.

And as they left, Link waved, smiling the same way he had when he told them that the moon had fallen into a thousand pieces because of him. Seriously, the guy who could fight the moon and when. Qrow grinned into his glass at that, wishing for the hundredth time it was made of actual glass and not cheap plastic.

"Yeah, figures they wouldn't believe you." Tatl spoke up, getting Qrow to stare at it. "Hopefully you never got to show them how you did it." This time, for the first time, he heard Link say something. Something short, sweet, and still damning to hear.

The Super Faunus hum in response, and, _of course_ , nodding his head.

… Qrow wanted his drink. Dammit he was gonna get it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	44. The Coiling Snake

Yang's hands were shaking. No, her _body_ was shaking. _NO_ , her _mind_ was _shaking_. Everything was vibrating and felt like it would take only a flick to knock completely off balance.

What had started with Penny pulling out her magic projector to show them a new call she had intercepted, one of _her mother_ with _that bastard_ , she was shocked to the point of anger. It took her sister and partner to calm her down, and even then she was given a birth in their room as they watched. That was step one.

Step two came when she was the monster tearing through everyone, _including,_ the guards and woman the Blake called Sienna Kahn, her old boss apparently. Watching them play those word games and trying to get out where the bastard and bitch who killed Tatl and Tael went. Watching that sword and dance then stopping _only_ when the front row spy and certified dagger-in-the-back walked out. _REALLY_ didn't help that she had managed to put an eye into Ganondorf, _AND ACTUALLY HURT HIM!_ But that just led into Step three.

Where the screen was filled with enough fire and gold to make her reconsider being a pyrotechnic herself. Watching enough of that stuff fly out that she swore her mother must have burned alive. And she would have been _sure_ of it if she didn't keep hearing that woman muttering to herself. How she survived all of that, she had no idea, because mercy was quite obviously not something big on Ganondorf's mind. That was made evident with Step four.

Four being the rough number of bodies that were lain out when the fire dipped down. Sure, three were just moaning and unconscious under the stones, her mother _actually_ checking on them, probably more shocking than anything else to be honest, but then doubled when she saw Ganondorf, and by extension Link _inside_ of him, holding Moraine, Henna, Anna, whatever the hell she was called by Sienna.

Didn't matter what she was before, because she was charred bones now.

And a moment after they all had the chance to witness fist degree murder with _fourth degree_ fires, dust.

She had clenched her jaw through that, watching as Ruby whimpered as a child, even if she _was_ a murder, was literally nothing but charred bones in his hand, then with a flex of his same hand, literal wind swept dust. After seeing that, she was almost positive she'd never be able to use her Semblance in front of her sister again, not without setting her off with it.

Then the real kicker, the fun part, the part where her mother basically showed from a POV of how manipulative and deceitful she actually was. Any excuse anyone ever came up with for her leaving her and her dad vanished when she took that _damn mask_ , the one that looked like it was outfitted for the most gaudy drug-induced horror show, and then slip into a portal to only the Grimm knew where. Hopefully so so she could have a hard time at least.

When that happened, the feed cut, probably her mom realizing that there was nothing else to see. Not where she was, not what she was going to do, nothing. Like she was taunting Ozpin and whomever she was supposed to be sending that video to. Obviously it wasn't _her_ or _dad_ , just anyone else who could feed her sick self-serving life style. Leave the child rearing to her teammate and child!

Yang was pissed, angry, and all around seeing the signs that everyone was getting ready to go and run when she watched what happened. Probably for the best, before she accidently broke a chair over Cardin's head, or made Nora have to actually hold her down.

But then, instead, attention was dragged away from her like the flick of a light.

All of it gone, when Blake caught fire.

A fire so intense and sudden that they had _no_ idea what to do! One second her partner was sitting there probably trying to think of something nice to say, and the next… she was writhing on the ground as the dark golden flames flicked at her body, crackling in the air over her screams. And no amount of ice Weiss made or blankets the dumbass team of the school threw on her helped. She just kept burning and burning and _burning!_

Yang tried to hold her, so sure that the fire wouldn't hurt her from how often she caught ablaze herself. Thank Dust it didn't hurt her, but damn the Grimm that it didn't hep Blake.

All the anger she had for her mother turned to dust like Moraine and flew away when she saw her partner screaming bloody murder and all but trying to claw at her own skin as the fire consumed her. Even while Ruby was screaming and Penny was trying to list some advice she probably pulled out of a digital manual, she just held her partner in a forced hug, keeping her from hurting herself, but only getting to feel how powerful her screams of pain were.

It hurt just to hold her, but not enough to let go. It hurt not even because of the fire, but because of how hard Blake was screaming, and how that was tearing into Yang. Tearing into her like how her nails were tearing into her skin. That, and even how Ruby and Weiss and everyone else who had congregated into their room were yelling. Yelling, trying to grab and find _anything_ to help Blake. But nothing was working.

The fires weren't going down, her screams weren't subsiding, and all she had to do was hold her tighter and not let go. And just when Yang was bout to give up hope of it every stopping, before her partner was burned to cinders. It did jut that. Stop.

 _FWoosh_ ~ As amazing as it had begun, it just stop.

So she was left holding onto her partner, the whimpering of tears and fears still coming out from her. Yang opened her clenched eyes to see her, hoping that she wasn't a corpse in her arms. But she had hardly a chance. With the blankets thrown over her, they could barely see her.

But Blake must have seen something, because she moved out of Yang's grasp in a heartbeat. She was standing up, the numerous fire sheets over her hiding her from everyone else in the room. And everyone, Yang included, were silent as the grave she was afraid she'd have to dig. All they had was Blake standing up, facing away from them, and looking down at her hands.

Then she moved. And in her actions, for a quick palpating moment, they got a glance of her.

One glance was all they got. One look at Blake after the fire had subsided into nothing. A moment after she had pulled at her hair, grabbed her face, whimpered unintelligibly, then all but destroyed Weiss's make-up drawer to grab a mirror. After all of that, they had one short glance to see what was making her shake. The fire had burned her, but not like Yang expected.

In that once glance they all stole, she didn't see the charred skin of a fire. She saw blue skin covered in blue patches, golden eyes staring with malicious intent, and flaming hair that could have rivaled her own. She saw all of that, looking back at her, and the horrified face of her partner leaving a trail of tears down her face.

Then she was gone. _Pop_. Just like that. All with a flick of that _damn cape_ over her figure.

Ren, bless him or damn him, knew immediately to shut the door, telling Nora to get by the window. Partners or childhood friends, she didn't hesitate to do as he said, and Yang only got why a moment later. That just left the nine of them in the room with the tenth, hiding under the magic cape Link had gifted her, hiding what his enemy and _apparent new friend_ had done to her.

Even if she was hiding, it didn't hide her noise. Yang could still hear her crying, but she just didn't know from where. And that… that was what made this the worse. And that was where they were at. Sitting in their room surrounded by friends and 'on-probation' allies, and listening to her partner crying from some corner of the room she couldn't identify.

"How did this happen?" Ren was the first to ask, standing by the door and looking at nothing. They were all looking at the same thing. "It has to be because of Ganondorf, but _how_." The shortness of he voice, Yang could tell, bellied anger. It was incomparable to hers, though. She was confident that right now, she could make that man _bend_.

"… I cannot conceive of any realistic or currently feasible means to replicate such a feat," Penny, the super android spoke up. Yang didn't except another kind of answer, but getting basic confirmation that they had just witnessed the impossible, and had to deal with it, didn't help. "I am… drawing confirmation of thousands of registered incidents across Vale."

"We already know that," Cardin pipped up. "Our scrolls have been blowin' up with that information. What I _want_ to know is why the 'happiest member' of your team got lit on fire." Oh, was he upset? Was he going to be demanding answers right now?

"How about _you_ brainstorm some yourself?" Yang asked as she barred her teeth at him. She could take him, and _then_ some. And he had better remember that. "You want to start throwing out some more insults and jokes? Cause Blake just got _immolated_ in front of us, and I'm pretty sure I could do the same to you if you _keep talking!_ "

" _I think_ that's not necessary," Russel jumped in front of her. Surprise of surprises, the _coward_ of the group doing that. "What we _really_ need to know is what's going on. _Not_ just who it happened to." The tears that kept echoing from the room were not a fun thing for Yang to hear while they were trying to take logic.

"No, no, first we need to help Blake!" Her sister spoke u, and Yang was in instant agreement. "Blake! _Blake!_ Please come out! I-I don't know what happened, but we're still here for you. You don't need to hide from us… w-we don't have any secrets anymore!" Her sister was spinning in the room as she spoke, and probably trying fruitlessly to get this to work. Yang was mixed with admiration and loathing.

"I think it does matter, because there's no doubt that _monster_ is responsible for this," Cardin spoke up again. "Last we saw hi he was at the White Fang base, and then the vid cut, then… _that_ happened." For once, _that_ was a good descriptor. The way he waved his hand in the air, however, was not.

"Say it like that again and I'll _crush_ that had between my fists!" Yang pointed at the taller boy's arm, getting him to pull it back with snark. "And don't you _dare_ try and talk like that! Blake is our teammate and she is _not_ apart of the White Fang! Hell, in case you missed it, we have _fought_ those bastards with her before! You must have seen that!" No way was he that blind during the Invasion of Beacon.

"Yeah! Blake is super nice and _not_ a horrible meanie like that!" Nora pipped up from the window. She was being oddly still, and that was probably another bad sign. "Don't… don't say bad things about Blake! She's just hurt right now, I _know_ you are Blakey!" Her voice turned into the room as she finished, only getting more whimpers from Yang's teammate.

"Then _why_ was she lit on fire like that!?" Cardin all but yelled now. "I don't like that bastard Ganondorf, but all he did to us was push us away. But now he suddenly immolates random people from half the world away?" That was what they were all trying to figure out! Why did he do this?

"It is not random." The words came from the Android, and Yang hated how she said it.

"What? What do you mean?" Weiss hastily asked. "Is there a pattern? A method of congruency between them?" Penny's head tilted back and forth, and all eyes were on her. Yang listened to Blake sniffling, calming down… but not stopping.

"All reports through the CCTS and encrypted Military files denotes all victims of the burning to Faunus in origin." Well… there was one cat out of the bag.

"Faunus? Wait, hold up, Blake's a Faunus?" Russel as the question, looking right at Yang. She was not about to back down form a pipsqueak with toothpicks as weapons.

"Yeah, what of it?" She shot back. "Never said she wasn't and you're not about to put out there that you're not hiding somethings about yourself." She honestly didn't know if he was or wasn't, but he was a college aged boy, so the chances of him _not_ having a secret were damnably low.

"Further filtering of associates and living patterns of those involved also equate to a common link between them," Penny kept talking, and Yang was starting to realize the girl was about to pick out something she wasn't supposed to say. There was _no way_ 'ask about kissing' Penny was going to keep her trap shut. "All detainees from the White Fang encampments have experienced the blaze, but other Faunus officers in Atlas Military and majority in Beacon Academies have not. No cases of children beneath the age of six, over 87% of Menagerie's population being lit on fire, less than 13% of Vacou's population by density."

"Penny?" Ruby slowly asked. The worry in her voice had _not_ dipped at all, and Yang felt herself standing on ice. "What… what are you tying to say."

"Friend Ruby, I don't understand, I am not trying to say anything. I am still able to perform speech without any difficulty." That was comically missing the point, at a dramatic point as well. "What I am deducing however, is that only members of the White Fang have been affected by this pyre, and Friend Blake was also burned."

Oh no. Oh Dust no.

"Therefore, I find it a logical conclusion that Blake is a member of the White Fang."

Oh _Grimm_ no.

"H-Huh?" The words came out of Nora like a punch to the gut. "No, you gotta be crazy. Blakey's quite, but she's really friendly and fun to blame games with. She's… she's not like one of those guys. Nope, not at all. You are wrong with a capital 'W'!" She was pointing at Penny as she spoke. Yang could see Ren nodding from aside the room.

"It is the logical conclusion," Penny spoke on, because she apparently had to. "I am sure others are also deducing such, given that raid of the White Fang bases have left all members with the same conditions following this event." Damn her and her magic CCTS connection! Fu… this was _bad!_

"It's not like that!" Ruby screamed now, and Yang didn't bother to try and even think to stop her. "Blake's a Faunus! But she's our friend and our teammate and we've been depending on her ever since we met and… and she's _not_ apart of them anymore!" On second thought.

"… Anymore?" Ren of all people asked, voice low and sounding more like her dad when he was pissed. "Ruby… what do you mean, anymore?" He had taken a step away from the door, and Yang was ready to get in between them. Great as a friend as he was, just a friend, and not her sister.

He took a slow step forward, stopping when he was far enough off to cross his arms and stare at her. Ruby didn't flinch, but she did have red cracks along her silver eyes. Great, _wonderful!_ How could this get _any_ worse!

"I… was…" That was how.

Yang felt her hair whip she turned so fast, looking at Blake's bed. Looking at the figure that sat on it, familiar red cloak around her shoulders, but a completely _unfamiliar_ shape wrapped in them. Blake didn't have that blotched black and blue skin. She did have lines crawling through her skin, she didn't have flaming red air, even if the ears matched.

And, looking at them, huddled at the end of her mattress, Yang knew that her Blake didn't have glowing golden eyes, more akin to the red piercing lights of the Grimm than anything human. She knew that wasn't what her partner had.

… but it was what she had now.

All of that…

"Blake…" she almost whispered her partner's name, not sure if she could trust doing more than that. "You don't…. this isn't necessary." She didn't regret the words, even if it made everyone behind her stare at her. She didn't care, not when her partner looked like that.

And even with those new eyes of hers, she couldn't miss the tears that were down her cheeks. They were almost twinkling like stars in twilight.

"I do… you don't…" she spoke back breathlessly. From all the crying doubtlessly, and from trying to catch her breath. Yang didn't have long to think on it, as her eyes drifted to the others. "You don't… know me well… but I was a member of the… White Fang. _Was_." She emphasized the word.

"Don't look too different now," Cardin spoke up, and if Yang wasn't focusing on Blake, she would have decked him, hard enough to send him into JNPR's room across the hall then out the window beyond. "And you're exactly inspiring confidence by staying quiet."

Yang growled at him now, but knew that righting him wasn't going to do much. Not after everything she'd seen fighting _result_ in. Instead, she spun on her heel and walked closer to Blake, turning and sitting next to her. She shook, shivered a bit, but she didn't jump away. Yang took it as a blessing, but history told her to remember the curse.

Her arms wrapped around her partner, pulling her shoulder to shoulder as she kept her eyes on the others. Ruby and Weiss were silent next to them, probably for the best for now.

"You… really were a White Fang?" Nora asked, sounding hurt, betrayed even. "But… but why? How?!" Hurt, for sure. And that was horrible.

"Because… I was born into it…" she spoke just as shortly, hardly able to meet Nora's eyes. Yang didn't let go of her, knowing that she needed this. "I left… when protest turned to violence… to this…" her hands were held up in front of her, clenching them tightly. Yang could tell her jaw was shaking just the same. She didn't like this, she didn't deserve this. "I thought… I thought I had gotten far enough… I left them all and didn't…" She never looked back.

"Blake has been helping us destroy the White Fang," Weiss spoke up then, gaining the rest of their attention. "You all know me and my family history, so you should know that if _I_ trust Blake on this matter, there's no reason for anyone else not to. Because I have all the reason to be distrustful, for good reason, but choose not to, you can verify that means I know my teammate well enough to know she is _not_ involved with those brutes. Not the in the slightest."

"Weiss is right, a-and Blake's being honest!" Ruby was by her partner a moment later. "This is all because of that monster Ganondorf, not Blake. You have to trust her! She wouldn't lie about this!"

"Can you trust her, Ruby?" Ren asked again. Dammit, he really did sound like their dad. "I am not going to pretend I know everything she has been through, especially not now, but we all know how terrible the White Fang are. Just leaving an organization like that doesn't sound possible."

"She _didn't_ just leave!" Ruby fought back. "She had to run away from everyone all the way over her from Mistral just so she _could_ have a chance. It's why she's hidden everything because she couldn't let anyone find out. _We_ didn't even find out until a few months ago!" Ruby was actually doing a decent job of arguing.

"And that's good enough?" Cardin spoke up now. The thin ice was going to crack at this point. "After all the crap they did, after running that train in through Vale, you think that just saying I'm not with them anymore is good enough?" He was clenching his hands again.

"It's… true…" Blake spoke slowly again.

"Well I don't believe it." The boy was quick to return. "If I knew a thing about you, maybe I could buy it, but in case you missed it, your own leader basically said you're always hiding in the corner. How the _hell_ am I supposed to hear that, see that, know who you used to be, and say that it's all alright. Hell, forgetting the way you _look_ now-" He was going to be pounded into the dirt later. He was. "-I can't just say I trust you and run away with it. I'll buy that the fire isn't something you planned, but even Penny agrees with me, right?" He waved his hand towards the android, who's green eyes had yet to leave Blake.

"I do trust her." Huh?

"See? She-WHAT?!" Cardin whirled on her, and Yang wasn't about to say she didn't either. That was not what she expected the android to say, not after she had basically ousted Blake as a former member. "You just admitted that the White Fang were being burned, and Blake was _definitely on fire!_ " He waved his hand at the girl in Yang's arms, half-considering letting her run now, just so she could tear into the bastard.

"I did, but for Friend Blake, I have sufficient evidence she is also no longer a member." Penny continued on. "She has participated in many activities detrimental to the furtherment of White Fang goals, not had any observable or meaningful contact at this time, was further showing distress at the deaths of Tatl and Tael, indicating a lack of understanding for their plan, and many more individual activities indicating that she has had no contact with them. Current activities indicated that se was a prior member, just as recent events lead to the deduction that she is now longer a member of the White Fang."

If she weren't so sure that she'd take it the wrong way, and she was too busy hugging Blake against her chest, Yang would have jumped up and frenched the girl for that. A+ planning and execution, defending a friend right there.

"Also, I am made specifically aware that it is in human nature to trust friends. And I trust Friend Blake Belladonna." And that was one hell of a bright smile she wore.

Yang could hear Nora and Ruby all but sniffling back tears, Ren letting out a relaxed sigh of his own. But the tension wasn't gone. There were still _three_ other people in the room who could probably go off and tattle, and that didn't include what would happen if others learned. For now… they had to be convinced, somehow.

She looked at Cardin, the big man and 'leader' of his team, as he looked down at Penny, then back to Blake and Yang. He didn't have her partner's new glowing eyes, but he had a look that burned. Good thing she could burn hotter. He took in a long breath of air before pointing at them, and Yang was getting ready to kick up if he said the wrong thing.

"I don't… trust you."

Yang was fully prepared to commit murder then, no different from Ganondorf. No different _at all_.

"But… I-I can get what you're saying. And even if I don't trust you. I do trust Penny. And she's… she's got your back." His larger hand nodded towards the android, who eagerly bobbed her head with the sentiment. "So I don't trust you… but I do trust her… 5so I'm not gonna do anything."

The silence that came after that was the very definition of deafening. Enough that Yang couldn't hear her own heartbeat, let alone Blake's still pulled tightly against her.

"Cardin, you serious?" Russel asked. Figures that not everyone would jump onto the ship that quickly. "She just… didn't _Penny_ just confirm that she was… this isn't something that gotta be happening to all Faunus so…" his eyes were on her, and he was _all_ but saying it. Yang stared at him, _dared_ him, to actually do it. Give her an excuse to let go of Blake and make her feel like she was alone, and he'd be sure to wish himself he'd joined his _other_ teammate in quitting the school!

"Yeah, and she also said she's the one who helped trash them before." Cardin returned, easier than she thought the boy ever could. He was talking a good talk… and not what she thought he was even capable of… but he was gripping his hand really damn tight. "Trust me Russell, I _don't_ trust her. I _can't_. Every damn thing that we've seen since Link got here and then some… now this… I'm not dropping down and picking up the first thing I find on the ground and calling it gold." He took in a deep breath of air at that, still staring right at her, at _Blake_. "But Penny's saved our ass more times than we can count… and she hasn't been wrong yet. So… if she's saying that Blake's on our side… then I'm going to take it."

"Friend Blake has participated in no less than four confrontations with the White Fang in the last three months," Penny listed at the same time. "Three of those were in the agreement of Allied Team RWBY, and the first with Associate Sun Wukong. Documentation has also been written and archived by General Ironwood regarding her disassociation with them, being credited for assisting in ousting their encampments before." That was… new news actually.

"Blake? You did that?" Ruby asked before Yang could. Bless her little sister, she was looking right at Blake without much hesitation. Now at least. She couldn't forget she was the first to let out a gasp of shock. Really though, considering that Blake was just dunked in five lays of blue paint and splashed with black… and had her hair all but lit on fire, like her eyes… it kind of made sense. Kind of. "I thought… weren't you trying to take them down yourself? With us? So not by yourself but… with us helping?"

Silence was there for a moment, and Blake didn't say a word. Yang didn't expect her to. After all of this… her talking would be almost foreign. It was already difficult to imagine her voice coming out of a body that… barely looked like her now. It would have to be a Black and White then color inversed photo to look like her, and that was pushing it.

"… I did…" Blake spoke in a small voice. Yang tightened her hold on her arm, and she felt the Faunus do the same. "I thought… it would be a start… to change. Be better…" Her glowing eyes looked down at her hands, clenched in her lap. "Wasn't enough though… couldn't be…" Now _that_ was too far for Yang.

"Are you kidding me? It's _way_ past enough," she lightly shook the girl she was hugging, afraid that letting her go would make her disappear again, and she didn't want to listen to her cry some more. Not after all of this. Hell of a day didn't even cover it. "You can _not_ say that whatever that bastard Ganondorf did is proof that you messed up. He's the same guy who basically _bragged_ about being an evil king that killed more than half of Link's friends!"

"Actually… that was the UTS Nightmare that did that," Penny spoke up from across the room. Yang ignored her, pointedly.

"The _point_ is Blake that you are _not_ like them, a-and this is just one more horrible thing that that guy has done." Horrible was probably under selling, like calling her Semblance tough. "And if anything, this is just proof that he does _not_ deserve to be trusted. No matter what he says is going on out there, he is _not_ doing it to help us."

"He never… said he was…" Blake's tired voice came out again. Oh dammit. Yang was honestly starting to prefer the gung-ho, go fight the White Fang by herself, screw friends, make up her own justice, Blake. This one was… in desperate need of a pick-me-up. "He said… he was going to kill them… maybe I should…" Oh _hell no!_

"You _deserve_ so much more than this!" Yang finally yelled at her. Yelled, but didn't let go. "After everything you've been through, and what that _bastard_ Adam did, you are the _last_ person who deserves this! You did everything you could to help others… so don't throw that away now! Because we all did everything we could to help you, and we are _not_ going anywhere now!"

"Crude as she is, Yang is correct," smooth and cool as ice, added in. "We have not come this far with you just to throw it all away over something _far_ beyond your control. You were Blake, for lack of a better term, _cursed_ by whatever this beast did to you. Letting that all go just because of that, well… it would hardly be considered a proper deed or well-thought out action, wouldn't it?" Hardly the most rousing speech from the Ice Queen, but Yang would take it.

"Yeah! They're right!" Ruby all but jumped in. "And then you can't forget that we'll totally beat up anyone who looks at you funny! Well, that does include us right now, which could be kind of bad… b-but I'd be willing to slap Weiss if makes you feel better!" That brought Yang up short.

"Ex _cuse me?!_ " But that was kind of funny. "Ruby Rose, just _what_ are you proposing!"

"I am also confused. Does corporeal punishment help emotional stability?" Penny asked. She just _had_ to ask. Thank Dust Cardin at least put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Guess he was good for something. "Oh, then I am also confused." The soft 'forget it' from the team leader of the budget fighters came up after that.

"I _mean_ that we're still your friends, and no magic super-powerful green giant is going to stop that." She put her foot down, pouting with the words. Not the most leader-like thing… but that was her sister, honest to a fault. Yang had to grin at that. "And Link… I'm sure once he gets back, he'll do something to fix this. I know it. He's a good guy. _You_ know he is." She pointed at Blake with the statement, like it was gospel.

The silence from the burned Faunus was hard to hear through, but Yang didn't let go of her, only shifting so she was looking at her partner's dipped had, staring at the clenched and nearly shaded hands in her lap. They were shivering.

"… He is… You're right…" Yang felt a bit, only a bit, of tension leave her body at that statement. "Thank you… thank you both… e-everyone…" But that brought a literal tidal wave of relief.

"Nope! Not taking the thanks!" Nora pipped up, her voice far beyond bubbly to be anything but cheerful. "You get thanks for doin' stuff, not sayin' stuff. I don't thank Ren for reminding me to do things, so I'm not gonna take the thanks for reminded you how we're still your friends! That's just obvious!" Redhead that shew as, she had some smarts to her. Guess it was one of those twice a day sort of things. Thanks weren't necessary.

They were a team, so a team had to work together.

"So…" Ruby started, looking at Blake's eyes. And that was all they did, stare. She was used to Ruby doing it, and more than once had to knock her on the head to stop. But right now… violence seemed like a pretty big no-no. And after every other fire they had to deal with. Starting another out of what would basically be spite sounded like a damn bad idea.

So she, and everyone else, just waited and watched as she stared at Blake. Stared, cocked her head, stuck out her tongue, and rubbed her thumb over their changed teammate's knuckles. Yang was biting her lips as she waited.

"Does this mean you don't need to wear make-up anymore?" The question was at the absolute bottom of any list Yang had.

Air blew out of her lips before she knew what she was doing, shaking her head to try and make sense of it. _That_ was a lesson in futility she _should_ have learned by now! But instead, she was just stuck trying to control her jawline.

" _Ruby!"_ Weiss yelled for her. Couldn't even stop her, part of her wanted to do the same. "Is that _honestly_ the first thing you have to say!?" Actually, with the tone she had, Yang couldn't tell if she was upset or not either.

"I-I'm just curious!" Her sister, just as stupidly, sputtered back. "I-I just didn't think she'd need to wear it anymore! Her eyes are already _really bright_ now, a-and her jaw is so sharp with blue skin, _blue skin_ , that it's… i-it's like those fairy tails we heard all the times when we were kids!" Yang's chest was shaking, and she was telling herself over and over she was holding onto Blake to keep her from strangling Ruby. Yup, that was it.

"You mean Lady Grace of Swan Lake?" She honestly didn't know who said that… until she got a good look at Dove. Him and everyone else in the room as the bronzed haired _boy_ held up his hands and looked at all of them with squinting eyes. "H-Hey! I was a kid once, too. And I have a sister. You know how much girls love fairy tales about stuff like that." Yang did and didn't. What she _did_ know was that Russel muttered something about 'older sister', which only made this _more_ ridiculous, somehow.

"Oh! Oh! I remember that one!" Nora, of course, joined in. Of course Nora. "Wasn't it the one about the lady who was part of the sea? Super magic lake lady of lakiness and nakedness." One of those was not like the other. And dammit it, Yang needed to breathe!

"No, Nora, no," Ren spoke up, head in his hands. And… wait, was that Cardin turning away from them? It was, but why were his shoulders shaking like that… no way… "She was dressed, in silk. Supposed to be like sea foam. _Not_ naked."

"Actually, Friend Lie Ren, the addition of clothing to the tale of Lady Grace was a modernist revision added to more mainstream telling in the previous decade." If Yang had something hard to bounce her head off of, she would have done it now. Because dammit, this was starting to become too much for her! Where was all of this coming from?! "In previous iterations of the tale, she was nude when emerged from the lake to greet Sir Bladaton, which was meant to test the purity of his quest and if he would be swayed by the naked form of a woman."

"Wait, you mean she _was_ blue skinned _AND_ naked?" Dove, because someone had to apparently, spoke up. "I thought that was just supposed to be reflecting water or something like that! You mean she was an actual naked blue chick! Like… _everywhere?_ " She was going to crack a tooth she was gritting her teeth so hard, if she wasn't still trying to stop her chest from convulsing with her breathing.

"Are we _seriously_ talking about naked women right now?" Weiss all but roared. "We are… we _seriously are!_ Ruby, I blame you for this!" And now Yang couldn't pull back the smile that was all but trying to shred her face. Perfect didn't accent this enough.

"Me?! B-But I was just curious about Blake and her make-up! Make up's expensive, _you_ told me that!" She pointed at Weiss like she had any thing to do with this, aside from just getting made at Ruby, which Yang knew she was supposed to do. But, again, this was just too funny now. "I thought that if she didn't have to wear make-up, she'd save a lot of time getting ready in the morning, and money."

"I'm _very_ certain there are more important things going on right now than the amount of cover and eye-liner I put on after I shower, Ruby." As soon as the words came out, she all but whirled on the boys in the room. "And so help me, I will freeze you all and throw you from the Headmaster's tower if you are thinking about what I believe you are!" If there was any clue with how Cardin was shaking and Russell was looking anywhere but at her, she had their number.

"Well…" Russell started to speak, pointedly _not_ looking at her. "I am… a visual person." That did it.

Yang let out another breath of air, tightening her grip on Blake as she heard the princess let out a roar of indignation at the comment. It was too much, almost _far_ beyond too much! It was everything she thought she'd never hear and then some, _and it was amazing!_ She put her head into Blake's shoulder, snickering as she held on for dear life. Her body shook as she held her partner, wrapped up in that red cloak. She stole a glance up at her, looking to see how the new skin-died Faunus looked.

And there she was the greatest sight so far today.

Blake was smiling.

It was with teeth she realized now were practically fanged with how the pearly whites were framed behind blue-died skin. It was with her glowing golden eyes pulled up until only slits of the orbs were seen. It was with her near nigh-permanent dark tattoos splotched over her face stretching, but it was all there, and Yang didn't miss it.

 _Blake_ , her _Blake_ , was _smiling._

"Wait, I'm confused." Nora spoke up now, stopping Weiss just before she could try to impale the poor mohawk boy. "Was he imagining you in the shower or Lady Grace? Oh! Was he imagining them both?" No helping it now.

Now Yang was laughing, and she heard Ruby and Cardin fall into it full swing.

* * *

' _PANDOMONIUM! Thousands of Faunus burned alive!'_

_'Is this Judgement? Some Faunus spared but not others in the burning.'_

_'Burning hatred sweeps through faunus communities'_

_'Scarred for life! What created these outliers to be burned?!'_

"And in the midst of a thousand mindless articles, one finally asks a logical question," she mused as she read through the deluge of content through her Pad. Her tongue ran over her teeth as her eyes continued to read more and more, the madness in the titles belittling the true distress all these authors doubtlessly held. "A pity that they didn't apply as much thought towards the answer."

"Not to earn another beating after witnessing an utter-smack down," Mercury started from across the room, earning her careful eye as he spoke, "But what the heck actually _is_ going on? I got that it's the big bad dude's fault for all of this, seeing as this all took off after that little broadcast Raven put on. But like, _how_ did he do it? Cause unless you're going to tell me there's something more powerful than those girls, I'm not exactly going to be inspired with an idea."

Cinder looked at him, noting how Emerald had taken the more pragmatic approach to keeping herself small in the corner while she digested the news of the White Fang's base. The news she had observed through an unexpected eye, and those that now flooded in following what could only be described as a karmic burning around the world.

In truth and fairness, she was not sure herself what this Ganondorf's powers were. He was clearly beyond that of the Maidans, the Spring time Maiden Saria, or her memories thereof, being utterly outclassed by him to a degree of putting the sun against the moon. Similar only from astronomical units away. Up close, the size difference wasn't even worth commenting on. Ganondorf had bored and bared the assault of countless assaults, units, attacks, and even _magical_ powers without so much an expression of concern. And now, he was doubtlessly the one responsible for causing this mess. So that said…

"There is something stronger than those girls," Cinder replied easily, turning back to her Pad as the boy squeaked once in annoyance. " _What_ that is, however, I cannot say. I am sure my Mistress is knowledgeable of whom or what he is, but his appearance here is so rare that she did not even dine to entertain me of the threat." Whatever he is now, it was something that was at least comparable to her Mistress… and that was worrying her.

She bit the end of her thumb as her eyes continued to scan the pages of texts in front of her, reading the comments and flooded concerns of the naïve and uniformed spouting of wild theories of what happened, others begging for answers and demanding they 'deserve' pity for how they appeared now. Ironic, becoming victims while they were so easy to swear their alliance to an organization like the White Fang. Truly they were naïve, and that made their manipulation all the easier.

Cinder growled to herself, getting her subordinates to stiffen at the noise. She had put her own mind off track to think of something more controllable and _predictable_ than the green giant. The White Fang were useful pawns at best, but Ganondorf was beholden to nothing but the desire to kill Adam, now that the other murder was dead.

Burned to a crisp in a fire she couldn't even name the properties of. From one such as her… that was a disturbing thought alone.

"I do _not_ know what he is," she clarified again. "His seeming invulnerability comparative to Hazel appears insurmountable, the size of his figure beyond that of General Ironwood or even some higher class Atlas Mechs, and the pillar of _black fire_ he created, burning that almost unfounded gold beneath. I did not even speak of that sword through his face which appeared to only give him pause. Not only durable, but immortal. Were the thief not transmitting video of it, I would burn the messenger for attempting to spout lies."

She lifted her hand from the edge of the bed she sat on, smelling something burning beneath her. They were given sheets, and nothing worthy of concern. However, _another_ fire on Beacon grounds would likely be treated as a threat to the city of Vale at this point, what with how many random fires had just gone off. Attention was not something she needed.

"I do wish the bitch hadn't run with her tail between her legs so quickly," Cinder continued to muse, spouting another article of a pair of children watching their father burn. "Perhaps then I would be able to tell exactly _what_ Ganondorf did to create this bedlam of a situation. It would be useful for many reasons… and none of them useful now." Because the Military was not only present, but the White Fang clearly being removed as a factor down to their very core. There was quite literally no longer any use for them.

"You're talking about the Grimm, right?" Mercury asked, earning another golden stare from Cinder. He was the same indifferent self with the look he gave, and she entertained the idea of burning his arm off, bringing him one step closer to puppet on her string. "Um… yeah, I'm pretty sure with the amount of screaming going on around the world right now, they're gonna be hyperactive." Well, of that he wasn't wrong.

Cinder had already spied a fine number of reports of being saying the Grimm were acting up, a few of the more creative suggesting that it was a Grimm who was also responsible. To their credit, she couldn't _dis_ credit them. Not when the man responsible was so unknown he very well could be in the category of the monsters. Again, his power was comparable to her Mistress.

But he commanded only great power. She commanded _the world_.

"We are going to lose the ability to use the Grimm in the same fashion, at least in the short term," Cinder agreed with the boy. "The Military was on high alert following Ganondorf's appearance and subsequent display of power, not to mention the lack of other threats with the White Fang all but neutralized. At this time, they'll likely be pushed back, so long as they are able to restore that little amount of fragile peace humans cling to." A disgusting thing, but one she could not ignore.

"M-Maybe they won't." Her sharp eyes turned towards the girl now, Emerald nearly shaking under her wary eyes. "I mean… this is more than they've had to deal with before. All of this fear all across the world all at once? I-It's not like they can just push the Grimm back and be done with it. It's like you told us before, humans are weak." If that was how she reached the conclusion of the Grimm succeeding, then she had far more to learn. How thankful she was so far away, or else she would have had to backhand her.

"They are weak, yes, but they are also _persistent_ ," she nearly hissed the world, making the girl rightfully shiver at the words. "They will doubtlessly suffer loss from the Grimm, as they are due to, but the loss of a few will enflame the boldness of the others, ad without another threat for them to be wary of, they will be able to rise back up and push back the Grimm. Such is their only boon, and one that many of my plans have been forged around breaking." And there were many ways to do it.

To sow distrust in those meant to protect, to make them question their neighbors and alliance, to make them fearful of their own power, all of them had fine merits to give the Grimm the precious time needed to tear them apart. However, Ganondorf's actions have nearly ruined two of those completely.

The military _would_ ride in and save the day, as cliché and horrific as it sounded to even think. Ironwood was a sentimental fool true to his post. He would not allow a single settlement to go unprotected so he could help it. And what was worse, there was no outlying or secondary attack force to bolster the Grimm, the White Fang beyond disarray. At this point, they were walking husks, or whatever remained now of their bodies.

She had seen a few pictures off the CCTS. Bodies darkened and burned to the point of being blue, eyes full of golden light that looked almost halogenic, something she was rather hopeful was not a manipulation of these reporters, and with markings and scars that traveled about their bodies like bloodied verrucous veins. And the few patches of hair she saw were flaming red to match their eyes, turning them so far from human or Faunus that she doubted they could or would be referred to as either.

And once it got out that they _were_ former White Fang members, either because there would be no one else wearing the garb or it was a common denominator to the few clever men in the Military, then they would be ousted from all circles. Were Cinder of the opinion that Ganondorf was seeking to ruin her and her Mistress's plan, then she would know that he had nearly done it with one fell move.

One drastic, inopportune, amoral, move. Salem would be pleased to hear about it.

"So, if they're going to be hyped up and ready to fight, does that mean it's time for us to lay low?" Mercury, the boy who kept putting himself further and further from useful, had to ask. "Don't worry, not abandoning the only good gig I've got, but I don't think kicking a roaring lion is any kind of smart move. Prefer to stab 'em when they're sleeping."

"You've kicked Grimm the size of freight cars when you were waking up from your slumber," Cinder calmly noted, letting the boy wear his grin for a moment. She let him, because ripping it off was going to be fun. "And if you were to run when I told you to attack a man, you would find a knife in your back before you took your second step." There the smile fell, just as she wished.

"I would help," Emerald just as predictably added. "You wouldn't get very far." Her eagerness to please, juvenile as it was, had yet to cause Cinder any harm to her plans. There was no reason to jeopardize that now.

"That you would, and I trust you to do such," Cinder spoke to the girl. The beaming smile she gave across her tanned features was matched by the scowl and dismissive noise Mercury suddenly let out, his attention amazingly drawn to a nearby window sill. There must have been something there just outside her scope and vision. "However, I hope it would not come to that, and you are correct about taunting a wary foe."

She let the statement stand, letting her subordinates focus on her once more. The same way she observed her Mistress entertaining and controlling Tyrian and Hazel when they were at odds with one another. Placating the crazy, acknowledging the logic, and meeting down the center with her own decision.

"The issue with the Military and Ozpin at the moment is almost secondary to Ganondorf. Clearly his power is beyond anything we can even hope to match, whether we get our hands on the Maiden or not." She looked at her hand again, raising it from the charred hand print she had left in the bedding. Fire danced and wove through her fingers, like knitting a sweater of fire. "I would dare to say that even the Relic of Choice would make for a difficult time against him, seeing what he is capable of. Without her highness to help us, it would be an endeavor not worth pursuing."

"Then we _are_ laying now," the silver haired boy put out. She clicked her tongue at him, matched by Emerald almost hissing at him from the corner. She ignored the pet to focus on the fool.

"In a sense," she concluded. "We are _not_ going to contact any members of the White Fang again, not until the fools in Vale work through some protocol or mis-informed treaty to give them protection. I am doubtless that the more sentimental of the idiots will make them pariahs of 'the Grimm', or some other moniker for in need. Once they do, then contact can be restored, through a channel not including us." Roman would fare well, if he were not on another assignment for her already. That clown that often accompanied him would work just as well, though her orders appeared to be only from one set of lips, one that Cinder was sure worked harder at night than they did the day.

"Then… should we leave Beacon?" Cinder whirled her gaze at the street orphan, not letting up even when she flinched. "I-I mean that they… they are _cowards_ so, they may try and tell all that they know for that little protection! You said yourself ma'am, that they would do anything for a moment of comfort." That she did, and that they would.

"Indeed, but if they are admitting to their faults and mistakes, then leaving would only _validate_ said phrases," Cinder continued carefully, ensuring that her subordinate was not growing a spine at the worst of moments. "If all they have to put blame on us before is the word of these new darkened creatures, not Faunus or human, then they will be seen as only liars trying to put their efforts on a single scapegoat."

"I get it. We aren't leaving cause that'd look bad _latter_ , right?" Mercury nodded his finger as he let on. "Longer we stay here and help out, less chance they got of making us look like spies. Hiding in plain sight." What a novel concept. The boy must have used all of his brain power to summon up such a simple idea. He deserved a fine pat on the end after this.

"Indeed," Cinder returned despite her inner sarcasm. "So for that, we have to be careful. Careful means to speak only to students who are from this school, offer sympathy to those who are harmed, and more than anything else, _volunteer_ for all hunts of the Grimm." That earned her a wry gaze from Emerald. She knew what the question was before the girl could open her mouth. "Though they may be allied with us, we are still visitors from another school. Working tasks that the other students may normally be asked to do, so they can care for their… _loved ones_ , will endear us to them." It was amazing how often the enemy could fall for a honey-scented trap.

"I can do that," the same girl quickly volunteered once more. "I-I know a couple of the brats here have families in Faunus communities. We can talk to them, speak to them to help them out." And like sifting sand in a river, a nugget of precious stones were found. Cinder smiled fondly at her, earning the darkened cheeks of the street urchin.

"A fine idea, Emerald," she spoke easily. "Mercury, be sure to help her. They will be suspicious of any student being alone now." Outliers were the focus of study, and Ozpin was one who would always search for the most misshapen stone in a pile. She ignored the looks of impertinence they shared with one another. If they could not work together while following her orders, she would throw them out as quickly as she was prepared the White Fang.

"Can I ask where you're gonna be?" She raised a brow at the boy's words, him watching her with crossed arms and a look of assurance he was unduly holding onto. "Cause like you said, staying here alone isn't going to look good."

"And I am not," she replied evenly. "In fact, what _I_ am going to do is investigate a small line of clues that have lined up for us. Bread crumbs that I hope can help draw us back towards that mask the thief stole away from us before she is able to have the Maiden she latches onto unlock it." That made the pair of children in her room start at least.

They didn't speak for a moment, but Cinder was under no illusion it was due to respect for her. For Emerald, it doubtlessly was, but Mercury had no such ties, and was being kept next to the guillotine on purpose. No, they were silent because they didn't know what question to ask first. A shortcoming they shared, unfortunately, and one she hoped would be rectified quickly, or else she could not trust them alone for very long. Afterall, it would be suspicious if she was the only one who spoke.

"While I do not have any knowledge of the mask being in possession of great power, I do know that Ganondorf desired it, at least in some part, and I will not let anything that catches that man's eyes escape from my own." Mercury nodded his head at the statement, getting through a head that was as dense as his legs. "Also, though I am sure she will go to her tribe first, she will be too cowardly to stay there. She is more a lamb than a wolf, and I have only need to find where she prefers to settle when she is frightened."

"How are you going to do that?" Emerald asked eagerly up to her. She was even kneeling like she was a puppy, so well trained. If she had treats aside from a pat on her head, Cinder may have given them to her, or teased her at the very least. For now, she let only the small smile pull at her lips as she looked the girl over once more.

"By following the oldest connection of all," she started, looking down at her scroll again. "By following the ties that bind."

Following one bird that called another, and the children the crow crowded around.

* * *

If there was one thing he loved about living in the forest, it was that it was an undeniable scorcher when he couldn't keep himself cool. Sure, the summers could be tough, especially in the sun, but plop yourself down under a tree, especially in a crowded part of the forest, and you were liable to get a good breeze, nice shade, and maybe even the sprinkle of some dew if you were lucky.

Sure, sure, if his _daughter_ was here, then it would feel like the sun was descending no matter where he was in the forest. Being able to light yourself on fire and _then_ actually fighting people wasn't exactly fair, not that there was fairness to be given in other aspects. Hell, compared to his other daughter, exploding into little rose petals and running _faster_ than the wind, there was a lot to be said about his family keeping cool, or just learning to deal with the heat.

So, for Tai Yang, back from work and daughters at Huntsman Academy, he had nothing better to do than to lay back under a large oak tree, stare at his house, and let the chirping of birds fill his ears.

He grinned at the peace he had, realizing that just a decade ago he'd probably be anxious about holding still for so long. Two decades ago, he might just lift the tree out of the ground to make something happen. Of course, back then, if he did that, then either his teammates or partner would beat him within an inch of his life, or try to, and he'd laugh all the while. Now… there wasn't anyone for that.

"Damn, and the mood was going so well," he mumbled to himself, adjusting the hands folded behind his tuft of blonde hair. His legs crossed over the grass, leaning his head back and taking in the shade. "Least Patch isn't as cruel as a desert with how hot it can get. Might even need to get Yang a present for getting me ready for days like this."

Days like this being where there was little to do, not a cloud in the sky, wind in the air, or reason to move. With him being childless, in the sense that they were gone right now, he had the perfect excuse to lay back and do nothing. A day unlike today would have him worrying about his family tree, and why his girls were being so quiet. He had no doubt that whatever they were doing right now, quiet wasn't a part of it.

"Should really give them a call sometime," he mused again, looking at his house. Nice house, built it himself, and was also the resident motel of Qrow, when he bothered to show up. "Maybe embarrass them in front of their friends. That'd be a hoot." And it really would be, same way it had been when they had gone to Signal, and he 'just so happened' to be walking by their classes. Plenty of time to spare a secret about Ruby and her workshop or Yang and her outfits. The former earned him an hour of silence, latter usually got him burned.

He shut his eyes and smiled at the memories, knowing that his girls were out there making more. And he did love them. Love seeing them off and waiting for them to come home, no matter how short that would be. Only thing he really missed… was that there was no one else to share it with.

"Double damn, and here I thought I was feeling all warm and cuddly," he grimaced now. He unfolded his hands, pushing them against the ground to straighten himself. Not uncomfortable, but not at ease. Hard to feel really right when something was blatantly wrong. "Figures that I always think of Summer when it start to feel like it." He shook his head. Dad joke.

Tai pulled his legs forward, dragging his heels against the dirt, resting his elbows on his knees when they were close enough. He just stared for a moment. At nothing, thinking about nothing, and just letting his mind sit. It wasn't something he used to be able to do often, but it certainly helped a lot when he could. Only issue was he had a lot more time to do it now, and appreciated it a hell of a lot more than his younger self would ever even dare.

"Guess I am getting old, things changing the way I don't want them to," he spoke the truth, letting a grin pull back at his lips. He shook his head when he thought of that damnable truth. That the young punk who'd been the muscle of Beacon's greatest team was now enjoying doing nothing in the shade of a tree more than gunning for his next big adventure. Tell him this years ago, and he'd probably suplex the man who tried, Ozpin included in that list.

But then, he didn't just grow up. He grew close to his friends, closer to some, and then… grew a couple of girls to take care of. Guess what _his_ dad told him was true.

"Kids do change things." He spoke, this time pulling his legs close enough to lean forward, pushing himself up with a hard groan. He almost felt his back crack, hating that he needed a moment to let it before he moved again. "Steal my youth so they can go crazy with it. Dad was right about a lot of things I guess." He could imagine the old man laughing at him from the grave. Not that he could see the geezer doing anything else but grinning.

Funny, because he hoped Yang and Ruby saw him the same way. Otherwise he wasn't doing a good enough job.

"Yeah, I'm gonna call them," he reasoned, taking strides towards his house. Hopefully he'd at least catch them between classes, or else he'd be hounded by Ruby for interrupting her sparring or Yang and some boy… better not be a boy, or else he'd still prove his mom right by ending up in jail at least once in his life. Just one more thing Yang was too close to imitating. "Worst they can do from over there is call me a helicopter dad. Better than watching them like hawk." Or maybe a _crow_ would be better. Dad joke.

He listened to the birds chirp some more as he made his way to the house, feeling the sun beat down on him as he got into the open. Not pleasant, not horrible, but just a reminder that he was still here, still alive, and still going to call his kids. That was the warm feeling he wanted to keep.

Until Tai felt something _else_ from behind him. Something that chilled him mid-step.

He turned with arms raised in a moment, prepared to defend himself from whatever made that kind of chill. He might be getting old, but it was going to be a freezing day in the Vacou desert before he got that slow. He knew something was up, and his eyes scanned the forest again to see what it was. No Grimm, no monsters, and the birds were still chirping away.

Couldn't be Qrow. Tai would have smelled him before that. But there was something there, and he knew it. He didn't lower his guard as he stalked back towards the woods, keeping his brow furrowed as he looked. Green leaves, brown trunks, gnarled roots, black feathers… drifting in a short breeze. His gaze shook with his head at that.

Black feathers, long as his fingers, and carrying as much noise as anything so weightless could. Ravens weren't native here, couldn't be natural. He knew that it wasn't Qrow. Next to still _not_ smelling him being the dead giveaway, he'd try and make noise if he was. That only left one possibility, one that he was sure was making this a dream. Because there was no way she was going to be back. Not like this.

Tai swallowed as he stalked forward some more, grass crunching under his feet, and looking for the outlier beyond the feathers, following their path, seeing the trail they left… and ended at a long haired figure, curled in the grass, knees pulled to her chest, and silent as a grave. The same grave he had lain out for one of his teammates before… And now the other was in front of him.

"Raven…" he spoke her name carefully, worried that saying it loud would make her shatter like glass. She didn't stir. He dropped his guard regardless. Staring at her unblinkingly.

Slowly though, she did start to move. Her head peaking up from where she was curled on the ground, almost like that girl he had met back at Beacon decades ago now. Staring up at him red eyes, the same eyes as his daughter, _their daughter,_ stained the same way they had been when their teammate had died… and she was here again.

"Tai," she spoke his name just as carefully, and he knew it wasn't a dream then. He couldn't even _dream_ of her saying it like that. His jaw set when he heard it. "You… You look good…" He breathed slowly at the words, staring at her and doing _everything_ he could not to draw his brow.

"Yeah… you look…" he tried to think of the right word. Small? Normal? Nervous? Afraid? "The same…" That was all he could think of. It made her blow a small pocket of air from her nose, but without blinking. She never took her eyes off of him either. He stared at those eyes, sure that if he'd blink, he wouldn't see them again until Yang came home.

"I… I messed up Tai." Said man reconsidered a third time now if he was dreaming or not. "I… You were right. I did… I messed up bad." Raven set her jaw after that, looking forward and away from him. "I did something stupid. So stupid summer would probably hit me on the head and call me a dummy." Tai tried not to laugh. He tried _so hard_ not to.

But he couldn't keep from blowing a chuckle out from between his lips. Even when Raven's nervous gaze sharpened on him, he couldn't help it. Tai could just imagine Summer doing that to her, while Qrow went out to sneak booze onto campus and he was playing nanny for the girls.

"Sorry, sorry…" He quickly waved off, the few breaths of laughter gone from him. The sight of Raven, still sitting on the ground, was sobering. "Just… thinking you must've really messed up to think Summer would try that, without Qrow holding you back." Like in their dorm room, when Raven wasn't made the team leader of her.

"I'm being serious, Tai," Raven curtly returned. "I'm just… I'm almost willing to _beg_ you to be serious about this, too." She was right about that. He was trying too hard to think of better times. Dammit, no helping it now. He was old.

"Sorry, I'm sorry," he spoke again. He didn't stop smiling though. Instead, he got closer to her, unwilling to blink and miss her again. Crouching next to her, seeing her glower as he got closer, but not shirking away. The same woman he had married so long ago, had a child with just as far back… and was back again… man, if only Yang were here right now. "Now what's wrong. You know you can tell me."

Any anger she might have had or been hiding slowly faded when he said that. Tai didn't change or move a muscle as he watched her. He knew his wife, former even if she was, and he knew she'd make some excuse if he kept talking or made a motion now. She was a careful one alright, and he had to give her the comfort she needed. And in this case, a reminder of just who he was.

"May be a while ago now, but the promise still stands Raven," Tai spoke, getting her eyes to focus on him again. "There's nothing you can say or do to make me stop loving you." Not a Dad joke, but a heck of a dad comment.

And just like his old man to the lady, it got Raven to morph her expression of indignation to remorse in a moment. One that he thought, and wouldn't swear by, made her shudder for a moment. He'd take it, because he'd have given anything to see Raven again. Now that she was here… no reason to do anything but be thankful for it.

"I… I just really messed up. I messed up so bad." Tai didn't doubt it, knowing that it would take a lot to make her admit anything like that. He kept his lips shut, as much as they could with the smile he had, because he didn't need her running away again. Not yet. "I stole something and… the person I took it from… oh geez Tai… I-I wasn't thinking..."

Tai hummed more than anything else, not sure what to say. He just watched Raven pull her legs closer, putting her arms around them and curling into a ball. Just like when they were back at Beacon and she had lost her first match, and he had found her huddled in the closet, trying to make herself as small as possible. If they were reminiscing on old times…

He flipped himself around until his back was to the tree, putting him side-by-side with her. Their shoulders touched and he leaned into it, enough to have her shiver once. He stayed there for a hot second. Dad joke.

Then Tai grinned when he felt Raven's head fall on his shoulder. That was enough permission for him to final wrap his arms around her, pulling her closer into an embrace. If she was sniffling or not, he couldn't tell and wouldn't say. His Raven was too proud to ever admit being weak, and he was never going to point out a flaw to a pretty bird who had flown back home. Instead, he was going to treat her the way she _needed_ to be treated. And that started with

Years, decades… and he was finally holding Raven again.

"Whatever happened, it's alright," he started to say. The same thing he said to Ruby and Yang more than once when they were still tikes. "Just take it slow, and when you're ready, you can start talking. I'll still be here, and I'll still listen."

She hummed into his chest, turning so that she had her legs drawn into him now. Tai let her fold her body against his, ready to hold her for as long as needed. He watched her push some freaky looking mask out of her lap when she did so, probably that thing she stole, but that wasn't important right now. Not in the slightest.

What was important was that he was home, _Raven_ was home, and she was holding him for strength.

Over all, it was a good day.

* * *

** Author's Note: **

Someone wanted comedy back. Here's me slowly introducing more light-hearted elements back into the story, slowly. Not going to make fun of people after this without breaking character, but I can see Yang and Tai trying to make a funny out of what they could. And Ruby is a klutz.

Also, feel free to rip me a new one for missing out on other characters, as I planned to have an Ozpin and even Ilia section, but realized that I didn't have time for Ozpin to give another winded speech about Ganondorf's terrifying power or for a new character to explain her world and how its changed.

Next chapter… more Ganondorf, more investigation… and the start of his end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	45. Stoking the Flames

He had left the fortress of the murderers and cursed in rubble and ruin. The curse lain upon them now one of his own craft. The life of the forest that had surrounded them was gone, fear or circumstance leaving them to abandon their homes. All because of the power he had unleashed, and with the purpose of ruining the lives of those who took others so easily.

It was a good judgement on his call to damn them to a life of suffering, so that they could know the darkness in their own hearts. He had never had such a chance, so now perhaps they would learn of theirs. Or they would fall deeper into their own torment, in which case there was no safety nor recovery. He knew well the pit that was beneath such emotions.

A long sigh left the man, his body stilling as he stood. Stock straight, tall and menacing, and now in a field far from the forest he had emerged from. A warp of his power and it had taken him away from there. Though to where, he had to confess, he was not sure.

He did not know where the Badlands were, where the woman Sienna said the other killer had fled to, but he knew that they were somewhere in this world. Be it like his tower in the desert, known to all but whispered in fear, or much like the Sacred Realm, only one entrance to it, but all who heard of it believing it a tale, he did not know. Either could be true, but he could not so easily ask others, if anyone where it was.

The hero had his allies to assist him, when the machinations of the past reared their head. Ganondorf had his strength and the consult of the witches, who were neither here nor alive to aid him anymore. Now he had only the winds about him to guide, the stars no more telling than that.

In truth, he thought to search for the threads of fear a place as monstrously named as the Badlands could be, but he found it a more difficult task than he wished. Be it because this world, Remnant as he heard, was so toiled in misery it all flooded together, or because the curse he had cast had swallowed too many hearts with fear, he could not tell. It was important, but nothing dwelling upon could fix.

He would not reverse the curse to ensure, nor would he aim for destruction to try and find the sole point where misery did not change. He would only walk, search, and eventually find those cursed plains. Be they mountains carved from lightning, a field that was burned with salt and fire, or an ocean polluted with an unending miasma, it did not matter.

He was Ganondorf Dragmire, and no plane of suffering was beyond him to find or endure.

That known, he still needed to discover where he was now. Some distance from the forest, the jungle even, but still far from where he knew he needed to be. The grass fields were long, the vegetation short, and the mountains at the horizon so far away, he imagined that to walk to them would take days alone. It reminded him of his old home in the desert, were it one lush in green rather than dead with sand.

The large man sighed again, undone with the events around him, wishing nothing more than for it to be better. But to wish was to be neglectful, and to be wistful when action was needed was to be wasteful. He would be nothing of the sort. That would be a disservice to the hero.

So, he walked on, letting the land fill him with breath, admiring the world that was likely so like the one the hero had fought to protect. It made sense now why the hero fought so valiantly against him, to the point of defeating him. When there was this to protect, a man with great power was less terrifying than the idea of losing all that you had.

The rage that was not his own told him it was his right to be angry for never having anything. It was the peace the hero granted him that reminded him that he needed to create before he could claim to hold anything.

It took little time until he was walking along a field that was combed down its length. The grass pulled away and the dirt upturned. Rivets and trenches no deeper than his thumb long buried into the soil. He may not have seen them often in the Gerudo Desert, but recognized the plowed field of a farm when he saw one. He had witnessed enough during his rage-filled campaign across the profitable fields of Hyrule.

He looked down at them, kneeling to gain a better look. He could see the roots of plants freshly harvest either cut or cleaned in a method of farming he was not familiar with. What crop was responsible he could not name, only tell that something was grown from it, and only recently had been tilled. By whom he did not know, but the expanse of the field showed a great deal of work and care, and he was able to admire the sights with a sense of serenity, despite the anger that flowed through the air.

 _CLATTER!_ Ganondorf lifted his head at the noise. Far from afraid, but certainly not expecting the sound of clattering steel.

He turned to see a boy standing at the edge of the field, a hoe and shovel at his feet. The boy was tanned, though far less than Ganondorf himself, and wearing the usual garb of farmers. Dirt-stained but thin clothing, spots of effort and sweat staining the outfit down its length. Trouser pads hung his shoulders, and from the way the boy began to shake, he almost though one prepared to slip off. Ganondorf hummed at him, knowing well why he was afraid.

"Calm yourself," Ganondorf spoke in his gentles voice. It still made the boy rumble as if he had shaken the earth. His feet nearly gave out. "I did not mean to frighten you. And if this is your land, I did no mean to trespass on it." He returned his gaze to the crops still growing at his feet, careful his boots did not disturb the field.

Though that field was large now. Not beyond his sight, as such would be impossible for a boy to manage on his own, but enough to promise crops and food for a village entire, for days and weeks of harvest. Not yet, months away still, but surely in time. For the boy to have managed it as well as he had, assisted or not, was a testament to his strength.

"May you tell me your name?" He asked instead, looking to the boy, still towering high above him. "I wish to know the name of the lad who was able to nurture crops from seeds." The boy worked his mouth for a moment, looking about himself even. Ganondorf waited, for he had time.

"O-Oscar, m-my name…" he spoke, biting his lip as he did so. Ganondorf made no comment of it. It was far preferred to anger or hatred, a bit of fear instead. "My name is Oscar." The taller man nodded his head at the name, flaming hair billowing much like his cape.

"Oscar, that is a fine name," he returned honestly. "Though I know not much of you, as is truth, I can tell you have put great care into these crops of yours. My I assume you are carrying those tools for the purpose of caring for them?" He indicated the fallen shovel and hoe, the boy stammering wordlessly before answering. Ganondorf was patient, he could wait.

"Y-Y-Yeahmmm," he hummed as he finished, mincing his words. "Th-They're for getting rid of some roots. Not all vegetables are perennials, s-so I have to get the roots out of the way so we can lay down new crop. I-If we're fast, we can… get another round of crops before the winter." Ah, ah fine goal that was.

"Making the most out of the land you own. Sowing it with seeds so you may reap rewards before the cold of winter." It was a task he wished that his people could have benefited from. Unfortunately, there was no crop he knew of that was benefitted by seasons in the desert. Only by the tills of the day. "Did you father teach you this? Your mother?"

"G-Grandmother, her…" Oscar returned. He was shaking less, that was good. "My parents are both gone… hunters and stuff…they didn't come." Hunters? It was not odd to hear of hunters that were also farmers, at least not when he began to learn of what he had in Hyrule, but… ah, he had misheard the boy. He had forgotten what the Man in the Tower referred to the Knights, such as the hero.

"Your parents are gone then?" The man questioned. Oscar nodded, earning Ganondorf's solemn nod in return. "I see. I apologize for your loss. You are a braver child then I first though, and I already thought of you as a strong one." The words did some good to the boy, what little Ganondorf could see.

He took in a deep breath, puffing out his admittedly thin chest, and clenching his hands. A tongue ran out against his lips, wetting them perhaps, Ganondorf watched the boy. He bent down, picking up his tools, trying to look stronger as he held them. It was a fine posture he had, one that showed he understood the weight on his shoulders. That was good for anyone growing older in this world, and it showed a greater strength about him as well. He grinned at the boy.

"What's… what's your name?" The boy asked, finally.

"Ganondorf Dragmire. It is a pleasure to meet you, Oscar." He held out his hand to the boy, massive in comparison to the boy's otherwise slimmer size. Few were considered to be of the same size as him, however. The handshake with the boy was a sure one, one that came with great sense of satisfaction from him. It had been sometime since he had on look at him without fear, even if it had taken time to build himself up to it.

He released the boy, looking over the crops still he had to till. Or, more accurately, exercise. Ganondorf hummed again as he stared at them, wondering what he could do for the child, parentless and living with an ancestor to care for. It was not an easy life to bare, as he had seen many in the Gerudo Tribe be weighed down by such a cause.

To help him though… that was within his power. And it would a shame to the hero he owed so much to do nothing in return.

"Oscar," Ganondorf spoke the boy's name, earning a sign of recognition. "Your task is to prepare these fields for new seeds, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right," the boy returned. "Just gotta get the roots up and we can get the new crop in there. Cabbage is stubborn stuff, ya know?" He actually did not, but it was not worth discussion. He only nodded, looking out at the fields, an idea forming in his head.

"Then please, hold a moment." He ignored the confusion the boy wore; confident he knew why. The questions he wished to ask would be answered in a moment's time.

Ganondorf raised his fist, commanding the golden power he bore. His strength and magic fed through him, to the fields that the boy toiled over, to the crops he had reaped, and needed to sow. Magic fed their way to the roots, commanding the dead plants to recall what they once were. Memories were unneeded, only an idea of what they should be.

The boy yelled next to him, but Ganondorf did not look. His golden eyes were on the stretching trenches the boy had dug, watching as the leaves began to grow, rising up like the bones from the dead, but already full of life. Heads of cabbages swirling into shape before him, the tall stretches of other vegetables down the roads of the plants, all of them rising by his command, golden power giving them strength.

With a shirk of his hand, the power ceased, and his task was done. He grinned at his work, good to see that there was vegetation, not destruction, left in the wake.

"Wh… _H-HOW did you DO that!_ " The boy next to him was near frantic. "That just… _ho-ho-holy hell!_ " Now the tall man chuckled, watching as the boy was on his knees in front of one of the plants, holding hands around it, inspecting it. "It's real! Oh my god it's real! You just made all the plants freaking grow again! They just popped out of the ground, like DAISIES!" If that was how another plant acted, then it was another act of nature he had yet to see.

"I command a great power," Ganondorf returned honestly. "And you hold great respect. I deemed it a worthy trade between us." There was no falsehood in his word. The boy had shown him respect, it was only so respectful to help him in his toiling life

"Thank you!" The words he returned with, however, almost felt as if they were worth a mightier gift than crops. "Seriously, thank you! I-I can actually _do_ stuff now! I can fix up the stairs in the house a-a-and help my grandma with the pumpkin patch out back! Oh man, you seriously helped me out here! This was going to take _all week_ to get done. A-and you did it… in _seconds_."

"Your thanks are appreciated, deeply so, but they are unnecessary." He nodded his head to the boy. It did nothing to dim the smile on Oscar's face, staring up at him with a jubilation Ganondorf thought impossible to ever witness. Cold as his heart was, torment as his soul forever would be, it did him good to witness.

And once more, he was reminded of why the hero acted as he had.

Then twice more, he was reminded of where he had to go.

"I need no favor in return, but I may ask for one if possible." The boy nodded up to him. "I am looking for a place called the Badlands, though I have no map or means to know where it is. Would you happen to know where I could find it?" The question brought looks of terror to the child, not much different than before.

"You're… y-you're going there?" Oscar shook with his question. Ganondorf gave only a nod in return. "But that's… that's like where all the monsters and stuff come from! Grimm come out of there so much that the army has entire points built up all around it to keep them out! Even _then_ it's not enough." Truly so terrible a place existed?

"May I assume it is common knowledge then?" The boy nodded in return, though his body took some time to still again. "I see, I apologize for troubling you with another uncomfortable query. IT was not my intent."

"No, no, i-it's alright," he responded. "It's just… we have always been instructed to stay away from there. It may not be close to us here, but it's more than just the monsters. Everything about the place is… it supposedly kills everything around it. I even heard rumors once that the soldiers that are stationed at its walls need mandatory leave time, or else they may be liable to suffer emotional trauma." Ganondorf hummed at his words.

"Concerning indeed. You are wise to not goad fate by being near it." He shifted his gaze to the lively farm behind him, watching the herd move across the fenced plane. "But I do still need to o there. A thing I need is beyond its walls, and no power of god nor man will stop me from getting it."

"Can you… _not_ say it like that?" The question from the boy made Ganondorf lift a brow at him, staring down. He relieved the expression when the boy shook again. How troubling, that only a few questions could ruin hours of speech. "It's just when you say it like that. It sounds like you're looking to… take over it or something." Ah, that would be something to avoid.

"I'll mind my words, thank you." He bowed his head, getting a sheepish nod from Oscar. "Though it does not change my request. Have you knowledge of where it is?" He looked towards the child again, well informed for one so young. The benefits of minding a field in place of his elders.

"There is… I know _where_ it is, but I think it would be best if you spoke to someone in charge first." Ganondorf hummed at her words, letting him speak on. "From what you just did, I _know_ you'd be able to survive in there, but… but you did scare on approach, I-I'm still sorry to say. If the Military saw you entering there, then-" Ah, that was his reason.

"They would attack," he summarized. But there was more to it, and he was aware of what the drawback would be. "And upon focusing on me, they would miss true threats to the land, so long as this stink of fear persists." A fear he had seeded, but one that was present nonetheless. He sighed deeply, seeing the truth of the words. "Your words hold wisdom, and I thank you for them."

"Then… are you not going to go?" He shook his head in denial, looking down at the boy as he posed the question. A strong lad, though young and full of fear for the unknown. He would have put hand on him, were he not afraid to smear the blood he'd forever be stained in.

"I will still go, but I will first find one who commands the army." Ganondorf noted simply. As a king, it would not be difficult to gain an audience. "With acknowledgement there, then I will enter. If nothing else, they will know where threats will not come from." Afterall, no beast in this world could harm him. He doubted any but the Hero had the skill for it either.

"Wow… I-I mean, I guess it makes sense you know someone," Oscar spoke back. The difference between awe and terror was frighteningly thin. "But, who is it? I-I mean, who has enough _power_ for that? They've got to be someone really important." Considering the high tower, they loved to sit in, from what he had last seen, Ganondorf had no doubt the boy was right.

But there wasn't one he knew to speak to. There were three.

A General, a Wise Man, and a Sage.

* * *

How long had it been since she had set foot in this house? Was it fair to even call it the same building? Everything had changed, even the frames themselves.

The last time she was here, the table was smaller, big enough for just four people. Now she sat at what could probably hold a full family and then some. The windows were further away, too, letting them sit where it was dark and covered. Instead, now the glass planes littered the wall worse than leaves on a tree, making it impossibly bright despite being inside. The mug she was holding was new, not that she could trust her memory from that long ago. But she was sure of one thing.

There was no world in past or present where Raven Branwen would be holding 'Remnant's Best Mom' mug and not be joke.

She thought it was Tai trying to slight her when he brought it out to her, filled to the near brim with coffee and smoking with that heavenly aroma. But he only grinned at her, put a hand on her shoulder, and left, presumably to do more chores in the kitchen. She could hear the cutlery being organized from here.

She licked her lips before taking another sip, enjoying the fragrant and bitter drink. She didn't get much of it when she was in her camp out in the border of Mistral, buried in those woods. For now, she was able to enjoy it at the wooden table. One thing that hadn't changed… but she had thrown away all the same. Truly now she realized how true Ozpin's tale was, loathed as she was to admit it.

Only the gods could orchestrate this kind of irony.

But, they were no longer the only power players in this game.

Though Raven was holding the _horribly_ mislabeled mug, she had yet to full release the gothic mask she had stolen not only from the leader of the White Fang, likely former at this point, but also even from the man who had reduced their kingdom to ashes of twilight. Golden Flames that ripped that place apart… she shivered at the sight of it still, wondering if it was a blessing or curse that let her live through it. Whichever it was, it didn't change now.

Now being the mask that stared at her with eyes horribly enlarged, glowing that omniscient and ominous gold that wouldn't be out of place on a demon, perhaps even the most ancient of Grimm. She could easily see Salem possessing such a gaze. One that she had no more need to look at then this mask. But she was still forced to.

Though it was obvious Ganondorf, that cursed dark man that he was, didn't need anymore power, he had no intention of letting the mask out of his sight. Now that she had stolen it from him, a thief _from_ a thief, as he had called it, it left her more vulnerable than before. Especially knowing that it truly did not work. Not when Sienna wore it, and not when she wore it.

Not when she saw through pin-prick sized holes through the carved wood, and felt only a chill when she did so. No explosion of power, no omniscient sense of being, not even the idea of being possessed. Nothing. Such a discovery was made when she had first appeared back here, where Tai was resting and she had a moment of silence herself. She put it on, preparing to feel power surge through her _, sure_ that the Maiden's strength in her would assist.

But she got nothing, nothing at all.

And now, worse than that, she couldn't even go back to the Branwen camp. Not where any servant of Salem could show up, and in any number they wanted. She was strong, and her tribe was as well, capable of amazing things that only Qrow could reasonably testify for. But they were no match against that walking monster of a being. Nothing could stop Salem.

Or, Raven amended in her mind, no one that had the will to. Given what she had seen Ganondorf do, he may have a chance, a possibility even. But that was still not a guarantee.

The only guarantee she had anymore was that no matter who found her, they would kill her.

"Ready to eat?" The question came at the same time a platter of food clattered in front of her, practically thrown by Tai.

Raven looked at it, staring at the pair of overturned eggs with a side of bacon beside them. The grease or oil, she didn't know what, ran between the two. She could still hear, let alone see, the steam from the food. Fresh off the pan and out of the oven, not given to her by a man who had a smile as warm as the fires that cooked the food. The thief had _no idea_ how.

"You learned how to cook…" she noted lightly, aware that the food didn't just look edible, but even so far as appetizing. She picked up a piece of bacon, feeling it crinkle between her fingers.

"Wrong," Tai help up his hand as he spoke. "I learned to cook _better_. Always could make something to eat, just didn't really compare to the stuff they served in the cafeteria or those fancy restaurants." Raven ignored his comment for a moment, nibbling on the strip of bacon. She found herself sucking on the fat that was still greasy and warm. _Delicious_.

"The only reason you made anything edible was because you had help," she returned with hardy a glance of effort. "Do I need to remind you of when you tried to cook onions and you caught them on fire? I recall Summer having to throw her cloak over it to stop the fire from spreading."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Tai let out with a good-natured life, _his_ nature. Her red-eyes followed him as he settled down. "Only reason the pan caught fire was because Qrow said if wine was good to cook with, vodka would be even better. How was I supposed to know that made grease catch fire?" Explode was the proper term for what happened, but Raven kept her lips shut. Or, more accurately still, nibbling on the bacon. "Put the good advice from Summer and him together, then _I_ made that

"Because heaven forbid Summer was just so much better a chef she made up for both you _and_ Qrow being poor in the kitchen." The pout Tai made was horribly misshapen, doubtlessly because he kept grinning through it. The fool, he had yet to stop smiling since she showed herself to him.

"Yeah, well, can't say I'm better at cooking than she was," he let out, waving his hand. Raven felt a frown crease her lips at the words. "Made the best damn cookies in the island. About the only thing that kept Ruby quiet when she was teething. Had to break them up before that, but it was still a hell of a lot easier than waiting it out." He laughed, chuckled, but not one that raven could return. "Never realized how loud kids could be till I started raising two. Kind of made sense why Goodwitch chewed us out so much."

Raven said nothing in response. There was nothing she could think of saying. Instead, she decided to eat the eggs, letting Tai stare. He would do that no matter what she did, and least of all because she had brought that mask in with her. He was a fool, but he was no idiot. She _never_ would have let herself lie with a man who was an idiot. She had already crossed one line with fool.

Just as expected, he did nothing but watch her eat. Feet propped up on the table and with arms crossed, looking as smug as he did after their first night together. She ignored him just as much now as she did then. But, also like then, she knew it wasn't an exchange that could reasonably last. Something had to break. It was almost pitiable she knew it was going to be her.

"Don't you have anything you want to ask me?" She finally questioned between bites of egg. It was a lot better than the frying pan stuff made up by Vernal. A useful girl, but not for food. "Like where I've been or what I've been doing. Maybe even take a book out of Qrow's book and ask me what I'm doing here."

"Nah, cause that might scare you off." Damn, he really did know her. "I want to just appreciate that you're back here, in this house, with me, for as long as I can. Can't blame a guy for wanting to live the dream he's been having for years now, can you." And he really did know how to guilt her to. A shame, because if it was only a few months ago, perhaps even a few _days_ ago, she wouldn't have minded giving him a snipe and then leave. But that was before everything she had witnessed, and everything that was coming.

"You should be concerned," she mumbled again, sighing as she finished. She took a swig of the coffee, letting the bitter drink wash down more of the food. "Things that are coming, they're beyond anything that Ozpin ever warned us about." There was no pride involved when she saw his grin falter.

"I'm gonna take a guess this is about the mask then," his hand indicated the gaudy thing next to her. Her eyes had hardly left it, at the corner of her gaze at worst, being stared at at best. "Not something I think I'd like to have hanging in the living room, even if I could see Yang putting it on for Halloween." That made her hand clench.

"Yang _will not_ so much as _touch this!_ " She didn't mean to yell, not when she knew Tai could throw her out, easily, and leave her without a safe haven to go back to. But she had to yell, because for the man she used to love, it was the only way to get through that cheerful ego his. The rapid blinking that followed, met by him putting his feet down to lean over the table, was evidence enough it worked.

"Okay, okay, Raven," he started to rapidly speak, as if she were the one on edge. "Still got no idea what's going on, but it's gonna be okay. Just calm down and talk to me. I'm here, and I sure as hell am not walking out the door." Perhaps she was, but not enough to be spoken to like some petulant child.

"Perhaps you should," she instead returned. "I came here because I believed they would not be able to find me here. And this mask… there are more than just a few hands that want to use it." She could name two alone, and either of them were capable of making it a tool of mass destruction. Least of all because of who it came from. Tai just nodded his head, but she knew he didn't understand.

"Unless they're really just that ugly, I don't see the problems with them having a mask." She groaned, _openly_ at his comment. The light laughter that came with it was just as appreciated. Another one of his damn father jokes. Her daughter, _naturally_ , must have loved them. "Seriously though, what's got you so freaked out about it? Gnarly looking as, it is, I can't really see it doing much more than giving someone a nasty scare at night. Not like it got a Maiden's power in it or anything." No, of course it didn't. That was _her._

The mask, she feared, was _far beyond_ her.

"I don't think it has that in it either," she replied evasively. "But whatever it does have, its strong enough that there were more monsters after it than I care to admit. And more than I'd ever like to see again." Having lived among them for so long gave her a sense of danger, and the danger with the spiked mask was beyond it.

"That bad, huh?" Tai almost questioned as a joke. The sigh he let out was a clear he didn't see it as one. "Never did anything but listen to you when you said crap was about to hit the fan. You comin' back here like this, gotta assume something is going to happen again." He wasn't wrong, though it wasn't for the reason he was stating.

"Something is, yes," she agreed. "Though I still don't know what." There was a lot to worry about, even a lot more then to be afraid for. All she could do was sigh and think about it. Salem, the supposed immortal being at the edge of the world, ruling and creating Grimm like rain in a storm. Ganondorf, the being that had come from Link's hidden mask, commanded a power that made _another_ Maiden nothing in comparison, and had turned the strong hold of the White Fang into cinders in moments. Then Ozpin himself, who for once was not the worst enemy in all of this.

She put the fork down to the meal, her appetite lost.

"Gotta eat if you want to keep up your strength." Raven looked up at Tai, brows drown and lips thin. The look of unease he gave back, chuckling even as he did so, did nothing to soften her up. "Sorry, too long with the kids and them getting upset with meal time. You just… you looked a lot like Yang there for a second." And there was another concern of hers, but one so deep she wasn't even sure she could care to give it thought now.

"I'm her mother, so of course I look like her," she dismissed it just as easily. "That's _all_ that girl has in common with me, seeing as she fights and behaves like you to a 'T'. What kind of child has the strength of a temper tantrum to be stronger?" She had almost laughed when she first had seen it, stopping only when it came with fire and fists of fury to match.

"Wait… how do you know how she acts?" Only to find herself stopping at the question.

Dammit… years in solitude and hiding and it was _this man_ who made her slip? It had to be that foolish nature of his giving her a false sense of calm. She hadn't let a word slip to Ganondorf before, that man… that monster only knowing she had a child and that was it. Raven shook her head at the inanity of the all.

"Because I keep an eye on her," Raven returned. It would be a poor thing to lie about, especially when he knew most of her tells. Only Qrow was harder to lie to, and usually only about things they couldn't guess. Like her _reason_ for watching her child. "She's at the school where Ozpin lords over, and knowing how he works, it would not be a far cry to hear him recruit her for the purpose of trying to get to me."

"Okay, seriously Raven, Oz wouldn't do that." She blew hair out of her face at the comment. Sometimes she envied his naivety. "Dude did some weird stuff to you and Qrow, and I'm not going to sugar coat that like Ruby's pancakes." Of course, he would. "But I think even _he_ realizes how much that would piss off, well, _everyone_ if he did that. Hell, I doubt Qrow would give him a pass if he did something like _that_." That would be the only boon of the exchange.

"He would and I know it, Tai." She had seen him do far worse. "And even if he didn't, I'm not going to just leave my daughter around him as if he wouldn't have any malicious intent. He used me, he used Qrow, he used you, and he used _Summer_." She hissed the name, already knowing that saying it in the space she had would provide no comfort to Tai. Neither to her as well. Just another poor memory she had to live with.

"You really think Ruby and Yang are in danger because of that?" He asked back. She pursed her lips in answer, leaning back in her chair as she let the question mewl in her head. She didn't have to for long. She knew that the answer was a yes. "If that's true, then why aren't you trying to save her? Hell, you could have told me and I would have done something." He would, too. The man who dived into an Ursa den because he thought it would be faster.

"Because she's safer under Ozpin's thumb than with me." A fact. "And with how many terrors there out there now, I'd prefer her to be near the man responsible for most of them." Another fact. "If nothing else, and even if she never thinks me as it, I am her mother." A fact she had never acted on. She shut her eyes as she remembered it all.

Her daughter, as boisterous as her father in his youth with hair and guns to match, but looking so much like herself that just glancing at her almost reminded her of happier times. Almost, but never quite enough. Never enough to wash away all the blood that had collected on her hands and blade, enough to make her eyes dull in comparison. That was the world she lived in, and if Yang just punched dark creatures for the rest of her life, that was an ignorant life she could let her have. Ignorance was bliss.

"Well hey there 'mom'." Tai's words made her eyes widen, fear in her gut at what was coming next. "I'm dad." And there it was.

She narrowed her eyes sharply as she stared at the man again, him leaning back once more in his chair, a mirror of her posture, and looking all to proud of the corny, near heretical joke he had just cast her way. Not even her snarl could get him to break his façade of joy. Unfortunately, that also meant she was going to have to act on a promise she made to him long ago.

"Tai," she began, looking him dead in his eye with her sharp blood-red gaze. "Do you remember what I promised when you first cracked that joke? What did I say was going to happen if you made that joke again at my expense, no matter your reason? You still remember that?" She hoped he did. From the way his grin only widened, _he did_.

"Sure do," he said. Calm as he looked, she could see him scooting away from the table, inch by inch. "This mean we're gonna _wrastle_ now?" As if to goad her into take the first strike, he opened up his arms, letting his muscled shirt hold its way out to her. She wasn't a teenager anymore. That did nothing to her. "Wanna take the first strike?" But that would work.

In a flash that Summer would have been energetic to see, Raven had popped out of her seat, crashing into Tai a blink later. He let out gasp of air as she hit his chest, sending the chair he was on tumbling back and onto the floor. She didn't let go of him, using all the skill she had to stay on top. She was the master thief after all.

Unfortunately, Tai had been the one to raise not just their daughter, but Summer's as well. That left him in top condition, even as active as she was. That meant it was no issue for him to flip her over, working her arms through his greater strength and put him next to her in a pin, holding one arm down behind her head, awkward as that was, and leaving her legs kicking beneath his waist. He would _not_ speak about that or else she would show him just what she was capable of, powers and all.

"That all you got, Rae?" He spoke that damnable nickname again, to all her chagrin. "Guess that's what happens when you spend all your time camping in the woods."

"Like you're any different," she replied up to him, still struggling in her position to find the best out. There had to be one, much like all other positions she was in before. "Last I check, you _live_ in the woods Tai. Least I get out explore." And she was quiet good at it.

She slipped her leg between his, locking his legs and letting her spin out of his grasp. She got to his side, pinning _his_ arm in a hold to limit his movement. She whipped herself up, stopping only when her knees were at his back, holding him down and beneath her, right where she knew he liked to be. The bright grin he still sported, pushed against his own floorboards by her power, was proof of that.

"Got me there," he replied. "But seeing as you're just pinning me like this, can I take it that you've proven your point?" It took her a moment to think on what he meant. "Cause the rest of your promise was 'to wrestle me to the ground and cut off my arm'." Ah, that was it.

"I think this is enough," she replied, leaning down until her dark bangs mixed with his blonde locks. Let me him get excited about this, but it wasn't for her. "Just reminding you who was the better fighter between us." She tapped his shoulder twice, rolling off of him and letting him do the same. He flexed and rolled the arm she had pinned, probably trying to put blood back into it. He'd be okay, as it wasn't pinned for very long.

"I always knew you were a softy," Tai spoke to her, making Raven shut her gaze in annoyance. This man, so much more like his daughter than she could ever be. "Letting me go so easily, right when you had me where you want me." Oh, now _that_ she caught. Did he think she wouldn't?

"I would rather be relaxing in the woods _alone_ , Tai." The return sounded ingenuine even to her. She knew it wouldn't be long before he caught onto it. And the laughter that came from him, complete with him putting an arm around her and pulling her closer, made it all the more apparent. She only grumbled at the way he pulled her to his chest, smothering her against his shirt.

"Yup, _alone together_ , just the way you wanted it." She sighed against him, curling her hands into fists as he rumbled against her. She tried to tell herself that he was wrong, but lying right now wasn't something she could do. Memories or not, instinct or history, she knew that this was something she had to appreciate. The man who had not scorned her despite leaving him alone, and now embraced her after she tackled him.

Raven was intelligent to know that it meant something was coming. Just what she could only guess. The list was short, the threat of each beyond reason, but something or someone was coming. Here at least… she'd have something to help protect herself.

"Thank you, Tai." Her voice was a grumble against him. It still made the blonde she clung to sigh.

"Anytime, Raven. Any hour, day, or year. Any at all."

* * *

He was never meant to kneel again, not to anyone that wasn't a Faunus.

He had been made to kneel before so many corrupt and tyrannical humans that he had sworn to rather cut off his legs by the thighs before he could bend his knee. He had taken beatings, burnings, and abuse that would make humans wail in anger and pity, but all with only grimace of annoyance. The pain that was put on him was a reminder that.

Kneeling was submission, and he would never submit to any human again. Only to those who were Faunus, those who knew the pain that they had endured, and ensuring that they would never allow themselves to drift into that horrible life again. To kneel to a Faunus meant not that you were submitting, but that you respected their pain. That was why he would kneel to Siena, but never to the Belladonnas, not when their own daughter would turn away from their history.

But despite all of that, despite all that Adam had sworn to, he was kneeling again, and to someone that wasn't a Faunus.

Then again, he wasn't a Faunus himself. Not anymore.

And the person he was kneeling to wasn't human. She never was.

The woman who sat on a throne high above him, who commanded the room with presence alone, and held such power at her hand that simple displays of her bodied made the world churn around her. He didn't dare look at her, didn't dare anger her, for fear of what was to come if he did. He had made it this far for his people, stained and burned as he was now. It would be foolishness, not bravery, if he risked it all for a glance at the woman.

"Adam Taurus," her voice brokered above him, chilling the already cold air. The grip on his knee tightened. "I commend you for coming so far to see me." So short on words, and they already felt like an eight on his soul.

He breathed slowly, staring at the red carpet beneath him, knowing the dark stone that surrounded the rest of them were made with thorns and spikes that could impale him a moment's notice. He knelt in the throne room of a castle, but he was a flea moments away from being killed. He _loathed_ realizing such a truth, but to deny it now would guarantee his death. He prideful, but not suicidal.

"Your success in your plans has caught not only my eye, but my approval. To have Ghirahim speak kindly of your methods is a difficult task. To have Tyrion approve of your tactics just as challenging." She spoke of two of the other three members of the room.

The mad Faunus who he would not trust with even deliveries in the White Fang stood nearby, scorpion tale whipping about as he watching, nearly hopping in place. There must have been drool or something similar on his face as well. Ghirahim, on the other hand, remained as passive and cool as he had the journey here, through the teleportation they had taken, the furthest he could manage at a time. The smile upon his painted lips was subtle compared to Tyrian's, but far from indiscrete.

"The plans you and your kind have sown have gifted you with tools of power. Masks that the hero is doubtlessly devastated to have lost." His attention returned to her, the woman who was speaking high above. And though she spoke he did not dare glance at her.

Instead, he heard the carting of wheels as a tray was pushed out to them. He did not recognize the poor soul who had pushed out the metal contraption, only noting they were a human of lethargic appearance. Too meek, thin, and ill-dressed to tell if they were man or woman. Thing was closer to correct.

But on the table they pulled out sat the three masks he had brought with him. The gifts he promised to the woman for her strength. Henna had done her job beyond any comparable measure.

He clutched his knee as he heard he walking down from her throne, heels clicking across the stone and carpet, the room silent as she descended. It was appropriate, as he saw the sky still before her command. He would not dare cross someone who commanded such power. Not now, not when he was so close to it.

"Do you know who resides in these masks?" The woman asked, her voice between amused and curious. "I believe they are memories of grand subjects. Lives of those who lived for purposes beyond their own. To live for kingdom, for people, or for love. They all lived for reason beyond life itself." He kept his head low as she spoke, though he did understand her. It was how _he_ was. His life was secondary to the cause.

The sound of wood scrapping against the table reached his ears, and Adam raised his head just enough to let his eyes broach a look. He saw the long dark gown of the woman who sat on a higher throne. He saw the long black heels of a woman that saw power before empathy. She saw the alabaster skin, a purer white than the brightest light. But he dared not look higher. Not into the eyes of the woman who had such traits and features.

He swallowed heavily, _sure_ she knew he had looked up, but made no comment about it. He only heard the snickering of the fools from the side. Those that either pretended to be on par with the woman or worked to steel her strength from her. Adam was not like them. He aimed to _earn_ power like hers.

"This mask, I know this one," she started to speak again. Adam saw, with a glance from his shimmering eyes, the visage of the silvery moon. "It belonged to a witch who was granted power beyond most measure. Enough to see into the void of time, and make sense of the threads that severed only to be bound again. Loyal to the threads of fate, and dutiful to those who worked to preserve them. Would you care to guess how she died?"

Adam did not speak, unsure if he was truly asking her or not. He let silence reign in her own home, willing to anger her out of the appearance of ignorance more than upset her with the pretentiousness of power. He wanted power, but compared to her, he was still far from it.

"She believed in the threads of fate so well, she became bound to them." The answer, thankfully given, was wholly expected. "A puppet on their strings, hollow within and without, reason devoid without emotion to grow." The chuckle she breathed through was haunting. "Lana was many things, in life death and rebirth. It makes sense she is hollow forevermore."

He heard her put the mask down, moving her hand across the table. He expected the sound of nails to a chalkboard, his stone across stone, as she moved across it. Instead, it came across like the slow draw of a violin. Enchanting, eerie, and chilling all at once. She stopped, he quickly observed once more, when she grabbed another mask. He recalled this one, shaped like any eye and colored of blood.

"All know now who resides in this wooden shell." Her words were true, as the demonstrations of the false hero had spread wide through Remnant. "A woman who is loyal to the crown she served for centuries, one that she saw as a higher power than even herself. Beyond the shell of her people and strength, she saw the strength of the nation as greater than the people within it. Be it by prophecy or faith, one cannot say." Her chuckled sound as if she were truly entertained.

He knew Impa was a Faunus, one who was loyal to the kingdom she came from. He spoke nothing ill of her, as she was only misinformed, no different than Link. But while the fake hero had made a choice, Impa could not. She was memories, and memories couldn't change. He took a slow breath to keep himself quiet, letting his own thoughts pass.

"How sad it is then that she sacrificed a near immortal life to preserve that kingdom." She put the mask down, Adam hearing it click on the table. "The life she could have lived, the people she could have helped, and she saw it better to die for a nation that only ever saw her as shield. Pitiful to the last breath." His fist remained clenched and mouth shut.

Now the woman moved to the last mask he had brought, the one he had only heard talks of, but never witnessed. The last two were people he had seen either in person or videos of. This was the first he had not seen. This one he did not know.

"Ah. The visage of a Goron, the hero I recall," the woman continued to speak. "One who was made of stone, but hade a heart that could warm a mountain. Even the deepest freeze could not stop him, or I should say could not quell him. A spirit more than memory, spirited in life and death, and able to carry on that faith to all who saw him. Tell me, does this remind you of anyone?" Adam bit his tongue, hard.

It reminded him of many heroes of the past, many people who had given their life for the White Fang, and all for them to be remembered well in spirit. He thought of them every night, used as fuel to keep his anger for the humans tempered, as they intended with their final breaths. This man behind the mask, apparently, was so heralded as the same, so long as the woman was not lying. Adam didn't believe she was. You didn't have to lie when you had absolute power.

"The tale of his death is not a well known one, only the circumstances for it. Dying on a hilltop for his village, entrapped in an endless winter. Dying before he could save them, and living on only as spirit to guide them." Fairy tales were written of less romantic ends. "He is an interesting one, and one more I am thankful you have brought to me."

The mask was set back on the table, and Adam heard her heels click back up the steps. He waited for her, again, unwilling to anger her with even a slight. He hated to kneel, but to help his people, to help _all_ Faunus, he would lick her boot.

"But you have clearly suffered for your plans to succeed, have you not?" Her words were too cold to contain humor in them. The question almost sounded genuine, concerned, careful. But Adam had difficulty believing it was that. No one, let alone a woman who commanded power like this woman, would be so blind. "One that I am surprised you have not expressed more anger over. I have seen men run to ruin over the damnation of their work, yet you have had your identity ruined. Tell me, and speak clearly this time, do you believe the results of your labors balance to your benefit?"

He breathed slowly at her question, weighing it himself. The many good things that he had done, the strength that he had given his people, the prizes he had taken from a race traitor, and all at the cost of being stripped of his Faunus traits. No horns, no skin, nothing but damnation of a monstrosity left on his skin. One he could not even know was shared with all or only some of his kin. It was a horrible fate. Honestly.

"I do not regret my actions." His answer was just as honest. "I do not regret helping my people. They can make me a martyr, a sacrifice, or anything they want. But I do not regret what I did." He couldn't. That would mean death.

"Truly nothing?" The woman questioned, making him freeze. Did he say something displeasing? "You were responsible for two of the hero's greatest friends? Many would say you are the reason that man is now out wandering the lands in search of this place. And if that is true, then you are responsible for the ruination of your entire sect." He swallowed again, but did not breath. "You truly feel no guilt for what you have done." Those weren't the same.

"I do feel guilt," Adam returned. "But I do not regret. No matter what I did, I would feel guilt. I only chose what was best, not what was easiest." No leader ever chose the easy path and led their people to salvation. None, least of all him. "If the time came again, I would choose the same."

Silence filled the atrium, and he did not look up. He heard the clowns making ill-disguised noises of glee, be it for what he had done or what was going to happen to him, he cared not. They were not important. Only the woman was important, and what she could do to help him.

 _Clap-Clap-Clap!_ That started with her clapping from her throne. The sound was so thunderous, he thought for a moment she was breaking stone or igniting the sky. But the room remained dark through her apparent cheer.

"An excellent answer," her voice returned, nearly cheerful again, but never lacking in the authoritative tone. "Spoken as a ruler for his people, as a king looking to reclaim his throne." Adam's fists were shaking at the mention of it. The only throne he wanted was likely dust by now. "I would be foolish to ignore someone like you. Someone dedicated, loyal, and _earnest_ with his goals."

He didn't look up, as tempted as he was. Adam could feel her doing something, but what he couldn't say.

It wasn't until he tried to breath again that he felt the cold choke in the air. The sudden drop in the air temperature and pressure. Enough that he had to nearly lurch to pull in a breath. His jaw clenched to keep himself still, hoping the others were enduring the same.

"Speak your name." The tone brokered no discussion.

"Adam Taurus." The honest answer made his body feel like it was cracked with ice.

"That is wrong." Now he nearly panicked.

Nearly, but not fully. He was not a young soldier new to the war. He was not a naïve fool looking for glory. He was among the first and most loyal of the White Fang, and willing to do all that was necessary for his people. He did not ask for aide while he was burned alive, and he would not ask for mercy in the face of death.

Something _banged_ into existence in front of him, and he kept himself still, waiting for whatever blow would come so that he may endure it.

"Gaze forward," she commanded again. "Gaze and tell me honestly again your name." He did as told.

And loathed the sight he saw.

His red hair was alight like the sun. His face was blue with death. His teeth were jagged like a shark. His eye, the only one that was bot burned shut, glowed like the light of a desperate man in the depths of a mine. No horns grew from his head. Nothing to show he was now who he was before. Nothing at all.

"I'm…" he tried to speak, but found no answer. "I… don't know…" Better to admit fault than to lie.

"Adam was who you were when you served the White Fang. Adam for the beginning, for where your path of rebellion grew, where your will rose forth, and where you led those who favored your courage towards a brighter future for your people." Her words were true and rang such in his ears. Through his stained blue lips, he sighed in awe of her words. Golden eyes shut as he let them ring on.

"Then… who am I now?"

His answer didn't come with a whisper or word, but slash of the wind.

The mirror he stared into crumbled into dust and shards beneath him, his gaze falling with it. He remained breathless as the pieces swirled by a command he couldn't see, churning into something new. Not a mirror, not a plane, but something else. Something that gleamed with power even as it floated in the air, gathering the ruins of the mirror around it. The crackling of glass turned to the grind of steel, but Adam didn't turn away. Never.

Especially not when the magic was done, and he saw floating before him a new mask. No… not a mask… a helm.

A helm that was shaped like spire, curled with a tongue serpentine in nature. It had the traits of an ancient carving, as if made by a long dead race, and looking to be a visage of power for those who worshiped Faunus. No human traits were on the helm. Eyes of the cat, tongue of the snake, nose of the boar, all of them, and he thought it beautiful.

"You are not Adam," the woman repeated above him. "You are no longer of the Faunus, no different than the others who were cursed. You who took their sins, now are their leader. You are the one who chose to help them, and now you bear the weight of that decision. To carry that weight is an act that must be witnessed, not told."

The helm floated towards him, and he held out his hand, letting it land in it. It was heavier than he expected, but not behind his power. Carefully, he turned it over, looking inside its dark interior.

"Wear that helm, wear it as your crown, and be renamed for who you now are." It was not an order, but an ultimatum. One he didn't need long to think of.

He put the helm on, slipping it over his head. Power became his being.

In that moment, a great sense of omniscience spread through him, for nary a moment. Enough to see the world around him, to witness all those who were burned like he was. Those who were being thrown out of their homes, being cast aside in anger or fear, being ruined and hated for the fire that was not their doing. Souls lost, crying, demanding help and rule, demanding _answers_.

Just as quickly as he saw it all, it was gone.

"You now know the suffering of your people." The woman spoke as if she'd seen it. He had no doubt she had. "You know of their plight, you know of their rage. But now, you must decide what you will do." She stood up, he heard her do so, and he followed the gaze, stopping only when he saw her feet. He wasn't ready… not yet…

"Are you the king of your people? Are you willing to rule in hate, to guide them to salvation?" The question was never one he struggled with.

"I am. _I am!_ " He finally yelled. He had the strength and power to. For a moment, he almost felt as if the world cheered with him.

"Then rise now, newly crowned king. Rise _King of the Twilight!_ " Her voice was more than a command for him. It was an order for the world.

Adam stood, strength filling his veins and fire burning in his chest. He felt a laughter bubble through him unlike any he experienced before. A joy that was without equal, and measurement of himself that made his stars seem dim and the sun a lamp in the sky. He stood up and gazed at the woman who had crowned him, named him, and told him of his destiny, all that he was promised. And she had delivered.

The red eyes that bore down on him, cracked with the tendrils of darkness, were as king as the smile she gave him.

"Hail to you Zant, Twilight King."

In the cold room of hell, he laughed with joy.

* * *

Winter had seen it all.

General Ironwood had given her permission to view the calls after the Nightmare incident, and she had watched all of it in a private room in the military base. She had seen _everything_ that the dark man had done, realizing forthright and with terrifying certainty that the Nightmare was _nothing_ compared to the man.

A man that cursed the Faunus to _burn_ , that destroyed the hold of the White Fang like a fly on the wall, and was now so eagerly looking for Adam Taurus, terrified her. Not for the murderer, responsible for far more deaths than just those of Tatl and Tael, but for everyone in his way.

She had seen it, nibbling on her thumb as she thought of how closer her sister was to this. Her father and brother were safe in Atlas, tucked away in the mountains and far from where she knew Ganondorf would travel, _hopefully_ , but it was only a light guard at best. At worst, it was a tomb they were already resting in. But what she really focused on, what _demanded_ her attention, was that mask.

Ganondorf had called it sealed, a chance equal to it being useless. After a week with the man, Winter could not believe that Link would possess so useless a tool, let alone so gothic one, next to the living mementos of his friends. She _couldn't_ believe. So, as taught to her by the Atlas Academy, she assumed the worst. That it _was_ sealed by some art or power.

If that was the case… she knew exactly what would be used to unseal it.

General Ironwood had sent her here to guard the Arc Blade in case they needed it. They intended to use it on Ganondorf, horrifying as it was to imagine grabbing the steel again when it already housed a Grimm it in beyond death, as far as the fairies before had been concerned. But when there was a man just as unstoppable, it made sense to keep the only for harming him at bay. Though the gilded sword still lay a possibility, she didn't trust a blade that couldn't kill even when it pierced a man's skull. She _could_ trust one that was able to hold back an Ancient Grimm with its size alone.

And with the mask with power also sealed, it was difficult to not see the connection between the two. Worst of all, she knew someone else would as well.

"Are you sure about this, Specialist?" A man next to her asked, garbed in the typical attire of the Atlas Army. She glared at him with her uncovered eye, earning only another swallow from his already shivering form. It appeared the tales and sights of the Faunus burning had affected everyone. "This is… didn't you and the general-"

"Matters have changed," she returned quickly instead. "There is another threat out there, and whatever makes this blade special, it may be the only key to destroying it." She looked up from him at the prison that was fashioned for it. "And I do not want it out of reach should we need it."

It was not a light request, not when enough steel and frosted glass sat between the two to make even a glance at the steel blade beneath a hard one. She could see its faint outline, a shimmer at that, and trusting that it still held the Grimm within. As powerful as the monster was, it was held back by only another blade before, one that swirled with enough chains and talismans to make the most devout worship it.

Winter wanted _no one_ to think divine this beast or blade.

"So, I say again. Open it," she instructed. "Should worse come to pass, I will take full blame from the General and all Councilmen involved." It was not a light threat, and one she did not speak falsely.

"U-Understood," the man returned looking back to his controls. He pressed buttons in an order she couldn't trace, but slow enough to make her watch with growing concern. One that was shared with all of those behind her.

She could see them over her shoulder, glancing only enough to know that they were there. Men and women alike, watching as the weapon that was brought to them for protection was about to be uncovered. Like ancient texts breathing air after centuries, or a monster being given a crack to worm through, both were sights curiosity demanded a glimpse of. She was here out of necessity.

If Winter knew of the strength of the Grimm and no threat present, she would have _run_. Such an option was gone from her now.

 _PPPSSHSHHSSHSHHSSHSSS~_ The sound of hissing air hit her ears, steam rolling out of the large sealed chamber. The frosted glass fogged over, hiding everything from view. Her hands tightened on her blade, prepared to throw up a Glyph the moment she needed to. The sound of scrapping steel filled the chamber for a moment longer, and she kept herself back and away from it, far enough to allow not only the door to open, but to seal the door to the room should the beast escape.

Frosted air fell out like chunks of ice, covering the ground as it tumbled forward, chilling her through her boots. She ignored the sound of distress from behind her, knowing it one of discomfort, not pain. Her icy eyes were focused only on the capsule ahead, and the blade that lay within it. Focused on the steel beneath, golden, shimmering… and with the tints of shadow running beneath it.

Winter looked for it… only to widen her gaze, her chest clenching when she saw something else.

Not a blade, not a monster, nothing of the sort.

Her prepared Glyph had her _shooting_ up the platform, stopping in the middle of the grand contraption and before the false blade. A _stand_ was all it was. A stand with some _useless gold paint_ on it, looking more like a _mop head_ than a blade. Her teeth were cracking, eyes shaking, as she reached out and grabbed the singular piece of paper wrapped around its top. What she _thought_ was the hilt.

Instead, it was paper. She ripped it off, reading the three words scribbled crossed it, joyously.

_With Love, Roman_


	46. The Snake Jumped Into the Flames

James Ironwood believed himself a calm man. In the face of danger, unruly or otherwise, he was usually slow to act, as it would mean thinking through the course of his actions. Despite the public outcry for not knee-jerk reacting to many situations, it was others who shared posts like his who understood why. He commanded the single most powerful armed forces in all of Remnant. A knee-jerk reaction from such a beast would not only be unstoppable, it would come with grave consequences.

It was why he needed plans before action, even those that seemed obvious. Clear and mandatory as it was to follow a man who was capable of toppling a Maiden, alone and with the army _against_ him, he still couldn't simply send troops out after the man, monster rather. Even if it was obvious, he could _not_ be lost to observation, continuing to watch him could spell doom, or bring about _another_ catastrophic blunder.

Days, perhaps even _weeks_ , and he had continued to sit on that information, still being contested by some Councilmen for not taking it, but a few others acknowledging the choice of safety over information. His job was to protect all life, not just a few, and endangering his soldiers senselessly would bring about no lasting benefit, not now.

However, that nearly changed when the White Fang were burned. Or, as the situation was swiftly being called, _revealed_. They were revealed as _Twili_.

Revealing their true colors, as some lavender haired reporter put it, by exposing their tainted skin, glowing eyes, flaming hair, and appearance that was closer to the monsters of the world than the Faunus they swore to help. Civilians who had at one time seemed impartial and only a bit disappointed with the land suddenly bursting with those dark golden flames, and creating a necessity to search into their history.

Days of searching, _mere days_ , and nearly all of them had the degrees of connection put together. Ironwood wish he could say he was surprised, but he was anything but.

They were all with the White Fang. Either a soldier, a recruiter, financer, supporter, or any other term for _sympathizer_. That was all that they were… and now they were marked for what was very likely life. For many, it was a boon. He could not fault his soldiers' sigh of relief, knowing that their targets were tagged like POIs in the field. It certainly made it less challenging to use the 'profiling' card that they were so against hearing.

But for others… deserters beforehand… it appeared that they were no safer.

If not for the members of his own army, defectors who _had_ revealed caches of weaponry, information that diverted from terrorist plots, saving lives with their self-sacrifice, it was a burn on their body they didn't deserve. Informants that had given up their lives once, now being marked by that past life once more. Ironwood could only imagine how that stain would feel, even with a body of metal. He could hide his, they could not.

A girl in Ozpin's school had been the victim of one such assault. A girl named Blake Belladonna. The named raised alarms, the child of the original leaders. But rather than panic, he took it as admission of the blanket the fire covered. Her parents had all but thrown the name of White Fang from their family, and he had little doubt the child would do the same.

But she was burned, under the robe that Link had given her, and being protected not just by her team, but _three_ others. It was a sign of trust that he knew the Military would be delighted to have, but he had to stare at them judgmentally, weighing the thought that the children were being, frankly, children. Even Penny included in their number did not help.

What did help was the sworn word of not only Ozpin, but of the Maiden Saria as well. Her word of Blake's honest, and sure that she was no threat to them. The girls had returned to their room when Ironwood voiced his reluctant acceptance of her, the boy partnered with Penny rolling his shoulders in some form of understanding. That was days ago now, and still feeling like so long ago.

 _Everything_ felt long and far away when bad news rolled through him. And it appears that this day, stepping into Ozpin's office, the pseudo-central control for their private operation, was no different.

"You know me well to know that my age is beyond yours, Saria," Ozpin was telling the girl, by appearance alone Ironwood reminded himself. "Old enough to know the magic by which you were blessed. And I can tell you with great certainty that what was done to the White Fang was not something I could have so easily done before."

"And I recognize as such. But from what do you believe I'm hiding?" The question was one that the general had heard many times now, enough for him to know it was another cyclic conversation. Proven true by Glynda standing by the Headmaster's table, _not_ tapping on her Pad. "Do I give the air of hiding something? Do you presume I know of what Ganondorf is capable of?"

"Yes," came the same immediate reply. "What I cannot understand is why you are attempting to hide it." His cane tapped on the glass of the gears beneath them, clocktower ticking away around them.

"I hide nothing, and my questions come only from equal ignorance," Saria was quick to return. Not retort, though both were glaring at one another. "I spoke honestly of Ganondorf's Golden Power, I spoke of what Link and the kingdom's queen attempted to stop. I cannot say what it is _fully_ capable of. Do you know the limits of powers you have never witnessed? Do you know the depths of every legend you have heard?"

"I know a surprising amount of the depths of legends." Ironwood snorted at that reply, sure that he was the man who made many of them. The gray man's gaze never shifted from behind his lavender lenses. "But I will concede that there are still things that surprise me in this world. It is why I am hoping you may be able to start answering a few of them, so I may not stay so restless."

"Would I if I could." The Maiden, child-like as she appeared, sagged with the words. "But how can a sage of the forest, tied to the ground, speak of the far-off ocean, or describe the barren desert?" Another question looking for an obvious answer.

"It can't," Ironwood finally spoke, earning the attention of both parties. "Not without risking life. It is why it nurtures those who can. Like Faunus who would become a hero, saving a nearly war-torn land." He had heard of Link's rise from the girl more than once now, and her hand in raising him. Of all the mysteries revealed to him thus far, it was by far the _least_ surprising.

"James." "General." The pair spoke in unison, earning a nod from Glynda. "Any new information you have to tell us? I can say before you all we've done is sit around and wonder." If only he could, but all he had was confirmation for something he rather wished would have been a poor prank. He could court-martial a soldier, but he could do nothing but chase a thief.

"Only video proving that the note Specialist Winter found was no ploy or prank." His return was gruff, producing his own Scroll, flicking through the files before flicking at the screen. Glynda raised her scroll a moment later, her eyes turning to the over head monitor in the room. All gazed up at it, seeing the file that was being played. "Specialist Schnee tore through all the video related to the Arc Sword in reverse, looking for a moment where it either changed appearance or seemed to shift. She found nothing while in the facility that could help."

"I know Roman clever, but truly smart enough to bypass guards, surveillance, _and_ Ms. Schnee?" Ozpin asked incredulously. It was a skepticism he would have shared, if he didn't have the answer already.

"More like smart enough to strike first." He nodded towards Glynda, who started playing the file. AS she did, the inside of the Bullhead that had been carrying the sealed blade was shown. Complete with guards at the outer edges, the chains around the imposing box, and Winter walking around it, posture stiff and eyes like glass, ready to break and shred anything that disturbed her. "He never entered the facility, because he got word of the objects transport."

The question for how was left for later. Instead, they watched on screen as a girl danced among the guards.

"Is that…" Glynda spoke up, before laying out a sound that seemed to perfectly mix a groan and sigh, both of deep _deep_ aggravation. "Of course. Of _course,_ it was here." The her was obvious, as so few children, let alone thieves had such rich dichotomy in their hair color, let alone enough to be named after it.

"Neo Politan," Saria spoke, an answer finally. "The same who burned a home for children? The same who disguised Moraine?"

"More like the one who gave her story cover," Ironwood corrected. He clicked his tongue, realizing that even the Maiden's comments could be taken as questions. Touché. "And one that we can confirm is not only a frequent cohort of Roman Torchwick, but also possessing a Semblance capable of illusion. Strong enough to not be directed towards one individual, but an area. Rather, an area that is guarding something valuable."

Said valuable thing, at the moment, was inside the box the girl began working her way towards. There was only a small amount of pride in seeing her puzzle around the chains, trying to figure out how to get around them without severing them. If she had, it would have been _painfully_ obvious to anyone what had transpired as soon as the illusion was dropped. Instead, she took out her Scroll and keys and began to find the locks for the objects.

Any sense of pride for her hesitation and patience was squashed as she began to undo the locks little by little, releasing the steel chamber for the blade, and letting out hisses of air as it began to come undone. Soundless as the video was, it was the mist that billowed out from her that made it obvious.

That, and when the primary door opened, _inches_ from Winter Schnee's face, and showing the prize within. The Arc Blade, the seal on the Ancient Grimm so powerful it nearly seemed invincible, capable of _speech_ no less.

And the thief grabbed it, readily enough to blow a raspberry at the video, silent as before. James clenched his hands into fists at the sight, as he had the previous dozen or so times before.

"Nothing more interesting happens," he dismissed with a wave, trying to get the girl out of his sight anyway he could. "The chamber is resealed, the note placed, and no one the wiser. Winter has already given me notice she will accept any punishment for negligence of duty, including a court-martial and punishment."

"You are… _thinking_ of such an action?" While her questions often did evoke a new train of thought, this was not one of them. The Atlesian general sighed towards the Spring Maiden.

"No, not even a considerable amount," he returned. "She is among not only my most capable, but loyal and honorable soldiers. One does not become a Specialist out of luck or connections, but desire and diligence. To dismiss her for something that was _clearly_ beyond anyone's plan would be insulting to her and the rest of the military." He could do nothing for her stained pride, however. Nothing but promise blood when the duo was found once more.

"Good to hear you're still an honest man, James," Glynda returned from the side. He gave her a soft smile over his shoulder, earning one from the secretary in kind. "That said, it is important we decide some action out of this meeting. I cannot say I am one to speak of making swift decisions, but I believe that our continued inaction is making others nervous." She didn't need to indicate who she was talking about.

"Is Qrow still asking for what to do?" Ozpin, however, did. "I don't blame the man, seeing as we have all be thrown for quite a loop by Ganondorf's deeds. If only we had some semblance of what his limits were. Until then, it is difficult for us to decide on anything."

"It's worse than that," James followed. "Because he can do so much, we're left making sure that nothing he destroys ends up exposing the Maidens or Gods. IF that happened, we'd have a crisis of faith through the entire world to deal with." A single broken link in a chain could undo a goliath. It would be much more devastating if the entire public lost faith in them.

"Would the exposure of the truth be so bad?" Saria questioned. A question that James had heard and asked himself many times. "Would they fear knowing what powers work beyond them?" It was why he had such a quick answer.

"People naturally fear what they can't control," he returned to the Maiden. A part of him was sure she didn't understand, or was playing the Grimm's advocate again, because she had the powers of a Maiden. If she could bend the forest to her near whim, Ironwood doubted there was much she _couldn't_ control. "They already fear enough of the government and powers above making decisions that affect them. At least those they can see and influence."

"But to suddenly throw in the idea of Gods and magic, making them realize that many actions that could alter their own lives would be inconsequential to the grand scale…" Ozpin hummed on his words. Self-reflection, most likely. "It is a humbling thought, and one that can break many strong men. Strong men that the world needs, and cannot afford to lost to faithlessness."

Saria didn't answer, by voice or question. She only hummed, turning away from them and to the window. Standing in the room behind her, he could see her tracing the horizon broken by the city of Vale. The tall skyscrapers that looked as if they were etching the clouds, blocking the sun and damning the lake between them. For someone who grew only around trees, he was sure it was a sight that took much of her attention. At least, she was told it had done much the same for Link… before all else happened.

"What actions can be taken that are not capable of being seen?" The question she asked instead sounded like one coming from a turned soul. Much like Ironwood had to ask when Ozpin first revealed this hidden world to him. And right when he thought he was already at the top. "Sages and Golden Powers are hardly hidden were hardly hidden in Hyrule. They were legends and stories, believed when witnessed, and hardly ever hidden. So, I ask, how do you act with such grand power, and not reveal the paths that lead to them?" It was a fine question indeed.

"Through discursion, misdirection, and patience," James answered as simply as he could. He nodded with his own answer. "Acting in a way that would take attention from a grander exchange, forcing attention to an otherwise unimportant object, or, most effective of all, waiting for the right moment when everyone has their back turned."

"Though I loathe to admit we make it seem like a dark form of subterfuge, it is the price we have to pay. The lines we have to work within." Ozpin chatted as he walked closer to Saria, the Maiden standing still, barely above his waist in height, and not looking towards him when he stood by her. "I have lived for millennia to near eons, and I can say with great certainty that revealing too much to too many can lead to ruin. Those who do not go mad at the idea are corrupted with dreams of such power. I hope you may understand that sentiment."

"I do." The reply was faster than Ironwood expected. "How else do you believe Ganondorf roused an army from loyalists? How else did he sway others?" Ah. That answered a great deal.

"Hmm, I should have realized as much myself," Ozpin returned, nodding his head. James sighed behind them, finding the conversation going off track again. "He displayed the power by toppling the king, and finding it was convincing enough, wasn't it?" The girl hummed at his words, and he heard Glynda tapping on her Pad again. At least that was rectified.

"Among other things. Things including his rise to power and madness. When one has absolute power, why would one need to start a war?" Now there was a question Ironwood wished he had the answer to. It would have made a great deal of conflicts and disagreements easier to deal with. He had no answer though, not beyond theory.

No one else in the room did either, seeing as the air was filled with the ticking of the clocks again, the slow count of the seconds and their patience through inaction. Waiting to decide on something they still didn't have an idea for. A thousand ideas, but all of them impossible for one reason or another.

Pursue Ganondorf? Like trying to build a wall that could resist the end of the world.

Find all the _Twili?_ A job already being done by the public, and action on their part beyond searching would make it appear they were complicit.

Try and find the Arc Blade? There were already teams looking for Roman, and adding more stock to the fuel would do so little.

Sometime ago James had become used to waiting to act, and this was no different. Waiting for either a proposal to be made, threat to be found, or battle to be fought. He so loathed the latter and was disappointed with the middle, but the former was one he could often find reason for.

**_BOOM!_ **

But a shake in the room made him think the second was coming to pass.

In a fit of speed, he drew his magnum from his belt, twisting and aiming it forwards towards where the clapping air was heard. He caught Ozpin standing in front of Saria with his cane across his chest, Glynda producing her riding crop and holding it out with an ethereal glow. They were ready in a moment, but he already knew they were useless.

The portal he stared into took from him before a man that was unstoppable. And the armored foot stepping through it brokered no easier path.

Once more James had to look up as the imposing figure stepped through, walking into the office of the Beacon Headmaster, in the room with the Atlesian General, housing a Spring Maiden, and doing so with little preamble or pause. Doing so… until his stocky build stood before them all, cloaked in darkness and midnight burning flames.

 _clCK!_ Ironwood undid the safety on his pistol, still sure it would do little good against the monster before him.

"Ganondorf," Ozpin nearly hissed the name, earning the burning gaze of the monstrously green man. "You have returned."

"I have," came the baritone voice, a falsetto that rocked the air. "For there is much I need to speak of and for."

More ominous words couldn't be found in the general's mind.

* * *

He was standing before her once again. When she had already described it to herself as an impossibility the first time, now the great king of evil was doing it again. Standing before her with the figure of a demon, the power to match, and the cold voice that welcomed only misery to those who challenged him. The same man that only Link could face before… and now was trapped within him.

Saria was small by the considerations of all in this world, even back in Hyrule. She was small, and though not weak, still easier to push aside than many others. The man before her had done more than that when he had last left this school, doing away with all her sage hood powers with but flicks of his hand and ill-concealed threats. It was what she expected out of the vile man, from both what she had seen and all that Link had told her previously.

It was why she was trembling before him now. Yes, that was it. She was _terrified_ as she stood beneath his gaze. The golden flaming eyes looking at her once again, judging her, and likely looking for another path to take to cause her misery. It was what the man who flowed with evil's might would do.

After he had already lost one of Link's masks, burned _all_ the Hylians who dared to think differently, and who knew what else during the weeks he traveled. He had done all of it, more than the trees were too terrified to whisper about, and she could do nothing.

If he chose to act against her now… she didn't think there would be much she could do either. Her, the man who created the powers she held, or any of the others in the room. _None of them._

"What are you _doing_ here, Ganondorf." The general sounded angry, not that she expected anything less form him. He was angry, she was as well. "Is there something you need? Something you forgot?" The vile man didn't say much in return, instead staring down at him with a look of evil intent. It was the only look she was sure he was capable of.

"I am here for the same reason with which I left," he returned in that impossibly deep voice. "I am looking for the killers of the hero's friends. And I may need your assistance to do so." Saria was not sure how to answer that. She needed answers for it. And that meant questions.

"After you have already stained the allies of _their_ killers?" She spoke in return. "We saw you kill one of them. We saw you _burn_ one of them." And though the power was not surprising to see, she had little doubt it was something he wished for them not to bring up. So, she would, as the trees and forests _cried_ when he did so, no matter how much the false child deserved it. "And in doing so, you showed a great deal of your vileness. Do you need our help for spreading that terror even further?" He hummed in answer.

"You speak of the curse I laid on the Hylians allied with them." It was not a question he returned with. "I could tell there was an evil in their hears much like the hatred I was cursed with before. Enough for me to believe that they deserved it. A mark on them to keep them from earning the trust I was able to guile before. IF I had no trust before I acted in the ways that I had, the terror I spread would not have come to pass. So, I took one path from them, to keep them from following my own."

"That took a great deal more with it," the old wizard returned. "Are you aware that the revealing of them has spread to far more than just the followers of Sienna? Did you know that in killing Moraine and cursing her friends, you have lain a curse on far more?"

"I would not," the reply brokered as much peace. "The power I summoned from the Golden Power marked only those who swore fealty to her and her ways. I burned from them the guise they tried to keep. Only those who thought her right were revealed." He was lying. He was _wrong_.

"You did much more than that, Ganondorf," the Goodwitch returned. Eyes turned to her, the one who assisted them with words and planning, glaring much like she thought the tenant of the queen would. Much like Impa in her prime. "Are you aware that there are those who _already_ turned from the White Fang that have been punished by your _curse_. Turncoats such as Blake Belladonna have also been burned by your hand, and have since been keeping themselves in self-induced isolation, _because_ they have no where else to go or actions to take." Yes, Saria remembered her.

"I did not." The voice had as much regret lain upon it as peace in his heart. "I laid the curse for all who thought well of the flag that she hung. For those who thought the banner one of peace." His voice hummed again, louder than the clicks of the tower around them. "But if she had changed mind, and you trust the wisdom of the sage, I will restore her." That was… surprising.

"Restore her?" Ozpin questioned, rightfully so. "Just like that? All of them? All who turned away from the White Fang?"

"All you bring to me, yes." Saria didn't believe him. "I do not regret cursing those who thought of Sienna's way as just. But if you show me those who turned their back before my gauntlet was thrown, I will restore them to as they once were. It is well within my power to do so." She couldn't believe him.

She _knew_ him capable, the Forest Sage having already seen his power do much more and in much more terrifying of circumstances. Darunia having said he resurrected a long dead dragon, and Impa saying that the curse demolished by the Shiekah having broken free of chains and reinvigorated by his hatred. But for him to do so with little preamble… she couldn't imagine the Dark Lord doing it.

"You are playing a game, Ozpin returned for her. "You _want_ something from us, don't you?"

"I do." The man was wise to pull an answer form Ganondorf. "Though no item you can name or bring me. All I wish instead is for knowledge and permission to enter the Badlands of your world." But, once more, it was not an answer that Saria could bring herself to believe.

"Why would you need permission to enter such a place?" Sarai voiced. "You are the one who invaded Hyrule, pillaged villages, burned homes, razed crops. What reason do you have to seek permission to enter any place, moreover after you have already burned down and cursed another home?" The home of killers, Saria would not forget, but the Badlands, as were described by Ozpin and Ironwood, were much the same. And with considerations to what lay beneath the tower, for good reason.

"Because I met a boy who laid out for me." The man hummed again, vibrating the air with his breath. "I met him by chance, caring for his crops and frightened by me at sight. He looked so young to have managing a farm so large. Not alone, but without the care for his parents. I assisted him best I could, growing the crops once more." He flexed his hand with the sentiment. Saria wasn't sure if she believed his words yet or not.

"And the boy?" Glynda questioned. "What did you take from him for that? Did you take his soul? His body? Curse him as well?"

"No, not even slightly," Ganondorf spoke back to Glynda, animosity gone from his tone. "I only spoke of where I needed to go, and he answered that I must find of who leads an army to do so. Young as he was, he was bright enough to remind me that should I bring destruction to the land, it will lead to those evil spilling out to the kingdoms you have brought peace to. I will not be responsible for more death and pain. So, if I can caution you before I go, I will have preserved some form of life." It seemed too simple for her.

"And that 's it?" Ozpin asked. "You only want permission to enter the Badlands? No advice, or anything else?"

"Though I value to know you are a ruler who cares for his people, you must also realize there is little for me to fear." Saria knew the truth of those words. "Or rather… I am unsure you wish for me to ask my questions, for often times that is how you find answers you are unprepared for." That… she understood too well.

"If all you wish to do is go into the Badlands, then I'll let you." The general's words and admission came far faster than Saria thought they would.

"James!" "Ironwood!" Both Glynda and Ozpin were much in the same mind.

"I would much rather have two of the greatest sources of evil collected on one point in the map for my army to guard than to _dare_ risk you walking around Remnant, like a plague." Tall as the man was, stout as he crossed his arms, he looked only like an unruly teenager against the beast that was Ganondorf, far taller, thicker, and with a gaze to burn the metal the mand was composed of. "But I would need to know why you wish to go there."

"I killed one of the killers before," Ganondorf answered. "The woman, before I burned her, said that he was leaving for the Badlands. I can only assume he is already there." The Badlands then.

During their last discussion, Saria had been told much about them. About what they were, about _where_ they were, and the guard they had stationed for them. Though she was admittedly ignorant of such things as defenses, zones, and protection, the Kokiri Forest and Lost Woods guarding her and her tribe from all other worries, she could at least tell the vileness that existed in such a place. She knew.

For where they said it was, she could hear the whisper of no trees, she could hear no songs from them. Nothing but death and rot. And that, if it was someplace the killer had fled to and Ganondorf wished to go, was somewhere she had no issue of him leaving to. The general was right to want him to go there.

"I see," the man hummed. "Then perhaps-" He stopped a moment latter.

 _BRRR-_ Because the vibration of a Scroll was echoing through the room.

"Ah, apologies." All eyes turned to Ozpin, an honest blush on his face as he reached for it. "I suppose it was time for me to play the comedic relief at some point." How appropriate it was for him to do so, Saria was unsure. Instead, she only sighed as Ganondorf hummed, not saying a word against him. "But oh my, not a person I expected to hear from." Who was that? The aged wizard produced his Scroll, unfolding it and putting it to his ear. "Tai? It's been too long, how are you?"

The rest of the room was silent as he listened to the other conversation, thousands of miles away, as the device was explained to her. She watched him, but with eyes on the vile man standing so close to her. He did not move against her; he did not summon power near her. He just stood there, menacingly, and with a strength that continued to make the timber of the woods tremble.

"What?" Just as the sudden tone in Ozpin's words made her focus. "Tai, the Twili are attacking you?" And her eye turned back to Ganondorf. _Everyone's_ did.

"The last I saw the Twili, they wished death upon me," came his automatic reply. "I fail to see how they could loathe and yet act in a way I am responsible for." His hypocritical and vile nature was showing, but Saria only focused her gaze on him, loathing _herself_ that she could do nothing to threaten or stop him. His passiveness _drove_ the room.

"Raven's there?" Raven… the thief? "Tai, what's going on? I can't understand." The man snapped his fingers as he spoke, pointing towards Glynda. Wordlessly, the woman started to dance fingers across her Pad again. "I'm having Glynda prepare transport, but you need to tell me what's happening." Saria wasn't sure what was happening either.

But whatever it was, it didn't bode well.

* * *

Roman wasn't sure how things like this kept happening to him.

Okay, maybe not the best way to pose the question. He knew _exactly_ why these things were happening. This was what happened to someone who decided to go down the path of stealing for a living and getting in the wrong crowd. Granted, his goal was to _order_ everyone in the wrong crowd, but that became a bit harder when the pond of Vale became the ocean of the world, and he started getting introduced to not just the wrong side, but the _other_ side.

Bowing to the Queen of the Grimm was something that humbled a man. Or terrified him. Yeah, that was, it terrified him. It scared him out of his daylights so hard he was willing to take a few more unnecessary risks if it meant he could avoid the look of those _blood-red eyes_. Yeah, risking his neck against a bunch of heroes who wanted him hurt beat doing the wrong things to the people who'd happily kill him.

Hence why he was in a situation like this. Attacking another small house of a hunter, with more firepower than he thought he could reasonably hide anywhere in Vale. The number of times he's done this in the past year was quite frankly more than he _ever_ hoped to do. Because like any good thief could tell you, the less you were the seen you better you are. And dammit, he was a _great_ thief.

Then again, he _was_ raiding the home of the _dad_ of _Red_ , to try and get at the thief who was the _mother_ of the _blonde_.

So maybe he was a great thief, undeniably so, but his luck was about as great as Neo's speech skills. Non-existent.

"Maybe they're already trying to kill me," Roman mused as he watched the house being torn into, seeing one of the newly burned Faunus animals jumping in. "Just setting me up for the worst of and it and being pleasantly surprised with old Roman drags back in the fresh kill. Win-Win for them and Live-Die for me." He clicked his tongue, adjusting the cigar in his hand.

Neo poked at him, getting his attention. Enough to see her looking from the building then back to him, pointing between them. Pretty obvious what she was talking about, especially when you put together how long they'd been together for.

"We're standing this close cause we have to get in there quick," Roman answered easily. He rolled his head, putting a hand to his baller cap to keep it from falling off. "Seriously Neo. That's like the whole reason we're doing this. After finally hitting a site where little Red _can't_ show up and far enough away that the military isn't going to airdrop whatever specialists they got on hand." She continued to stare at him, getting a groan from the older man. "I'm sorry, do you _want_ to try and raid another building like the orphanage? Close as we got there, we still ended up getting surprised by more mini-huntresses than a harem full of broken condoms." He shook his head again, trying to take his mind off of things.

 _CRACK!_ That became a lot harder when the tree next to them was broken over, and in half, by a body flying into it.

He looked over the ruined trunk and shattered base of it, seeing some of the roots of the once tall piece of lumber uprooting a bit. The body that was laying over the trunk, busted up as it was, didn't look like it'd be getting up any time soon. Even with a face dark as the night, the fact that its lights were out was kind of a give-away.

"Well at least it makes it easier to tell who is home," Roman lightly noted. "When they check-out upstairs, the turn off the lights on the way. How courteous of them. Seriously, going to have to give the poor souls a real pat on the back after this." Maybe, and probably not. Not when they were viable to burst into magic hole fire and _holy crap_ again. It already scared him once.

Roman did stare at the hole in the log cabin though, getting a better view of the fighting inside. At least the poor sod next to him and done something before he was knocked out. Some people captured the flag, others donated their corpses to make the bridge. He was just a tad bit beneath that.

 _CRACK! BOOM!_ And the gentleman thief had to wince when he saw the blonde's dad beating another one of the Twili's face in. Faunus or not, he could tell the blows were hitting hard. Mainly because it was a lot easier to see their eyes _spin_ when they were hit. Not a lot of better ways to tell someone was getting their face beaten in than watching the eyes swell up and block out that light. If that red hair of theirs were to puff out like the fire it looked like, then that would be a plus

"Eh, take what I get, live till the next day." Roman noted easily, watching the battle couple in side go at. Seriously, he knew they existed, but it was another thing to be told to find one of them _and then_ try and take that damn mask from her. If it was just her alone, _maybe_ he could manage something.

Of course, _that_ was before good old burning-bitch Cinder decided that having that mask was a hard and necessary action. Enough so that she told him to gather together all the remaining White Fang they had, revealed as they were, and try and take it. He thought it was stupid, _really really stupid_.

"Stealing from a woman who probably enjoys killing, left Mr. Jolly Green in his tower because he said to kill less, and came home because she was afraid of the _bigger bader_ green giant." Yeah, that was the perfect time to rob someone, of course. When they carried more guns and knives that a veteran in the army and knew how to use them all. Get them hyped up on paranoia and fear, then _run at them screaming_.

_BAM!_

And the end result was about what he expected. Bodies flying out of the torn apart sections of the house, either flopping like fish on the ground or slumping against trees with battered bodies. Lucky sods. Failure for them just meant they could catch twenty winks. Him not making it meant the big bads of the world were going to give him one hell of a bad ending. Great fun, all around. Fun for the _whole community_.

"You don't see anything opportunities yet either, right?" Roman asked, not looking away from the fight. Nope, wrong word for it. Fight implied there was give and take. At this point, they were taking it all. The beating at least. Cause hell if Red and Blonde didn't get the best fighting genes from their parents. Figures there as well.

Neo, once again, just puffed her lips and shook her head. He believed her, even though she was the smarter one of the two of them now, wanting to actually run. Scratch that, not smarter, but stronger survival instincts. If she was _smarter_ then she would know running would just mean getting a target on their back by literally everything in Remnant at this point. Good guys, bad guys, burned black and blue guys. All of them. Great.

But she did tap on his shoulder, getting him to look at her. Her holding her thumb to her ear and extended pinky to her mouth, flapping her lips uselessly. Literally uselessly, except for right now the most universal sign for ' _craps hitting the fan._ '

"Which one is it?" Roman asked, dropping his head and biting his cigar. He nearly bit through it at this point. He turned to see her hold up her fists, rolling them around one another. Well, at least it wasn't big momma who was calling for help. God help whoever _she_ had to ask for help from. "Great so Xerox blondie is calling for some backup. Assuming I'm not getting screwed again… Oh who am I kidding. Of course, I'm getting screwed again. Nobody fucks with me but fate and this is the foreplay isn't it." Her rubbed his hand over his face, trying to shove away the aggravation that was building up.

Red was going to be coming. He just knew it. Her or _someone else_ that had the greatest ability to screw with his chances for success. She showed up here, after all that super charge crap the Super Faunus gave her, her _and_ her posse, then he'd have no chance. Hell, if the Twili here were getting beaten black and blue by mom and dad, they'd probably turn it into some kind of family bonding experience. And wouldn't that be great. Roman Torchwick, thief extraordinaire, great for family fun.

 _BAM! CRACK!_ He groaned again when the tree on his other side cracked. He looked over at it, not seeing quite as much damage seeing as the thing was standing up, but gaining a new ten-degree bend didn't exactly do favors to it. He looked the Twili over, the same way he had dozens of times now to be sure he _wasn't_ ordering Grimm around. Lights were going out in its head, gold not red, but it was also sporting something else that Grimm didn't usually have, least from the few he killed.

"Hey, guess we do all bleed the same," Roman noted as he looked at the Twili. White Fang, Faunus animal, Twili, whatever. The ones that were burned to death. Still had blood in them apparently. He honestly was waiting to see acid or light come pouring out of those wounds, kind of like the light in their eyes. But nope! Same color of red pouring out of the stab wound right over the chest. "Least he died far enough away to not stain the suit." Neo nodded next to him.

Roman nibbled on the end of his cigar, still waiting. The Twili were doing what they did best when they were the White Fang still. Being incredibly easy to spot punching bags. Not great for Roman, but not a lot he could do about it.

Seeing as the last time he tried to speak in a motivated tone to them, he was forced to quite literally stare death in the face from five hundred different directions. Speech didn't last long and moral kind of dropped. Couldn't even be blamed that time. Because if he was responsible for all the White Fang being burnt and revealed by some mega-man god like monster, then he was well and truly responsible for everything in the world. Talk about a wash.

"We're going to have to go in soon, aren't we?" Roman asked more for himself. Neo waved her hand in the air, no happier about it than he was. "Yeah, I'm about as excited about this as you are. Gone are the days of frolicking through the Dust shops, now we're digging our heels into the bloody and violent. Oh, how I miss the good old days." Granted, maybe not old enough to call _anything_ a good day yet, but still old enough to get that there were better ways to spend his time. Dammit… maybe he was hold.

He cracked his neck as he stood up, looking at the two targets. Xerox mom and dad. Daddy was punching around like his little girl, and from the way heads were spinning, bodies dropping, and necks cracking, holding back _a lot_ less than his little girl. Considering how the blonde could take down Atlesian Mechs when she was pissed, he _really_ hoped it wasn't that he was stronger or else this was gonna hurt.

That said nothing for dear old _Songbird_ mom, cutting around with her blade fast enough to make Neo wince. Couldn't blame her, seeing as all he wanted looking at that blade spraying red was an umbrella of some kind. There was raining blood, spraying it, then there was FDA signing papers to get you shut down for improper protocols. He knew them well, seeing as he had to setup a few businesses for it. Ah, happier times.

This time, however, was about picking a target, taking a chance, and praying to whatever devil helped him live this long that he'd make it out on time.

"Neo," Roman instructed the girl. "Seeing as I don't wanna be a whetstone for the bitch's blade, and I'm guessing you have the same dream." The girl nodded at him. "Right, then how about we try and put dad in a bad position. Got one chance at what to do for it, but going to need a bit of help on it." He puffed at his cigar, trying to calm himself down. Dammit, wasn't working. Maybe if he had a better out than _run into the trees and hope they don't follow_. Where the hell was the clown? "Think you can hide me till I get up and close to him? Distract himself till I can put something against his neck?" Cause Aura or not, most hunters realized how bad that was.

She watched her heterochromatic eyes shift from one to the other. No surprise there. Still no surprise when he pointed at him, her parasol twirling a bit in her hand before the tip was on him.

 _CLANG!_ And he felt that glass Semblance slip over him. Just like a glove! If gloves were made of diamonds and acting like mini mech suits. Great then.

"Alright, we're up!" Roman pointed at the house, Twili still surrounding it. His partner nodded as she dashed in, her own cover still up and about her. Roman hesitated for a moment, cause who the hell _wouldn't_ looking at what they were walking into, but sighed as he took a step. Asshole he may be, but he wasn't about to betray his partner. Let the bitch in red take that mantle.

Roman stepped over the bodies, cause they _were_ bodies, as he got closer to the house. The screaming was coming from inside a lot louder the closer he got. Still no surprise there.

 _CLANG! CLANG!_ What was a surprise was seeing Neo fighting the dad one-on-one. Already? She worked quicker than he remembered, and it wasn't exactly like they were slouches recently. Not after all the gambits they pulled. Still, she was doing a great job at it. He stood at the entrance and watched for a second, cause he needed to find _some_ kind of opening!

It wasn't when she pirouetted under his swing, flipped her legs and jumped over a sweeping kick, pushed off the floorboards and dodged him reaching for her, or even when he lifted and dropped his leg, forcing Neo to step back and out of the way.

 _CRACK!_ Watching his foot tear up the floorboards like freaking paper wasn't exactly a comforting thing to see either. Still, that was a lot better than plan B.

Plan B who was being _swarmed_ by at least a dozen or so Twili, all wearing some kind of armor and holding their favorite weapons, but basically summarized as gnats charging a freaking fly swatter. With bug eyes like theirs, they even looked the part.

 _SCHINK! SHNINK-SCHINK!_ And _damn_ if the woman was more ruthless than any of her brats. Seriously, Roman was just watching them… go down hard. And... was that Deery? Freaking 'A', that _was_ Deery! That was her head rolling over there into the corner, antlers and all. Oh god, if he wasn't used to a little gore, he would have upchucked by now.

Sure, maybe they were all a bunch of animals, but he didn't kill kittens for a laugh. Not bitch probably would though. And who were the bad guys again? Hell, if he knew. He thought _he_ was, and while murder wasn't off the table, mutilation tended to be a bad choice. Hard to hide what you did. This woman though almost looked like she was _reveling_ in it. Well… concerns for another time. For now.

Roman took out Cudgel, getting ready to put the barrel of his cane against the man's temple the moment he held still. Once Neo got him tired a bit, or even better cornered, then he'd line it up. The man was good, but Aura only did so much to brain blows at point-blank range. Especially when he had super bullets. Okay, Aura-infused lightning Dust rounds, to tear through the stuff like, well, _lightning_ , but they were already taking too many chances.

He lined up his shot, stepping forward- _WHAM!_

And getting hit across the face by a stray flying _arm_.

"DAMMIT! What the _hell!_ " He basically screamed as the bodyless limb hit him across the face. He rubbed at the spot, sure there was going to be a nice imprint of blood all over there. He looked at it before looking up where it had flown from. He saw the woman standing there, blade out and bloody as her eyes… staring back at him. "Oh… _fuck_."

 _Dammit! Crap!_ This was bad. This was _horrible!_

This was exactly why he _knew_ they were just trying to kill him now! Give the cover for one of the White Fang brats so they could steal some goods, then try and chase after one of the most dangerous huntresses on the _planet_ just because she has one of them. Screw all the other ones the big woman in the Badlands already head. Clearly _this one_ was important. One so freaking _useless_ that it couldn't do anything!

And now he was staring down at that same woman, with a gaze _way too much_ like her daughters. Good thing it wasn't the dad he was looking at, or else he would have screamed that he was still on _some level_ fighting _Red!_ Nope, instead this time it was just the Xerox generation. Great. All those Twili, forget paper. They were basically _empty air_ now.

"Roman Torchwick," the woman spoke his name. And yup, that was a threat if he ever heard one. Promises were nice, or at least didn't carry the threat of imminent death, especially after she had already given it out so much. "Why are _you_ here?" Now wasn't that a question for the ages.

"To offer you a great big discount on home renovation?" He tried, even if it was one of his worst, oh he still tried. Still didn't appear to matter much. Her blade was pulled back mid-way through his sentence. "I can slash my prices if you'd like." Still didn't do much.

Instead, she slashed at him, and he jumped back like the reaper's scythe was on him. Wasn't far off. He heard the Xerox blondie yell something, but Roman didn't look. He had more important things to worry about, like death running at him full tilt. And he didn't trust his Cudgel to stop much. Not when the sword was supposed to tear through space. That was a bit unfair.

 _SCHINK! SCHNINK!_ He dodged both swings, flipping a table in the process and throwing it at the woman. Didn't seem to do a lot to stop her, and about as much as the Twili who were ganging up on her. A whole lot of nothing at this point. Well, okay, blood was something. Blood and limbs and screams, but they were already burned alive, what was a sword to the gut after that? Mercy? Maybe.

Roman looked up to see the blade coming down on him again, and worse yet, when he had only a wall behind him to move back from. Crap.

 _Shi-BANG!_ The sword was blocked by Neo though. Neo, his faithful loyal and flat out amazing partner, jumping in the way and stopping it. She blocked the sword from the freaking reaper herself! _SHICK! SHCNK!_ And then was promptly kicked and attacked by her. Roman watched it for a moment, watching as his partner was being beaten away.

He _could_ have charged after her to help. He _could_ have tried to take a potshot at the Songbird who was swinging the blade faster than he could his arm. He _could_ have done all of that, and then he could have died on top of it. Instead, he had a better idea.

And that idea was to switch dance partners.

Turning back towards the Xerox blondie, Roman decided to pull out his secret weapon. If Neo was going to surprise him, then he had to keep pace with her. He was already outdone by kids on the other sides, he was _not_ about to get overshadowed by her on top of it. So instead, he charged at the boxer. Fast enough, on top of the rest of the chaos in the house, coupled with him actually _caring_ about the Song bird, _Grimm knew why_ , gave him that one precious moment of an opening.

An opening he took to draw out that secret special _what-the-hell-was-he-thinking_ weapon, put it against the man's throat, and then spin him to the ground. Granted, he was ready for _a lot_ to go wrong the whole way down. The man to spin out of his grip, to catch a floorboard on his descent, or for one of the Twili to think that limbless was the best way to gain the upper hand.

Instead, like the devil really _was_ on his side, he got the man to slam into the wood, his weight on his back, and pushing his _oh-god-its-burning_ weapon at his neck. As soon as he did that, he just needed to do one more thing.

" _HEY! SONGBIRD!_ " Roman shouted with all that he could. The fighting lulled in that moment, enough for her to look over at him. Blade locked against Neo, holding her back, and absolute _fire_ in her eyes for the rest of the Twili, that was all given to him, and enough for her to see him holding her hubby at the edge of death, right where he was sure she wanted him. "I got a trade I want to make. Think you'll be up for bartering?"

She didn't say anything in return, but he could tell that if he gave an inch, she'd take a mile out of his ass. Maybe pull it out even further. The man grunted underneath him, but Roman didn't give an inch there either. On the off chance he _was_ stronger than his kid, he wasn't about to experience a fist through his gut. No sir for him! He enjoyed having just _one_ asshole, no need for two more.

"Take out that mask of yours, give it to Neo, and drop the blade. Do that, and I'll your hubby here at six feet small." He pushed his weapon down against the man's neck. He did that, and did _everything he could to ignore the trickle of blood_ that flowed out of it.

"Tai..." The woman spoke his name, probably because she saw the blood as well. Hell, if Roman wasn't basically dealing with death, he might have let himself show a bit of surprise as well. It was weird to have a weapon this strong, basically tearing through Aura like this. Then again, it was a secret weapon that he should have thrown away _or done something else to_.

Roman considered it bad practice to bring his loot from a previous gig on new assignments. He was also against considering jobs assignments in the first place. Because assignments were what boring people did to make themselves feel like they had a bigger and more important role in the world. He already _knew_ how big of a role he had, whether both sides wanted him dead or not.

And the proof of that was his score from his last assignment. The one thing he knew he _probably_ should have buried far off in the woods like some paranoid kid who just hit puberty. That was honestly the smarter thing to do, and he knew it.

Because walking around with an Ancient Grimm-Infused golden blade, so freaky and vile that he could _see_ the monster squirming in side of it, should have been enough of a heads up to leave the catastrophic _nuke_ at home. You didn't need nukes on missions likes this. And who had fun with a nuke? He didn't. He had fun with a gun, _completely different_.

Didn't seem to matter now. Because either way, he couldn't deny where he was now.

Holding up the blade of maybe the _one_ kid in all of Beacon he could take down no problem, acting like some kind of anime prison for an evil thing he _knew_ could _and_ would destroy him, while bargaining for a _potential_ second one. If he wasn't sure he was trying to be killed by the lady in the shadows, he was damn sure now. Didn't change much though. He still needed that mask. Only way to really guarantee he could walk out of here at all.

"Okay, Songbird, one more time," Roman spoke up to the Blonde's mom. "Give Neo the mask, _let her go_ , and I'll get off your boytoy so we can all go our separate ways. Separate ways and a thousand miles away so I'll never have to see or even hear your name again." Even if he doubted that would happen, a man could hope. He could hope for that.

The woman was probably going to kill him anyways, and he did _not_ want to risk being within striking distance if that happened. It made much more sense to just take what he needed and pray to the devil that gave him the luck of it all right now to _not_ be struck down again.

And seeing that she was reaching into her cloak, the devil really was on her side. Or maybe, seeing what she drew out, more likely in that hunk of wood.

Roman was told it was going to be one hell of a gothic thing she had on her, but he was surprised to see it nonetheless. Especially when it looked like something some then year old would make up on Halloween to scare the kids… yeah, that and then more. And she was holding up that weird spiked mantle for him. At least, before dropping it into the hands of Neo.

She almost missed it, not that he could blame her for it. She grabbed it the same time she dropped her parasol. The speed she jumped back at was actually kind of impressive. The fact that the rest of the Twili _didn't_ jump right on her was probably because she still had that blood drenched blade in her hands. What a wonder that was.

"Take it," she finally said. "Hurry up and _get off_ of him." Oh, she was pissed. No doubt there.

"Will do," Roman affirmed. Playing around with death was fun, but screwing with it was well and off the table for him. "Okay Neo just… bring it here." He motioned for the mask. Because stepping off of the man seemed like a bad idea, especially when it took only a glance to see those one of his angry eyes looking up at hm. Must have run in the family.

Neo was at his side a moment later, holding the mask to him. She wanted out of her rickety split as well. No blame, no fault, _full agreement_. He took the mask from her, nervous about having only one blade on the man, but he kept it there, just trying to make sure of it. Okay and sure, there was no _real way_ to know it was what he needed or not, but he just had to make sure that it was at least close enough. However, the hell he was going to do that.

 _'Strike me.'_ Roman blinked.

"You want me to what now?" He looked down at the man on his back, driving the cursed blade further into his back. The man growled up at him, but at least knew better than to challenge the cursed thing he was holding. "You seriously want to die? I get your kids are crazy, but I didn't think that form of psychosis was hereditary. I was willing to gamble they got it from _mom_ over there." Raven growled at him, but he ignored it.

' _Strike me.'_ The voice came again… but the man beneath him was silent.

"Roman," the harsh whisper of the woman echoed out. He looked up at her, surrounded by the surviving Twili, weapons aimed at her even as she began to glow. Glow? Yeah, glow, of course she was glowing. What was one more amazing power used against him. God could descend before him and he'd think it was the weekend. "You have the mask… let Tai go, _now_." The wind picked up with the words. _Even better._

' _Strike me with the blade, and free me from my shell._ ' Okay freaky enough and it wasn't even Friday.

Roman stared at the mask now, doubtless it was where the voice had come from.

He stared at the golden eyes that bored back into him, golden portals that test his soul. Soundless now, even with the remains of battle around them, and the Songbird and her hubby glowering at him to move. Neo, ever quiet, was patient but anxious next to him and… he just kept staring. Maybe he had to. A good thief had to keep their eye on the prize after all, and this was something he couldn't just look away from. Not… something like this.

' _Strike me with the blade of sealing, and my power will be yours to wield.'_ Power… like the other masks the hero wore.

Oh great. Actually, no _really_ great. That was… but Sienna couldn't use it. He remembered that was as much Cinder told her for what it was important. And he needed to get it back to her or else it would be his ass on the line. But if he was being threatened, and this mask was that dangerous… maybe… just maybe…

"Roman!" The Songbird yelled this time, and he heard the Twili move in front of her, good guard dogs that they were. "I'm about to risk _everyone's_ neck if you don't get off of Tai right now. You have _one chance_. _Don't_ waste it." Wordlessly, throat parched, Roman realized she was right. When did he realize that? When did… all of this start?

Right, with the mask in his hand. That rainbow colored, golden eyed, spike-embraided mask. The one that just… looked so promising. The blade was a score, no doubt, but this mask… it was just so much more than that.

' _Wear me. Strike me. And no one will challenge you._ ' The voice kept on. And Roman smiled.

"Eh, I've followed worse promises." He flipped the mask around, seeing the carved brown back of the mask. So opposite to the design in front, but still emanating with a power that was just… so great, amazing really. Like hands on a Dust Nuke. Perfect. So perfect that it made sense to bring it closer, to sample it. To just…

Slip it over his face.

But nothing happened.

" _Roman!_ " The shout came again. " _Last chance!_ Get _off_ of Tai, _run away_ form here, and _maybe_ I won't hunt you down and slaughter you in front of your men!" The Songbird sang… and Roman wasn't listening. They didn't matter. The mask did, whatever this thing was. It was just… it fit like a glove, and _actual_ one, right over his face, despite his hand being in the way. It just sat there, right in line with his face, and let him feel it. Nothing happened, but it still felt right to wear.

' _Strike me. And the power of Majora is yours_.' Roman stepped off of the Xerox Blondie, dragging the blade up with him.

He stood over the man wearing that mask that hid his well-cared for face, holding the blade that really should have been buried or sunk into some far-off depths at sea, but feeling just… _right_ with them both. It was as if they were supposed to go together, and it was just… _unfair_ to keep them separate. And if anyone could tell what was best, it was him. He was the one who had the best eye for detail, especially when it came to missions like this. It was why he was picked.

It was why he twisted the blade in his hand, crashing it against the side of the mask.

What swallowed him next… it felt like the starless night he was always warned against sailing it. It felt like the storm of the century and he was standing out in the middle of nowhere, with not even a tree to lean against to keep himself covered. It felt like a thousand and one innocent men all screaming with a wrath that came from years of built up anguish.

It felt like all of that, and it was swimming through him. Beyond the screams that he heard around him, past the cracking bone, beyond the house exploding outwards, far and away outside the Twili who were yelling in worship and praise. Outside of _all of it_ , and Roman realized one thing. One more truth to this mask he hadn't even realized before he struck it with the _really-deserved-to-be-here_ blade.

It was _beautiful._

_Majora was amazing._

* * *

Emerald had been around Cinder for years now. Loyally at her side and following every command she was ever given. Be it robbing from the blind, killing the weak and pour, or even selling her body to earn the trust of another, she'd do it. She'd do it a moment because that was what Cinder needed.

Cinder had given her everything, and she was not about to do _anything_ that would make the woman reconsider her worth. She was and always would be by her mistresses side. Through the worst and the best, through her dreams and nightmares, she would be there for Cinder until her final days. And even then, she'd ask the gods who ruled over the world to let her watch her mistress in spirit. It was what she deserved, and it was what she would give.

It was why she was one of the few who had seen the face of her mistress's leader. The face of the world's evil, in all of its placid eerie glory.

A glory that, though she knew the unending strength and intelligence of Cinder, still felt like a high cloud beyond reach, like _she_ was one of the gods gazing down at them, sitting on a throne with power at her beck and call, the world doing only as she commanded.

When Emerald had first met the woman, she had done everything Cinder had instructed, to the letter and nothing more. She would often try for more, to impress her savior and offer more for her goals, but she did not want to spite or insult the woman who offered her mistress power and desire, with the promise of keeping her safe.

She would not insult that woman. Not a woman who could birth the Grimm from shadows and make the skies churn with her hands. Not a woman who could speak down to her mistress, and have Cinder respond as if she deserved it. A woman that strong, no matter how much she made her skin crawl, was not to be insulted.

So, every time Emerald went with Cinder to see the Goddess of the Grimm, she memorized the feeling that she had around her. The way her skin crawled, the feeling of blades at her gut, the cold grip on her mind, the chilling breath that surrounded her heart. All of it, and knowing that so long as she did exactly what Cinder asked of her, she would get through it. Her mistress had yet to betray her or speak dishonestly to her. For that, Emerald knew she was safe.

But since their last meeting with the woman in the Badlands, Emerald had felt those same things again. Hundreds, if not _thousands_ of miles away from the darkest and coldest soul in all of Remnant, perhaps even history, and she still had the wrenching feeling about her body.

First when Ganondorf emerged, to the honest pleasure of her mistress, watching as he treated the army, hunters, and _Maiden_ , as nothing but wisps of a breeze.

Second when that same man used his magic to _reveal_ the White Fang, turning all the Faunus who were loyal to them into a new race, into Twili, who were unable to hide what they were from the rest of the world.

Third… now…

Now… as she, Mercury, and her mistress stared across the water at the Island Patch, where Roman was on mission for her. Where he was supposed to collect the mask that Raven Branwen had taken from Sienna Kahn.

Her Mistress, capable, intelligent, and without a doubt determined in all that she did, found out where she had gone swiftly. She had found out _exactly_ what had happened to the woman, knowing that she wouldn't go back to her tribe and knowing even further she would not hide out alone. She was a coward, the mother of the bimbo, and like Cinder said, she would go somewhere safe. It took little searching after that to find out where.

When her mistress had confirmed where that was, with the assistance of the Twili, she had given order to Roman to retrieve the mask at any costs. Orders, then commands, then threats of what would happen if he failed to be of further use. It was the natural order to make him bend. He would eventually break, Emerald knew, because Cinder had ordered her to take him out once he did.

But the feeling that washed over her now, as the sky darkened and it looked as if the oceans were turning to blood, told her that something else had broken with him.

"That _bastard_ ," Cinder muttered under her breath, watching the seemingly literal corruption of the world unfold before their eyes. "One order, one command, and he manages to do something _unfathomably stupid_ with it." Emerald had no doubt her mistress was right, she only wished she knew what it was.

This was just the same as when they were in the dining hall or throne room with the Queen of the Grimm, staring at her from a position always lower, her always looking down upon them. The cold grip of death, the swift reminder of its approach, and all of it commanding her senses to run. But just like then, she remained steadfast to _her_ mistress. If Cinder wished to watch this darkness unfold, then so would she.

"Shouldn't we be running?" The boy, however, deemed it _necessary_ to ask. She could tell he had one foot behind him already. It might as well have been in the grave. "This is when I think we should be getting out of here. I mean… wouldn't it be _more_ curious why we're just standing around?"

"You may run if you wish," Cinder returned. Emerald was under no illusion it was from a position of mercy. "Be aware that if you do, all that befalls you will be on your head. From however delivers said punishment, this beast we are witnessing being birthed, the monster who walks the land in Link's skin, or Salem herself." The threat was as still and deathly serious as everything else her mistress said.

Emerald watched the boy dragged his foot back, crossing his arms and continuing to watch the sky and sea stain themselves. He gripped his arms until he turned his knuckles white. A coward though he was, and clearly not one worthy of her mistress's attention… that was an action she could not fully fault him on. His loyalty, undeniably flawed. His fear… natural.

Because Emerald still wanted to run. But more than that, she needed to be by Cinder's side. She had to chose what she needed above what she wanted. Even in the face of death.

And now… death certainly was looking out over them.

* * *

Sun had wanted to become a hunter to see the world. Exactly no one was surprised if he told them that. He used it as an excuse to go basically wherever he wanted. Why did he get on a ship without a ticket? Because there was an emergency mission he had to join and he was a hunter. Why did he have to take that banana without paying? Because he lost his wallet fighting a Grimm, so he had to get his dinner in. He'd pay later. Why was a student hundreds of miles from his school, and in off hours? Because a hunter had to be where the danger was.

That was his excused _whenever_ it came up. And it almost always tended to work. People might not forgive him, but they'd give him a pass. No one wanted to get in the way of a hunter and their job, after all. It was probably one of the worst things one could do, aside from outright trying to help the Grimm. And no one was stupid enough to do that. Sun though… he just wanted to go out and see the world. Being a hunter could even help pay for it.

But right now… he was pretty sure he was seeing something he wasn't supposed to.

He and his term were _supposed_ to be checking out one of the ruined settlements outside of Vale, helping out with the teams that were there after the reveal of the White Fang. He was supposed to be relaxing as they did so, because he was damn sure any members of the White Fang he knew, burned blue or not, would basically jump out and demand why he was any different.

That made them lazy, sitting out in the forest and basically teasing Neptune about the ocean right next to him. Usual jabs about being named after a god of the stuff and being afraid of it. Sage getting lunch ready, Scarlet wondering what they were going to do next, and Sun thinking that there could be better places to see then some ruined town.

It didn't last.

It lasted up until they all went form felling a cool sea breeze to an artic chill. It was enough to make Sun sit up straight and curl his tail around his body, suddenly realizing that maybe shirtless wasn't a good thing to be by the ocean. When Sage started to chant, he knew something was going wrong. When Scarlet was looking around with his musket drawn, it got worse.

When the sky turned black… the sea red… and all of it while the chill of death was on him, that was too much.

He started to go numb as he looked it over, not thinking of anything. Not _feeling_ anything. It was like… like he was a thousand miles away… and he just wanted to be home. It was _wrong_ what he was seeing… and he had felt that way before. When he and his team were fighting Ganondorf… _trying_ to at least… and now he was looking out over the ocean as something else was happening.

He had no idea what.

"Sun! Sun! We have to get out of here Sun!" Scarlet was screaming to him, dragging him by the hand. He didn't fight it, not this time. He really _wasn't_ fighting it. He just… he couldn't feel his legs. "Dammit Sun! Neptune is going to go crazy and Sage is praying I don't know _how_ many gods right now! We _HAVE_ to get back to Vale. _We can't stay here Sun_!" Who _wanted_ to stay here?

He didn't even know if anything could survive here anymore. And what was worst… he felt fear crawl through him.

The howl of the Grimm followed suit.

* * *

Ozpin stared out his window, loathing what he saw.

He loathed it for more than the feeling it gave him, clenching the top of his cane and staring forth at the shifting darkness like the vile thing that it was. It loathed it for far beyond the stain of the sea it left behind, even as he felt sweat drip down his face. He hated it, loathed it, and _cursed it_ with every year that he had ever lived.

For it was all something he had seen before. Seen, felt, and experienced, all at the worst moments through his endless cycle of life and death.

He had seen monsters topple kingdoms he had helped to forge. He had seen warriors he had helped train be overrun by demons. He had seen his countrymen, allies, and friends be swayed and butchered by the dark monsters. He had seen it all, and it all began like this.

With the encroaching darkness and terror it filled all with.

He had felt it before… and now… he was among those who had not only felt it with him, but were also responsible for it.

"Ganondorf," Ozpin spoke the name in a harsh whisper, risking not looking towards the vile man, instead staring at the corrupting sight far beyond him. He was doubtless that many others were, and were terrified all the same. "You spoke of the mask before Sienna wore it before. What else do you know of it? What could Link have _possibly_ hidden in that mask?" For if it was not the demonic man next to him, and not Salem in the Badlands… the aged wizard was desperate to think of _who_.

"As I said before, the only appearance similar that I may recall is the goddess of creation." That was a harsh impossibility, and one that nearly made him shut the man up. Size, stature, and power kept him from doing so. "It would not surprise me to know that Link sealed away such a beast similar to myself. He could exorcise the hatred embedded on my soul, but for a beast of only hatred, I imagine it had no alternative."

"This isn't something I've seen in Hyrule. Not beyond _you._ " The words of the Maiden were just as damning, confusing even. "The fear of the sea, the trembling of the forest… the wind is carrying death. The wind is asking for help… They are _terrified_." Saria had her hand to the glass, hands shaking upon it. She must have been listening to the forests on Patch.

There was much Ozpin _needed_ to do. But as leader, he needed to take priorities. And though a victory was needed, at the sacrifice of the people was not acceptable.

"Glynda," Ozpin turned to the secretary. She was already on her Pad, James on a call next to her, all but yelling into the microphone. "Send out all the spare bullheads we have, recruit any students able and willing to assist with any evacuations orders. If the council calls alert them honestly of what we saw. Given what happened with the White Fang, they'll be more inclined to believe us."

"I have already recruited teams JNPR and CFVY, and several other visiting teams to help with traffic and control," was the quick response of the woman. "Though no damage or reports of monsters have been received, the environment is filled with enough fear to strengthen their numbers." Ozpin nodded, aware of that as well.

"Tell Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck to prepare to defend the City Walls as well. If they have any students they believe can assist them, tell them they can take them. At all cost. The Grimm must _not_ enter Vale." He tapped his cane on the glass of his floor as he spoke, keeping himself in control. If he lost control, he would have drove his staff through the pane and into the gears.

"All of them, all available, on leave or not," James spoke harshly into his phone. "If the students of Beacon are capable of acting, then so are you and your men. This is a direct _order_ to send all Mechs and droids to the city walls. Defend them at _any_ cost." His orders were almost a mirror to Ozpin's own.

"It will not be enough." And Ganondorf's harsh words were a cold reminder of just what was at stake. What was happening. "Though I can only guess and wonder of the creature Link held in there, it is plain to see it has great power. That kind of strength will only grow with time. It will _not_ stop." He ground his teeth at the man's words.

"I am very much aware of that, Ganondorf," Ozpin returned sharply. "But before sending men and women to die _fighting_ it, I must protect those who we have sworn to defend." He was a leader, not a cold-blooded hunter. Not anymore.

"You misunderstand me," Ganondorf spoke now. "I am not telling you to send your men to fight it. I am telling you that I will."

Now Ozpin turned to look at the man. He was not alone.

James stopped speaking, Glynda released her Scroll, and even a sound of surprise left Saria, turning her eyes from the forest dozens of miles away. The tall imposing figure slowly turned to look at him, eyes of flaming gold hard as the steel of the tallest tower. Ozpin thought he had misheard for a moment, only for the daunting falsetto voice to ring out once more.

"Capable as your warriors may be, they are no heroes," he started again. "The beast that hero sealed away has been released, by plan or coincidence, and the hero himself is still lost in mourning. I do not know if he would be more or less capable of handling such a threat now." It spoke unusual volumes that Saria did not utter a word of conflict to the suggestion.

"But you? You will?" Ozpin repeated. He had already heard the affirmation twice now, and the nod made it three. Three times… but he still had doubts that he was hearing this properly.

The man who had burned the White Fang, beaten through the army, terrorized his students, and sent a Maiden into shock, mostly by appearance and power alone, was saying he would go fight another force of terror and evil. He had seen deals in the past, and he knew this to be one of them.

"What do you want for it? Council? Power?" He doubted there was much of either he could give the man, so capable of already taking what he wanted.

"A soul lost as mine is beyond the council of others. I have held more power than any one man should be able to grasp." He turned down both offers simply. "I want nothing from you. Nothing I yet to deserve." Deserve… Ozpin was no fool. But he could not tell what the man was looking for. "I only know that valued comrades of yours are on that island, fighting a man you claim had hand in killing the allies of the hero. For that, I will intervene, I will stop them, and I _will_ save their lives."

He clenched his fist, and it glowed gold.

Ozpin thought the man's eyes were gold, but they were a dull bronze next to the power in his fist. Yes, power, strength unfathomable. If not comparable to himself before he fashioned the Maidens' gifts, then perhaps even beyond. Enough for him to feel it, and realize the man was not only willing, but perhaps even capable.

It conflicted harshly with the cold grip of the sky, the tendrils of dark so long now that they nearly hung over the city, the sea so stained he thought the murky shores close to being over run with the stench of iron and decay. And here he was feeling the glow of a man's fist, magic in his grasp.

Saria was correct. Ganondorf had the Golden Power of the supposed Triforce.

"Tell me where the island is, so I may stop the beast that has been set free."


	47. Then A Dragon was Born

Danger wasn't exactly something Tai had seen little of in his time. No, it was actually closer to _exactly_ the opposite. He'd seen danger, terror, horror, and every other '-er' that usually meant massive pain and endless nightmares. Part of being a hunter, retired as he was and stuck to teaching for his kids.

Before the tikes came around though, he and his team had dealt with monsters that were considered Ancient by some metrics, the Grimm strong enough to give a few pros a hard time in their own right. The reason STRQ was the best in Beacon was because they _were_ the best, after all. And part of being the best meant having to deal with the worst. Again, nothing he wasn't used to. If anything, he might have enjoyed it the most out of his team.

Not only did fighting mean you were still alive, fighting usually meant you were able to deal with the worst in the world better than others. What was a better father than someone who could take all that crap and let it get flung over his shoulder like a pinch of salt? The best kind, that was what. It was probably why Raven and Summer both cared for him. Maybe, at least he liked to think so.

All that said though, there were still somethings he'd only ever heard about, and was quite alright with never facing himself. Salem was one of them. One of the biggest secrets Ozpin had, and one that he was perfectly okay with _never_ seeing. It was one thing to learn that there was some witch out there strong enough to rule the Grimm with just her presence alone, but it was another to learn she was older than any Kingdom, stronger than any hunter, and able to basically _make_ the Grimm on command. Damning was a big word for it.

Staring straight forward now, right at the man who was wearing one of the most _twisted_ masks he had ever seen, and Tai was starting to realize that maybe he had been thrown head first into one of those situations. Because it wasn't just his nerves telling him something was wrong. It was just his skin prickling as he stared at the white suited man with a heart-shaped, rainbow-hued, BDSM spiked mask. It was what he saw around him.

Seeing the sky _burn_ black and watching the forest almost _wilt_ as it was _stained red_ did a number on him.

But the boxer kept his guard up as he stared at the man, Roman. He'd heard Ruby and Yang mention him before, talking about how the younger of his kids had dealt with him before. If only something bad had actually happened to him now, seeing as whatever _was_ happening wasn't good for them. Nothing good came from a guy who was twitching like that.

"Raven…" Tai harshly whispered, getting no response. Not even from the rest of the almost humanoid ghouls that ran around them. "I'm like ten steps behind her. Mind catching me up?" He _really_ needed an answer.

"The mask was one of Link's." Link? As in the new teacher at Beacon? How the hell did it end up here? "His partners were killed by the White Fang, in order to steal a lot of those masks." Okay… horrible, but it explained some things. "Then he borrowed the strength of an apparent _monster_ to go tracking the rest of the White fang and the killers." That was… divergent to what he wanted to know, but it was getting closer.

"Okay, alright," he nodded, looking about himself with only small glances. He couldn't look too far around without risking losing sight of the… _guy?_ Yeah, he'd go with guy. That would make more sense. "Then… what's that got to do with the creep from Vale and that mask?"

"Creep? Am I all that creepy to you?" His fingers _cracked_ as he clenched his hands harder. Roman was talking, even if it was impossible to see beyond that mask of his. "Yeah, the mask is creepy, but I thought you hunters were all about the clothes making the man. Aren't I dressed fancy enough for you?"

Roman grabbed at the collar of his white suit, threading a thumb underneath the collar and letting it slide across the underside of the material. He finished with a flick, and those _creepy wide eyes_ of the mask still staring right at him, even when it was face up and towards the sky.

"This ain't a cheep suit you know, and creeps wouldn't care about what they wear. Ask the rest of the guys around you, I don't think they've changed a sock since they were burned into those forms!" Burned into… what?

Tai looked about himself at the golden eyed monsters, the New Grimm he thought they were. They were looked at Roman with awe, sharp teeth, or trying to run away which was… odd for a Grimm. Even odder they weren't attacking or growling anymore. They weren't acting like any Grimm he'd faced before. He kept his eyes on Roman though. If the dude went from zero to nightmare with just putting that mask on… he couldn't give him an inch. He might take a _league_ instead.

"That _creep_ ," Raven growled out in agreement. "Stole a mask that Ganondorf couldn't identify, but said might have something as powerful as him in it. Didn't' work when Sienna tried to put it on, but I guess the _thief_ was able to find the key." There were three things in that explanation he didn't get, and only one of them he could guess.

"If Ganondorf's the monster, what the hell was he doing with Sienna and what was _she_ doing with the mask?" Simple questions, simple answers. Might he could have simplified it a bit more. Nerves were getting to him though. Walking Nightmares didn't sit well with a man his age. Heck, who would they sit alright with?

"I brought him to her." Now Tai flipped his head towards Raven. Enough to see her holding her blade up and… was that lightning coursing around her? That was new. "And she got the mask from the guy who killed Link's friends. I stole it…" That he believed.

"And I stole it back! I think some places agree that makes me the keeper, right?" The man bent forward and flipped his hand into the air, as if he was grabbing the proof. Tai widened his posture to jump, just in case. He heard Raven do the same. And that… only made Roman laugh. "Wow, talking about feisty. A little skittish, are we? Well, no reason to be too upset. I'm still new to this myself." His hand folded over his chest, like some kind of mock bow. That didn't raise many hopes in Tai.

"Something's coming," he growled out, getting his feet onto the balls of his toes getting ready to jump. He hoped Raven heard him. Then again, she was smart and definitely talented enough to protect herself. Bigger concern was him… and what was coming.

"But you know, they say its great to experiment in a safe environment. And here we have _all these great friends_ for me to play around with!" His hands swung outwards towards the rest of the room, his house, and everyone was uneasy. It said something that the Grimm were acting nervous about him. Just nothing good unfortunately. "So… you, sweetie. Why don't you show me your game face?" He lifted his cane at her, spinning it around in the air. Tai _thought_ for a terrified moment, he was talking about Raven.

But the cane was swirling around one of the blue tinted Grimm, who, he guessed looked like a woman, kind of. There was something on her chest, sure, but that was probably like saying that Beowolves were dogs cause they had claws. Either way, the _Grimm_ was blinking at Roman, holding up those tinted hands with the gnarly scars, the bright yellow eyes blinking and-

Did her teeth just grow? Tai had to blink as he saw it.

 _CRUNCH!_ Yup, her teeth grew. " _YEARGH!_ " And she was screaming. _CRACH-POP!_ And… her jaw was shifting.

"Tai get back!" He didn't need to hear the order to do as asked.

Tai Xiao-Long _rocketed_ away from the Grimm that was suddenly transforming in front of him, at least that was as far as he knew how to describe it. Even when the rest of the Grimm were running away with _really_ obvious fright, he was just stuck standing behind his couch, ruined as it was through the fighting, at the one lucky feminine Grimm that was having… something done to it.

Her jaw had not only shot open an extra foot, but her shoulders appeared to have cracked outwards as well. Cracked, regrew or whatever it was to make them look like hulking masses of power. Her arms extended in such the same manner, until they were dragging at the ground. Dragging on the ground _and_ with fingers so long that Tai swore they were as long as _his_ arms! The clothes or _whatever_ the thing was wearing before were literally ripped to shred through it all.

Couldn't forget how it was growing up to. Like spinning clay on a table, making a ball into a long thin strand, the Grimm rose into the air with its broken and massive-jaw-like head flailing about. Teeth looked more like _swords_ than even daggers at that point, and with those bright eyes like freaking _floodlights_ now.

Oh, and it was screaming. Because _of course it was._

" _GRAAAGHKGHGYKAAA!_ " Nails on a chalkboard would have made for a better sound. Too bad there wasn't time to think about that.

Tai ducked, fast, as one of the creature's massive arms swung out at him. He felt the air _rip_ above him, just as well as he heard the couch next to him being _shredded_. He had just enough time to register the cotton hitting him before seeing the monster raise its other hand in the air, like a claw trap. That was clue enough to dodge hard! He dove to the side, rolling into a solid stride forward. He heard the wood of the floor getting destroyed behind him.

He skid across his own floor as he turned, keeping eyes on the beast that looked downright _ancient_ in appearance now, and more horrific then some Grimm that came from the depths of caves. If it was the size and absolute horrific display of power that did it, then it was the face. A face that was a caricature of an already monstrous appearance. It could be the center monster of a new horror film, and it would look right at home.

"Now would you look at that?" Roman appeared to speak. This time, no matter _how_ much Tai regretted not having an eyeball on him, he kept himself from glancing his way. The beast that was howling like grinding nails deserved a _bit_ more attention. "I was aiming to make her at _least_ big enough to crush this house. Guess I held back too much, huh? Ha-ha-ha-ha-hee-hee-hee!" There was too much going on for Tai to react to.

 _WOOSH!_ Like dodging the hand of the monster as it _sailed_ over his head. He backflipped after his acrobatic avoidance, stopping only when he had his arms raised and… no weapons to punch with. _Dammit_.

"Duck!" HE did so without question.

And good thing too, because in the next second, a blade from his kitchen went sailing into the monster. No, not a knife, _all_ of them. He watched the knives swing through the air and embed themselves in the creature's flesh up and down. There was no reason to question where they came from. He did, however, question, how the creature's massive and nightmarishly waving jaw let out another bone-grindingly painful sound. It staggered back as its impossibly longer fingers tried to grab at the knives, to no avail.

"Sorry, young as she is, I don't think she was looking for that kind of penetration. You might want to look into how to treat the young!" Roman kept talking, _again!_ "But don't worry, I get that was too much for her. Like I said, can't hold back against the Papa Bear and the Songbird, huh?" Tai growled as he turned back towards Roman.

Only to see him standing at the edge of his ruined wall, head tilted against his otherwise perfectly poised body, and cane between his feet. It would have looked powerful… if everything from the head up didn't look so damningly creepy. Especially when he could tell that he was still giggling. Giggling… what kind of a man laughed, let alone _giggled,_ about _this?_

"You know what, I _think_ I know what the problem is. You two haven't been around brats enough, so you're used to dealing with _bigger_ kids, right?" His cane flung out again, complete with his head tilting in the opposite direction. Necks didn't bend like that, easily at least. "But one of you is a teacher, so why don't bring the rest of the munchkins in from recess, huh?" Well that wasn't good.

 _"YACHAHCAH!" "CRLACACLY" "CHRCHRCHRFHRHRA!_ " Inhuman and downright _demonic_ roars came up from the rest the weird Grimm. Out of eye-sight, outside his house, but so loud and so _grating_ to his brain that trying to ignore it was impossible. Especially when the monster that Raven had all but impaled onto the ground writhed in command as well. Its arms swinging up and scratching at the ceiling, tearing through the joists. Dammit it all.

"Let's have a countdown for the playdate, okay?" Roman spoke up, and Tai was getting ready to run at him. Jump and beat that mask off of his face. "Let's start it at 5, 4, 3-" _SCRRRRCHCHCHC!_ The blonde _grabbed_ the ground to keep himself from jumping forward. He didn't want to hit the dude now.

Not while lightning as if from a _god_ was being called down on him. He might as well call Raven that now.

Even as the light blinded him and forced him to turn his gaze, ignoring the ear-shattering cries of the monster that the freak had created, Tai heard the air sizzle with the burst, thunder literally ramming through his ears through the boom it created. His house was ruined before, but now he'd be surprised if _shambles_ were left.

The lightning stopped, leaving smoke and fires in its wake. Tai put fingers into his ears to clean them out, trying to pop his eardrums after all of that. Like pulling teeth and grinding gears at this point, and it felt about as enjoyable through it all.

"Tai! Tai! Are you alright?" Her hand was on his back, even if the voice sounded muffled. He turned to her, seeing the worry in her red eyes. Worry, that was nice to see, in a weird sense. The lightning crackling off of her back and sword, not to mention how her hair was apparently possessing its own atmosphere now? Less normal.

"I'm good, but… can't relax yet," he spoke up. Had to focus himself, especially after _that_ display. "Just gotta… figure out what's the bigger threat right now." Honestly, the man knew his ex-partner wouldn't check up on him unless the area was clear, to her at least. This was the woman who didn't think she was cleared to raise a kid. Man, he really was starting to feel inadequate here.

"Relax _nothing!_ We have to get out of here _now_ before-"

" _Oh Kiiiiiids~!_ "

One worrying declaration was interrupted by another. Tai hated both.

The one he hated the most was brushing dust and debris off of his jacket, shaking his head until the mask shook like a maraca. If it weren't for all the screeching, he wouldn't have been surprised to hear the sound of shivering bones coming from the man. The laughter certainly didn't help.

"You know, after seeing how your kid got into the action, I always knew her egg donors would be to electric personalities. Just didn't think you'd take it _that_ far." Kid… right, Yang. Ruby and Yang both ran into this clown all the time. With that mask, it just made it all the easer to see him as one. A creepy Halloween inspired murderous clown. "Least you got spunk in you. My brats just sit around and screech all day."

 _"YACHAHCAH!" "CRLACACLY" "YACHAHCAH!" "CRLACACLY"_ The sound of bones being popped and ground outside of his house did _not_ help Tai out. Neither the fact that one of those monsters was still writhing on the floor, trying to free itself. Nightmares were made of softer stuff than this.

When they got out of this, Raven and him both, and _after_ he got the insurance on the house taken care of, he'd buy his kids all the cookies and ice-cream they could handle. For dealing with _this_ on a semi-weekly basis, they deserved it.

"That was my _lighter_ attack, Roman!" Raven yelled at the thief. "Trust me, if I went all out, this house would be _gone_ and _you with it!_ " Tai didn't doubt it for a moment. That almost happened _before_ she got all of her lightning powers. Unfortunately… the way Roman was snapping his fingers didn't imply the threat worked. At all.

"Dang it, you're right!" Roman let out as he slapped his palm to the mask he wore. His head tilted back with it, those large placid eyes not doing a thing with the action. "How can I expect you all to enjoy yourself if you're staying indoors. Don't you know kids need fresh air?" Tai felt the air _lurch_ with the command.

"Down Tai!" Came the command a second time, and he didn't hesitate. Good thing, too.

 _SCHHRRRRR-_ _ **BOOOOOOM!**_ Because his house just blew up above him.

Hands were over his head as he felt the wood and furniture of his house blowing over him like paper. Shrapnel and debris whisking over his head with the speed of some bullets, and with _hundreds_ of time the mass. His hears rang as his home was doubtlessly torn to smithereens around him, and Tai made sure to keep himself low as it all happened.

Carefully, Tai picked his head up, getting ready to scream at what he was about to see. It didn't disappoint.

"Are you _kidding me!?_ " Tai finally yelled at the ruins of his house. No, ruins was too kind a word. Ruins meant there was something to show that there was a building here in the first place. What he was surrounded by was a chopped up and ruined flooring without a speck else.

No walls, no ceiling, no furniture, _no home_. Nothing it was all gone. In a blast of _whatever the hell_ Roman just did with that mask. Tai _wanted_ to be pissed. He wanted to get up and beat the living crap out of the man who literally sent an army of monsters after him and his ex-partner, tearing up the place he and his kids lived, and then just _laughed_ about it.

He wanted to, and he was growling made for it. But really looking around made that impossible.

Tai Xiao Long had thought all he had heard when there was cracking bones and warping sounds around him was the sound of the rest of those monsters changing. Something else happening to hem like the one that Raven had impaled into the ground. That would make sense. Unfortunately, he was wrong. Oh, so wrong. There were other horrifying monsters, no doubt. More Grimm than he cared to fight even in his youth. But they weren't just the malformed twisted humanoid creatures.

They were the trees, growing until they had gnashing teeth around their trunks and eyes that protruded like moss from their branches.

It was the wildlife, with deer running out of the writhing woods with antlers that whipped line vines and tentacles that pulled it forward more than hooves that drove it.

It was the clouds darkened into a rolling red that looked like an ocean upturned.

And it was the sky, black as night and without a shred of a star to see.

He hadn't just been blown out of his house. Tai had been dragged straight to hell.

"You like it? Fresh air does the lungs good, huh?" Roman spoke up from some distance away. Tai didn't even notice until he watched the 'man' twirl his cane between his fingers, nearly skipping around with that mask over his face. The roar and twisted sound of the creatures around him did _nothing_ to damper his joyous tune. That was almost _more_ horrifying to Tai than even the hellscape he was in. "Kids these days are so obsessed with staying in doors and making their plans that sometimes you really just gotta kick them in the butt to get them outside, ya know? Drastic, sure, but you can't argue with results?"

"I can!" Raven roared as she jumped over Tai. He didn't have time to grab her leg to stop her. He only had time to watch her _barrel_ into Roman with all that mythic lightning and power she _never_ had before.

Credit where it was due though, it made the man react. That was something. That left Tai with the monsters though, and only _some_ of them looked like a thing he could plan around fighting. Maybe bonus points that others were rooted to the ground, like the trees… no, all bad, especially the ones that looked like creatures out of some Hatecraftian Mythos.

 _WHOOSH!_ He ducked one of their claws as it swung over his head, the sound of breaking bones echoing as it did. The old boxer didn't hesitate to swing his fist up with the momentum, slamming into the arm as he did so. Now there really _were_ snapping bones, and the good kind.

" _KRAYAYYAYAAAAAH!_ " Maybe, because the roar of the creature certainly didn't make him feel accomplished. Tai didn't let it get to him though. He couldn't. Hunter training told him to _move_.

So, he did. Even as he heard another crack of thunder and _some kind_ of laughter from that _clown_ , he jumped over a gnarly hand that tore away what little was left of the flooring of his house, before crashing his knee over the fingers. They were strong, obviously, but he was an ex-pro hunter. They snapped like plywood to falling concrete. It had just enough time to how in rage again before he buried a fist in its gut.

It felt like hitting rubber, but it gave all the same. Tai still couldn't celebrate, using the elasticity of the beast to basically jump back, planting his foot to spin and deliver a savage kick behind him. The wood of the house twisted with him, but the back of his sole mounted itself to the thrashing jaw of one more of the monsters, the blade-like teeth falling out with it. Some even stabbing the creature as they went. He ignored how impossible the creatures were.

He had to, because he had to keep fighting, or else they _would_ overwhelm him. His home wasn't just gone, it was _warped_. There had to be a better word for I-fell-into-a-monstrous-world-and-everything's-horrible, but he couldn't think of it. He was just an old man getting slow in the head.

He grabbed at a claw as he dodged it, thankful he wasn't too slow yet. This wasn't going to end in a 'tai'

' _Heh, dad joke,_ ' Tai though, grinning to himself, as he broke one of the fingers backwards, forcing the tall beast it was affixed to fall forward with it. Tentacles from one of the rampaging creatures flew over him, and he side-stepped it all the same. He had to fight on this platform that _formerly_ was his house, or else the rest of the woods would _kill him_. He had to outlast until… something happened.

 _BOOM!_ Something did, namely as he saw a dark object _slam_ into two of the creatures. They were dead, but it made the rest of them back off. Tai looked at whatever it was, hoping for a storage crate Oz or someone could have shot over to him after seeing the red clouds and sky.

Instead, he saw Raven, lightning crackling over her body, Aura blinking out, and her _blade broken at the hilt_.

"Raven!" Tai yelled, jumping over a monster he'd killed to get to her. He kicked away scrap wood to get at her side, pulling her up quickly. She squirmed, maybe something being damaged or broken, but she was alive. Alive was good, _great_ actually. So much better than anything else. "Raven, c'mon. Wake up girl. We've got a Class S screwed situation on our hands, right?" He tried to use whatever lingo to annoy her. That always worked.

"Huh… Tai?" She spoke his name, red eyes blinking up at him. The panic set in quicker than he thought it _ever_ would in Raven. If the twisted world of _wherever-the-hell-the-where_ was evidence enough of this, then that was it. "Tai, get out of here, _r-run!_ "

"Good idea!" He yelled, putting his arms under her. "Let's go!" Her started to lift, ignoring the indigent cry from her to release him. What was more concerning were the monsters, by _leagues_. They looked right in line with the threes that were _gnawing_ at nothing with their bark, crying with mossy eyes. He didn't. Raven didn't. So yeah, time to run.

He got two steps forward.

 _THUNK!_ " _RAGH!_ " Then fell straight down.

Raven fell out of his arms like she was _pulled_. Tai tumbled forward without her, hitting the boards of his former house floor and _whatever_ was inside the Grimm. He didn't bother to spin and wipe it away, focusing instead on Raven. He had to when he heard her cry like that.

And seeing the mass of… _something_ pierced through her leg, he got why.

"Ray!" He yelled out, getting ready to run towards her again. But he stopped, namely because of the shadow that settled between them. Ominous didn't cover it. That was what the Grimm and all the twisted hellscape they were in could be called. The shadow though… it almost made everything _else_ run away. He was only slightly surprised to look up and see Roman talking. More so that he was _flying._

But it was the writhing tentacle that flew from the edge of his cane that caught his attention the most.

"Tut tut, Songbird. Weren't you supposed to fly away?" The thief mocked, just the same way he rocked his head back and forth. "I'm all about fun and games, but its such a drag when I have to be a bit serious. Now look at me, clipping your wings." He wasn't taking this seriously at all, was he? With a twist of his cane, earning a _scream_ from Raven, he knew he wasn't.

" _You Bastard!_ " Too bad for him Tai was. Raven let out a lurching sound of some kind. He didn't notice fuming eyes to focused on the hollow glowing gaze of the rainbow mask the man wore. "Let her go _right now!"_ The answer he got back _promised_ a fight, and Tai was more than just raring. He was _fuming_.

"Hey, I see a fly," the bastard spoke about as casually as _everything_ else he did. It only made Tai growl at him, flexed and ready to bounce again. He knew he'd get his chance, seeing as the _royal bastard_ was pointing at him. That was a challenge if he ever saw one! "Shoo fly, don't bother me." Tai knew that was the que.

He jumped, roaring with his fists _burning_ with the intent to maim! Two of those messed up monsters were knocked out before they had the chance to blink, and the _freak_ with the colorful mask was-

…

…

…

Tai groaned, looking around at nothing. Where was he? He didn't feel like he was in bed. Too hard, and _way_ too cold. Downright freezing actually. Well, winter was coming, so maybe he just forgot to close a window, that happened. Forgetting things in his old age, how horrible. Heck, just as horrible as forgetting where he was. Couldn't let that stand, or Qrow wouldn't let him live it down.

Qrow… was he here? He could have been, drinking buddy during the best and worst times. Usually the worst nowadays. He had to be around here, Tai _knew_ he was hanging out with him earlier… but no, that wasn't right, it… i-it _OH! Oh,_ it was _Raven!_ Yeah, she could be here, too. She wasn't much of a drinker, but maybe she just knocked him out, that seemed more believable.

He turned his head, trying to get whatever was covering him off. Felt like a pillow, soft as it was. Something else wiped across his eyes, letting him stare upwards. Oh, guess something had spilled on him at night. Maybe he had been drinking. He blinked it away, looking at the hand to see what was on it.

" _ai… Ta…"_ There was something else echoing at the edge of his hearing. Not loud, but compared to the _hum_ in his head, it could have been thunder. He rolled over, noticing how sluggish it felt, trying to get a look at who was screaming.

Oh hey, it was Raven. She looked… not great, actually. Shame, he thought she'd look perfect after all this time. Wasn't her fault though. No one looked good when they were screaming. Even less when they were crying… was that what she was doing?

Darn it… Raven _was_ crying. He hated to see her cry.

Why was she crying again, cause whatever it was, he had to fix it. She kept looking at him, screaming something as well. What was she saying? He couldn't make it out, not through all the ringing in his ears. Actually, wasn't ringing, and actually didn't matter. Actually _Actually_ , the only thing that mattered was Raven, and she was still crying.

He tried to reach out for her, only to get something wet to slap across his face. Or more like spray over it. He wasn't holding a rag or water bottle, so what was that? Couldn't be that heavy, his arm felt like it wasn't even holding anything. The blonde managed to tilt his head enough to see.

Oh, there wasn't anything there. Nothing below the shoulder…

That was going to make sparing later hard, wasn't it? He'd have to think of someway to fix it. He tried to sit up then, putting his weight on his heels. He got one to find something. His other kept slipping, or something like that. He felt his leg move, sort of. Just was… felt kind of cold. Tai managed to tilt his head enough to look up at _why_ his body was being so difficult.

His leg was in the same state as his arm. Gone from the knee down. Huh, least it wasn't the hips… maybe. There was a lot of blood leaking out of it though, and that seemed bad…

" _TAI… TAI…"_ Raven was still screaming. Oh yeah, she was also crying. Dammit, why wasn't he more worried about this? His head fell back to the wood with a thunk, one he couldn't even feel. Maybe he was just… getting too old for this. " _Don't… ake up! Stay Aw…."_ The voice came in and out. Damn it all… and… oh, she was trying to pull something out of her leg. What was it, a stuck zipper?

That was just a little too much for him. Maybe he just knocked his head a little to hard. Yang maybe got an uppercut on him when he was looking away. That would explain it. He could even make up the dark spots and things he was missing. Afterall, clouds weren't supposed to be red, or at least _that_ red when it was dark out.

And that thing floating in the sky… huh, almost looked like some kinda portal. Whatever. What happened in his dreams didn't matter for much.

He just had to sleep it off. Best thing for a rattled brain.

 _"NO! Don't! Tai! Tai…_ " That got him to groan, for a second at least. Being pulled in two directions. He pushed at his face, or tried to. More of something just splashed over him… whatever. He'd take care of it in the morning, or get Qrow to. Didn't matter. He just had to sleep it off.

Just… take a little… nap…

…

…

…

" _Awaken._ " _KRZZZZT!_

"YEAAAAAAAAGH!" He did so with a roar. "Tai! TAI!"

His voice bellowed out of him as _something_ soared into him. A second wind more potent than _anything_ he'd gotten from a doctor or nurse before. Hell, medics in Vale had _nothing_ for whatever the hell just hit him! A truck off juice, a thousand hours at sleep at all once?! Didn't know! Just knew that he was back and…

"RAAAAGAH! _" His arm was gone! His leg was gone!_ Tai floundered on the ground as he realized it.

Blood was dripping from them and spraying and he could feel _everything_. No wonder he was so out of it! His brain was trying to keep him from being traumatized! Oh, dear Gods above, this was worse than _anything_ he'd felt before! All of it! He couldn't swing his arm, squeeze his fist or do _anything_ for the blood! Who the _hell woke him up for THIS!_

"You are awake, _good_." The answer came with a voice deeper than the rumble of thunder.

Tai looked up, hissing through clenched teeth, into the face of a man who looked more monstrous than the creatures he'd fought before. Eyes flaming gold, cape billowing shadow, and darkness pulsing in his fist.

"Ganondorf! No!" Ganondorf… was that… Oh dear god, he was woken up to be _tortured_. "Let him go! Don' t _hurt him!"_ Him? But the huge guy was looking at her and… He was… she was the one in danger!

"Don't look at her!" Tai yelled up, clenching his stump of a shoulder with his free hand. Fingers in an open wound and felt like he was rubbing _salt_ into it. He kept his gaze as firm as he could. "I don't know what you're thinking but _don't hurt her!_ "

"Neither of you are going to be harmed," the man spoke easily, even with the hellscape of darkness and blood around them. "I came to find the monster, and to return you to the tower." The tower? What was he?

 _BOOM!_ _That_ answer came with a roar of… _something_ behind him. Tai was bale to look over his shoulder to see where the big guy was pointing his fist. Pointing was kind, motioning? No, didn't matter. What did matter was his missing leg, missing arm, Raven still _impaled,_ the cackling of Roman _somewhere_ , and…

And whatever that billowing darkness was.

"Wow! Is that a new trick of yours!" There was Roman. Tai didn't even look up at him. "I knew you were a talented bloke from the little I heard, cursing people countries away, but I wouldn't have figured you could raise the dead! Wanna show me a few pointers? Take me a student? I bet it'd be a _blast!_ " He'd been around enough pranksters and thieves to know an innuendo when he heard one. Tai grit his teeth as he got ready for it.

 _Thu-BOOOM!_ The wind _popped_ behind him, nearly blowing him over again. He screamed into nothing, feeling the darkness and fire and _heat_ of it all rushing over his shoulder. Hell, the little of his house that _was_ left was absolute _ruin_ not even there. He turned around to see what the masked _freak_ was going to do, or even just judge what he just did.

And he saw Ganondorf again, hand, held out behind him, and smoking with the debris of an attack. Did he just… did he…

"There is no time for speech or answers," Ganondorf nearly _growled_ out. "Take the thief of a woman and return to Headmaster. Recover well." Tai sucked in a breath to scream a denial of being through away.

" _GRYA~"_ It was killed when heard Raven let out a cry, watching the tentacle of _whatever_ being ripped form her leg, blood spurting out, as she was lifted into the air. Any decrees he had were vanquished in the same breath as he was lifted up all the same. Nothing he could see, nothing he could grab…

But dark flames licking at his wounds, the demonic man's hand extended out towards him. Tai shivered as he looked at him, the man's eyes sharper than blades, fists harder than steel, and gaze burning with revenge.

"I say again," Ganondorf commanded. "Go."

Tai fell back into that dark portal, screaming with Raven behind him.

* * *

Glynda was sure it was a trap. She was willing to stake her very powers on it. That stake and threat came as she prepared to use every _ounce_ of her Aura and Semblance in tandem to _ruin_ the man who so casually spoke of going to confront the beast that was threatening the island of Patch. Speaking of it as if it were a Beowulf deep in the woods, and worse yet _encouraging_ those in the room to do so!

One didn't throw dust into a fire to stop it, you didn't destroy a mountain to stop an avalanche, and you did _not_ send a _monster_ to fight _another_. Yet Ganondorf, the vile hideous man, was insinuating that it was their only option, as casually as he did speak of those he had murdered in the past.

She was sure it was a trap, and almost believed that Saria agreeing to it was one as well.

It was only when James and Ozpin both relented, promising the efforts of their _own_ ruin to stop him should it be trap, that gave her pause. It was still _very_ likely one. One that the man had concocted _all_ for the sake of gaining more power. They had seen birthed in the home of Tai Yang. The man who had the strength casually defeat a Maiden and nearly all the military's might… and yet stepped towards a being that appeared a challenge beyond even Ozpin at his prime.

It had to be a trap, like a delinquent student offering to show a shy girl around the school or a company sponsor looking to donate tools to the test field equipment. Both traps she had seen before and so sure that this was going to be another one, she was almost willing to risk _fighting_ the beast of a man again!

But she had relented, by the orders of Ozpin, agreement of Ironwood, and consent of the Spring Maiden. She had allowed with a clenched fist, grit teeth and flared eyes. Glynda had allowed it… and now she was rewarded with the choice. They all were.

Because out of the darkened portal the vile man had created spilled two more bodies, two people she had not seen in some time. Two people who should _not_ be in the conditions that they were.

Raven Branwen should not be in tears atop her husband.

Tai Xiao Long should not be without an arm and leg.

"Glynda! Emergency teams, _NOW!_ Divert them to come here if they are already in route!" She knew what he meant and she didn't hesitate to start tapping through her Scroll, passed public and classified lines to find the emergency communications. There was little to be said about how urgent the matter was.

"Send non-vital personal here _immediately!_ " she heard James roar into his own Scroll, even as his boots beat against the glass floor of Ozpin's office, stopping when he was over Tai and Raven. "Security code: _Alpha nu Omega! NOW!_ " There wasn't time for confirmation before he slammed the glass sheet shut. "Tai! Stay with us, stay awake!" He was speaking as if Tai wasn't already clearly that.

"I'm _perfectly_ awake!" He roared back up. For a moment, before his pulled his head back and let out the most snarling sound of pain Glynda had heard in some years. It made her skin crawl. "I'm awake and _limbless_ thanks to whatever the _hell was all of THAT!_ " He flung his leg into the air, everything above the knee.

Glynda was sure Ozpin didn't appreciate the spray of blood that shout out from it. The cry of Tai as he fell back with the action was proof enough, gripping his armless shoulder at the same time.

"Stay _still_ Tai!" Raven was shouting next. Her hands were on him, ignoring the blood and the way he writhed at the touch. It wasn't her first time. Glynda paid more attention to routing the communications she'd reached, directing them towards Beacon under the guise of planning stages. It was believable enough. "We have to shut the wounds or else you're going to bleed out!"

"Then _burn them shut!_ " He all but roared back. He lurched back with the scream, blood spreading across the glass beneath him. Glynda flicked her riding crop, whisking it away and out of the contamination zone. All of it was impossible. It was already spreading over Raven's skin and clothing, mixing with her _own_ blood. "That _monster_ just attacked us and then _another_ monster threw us through _whatever the_ hell that portal was and-"

"Stop." The words came with as much warning as the girl herself.

Tai froze as Saria put her hands on either side of Tai's head, making the bloodied and near limbless blonde look up at her.

"What are you… do…" his words drifted off as he spoke, hazy eyes, shutting… Glynda recognized the symptoms immediately, as did Ozpin and James.

"Stay awake Tai!" The headmaster spoke, taking steps forward. The general just beside him.

"Stay still!" The command of Saria, however, wasn't to be ignored. Both men stopped when the emerald gaze of the girl turned towards him. "Dark magic courses through him. I feel it though my touch." Felt it? Glynda wasn't aware that evil was something that could be felt.

Then again, she also didn't have her hands glow an ethereal green when she touched someone else. Such was what was happening with the tiny hands on the otherwise well-build man's face. A calm green, so heavily contrasted with the blood and blonde hair.

"There is no need for me to speak of the injury, but I must work to do much more." Her hands slipped off of his face, traveling towards the stump of his harm. Glynda _wanted_ to raise the alarm of touching the blood without any kind of guard or protective equipment, bloodborne pathogens certainly a concern even for a Maiden. But she said nothing instead. "The magic was keeping is keeping him alive, but it is toiling in his soul. He bleeds and feels, but cannot rest from it."

"What does that mean, Saria?" Ozpin's question was measured. The witch of the school knew the response had to be just as sharp.

"It means that whatever has harmed him is beyond anything that stained the woods of my forest." The answer did not disappoint. "Though Link may have faced such trials, I have always had the protection of the Kokiri Forest. What may have harmed him? What aside from a great best could possibly create such damage to not only body, but soul?"

Her hands glowed without another word. The question hung in the air as she worked. The snapping of a Scroll opening came, looking to see James looking out the window as he spoke, voice raising but with the tone of orders. She let him work, not willing to interfere a man who led an army, let alone criticize. That was the job for her 'superior'.

"Raven," Ozpin's voice earned immediate attention from the woman. "We _will_ discuss later where you have been and what has happened. But for now, we _must_ know what occurred on Patch." There wasn't an ounce of deception or vagueness in his words.

"You don't know?" Raven almost let out with a laugh, hand still clutching the hole at her leg. "You can't look out those windows and tell!?" Her hand pointed to the glass frames, the dark horizons and blood red waters spreading ever closer, Vale all the more surrounded by the taint. "You're the expert on all this ancient magic and powerful sorcery! If anyone should know what's going on, it's you!"

"Well I _don't!_ " The immediate answer silenced the woman. " _Just_ as I don't know why you ran away and _the same_ for why the apparent _evil man_ that Link had saved is now off there fighting some _new threat!_ I can only answer with certainty _one_ curiosity, and it is not an answer either of us is kind to hear." He had already said as much to Glynda, to Ironwood, to Qrow, and to Saria.

"Yeah, and what's that?" She dared to bark back out. "Is it gonna be something about responsibility? Going to give me another lecture like when I was a kid? You really think _now's_ the time for that?" If he was going to, Glynda would have reluctantly agreed with the woman. Thankful, Ozpin may be mysterious and brash, but he was still wise. And wisdom spoke that lectures were for peace. Thus, none would be had now.

"I know that for something to do all of _that_ ," he noted with a point with his cane out the window. "In addition to staining a soul like _this,_ " he let out once more, pointing towards Tai, now all but asleep in Saria's hands. "Can only be done by _one_ such power. And you are not so stupid or foolish as to pretend you are unaware."

She wouldn't, because none of them were.

"She's in Patch?" Glynda raised the question, ignoring the hitch in her voice. Such a conclusion would mean a _compete_ rerouting of all air traffic around Vale, emergency evacuations to foreign kingdoms. She would need to know that _now_.

"No, she's not," Raven growled out an answer. "Didn't see a hair of _that_ woman. The _monster_ I saw was just a two-bit thief with that _stupid mask_ on his face." The anger was palpable in her voice. But Glynda knew rage well enough to know it was not directed at them, no matter how sharp those red eyes were. Not when she had tears still nipping at her cheeks. Raven did not look like a woman confronting an enemy.

She looked like a girl angry with her own mistakes.

"The mask," Ozpin followed instead. "Thanks to your call to Qrow, we saw Sienna try it on, but nothing occurred. Ganondorf only surmised that it was either nothing… or containing some great power." The implications of that made even Glynda churn. Her eyes, compassionate for the injured woman and the father of her child, turned ruthless. "Raven… are you saying it just… you _woke_ it up?"

" _ME?!"_ The all but screamed at them, hissing through her teeth. " _No!_ That _freak_ took it from me after he sent all those burned up White Fang freaks out us! He smacked it some weird golden sword after talking to himself and it just…" Her fist clenched and released, her long hair hanging over her face as she spoke. The same hand fell back to the hole in her leg. She must have done something to stem the bleeding. "It just blew up, then _all that_ occurred."

"Golden blade… oh dear," Ozpin pushed his head back with a growl. Glynda was already ahead of him.

"James," she put force in her voice. "Tell Winter and your other associates that the Arc Blade as been seen." Her gaze looked back at Raven… and at Tai. "It was apparently used to unleash _another_ monster." She refused to admit the idea if it was stronger than the Ancient Grimm already trapped in the blade itself.

The general through his hand out, the most she knew she'd get from him at the moment. Tensions were high, and his focus was important.

"At least _that_ is no longer a concern," Ozpin spoke. His voice was as thin as before, all but growling proper. One more speck of bad news and she'd expect to hear him do it all the same. "That known, _why_ were you at Tai's in the first place? From what I recall in conversations with Qrow, you left there."

"I was at Tai's cause I didn't know _what_ else to do!" Her voice wavered at the end, looking at the man. The green glow in Saria's hands did not diminish. The sharpness in her gaze, however dulled. "I just… I knew everything you told us was true, and I saw enough of it to get it… but seeing Ganondorf like that, then him saying the mask was _like_ him… I thought I could stay at Tai's and just… think on it."

"That was very foolish of you." Glynda spoke without hesitation. She did not regret the ire in Raven's eyes when she rose to meet her.

"You wanna say that again?!" She yelled out. She may have tried to crawl, but stopped when she bumped into Saria. The girl looked up at her, but Raven only glanced down. "Say that again when he's like this! I dare you! Say it again." Glynda did not, because someone else spoke up first.

"You have the power to help." Saria's sudden declaration, however, shut her up. Red and green eyes turned to her, but she kept hers on the darker woman crouching with a wounded leg next to her.

"I can sense it. You may yet feel it in me as well, do you not?" The humor in her questions was gone. But… like her…

"Saria?" Ozpin asked quickly. "What are you speaking of?" The headmaster was quick to interject. His cane tapped as he walked forward the short distance, stopping when he was still a respectable distance away.

"Nothing, she's not talking about anything _except keeping Tai alive,_ " Raven growled the rest out. The ire in her words was doubtlessly supposed to give the Maiden pause, but Raven was not among their group anymore. They did not know who Saria was, not behind recognizing she had great power about her. That everyone knew now. But no one else knew why. "Did know the _new Summer Maiden_ had the ability to heal, but she'd better focus on the man in her arms if she doesn't want the demon at her neck." She did have a fine guess, but still horrible manners.

"The only demons abroad now are on the island you were pushed from," Saria returned without any hesitation. Her green hair framed her face as she spoke, eyes as hard as the crystals they matched in color. "And no monster of shadow would have the power you do. So why are you pretending as if you have none?" Glynda shook her head. Power… ah, she thought she knew what was going on.

"Saria, perhaps you do not know, but Raven is Qrow's sibling." Honestly, she was sure she would have mentioned this earlier, perhaps when Qrow was streaming that… display from Ganondorf. This was _not_ the time to have introductions. "The magic that allows him to transform she also possesses. That's all."

"Yeah, that's it," Raven agreed. "You got a nose for magic, great, awesome, gold prize. But you had _better_ have a better grip on Tai until the paramedics get here. What are you even doing to help him?" Though a deflection, a fine question.

"I am keeping him whole." What a broad answer.

"It's _too late for that!_ " Raven screamed, only to grimace as she gripped her leg a bit tighter. Stemmed, perhaps, but certainly not healed.

"I will say again. I am keeping him whole, in mind and body," Saria spoke, and the words were put through Glynda's mind as a filter. She spoke like Ozpin, even when the situation didn't call for it. "As a tree may be whole when it is uprooted, it still will be soon to die. So, I am keeping him _rooted_ , and keeping him whole."

The implications of those words were not kind.

"You should know this as well, _Raven_ ," the words came as cool as a winter wind from the Spring Maiden. "You who has the gift of the Forest within you."

And those words cut just as deep.

"Forest… _Raven_ ," Ozpin's voice let out again, and Glynda could see James looking at them from the corner of her gaze. She had a grip on her own Pad, watching carefully as she monitored what she could. The students were still on campus, some returning from Vale, others helping to assist the emergency transports and there were _several_ on their way here… five minutes out… would it be enough time?

"I _live_ in the forest, kid," she let out again. "And I get that you've _got_ to be a new Maiden, seeing the friends you're keeping, but _don't_ tell me that I can do something to match you."

Her ire was interrupted by a groan from the man on the glass floor. Attention was on him again in a moment. How Glynda _yearned_ to sit next to him and assist, as she was sure John and Ozpin wished to do the same.

But leaders could not forsake their duties when the world burned. And right now… the sea was boiling.

"The Forest sings in you," Saria spoke the words again, as her Maiden powers continued to flow over Tai. He was finally calming down, maybe the _only_ one with everything that was going on, but he wasn't screaming. All eyes, therefore, were on Raven and Saria, the little girl lecturing the elder woman, by appearance. "Do you not hear it, or do you simply ignore it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Raven hissed at the Maiden. That wasn't… the smartest move. Glynda bit back her comment, attention solely on the task at hand. The medic teams would be here in _minutes_ , and she needed to ensure there was a spare room at the hospital in Vale for Tai to be placed into. With the panic going on, the ICU would be _packed_. "Just… hurry up and heal him."

"I will not stop, but I wonder why you will not start?" Glynda could hardly ignore the near venomous tone in Saria's question. "Do you wish for him to die? This man who fathered two children in this school?"

"No!" Raven yelled at the girl, hand _clenching_ Tai's own. He groaned, earning her concerned red gaze. Hers and everyone else's, but James kept speaking into his Scroll, Ozpin watching with the intensity of the queen they wished to dethrone. "No… I… I went to see him because I thought… I thought I'd be safe there. I thought _we'd_ be safe."

"I care not for your reasons for your actions." Those were not words Glynda expected Saria to say. "Not while the world is being swallowed by shadow, not while Ganondorf fights for a cause that I agree with, _not_ while my _friend_ is facing such a beast." The silence was looming between the two, and the small emerald girl was a stalwart tower next to the bleeding woman. "I care only for what I may assist and control. The trees scream, the forests cry, the children _rage_." Her hands gripped Tai's shoulder tighter.

He let out a gasp as green energy _pulsed_ over him further. Saria bit her own lips as the sound, the man calming far before she did. Raven did no such thing, staring at him intensely. Glynda kept herself distracted with the work on her Pad, monitoring the incoming transmissions and routing of emergency personal.

"Were this in my land and forest, I may heal him as I have others," Saria spoke on. "The gift of Sage hood is strong, but it is not endless. I hear too much and feel all the more. So much pain in need of an ear, and too much for me to heal a broken man alone because of it. And this man _bleeds_." The groan from Tai, without an arm to reach up with or leg to kick out, echoed through the room. "Are you willing to help me save him, or are you determined to wallow in your ignorance?" An ultimatum then. Not a question.

But one that made Ozpin glare at the woman with growing intensity. Even Ironwood put his Scroll down, staring at her with a look between curiosity and trepidation. A consequence of their weeks, doubtlessly. Deceit, surprises, and all of it poor. Whatever Saria was implying now, it was not something so small as a difference of opinion.

"Yes… I want to save him," the dark-haired woman responded. "But I _can't_. I can't… save… _anyone_." Glass cracked beneath her, but no one cared to pay attention to it. Not when Raven was sitting there with a near bloody corpse next to her, Tai _horribly_ that same thing.

No one could say anything as lightning traced her body.

"Raven…" Ozpin let out again. Glynda could hear him tighten his grip on his cane. Glynda did much the same to her Pad. It likely would not survive the day, let alone the _hour_. "You have…

"She had the forest's wisdom in her," Saria answered. "And I ask _her_ again, do you feel the power?"

A deafening silence was a horrible thing to have when there was blood on the ground and screams from the sea. But it was where they were as the Maiden of the Spring, one of Link's oldest friends, his caretaker, born from a mask through Ganondorf's power, spoke to Raven Branwen. Spoke to her… as if she had power to contribute.

"… I feel the power…" Raven finally spoke. That was an answer… Glynda wasn't sure she was ready to hear. "I have the Maiden's power. I… I do have it-"

"Then your reasoning for it can come later," Saria interrupted her. The look of anger across Ozpin's face must have mirrored her own. "This man cannot wait so long for you to decide."

The red eyes of the woman bore down on her for a moment, strong as her blade. But Saria glared back up, emerald eyes not only as strong, but shining with the glow of her palms. The hierarchy of power was present, but Glynda didn't know in which way it was going to bend. They had little time to debate over it as well. That was why it was a relief, a blessing, when Raven raised her hands and hovered over Tai's still body.

"Now listen to me," Saria instructed. "And we will keep him alive. Either until more come to assist, or the terror that kills the forest dies." Glynda almost hoped for the later, because that would make for a far better conclusion to this story.

" _WHAT?!_ " The boom from James, however, was evidence enough that there was still far more going on.

"James! What is it!" She diverted her attention away from the pair, count _two_ , Spring Maidens, to look at the tall man who was screaming into his Scroll. He offered no return to her question, but a face of calm fury was plastered over him. It was not one that beget good fortune.

" _Penny Polendina!"_ Ironwood's powering voice _shook_ the room. Glares and concerned glances turned his way, but the beast of a man didn't pay them any mind, only lecturing his scroll with the power and authority only one called the General of an army could possess. "You _will_ repeat yourself and explain _in detail_ your actions!"

" _Of course, General Ironwood!_ " the voice came through the Scroll, but lacking all the peppiness that Glynda normally associated with the animatronic girl. " _Under the suggestion of Friend Weiss Schnee and Team Leader Cardin Winchester, I accessed the emergency Atlas Feeds to access and gain all knowledge of the current happenings at Designated Location Patch!"_

 _"Why are you throwing us under the bus?!" "My sister will_ disown _me!"_ The cries of panic from behind the girl were ignored.

" _Upon relaying all information, Friend Yang Xiao Long started to run towards the Headmaster's tower!_ " She was what? Glynda ignored the feeds and incoming RSS threads of information to search her mini-drones. It took her little time to find Yang now that she was looking for her, fists on either side of the elevator door, glowing with heat. " _Upon her departure, Friend Ruby Rose said bad things were still happening!"_ Ruby?

" _I_ will _not_ repeat myself, _Penny!_ " James still screamed at his Scroll. How it did not crack in his hands was a mystery in itself. Glynda's own was dangerously close. " _Why_ did you _not_ secure all members of your party!?" The question, militaristically phrased, jarred Glynda's attention.

" _Because Friend Yang Xiao-Long was holding Friend Ruby back! Upon knowledge that Apparent Mother figure Raven Branwen and Confirmed Father Tai Xiao-Long were in the tower, Friend Yang Xiao-Long left under the belief that Ruby Rose would follow_." Because she was concerned with her family… and they were in danger. Just like with Link before.

Glynda put the pieces together as fast as she could, fingers tapping her Pad more than analyzing it. The chime of an elevator door _floors_ below them did little to irk her focus now. The concerns of what James's anger stemmed from was gaining too much traction.

 _"However, Friend Ruby Rose did run, but I have received no confirmation or feeds of her on Beacon Grounds!"_ Her worry was spiking. " _I do not have solid data to report a confirmation of her heading, General!"_

"Then tell me where you _think_ she is going!" _CRCH!_ This time the screen did crack, but it did nothing to break the tension in the air.

Glynda could hear the trembling breath of Tai, stretching his neck bac

" _Answer me Penny!_ " The red face of James Ironwood roared.

" _Sir I… I believe Friend Ruby Rose is going back to Designated Homeland Patch!_ "

_CRNCH-CRACK!_

In tandem with one another, Glynda and James both broke their respective Scrolls and Pads.

* * *

She knew how fast she could run before, but there was no telling how fast she could move now. Before she had only ever used her Semblance to dodge about quickly or get somewhere because she wanted to be there in a hurry. When things were dangerous, when things were tough, she always _felt_ faster, but wasn't sure of it.

Yang said she was when they got to the orphanage in the Forest, because she was complaining about how windswept her hair was, after she destroyed all those Mechs. She knew she was even faster when she started to chase after Moraine, that _sneaky coward_ , and she got there so fast Pyrrha said she _had_ to go back to get backup. She hated it, and she was right.

She still hated herself for all of that, but she knew she was fast. She knew it and everyone else did. But it was never clear just how fast that was, because she was always running her fastest when she sensed something was wrong. As Blake had said it, before she was _burned_ , she moved faster because she thought less of how to move, and more about just doing. Like dodging a punch. She caught it before she thought about it. Ruby didn't understand what she meant.

Not until she was running over water to get to her home. Not until she ignored the skipping of blue wavy ocean to deep red almost _demonic_ tides. Not until she was seeing the world drift from star studded twilight to _hell's-coming-black_.

Ruby knew she was fast then, because she couldn't _see_ anything else.

The trees were a blur, the ground was dust, and the air was mist. All of it _zoomed_ past her so fast and strong that she didn't even have time to _recognize_ it. Maybe she'd played there when she was a kid, maybe Qrow trained her in some of these woods, maybe it was where she grew up and Zwei was there to help them find home! She didn't know because she couldn't recognize it, she didn't have _time_ for it.

Not until she was sliding to a stop right where everything felt the _worst._ And when she did that, she saw just how horrible it was.

The forest she had played in was gone. The small trees she could nearly jump over with Yang's help, always so fun to walk through Spring through Fall, were now gnarled like they were burned, swinging like they were made of clay, and _crying something_ that made for a horrible noise of lurching guts. Everyone of them swayed in a dead wind, branches curling like they were trying to grab at nothing.

The few animals she saw before weren't even that. She thought them _Grimm_ , before she could see more colors on them than the simple black and white. They were endless tendrils of misshapen faces and figures. It sounded _stupid_ to even say it like that, but she didn't know _what_ else to call a bird that had three tails and _twenty_ wings. She had _no idea_ what the heck the fox was that had _nine_ tails and ears taller than Crescent Rose. She didn't know what any of it was.

She didn't even know where her house was, even though she _knew_ it should have ben around her. She didn't pay attention to her surroundings when she ran, but she was in a clearing that her house usually sat in, and it _felt_ like this was where she had grown up almost all her life. But there wasn't a thing she could see to make her confirm it.

"Ruby Rose." The dark voice made her look up at the lone figure that wasn't altered from what she expected, but still just as monstrous to her eyes. Almost at home here. "Why are you _here_." And the snarl on his lips did much to show the anger.

The tall dark figure of Ganondorf, standing over her with the fire of burning shadows across his form, did nothing but torment her further.

"Because she just _can't_ keep stand on the sidelines like a good cheerleader!" That voice… wasn't what she expected.

Ruby looked up, up _way_ higher than she expected she'd ever have to without the sound of a Bullhead engine. She didn't see a copter or Bullhead or even a flying Grimm. She just saw a figure _sitting_ in the air, lazing back like he was sitting on a chair, and lightly beating a familiar cane against his empty palm.

With a rainbow mask that had eyes bigger than the shattered moon, and a baller that made her glower.

"Roman…" she _hissed_ the man's name. Last time she'd seen him, he had _literally_ tried to kill kids. He had _almost_ killed Link. And now… he had _so nearly_ killed her parents.

She was supposed to be a hero… but she could only wish _death_ upon the man sitting in the air now.

" _HAHAHAHAH~!_ Wow! Never thought I'd finally get _that_ kind of look in your eyes, Red!" And the laughter that rolled from him made her think he _liked_ it. "I mean your sis runs on PO juice half the day, but seeing _you_ take a sip of it just helps settle the soul! Chicken soup can't compete!" And he kept laughing.

"Ruby Rose," Ganondorf spoke again, voice low and with a tone to match. "It is not safe here for you. _Leave_." His fist was clenched, and she felt the air _billow_ from it. She took hesitant steps away from it, but didn't run away. Everything just felt too… off.

So, she ducked. " _KRKHRKCHRKHCRKH!_ " And dodged a _sword like claw_ swing over her face.

Ruby didn't let out a sound as she unfurled Crescent Rose, letting her body's momentum continue as she latched the crux of her baby at the arm that swung at her, letting her carefully sharpened blade _peel_ through the monster that had swung at her

 _"KRCKHRHCRH_ _ **KRBRKCBRK!**_ **"** The noise of grating nails and chalk board was her reward, making her stagger on her feet. Even if one of the arms fell uselessly to the ground, across _flooring she recognized, s_ he felt the danger of another attack coming. She bent what she could, lifting Crescent Rose to endure the blow.

 ** _BOOM!_** But instead was pushed away by an explosion of air. She landed on her feet deftly, practiced from years of training, and just fast enough to see what had happened.

She caught sight of Ganondorf's cape in a proverbial wind, fist extended and smoldering with heat, and the trail of fire set before him. The monster was nowhere in sight.

" _Jeez!_ You really don't do things half-assed, do ya?" Roman asked form the air, making Ruby turn and glower at him… only to see _more_ of the monsters underneath him.

Like it was one of those game bosses that Yang fought, he was floating in the air while an army of monsters were collecting underneath him, all nearly as tall as Ganondorf, even if they were thinner than _her_ , and making that same noise and teeth grating sound that send chills down her spine and her gut in to her mouth. It was _disgusting_ , and it felt _horrible_.

"Hey! Hey! Easy there, burn ward victims." Roman _chastised_ in the air. 'Standing' as he waved his cane at them. And they _listened_. "You'll get your chance to fight, but ever _other_ time I gotta fight the Red Riding Hood here, I keep havin' to dine and dash! This is the first chance I got to smack her down with a few words first, and I'm taking it!" His hand rose into the air with the statement.

 _KRZZZCHT!_ And lightning _cracked_ the sky through the blood-red clouds. Lightning stained the same crimson color.

Ruby's Semblance was new, developing, and at the moment, going almost _haywire_ the sense of dread. Roman did not miss it.

"And now she's shaking in her little boots! Aw, that's so cute~!" The thief _mocked_ her behind that twisted mask of his. The laughter was _almost_ as painful as the sound of the twisted nature around her. "Is this the part where _you_ run away? That would just make this night perfect! Get all that power I wanted, get to teach the Songbird a lesson on thievery, _and_ the biggest _Rose-tipped_ thorn in my side gets _pulled out_." He clenched his fist.

The trees around them _rumbled_. Ruby supported herself on Crescent Rose, but Ganondorf didn't sway a muscle. Only his cape billowed, the rest of him still _burning_ … like _Blake did_. She _hated_ that he said all of that like… it was a joke!

"Maybe I'll be able to just _plant you_ in the ground." Ruby took it back. He could joke again. Roman being serious with that kind of power did _not_ mean anything good.

 ** _BOOM!_** Her thoughts of how different roman was changed when he was struck by a ball of shadows.

A ball of shadows licked with gold… and spread out like the sky was burning… oh..

" _Silence, thief_ ," Ganondorf growled out, hand still extended. Extended, smoking, and looking ready to throw another one of… whatever that was at Roman. The man who had been floating in the sky consumed by the fire. "Leave now, Ruby Rose. Before you lose the chance." Leave? N-No way!

"I'm not-"

"She's not going _anywhere._ " Ruby couldn't even look up at Roman before the burning sky practically _exploded!_ She shielded her gaze even as Ganondorf, the _evil guy_ stood in front of her and kept it from hitting her. She could hear the earth _crackle_ around her for a moment, grinding her teeth almost to ignore the pain. "And trying to get in the way of a reunion? C'mon Ganon! You have any idea how many times Little Red over there has waltzed into my parlor and took a chunk of what I was eating? Enough that I almost starved."

That didn't make any sense, and not just because Roman was shouting it while floating in the sky and skipping as he did so. Yes, skipping. Ruby caught that when she titled up to see him spinning and landing on... nothing. Everything about Roman was just… off, and she hated it.

"Do you have _any_ idea the amount of work I did to even figure out this kind of mask was in the Faunus's arsenal?" Roman asked, holding his arm out like he was going to present something. "All those recordings from the big Man's office, all about what those pair of fairies were pattering on about, bragging about just how great the Super Faunus was? Hell, it was only cause _one_ of them couldn't help but brag that I realized they were hiding something."

Ruby had _no_ idea what he was talking about. What recording? Who was the Big Man? General Ironwood? Or one of the councilors… they had left Link alone! She still snarled up at Roman as he his head rolled, moving the mask he wore in a large exaggerated circle, but the eyes never left her no matter where it was facing… she hated that mask.

"If I didn't know the players in this game, I would've called that match between been sprout an act of the devil!" It wasn't lost on Ruby that Roman framed his own covered face with that motion, tilting his hat for good measure. "But hey! I don't look a gift horse in the mouth, not when its offering me free rides and money to spend. So, who am I to question a little girl telling Ozzy Auraborne _all_ about the most powerful masks that the Super Faunus has!"

Girl… Saria? It had to be Saria, because there was _no way_ Moraine knew. Not _that_ traitor. At least… she hoped not. She had already done enough. It had to be Saria, probably, because she helped to raise Link so… what did that mean then?

"Is there a point to your mad ramblings?" Ganondorf spoke up, however. Jostling Ruby's thoughts straight off the track. She couldn't ignore his voice, even if his back was facing her. She _still_ hated how both of their capes were billowing. "Or are you delaying your inevitable defeat?" That was probably the wrong question to ask.

"Defeat? Me? With all this power?!" Roman yelled, again, as he held up his cane into the air. Ruby was unashamed to say she shirked behind Ganondorf when she had a _strong_ feeling hit her, one that told her running away was no good. She saw Ganondorf raise his own hand upwards before Roman did anything. She still didn't _see_ Roman do anything.

 _KRCHCHCHHCHCH!_ Because _blood red lightning_ was a hard thing for even her to keep track off.

It ricocheted almost off of Ganondorf, or whatever powerful Semblance, spell, or _whatever_ was used to hit it away. Even if that wasn't the right idea, it was hard for Ruby to imagine him cutting it with his _palm!_ Especially when those crackling arcs of lightning _and_ the booming thunder that came with them destroyed the trees around her home. Well, where her home _used_ to be. And the trees, actually alive or not, exploded into… something. She didn't think the inside of normal trees were purple or… juicy.

"All this power!" Roman yelled again, Ruby taking a glance to see his cane smoking like he'd fired a shot. "I finally get a feel for what that bitch in Beacon kept going on about! Absolute power may corrupt absolutely, but when you're already tripping around the dark side, what's another thorn in the soul!" His laughter as he said that was… unsettling to Ruby, even if she had just pure disdain for the man. "And what kind of _games_ I can play now! No more cops and robbers, but a game of tag, and _I'm it!"_

Ruby took in a seething breath of the scorched air as the man continued to spin and cackle in the air, loathing more than anything else that someone like… him had all that power. Ganondorf, no matter how much she _loathed_ him, only glanced back at her before looking up again. She refused to believe it was to make sure she was safe.

"Finally set up the long con to get _this_ going and wouldn't you know it, it finally went without a hitch!" He continued to narrate. Even if her Semblance wasn't telling her to, Ruby let him speak. Weiss always complained about villains in movies narrating their plans. But if it was happening, Ruby wasn't about to stop it. "All I had to do was make sure that little cosplaying brat took the three most important masks then swaddled off with the one that didn't belong. Wasn't hard to guess that the more… _colorful_ of the bunch was the odd man out."

And for everything he had done so far, it was the way his face twisted about that upset Ruby the most. Heads bent in odd angles; she knew that from taking bad hits from Yang. But not… that _much_. Not to the point that his eyes were perpendicular to the ground.

"Take the consolation prize of that blade in a plane, all with the help of a little friend of my own, and I had the keys to the kingdom to release myself!" Little friend… _Neo!_ Ruby had almost forgotten about her!

She started to look around for her, quickly. She had illusions a-and she could be sneaking up on them! Her Semblance might help, but if she was using something like Roman, or even a _little_ like it, then they could be in trouble! She didn't know what that could be, but assuming was bad and assuming to much mad things worse and things were already horrible so-

"Release you?" Ganondorf echoed. Ruby had forgotten that part, until that deep voice spoke it. "When were you chained to another…" his voice dripped as he spoke. It upset Ruby just as much that the air felt like it was stilling with his voice, whenever he or Roman spoke. And here she was, feeling _way_ too much going wrong to even think about leaving. "Or are you speaking for another…"

Was he… oh… _oh…_

Ruby… realized Weiss may have been right about her before, and Yang when she was joking. She just might be an idiot. At least it was stupid of her to not realize it. Remember that all of Link's masks had memories to them whenever that transformed him. And this mask that Roman was wearing was another one of Link's masks… No matter how different it was.

"Another? Who else is there but _me?_ " Roman, however, either was lying or didn't get it. Ruby couldn't tell which it was. "Surprised that the lowly street thief was able to nab the big score? Got paid with some magic sword and I decided, out of the _goodness_ of my heart, to take this mask away from that nasty old woman that gipped _you_." He pointed at Ganondorf with the comment. "I thought you came her to thank me for it! Which just makes it _really_ weird you'd save her and that old coot with her instead." Old… oh!

"Dad!" Ruby yelled, horrified with herself that she didn't bother to check with Ganondorf when she got her. She may have hated him… but he hadn't lied… yet… she hoped. "My dad! Tai Yang! Th-The blonde, this tall a-a-and _really_ loud!" Ruby waved her arms as she spoke to Ganondorf, the man only acknowledging her with a look over his shoulder. "Was he okay? Was he hurt? Was he _alive!?"_ Because she'd lost too many people recently…

"Eh, close shave with death, but I thought he could do with the trim," Roman _casually_ answered in place of Ganondorf. "Little off the side, little under the chin, just what wasn't necessary." He said that as he brushed his shoulder… and tapped his leg… Ruby's mind, fast as her body, tried to _daze_ out a response. "You can ask him how it is if you like, I'm sure Ganny-Poo here would be _more_ than happy to send you home!" She kept her silver eyes sharp as Crescent Rose when she responded.

"I _am home!_ " She yelled back, arm waving out at… _whatever_ could be used to describe Patch now. She'd seen the Badlands and they were desolate. What did that make this? Nightmare Land? Horror Zone? _Hell?_ "Until you _ruined it!_ You ruined it a-and you tried to _kill_ my dad a-a-and you _helped_ to kill Link's friends!"

"Think you got a little off topic there, sport!" Roman yelled back down, laughing as if he had said a joke. Ruby couldn't hear even a trace of humor she could agree with. "But I get what you're saying. I do. Home is where the heart is, and I put my heart on my sleeve as I fleeced, plotted, and stole everything I needed to get where I am today. A bit drabber that Termina, I will admit, but I certainly can't complain about a scenic view." The _lazily_ flipped through the air as he spoke just… dismissing _her_! She didn't know what or where Termina was, but Roman must have been the most _hated_ man from there! "Sure, there are still a few maggots wandering about, but I always learned the best deterrent or rodents was a good hunter. And _look_! The Burnt-Ex-Old-Faunus are doing _great things now!_ " He said it all as he pointed towards the ground.

Pointing at those _monsters_ that looked like lurching nightmares, eyes that were spotlights with mouths more akin to Ursa-Traps then teeth. Nails like her Crescent Rose and arms like the shaft and… wait… Ruby almost missed it completely.

"The White Fang…" Ruby mouthed more than she spoke. She stared at them now, lurching creatures with gnashing sounds of breaking bones… and shivered. She thought everything bad she felt was just from Roman and Ganondorf… but now… oh no… "You… You _tortured_ them. What did you _do to them?!_ " She asked it as she stared at them.

Stared at the people who were already burned and revealed and showed everyone who had ever said a good thing about the White Fang because of the man _next_ to her. She imagined Blake, her teammate, one of her best friends, having her arms broken and jaw stretched and… and looking like… she couldn't. She _couldn't_.

"He twisted their souls." Ganondorf's answer to Ruby's horror was one she didn't want to hear. "The vessel is made to house the soul, and the soul within is rot. Gnarl and used, burned and twisted, and so the soul has changed the vessel it embodies." He was enjoying it, she could tell. Even if he was gripping his fists extra hard next to her, and she had to take a step back because the flames off of them were _… wrong_ , he was enjoying this. He had to be. He was evil, too. "How can a man who calls himself a thief throw away something so _irreplaceable_ as a soul?"

"Point on commerce, _oh great king_. Everyone's got a soul, and they don't do much with it," Roman spoke as he was looking down on her, bending over at her with that stupid white suit and rainbow mask. "The rarer something is, the better it is. The more _wanted_ an item is, the more its worth. Everyone's got a soul and _maybe_ a handful know how to use it. You know what that makes it?" Ruby wouldn't say it, even if she knew.

Roman, who was _doubtlessly_ grinning behind that mask, waited for one of them to say it. At least until he held up his hand and opened it up, like a light bulb going off above his head. She ignored how a red cloud _lit up_ with the action.

" _Ding!_ That's right! _Nothing!"_ He was _too damn_ cheerful about it. And Ruby… she couldn't understand a man who just _said that!_ "Like the amount of love from my father, respect for the Schnees from the Faunus, number of times Link's beaten me without cheating, chance of finding the Blade of Evil's Bane, or strength to match me! Nothing, none, and _no one!_ " And then, he really cackled.

He laughed as if the sky was raining on him everything he ever wanted, and Ruby _refused_ to admit that he had already gotten it. Because if he did… then it as going to be even worse what was to come. And she already hated all the feelings rolling off of him.

"Ruby Rose," Ganondorf spoke as the man cackled in the air. "If you came for your father, he is with the Wizard in the Tower. Return now with your fleet feet and tell them of what you have learned." She didn't learn _anything_ except that Roman was _stupid_ and just as strong to match. Ganondorf, by the growl that came out beneath his burning eyes, must have realized it. "Tell them that a stolen blade was used to free the mask. Tell them that the man is possessed by something the hero fought but couldn't kill. Tell them what the monsters are and what he can do to life. Tell them _everything_ , so that you may not have come here in vain."

"B-But that's not why I came here! I can't leave yet!" Okay, maybe she could, but Ruby didn't want to. There were two _really_ evil men in front of her, and if she ran away now… then she wouldn't be a Huntress. She'd be someone who just ran away and didn't help out everyone else.

And… this was Patch. There were _tons_ of other families here! Even if her home was ground zero… it was spreading, a lot, so she had to help them! And the best way to do that was by cutting off the source, just like she'd learn about any problem. Getting rid of the causes was the best treatment. And the cause was floating above her, laughing. And _And_ standing next to her, growling.

"Why are you _here_ , Ruby Rose?" Ganondorf growled to her, and Ruby had to remind herself that he _wasn't_ the enemy. Not now, a-and maybe not ever. Not if Link was in there. No, _focus!_ "Why do you _remain_ when your parents are safe?" Okay… he wasn't a bad guy, couldn't be if he saved her dad and Yang's mom, even if she wouldn't be all that happy about it, but… but there was definitely something else.

"Aw, you don't see it Gan-Bear-Pig?" Roman, or whatever was _supposed_ to be Roman, spoke up instead. Ruby grimaced as he finished his laughter. "She's just nipping at the heels of danger, looking for the biggest fish in the pond to fight and not daring to look away until it's dead." She snarled at him like Yang when her Semblance _flared!_ "Too close to home? I thought it was okay to say here at least."

"It's nothing like that!" Ruby screamed back. "I-I don't do this for attention! I don't _have_ to!" She yelled until her voice was louder than the gnarling bone and teeth of the monsters and screaming forest, no matter how weird _that_ still was! "I do it just… because feels _awful_ , okay?"

Ruby finally spoke back, shaking her head until her hair was whipping herself.

"Awful? Awfully confident or awfully bored?" Damn Roman! _Damn him!_

" _Neither!"_ She practically howled, almost bending her baby in her arms. "Awful because I _hate_ the feeling of not being able to help when someone is hurt or when they're in pain or when _any_ thing goes wrong! I'm fast, I'm strong, so I help! It's what I _want_ to do! So, what's wrong with that!" She glared up at him with her silver eyes. Her small and silver against his shimmering gold… she didn't care.

She didn't care if it looked like the sky was _melting_ black, or if the clouds were _raining blood_. She didn't care about any of that because if she did… then she'd care _less_ about everyone else. And no one deserved to be forgotten like that! She was here to help everyone she could!

"You wish to help." Ganondorf spoke before Roman. The man in the sky, with that _horrifying_ mask, only slightly titled his head, if at all, towards Ganondorf. Ruby did the same, seeing the man looking down on her with an expression of… something. Not fury, not hatred, but… not exactly a good look either. He was evil though. "Despite this danger, in spite of you being _far_ outclassed by the monsters that now roam your home?" Ruby bit her lip as she nodded. Her answer wasn't going to change. "Even if you are terrified?" What was he even asking!?

"So, what if I'm scared!" She yelled out again. She glared past Ganondorf, _nasty_ as he was, and up at the man who had _actually_ done horrible things to her and her family and friends and… and everyone! The one who was wearing a mask Link probably had and _obviously_ never wore! "Even if I'm scared… that just means I've gotta fight harder! And I'll keep fighting no matter what! Even if the rest of the world i-i-is _this!"_ she swept an arm out, the other holding Crescent Rose tightly against her. "I'll still fight because giving up is quitting, and quitting now would mean giving up on _someone else_. And… and no one deserves to be that." No one deserved to be given up on.

The sound of grating bones, muffled as it was, echoed across the land that was once her home. The forest continued to sway by its own command, the trees crying and twisting their branches in a fashion she knew _nightmares_ were more likely to adopt than her imagination, but she kept staring up. She couldn't look away. Not when there was something evil above her.

"Haa haa haa haa haa." The lower rattling sound of laughter, however, was _just_ enough to drag her attention away.

Enough to look at the man next to her, tall and intimidating, radiating evil as well as he _burned darkness_ , cape billowing more than her own, wearing a… wearing a grin. That wasn't a good look on him. She didn't think he was a looker before, and that grin, showing off teeth more capable of biting through steel then making someone feel happy, didn't help.

"Haa Haa Haa _Haa Haa HAAaa_ ," he kept laughing still. An almost gentlemanly laugh that was _horribly_ contrasted by the fact that he was… well… _not_ a gentleman! " _Haa Haa HAA HAA HAA HAA!_ " It only got worse when he raised one of his hands and put it against his face, smothering his gaze, but never dousing the fire in his own hand.

"Wow, good job Red," Roman yelled from above her, and she tightened her grip on Crescent Rose with the voice. "Here I was trying to get him to break, ad you did it just by telling the truth. Guess it really is stranger than fiction, huh?" He held up his arms as if it was an honest question, even while he bore down on her with that golden rainbow imbued mask. She wasn't going to answer him, not unless he was in _chains._

"Broken? _HA!"_ the monstrous man let out one more bark of laughter at the suggestion, loud enough with his already deep voice to make the creatures of the twisted force shirk back in fear. Ruby only gripped Crescent Rose harder, her senses flaring… but not telling her of where the danger was. "No, no not at all."

His hand dragged itself down his face, showing Ruby that, surprisingly, his face wasn't painted green. The _huge_ gauntlet that was his hand fell to his side, before flexing each finger one by one. Being next to him, it was hard to miss the electricity that flared from each digit, like sparking connections on a wall socket. That meant it had… very high current. Which also meant _very deadly_.

"I have just come to realize how thankful I am for your presence, Ruby Rose." The girl looked up at the man, still with a smile that promised _misery_ looking back down upon her. She didn't like it. She hated it. The only thing that could compare was Roman's voice with that mask he was wearing _above the twisted forest and her ruined home_. It was just that bad. "You reminded me of a trait that I forgot the hero practiced." At least the words were better.

"You mean Link?" She asked innocently, earning a sure nod from the man. She took a quick moment to glance around, making sure that _sneak Roman_ wasn't trying to attack them. Instead he was lazing in the air… backwards, like on a sofa, propped up on an elbow. "What… what do I have like Link?"

Because Ruby could only recall how she had, _apparently_ , acted like him when he was younger. IT was what Ganondorf told her, after he had all but plowed through everyone at Beacon and the Atlesian Army, standing in front of her as she kept Saria safe. He had said then that she had acted like Link, which was _honestly_ a cool thing to hear. But… what else did she do _now_?

"You have courage. Courage that only _grows_ when the danger roars." Was that a good thing? "Never once through all of the trials and ordeals that I threw at Link did he ever falter or question himself. He did not think of his own safety before he threw in to save another, and thought of only how he could save more. Just as you run into a land that must resemble the most chaotic of nightmares, with the belief that you can save souls." Well… she wasn't here for souls…

"I-I-I just want to help," she turned back, looking up at Roman even as she grasped Crescent Rose juuuust a bit tighter. He laughed at the display and that cackle… It made her even angrier. "And I want to stop him."

"A goal we share, I assure you." That honestly wasn't something Ruby thought she could take a face value. She _couldn't_ forget Blake. And this man, this _monster_ , was responsible for it. "Though your gaze shows me hatred, such I am worthy to bear, I am not here to damn those caught in the vile web of the thief." Now he turned from her to Roman in the sky. At least they both didn't think highly of the man… even if he was floating high in the sky.

"Vile? Didn't you hear me before? This web took freaking _months_ to crank out properly! You think something vile could nab all the flies that I have?" He flipped his cane around his arm as he asked the question. Ruby watched it, careful for if it fired at her. She'd be ready for it. She would _feel it_. "If anything, my web is made out of some top-notch silk. Hell, I bet if I got a Lolith to make a web, it'd only be half as good. Wanna give me ten and see how they compare?" No, not hardly.

"He is deranged," Ganondorf spoke without addressing Roman. Fine by Ruby. "He is mad, crazed, and everything that I was while the foreign hatred bore into my soul." That she was… less okay with. "To face someone like him here, now… I could not ask for a better means to face against my own darkness." Your own… hold on.

"Are you saying he's like _you!?_ " _That_ freaked Ruby out, namely what it meant. "Some that's strong a-and invincible and able to do stupid stuff with the Semblance and being basically evil!" As she rattled off all that she knew, Ruby came to realize that they were quite alike, aside from the physical differences. "And you want to fight him?"

"I did before, but my purpose now is different." He cracked his neck and… it was as loud as the thunder Roman had thrown. "Before I wished to face a man responsible for the death of Link's allies. Payment for the relief he offered me in my final moments. But now? I wish to fight him so I may emulate that hero. Facing the beast that wishes to cull the land, and in doing so, save those who are tortured."

It was _really really really_ hard for Ruby to believe him. Even if that _sounded_ great… it was _Ganondorf_ speaking. Someone that Saria was just… _evil_. And looked evil and felt evil and admitted to doing _really_ evil stuff and his _smile_ was… well…

Huh… not as evil as Ruby remembered.

"I will face him, and if you will not flee, then there is something else one as equipped as you can do." Ruby straightened when the man's burning eyes fell on her. "Find those lost in this twisted forest. Find those who are trying to flee. Use that power that shows where evil lurks, and save the innocent from the corrupt." That was… a good idea. "Can you do that, Ruby Rose?"

"Are you kidding, that's _all_ she's good at!" she didn't like the ode of confidence from Roman of all people. Especially when he was pointing at her with the cane. Her Semblance felt like a gun ready to fire, and she was waiting for the hammer to fall. "Too bad she doesn't have - _gRLCH!"_ It was the first time that Ruby had heard Roman give a sound of pain since she arrived.

And it came when she saw Ganondorf holding up his hand, burning with that same dark golden fire, and casting that same aura about the mask the man wore. It was… like he was chocking him. Ganondorf's hand was even shaking, like he was trying to curl it into a fist. If she imagined Roman's _neck_ where his fingers were curling, then-

 _WHOOSH-_ _ **BOOM!**_ Didn't have time. Not before the evil man threw his hand down. And Roman followed.

Like a meteor into the monsters that were lined up underneath him, blowing up smoke, dirt, and whatever else he landed on into the air.

"Go forth, Ruby Rose!" Ganondorf yelled her name like a command. A-And it actually sounded _cool_. Dammit! Why did it have to be the big _horrible monster_ that said her name in such a cool way!? "Do the lineage of the hero proud! As the hero before you, go save those in need! Leave this beast to me!" Well… at least it was uplifting.

"R-Right! Y-Yeah!" Her words caught, twice. "You just… _keep Link alive!_ " That was what was most important. And even if that grin was _predatory_ for a moment, Ruby took it as confidence. Especially when Ganondorf ran forwards.

 ** _BOOM!_** And blew the monsters, former Faunus, former _White Fang_ , away. That was her que, and Ruby's Semblance flared with danger. This time though… she tried to direct it.

Not on the fight, not on the monsters fighting, but on the people in Patch who needed her. They'd be going to boats, or Bullheads, or something to escape. And the monsters were, well, _monstrous_ , so she'd get plenty of bad feelings around her. She just had to know where to look. And it was like Ganondorf said. She could do this. She was a hero.

Who else was better to call her a hero then a villain?

No one, Ruby decided, as her body burst into petals and she was gone.

* * *

The air reeked of misery, and she loved it.

The sky was stained with despair, and she loved it.

The world was changing to accommodate it all, and she loved it.

Standing at the edge of the castle in the damned land, looking out upon the ruined terrain that adhered only to her wishes, she felt the whispers of power far beyond her borders, at the displays of strength so close to her own, but so far separated from her. The feeling of darkness creeping back into the world that had once scorned it, and doing so with a vengeful strike.

Her lips as black as a starless night curled upwards, folding the alabaster skin about her cheeks. Vicious eyes of unfathomable red looked to a sight beyond them, loving the sensations that flowed through her. The horror and terror, the despair and fright, the misery and submission, all of it flowing from far beyond her borders, and seeping into her land.

Like chunk of land falling from the earth, filling the ocean and letting it rise, the Queen of the Badlands felt her power stir, and felt those birthed from it roar in glee. All of them both within and without her borders. All of them roaring as they felt too what she did, savoring it as if the last breath, yet so far from it. It was not _their_ last breath, but it would give them the strength to reek such a fate upon _millions_ of others.

And most satisfying of all, she knew _why_ it was happening.

The machinations of eternity finally falling into the place, and pushing over the pillars she had so carefully constructed. Deceptively small yet unfathomably strong spires in the river of time, arranged and moved to fit her path, and so eager to dive from it if she ever lifted a thumb. The many and uncountable years of her life, all of it assure, alter, and correct those trying to escape their fates.

Like so many foolish others who thought themselves wise, like so many other weak souls who thought themselves god, and like the many cowardly souls who all dreamed of heroism and adventure. All like them, all tried to escape their fate. And all needing her to line up the pieces so the strike of lightning would set forth the path she needed.

All of it had taken more years and more planning than she imagined the creatures of creation would allow for themselves. Days they spent in shaping the world, and she had spent _millennia_ planning for these coming moments.

And all of them starting with the battle between a soul who embraced a god, and another that stole from one. Two men of such opposite origins and ambitions, fighting for reasons not their own. She shut her darkened eyes and let the terror of the world flow through her. All those who witnessed _their_ sky darkening like hers, all of those who could _see_ the power shattering the land around them, all of them crying for salvation, and being offered only ignorance instead.

Ignorance that was being stripped away, and leaving instead only the naked terror of life.

She _gorged_ herself on it, savoring everything she consumed.

Taking it all in… but knowing that this wasn't even the end. Not even the midst of her plans. It was only the first step. All the many _many_ years of preparation, and she finally saw when the pieces were in place.

And now… now she could enjoy _the feast_ that would follow.

"Sunder the land, tear the sky, stain the sea," she whispered, feeling the clashing of powers doing all of that, and _far far_ more. "And let it all flow back to me."

In her darkened tower in a ruined land, Salem cackled with ceaseless joy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just because I promised everyone on the Discord, and I find I'm being TOO subtle with my clues, let me just tell you what to look at now.
> 
> I wrote Salem's section very carefully after Ruby's. Roman is crazy powerful, but not crazy mental. Ganondorf takes to Ruby faster than anyone else.


	48. The Thief with Power Beyond his Means: Majora Roman

Beasts of burden, monsters of slaughter, walls of flesh. They were all things that monsters were. Before his madness took over or when he defended his sand-filled lands from them, that was all they were. They were threats to him and his kingdom, to the people who raised him and then those he ruled. That was all they were.

When the madness foreign to his own will took over, they became _more_. Not more in mind or spirit, but in purpose and body. They became a means to an end, and something he could use. To cover the stretches of land he could not visit or detain the populace with threats of violence, he was more than aware of how they could be used, and he was more than willing to use them. More than _any_ of that, he was capable of doing such. And he would be a foolish king to not use what was within his power.

This thief Roman Torchwick, appeared just as capable as he once was. Because the walls of monsters that sprung up from the ground to attack him were not only numerous, but _thirsty_ for blood. Blood they'd never be able to dine and taste. Not because they were weak. Not because they were rushed. Not because they were pathetic lowly creatures without intelligence or command.

But because they were attacking _him, Ganondorf Dragmire, King of the Gerudo_.

 ** _BAM! SLASH-SLASH-BAM!_** His fist and sword echoed through the clear as he blew through the beasts, punishing them that dared to get close and slamming through the few who were waiting their turn. A horde was before him, but they were waves of the ocean against the mountain of stone.

His fist buried itself into the jowls of a Wolfo, only to tear its way through and slam into a Dodongo jumping from the ground. His fist fell into the loins of another beast, tearing through it and the ten other Bokoblins that were trying to crawl their way to existence behind it. And when his limbs were doing that, he lit his sword aflame and cut its path through a Guay attempting to put its talons into him. None of them got close, and they all were burned before they reached the ground, turning to cinders once more.

He never stopped in his assault, never needing to hold back against them. They were monsters, monstrous as this twisted land, and Ganondorf put his strength into slaying them, unwilling to let _any_ sense his real power and then pursue others beyond him. He was a king, a ruler, and _he_ could take their fullest might. But _none_ would bear the strength of his rage, not those were undeserving.

" _HYA!_ " He yelled as he pulled his blade up cleaving a Moblin in two, just before his foot rose and sent a boar over his head, slamming against a tree and turning to mulch. He brought his blade back down cleaving the arms off of one of the twisted White Fang members, corrupted to near beyond recognition, just before he brought fist down upon it, turning its insides to a slurry.

" _Wow!_ You really know how to handle your trash!" the man he was aiming for, some distance away and making himself scarce in the crowd of monsters, yelled out to him. Ganondorf turned his burning gaze towards him, careless of the monsters that surrounded him. They were not threating to him, but the man was a target he would not lose. "But haven't you heard how important it is to recycle~?" The term had never reached his mind before.

 _HRAAAA!_ The cry of a vicious Re-Dead reached his ears, however. It was a cry he had heard many times before, reanimating the corpses of the long since deceased. Were such a being came from here, where the descendent of a hero lived, was a mystery he had no time to explore. Instead, he turned towards the walking corpse.

" _Die… fall…"_ It _must_ have imagined he'd be upset by that. Curses for it to be overcome by. " _Be no more… you are no more…"_ It whispered the terrifying words that had brought _countless_ others to their knees and fright and terror. " _Become more than what you ever… will-_ " **_WHAM!_** But it was silenced by Ganondorf putting his fist through its head.

It, and the Wolfo's chest, lurking just beyond it. He withdrew a bloody fist, only to swing it into the shoulder of an approaching bear, sending it careening into the crowd, bowling them over like a Moblin's club. The silence from the Re-dead guaranteed its death. Next to the roars that grew from everywhere else, he knew it was gone, and he gave not a breath of care for it.

So many others, even the hero himself, were overcome by the words of the redeads, near the same as a scream from a tortured soul. They were the sounds and words that could make the bravest of men whimper, but he was not affected by the callous words or sharp truths. They could not torture him.

Not a man who already accepted the terrors of his own heart.

" _Wow!_ Can't say I've ever seen a man tear an apathy down _that_ easily!" Roman yelled good cheer from above the crowd. Ganondorf growled at him, grabbing the throat of another Dodongo attempting to leap from the ground and swallow him. It chocked on his first before its twisted sideways in his grasp. "That's a compliment! Can't you give me a bit of thanks for it? You know even Red was kinder about stuff like this when we fought. You think I should go pop over and find her? She's got that sixth sense for danger now, and I'm just so _thrilled_ I can be considered a threat by people like you.~" His laughter was overcome by the howls of the monsters that surrounded him, a cacophony of noise Ganondorf furrowed his brow at.

"You will regret attracting my attention, thief," Ganondorf returned instead, voice shaking the air. He let _power_ seep into it, unwilling to go unheard. "The hero's descendent is busy with the task of saving those you threaten. _My_ task is in ruining your plans, destroying your ploys… and removing your deeds from this earth." All things that threatened the well-being of the land.

But the monsters, and the thief, howled with laughter, putting heads to the air and chortling at the words like an empty threat. Ganondorf did not stir as they did so, letting the mad man have his ploy.

"Oh geez! You kill me! I mean you might _try_ to choke the life outta me, but what you're saying? _Ah god! That's_ going to be the killer!" He flipped around in the air as he continued his demented laughter, the monsters occupying the space he left. Ganondorf raised and stomped a boot on a miniblind attempting to get close. They could not hurt him, but they _could_ distract him. "I mean, you're talking about taking me out, but you don't even have the gall to take out all of _this_!"

 _This_ was the thief's apparent ploy to make Ganondorf tremble, but it didn't do much.

Even as the floor of the island began to overturn, the bleeding and screaming trees uprooting and falling over into mess of bark and mulch. Even as the rest of the ground was folded into large bricks of mortar, the monsters around them, screaming for release. Even as the thief himself was high above it all, obviously grinning through the shine of that cursed mask he wore… none of it meant anything. Not to Ganondorf.

This was all something he had either seen or _done_ before. And it was now only sad, not even intimidating. Looking at a man that must have at one point been so much like him. A thief corrupted by rage, and swimming in it as if his own. But close as he was, he was no king. And he could not tell what was his by creation or his by possession. Because of that… he didn't know what he was doing.

Roman must have thought this was all his desire, just as Ganondorf thought his only wish was the crown of Hyrule. Anger made monsters of men, and the beasts around him were shadows in comparison.

"You shaking in those big ol' britches yet, Jolly Green?" The odd nickname fame from the non-threat. "Ready start running for the hills! I think you should, cause you're gonna be _running for your life!_ " His cane raised into the air.

 _KRRZZZZZZTTT!_ And red lightning struck it, powerful and with a boom that made the monsters howl around him. He conducted it for a second, making the figure of the alabaster suited man _glow_ with an ominous red, a hue that the Gerudo King knew he must have worn at some point in the past. But rather than chortle with more laughter, he threw the end of his cane down.

It sent the lighting into the soil at the bed of the monsters, shooting them around as if a stone was thrown into the surface of a lake. Ganondorf didn't care for the beasts. He cared for the act of power the man had done.

 _GRAAaAA_ _ **AAAGH!**_ And that act, by the inhuman howl and spindly raise of plant life, was give rise to Deku Babas. No… similar, but not quite. Larger, more vines, more teeth… a Kalle Demos. A monster of the forest.

It roared at him again, eve as its tendrils made mincemeat and debris out of the monster it slammed down on, Dodongos and Skulltulas turning to mush beneath them. The vines were as thick as his fist, and easily enough to crush a man his size. The howl of the plant, like wind sown through thorn bushes, was a horrible thing to hear. So Ganondorf _would suffer no pain_.

While the demon howled, he reared his blade back. He coated it with the dark flames of his power, letting his spirit flow into it, turning the shaped metal into something else, something _far_ crueler than just a heavy blade. He let it sit there, burning the steel. _WHOOM!_ Before throwing it forward with a whip of his hand.

 _GRAAAGH-_ **SHUNK!** It sliced through the demon like butter. A colossal figure comparable to the buildings of the academy he had left, and his burning blade had sliced through it with a powerful throw. The flames that had coated did far more, erupting around the beast and turning its remains to ash and dust.

"You know its not nice to break other people's things!" Roman yelled down to Ganondorf, even as he looked back up at the man. He turned his shoulder, harshly, letting the back of it slam into a Wolfo trying to latch onto him. Its teeth shattered and neck soon after. A kick forward with his leg skewered another set of monsters, sending them into a dog pile of limbs and gore. He didn't care to watch. "At least I take things from people. I reuse what I take! That's what it means to recycle! Can't you make use of anything around you?" His jabs were nonsensical. "You know what, maybe you're just _confused!_ I can get a grumpy old man not wanting to have a bit of fun. I mean, you're slapping the playmates instead of wrestling them, and that's just _rude!_ "

He waved his finger at Ganondorf as if trying to cajole him. It only made the Gerudo King narrow his gaze at the man. His tricks and mockery were going nowhere. If anything, it was only forcing the desert king to pity the man even further. His power _was_ vast, but he either did not know or did not appreciate what he was doing.

He could create life with a wave of his hand, and with so little effort, he could not understand the weight it held.

Not even as he waved his can once more, bolts of lightning blowing apart he sea of monsters he had made. One large Dodongo came flying at Ganondorf, mouth open to swallow him again. _SHICK!_ He punched through it, sending core back in the direction it flew. HE watched the trajectory, more for what was rising from the broken earth and folded crumps of land now.

Giant beasts once more, but not some that he was very familiar with. But rather than having the thicket of fur and bone that so many others did, or even scales as Ganondorf was used to his own monsters possessing, these were nothing of the sort. Rather, they were monsters only because they rose, and nothing else.

There was nothing monstrous or terrifying about stone. Nothing about something that was so capable and useful in making homes and land, in building furniture and fashioning walls of protection. Yet the boulders that rose from the ground were anything but simple. Even more, so when the seemingly smooth surfaces of the heavy masses of stone and granite rolled together, clinging off of one another despite the lack of a rod or rope.

He remembered them now. Taluses. The rocky creatures that rested at the fringes of the world, rising when the land they resided in was upturned or gored. He had to slay a few of them himself when he was beginning his raids, to protect the monsters _he_ had created. They were large and immensely heavy, named in part due to their bony structure

And now a dozen of them were hanging in front of him, their foot falls immense and crushing the sea of monsters. Like the lightning that continued to arc through the sky high above, Roman cackled at their approach. Ganondorf only furrowed his gaze. Furrowed his eyes, leaned back on his foot, and drew his fist to his side. The monsters could be intense, but they were only that. Monsters.

 ** _THOOM_** _!_ _ **BOOOM!**_ But before him, nothing was a challenge, not without the hero's presence.

He kicked off of the ground, sending columns of dirt behind him to bury the Dodongos and Wolfos who wanted his blood, only to send his fist into the massive boulder that was one of the Talus's body. It blew apart into rubble and ground cover with a single hit, his hand none the sorer and momentum carrying through. The creature crumbled into dust before Ganondorf turned and righted himself in the air.

Fire and power burned at his hands as he threw them forward, summoning the magic he had used to wither the fortress of the killers before. The burning shadows and dark flames collected in his palm, silhouetted by the stained forest and decaying woods. He let them collect, before letting them fire forwards. There was hardly a sound as the pair of balls were sent downward.

 **VOOOOOOM!** They hit the surface of the land and began to _consume_ the beasts. The Taluses, weighty and uneven, falling into the pits of darkness he had created, letting their massive forms betray them. One then two, soon to be five, all of them unable to hold onto ground as his magic demanded mass, and found the source in the beasts around them.

He saw more redeads clinging to the ground to steady themselves, long claws keeping them secured. Moblins and Skulltulas doing much the same, with even Dodongos burying themselves into the stained dirt to prevent their ends. Ganondorf let them, focusing on letting his magic consume as _much_ as it could. The more he killed, the more he vanquished, the _fewer_ would be present to threaten others.

Ganondorf clenched his fists when he as done, swallowing the balls of darkness he had created. Monsters were left, _plenty_ of them. And eve more being created as he stayed here. But many more were still dead, swallowed by his own strength. Not power, there was no power in what he did. But he would have to do much more still…

" _THINKFAST!"_ ** _BAM!_** The cry came at the same moment Ganondorf was struck in the back.

" _GUH!"_ Hard enough, _precise_ enough to make him let out a noise of pain. **BOOM!** Just before he plowed into the earth, he had just finished clearing. Stone and debris flew up around him, but he felt nothing of it. His body stopped in a drawn crater, on his knee and rising quickly. A golden gaze burned as he looked up to see the thief.

_Inches from his face._

"Not fast enough!" The man mocked as he swung his cane again. This time, Ganondorf was prepared.

His foot swung out as his face took the blow, forcing his head to turn with the savagery of the strike. But rather than scream through the air, his foot resisted the force, digging a deeper hole in to the chasm. Without going flying, now he had the chance to look down the cane he had been struck with and at the wide-eyed mask of the thief. He only imagined a look of unease on the man's face.

"Hee hee… well shoot." That wasn't enough. _BAM!_ But the blow Ganondorf dealt with the back of his hand may have been. The lightning coursing through it helped.

It helped even more when the man flew feet over head across the ground, back hitting the edge of the crater and flipping up onto the dead land. Ganondorf jumped, prepared to stomp on his legs before he could rise. He didn't _want_ to kill this man… he had only made a mistake, just as Ganondorf had before.

But despite his intentions, the man rolled out of the way, cane pushing him up and letting him spin like a log into the air again. But not without purpose. No, at the same moment, a tendril of shadow unfurrow itself from his cane, whipping out and grabbing Ganondorf by the ankle. He stomped on it with his other foot, intending to crush it, but it only reshaped itself, like a shadow. He had no more time to act.

Ganondorf's world _spun_ as he was suddenly whipped and thrown into the air. The force of the swing sending his cape billowing behind him and teeth grit as the air roared past him. He was nearly being flung into the dark sky and red clouds high above, before the arc continued and he was barreling towards the ground again. **_BOOM!_** He made a second hole with his body, this one he felt.

"You know I always _did_ want to get into gardening! Never could figure out what I wanted to plant though~!" Roman yelled, even as Ganondorf pushed his face out of the dirt. It didn't hurt, but he _was_ annoyed, greatly at that. "But hey! You're pretty green! You think I put your head into the dirt, you can help me push up some tulips!" But the king hoped _he_ did not sound so made when his anger had consumed him.

His lack of action, however, did leave the madman time to fling the tendril on his leg again, whipping him through the air once more. Ganondorf's equilibrium was thrown again, nearly sending him spinning like the hero's blade. He had been struck by this once, but he would not allow twice. With a glow of his hand, he stopped the rotation before it finished one swing, to the immense discomfort of the man whose can was still pointing at him.

"Aw c'mon! Don't you obey the rules of physics!" He screamed a law of the land Ganondorf did not know. "I'm a thief, _I_ _break the rules!_ But you kept calling yourself a king, so shouldn't be obeying them?" Truly a maddened mind. One that Ganondorf had to do something about.

"A king does not obey the laws," he spoke ominously instead, twisting his body until he floated in the air like the alabaster suited man. Did so as he grabbed the tendril of smoke and darkness, lighting his hand with golden power, and searing the mass that was the rope. It billowed and flew into nothing, not even ash. "A king makes the rules. You face one now, thief." His voice should have done more, but be it apathy or ignorance, Roman only rolled his head.

"Eh, I've faced a lotta big names before," he shook his head. "King of the Triads. King of the Reds. It's the _queens_ I'm scared of." His preferences meant nothing to Ganondorf, who only let the monsters howl up at him from below. He turned as another Guay swooped down to him, far larger than the ones he had fashioned for the Zora. Large enough, at least, to swallow even him whole.

His body twisted in the air, lightning crackling through his fist once more, and smacking the side of the beast's face. He felt the bony plates across its head shatter at the impact, a moment before its head blew away, sending the corpse tumbling down into the ticket of monsters left behind. Like a boulder falling from a mountain, it crushed them.

"Aw, and here I thought that Death Eagle was going to do something! I'm just starting to get the hang of these powers and everything!" Roman commanded as he waved his hands. Ganondorf's eyes were sharp and focused on him as he spoke. "It tried remaking something, then I tried making _more_ of something, so I thought making something ten times heavier would be next up! I mean, c'mon, it should have taken a tank to take that thing down, am I right?" The Gerudo King had no care, not for this conversation.

Instead, he raised his hand, ready to draw out his power and deliver another blow to Roman, enough to make him realize he was outclassed.

 ** _BANG!_** Instead, he was met with an arrow hitting his chest. Or something _akin_ to an arrow. Like the weapons the soldiers and knights had used on him moments after he had been reborn.

Except this one… pierced him, through his chest.

"AHAHAH! I knew that would work! Millionth times the charm!" Roman cackled for joy. Ganondorf shook his head, grimacing at the pain. Not enough to debilitate, but certainly a kind reminder that this man _did_ have strength. HE could go easy, but it would _not_ end well. "How about I put two more in you and we call it good? One for each eye to keep it even?" **_BANG-BANG!_** His cane jerked with the motions, but Ganondorf was prepared now.

 _TW-TWANG!_ They bounced off of his hand, glowing with the source of his power. He lowered it, letting the balls of steel fall to the monsters beneath them. At the same moment, the hole in his chest lighting afire, sealing itself, and making him whole again. And still, all Roman could do was cackle.

"Damn, guess you really are a monster." The accusation was unappreciated. "You get that way from fighting them too long?" Not in the slightest.

"I became such from living among them," Ganondorf answered honestly, even as he put his hands forward once more. He wouldn't kill Roman… he couldn't… but he could do _much_ more. "Just one more thing we share." The words were enough to silence the thief.

 ** _BOOOM!_** _"GAAAuuUUU_ _ **AUUUGHGH!**_ _"_ And if not, Ganondorf barreling into him did.

So fast and with such strength, the ruined forest and monsters beneath them were lost in a flash.

* * *

Atlas wasn't a peaceful place, not when you went beyond the walls. That was a lesson her father had taught her while she was young, and one that Weiss took to heart all her life. Her father was many horrible things, but she could not forget nor deny that he was correct about their privilege to live inside the bordered walls and tall towers of Atlas. She only took issue with who belonged there.

Nevertheless, he taught her young still on how to defend herself. Though she took to her own tasks in order to be strong enough for Hunter Academy, he taught her at an early age how to fence, how to use her Glyphs, how to modify her Dust. And when Winter joined the military, she took over her lessons, as her father instead taught her how to run the company. Not that she believed she'd be having time for it in the upcoming days.

The lessons stuck though, on what was appropriate and what was necessary. How to manage what was before her and how to defend herself. Always recognizing that danger was around her, and making sure she knew how to defend herself.

Though she was no longer in Atlas, though she now stood atop the high walls of the Beacon Dorms with her teammates, friends, and dozens of other students, she couldn't help the familiar feeling from crawling up her spine and seeding itself within her.

Especially as she gazed over a see that was staining itself red, with night crawling across the sky, clouds to mirror the waters, and lightning more like freshly spilled crimson veins arcing through them all. So many things about this were wrong, that she couldn't even _begin_ to list what was going on with them.

"Holy Shit! Oh MY GOD! DO YOU SEE THAT!" "There's _no way_ you can miss it!" "What are we going to do!?" "Is it the Grimm?!" "It's Ganondorf! I-I-It has to be that guy!" "He's going to kill us all!" "We gotta run! _We can't stay here!"_

The voices were screaming all around her, and Weiss bared her teeth as she listened, she knew they were terrified. _She_ was terrified, but their lack of decorum _and_ tendency to act like civilians without a lick of defense was more than just degrading, it was _distracting._ Even if she was… even if she _knew_ how it felt and she… she agreed… Wiess growled more than sighed, putting hands through her hair and losing care that she was ruining her image.

"They're right about that last one." She sucked in a breath, before she felt Blake's hand on her shoulder. Her teammate, _partner_ , hidden in the Magic Cloak to hide herself. They wouldn't accept her if she was revealed as a _Twili_. "We _can't_ stay here. There's no way we can."

"I know that," Weiss growled back, grinding her teeth and sure she was going to need something to replace them soon. "What I _don't_ know is what we _can_ do. Let alone where we can go." She was sure something had to be done, but if they went to the wrong location, people were going to die… she couldn't even account for how many were likely already gone.

All those on Patch, all those who were caught in that sea… there was no way it was anything but damning to be in there… Someone was crying near her, and she didn't dare turn to look. She didn't want to remind herself of the _appropriate_ action for a _civilian_ to take. She was a _huntress_ now. She had helped Link deal with those terrors… her friends had dealt with the Ancient Grimm… and they were facing off against monsters.

She couldn't duck her head and cry. Her father wouldn't let her. She was a Schnee, so she had to _act_.

"We need to go to Vale." She spoke clearly for herself, more than anyone else. It still got eyes on her. She turned to see them, her remaining teammate behind her, her friends, and everyone who was listening. "We have to go to Vale _now_."

"Schnee, I know both your teammates lost their mind, but can you _please_ not join them?" She ignored Dove's barb. He was just as frightened as the rest of them. "Don't ignore me! I'm serious! What… What are we even supposed to _do_ against something like that! I'm handy with my weapon, but cutting the _sky's_ a little beyond me!"

"I'm not _worried_ about the sky!" She was, just as she was worried that the others were looking at her. Cardin's team, Penny, Jaune's team, Pyrrha and him close together. Important, but not relevant. "At this moment there are _very_ likely to be monsters in those waters. _Something_ is turning it red and I _know_ the regular popular of Vale will be woefully underprepared when it reaches the shore!"

"And you think _we've_ got a chance?" Russel laughed. He was alone, but he wasn't even humoring himself. "Dove's right, Schnee. This is _way_ beyond anything we've trained for. Guerilla warfare in the forest? Mountain visits? Cave dives? That we can do. _Mother Nature having a_ PERIOD _on us!_ " She growled at him again for the horrid language at this moment, but chalked it off. Punishment could come later. "Unless you've got a plan _right now_ , I say we jump ship and head as far _inland_ as possible!" There were sounds of agreement for him, and Weiss was _annoyed_ that Penny looked to be affirming him.

"You do that _Russel_ , and you show the people that they don't _deserve_ our trust!" He looked no more convinced by the words. She had more. "We were _never_ trained for a specific event! Our entire purpose as Hunters has been to be ready for the impossible. Impossibilities that occur _every single day_. I'm not going to lie to you and say that this is normal, but if _this_ gets worse, do you think there's _anything_ you'll be able to claim to help with? If you run now, will _anyone_ ask you for help again?"

That got him. She knew it would. Even if they were all here for a different reason, there was one common underlying threat for making someone a Hunter. They _wanted_ to help, the popular at large a single family, it was always one of them.

"As I said, there is _terror_ in those waters, and we have to do something to make sure Vale survives." Perhaps that was too far, but it wasn't something she could back down on now. "I know, _we all know_ , the governments and the Headmaster are going to be doing something about the source. The Military is already lining up shots!" She pointed above them as she spoke.

Next to the clouds of blood red and the darkening sky, it was easy to look past the airships floating above them, all the splendor of Atlesian technology at their fingertips, and rightfully being aimed for what were to be the sources of the menace coming. She knew what it was, _all present did_ , but she couldn't say it out loud… not when they were depending on _Ganondorf_ to do something about it.

" _We_ , on the other hand, need to make sure the civilians are safe, because if anything happens to them… then it doesn't matter if we are able to stop all of this." She _hated_ now how quiet the rooftop got. Even more so when it was the far-off crackling and boom of thunder, thunder that _didn't_ act or look like any kind of proper thunder and lightning she could imagine. It was supposed to be light like the sun, not colored from corpses… "Besides, we have someone here who can help us figure out what it is we need to do."

"You?" Someone called, none of her friends. She didn't look for them.

"No," she responded. "The former assistant of General Ironwood. Someone who, thankfully, never returned their access codes to the Military when she was done." The murmur of the crowd directed itself to the obvious suspect, her red hair looking around in confusion, even as Cardin stood tall behind her.

"Me?" She pointed at herself. "Friend Weiss, I understand that I am the only member of Atlas's military to join Beacon in the past semester cycle, but I do not believe that I have any current security codes or access to any relevant terminals." Weiss bit back her groan, even as she felt Blake's hand on her. Her sole teammates present would keep her calm.

"I know you do, you don't have to hide it," Weiss returned, making Penny blink at her in confusion. "It was how you were able to tell us about what was happening in the Tower when Ganondorf first appeared. It was how you _warned_ us about what was going on with the Faunus during the _burning_." Blake's hand was stronger on her shoulder, as was the murmuring around them. Penny's confusion was mounting, as she was unable to sense a hint when it was thrown at her face. Thank the blessed gods Cardin had a change of heart and mind recently, enough to put a hand on her shoulder and make her look up at him.

"She's right, Penny," the tallest team leader spoke. "You've been helping us out a lot with it, and the rest of the guys and I thank you for it. But right now, this ain't the time to keep the cards hidden. Right now, _you should help us patch into the terminals and communication of the Atlas Military_ , so we can help figure out where to go." Though he lacked intact, perhaps that was what Penny needed.

She saw the droid shift her head this way and that, as if trying to sift out the meaning in the words, only for her bright emerald eyes to blink rapidly in surprise when she got it. Only took her a bit of time, but she did manage it. Good girl. But the booming thunder and encroaching tides was making the possibility of thanks and congratulations a difficult one to offer.

"Ah! Yes! Um… please allow me time to-" she was silenced, however, by Cardin putting a hand over her mouth, gently. Even Weiss felt confusion race through her, until the boy spoke again.

"Penny, it's okay. I get your nervous," his _inopportune_ timing came in. "But maybe you should _spare the details of how and why_ , and just tell us what's going on." Weiss retracted her sentiments. The boy was clearly learning fast on how to be a leader, seeing as he was aware of the quirks of his teammates. The android, normal girl to everyone else, nodded.

"Yes, right, thank you Team Leader Cardin." The boy sighed as Penny started to work. Weiss wasn't quite sure if she truly needed to bring out the Scroll for any reason, but she was glad at the girl did. Otherwise there would doubtlessly be confusion, they didn't need any more of that. She did tap on it, with the murmurings of the crowd around them.

AS she worked, or faked to as it were, Weiss spied on the faces she recognized. Cardin's team was near him, with Dove and Russel closer to the door than anywhere else. Jaune's team was facing the water, or were, but were now staring at Penny as she worked. The rest were starting to crowd them, but many more still looking out at the encroaching landscape. It was impossible not to, as even Weiss felt her skin prickle at the sight of it. It wasn't just not difficult; it was _impossible_ to believe there was nothing lurking in those waters. The sky was no less worrying.

"The Atlas Military is currently setting up stations for battery shots at the edges of Vale Bay, aiming for approximately two kilometers away from the shore line." That was good, at least the knowledge she had. "All non-combative aircrafts are currently being used to evacuate citizens as well as injured personal form the city."

"Wait, people are already hurt!?" "She means from hospitals, dumbass." The conflict resolved itself, thankfully, though she didn't know from who.

"Is there anyone in the city that is able to help?" Weiss asked first. That had to be the priority, because if her military lessons had drilled in anything, it was that cannons and bombs were good for dispersant and thinning, but never for finishing. Only a bullet or blade was sufficient to guarantee a kill. "Anyone at all?"

"… I am receiving records that all drones and operators present for displays are being deployed at choke points for likely arrival of Grimm, but currently only Hunters resident to Vale and retired personal are able to help. All other efforts are being focused for larger Grimm activity." Larger… the word brought a sense of dread to her gut.

"What the hell is larger?!" Someone else yelled out again. She heard Nora sniffle with Ren doing something to calm her down. The boy, however, continued to yell. "The freaking _sea is red_ and they're holding back to attack something else?! What the hell else is out there that they can't get off of their ships to help us out with!?"

**_ROOOOOOOAR!_ **

Weiss never loathed nor loved convenient timing more than now. Especially because it answered all questions… while striking fear into their hearts. She knew it was, because it was to her as well.

Because from the waters, like a mighty titan, a behemoth of a Grimm was rising. Something that even perhaps a _league_ away, from pushing forth from the surface of the water. Its large snout breaking the surface, pulling up the water like a plate before it crashed the blood red liquid down again. Lightning split the air above it as it towered further up, rising from the waters as if awoken from an ancient slumber… and Weiss couldn't discount the possibility that it very likely just was.

Something that massive resting at the bottom of the ocean, woken up by _literal giants of magic and might_ , fighting on Patch, and making the water run red with blood and evil. What was a better alarm for a titan of a Grimm than that? Weiss couldn't think of one. All she could think of was what it coming out of the water meant.

"Leviathan…. That's… that's a _Leviathan!_ " Eyes turned to the dark-haired woman, dressed in red and staring out at the waters. Her gawking features, elegant Weiss could admit, shook briefly before she faced them all again. "Forgive me I… I have studied the different forms of Grimm as a hobby and I just… I recognized it. That's a Leviathan, an ancient monster that was supposed to be extinct. At least, the last confirmed kill was dozens of years ago, done by no less than a hundred Hunters in a careful assault at its lair." Weiss swallowed on nothing at the words.

"You're kidding, right?" Someone else asked. No, _Jaune_ asked. "That's… you gotta be kidding. We've already got everything else happening and now… you're saying that's some ancient legend of a monster?" The woman nodded towards him again, unfazed by the clear panic the boy wore. Pyrrha gripped his hand harder, but it didn't appear to do much good.

"I am, I'm… I've sure of it. There are no other aquatic Grimm of such size or volume." The woman's eyes turned back to the Grimm, as did everyone else. Watching the towering black creature start to stomp through the water, its legs causing waves that would likely wipe out ships if they were nearby. "Tall enough to embrace a mountain, or roll over and demolish a city."

Her language was flowery, and Weiss could get why. Something that gigantic… you couldn't describe it accurately with just a threat level. An Ursa was a threat. This was… that thing was a disaster.

**_BOOM! BOOM!BOOM! BOOOM!_ **

And the Military was shooting at it, _with every ship that Weiss could put her eyes on_. The cacophony of noise that it let out overpowered even the explosion of lightning that shot through the air. Explosive rounds rained on the Leviathan leagues away, hitting its darkened flesh and tearing into it with a power _no one_ in Beacon could even dare to match. Hitting the beast like that, shaking the air with the strikes, it made Weiss stare on in awe.

**_ROOOOOOOAR!_ **

Awe that warped to terror as all the Leviathan did was roar a challenge in return.

"Okay _that!_ " Dove yelled out again. "That is a _perfect_ reason to run away!" The cries that agreed with him were much louder than before. "The Military can do _crap_ against that thing, and that's… that thing is just _approaching the city!"_

"Then what do you think its going to do when it gets there!" Pyrrha shouted now. Everyone hushed, as much as they could with the cries of the monster and the ships above them, compounded by the lightning around them. "If that is in the waters, then there is _going_ to be far worse! If we stay back here and hide like Weiss said you were trying to do, then the people in Vale _will suffer!"_

"Do you have any ideas on how to fight that?!" Someone else yelled. She could tell Pyrrha was getting ready to say something else, but her partner, her _team leader_ , stepped in for her.

"We don't have to," he quickly spoke, only to add onto it. "I mean, it's _gotta_ be taken down, but no one's expecting us to do that! They've got the Military on it, so that's good. But _we_ can handle the smaller fry, the rest of the Grimm. I mean, I've seen an Ancient Grimm before, and there are _hundreds_ of other ones around it!" Weiss had almost forgotten that he had.

"Arc's right," Cardin spoke up. "Last time we saw something like that, there were enough small fry Grimm to qualify for abandoning a town. All those hit the city at once, while they're focused on the big guy… no one's gonna last." The murmurs kept up with it, and Weiss stole it. She had to, as her father taught her, for a Schnee's job was to lead.

"That's where we come in." She spoke up once more. Blake clapped her shoulder, hidden behind her, as she spoke. "We've all trained, we're all in teams, we can help protect the citizens and slow the Grimm down. We can keep Vale safe while the Military and professional Hunters handle the rest."

"How do you think we do that?" A silver-haired youth spoke up. Weiss recognized him, the boy that had fought Pyrrha. Mercury if she remembered correctly. "Last I checked, you're no pro either." She held back the remark of when he had last checked. That was far less important a quip than an answer was.

"I think we can do that because we've all run drills and have at least survived _this_ long with Ms. Goodwitch's _training program._ " The agreement that flourished was likely one the teacher would be proud to see. "And _I_ have studied the choke points and detainment procedures of Atlas Military for near a _decade_. I can incorporate that and help build a wall at Vale's harbor. _We_ can."

"Yeah! We can!" Nora shouted with her. The way she stood to her tallest, puffing out her chest and looking downright like the Valkyrie she was name sake named after… it was a sight to see. "We can stop those meanies from getting close and make sure everyone else is safe! It's what we're good at!" Weiss didn't let it stop there.

"It's what _most_ of us are good at," she added, earning confusion from others. "Others here I _know_ are better at stealth and hunting, picking off the weaklings and distracting enemies. Even more among us are great for support, suppressive fire. We have enough here to build a literal DMZ point. All we need to divide our teams, _get to Vale_ … and defend the city from a literal invasion."

"I reiterate, _how do you think we're going to manage that?!_ " She was starting to get sick of Dove, but he was getting enough agreement from the crowd. "Even if… even if we _do_ go down there, how are we supposed to help? We're not the cops, we can't just… I don't know, throw our weight and say we're here to help!"

"Instructor Goodwitch has been given permission by Vale Council to deploy all present Hunters and students for emergency relief. Penny's words were like the rolling thunder, though any silence it made was kept away by the roaring Grimm and the Military laying down shots. "Currently, Bullheads are present for deployment and others are in route to Beacon Pads for arriving evacuees."

That was… surprising, but good, _great_ actually.

"Well okay, that's good enough for me!" Jaune, of all people, shouted out. Pyrrha looked at him skeptically, but he wore a bright smile on his face as he spoke. "We've gotta go help, and now we've got permission to! Can't exactly say we're good at the job if we run away now, can we?"

"Like hell am I letting you go out first, Arc," Cardin shot back. His grin was anything but malicious. "Sides, everyone knows I can take a hit. You'll get shot halfway across the city if one of those things slaps you."

"If we need weight, I offer my own," Yatsu now, the upper classman team walking over. Perhaps the only person present who could put the CRDP team leader down in height. "I may endure much, and I will not allow myself to be idle in the face of terror."

"None of us are," _his_ leader spoke. "And its like you said Schnee, but some of us in a good spot, and we'll lay down fire. Trust me, me and my girl will mow down the Grimm like rats in a tunnel." No metaphor was more disturbing then the sight still out at the bay. The cheers that came with it were just as loud.

"I can assist with recon," Ren spoke up, some agreeing with him. "Against numbers I am weak, and I have no tools to fire, but I can draw a crowd and protect those in need. I can save those who are unable to escape."

"Heck yeah we can!" Some other boy shouted. "Hell, we all can! We can't let a couple of teams run out there by themselves, not if we wanna keep calling ourselves Hunters!" The cheer that came with it was far louder, and it was starting to drown out the terror of the battle over their heads and at the harbor

Then… this was it. They were going to put their members on the front line, while others gave them support fire, and even more looked for civilians to help. Simple, but adequate, all that they could do with so little time to prepare, and the terror of another land reaching up to them. Weiss was breathing heavily, keeping herself calm as it happened. She wasn't sure in which group she'd belong… but she was going. _They all were_.

Weiss grinned at the rooftop, watching everyone nod and agree, slapping one another and embracing. They had a plan, they had a path, and they had the backing of Beacon with them. They could do something. It was… it wasn't what she thought she'd be doing.

"It's okay to be nervous," Blake returned behind her, like a fairy on her shoulder. "My dad always said that when you gave species, it didn't matter how scared you were, as long as everyone else thinks your fearless." She grinned at her friend, suddenly realizing how much Tatl and Tael must have meant to Link. Her heart when out to them all, and her burned teammate hidden in the cloak of magic.

"Your father sounds like a brilliant man," she returned easily. "But we can't depend on him right now. It's like I said… we have to do something, and staying here will do nothing."

"How long until the Bullheads get here!" Nora suddenly shouted, at the edge of the roof and… looking like she was getting ready to launch herself. From the line of other students near her, she wasn't alone. Even Yatsu and Dove were near her. "I wanna smash something and the sooner the better!" Cheers met her words.

"Two Bullheads are currently unloading and preparing for mass transition to Vale Harbor," Penny recited… without looking at her Scroll. More practice for later. No one caught on for now. "Another is in route with evacuees totaling at 25 count." That was it? The Bullheads should have been able to fit much more? Perhaps it was a panic, it didn't matter. They had to work with it.

"Then we'll load up as many into there as we can." Weiss took charge again, no one getting in her way this time. "Keep to your teams and help people get to the Bullheads even faster! Recon members, you'll get the last bullhead, so help get everyone out of the Bullhead first and quickly!"

"Hey, why are we last?" Someone else yelled, Weiss didn't know, or cared. Her answer came, thankfully, from Cardin.

"Cause unless _you_ want to jump in front of the Grimm first, you'll make sure the citizens get out last!" Not eloquent, but doable. The ruckus had to be dealt with. Time as off the essence, and it was counting down quickly.

"The sooner you can establish a means of protection for them, the _more help_ you'll be in Vale!" Weiss added on. "Expeditated experience, but something you _will_ need! Listen to them and figure out what is happening! You're the support, _you're the recon_ , you'll be telling us what is happening!" She had to yell now, because the explosions were getting louder. The engines of the Bullheads, no short distance away, were starting to fire. "And the front-line fighters, who ever you are, _do not_ hesitate to partner up! Don't let your backs be exposed, find someone you trust, someone you're rivals with, _anyone_ who you know will keep you alive! And support, find the choke points, find a building top before a short street, find _anywhere_ that the Grimm have to be funneled, and _let loose!_ "

The agreements popped up with her words one after the other, people nodding, cheering, and letting it all go. They were listening to her; they were _respecting her_ … They were going to do as she ordered, so they could defend their home. The joy was running through Weiss in ways she didn't think this situation would allow. But she didn't let that stifle it. Fearless, just as Blake said.

"Now before deploy, remember why we are here! We are Beacon, we are Hunters, and we will _BEAT THE GRIMM!_ " The boy screamed the words, and everyone else joined with him.

Weiss wouldn't say she joined Cardin's scream, only the joy that she had helped push them to this… and they were going to do this. She only prayed it would be enough.

Hopefully Ruby would come back to more than a ruined home.

* * *

Grimm were nothing new to Ruby. They weren't new to _anyone_ who even wanted to imagine being a Hunter. She had studied them at Signal, and even before _then_ she had fought them in the forests of Patch. There weren't a _lot_ of them, but there were some. She had her dad and sister and even Uncle Qrow to help her, but they were still there, and she still knew how to deal with them.

Since then though, the monsters had been getting stronger, or at least more of them. She was told by Yang it was because there was more misery near Vale, which brought more Grimm. Patch was just too peaceful for it, so the Grimm they fought were just… well, Qrow called them mice that were eaten by rats. That made sense, or at least she thought it could.

That wasn't true anymore. _Oh no_. Now it was _just_ the opposite.

Ruby had seen monsters. _Lots and lots_ of monsters. But she had _never_ seen so many of them before. There were Ursa and Chimera and Manticores and _oh my!_

"DUCK!" Ruby shouted as she spun with Crescent Rose outstretched. The shrill cry of the woman came as she chopped through a Beowolf's head, sending it into the ground and turning into mist, but not fast enough. Certainly not doing a lot with the _hundreds_ of other monsters trying to take over with it. "Duck AND run!" Ruby emphasized the point.

The woman didn't even not towards her as she did as was told, turning on her heels and keeping hands over head, as if hat would keep the monsters off of her. She doubted it. **BANG!** Not without Crescent Rose firing one of her custom 0.50 caliber rounds out, turning two of the approaching Hornets into chow. That just left… _hundreds more_.

"Dang it! Shoot!" Ruby yelled out, even as she jumped back. Her senses were going _haywire_ , or what felt like it. There was danger literally _everywhere she turned_. If it wasn't someone about to be pulled out by an Ursa's mouth, then it was a Nevermore swooping down to eat them, or it was a wyvern coming up from the waters and trying to drag them in. _Oh yeah! She had forgotten about that!_

Petals exploded around her as she shot for the pier again, a quarter of a mile away, there in a second, and sliding to a stop as she reappeared in a shower of petals. The head of a wyvern falling away, seconds away from chomping down on a man covering his child. That was _not_ okay. He looked at her, terrified as screams echoed around them, but nodded as he ran away. She almost wished he _hadn't_ because that was more time to waste.

Ruby panted as she kept swinging, and kept firing, _never_ holding still. It was hard… mainly because she knew _exactly_ where she was. She knew it, but it looked _nothing_ like it should. That was probably half the reason everyone was screaming.

These were the docks. This was where almost _every ship_ came in to Patch. It was _a lot_ smaller than what Vale had, but it was still _really big._ So big that Ruby remembered getting lost here when she was a kid and her dad had to spank her because she asked to get lost again. She didn't like _that_ part, but it was fun to explore. The large metal docks that ran out into the water, the raised platforms for Bullhead parking, and even the store fronts selling Dust for refueling.

They were all being overrun and destroyed.

There was Dust shop that she visited a lot, if only to see if they ever sold Fuel dust at discount so she could try and mix it with Crescent Rose's ammunition. The owner had given her recommendations for _other_ stores, and he had been nice to her. Now the store was torn out from its supports, the roof falling in, and a pair of Manticores screaming on top of it, and others were running away. **BANG!** Ruby took care of one of them, before jumping back as her senses struck.

She turned to see one of the nearby Bullheads, the one that was outfitted for only Patch movement. It couldn't handle long distance because it had a smaller fuel tank, and tended to use more energy with ignition, rather than constant motion and travel. It was what she and Yang had taken for trips around Patch, even to just camp in the woods with Uncle Qrow. There was a Wyvern pulling it into the sea. There was also someone trying to crawl out of it, screaming as he almost splashed into the _blood red sea water_.

Ruby was there in less than a second, grabbing him and putting the head of Crescent Rose, blade folded, into the eye of the serpent that was trying to eat him and the ship. **BANG!** She shot. It roared, and she was gone with the man in hand. They landed only a hundred meters or so away, but enough time to see the Bullhead fall into the ocean, the Wyvern with it. It wasn't enough, _not nearly enough!_

Because Ruby could still feel someone else in trouble, _hundreds and hundreds more_. Nearby the candy store she got her treats when Uncle Qrow came to visit, but the larger cargo ships that were docked and unable to leave in short notice, and even the ships that _had_ managed to leave, but were left defending themselves from the Grimm that were all but _birthing_ themselves from the water.

The young huntress bit her lip in aggravation of it all. Her head was _pounding_ , and she didn't know what to do or where to got make it stop. There were just… just _way too many_.

"If only Yang or Dad were here," Ruby muttered, even as she unfolded Crescent Rose's blade, starting to run at a pack of Ursa that were barreling down the streets. She could _feel_ where their claws were going to be, and she was fast enough to dodge between them. "This would be a lot easier." But they weren't because dad was _hurt bad_ and Yang was… she was with him. She deserved to be there.

Dad had gotten hurt _really really_ bad, and… and everyone else here was going to end up the same unless she kept fighting. Even if she was getting tired. She couldn't stop.

 **BANG! BANG!** She fired and rocked Crescent Rose twice over, body bending as she avoided _more_ of the monsters jumping at her. She could _sense them_ , and she was using it to make sure she didn't get hit. If she got hit even a little… then she'd get a lot more. There was _no way_ she could wait for her Aura to let her recover now… not when it felt like there wasn't anything left on the whole _island_ to help her.

The sky was still black as night, the clouds swirling red, and the sea flowing crimson. It was already enough to make some people just give up. Just like... the man who wasn't saying anything _as one of those creepy Not-Grimm were running at him!_

"No!" She yelled, turning to petals again and barreling forwards. Her feet contacted the beast before the rest of her body formed, its _way_ too long and gnarly jaw spinning as it was sent careening into anther shop. _Another_ store she didn't remember and was already ruined beyond recognition. Didn't matter right, now she couldn't sense anything. "H-Hey! Hey get up! You gotta run!" Ruby was screaming at the man. But he just looked back up at her, tears spilling down his face.

"Why? What's the point…" That was the first thing to make her freeze since she started fighting. "This is the end of the world. This is… w-we're all going to die… I just want to end quickly." Was he… _oh my god_ , he _was_ giving up!

"Don't say that!" Ruby _ordered_ what she could, screaming it. _WHOOSH!_ _ **BANG!**_ But mostly because she had to tear through a Nevermore that was swooping towards them, before shooting the monster that was trying to crawl its way out of the store. Its arm was blown off, sending it howling backwards, loud enough to _almost_ overtake the rest of the Grimm. Almost, but not enough to be louder than the roar of the Ursa as they started stampeding forwards. _So many of them!_ "Th-There's still hope! Y-You can't just… don't give up just cause it's hard!"

Ruby yelled that before her instincts sent her careening forward again. There had to have been a _dozen_ Grimm that she shot past, stopping only when her feet skidded to a halt beneath an Ursa Major. **BANG!** With enough time to send an anti-material round up into its skull, supported with the butt of Crescent Rose tight into the concrete.

So tight, in fact, that she had to let go of it to dodge a claw that swung at her. Two flips later, and she realized she should have taken Blake's advice to carry a secondary weapon. Because she was fighting with nothing, just _dodging_ instead. Through the Ursa as they started to try and pile onto her, jumping on one another to try and get to her.

But her new Semblance, _thank you Impa_ , kept her one step ahead, running past them all. Through them at a few points, but… she wasn't killing them. And they _kept coming_. Her senses were getting louder and her head pounding more and more and the claws… th-they were getting closer! _NO!_

She shattered into petals again, throwing herself at Crescent Rose, grabbing it before barreling past them. The blade of her baby hit the ground, dragging behind her as she stilled herself from movement. It left her right next to the man she had saved… and who was still on his knees, barely even recognizing her there.

"Y-You can't give." Her breath came out as a whisper. Above the roars of the monsters around her, Ruby Rose roared herself. " _I'm not going to give up!_ You can't give up either!" She grabbed him as she said it _, ignoring_ the feeling she got as monsters were approaching her.

Instead, she barreled towards the docks, stopping only to throw the man forward. She didn't know if he had Aura or not. She really hoped he did, because he hit the wall of a ship hard enough to rock it. But maybe that wasn't him. It could have just as easily been the Grimm that were in the water, _swimming in it_. It looked caustic enough to melt skin, and the Grimm were just… _crawling_ out of it.

Her silver eyes _pounded_ behind her skull, making her shut them tightly, but it didn't stop her. She started to run back to Patch, breathing out more than in, looking for anywhere else she could go, _anyone_ she could help. She aimed Crescent Rose and fired, almost _randomly_. She was _thankful_ it made so many bad sensations fade. But not all of them. Not nearly.

Even worse though were the ones that faded _without her there_.

They were… they were killing people, and she wasn't saving them all. She wasn't… she wasn't doing enough! She clenched her baby, Crescent Rose, until her knuckles were as white as her mother's cape. Her mother, the ceremonial grave and her belongings buried on this island, this island being _overrun and torn apart_.

She wasn't doing enough… but she couldn't stop. _Summer_ didn't stop, and either would Ruby.

" _Come on!_ " She yelled out as loud as she could, standing in front of one pier and _taunting_ the Grimm. There were _so many_ of them. No matter how many she killed, it looked like they were pulling a Hydra. Kill one and two more would rise. It was just… it wasn't _time for her to give up!_ "I'll keep fighting! I _won't stop fighting!_ " Because she was the _hero!_

Sure, maybe an evil man said it. Maybe someone who even Saria said was responsible for _so much_ horrible stuff back in Link's homeland that he had killed _a lot_ of his friends. Maybe someone who had… burned Blake and revealed the rest of the White Fang but… but if he called her a hero, that meant he _knew_ she was capable of doing good. This wasn't the time to be spiteful towards a villain. This was the _one time_ to prove him right.

And her Crescent Rose in hand, breath panting hotter than Yang's flames, muscles sorer than a full-day marathon, she made sure she was ready to fight, even as the Grimm roared.

" _HUUUUUAAAAA_ _ **AAAAAAGH!**_ " But that… wasn't the Grimm.

The air stilled, even the _Grimm_ did, when the roar ran through the skies. Ruby's senses _flared_ making her look up at… what she both expected and loathed. She was only thankful that so many in Patch were taking the lull to run to the boats and Bullheads, loading up while she and the rest of the Grimm, _somehow_ , felt what was happening above them.

The Grimm may not have realized it, _stupid as they were_ , but Ruby knew who screamed. She knew it as soon as she saw it, bleary silver eyes recognizing the figures in the air. She just _hated_ the fact she didn't realize one of them could fly.

But she was thankful to see Ganondorf still fighting Roman with that creepy mask.

 ** _BOOM! BOOOM!_** Blows were being delivered hard enough to shake the ground Ruby was standing on. They had gone from fighting by her house to hear in _almost_ as fast as she had, but she wasn't nearly as strong as them. **_WHAM!_** Ruby winced, letting out a small cry at that one.

Nope, she _definitely_ wasn't strong enough to punch someone so hard the _clouds above were blown away_. Good thing he hit up. With another _Whoosh_ of air, the cape of Ganondorf was gone, flying higher into the air. Ruby lost track of them, _fast_. So fast that she couldn't even see Roman's white suit against a black sky. That… seemed bad.

But that wasn't what was important. Okay, it was… but not to her, _not right now_. Her job was to help people, and she had to _keep helping!_ While the Grimm were still distracted now was a good moment.

She saw a set of the _messed up Not-Grimm_ looking up. Those guys were _way past_ just scary. That made them a good first target! **BANG!** She let a bullet tear through one, the other three nearby looking at the creature that had fallen before letting out a roar, golden glowing eyes bearing down on her with slobber falling from their gaping jaws, extended claws scratching and _tearing_ through the ground. Kay, still scary… and they were focused on her. That was… good.

Ruby pulled the pole of Crescent Rose up, staring with furrowed brow at the monsters that were running towards her. She was just going to wait for her Semblance… then she'd be able to weave through them and-

 ** _BOOOOOOOOOOM!_** She was blown back by the sudden explosion of air.

Her training, not her Semblance, helped her to right herself quickly. Her arms spread out, slowing her momentum, just before she was able to see where she was facing. Equilibrium tended to be thrown when up became down. Ruby's body flipped again to put her feet down first, letting them hit the ground and _drag_. She'd _need_ new boots after this, because her soles were _not_ going to survive it.

But that _wasn't_ important. What was important was… _whatever_ caused that explosion. And it _was_ an explosion, with all that dust, debris, and people screaming. Ruby saw _two_ ships take off, engines roaring as they tore through the blood red sea. _Good!_ But not good enough.

" _Is that a ten count?! Let's get a judgement call!"_ Not as bad as that.

Semblance flaring, Ruby grabbed her cloak, raising it up to keep the sudden _whip_ of debris filled air rushing past her. The Grimm _howled_ at it. Maybe they were hurt, or maybe they were cheering, Ruby didn't care. If they were docile, that was good.

Roman Torchwick's back facing her, horned rainbow mask still on her face, and looking at a collapsed figure in the stone, however was _not_. He was the _greater_ of two evils, right now at least.

"The air goes still, the referee's got his hand in the air~," Roman _cackled out_. " _That's 10…"_ He started to count down, throwing his arm down. **_BOOOM!_** And slamming his cane into Ganondorf. Hard enough to make the ground crack around them. Like freaking _explosions_.

 _"9…"_ _ **BOOOM!**_ The Grimm _howled_ , and Ruby was trying to figure out _what to do!_ Could she attack Roman? Would that help? Her Semblance… was telling her to _stay the hell away!_ Bad word for a bad situation!

 _"8…. 7…"_ **_BOOM! BOOM!_** Two more hits, and the giant man's body _bounced_ with the hits. Ruby started to look around, _rapidly_. There had to be _something_ she could do. E-Even if it put her in danger, she… th-this had to be one of those times when she kicked logic to the curb and did _something!_

 _"6…"_ _ **BOOM!**_ If she didn't do something then Ganondorf… a-a-a-and by extension _Link_ were going to be- " _5…_ " **_BOO-_**

" _ENOUGH!_ " The sound was cut short with… of course… another shout. One that made the vibrations of Roman's cane sound _dull_. Ruby wasn't all that surprised by it. Not really, or at least she shouldn't have been.

Given how monstrous Ganondorf was, it _shouldn't_ have surprised her with how easily, how fast, or how _efficiently_ he grabbed the cane in mid swing. She hadn't even _seen_ him move from collapsed-and-being-pummeled to on-one-knee-and-looking-up-with-wrath. But now that she saw it, she could _not_ forget it. Like her dad and getting angry… but _a million_ times worse.

Because her dad angry didn't make his eyes glow with a golden fire that made the Grimm step back. He didn't rise until he was _towering_ over her like she was a little baby. He, despite being an Ex-Hunter and in good shape, did _not_ look like the reinforced wall of an Atlas cruiser, and feeling like the end of one of their cannons.

Ganondorf did.

"Do you know _why_ you have had such minor fortune against me?" The question wasn't responded to by Roman. The thief trying to pull his cane out of Ganondorf's grip. He looked like Ruby when she was trying to pull a branch off of a tree. All effort and no reward. "Have you _imagined_ even… the possibility that I have been _going easy_ on you?" _Why would he do that!?_

"Sorry, didn't consider the impossible," Roman shot back, voice a lot calmer than Ruby's would be. Then again, Ruby wasn't a monster, a murder, or a thief. "Stuck to what made sense, like, you're an overzealous man who doesn't know how to have a good time. Can't you see we're just having fun? Hell, I'd say I was loosening you up _pret-ty well_ there. Heeeheeheehee" That… wasn't Roman, or all Roman. He sounded… like a child, even laughed like one. "heehehee- _GLRCH!"_ Up until Ganondorf's _other_ hand squeezed on his throat.

Then Roman Torchwick was just a flailing man with a weirdly powerful mask, held in the iron grip of Ganondorf. Ruby didn't need to remind herself. It was an impossible fact to ignore, staring at the menacing grin man, practically _burning shadows_ around him, especially through the sharp fiery gaze of his eyes.

Ganondorf _was_ a villain. Just… one who they had a common enemy with. That was all.

"I let you live, because there are only _two_ I promised to slay." Ruby knew them. At this point, _everyone_ did. "I thought you like me, corrupted by hate, and looking for a way to save you." The massive hand wrapped around Roman's neck, looking closer to Ruby grabbing a baby's wrist than a grown man holding another man by the neck. It was… just a drastically out of scale thing to see. "But now I see I was mistaken. _You_ are not corrupted by someone else's hate. No…"

Ruby shivered. She felt the _Grimm_ shiver. The people that were _supposed_ to be running just stared. She wanted to tell them to _hurry_ , but she couldn't even _breathe_. She couldn't, because her Semblance was going _crazy!_

"You're just a monster _wishing_ to be a man." Ganondorf said that as he drew back his other fist.

A fist Ruby sensed something so _horrible_ radiating off of she nearly collapsed to her knees. Instead, her feet sent her back, hitting an _Ursa_ as she tried to get away, the Grimm not even paying attention to her. She just got distance, got _away_ from it as she felt fires raging and literal shadows _burning_ with it! Whatever was in that hand, whatever that _golden triangle_ was… it was going to hurt.

 _"HHRRRRAAAAA_ _ **AAAAAAGH!**_ " And it did. **_BOOOOOOOM!_** Enough to make her head snap.

Snap like she'd been slapped from behind, sending her tumbling forward. She curled into a ball as she felt, the Grimm flying over her head and _hopefully_ , being killed by the shockwave alone. She _desperately_ hoped the people were alive. They _had_ to be. But she… she had to check! And looking at where Ganondorf and Roman stood… she didn't see much else. Ruby _wished_ there was a better way to say it. Ganondorf was the only one there, fist extended and the hand that _had_ been holding Roman open and holding nothing else. But where it was pointed... there was nothing left to see.

Shops, streets, the freaking _tree line and nature itself…_ it was like he had just _punched_ it out of existence. Holes where the buildings had been, the street torn up as if blasted by something _cataclysmic¸_ and… it just kept going. Ruby didn't want to look down the trail, but she didn't see the end of it, and she felt _nothing_ down the length of it. There was nothing there, or at least no threats.

Had Roman been… no, she could feel him… just on the other side of Patch. That was honestly good. Especially because Ganondorf must have sensed it as well. **_Boom!_** At least she took the monstrous villain jumping, hurdling himself into the air and out of sight, as a good sign he was heading that way… better than here at least. Far better.

Besides, there were still Grimm. There were still people. And she could still move. She _had_ to move.

Because the Grimm were moving again.

" _HEEEEEELP!_ " The scream came the same moment Ruby felt her senses flare. Crescent Rose let out steam, cooling its blade to reduce wear, as her silver eyes found the child who screamed. Alone, crawling away from one of those… _thing_ s. The things that _weren't_ Grimm… but looked it. It had its hand up _giant gnashing_ teeth out, and it was falling on her.

It, and half a dozen others. Ruby felt her senses _scream_ at her. She didn't have any reason to argue. Ganondorf _and_ Link could handle Roman. She'd handle the rest.

 **BANG!** Crescent Rose fired again, sending her careening forwards, just in time to save the child… she would be.

* * *

She had come here with Roman, because he was her partner. He was the person who had helped her without ever meaning to, and then treated her like a partner because of it. He didn't treat her like the monsters or fools that kept trying to take advantage of others, no matter _how_ many times he could be counted in that number.

Where he would swindle a drug dealer, only to convince the bookie that it was a legitimate transaction, she would be given equal shares without a Lien missing. Where he would snag the crates of Dust from shops and promise expedited delivery, only to cut the timing short so the messengers were shot, she would be given ample time to prepare and plan ahead, never leaving her in a sore spot. Not one he planned for at least.

She was the exception to almost all of his rules, and she had realized that _years_ ago. When and how she could only guess. _Why?_ That was the one she still had no answer for. Namely because she had stopped looking.

Everyone had an angle, Roman was no different. If anything, he had the _worst_ angles to follow. Neo did, too. Sure, she'd admit with a grin and bob of her head that they weren't as bad as his, or most of the criminals in Vale. A bit of rule, some comfort, maybe a bit of carnage on the side, but that would be it. They didn't need much.

But when that Cinder lady came around, when he had seen what _she_ could do and what she promised him, she knew she was bad news. Thing was, so did Roman. The _problem_ was, he knew what she'd do to him as soon as he said no. He'd already seen too much. So yes, was the only answer he could give. And she wasn't about to let him get dragged away. Maybe that was why he was kinder to her than most.

Because she could not only kick his ass, but she looked out for him. It was why he probably helped to look out for her. At each other's backs, it made it easier.

Right now, though, there was _nothing_ Neo Politan could do for Roman. Not like this.

 ** _BAM! BAM! BOOOOOM!_** Not when she was putting her Semblance on full force, gripping a nearby tree, just to keep herself from shaking off of the ground. Not when Roman was at the center of it all, and fighting that _thing_ of a monster. She knew it was supposed to be Ganondorf, one of Link's allies, enemies, whomever they were supposed to be… but she also knew he was… something else.

 **BAM!** It only became clearer when they were blown back to where she was hiding, or nearby it at least. Her Scroll was out again, just as ordered, and trying to record everything she saw. IT was like trying to record fireworks from up close.

Giant, dark, flaming balls of fireworks.

And worse yet, most of them being aimed at Roman.

 **BAM!** Neo _winced_ as she saw Roman slam into the ground, no fewer than a dozen of those bleeding screaming trees being turned into mulch by the blow. Maybe even more, but it was hard to tell with all the dirt. She had a second to realize he was getting up, **BOOOM!** Before Ganondorf slammed into him. _Hard_.

Hard enough that she _did_ shake off of the ground this time, her mismatched eyes looking at that beast of a man… towering over Roman. Normally, this was where she was supposed to step in. Put a knife in the back, put a sword in the eye, maybe even just shoot in him the knees so Roman can get kicks in. But she'd seen what he can do. She'd seen what he could _survive_. This was… this wasn't something she could just try and hope it would work. It _wouldn't_ work.

No… this was a fight Roman could fight alone, and had to. Because he had that power he'd stolen. Not even figurative power at this point. That mask… and the blade he broke to make it work… it was all that could fight Ganondorf now.

"You go _too far_ with your games, thief." **_WHAM!_** Or at least she hoped he could. Neo's faith in it was ruined with every punch Ganondorf made. That billowing seemingly flame-retardant cape waving every time he delivered a savage blow to Roman. That, and the way the ground cracked and trees bled and screamed even more. "Corrupted by the power is a thing I know well, but you seemingly _enjoy_ it. No second thoughts, no _worries_. Nothing that name you as a worthy holder of such _might!_ "

 ** _CRACK!_** The sound came with his foot now, slamming into Roman and kicking him into the air. At least before his body slammed into another four or five sets of trees, breaking the all over. Neo made tracks to follow, careful where she stepped and hating that her feet were filled with… whatever the goop was Roman had summoned. She hated even more how he was trying to right himself.

"You do not consider a drawback from your strength. You have no _concern_ for your deeds!" Ganondorf lectured as he was stalking forward. Neo… kept the camera on him. She didn't like to see Roman hurt… but he was a criminal. They both were. But Ganondorf was worse. _So much worse_. "Do you know _why_ I swore to only kill the murderers of the hero's allies? Do you know _why_ I swore to not bring death to those who wronged _me?!_ " His hand slammed into his chest, and Neo thought for a second he was wearing armor with the boom that came out of it.

Nope, he was just built that much closer to a brick shithouse. A literal unstoppable wall of burning shadows and strength. And he was stalking closer to Roman. Neo _needed_ him to stand… or else she was going to lose her own mind. Hard not to in a place like this.

"Because I _cannot_ swear to what is a threat and what is a joke while _my_ power is absolute!" That didn't make any sense. "I could _discern_ threats on my life as jokes or serious intent. I could _not_ fathom what may harm someone else or what could only make them laugh! When you are capable of _razing mountains_ , then the threat of a blade becomes a petty joke!" That… made sense.

What didn't make sense was watching Ganondorf hold out his hand and letting the flames start to surround them. The burning shadows of gold and darkness starting to form… something else in his grasp. Something so dense and sharp that Neo focused on it, watching as something starting to start at his palm, then grow out form the hilt. Hilt… on no. Neo knew what it was.

And it became all that clearer when the fire _forged_ a blade. A blade that started to lengthen from his palm, and seemingly without end. A thick blade with sharp edges, double-sided and etched with designs she _knew_ any collector would pay top Lien for. And it kept going and going… until it reached something else. Not a tip, because _that_ would make too much sense. No… the blade curved, and she recognized it.

It was the same one from the video Cinder sent to them, the one after she had stolen that _stupid golden blade_ from underneath the nose of that _stupid tall Schnee_. It was a curved blade that looked more akin to an execution's axe than an actual sword… and it was long, too. Long, big, and _easily_ enough to weight as much as she did thrice over.

And Ganondorf carried it like it was a twig, until he raised it above his head, glaring down at Roman.

"The hero was the first to show me the strength of a blade, and the _depths_ of that foreign rage," Ganondorf kept talking. Talking and… letting Roman get onto his knees! Neo was glad she was mute, unable to squeal with delight. Then he'd be able to make a plan! Roman was cunning like a snake, and Ganondorf was obviously so stupid as to give him a chance! "When I was still in the toils of ravaging lands not my own, and creating demons to _scourge_ those who remained, he challenged me without power. No power, but _endless_ courage."

Courage smurage, what did that matter? Cunning was where it was at, wisdom if she'd let herself get wrapped up in this ancient talking stuff. And Roman was all about being smart. Ganondorf could have his strength, because she _knew_ , at any moment, Roman was going to do something so strong and deprecating that it would not that not-so jolly green giant right off of his perch!

"So now you have _my_ blade hovering above you. Now you face another who has power comparable to yours. And the same from me to you." The monsters were screaming in the distance, and they weren't attacking her, thankfully. But they weren't attacking Ganondorf either. Could they feel fear? No, they _fed_ on it. "Do you consider now how weak you are? Do you recall now the _costs_ of this strength you vaunt so carelessly!?" His voice rose with the question.

"Actually…" But Roman was, too. And Neo grinned, hidden away still by her Semblance, just waiting for her partner in crime to do something so amazing that Ganondorf would fall over! Then she'd have her chance to help out! Maybe… or at least get a good picture of his head on a spike! "I wanna hear about how you're so different than me. I mean… yeah, I gotta better face under this thing," Roman spoke as he framed the rainbow horned mask he wore. Neo giggled, _knowing_ he was smiling underneath it. "But you were going on and on about _not_ killing. Least all I did was just make the trees scream, but I gotta say, what you did to the animals, that was a low blow."

The animals… the White Fang! The Faunus! Roman was trying to entrap Ganondorf! He did the same thing to several police officers before, getting them to let him go because she caught them on camera telling about how they gave better deals to more successfully criminals! He was going to dig Ganondorf a grave!

She made _absolutely sure_ the Scroll was recording it.

"The monsters, you mean?" Ganondorf asked, form still as a stone pillar and a flick away from dropping the sword. Couldn't forget that thing, or how it was in Roman's line of sight. "The people who not only killed the fairies of the hero, but bragged and excused the means? Those who disguised themselves as allies and orphans, only to steal and kill for self-benefit? You ask me what I did to them?" His question was cut short by Roman laughing. And coughing. Coughing was bad, because that meant some kind of blockage to the air way, which could be blood… which would be very bad.

"Y-Yeah… sort of…" Roman spoke on. He adjusted his cap, though Neo was just as impressed he was still wearing it. Her partner, one of a kind. "Actually, m-more specifically, about why you though… _doing_ that to them was alright? I-I mean, c'mon, one criminal to a mass-murderer, ya didn't exactly… g-give them a chance for… r-redemption there." But he didn't care about those things… but the general _public did_. Neo focused on Ganondorf.

The good bit was coming. She _knew it_.

"They would never redeem themselves, swallowed by their hate. So, I marked them for all to see, so none would be stricken with their lies." _One more point for Roman Torchwick._

The laughter from her partner was great, the same way how it was even _better_ that she watched him grab at his cane putting _all the attention_ on his face, mask, whatever. Hand over those oversized glowing orbs, and all the attention off of his less-dominant hand grabbing the cane. Neo watched as it whipped up without a que, ready to shoot whatever it was the mask let him shoot.

 _SCHING!_ But an arc of darkness blew her good mood away. " _AAAAAGH!"_

It also sent Roman's arm flying into the woods, smashing into a tree and bouncing to Neo's feet. Her mismatched eyes stared down at it, silent mouth agape with the Scroll focusing on it, shaking at that. Shaking a she stared at the white garbed arm of her partner, still gripping Melodic Cudgel in a tight grip… but without a body to go with it. Her teeth grit as fear overwhelmed her again, and the Grimm _roared in appreciation_.

"You are a fool of a thief, Roman," Ganondorf _lectured,_ even as he raised the sword again. The blade that had _Roman's blood_ over the edge of it, staining it. The man not even _blinking_ as Roman was on his knees, gripping his _stump_ and staring up at Ganondorf. He was screaming, _yelling_! Neo had to do something. She had to do something _now!_

If she didn't… Roman was going to… h-he was going to die!

"If you wish for one more difference between us, then let it be _how_ we gained our power." No… he wasn't going to attack yet, and Roman would be _angry_ if she didn't get this. It was… it was going to be something good. A-and Roman had that mask. He made the burned White Fang _monsters_ and the trees come to life and _made so many Grimm_. He could… he could get out of this… "You came across that mask by the machinations of others. You stumbled onto its key, by the orders of someone _high above_ you."

This was… not exactly what Neo thought was going to come out. Ganondorf was talking like he _knew_ Roman wasn't in charge. Then again, they were saved by the Grey Clown, as Roman called him Ghirahim wasn't a friend of hers anyways, or his, or… anyone now that she thought about it.

"I had no one to guide me. All that I had was hatred in my heart not my own." More of that foreign hatred. Of all the excuses Neo had ever heard for it, that was the _least_ believable one. But… she had to let him talk. The man was just… he was too focused on Roman, and he was going to say something stupid. So, he'd say it, she records it, then she'd make him think Roman was running! "With that hatred, I formed a plan to usurp a kingdom. To kill its king. To take the land. And finally, to grasp what is above all else of the world."

He held his blade sideways, probably just to show off the blood on it and how _massive_ it was. If that hit Roman again… mask or not, he _wouldn't_ survive it. But those burning golden eyes of Ganondorf just kept looking down, and he kept talking. So, Neo kept recording.

"I stole the power of the gods from their very hands." Okay, so he was crazy. Neo got it. Now she could- "You were told to steal power from a goddess." And now she was lost. Cinder was a _lot_ of things, but Neo put her solidly closer to hell than heaven. _Everyone_ would. "And even still you have not the mind or body to hold it. A tool through and through, all that you are."

Insult to injury… they _were_ alike. But Neo knew this was enough. She put her Scroll away, getting ready to dash forward and grab Roman. He wouldn't hurt her, but Ganondorf would. He wouldn't do anything to harm her, but if she was caught… then she was dead meat.

She just had to be fast. Neo just had to _hurry!_

" _A tool~!_ " But the cackle of a tone made her stop. Not just her, but Ganondorf.

They both stopped and starred at Roman rising to his feet and dropping his hand from the stump of his other arm. He didn't even look like he _cared_ that it was bleeding. He didn't look as if he _minded_ that it was no longer there. His head just rolled around on his head, stopping when he was looking up at Ganondorf, the titan of a man looking back down on him. It shouldn't have been a good thing, and it wasn't. But Neo felt it was bad… just not without being able to tell for who.

"A _tool am I~? No_ no no no _no no_ _ **no no**_ _no~."_ Neo swallowed on nothing, watching as Roman's bloody hand wiped across his suit, smearing blood over it. He _loved_ that suit, and he was ruining it while he… cackled. Why was he doing that? It was a distraction tactic, was it? He was good at those but… this felt off _wrong even_.

"You are not?" Ganondorf _honestly_ sounded like he was questioning it. _He was the guy who accused it!_ "Then tell me _thief._ What do you call a man that takes orders and commits evil? What do you refer to yourself who lets others take credit for their deeds but is blamed for their failures?" Neo grit her teeth, but still didn't jump in to help Roman. He didn't look right, and it just… felt wrong.

She didn't have the second sense of that Red girl from the Beacon team, but she was… she was able to _feel this_. Like the scent of still water after rain, the breeding ground for infection and rot, the kind of pools Roman through people into so that even when they crawled out, they had to endure the infection without going to the hospital. This felt like that. Only about a hundred _thousand_ times worse.

"What do I _call that~?_ " His head notched sideways, holding up one hand and standing perfectly straight. "What do you call a man, _a thing_ , that lets others pull his strings, only to drop them when they get tangled? Oh, what do you _call a man_ who thinks the stage is his home and the closet his bed~?" Neo didn't understand what Roman was saying. What was he talking about!? "What do you _do_ with that _unnamed_ thing when the curtains are closing and everyone wants to leave. What does that _nameless_ thing do when it just wants the show to go on~? _GHahahahahahahah~_ " That wasn't Roman's laugh.

His chest wasn't even moving for it. He was just… shivering? Shaking? Had he gone mad _too!_? That was really really bad then. Neo _needed_ to get him out of there then, or else he could do something that would be even worse than this! How much worse, she couldn't even guess. But just letting it sit there… she knew Ganondorf was going to do something.

"… Answer me," Ganondorf's falsesetto voice commanded. It brokered no discussion. "Answer your own questions, so I may pass my own judgement." His fist _gripped_ the hilt of his sword, and she heard the leather _strain_ for the efforts. He was going to swing it again! Roman was in trouble! Now or never, she-

" _They're a puppet._ " The voice that froze the air spoke. " _And they demand that the show goes on._ "

 ** _BOOOM!_** The ground was torn away again, and Neo was sent flying back. A silent scream left her lips, as she stumbled and tumbled past the bleeding trees and rotten earth, not even _realizing_ for a considerable second that she was in the mix of Grimm scurrying around her. Not until she got up on shaky legs, looking for Roman. She didn't _care_ that the Grimm were roaring and hollering into the air. She only cared about her partner.

Even as she was a speck in the sky, his bloodstained alabaster suit, all she could see, even as he left himself as a spark in the sky to stare at. If he was saying something. Neo couldn't hear it.

Instead, she only watched as the clouds around him began to shift. She wasn't surprised by that. Neo _knew_ he, or the mask at least, was what was responsible for making everything a _much_ darker shade of red, and the way the sky was so much darker than before. What was new however, was just what the clouds were doing.

Swirling was a good word for it, because they weren't just drifting. It was like… looking at a whirlpool in the sky, as stupid as that sounded, so much so she knew that she must have had the mind of one of those Beacon Bitches. But that was what it was. The clouds that appeared to be _cackling_ with blood red thunder started to swirl in the sky. Swirl, drift… and look like it was spinning around and about.

Ganondorf wasn't doing anything, and that was good in Neo's book. The more nothing he did, the more _something Roman_ could do. Even if he was off his rocker, she'd prefer him there than in the ground. He had a plan, he _always_ had a plan, and now she just had to wait for him to do something about it. But that something… wasn't what she expected.

She expected something amazing, she really did with that mask and being able to put the _demon_ of a man on the balls of his feet. But there was something else. Something… darker something that Roman _wouldn't do_. And that was becoming clearer by the moment.

It became crystal clear when the sky parted, the darkness that was hanging above the clouds almost _shift_ , and in its place… the moon appeared.

The shattered moon of Remnant. The one thing that was always so captivating to watch, when they weren't watching a store owner try and crawl away with broken knees. No this was something that was so huge and destroyed so _thoroughly_ that it was almost an art to it. Whatever _had_ done it was something beyond the power comprehension of Neo or even Roman. That was what Neo thought.

That thought was quickly being eroded, worn down to nothing. Destroyed like everything else… as she watched the impossible happen once more, and she didn't have the ability to keep her mind straight.

Not when the destroyed stone of the moon started to shift. Started to turn. Not when the moon started to reform.

She heard cackling, and she couldn't tell the difference from her bones shaking.

* * *

He had seen the world change around him more times than he could count. He had seen lives bloom and wilt, civilizations grow and fall, and even religions spread and crumble. He had seen them all and guided near as many throughout his endless years, ever since he was cursed with the cycle of death and rebirth.

The lands had shifted with his names, the morality to go with it, and the belief of what was good and just flopping across the lines like fish in a river. That was the legacy of his past, and one that he had witnessed with both amusement and despair. Never able to do enough, but able to witness it all.

Now was no different, even if the events were new. He was not unused to great shows of power, not after he had seen the Relics and Maidens crafted from his own might. He was not surprised by great battles of cataclysmic scale, not after he saw the Gods depart from the world. They were things that he had witnessed with his own eyes, reborn and refashioned as they were.

But this was the first time, in all his years, he had seen a display of power such as this. And if it was for him, it doubtlessly was for the others.

Watching in the darkened sky, blood red clouds splitting as if beaten away by a whirlwind, to show the shattered moon high through the starry night. Watching as the clouds of demonic possession began to twirl about the moon, even so far away from Patch that it still looked like a frame, crooked as it was. The moon, the object witnessed by the world with its ruined glory, shattered by the Dark God as he left, floating soundlessly in the abyss above their head.

And now, with hands tight on his cane, eyes furrowed in the unholy mixture of fear and hate, he saw that object begin to shift.

Watch as the pieces of the broken rock in the sky slowly drag themselves together, fitting like a puzzle piece too large for most mind to comprehend. The large slabs conjoining, the dust that split between them molding over the gaps, rounding out the rock as it shifted in the sky. What should have been perceived as the booms of dynamite or crashing steel was instead nothing but mute silence, watching a film without noise.

Watching the sky redraw the moon, and whatever power it was that did it, leagues and miles beneath it, on a Patch of an island with the monsters swirling about it, as the Leviathan worked towards Vale.

A being he did not know, throughout all of his years, making the moon whole again. Horror was a fine name for it.

"My God…." Glynda whispered next to him, and he had no fault for her. Her stoicism rocked by the sights before them. "Ozpin… you once said… _described_ what the end would look like… is this…" Her question didn't need to be finished.

"I… don't know," was the unfortunate response. "Beasts rising from the ocean to swallow the cities. Monsters challenging and reshaping the land. The sky falling to hell rather than rising to heaven… it certainly fits, doesn't it?"

"Could fit a lot better if we had some context." Ozpin turned to Tai, the man leaning on his desk, wounds closed but clearly not used to them. He wouldn't be for some time, losing both an arm and a leg. Raven was next to him, holding him up with fingers clutching at his clothing. Yang, his daughter, just beside him as well, looking away from him for the first time since she had barreled in. A family reunion, and one that could not have happened at a worse time. "Still trying to get my head wrapped around… those monsters being White Fang, or Faunus… or whatever. Jumping to this… feels like skipping a chapter or ten in a book."

"You don't read, dad," Yang bit back, but without any bark to the bite. Her hands were just as tight on her father's side, doing all that they could to avoid the stumps of his limbs. Her eyes, normally an inviting lavender, had yet to lose their red gaze. Namely, whenever she glanced at her mother. "And… I-I'm just as lost. How about you, _Raven_." The woman didn't respond to the jab from her daughter.

No one responds, as the family ire is a far-off matter next to what they are witnessing. Watching the moon reform without a sound, and the clouds around it swirl as if to assist, even if they were miles and miles away. The moon, forming itself again. What power did this Majora even have? Ozpin wished desperately to know.

"… I have heard of this before." That desperation appeared to come to fruition.

Namely as he nearly spun to Saria, as with everyone else, eyes tight on her as she gazes out past the window, hands on the glass, and staring with a face near serene, but stained by the tears that ran down her face. Pained, not in body, but mind.

The same pain that kept her from healing Tai in an expedient manner, the same pain that came from the woods being torn and warped, the wind crying on them. Like a mother listening to her child scream in torment, so too was Saria suffering. And now, looking up at the sky high above, she spoke words that Ozpin would have sworn she denied hours ago.

"Link told a legend of this… from a land not of Hyrule." Another land? Ozpin couldn't even imagine where this one was. "Of a ceremony called the Carnival of Time, where the tower would strike midnight, and the moon would be at its closest to the earth…"

"And the moon _reformed?_ " James asked incredulously. Ozpin did not stop the man now, not with the desperation of the situation so apparent. "This legend of his _predicted this!_ " He spoke it before turning back to this Scroll, ordering into it as his eyes remained down to Earth on the problem he had to retaliate to.

 ** _BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!_** That was the bombardment of the Leviathan making its way closer to the city, and trying to delay it for all that was possible. All while Ozpin's students and volunteers got everyone out, tried to save as many as they could. His cane would have broken before now, if he was alone. But he had to remain in control, no matter what his mounting horror said.

"No, it did not," the Maiden returned, to Ozpin's mounting confusion. His, and everyone else. "The moon was never broken then. Instead, it was corrupted." And the horror returned again.

"Corrupted," Ozpin let out weakly, looking back out the window and up to the moon above.

Watching as the relic that had been broken for _nearly_ as many years as he'd lived, was whole again. The usual gray or in the sky, now complete for the first time for all to see. Something that could have been marvelous to witness, stained now by the horror that breached around it, all the while the Leviathan continued to splash waves of near tidal heights towards the shore. Now it was obvious that Grimm rode on them. Monsters washing in from the sea…

"Yes… by a Deity charged by the Goddesses." The horror increased. Ozpin wasn't able to hide his mounting terror as he gazed at the girl, still gazing up at the sky with tears down her emerald gaze. "Charged to keep a creature of destruction sealed, and to do so, made a game of life and death to keep it sealed away. And the moon as corrupted… as another game."

Ozpin did not know how you could corrupt something that wasn't alive. He didn't know until his gaze, sharper than he had made it in decades, focused on the moon high above and what it was becoming.

Though it was healed, though it was whole, he could now make out details that didn't match with what it was the eons ago. Back when the moon was whole and before it was shattered. Perhaps the only one in the room who had complete memory of what it looked like, and the only one who could testify that the moon was what Saria was claiming it to be.

The Maiden called it corrupted, and Ozpin could not call the face that stared down from it, eyes of furious red and teeth of gnashing gold, to be one the moon had before.


	49. The Moon Falls

The earth was shaking beneath him, and Ganondorf felt it cry. He was not attuned to the forces of the world as the sages were, but he could sense power when it was before him. It was how he first knew of the Triforce's strength, of the abilities of the hero, and the wisdom of his queen. Those were things that Ganondorf could feel.

It was how he knew there was power before him. Not just because of the manipulation of life he witnessed. Not just because of the twists in reality he bore. But because there was power coming from the cursed and corrupted man flying in the air, down an arm, but still laughing behind that rainbow mask.

Because with one hand into the sky, cane commanded like a conductor's baton, he had recreated the high moon, from shards into a whole being.

And was now commanding it to bear a face more abhorrent than that of demons.

" _A puppet on the strings! A fun toy to play games with!_ " The twisted words fell from the man who was hanging in the air. "I don't like playing the marionette, but I have to say it is _far_ more entertaining to be the puppeteer." The man swung his arm in a full motion, imitating a clock with the beat of his limb. Ganondorf glowered up at him, unimpressed with the display. "You would know all about that, huh? _There is a lot of fun in the King Game!_ " Game?

"You still call this a game?" He called up to the monster, rolling his shoulders with the act. "You have destroyed all of this, made a ruin of a once prosperous land, and say that this is still naught but a game to you!?" he was acting just like Ganondorf had when corrupted with the foreign hatred, with the fury that was not his own.

Except, as the chortles and laughter from the rainbow masked man indicated, it was not anger that ruled him, not anymore, perhaps if ever. You did not seek merriment when you were filled with hatred. You sought and crafted games when you were overcome with boredom, and steeped in power.

"Only the _best kind!_ " Roman shouted back down, down at the same time he threw his can forward. **_BWEEP!_** And the sound of energy firing from it preceded the sight of a dark ray being shot forward.

Ganondorf's head moved the minimal amount it had to to let the beam go over his shoulder. It buried itself into the dirt behind him. He was no fool though, and knew a madman who had called times and jokes during their fight would be so easily entertained now. Turning around, Ganondorf raised his foot into the air.

 **GAAAA-** Just in time to see the mouth of a Deku Baba spring forth. **_WHUMP!_** And letting him bury the heel of his boot into its head.

The resounded crack of his foot hitting it made the earth shatter around him, upending trees with the blow. He was unenthused with the deed, but knew there was little to save in the corrupted limbs and bleeding trunks. The laughter that continued to ring above him was proof enough it was nothing more than a show.

"Oh wow! Usually that would have cost me a pretty penny! Watching a soldier get his face kicked in. _But there's no worries in a player getting knocked out, not when the roster is so easy to fill!_ " Ganondorf knew what was coming next. **_BWEEP! BWEEP! BWEEP! BWEEP!_** That didn't mean there was much he could do to stop it.

Roman fired beam after beam, life-shifting or crafting glimpse of energy out of the end of his cane. The corrupted and almost crackling energy as twisted as his desires and mask he wore. The shot into the earth around him, close and far, many at the tips of his feet but even more going over the edge of the forest. Enough for him to know the man was creating an army so similar to the one he had fought before.

 ** _GRAAAAGH! ROOOOAR AAAGAHGH! BRAAAA!_** But now with greater number, and more power.

 _WHAM!_ Power that was still wasted in the face of his own.

He had proved as much with a singular blow of his hand, backhanding a Wolfo that attempted to lung hat him, only to blow it to pieces and fly over the horizon. A Dodongo sprung forth and swallowed the limb, greedy for at taste of his flesh. Ganondorf only turned his glower to the unfortunate and unwise act. **_BOOM!_** Before letting the power in his hand ripple forth, and blowing the monster up from the inside out.

 _WHOOM!_ And the power he collected was thrown with a twist of his hand, sending it throttling up into the air and at the Mad Man who had made the forces to combat him. He had hoped to see it stun the man, just as his own power had been done to him by the hero's fight. _WHAM!_ But the cane he swung appeared to be either enchanted, or strengthened.

Because it beat the ball of energy away with nary a though, placid yellow eyes staring out, hiding the eager grin of the man beneath it.

"You know it's supposed to a joke when they say tear you from the inside out, right? _But you know just how to make even that even more fun to see! And here I was afraid you'd be less fun!"_ Ganondorf snarled again, annoyed for a reason he knew he shouldn't be.

He didn't care of the man, not one who let himself get swallowed by power. He didn't care for his wishes, born of a dark desire matching that of the foreign hatred. All he cared about was the hero and the revenge he sought.

But being thought little of by this thief thrown into the ocean of power… was agitating.

"Hold still, _thief_." Ganondorf called again. **WHAM!** While he swung his blade down, blowing through one of the monsters that was trying to crawl its way from the earth. He didn't care to even glance at it. "If one arm was too little a cost for you, then I shall take your head for greater payment for your deeds." He let his gaze _burn_ into the man.

Enough that the monsters that surrounded him hesitated at the sight, enough to make them whimper at the power rolling off of him. As was proper for a king, and one who had stolen Power from the Gods.

But the man high above, only flipped through the air, laughing at the display.

"Stay still? Why would I have to move!? _I can't play with you if go somewhere else!_ " Was it still going on about that? " _But I do know why you want me to hold still. It's more fun if you play with someone who's just as good as you!_ Competition is the most fun when you have to work your hardest to win, as I can call myself the greatest thief in Vale if I'm only ever compared to pickpockets."

His cane twisted in his hand, sending out a crackle of lightning that ripped through the multitude of monsters around him. A ray comparable to the slice of a blade, and just as merciless, cleaving its way towards him. Ganondorf did not move.

 _CLANG!_ Instead, he beat against it with his own sword, knocking what was able to effortlessly till the earth with a single swing. When he did, he released his blade.

He let his blade fly through the growing crowd of monsters, beings peaking out through the twisted and gnarly trees. It tore through them and the rotted lumbar like sand, turning them to mulch and manure. Ganondorf's gaze was still skyward, looking up at the man and waiting for his next words to damn him.

"That's why I _want_ to stay here with you! I want to have fun!" He would have none of that. " _But I made sure to invite others to show the rest of the world a good time!_ " And now his gaze widened.

"You did _what?_ " Ganondorf glowered. He didn't wait for an answer. Any words the mad spoke would be as poisonous as the stained sea. Instead, crouching down, he pushed off the earth with near all his might.

 ** _BOOM!_** And in a breath of air, he was in front of Roman, hands outstretched and prepared to rip the man from the sky.

His hands found the man's cane, gripping it with lightning crackling across his hand, ready to break it. The other was at the man's throat, prepared to snap it just as well. It wouldn't take much, and the gargle from the man made it clear he could easily do it. Just a twist, just a _flick_ , and the man's life would be no more.

" _Peek-a-boo_!" Until he had to twist his head at the voice, and see the grinning fast of the mask staring back at him. He didn't have time to be confused.

 ** _WHAP!_** A blow hit him across the face, sending him tumbling through the air. It was _far_ stronger than before. Comparable to the hero's blow with the hammer. But it lacked a holy light. It was _far_ from the devastating and rule-breaking strike that came from his holy blade. But it was still strong, just as Ganondorf knew it could be.

He righted himself in mid-air, cape billowing as he stared at the man. The man, and the mask that was curling itself back around his face. It was an awful sight to see.

Tendrils literally burying their way into his skin, around his face, already twisted and rotten from the power that corrupted him, and turning him into something less than man. Another soul lost to power high above them. Were it something forced on him, Ganondorf would have mourned. But for the moment, he only looked on in disgust.

"Don't act all surprised about that. I'm a _thief_ , and I have to use some tricks to keep the upper hand. _A game's no fun if all you do is play by the rules!_ " He was loathing this all the more. " _That's why I made sure to keep everyone else entertained_. So, you and I can continue this dance, all while Red and her friends jump around the rest of the beasties." Red… _the hero's lineage!_

Ganondorf ignored Roman, twisting in the air to look across the sea. His gaze was long with power at his disposal, and he used it to see the edges of the red ocean, too look at what Roman had done. And only then did he recognize just how monstrous his might was.

"You see that beauty out at sea? I call it a Leviathan!" Roman spoke up with the cheer of a child being given a pet. " _The bigger they are, the dumber they are, and dumb puppets make great tools! All the more fun to play with_." He cackled like the same child kicking the animal to death. Ganondorf felt his hands turn to fists, and light into flames.

It wouldn't take long for him to slay that beast. He knew. Perhaps a minute, maybe two, and it would be mist in the ocean again. Roman could last so long without him.

"You wanna go face it first? Well that would be dull, but I don't suppose I _have_ to stop you. _It'll give me time to get the stage juuuust right for us!_ " His burning eyes turned back towards the mad man, seeing him holding his cane and hand into the air.

 _BOOO **OOOOM**_ And he felt he air rumble with the words.

Looking up, he felt truly foolish for forgetting about the moon.

He felt trapped as he felt it start to descend.

"Hey! Don't get distracted now! I thought a king like you was gonna be _way_ more focused than that. _At least the last boy I played with kept his focus sharp. But you're starting to feel dull!_ " The words were no warning, but they were all Ganondorf got.

 ** _WHAM!_** Before the cane of the man struck him again, and with just as much force as the tendrils of the mask.

 ** _BOOM!_** He hit the earth with a shattering blast, enough to send even _more_ of the monsters screaming into the distant horizon, lost at sea. Ganondorf may have risen easily from the blow, but that was not what gave him pause.

Neither were it the monsters that barreled onto him, uselessly trying to clamp and tear at his skin and armor, like wind against a mountain. But a mountain that stared at a range and sky far above and surrounding him. Mighty, sturdy, and a pillar for the world to recognize, but still one far beneath what was placed around him.

It was… too much.

It was _too much_ , and recognizing that weighed on him. It weighed on Ganondorf more than the monsters who jumped upon him or even the moon hanging above him.

There was too much around him and too little he could do to stop it all. The moon was falling, the beasts were rising, and the mad man responsible for it all, the _fool_ that had donned a mask more powerful than any other, was cackling through it. Ganondorf could stop one of them, at least one, he _knew_ he could. Power offered such a sure blessing.

He could raise his hands and stop the moon, using all of the strength of the goddesses to command the very depths of space to adhere to him. But if he did, then the terrors that were jumping from the ocean would attack the far away city, they would _destroy_ what the hero had stayed to protect. And even worse, the crazed fool would have escaped, and perhaps do another act of viler intent.

He could stop him then, Ganondorf knew himself strong enough. Roman, the _thief,_ still bore a missing arm from his blade, even if he acted as if it were always that way. With such a disadvantage and bearing the egregious wound, Ganondorf knew he could impale the man on a cutlass or broadsword with little effort. More than most men, but still doable for a king. But such a thing would still guarantee the destruction of the city far away. Even worse, it left a _large_ chance for the moon to descend, meaning it would destroy _even more_.

Then the city alone… that was one act of possibility, but far from enough, at least alone. Even if the fool had summoned Dragons, Serpents, or even commanded the remnants of Morpha, Ganondorf would be able to stop and slay them all. He'd be able to kill them. But the moon would still fall, Roman would still escape, and they'd be left to torture others again.

There was too much, and Ganondorf, for all his vaunted power, could only do so little. A king chained from action, and dancing to the whims of the mad man. **WHAM!** A dance he had to follow as the cane hit him over the head again, all while he slayed the Wolfo that had jumped on him, by crushing its skull.

"You lost your touch there old man? _Are the strings on your mind too taut?_ " The mixed voice of the maddened mind spoke to him. "Don't worry, there are plenty of fixes for that. You can get a massage, jump in a hot tub, just take five and let aaaaaaall your fears wash away. _Splish-Splash into the ocean, down to the depths below_." It was only too evident how happy the man was behind that mask, and Ganondorf snarled in opposite feeling.

" _Silence!_ " He shouted even, throwing forth his fist and sending _waves_ of darkness at the man. The monsters before him were crushed by the force, their faces crumbling to shattered bones and limbs falling to pieces.

The thief, however, only leapt like a Watarara native, hanging in the air before spinning about and glowering down at him from on high. Tapping his can against his boot, it was just as obvious how much the man _loved_ his new stature. Ganondorf had nothing for it but spite.

"You risk not only yourself, thief, but all others around you!" He yelled up, even as he kicked his foot forward. It met the belly of a bear-like monster, beating through it and sending its limbs into a variety of directions around him. **SHINK!** He buried a newly conjured blade into the ground behind him, severing the head of a Dodongo. "Everything you may ever enjoy, _everyone_ that you have ever cared for. Your actions will guarantee not only their suffering, but their _deaths!_ Is that the manner of game you wish to play!?"

"You kidding? It's the only kind of game I've _ever_ played!" The laughter that followed the sure answer was pyre worthy. " _All the stakes. All the marbles. Winner claims all!_ The city life didn't play by any other rules, so why don't I try to be the dealer for once! And if I'm the house this time, then that means there's only one rule that no one, not even _you_ , can break!"

He christened himself in the air. Holding out his arm and letting tendrils of rainbow hued mass fall to the corrupted earth. Ganondorf watched them, the back of his hand, pounding one away, letting it snap and twist into useless masses. It still left nearly a dozen to pierce and seed the earth. Ganondorf had never used such a spell when he was corrupted by a foreign hate, but the Elder Sisters had shown him what it could do.

And so, he watched, lips slowly pulling back into an angry snarl, as more of the monsters were birth from the earth. Angry things of reanimated life, screeching into the air with agony and discontent. The howl of banshees and warlocks that would sunder the very sky, were the falling moon not already responsible.

"This is the house, Ganondorf!" The thief spoke on, chuckling above the rolling thunder, monstrous cries, and descending air. " _And I always win_." Ganondorf couldn't offer him one victory. But he could not do this alone. He knew that now, just as he should have known when the foreign anger was warping his mind decades ago. He could do nothing then, not at all.

But now, here, Roman himself had forgotten something important. Ganondorf was _not_ _alone_.

He leaned his body back churning much of his power in the palm of his hands. He crushed it together, holding the filling sphere of might into an enclosed space, holding back a force that could fill a pond with only his hands, and holding them closer still as they started to expand. From a pond, to a lake, to beach, and further than that. So much power, and he still held into it.

" ** _RAAAAGH!_** " Until he clapped. **BOOOM!** And blew away nearly all the beasts. A force that rocked the land he stood on, requiring _him_ to ascend into the air. The dark mist of his power levitating him, cape billowing behind him, and leaving him haloed in darkness, and glowering up at the man who had stolen power comparable to his own.

Ganondorf couldn't do everything, not alone. And he was _not_ alone.

"Hero! Here me!" He finally bellowed into the air, earning a silence that was broken only by the rolling thunder and shivering air.

Ganondorf sucked in a long breath as he put his hands to his face, gripping either side of his cheeks. He was far from weak, as he and many other could attest to, but grabbing his own face was a feat that made him snarl. He did release his grip.

"A man who has stolen more from you than I, who _revels_ in what he has wrought, has crafted a game for the annihilation of all that you wished to protect. For that which all others have sworn love to you." He could recall those faces, recall those children, and even the elders who looked upon him with envy and pride. Not only them, but also the Sage who now stood in that tower, overlooking, doubtlessly, the carnage being wrought.

"I may do much, I can do more, but I cannot do all!" There were no lies in his words, sure of them as he was the strength of the hero. "My loyalty is certain, my oath truth, but I need more than myself to defeat this mad man. I need _more_ than the chains I have to defeat this thief _and_ preserve your new kingdom!"

"Is that you giving up! _Don't do that! This is jut starting to get good!_ " Ganondorf heeded none of Roman's words, him or the mask he wore.

"If you wish for my success, if you wish to preserve what you have, then I ask only for more from you!" Ganondorf yelled again, screaming as he pulled harder against his face. His skin felt like it was about to split. "Assist me hero, and let us battle this monster!"

With nothing else to hold him back, with no other reason to hesitate, Ganondorf tore against his face.

* * *

Being a dad was hard. No one ever really argued with him when he said that before. Being a dad meant doing things that would have been disgusting, humiliating, or just down-right embarrassing to his younger self. Teenage him would have thrown up at the idea of having to go to bed and waking up early for the purpose of making breakfast for a pair of girls.

That, however, was without the context and knowledge that they depended on him. That is that those girls, his kids, really did need him. As so many said before, to other parents, not him, he was their pillar of support in this world. One of his neighbors on Patch, who's name just _didn't_ quite hit him at the moment, said that if his girls were growing in a garden, he had to be the stalk to help them grow tall. He liked that. Made him seem _upright_. Heh, dad joke.

Yeah, a dad joke to just illustrate how important it was to stand up and support his pair of girls. That was the job as a dad. Too bad that felt a little reversed now.

That was kind of expected seeing as he was down an arm and a leg. Lost both of those and he didn't even get that mortgage deal he was promised. Heh, _twofer._

Sure, Qrow would probably crack a joke, because no situation got him serious, and Tai kind of wished he was here for that. Because if his old teammate was still here, maybe he could talk some sense into what was happening. Then again, that could have just been the blood loss talking. He was lightheaded, and being picked up by Yang and Raven was doing something to help, but not a lot.

Because no matter how heavy a hand he felt on his shoulder, _either of them_ , he still saw the moon in the sky, still saw a pair of ominous golden eyes peering down from it, and a snarl so large that it was probably the only set of teeth capable of out-doing Ironwood, even if the General in the room was giving it is all. Balancing on his one leg, held up by his ex-wife and daughter, Tai shook his head.

"Hey, I know I'm not exactly okay over here," he started to speak, just to get some attention. "But that moon… that's not normal right?" Okay, really dumb question. That was Qrow's job, not his. "I mean it's not supposed to looking like that. Least I don't think it's supposed to."

"No, it is not," Ozpin replied, hand tight on his cane. Saria, the kid who wasn't a kid and was more like his ex-wife than not, nodded her head as well. Kind of obvious when that green of hair waved. "It is not and it is only one of _many_ details about it that is concerning. Too many to name." For once, Tai kind of agreed with Ozpin.

Between the red see, darkened sky, blood red lightning, rebirthing demons, destruction of his home, recreation of the moon, and whatever else… there was a lot going wrong. Talk about a bad Monday…

"James, Glynda, is there any updates… at all…" And now Ozpin was searching for good new. Well if that wasn't a bad sign, then he didn't know what was.

"… activity in Grimm outside of the Vale walls is exponentially increasing," Glynda started to speak, with the usual amount of good news and cheer in her voice. "Team SSSN has reported that they are being heavily delayed in returning to Vale due to an exorbitant amount of Grimm coming from the forest. They have not requested assistance yet, but have made the matter urgent for attention."

"My scouts are reporting as much activity in the water, likely more." The General's eyes drifted from his Scroll to the newly christened Red Sea. Kind of appropriate with the Giant freaking Leviathan walking through it. And here was hoping that the Maidens was the only fairytale he had to worry about. So much for that. "Wyverns, Hydra, and many others are swarming around the Leviathan and are attempting to breach landfall. All secondary and tertiary weapons available in the area are targeting them, primaries set to the Ancient Grimm itself."

"The forests are screaming." And now a word of wisdom and love from Saria, the Spring Maiden. Like his ex-wife, _somehow_. "They are being burned and twisted, given voices instead of roots, being poisoned instead of fed. Others are watching and listening, and there is no one to help them." And she was still talking like she was a tree herself. Tai saw her shiver at that as well. Guess it was time for him to pull double duty as a dad then.

"So, the world's going to pot, huh?" He started to ask rhetorically, getting Raven and Yang to look at him. "Good thing we still got each other." He laughed at that, an admittedly short, breezy, uninspired laugh. No one else joined him, with Yang only gripping his shoulder even harder. Raven almost let him go. "At least the moon's just grinning at us right now. Snarling? Spiting? Glowering, there we go, its _glowering_ at us. Better than trying to ground us." Cause _wow_ that would be bad.

"The forests about Patch are saying that's a lie." It was what now? He didn't lie, least he didn't think he did. Certainly, wouldn't be against lying down at least… "The air about them is being pushed, without wind or pressure. They are being pulled, without hand or root. The moon… the moon is not waiting." It wasn't waiting? Well, if it wants to hurry up and scoot out of the way for the sun, then Tai wouldn't argue. They could do with seeing the bright side of the current situation. Heh, dad joke, going for the turkey.

"The moon is… it's not revolving, is it?" Raven asked, and _now_ her hand was tight on his shoulder, the side that was a limb short. Guess she did that so he wouldn't be able to reach out for her. His Raven, always thinking ahead. Wait… hold on… "You don't mean…"

"The moon is not revolving, it is not rotating, it is _not waiting_ ," Saria spoke again. Wow, he had just met her and she sounded like she was irritably in a bad mood. Guess it was a Maiden thing. "If the moon does none of those, where else is there for it to go?" Oh good, and riddles to put. She really was a fun one. At least she had saved his life, or he had been told between the blood loss and his ex-wife holding him.

"It's falling, isn't it?" His kid asked, and wow, talk about a bad mood. Where did his little spit fire go? Probably the same place as his limbs actually. "Roman's pulling the moon down." She didn't even sound surprised. What did he miss recently?

"That would be absurd," Glynda chimed in. "The moon is hundreds of thousands of miles away, measured through laser reflection and return speed. Assuming that the largest piece is now the closest, it is still a _vast_ distance away, and has no methods or manner to simply be _pulled_ out of the sky like-"

"Current readings from Atlas research sensors indicate the moon is descending." James interrupted Glynda with a somber voice. Somber? No, breathless? Closer… Ah, horrified. There we go, that was it. James Ironwood was _horrified_. "Previous measurement was 251,432 miles from surface to surface… last reading following reunification is 249,845 miles… and decreasing." And wouldn't you know it, Tai was starting to feel a little woozier himself.

His head fell back, only for Raven to catch it like he was going to fall over. Funny, and all this time he was the one trying to catch her before. Too bad his flash of a smile didn't do anything to get her to stop frowning, or shaking. Then again, maybe that was her holding him because she was just as terrified. Was she afraid? Well, she had been back at his house before it was blown to hell and back.

Now he could actually make out her red eyes shivering, next to the rest of her body. And Yang wasn't doing much better, seeing as she wrapped herself tight enough around his arm, he almost felt like cracking a joke she was going to tear the other one off. Probably not a good time for that, seeing as the world was right near ending and she was scared. Not very fatherly to make her shiver as well.

"The moon is falling… and it is being pulled…" Ozpin listed, cane grinding into the glass beneath. Seriously grinding, like mortar and pestle. _CHINK!_ And hey look! A crack above the gears. He wanted to call it a crack in the façade, but he'd probably be dropped by Raven if he did that. "I don't suppose we can cover all the bad news right now? Before something even _more_ horrifying is mentioned?"

"You mean aside from some ancient evil or whatever suddenly attacking my home and blowing it to hell?" Yang suddenly spoke up. Tai looked at her, seeing her eyes going red. Oh that wasn't good. "Or the fact that monsters are being pushed out of it like nasty spring water? Or that _another_ evil is walking towards Vale and shrugging off Atlas's best like it's a walk in the park for it? Or that the moon is coming down and _that_ is thing is going to probably blow us all into the next light year? Aside from all of _that?!_ " Her hair was getting hot.

"Yang, spit fire," Tai spoke her name, immediately getting her attention. "Good time to be mad; bad people to get mad _at_." Wasn't about to tell his boxer to stay calm in the last round of a tough fight.

She swallowed on nothing as she looked at him, putting a stiff upper lip with the act. That was his girl, keeping herself in control. Had to do it, because he was kind of short-handed right now. Hehehe, good thing he didn't say that one.

"You forgot the addition that these many visually horrifying activities are inspiring the Grimm to act more callously and attracting them in greater number," Glynda added on. "Hundreds of Hunters have reported being unable to return because colonies and villages are being over run by their numbers, and they cannot abandon them." Wow, it really _was_ getting worse.

"And the students are in Vale now?" Ozpin posed, looking at Glynda, who tapped on her Pad with the comment. Oh yeah, he had mentioned that before, hadn't he?

"Yes, Ms. Schnee organized majority of the student body to rush to Beacon in the returning Bullheads. Currently they are attempting to bottleneck and hold back the tide of Grimm while evacuations occur throughout Vale." Well that was good on her.

"That sounds like her," Yang spoke up next to him again. "If she's got Blake and the rest of JNPR with her… then they'll think of something. She's the smart one in the team." Something about that made it feel like she'd get along well with Raven. Maybe it was because they were both the smartest of their teams. Though the last time he said that to Raven, she had disappeared for years… probably good not to repeat it.

"I'll be sure to tell Specialist Schnee her sister is following her footsteps." And even Ironwood sounded pleased with it. Too bad Qrow wasn't here, though he was probably one of those hundreds of Hunters working in the colonies. With his luck, it was a guarantee. "Can I assume Penny is also with them?" The question was given as the secretary of the Headmaster continued to work. Just one more thing to not call someone, Tai remembered.

"She is, with the rest of team CRDP." CRDP… what did that even come out to be? He shook his head, probably the blood loss affecting his mind again. "I cannot say for her current activities, all observation drones used currently in finding individuals in need of evacuation." That made some sense, looking for people over trying to just watch hunters fight. Not as good of a show.

"There will be many more in need. The fear is spreading." Saria's cryptic words came back. "How many cameras do you have to look for all who live in that city? Do you have enough to find and save everyone?" She was giving Ozpin a run for his money. Then again, they were both kind of being chased by that giant moon falling from the sky.

Did he forget that? Probably a good thing to remember. He always did want to see whatever was going to kill him, and right now that _giant grinning falling moon_ had the greatest chance of it.

"There will be more who need help, because they need heroes." Oh, she was still going. "Like sun to trees, they need hope to thrive. They are swallowed in shadows and left to die. Who has taken the sun from them? No…" She turned away from the window then and… looked at him? No, not him, too far to the right.

The kid, who wasn't a kid, was looking at Raven.

"Who did not give the light she was blessed with?" Saria's eyes were about as hard as the emeralds she looked like she was made out of. When she wasn't talking about trees at least. No, back up, not important. Bigger question was why she was talking to Raven like that. "Who ran away from her duty?" _That_ had to be answered.

"Don't beat around the bush when you're talking about me," Raven put back. There was the songbird, that was his wife he fell in love with. Ex-wife, same difference. "But I didn't run from _anything_. I have a power like yours, _yeah_ , but there isn't exactly anything we can do with it except hide."

"You have the gifts of a sage, wisdom that embodies hope, and you wish to hide it?" Saria spoke on, as if there wasn't a giant moon falling in the back drop behind her. "Why do you believe hiding the sun will allow the plants to grow? Do you wish for them to bloom at all?" Trees didn't bloom, flowers did. Were they still talking about that?

Man, there were a lot of questions flying around, too bad he was still too low on oxygen to answer most of them.

"I _didn't_ run away," Raven spoke again. Even though, really, she did. "I _did_ hide this power because of…" Her eyes were looking at him again? No, second false alarm. Yang, she was looking at Yang. Oh yeah… she didn't know, did she? "Because there are _a lot_ of powerful people who would want to take it."

"There are always others with power to take and steal, that is no reason to hide hope from those who need it." Saria answered simply, before waving one of her small hands to the window. Green on black and red just didn't really shine. "Now they have only children to look to for hope, rather than a Sage to lead them. And still there are no heroes for them to cling to."

"Are you asking me to just run out there and start fighting the monsters?" Raven looked from her to the window. No, scratch that, the Leviathan. That was clear now. _Hehehe_ , through the clear window. He was really tired. "You think I can do anything for it now? It would be _suicide_ to do that!"

"And I agree." He… whoa, Ozpin agreed with Raven? He really was starting to imagine things. "I loathe that Raven _ran away_ before, but asking her to risk her life now is no action we can take. IF she were to be captured or, even worse, killed, then we would lose a source of great power." Well if that didn't sound objectifying.

"Hope needs to be seen to believe," Saria continued on. "How can you ask a tree to grow or a forest to endure with only promises of the rising sun?" You couldn't, and that was a leading question. She was asking a lot of those. Kind of annoying. No, _scratch that_ , really annoying.

"And I agree, but there _has_ to be a smarter decision to be made." Ozpin twisted with the words, all eyes on him again. "Ganondorf, we can only hope, _is_ fighting Roman at his absolute best. The children are at least stemming the tide of Grimm from flooding Vale, and the Atlesian Military keeping them _and_ the Leviathan further at bay. The rouge Hunters are likely doing just as much for the Grimm in the forest, but those are all stop gaps, temporary solutions." Yeah, they kind of were. The downside to depending on human resources.

"Do you have something else in mind, Ozpin?" James asked with crossed arms. Tai was looking for a yes.

"I do not." He didn't get it. Shame, just out of reach. _HAHAHA!_ Oh, he was killing himself. Maybe even literally. "But we must think of something. We _have_ to… we just… need to _think_." And Ozpin wasn't faring much better.

He could remember Ozpin frowning a lot, sure, but not outright scowling. And that look on his face, as he nearly broke his cane wit his grip, _that_ was a scowl. And a hell of one at that. Maybe even give Ironwood a run for his money. And that was… not a good thing.

Actually, none of this was good. Tai knew that, he _had_ to know it. His home was gone, Vale was next, Remnant felt like it was going to follow. Monsters were rising out of the sea, they were getting stronger on land, and the sky was _literally falling_ down on them. That all seemed pretty freaking bad to him. He was hoping there was a God still on their side up there.

"We need… need…" Saria's voice pattering out _wasn't_ what he meant when he asked that. When the girl, who _wasn't_ a little girl, looked out the window again, in the direction of Patch, Tai turned his own gaze towards it as well. "The trees are… cheering…" So even the forest went crazy now?

"Cheering?" Glynda asked incredulously. "What on Remnant are they possible cheer-" She was interrupted not by a loud sound or noise. No, far from it.

Glynda was silenced, in a sense, but an impossible bright light. A large bright column of silver pushing up from the where Tai's home used to be.

A light that reached upwards as if to touch the moon itself, however many thousands of miles high in the sky James had said. Enough to contrast with the black night and seemingly purify the red clouds it grazed. Seemingly, possibly, but he couldn't be sure, because it was over just that fast.

Yup, there and gone, but _undeniably_ something that had happened. Well… he was looking for a sign, and damn if that didn't qualify. It was one hell of a Beacon.

…. On that Dad joke, Tai finally laughed.

* * *

Blake had followed Weiss to Vale with the rest of the students. The idea of her going anywhere during this was just impossible. She had run away from enough before in her life, but she wasn't about to abandon a friend walking into hell. Not again, no matter what. Even if she was dedicated to it, that didn't mean it was easy.

She was still one of the burned, a revealed White Fang member, even if an ex. No one would believe her if she showed her face, only seeing her blue skin and glowing eyes. And here she wished she could just put a bow on it. But that wouldn't do anymore. So instead, she wore the Magic Cape that Link, or Lana, had given her following the orphanage. Something tainted with a bad memory now, but still incredibly useful.

Even more so that she, and Weiss, had been practicing for weeks on how to control their Aura while using the items. She was still incapable of using her Semblance while she had the cloak on. No duplicates could pop out of her, but she was still invisible, and for hours to hours at a time. Unseen to the world, and capable of getting behind enemies or allies, talking to them over their shoulders. It was the only way she communicated to Weiss for the past few days.

But now, that was impossible. It was impossible because they weren't in Beacon anymore. Now there were in Vale. In Vale as the giant monster at sea blocked out the sky, towering over even the skyscrapers behind them, and pushing what looked like tidal waves closer to them. And all the while the giant Ancient Grimm approached, its _'children'_ , or so to speak, swarmed the streets and beach.

They were fighting it, them, as hard as they could. Everyone that Weiss had rallied at Beacon. They had jumped from the Bullheads as soon as they were over, landing on the beach in a variety of poses and methods, but everyone with their weapons ready and prepared for an assault. At least Blake was sure they thought they were ready, but the monsters that swarmed from the sea were beyond anything training alone could prepare them for.

Creepers and Beowolves burst from the red sea like screams from a Nightmare, almost looking _more_ monstrous than usual with the blackened sky and red sea about them. The creepers were quick to try and pin many of the students, the Beowolves trying to surround them. But both of the Grimm, either kind, were outmatched in that moment.

In a moment that had students hammering them into pieces while others shot them full of holes. Even more throwing and shooting dust like curtains of death, and even a few throwing out Semblances to slow, drain, or outright crush the monsters. In a matter of a minute since they came from the sea, dozens of them were dead.

But there were still _thousands_ to go.

 ** _BOOM! BOOM!_** "Support! Someone heavy! Get to the back of the street! At _least_ two hundred meters behind Cardin!" "On it!"

Weiss was doing much, just as she had done before. Keeping them orders surrounded through the line as she sent lightning from the Tome she held. In the middle of the line they had built, but the perfect place for her voice to reach. Her rapier built walls to house the Grimm, mainly for others to catch up on the few that passed them. That was only after she had used well near _all_ of her Aura.

Used it to create pillars of ice that easily took up _hundreds_ of meters of beach, funneling the Grimm into the students. It was a dangerous maneuver, and one that Blake was nearly ready to tear her cloak from her to stop Weiss from doing, but the Schnee had sworn to them that she would be alright, and asked in return only that everyone would be ready for the monsters when they came.

"If I don't give everything I have, someone else behind is going to lose even more!" Her words were an inspiration before the battle began in force, but it wasn't something that took long to occur. Even when Blake was able to guide Weiss out of the way, all with her invisible hand, the Grimm flowed between her icy walls like a flood.

 ** _GRAH!_** _SHINK!_ "Heavy artillery, anyone with _lots_ of ammunition! Get high and start laying down as _much_ covering fire as you can! Take support with you!" "We've got this! Give us a minute to get up there!"

When Weiss had to stop, Cardin was quick to jump in. She still was wary of the boy, but he was acting far more like a man now than he was a bigot. Weiss was correct about him being a walking blockade, taking the brunt force of many more Grimm than Blake would have tried herself, but slowing only so he could swing his mace at them, blowing them away. His orders for battle came after every swing, clearing the streets enough for him to see. Once he wiped the misty blood from his eyes.

 ** _ROOAR! BRASAAAAAG! RAAAAAAAGH!_** "Dammit! They're not gonna be fast enough! Penny, give them a ladder!" "Acknowledged Team Leader Cardin!" And he was quick to adapt.

Even as Penny sent out more of her swords, a great deal of them all lit up on strings and flying as if controlled, they stuck into the walls and provided the perfect stepping stone for the two other students. Coco, Fox and Dove made quick work of ascending them now, reaching the top of the building just in time to start firing onto the beach, over Weiss's Ice walls.

Russel and several other Freshman danced around him, killing the few Grimm that either dodged or escaped with a maiming. How they were moving around him was a testament that for all of his brawn and low brains, the other Freshman team did have skill around them. Enough that they didn't even have to question where the other was going to be. They just swung, stabbed, and knew they were going to hit a Grimm.

 **BOOM! BOOM! _BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!_** "Brawnz! Yatsu! Take out those Grammites before they get under the streets! Dig them out if you have to!" "On the double over here!" "Your orders are heeded!" "Reese! Get out there and keep Pyrrha safe! She's gonna be surrounded!" "You got it J-Love!"

Cardin wasn't the only one displaying a surprising amount of leadership. Even while the vast amount of power was focused around them, Jaune was able to shout out orders that seemed to come from a man who had already endured wars, even though she knew he was a novice through and through. That didn't stop him from slicing through arms of Grimm, one after the other, leaving their maimed corpses behind for the likes of Arslan and Bolin to kill afterwards.

If Weiss was in the middle and Cardin near the front, then Jaune was just between them. He was directing others on which side of the battle to go, doing a rather impressive job of judging the Grimm and getting the right people in the way to stop them. He never once stopped screaming orders, never taking a breath or asking for help. He only ever sent it away.

 _SHINK-SHINK- **CLANG! RAAAA-BOOM!**_ The same way how Pyrrha didn't need any help, dancing almost like a choregraphed fight scene among the Grimm. She threw Milo out, grabbing as she ripped the head off of a Grammite, tearing through Beowolves and even Ursa that tried to jump on her, kicking Creepers into the air for someone else to fire on, never once breaking her concentration. She didn't need help, but she didn't stop Jaune from sending Reese to her. She was getting into the thick of the Grimm. It was a boon she had those Silver Gauntlets then, making her deal with the _much_ larger Grimm with all the ease she handled the smaller once. Casually flicking a Beringal's fist for starters.

Grimm that were deciding between them or the rapidly evacuating civilians behind them, most of them, as many as they could, running with all their lives on the line. They were doing all that they could to escape, Blake knew, but they were all _afraid_. And fear in the face of this many Grimm made for a positive feedback loop that didn't bode well for them.

The Grimm that ignored Pyrrha, escaped Jaune, dodged Cardin, and jumped over Weiss's walls were running for the rest of the city, knowing that if they got past the funnel she created, they would start ripping many more to shreds.

 _SHWIP!_ Blake caught the ones that she could with her Shroud, pulling their heads off as effectively as she could. Making a clothesline when too many escaped, or drawing attention wherever else she could manage. It was difficult from beneath a cloak, but until she was able to convince the others, with Weiss, that she wasn't a burned Faunus, not really, then she had to do this. She _couldn't_ risk infighting now.

 **BAM! BAM! _FWIP!_** Thankfully, she wasn't alone in dealing with the horde members that escaped. There were many other Freshman like Gwen, Octavia, and Nadir doing all that they could to catch the stragglers. They were among the fastest, but they were still only trying to buy time to catch the Grimm too smart or too quick for everyone else.

They were doing an excellent job at staying separated, making them debatably the most precarious position. If any one of them was over run, then the Grimm would _dogpile_ on them. No partners to assist fast enough, likely at least. **BAM!** But that didn't stop them from fighting. Not Hunter students. **BANG!** And Blake wouldn't take the excuse of cowardice to not shoot a few Grimm herself, all by Weiss's side.

Her concern for the rear-members was lain out once more when a pack of four Beowolves jumped over Weiss's wall, one using the body of another to avoid her lightning. Clever, guile, and barreling towards Octavia, the girl in mid-kick for a Creeper that was trying to twist her arm. She didn't see it coming!

 **RAAAAA- BANG!** The Grimm that was shouting as it was barreling towards Octavia fell over and dead in a moment, the boy not giving it more than a kick before moving onto his other targets. He didn't kill it, and he wasn't be disrespectful towards not thanking someone for doing it for him.

They all knew May was blocks away with her sniper, Nebula taking the pot shots at the Grimm that got past them AND May. They were the final line between all of them and the rest of Vale.

But it still wasn't enough.

Blake did what she could from under a cloak, but there was little that could be done before a horde. Everyone was fighting as well as they could, but they were still only a stop measure. Enough for a few to escape, but never enough for everyone to flee to safety. It was a losing battle and she recognized it as one. But that wasn't' reason enough for her to flee, not while Weiss and everyone else was still here.

 ** _FWOOOOSH!_** A sudden wave of heat washed over her, increased by the cover of the cloak. A glance with her hidden, but glowing eyes, showed that it came from the other Mistral Student, Cinder. She was burning the Grimm alive, ironic that they came from the ocean. Raising hands and pushing them forward, almost summoning the magic, but only comparable to cracking Dust. She was sustaining herself, but even still many more Grimm escaped past her.

"Any idea how many more civilians are left?" Weiss asked over her shoulder, several tones lower than the orders she had been shouting so far. "There's still… there are so many Grimm coming." They weren't going to slow either.

"I don't know how many are left," Blake answered honestly, eyeing the skyline and the multitude of Bullheads taking off. With only a dozen or so per trip, it would take _days_ to get everyone out that way. And the sea was no escape. The highway, though she couldn't see it, _had_ to be backed up as well. "I don't think we'll be able to hold this line before everyone escapes."

"We've already failed at _everyone_ ," Weiss hissed out. **_SCHRICK!_** Even as she whipped her rapier over the Tome, sending a crackling current of lightning through a pair of Nevermore, turning them to mist before they hit the ground, or the side of the building. "We need to get _everyone else_ out of the way. At least far enough from here for the Military to lay a siege or… or something!" She cut herself off as she dodged a Beowolf's claw, easily standing and piercing it through the heart.

Blake knew her teammate was right. She thankfully knew this was a lost cause to hold them all off alone. The Military really was the only hope they had at preserving the rest of Vale. But a glance up at the Leviathan, slowly trudging through the sea, made it only too clear where their attention was focused. The rippling explosions across the black hide of the sea monster, bombardments from the battleships, was painfully obvious.

The lack of damage done to the Ancient Grimm was just painful to look at. They were at least trying to slow it, for the same reason they were trying to slow the tide of the Grimm.

To let _more_ escape. Even if it wasn't _everyone_.

 **BOOM!** " _HAAAAAGH!_ " Blake's head whipped beneath the Magic Cloak, looking to a building that had just had a section of its walls blown out. Debris fell away, dust as well, to reveal a mother huddling in a corner, pulling her child into her chest. She blinked, and in that time, a pair of Grimm ran for her. Blake moved.

 **BANG! BANG!** She fired twice as she ran, trying to at least earn the attention of the monsters as they focused on the mother. One of them looked towards her, sniffing at nothing. The other didn't seem to care, drool pouring from its mouth as it loomed over the mother. The woman still screeching with her child in arms. They were _terrified_ , a beacon for the Grimm.

Blake jumped when she was close enough, over the Grimm that was looking for her and barreling towards the Creeper that was trying to bite the pair of cowering civilians. She undid Gambol Shroud, wrapping the cord around the beast's neck.

 _SHINK!_ Its head fell off with a dull thwomp, right at the feet of the woman's bent legs. She continued to scream, and it made the other Grimm, the Beowolf, look at her with hungry red eyes. **_BANG! BANG!_** This time, Blake was close enough to put a bullet in each eye, making the Grimm howl before falling over, just as dead as its decapitated friend.

"Whu… huh… whu…" The woman let out breathlessly, auburn hair looking at the slowly vanishing corpses of the Grimm in complete confusion. Her child was still yelling, and she held him closer. She wasn't moving though, and _that_ was trouble for Blake.

"You have to run!" The burned Faunus commanded, making the woman whip her head around, terrified at the disembodied voice. Blake settled on the only explanation that would hasten her retreat. "I have a Semblance that makes me invisible. _You don't!_ You have to run, now!" That spurred the woman into action.

"I-I will! Thank you! _Thank you!_ " Tears spilled from her eyes as she stood, shaking legs hardening as she began to walk over the rubble, child still clutched in her arms. Blake followed her for moments longer, ensuring she was on the street and running away from the choke point of the Grimm. She wasn't safe yet, but she was better than before.

Good… that was good… because things were still about to get a lot worse.

"Everybody… what is that thing doing!?" The shout from Cardin got her attention, and it was only too obvious what he was referring to. A glance up showed her the massive Ancient Grimm staring down at them.

Down as its jaw opened up… and something in the recesses of its throat began to burn. Panic wanted to overtake Blake's body, but she had trained well enough to act by instinct over emotion.

"It's like wyverns!" She hastily spoke to Weiss, jumping over a Grimm's disappearing corpse to tell her. "That's going to be the equivalent of a Dust infused laser firing at us!" Weiss, however, only twisted her head in panic, staring at where Blake's head should be.

"Can my ice walls defend that… no… no…" she questioned and dismissed. "The buildings for cover… no, they'll be too _small_." The sureness in her gaze began to vanish. With it, so did the confidence over everyone else. "E-Everyone! _RUN!_ Get to cover!" That seemed like a bad idea.

"What about the Grimm!" "They're still here!" The pair of yells came over those same Grimm were impaled or burned.

"If that _thing_ is about to attack, they'll be dead, too!" Weiss shouted. "And Jaune, don't even _THINK about it!_ " Weiss screamed, pointing at where the JNPR leader was standing. Standing with the Mirror Shield out and aimed at the giant monster. He couldn't… he couldn't possibly be…

"I-It's the only thing I can think of!" He countered over his shoulder, even if he pushed out that golden blade of his to impale an Ursa, with surprising precision. "I-I know that… that it's big but… it's better than nothing!"

"Your life is not nothing and _that thing is going to shoot something at us more powerful than ANY Atlesian tech!_ " Weiss's scream came, and Blake caught Penny, retracting her swords from around Cardin, the boy keeping her safe, nodding in agreement. Even she looked wary. Actually…

"Ask Penny!" Blake hastily told Weiss, ensuring her friend wouldn't look her way. "Everyone knows she's smart, as her about the chances." It was a testament to her teammate's ability to adapt she didn't even question it.

"Penny! Is there _any way_ for us to survive that!" _SCHRIK!_ Weiss all but slapped a Beowolf with lightning, letting its twitching mass light afire, before pointing at the massive Grimm again. Its mouth was positively _glowing_ now. Blake could even see the outlines of energy flowing into it. That was _really bad_.

"Using approximation of Grimm denominated Wyverns as scale, including body mass, density, and size. Including theorized and observed damage from particle beams fired from indicated Grimm." Penny listed it all off, Blake just barely hearing her. No one else was paying _much_ attention, everyone still dedicated to kill the waves and waves of Grimm still approaching them.

"Any time now, _Penny!_ " Cardin, however, shouted, even as his mace blew the head of an Ursa away, hard enough to have the body roll over an approaching Creeper. **BANG!** Blake took the moment to shoot a Nevermore that was encroaching from the sky.

"Estimated impaction range, 934 meters radially ranged from impaction point, a force of mean strength 10,324 Gigajoules of energy!" That was… a very big number. And it looked like even Weiss knew that.

"That's over _two tons of TNT!_ " She shouted again. "So once more, _everyone get out of THERE NOW!_ " She screamed as she sliced Myrtenaster through the Tome, empowering it with electricity and ice.

It raised giant walls of ice once more, easily towering three to four stories high about the buildings around them. Enough to surround and freeze many of the Grimm, shocking the ones unfortunate enough to be caught in them, nearly incinerating them in the same moment. That was as good a sign as any for everyone else.

"Hurry Jaune!" Blake heard Pyrrha shouting as she grabbed him, easily hauling the boy behind her as she ran, the glow of her gauntlets showing just how. "We have to hurry!" Everyone else was in agreement, with the members of team CFVY jumping from the roofs and out of sight, trying to escape the blast radius. The visiting Freshman doing much the same, plowing over Grimm over killing them. And whenever one was away, Weiss raised another wall.

 _"RAAAAGH!"_ Another wall of crackling electricity that burned the air as it came out, keeping the Grimm away. Each one making the Ice Princess let out a scream of effort, with Blake only able to watch. Watch and put a hand on her friend's shoulder, supporting her as she did everything she could to make sure everyone got away.

Away from a blast _diameter_ of one mile… too far to run in too short a time. But she wasn't going to give up. That was why she was here.

"We have to go Weiss!" Blake shouted now, grabbing Weiss's shoulder, trying to push the blade down. Exhausted as she was, the ice princess did not bend her arm. "Weiss! Everyone else can make it! You can't keep this up!" The walls she created wouldn't last long, and she couldn't' possibly try and hold back the horde.

"No! I have to!" The horrified answer came. "One mile… one _mile_ of Vale blown away… I-I _can't… I won't… LET THAT HAPPEN!"_ The scream of the Grimm accompanied it.

"You're not going to be able to sop it either!" Blake continued to argue, managing to pull Weiss back only the tiniest amount. Too much of her own Aura must have been drained from the cloak. She was getting just as weak as Weiss, using Link's gift too much. And they were still _using them_. "I'm not going to lose you to save _one mile of city space!_ "

"And _I'm_ not going to run and let… let even one _person_ die because of it!" The ice _crackled_ as she spoke, but Blake was still looking for a way to get Weiss away. Without fighting her and making the Grimm chase her. Chase the! "I can't… I can't…" Her arm finally began to sway. Blake thought she saw her chance. Enough for her to grab Weiss as the heiress began to sway on her feet, the Faunus catching her before she hit the ground. She thought that was her chance, but it was only a thought.

 ** _RRAAAOAAAAAOOOOOOOOGOOOOOGH!_** A thought, only because at the same moment, the Ancient Grimm began to rumble with the power it was collecting.

Blake put her arms around Weiss as she looked up, seeing the almost blinding light of the monster's jaw, the beast even going so far as to lean back with it. Her glowing eyes widened as she saw it, looking around her for any refuge to find. She found none. Nothing but the horde of Grimm, Weiss's tall walls of ice, and not a soul otherwise.

No one else, no other students, just them. _That_ was what she focused on now. She had to.

"Weiss… Weiss!" Blake spoke as she shook her friend. The girl shivering in her arms, Aura nearly spent. "E-Everyone's gone. It's just us… Just us…" She bit her own lip, shaking with it. It only got worse when Weiss smiled up at her, fingers weakly gripping her shoulder.

"Then you… you should run…" Blake shook her head, even if the heiress couldn't see it. "You're fast… faster than me… faster without me."

"I told you, I'm _not_ leaving you." She wasn't going to leave anyone else. Not again. "Just… Just hold onto me. We'll be okay." But she still lied to her.

Lied as she snuck the girl into the Magic Cloak, surrounding her in the warmth of the burning field and hiding her from the rest of the world. Almost meekly, she curled into Blake's chest, unafraid of the stained, charred, and marked blue skin. The burned Faunus held her teammate closer, watching as the Ancient Grimm bore down on them, so close to firing at them.

"We'll be okay," Blake liked again. Weiss curled tighter into her. She shut her eyes to block out the Ancient Grimm, the monsters, and everything else. She didn't want to see the end.

**_RAAAAAAAAAAAGH- BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!_ **

And the deafening crack, Blake was sure, was the end coming.

She felt it, too. She felt and heard the ice walls Weiss had made being blown into a million shards, the remains of the Grimm Horde still running down the choke point being cremated with the blast, one so hot and powerful she bent over Weiss and clung to nearby rubble, sure that she was going to be gone any second now. Her ears were already popping and preparing for her skin to join them.

Buildings were falling around them, the sound of rubble settling, glass shattering on the ground, all of it sounding as if they were being buried alive, and Blake continued to hold Weiss as close to her as she could.

Then there was silence was silence, and Blake didn't know if she was alive or dead. She had been in the battlefields after a scourge, and the silence that rolled over her now sounded so much like it.

With unease, with trepidation, with apprehension, and even still more fear, Blake opened her eyes. Ruins surrounded her.

But not a mile's worth. The buildings they fought between were carved and hollowed out. The street they and everyone else had fought down was torn up and showing the city piping underneath. The walls of ice Weiss had made were no where to be seen. Everything was gone in that powerful blast, but one that hardly seemed comparable to tons of TNT. More akin to a powerful IED, and nothing else.

"Is… Is that it?" Weiss asked in her arms. "Did my… did I stop it?" Blake wanted to tell her she had. She so desperately wanted to congratulate her friend and tell the Schnee heiress that she had saved so much of the city, themselves included, with her desperate act. But she could not. She had lied enough already.

And there was no hiding the tall figure that stood in the midst of the ruins. No… that _floated_ in the air above it all.

A figure that was taller than any man she had seen before, green skin about him, and armored in a fashion to make tanks look slim. Floating there with burning shadows, holding a hand into the air, and a golden power shining in its palm. Blake was silent as she stared at the man, stared at _him_.

Blake stared at Ganondorf, even as he stared up at the Ancient Grimm.

"The squires did well to hold this line," he spoke, sounding almost like a shout through the stillness of the air. "The hero will be honored to hear of it. The girl much the same." Blake swallowed carefully as she looked at him, the man literally floating in the air above the destroyed streets.

He looked over his shoulder, ignoring the Ancient Grimm that stood in the ocean, out of either apathy or pride. Ganondorf did so, and let his own burning gold eyes stare at Blake, even as she was sure she had the cloak on still.

"I know you are there, children," his deep voice spoke. Blake gripped Weiss all the tighter, feeling the girl hold her just the same. "You have done well to survive this long. Even better to save so many more. Hold that pride close to your heart, and remember it for the days to come." It was an ominous order, and one he gave as he turned back towards the beast. "But now I will finish what you could not."

"Why…" Weiss's voice spoke, and Blake nearly slapped a hand over her mouth. She nearly did.

 _Whoosh_ Up until the girl pulled the cloak away, revealing them both to the man. The juggernaut that hadn't trembled in the face of the Atlesian Army, all their might, or the blast of an Ancient Grimm. Showing him themselves, and Blake's burned form. He did not do much else but stare at them.

"Why… are you here…" The question came weakly. "Roman… Ruby… where are they? Where… are they?" Blake felt the same terror that Weiss did for the answer.

Even more so for when the man, before answering, let a bright wide smile split his vile face.

"The hero's descendant is assisting the escape of those of her home." That made sense. Ruby _would_ do that. "The man you call Roman has been corrupted, and is currently facing now a force far stronger than I." The terror returned to her again.

"Who…" Blake weakly spoke, hoping her trembling jaw wouldn't give the monster _more_ reason to ruin her. Not beyond already burning and ruining her face, forever marking her a monster. "Who is fighting Roman." The burning eyes of Ganondorf stared at her.

There was no anger. There was no apathy. There was not even sympathy.

"The thief faces now the same power that took my life. The same force that restored it. The same one that now fights for others to be saved."

All Blake saw, and all her ears heard, was an answer of hope from the man who embodied evil.

"Rest assured in the defeat of your thief. For he faces now the Hero of Time."

* * *

Roman Torchwick. That was the man who wore the mask of the god. That was the man who wore the mask so evil, he had lied about keeping it safe, to all but his closest friends. Only Tatl and Tael, who had seen him fight it, knew he had it, but neither were even willing to risk whispering about it as even a joke. They didn't want that evil to be spread.

It was a mask that terrorized a land and the kingdoms within it. Powerful enough to turn a small earth worm into a colossal Grammite, to twist bodies into malformed shapes and horrific designs, to shift the minds just as well, and to do it all with a placid grin and matching gaze. All of it, without a care for what was around it.

That was the mask he fought, and it was worn by a man who had organized and planned for the death of his friends. The man who tried to hurt so many others, and had gotten so close to killing them all the same. The man who wore the mask to tear apart the land around them. He had never been here before, but he recognized what was from the mask's creation.

He didn't need to trek through this forest to know that the trees were horribly maimed and twisted. He didn't need to stare at the sky to know that the clouds weren't meant to be such blood red. He didn't need to fight the monsters her to know that the terrors that littered the near desolate land were twisted and rotten. He knew what had made them well enough, and he _hated it_.

The mask and the man who wore it, he hated them both. He _hated_ Roman Torchwick. He _hated_ Majora. That was for the best.

Link had _no reason_ to hold back. Nothing short of his all.

"Back from the brink and ready for a drink!" Roman shouted high above him, sitting on empty air and clapping his cane on his thigh. He was missing a limb, something he'd have to offer thanks to Ganondorf for later… much later. Link knew he was grinning madly behind the rainbow hued mask. _Everyone_ who wore it always did. " _Does this make it Round 2, 3, or 4?_ I always have such a _hard time to tell. Because last time we_ fought, you were just dancing around with someone else's face. _But was that or real face, or the one you are wearing now?_ "

Link stared up at him, hearing, but not listening. There wasn't a need to listen. The man was already maddened, Roman Torchwick was all but gone, and he wasn't someone he needed to save, who he _wanted_ to save. Majora spoke through him now, twisting his words and memories with it. That wasn't okay. That would be terrifying for anyone else, but it was what he had seen before.

 ** _ROOOOOAR!_** A cry of rage ripped through the air behind him. One of the monsters he didn't recognize, something that Roman, twisted by Majora's hand, designed without a care. Link already knew it was lunging at him, giant clawed hands ready, and likely easily, prepared to tear through his skin.

 _SHINK!_ In the beat of an eye, he was standing two feet back, his blade out, and the monster sailing through the air in front of him.

His blade covered in dark misty gore, and the two halves of the long beast flopping to the ruined ground, just as decayed and useless. Link did not stare, he did not wonder, he only looked back up at Roman, the mad man cackling at the display.

"And here _I_ was thinking that Red was the fastest blade alive, certainly the most annoying," he spoke of Ruby, doubtlessly her. " _You were always more fun to play with, always making me think of new games and treasures to find and making hide-and-seek a treat!_ And is that a new sword of yours? I mean you've already gone through three shields and a couple of blades, but I'm just curious. Call it a thief's curiosity. _I think I recognize it from the last time we played tag!_ "

The blade was not new, though it was one he had seldom held. Not because it was too weak, brittle, or any other negative term of useless. No, the blade was not that, not his sword.

Not the lavender hued tool of the Great Fairy. Not the sole weapon forged from her magic and centuries of skill. A blade that could restore his health with the magic it drew from others it struck, and endure blows capable of leveling mountains. It was not a useless blade. So far, the opposite that it would often be the source of envy and desire. Better to hide it then let greedy eyes see it.

And the same, better to wield it to destroy a thief coveting life itself.

"You know I gotta say, you _do_ look a bit different." Roman 'stood' from his invisible seat, only to seemingly drop down in the next instant. Not touching the ground, still above it, but leaning over as it to inspect Link. "A bit taller? _A hair shorter?_ No more grins? _No more screams?_ Missing that moral compass on your shoulder? _Did Tatl fly away?_ " Link was tempted to jump forward and strike, but instincts spoke better.

He knew better than to strike, at least while the mad man was watching him.

You didn't slay one holding the power of a god with a vengeful strike. But calculated one.

"Could be a lot of things, but it does bug me. Usually I got an eye for this kind of stuff. _The most fun comes from seeing just what others make! It's gets boring when everyone obeys the rules!_ " Link still wasn't listening. He heard them, the same way how he heard the monsters roaming around him. "Eh, but maybe I'm just obsessing, bad habits with bad timing, things always come up like this. _No use in going up when its so much more fun to draw them all down._ " That came with the Roman posing in the air.

Posing with his only good arm outstretched, legs extended, hand reaching into the air, and his cane held above his head. _Boo-CRACK!_ It was a scene of power accented by the drums of thunder and sights of lightning. Lightning he hadn't seen since he had faced Ganondorf all those years ago.

The same man, no… a _different_ man that was doing as he requested now.

"Speaking of down, I can't help but remember you got that big brute on his knees. Quite a trick to pull without some leverage, if you know what I mean?" His waved his cane about in the air. " _Its great you made new friends, because it was boring when it was just the two of us before. Now we have three friends to enjoy the game with!"_ It was three before, but Link wasn't surprised. Why would he expect a god in a mask to remember a fairy like Tatl?

 ** _RAAA-_** SHINK! Link spun on his heel, slicing through a Wolfo that jumped at him. It was gored and slice through in a moment, spinning out of the way and letting the creature turn to mist. He stared down at the beast as it disappeared. He wasn't afraid of it; he was _angry_ at it.

"Well _there's that anger_ the big guy kept going on about, foreign or stuff. _It does look wrong on you. You were supposed to smile and scream!_ You getting upset just gives me the willies." He heard, but didn't listen. He wouldn't fall into madness again. "I'm being _serious! You weren't upset last time we played, and that was when everyone else was so mad that I just mad their temples more fun!_ You know how hard it is to have a good time in an empty warehouse? Green Thumb, I made those parties pop for free." He was being to flippant, which was sign enough Roman wasn't there. It all Majora.

The god that made death eaters to swallow the graves of warriors. Who poisoned a sea to drive war between Zora and Pirates. Who brought forth a warrior deity to slice through the shrubbery of the Deku. Who brought a mechanical beast to shape eternal winter for the Gorons. All of that… but all of it culminating in one horrific deed.

One that still hung above his head. Descending the same way the first had.

"Oh! You noticed the light show up above? _I don't like repeating the same game, but we had so much for last time I couldn't resist!_ " Roman seemed pleased by the display, apathetic to what the descending moon would do. "I always figured that bigger was better, and what the hell on earth is bigger than the moon!? _Nothing! And there's nothing better than making the game more intense._ Second verse, same as the first, _little bit louder and a whole lot worse!_ " Majora loved his games. Roman loved to gloat. That gave enough fuel to warm the pyre of Link's anger.

And that anger kept the tide of them away, for now. For now, until the monster in the mask decided that it was done playing, and sent the horde upon him. When that happened… Link would be ready.

"I got it! I know what's different about you!" Roman shouted, pointing his cane at Link. He held up to deflect an arrow, spell, or task. Nothing was shot at him but words. " _You look different now that I see it!_ It's the eyes, always in the eyes. Always something wrong with the eyes. Goes straight into the uncanny valley. _Your eyes now just look different!_ I'm right, aren't I? _Tell me I'm right!_ "

Link furrowed his brow, unable to ignore those words. He didn't bother or care to answer the mad man or the twisted mask that spoke. Neither of them was going to live long enough to ponder a reason for an answer. Not when there was already so little time to spare.

"Won't admit it? Well that's no fun. _You're trying to ruin the fun time again!"_ Link looked around himself once more, counting the foes and what he had. "You already put me in a tough spot by sending that big old Ganny-Po away. _We can't play together if you tell him to go play with others. You know no one else wants to play with us!_ " No one else could fight Majora, but Ganondorf wasn't needed her.

He was needed to destroy the monsters who were threatening the Vale city. He could _not_ risk a town being destroyed by Majora. He stopped the monster once, and he would again. Even if this time he needed the help of the Demon King for it.

"I get you had your reasons, but seriously, sending the man off just threw my plans into the grinder. _WE can't play tag, or hide-and-seek, or calvin-ball, or even charades!"_ Link stared again, the number of monsters around him, but increasingly unimportant. Were there were twelve at one glance, there were fifteen the next, then twenty, then thirty… "But fun as this is, _as games usually are_ , we both know that games have to end, and I think we already have enough players on the board, don't you? _If he won't come back, then we have to hurry to join him!_ "

Link felt the ground rumble again, and he held up the long lavender tip of the Great Fairy blade, pointing it at Roman, tinted with the rainbow hue of Majora's mask. He'd send a fury down if he had to, _when_ he could. He just needed the right time. All of his best strikes were _all_ about timing.

"So come on up Super Faunus! _Let's play another game for old time's sake!"_ Link said nothing still, doing nothing but tightening the grip on his blade.

Nothing… until he saw the monsters begin to move.

 ** _ROOOAR! RAOAAAAAR! GRAAAAA!_** They charged.

 _SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!_ And Link struck.

* * *

Her breath felt charred as she walked through the woods, or what could only reasonably be called _looked_ like the woods. It didn't really look like the woods, or a forest, or even trees. Trees didn't bleed, or scream, or beg, or whip out with tendrils. That wasn't what the forests on her island usually did. At least not before… all of this happened. And there was a _lot_ that happened.

There were monsters that were jumping out of the sea, swimming towards the ships that were barreling out across the red water faster than she thought was safe, but had no intention of stopping them. She watched as before as monsters rose up from nothing, more gnarly and monstrous than _any_ kind of Grimm she had ever seen before in her life. That didn't even include how everything didn't just feel twisted, but _looked_ it. Twisted enough that everyone before was screaming.

Then the screaming either increased or stopped when the moon reformed. She still had to look up at it as she walked, so large and _whole_ now that it was splitting the clouds. It looked like it was falling, but even _that_ wasn't as bad as what the moon looked like. She thought the whole moon would like smooth, or fun, or something to stare at. She didn't think it would have eyes big enough to stare back with, or a smile that looked more appropriate on… something terrifying.

That was scary, super scary, and she had been around scary things all her life. But now things were almost… nightmarish. She knew about death, she knew about fighting, she knew about not everyone getting out alive… but now… she had _seen it_.

She had _felt it._

"Whoa…" Ruby let out as her foot snagged a root. A root that _magically_ fell back into the forest she was trudging through. Crescent Rose caught her, the butt of her favorite weapon, of her love child and labor of joy, keeping her from falling into the dirt. She leaned against it for a moment, panting as her shoulders rose and fell. She had felt them all, but she couldn't save them all.

Ruby knew she saved some. She saved people as they got onto the boats and got out to see. She saw them get away and some screaming thanks. A few got in Bullheads and flew away, and she hoped no Rapiers Wasps got to them. She hoped they had survived, because… she couldn't imagine more dying and feeling it.

She couldn't imagine the feeling of more people crushed and hopeless, her feeling them in danger… and them doing nothing to stop it. And not being able to be fast enough for all of them. Not fast enough for a broken man who said everything was gone.

Then saving another family as he lost everything, as one of those odd blue, gnarly _monster_ Grimm sliced through him. She had screamed, and everyone did, too.

But now… they were all gone. They were all gone and all she heard now was the rumble of the thunder high above her, the trembling of the land beneath her feet, and the uneasy steps she took, or _had_ been taking. It was so hard to walk right now. Namely because she felt something was wrong… _But it wasn't with her semblance._

It was just off like getting up too late in the morning, or hearing a bad rumor at school. Something that just felt wrong, only a million, quite possibly a billion, times worse. And she couldn't do anything to make it go away. She didn't eve know what it felt that way right now. No instead she felt… she felt like there was something wrong, but not like before. Not like where she knew _where_ the danger was. She couldn't because she was just… tired.

Ruby was _tired_.

No… exhausted and depleted. _Literally_.

" _HUNH!_ " Her voice let out as she took another desperate step forward. It was hard to walk when her Aura was depleted. It was also impossible to use her Semblance. She couldn't feel any danger and she couldn't run to it. She was just an ordinary girl now with normal knees, normal senses, and an abnormal amount of exhaustion. That was normal when she fought monsters.

Fought monsters on an island that used to be her home, but again, closer to a monster horror show than anything else. She only continued to walk through it out of desperation, out of necessity. She couldn't run anywhere, but she couldn't stay at the shore. She wouldn't be fast enough to run _or_ be able to tell where they were coming from.

So she left, the ruins of her hometown surrounded by Grimm and monsters, as she walked through the forest. The island was still cracking underneath her, and she did her best to keep her balance, even if her staff was being used more like a walking stick. She wanted to laugh, to hear Yang make a joke she needed to be ten times her age before she could do that, but it hurt to laugh, it hurt to breathe.

Ruby realized it was the _air_ that felt wrong. Like it was being stained with something. She knew that was bad, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. Nothing but walk, walk and try to find the only safe place left she could think of. Even if it was the world word that was probably in trouble, there was still only one place she believed she'd feel safe.

That place sat at the edge of a cliff, over looking the ocean, and hopefully hadn't changed. As long as that there, Ruby knew she'd be okay. She _had_ to believe it, because that would keep the Grimm away, just like her dad taught her to. Her dad… who Yang was taking care of.

Yeah… they were all okay. Yang and dad were going to be fine, back in Beacon with Saria. Ruby was here… with Ganondorf, fighting Roman. It wasn't where anyone would want her to be, but it was what she decided to do. They could get mad at her latter, if they wanted. Because even if she was walking on shaky limbs through a corrupted and gnarly forest, she didn't care.

Ruby Rose only grinned, knowing there was one family member on this island still she could go see, and she intended to sit next to her and wait for this to end.

… hopefully it wouldn't be too long.

The rumbling moon, high above, didn't look like it would wait much longer.


	50. A Legend Emerges

It was rare for Link to face the same threat more than once. It was even rarer for him to see the same horrific landscape as he did so. He had faced the same monster more than once, dozens of times even. Moblins, Wolfos, Stalchildren, Keese, Deku Babas, and not even to give consideration to the risen dead that so often came from the cursed magic.

But the beings that controlled those monsters, the ancient curses or the empowered monsters, those were the ones that he faced once, twice at bet. Usually resurrected by the demons the gods feared or those gods themselves. Rarely did they return, at least in any time he suspected would be his natural life.

But now… was different, and it was different in ways he understood and didn't like.

He was facing one of those monsters again, the Evil God that was cursed and lain inside an ancient mask by an equally old tribe. A tribe that had given all their souls and lives for it, but managed to put the spirit to rest, until it had terrorized the land beyond Hyrule, the terminal between the beginning and the end, and he had defeated it.

He had brought that same power with him, after sealing it with… _another_ dark power. Unable to kill it, unable to destroy it, but bearing it so far in that portable tomb that no one suspected the mask was anything but a poorly designed macabre to wear. That was how it had been for decades, and through all his time in Hyrule. How amazing then that so soon after coming to this strange new land, an equally unknown, and clearly well informed, organization had given it life.

That was where the differences began. Majora was the source of evil in Termina. It was the being that grew terrors from worms and cursed death upon all, for a game that ended with life itself. He still had that same power. He still had that same mentality, even if it was shared with the thief who wore it, and by nothing short of luck, was able to free it. Here though… he was not in charge, or at least not truly.

Someone had to have freed him, freed _it_ , and so Link was fighting the terror again, all while knowing that there was another monster in its shadow, pulling its limbs, and making it dance to a beat it was too mad to realize.

 _WHAM!_ _ **BANG!**_ _SHINK-SHINK!_ The acknowledgement came as Link dodged around the monsters aiming to maim him, and the shots from the cane dining to kill him. All passing just over his skin, grazing him close enough to ensure death if he did not dodge, but always far from within reach. Link was talented, he knew, but he could not swing his sword swiftly and pull a man flying in the sky back down to earth. Not _yet_.

"Hey, are we playing tag? Cause I gotta say, you're dodging better than half the kids I used to play with! _You were always so good at it! No matter who I had helping me, you were never_ it!" The voice of Majora spoke through Roman, and vice versa. Link didn't pay them more mind. _SHINK!_ Not when he had to swing his blade up, severing the arm of Moblin that was aiming to grab him. _SHINK!_ He stabbed forward in the follow-up to the swing, cutting through its neck and ending its life.

He pulled the blade out in another long arc, making the few monsters who were now wary of him back away from the blade. Some, but not all. _SHINK-SHINK!_ Not the ones who thought they could strike his back, but now floundered to the ground with rolling heads. Link raised his blade, staring over its flat, as he looked at the monsters still surrounding him. Doing that with glances at Roman high above, him and Majora's Mask keeping him strong and able.

Roman… Ganondorf had done much to him, and yet not enough. Roman was the one who had helped to kill _Tatl and Tael_. He was responsible for nearly _all of it_. It was hard to put a number to how many bodies he had seen because of him, how many _children_ he had seen through Lana's eyes. Lana… and Darmani… and _Impa_ , three of his friends whose very memories were stolen by this man. Ganondorf was right, he was a _thief_. But he was one who was empowered with madness, and was evidence by his callous laughter even with a severed arm. It would have made for a difficult fight, but Link had faced foes stronger, older, faster, and smarter than him many times over. And he was still alive.

It helped that he also had the right tools. He had arrows to create glaciers, storms, or infernos. He had a Longshot that could help pull a tree from the earth. He had gauntlets to help carry mountains. He had tools built up from decades of helping others, much like the blade he had now. The blade that was shining in his grasp, and perhaps the only thing keeping the monsters from dogpiling him. He did not have fear for them, but they were wary of him.

"I know I'm the last one to judge, but you gotta admit that sword of yours is looking a bit… brighter than I'd expect." Roman mocked again twisting his cane even as he stood on nothing in the air. "Lookin' so broody and moody, and hey! You can't even claim it's a beautiful day outside. _Not when there is no cheering or gleeful or having fun!_ " The twist didn't bother him. Link didn't listen, only heard. He could tell Roman was careful of the blade, longer than Link's arms and wider than his fist.

All monsters were careful around the Great Fairy's Sword. Named and signified by the great spirit who had forged and blessed it. Though hued and colored like the morning dawn, it was far more than that. Able to take the magic of the enemies killed, to turn their essence into his strength, and to ensure he was capable of fighting no matter how long the battle. That was his blessing.

The Great Fairy had recognized that he was the only one fighting a war against a god, so it made sense she gave him a tool to make it possible. No, fighting Majora again, was an appropriate time to use it.

"And are you still trying to keep your lips zipped? _Ganondorf spoke more, but he's not as fun as you._ You should know the silent treatment only works if you're talking from a higher position of power. _Maybe that's why you're so good at Hide-and-Seek! I couldn't find you before!_ " The last comment came as the cane was pointed at him again. The obvious was coming. "So it's a damn good thing I'm finally the guy with the higher ground." And it was just as fine Link was the one who never gave up.

 **RAAAAGH!** He ducked under a jumping Bokoblin, letting its massive hand swing harmlessly over him. He did not retaliate against it. Instead, Link withdrew his bow in the same fluid motion with which he stood. By the time his legs were positioned, he had pulled and drawn and arrow, all in the time the average knight was recovering from the dodge. He was already prepared to fire.

 **TWA-** ** _BANG_** **!** Link's arrow released just after the round was fired from the cane. Too quick for him to dodge as he fired. The green tunic wearing knight took the unlatched arrow to his side, feeling the blow and making him draw in on himself. The monsters saw it as well, their roars reaching into the sky as they were preparing to jump on him. But they were too late.

 _SHIIIIIIIHCCHCH!_ His arrow had already hit the Moblin he was aiming for, large and easy to strike. The arrow's chilled tip exploded from there, filling the air with ice and swiftly surrounding the monsters around it. A column of the frozen water and air that rose like a wall, silencing a good part of the screaming horde. Not nearly all, but far more than the petty amount a few swings of his swords could manage.

But one was not enough. **TWANG!** So, he released another as he recovered from the blow he had taken, this time aiming for one of the burned Twili. It hit home in its massive distended jaw. It was opened up as the ice exploded around it, cocooning the twisted life before latching onto many others.

In no time at all, dozens of the monsters were trapped in his walls of ice, the gift of his Aura and the craft of the arrows. Frozen, held still, with limbs extended out to strike, backs turned as they were trying to flee, and even a few that were trying to push others out of the way. Monsters that recognized his determination to kill, and the light his sword shone with.

"You know, I had this great pun about light and ice, but that'd just be too easy. _There's nothing fun about easy._ " Roman spoke up again, floating above even the walls of ice Link had made. He continued to hear them, unable to push them from his senses, but he wasn't listening. He didn't have to. Nothing they said would matter to him. **TWANG!** So instead he fired an arrow at them. One the cane was already drawing back to smack out of the air.

 _TWA-_ _ **THUUUUM!**_ A pity for Roman that Link hadn't fired an ice arrow or normal one, but a fire arrow.

The pyre that exploded in the middle of the air, surrounding Roman like a terrifying sun, was evidence he had hit. A well-placed arrow could do a lot, he knew, but a fire did just as much. There was a reason the only sages who kept the name were either immune to it or savored it. Because no one else could bear the destructive power it had, or the fuel it needed.

Especially when it was able to light up the rotten earth and twisted monsters like the sun itself.

Link watched the fire burn for a second, only that. He didn't have time to marvel at the fire crackling in the air. Even if it was lighting his heart. **RAAAGHAGHAA!** Because despite the dozens of monsters his arrows had captured, there were still _hundreds_ more. He jumped forward to miss a Deku Baba's head from biting him from behind, twisting around on his heel to see the massive drooling mouth of the plant pulling back the chunk of earth it had bitten away. He didn't need to stand there and marvel, he had seen it before.

Instead, the Hylian Knight put his foot to the back of the ice and pushed off of it, pulling the Great Fairy Sword around him in the same motion. It turned his jump into a flip, and flipping with his sword out stretched and looking for something to sever. _SCHWING!_ The thin neck of the demon plant would do. Not even a gurgle came out before Link's boots hit the ground. He wasn't done though, not with the number of monsters roaming around.

A Dodongo was crawling through the rotten earth and prepared to jump. _SHINK!_ The lavender blade effortlessly pierced the dirt, killing it. He jumped and spun on the handle then, avoiding the long tongue of a lizalfos as it tried to ensnare him. But his weight freed the blade mid-flip. _SHINK!_ The long tongue of the monster was severed with an angry pained cry from the beast.

But he still wasn't done, beating them all back with his broadsword, the light shining from it empowering him. Every hit he dealt and bit of their blood he drew, he was stronger for it. His fatigue washed away with his effort, and hew as not done. He was _far_ from done!

"You about done down there?" Roman shouted, just as impatient.

Link wasn't surprised to see him batting away the flames, washing them off as if they were just an annoyance to him. With the power of Majora at his disposal… that was very likely all it was. _An annoyance._ The ball of fire that had lit up the land so well, and Roman was looking as if he wasn't in the center of it. No charred marks on his suit, not a color out of place on the mask.

Only a grin Link couldn't see, but knew the mad thief was wearing. Just as mad as all his actions, thoughts, and dreams.

"Cause I gotta say, I do enjoy a good rodeo show, but there's always a time to shoo out the clowns. _Can't have fun if you don't get serious. The most fun in games is when you are trying your hardest, doing your best! So do your best and run from me!_ " Not for him, _from_ him. Link hadn't missed it.

The same way how- _SHINK!_ \- even as the Great Fairy's sword ripped through the arm of a Wolfo, severing the leg of the Stalfo climbing up behind hit, he could see the mad man's cane pointing at him again. Glowing, ominous, and alight so much like Ganondorf's when he fought him. The similarities did not surprise him. Rather, it _prepared_ him.

 _SHiiiIIIII-_ _ **BOOM!**_ Prepared him for the blast that came from the end of the cane, and the twisted pillars of darkness that came from it. Link ran from them.

 **RAAA-GRCH!** ** _RAOOOOO-CLCH!_** Because those pillars of light were firing randomly not meant to be tracked or watched. They hit all around Link, tearing up the rotten brown and red earth, _through_ the monsters he had been fending off like his sword through a tree's limb, and even piercing the walls of ice his arrows had made.

Hitting them and forcing them to crumble into rubble and mist, taking all the monsters that had been frozen inside of them with them. But if there was mist… there was cover. And he needed that even if for a moment.

He slid beneath the mist and crumbled ice, easily finding an alcove to hide in. The beasts lost him quickly in the mist, light as it was. He had no fear and they could not find him, not now. Not while he prepared another arrow to fire. Not fire, not ice, and not lightning. No, it was the one he made as a joke, in his youth, and proved to be fruitful.

So aiming through the mist, at the blurry shape barely visible above him, Link drew the bow string back – _PSHHHHH! –_ An let his fingers flick the wick at the end of the arrow.

"Wait, did that seriously kill you? _Really?!_ You gave that Ganon-dork a run for his money but a flick of my wrist and you're done? _What happened to all those games we used to play? Where's the boy that could make the dead run in fear?"_ Link still wouldn't listen, only acknowledging what he heard. It gave him a perfect target.

 _TWACK!_ He let the arrow go, hissing through the mist and making a clearing. The burning yellow eyes of Majora's Mask turned to him almost instantly, but he did not blink as he stared back at the floating man.

"AHA! There you-" **BOOOOM!** He said no more, the bomb Link having fired exploding on impact.

He felt the force of the explosion far closer to the ground still. The bombs were the Goron's special crop, able to tear apart boulders 20x his own size into dust with a single well-placed position. An arrow in the face of Roman could have done some good, or so he hoped. He honestly only hoped to knock the mask off.

 _TUNK!_ Link had jumped before he had a thought to, seeing the long end of a tentacle sticking into the ground where he just was. The roar and cheer of the monsters around him more evidence that he was far from finished. He was already pulling out his blade again. _TWANG-TWANG!_ Just in time to beat two more tentacles out of his way, keeping them from ensnaring him like Morpha's body.

He saw the tentacles coming from beneath the mask Roman wore, the same tendrils as when he faced the body alone. But far larger, longer, and doubtlessly stronger as a consequence. Those were all troubling.

"Now _that_ was unexpected!" The call of the thief was not. Not when he beat away the smoke with his cane again, treating the point-blank hit as nothing more than a nuisance, again. " _Nothing less than what I expected from you!_ After all the crap you pulled before, you better keep impressing me, especially with all the recommendation and accommodations that big lug was giving you. _We have to keep playing to keep having fun, don't we?!_ " the question asked as Roman's twisted hand pointed up towards the sky.

Yes, up towards the moon. A source of many of his worst nightmares. He had _not_ forgotten about it. He was sure anyone who gazed on it would be unable to forget such a thing. Like the face of a demon gazing down at them from the heavens. Link hadn't forgotten about it, he had just focused on what was important.

He could _not_ stop the moon from falling, but he _could_ stop Majora and Roman from pulling it down. Not like letting it fall the first time, as Skull Kid did, but pulling it. Stopping only to throw attacks at him. Just another reason Link couldn't stop fighting. And another reason he loathed the differences he recognized.

He was a fool to think it would work so easily, not while the moon continued to hang and rumble above him. If the death of the man wasn't evidence enough when the fight would be over, then it would be the snarling face of _that_ moon.

He hated it, but it was the best timer he had. Now, much like the many races he had been thrusted into before, he had to beat it. And to start, he had to hit Roman. In such a way that his cane was not hit, nor the mask, but _him_. And, much like a few enemies he had faced before, there was the catch old method for making it possible.

 _TWANG!_ And it began with firing an unlit fused arrow into one of the approaching Wolfo. It stumbled amongst the herd around it, but that was reason enough for Link to pursue.

He jumped out of the ice. **BANG!BANG!** Ignoring the hail of projectiles around him. The mist was still heavy, and he was still running through it. Even if the rumble of the moon and rot of the world quickly settled it and melted the ice, it would last long enough.

Long enough for him to get out his hook shot, stop before the horde of monsters too unsure to attack him. _SCHIIIINKG!_ And then fire it out and embedding the sharp end into the monster. It gurgled more than howled, but that was fine enough for him. All Link needed was room now. Room spent as he dug his heel into the earth, feeling it _bleed_ beneath him, then start to spin.

Spin the same way he did with a sword, a shield, or just to entertain those around him. He spun, but this time with a monster chained to his wrist… no less than three dozen feet away.

 ** _RRAAAOaoaoaoaoAAAAGAGHAHG- WHACK-WHACK-WHACK_** _!_ Link heard as well as he felt the Longshot clotheslining the monsters that were approaching them. The heavy weight attached to it, combined with the strength of his Golden Gauntlets, turning what he hit into mist and mulch. All except for the Wolfo still embedded on it, doubtlessly clawing at it for escape. Link would offer none, because it was needed, for now.

Enough for him to release the lock, and send the Wolfo flying at Roman.

"HA _HAHA_ HAH! Now _that's_ a first! Over-night delivery!" Roman laughed at it, mixing with Majora's stained tone. He raised his cane as the Wolfo, uselessly howling as it flew, approached him. "Too bad I gotta send it back. Don't worry, I'll make _it expre-"_ **BOOM!** Contact with it made it explode. Just like Link knew it would. "And again, with the bombs! _The same trick is boring Link! Where's the next tri-"_ This time Link hit home.

The arrow he fired under the cover of the explosion was enough, and clearly not what the monster was expecting. He watched the mist of ember ad debris for a moment, hovering in the air - _SHINK!_ Even if he had to stab the odd Dodongo sneaking up on him, too skittish after he had ruined a horde with his Longshot. It energized him, but not enough to make up for all of his efforts.

" _AHHAHAHAHHEHEHEHEHAHAHA!_ " And from the laughter that rolled from the mist, Roman and Majora had yet to be even feel trifled with. " _So good! So good! Old trick in a new trick! So clever! So fun!_ But without muscle, it's the difference between eggs or toilet paper at a new house!" Roman shouted then. The meaning was clear, even if Link wasn't listening. "Where did all that vaulted strength go the big guy kept bragging about! If I had a Lien for all the praise, he threw out you, I'd give up crime! Well, maybe, thought not likely. _Don't want to quit the game while you're still in the lead!_ "

The sky rumbled with the declaration again. Link sighed through it. This wasn't working.

He needed a plan that could work. Even if there was dust on Roman now, it was just _dust_. Not enough to stop the moon fall, not enough to defeat him, not before was tired out even with the help of the Great Fairy's sword. He needed to win, he _had_ to win. For Tatl and Tael, for their promise, for everything, he just… he just _had_ to get that mask off of Roman! Drag him from the sky or blow him into the water he…

Well… there was an idea. A difficult one, but since when were his plans and methods for dealing with ancient monsters the sanest ones? All he needed was to take three courses of action. A distraction, an action, and a surprise. Then… he just couldn't stop.

Link wiped beads of sweat from his brow, just before pushing the Great Fairy Sword forward again, letting it rip through another bear-like monster, tearing it in two before feeling a surge of energy come with it. He flipped over the gnarly hands of a pair of twisted White Fang Members, the Twili beasts, before letting his body spin. _SHINK!_ The lavender blade had no difficulty in bisecting the pair of monsters, blood and gore dropping to the ground around him.

But they were just distractions, and Link had a target. A target that was responsible for the ever so clearly falling moon. His blade shown with energy as he lifted it above his head. _SHIINK!_ And with a swing down, sent another blade of energy ripping forward.

 ** _RAAA-! AGH-!_** The painful cries of the beasts were cut off, in the same time as their heads. Heads, arms, torso, legs, and everything else that was in the path of the beam of energy shooting forwards. It was capable of great damage, and he knew that. Just as well as he knew Roman would be distracted by it, at least enough to make a comment or a quip.

"Is that what they mean by the light at end of a tunnel? Who'd _want_ to look at that?!" And a point for him. Link didn't respond, already taking out the Longshot and aiming up at the man, making a show about bending over and covering the eyes of the mask with his cane. A needless action, that opened him up for a potential strike. " _It's too bright, too distracting, not fun for any kind of good games! You can't hide with that!_ " He wasn't trying to hide with it.

Link was trying to distract with it.

 _PSHHHHH!_ Long enough for the bomb held beneath his last good shield to explode. **BOOOOM!**

The air _ripped and tore_ past Link as he sored into the air, the last good shield he had turned to a chunk of metal beneath his feet. He didn't care, it didn't matter. All that mattered was his sudden and drastic ascent into the air, towards Roman and Majora. The man and the mask just starting to turn to him, and he was already barreling towards them faster than most arrows.

"What?! You can fly!?" Link didn't have to answer that.

" _HYAAAAAAGH!_ " Not when he spun his blade with his body, turning his ascent into momentum, and letting it rip through the air. He couldn't even see Roman and Majora, not through the dizzying spin he was in, but he knew he was close, and he knew he wasn't going to miss.

 _TWANG!_ And contact, the weight of his body pushing into the contact with the cane, was all the feeling he needed. His spin stopped, lavender blade held down and the hilt locking with the diaphysis of the cane. Close enough, and powerful enough, for him to lean into the mask Roman was wearing. Only large eyes stared back at him, vicious and sadistic as ever.

"Close~," Roman whispered to him. "But no cigar~." And Link felt the magic collect at the end of the man's cane. He knew it was there, so he didn't need to look. Besides, this wasn't the ends.

The beam was the distraction, the ascent was the action, and now… he just needed a surprise. _That_ part, was easy. It was all he ever did to win his more impossible fights.

Such as right now, letting the Great Fairy's sword slip from his grip, letting him start to fall.

Only to grab Roman's leg. _SCHIIIINKG!_ At the same time his longshot came out from his other hand, hitting the ground far beneath them.

And then, _reeling them in_.

Link only heard a gasp of a surprise before Roman started to scream, a sound drowned out by the rush of the air past his long ears. He didn't bother to try and strain and hear what the mad man was saying. IT wouldn't matter. Not in the slightest. He heard, but didn't listen. The same way he never listened to Saria about being careful when climbing trees in the Lost Woods, about how dangerous it could be if he fell.

It was a good thing he didn't listen, because it prepared him for what happened when he did fall. A case in point.

 ** _BOOOM!_** Having something softer to land on.

Roman's body was crushed beneath Link as they hit the dirt, hard enough for the ground to upend with the impact, comparable to the blows Ganondorf would deliver to the earth when they had fought, strong enough to level mountains and create new dunes in the desert. A far cry from as strong as the Gerudo King, but Link had done his effort.

Roman was underneath him, but the fight wasn't done. He didn't have his blade. _SHINK!_ Not until he heard it hit the ground behind him. And Roman, despite the sudden collision and fall, wasn't dead.

Link jumped off of him before the upwards draft and blast of magic could hit him, avoiding, if only barely, the deathly coil of the dark arts.

" _COUGH! COUGH!"_ Roman let out, though it could have just as easily been the mask he wore. Link didn't care. The man was weakened, vulnerable, or at least distracted. And Link was still without his sword. " _Woah!_ Dude, I knew the training for being a hunter was crazy, but seriously, maybe you _are_ a Super Faunus or something. _You make things look easy, and easy things can look fun to do! Do more of them!_ " The cheer and request were all Link needed to know this wasn't done.

And if not that, then seeing Roman standing up, his only arm brushing off the suit he wore, head cracking as the mask bent left and right. He loathed that action, reminding him too much of the final cursed state of Skull Kid, before his life was drained away. A boy who wanted to play, and mask that gave him the power to.

Roman wasn't that lost child. He was a monster profiteering and relishing the destruction around him. He could _burn and rot_ behind that mask. Link was sure he already was.

"I get you might have been shooting at the moon, but I think you might have missed, seeing as all you did was pull down a star!" His arms were held out, striking a pose that made the monsters around them, those not blown away by the impact, howl and cheer, as if by command. It _was_ by command, like the terrors and monsters Majora created to torture and maim those in the temples. " _But does that mean we're on even ground? That's no fun! One of us has to be better!_ " He was going to ascent again.

Link couldn't let that happen. Not now, he wouldn't have a chance to pull him out of the sky again if he did, not easily at least. Now was the time to capitalize.

Now Link had to lay into the assault. _SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!_

And his blade made quick work of the tentacle and monsters Roman and Majora tried to summon forth. None of them doing anything but making him take another swing to get closer. **_BAM!_** And then jumping to deliver a savage kick into the man's torso as he began to rise, keeping him grounded.

" _OOF!_ " The sound of air rushing out of the man, even if the painful look was hidden by the horned mask, was a sound Link only noted. He kept his focus on the body tumbling past monsters he commanded, his only good arm barely stopping him as he tumbled. "Y-You know… most people would… consider beating up a cripple _kinda_ rude. _Don't I deserve a handicap for the game?_ " Link still wouldn't respond.

He just had to keep attacking, keep striking, and keep the pair of mad beings grounded and vulnerable. He had defeated both of them before, and he could do it again. They were _all_ he had to worry about.

"Do you… even got time to dance with me?" Link was rushing forward, even as the man jumped up on his feet, before floating into the air and trying to fly again. "You should be- _now hold on!_ " At least tried to, before he grabbed his ankle and clicked his boots, turning them into Iron. "I take it back! _I take it back!_ Let go!" He would not.

And the rushing of air was a fine feeling, especially when his boots crushed a Wolfo that was attempting to lunge up to him, crushed into mist for its trouble. **_WHAM!_** He slammed the man down into the dirt like a hammer just after, his Golden Gauntlets shining as he made a small crater for the effort. Not fully realized, not fleshed out, but doubtlessly painful enough to give the man some pause. Him and trapped monster alike.

" _Wo-AGH!_ " He did not grin at the painful gasp, certainly not. He was too focused on getting the right amount of momentum to swing down the Great Fairy Sword, aiming to take the man's _other_ arm. _SHING-BANG!_ Unfortunately, maddened as he was, he was still being possessed by a creature measured in strength to deities. " _Don't try and end the game this quick! We've only just started to play!_ "

That comment came as the cane he had used to block the sword twisted, pointing the hollow end towards Link. **_BANG!_** His head dipped to the side, feeling the fletchless arrow shoot past his ear, cutting the bangs of his blond locks. It was still enough to let the man spin, kicking at Link's side with his other leg. But not enough to make him let go.

So he swung him again. **_WHAM!_** _Harder_ this time. Hard enough that the nice white suit Roman was wearing was stained black and red as he crushed one of the monstrous Twili. It was one of the few who decided to attack, despite Link not being afraid. He wasn't afraid at all. He was just angry.

"You… You sure you g-got time to start this swing dance? No jazz music or setup? _Don't you want to make sure your teammates are doing well?"_ And that was part of the reason for his anger, threatening others. The same thing Majora _always did_. He had seen Roman all of twice, and both times were just as malicious. " _The beast of the ocean is a fish turned shark! Evening the game to make it more fun to watch!_ Don't you want to see what it's like to have a- **GAH!** " **_WHAM!_** He was silenced by Link slamming him into the ground again.

 _BANG!_ His blade was, unfortunately, stopped by the same cane again. He was determined to keep his limbs and life, even if he had already lost one to the man who had tried to kill him before. That was why Link was focused on just the pair of them. _Just Roman_ and _just Majora_. Link knew, these two were all he had to worry about.

Ganondorf was the name he thought of when he wished for aid. But he could think of no better man to kill a monster than one who was trying to prove he wasn't one.

Besides… **_WHAM!_** " _Agh-gain!?_ " He had _another_ monster to deal with.

* * *

Her breathing was erratic, but not due to stress or external factors. Her breathing was erratic because it was taking nearly everything, she could to be able to draw in enough breath to inflate her lungs. Normally, this would be because of some extreme form of exhaustion, Aura depletion being the main reason it occurred to huntresses. After studying so much in medical fields, she was well aware of this.

It was why so many paramedics wanted to move civilians or wounded huntsmen into safer areas first, preferably with climate control and regulated air temperatures. The ideal temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit would reduce a lot of the stress on breathing, and breathing was, after all, vital for maintaining life. The less the paramedics had to regulate, the better.

So, when her breathing became forced and erratic, difficult to keep her breath in and making her shiver with the fear that she wouldn't have the strength to take in her next breath, she knew the situation was bad. There was only so much her collapsed Aura could do, and how much Blake could help her. And even if she wanted to be moved to a safer location, she wasn't sure there would be one. Not where they were at least. Or, more accurately, with who was around them.

She had difficulty breathing the first time she had seen Ganondorf. Now she was trying to breathe after using near all her Aura to reduce the strength of the Ancient Grimm's blast. She was sure it would have done a lot. But the imposing Aura and damnable pressure the giant of a man gave off was making her nearly collapsed lungs all the more difficult to inflate. She could barely speak because of it.

All Weiss could do was stare at the billowing cape of Ganondorf's back, the man floating in the air like an ominous beacon from hell, as she was held by her teammate.

"Are you two well?" The dark and rumbling voice of the man spoke, a burning eye looking over his shoulder, down on them. Weiss _couldn't_ take in a breath when he was looking at her. She grit her teeth instead, feeling Blake's fingers clasp her all the tighter. "No, you are not. Enduring the monsters that mad man created to defend this city. You are not well, but an acceptable consequence to saving lives, I am sure." He wasn't wrong, but Weiss would damn herself before she agreed easily with him.

"What about you?" Blake asked, hissing the question. "Are you okay with just… leaving _whatever_ Roman is now alone? Leaving Ruby _there?!_ " She was screaming the questions, even if her Aura was still being drained from the cloak. "Then what about that monster! Are you responsible for it!" Her hand pointed up towards the Ancient Grimm, its long beak, easily large enough to swallow a tanker whole, finally shut after firing that beam.

"I am responsible for protecting your kingdom from its attack. That is all the credit I can be given for it." He responded again. "However, I will be willing to accept more in a moment. _After_ I am finished killing it and saving your land." Killing it… that giant thing?

 _BOOM! BOOM!_ Even as they spoke, Weiss could see and hear the explosions of the Atlas gun batteries trying to pelt the monster. Clouds of dust and explosions of fire, ice, were shattered across its thick hide, but did nothing to stop the beast. None of its large beady eyes so much as blinked as it continued its slow trudge forward. **BOOM!** And it was getting closer to shore with every step. She could even _see_ the waves as the washed up onto the street, clearing the beach front with ease.

"It is good to see I am not alone in the endeavor." Ganondorf didn't appear upset or even worried by the utter lack of ground the Military was gaining on the monster. Those volleys and shots, leaving grails of smoke disappearing into the darkened sky, and he said nothing. Nothing but… floated with crossed arms. Weiss tried to swallow, but found it difficult. "Tell me, either of you, how fares the rest of your kingdom's people?" Did he care?

"We… we were able to get as many out as we could. We didn't keep track." Blake spoke, holding Weiss close. The heiress wanted to tell her to run, but speaking was becoming as difficult as standing, and she had already failed at that. "Why? Do you intend to go after them?" At least then she could tell Blake to _stop antagonizing the monster_.

"Be at ease, burned woman." Though he was just as callous with his words. "I only wish to offer a hearty congrats for a job well done." He turned his golden eyes away from them, back to the Ancient Grimm that was looming closer.

A mighty beast that even now Blake could do nothing but shiver at the sight of. A blast from it nearly destroying all of Vale, or at least an amount that would turn it from a Kingdom to a settlement. Enduring the forces of the Military AND summoning forth more Grimm. He stared at it, and didn't so much as shiver or arm himself. Then again… Weiss had seen him endure just as much as this beast. Perhaps even more now.

"You built walls of ice and lead the squires in training, making up for where your kingdom was ill equipped. Were I a king of this land, I would offer you praise and glory for your deeds." She was _so thankful_ he wasn't. Weiss had a difficult enough time imagining that from her father. From this vile man? It would be akin to having the devil shake her hand. "At the moment, I instead only wish to ask what has been tried and failed against this monster."

"Didn't you make it?" Blake asked, and Weiss had never even thought of that. "We talked to Jaune and Pyrrha, they told us how a Grimm that looked _just_ like you had summoned forth other Grimm. If you're so much more powerful, then didn't you make this as well?" She was missing a step in her logic, but Weiss didn't correct her. Not when she felt her blue tinted fingers grasping at her shoulders.

"I may be able to make a beast like this." The answer she heard, however, disturbed her. "I have made as many in the past to torment the hero as well." And it only got worse. "Made to swallow villages, to rule lands, and to find the sources of treasure the Hylians had hidden from my people, from the thieves of the desert." He almost sounded like her father in front of a fireplace, thinking and speaking of old memories.

 ** _RAAAAAAAWW-_** The high cry of the Grimm, shaking the air with its shout, was enough to remind her that this was far from any comparable fireplace. She swallowed on nothing, throat parched and dry as her Aura reserves, as she watched the Grimm take another lumbering step, watching the waves that rose with it. She could only hope and pray there were no ships nearby, or else they would have doubtlessly been sunk as a consequence.

All those people killed, by a Grimm's _footfall_. How many more if that blast had hit?

"Though now from the other side, I can admit it is more of an annoyance than an obstacle." And how many more while Ganondorf, the _vile man_ , still spoke so lightly about a threat that… that they couldn't even _imagine_ to stop! "I wonder if this is how the hero felt when he faced the King of the Dodongos? When he risked the bowels of a volcano against Volvagia? When he tormented himself in the well's depths against Bongo Bongo?" The last one… didn't really strike her well.

The lightning that crackle from his hand, extended at his side, however, struck even deeper.

 _FWOOOOSH!_ Blake let out a hiss as power _surged_ past them. Curled into Blake's side, she felt the power sweep past her like the torrent of a storm. It sizzled over her body, and she feared for a moment her lack of Aura would leave her burned. Her teammate covered her, hiding her with her own burned body, and Weiss greedily fell into the embrace.

But she didn't scream in pain, hardly whimpered in fright. Neither of them acted in any way to give her fright. Instead… Weiss only watched over her shoulder, curled into Blake's body, as lightning crackled around Ganondorf, darkening the air around him, and seemingly making the ice walls she made hum with power. It was… a sight that made her realize once more just how powerful he was.

It became even more apparent when darkness began to dark form. When those shadows he had made and burned from his hands began to take shape. When they turned from just being an ominous Aura… and into something more. Weiss had seen him make a blade out of the darkness before, when he was about to strike Saria, before Ruby intervened, stupid as she was for it.

This wasn't a blade he was making. She didn't need Ruby to know it. It was a lance.

A long, gnarly, and vicious lance. One that was taller than his already massive height, with a head as dark as his shadows, but spiked like a frozen flame. It was terrifying just to look at, even when it was silhouetted by the massive Grimm still trudging through the ocean. Weiss was holding onto Blake, and she felt the Faunus hold her all the tighter.

"I wonder if this how the hero felt, when he had to slay the beasts I crafted." Ganondorf let the words roll from his lips again, rumbling like the air his magic shook. Weiss shivered against Blake, unaware if it was the Aura exhaustion or the man's visage that chilled her soul. "Before he rid the land of evil, with the aid of _power_."

Ganondorf pulled his arm back as he spoke, and it was more than evident what he was going to do.

Just as evident was the widening of the Grimm's jaw, opening up as if to swallow whole everything in front of it. The same motion it had made before when it was ready to blast forward… and it was creating a ball of energy, crackling with lightning, as it did so. Weiss gripped Blake's cloak with what strength she had.

"Blake… Blake…" She spoke her friend's name, hoping to coax her into running this time. It was only going to be _more_ dangerous with the vile man here, flying and holding a lance as wicked as he was. But the burned Faunus did not move.

"I'm here Weiss," she said again, though her glowing golden eyes up on the man with flaming red hair, him and his cape billowing as the energy was collected in the monster's maw. "And even though I hate to say it… I think… being behind _him_ is the safest place to be." If her mind was not spinning with exhaustion, Wiess might have imagined the lock. For the moment, however, all she knew was the fear.

Even more so when she heard the rumble of laughter come from the man floating in the air, Aura and darkness burning from the lance held behind his head.

"Come beast!" He yelled, _cheered even_. "The hero aims to kill your master, and I aim to kill his dragon!" If it was a dragon, it was unlike any Weiss was familiar with.

 ** _BRAAAAAAAAAAGH-_** But the shout of magic and energy, screaming towards them again, may as well have been a breath of fire.

Weiss stared at it this time, her and Blake hidden in the shadow of Ganondorf's flying body. It silhouetted around him, _haloing_ him even, and the lance that burned with power was like a wall in the blinding light. Then it was thrown

 ** _BAM!_** Weiss had stood next to cannon's firing with less of a deafening noise. And far less destructive results.

Because once the spear was thrown, the light of the beast was squashed.

No… that wasn't it. It was more like… it was being observed? Dispersed? Ruined? _Erased!?_ Weiss didn't know, she didn't even have an idea. All she knew was that the lance Ganondorf had flung forward into the pillar of light running towards them had beaten it away from a blinding spot to a pin-prick in the Grimm's maw. And then it kept going.

 ** _RAAAAAAWR!_** Presumably into the monster itself. That became all the more evident when the creature was gored by the lance. Not by any easily observable state, not from so far away where it would be like pointing out a toothpick along the back of a whale. No, the weapon itself may as well have been invisible. That wasn't what she was looking at, and neither was Blake. It wasn't obvious the Grimm was hurt because of Ganondorf's lance sticking out of it.

No… it was obvious because of the _missing section_ of the Grimm's jaw!

A jaw that slowly tumbled towards the ocean, like an avalanche in slow horrific motion. The extended mandible falling and hitting the chest and belly of the Ancient Grimm, rolling more than bouncing off of it, cracking into pieces and turning into mist, that which didn't start to hit the ocean like his footfalls, raising walls of water as it blew up along the surface.

And all the while it was torn to pieces by the strength of the blow, Ganondorf hung in the air, as if to appreciate his own work, chuckling as darkly as the monster. Blake's fingers, blue tinted and dark, were practically _pale_ as they held Weiss. And the heiress only wished she was held closer.

"You… he killed it?" Blake almost questioned the reality, and Weiss could not blame her. She thoroughly believed this now to be a fever dream brought on by her over use of the Tome. It had to be. "With just… one throw of that lance…"

"One of my most powerful tools, and one I take great pride in creating," Ganondorf returned without ever glancing back at them, still only heard because of the silence of the streets and barren land between the two of them, filled by torn up streets and melting ice. That… and the roar of the Grimm, gurgling past its missing jaw. "Yet even a single throw not enough to take down the beast. A pity, but proof enough the hero had no easy time with the monsters I gave him. No simple victory for complicated foes."

He was _enjoying this_. Weiss could tell. _Why_ was another matter, but she was desperate to hope it wasn't because of the battle itself. For if it was… then what would he do once the monster was killed?

"Perhaps I should have slain it whilst I was returning from that island at sea." Ganondorf spoke almost _casually_ about it. Even while the creature continued to move. Raising its long gnarly arms, white bony structures grabbing at its jaw, and almost looking as if to pull a new jaw from the hole in its body. The possibility of that happening was _not_ a fun one. "Or perhaps not. There is no telling what could have occurred then."

"Are you just playing with it then? Did you let it get this far to _torment us?!_ " Blake was yelling again, because only she would scream at a man who did more with a _lance's throw_ than the cannons of the Atlesian Military. "Letting it get this close a-and just… just _waiting for it!?"_

"I could not destroy it from at sea, without risk of my lance destroying your kingdom." Given what she just saw… that was a fair point. "I could not act before I knew this land was safe, or else I may damn others with my negligence." Another… good point. "And if your concerns continue, then let me say simply… I was also curious of the strength that man put into his beasts." And there it felt to pieces.

Just like the Ancient Grimm at sea, arm pulling away and falling from its hide. Large bony protrusions chipping and falling off like the broken arcs of a mountain top. It was impossible to tell if the arms were falling to pieces… or if it was getting ready to do something else. Given the nature of the Grimm and monsters she'd seen so far, Weiss assumed the later.

"Curious, but not fool hardy." _FWOOOSH!_ The feeling of rushing and sight of burning shadows took from Blake any response she could have made. Weiss was grateful, as she did _not_ need a man like that bearing down on them. "And though the beast is a threat to you all, it challenges one who has stolen _Power_ as well. And for that, it's every act is nothing but a desperate strike. A move of defiance in the way of its own inevitable death."

The lance had _returned_ to his hand, and Weiss was almost unsurprised to see it. She didn't expect it, she didn't _want_ to see it… but there it was, held tightly in his grasp, and crackling with the same lightning that split the air again. Held as the man floated before them. As an artist, she knew any sight would one day become mundane, but the idea of feeling anything but terror at the visage of this man, in this attire, with such weaponry… it would be the same day her courage outlasted Ruby's.

 ** _BRAAAAAAAAA-BRRAAAAAAAAGHGHG!_** And that courage was waning.

Because the Leviathan was charging its beam again, but not out of its broken mouth. It couldn't, not with it laying in pieces, dissipating into smoke and beyond at its feet, beneath the harbor waters.

No… it was coming from both of its hands. Weiss repeated for her slipping sanity and mind, _both of them_.

Two balls of light forming in its palms, red stained and matching the lightning that crackled around it. If it was two this time, then would Ganondorf make it? Did she want him to? _Yes she did!_ Weiss didn't want to die and… he was the only one who could stop it. How could they have _ever_ been able to deal with a monster like that alone? So powerful that the Dust Cannons were like flies to it and able to endure half of its face being torn off?!

"Resilient and determined; fine traits for a beast." The dark man _amused himself!_ Weiss would have screamed had she not lost her breath and voice from just trying to keep the _lackeys_ of that monster back. "But all monsters fall before a hero. And all beasts _bow_ to their _king!_ " Unlike last time, Weiss had no more warning of what was to come.

 ** _BAM!_** The explosion ripped through the air again, nearly tearing through her dress and scratching at her unprotected skin. Blake held her tighter against her chest, and she curled into the embrace. She didn't miss, however, that Ganondorf wasn't holding still in the air. He was _not_ waiting or remaining in active. He was bending… leaning forward… **_BOOOM!_** Then flying away, like a bullet himself

Weiss and Blake watched as the Ancient Grimm reared its own arms back, the balls of dark light in its hands prepared to fire, to scorch Vale Kingdom like it intended to before. She didn't feel fear for it now, not after everything she had seen. Now… it was nervous anticipation. One that came with as much a payoff as all other deeds she had witness from The King of Evil before.

 _BRRRAM!_ _ **RAAAAAWR!**_ The sound of a dull but _resounding_ thud was matched by more of the creature's arm being beaten inward. Beaten… and then ripping off at the seam. Like a doll's stitches being unwound then ripping at the arm, it fell right off. The light it had been collecting dissipating with it, uncorking a bottle and letting the air flow from it. But that was only one of two arms. **_BOOOM!_** The second wasn't stopped in the same way.

This time… it was because the side of the creature was torn out. The Ancient Grimm's body seeming to implode as it was hit with something _catastrophically_ strong… and even then, it was as if the beast was made of blood and paper, not the imploring strong substance that resisted the blows of cannons and fodder.

And much like the jaw before it, the rest of the creature started to just… fall away. The light and horror it was summoning vanishing with a gurgle of noise. A rumble of a waterfall's last breath being choked out of it, but that was all it was. A titan being rendered lifeless, and in such an inglorious fashion at that.

Weiss watched, unsure if she should be horrified or grateful for the power she witnessed, even if Blake's fingers had slackened until near useless on her, almost forcing her to roll off of teammate.

"He… he really did it," Blake spoke almost dumbly. "I-I thought he was just trying to play with us but… but he actually killed it." That he had, and Weiss knew it was either the rare good deed from an evil man… or a jealous act to brag about in days to come.

But whichever it was, it hardly mattered for what came next. A sight that made Blake gasp as it was revealed.

Hanging in the sky, behind the backdrop that was the Ancient Grimm's body, was the shattered moon.

A _once_ shattered moon, reformed and restored, scowling at them with eyes of hate and despair.

Even as it plummeted closer to them.

* * *

Yang was used to seeing bad news and hearing about good news. Its kind of what made up most of her life. Seeing her step-mom leave, bad. Hearing that her Uncle Qrow was going to help them out, good. Seeing her sister almost get killed, bad. Hearing that she had made it into Beacon, good. Those were the _big_ moments from her past that really stuck out to her. That was what made it even more funny that recent history was repeating the trend.

Seeing Roman about to kill her teammates and friends, _bad_. Hearing that they had saved dozens of kids by fighting, _good_. Seeing Ganondorf waltz out of Beacon and nearly kill them all, _bad_. Hearing that Moraine was done in and the bitch was dead, _good. Watching_ her partner being burned alive because of Ganondorf, _bad_. Seeing the moon reforming and getting ready to _slam into Patch, BAD? Holding her father as he was nearly limbless and barely conscious? EVEN WORSE!_

Okay… okay… so a _lot_ worse things were happening now. Enough that she hadn't even bothered to listen to a lot of people as they had told her to calm down and collect herself. Calming down was what you did when you needed to think. And Yang needed to _act_ , which meant it was time to fire herself up!

She knew that, but holding her dad in her arms, half of him at least, was keeping her from jumping into the elevator and _running_ to Vale.

That, and watching the destruction of the Grimm from the safety of Headmaster's office. That helped. It seemed like she was seeing some good news, too.

"James… I don't suppose you used a new weapon you had been… unable to detail to me." Ozpin asked as he watched the Leviathan, that giant whatever-huge-Ancient Grimm basically fall to pieces. Yang usually thought something like that would be awesome and kind of sad to see, but she couldn't keep the smile from breaking over her face. "Presumably something that cost nothing significant or irredeemable."

"If I had such a tool, I would have already used it," the General responded. Yang was watching him, or more accurately his hands. They were folded behind him and clenched like fists. She recognized that, even if he was doing a better job at hiding it than she usually did. She couldn't do it now though, not with her dad in one arm. "I would have given the order to evacuate the city as quickly as possible and fire it post-haste."

"… And I find myself agreeing with you," Ozpin noted almost like that was a _bad_ thing. And what was with that sigh!? Yang was starting to think the old man was crazy. At least crazy beyond being placid in the face of nightmares. This was a good thing! "But never mind perchance and maybes. _Do_ you know what destroyed that? Anything definite?" Ozpin never took his eyes away from the window. Him and Saria. Ms. Goodwitch and the General, however, were basically staring at their scrolls like her dad told her not to. Kind of a bad time for a joke… but she could already feel her dad snickering over her shoulder.

"Nothing authorized or given through channels in my fleet was fired," the General noted. "No tertiary containment devices, no extra ordinary Dust amounts, nothing. Nothing beyond the battery to keep the Grimm occupied and honest." Yang almost literally bit her tongue to remind him that he had done _neither._

"I have reports from EMS and some of the Students that they witnessed something being fired from ground level." All eyes turned to Ms. Goodwitch as she spoke. Yang leaned back on the desk, holding her dad up. She promptly _ignored_ Raven. She wasn't any help. "Majority were in retreat before the first blast from the Leviathan was fired, and they suspected it was Ms. Schnee who was able to reduce the area of impact."

Weiss… yeah, that would be something she would do, except _not_. Not that she wouldn't _try_! Oh no, she would and Yang knew it. She was the princess who would consider running away from a Nevermore an insult. But being able to _stop_ that? But if Weiss was there…

"What about Blake?" Yang quickly asked. She didn't check to see who looked at her. "They say anything about her? A girl in a clock… burned, something?" she rushed the last part, though it didn't appear anyone was curious why.

"It seems only Ms. Schnee stayed behind during the initial 'draw' of breath from the Leviathan, and that was to provide an extraordinary amount of cover through her ice walls." Those walls and that tome. Yang had seen her practicing with that stuff! "And although those structures are now reduced, I cannot honestly say they are the sole cause for reducing, if not eliminating, the area of impact."

"You're saying that the Schnee heiress's glaciers weren't strong enough?" Her dad asked the question, and Yang whipped her head to get her hair out of the way. It gave her a perfect view of her father's cocky grin. "C'mon Glynda, that's just _cold_."

And Yang couldn't help it. She laughed. Even if everyone else groaned.

Groaned as she gripped the back of her father's shirt, holding him over her shoulder and keeping him steady, even if just for herself. Because man… him and his bad puns. About the only thing that got her to crack a grin after he beat the crap out of her, or used to.

"Yes… well… I do believe that Ms. Schnee has a high affinity for defensive Dust use as well as defensive formations, as characterized by her ability to rouse and direct the students of Beacon, I believe the defense of the city in the wake of an Ancient Grimm's full assault is due to more than… clever Dust placement." And even if Yang did love Weiss, the Ice Queen that she was, she knew Ms. Goodwitch was right.

She had been losing her arms, hearing, and feeling when she was punching the Atlesian Mechs about a month back. There was just _no way_ Weiss had gotten strong enough with her ice walls to take a blast that basically equated to… a _crap-ton_ of Atlesian Mechs. Not all at once. But if she had… _hey!_ She saw more good news.

"Let's be sure to congratulate Ms. Schnee when she returns, as I am sure Specialist Schnee will be just as encouraged by her display of bravery," General Ironwood added. "However, I am kind to agree that we must assume she didn't. Because whatever _did_ resist that blast was likely the same thing that lead to the destruction of the Leviathan _now._ " He pointed at the window once more, brow furrowed.

At where the giant Ancient Grimm _was_ , actually. Not there was just a hole in the ocean slowly being filled where it collapsed… here was hoping Vale could deal with some water damage. Probably better than a giant Grimm blast. That… and the _Grimm that were going to be swarming the streets with the wave! Oh crap!_

"You realized it as well, Ms. Xiao Long," Ozpin's words grabbed her attention. "Do not worry about the Grimm that will fill that void. Many will be weakened and confused by the death of the Ancient Beast, a common side effect and beneficial outcome observed often during hunts for such monsters." He nodded even with both hands on his cane. That was good, but… it wasn't enough.

"I have also sent notice to the rest of the students about Ms. Schnee's current predicament. I am sure they will be there to assist her momentarily, specifically your dorm mates. Though I omitted the concerns for Ms. Belladonna." She did _what?_ Why?! "It would be troubling if when looking for an heiress, likely tired and worn, they saw what _appeared_ to be a monster near here."

Yang _wanted_ to blow her top at the suggestion. But her dad's fist on _her_ shoulder now kept her calm. If not because of the threat of being punched… then remembering that Blake had said as much. There was a reason she was basically _living_ in that Magic Cloak now.

"The beast is dead." The sudden statement from Saria wouldn't have been out of place in a horror film.

The girl, emerald shaded and bright, staring out a window that looked dark as night, blood red clouds circling above her, and the _vicious horribly formed moon just lurking there ready to hit the earth still_. Kind of hard to believe she ever forgot about it. But the little girl… double scratch that, _Link's adopted mommy_ , was still speaking.

"The beast is dead following a cry from your home." She kept speaking on. "A vicious blow was stopped, several more prevented, and the monster slain all within the time the trees whisper and speak. Does such a thing seem possible for anyone you know? With every tool the land provides, do you believe anyone you know capable?" She final turned from the window and _Dust dammit_ she was speaking in riddle again.

"Listen, Saria, we took your advice last time 'bout opening up and while it was _great_ , do ya think maybe you could make that a two-way street now?" She held out her arm not supporting her father, pointing between the magic super-yet-tiny woman and herself. "Seeing as this is about worst-case as anything I could even _imagine_ happening, maybe opening up with those pearls of wisdom will get us somewhere faster. Ya know?" She was trying not to sound insulting; _she really was_.

"I am not asking to make a mockery of you. I am asking because I believe I know, but wish to ensure I have not gone mad with the terror of the forest." And just like that her words made sense again, or why she was saying them. Like Blake and running away, just the first reaction she came to. _Great_. "Do you believe you know? Or are you as terrified to speak the possibility as I?" Terrified? Why would she be scared.

"Something that was able to tear about an Ancient Grimm like the Leviathan, with assumingly little effort." Yang pointedly ignored that it was Raven talking. "Something that was so powerful it either _entertained_ itself with the monster, waiting until it was at a moment of crisis to attack… or was just preoccupied with something else." She spoke… Yang _partially_ listened… but she got it.

"Oh dear." So did Ozpin by the sound of it. "I am… curious if that was the cause of the flash we saw then." That he was?

"You believe Ganondorf did something then? Against Roman?" The General asked. "Made a copy, a duplicate, teleportation? We've seen him do enough that I'll believe almost anything at this point." And really, Yang was right there with him.

"Instead of assumptions, James, I would rather have answers." He turned to the one woman who would, _hilariously_ , not give answers. "Saria… has the forest _cried_ anything different? Does it still feel as if two malevolent forces are clashing?" Yang watched with bated breath, hand clenching her father's shirt, as Saria shut her eyes.

Shut them, breathed deeply, and faced the window. The sound that filled the room wasn't silence. It was the slow rumble of the _still falling moon!_ Yang hadn't forgotten that, honestly, she had just put the idea of something strong enough to tear the Leviathan down as more important. Because maybe _that_ could do something about the magic face horrifying moon thing coming to kill them all. Not the most complete of plans… but if she was going to think of something, it'd be to get the biggest gun and shoot it, or the strongest arm and punch it.

The way the glass vibrated as they waited, making her take a small, hardly noticeable step back, was proof enough that even if she had seen _something_ good, it wasn't everything. There was still _Roman_ out there with that super mask the Super Faunus had… and was just using it like she would a flamethrower at age ten. _Stupidly_.

Really, they just needed answers, and Yang was wiling to hope at least that Saria would provide something.

"They appear to be-" Her answer was cut short.

 _RING-RING! RING-RING!_ By the ring of her Scroll.

Yang looked down at the device, hanging out of the top of her shorts, buzzing at her thigh. She looked back up again, all eyes on her and far from understanding or patient. Damn, worst than going off in class.

 _RING-RING! RING-RING!_ And it was still going.

"I don't suppose you're going to answer that?" Ozpin asked patiently. Better than screaming she supposed.

"Right, yeah, on it." Yang quickly grabbed the Scroll and opened it up. Maybe it was Weiss or Blake calling her, telling her about what had happened. That would… actually be pretty great! That would show they were okay _and_ they'd get an answer, definite one at least.

" _Hey Yang._ " But seeing Ruby was a surprise first-place trophy.

"Rubes!" Yang almost yelled into the Scroll, forgetting for a moment where she was. The rest of the adults gave her the usual expression of patience, minus her dad who looked just as happy as she was. Figures. "How ya doin' sis? You take care of what you needed to?" She knew her sister was on Patch.

She _also_ knew her sister was the badass adorable pipsqueak with super dodging powers and the ability to run faster than the wind. She wasn't worried about her, not beyond the usual threatening levels of sisterhood. Maybe she'd break a boy's kneecap or pummel some _Faunus who was getting too close to her, paternally_ , but Grimm? Pssh, Ruby could take them.

" _I'm good, I'm alright, promise_ ," she responded kind of… tired, actually. " _Just got done finishing them off, lot of them… most of them, I think."_ The monsters? " _Sorry I didn't tell you. I saw dad was safe and felt something still bad… its still bad._ " Okay, she was sounding out of it.

"It's okay Rubes, I get it." Yang nodded her head at the screen, seeing her sister's-tired silver eyes looking back at her. She was panting a lot, too. "You knew I could take care of Dad." She _didn't_ care about Raven. "And you wouldn't be you if you didn't run off after someone who needed help. Some sis who attacked a super criminal cause she felt something was off."

"Almost like she saw _red_." Her dad joked and Yang chuckled, even as she heard the others in the room mutter. Yang didn't care.

" _Y-Yeah… a-and I helped. I did I… I think I did._ " She did, Yang didn't doubt it for a moment. " _I got… I got a lot out. Into ships, onto Bullheads… away… not all of them but… but some, a-a-and that's good, right?_ " Not all… and she knew not all.

Yang's face fell, even as she heard Ozpin hum. Her dad swallowing on thing didn't help, about as much as him grabbing her sleeve and holding her close. Yeah, they all got it. Of course, they did.

"It's okay, Rubes, really, promise. You can tell me all about it when you get back…" If the moon wasn't _falling_ then. "We can warm up some milk and chow down on some cookies over it. I'll make them extra chocolatey for you." She took the warm smile from her sister as a high sign, a good one at that.

"Ask her about Patch." The suddenness of General Ironwood's command took Yang's attention. "Ask her if there is anything new from before. Monsters, the fight, _Ganondorf_ , anything." Oh yeah, she was going to ask that.

"She can answer that _later_ , James," Ms. Goodwitch spoke up instead. "Ms. Xiao Long, instruct your sister to come home immediately. If she is still on Patch, she is likely looking for survivors, but she is only putting herself in harm's way now." That was… something her sister would do, especially with that danger sense Semblance now. Yang chose that one.

"Hey Rubes, how about you get back here quick as you can, huh?" Yang put on her best smile as she asked it. "Got half the team here, you and me, and I bet dad will love to give you another hug." He would.

"Might only be half as strong." _He really would_.

" _Y-Yeah, I-I'd like that. I would… really would."_ Really what? Then she should _really_ come back. " _But… I-I don't think I'm gonna make it Yang. I don't… I don't think I can."_ Yang's stomach was dropping fast. It didn't help she was on the highest floor of the Headmaster's tower.

"H-Huh?" She let out before she thought of anything. "Rubes, Ruby, th-that's a bad joke sis. C'mon, just… just get back home fast, okay? Plow your way over the ocean again like you did drag me through those trees. It'll be a jiffy, like a quickie." She was talking out of her butt now. She'd take the slap later.

" _I… I-I can't. I can't run."_ Ruby's head was shaking. No wait, that was _Yang's_. " _I'm just… I'm just hanging out here… with mom… waiting."_ Mom. Summer. The Grave. _The cliff._ " _It's not… not bad here. Not twisted, not_ weird." She laughed, like it was _any_ time to laugh. " _Don't get mad… okay?_ "

Yang didn't listen. She got _mad_.

* * *

She coughed into her hand as she asked the question, well, request more like. They weren't related to one another. Yang was screaming because she was afraid. She was coughing because she was tired, sore, and in a place that was probably so hazardous to her health she was going to lose years down the line for just being here. Something like Dust factories maybe. It was dark enough for it…

But it wasn't like it was something she could help. Her Semblance was still gone with her Aura out.

She couldn't run _nearly_ fast enough to get across the water without it, and all the boats were gone.

Too bad the monsters weren't. Monsters were still all over Patch, and mostly where she could hear Roman fighting. He must have still been fighting Ganondorf, which Ruby guessed was good. She was smart enough to not go look, seeing as they were both kinda scary right now.

No… Ruby wanted to help, always, but she knew when she'd just get in the way. So, for now, she had to stay where it felt safe. That was as good as it was going to get on Patch. With the ground being uprooted, the sky cleaved, clouds red, sea water matching, and trees deader than those skeletons she'd seen a while ago, feeling safe was about all she could afford to hold onto.

And really, she had to feel safe. Curling up against her mother's tombstone was the safest place she could imagine to be.

Especially when she felt this cold.

" _You're WHERE?!"_ Yang screaming was supposed to be a bad thing. Bad enough that Ruby was supposed to be scared by it, or at least try and placate her. She always had some shampoo she liked to give her to calm her down. Sometimes offering to do some maintenance on her weapons. That usually worked. " _RUBY what the HELL are you even JOKING ABOUT!?_ " That wasn't going to work now. She just knew it. Ruby knew her family.

"I'm not joking," she was able to lightly return. She was grinning, but she didn't know why. She usually complained when she was tired. Maybe this was different. "I'm just… waiting by mom is all." Because she was family, and so she was safe. It was why she liked to be close to her. Ruby always felt safe here.

" _RUBY ROSE YOU GET OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW!"_ That wasn't Yang. But she did recognize her. She shook her head, shivering. She pulled her cloak tighter against her body, annoyed that she was still so cold. It must have been the wind from the ocean. It always got cold at night… " _DON'T SHAKE YOUR HEAD LIKE THAT! YOU DON'T GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE NOW I'LL TAKE CRESCENT ROSE FROM YOU AND SELL THE PARTS MYSELF!"_ Wow, her dad was really mad as well. Hold on, she almost forgot.

"Hi dad," Ruby spoke lightly, loud as she could manage. _Boom_. Especially over the distant booms she still heard. She kept her silver eyes down on the screen. And wow… her dad looked mad. Guess that explained all the yelling. "Sorry I haven't called in a while. Better late than never, right?" She grinned what she could, it felt weak. She felt weak. Probably because everything felt so loose.

Was that a good word for it? Ruby wasn't even sure. It just felt like she was between drifting on water and being frozen in ice. She hadn't lost her Aura so completely often before, the last time she could actually remember was a training exercise in Signal, with her dad ready to maim whoever went too far after that… did it feel like this? She couldn't remember.

"- _HOLE IN EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT WAS GOOD FOR YOU! RUBY! ANSWER ME_!" Oh yeah, the screaming. Her dad was still yelling at her. Was she supposed to answer? Probably, otherwise it would just be worse later.

"I'm still here, I'm alright," she spoke back. Bad, Ruby, bad. It was bad to lie to dad. "Just… hanging out with mom. Or sitting, maybe laying. She's laying down… I'm just sitting. Kinda tired from all the running, and fighting, and… everything else." She did feel tired, but also weak. So weak her lungs were ready to take a snooze. That sounded really bad even in her head.

" _DON'T YOU DARE TALK LIKE THAT! NOT TO ME AND NOT LIKE THIS_!" Her dad was really angry. Her silver eyes just made out how frequently he was coming in and out of focus. Maybe he was fighting the phone from Yang still. She'd probably be yelling at her, too. " _Now you LISTEN to me Ruby and you had BETTER do as I say. Get to shore, find a boat, kill any Grimm in your way, and get back to shore as FAST AS YOU CAN!"_ Well that was going to be kinda hard.

"I can't… Sorry dad, but I can't." She swallowed on something. She wasn't sure if there was even anything there to swallow on. It just… she felt like she was choking. "I lost… I got it too much. I lost my Aura." Wow, it felt bad to admit that. Somehow though, the look of panic on her father's face was even worse. Funny how that worked. Not really, but its kind of was. Delirium was a weird thing to work through.

" _Y-You… you lost your…_ " Now he was swallowing on nothing. That was bad. Ruby watched, blinking slowly, as her father fell out of the view of the camera. There was a lot of shuffling, but she wasn't worried. Why would she need to be? Her dad was safe in Beacon, Penny had confirmed it. And _hey_! There was Yang again. But she still looked mad.

" _You used up EVERYTHING?"_ Oh yeah still mad. " _WHAT made you THINK that was a good idea!? Did you smack into another tree running there so fast?! Did you finally squeeze your brain out of your head!? I knew you were thick headed, but when the hell did you let yourself get this… this…"_ Her eyes were red as the bore through the Scroll, looking for a good word to yell at Ruby. Stupid could still work. It was always funny when Yang said it, because she was the one saying it.

"I just had to help people," Ruby answered. No one asked anything, but she knew they wanted to know why. It was what her Semblance woke up to after all. Why do you want to run so fast? "I just wanted to help people… and I helped a lot of them… not all of them, but-"

" _Who gives a damn about anyone else!?_ " Yang yelled back. Wow, that was mean of her. Usually she was so happy when Ruby agreed to help others. Which was all the time. There was a lot of commotion on the other line as well. Sounded like fighting… was there fighting? " _Ruby! Get somewhere safe, ANYWHERE stay there and I'll be-HEY! Give that back! Don't you dare!"_ Her voice was pushed away as the Scroll was taken from her. It was kind of obvious, probably because dad had done it a lot to her for talking to boys too late at night. It felt late… but she wasn't a boy.

" _Ms. Rose, can you hear me?"_ Oh wait, that was Ozpin. Headmaster Ozpin! Ruby had to giggle at that. Ozpin, Ozzy… he had a funny name. And she was willing to sleep it off. Sleep what off? " _I'm sure everyone who you helped will be immensely grateful to you and your deeds, but if I may point out, the priority for you at the moment is escape, at least off of the island."_ Well, she could guess why.

"I don't think I can." Ruby responded back flatly. She didn't like to say that, _can't_. Felt bad, and right now it felt like she was nibbling on her tongue. It felt really weird. "Too tired… and the ground's too shaky." Or more like the forest was too uneven.

She was watching the trees sway like they were being shaken around underneath the ground. Was that possible? Had to be, because she was watching it. There was probably some great about that she had forgotten, seeing is truth or something like that. Then again… nah, she wasn't _that_ tired. She was just… a little fatigued. Aura depletion did that to you.

" _Ms. Rose, I understand the lack of energy on your part, I do. You did a stupendous shop securing the retreat and refugee of most of the citizens of Patch._ " Most, not all. Did they already get to Vale? That would be kind of quick. Ruby was quick… were boats quick? She should have known that one. " _But you don't need to worry about them. Worry about yourself at this moment."_

 _"I have an emergency airship heading for Patch,"_ someone spoke in the background. She knew that voice, didn't she? She had probably heard it a lot, but right now everything sounded like buzzing. Buzzing and grinding. She didn't like the grinding. " _I only need an exact location."_

 _"I'll give it to you! Just hurry!_ " And there was Yang again. Good old Yang. Not-old-but-good-she-was-around-her Yang. She loved her sister so much. Always looking out for her, always worrying for her. Kind of like right now. She didn't… she didn't need to still do that.

" _Ms. Rose, the airship will be there promptly. Keep yourself by the bluffs, open and easy to see. It will make retrieval easier."_ Like a pickup or rendezvous. Those were important for Hunters, especially in towns or settlements that were overrun. _"James and Glynda tell me it will be there any moment. You should be able to see it soon. When you_ do _see it, can you please alert us?"_ Can she, not will she. Could she?

"I can try," Ruby spoke honestly, shrugging her shoulders. Her arms felt cold, and that felt even weirder. Well, not really, she was exaggerating. This was her mother's grave, and it was always cold here. Safe, secure, but cold. She liked to visit, but she didn't like to stay. But there wasn't anywhere else in the world she wanted to be right now.

Talking to her dad and sister on the Scroll, remembering the people she saved, sitting down next to her mom… it was nice. Almost perfect. If only she had the energy to laugh about it.

Instead, she only sighed.

"I think…" Ruby stopped, feeling out her jaw. Well, that, and looking into the sky. It was hard to see much with the sky so dark, and the clouds so red, but there was… something. Something that was approaching her on the cliffside. It was hard not to see it now.

Namely because it was coming so quickly, and heading straight towards her. Was it a Grimm? A Nevermore? Maybe a Gryphon even. They were all possible. And Ruby just… smiled… how weird that she wasn't afraid.

"I think there's a monster coming," she spoke aloud, and sort of regretted it.

" _Oh dear." "RUBY! GET OUT OF THERE!" "Run into the forest! Hide yourself!" "You're a sitting target on Summer's grave!"_ Everyone was yelling at her, and they were loud. But she as just… tired. How weird. And here she thought she'd be terrified or crying about this. Being out of Aura, on patch that was monsterized, and with her sister and dad looking at her through the Scroll.

When they had wrestled it back, Ruby didn't know, but she was looking at them, and they were so… tiny? Afraid… maybe… and it didn't look good. It looked bad, really bad, like something she'd turn a Scroll off to avoid. And if she _didn't_ do that… then the monster… the Grimm… and her… weakened.

Oh… yeah, that would be bad to have them see. Ruby sighed again, adjusting her shoulder what she could. It felt heavy, even as she looked over it at the rapidly approaching dot. Well… now it was a figure, and she was sure it was a monster now. The flames that billowed out of it, like burning twilight, was evidence enough.

"Yang, dad," Ruby spoke, trying to catch her breath. Funny, she had no trouble catching anything else before, now she couldn't even catch air.

Funny… hilarious… and just… okay.

"I love you guys. Love you both." She smiled as best she could. She hoped it was enough.

" _RUBY WAI-" Beep_. The Scroll turned off and slid shut, hitting the ground next to her. She didn't look at it. She instead just watched the figure racing up towards her. Menacing, powerful, and probably going to rip through the ground and cliffside with no issue at all. That was a bad thing, but… she couldn't do much about it.

"Sorry mom," Ruby spoke again, huddling closer to the stone slab behind her, eyeing the flames as they approached. "Hope you forgive me later. I'll make cookies to show you… I'm sorry…" She bit her lips and shut her eyes, hearing the powerful being approach, the air roaring around her.

 ** _BOOOOOAAAAAA-_** Then it sounded like a hole was being torn up in front of her… before vanishing. Ruby's hands, weak from a lack of Aura, clenched at the feeling. She wasn't sure what kind of Grimm made that noise… but it had to be a big one, a powerful one… one that… that wasn't…

Attacking her? Unless her mind was so slow she couldn't even feel it yet. No no no, that didn't seem right. Even if a nap sounded good. Cautiously, uneasily, Ruby cracked an eye open. She wasn't sure if she regretted it or not.

Even as she stared up at the imposing figure of Ganondorf, silhouetted by the scowling moon high above.

"Young hero, what are you doing here?" The deep voice rumbled like the air around them. Or was it that the air was rumbling because of the voice. Ruby wasn't sure, and her mind and body were too worn to tell. "Are you here at a grave to mourn? Or are you here patiently awaiting an end?" Neither of those were good answers. "I will assume the former, for no hero would wait for their own death." Well… damn…

"Just… resting…" Ruby answered honestly. She kind of was, even if she was resting and waiting for something that her dad and sister were going to kill her for later, or maybe just spank her. She wondered if she could sleep through a spanking, probably not. Her dad probably wouldn't let her. "Tired… and… d-didn't do enough. I didn't." Even if her dad said that she had… maybe she really did. He was right about a lot of other stuff.

And she had just hung up on him. That was… really really mean on her part.

She'd have to apologize to him later. He didn't deserve to have her being mean to him. He was a good dad, a great dad, one of the bestest kind of dads that gave normal advice. She wondered if he could give her some, because Ruby didn't know what was going on. Then again… he probably didn't either.

"You are weak." Ruby pushed out her lips at that. _Everyone_ was weak against a guy that could tank punches from her sister and the rest of Beacon. And mean enough to make Ozpin made. Nothing made him mad, and Ruby and her team had had a food fight in front of him. "Not in the sense you believe I mean. I meant tired, worn… having used all that you had to protect those around you." Well… He wasn't wrong."

"Y-Yeah," Ruby admitted, looking up at him. She shuffled closer to her mom's tombstone. She didn't have a lot of memories of her… but she knew she said she could always depend on her. Did this count then? "There were a-a lot of people… in Patch…" Ganondorf hummed at the words.

"I recall seeing you face the monsters, while I dueled that mad thief." She'd seen him, too. Actually, everyone had seen him. Who couldn't? Not her, even if she was feeling like jelly. Not even sweet jelly. "You were helping those people, helping the weak and unable to escape a terror comparable to nightmares." His voice shook like he was speaking from one of those. "I would expect nothing less from you." He did ask her to…

"Th-Thanks…" she let out, before coughing. Dry, harsh, and kind of crackly. Maybe that was because the air was so weird, and the ground was being destroyed around them. Everywhere but here at least. Her mom's grave was a safe place. "Are you… waiting?" She wasn't sure what he could be waiting for.

But he did look like he was waiting, hands folded and looking down at her. He was scary enough to be a monster, and enough to make her focus on him. She wasn't afraid, but he was scary. There was a difference, she knew it. But it was still just… Ruby didn't like things that were trying to be scary, and Ganondorf had to trying. It didn't help her body was still so… _blegh_. That was a good word for it.

"I am not waiting, not in the sense you imagine." How many senses were there? Five, but waiting as in 'holding still'. "I waited for wars to begin and tragedy to strike. I waited for a hero to climb a tower and to face me in combat. I waited for many things before, but I am _not_ waiting now." Oh… so brooding. He brooded before. Was that a word? Maybe. Funny word, but the man wasn't funny. Scary, there.

"What are you… waiting for then?" She had to ask, digging her heels on the dirt to push herself back. If her mom felt that, she'd have to apologize later. She didn't want her to be uncomfortable, but Ruby knew if she laid down… the ground would make for an alright bed. She did like to camp. "Is something… bad hap-"

 _BOOM! BOOOM!_ The rocking explosions should the island, and the already gnarled and rotted trees billowed some more. Or just out right cracked and fell over. Ruby winced as she saw them. She didn't have them _named_ or anything… not anymore, but they were trees she saw all the time when she came to visit her mom… now they were gone. Dang it.

"If the query is not answered, young hero, then I will say." Ganondorf turned towards her when he said that. She was right, he was scary, but she wasn't afraid. Even if he was uncrossing his arms, and staring at her, and frowning, and doing just about everything she'd seen villains do in comic books. "I am waiting because I am thinking, because hasty actions in these moments may lead to horrific consequences. There have been too many of those today." Well… yeah, she could admit that.

She was the one staring up at a scary man, and wow… she had forgotten about that scary moon. And _that_ was scary. If scary things were supposed to be big and terrifying and unstoppable, that qualified. Really she thought a full moon would like cool, maybe even romantic, but that… yeah-no. Just… no… maybe that was what was keeping her up, because Ruby couldn't really imagine going to sleep with that hovering over her.

"While I think, speak to me," Ganondorf ordered her. She knew orders, or commands, or whatever it was that Weiss liked to call requests. Hee hee, she bet her partner would be upset if she heard that… "Why did you make your way here? How did you know this would be safe?" It was safe here? Of course it was, this was where her mom was.

"It's always safe here. Feels like it is," Ruby answered, taking a deep breath before she did so. "I come here all the time. So does my dad, and my sis… usually at least." The man hummed above her. _BOOM!_ Even as the ground shook beneath her. Her fingers curled into the grass.

"Your father… the man I saw before," he saw someone? "Facing the mad thief, with that woman of stolen power next to him. The thief in the forest, the deceiver of guile nature." Oh! Oh yeah! Ruby had almost forgotten Ganondorf was there! Which was weird, considering how he was the reason dad was safe. He deserved a thank you for that. But not a hug… that would be too far.

"Yeah, that was my dad." Ruby laughed a little, her jaw trembling. She was shivering, too. "Always makes jokes about things, trying to make me smile whenever things go wrong. Tell him I got an A on a test, and he told me I had an A in his heart." Ruby smiled at that, giggling. Her dad… the goofy lovable dad who tucked her in at night.

"That is amusing?" And count on the _villain_ to bring it down. She looked up at him, seeing the flaming brow of Ganondorf's eye quirk. Okay, _not_ actually flaming but still, bright red on black sky and red clouds… fire could be it…

"I was ten…" Ruby muttered, adjusting herself. "And he took care of me and my sister, with bad jokes. One other time… my sister came back from school and… and she told him she had a boyfriend." Ruby started to grin, remembering her dad nodding from the kitchen, acting like he was alright with it. She knew it wasn't. "He just congratulated her, and said he just got a new axe." And that sealed it.

She started giggling again, remembering her sister getting flustered about it, especially when their dad was insisting on meeting the boy. Ruby couldn't even remember who it was, but her dad was just… just so funny about it. Even if Yang was getting upset, Ruby thought it was funny. And that made her laugh.

"Your sense of humor is… odd." Another dark observation from the man who was already dark. He was evil, and Ruby knew it. He wasn't laughing at her dad's jokes, so he obviously wasn't a dad himself. "Did your mother not teach you any herself?"

And there was the solid proof he was evil. Bringing her up.

"My mom wasn't there, in the house," Ruby clarified. She swallowed again, getting rid of whatever that nothing was in her throat. Really choking her. "She's here…" Her hand patted the ground next to her. She hoped, actually hoped, that Ganondorf would have sputtered or stuttered or some other rhyming word for look sad.

Instead, he just sight. Like she thought, _evil_.

"I am sorry for your loss," he offered though. Even if it was with that deep rumbling voice… still better than nothing. "No child should grow without a mother. A mother should not be taken before her child grows." Well… at least _that_ sounded better.

"Thanks," Ruby muttered back. _BOOM!_ The shaking ground and fighting were starting to get to her though. "Are you… gonna send me back now?" He looked at her with a low hum. "Like with my dad… that portal stuff." That got him to nod his head, but he didn't raise a hand.

"I may, if you so wish." He wasn't doing it though. "But my oath of aid is for the hero, and heroic as you are, I feel you would not wish to be taken from this place." He was super evil then. That _really_ sealed it. Because only evil people knew heroes _that_ good!

"Yeah," Ruby admitted, adjusting Crescent Rose some more. It just… didn't feel right. Then again, nothing did, not even her own voice. "Not while Link's still out there." It just… wouldn't feel right.

"May I venture to assume that is why you are here?" _BOOM!_ The dull noise and tremble of the earth were ignored again, even if the splintering bark was all the clearer. And the approaching moon all the brighter. Ruby was just… too tired. "At the grave of your mother, near the arms of the woman who gave you life." He didn't… he didn't have to say it like that. "You have no need to hide shame. We all feel our safest nearest to those who came before us." He _really_ didn't have to say all of that…

"I-I know," her voice shook, and she wasn't sure if the was the fatigue or just having some evil man tell her it was okay to love her mom. She didn't need him for _that_. "Being here does… I-I like being here. Mom's not actually here, but… considering what dad said, i-it's the closest we-"

"Your mother is not here?" He interrupted her, and Ruby had to focus on his face again. When had she lost focus? She must have… been _really_ tired then. Good thing she didn't fall over. "Is this not her grave? Is this not her final place of rest?" Ruby had to shake her head. His voice was just… she couldn't exactly pretend to ignore him, not when he could probably flick her and kill her right now…

"N-No mom… she…" Ruby tried to speak, but it felt… ice was easier to speak through than this. "She died on a mission. Sh-She left and… never came back." And she was gone, she was gone, because her dad had told her that after nights and nights of crying. She knew it and now she _really didn't like_ the man making her remember all of this. "Why do _you_ care?" She probably shouldn't have spat that, even if…

Even if he was towering over her again, and standing with his arms no longer crossed, down at her. She thought the Headmaster's Emerald tower was big, but… maybe Ganondorf was just as big? He felt it. Even when he knelt down to her, still towering over her, like a bear to a little rabbit. Well… she'd be a dog if anything. Zwei would agree. Zwei… aw… she used to sleep in bed with him, curled at her feet.

"Young hero, do you not feel anything here?" The question startled her, and she had to focus on him again. His burning golden eyes. It should have been easy to focus on that, like the moon, but… they were both so blurry. "Do you feel nothing as you sit there? Do you feel anything reach out to you, trying to coax your soul?" That was a funny word.

"I feel… happy here," Ruby admitted. Wasn't hard to admit. Easiest confession ever. Did she get out of detention now? _BOOM BOOM!_ That was a no. "I just… I-I feel good… like I can… rest…" And boy did she want to rest. To just lie down, to take a minute and just… let… it…

 _FWWAWAAAAAAA!_ "GUUUUUUUGH! _"_

Ruby's thoughts of rest were jettisoned from her body as air and energy _slammed_ into her! Enough for her eyes to shoot open, to arch her back and nearly slam her head against her mom's tombstone. Legs going straight, looking like a plan on the ground under Ganondorf, all while air was basically _shoved_ into her, pulled it by desperate lungs, before being _shot_ out faster than her Crescent Rose could fire.

She twisted when that started to happen, rolling off of her mom's grave and putting her hands to the dirt. She started to hack, cough, and nearly vomit as she felt her brain working on overdrive. No, _everything_ was! It was like her body was going crazy after being woken up from some crazy night terror and everything felt 200% _real_ to her and… oh _wow!_

"Wha-GAUCH-W-What was that!?" Ruby yelled as she asked the question, turning to stare up at Ganondorf. No hesitation now, _especially when she saw his hand glowing gold!_ He _had_ done something to her! "What did you _do!_?"

"I gave you a fragment of power," he explained as if it made _any_ sense. "Enough to keep you awake and able, because there is a question you still need to answer." Question? About her mom?!

"W-What does… what does my mom's _grave_ have to do with anything?" Ruby shakily pushed off the ground. Her legs were still woozy, and her arms were outstretched to keep her balance. Crescent Rose was on the _other_ side of Ganondorf, because _of course_ , but other than that… she glared at him with silver eyes, his golden ones unperturbed. "And why didn't you help me _before!_?"

"Before I was going to let you nod off to sleep before sending you back to your father. I would not wish to stain your mind with guilt, so I would send you off when you were unable to argue." Well that… made more sense than she cared to say. Not a lot, very little actually, enough that her dad would try and kill him. Fail, but try, but for someone like her… well… she appreciated it. What, hold on, that did _not_ matter!

"O-Okay, fine! But then what about my mom's grave?" She pointed at it. Her mother's tombstone, her memory, her crest, where 'thus kindly, she scatters'. "What are you _asking_ about?"

"I am curious why a sense of peace rolls from this grave, but the remnants of no soul cling to it." His answer did _nothing_ to help Ruby. "You do not feel peace in a place void of life. You feel dread where one has died. But in the graveyard were those you love wait for oblivion; you find peace. So, I wonder now how you find such peace, when your mother does not lay here." Peace… the _heck_ was he talking about!

"I-I feel that way because my _dad_ takes me here all the time! I-It's the only place I-I-I can talk to my mom!" She was _growling_ at him. She wasn't trying to defend Saria from his fist. Now she was… was she honestly trying to keep her mom's _tombstone safe?!_ While the rest of Patch was being shaken to pieces?! "So what if I feel safe here!? That doesn't matter!"

"It does matter, young hero," the sure return did not calm Ruby down. "It matters because precious little can keep peace and tranquility while the world around it rots. Nothing… but those and _that_ made to fight it." His eyes were focused on her, _burning_ again. Was he… "No different than how heroes such as you find peace even on the edge of the abyss. This place… it feels as if it sits in a Sacred Realm… even while the world crumbles."

Okay, okay, he wasn't _wrong_ , in a sense. But, also an okay statement, Ruby _knew_ he was just being… stupidly metaphysical or whatever the term was for 'stupid deep'. He was _not_ talking sense!

"I-I don't know! Maybe my mom just liked to stand here a lot when I was a-a-a baby or something!" Ruby reached, suddenly _really_ careful about the man who was just _kneeling_ over her mom's grave! She knew hitting him would be like trying to drink the ocean but… what was she supposed to do! "Just… if you want to do something, why don't you go help Link!" That _was_ why he was here, right?!

"I intend to, descendent," Ganondorf's answer was not comforting. "But for that, I must offer aid beyond my hand. And by blessing of time or by careful design, such a method exists here." Ruby was about to ask what he meant, in an obviously calm and collected manner, as was appropriate for a huntress in training next to a mad man with enough power to make Ozpin scream.

 _FWOO_ _ **OOOM!**_ That was until his hand caught on fire.

"Your mother's body may not have found rest here," Ganondorf began, even while he stood over her mom's grave. "But I suspect there is something just as precious, just as valuable, as her final bed, here." It didn't matter if she was buried there or not, he was _not_ supposed to do that!

 _That_ , of course, being the big man pulling back his fist into the air and making it glow! Bad things happened when he did that!

"S-Stop," she just got out, chest still shivering, body still weak. She _was_ weak! Why wasn't she doing something! "Don't hurt her! Don't dig it up! My mom is there! She really is!" But he wasn't stopping. HE was just… _smiling_.

"Your mother is not here, Ruby Rose," Ganondorf finally spoke her name, and she _hated_ it. "But I suspect, no… I _know_ there lies something here that will aid the hero's fight." Ruby could do nothing, nothing at all. She was just forced to watch.

**_BOOM!_ **

As Ganondorf blew a hole where her mother's memory lay.

* * *

It wasn't enough. It wasn't enough and he was starting to realize that.

It wasn't enough that he was pulling the moon from the sky. It wasn't enough that he had rebuilt it in better fashion than the criminal underworld of Vale. It wasn't enough that he literally had the monsters around him, dancing to a string of his beat and howling with his cheers. It wasn't enough that he had the ground turning itself up for him, the trees uprooting themselves to clap for him, and the sky getting ready to cry in joy for him. It all just wasn't even _close to enough!_

But, he could admit he was getting _awful close. Games were at their most fun just before you won, and he was so close to victory he could taste it. That sweet sweet moment where everything he had planned came to fruition, no matter how quick it was, and the losers had to pay the price for losing the game!_ He had spent so long just trying to make the game of his life last a bit longer, he had almost forgotten what it would feel like to actually _win!_

Second string to monsters across the world and a puppet for a bitch with too many teeth. That was all he had been for months, maybe even _years_. But finally, _finally_ , serendipity saw fit to give him something for his troubles, and it had spoken to him promises that felt cheesier than a Danish from a Dutch factory.

It was the one purchase Roman didn't regret making, and he made sure to let _everyone_ know about it. _There was no use in winning if everyone didn't hear_.

" _GHAHAHHAHAHA!_ _Victory! Victory!_ So, this is what it feels like to gloat from the top! And all this time I thought the best play to do it was the seedy underbelly!" The man declared gayly, waving his hand around in the air as he practically skipped around on the ground. The rainbow mask he wore was bobbing as he did so, acting more and more like a part of his face than a mask he wore. Acting like his true face. "And _all_ I _needed_ was to _realize my_ greatest joy _in the game of_ life!" It was becoming closer and closer to the truth of reality.

 _WHAM! WHAM!_ _ **WHAM! WHAM!**_ And he was having such a great time _beating_ the truth of the matter into the fool who thought he could even possess a _modicum_ of a challenge! Some snarky Knight with a grade-A sword? The hell did that matter to a man with a nuke!? _It was easy to win a game of jump-rope if no one else could jump! Just the way he liked it!_

"Got anything to add, _to speak and share?_ " **WHAM!** He questioned as he let his cane fling down one more time, the long tendril of dark matter smacking into the Earth again. Roman didn't care much for the destruction it had caused around him.

Sure, the number of monsters he had summoned were being wiped out at an almost dizzying pace even for him as he celebrated. Goliaths being beaten into mist and freaking Wyverns being grounded as he smacked and danced on the land around him, not even to mention the forest. Wow, he should have gotten _paid_ for all that weeding? _Decorations were great for a victory party, but there couldn't be any crying in a game. That ruined the fun. Unless they were tears of joy!_ He was so close to them himself.

Especially as he stared down at the _boy_ who had been throwing him around earlier, all by the twist of his ankle. Now he was being held down by his own foot, that magical stupidly colored blade of his somewhere over the horizon where it belonged. Shame about that seeing as it probably would have made a good center piece. _But the best kind of trophy was one that couldn't be taken back. And heads were so hard to replace!_

"Nothing to say? _Nothing to add?_ Don't you want to give some big heroic speech about how my dastardly plan will be foiled? _You never did talk much before, but you were also so heroic back then!_ " Roman could remember fighting this fellow before, and he hadn't said a word through the whole thing. Pretty sure he had at least, at least if he recalled being in some heterochromatic room of acid-dropped liked portions. Definite possibility. "Can't you at least _try_ and make me feel like this was a challenge~?"

The only response the ever so silent Super Faunus gave back to that was to glare at him. And what a _hilariously_ broken sight that was.

The man looking up from the ground, glaring at him as he tried to reach for a blade that wasn't there, acting like it was going to be the magic wand to make him to _poof_ and fly away. _But good games didn't have such powerful tools. Good games needed to be a challenge. And how could he be called a good friend if he didn't make this as challenging as possible!_

"Careful now~," Roman tapped his can on the ground, the tendril that came from it keeping itself taut around his ankle. "You keep that look for too long and it'll get stuck like that.~" Of course, he had the perfection solution on how to help him avoid that.

 ** _WHAM!_** By flinging him over his shoulder, whipping him like a mace. **BAM!** _And making him slam into the earth again!_ He chuckled as the rest of the Grimm cheered, monsters howling for more, breathing in the dust and mist of their own brethren. _It was always a great feeling when everyone was enjoying themselves!_

And the grunts of pain that were coming from the Super Faunus, as he was being cartwheeled around without a say in the matter? Oh, Roman couldn't name a song that could make his heels tap quite like this. Hell, it was worth losing an arm over. _But he needed his legs, otherwise it'd be awfully difficult to run and play tag._ He was _it_ after all, in so many ways.

 ** _FWIP!_** The cane let out the noise as he pulled the tendril back, suddenly and quickly. Rather than slamming Link into the earth, it sent the Faunus hurtling at him. No weapon to draw, not enough time to react, and Roman felt like he had all the time in the world. Enough time to see the pitch coming… enough time to pull the cane back over his shoulder…

 ** _WHAAAAM!_** And _plenty_ of time to enjoy the rebound of force that traveled up the cane, all in time with the end of his Melodic Cudgel slamming into the fair faced knight's noggin. Just _truly_ the best sound in the world, really perfect. _It was better than singing in the rain, and raining with the stars out was just the best. Raining with the moon over their head was worth watching_. But there was oooone problem…

"Oh my, did I hit you too hard?" Roman asked, twisting his head and looking at Link through the large beady eyes of the mask he wore. The green tunic wearing fairy was lain out on the ruined earth, cracked rubble laying around him and his arms and legs still. "You're not dead, are you? Please don't tell me that killed you. _You were able to take so much more before, and this game would be boring if we stopped now!_ " Granted, he also didn't want to get _too_ far ahead.

Winning a race was great, but if you couldn't see the look of anguish on the loser, then it just wasn't the same.

Roman grinned behind his mask as he the Faunus's head twist, that long hat of his billowing as he tried to rise. He was a trooper, no doubt about that. Getting up and still far from sporting anything worse than an angry glare. And _man,_ that was a glare. Here he was thinking Red had the sharpest eyes in all the land, least the biggest blade. _But they weren't the same eyes. He'd seen them much angrier before_. Hard as that was to believe.

"You know what, I can tell this is starting to wear you out," the gentleman thief offered, putting his cane over his shoulder. He tried to rub that shoulder with his other hand, but _whoops!_ Kind of hard to do when _another_ thief fancied your hand for a dance. "I don't want to keep you, and I got a feeling that beating you much further than this will be like hitting a dead horse. _No fun in winnings alone, it'd be like playing alone_." As he expected, the Faunus didn't make a sound.

Well, that wasn't true. He made _plenty_ of noise. All while trying to sit himself up through the beating and slams Roman had given him. Nearly blew him away until he was screaming into the air, left only to gurgle… good think Neo wasn't in his head, or else she might finally laugh herself to death.

"How about I give myself a handicap… another one that is," he noted, mask glancing at his stub of an arm. How fun that it didn't even bother him that much. Guess his new found powers more than made up for a fleshy appendage. Having fleshy tentacle magic was just so much more satisfying. And flight, and telekinesis, and whatever-the-hell was responsible for doing _that_ too the Moon. It looked good though, plenty of color in those furrowed eyes.

Still he tapped his cane on the ground, swinging himself around in the air by the powers that be. Or the powers that lay in the mask and were bent _completely and submissively to his every whim. Absolutely no drawbacks at all_. Yup, all this power and it gave him all the time in the world to think. For a guy whose Semblance may as well have been ideas, _that_ was a fun thing.

"I got it!" He slammed his heels down, making the ground crack a little under the blow. He would have snapped his fingers, if he had the spare hand for it. "I'm not giving you the _chance_ to make this fun. _All this talking and swinging and fighting and playing_ and you aren't doing anything but just trying to get close. Fun, really is, but that's not enough for either of us." If the glare Link had spoke anything, he agreed.

Agreed as he tried to push himself up onto his elbows, glaring at Roman with that still oddly impressive mask of his. Okay, not an actual mask, but not like the horned _treasure that Roman was wearing, one that was worth every limb he had and the rest of the land, so long as he got to play_. Play the king of the castle and ruler of the city. Hee, _for starts_.

"I… am going to let you get one good hit on me." Roman finally spoke up, though a bit disappointed that Link's face didn't even shake. "Isn't that what you wanted? I've been told by a lot of people I have a _very_ punchable face. One of the reasons I'm so good at fight, gotta protect the merchandise. _Can't let the fun go on without joining in._ " He knew he looked good.

But Link was only staring at him, watching him. Well, with hands digging into the ground and trying to do something else. _What_ that was, he couldn't quite say, but it was something. Probably not anything big. Nah, what could he do? All the fun tools but no _power_ behind them. If he could have done anything, he would have done it by now.

"You're not becoming chicken, are you? _Is the Cucoo starting to get cold feet?_ " Roman laughed as he spun again, stomping when his heel was shoved into the dirt, putting his front towards Link, arm extended, and staring up into the face of the moon high above.

So far above him, but getting closer as the seconds ticked by. Counting down until the day was his, and he could rule and _play until the gods came back to earth_.

"Alright, I'll start counting~! All the way to five." Roman declared, not looking back at the man. "On the count of one, on the mark of two, on the dawn of three, on the eve of four, and on the strike of fi-" He didn't see it coming. He didn't even expect it.

 ** _BOOOOM!_** The fist that buried itself into his gut, harder and faster than he could have ever imagined.

Roman didn't just fly, he was _launched_. He'd heard of rocket ships taking flight slower than he was, the first experiments to breaking the atmosphere of Remnant before the realized the limitations of Dust, they could take off so fast they could clear the line of sight of someone standing by them in the blink of an eye.

And Roman's body was launched just as hard, just as quick, and just violently enough for even his cap to fly off. But not his mask.

Even as he barreled and twisted in the air, he felt the mask still rooted to his face. The power it gave him and that that meant. He _used_ it. The same way how he had been able to fly and use it before, he used it now, stopping him in midflight, forced flight that is. Upside down, cane out, and staring at the earth above him. He pushed off of nothing, turning around and ready to scream at Link about what justified itself as a free hit, but he stopped himself.

He couldn't very well yell at Link when it was Ganondorf standing there. The big green brute holding out his fist, and glaring up with a burning gaze. Even if his stomach was sore from the hit, hard enough that he was sure he would be dead without the mask, Roman had to smile. Hey! It was the one guy who took his arm in an over eager handshake! He couldn't' let the guy just fly away from that. They needed to _break even still. And he had enough knees, arms, and legs to make sure they were square_.

"Mad thief… you have truly fallen." Ganondorf spoke from the ground, staring up at Roman, floating in the air. He pushed his cape out of the way, red hair a hot mess around him. Guess he flew too far too fast… or just had a lot of fun during the end of the world. _He wasn't one to judge how someone had fun, especially if they were winning_. "It is a blessing I am here to keep your descent from pulling outers from the sky." There was a problem with that boast though.

"Far as my big ol' eyes can see, I'm the only one up here!" Roman yelled back _down_ to Ganondorf, waving for good measure. "I mean, there's room up here if you want to join me. But I gotta warn you, I squirm a lot at night! Just ask Link, he still looks worn out! _Didn't even have enough time to have some fun!_ " Maybe it could have been worded better, but Roman would keep it. No use in getting rid of a scrip that made people laugh. "But hey! If you're back here, then that means we can dance some more, right? Usually I need ten minutes, _but I don't want to miss second of this fun! We can keep going if you'd like, to the earth, and stars and moon above. Anywhere works!_ "

"We are going nowhere." Well that was a depressingly quick reply. Rude too. Here Roman was offering a fun time. _Nothing more fun than a pair of games playing games and one of them going ass up with failure_. Maybe he needed a drink, drug free. "Not while you send your monsters to terrorize the lands from here, not while you intend to pull the moon from the heavens, and while the hero still breaths." Okay, that last one, that was funny. That was too easy to pass up, like a grandpa waving his Lien around.

"Hee hee hee, tell ya what Big G, you wait ten seconds and I'll take care of that last one for you. _I said he could hit me, but you count. Partners in a game work together!_ " That was how all partners worked. _If he had one that was as strong as him, it would be the same. Good thing no one compared._ "Don't worry, I'll be quick~. I can shoot a man from a hundred feet away, _before_ I got these magic tricks. Now will be just as easy." Maybe even easier~.

Except… Ganondorf wasn't growling up at him. _The big man had been angry when they had played before, but now he just looked amused._ An amused enemy was a dangerous one, and Roman knew that. _Why was the angry man smiling?_ Crossed arms and all.

Then the man was floating, flying even. Not that surprising, given that he had been doing it before. But he just looked… amused? Not _bored_. _Being bored around him was a dangerous thing. Dangerous bad and out right naughty!_ But he was… careless? Roman couldn't find the right word. He should have sent someone out to go look for it. Too bad he didn't know anyone.

"Get rid o the hero… is that what you imply?" Well damn, and here Roman had been thinking Ganondorf had some kind of a brain in him. Guess he was all brawn. Had the body for one at least. "An amusing tale, for one who does not recognize the power before him." Power?

"Power, you want to talk about power?" Roman asked, waving his cane off of his shoulder and spinning his body around for good measure. Seeing as he was floating in the air, he'd dare to see anything but a thin-boned Grimm doing that. "I just made the moon reform itself. _I brought out friends from the shadows to play._ I got the rest of Vale and the oceans running for the mountains and hills! _I have the earth screaming as I tear it apart!_ What kind of power do you think I _don't have?!_ "

He cracked his cane against the air. Maybe he was being quick, maybe he had hit a fly, but whatever the reason, the impact against… something, cracked the air like lighting. _That_ was power. The kind of power he had been chasing all his life.

But Ganondorf kept smiling, and he did so even as he flew backwards… backwards… and began to drift back to the earth. Okay, not even a retreat. What the actual hell?

"You do have power, of that I would be a naïve to deny." An oddly specific insult, but acceptable nevertheless. "But what the hero has, or has _now_ , will turn all of that into a paltry sum." The hero… had now? Roman went to look at Link, but he didn't have to go far.

Ganondorf was settling onto the ground right behind him.

Behind the Green man who had managed to get to his knees, helped by _a girl in a red cloak_.

That same girl holding something for him, which Link had in hand, even while he stared at it, trembling. What was that?

"The hero had difficulty facing you, because he was without his weapons." That was one of the worst jokes Roman had ever heard, and he'd heard the tale of Cinder's life. "The man who had collected treasures and memories, but put away his blades and keys as he tried to walk forward in life. So fortunate are we, is _he_ , that Time would not give him a foe like you without a weapon to match."

"Is that a compliment?" Roman was going to take it as one. " _Glad to hear you have an ace to play, makes the round more fun to endure_. But that's nothing! I don't care if that… stick? Yeah, _stick_ he has is divine and farted out of a god's ass!" He was still on top of the world, floating on it even as he got ready to pull the moon on it!

He was Roman Torchwick, the possessor of _Majora's Mask! The mask of divine construct and demonic prison! Able to house and keep a power so fearsome it was thrown into a land between life and death, doused in Twilight, to keep it from ever staining the day again!_ What was Link compared to that? What was a hero that didn't have his friends? What was…

_SHIIIIIIIIII-_

What was that light?

That light… _that was a bad light_. Lights were what usually let him know the cops were coming, best time to get out of dodge and back to whatever alley had cleaned to sleep in. That he couldn't do now. _The light was too bright, too mean, and too harsh! It made the game seem unimportant, and that was just a horribly mean thing to do! Games were all that mattered, the game that he always loved to play._ And that light… looked like the red card for it.

The light that was coming off of the blade, _the blade_. Roman was blind for having not seen it.

A blade that was in a sheath, a blade that was so _ordinary_ compared to everything else in Remnant, but one that was long as the hero was tall, and shining brighter than any torch could ever bear. That lavender blade he had been lugging around didn't even compare. A firefly's ass next to the sun itself.

The sun was apt… because it _hurt_ to stare at.

"Thief of this land, you are fool for not recognizing such a treasure." The bigger and stronger and probably meaner man spoke. And despite the Big-G looking like a man that Roman would have wanted to hire to be at the front door of every hideout he had, he was a far-off secondary concern next to the shorter, greener, and, currently, _meaner_ Faunus. "You have grasped at a power I fathom through experience, but now it blinds you from seeing the force that cannot be reckoned with."

"The hell does that mean!?" The shit was he saying?! Force that couldn't be reckoned with? What the hell, it was just a glowing sword! So, what if the Super Faunus had an Aura to match. It was just glowing. He'd seen street lights that were brighter than that! "You think you can stop me with a light show! _This game is too much fun to stop like that! We need a victor, and I'm going to win, so we're going to keep playing!"_ And who was he to say they were going to stop.

No, scratch that, who was he to _fucking laugh?!_

Roman was _shaking_ as he heard the man bellow out a long laugh, even as he folded his arms over his chest, floating in the air behind Link, and looking about as ominous as most nightmares did in Halloween movies. But, still the same, he was a distant and far off _mook_ compared to what Roman was feeling from looking at the Faunus and his blade.

"It means the hero has been facing you with the most egregious of impairments." The man's voice was mirthful and _loathful_ even as he was standing behind the crouching Faunus, hidden _dumbass!_

Even more so when he saw the Faunus looking back at him, _glaring_ at him. With a gaze that was sharper than the sword he held, and just as bright. Roman loved his flowery things, the best way to prove he was making it big in life, but language usually wasn't he cared to decorate. _No fun in making up words, not when you could be making up rules._ But this was different. Different as… well… the mask he wore.

It was different because his mask was a source of _amazing godly like power that he was nothing less than absolutely lucky, fortunate, and blessed by every divine being in all of creation for not only getting, but unleashing_. No question there. Even if it was gaudy, rainbows of white suits looked good. It made the eyes… pop!

Colors did pop, and that was why the mask was so eye-catching. A _gaze drawing and swallowing shade of colors that never hinted at anything but the good times to come as long as it was worn._ Reason enough that it was his new favorite part of his wardrobe. And the Super Faunus, the emerald knight, appeared to have something that popped as well. Something that slide out of a gold etched scabbard, hued blue even in the mess of darkness and blood red clouds.

And Link… _that_ Faunus, bathed in some long untampered sword, glowing like the sun, grasped at a lavender handle, a curved hilt that looked like hands raised into the sky, and etched. Oh, it was obvious it was etched, seeing as it was the absolute brightest part of that blade. A trio of triangles stacked on one another, and looking like a dust batter powerful enough to run a city. It was bright enough for it.

Roman had heard of lights in the dark, but this was ridiculous.

That made what the Faunus _AND_ the tike next to him were doing absolutely, jaw-dropping, mind-numbing, crazy.

Some semblances could make eyes glow. Some could make them shine. He had seen the bimbo of the team go from royal lavender to pissed red, glowing like the sea beyond the island. Hell, _blood_ was duller than those eyes. But comparing those to what the pair were doing in front of him? Well… Roman was quite sure a god didn't care for the gnats latching to its arms.

Those eyes, shaded and hued by the sword Link was carrying, and casting an almost ominous shadow on Ganondorf behind him. A man who continued to throw his head back with laughter, even as he was bathed in light and shadow. Him a mixture of both, while the Super Faunus and wannabe super-hero were getting the full blast.

And _that_ was what he couldn't look away from. Quite honestly, if he didn't have the methods to fight her now, Roman probably would have let Cinder take his head for not noticing it. _Even if it had changed, it was hard to win a game when you weren't paying attention._

Roman honestly couldn't be sure he could have called it without seeing the side-by-side. _They had the eyes that he did before. The first time they had played together._ The kind of eyes that would stare at him for years down the line, and through his dreams. _Eyes that were beyond this world, and made the games harder to play and fun more difficult to enjoy_.

Eyes that matched the light coming off that blade, the color that was being given off by the girl in a red cloak, and a man bathed in green.

A matching gaze, from two different people. He quirked his jaw beneath the mask, a smile pulling at his gnarly lips.

"Silver…" Roman noted, gripping Melodic Cudgel until it strained against his enhanced grasp. "Well… second place always was a terrifying color. _No prizes for first losers._ "

Link and Ruby were surrounded in silver, their eyes tinted to match. Roman didn't care. He did, but he didn't. _He cared a lot, but that would be bad_. He just had to focus on winning. And winning meant being a different color, right now at least. And he could be any color he wanted to.

"Guess I'll just have to _win the gold_."

The world shook once more around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today I learned that I can't write dialogue for shit, so god help all the awkward sections that people will remember more for what happened than what was said. All my bad, and I wish I could make more interesting dialogue then a serious version of "GET TO DA CHOPPER!"
> 
> OH! AND HEY! I think… I think I answered one of the big ones! I think Question number two of the five big questions was just answered! Who wants to tell the people the answer in unmarked spoiler reviews?
> 
> YOU SHOULDN'T! So DON'T!


	51. The Night Ends

The field and land around them were still aflame. Wisps of fire leaked out from the gnarled forest, the upturned land seemingly burning itself away, and all silhouetted by the high moon and the darkened sky around it. A grimace of rage bearing down on them, a glare that only added fuel to the fire. It was more than any normal man could take, a hellscape if little else.

And from this vile land monsters had already come forth. Monsters that threatened the villages and kingdoms beyond the shores of the island, beasts appearing capable of scratching the sky, and doing so with little more than a roar. A roar for them, but a typhoon of power to all beneath them. Those were the types of monsters and beasts being created by this twisted landscape. It, the moon, and the man who wore the damnable mask responsible for it all.

Yet hope was not lost, no matter how close it had come.

_He_ had fought off the most terrifying of the monsters at the shore of the kingdom, keeping it from harming the squires that fought. _Squires_ had kept away a tidal wave of beasts themselves, and doing an admirable job by even his high bar of praise. _A hero's descendant_ was responsible for rescuing all the villagers that she could, helping them to boats and ships to sail away. It was beyond admirable to witness a nightmare unfolding around you and still deciding that it was best to protect another's dream. That was what he saw. Such sights were beyond despair, and well within hope.

And when he returned from the kingdom's shore, he had felt hope as well. The absence of bloodlust, the tranquility he never felt in the desert, yet did as he saw the red-hooded girl curl up over a grave, him thinking it was her saying goodbyes to a loved one. He was not wrong with what she was doing. He was only wrong in why the peace was there.

Peace came with the absence of violence. The destruction of violence came with the expulsion of evil. The removal of evil came with effort and purpose. That purpose… which needed a divine force to turn reality. He knew exactly what was capable of such a thing. He had seen it, _felt it_ , before.

Ganondorf recognized the Master Sword before his hand dug it from the grave.

It was a blade of evil's bane. A sword smelted to seal evil. A blade the hero had used to smite him at his most corrupt, turning the forces of his army to screams and whimpers, felled by the holy light. A light that shone from the cool steel, matched only by the hero's purposeful gaze. The glare of a man who held a sword not as a tool for death, but a shield for those behind him. It was the hero's blade. The blade that had killed him.

The girl had been shocked when he pulled it out, in awe and terrified of it. A blade so perfect and buried where the memory of her mother was kept. Lain in place of her true body. As a king, he knew the meaning well.

Well enough to know that though he had found the Master Sword, it was not his to hold. And though she was shrieking, he had put the blade in her hands, and watched as she fumbled with the weight. For a moment at least, before she held it out like a Maiden with her charge's newly forged sword, holding it with care, unable to think of pulling. The moment had not lasted long.

Not before Ruby Rose had grabbed the handle of the Master Sword, her pale fingers wrapping around the lavender hilt and trying to pull it free. Try was the word, because it quickly became too much. And Ganondorf knew why. The same reason the hero had grasped the blade once, and did not return to face him for seven long years. This child was no different, hardly different.

He knew it the moment she looked up at him… and _he_ had to grit his teeth and turn away from her. Her eyes were the same, but they were full of realization, wonder, purpose… and pain. Not her own pain, though he was sure there was, but his own. Her gaze hurt him, and it was the same as before. She did not have time or desire to speak on it however.

The hero's descendant was running with a moment's breath. And he was soon to follow. _His_ pain be damned.

That was how he had found the pair of them, with the hero's descendant unable to decide on the action to take. She was young, ill-prepared, and so he did not fault her. But such ignorance could not be his excuse, and he was quick to intervene with the hero's fight.

He saw the thief taunting the hero, either aware yet confident, or unaware and ignorant, of the deficient the hero had. No sword to slay the vileness of evil, and so no way to fell the demonic power he wore. He was quick to intervene, laying a blow upon the alabaster gowned thief that could rend mountains, and had done so in the decades before. Ganondorf was unwilling to let the hero fall in such a manner, not when he had a journey to complete.

A journey he knew was not done, not when he pulled the Master Sword form its sheath, and the land cried out in pain.

Ganondorf had watched from behind them, the pair. From behind the hero of the forest, gowned so _nearly_ to how he was when he had met him in his tower all those years ago. Bearing the same blade, the same tunic, and the same eyes. Eyes that shown like the blade he held.

Eyes that were a mirror to the girl next to him, a child that was as much a warrior as he knew the hero to be. Standing in the face of danger, of torment, of unimaginable power, and thinking only on how to save those around her. She was a hero herself, and it made sense her mother's grave held the hero's blade. Now, now they were facing down a mad thief who had taken power as Ganondorf had long ago, and let that power rule him.

This was not a place he thought he would ever be, but Ganondorf was beyond content to be here.

He stood tall behind them, arms crossed and watching the alabaster suited thief. Missing an arm, but looking nonplussed by it, the man's head writhed back and forth. The horned mask twitching as the head beneath it tried to make sense of what was around him, but finding no sanity. Nothing to latch onto, no goals to search for, only the concept of winning. Such a pitiable sight.

"So… we're doing this then," the girl asked, Ruby Rose questioned, holding out her own sickle, looking for what to do. "I-I still don't know what's going on… but I'm _guessing_ we're going to be fighting soon. Right? Right, now? Right _now?_ " She looked from the man at her side to back at Ganondorf, silver eyes aglow.

He had to turn from the sight, blinking away the pain that seeped into him. Careless.

"O-Oh! Sorry! Sorry! I-I didn't… I forgot!" He heard the girl apologize, just before the pain dripped away. "But… but geez! I can't follow anything about what's going on!" Her fears were not without merit, but they were not the time to be addressed. Not quite yet at least.

"The world is ending, young hero. The man responsible stands before you." His golden eyes narrowed on the rainbow hued mask and the man who wore it. It was difficult for him to tell if the man had his mind anymore, or if it was all now hidden as deeply behind that carved visage as his real face. Becoming the power, he had stolen from the hero. "Time is of the essence, and it is running short."

"Oh, that bad huh?" She laughed at the words, but they were without mirth. Empty, hollow, and as she continued to hold her oddly designed weapon with immense force. "Here I was hoping it wasn't _that_ bad. Just that the feeling I've got was… I don't know, b-being so close to you? Maybe? Possibly?" He hummed at her words, but did not look at her.

"It would be foolish to turn away from the truth in this moment," Ganondorf answered smoothly, easily. "I cannot claim to be a non-source of the fear and disdain you feel, but I know that I have no intent to harm. Unlike the madman with the mask, and the moon he has recreated above us." The words, rather than an affirmative noise, instead only made the child groan. Child, he had to remind himself. Not the hardened warrior like the hero next to her, and before him.

"Right, yeah, _that_." Her shoulders rose and fell with the force of her sigh. She breathed deep the scorched and tainted air, eyes blinking with light and power. "Can't forget that… b-but I have _no_ idea how to stop it. I-I-I don't think there's a weapon big enough to destroy _the moon_. Is there? _Can we?_ "

There was, Ganondorf knew it well, but it was not his place to speak it. If it was, then the hero would have made mention of it. However, the young hero, inexperienced as she was, was asking the incorrect questions. The hero also made no move to correct her, instead holding the sacred blade outwards, directed towards the man with monsters at his heels.

"Rather than destroy the moon, better to vanquish the man pulling it down." He looked ahead towards roman, the man's head undecided about which way it wished to lean, twitching as a result. "Though you two may be capable-"

"I am _not!_ "

"-It is a task I will contribute my power towards." He did not give notice to the girl's outburst, not as he rose higher above the ground, unfurling his arms and holding his fists out in front of him. He could tell the young hero was looking at him again, but he raised himself up, ignoring the pain her gaze brought him. "I will stave off time's end for you, so you may stop this madman from obtaining his victory."

"You can do _that?_ " The young hero asked again. "Wait, hold on, _I_ can fight _that?_ " Her second question had much more merit, even if she was still unsure of herself. A child, Ganondorf reminded once more. Far from inadequate, but unable to pull forth the sword, no different than the hero before her.

It would take time, but time was not something they had. For now… it was about survival. For him, for them, and for the kingdoms near and afar. The moon would cause much more damage than all else, and it could not be allowed to fall.

"You can," Ganondorf affirmed. "So long as the hero approves of me departing, and for stopping the moon's fall. " Though his golden eyes were honed on the back of the hero's head, their eyes did not meet. The hero did not turn to look at him, only tilted his head, enough for Ganondorf to tell that he was listening, but still unwilling to look. "I said before all that I do now is for your benefit, hero. This does not change that, and whatever you wish for, I will commit to. As is my sworn fealty for freeing me from the rage."

Still, the hero did not answer, even through the lurching and burning of the land around them. Monsters spilling from the shadows, clawing their way from the long cast darkness of Roman's body, and give more terrifying visage by the darkened sky and blood-made clouds. All of it was there, but still the hero did not answer him.

"Link? _Link?_ " the younger hero started to implore, her _painful_ silver eyes focused on the hero. "I _really_ think that Ganondorf is waiting for a response… or an idea… _or something!?_ " She was looking to and fro, long red cloak billowing for the effect, she was grasping it tightly, preparing for action, even if she did not know what it was. "I-I get that Ganondorf's a bad guy, but we _have_ to stop this!" Her hand reached out and grasped his arm, pulling on his tunic.

He looked at it, then at her, and Ganondorf had to squint his own gaze.

The hero's silver eyes burned him, even from aside. It was amazing he was not lit ablaze when they were focused on him. But Ganondorf endured. The hero had every right to burn him if he so desired, or rend him with the holy blade he held, the glowing light of the Master Sword still a powerful thing to witness. The King of the desert bore it all, as was fitting for his sins. Until the hero could forgive him for those atrocities, then he could not forgive himself.

_Ganondorf_.

The name came so quick and quiet, that the Dark King had nearly missed it, especially mixed with the howl of the wind and strength of the land, but he swallowed again, enduring to wait, and listen to all that the hero had to say.

_Use all your power. Stop the Moon's fall._

The King of Evil grinned at the hero's request. Even through the pain of the hero's eyes, he did not falter. This was what he was waiting for. This was why he was here. This moment was what he was searching for… and he would _not_ fail again.

"I will do as you ask," Ganondorf assured with a bow of his head. He ignored the look of the young hero, looking between the two of them. Perhaps in shock, perchance disbelief. He was sure it was not misunderstanding. "Be wary of power, Hero of Time, but do not be afraid. You have defeated far worse than this." He spoke nothing else.

**_BOOM!_** He was gone a moment later, soaring into the sky with a speed he had never needed before. The power of the gods in his hand, and all that that entailed. To create the beasts of legend, to craft the lands below, or observe the heavens above, it was all his. That power was his to use.

Sailing with a billowing cape, large grin gleaming with golden eyes, Ganondorf barreled onwards towards the falling moon, content to do exactly what the hero asked of him. Without question, without concern, and without thought of what was going to happen to him afterwards. If he did give thought to it, then he would be disrespecting the man who had thought to save him, even at his lowest.

The grimace of the moon, ominous and terrifying, did nothing to Ganondorf so much as the thought of abandoning the hero now. He would not leave a post given to him, by a man far better than him. No… instead, he raised his hands, summoned forth all the power he could, channeling the dark magic through his body, he readied himself for what would be the greatest, and longest, test of strength in his life, former or current.

**_BOOOOOOMM!_** Holding back a falling moon.

With the memory of the hero's command, he knew he could do it. _He had to do it._

* * *

He did not think he would actually commit to it, but he was pleasantly surprised to see the dark king a man of his word. Be it because he was paying back his debt, as a king was meant to do, or a means to show his strength and sow more fear to the wind, he did not know. But the result for the current situation was obvious, and he would not forsake gifts given to him. He never did.

He did not forsake gifts given to him, just as he did not forsake favors done for him. Even if it was from a man so responsible for all of this, it was a man who was attempting to make right sins of his past. He would not hold his grudges above such a goal.

Not when there was another man in front of him so far the opposite, and so far more a threat.

"H-Hey! Did you see that?!" Of course, Link would be just as foolish to ignore the child next to him. "H-He just flew up into the air a-and I saw him do that before but now there's a _crater on the moon!_ Well there were craters before, but now a _bigger_ one and… a-and is he trying to break it or-" _Pat._ Link dropped his hand on her head. The girl was silenced immediately.

He dared to look away from the monster he had faced long ago, the beast that was freezing the sky black and turning the oceans to crimson blood. He ignored it in place of the girl, who even now shivered under his palm. He stared at her, and her back at him.

Her silver eyes, bright and beautiful, mirroring his own. Both glowing with power.

No different than the Sacred Blade gripped tightly in his hand.

"H-Hey…" she started again, more subdued beneath his open palm. "Um… m-my dad's the only one who does this and… shouldn't we be focusing? On him?" Her head tried to move towards Majora, or Roman, whomever currently was in control. Yes… they should be focused on him.

But she was not going to be facing him. Not so long as he had his blade, and was capable of fighting. She was still a child, and he was the one responsible. He shook his head in response, making her already shimmering silver eyes widen. Then, lips still pulled tight, he motioned his own head away. Back towards the place she had run from, be it the coastline, home, or somewhere even further. She was _not_ supposed to be here.

"Wha-? No! I am not running away!" She caught on quick, and argued against him. Argued and raised her forearm to his own, beating his hand off of her. She let him push him off. "After everything I just saw _AND_ considering how he was wailing on you like Yang did to me as a kid, I am _not_ just going to run away!" Her hand waved at Roman for a moment, scythe held tightly in the other. "I can feel _so much trouble_ coming from him that it's like a freaking _storm_ of trouble! A bad storm, thunder cloud of bad thoughts, just… _really really bad!_ " Her vocabulary could use some work. "He's here, where _my_ home used to be and-" She cut herself off.

_SCHING! SCHING!_ A pair of lines of silver traced the air, burning away the darkness for a moment.

At the same time, the head of a corrupted Wolfo fell away, its massive jaw and bleary red eyes burning in a fire before dissipating into smoke, and a long tentacle was severed at its stem, a writhing mass flailing on the ground before flowing back into the broken earth.

Ruby and Link stood back to back, arms extended and weapons out. The Master Sword hummed in Link's hands, shining bright as it was in a place being swallowed by evil. Ruby's scythe smoked, a cartridge falling away from its central shaft. Both eyes turned to Roman, forms stiff but prepared.

"What? You thought I'd wait for the spat to be over? It's called combat pragmatism! _You call it cheating, but if you cheat and I cheat, then no one's cheating!_ " Link's gaze narrowed, but he didn't speak, only breathing slowly at the insinuation and words. He still wasn't listening. He only heard him. "But if the big man wasn't going play _Dustman_ and fly up up and away, then I'll make sure I keep up the dance down here. _I'm winning so all I have to do is stall! Not a fun way to win, but winning is winning, and you only play to win!_ " It was hard to completely ignore him.

"He's sick," Ruby spoke behind him, and Link couldn't argue. "I fought Roman _a ton_ before but… but this is _so much worse_ than what he used to be. He was tough for Ganondorf and _he_ was able to walk through everything Beacon and Atlas threw at him. You were there, I think, sort of…" She was getting off track, and he felt her shake her head before going on. "Point is you _can't_ fight him alone. I'm here and _I_ can sense bad stuff. I just… I can just… _watch your back!_ " It wasn't a suggestion.

_BOOM-SHING!_ Even as Link leaned back to avoid the Dodongo trying to bite his head off, jumping from the broken earth, Ruby's weapon sailed over his head, missing him by a hair's length, shaving his bangs for the effort, but cleanly severing through the beast that was trying to kill him. From jaw-line to tail.

The halves of the monster flew past them both, billowing into nothing a moment later. It was almost muted against the roar of the still falling moon. Ruby spun around to glare at him, red cape pulled back and eyes no dimmer than before.

"I can fight. I _will_ fight. You won't stop and neither will I." He believed her. And more horrifyingly, so did the others. He knew well Ganondorf already did, disgusted that the man had spoken to her already, but recognized that he saw much in her. More than he did others. And worst of all, so to did the _current_ madman, the one who was sending monsters after them.

_SHING! SHING!_ Monsters that he and Ruby were dispatching with singular swings and rips of their blades. _BOOM-SHING!_ Or the ripping force that came from firing her weapon. Monsters and tentacles both, all of them lying as they approached.

Maybe she was fighting because she was like him, unable to turn away from a threat she saw. From what he was aware Ganondorf spoke to her, poisonous words to make her placate beneath him, it was possible, as the man was enigmatic and charismatic as he was powerful and ruthless. Maybe she was fighting because she was too _entertained_ by the stories her friends told her of the Nightmare, and how he fought with them. He loathed to think that was one reason, as there was a critical difference. They had _no where_ to run to there.

Ruby had the entire world she could run with her powers. And yet, she chose to stay here. Link realized when he saw that. He would just be wasting his time, _precious time_ , trying to convince her to leave.

With great reluctance, and loathing the action, Link nodded his head. He loathed it even more when Ruby _beamed_ in response. If this wasn't a game to her, she was still taking it too lightly.

"Yes! Alright!" She _cheered_ , while they still stood beneath a falling moon, held back by a man infused with power, cratering it between its impossibly large eyes. That, and the burning land broken by monsters and beasts. "Alright! Awesome! So you go kick his butt and I'll kick the monster butts and _then_ when we're done we can… well, it'll be a while before we're done." Her silver eyes scanned the land, and Link agreed.

Monsters were gathering around Roman in greater and greater number. Writhing tentacles seemingly growing in length and width as they split the land they started to emerge from. Howls of pain and anger grew from them, as well as the sickening sound of crunching bone and muscle, the tormented remains of the creatures becoming something _beyond_ monstrous, and beyond beast.

And all of it was done by the mad man in a rainbow hued mask, eyes as sharp as the horns around his head. His smile, well hidden was _doubtlessly_ the same.

"Okay… you take the ones on the right, the… hundred? Thousand? Hundred thousand? Hundred thousand on the right?" There were not that many, but to a squire like her, talented as she was, a large number was not something she needed to think on. "And I'll… keep more from coming towards-" Once more she stopped speaking.

_SHING~ BOOM-SHINK!_ Because her scythe lay to waste two more beasts that were eager to attack them, two more that had separated from the growing pack. Another Wolfo and a Bokoblin, grasping at them. Ruby's scythe cleanly cut them across their chest, returning them to dust. Link watched, silver eyes burning like his blade. She had felled them quickly and with little effort.

"A-As much as I can at least." Her effort appeared to be more in trying to convince him she could stay. That was… dangerous. Dividing her attention. "I know you're stronger than me so… so go kick Roman's butt for me!" She let it with a cheer, turning to smile at him. Brimming and full, as if she wasn't in the middle of a hell field, and she had not just witnessed the power of the gods being unleashed.

Link recognized the face well. It was one he had sworn to protect for years before… and decades still.

It was why he jumped past, her looking at the monsters that were clawing at one another to attack them. It was why his silver eyes were looking at one of the massive writhing tentacles, acting like pillars in the ocean, waving into the air as if grasping for the surface. He had seen them before, and he knew what they could do. It was why he could not let them stand.

He jumped hard off the ground, launching himself upwards. He pulled the Master Sword over his head, gripping the lavender hilt with the force the Golden Gauntlets could allow, and he let himself tumble back the ground, head over heels as quick as he could. When he was close enough, he screamed.

_"HYYYYAAAAAGGH!_ " **_SHIIINK!_** A wave of light blew forth from the blade, carrying the strength of his soul with it. It tore through the monsters like it was the blade itself.

A vertical blade that sailed like an arrow, severing the limbs and heads from the monsters and beasts too crowded to escape, snarls and snaps turning to whimpers and cries, dust billowing out as it drove into the crowd, rendering all that it slammed into to nothing more than dust, smoke, and soon to be forgotten memories.

Then it hit the tentacle, and its true power came forth.

The bestial limb didn't cry out like a monster, harmed and scorned. It let loose a writhing sound as its muscles were being turned against it, the dark power that had formed it being purged from the inside out, its mass being crippled by power alone. It was all something that Link had seen before, and it was something he watched.

Watched the towering tentacle, a match in height for the Clocktower he had once seen long ago, bursting forth with the holy light of the Sacred Blade. Like trying to contain the sun in the darkness of the sky. It couldn't be done, and the inevitable soon came to pass.

_BWOOOOOSH!_ It blew from the inside out, clumps of mass turning to dust as it crumbled. All of them failing to hit the ground, returning to nothing more than smoke a second later. That was one of the limbs severed with one of his strongest strikes. A strike and swing of the blade that came at the time of its forging. A strike that was empowered by the sky, and delivered the light that it held.

The beasts were wary, and Roman's face was twitching like an overwound clock.

"Wow…" Ruby muttered breathlessly behind him. He did not turn to face her. This was the most dangerous part. Both sides had struck… and now they were waiting for the clash. "Do you… w-want to handle those things, a-and I get Roman?" But that was worth an angry glare. Enough to make the child 2/3's his height pull her head back in surprise. "I-I'm sorry! Never mind! You can fight the super-powered-evil-mask-wearing-former-but-sort-of-not-former thief!" Though not a label he would use, it was one he would take.

_SHINK!_ Especially as he turned around, impaling his blade into an approaching monster. It blew to dust a moment later, and he did not care for more than that. Instead, Link straightened himself, staring out towards the mass of monsters and writhing limbs. It was like the twisted inside of the moon, the last he had been forced to venture into it.

The same moon that hung above them now, where Ganondorf, the same man he had killed so long ago now, was keeping it at bay. He was strong, but Majora was a monster into himself. Link could not delay, and he would not forsake Time for it. Not again.

His boots carried him forthwith, and the Master Sword shone bright at his side. He ran with it, silver eyes glaring at the monsters that looked towards him. They roared back in fear, then screamed in rage, they were furious and terrified all at once. But Link was only one of those things. He was only _furious_. And there was only one man now who he needed to fight.

_SHINK! SHINK!_ He effortlessly swung his blade, not missing a step as eh continued his sprint, severing the limbs and claws of approaching beasts. He flipped through the air with a deft jump, cutting down tails and wings that were trying to surround him. He swung his blade and sent a smaller pillar of light carving through the monsters. He glared at more that approached them, promising no mercy at their end.

The sound of the Master Sword tearing through them all was deafening. The singing of his old blade as it turned the creatures of darkness back to whence they came. Easily rending their toughest hides with the surest of strikes, dodging the blows they made between his swings to near carelessly take their lives from them in return. Ruby was right they were great in number, but that was all these monsters were to him. _Numbers._

He had run across war fields that had skull children popping from the ground, crushing their skulls with his boots. He had run into the encampment of Bokoblins with just his blade and arrows, taking their lives before he ever reached the center of their camp. He had faced great knights that had been corrupted from within, turning them into stalwart defenders of dark arts and tyranny. And none of them were still standing.

Link was running, and they were in his way. With the Sacred Blade once more in his hand, there was nothing that could stop him. He was not invincible, but he _was_ unstoppable.

"Wow! There's the hero I was promised so much about! _You're here to play again! Back to play!_ " Roman shouted over it all. His voice like a trumpet promising a volley of arrows. Link heard, but he did not listen. "Keep attacking! Keep fighting! _Keep playing! Keep dancing! Keep making a fool of yourself!_ It's all the same to me!" His laughter was impossible to ignore, but Link did not let it seep into him.

He was running towards him, and he was not going to stop. _SHINK!_ Not for the Wolfo that had tried to snap at his feet. _SHINK!_ Not for the Dodongo trying to clamp down on his arm. _SHINK! SHINK-SHINK-SHINK!_ Not even for the colony of Keese that swarmed him. His glare made them freeze, and the Master Sword made them miss.

Link's tunic shone under the holy light of the Sacred Blade, as sure and powerful as his piercing silver glare. And the golden eyes of Majora's Mask, wide and piercing, continued to twitch under the control of the single armed thief. No mercy would be given in this moment, for none was deserved. Especially not as he saw Roman, _the coward_ , attempt to fly away. Jumping up into the air and the lapels of his alabaster suit fluttering as he tried to make use of the masks' power. The Hero of Time was faster.

Pulling forth the Longshot. _Crrr-CHIIING!_ And letting it rattle in his arms as it flew true towards the man. Even as the monsters continued to swarm him, and the Master Sword beat them away like flies in the Kokiri Forest, he let the hooked end of his chained weapon strike at the man. Or, more specifically, wrap around his good.

" _H-Hey! I call a foul!_ No fun if you get more than one tool to play with!" The words were ignored, and Link pulled down. It was impossible to miss the spec of white in the dark sky, flung back towards Link with all the power the Golden Gauntlets could provide. The madman screamed as he was wrenched towards the Earth, but Link didn't care.

_BOOM!_ Not even when he hit, sending monsters flying around in fear and terror. The Master Sword swung, and whipped the dust away. He was unsurprised to see Roman standing in the small crater that remained. He would not be stopped so easily, and neither would Link.

"I've heard of reeling girls in with the chain of commitment, but I gotta say you _may_ be taking that a _bit_ too- _WHOA!_ " Roman yelled, leaning back with cane in hand as the Master Sword swung over his face. One blow was not what Link was aiming for. In the middle of the swing, he chopped the blade down, ready to bisect the madman if necessary.

_CHINK!_ But of course, it hit the same cane that Roman had carried. Even as he was bent at the knees, nothing behind him to support him, he held up the walking aide to stop the Blade of Evil's Bane. He was doing a valiant job at holding it back, but it was _not_ the same sword Link had used before.

" _HRNG!_ Really hard doing this… with one hand…" The mad man muttered, even as Link leaned in, glaring down with all the force his gaze could bring. "And _murder_ in your eyes? I though super heroes were supposed to be all 'bout that peace and justice crap! _Rules for you, rule for them, but not for me!_ " Link wasn't listening. He was attacking.

An attack that came as he swung his foot forward, aiming for the sensitive region of Roman. The thief reacted as he expected.

" _HEY!_ I don't touch _anyone's_ family jewels! Why are you- _RAAAAAGH!_ " His taunting words were cut short as Link swung the Master Sword at him, screaming with the fury that filled his soul and letting the power of his blade fly true. It hit the round cane of the thief, and he conducted the light like a sheet of metal in a thunderstorm.

No different than the tentacles and limbs form before, light _exploded_ from Roman, even as he hung in the air, From the crevices of his clothes, rips in his uniform, and edges of the mask, the holy light billowed out. He was screaming in pain, and it was _exactly_ what Link wanted to hear, _needed_ to hear even.

The sound of regret and anguish from a man who dealt with both like a merchant.

"RAAAGH! _RAAAGH!"_ Roman and Majora screamed into the air as the power overcame them, and Link let it fill the air like fires in a dark night. "What the hell! _Why!?_ This hurts! _It hurts!_ Holy shit! _Please stop!_ " Link was not about to do such a thing. He raised his blade to swing again, to send more of his _furious_ spirit into the madman and his deity accomplice.

_SHING!_ Only to turn as he felt another blade reaching for his head. Turning and facing a dark helm that stood above him, with a blade far larger than he was. Link did not shake in fear at the sight of the mad thing, surrounded by the monsters and silhouetted by the monstrous moon above. He glowered, with _impatience!_

He did not swing again, but he did duck, letting the force of the knight, the _Darknut_ , swing over his head and towards nothing. His lithe form easily slipped between the stocky knight's legs, letting the holy blade rise as he did, trailing up the corrupted monster's exposed back. The back that held the lines to his suit of armor, the ropes that kept him together, severing in a single swing. Link had jumped into the air with the effort, falling before the pieces of the knight's armor hit the ground.

Link held out the Master Sword on the way down, letting it trail through the monster's hide and rending him with pain. If it let out a roar, Link didn't hear it. _SHINK!_ Not above his blade cutting down another monster that was behind him. _SHINK!_ Then another. _SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!_ And so on and so forth, cutting them down by the weight of the Master Sword, returning them to the darkness as the Holy Blade shone forth!

But it wasn't enough. It wasn't _nearly_ enough! He had hit Roman once, _only once_ , and the mad man needed far more than that. He needed to be _purged_ by the light. To turn all the darkness in him to smoke, to let it flow out of him as he had done before with the Skull Kid, to let the evil of the mask be turned to dust and memories.

Lay in with the spirit of the Sword, to let the power of the Holy Blade rend the shadows with it. _SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!_ Just as he did every beast that jumped at him. His boots sitting surely on the ground as he bent and weaved, letting them attempt to fall over him, but only falling on his blade instead. Monsters reaching for his limbs to lose fingers, beasts jumping towards him to lose heads, and creatures lurking in the ground to eat him being buried with a single thrust.

They were all falling to the blade, and Link would not let the Master Sword rest. Not now, not until it had _purged_ Roman. Him _and_ the cursed mask he wore. The dark sky was forgotten, the angry moon the same, and all Link saw was the alabaster suited and rainbow faced madman responsible for the death of the _last of his friends!_ He was going to let the light of the Master Sword _swim_ though him. Let it enrapture him like the feast of kings for a dying man! It wouldn't even be the first time he had done such at thing.

The Skull Kid had not survived the experience, and Link had no wish for Roman to do any different.

Link wanted blood, but a smoking corpse would do.

_SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!_

* * *

She had wanted to be a huntress ever since she had lost her mother. She wouldn't even pretend otherwise. It wasn't her awesome Uncle Qrow coming back from missions and regaling them with tales of monsters and Grimm he had fought. It wasn't her dad coming back and talking about the lesson she was teaching other kids about how to fight, and then giving live demonstrations. It wasn't even her sister, awesome and nearly perfect as she was, encouraging her to stay strong and up and positive and be the absolute best a Rose could be.

The only thing that ever-kept Ruby going was the memory of her mother, and how she had been so amazing, so _perfect_ , that she had been able to lead her team back in her day. Her dad, her Uncle Qrow, Yang's mom Raven, even if Summer was her _really real_ mom… Ruby's mom was just the best. She had done so much… and her dad had never stopped telling her all about her.

Being a huntress, even if her dad had warned her how dangerous it was, was one of the best ways Ruby could think to show her mom how much she loved her. Doing what _she_ loved to do, and doing it because she not only wanted to, but because her mom had given her the chance to. She had wanted to be a huntress all her life, and she knew it wouldn't be easy. As Uncle Qrow had called it, a nightmare.

_SHINK! SHINK! SHINK-BOOM!_ But there _was_ a difference between 'nightmare' and 'the-near-literal-end-of-the-world-crashing-down-on-their-head-with-monsters-included'. One was _a lot_ worse than the other, and she normally struggled with just one of them. _SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!_ But even when she was struggling, she could usually at least keep focused and think.

Ruby couldn't think about _anything_ right now. At least nothing else other than the fight she had on her hands.

_BOOM-BOOM-SHING! SHING!_ The fight that she had volunteered for, that is. The one that was involving every single bad monster she had ever studied or thought of coming out of the ground and trying to attack her. At the same time a thief she had fought _at least_ four times was now some kind of super mystic power to bring them out _and_ making _giant_ dark tendrils writhe and claw into the air.

Crescent Rose was gonna get an upgrade after this, that was for sure. Ruby felt like she was already in the middle of one. At least _that_ was the best reason she could give herself for why her eyes were suddenly glowing like flashlights. And it wasn't just hers, Link's too. That was _another_ question she wanted to think about, but had no time.

Link's eyes, _her_ eyes, _Link's_ sword, and just _what the mask Roman was wearing was capable of!_ They were all _really_ important questions, she was sure of it. _SHINK!_ Just as she was sure that if she stopped paying attention or didn't listen to her bad feelings, she'd be dogpiled worse than the bullies did to her back in Middle School. No, _this_ , was something a lot worse than that.

This was Ruby swinging Crescent Rose in as many arcs as she could, firing off the Dust rounds whenever there was another Grimm in front of her, which was _always_ , and jumping around with bursts of her Semblance in near every window she got. She _had_ to, because she couldn't swing her weapon fast enough to clear all the Grimm around her. And they really were _everywhere_.

She was bursting into petals and slipping underneath talons and claws as they tried to rend her, before reappearing at _just_ the right moment to let her Crescent Rose tear off those limbs, then letting the momentum of the spin take her back down to the earth, letting her body swing to avoid the writhing mass of monsters that were trying to grab her. It was probably one of the most terrifying fights she had ever been in, or at least it _should_ have been.

Because for all the monsters she had fought before and other terrorists she had to deal with, Ruby never had much of a bad feeling beyond something bad could happen. Now? Her Semblance was _screaming_ at her about how bad _all_ of it was. And she was staying here because of that. Link could get mad at her later. She'd be mad at him, if she could, maybe if she tried.

He had to explain why he was using a sword from her mom's grave.

_"_ _ **RAAAAGH!**_ " _SHINK-BOOM!_ Ruby buried Crescent Rose into the side of a Creeper before firing, letting it rip it in half at the neck, only to let her baby keep spinning and reap the heads from a few other monsters itching to get out from under the ground. The turned to mist before the hit their companions, the same allies, she guessed they could be called, that were still lunging at her.

Her red cloak billowed as she kept herself moving, boots pushing across the ruined earth and always listening to what her Semblance was telling her. Stepping right to avoid the swipe of a Nevermore, ducking and raising Crescent Rose to bisect a lunging Ursa, jumping and firing a shot to rise above a stampeding Goliath, then firing another shot to bring herself back down to the earth, her scythe spinning like a circle of doom.

**_SHINK!_** And then feeling her Magnum Opus of a creation tear through the center of the mammoth of a creature. If it made a noise when she killed it, Ruby wasn't trying to listen for it. Her senses were flaring again and she was shooting away, just as _more_ Grimm jumped at her.

The battle felt like it had been going on for ages, and she _knew_ it had only just begun. Crescent Rose was almost loose in her hands with how much strength it took to tear through the monsters, and not to mention it felt like her head was being pulled in _fifteen_ different directions. And those were just the ones nearby. If she _really_ paid attention to all the threats, then it felt more like a _thousand and one_ different things to focus on.

"Maybe I… was too…" Ruby panted out as her boots dug into the earth, spinning her scythe until it was resting at her back. It didn't stay there for long. _BOOM!_ She jumped as she fired, turning herself to roses again and letting the blast carry her into the air, like a cannonball above the rest of the battle. It was what her dad had taught her to do when she was getting over whelmed. Tactically retreat.

' _Retreat'_ , however, seemed kind of difficult. Mainly because as she hung in then air, maybe a dozen or so stories up, she was looking over the remains of her home, of Patch, and she couldn't see anything. Just dead trees, roaming monsters, _giant tentacles and other giant monsters_. She bit her lip as she took it in, feeling the sense of foreboding trouble approaching her again. Her silver eyes, still glowing as they had been since this started, looked for Link.

" _HRAAAGH! RAAAAGH!_ " His screams were louder than the monsters, and Ruby didn't feel any trouble coming for him.

**_SHIIIIINKG!_** Not when the freaking 'blades-of-doom' that were being fired out of him and incinerating everything in their path. Well… she knew incinerating wasn't _exactly_ the right word for it. That meant they were being lit on fire and turned to ash. And that wasn't exactly happening.

No, the Grimm were just bursting into light and vanishing into screams. She only got a good look at it when those same giant beams hit the writhing limbs puncturing from the ground. Watching them basically blow them up from the inside out. Not an _ex_ plosion, an _im_ plosion. Of light… and energy… and making things that were basically like giant ancient Grimm fall to pieces.

Ruby was _seriously_ starting to understand now why Tatl and Tael were so in awe of Link.

"Hey! I'm over here! You can't be _that_ bad at tag! _It's no fun if you let me get away!_ " She understood just as well why he was trying to kill Roman. Ruby felt _everything_ wrong when she focused on him even a little bit. Not that she could as she continued to swing and dash and explode around Link, all to make sure the Grimm were facing _her_ and not _him._ So that _he_ could focus on _Roman_. "You want me to hold still? Or would you prefer I put some wings on my back. _You always did lose your friends faster when they had them_." And he _needed_ to focus on him.

_SHINK!_ Ruby swung Crescent Rose as she leaned back, chopping off the leg of the Gryphon that swiped at her. She heard it howl. _SHINK-BOOM!_ For a moment, just before she flipped over and let her baby dig itself into its neck. Then firing and letting her scythe tear through it, and sending her away from already vanishing corpse. The _sea_ of monsters beneath her gnashed for her to fall. But her Semblance directed her where to go.

She landed atop a Lolith, something she _knew_ was probably a bad idea. But she'd take the back of a giant evil eight-legged super _spider_ than int the jaws of… anything else. _SHINK!_ Mostly because all it took was a good whip of her baby down and around to cut off half off its legs. Making it fall over with some turbulent cry. _SHINK-BOOM!_ And then fire her weapon as she was walking over the tumbling corpse, cutting through he remaining legs and sending it head over heels. Toppling atop other Grimm. It was something worth the picture books, like her dad would say.

But Ruby's Semblance was still firing, still telling her that the monsters were _going_ to hurt her, and she had to act to avoid them. No matter how much she did. Because stopping for too long might mean boring them.

And boring them may mean getting them interested in Link. _That_ … was no good.

_'Doesn't mean I don't_ want _things to get a little easier!_ ' Ruby complained in her mind, knowing that wasting breath for screaming would be a bad idea. Even as she ducked and rolled to avoid the swiping claws of more Grimm. She was getting too tired to tell what kind they were. Only that they were dangerous. _All_ of them were. ' _How does Link stay on top of all of this!?_ ' Well, she was there too, so technically she was also on top of it. Even if it did feel like she was about to get swallowed up by it. Probably a good reason to keep moving.

Her eyes scanned and flashed, bright and painful as she tried to see the reds of ever Grimm around her. Didn't do a lot of good, when some had one eye, and others dozens. _REALLY_ didn't help that their dark bodies were basically hidden in the dark sky when they jumped, like a wave from the ocean more than beasts trying to kill her. All she really had to guide her was her Semblance. _Amazing_ as it was, she knew it wouldn't be enough forever.

' _It doesn't_ have _to be forever!_ ' She told herself again. As she narrowly dodged a Goliath's horn, only to put her foot on the tusk and let it throw her into the air. _'Just until help arrives… or Link wins… or Ganondorf does something._ Anything will do!' Because there wasn't a lot she could do aside from stall.

Ruby realized that as Crescent Rose drove straight through a Nevermore's beak, sending the avian downwards in a tumble, only to land atop another manticore.

She wasn't doing anything aside from distracting them. She wasn't actually _stopping_ them. Why? Was she not strong enough? Not good enough? Not fast enough? Just… what? Sure, _maybe_ she wasn't like Ganondorf, and able to stop _the moon in the sky_ , awesome and necessary as that was, forgetting just how evil the man was for burning all the White Fang members and _Blake_ like that, he was still buying them time.

Link, on the other hand, wasn't much different than her. She _barely_ had time to realize that, only as she caught a glimpse from him over the _horizon of monsters_. Her Semblance kept her sharp and wary, and it let her silver eyes watch him fight Roman. OR chase, or whatever it was.

Whatever it was that had him, making monsters _freeze_ at the sight of him, and having the guy who was responsible or the literal land going to hell to run away from him, _taunting_ him at best. Ruby couldn't even call it fighting.

The Grimm were fighting her. They were throwing claws and horns and hoofs and teeth at her. She was pretty sure heads too, killing one another to kill her, which was sick and disgusting like the Grimm to do, but they were _trying_ to hurt her. Link… they were just falling to him. _Maybe_ it was because he had that _wickedly awesome sword_ , or because he had to be at least _decades_ older than her, like her dad, but it couldn't be it.

They were both fighting under a _screaming_ moon, a _reformed one_ , with the blue-sky dark as night without a star in sight, clouds red as if they were ready to rain blood, and the sea looking like it was already full. She was 90% sure there was a horror movie on when she was a kid that she and Yang watched like this. It was the end of the world, almost, but she and Link were here.

And the Grimm were chasing her… and _running_ from Link.

"Tired yet? You sick of running out of magic juice? _Need a timeout? Want to take a break?_ " Even if one of them was taunting Link, as the Longshot whooshed by him and narrowly grabbed him. Roman _was_ avoiding it though, unlike what happened with her dad… and what she saw before with Ganondorf…

Link didn't say a word as he struck out at Roman. Ruby was making her way over to him, intentional or otherwise. Letting her power send her careening over the Grimm and monsters and getting her closer to her awesome Faunus friend and the mad thief who _really_ deserved to lose _another_ arm. Or maybe just _both_ of his legs.

_SHINK!_ _ **SHING!**_ She heard and saw the silver of his blade cut through the air. She had researched once how superheating the air can cause a cavitation effect, like an explosion underwater, and had tried to replicate it herself. But it was _impossible_ to create a guard that would suitably protect herself while she used it. That feint memory came to her as she ducked past another reaching limb.

It came to her because what she saw Link's awesome new silver blade doing reminded her of that. Cutting the air so fast that it looked like everything around it _exploded_.

**TWANG!** Especially when it hit Roman's cane, and the masked man and Link were both bathed in the light. Ruby was able to watch, the monsters around her running away, because the glow of the blade was just _so strong!_ She was close enough now that they weren't trying to fight her. They were just… howling. Howling, hissing, and gnashing at the ground, breaking up the already dead land.

Ruby let her own silver eyes watch the pair of men, well man and _monster_ , as she gripped Crescent Rose tight. She felt something coming, but nothing _troubling_. Just… tense.

"You know I had my eye on you since day two you showed up. And that's just because I didn't know you were here day one. _Too busy playing. Too busy working. Too busy for you._ " Roman spoke from behind the mask. The eyes of that rainbow hued _thing_ almost looked like they were glowing as well, though dimmer than Link's _piercing silver gaze_. Probably because the sword was helping. Roman only had his cane to lean on. "All that time, I _knew_ you were hiding something, cause your fairy friends couldn't help but spill a syllable when they were up in that Headmaster's tall- _compensating_ -tower. _Light wings and fleeting minds, makes the games easier to play and bind._ "

Ruby knew what he was talking about. She felt that terror drench up in _her_. Weiss and Yang had told her about it. After she and Blake got back and before Link became at teacher and the whole Grammite incident and those _stupid_ Council members… Weiss had told her about it, saying it was because of her dealings with the Schnee business she recognized it. But Yang and Ruby _dismissed it_. They didn't care because Link was just too cool, and Blake didn't _want_ to chase him away.

But Roman didn't forget about it, and now he had done… _this_.

"All this power right in the palm of your hand, and you were hiding it from the world like an ace up your sleeve. Says a lot about a guy who has to have _this_ thing in his pocket _and_ that monster of a man. _Too many trump cards can ruin a game. It's no fun when no one plays._ " Ganondorf and… this thing. That's what Roman was talking about. Ruby spared a second to look around herself, seeing the longue tongue of a Sabyr stalking in the distance behind her, Ravagers fighting the Grimm for domination in the sky, but Ruby didn't sense anything from them, _yet_. "But I've been in _this_ game long 'nough to know that no one keeps an ace that someone else can take. _Not_ without a counter play of their own. _Rock-Paper-Scissors!_ "

She started to feel something. She turned back around to see Roman rising, his cane _pushing_ against Link and his awesome new sword. That Melodic Cudgel _crap-cane_ weapon pushing back against the _freaking awesome_ longsword. Ruby didn't know how, but she _knew_ it had something to do with that dark glow coming from him… and… of course… the mask…

"You _do_ have another plan going, don't you? Something in the back of your mind, some magic weapon even your ship-sinking fairy friends succeeded in hiding, _something_ to make _all of this_ seem _small! The real friend! The biggest friend I've ever had! The one you earned and kept!_ " Ruby sense of terror was growing. Growing as she watched Link lose ground.

The sword shone in his hand like a Beacon, but Roman was starting to stand like some kind of abyssal swallowing darkness. Even with such a brightly colored mask, and glowing golden eyes, it was impossible not to see. Her grip on Crescent Rose tightened, the Grimm antsy behind her. When they attacked, she'd know it. Then _she'd_ attack. But not before because… because she wouldn't know where to go. She couldn't feel it yet.

"So where's it at?! You got it hidden underneath that elf hat of yours? You putting it in your _other_ back pocket!? _It's not nice to hide secrets from your friends. Aren't I your friend?!_ " Link took a step back, and the Grimm _howled_ in agreement. Ruby finally turned her back to Link at the sound, and put her focus on the Grimm.

It was like a set of fingers trailing up her back, tempting her that any moment they would dig in and start to _dig_. She ground her teeth at the feeling, not knowing _where_ to turn. The copious amount of Grimm that ranged from Ravager to Sphynx, or the giant Grammites that were clawing their way out of the earth. Were they normally that big? It was hard to tell just how _massive_ they were, especially when the air was already _shaking_ because of the literal moon falling!

"Why don't you take it out?! Huh?! You know you're gonna lose! If you don't!" _ **BAM**_ _!_ Ruby's senses lurched.

**BOOM!** She exploded into petals as she let an explosive round fire from Crescent Rose, shooting her into the air and well above the desperate claws of the Grimm curling for her skin. She avoided them, only to twist around, upside down in mid-air to see what the sound was that sent her Semblance off.

She was greeted to the sight of Roman's arm being regrown. And shaped like it was carved out of the gangliest, deadest, and most horrifically shaped piece of _metal_ she had ever seen. It didn't help that it _writhed_ at his side, slamming down on top of Link's blade and holding him there. Ruby's own silver gaze was focused on the sight, her body already spinning to listen to her Semblance. Ravagers and Nevermores swooped and attempted to scoop her up, but she cut them to ribbons all by the direction of her mind. She landed atop a Goliath, and took the moment to see what else Roman was doing.

"You've got your eyes on second place. Hell, you're _reflecting_ silver! _But I will win win win win win WIN WIN WIN WIN!"_ And then Roman starting beating on Link.

_WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!_ The tentacle, if that was what it could be called, held Link down, either frozen or behaving according to the silver glow of the blade, but Melodic Cudgel was under _no_ such rule. It was slamming into the blade like bombs were going off. Enough to send shockwaves across the land, making Ruby's cape billow with every impact. Impacts she was at _least_ _hundreds of meters_ away from, but she felt the blows as if they were on top of her.

It must have been worse for Link, but the Grimm were doing all but _cheering_ for it.

Ruby's senses were almost going _mad_ as she shot off the side of the Goliath, just as it reared back and Lancers started to swarm her. She cut them to pieces with ease, but they were a horde and she was one girl with a very special baby in her hands. She was fighting a sea of _endless Grimm_. Dodging and jumping off of them with the acute sense of her Semblance, but Link was fighting the one responsible. And he didn't look like he was winning.

"Give me that power of yours, you damn coward!" Roman finally yelled again, Ruby heard him even over the wailing he was giving to Link's blade. "A stupid, insignificant, overly priced, _coward_ like you is already too good for _one_ instant nuke, so _why_ should you get _three!?_ " She _really really really_ hoped there wasn't actually a third one. " _You don't play nice when you have too much. You don't scream and run! Why don't you join the others!?_ "

**_WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!_** And somehow, the blows came down harder.

Hard enough that Ruby saw the Nevermores being _pulled_ from the air, lancers being blown away by the shockwaves and even more Grimm huddling to the ground. Like the most terrifying game of the floor is lave Ruby had ever played, she jumped over their backs, touching on them only long enough to shoot her Semblance into action again, staying as petals and far away from the next attack for as long as she could.

But she had been doing this for what _felt_ like hours, and she didn't know how much longer she could do this. Her _or_ Link.

"You keep hiding that trump and you're gonna lose everything! You're not smart enough to know _when_ to play it, so you're gonna hold onto it till your dying breath, I know it! _You did last time! You did and it wasn't fun! It was mean!_ " Last time? "If you're not gonna use it, then just hurry up and kick the bucket! Don't keep kicking your sorry rusty can my way! _That's a boring game to play!_ "

**_WHAAAAM!_** Her petals were blown away, like the force of a hurricane had slammed into her for a moment.

Ruby fell out of the air, back hitting _some_ Grimm as she tumbled down, folding Crescent Rose to keep her from losing her baby, and trying her best to find balance. But her mind was in a fit and the Grimm were about as predictable as she was right now. They were spread around _everywhere_ and whatever Roman was doing felt almost as bad as the _damn moon falling!_ Ruby still couldn't get over that, even as she landed on her back, before hurrying to her feet, looking head for what was going on.

And she saw Roman looking like… less of Roman. It was _way_ beyond just that arm thing now. His face looked like it was… _becoming_ the mask.

It felt _wrong_ to look at, but not like her Semblance wrong. Not 'something-bad-was-going-to-happen' wrong, but 'No-earthly-creature-was-ever-mean-to-look-like-that' wrong. The kind of wrong nightmares were told about. It was all in the face… but the suit didn't help.

A mouth opening up under those eyes, a mouth with as many teeth as the mask had, but just as large and sharp. Drool dripping from them even as the already pin-prick holes of the mask narrowed to slits of dangerous gold. And if possible, it seemed _bigger_. Like Roman was getting bigger. Like the suit was growing and the mask was growing and _he_ was growing. It was just… _wrong_. And Ruby felt it all around her.

"Maybe you're not a coward, maybe you're just _too proud!_ " Roman's voice was just as wrong as he looked. It was like… it was going through a cheese grater. It made Ruby wince, even as she had to _move_ because she felt the Grimm getting antsy around her. They were recovering faster than she was! "You've never had to scrape and crawl for power! You've never had to work your way to the top! You didn't have to kick the dogs while they were down so you had something safe to walk over! _All your tools and all your friends, lined up for you to use. Pawns in your game while playing mine!_ " Ruby _knew_ that wasn't true.

He wouldn't have let Ganondorf out if it was. And Link didn't look anymore convinced.

Even as he was on one knee, glowing blade above him, and holding it steady under the monstrous new size of Roman. Eyes narrowed and sharp as his blade. And from Link… Ruby didn't feel like anything was wrong. Whether _Roman_ knew it or not, Ruby didn't care.

"Well here's the thing about pride, _fairy boy_ ~," Roman attempted to sing with his voice, and it sounded like an avalanche of glass and death. The howling of the Grimm, necessary and loud enough for Ruby to twist and bend through claws to avoid, didn't help. "Only the strong can keep it, and _you're_ a little low on the totem pole!" He raised his cane into the air, treating the thing like a club. IN his hands, after what Ruby _felt_ it do before, her and all the Grimm, she knew it couldn't be good. But she still didn't feel her Semblance fire. And in a second, she knew why.

_"HYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAGH!_ " Because Link screamed. And then his blade, and his _eyes_ , shown like the shattered moon.

_Blinding_ didn't even begin to name it. It was like a miniature _sun_ was opening up where he was kneeling, and he was staring up at Roman. The monstrous thing that _was_ Roman reared back and _roared_ like a Grimm with the sound. A high gnarly hissing noise that was best compared to the one-time Ruby had shattered a blade she had been smithing. The same sound that had her putting her hands to her ears and bowing. Even as the light consumed her.

Consumed her, washed over her… then was gone. Not like a sun, but flash of a comet maybe. Something like that? Ruby didn't know. In fact, she didn't know much of anything.

She only knew as she unfolded her hands from the side of her head and looked up, Link was standing tall again, and his blade was just as bright at his side. He was staring at Roman, or the masked _thing_ that was still _pretending_ to be him, and didn't feel like he had an ounce of fear on him. Ruby believed it, because the proof was all around her.

That was the _hundreds_ of Grimm that were turned to stone, like a wall of the terrifying statues just standing there. Claws raised, screaming, maws open, even some _drool_ and _slobber_ turned to stone, but all of them nothing more than hard granite now. Ruby had to stare, because it was one of the most amazing things she had ever seen. Link had done it, but _why_ he had waited so long… made sense as she looked down at herself.

She was fine, she was _okay_. Because she _wasn't_ a Grimm. Neither was Roman… not until he had become far more than that. Or, less.

And that was what made the stalking mess of… _something_ looks pained. It wasn't _stone_ , like Ruby wanted, but it was glowing as if trying to shake the afterglow of _whatever_ Link had done. His mouth was open probably to his _chest_ , with teeth almost pushing out like blades. It's already crude and misshapen arm almost looking like it was melting, trying to pull itself together. If it was anyone else any _where_ else, Ruby might have felt bad. But this was Roman, the man who had helped kill Tatl and Tael. Who had _maimed_ her _dad_.

Link knew that… it was why he let Roman fall this far.

"What… what w-w-was thataa-AAGH-at!?" His voice roared as he took steps back, his cane was used to support him, like a twig to a giant tree. "Was that… y-your game! Taunt, mock? M-M-M-Make mee-e-eEGHAGH- f-f-fall?!" If it was, it made sense. And Link had done a great job of it. Ruby's Semblance couldn't feel anything for some distance. She could feel _some_ danger, but nothing immediate.

Link had cleared the field, and left just Roman there.

"TH-That's-HHAHAHA-ARGH!" The girl couldn't tell if he was laughing or crying. Maybe both, _hopefully_ the latter. He needed to _feel_ bad for what he did. _All of it_. "Back-pedaling f-f-f-faker like you… _hurts hurts hurts so bad I might looooose!_ " Then he had better hurry up and do that. "I won't though! I just became the king of the hill and I've got a lot of red-d-d-ecorAAGHTing to do-OGH!" He shouted, _again_ , as he raised his cane, again.

Ruby watched as Melodic Cudgel, instead of doing something normal for a weapon and unfolding or shooting off a round, instead let some kind of purpose flow over it. The _same_ stuff as before, and what Ganondorf had used… bad stuff. Bad stuff that gave Ruby _some_ feelings as she watched it basically paint Roman over.

He was already two feet taller and disgustingly wider, gnarly limbs making him look like some kind of horror skeleton… but now… he looked like he had literally crawled his way out of the shadows.

"Holding off for th-th-tha-GHT long… you're not gonna loose 'nother nuke like that," Roman spoke and… Ruby had to admit he had a point, even as she was trying to see if she could put a good pot shot between his massive eyes. Massive golden glowing eyes above a monstrously exaggerated smile of teeth to match. "Before you get the guts to do that again… I'm just gonna have to gut you…" Then again, maybe not…

She felt the Grimm coming again, and she saw Link ready himself, glowing blade in hand and eyes to match. Eyes that matched _her_ eyes. He had this.

_How_ he did or _what_ Roman was talking about, Ruby had no idea. She didn't even have time to think about it. Just because there was _so much_ to think about. She had to keep the rest of the Grimm back, just like Ganondorf was keeping the moon up. After all of this was done… then she'd ask her questions.

For now… Link had a demon to slay. _BOOM!_ And she had monsters to kill.

* * *

Starting from scratch usually mean having _something_ to work with. Because if you needed to hash out and scratch your ideas, you needed at least pen and paper to make something to show. Scratch lines on paper, brag about it, get some funds, make it, sell it, profit. The mysterious middle steps were surprisingly easy once you had _something_ to work with.

If that _was_ what scratch meant, then he had started with _less_ than that. He didn't even have clothes to call his own when he started out. That was stuff for the big players and titans on the field. Clothes, money, cars, property, money, dust, employees, _money, money, and even more money after that_. Money was what gave life to new ideas, and people grow from something to nothing. That was what money was capable of. He had seen it firsthand.

With money on his mind, he stole enough to become a gentleman of high-class underworld society. Loathed, hated, but undoubtedly respected. Enough for the gang members to stay away, for the heads to welcome him in, even if there were guns at his back and Dust hanging above his head. It was all that there was for him, just more money and money and then a bit more money on the side for dessert. AS long as he took in more of it, he could climb higher and have more than anyone else.

Then Roman had a taste of power. Then he knew how worthless money really was.

He knew money meant _nothing_ in the face of a woman who could create fire from nothing, melt buildings down to the steel and coal they were built from, sew it into her clothes and walk around like a lady of the sun. He knew it when he heard about how _she_ served the literal _queen of monsters_ and was going to recruit him to help her, or else face death. He knew that the monster of monsters was something beyond reproach.

No matter how much he struggled with it, it was impossible for him to find a way to buy his way out of it. He was literally going to have to either give them everything he had or let them take it from him. All because they had the power, and all he had was money. What good was a specialty made cane and a bit of combat training against those who had every monster in the world on a leash? Absolutely nothing.

So, it wasn't money that drove him on from then. It was _power_. Power that he had to have, even if he had to scrounge and work for it. Power enough to make the White Fang follow his commands, which they did. Power enough to make the people run _from_ him at sight alone, which they did. Power enough to make the world follow him over anyone else.

Now that he had this mask… now _it_ did.

It did… until the man he stole the mask from came back, and he was hiding some new kind of power himself.

He knew it he moment he saw _Ganondorf_ the giant lug of a vegetable giant, handing out that weapon to him. When that silver started to shine and every Grimm nearby started to _squirm_ at the sight of him. And the trouble was, Roman was to. He _felt_ it burn him, that silver felt like tazers to his balls and then pushed deeper into his gut! It was burning him worse than any corrupted cop had done back in his golden days, and it was only getting worse.

The more power he took from the mask, the more power the _Weakest-Part-Of-The-Chain Link_ started to dish out. There was adapting, then there was mocking. And this Super Faunus, almost casually one upping him, was _taunting_ him.

He didn't give a damn about Red running around and playing tag with the rest of the Grimm. She could be a brat playing chicken with death, he didn't care. He didn't care about the big man trying to stop the bigger moon. The moon crashed, everyone died, his win. He held it up like Atlas, they could throw a party, big deal.

But Link, this _knife at his back_ Faunus, was holding some massive kind of power back, like the freaking rope to the guillotine, and Roman hated it.

Even as much as he hated that the meaner he got, the bigger he got, the stronger Link did. It just wasn't _fair_.

Roman could deal with another voice in his head, but he could _not_ deal with a stupid self-labeled _hero_ taking all his power and playing kickball with it.

"You stupid… sick… teasing… _bastard_ ," Roman started off, his voice wavering as he spoke. His mouth felt different, but he didn't have an arm to see why.

Wait, yes, he did, but it wasn't his arm. _He was just borrowing it. He needed it so he'd take it. It was a nice arm, longer and heavier_. But he could see better now, too. Like his eyes were wider, even if his skin burned. _Burned like silver and light coming from him. Being purged and burned. It felt as bad as before._ When before was, he didn't care.

"You think you're _so_ tough, swinging that blade around and acting all high and mighty. Pretending that glow stick is anything but a fancy stick of steel. No class, no specialties, not even a trick in the hilt." No… his trick was up his sleeve, _or in his eyes_. Roman knew that now "Just because you got little Red and you looking all fancy with your glowing eyes, you think you can make me squirm."

The hero wasn't answering. He was just staring, _menacingly_. Silver eyes glowing like the only sources of light in the entire freaking world, seeing as there weren't even stars in the sky, the moon was crashing, and everything else was blacker than black. Everything except the damn sword! _He hated that sword because of what it did to him last time he saw it._

"You know what it's like? To finally have your hands on something that makes you _worth_ something, only to have someone _else_ come waltzing up and bragging about something even better?" The Faunus didn't respond, he just let the blade of his glow, _and ring like bells_ , as Roman talked. "Twenty years I was scrapping back in Vale, and for the last _five_ I was doing nothing but playing kick the can to get an extra year squeezed out of my life. Any mistake a death sentence. _No time outs or do overs. Gone. Poof. Over!_ " Because his _employers_ didn't allow for mistakes. That was considered _mercy_.

Link _still_ didn't respond. The dumb blonde mute, pretty much a valley girl's dream man. It figured that the one person Roman actually had to think _twice_ about facing now was the face of hunters everywhere, so said by the Great Headmaster Ozpin. _Boo. What a bad referee he was._

"I'm this close you know, _this close_ to _finally_ having some kind of power for my own. Nothing borrowed, nothing _stolen_ , just _my_ power. _Mine_. Enough to keep me safe! You don't have to worry about that, I _know_ you don't." It was pretty obvious to anyone who knew the over-priced brat at this point. "But I do. Fuck, I know it so well I've been called everything from a squid to rat for trying to cling and grab every _piece_ of power and protection in the city. And the funniest part of that? Even if I _did_ get it, what would it matter against _this?!_ "

This, as he threw out his arm, _both arms because they were both his_ , as the power of destruction.

"Destruction and demolition! _The_ greatest threat one can have in a city. It's why construction companies are so keen to be bought out by the mob. I should know, _I do_ know. They bury the competition and blow away the up-and-comers. Best way to maintain the playing field." The only way in a power struggle free of police, the rich, and the otherwise _powerful_. "All this power and sense to destroy, and _you_ have something else!"

His cane swung back and pointed at Link. The silver eyes of the Faunus narrowed, tightened _glared_ at him. Good let him stare. Let him stare at _Roman's golden eyes. Gold was worth more than silver_. Maybe his eyes weren't gold before, but they were now. _The price of power to match_.

"I finally have something that lets me play in the big leagues, but if you've got the next challenger hidden up your sleeve, you better pull him out quick! _I know you're hiding him! I know it! Show him so we can play again! I'll Win this time!_ " Because Roman couldn't lose, not while he was on a spree. He was going to win and he was going to take the next big game with him.

If it wasn't in a fight, then it would be just swarming the creep. If it wasn't in a swarm, then it would be the moon _finally_ pulling that rock out of the sky! Either way, he'd survive, he _knew_ he had enough power for it. The Super Faunus was either going to get out his A-Game to survive it, or hand it over to stop it.

It didn't matter which way he chose, because Roman was _going_ to win.

Even as Link lowered himself a bit more, pointed his blade back at Roman, and letting that singing _ringing and painful sword and gaze_ point back at him. Roman narrowed his gaze, the mask obstructing him. It wasn't even there anymore, nothing to hide his disappointment. Then… nothing to hide the grin that felt like it was splitting his head in two.

"Alright! Don't say I didn't warn you! _Rules were set, rules were given!_ " Roman raised his cane into the air, letting more of his power collect, preparing himself. "Batter up!"

_FWOOM!_ The power he had been collecting swarmed into a ball of darkness and shadow. Roman didn't give the Super Faunus a moment to admire it. Not before he swung his cane down, throwing it at the green skirt wearing creep. It flew like a missile, ready to tear the man in two. But honestly, he didn't expect that it would. His luck wasn't good enough for that.

_SHINK!_ That _stupid painful_ silver blade cut right through it, Link jumping forward and running at him like little Red did. Roman wasn't about to run _this_ time. He swung up his can to meet Link's strike, letting the clash of steel against his cane ring out, but that was all it did. Neither weapon gave. He let his cane ride up the length of Link's sword pushing it out of the way and giving his other hand a good point to stab the bastard with.

But he jumped, like the slippery little nymph that he was, flipping over Roman's cane and arm and readying his sword for _another_ downward strike. The thief was quick to readjust, jumping to the side and letting whatever-the-hell the giant ball of life that flew out of his sword fly away. Kill some Grimm, hurt Red, he didn't care.

He was swinging again, this time with his leg, trying to knock the _bastard's_ head off. He ducked back to dodge it, angling himself like a bow. Roman took the chance to aim for his neck, crushing the windpipe. Nothing more brutal than listening to your competition's death gurgle. _CLANG!_ But of course, Link was ready for it, or moving for it.

His blade having twirled up to protect his neck, letting the rod of still hit the silver, and do nothing else. The Faunus was glaring up at him, and Roman _hated_ that his body hurt at it. He could look the literal subordinate of the Queen of the Grimm in the face and all he got out of that was a cheeky sense of pride. This look _hurt!_

"Think fast!" Roman shouted more for himself than the animal. Just in time as he reared his head back, ready to slam it down! He forced his cane down, forcing himself to keep Link still!

Then he stopped, just above him, realizing that he had shut his eyes. He felt like a 100% again, or close to it with that sword. But no eyes meant no predicting what he was going to do! Roman reared his leg back as he sucked in another breath of air.

"Two for flinching!" _WHAM!_ Just in time to deliver another savage kick into the Faunus's back. That was the benefit of having power. It made what you did matter. Like instead of just sending the brat squirming with pain, like his normal kicks would, this one launched him. Launched as in sent him spiraling with the momentum of his cane, it sliding off of the Super Faunus's sword. "Don't go too far! I'm gonna collect my debt!" Roman cheered as he jumped again, feeling the air _scream_ at his sides. He didn't blink into it.

_SHINK! SHINK!_ And a good thing too, because more of those stupid _magical light infused_ beams were screaming at him. Melodic Cudgel beat them away with some effort, but not stopping him. His new _better and improved_ arm reach out for Link, grabbing the bastard as he spun. _SHINK!_ That was a bad move.

" _AGH!_ " Roman let out, pain flaring up his arm. Like fire Dust exploding in his skin. He reared his hand back. Flailing as he hit the ground. He got to his feet as quick as he could, looking up with golden eyes and seeing Link landing away from him, that _stupid glowing blade_ in front of him again. It gave Roman just enough time to look down and see his arm.

The arm that was missing everything beneath the elbow. Seriously!?

"What is this! Cut one get the second cut half off?!" He wanted to laugh about it, _he should laugh about it, because it was funny_. "HAHAHAHA _AHAHAHAHAHAH!_ " His voice sounded different, but so what. This whole thing was different! "You know what? Don't worry about it, I get your vision's off, blinded by the light and all. I'll just _make a new one. Can't play unarmed. That's no fun!_ " And he let the power of the mask work its magic. And it _was_ magic.

Magic that got the darkness running through him again, surrounding his arm and making him _another new and improved one_. Longer, better, stronger, _better_ , and even better than better? _The best!_ It was his and it felt like it, so it was just great. Even if he didn't have much time to marvel it.

_TWANG!_ Because Link was charging at him, but Roman wasn't about to let him do that again. He didn't say a word as he swung Melodic Cudgel down again, swinging it left and right and _not_ letting it lock blades with the _stupid painfully bright_ longsword. That was just no good. So, he had to try and him again! And again! AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN _AND AGAIN AND AGAIN!_

_TWANG! TWANG! TWANG!_ _ **TWANG! TWANG!**_ Some distant unimportant part of Roman's mind was keeping track of what was happening, watching as Melodic Cudgel hit and scrapped off of the silver sword of _the hero he was fighting_. Watching it breakoff what looked to be chunks of silver. All the way it continued to glow silver, and the blade _wasn't weakening, it was strengthening!_

It _and_ the bastard holding it. His teeth were squirrely in his mouth, moving as he tried to decide if he should howl in delight or try and bite Link's head off. What he was feeling versus catharsis. What a dilemma. It didn't help that Link's improvement wasn't just in his strength, but in his skill.

He had to be improving, because before, Roman was at _least_ getting him to block! But now as he swung down, the _bastard_ was jumping around him, rolling on the ground and trying to send his blade scratching up his back! Roman was able to use his _new and improved and far superior_ arm to push himself away, avoiding the blows, but never fast enough to retaliate, always attacking when Link was prepared and dodging when he was attacking.

It didn't make any sense to him. He had the power to fight off the man who had _burned all the cheaters of the Faunus game_ , but he couldn't even get this pathetic child-like man to yield! Why wasn't the Faunus falling!? Why was he fighting so hard!?

**_TWANG! TWANG-TWANG!_** The question continued to roar in his mind as he began to swipe and stab at Link, trying to take _anything_ he could from the Faunus. The rest of the land be damned! It already was with the falling moon! If he was going to destroy everything, he was going to _humiliate Link first! As payback for the first game! Retribution!_

But he couldn't grab him! Link kept dodging then striking, sending more of that _blinding bright and painful blades towards him!_ Enough that Roman had to dodge, had to weave, had to act like a _coward, which he wasn't!_ He had to hear as it slammed into the Grimm that had been turned to stone, tearing apart the land with every swing! Link was doing that, but Roman wasn't about to let whatever power Link was _hiding like a cheater_ beat him! He had earned this power! He had clawed for it! He was going to win!

**_BOOM!_** He used his new arm to beat the ground where Link was dodging to, cracking the earth and trying to get the hero to go off balance, he did it with a snarl on his face, the massive jaw he had now, the _perfectly normal sword sized teeth grating in his mouth as Link jumped over the blows,_ landing before he had any issue, then striking again. He did it once, then twice, then three times, and all the while, Roman was playing catch up.

There was hate, there was loathing, then there was _this!_

"Hold _still!_ " He screamed, swinging his Melodic Cudgel out. He put all of his strength _and dark power into the arm, letting it swing with a force to tear mountains!_ **_BAM!_** It hit, and he nearly cheered.

Even as the blow made all the Grimm to their side get blown away, as the red clouds above them billowed at the impact and he probably _heard_ the ocean whatever many miles away waving at the impact. He should have been happy for it, but he couldn't be, because his cane was still stuck on something.

Link was still standing, Golden Gauntlets shining gold like Roman's eyes. He wanted to _eat them and make them disappear!_

"Hurry up and take a hit you bastard!" He raised his cane above his head and loomed over Link. It felt like his back was deformed, like he was more serpentine than human, but he didn't care. He had all of this power, he could _remake the moon and the earth! He wasn't going to lose it to a rigged game!_ "I've got a full calendar of errands to run _and your clock is about to strike midnight!_ " He slammed the cane down again, both hands holding it now.

**_BOOOOM!_** The ground erupted beneath him.

Charred stone and dark material flying into the air as he let it come down, feeling the air rip around him from the force of the bow. It was good, _great!_ But to easy. Even as his wide golden eyes, around his _normally rainbow hued face_ looked, he saw his cane wasn't hitting Link.

Link, instead, was standing on his cane. Slobber and screams erupted from his mouth, and teeth ripping to try and stab the Super Faunus before eating him whole. And he'd do it, too! Just as soon as he got off of his _damn cane!_ Roman ripped it back, with all the force he had used to slam it down. It _ripped_ the wind with the action, nearly sending his hat flying off his head, tearing his one-of-a-kind suit off of him, and that would have been even worse!

But what was just as bad was realizing that Link hadn't stepped off of his cane. He had stayed on it, until it had flung him into the air farther and higher than he was sure anyone could survive. Golden eyes looking up, he _thought_ that would be a good thing. Until he remembered he was dealing with a _supposed hero_ , and something as simple as a fall wouldn't kill him.

That, and the way his sword was shining, brighter and more luminescent. Less like a flashlight in the night… and more like a light at the end the tunnel. His or roar, Roman didn't know which, but he let it out!

**_"RAAAAAAAAGH!_** " Letting out a bestial yell he had learned _long_ before he had power was the bell of death! But he didn't care! _He had more power than anyone in Vale had ever dreamed of! Churches couldn't talk about the power of gods like he could demonstrate! He could rip up the land, create Grimm, reshape the moon and… AND KILL THE HERO OF TIME!_

His cane rose up again and let loose with _everything_ Roman could conceive of. Every thought he had ever _dreamed_ about wen it came to torturing or maiming the people who had kept him down, and he let them loose.

Pillars of fire that spewed from his cane like a flamethrower, pillars of massive Grimm Tentacles ready to grab and rip the hero into _tenths_ , _giant balls of darkness trying to swallow him up like they did the trees, land, and house before!_ He screamed and roared as he sent them all up!

_SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!_ But the hero kept cutting them down. With the moon glaring at his back, almost ready to scream himself, Link kept falling and his blade kept swinging. The silver of the now _massive holy sword_ chopping everything Roman sent to bits!

The balls of darkness became wisps of smoke. The tendrils of Grimm properties fell to ruin and desolation. The pillars of fire were blown out like a wind! They were all falling no matter how much up he sent! And Link was still falling! He was still getting closer!

He was getting closer, and his blade was still swinging

"NONONONONONO _NONONONO_ ** _NONONONONONONONO_**!" Roman howled was he whipped his cane with his actions. Summoning and throwing _everything_ he had at the man! The Grimm, the corrupted Twili members, the trees, the earth, _anything that could even push the hero off of his path! Any monster that had been made or formed! Everything! But… he should have known better…_

_Link was a hero…_ And Roman… was just a man…

_SHINK!_ A man that had a blade in his head, and was staring into the silver eyes of death. The cold unyielding gaze of a man that had buried the sword into his head, between his eyes, and to the hilt. He couldn't scream, he couldn't do anything.

Just stare at the glowing silver blade, the silver eyes of Link, and the immutable surface of the moon high above him. No matter what he did now, Roman could see nothing but silver. Silver that shone like a light, consuming him completely.

And all he could do… was smile…

* * *

Neo didn't know what was happening, but it was happening fast.

She was holding up an illusion on the far side of Patch for as long and hard as she could. She was making herself invisible to _anything_ that had a pair of eyes or sense of smell. She was doing absolutely everything possible to keep herself small, out of the way, and safe. Because there was no way off the island, it was all she could do.

Just huddle in, hold her hands to her head, and _hope_ that before Roman destroyed everything, he made sure to check for her. Otherwise… he was going to kill her, too. She knew he wouldn't he'd remember her, because it was what he _always_ did. She was sure it was going to happen. She was so sure of it that it was the _first_ reason that came to her. The reason for what was happening, that is.

Namely why the air went from rumbling, the ground from shaking, and the Grimm from screaming… all to nothing. It happened so quick, she honestly thought she had just died. Maybe even gone to hell. It had to look the same as Patch did right now at least.

But as she got up and started to look around, it looked all the same, and she knew something else as wrong. The moon was still there, the land was still destroyed, and the sky was still black, but nothing else was moving. She was so thankful she couldn't talk at that moment, because she was afraid saying anything would break the silence.

Her feet rose and fell with just as much trepidation, afraid than any noise would do something horrible. Something like bring the moon crashing down in an instant… or just tear the earth up. At this point, anything was possible. She had enough video on her Scroll to prove it. Right now though… she wasn't sure what to do aside from wait.

She didn't have to wait much longer.

**_BRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOO-_ **

The shaking sound filled the air, like the gong of some giant bell. If that was all it was, it would have been enough to send her to the ground, but of course it wasn't. No at the same time, she was looking up into the air to see where it had come from.

So her mismatched eyes were able to see the dark sky ripple like water. Waves coming off and away from the moon, the turning the dark sky blue again. No, not like the lake, like a blanket. It was like the blanket was being ripped off all at once. And all she could do was stare, open mouth and silent as ever.

As the darkness was torn away as quickly as it had come, leaving a blemishless blue sky behind. A blue sky that had white clouds, not blood and angry red circling around it. It looked like a normal sky, and Neo was staring up at it, long enough that she was losing her balance. Her butt hit the ground before she even knew it, and she still didn't blink, trying to figure out why it had changed. What had _Roman_ done?

Roman… the question of him doing this was there… or him _not_ doing it… and then it was worse. It created a sick feeling in her gut that made a hand raise to her stomach, gripping it through her corset with growing unease. It couldn't be true, but she had to keep staring, because she didn't want to look away from something Roman had done. Done with all that power he promised they'd have one day.

She was staring at the moon, that proof of his power, and watched as it changed, almost as quickly as the first time.

Watching as the ball of rainbow-hued light almost seemed to grow from the center of it, circling around the giant rock and swallowing it. **_BRRRRRRROOOOOOOO-_** The ringing was louder, but she kept staring, even as the light began to glow and increase.

It wasn't like the light she had seen before, that silver stuff that had turned all the Grimm and tentacles to dust and stone. It was like a rainbow being bent around the rock, changing colors and shimmering with it. It was beautiful and all those other fun words for cool to look at… but Roman wouldn't do something like this, not if he was trying to prove a point. This wasn't him.

Neo knew it wasn't him the moment the face started to vanish from the moon. It was something that couldn't be described in any other way. The darkness in the sky was pulled away, the clouds were lightened and fluffed, the air wasn't rumbling anymore, and now the face was burning away.

The brighter the ball of light around it got, the more of its face disappeared. Bit by bit, the gleaming eyes of hatred, the snarl of despair, all of it, turning away and vanishing before her very gaze, like it was being pulled off or wiped away with bleach or something. Neo didn't even know what it meant.

Not until there was nothing in the sky by the over-sized whole moon. Sitting there contently, as if it had always been like that. Whole, large, unmoving, unthreatening… just hovering over the dead land. Her jaw trembled as she stared at it. Roman would _not_ do that! Roman wouldn't but… maybe he would if he was threatened. Maybe, but… he wouldn't do it otherwise. She knew he wouldn't, so why was it normal again?

And why was it getting farther away. Why was it… drifting back up into the sky? She thought she was crazy for a moment, but no, that was exactly what it was doing. It was rifting up, rising above the clouds, pushing away from everything else. And it was getting faster. IT was going away, the gong of the bell with it.

And in no time at all, it was gone, leaving Neo to stare up at nothing, mouth trembling, and knowing that Roman would _never do this._ If Roman hadn't though… then the options were few and none of them good. So then she risked the silence, for the first time in her life being the one that made the most noise around her.

When she started to run, past everything else.

Past the dead lands that hadn't been healed like the sky. Past the Grimm that had been turned to stone or were melting back into shadows. Past all of it she ran. Her breathing was silent as ever, but her boots cracked the earth with the speed she ran. She was tired, sore, fatigued, and using her Semblance for far too long, but she couldn't stop, not without making sure Roman was safe first. He had always been there for her, and she wasn't going to run away from him.

Even as the shadows of the Grimm started to swirl past her, she didn't care. They wouldn't hurt her because they couldn't see her. And if Roman knew she was here, he wouldn't let them attack her. The Grimm didn't even make a sound as they were nothing more than miasmic shadows whipping in the air. Like water to a drain, that was all they were, and she was trying to get to the source first. Because that was where she needed to be.

She saw the _wall_ of stone Grimm, the shadows of the rest of them sifting through it and around it, but she didn't stop. Roman wouldn't stop. Neo jumped and leapt over the barrier without breaking stride.

Only to freeze as soon as she hit the dirt on the other side. She couldn't even say what stopped her more.

The fact that Link was holding _the_ rainbow mask, the _annoying_ Faunus holding a glowing sword in the other hand. The sight that all the shadows of the Grimm were being pulled into it like a vacuum now, coming from all corners of the island and basically joining into. Seeing that Red was standing behind him, gripping his tunic as the monsters were all being absorbed, silver eyes bright as the sword the Faunus held. Or the fact that there was only one body on the ground. No, that was it, nothing else mattered.

Neo didn't care about anything Link was doing, because the only thing she cared about was Roman.

And Roman was lying in the dirt with a hole in his head. A hole that stretched from nose to forehead, split his cap off of him, and left his red hair stained with blood. Vacant eyes looking back at her. Through the curtain of the shadows being absorbed to the mask, he was looking at her. He was staring at her, and her mismatched eyes were staring at him.

His alabaster suit stained with dirt and blood. His bowler hat missing somewhere in the wind. His grin wiped away with a vacant frown, and not even a wink to go with his dead eyes. Nothing it… it wasn't Roman. It wasn't _Roman!_ Roman was supposed to use all that power he had to fix everything! He was going to, just like they promised! He… he wouldn't just.

**_SCHOOOOOORP!_** The sound hit her as much as she heard it, forcing her to shake where she stood. The air shimmered around Neo, nearly dropping her Semblance with the deed, but she held it. Held it with clenched fists, an angry gaze, and staring at Roman. For just a moment longer, before looking at Link standing above him. Him, the mask _Roman_ had worn, and the glowing blade in his hand.

A blade that was losing its shimmer, dulling with every second that passed… and showing the red stain of blood up its length. Her eyes were always pink and auburn, the same as her hair. But for that one moment, Neo saw only red. The same red on his sword.

"H-Holy crap!" Red shouted from behind the animal, her silver eyes on the mask in Link's hands. Gripped in those Golden Gauntlets of his! "That was… d-d-did it just _eat_ the Grimm? You had a mask that does that! I-It's not… okay, it _really_ is not worth what else it could do, b-b-but still!" She was looking over the mask left and right.

And Neo was looking at her. Watching as she had that famed and precious scythe of hers on her back, how she was grabbing around the sheath Link wore, how she was acting like a giddy little schoolgirl… so close to Roman's body. She didn't care at all. It was _obvious_ she didn't.

"I just… Roman was a bad guy, but I didn't want to kill him." _Now_ she recognized him, and Link still didn't say anything. A man who could speak, but _didn't_ because he was a coward! "You _had_ to, a-and I get it just… it's different Knowing something has to be done… and then seeing it. I think I get… I get why you didn't want me here. Sorry if I was… in the way." Link finally looked at her.

And then put a hand on her head, rubbing it. Neo was staring with eyes sharper than her hidden blade at the action. Piercing eyes that began to burn when she saw Ruby smile back up at him… and _him_ back down at her.

The pair of them, grinning and smiling, next to Roman's corpse.

Neo gripped her parasol, holding it up and grabbing the canopy end. She could pull it out right now. She could pull it out and let her blade shine through. Link was distracted, he was tired, he had _killed_ Roman, so it would be fair game for her to kill him _and_ the brat that was behind him. They could both die and then she could take the mask and… start this over! Roman had done _everything_ possible with it, so maybe… maybe she could resurrect him with it!

Neo could do it! She just had to pull out her sword, run up to them, and-

_BOOM!_ She stopped before she even took a step. She stopped because a true impossibility just landed in front of her.

Ganondorf, _that man_ , standing in front of Link. Towering over the pair of them, cape billowing as his body burned with shadows.

Link's sword was bright again, so were his eyes, so were the brat's. They were shining, and Ganondorf was glowing. She couldn't do anything about that. Not when they had the mask… and Roman was _dead_.

"Hero of Time, you have won." Neo was gripping her parasol as she watched the giant man talk. Talking as if Roman wasn't literally dead at their feet! Ignoring him! And… and just talking! "I am not enamored nor surprised, but I am pleased. To see that that Time has done nothing to cloud your senses, or dull your blade."

They didn't say anything and Link wasn't looking at him. Why? _Coward!_ Not looking at Ganondorf but so _easily_ able to kill Roman! What kind of coward could kill a man like that and steal his power for the fun of it! WHO?!

"The moon has returned to the sky, and the darkness that was pulled down with it has been returned. The seas are blue once more, and the only thing that remains broken is the land." He looked up, and those golden burning eyes almost looked right at her. Neo made _sure_ her Semblance was still up, especially as he looked at her.

But he didn't he say anything. Neither him nor Link _or_ the brat. There was nothing they could say that could make up for the man dead at their feet. For _Roman_.

"There was a time not long ago where this destruction was the fault of my ambition. It, and the foreign hatred that corrupted my soul." His fried voice spoke, even as he _finally_ looked down at Roman. "Though now fault lies with another, the other lies in the results of those mistakes." Neo almost _broke_ her sword with how carelessly he said it.

"H-He had to do it…" the red caped _brat_ spoke. Red looking out from behind Link, but not even _she_ was looking at Ganondorf! Neo grit her teeth; afraid she was going to crack them like Roman had done before. But she couldn't look away, no matter _how much_ she wanted to kill them! "Roman was… h-he was getting too intense. He wouldn't stop. He just… wouldn't…"

"I doubt that he could, young hero, even if he had the mind to will it." The sigh that left him _could_ have been good, but they weren't sight for Roman. They were sighing because they _wanted_ to do more to him. Neo knew it, and she _hated_ them for it "No more able to control his ambitions with power than a river is able to stem its flow, after it is fueled by an ocean. His desires grew with his power, and with that mask, his power was near endless."

But it wasn't enough. Even as Link held the mask in his hand, the undamaged and _whole mask_ , it wasn't enough. But… wait… _how was it not hurt!_ Roman had a stab wound through his head! Neo _couldn't_ forget that but the mask… the mask was unharmed!

"You are worried for that mask, are you not, hero?" Ganondorf spoke again, his rumbling voice as powerful as ever. "It is a good fear to have, holding absolute power, absolute corruption, in the palm of your hand, and not knowing where it will fall next… or who will abuse its wealth of power next." She would, _Neo would_.

She would bring Roman back to life and then specifically kill them for killing him! She'd do everything Roman wanted and then they would go back to surviving this world! Instead of money, power! Just like they had learned when that Cinder bitch first came up! They'd do it and they'd do it well!

"You fear holding it once more, and now that its power is known, having another steal it from you, circling this pit of despair once more." Neo nodded, ready to _make it happen_. "I cannot claim to be ignorant to your fears. They are the same that I had even when the foreign rage swept through my soul."

"You just talked about how _you_ were the one responsible for the destruction," The brat spoke up again, glaring over Link's shoulder.

"But I had fear that the little power my people had would be taken," came the swift return. "It was that fear that gave the anger a foothold. And it was that position that gave it sway. And from there, my spirit and mind were taken in and turned the land from sand and stone to dust and ruin. Hero of Time, I know you remember it well."

Now Link looked at Ganondorf, and Neo was _thrilled_ to see the man lean back in pain. It was good, _but just not enough_. Especially not when Link looked away again, and left it all for nothing. _Dammit!_

"Hero… I answered your call because I owed you a debt. A debt that I have not fully repaid." Neo knew what he was talking about. He was trying to _kill_ the pair of animals for it. And he just ended up burning all the White Fang into Twili with it. Something that was… horrible, and really glad it didn't happen to Roman. But now… she'd prefer that to death. "I speak to you now because I believe I know how to repay the remainder of my debt, and to give you peace from the fear you hold."

Was he going to destroy it? Was he going to throw the mask into space or something? Neo knew he could, she didn't _want_ him to, but she knew he _could_. Because he had literally pushed the moon back into orbit, he _said_ that he did, and after everything else, it _couldn't_ be hard for him. It was _never hard for someone with power to make the lives of others difficult!_

"What are you going to do?" Red asked, and Neo _wished_ she had her mouth stapled shut. "You're not gonna… wear it or something… are you? I-I mean you _could_ destroy it, but then I think Link would've, um-" She stopped herself as Ganondorf held up his massive hand. Even surrounded by the statues of Grimm, in a land looking like it was lit on fire in the middle of an earthquake, it was _that_ and the power billowing off of it that was most terrifying. Neo knew, for her, it was _unstoppable_.

"The mask cannot be destroyed." Neo felt joy at the words. "No matter where it is thrown to, it is destined to return to this land." She _grinned_ through her rage. "It has not just power within it, but a will. I recognized it when the mad man wore it, and he spoke with voices and thoughts not his own. _That_ being will not let itself lie away and waste to nothing. Though I was not there for your venture, hero, I can only assume you have seen this, and know this. It is why I believe you carried that powerful tool with you, no different than the mask that bore my power and memories."

Link didn't argue. Neo knew she couldn't hear him even if he did… but he didn't do anything. He just gripped the mask _harder_ , with those gauntlets she had seen tear stone and metal to scrap. And the mask didn't do anything but shake. Maybe Ganondorf was right, to her _benefit_. It would explain why it didn't have a hole, _but Roman did_.

"Then… oh no… _you want to wear it?_ " Red looked like she was ready to kill, and Neo wanted her to try. But Ganondorf only shook his head, red hair swaying with the motion, and _laughed_. Disarming, no different than how Roma acted… used to act… Neo felt her rage still boiling in her.

"No, young hero, I do not wish to wear it. My freedom was given when anger was taken from me. I will not put chains on my mind again, and let the madness of that mask rule me." Neo would, she'd _gladly_ wear it. And then give it back to Roman once he was alive again. "No… I will not wear it, but with the hero's help, we can seal it. Little different to how I was sealed away once before."

Link looked up at him then, and Neo's short joy at seeing the man flinch was just as short lived. Link looked, but he wasn't afraid or angry or _anything_ that she could use. She wanted to make an illusion and get them to attack one another… but that was seeming less and less likely. Not without being killed… and then being unable to get that mask.

But what was the giant talking about?

"You can seal the mask hero… so long as another holds it." Her eyes widened at the implication. "Let me hold that mask… so that you may seal me once more."

"Seal you?" Red, the little brat and idiot, asked. "Seal how? L-Like in a box? Or a can? Sealed evil in a can sounds weird, b-b-but if it works! Yeah! Do that, but… wait, wouldn't that mean you would be sealed, too?" Her finger pointed, and Ganondorf nodded.

"I would. By all rights, I'll be killed." Small mercies. "For to seal me, the hero must strike me. Once more through my heart with that holy blade." And that was why it was shining.

Link wasn't looking at him though, even though Ruby was gasping and Neo was _trying_ to think of something to do. Roman would know what was best, even if it was running. He knew how to escape, or get what they needed, or making a distraction. They stole from the Military and Beacon like that! But this… Neo had no idea. And Link looked about as prepared as she did.

"You need not fear me using the mask. As I said, it would be only torture for me." He spoke again. "But to carry it and hold it away from the world, sealed forever in my grasp. That is way I know I may repay the debt I owe you. You freed my soul from anger. So now, let me free your mind from worry. Let me hold that God in my hands, so it may not stain the world once more." God?

Neo _knew_ that was important, but not as much as watching Link actually doing it.

"Link?" Even the brat was surprised! Watching the man hold out his arm, letting the mask in his gauntlet shake as it was handed off towards Ganondorf. Watching the giant grasp it… and then letting her stare at the golden eyes that Roman once had, staring back… empty and blank. "Link! I-Is this a good idea?! I mean… h-he's done some good things, yeah, but if he _wore_ it-"

"I won't," Ganondorf almost seemed to swear again. And he was smiling. Was he going to go back on the promise then! Holding the mask at his chest… it seemed less likely. "And I will not give myself the chance. Do it hero. Do as you know is necessary." Neo stared on.

As Ganondorf held still, and Link lifted the blade to point at his chest. At the mask, and glowing with that silver light. Ruby was stepping back, hands to her mouth in shock, and Neo was giving it her all _not_ to drop her Semblance! If this worked, then she'd never get the mask again! She didn't know what sealing was but… but if it happened then the mask-

"Do it," Ganondorf _commanded_ again. "Oh Hero of Time. Free my soul once more." It was like pulling back the hammer.

**_SHINK!_** And Link pulled the trigger.

The blade pierced through the man in a moment, and Ruby gasped. If she could make a sound, Neo would have done the same. Instead, she only watched as the impossibilities piled up.

Because blood didn't come from the wound, but stone.

Stone that traveled up the man's torso. Up and down and through his armor. Turning him from the monolith of power and dark aura into… stone… stone no different than the statues Neo had her back to all this time. He was turning to stone, and he was dying. He was being _sealed_ as he put it, and all because that glowing blade was put into his chest. That should have been enough to have him scream!

But instead… he just laughed… smiled… laughed… and held that mask even tighter.

"Thank… you… Li…" And then silence. Silent as the graves.

The man who was capable of being a threat to Roman with that mask, and who basically _toyed_ with _everyone else_ up until then… was just a statue.

A statue with a broad smile, with a billowing cape frozen, golden eyes smothered, and red hair still. And the mask responsible for the decision, held tightly between his two hands. Just as much a ruined state as he was. Just as much sealed from the world. And Neo could only stare.

So did Link, and so did Ruby. They stared, even as the wind began to whisper past them, singing through the Grimm statues as he held the blade downwards. The blade losing its luster, and becoming dull once more. The same for both of their eyes. Looking at Ganondorf… and saying nothing.

Nothing… until Ruby put her hand on Link's shoulder, getting him to turn.

"Link… let's go…" And they did.

They turned away from Ganondorf and walked away. They turned away from _Roman_ , and didn't even look back. Two corpses left there, and they didn't even bat an eye. She _wanted_ to kill them now. She wanted to scream, run, and dig her blade straight into the animal's throat! But she knew she couldn't. She'd die… and then Roman would have died for nothing.

Neo couldn't do anything.

She knew it. Roman was dead, and even if Link was tired… she wouldn't be able to do anything. Roman wouldn't want her to die, not like this. He would want to see the man who tortured him killed… and the man who killed him slaughtered. Even if she put a knife to his neck… it wouldn't be enough.

Her gaze fell back to Roman, staring at him as he looked blankly past her. Unmoving, unflinching… not even a sarcastic quip about keeping her voice down. Nothing. Her hand trembled as she reached out to him, ignoring the Faunus and brat as they left. They could leave, because she had to plan, just like Roman would. She'd figure out how to kill them, how to _torture_ them both until they were screaming for death, the same way Roman had to have.

Her friend… her partner… her teammate… she wasn't going to end like this. Not for no reason. And he wouldn't be unable to witness it. Neo gripped his bowler hat, stained with his blood and sporting a wound from Link's blade. She grabbed it and held it to her chest, careful not to crush it.

She didn't say a word as tears fell from her gaze. She never did.

And Ganondorf's statue only smiled down upon her.

* * *

The sky was brewing overhead, carrying the hatred of her land and the cries of her beasts. The queen in her tower listened to it, red eyes watching the lightning brushed horizon, staring at a sight far beyond her own land.

Fingers were curled beneath her chin, letting her head rest as she stared on. Alabaster hair as long as her back flowed down her, curtaining her like a snow-covered waterfall, cascading down the pale skin of her face. She did not move it out of the way, did not act it was an annoyance. In fact, she did nothing at all. Her appearance was not of her concern. Her only curiosity was for the distant land she was watching a battle unfold.

And now, it was waiting to see what had come of it.

"Your highness," a voice spoke behind her, strong, but subservient. Just as she expected to be spoken to. "I have news regarding the confrontation on the Island of Patch. I was able to route a coded communication line from the CCTV towers. It was being shared between-" She unfolded one of her hands and raised it into the air, never looking behind her as she did so.

The man speaking was silent before she unfolded her palm. She held it there, waiting, for a still moment. Letting the silence linger, letting _him_ know which one she preferred. She slowly closed her hand back up, painted nails curling back into her palm and tucked beneath her chin. She never looked away from the horizon, letting the streaks in the sky keep her focused, _entertained_ even.

"What did you hear, Watts?" She asked curiously, methodically, already aware of what it would be. But what she _knew_ the answer to be and what the humans _said_ it was could be an important distinction to make. "Please use as many _exact_ words as you can." She did not need him to translate the words of false kings and unbloodied generals.

"Yes… of course, well, General James Ironwood sent to Specialist Winter Schnee a short message, assumingly done so in order to prevent the unneeded length of a transposed message to-" He was speaking too much again.

"Watts," she spoke his name simply, this time twisting her head, just a little. Enough to show she would not be bothered to turn back around if he forced her to face him. Neither could he escape if she did.

"Of course, your highness, my apologies," the mustached man hastily apologized. "General Ironwood relayed a command for all airships to make haste for Patch Island, acknowledging both the disappearance of the dark skies, crimson cumulonimbus clouds, and discolored seas." She nodded her head at the statements, confirming what she already knew. "He has given specific instructions to search for three individuals. Roman Torchwick, Ruby Rose, and Ganondorf Dragmire. Priority for finding Ruby Rose." Three… that was interesting. And priority for the girl? They must have feared for her life.

"They must not know then," she noted lightly, amused by that particular bit of information. Observing without eyes, only the sense of the wind. How amusingly ignorant. "They have yet to recall that Link and Ganondorf were two again instead of one." She had realized it as soon as she felt the twist of the shadows, and the burning of the light through it.

"Of course, your highness," Watts returned as respectful as ever. "I must further add that additional orders were place for outstanding military members to placate all Grimm near the city walls, including the use of heavy ordinance and the recruitment of nearby Hunters if available. Charges to be routed through the Atlesian budget." That was another predictable, but wise, move.

"Trying to distil the fear that still remains, remove the possibility for the Grimm to invade." She spoke on again. "The man was a coward in a metal shell, but he had a mind in there, if nothing else. Knowing how to stem an infection, or grow a limb." A pity he could not do the same for himself.

"Agreed, your highness," Watts further confirmed. "No other immediate information regarding the incident is being given, aside from confirmation of the returning geography and relief of nearby citizens." She did not expect for there to be any. Anything else they could have observed would be beyond them to understand.

They still believed, she was rather sure, that this whole event was nothing more than a particular Grimm growing in power and unleashing a wave of its hatred throughout the land. They had no idea to what they just bore witness to, or how to plan against it. Just blades of grass within a forest, trying to reconcile and comprehend the sway of trees hundreds of thousands of times their height above them. Miniscule insects against the colossal giants of the sky.

"Thank you, Watts, that will be all," she spoke again, still unfazed by what she heard and watching on. There was still far more to see, and she would not be bothered or forced to miss it.

"… My lady, my I pose a question? If your grace allows it?" However, a troublesome man often let his troubles be known. And for the former Atlesian scientist, there was little else more troubling to him than a lack of information, even when he was most useful while he was kept on the edge of ignorance. She breathed deeply through her nose, calming herself with the question.

Then Salem rose from the balcony and turned to face him, towering over the man in size, in strength, in nobility, and in all other ways that mattered. A goddess against a man.

"What is your question, Watts?" She patiently asked, hiding her discontent. She could not kill him for his ignorance, not so suddenly. He had too many uses to simply be thrown away so quickly. "Do you wonder on how it was possible? On the purpose of Ganondorf's existence? Or perchance you are curious on what Majora truly was?" Neither he nor any of her other subordinates needed to concern themselves with such frivolous information. It was unimportant against the true scope of her plans.

"No, your highness, I do not. I know better than to question things beyond me." That he did, in most occasions, though it was impossible to be one who focused on growing the fields of the mind, yet kept himself from being curious. As much as an impossibility as being one who hungered for power, yet practiced mercy towards the weak.

"Yet you _are_ asking for the purpose of my plans, are you not?" His eyes were wide at the statement, wide and trembling as she looked down at him. "Curious about my plans, my schemes, my machinations for the rest of the world. Do you believe them to be on _your_ level of comprehension, Watts?" Her question shook the man worse than the heaviest winds.

"I-I do not, and I _would not_ question your judgement." He would not and had not, or else he _would not_ be here. "I ask only for my own mind, not to alter yours. I could not hope to match what you think, but if I can hold a candle to what you think… then I would be satisfied." A man with words and a smith to his craft. She was not without her own.

"Would you now? And at what measure would you be satisfied?" Salem poised the question carefully, taking measured steps forward. Her heels clicking across the balcony, each one like the prick of a blade against the human's throat. He bowed he head further with each one, doubtless to hide his gaze from her. She smiled down at him as he did so, content… but not wholly satisfied. "Would you remain inclined… if you spoke to one who glanced upon these plans of mine?"

Just as she knew he would, Watts raised his head with a slacken jaw. It was not the offer that surprised him. No… it was the idea of someone _other_ than her _or_ him who knew. And she did not lie. There was no purpose to it. There was one… and it was one he had met.

"Who is it?" He quickly posed… but then stopped. Salem's thin grin grew, nodding as he began to understand. It was as she knew. He was not a dull human, even if a bit boring. He knew who she was referring to, after a bit of thought. "… is that why he is… no... not him… if not Tyrian… then…"

"Yes," Salem spoke before him. "Speak to _Ghirahim._ " His name was a bell, and the pet answered the call.

_BING!_

" _My mistress~!_ " In an explosion of diamonds that matched the stained sky, the painted harlequin appeared. His long robe running down him in three directions, arms held up and out in praise of her form. Just as he always did in front of her. "You called for your servant and so I have come. What is it you need of me~? A head in need of rolling? A doll in need of delivering? Perhaps a plan in need of _plotting~?_ " He was near unmatched in all qualities, save for only the newest recruit to the court.

"None of those," she dismissed him, with a small wave of her hand. He bowed at the motion, arm over chest and bent heavily at the waist. So loyal and dedicated, much like all her best pawns. "I called only because there is someone here curious of my plans, or more to say wondering of my gain in this most recent move." She let her open palm indicate Watts.

_BING! BING!_ Ghirahim exploded diamonds, only to reappear again in front of the human. He did not waver or jump in the face of her most loyal servant. He was used to the antics.

"So, you wish to know my Mistress's mind~. Do not say you don't it's too obvious you do." Watts did not speak in denial or agreement. A wise move to stay silent rather than scream into a storm. "But that is simply not possible! A chance, if any, cannot come to you, no more than I cannot hope to explain such a thing to you. She is beyond us both, her mind and thoughts as well. And do you know _why~?_ " He leaned over, letting his gloves hand reach out and slowly curl back, like a snake preparing to strike.

Watts stared at it as if it were one. With the illusions and magic that Ghirahim was capable of using, it was a not an unfounded fear. He was wise, as far as the standards of his people went. Salem would watch on, to see how far that wisdom stretched.

Especially as her regent spoke on. Or, more accurately, praised.

"Because my Mistress is a _divine being!_ " Ghirahim, the ever so prideful and honest regent. "She is the one who ensured no piece was out of place and had the board lined over the years in the making!" _BING! BING!_ "What was the fight of the hero against the mad god in a mask, used by a man of all ambition and no control?"

Salem watched the painted man dance with his words, blinking in and out of existence, Watts frowning as the man paraded himself around her. Few of the humans who swore her fealty could handle the man as he worked, but even fewer were more capable than him. None that were so eager to do as she ordered, and so capable as following through.

"Before my curiosity led me to ask… I would have assumed a means to weaken the magician and his accomplices, perhaps even sow distrust with Link." Salem narrowed her gaze at the man, and he was quick to amend his words. "I-I-I mean to say the Hero, Link." _Better_.

"Then how wrong you are~!" Ghirahim let out with a bow back, laughing into the dark sky above. "Why it was nothing but a game to lure out the true game, the _true_ target, to lay bare the true object of our desire, and to let it be snatched away when the pieces align once more~!" _BING! BING!_ "Making use of callous nature and careless words to let that final piece be revealed, so that her divinity Salem may take it and use to the purpose we most need."

He bowed as he finished, arms up as if to hold her grace. He could never bear the weight, but she would never be bored to watch. Watts next to him, a small man in comparison to the painted demon, swallowed nervously, but was still quite content to lower himself to a knee, unsure if he should be appearing above Ghirahim. It was why he survived for so long, and was so useful. He was _careful_.

"What could… _you_ possibly need from them? You are by far their better, so what could they have that you cannot make?" Just as careful as he was with his words. He looked up at her from a bowed head, and Salem was kind enough to smile down upon him. "I have seen your immense power and… I cannot imagine they have anything more you need-"

Salem silenced him by holding up her hand. Just the back of her right hand, an otherwise powerful gesture, but one that this man was wise enough to know carried far more weight to it. Far more than one man alone could dare to comprehend.

The common man was wary of one who was called the mother of the Grimm, older than any other in this cursed world, and capable of just as much. They were cautious, trepidatious, or downright fearful of one such as her. But Watts had been around her for long enough to know that her hand alone, though capable of much, would not wipe him from this mortal plain for so simple a reason as curiosity, not, at least, when he had a role to play.

However, the glimmering emblems on the back of her hand spoke far more.

The two of them… and the third yet unfilled.

The man stared on at the Golden Power, and Salem smiled all the while.

Majora had not failed. Ganondorf had fallen. And now… there was a Piece on the board for her to claim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... enjoy it? Eh? If you did, please feel free to leave a review. I read ALL OF THEM I promise. And if that isn't enough, feel free to jump over the Discord and vent your frustrations. I'm sure there's going to be somebody else who'll be happy to talk to you.
> 
> And now for the next few chapters... a meek return to remember how many questions were answered and what it means for everyone else.
> 
> Boy, I bet there are gonna be a LOT of questions about how Link could possibly be Summer's dad and NOT recognize Ruby!


	52. Dawn Breaks

Despite being a general, war was never a common sight. They were not in such desperate times that war was widespread and requiring constant management from his part. The outposts had to be maintained, the soldiers prepared, hunters as well, all of that was obvious and necessary. But there was a fine line between preparing for war and fighting in it.

War had come and gone, even if it was just one hectic battle, but the results of the war remained.

His eyes poured over his scroll as damage reports came in from the city. Buildings that were destroyed in the ensuing panic, from Grimm climbing the structures to try and raid Vale, from the Leviathan's beam, what little _wasn't_ blocked, and even more from the fighting to kill the Grimm. No blame was put on the soldiers or children who did fight. It was either damage done to the structures and landscape of Vale, or it was risking death on the civilians. For holding the line, they chose well.

But that didn't give him any peace as his eyes scanned the rest of the report, a constantly being updated document, provisional for the Councilmen and for himself to look over, so they could be aware of the initial assessments. It wasn't damage of the integrity of the city, easily replaced with time and Lien.

It was the loss of life, the death toll, and he had to watch as the number climbed.

Bodies that were seen being eradicated by the Grimm, others being found as the town was already in the midst of trying to clean up the damage, ships being pulled ashore with Grimm infesting their hulls, and even more being reported lost at sea. He couldn't even imagine the number of people in the outreaches of the Emerald or Foreverfall Forest that were now at the mercy of those Grimm. Hopefully the contracted Hunters could reach them, but he couldn't guarantee anything.

No guarantees could be offered to any family members missing a loved one. It was a lesson taught early and harshly to new recruits, to never offer promises on the welfare of the missing. There was never a guarantee they were safe. But before, it was always when they were going on patrol or pursuing a mission that the hunters in the area couldn't afford or risk doing.

Now, it was a war zone. And there was more than just one family desperate for answer. There were _hundreds._ And Ironwood had to look at them all, or nearly all of them, crowding the port of Beacon's shores and looking desperately through the crowd.

Civilians pushing one another, twisting shoulders and trying to scream out for names he didn't know, but knew they cherished more than the kingdom itself. Even if the destruction of Vale had been postponed by the forces of Hunters and Ganondorf… they had still lost someone. And all General Ironwood could do as he watched was pray that they found who they were looking for.

But with the hundreds of families, and likely just as many loved ones, missing in the rubble or at sea, he knew it would be foolish to think they all would be found.

"Most people complain about paperwork when it comes to their occupations," Ozpin spoke beside him, stepping up to him with his cane in hand. He didn't need to look to see he was grasping the handle tightly, just as unnerved and furious about this situation as he was. "But I would willing spend weeks in my office doing nothing but signing papers and lawsuits if it meant I could deliver a child back to their parents, or have brother and sister embrace again." He was looking at members in the crowd with stories he knew. It was what he _always_ did. Ironwood was looking at them all, however. And he could only see the despair shift through them.

"More are incoming from the Bullheads," he spoke as evenly as he could. "A fair number were waiting in the air above the sea, too afraid to dock in any shore while the sky was still darkened and the Grimm were approaching. I have estimated another five Bullheads doing such." It made Ozpin chuckle next to him.

"Five," he repeated. "Do you believe they will have all the missing in there?" He did not, and he wouldn't answer so callously with a lie. "No, there will be some thankful embraces shared, some cries of relief, but I fear even more tears will be shed before the day is done. That is not even to consider the time it will take to search Vale for all who are missing." Of that, he could speak.

"Compared to most settlements that are attacked, the damage done to Vale is rather low." He spoke factually, not ignorantly. He swiped away the death toll on her Scroll to bring up the prospective damages again. "Majority of the affected areas are on the shore line, with nearly two dozen buildings seemingly 'raided' for lack of a more appropriate term, by the Grimm. Of those, many of our students were able to hold them off on the adjacent streets with both their armaments and Dust. The damage done is most superficial, as there is no structural damage to result in major collapses."

"None?" He didn't sound convinced. "Forgive me James, but I have difficulty believing that, especially after what we witnessed from even leagues away." That was true.

"I cannot speak for Patch, as we don't have any eyes on the island yet, but I can swear that because of the actions of our students or _someone_ else," he was careful not to mention the name of the most hated man in the world at the moment. "The Leviathan's attacks were greatly reduced. I am not implying those buildings may be opened for the public today, as the water damage and Grimm attacks will leave it compromised for sure, but not nearly so much as a bomb going off and leading to the building's utter ruin." No one would wish for that.

"I see… then I suppose we should offer our students fair praise." The Beacon Headmaster turned towards an approaching Bullhead, watching as another family came out of it, screaming as they all joined the crowd with haste. So disorganized. "And I do believe that a fair number of these Bullheads are coming from Patch as well, aren't they?" He was a smart one regardless.

"They are. It appears that Ruby Rose has done an excellent job at protecting them, so they could escape." Even as he watched the families join the crowd, angry at himself that there was no one from the Military hear yet to set up a check in station, he knew that her family members were waiting at the docks as well. "I only hope that she is not one of the missing at the end of the day. I _truly_ hope not." Even if she wasn't one of his soldiers, she was just a young girl eager to help.

He didn't need to tell Tai about finding his daughter, or not finding her. _Especially_ after that horrifying call she had concluded with. Men feared many things, but none so great as the loss of their children.

"I can only hope as well," Ozpin replied. "I hesitate to put faith in Ganondorf, though he appeared eager to fight. But not even Saria was willing to trust him, and he gave her new life." Saria, the Spring Maiden. How could he possibly forget?

She was standing at the edge of the crowd, on the shore line where it was so dangerous to put herself, right in the flight path of the Bullheads. Be that as it may, he wasn't concerned for her. A girl, or more accurately some immortal spirit, capable of hearing trees and sensing life leagues, if not the _world_ away, didn't leave him worried she'd be hit by a flying carrier. It wasn't as if he could convince her to wait for Ruby to return anywhere else.

Not when he could see Raven, Yang, and Tai all sitting near her as well. No, more accurately, Tai was sitting, as well as he could, held up by Raven. Yang was standing between them and Saria, indecisive of whether to wait for her sister to return or stay close to her father. She had gotten that trait of herself from her father, no doubt. The man always looking to satisfy all parties.

"I will need to do something for Ruby," he spoke, refusing to address whether she was found or not. "A girl who was able to save all these civilians without orders or requests. She deserves high accolades for this." He was sure that no one would disagree.

"The same respect must be given to the students in Vale as well," Ozpin returned. "I doubt we'll see them on any Bullhead today, likely spending the rest of the time helping the searchers comb through the little rubble there is in Vale, searching for the lost family members." He knew he was correct. Many of them came from displaced homes. "Glynda has already booked rooms for them in Vale to stay in, and I am sure many more of them will require as much aid when they get back." That surprised him.

"You think they are injured?" He hadn't received any reports of that, only Aura exhaustion at worst.

"No, but I do not believe they can look upon any number of dead bodies, especially those wounded by Grimm, then walk back here and expect to attend class the next week." Ah, mental, that made sense. The first sense of war and the first sight of what it meant. Ironwood nodded in agreement.

"I can have some of my best therapists here. There is an unsurprising need for them, given the general layout of the settlements." It was true that many stationed soldiers couldn't bear the sight of a family torn apart by a Grimm. The children would be just as susceptible to that trauma. "Though with all of this occurring, it may take time. The stationing of all the families will take days alone."

"Just days?" Ozpin curiously asked. "I was under the impression it took weeks, if not months, in war zones." That was the difference, however.

"But this is not a war zone. It is, by all accounts a singular attack." Though neither were about to comment they knew very well this was anything but a war. "The damage is localized, not far spread, and we will put our efforts into it. It does benefit us that my military is already here, and already stationed. That removes much alone." His friend hummed in response, perhaps out of admittance or refusal to thank Ironwood. He wasn't insulted.

Instead, he looked at another Bullhead approaching, another out of many with families crowding around to look at it as well. Nothing but a few from the crowd, but more that were doubtlessly making their way out to desperately search for loved ones. He sighed, unwilling to look away, though it was all his hear wished for.

But when the hanger opened up, he was thankful for the steel in his heart.

For he was among the first to see a ruby red cape come running out. It, and the Faunus in emerald green clothing walk behind her.

"By Dust," he commented breathlessly, watching Ruby Rose come almost barreling out. "That's her that's… how did I not receive notice!?" His surprise turned to fury that the pilot had not contacted him. Especially after he had put in a _mandatory_ updates order! That pilot would have hell to pay!

"Calm yourself, James," Ozpin ordered _him_ in kind. "Before you jump to conclusions, ask first the relevance of what we are seeing." He had no idea what his friend meant, even after he watched Yang jump up from where she sat, rushing over to Ruby and all but throwing herself on to her sister. Even with the cacophony of the crowd, he could swear he heard her wails as she clung to her.

Yang was nearly crushing her younger sister, putting her face into the pocket between Ruby's shoulder and neck, pulling her tight enough to lift her from the ground. Ruby didn't appear to mind. Doing the same action and letting herself dangle in her sister's embrace. Though he could not hear the words, and very much doubted he'd be able to make them out if he was nearby, he was sure they were exchanging thanks and apologies. For the supposedly ominous last phone call, and for still returning home.

They were soon met by Raven, her helping Tai hobble over to them. The tearful relief of being reunited was short lived, he could plainly see, as Ruby Rose saw her father. The man who was missing an arm and a leg. Her terror became evident as she exploded in her sister's embrace, reappearing in petals before her father, looking him over and speaking something he couldn't make out.

But the brave man that Tai Xiao Long was only had him putting his good hand on his daughter's head, petting it, before drawing her into an embrace, one that she wrapped herself in. Raven was smart to leg to there, even if Yang all but pushed her out of the way as she approached. She looked awkwardly at the family, the father of two daughters, and couldn't make heads or tails of what to do. It was not an uncommon place, not in the middle of morning.

Red eyes turned back to Link however, and Ironwood knew that they had to approach. Because her hand was on her blade a moment later.

"Clear a path, James," Ozpin all but instructed, as he started to walk ahead. "I cannot even think of what Raven maybe thinking to do, and I don't care to see more violence in the middle of this." He was not the only one. The General, iron body hidden beneath his suit marched forward through the crowd. He could make out the panic if a few of his nearby soldiers, far too little for a crowd this size, but he waved them away.

He made his path through, head rising above the rest of the people to see the group of interest on the other side. He could make out Ruby and Yang both holding their father up, him with his hand slung around his youngest daughter. Yang shouting something at Raven, who was standing before Link, and the Faunus looking back at her. He didn't have the pace to say it yet, but there was something concerning about Link being here.

Last he had recalled, it was Ganondorf who was on Patch, and he was the one facing Roman. For Link to be here, and no Ganondorf in sight, either bode exceedingly well, or grounds for deep dread. But that was a question to come up later. For now, he had to reach them.

And breaching the edge of the crowd, Ozpin and Ironwood came upon the group, the noise of the rest of the people muted as they took in what they saw.

Raven was standing in front Link. Sara was standing between them. Raven had her blade drawn and aimed at Link. Ironwood was prepared to enact medieval punishments for thieves at that moment, cutting off their hands.

"Raven, what the _fuck!?_ " The general put away the blonde's sudden curse. It was one he honestly shared in sentiment. "Put the sword away! Now! In case you're _that_ much of a social outcast, _now is not the time!_ " Indeed it was not. But that did not make her red eyes so much as blink.

She was staring at Link. And he was staring back at her, with a hand on his own blade along his back, staring immensely sharp with… Ironwood had to blink for a moment. Were his eyes silver?

"Raven, put down that sword this instant," he ordered now, speaking on what was important and pushing past what wasn't. "Despite the circumstances, I have _not_ forgotten that you are a wanted criminal on three of the kingdoms and guilty of many accounts of theft and blackmail. If you do not prove yourself an ally in this moment, I will face _no_ questions should I place you in custody." It was an empty threat, because she could vanish in a moment.

"Lower your blade, Raven Branwen," Saria spoke now. "Do you believe using force is proper at this moment? Do you think any questions will be answered or relationships strengthened by the cut of your steel?" Obvious answers were unspoken, even as Raven stared on.

"I am not lowering my blade," she returned, staring at the Faunus still. " _Not_ until he tells me why he has that sword." Link's blade? Ironwood looked between them again. And now that he did, he could tell that it was odd that both Tai and Ozpin were quiet as well. Ozpin would keep himself quiet until necessary, but Tai would yell normally. But a glance showed that he was holding Ruby close, and staring past Raven towards Link as well.

"The blade is Link's. It always has been." The answer came from Saria, one of few she gave. "Do you think it important enough to you that you will threaten him before me? Are you, one who has seen what I am capable of, assured that threatening him is your wisest action?" The Spring Maiden half the height of Raven Branwen, stepped forward as if she were a giant among dwarves. Considering what he had seen and heard of her doing, it was appropriate.

"I do." But Raven was as stubborn as her brother. Ironwood crushed his hand into a fist at her admittance. "Because that is _not_ his blade. _That_ is a sword that belongs in the ground, and I do _not_ care what reason he has for taking it! Especially since it cannot be used!" She growled at the words, and Ironwood felt himself lost. Just as before, he pushed through it.

"I will not ask again, Raven," he interjected, stepping forward now to put himself within swinging distance of her. Farther from the crowd, still distracted by their own turmoil, was all the better. "Lower the sword, step away, and _pray_ that the answers we get through questions do not have me arrest you. I dare to think your own daughter will not be against it."

Now he got her to glare at him. _Good_.

"Yeah! Don't hurt Link!" Ruby shouted now, earning a glance from him. Her father looked down at her, even as she balanced him, silver eyes stained with red. Tears, obviously. "H-He did _a lot_ back on Patch. A-A-And if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't even be here! Or it was because of Ganondorf I wouldn't, but _Link_ was the one who fought Roman! Ganondorf just held up the moon and I fought off the Grimm and so much happened but you can't threaten him for using that sword!" Her father was holding her tighter now, to the point that Yang was only standing by. What was so significant about that blade?

"Tai, speak some sense into that girl," Raven, charming as ever, only ordered her ex-husband to act on Ruby. No one missed Yang growling, even if it was ignored. "Tell her how not even _Summer_ could use that blade, and taking it from her grave is _not_ something I'm about to forgive!"

That… explained a great deal very quickly.

"Summer… I do not know the name," Saria, however, did not. It was not surprising that she didn't. "However, I do know the sword that Link carries. It was the blade forged to be bane against evil, and the very sword he used in Hyrule, for many fights and many years." It had been? Ironwood looked to Ozpin, seeing the Headmaster bowing his head and furrowing his gaze. "You may claim it to be many things, but I am not mistaken that the sword is his."

"Prove it then," Raven quickly spoke back. "Prove that it is your sword. I don't care how just _do it._ " She snarled, and probably ignored Yang behind her doing the same thing. "Because I don't care how strong you are, if you ransacked Summer's grave for that sword, then I'm going to risk death for it." That was too far.

"You _will_ control yourself, Raven!" Ironwood finally shouted, knowing that some faces in the crowd had to be on them. "My threat still stands and I _will_ side with Link if you do not-" _SHINK!_ The sound killed his words. And turning to face Link, he saw why.

The blade was pulled out of its sheath, and it was a beautiful sword. Though he preferred guns and bullets to solid steel for slicing, he could acknowledge a well-made blade when he saw one. And the sword in Link's hands, longer than his arms and looking as if it had never seen a battle before, gleaming so brightly, was a truly beautiful one at that.

"My word… my god…" Ozpin cursed next to him, though Ironwood didn't pay the man much mind. "You did… you did pull the blade. You freed it." Though his words were still confusing. Thankfully, he was not the only one capable of working through moments of unease.

"Is that fair evidence for you?" Saria questioned Raven again. The taller woman looked down restlessly, breath unable to catch in her shaking lungs. "Do you need more than this, after you proclaimed the blade unusable, or should he have to use it against you? In truth, I do not wish for it myself. So, I must instead ask if you _can_ put your blade away. And if so, will you?" The girl proved her age when she spoke, and Raven looked down at her, dragging her eyes away from the sword.

But carefully, uneasily, she slipped her katana away, letting the hilt hit at the top of the scabbard. Ironwood let out a sigh of relief, small, but still relevant. He did not hear the same sounds from Ozpin or Tai, not even after Link spun that long blade and put it away, sliding it home along his back. He could not understand yet why it was so significant. It wouldn't be long until he knew why, however. He _would_ find out.

"Thank you," Saria, in the meantime, bowed her head towards the dark-haired woman, even if Yang looked on disbelieving still. The Spring Maiden turned and looked up at Link then, the danger behind them put away, and she smiled brilliantly. But it was only then her voice began to shake. "Link… it is… I am glad to see-" She got no further.

In a move that beget his history, Link was on his knees and holding the smaller girl in his arms. Her pulled her close and pushed his head into the crevice of her neck, holding himself there and pulling her close. The Spring Maiden didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around his head, holding him close like a child. Through the curtain of her emerald hair, he could just make out her smile.

"There, there, it's alright. I am here, for now," she spoke, petting him over his cape, hands moving over his longer Faunus tipped ears. "You went through many horrible things recently, I know this. But you are safe now, and you have come home." Perhaps not his home, but it was home with her here, he could tell. So much for the Faunus at least.

Link did not let her go, still clearly holding onto her and keeping her close. He was silent as he watched, him and the others. Perhaps a few words from Ruby and Yang, but they were children who enjoyed the sight. He was a man who had seen men come back from battle and war. This was much the same. If not more.

Afterall, the last Link had seen Saria, she had been dead.

He let it sit for a time then, before letting the inevitable continue.

"Link," Ozpin started first, to Ironwood's minor surprise. "I do not mean to rush your reunion, but I hope you are aware that we know little of what occurred while you were on Patch." The Faunus looked up from Saria's shoulder, looking at him with silver eyes. Silver, how odd it was. "And foregoing Summer's sword on your back, and how you were able to draw it, we do not know what happened to the island, the moon, Roman, or even just you. For example, what your eyes are now silver."

"Yes… they are silver," Saria spoke again, drawing herself away from Link. She took a moment, still within arms reach to blot her eyes dry. But she focused on Link when she was done, and the Faunus on a bended knee to face her. "What did happen to your eyes, Link? For all the time you were in the Kokiri Forest, you had honest blue. Why have your eyes turned to soul-rending silver?" He didn't respond or at least not in a way that Ironwood could here.

"They were also glowing," Ruby, however, did. He turned to face her, everyone did, including Tai still on her shoulder. "Mine did, too I think it was hard to tell, my own eyes glowing. But it was when we were looking up at Roman and he was all demony and Ganondorf was there and we couldn't even _look_ at him without causing him pain. And then there was the sword that was glowing, too. It was… yeah, there was a lot going on."

"I trust that there was," Ozpin answered honestly. He had more experience handling children. "And I can tell you and Link fought well and hard to return." He looked at Link he was started to rise again, though clearly unwilling to separate himself from Saria for long. "But I am more curious on _what_ specifically transpired. That, and what it is we must do next."

"First the questions of the past," Saria followed up. "Then we can decide on the future." She looked up at Link, grinning, only to turn towards Raven, the woman having drawn herself back and away. "Perhaps we can discuss this without the curious ears of those nearby?" And it was an excellent suggestion.

"I concur," Ironwood agreed. "I don't suppose we may borrow your office again, Ozpin. Assuming Glynda will allow us." She had so far been working with the relief efforts. Though he didn't appear perturbed by the question.

"Of course," he replied. "Yang, Raven, Tai, can you perhaps wait while Ironwood and I discuss with Link and Ruby about-" He did not get far.

"No," Tai was quick to interrupt. "You may _not_ interview my daughter after everything that happened there without me nearby." That went without saying. "And considering that the last time I took my eyes off of Raven she ran into the woods, I don't want her out of my sight either." That was perhaps a less convincing reason.

"I'm coming, too." Yang interjected. "I just watched and _heard_ everything else. There's nothing that's going to be said that'll be surprising to me. Sides, I _am_ on my sister's team. And you're not going to tell her anything that she's not going to spill to me later." That was, considering what he was aware with the Schnee siblings, highly probable.

"Very well then." Just as probable as Ozpin immediately relenting. The crafted devil that he was. "I have no objections. Ironwood?" The ball was in his court now, was it?

"I have none either," he relented. In truth, he had many, but he knew better than to question two beings that had the powers to control the world and another that had seemingly destroyed a power comparable to Salem "But I will be recording this debrief. As stated, we are at a lost for what happened, and everything that is to be said will be an answer later. Is that understood?" It was not for discussion.

"I don't mind," Ruby was quick to answer, and smile. "I mean, you _are_ okay to walk, right Dad? Well, not walk like with two legs, but walk _with_ someone. Cause I mean you could jump there or-" she cut herself off with an eep, from her father putting his hand on her head, messing her dark hair.

"Your sister carried me down and you can carry me there," he replied honestly. "I got a feeling I'll be getting a can or something else soon anyways. But I'm not about to wait on that to hear what happened. Last time I heard your voice it was minutes to midnight, and I _will_ be listening to how you got out of it." Ruby had the good graces to blush at that.

"Very well, then let us go." Ozpin picked up his cane and motioned with it. "And do understand, Link and Ruby. The questions we ask will be invasive, but not insulting. We only need to know what happened and why. I hope that is understood." Ruby nodded affirmatively, but Link did not. It made the general narrow his gaze, but he dropped it when he met those silver eyes.

They were far sharper than the blue he remembered, and he didn't have a reason in mind to challenge a man who could stare like that.

Besides, he would get his answers soon. Then they could decide on what to do.

* * *

To say the day was hectic was to compare a monsoon riddled sea to a napping child's breath. His prior four decades in this body hadn't been so hectic or paranoia riddled as the last few hours he had endured. He had walked to and from his tower, surveyed the management of the refugees from Vale, and then watched the heroes from Patch return, and stir only more confusion in his soul.

Answer had to be gotten, and he knew that many would agree. Glynda did when he came back up to his tower, after being gone for only a scant two hours. She was quick to remove herself, proclaiming that she had to be closer to the population to manage who was present, waiting for the Military assets to arrive. The council wouldn't bother them, not since Ironwood told them they were interviewing those who had supposedly slain the responsible parties and would send a detailed debrief their way. And even the rest of the crews who were ignorant of his job were likely just as at ease that hew as talking to the man and child who had seen the pits of hell and returned.

He could easily be accused of exaggeration, but given the hellish landscape Ruby and Link described, though the latter through Saria's tongue, it was hard to argue against it.

Instead, he listened as the two of them narrated a tale he though more appropriate for a fairytale, and likely one day would be recounted as one. All the while James told of what would be listed in a report and what would be too fantasia to even consider telling others. Many details fell into both categories, but all obvious. No one would believe that Roman became some sort of demonic creature with the mask, but it would plain to observe the death of Ganondorf, and the mask sealed.

He listened to them intently, but just as well as watching Yang looking over Ruby as she spoke. Like an elder sister, or perhaps a surrogate mother, looking out for the small details that would be an indication of some peril. There were none as far as he could see, but he was not about to tell a sibling to note dot over another. There was cruelty, there was apathy, then there was stupidity. He had done enough of the first, and he dared not even tread into the later.

All that said, and the tale wrapping up, Ozpin knew it was time to confirm the results of the grand battle Ruby Rose and Link had participated in. He _had_ to confirm it, for assumptions were not permissible now.

"That is quite a story," Ozpin spoke first, earning the ire of most in the room. "Apologies, I do not mean to say you fabricated it, only that it is hard to hear all that happened and _not_ think of it like some fantasia tale. I truly do believe what you have both said, only admitting it will take some time to wrap my head around it." That placated most of them.

"I can't even believe it," Ruby seemed to agree. "I mean, I was there, and fighting and stuff, but _geez!_ It's like incredible that I can even say I was. All those Grimm and that moon and the sky?" She spun her head as she spoke. Why, he couldn't say. "Feels like its all trapped in my head now." Better there than forgotten.

"I may suggest writing a report… or perhaps journaling those thoughts," James spoke up, diplomatic as usual. "An often-employed measure of therapy is to write down what you recollect, so you can afford to forget it. Otherwise you may feel guilt over forgetting it." And there was his friend with the slivers of wisdom that came with his post.

"You still keep a diary, don't you Rubes?" Yang asked, or perhaps teased, her sister. "Yeah, right under the bed, got that lock on it, password is-"

"LALALALALA! Dad's right here and he doesn't need to know that!" Ozpin _had_ to smile there, listening to the girls talk, and their father grinning behind them. Even if the sight of his former student, maimed as he was, did little to improve his mood, and much to sour it. "And I can write it down, in a diary I _do not have_ , and then… I guess I'll just… I don't know." And the mood was twisted again.

"Perhaps while it is fresh on your mind, you can recount a few queries I have," Ozpin spoke again. "Firstly, you can confirm that Roman is dead. Not merely missing." It would be too easy for a talented to thief to fake his death, but Ruby shook her head something fierce in denial.

"Nu uh, I saw it. He's dead." She lifted her hand and tapped her forehead with her forefinger. "Link stabbed him, right there. I could see in one side and out the other. That's dead, maybe even deader than dead." Well, that was certainly a sure way to kill someone.

"And you can confirm this, Link?" The Faunus nodded, his posture stiff and arms crossed. If Ruby was relaxing in her seat, surrounded by family, then Link was still on edge and on guard. Saria did little to help. "And what of Ganondorf then? Is he dead as well?" Link spoke, but Saria answered.

"No, not dead," she began. "Ganondorf holds a Golden Power, and he cannot be killed so long as he holds it. Instead, using the Sacred Blade, he was sealed away. In stone." She licked her lips as Link spoke on, nodding with some sign of affirmation. "He asked to be sealed away, perhaps out of guilt or knowledge that he had too much power for the world. And he did it while holding onto Majora's Mask." Ruby took that as a sign to chime in.

"Yeah! That is what happened!" She almost rose from her seat with the answer. "She took the mask and talked about how he had done enough and he was still hated, so he asked Link to seal him, _not kill him_ , and then Link stabbed him right through the gut. _CHINK!_ " She made the sound of a sword as she stabbed forward. "And then when he pulled it out, he started turning to stone. I mean, _everything_ turned to stone. Him, his clothes, and his cape. And that really creepy dangerous mask."

"Would he be difficult to find?" Ironwood spoke now. "I do not wish to imply we would, but I cannot think that _no one_ would want to find this… statue, for lack of a more appropriate term. But I can't help but imagine it would take only a well-placed chisel to free him." Link shook his head at the suggestion.

"It would take something of extraordinary power to free him now," Saria answered, more from knowledge. "A door may be opened with great force, but what would you use first to unlatch it? What would be more appropriate to undo a seal?" He knew that one.

"A key," Ozpin answered, fingers thrumming on the top of his cane. "And I can assume that the key is that blade of yours, Link." He did his utmost to look impassive about the sword, but it was a difficult challenge for even him. It was one that Tai and Raven were utterly failing. He could not fault them for it.

How else were they supposed to act, staring at the blade that Summer had carried for nearly her entire career as a Huntress, yet never was able to pull from its sheath?

"That's correct," Saria added. "It is Link's blade, and one he has used since he left the Kokiri Forest." But not while he was in it. It didn't _come_ from those Lost Woods then. "It was sealed in a temple's walls, and placed into stone for only the spirit of the hero to draw. No descendant or sibling could can draw on it. _Only_ the spirit of the hero." And a direct answer again.

"Oh! Oh! Ganondorf talked about it, too!" His attention was on Ruby in a moment, watching her nearly bounce in her chair. Tai was looking at her anxiously. "He said it was the Master Sword and it was the _only_ thing that was able to hurt him before! He kept saying that it's what made Link go from Super to _Awesome!_ Well, okay, _I_ may have been the one thinking that, but it's true! I mean, as soon as he pulled it, his eyes got all silvery like man and _both_ of us were able to just stare at Roman or Ganondorf or the Grimm and get them to start shirking away!"

She cupped her own eyes and bent her fingers, like binoculars. And though Yang laughed and pushed her hair out of the way, Ozpin gripped his cane all the tighter. He knew that Ironwood was doing much the same beneath his folded arms. He could not swear to how, but that was affirmation of what he thought.

Link's blade had _unlocked_ the silver eyes of Ms. Rose. Hers and, apparently, _Link's_ as well.

"Yes… silver eyes," Ozpin whispered curiously, enough to gain attention of the others. "You said that you have _not_ always had those eyes, Link?" He looked at the man's _very_ much silver eyes as he asked it. The Faunus did not answer immediately, instead shaking his head after a moment.

"I am curious about your eyes as well," Saria spoke next. "I have seen you draw your sword before, but your eyes were always the peaceful blue. What else did you do to make them so sharp and cold? When did you let your gaze turn to one of destruction?" What a curious way to ask about silver eyes. Did the Spring Maiden know about them as well?

"Wait, those eyes mean destruction?" Ruby, however, felt it time to interject. "You mean my eyes are destructive? Like dynamite? I mean, Link was able to look hard enough at the Grimm to turn them to stone, but I don't think _that's_ a bad thing, right? He's not going to turn us to stone, is he? No, wait, am I?" Though the question could easily be seen as one of worry, Ozpin had been around children enough to know a joke when he heard one.

"The only thing you'll turn to stone is your old man with how much worry you heap on him," Tai did as well, and was able to calm his child with a hand on her head. The youngest in the room had her head put into her shoulders with the strength of the man's grip, even with one arm. "You can ask your sis, I 'bout turned to stone after that last call you gave us."

"Maybe you, but I'm pretty sure I about melted the room, dad." That she did, Ozpin could recall. "Seriously Ruby, I get being a hero's all about what you want, but don't go doing that again. Remember that fine line we talked about?"

"Yeah, I do," Ruby answered remorsefully, only to bounce back in a way only a child could. "But Ganondorf called me a hero, too! He even said that with my eyes it was proof that I _was_ a hero. And I remember thinking at the time that _no one_ is more qualified to call someone else a hero other than the bad guy, and Ganondorf was a very bad guy, right?" How curiously wise of her to point out.

"A bad many trying to find redemption, I'd say," Ozpin corrected. "But how odd for him to call you a hero, when you were no more able to harm him than anyone else. Unless you _were_ able to do something to him. Were, you Ms. Rose?" The girl shook her head immediately.

"Nu uh, nope, didn't even try," she crossed her arms as she answered. A firm denial. "He just said that I had the same look as Link, and kept talking about some time when Link had defended a princess or something, which is kind of cool that I was supposed to be like that… but it _is_ kind of awkward to say that in front of you… sorry about that." She bit her lip as she looked up at Link.

But the Faunus, for perhaps the first time since entering the room, smiled back at her, waving off her concerns with a grin that was like his eyes. Silver, shining, and attention grabbing.

"Speaking of things like Ruby," Tai started in. The drop in his voice was all Ozpin needed to hear to know things were about to take a turn for the worst. "That sword of yours is _a lot_ like the one our old _team leader_ had. In fact, it was the one thing she couldn't pull out of it sheath. Her or anyone else." Yang and Ruby looked at their father curiously. Everyone else did so on edge.

"Even though she couldn't she still brought it with her almost everywhere she went," Raven spoke in now, eyes burning on Link as she spoke. "In her room, to exams, first missions, anywhere she thought she could take it and it wouldn't get in the way. The largest good luck charm was what Qrow called it, but I called it what it was. A _nuisance_." She was still baring her teeth at him.

"Considering that we never even got it _out_ of the damn sheath, most of us started to think it wasn't a sword at all," Tai continued on. "To the point where after she got her Hunter's License, she hung it up in the house whenever she went away, thinking that one day she would be strong enough to pull it out."

"I was told half the reason she became a huntress was to become strong enough to hold it," Raven, perhaps as a form of mockery, looked towards Tai as she added to him. "And just kept saying that she knew she was a great huntress as soon as she was able to pull it out."

"But no one could," Tai seemed to agree. "Not just me and Qrow, the instructors got in on it, trying to pull it out." The man leaned back in his seat, perhaps to balance himself with his missing limbs. "If I remember correctly, you had a tough time with it as well, didn't you Oz?" He disliked that nickname, but it was one he and Qrow both used often. Now was not the time to correct.

"That is true," he admitted. "I hoped to see the blade as well, but thought it was a prank on your part, or more accurately Qrow's, when I couldn't pull it. I even recall what Ms. Rose said after I was unable to free it." The name, this time, made Link stare at him. He wondered why.

"I remember, because it's the one time I laughed in front of you." Raven found it appropriate to smile then. "She said it meant she had to be a better huntress than _you_ were a hunter. It was enough to get you to hold still. Probably the one time it got me and Qrow to laugh together as well." But she was sincere when she said it, oh so sincere.

"Yeah, that's the kind of blade she had," Tai spoke up, turning his gaze back to Link. It wasn't the fiery red of Raven's, but it was no less chilling, even if he was half as capable as before. "So, I have to ask you now, _Link_. Why do you have _her_ sword? Or better yet, _how_ can you use it?" The question hung in the air.

Link didn't answer, by a manner they could see or hear. Instead, he stared at Tai, silver eyes moving from him to Raven and back again. It was a staring contest, perhaps, but one that would be decided with far more force than a blink. The tension in the air was thick enough to weight down on him, and he loathed the feeling.

"The sword… came out of mom's grave," Ruby spoke up, seemingly out of nowhere.

But more shocking than her admittance of where it came from, even if Ozpin, Raven, and Tai were already aware, was Link's reaction. Watching the stern gaze of the warrior shift from confrontational and controlled, to wide eyed appalled. No… perhaps… _scared_? He had to blink when he saw it.

"Yeah, Ganondorf, that is… he sensed there was something around her. I-I was there because I was out of Aura… and strength… and I thought it wanted to be near mom." She had said as much before. "But Ganondorf, he said that he sensed something peaceful, and dug the sword from her grave. I tried to stop him, until he pulled it out… and then threw it me." She looked down at her hands, seeing them shaking. "He said he couldn't hold it, and I didn't understand, because I couldn't pull it out either. He just said… that it was for the hero. After that, I-I just took off." And then the rest of the tale unfolded.

The vile man of Link's past had sensed the blade, the weapon that Saria proclaimed was responsible for his death, or sealing perhaps, and had delivered it to Link again. The connection between them was too great to ignore. But just as impossible was the history he _knew_ existed in it.

How could the weapon that Link used for all of his trails be one in the same with Summer's unusable weapon? It did _not_ make sense.

"That _is_ the blade that Summer used for so many years," Ozpin finally declared. "I interviewed her myself, as I did with her daughter, and even then, she had that blade nearby." He ignored the curious glances from Ruby, rapidly moving from him to her father. "That was well over twenty years ago now. You, on the other hand, do not look a day over thirty. In addition, I am aware that you fought Ganondorf and performed your many other deeds well beyond your youth." He listed out the facts he knew, letting them sit before continuing. "So, Link, I must inquire, how am I to reconcile a weapon present here twenty years ago yet being used by _you_ perhaps less than ten or so ago?"

The timeline simply did not piece together, and he was desperate to find the link between them. Because until he did… this was just another keg preparing to be blown.

Then, Link spoke. Or as well as Ozpin could tell he had. For not the first time, he _wished_ he had that piece of machinery that allowed Winter to hear him. Perhaps Ironwood had forgotten to bring in it in the hectic situation surrounding the Moon Fall and all else. But regardless of the reason, it left Link speaking, and everyone else waiting for Saria to follow.

"The story… for how Link lost the Master Sword… involves his daughter." She appeared no more at ease telling this story than Link looked to even remember it. His blade, _Summer's_ sword, was the sharpest item in the room, but those silver eyes were a close second. "Namely… for how she was lost to time. I recall the story myself, but the tale would take _hours_ to tell, and he has a far more important question to ask first." The Forest Maiden looked no more pleased to speak than Link did to listen. "Can you swear this blade, possessed by a woman named Summer… was in the grave it came from?" Ah… an obvious question.

"No! No, she wasn't!" Ms. Rose, however, was the first to react. "We never… mom went away on a mission and just… she just didn't come back." Any peace the girl brought before was quickly eroded under the torment that shone in her silver eyes now. A harsh contrast for the terror in Link's. "Mom… she was going on a mission, and when she didn't come back… we… made a grave for her." Even if she was speaking, Ozpin kept his eyes glued on Link.

It let him see the Faunus tremble as she spoke, hanging on every word that fell from her lips. His emotions were so raw, so plain and easy to see. Not just in the movement of his eyes, but his slacken jaw, hands held up as if to grasp something, desperate to hold something. Saria looked at him worriedly, but did nothing else. He knew what was coming. So did Ozpin. But the relief of what was going to be said was momentous. So much so that it couldn't simply be assumed. It _had_ to be said.

"Then you gave up on her?" It was Saria who spoke next, and Ozpin didn't see Link pose the question. "Mark a grave in her name and never check to see if she lived?" The question evoked the obvious response in Raven.

"Of course, we did!" She yelled out, standing and knocking her chair back. "She was our _leader!_ She was my _friend!_ You think I would just take her missing and assume she was dead!?" If she tried to shake Link, it didn't work. It only made Ruby and Yang look up surprised, Tai grasping his youngest daughter with his only good arm. "I went out and looked for her for _months!_ I didn't rest until I scoured every square inch of land she was supposed to be in! I looked absolutely everywhere for her! I didn't' give up until… until…" the life drained from her. Tai took over from there.

"Until I said it was enough," he looked no happier to continue. "I didn't think it was worth it… I didn't-" those were not the correct words to use.

 _WHAM!_ And fast as a train without breaks, Link had grabbed Tai by the neck, slamming him against a far wall.

"GRAH!" The man yelled as he was held up, hand grasping at Link's golden gauntlet, failing to pull it away. The Faunus held him up with a sure grip, unwilling to let go. Even as Ozpin and everyone else rose, Raven was behind the Faunus a moment later, blade laid over his neck threateningly. It didn't make him release the man, and Tai's features showed torment.

"You… gave up on her?" Saria posed the question, and this time he couldn't be sure if it was Link she was speaking for or herself. She only walked up, ignorant of the frightened children and made woman between her and her charge. "You assumed her dead and did… nothing?"

"I had… a daughter to _raise!_ " Tai shouted, even as his foot kicked underneath him. Ozpin realized after that boom of impact that Ironwood had drawn his revolved, and he was ready to slap it out of his hand. "A daughter that _needed_ to know the truth! And Summer… was _gone!_ It's been _twenty years!_ A-And she's… still…" He couldn't speak further. He couldn't breathe.

"Release him." Raven commanded, lowly. "Let him go or not only will you lose your answers, you will lose your head." It was a threat he knew she'd carry through with.

For that tense moment, Ruby and Yang unsure of where to jump to or what to say, Tai dangled against the wall, held up by Link's hand and his rage. Even if all Ozpin could see was the back of his emerald hood, he could tell the Faunus was prepared to take extreme actions, for something he had little information on. Little, but surely enough.

"Link," Saria spoke up instead, putting a hand to his leg and catching his attention, through the tension of it all. "If he is who he says he is, he is the _father_ to your _descendant_. Would you truly wish harm on him?" It was the oddest way to phrase the obvious question. But it brought about the appropriate response.

 _"_ _GUH!_ " Tai sucked in a breath of air as he was let go, hitting the ground and losing his balance. He couldn't keep himself up, lacking an arm and a leg, and collapsed on the ground. Raven, perhaps showing she was not as ruthless as she wished to be, quickly took the sword from Link's throat and jumped to his side. Yang and Ruby were not far behind.

Link looked down on them, Saria by his side, as the tension in the room had been alleviated, but not dispersed. It was still there, the idea of terrifying answers looming over them, but it wasn't gone. And Ozpin watched on, unsure if there was any word he could utter to balm the situation.

"Tai," Saria spoke. "Link has… something to give you." That earned a great amount of attention.

Just as much as watching the Faunus grab at something within his tunic, any number of items from what Ozpin could remember. And while he expected it to be an item of sentimental value, to prove the blade was his or have Tai swear over it as proof of what Summer had once held, he instead produced something more akin to the Bunny Hood or Magic Cloak that belong to Yang and Blake respectively.

It was a plate of armor, shining gold and outline in red, and produced as mysteriously as everything else Link had shown. But Ozpin had no time to admire the regalia.

 _SLAM!_ Because in no time it was shoved against Tai's chest, locking against him like a chassis. If he made a noise of surprise or pain, it was quickly taken away as the armor grew. That was the only word Ozpin could relate to it. It _grew_.

The armor climbed over his good arm and leg, like a suit of fine plating that covered his biceps and forearms, slithering down his thighs and calves to cover them in a thick gold-plated steel. Red lining and clothing covered the joints between his legs, and hid any mark of his clothing beyond the outlines of his skin. But were that all it did, it would be marvelous but curious.

No, instead, the armor also took over the missing arm and leg for the man, growing upon them as if they were there. Raven was quick to jump away, pulling Yang back by her hair.

Tai didn't look pained or admonished by it, instead, holding up his arm as the armor grew as if it were tracing where his hand used to be. Bending by his command, even as plate metal grew. Flexing his fingers, as the details of his gauntlets came to be, and then twisting his shoulder, showing the full range of motion of the device. It was no different for his leg, as he looked down to see his sprawled limb, or what once _was_ that limb, now stretched out with the same thick plating as his other leg, a red clothing hiding where his knee should have been, and doubtlessly concealing the mechanism behind its motion.

Tai said nothing, looking at the gold armor that covered his body, looking over it and bending his arms and legs to test it. More than his one good limb for each side, twisted and flexing effortlessly. The missing limbs did the same, and it made Yang grin next to him, mirroring her father's growing expression. Elation was too subtle a word.

"Major Armor," Saria spoke, surely for Link at this point. "Made by the sages for a warrior outclassed in number. To fight on when all his limbs were broken and only his will survived. It will not last forever, but can be fueled by the power of Dust once more." How on _Earth_ did they design it for that? Ozpin knew from Tatl and Tael that the concept of Dust was foreign to them. "From what I can tell, that is the word you best use to describe Rupees. It will allow the armor to move, and should help you function without the use of your arm or leg." If that was the case… it was a magnificent gift.

"Holy… holy _shit!_ " Tai let out, only to bite his tongue. "Ruby, Yang, don't repeat that. Raven, don't tell me I'm dreaming. _You_ ," he left off with, pointing at Link with his new golden hand. The Faunus didn't respond.

Instead, he gave Tai time to push off the wall with is fake limb, as Ozpin couldn't think of what else to call it. Yang and Ruby were next to him, ready to catch him, but it was not necessary. The former student of Ozpin's was able to hold himself up, the false leg of his holding his weight well. He looked down at himself, looking over his golden clad body, trying to make sense of it, but smiling brilliantly through it. Even if he didn't understand it, he clearly loved it.

"This…" he started holding up his fake limb. "Is something I wouldn't think of getting for free from Ironwood, and that's just because it _feels_ like something that would be worth a kingdom's income." Ozpin glanced at Ironwood, seeing the man nod his head in agreement. Fully body robotic limbs, self-actuating, and not needing calibration. It certainly acted important. "An you're just giving it to me… care to share why?" Link was saying something, Ozpin could tell that much. What, exactly, he couldn't say. He could only wait until Saria spoke again. He didn't need to wait for long.

"Link gifted the Magic Armor to you because… if by accident or intent, you have answers that he has been searching for." He had? Ozpin wasn't under any idea that Link was looking for anything aside from Navi. If that was a rouse, however, then perhaps he was speaking honestly now. That only raised questions for what else he was hiding. "And if what he believes is true… then you hold more value to him than the Magic Armor does."

That, thankfully, was a positive message to leave off on. One that was carried in sentiment by Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long. More than that, he could even see a bit of relief in the eyes of Raven Branwen. Not much, enough to be noticeable to others. But he had seen her trained for four years and then worked under him for some more. He knew the subtlety of her actions, and this was one of them. Be it for the worth of the armor or not, he couldn't be sure.

But that Link was gifting Tai something like that was a positive step. Now… they only needed to see where the conversation headed.

Before it could begin, however, he felt James tap on his shoulder, earning his attention but not his gaze.

"I just received word from the Council," James spoke up next to Ozpin, not bothering to attract his attention. "They said they wish to expedite the Vytal Festival, having it proceed earlier than anticipated. I imagine they wish to use it as proof that no force of nature can break the unity of our kingdoms." How appropriately beneficial to their image.

"Thank you, James," Ozpin returned. "I will have to think on that, but later. _Far_ later from now." Even if he wanted to, he couldn't think he'd be able to dedicate a serious thought to the Vytal Festival at this moment. Momentous as it was for the kingdoms, it was a far secondary concern to this. "I think… I will need to talk and discuss it at a later date. I hope you will be open for my call when I am ready." He did not push the issue, thankfully.

"Of course, Ozpin," he agreed with a sighed. "In the meantime… I suppose I will help Glynda with the efforts in Vale. You should know she has already put your students to work with looking through the rubble and steering the displaced citizens." That seemed appropriate, as they were already there.

"Thank you, truly," he spoke again. "But if that is all… please give me a moment. For I suspect they will need several before we can go on." His eyes never left the sight in front of him.

For all the years he had lived, and all that he had done, Ozpin couldn't forget that what he was watching was what mattered the most. For all the wars and terrors of the land, _this_ was what always brought home the most nightmares to roost.

A family reuniting, across words and perhaps even time, under the death of a loved one. There was nothing that could be said to ease that burden.

Silence was already loud enough.

* * *

Because of who his dad was, and what he did for a living, he'd seen a lot of war zones. Maybe just battlefields, as they were called, or the left overs of a fight, but all the same thing. The place where life and death were waged, and then the battle was finished. Walking back into there with a Scroll or Tablet in hand was one thing, but walking into it after _being_ there was something else entirely. It was the difference between hearing about a nightmare and living.

Walking through the broken pavement, pushing away large sections of the road, and flipping over fallen streetlights and cars, it was hard to forget that he had been standing here less than an hour ago. He had _run_ from here when the giant monster coming in from the sea decided to open up its mouth and spit fire. And not in the way that Russel would describe a good mixtape, if those even existed.

No, he was standing right where he was before Penny had shouted that the thing was going to blow, unleash a level of damage that was basically guaranteed to wipe them _and_ a good portion of the city out, and Weiss had told them to run. They had, but he didn't expect her to stay behind.

Even less than that, Cardin didn't expect this part of the city to still be standing right now, not after everything he saw.

"It's insane, isn't it?" Dove whispered next to him, and Cardin couldn't even look over at him to confirm it. "It's like a complete different place, man." It didn't just look like it, it felt like it.

The buildings were still standing, but with massive chunks of them basically peeled off. Their windows were blown out, the street torn up, and it was the same sight for blocks and blocks in either direction. Torn up streets, sidewalks, torn down buildings, and basically ruined electrical lines. It was only a miracle that none of the buildings had outright fallen over yet, or else it would have worked a hell of a lot worse. This was where they stood as a chokepoint, but the Grimm had raided from the _sea_ and there wasn't just one spot in from there.

Even then, compared to when they were all fighting here, with the giant moon with that nasty face, the black sky, _and_ the Monster Sea Grimm walking up towards them, it was hard to say which was worse. Who was he kidding, he knew which one.

This one, because this was the situation they had to clean up and search. The last one didn't even feel like Vale. Maybe that was what the really horrifying part was. He couldn't even recognize his home while he was fighting in it, not until he and his team were searching through it.

"The sea's way too calm for me," Dove spoke again. "I mean, I get that I'd prefer it, but just… its like looking a barren wasteland under a blue sky, or watching someone smile at someone else tearing up, you know? It just… it doesn't look right." Considering the last time they were here it was basically tidal waves of Grimm coming in from the shore, Cardin _could_ understand, he just didn't want to put much thought into it.

"You think it could have been worse?" Russel asked, jumping over an upturned part of the street. Cardin recognized that one. That was the one he tore up when he was holding Penny back while she was firing that giant laser of hers. "I mean, yeah, it was _bad_ , but if this is what happened while we were _here_ … what the hell would it look like if we just stayed back at Beacon?"

"I don't want to know," Cardin honestly answered. He was already drained, and that was just because he fought through a horde of Grimm and then had to spring like a bomb was going off, only to sprint back when they found out that the calamity was put on hold. "Whatever could have happened, we stopped it."

"That is affirmative, Team Leader Cardin," Penny spoke up next to them. Unlike the rest of them, she appeared to have no issue _skipping_ through the rubble. Maybe that was because she was crushing it beneath her boots. _BOOM_. Literally. She couldn't be _that_ heavy, but she was strong. "Without the intervention of the confirmed 34 Hunter Students present for the confrontation with the sea-faring Grimm, the amount of damage would have likely spread approximately 0.45 miles further into Vale, including total destruction and lost of the nearby buildings. This includes compromising the internal structure of nearby buildings. Without the intervention of TEAM CFVY's ballistics and Weiss Schnee's ice Dust use, the amount of Grimm likely would have caused significant enough damage to result in total collapse, which further would have increased the area of affect by-"

"I get it Penny, _I get it_." He emphasized, holding up his hand. He just felt _drained_ , and he didn't want to hear how it could be worse. "Let's… lets just keep looking. We don't know who else could still be here." Or even worse, who they found. "How many people did they say were still missing?" He asked Penny because God knew if anyone recalled it, it would be her.

"There are still one hundred and twenty-eight civilians still unaccounted for. An estimated ninety-two were in Vale at the time of the Moon Construction." He looked up at her, confusion riddled on his face. "Moon Construction is the event pseudonym assigned by approximately 87% of the CCTV sources, including official Military records." He nodded at it. Even though this was caused by Grimm and _not_ the moon, it was kind of hard to forget that thing.

Like he thought before, the difference between hearing and living in a nightmare.

"Right, well, like they said, we're going to search this place out. Can't wait for the hunters to get here if someone is trapped, and I'm not going to let Aura-less people walk in here. 'Specially if there are any more Grimm around here." That made Dove come up short.

"You think there could still be more of them? I mean, after _everything_ that happened, you think there could still be more Grimm roaming around?" He looked behind him as if expecting one to be lurking there. Cardin had to hold his hand back from slapping him upside the head, messing up his bowler cut.

"Grimm are attracted to negative emotions, and if there's anyone trapped or hiding, that'll get their attention," Russel called out correctly. "Plus, I mean, unless I missed it, we didn't exactly drop some automatic Grimm killing bomb, right? The big guy was pushed over, but there's nothing to say there aren't still small fry scurrying in the shadows." That was the real threat, too.

"Right, it's why _we_ are here," Cardin emphasized again. "Everyone else is either working with the Military to help the rest of the civilians, and I've got a pretty good feeling that we wouldn't exactly inspire people there." They weren't exactly like JNPR, and had a literal All-Star as the face of their team. Dove had to laugh at that, and Russel shrugged.

"Are you sure, Team Leader Cardin?" Penny, however, had to ask. "I am able to speak approximately fifteen different languages, and I can assure I would be most proficient in being able to communicate with any individual." He cocked a brow at her, ignoring Dove striking a robotic pose and moving his jaw up and down.

"Penny, when we get back to the room, I'll be sure to fill you in," Cardin promised. "For now, lets just get to looking." Because he wouldn't want to be stuck in this rubble, and he knew anyone who _was_ would be absolutely terrified. And they didn't need more Grimm walking around. Not now at least.

"Affirmative, Team Leader Cardin," Penny saluted, before vaulting over a column of stone and vanishing from sight. He wasn't worried about her, seeing as she was something beyond them.

"Hope it doesn't seem mean if I think she still scares me," Dove spoke up next to Cardin. "Not like she's scary and I want to leave scary, but more like, I have no idea what she's thinking scary." Cardin rolled his eyes.

"Dove, do you have any idea what _any_ girl is thinking about." The sudden turn made Russel spit out a bark of laughter, and getting the tanned haired boy to look up at him.

"Hey! I at least have had a girlfriend before! I don't need you telling me what girls are thinking." Cardin put on a smirk as he started walking, looking around the larger portions of rubble, trying to make sure there wasn't anyone buried beneath it, or any obvious blood to find.

"Apparently you do, because you lost a girlfriend already, too. Guess that means you _don't_ know what she was thinking!" Russel putout the comment before laughing some more, leading to dove picking up a large chunk of stone and chucking it at him. It sailed over his head, clear over it. It wasn't like they were aiming for one another any ways.

"Better to have had one then to _act_ like you've been with one!" He countered, pointing up at the only one among them not wearing armor. "Or are you going to keep trying to sell that your hair is a chick magnet. Far as I can tell, it's the best repellent I've ever seen!" Okay, he had to grin at that, mostly because his partner grabbed at his spikes like it was a personal affront.

"Chicks love the hair! Means I'm a guy who knows how important this stuff is!" The return was as stupid as the argument. "Better than to talk to somebody who _acts_ like a pretty boy but can't even keep their eyes open for longer than ten seconds." Now their leader shook his head, walking past them. Trying to get them to stop was just not worth it.

They continued to chide and jab at one another, but he had already put them out of his mind. He had to keep looking, and they'd eventually get how important that was. If they didn't, then they could carry that blame later. If he _didn't_ look at all… then that was going to be on him. Besides, what was a bit of hide-and-seek after fighting the Grimm? Better he finds and smash them than a soldier who didn't have a leg to stand on.

He pushed his way down the street, unsurprised to see a fair number of pipes showing beneath the concrete, beaten up and definitely going to need a lot of repair after this. He knew enough to know there was going to be months spent on this road, if not the section of the city. Confirming the foundation for the buildings, including the utilities, double-checking the patchwork, stress testing the new lighting systems, laying down the concrete layers appropriately, and that didn't even account for the rebar. There was going to be a _lot_ of work to do.

"Hup!" He let out the noise of effort as he jumped over one section of building, feet pounding the concrete as he landed. He brushed off his pants, marching forward and looking around again. He didn't need to look for.

Because with all the ruin around him, it was blatantly easy to see the white dress lain up on a collapsed piece of rubble. It and the girl wearing it. Cardin reacted.

"Hey!" He shouted, feet already running across the rubble towards it. "Hey! Weiss! You alive!?" He shouted the words, as he ran, sure that the rest of his team would join him soon. They could catch up.

As he approached, he was quick to find that her head rose up at his call, and he was even more thankful to see that she was alright, in a sense. She wasn't moving much, but she reacted to him and she was looking at him. Both major positives.

"Cardin…" she spoke his name when he got close enough. He got to his knees next to her, looking her over. From head to toe, checking for abrasions, lacerations, and hemorrhaging. Basic First Aid. That included _not_ moving the injured person until it was deemed safe. "Wouldn't think you'd be the first to find me. Thought it would be Ruby first. That girl always following at my heels." He let her talk; it was a good sign.

"Haven't seen her," he replied honestly. "But putting her aside, what about you? You hit anything? Smash anything? Anything broken?" Had to ask all of that first. "Let me know before I start checking you out. Don't want to make something worse." Her eyes, looking as tired as he felt, dropped as she gazed at him. It was hard for him to believe disrespect could be so easily put to physical form.

"You will do no such thing," she commanded as if she had a choice, or it was a good option. "Blake has already looked me over, and she is as able as you are… or near it." Blake? She was here?

"I haven't seen her around. Where'd she go?" He asked, already looking around the girl. But the heiress only shook her head.

"She went to go find help as well. With her Magic Cloak of course." Yeah, that thing. He remembered her putting it on after she was burned by Ganondorf. "I managed to convince her to find someone else to carry me, because I still cannot risk the military _not_ turning on her, especially if she walked up carrying me." Wouldn't that be a sight.

"One of the Twili carrying a Schnee, injured and nearly unconscious, out of a war zone. Sounds like mixed messages to me." Wouldn't you know it, it got the girl to smile. And he did with her, even if he felt like putting his head on the concrete block she was lying against and catching some z's. She looked ready to as well. "So, she's out there then. You think she'd catch up if I started to carry you back. Figures that one of us has to." Her eyes looked up at him again, before rolling in her sockets.

"I suppose it will be either you or one of your teammates, won't it?" He nodded. "Any chance I may convince Penny to have the privilege?" This time, for maybe the first time in his life, he had a one-up statement on the Schnee.

"Only if you don't mind being carried over the shoulder like luggage." He had to laugh as she looked at him scornfully. "Hey, I _wouldn't_ tell her to do it, it's just what she did to Sky before, saying it allowed or greater motion in one hand. Trust me, she'll do it, and you know it." Team RWBY had spent just as much time around her as he had, if not more.

And watching the Schnee Heiress bit her lip as she thought about it was great, almost perfect. If he had the time to take a picture of her, he would have done it. Turned it into a background shot for his entire team. But priorities mattered, and the girl lain out like this was high priority.

"Very well, you may… carry me," she remarked scornfully. He grinned as he started to slide his hands under her. "Though I warn you, I will not stop any of my teammates from eviscerating you if you try and get handsy." He wouldn't dream of it.

"I like my body the way it is," he replied. "Keep your skirt tight, princess. I'll get you back to civilization." He carefully lifted her up. She was a light thing, compared to the hundreds of pounds he typically benched with. It was just as easy to balance her, seeing as she was half his size. "Once I get you back, and can start worrying about everyone else."

"Everyone else…" He let the comment sit, not knowing if it was a question or not. "You mean civilians. How many are missing."

"According to Penny, over hundred twenty or something like that." She shivered in his hands, but he ignored it. She'd just deny it anyways. "Maybe ninety are here, and I don't even know if you're on the list or not. It's why I gotta come back here once I get you to the rest of the Military. They got a station setup for relief and all that."

"Of course they do. Atlas Military always prioritizes the lives of civilians in all of its works." He wanted to laugh at it, but there was a reason they didn't just launch nukes at the thing they were fighting. The city was right next to it. "Still… I cannot believe that this could have been worse, if Ganondorf hadn't jumped in." _That_ brought him up short.

"Wait, _that_ guy was here?" He looked down at her in shock, even if she just looked up at him patiently. "How the hell are you and the cat still alive even?" She scowled at his remark, but he put it away. "Seriously?! How are you alive? Wasn't he the dude that burned Blake?"

"He was," she curtly replied. "He was also the man who threw lances at the monster that shredded it like paper." _That_ seemed a bit unimaginable. It must have been written on his face, and she was fluent in body language, because she read it right off of him. "I believed it as well as you do, but I cannot deny he was able to stave off the first _bomb_ that thing was firing at us, before throwing conjured lances at it with speeds comparable to light. So fast they flew I couldn't imagine them anything else."

Cardin let out a slow breath of air as she spoke, trying to put his mind away from it. But he couldn't. Even as he stepped over the rubble and back the way he came, he kept thinking about that man landing in front of him and showing off that kind of power. It just… it wasn't something he could stand tall in the face of.

"Terrifying, I know," Weiss added on. "Blake was just as scared as you are. I don't know if it was luck or good fortune that had him rocketing off after he was done. Destroying the monster, so many Grimm along the way, then shooting out again. Half this damage is due to the beast just _jumping_ away. I can't even imagine what it would be like if he actually attacked." This time, he could.

"I'll just take whatever Penny said the monster was going to do and then add to it." He had overpowered the beast after all. "But if he's gone, I'll take it. Better than fearing I'm gonna turn a corner and see-"

" _FRIEND CARDIN!"_ He freaked.

" _GAH!" "WHAG!"_ He shouted and jumped, and it made Weiss lurch just as much in his arms. She gripped him as he held her closer, looking down at the person who had shouted at them, only to swiftly turn his freight into anger. _"Penny!_ What were you thinking!" Weiss appeared just as angered as he was.

"I apologize Friend Cardin! To you as well Friend Weiss! It is good to see you are well, after Friend Blake told me to look for you here." Well that was some news. "But I have a query for Friend Cardin, not Team Leader Cardin." She said that like there was a difference, and he was gritting his teeth as he waited for it. "My sympathetic systems have been trying to compare the emotional state of those present with myself, to, as described by others, putting myself in their shoes." He sighed, trying to figure out where she was going with this.

"Spit it out Penny," he tried not to growl, he really did, but after screaming in front of him while he was imagining a monster. Not a good place to start. "You've gotta have a point for this."

"I do!" She hastily added. "I have been dedicating so much of my work to friends and instructors and allies that I forewent a previous friend whom I have not seen in sometime." Okay, she was concerned for a friend.

"Who is it Penny? Is it anyone I know?" Weiss looked just as ready to ask. "We've got to hurry this up because the longer we wait-" She didn't let him finish.

"Friend Cardin, do you believe Friend Sky is also well?" That brought _him_ up even shorter.

"Wha-?" He asked almost dazed. "Sky? I mean, no, but he's not even near here. Last I talked to him, he was back with his family near Menagerie. That's like across the world from here." It was a hell of a lot safer than they were right now. "Why, you hear something went wrong?"

"No, I have no Military or CCTV reports regarding the region, not past the White Fang incident." Good, but also raising a lot of question. "I was trying to put myself in his shoes, as was said, and trying to see if I could replicate the emotional state of others. I believe I have succeeded, but now I am concerned for friend Sky. Do you believe it would be proper to call him?" He honestly didn't think she was close enough to him for it to matter. But then again, Cardin was.

"That's a… that's a good point," he returned. He looked down at Weiss, who looked back up at him. "I'll give him a call now. Why don't you take Weiss back to the base? You can do it faster than I can." She looked up at him in a panic.

"Wait! But you said-" She had no time to recant or deny the offer, as Penny was quick to grab her.

"Of course! Team Leader Cardin!" She replied, holding the heiress in her arms, with just as much ease as he had. "I will get her to the Military Post hastily." He was unsurprised to see her shift the Heiress in her arms.

"Wai- _HIII!"_ And then get thrown over her shoulder, a strong arm flattening her skirt and leaving her bent over the red head. Cardin had to grin, knowing that he might die later for this. "Penny! This is _not_ how you carry someone who is injured!"

"I am aware Friend Weiss, but it is the most expedient method to recover you and anyone else I may sense on the way back. So please bear with it, and we will return shortly." She spun and began jogging, the girl hopping on her shoulder as she did so. Cardin got a good look at the outright betrayed look on her features, staring at him and promising bloody murder after this. He'd take it, but only if there was nothing going wrong with Sky.

Damn Penny, she had him worried to. He was already grabbing at his Scroll, ignoring the way that Weiss was yelling at him. She could handle being carried by Penny for a mile, no issue there. Bigger problem was Sky, or at least it seemed like one now.

He hit his contact, hit his number and waited for the ring.

And it was ringing. And ringing… and ringing… ringing…

* * *

There was a phone ringing next to him, but he couldn't reach it. It was ringing with the tone he set for his team, but he couldn't grab it. It wasn't far from him at all, but he couldn't even reach for it. He could only listen to it. He couldn't dare look at it.

He couldn't take his eyes off of the house that was burning. He couldn't look away from his home being burned to ashes in front of him.

It was _impossible_. An impossible sight to turn away from. It wasn't just his home that was burning, but everything with it. He and his family had watched the pillars of darkness, the sky turn black, heard about the Faunus being lit on fire, but none of it had come here, _none of it_. None of it until now. And now, everything was burning.

His home, the fields they worked, the forest around them, and even his family. _Especially_ his family.

It was why he was crying. Everything else could be replaced, but they couldn't. They _never_ could be. But they were burning alive, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. There was nothing he _could_ have done to stop it. It happened so fast that no one could have done anything. Not Link, not Ganondorf, not even Ozpin himself. _No one_.

Sky couldn't do anything as his family was being immolated in front of him, nothing but watch in horror.

As his mother screamed as she tried to run away, burning from the waist up and turning to ash soon after. Nothing as his father tried to shield him and his sister, only slowing the flames and turning to the same black ash, _coating_ his kids in his remains. Nothing as his sister was _snatched_ from his hands and burned in the grip of the monster that took them _screaming_ his name, and him unable to do anything.

Nothing, there was nothing he could do. Nothing as he watched his family burn, and his home with it. Everything gone in the blink of an eye, and too fast to react, too fast to do anything but watch. Watch and cry as his life was unraveled before his eyes, and he couldn't do a thing to stop it. There was still nothing he could do.

With bleeding stumps for arms, and missing off of his leg, there was nothing he could do but hobble on the ground. Hobble, bleed, and sob brokenly at the sight that perforated his mind. The last sight he would ever see, and it was his family and home being burned to cinders.

That, and the _monster_ responsible walking from the homestead no worse for wear. Walking as if it were a routine project for the beast, carrying a large lance in one hand, helming a blade at the tip, and with her tights emphasizing her muscular figure. A being he saw walk up to him with boots digging trenches into the ground and white hair glowing like a demon's _horns_ in the fire. He stared at it as it walked through the flames, careless of them licking the skin she bore.

Sky looked at her and cried, because he knew who it was, and he couldn't believe who it was. He couldn't believe that someone who saw with adoration, respect, and grace to be responsible for this, for _all_ of this. It was just _impossible_. But his butchered form could see nothing else.

Nothing but the figure grasping her Naginata as she walked through the fire, stopping in front of him, just in time to slam a heel down on her Scroll, shattering it and any hopes he had to have his call answered. A tear stained face looked up, passive red eyes staring back down at him. He looked up and stared, unable to speak clearly through his tears and torment.

"W-W-Why…" he barely was able to whisper, joking as his lungs filled with blood and tears. "W-Why did… did…" he couldn't get it out. It was still too hard to speak, let alone breath. But the figure understood. _She_ clearly did.

She understood enough to bend down, balancing herself on her weapon and letting her face lean over his. The same pale face he had seen for weeks at Beacon, before leaving by his own accord. The face that had saved him while he was in the desert, who had asked of him if this was the life he wished to lead, before convincing him to find happiness free from conflict.

But now she was gazing down upon him, with the blood of his burned family wet on her weapon, and their ashes painted across her suit and skin. Looking down at him with eyes that matched the fire, and yet with tendrils of darkness clawing beneath her pale skin. He looked at her and he cried, knowing that there was nothing he could do.

"I apologize Sky, for what little it is worth," she spoke to him as if it mattered, as if it fixed _anything._ "I truly did wish for you to find peace away from battle. I did not speak falsely to you before." He could not believe. He couldn't believe _her_. There wasn't any way someone could say something like that while looking the way she did.

There wasn't a chance in heaven or hell that Sky was going to believe a word of what _Impa_ said, especially not while she looked like a monster from the same Nightmare he ran from.

"You were talented in many ways, and I wished for you to find peace with your family. I did not know of them… and I never wish to kill those I do not know." Her words were met by her raising the tip of her lance down on him, bearing its sharp end at his exposed neck. He couldn't even twist his head to avoid it. He could only sob, wet and brokenly, as she aligned her strike. "But you know me, and I cannot afford to have you remember me."

 _SCHINK!_ And his life was taken from him.

Impa stared down at him for a moment after, watching his head roll back, separated from the rest of his body. As quick a strike as she could manage, leaving only his tormented expression frozen upon his features, staring still at the fire that had claimed his family. Her palm found his eyes, lowering the lids and hiding the vision from him. He didn't need to stare at it in death.

"I truly am sorry, Sky Lark," Impa spoke again. "But you saw my capabilities in the Tower of the Nightmare. And my queen will not allow any to know of it and chance to speak freely of it." She spoke more for herself than him.

Because he was already gone from this world, freed from its torment and mortal shackles. He was free to find his family again, in either the Deep Shadows all Shiekah fell into, or the Holy Realm that all Hylians sought to ascend to. He would find them, because he was a smart squire, just not a dedicated one. In death, he would have nothing else to work towards.

Impa sighed once more, loathing her deed as she stood. Blood on her Naginata, the flames licking her back, matching the dark tendrils of her queen's power flowing just beneath her skin, visible to any naked eye. She stared at them, watching as they played at the tips of her fingers, doing the same around her face. She stared and waited, wondering if they would command her further.

But they did not, and she was thankful for it. It meant she could return to the Badlands, back to the queen she was sworn to. The queen she and her family had served for generations, and not even death and genocide would keep her from serving dutifully.

She strode away from the flames, leaving Sky to burn with his family. It was the most mercy she could offer. She knew it wouldn't be enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was joking about it on the Discord, but I am serious about this now. I have been rereading my documents, and I can tell the reason a lot of people get turned off is likely because the innumerable amount of spelling and grammatical mistakes I make. I have always tried to read through and correct most of them, but it's clear that grammar and corrections is not my strong suit.
> 
> That said, I would greatly appreciate having a proofreader for my upcoming stories. I know there may only be another 15 chapters left to this story (not trying to spoil, just what I plan), so I am hoping that someone would be willing to help me out with it.
> 
> FF has a sort of file sharing for it, and I can do that, but I can also share Google Docs for you if you prefer.
> 
> If you'd like to help edit my chapters, and OF COURSE get credit when they go live, please let me know and I'll DM you.
> 
> Thank you again, and please don't wish death on Impa quite yet. There is a reason for her sudden change. I promise you.

**Author's Note:**

> If you are enjoying this story, and I want to see where it goes or ask me questions, try and jump on my Discord to talk with everyone else. You won't be alone, I promise.
> 
> discord.gg/fgeV4ra


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